Queen Of Left Overs Goes Lenticular Lovin'

 

 

 

Our beautiful daughter graduates from high school this spring, and we couldn't be happier!

This coming fall we will be empty nesters, scary but quite exciting.

So when a child graduates in our house we take them on a family vacation of their choice, we took our son to Hawaii for his senior trip. 

Our daughter wasn't sure where she wanted to go, I quickly suggested Bermuda, Barbados...you get the drift. In the end she chose Washington State.

Really?

At first I wasn't impressed. It's still chilly up there even in the summer...right?

I started a Pinterest board and began pinning everything that looked exciting to do in the state.

I am now an official Lenticular Cloud junkie.

It is my greatest wish to see a UFO looking cloud parked right over Mt.Rainier.

Everyone else has an equally interesting thing they want to see or do out of the trip, my daughter wants to go to a huge music festival called The Sasquatch Festival, my husband wants to whale watch, and our son is hoping to be back from his internship in Brussels in time to make the trip.

I have really kicked up my walking and treadmill time so that I can haul my booty around Washington's mountains and forests without puking and slowing everyone down.

We are now on super budget crunch down trying to save for this trip.

No more eating out and I am making sure that we eat everything in our fridge, with next to no waste at all. No one is happy about this arrangement, none of us are fans of leftovers, but with some creativity I have been making it work.

 

 

 

One of our staples every week is pureed cauliflower. We eat it as a side dish, like mashed potatoes.

When it is the next day I like to bake it on parchment paper by spoonful's, it reminds me of tater tots. When my cauliflower is thin I reminds me more of little potato pancakes, a perfect side dish for any meat. This night I wanted to use it completely different. I scraped the container of leftover cauliflower into a sauce pan, put about a cup and a half of water in the container and shook it around to loosen the puree and poured that in the pan too. I added a 1/4 cup of heavy cream, salted and peppered it. Once it was warm I poured it in our bowls and generously doused it with bacon and a bit of cheese.

Awesome.

Best thing I have had in a while.

 

 

 

This lunch is all left overs. If you take a closer peek at my blueberries, they are a tad sketchy. But if there isn't mold on something I'm going to eat it. No waste!

My hard cooked eggs were a day away from being trash so I mixed them with carrot shreds (which we add to everything) celery, a small amount of Caesar dressing, pistachios, a little cheddar, and lots of spices.

My cookies are made from a boat load of leftovers and are perfectly Paleo/Primal.

I had made some medjool date paste (soak the dates in water, remove seed, and whiz in the food processor-it is almost like carmel and is a natural sugar source) that I needed to use so I decided on these cookies.

 

 

After I blended the almonds down to flour, I threw everything else in the food processor and whizzed it together.

 

 

 

Ready in two seconds!

 

 

 

Dropped by spoonful onto parchment paper.

 

 

 

Baked for twelve minutes and they were ready to enjoy with breakfast lunch or dinner.

 

Gluten Free Paleo / Primal Anytime Cookies:

 

1/4 cup mejoohl date paste

2 tbsp. of honey

1-2 ripe bananas (depends if yours are small or big)

1/2 cup almond flour (grind my own)

1/2 almond butter (grind my own)

1 egg

1 tsp. of vanilla

1tbsp. of pumpkin pie spice (optional)

1/2 tsp. of baking powder

dash of salt

 

 

I mixed everything together in the food processor till blended and creamy.

Dropped by spoonful onto parchment paper (I did like them better smoothed out into cookie shape)

Baked in a 350 degree oven for 10/12 minutes.

Enjoy anytime of the day!

 

 

  

 

In the mean time I am going to keep planning our trip and hoping to see a sight like this!



