Shrimp Stir-Fry!

Fruit flies are the worst. We have them at work and as I type this I am shooshing one exceptionally rude fly away from my banana. Gross. So glad we don't have them at home. With all the produce I buy you'd think we should! But, thankfully, no.

Ran another mile+ last night. My hip started hurting me on an incline. Bummer. I fought the urge to press on a little further and turned around. It's so annoying to be distracted by aches and pains. Especially because this pain is an overuse injury - meaning I was doing something wrong when I hurt it.  Double bummer.

*SHOO FLY! GIT OUTTA HERE!* Stupid fruit flies! Ugh.

Anyhow, last night I made a super easy stir-fry that can be made with whatever you have on hand. The veggies I used were just what I happened to have in my fridge.

The trick, for me, to getting great tasting stir-fry is using coconut oil.  The flavor is light and oh so authentic. I put a couple of spoonfuls in a pan over medium high to melt.

Like I said, the veggies I used were just what I had on hand.  This can truly be a 'garbage' meal - all those odds-n-ends you need to use up before they go bad.  For mine I used, onion, zucchini, carrot and celery. For me, celery is a MUST. The flavor is just so killer! I even use the leaves - don't throw those away!

Before I add the veggies to my frypan I add a big spoonful of minced garlic.  This pre-chopped stuff saves so much time and it lasts forever. Well worth the price (<$10 I believe).  After the veggies are in the pan I hit them with salt and lots of black pepper.

I start with the hard veggies that take longer to cook.  In this case, all but the zucchini. Cook on med-hi until wilted (a few minutes). Make sure you either stir or flip the pan to keep from your meal from burning.

The meat I had to use was half a bag of frozen, wild caught shrimp (a Costco purchase).  They have their tails on but once I run them under cold water to thaw (I know you're not supposed to, but whatever) the tails pop off with a pinch at their bases.

Adding the zucchini to get it rolling...

At the last minute I threw the shrimp in a pan with some melted coconut oil, salt and pepper until they turned pink.  Shrimp is so easy like that! When they're pink, they're done. Boom.

The finished product! So good, it needs no sauce!

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My Red Sauce!

I went for a run last night.  Eep!  My hip has been hurting like crazy since my first 9 mile run this year.  It felt better before my last race, but was aggravated again and hurt for weeks.  I think it was the increase in distance mixed with incline.  So I gave it a rest for a while, got some new shoes, and took them for a spin last night.  Only did a mile and a half - my plan is to start slow and regain trust that the pain won't come back. My fingers are crossed.  I have to remember to go slow, however.  I kept looking down at my garmin and speeding up to keep at 10 min/mi pace - unnecessary since I don't actually compete and would like to run an ultra.  Someday. I hope.

Finally I have been able to post this recipe! I cannot count how many times I've started taking pictures of my method for this sauce but was unable to finish for one reason or another. I must warn you however: I rarely use measurements because, really, they don't matter! I think I have not ever once made this sauce in the same way twice and it's always delicious! Feel free to add or subtract whatever you want/crave.

First, add a layer of olive oil to the bottom of your saucepan and turn the heat to medium. Add a couple handfuls of chopped onion and a spoonful of chopped garlic to the pan and let it bubble and turn slightly brown. Add your ground meat (I most often choose a pound of ground lamb that I get at Safeway), crumble it up and start it browning.

Add sliced mushrooms. I choose shiitake because the flavor is so much richer.

Once the mushrooms have wilted a bit and the meat is almost all browned add 1 can of tomato sauce. I buy the organic canned tomato sauce at Costco. You don't need the fancy stuff with the herbs in it 'cause we are adding our own! Saving $$! Woot! 

I make a pile of dried herbs, salt and pepper that looks proportionate to the amount of sauce (sorry, no measures here - maybe a few tsp each?) then stir it all together. My favorite dried herbs for red sauce are: basil, oregano, chili flakes, rosemary, garlic powder and onion powder. I didn't use the powders this time - didn't feel like it I guess.

Secret ingredient! I add a couple tablespoons of this to deepen the flavor profile of the sauce. I love it!

Stir everything together, cover, turn burner as low as it will go and walk away for at least a half hour. The dried herbs need time to reconstitute and become soft. Stir it every once in a while to release delicious smells into the house!

Boom! Finished. Serve with gf pasta, spaghetti squash, or by itself. This is a thick, hearty meat sauce that is perfect in every way  Eat it up!

