I've moved! (and simplified)

I don't like the fact that I haven't updated since Thanksgiving, but the fact is that I'm busy. Like, really busy. I have a full time job, an internship, and school. I have stuff scheduled seven days a week, and that means I don't get days off. I have to take stock of what's really important to me at this point, and maintaining a food blog is not one of those things right now. I love writing this blog, but for now it needs to exist in the background. That said, by no means do I want to give up cooking and eating healthy. I've got some healthy eating goals for this coming year (including a whole30 for March) and I want to document them. I've decided to create an Instagram account dedicated to my healthy food photos and writing instead. It's something I can do on the fly without needing to be at my computer. 

If you want to continue looking at my paleo eating adventures, look for me on Instagram: @cavemanstrength

Thanks!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! I know it's been awhile since I've posted, and I kind of left this blog hanging in the middle of a September Whole30. I've still been eating well, but I have been busy. It's a terrible excuse, I know, but I've been running lots in anticipation of my half marathon (I can't believe it'll be next week!). I've also been focusing on classes, volunteering, and my other blog. I was, however, very lucky to get both Thanksgiving Sunday and Monday off so I decided to treat myself to an awesome day of food. 

I spent the holiday alone because my boyfriend went to visit family. I'm okay with that though, sometimes I don't mind solitude. I got to go for a long run yesterday and come home to spend the afternoon cleaning (that's actually a perfect day off for me). Today, I cooked. 

 

This was my breakfast. I've posted the pancakes here before, but this time I added about 1.5 tablespoons of pumpkin purée and topped them with almond butter and pecans. I also had a few slices of bacon on the side. For my coffee, I made pumpkin spice syrup* and topped it with frothed almond milk.

*I modified the linked recipe by cutting it in half and subbing honey for the sugar. 

Lunch was a smoked sausage and romaine salad with roasted potatoes. With all the running I've been doing lately I've started bringing potatoes back into my diet once or twice a week. 

The main event! I had ham (which I love and have only ever had for special occasions - usually Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter). It was topped with locally made, organic maple smoked mustard. I also had a half chicken breast, lightly seasoned and roasted. With it I had this cranberry agrodolce (after making this you'll never want regular cranberry sauce again...I could eat this with a spoon). I also matchsticked a sweet potato, tossed it in salt, pepper, and olive oil, and cooked it in my panini press. Finally, I had some kale fried in bacon fat and topped with salt & pepper, and a squeeze of lemon (gotta have greens, right?)

Dessert! I first spotted this recipe on The Clothes Make The Girl a month or two ago while browsing and I knew I had to try it. I wondered whether a recipe with no flour of any kind would actually become cake, but it came together so easily and is dense and moist. I switched the frosting for cream cheese blended with maple syrup and bourbon. I love pumpkin and cream cheese together and since I have no lactose issues, I went for it. The bourbon is a perfect compliment to the pumpkin and pecans. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Taco Thursday

This morning I woke up before the sun feeling a little more like myself. This morning, unlike yesterday, I actually had the motivation to get out of bed. I started the day with another green smoothie (this one had 3/4 of a banana, a handful of kale, sunflower butter, and almond milk). I also had a cup of cold brewed coffee made using the method in this post from A Beautiful Mess. This was my first time making cold-brewed coffee and it turned out a bit weak. Either I didn't give it enough time (though I left it overnight) or my ratio was off. At least it's so simple I can try again. 

For lunch at work I had mini meatloaf and balsamic vegetables with a hard-boiled egg on the side. Nothing too exciting here, but it did keep me full until I got home.

When I made it through the door at around five, I found my boyfriend had taken it upon himself to make salsa from scratch. I don't know what recipe he used, but it tastes amazing. I was very proud. We had some leftover taco chicken mixed with romaine, and attempted the coconut flour tortillas from Paleo Comfort Foods. The recipe itself is quite simple:

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup water

1/4 tsp salt

coconut oil for the pan

Whisk all the ingredients together and preheat a nonstick pan with some coconut oil.  Pour about 3 tbsp of mixture* into the pan at an angle and swirl around. Once golden brown, flip.
*I found 3tbsp worth to be much too little batter. I ended up using about 1/4 cup per tortilla which filled my 10" pan. These are very delicate and prone to ripping. Make sure they are completely unstuck from the pan before trying to flip them. 

The tricky part is in the method. We ended up making two batches of this recipe and ended up with only about five serviceable tortillas. Of those, four of them were a bit on the small side and the one perfectly sized one was a tad too thin and tore when attempting to wrap. That said, they had a decent flavour and held up okay with the toppings. With a bit of practice and customization, I bet we can get these working pretty well.

Yesterday and Today (This Little Piggy...)

Yesterday I left off with breakfast. It was my first day of fall classes yesterday so I had a bit of running around to do. I have class from 12:50 until 2:50 and again 6:30 to 9:30. This large gap gives me time to get a head start on my readings for next week, as well as time to eat a quick dinner before my evening class. Since I didn't have lunch (still no appetite), and I ate this at about 4:30, I'll call it lupper. I had two of the revised meat muffins (calling them mini meatloaves now). The added vegetables tasted amazing and I'll be making them this way from now on for sure. With them I had some balsamic roasted vegetables and an apple with sunflower butter. 