Thoughts Of Spring and Peanut Butter Puffs

My little dog's face says it all.
We are sick of winter here in the Midwest, it truly seems like there is no end in sight, and it's March already!!
I look at our pictures of the trip to Hawaii everyday, and then grumble as I watch Hawaii Life on HGTV. My poor husband who can not move his job (ever) has to listen to this almost daily...
"What if we sold everything!? What if I said I could live in a tent on the beach?! Can we go then?"
He just shakes his head and sighs.
With one kid in college and the other going in the fall, it seems like the perfect time to escape Ohio.
If I never saw another snow flake again, I am pretty sure I would be perfectly content.
But as he reminds me, those kids still need us. It would be impossible to hop a thousand dollar, six hour flight several times a year, just so I could be happy.
Oh well...I will try and suck it up and not whine as much at being stuck in the snowy tundra.
For that I will need chocolate...several times a day.
I usually don't mind our primal breakfasts of eggs, bacon, and spinach. It's my favorite meal.
My eighteen year old daughter on the other hand is sick of it. She wants me to buy her gluten free cereals instead. If you look on the box of that cereal the truth is there, carbs, sugars, and all manner of chemicals and crap.
So I decided to search Pinterest for Primal/Paleo cereal recipes. Most of them appealed to me, but I would love soaked nuts ground into a porridge with fruit and almond milk!
The kid, not so much.
I did find a recipe for Primal Reece's Peanut Butter Puffs, halleluiah, it sounded awesome!
This is a simple and primal recipe, it turned out perfectly...on my second batch.
The trick to these little buggers is the cooking time, the recipe I tried said to cook them on 375 for 10 minutes. That resulted in black little balls of nasty ash. Completely inedible. 
The second batch I cooked at 350 for 3 minutes, perfection!
These are tasty, not too sweet, and do not fall apart in the almond milk.
I love them!
There is a problem.
Rolling out the dough into blueberry size balls was awful. I think next time I make these I will roll the dough between wax paper until it is thin and then cut into square shapes, making flakes of cereal.
It has to take less time!

The puff balls nicely rolled into blueberry size.

Primal Peanut Butter Puffs:


1/2 cup almond flour (I grind my almonds myself)
1/2 cup of nut butter (I used chunky kind, that is why you see the nut chunks)
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
2 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. coconut oil or ghee (melted)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. sea salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350
Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir together
make into balls or roll flat and cut into flake shapes
Bake for three minutes (your oven might take longer)
Let cool completely before serving

These are a great treat to have when you just can not face another morning of eggs (and snow!).
I hope you try this primal cereal and enjoy it too!

Snow Snow Go Away Don't Come Again Another Day

It's been snowing in Ohio...since November.
The year I started my blog it was the mildest winter we had had in decades, this year has been the coldest and most snow filled we have had in years. Ugh!
That my friends makes me a tiny bit crazier than I am during the spring, summer, and fall. It also makes me want to curl up in a ball under mounds of blankets and hibernate.
I have not gotten off my rather big butt in almost a month.
Every day I say to myself that I will hop on the treadmill or pop in a DVD. Does it happen? 
No.
I find another excuse to sit in my chair or snuggle with my little dog Jackie in my bed.  I still eat very well, but my weight never budges. I might have even gained a few pounds.
Sigh...I must make myself move more!

 

My breakfasts are always Primal and include spinach.

My lunch / dinner always includes protein, spinach, and fruit.

 

I'm lazy right now so there is not much cooking going on, but when I do it is usually already something that I am good at making.

Spaghetti squash along with cauliflower are my go to side dishes. 

This week it was squashes turn, and I made a chicken, artichoke, and spaghetti squash casserole along with a pesto parmesan side dish. These are perfect to make and freeze ahead of time.

I do need a treat, almost everyday.

I have been trying to make something that uses whole ingredients, and not just pure sugar.

I went back to an old favorite, Primal Protein Bars.

I have blogged about them before, and these are a favorite of even my picky daughter.

They are quick and easy to whip up with a heavy duty food processor (since they are super sticky) and curb even the worst sweet cravings.

1 pound of whole pitted prunes

1 cup of raw almond meal (I pulse the almonds down until I have a cup of meal, not flour)

1/2 cup of flax seed meal (I buy mine at Costco)

1/2 cup of cocoa powder (I use dark)

2 tbsp honey

3 tbsp of chunky almond butter or peanut butter

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (I used mini since they disperse nicely through each bar)

I pulse everything together in the food processor, press into a wax paper covered brownie pan (with a piece of wax paper under my hand-these are sticky!) and set in the fridge (covered with wax paper) for one to two hours until chilled throughout. I use a very long serrated knife to cut into bar shapes, wrap in smaller pieces of wax paper, and keep in a Tupperware container in the fridge. 

They really help when your mind says cookies, brownies, and ice cream!! You can grab one of these and stay healthier.

Jack and I are going to stay warm for now and maybe exercise (crossing my fingers).

Next time, I have a recipe for blueberry maple breakfast sausage. They are super tasty and perfect with any meal.