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Weekend Happenings

This weekend was crazy busy. Not so much with scheduled events, but just with cooking and spring cleaning. Even yesterday was busy! That is why I write this on Tuesday during my break at work. I whipped up some fabulous food this weekend and I would like to share it all now that I have a chance to sit still for a second!
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Saturday morning breakfast: turkey sausage, pancakes (recipe coming soon!), and fruit. Yum-o.

Saturday dinner: pan-seared sea scallops, fried sweet potatoes, and balsamic roasted asparagus. De-lish. Not sure why this photo looks so dreamy... :)

Sunday lunch: whipped up some tuna salad with my homemade mayo (will include step-by-step of what I put in my tuna salad very soon), mango and a pb&j cookie.

Monday lunch: turkey sausage, kiwi and pb&j cookie

Monday is shopping or "gathering day" (as in paleo hunting/gathering. *yuk yuk*) and I found these in the dried fruits section of Costco! They are dried figs - so tasty! Just like a fig Newton cookie, but gluten free! We snacked on some when I got home from shopping.  These will definitely be in my lunches this week!

When I got home yesterday Tom had done some pruning and brought in a bunch of flowers from our garden. I quickly threw this arrangement together and it looks kind of cool, right?

Another of my favorite things at Costco is their organic boneless chicken thighs...

I roast the chicken thighs in the oven with salt, pepper, onion & garlic powder (my super secret seasoning blend) and BOOM nummy protein to match with any fruit and veg! Last nights' dinner had a side salad of kale, maple dressing, raisins, pecans, and fried banana.

Whew! All caught up. Onward towards the remainder of Tuesday!

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Homemade Paleo Mayo

I love the weekends! So much time to get things done, try new recipes, bake cookies, and relax.

I saw this recipe on theclothesmakethegirl.com and had to try it. Was sooo glad I did. I would highly suggest whipping up a batch and ditching the store-bought stuff that is made from soybean oils and other crap.

Place 1 egg and 2 tbsp lemon juice in the blender and let come to room temp for 45 mins.

Add 1/4 cup light olive oil (I got mine at Costco, of course), 1/2 tsp ground dry mustard, 1/2 tsp salt and blend on low for 30 seconds. With blender still on low add 1 cup more of light olive oil very slowly (should be the slowest drizzle you can manage).

This is the result! 100% identical to store-bought except I know exactly what's inside. Awesomeness for making tuna, chicken, or egg salad!  This was so easy I think I'm going to leave the blender out on the counter to whip up a batch whenever it's needed!

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Super Easy PB&J Cookies

WooHoo! It's almost Friday! I'm so ready for the weekend.

Last night Tom and I went to a local bar and grill to watch WSU play UW in men's basketball. If you missed it, it was a really good game!  When we eat out I try to eat according to what will least make by belly hurt, but sometimes my eyes are more powerful than my brain and I end up ordering what looks good without regard for my tum-tum.  I ordered myself a pair of super-tasty (breaded and fried) fish tacos. I almost always get them and they almost always hurt my belly. I know it's the damn sauce they put on them: a spicy ranch-style sauce.   But it's sooooooo good! I know that most restaurant sauces inevitably contain milk, soy or both. I've worked in food service enough to know this well.  I also know that soy turns me inside out.  It's the devil incarnate. Does that stop me from ordering those delicious saucy tacos (this needs to be the name of a taco truck, stat)? No. Needless to say I'll be taking a few probiotic capsules to get my gut back into shape. I'm in ouch-town. Boo.

Anywho, gut problems aside, one thing I've been trying to master is tummy-friendly desserts.  Not just any desserts though: EASY desserts.  I'm talking only a few ingredients, minimal steps and few dishes to clean.  I am far to lazy for complicated recipes, as you may have noticed.

A few weeks ago I spotted a pin for peanut butter cookies and decided to fiddle with it.  After three attempts I got it mastered, taste-test approved and ready to share.

Here's how it goes:

In a medium bowl add: 1 cup peanut butter, 1/2 cup maple syrup and 1 egg. Mix with spoon (or whatever).

My favorite peanut butter is Adams crunchy.  It is less viscous and has a great, clean flavor.

Add 1 teaspoon baking soda.  Stir it up.

This addition/tweak makes all the difference: add 1/2 cup raisins. Stir.  They add a freshness to the cookie that is awesome! Almost PB&J-like.

