Momma's Meatloaf (or, "Don't Let Your Meat Loaf")

Pretty easy post today.  Just make Mom's meatloaf without the bread/cracker crumbs.  It won't hold together as well, but that's okay.  Be sure to load up on the veggies.  I put lots of onion and green pepper in my loaf, and added carrots to the side of the meat. 

Add some roasted veggies and maybe a little fruit on the side and you're done!  :) 

Not-chyo typical Nachos!

Mmmm.....nachos!

This is another easy to prepare meal.  You could cook the meat ahead of time and freeze it.  Then, the morning of this meal, put the frozen meat in a slow cooker and let it reheat while you're at work.  If you chop the veggies (except for the avocados, because they'll turn brown) the night before, you'll have supper on the table in no time!

PRIMAL NACHOS

If you're wanting to eat as perfectly paleo/primal as possible, skip this step.  It's okay to just eat your "Nachos" with a fork, as opposed to using a corn scooper.  But if you insist, do what I did and get as good as possible.  I used just a FEW organic corn tortilla chips- enough to get a crunch.  I've found organic to be the same price as "non", so why not get the organic version?  Again, look at your ingredients; buy the package with the FEWEST ingredients- usually just corn, oil, and salt. 

For the seasoning on the meat, you're probably thinking the easiest thing is to open up a package of taco seasoning.....but you'd be wrong!  :)  The easiest thing to do is open up your spice cabinet and make it up!  I usually dump in chili power, garlic salt, pepper, a little cayenne pepper and cumin.  LOTS of cumin; that's what gives it the "Taco seasoning" flavor.  Add a little water with the spices and cook it down the way you would with the Ortega packet.  Easy peasy.  (And cheapy cheapy?)

Another cheap cheat is to "bulk up" the meat.  (I'm a poet and didn't know it!)  Chop a yellow onion in large pieces and cook it with your hamburger.  Then, when your piggies are scooping huge amounts of meat on their plate, they're not getting straight meat, they're getting meat with large chunks of onion and you'll s-t-r-e-t-c-h your servings per lb of meat!  :)    

Now, pile on the veggies!  I used tomatoes, green onion, salsa and avocados.  If I had black olives, I would have used those, too.  And shredded lettuce. 

Add a SMALL amount of shredded cheese OR sour cream- don't do both, because you don't need both!   

A word about avocados: try them!  (That's actually two words.)  They are food chameleons; if you have just a small bit in each bite, you'll never taste them.  But you'll end up with lots of good for you fat and nutrients.  You'll know the avocado is ripe when the skin gives just a little when you lightly squeeze it.  If you're scared to try straight avocado, buy a guacamole (Wholly Guacamole is a good brand) at the store.  It can be an acquired taste, but you'll fall in love in no time!

GRAPES
WATER

And there's your super-duper meal of the day!  :)  Hope you try it out soon.   Anybody fixed any of my recipes yet?????????

Lunch time! Curried Chicken Salad

Here's an easy meal that is SO delicious.  In fact, my original intention was for this to be our supper yesterday.  But, I took a big scoop out for my lunch.  And then when J got home from work, he ate a big scoop (or 4?) before meeting us at Mo's ball game.  When we all arrived home, I looked at what was left and realized there wouldn't be enough for supper, so Is stood over the bowl and finished the rest off!  Guess I know to make more next time.

Luckily, I took a picture of my lunch, so you can see what I'm talking about.  (If you ladies have a good memory, this is the same chicken salad I served at my house for a BUNCO night.)

   
Please excuse the bad framing of the picture- I'll never be a good food photog, not if I keep using my cell phone, anyway! 

CURRIED CHICKEN SALAD

I never measure anything, so I will attempt general quantities here.  But use your judgement and adjust to your sensibilities and tastes.  Like I said before, though, I'll make a bigger salad next time.

Shredded Chicken- about 4 breasts.  (Next time I'll use a combination of white and dark meat to get the good fat we all need.)
Red Grapes- around 1 cup halved or quartered
Celery- 3/4 cup thinly sliced
Craisins- 3/4 cup
Green Onion- 3/4 cup thinly sliced
Slivered Almonds- 1/2 cup
Mayo- 1 cup.  There are several Paleo Mayo recipes here.  If you prefer to use store bought, I usually use one of the Olive Oil Mayos- definitely not perfect because they are still made with highly refined soybean oil, but at least it's a step in the right direction.
Salt and Pepper- to taste
Curry- be generous here, this is what gives the salad it's flavor!  But don't go overboard, either.  I probably used about 1/2-1 tablespoon.  The flavor will deepen as time goes on. 