Primal Sweet Potato Chips And A Hot Cook

This was me yesterday, lookin' smokin' as I slaved over a hot stove.
Well...to be honest I didn't want to frighten my teenagers into therapy so I wore a sweatshirt and jeans...but in my mind I am starting to feel a bit sexier.
Losing close to forty pounds does that to a girl.
Yesterday was 'Cooking Day'. The day where I make a large load of protein and Primal snacks to hold the kids for the week.

First I made eight pieces of chicken.
I cooked them low and slow on the stove top in coconut oil and spices.
These always stay moist and flavorful in the fridge, ready to be chopped on a salad or tossed into a stir fry or even eaten on a cheddar biscuit.

Then I froze coconut milk yogurt into discs for the smoothies that we make for the kids and their friends.
I was worried about getting the discs out after they were frozen, but if you put the bottom of the pan in a tiny bit of warm water they loosen up enough to pull them right out.
I toss them in a plastic container in the freezer to be used at a moments notice.

Next I baked up the nitrate free bacon for the week.
I bake it at 350 for about fifteen minutes and then pat it dry and store it in the freezer.

That way the kids can pull out a few pieces and warm them up in a paper towel for 30 seconds.
I also get a nice jar of bacon squeezin's from it to use for stir fries and other dishes.

Primal Sweet Potato Chips

The last thing I made was the first to disappear completely! Primal Sweet Potato Chips.
I never wanted one of those small fryers in our house.
We were super fat and in no way needed to be frying our foods, but since going Primal and using mainly coconut oil, I bowed to my husband and son's wishes and bought us a very small Presto fryer.
It took $8 worth of coconut oil to fill it to the full mark, but man...was it worth it!!
Those chips were better than anything I have ever had chip-wise.
Not greasy in the least and super full of flavor.
It hardly used any of the oil at all!
Since my kids don't drink coffee (which is where I get most of my coconut oil in) I am happy they are getting a bit of it this way.

Primal Sweet Potato Chips

• heat your fryer with the coconut oil to 330 degrees
• slice your potato slim (we used the food processor)
• lay the slices out on paper towels and press hard to get the moisture out
• fill the basket 1/4 full and lower into the oil, slowly
• we separated them with a knife so they all floated individually, not touching
• let cook for 6-7 minutes
• lift basket out and toss them on a paper towel covered cookie sheet
• we separated them again and gave a sprinkle of salt

These might be the best chips I have ever eaten.
I hope you try this recipe and love these healthy chips too!

Gluten Free Primal Cheddar Crackers And A Feeling Of Relief

Hello Monday!
I lost more weight...and inches!
I could not feel better, physically or mentally.
It is an amazing feeling to have so much energy and not be a slave to food.
I just wish I could have learned how to live this way when I was in my twenties instead of my forties.
I won't look back...only forward. I can't change the past and get back all those years I hated myself for being so fat and out of control, I keep looking forward to a brighter healthier future.
I've still been a little worried about only eating once a day.
It feels so right, but convention and nutritionists say that it's wrong.
I would hate to be harming my body or metabolism eating this way, but man...I feel great!
So this weekend I took more time to read what other people had to say about this, were other people eating once a day and thriving or were they going crazy?
I found account after account of people who had been eating one healthy meal a day...for years.
They felt clearer headed, had more energy, slept like champs, and had lost all the weight they needed to or were holding their main weight rock steady.
Almost every single one was eating like I do...a meat, a bunch of veggies, a fat, a fruit, and complex carbs like sweet potatoes or such.
Relief! I was not the only one!
I do have to say that anyone who is eating a SAD (Standard American Diet) would have a hard time eating only once a day.
I know I never could have.
If I went so long as three hours without food I was a bear and my head hurt.
The sugars and the simple carbs are just as addicting in your body as a narcotic, they might kill you slower than heavy duty drugs, but kill you they will.
My kids on the other hand still eat three meals a day, plus some snacks!
This weekend my daughter requested something crunchy-salty to take to the Hunger Games Premiere last Thursday at midnight. I quickly made up a batch of my Primal Cheddar Crackers.
These taste amazing and really hit the spot for that crunchy-salty craving.

Primal Cheddar Crackers

• 1/2 cup of coconut flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons of grass fed butter
• 1 1/2 cup of organic cheddar cheese

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Blend all ingredients together until they are well combined.

These never came together as a batter so I squish it into 3 same size balls.

Put one ball on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Place another piece of parchment paper on top of mixture and use a rolling pin to thinly spread it out. Gently pull off the parchment paper.