Scoop out onto foil-lined cookie sheet one heaping tablespoon at a time. No oil/grease needed.  I always use foil to minimize dish washing. Again, I am lazy as all get-out. Shortcuts are my friend. 

Put on top rack in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Let cool completely before removing from pan.

This recipe yields 12 cookies that are light, slightly chewy, cakey and fully addictive. So stinkin' easy to make! Seriously. Make these now. You can thank me later.

Gathering Day

I wanted to start sharing my Monday shopping hauls, costs, and weekly meal plans.  When we first decided to go paleo I thought I new what I was doing.  But knowing and doing are totally different things and I searched the internet high and low for shopping lists and budget-friendly grocery stores and found very little.  So now I want to pass on my knowledge of where and what to buy and any tips I've learned along the way along with anything new that will help anyone who is just starting out with paleo or who needs fresh ideas.

Every Monday I meet with my Mom and we hit up Costco. I think I'm addicted to that place.  For reals. These days I have been trying to keep to organic and 'clean 15' foods and  avoid the 'dirty dozen'.  This means I often shop at a variety of stores to complete my shopping list.  It's a bit of extra work, but worth it to know that my food is as close to 'natural' as it can be.

I must mention that I have an extremely lazy high-tech system for determining our weekly meals that involves picking 5 popsicle sticks each out of two jars; one filled with entrees the other with side dishes (only 5 meals  are pulled because Friday is Date Night where we eat out and Sunday is leftover day).  Genius, right?! I loathe meal planning, so I took all my favorite recipes from my brain and Pinterest page and put them on sticks in a jar.  Now fate chooses dinner for me. Boom.  Thinking is for losers. Just kidding. Sort of.

Up this week:
Pork Loin w/ wilted greens
Mini Meatloaves w/sauteed mushrooms & onion
Brinner! w/sliced baked potatoes
Kebabs w/mashed potatoes
Grilled chicken thighs w/ sweet potato fries

Some of the ingredients I already had, but the following is what I gathered yesterday to make the plan happen!

Costco:

Purchased:  2 bottles of wine (don't judge me), maple syrup, chicken thighs, pineapple, spinach, 2 bags of baby carrots.  Not pictured: Bag each of clementines and grapefruit.

Spent: $81.96 ($59.02 without the wine, but what fun is that?)

Fred Meyer:

Purchased:  dill, bananas (gotta get that potassium), sweet potatoes, red and yellow pepper, metal kebab skewers.

Spent: $18.83 ($15.84 without the skewers)

Whole Foods:

Purchased: 1lb dry rub bacon, 1 pork tenderloin, 9 kiwis, cantaloupe, 2 1lb containers of strawberries. (And, yes, that is a giant vase full of wine corks in the background. Again, no judging.)

Spent: $43.67 - this place costs more than the others which is why I leave it for last to gather the remaining items on my list.

Grand Total: $118.53 (without wine or kitchen tools).

Happy gathering!!

My Refrigerator & Grocery Shopping Tips

Why can't Seattle be sunny more often?  Yesterday we had an extremely rare sunny Saturday (for March anyhow).  It was fabulous! I was able to get some pruning done in our jungle of a backyard.  It's been almost 100% neglected since we moved in in November. But yesterday I got out there with my loppers and shears and filled the yard waste bin (you know you live in the city when...) with errant branches and dead twigs.  It is interesting to think of how the back garden came to be; the previous owners (who were here since the '60s) planted the trees, bushes and flowers to their taste and bringing them back to their intended glory is my goal. I think a few of the Rhododendron's need to come out - they are just too tangled and disorderly.  It's too bad because I love Rhododendron's when they bloom.  So pretty.

Tom and I went to lunch yesterday and gave in to our cravings and had ourselves a cheat day: real pizza from Zeek's.  It was amazing.  I don't want to elaborate too much because I'll get hungry, but it was a super-fun treat.  I'm so lucky to have someone that rolls with my food choices and various kitchen experiments without complaint. We both weren't feeling well afterwards, but cheat days are needed.  I'd go nutty without them!

I love Pinterest. I get so many of my ideas from it. It's especially fun to find a recipe, tailor it to our eating habits and create something delicious.  One thing that does get to me, however, is the amount of 'diet recipe' pins that consist of ingredients that are awful for you.  Lots of non-fat dairy this, and diet soda that.  To keep my food rant to a minimum and as a rule of thumb: 'non-fat' = sugar added to make up for loss in flavor from fat and 'diet' = chemical crap-storm. Drinking diet soda is like smoking 'low tar' cigarettes: not any healthier. And like smoking, the best thing to do is quit.  Stay away from this stuff; it's not good for you and, for me, exacerbates tummy troubles.  