Just throw all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together.  Then put in the refrigerator for 6-24 hours to allow time for the flavors to meld.    

PICKLES- we love the Vlasic Farmer's Garden Bread and Butter version- taste like Grandma's!  :) 
STRAWBERRIES
WATER

As with most of my meals, this won't win any primal/paleo awards.  (But as Mark Sisson always says, "Don't let the perfect become the enemy of the good.") There's a little sugar in everything- the mayo, the pickles and the strawberries.  But, at this point, I feel like I have control over my sugar.  If you aren't there yet, and still feel like sugar has control over you,  (i.e. you see a donut or cookie and instantly start thinking about how to get that cookie)  I highly recommend doing a WHOLE30 challenge.  It will literally change your life.  Because of a similar elimination diet, I have discovered that EGGS are what caused my acne!  Knowledge is power, folks.  If I want to eat an egg now, I can, but I know that I'll be dealing with a big nasty zit or two over the next couple of days.  (In fact, I woke up this morning with my mayo induced zit beaming it's bright red beacon from my cheek for the whole world to see.)  It's a choice I make now, and that is so unbelievably freeing!  (I'm still exploring whether it's the whole egg, or just the white or the yolk.  My hunch is it's the white, since my food sensitivity test said I reacted highly to whites/albumin; hopefully I'll get it figured out soon.) 

That's it for today!  Tell me what you've been eating lately......

Today's Menu

Breakfast

FRUIT SMOOTHIE
BACON
BLACK COFFEE

This is a delicious, easy and satisfying meal that won't give you the milk farts 2 hours later!  :)   Just take a blender and dump in about a cup of coconut milk (we use SO coconut milk- found next to the soymilks), a banana, a handful of frozen strawberries or blueberries or whatever you want, and a handful of something green (we usually use spinach or kale....I PROMISE you can't taste it!)  Warning- don't use a banana that's so ripe you can use it in banana bread- trust me on this.

The bacon is a wonderful way to get your protein and animal fats.  And who doesn't like bacon??   (Seriously- does a person exist?)  I usually eat about 4 slices.  (Not including the two or three I eat will waiting for the entire package to be cooked.)  Don't worry about patting all the grease off, either.  When you are purchasing your bacon, go ahead and read the ingredients list;  you'll be surprised by what you find.  I can't find a perfectly Paleo bacon in the grocery store, but I figure the amount of sugar I consume on my bacon has to be pretty miniscule.  I was purchasing Nitrate/Nitrite free bacon, until I read this article by Dr. Chris Kresser:  http://chriskresser.com/the-nitrate-and-nitrite-myth-another-reason-not-to-fear-bacon.  It was the same price as the "nitrate-laden" bacon, so I'm not out any money, but it's still nice to not feel extremely restricted when I'm shopping.

Shopping list: 
Coconut Milk
Banana
Frozen Berries
Spinach or Kale
 Bacon 

Lunch

A STARBUCKS DRINK.

What are you looking at?  Is this a Primal eating blog or something???

Seriously, though, it's okay to enjoy an occasional treat.  And this drink actually filled me up, because I FINALLY have my insulin swings under control (no more scary I NEED TO EAT NOW!!!!!! crazy lady coming out).   


Supper

I was inspired by this post.  One look at her almost-mashed-potatoes and I knew we'd be having some for supper!  :)  

Well, as with everything on the blasted internet, my version didn't turn out picture perfect, but they were still SO good!

FRIED HAMBURGERS WITH ONIONS & MUSHROOMS
MASHED GARLIC AND ROSEMARY CAULIFLOWER
GRAVY
ROASTED GREEN BEANS
STRAWBERRIES
WATER

I got some organic hamburger at Costco (Sam's Club's arch nemesis) for under $5 a lb- SCORE!  (If you can't afford organic, just get what you can.  Mark talks about that HERE).  Just mixed in some seasoning and made patties out of it.  Threw some REAL butter and mushrooms and onions in my electric skillet and added the burgers on top.  When they were finished I made a (very soupy) skillet gravy out of the "pan drippings", beef broth and arrow root powder.  The burgers were kind of dry, but were perfect with the gravy.