Score with a pizza cutter into cracker shapes.

Bake crackers for 10+ minutes, but keep and eye on them as they go from brown to burnt quickly.

Take the crackers out of the oven and score them with a pizza cutter again as the cheese melts it all back together again.
Repeat with the two other balls.

We love these crackers and they come out consistently well every time.

I hope you try this recipe and enjoy it as much as we do!

Tasty Twisted Smoothie Time

We have the threat of a tornado today here in Cincinnati.
I lived through a huge tornado back in the 1970's when I was a little girl, so I have a healthy respect for the damage and terror they can cause.
Because of that, once the threat from one is announced I have a little plan I put into effect to keep my family ready to run for the basement quickly.
First I grab two large laundry baskets and throw the following in: Shoes for everyone, jacket for each of us, box of candles and matches (I keep it on a shelf in the laundry room), wind up radio, wind up flashlight, bottle of water for each of us (even the cat and dog), snacks, the bag we keep our flash drives in (has family photos and important financial information on them), the dog's leash, a dish for water for them, and their snacks (dried beef liver), purses, and the video camera.
The other basket gets all of our laptops.
I put these right by the basement door so they can be grabbed as we run down.
It takes me fifteen minutes to gather everything into the baskets...that would be fifteen minutes we might not get once the sirens sound.
Once everything was in the baskets, I made myself a filling primal lunch.

Tasty Twisted Smoothie

I made this yummy peanut butter, chocolate, banana, and frozen yogurt smoothie. That's a lot of words...so I named it the tasty twisted smoothie. Here are the ingredients.

Tasty Twisted Smoothie:

1 cup of almond milk
2 whole frozen bananas
1/3 cup of almond or peanut butter
4 tablespoons of coco powder
1 frozen container of yogurt (I use the full fat coconut milk kind~dairy and soy free ~ I freeze these in muffin tins and them keep them in a box in the freezer till I need them. One container of yogurt makes two muffin tins of frozen. I use two frozen pucks of the yogurt in the smoothie.


In a blender add the cup of almond milk and the frozen yogurt pucks, blend till smooth
Next add one frozen banana and blend till smooth
Add the peanut butter and coco powder and blend again
Lastly add the next banana and blend till thick and creamy

This is one filling smoothie!

Tuscan Turkey Burger

I also had made Tuscan Turkey Burgers a few days before, so I put one under the broiler after I had added some pesto and Kerry Gold Sharp Cheddar Cheese on top.

Here is the recipe for juicy Tuscan Turkey Burgers...

2 pounds ground turkey
1/4 cup basil flavored olive oil
1/2 cup flaked Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon garlic
1 tablespoon rosemary
1/2 cup shredded fresh spinach leaves

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl, and form into patties.
Pan fry or cook on the grill till juices run clear.

I store these in the fridge to have for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

I hope you try one of these recipes and enjoy them as much as we do.


UPDATE:
I have heard there was loss of life and terrible damage from the storms that hit today.
My heart and prayers go out to everyone involved and their families.
God bless them in their recovery.

Krispity Krunchity Kale

This happens to me less and less now that I have been Primal eating for six weeks.
But...it still happens.
I know I could have a square or two of dark chocolate to satisfy that craving dancing around in my head ,but I am trying to hold out...just to see if I can.
Because in the past...I never could.
I would start out on Monday morning full of energy and renewed faith in myself that THIS would be the magic week that I could stay on program...to not mess up...to exercise everyday.
It never happened.
After three failed attempts at Weight Watchers, twice on Jenny Craig, and some other silly things...one being a weight loss over the counter drug that gave me a life threatening blood clot...you think I would have learned my lesson and just give up.
I had.
But watching my mom in the hospital those days really hit me hard. The hospital was where I was going to end up.
Sooner rather than later.
I shoved that chocolate bar out of my head and started thinking of what I could eat that was the anti-chocolate.
If I could be satisfied by something so far away from what chocolate is...and represents...then I would feel like a winner...stronger than that 'old' me who caved easily.
So what is the ani-chocolate?
Leafy...dark green...fibrous...Kale!
I hate kale.
Well...I had never tried kale before...because it was green...gross.
It smelled really...green.
But so many people on the Primal and Paleo blogs love it, rave about it's vitamin and mineral content.
They cook it, steam it, and even put it in smoothies.
Good gosh! How desperate do you have to be to put kale in your smoothie...ack!
The only recipe I was willing to try with kale right now is the baked kale chips.
Seasoned, salted, and baked to crisp nothingness.
I took a recipe from Pinterest for kale chips and gave it my own spin.
I love them.
How weird is that? How much my palate has changed since December? Bunches!
I keep a bowl of kale chips sitting on our kitchen island next to the bowl of Primal Crackers.
When that chocolate bar comes running at me...I run to the kitchen and munch on these spicy chips till I have won.
I am stronger than chocolate...who knew?!