One thing that took me a long time to realize when we changed how we eat was this: forget about trying to find packaged or pre-made foods that fit our healthy, whole foods eating plan. And contrary to what most people think, meals made of whole foods don't take any longer to make than throwing a frozen lasagna in the oven for 45 minutes.  Many of my meals take much less time, in fact. I wanted to therefore share what my refrigerator looks like and what a typical shopping trip brings home.

My refrigerator, as I've joked before on Facebook, looks like a mini-produce stand.  I like to keep everything open and accessible.  I take baby oranges and carrots out of their bags and cut the top of the strawberry and grape clam shell packages off for easy grab-n-go snacking.  And I buy a lot of these easy snacks because, lets face it, who has become unhealthy from eating too many fruits and veggies? Plus, fruits and veggies fill you up better than any bread or cookie-based snack ever could. Win-win in my book.

I've also used clear drawer divider bins from Bed, Bath and Beyond (they are cheaper than the refrigerator ones and achieve the same result) to make everything look 'pretty'.  When things look nice and organized they also look more appetizing.  It's all about presentation folks.  Each week when I get home from shopping I toss anything that has gone off and wipe out the bottom shelves and bins.  And, yes, the bottom-most shelf is where the 'beer drawer' used to be, but I got rid of it and use it as added storage.  I don't like drawers in general - if I can't see it, I will forget about it, and forgotten fruit/veggies are not a pretty sight once they are remembered a week after they should have been. Ew.

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A typical Monday shopping 'haul'.  Very little meat protein and lots of fruits and veg. The cans in the right-hand photo are Alaskan salmon - emergency protein I take for lunches when left-overs are not available.

                                                                         

Costco is my go-to and fantastic for large packages of fruits, salads, and meats.  Not everything is available here in an organic option, however. More recently I have limited my shopping at Costco to only organics and those foods that are on the 'clean 15 list' and I get the remaining items on my list in the organic sections of either Whole Foods, Fred Meyer or my local Red Apple.

All in all my message is this: eat clean. Get it out of your mind that you are going to find packaged or processed foods taste good and are truly healthful. There are exceptions to this that are tasty, but they are expensive and hard to find.  Stick to the stuff that nature has provided, your tummy will thank you.

A Day In My Lunchbox

So I am super mad that daylight savings is making us 'spring forward' on Sunday. Ugh. That means that 5:30am will now really be 4:30am and the morning light that has been so amazing the last few weeks will be gone.  'Daylight Savings: plunging you back into darkness since the 1970's'. Jerk.

I also hate holiday cookies.  We had some in the office this past week and after everyone had their one cookie, the remaining cooks just sat there.  Staring at me. 'Eat Me' might as well have been written on each one.  These weren't crappy, tasteless sugar cookies, no, these were shamrock shaped shortbread cookies with colored sugar sprinkles.  I caved and had one. My lame-a$$ justification?: it was super-busy and I needed calories (and I forgot part of my snack from home).  All that sugar put my system in overload.  My heart was pounding and my head started hurting almost immediately. I instantly regretted that damn cookie.

Fast forward two days: still some cookies remained.  Staring.  Beckoning. I obsessed over them. Reached for one more than twice. Must. Resist. Sugary deliciousness! I was in Hell. See, I love sweets. LOVE. Mix that love with low self control and it's a recipe for disaster (believe me, that's where the 30 pounds I've worked so hard to lose - and keep off - came from in the first place!).  I was relieved to find that some office saint took the cookies away. Sweet, sweet relief. I can live to hate holiday cookies one more day.

That all being told I wanted to share with the world (or whoever reads these) what I actually do eat on a daily basis at work. Below is a picture of all the food I pack with me for the 8 hour work day.

From left to right: oranges and an egg, grapes, maple candied nuts, banana, morning juice, leftovers.  These containers are from Safeway but are NOT leak-proof.  I have since recycled these and purchased a set of locking containers from Costco.

First, I make myself a juice.  My morning juice consists of grapefruit, strawberries and carrots.  I drink this during my drive in to work (6:30 am) and throughout the morning until my first snack.  

Around 9am I take my first break and crack open my 4 oz container of maple candied nuts and a largish bunch of grapes.  Not pictured is my huge Nalgene bottle of water I tow with me that I crack open once my juice is gone - usually around this time.