For the mashed cauliflower, see her recipe here. 

I used my favorite vegetable roasting recipe on the green beans.  (Green beans are technically a legume, and legumes are mostly frowned upon in the Paleo/Primal world, but these beans- and peas- are okay!  See what Mark has to say about it here.)  Just pick your favorite vegetable (or not so favorite, because this recipe will turn any gross veggie into awesome!) and wash and dry it.  Dry it very, very well.  Water and oil don't mix, ya know, and you want to douse these things in olive oil.  If they're wet, the oil won't stick and you won't believe my rave reviews.

Anywho, back to the recipe:
raw veggie
olive oil
salt, pepper, minced garlic

Just put a single layer of your veggies on a cookie sheet, drizzle oil on top and season generously.  Roast in the oven at 450 for anywhere from 15-30 minutes, depending on your veggie.  You'll know they're ready when you start seeing the ends crisp and turn dark.  I promise they're not burnt!  (Just ask Auntie J about that one!)  :)  We've eaten broccoli, asparagus, green beans, carrots, brussel sprouts and cauliflower this way.  Promise me you'll try it out with each!!

Bedtime snack

RED WINE
DARK CHOCOLATE 72%

Seems self-explanatory to me!  :) 

How's your new lifestyle going?  What did you eat today?

Crock Pot BBQ Chicken Supper

Perhaps this isn't the best first food posting for this blog.  It's not a perfectly Primal meal by any means, but it's  pretty close.  That's the beauty of Primal eating: you don't have to be 100% perfect to see results.  In fact, I woke up this morning and discovered that I'd lost more than expected!  Yay!

This meal is VERY easy to prepare.  We are in the middle of softball practices and games with Is and Mo, and Ro has horse-riding lessons, so our suppers need to be easy right now.  The kids LOVE this chicken, and I love "making" it, so it's a win-win.

This makes enough for our 6 people, so adjust the recipe for your own family.  The thighs are cheap and add the fat you need to feel full.  You could make this with all dark meat if you'd like.   Pick the "best" BBQ sauce you can find.....meaning with the fewest amount of artificial ingredients/chemicals.  I used Target's Kentucky Bourbon Molasses, but it has a bit of a kick, so proceed with caution!  :)  OR, you can search online for Paleo/Primal BBQ sauce recipes and make your own if you want to be perfect.      

CROCK POT BBQ CHICKEN
3 Chicken Breasts
4 Chicken Thighs    
1 bottle of BBQ sauce 

Place all ingredients in a crock pot set to low.  Cook for 8 hours.  At the end of  cooking you should be able to take a couple of forks and easily shred the chicken in the crock.  You can continue cooking for another hour or two if desired.  You can also use frozen chicken, if desired.  Just increase your cook time, or cook on high for a few hours and then turn it down to low for the remainder. 

RAW CARROTS

SEEDLESS WATERMELON

OLIVE OIL POTATO CHIPS

The potato chips are obviously made from potatoes......so they definitely aren't Paleo, and they're kind of a gray area in the Primal lifestyle.  But, if you make the decision to go off diet, just make the best decision possible.  You can see by the picture that these weren't the "star" of the meal- just a small handful is enough.  These chips have 3 ingredients:  potatoes, olive oil and salt.  Simple, no artificial ingredients, and no bad oils, so I think these are pretty close to a perfect cheat!  :) 

This plate of food filled me up, but J and the girls went back for more.  If you aren't satisfied with one plate, go ahead and have more!  Just listen to your body and only eat to satisfy hunger. 

WATER

CAKE

This was unplanned, but there were some neighborhood girls walking around selling slices of a cake they made for $1.10 each.  ($1.10?  Not $1.00?  Their parents must have been giving them business lessons.)  How can you tell sweet little girls no?   Am I right??  :)  So, I bought two slices, and we divvied them up between the 6 of us.  Again, not Primal, but it's not going to kill us.  Or is it??????

That was yesterday's supper.  What did you have?

Welcome!

Welcome to Our Primal Diary!  Thought it would be helpful to have a place to share recipes and successes.  I'll post as often as possible.  Feel free to ask questions or post your own delicious recipes!