Spicy Kale Chips

Here is the recipe...

1 bunch of Kale (rinsed and patted dry)

1/8 cup Olive Oil (I used Chili to give it some kick)

Handful of spices and seasonings (I used Kelp sprinkles and Italian Herbs)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Rinse and pat dry the Kale.

Tear it into bite sized pieces and place in a large bowl.

Toss it with the Olive Oil and spices.

Spread it out on a lined baking pan.

Bake for 8-20 minutes (ovens vary, so watch it closely, you want it crispy not burned)

Store in an open container.

I hope you try a new whole food soon and love it too.

Primal Crackers Save The Day...again and again and again...

I goofed off yesterday...a lot.
Generally in Ohio February does not look like the picture above. Snow, sleet, and rain are the usual sights when setting foot outdoors, but yesterday was 63 and sunny!
I was a really bad girl cutting out of work early and heading for the park with my little dog Jack, but who could resist that blue sky and warm breeze? Not me.
Sharon Woods is a lovely park with rolling pathways around a fair sized lake. There are also paths that lead to a rocky water way and is where I took my son's senior pictures this fall.

Not bad, if I do say so myself.
The problem was I didn't give myself time to get dinner going, so it was a left over night.
Being newly Primal I try to keep proteins within easy reach for any kid or husband who opens the fridge.
They lack imagination on what to grab that is good for them.
My son wants something to crunch on and my daughter misses her chips and salsa. My husband misses his wheat thins to dip in his Cowboy Caviar *shudder*(that stuff is gross!)
So last night I quickly made up a batch of my Primal crackers, to help satisfy every need.
My husband was able to crunch these up in his 'leftover' chicken soup.
My daughter had Primal crackers and salsa for dinner (teens are weird).
My son had 'leftover' spaghetti squash casserole and used the crackers to dip it up with.
These crackers are always on the counter now, waiting to satisfy a crunchy need, or just a quick snack.

Primal Crackers:

1 cup almond flour (1/2 cup of dry roasted almonds makes 1 cup flour)
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup ground flax meal
1 egg (if the mix is too dry and not staying together at all, add one more egg)
1/8 cup of olive oil or coconut oil
salt and any other spices you would like (I throw a handful of spices in, makes the flavor amazing)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
Mix everything together in a large bowl with a big spoon, then squish it together in a ball with your hands.
Put between parchment paper and roll out to the thickness you desire. (we like them thinner)
Use a pizza cutter to make them into cracker shapes.
Bake on the parchment for 12-14 minutes (ovens vary, so watch them for the crispness you like)

I always make a double batch since they tend to disappear quickly in our house.
Hope your day today is sunny and makes you smile :)

I call them Frozen Banana Bites...my kids call them something new to fight over.

We were out of dessert...God forbid...it happened without me knowing about it.

The whining and sad faces were terrible.

The teens must have dessert. A left over feeling from our pasta and macaroni and cheese days.

I always had something sweet ready for after dinner, and if not, we went out for ice cream.

Now with our Primal way of life, I am just not as hungry anymore and my sweet tooth has lessened considerably.

But I am not eighteen or sixteen, and they still have that need...sweet needs.

So I hopped on Pinterest and looked through my Primal board to see if anything looked quick.

This recipe had three ingredients and looked like it could do the trick.

I made them and after about fifteen minutes in the deep freeze they were ready.

Oh my Lord.

These tasted just like a frozen ice cream bonbon. The banana inside had frozen up to taste much like smooth ice cream. My kids were elated, my husband...well...I kept catching him sneak into the freezer drawer...even in the morning!

I hope your family enjoys them too.

2 Large bananas cut into chunks

1/3 cup of dark chocolate broken into pieces

1/4 cup of natural almond butter

Place the chocolate and almond butter in a glass bowl and microwave for one minute.

Stir rapidly till it is melted together and smooth.

Dip the bananas in the chocolate and place on parchment paper over a cookie tray.

Place in freezer for fifteen minutes or overnight.

Enjoy!