I take my lunch break when I am next hungry. I don't think daytime meals should be planned. You should eat when you feel you need it.  I usually make an extra serving of dinner and take that with me for lunch as leftovers, but if I didn't make enough I will take a can of salmon with some Trader Joe's Everyday Seasoning sprinkled on top.  Lunch also has a banana. I love bananas.

My last work break is met with a hard-boiled egg and two Cutie's oranges (I get these at Costco and they are by far the easiest to peel).  I am still figuring out how to hard boil eggs.  Mine are never over-cooked, but I can't figure out how to get the inner membrane to separate from the white of the egg!  Makes for messy, hard peeling. Annoying. Tasty, but annoying.

I realize this looks disgusting, but it is actually the highlight of my day. Soooo tasty.

When I get home I have another banana (told you I love bananas) with a few tablespoons of Adam's crunchy peanut butter and organic maple syrup. We eat a ton of peanut butter and I get mine at Costco.  I love that the ingredients of Adam's are peanuts and trace amounts of salt. That's it. Yum.

All this will hold me over until dinner.  I have no idea how many calories it all is nor do I care.  Like I said: I eat when I'm hungry, stop when I'm satisfied (not 'full') and I know I am eating good, whole foods because I made/shopped for them. One thing I try to remember is to eat a protein with each snack whether it be nuts, meat, or egg.  This helps with my energy levels and keeping me satisfied longer.  

I am not a nutritionist and I imagine eating the same foods everyday is not ideal, but I leave it to dinner to mix up my meat and veggie intake and I am a creature of habit (most of the time) and love not having to think about what to take to work for lunch especially when I'm in grog-mode in the mornings!

Take care!
Kel

Turkey Tacos

I'm starting to get nervous about Sunday's 15k! Eek!  'Should I change what I listen to? Should I run faster than I have been?' Ah, race anxiety, how I've missed you...says no one. Ever.

I took one for the team today both out of kindness and curiosity.  My boss brought me a tub of garlic tahini kale from Whole Foods this afternoon. I've always eyeballed the stuff but shied away from lack of knowledge/experience with tahini.  As a result of this simple act of generosity I pondered a few things : 1) You should never turn down a food 'gift' because of food sensitivities: that's just rude.  The act of giving/receiving is far greater than any tummy ache 2) Garlic tahini is delicious but has soy in it 3) I will find a way to make my own at home. Stay tuned.

I chewed all of my fingernails off the other day (I know, gross, but let me get to the point). Now looking at my hands is almost surreal because I see my grandmother's hands.  Oh, I loved her hands. I remember how I  used to stare at them.  She probably thought I was weird, but I'm glad I have that part of me as a reminder of her.                                                                             Just quietly, I'm pretty sure I'd seen her chew her nails a time or two.

Now for the food.  I had sort of an 'aha' moment in Costco a little while ago where I was wanting make tacos, but not with the tortilla then it hit me: taco lettuce wraps!  I surf my fair share of Pinterest and had seen people doing their versions of the P.F. Chang's lettuce wraps, and decided this would be my paleo answer to my taco craving. I must tell you: these taco's were amazing.  I can't wait to make them again!

Start by simmering some sliced garlic and red chili flakes in a skillet over medium heat until fragrant...

...add some chopped carrot, onion, and whatever else you think would be delish in a taco...

...add salt, more olive oil if needed (I need a bit more sometimes because I don't use non-stick pans)...

..saute until the carrots are tender and the onions are almost transparent.

While waiting for the onions and carrots, I acted like Rachel Ray and multitasked my way through some poblano pepper and fresh cilantro.

I added half a package of ground turkey for this meal (this is a whole package, I know, but I wanted to show what it is I'm working with. Gosh!) but you can add more if you need.

Brown up the turkey; stirring occasionally...

I add these spices to my tacos.  I read the back of a 'taco seasoning' packet once and this was the gist of it: chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika.  I find that the convenience packets of seasonings contain 'unwanted's' like whey powder. Get out of here whey, you aren't wanted. 

Once the turkey is browned add in the pepper and cilantro and mix it in and turn the burner to low.  You don't want to keep cooking the mix too much further.

 (Never mind the mess I made on the stove, I'm a sloppy stirrer)

To finish, I peeled apart some romaine heart leaves, washed them and used them as a crunchy, awesome vehicle for my taco-y goodness.

Oh, and I swear I will start working on my camera skills.  They are abysmal.