Today I called in sick for work. I woke up before dawn to get ready for my 7am shift, and though I was basically ready to head out the door I just couldn't make it. I felt sluggish, I could barely keep my eyes open, and once again I had no desire to eat (very odd for me in the mornings). I decided to sit this one out, sleep in, and hope for the best. I woke up at nine, still in my jeans. I decided to putter around the house since I wasn't feeling top notch. I hung some art, did a bit of (long overdue) cleaning, and cooked the ribs that were sitting in my fridge. I got these bad boys at the grocery store for only $7. I don't know how many pounds it was, but the rack was nearly as long as my arm - It had to be cut in half to fit in my oven. To season it I slathered on grainy mustard with liquid smoke, then added a dry rub. For the rub I basically raided my spice cupboard and put in a little of everything (though I was heavy-handed with the hot paprika, granulated garlic, cumin, and cayenne pepper). I put it under the broiler for about five minutes until it was crisp and beginning to brown, then slow cooked it at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for three hours - covered with aluminum foil for the second hour and a half.
This method was taken from The Kitchn.

And here's dinner. I had some balsamic veggies and romaine salad with my ribs - which turned out amazing.
Now if only I could kick the vanilla ice cream craving I've been battling all day I'd be set.

Last Night, This Morning

My lack of appetite from yesterday morning persisted through the day. I skipped my dinner at work because I simply wasn't hungry. When I got home at around ten thirty, I finally felt like eating so I put together a little snack of pickles, olives, celery with ranch, and some grapes. 

This morning I still wasn't in the mood for eggs and pork so I made another green smoothie. This time I used kale, almond milk, coconut water, half a banana, and half an apple. Some ginger in this would have been perfect if I had any. Again, I topped it with some toasted almonds and coconut. Maybe I should just embrace this green smoothie kick for as long as it lasts?

Dessert and Breakfast

In addition to all the savoury cooking I did yesterday I decided to make some dessert for after dinner. This recipe is from Well Fed and is quite simple (yet more dynamic and indulgent than just eating berries on their own). It came together pretty quickly but if you make it be sure to read the recipe through once or twice before starting - it takes a little bit of pre-planning (chilling the coconut milk). I wasn't sure how coconutty the cream would taste and it turned out with much more vanilla flavour than coconut which was nice. Even though the cream is unsweetened, the coconut provides enough natural sweetness of it's own that it's no big deal. The salted toasted coconut on top is the perfect compliment and I could eat that stuff by the handful. 

This morning I woke up with absolutely no appetite. The idea of eating eggs and bacon made me feel queasy so I decided to just make some coffee and wait for my stomach to catch up. By 10:30 I still wasn't really feeling it but I decided to have a green smoothie just for the sake of getting something in. I made this one with a handful (about a cup) of kale, about half a cup of almond milk, two ice cubes, and a frozen banana. I also put in a spoonful of leftover vanilla coconut whipped cream from last night, and topped it with some of the toasted coconut and almonds, also from last night. This tasted great and was just what I needed - not quite a full meal, but something to tide me over until my appetite kicks in. 

Personal Record and Cook Day

This morning I participated in a 10k run/race. My only goal was to run it faster than my previous personal record of 59:08. There wasn't a clock posted at the finish (but it was chip-timed, so I'll get my official time soon) but I know I ran it a few minutes faster than the last time, so I was thrilled!

After getting home I was pretty hungry so I made three scrambled eggs and some uncured black forest bacon. I've never had it before, but the pieces were thick, the pork was chemical-free, and the pigs were well treated and hormone-free so I gave it a try. It hit the spot and was very filling as brunch. 

With the work week (and first day of school!) looming on the horizon I decided to pick some recipes and do some bulk cooking.

I made some "confetti" cauliflower rice. I pre-cooked some finely diced carrot with yellow pepper, garlic, and salt and pepper. I then added the cauliflower and let it warm up together.

I also did a big batch of roasted vegetables, inspired by a recipe for balsamic roasted veggies from Gather. I used an assortment of vegetables, including peppers, turnips, and mushrooms and I tossed the lot in a half cup each of oil and balsamic vinegar. They turned out delicious, though next time I'd probably reduce the amounts of oil and balsamic by around half.

This fried chicken recipe is from Paleo Comfort Foods. It's actually on the cover and I can tell why - it's quite enticing. I used two chicken breasts cut into strips rather than using legs, but otherwise I followed the recipe exactly (though I did cut it in half). The coating is quite tasty, yet not as crispy as I would have hoped. The chicken tasted great dipped in a bit of my homemade ranch and I'll certainly be making it again. Since my boyfriend is very new to paleo and eating meat, and is a bit of a picky eater, we've developed a "scale of 1 to 10" method of figuring out which meals I should make again and which ones should be skipped. The fried chicken would have been a ten if he could have had ketchup. As it was, it was about an eight. Not bad. 

Because they're so easy, cheap, and portable, I wanted to re-visit the unfortunately named "Spinach Meat Muffins" from Well Fed. To add to the flavour and make them a bit more palatable for my boyfriend (who's still a little iffy about eating meat) I added a bunch of vegetables not called for in the recipe: red and yellow pepper, kale, and celery. Hopefully these will go over a bit better, though he's still hesitant to eat them.

And after all that cooking, here's dinner. The roasted vegetables were great with the chicken and I had a simple salad of romaine and kale tossed with red onions and ranch. 

Now I'm just waiting for Breaking Bad to start.