Month: July 2016

This Week with Our Paleo Family – July 26

Hey there! I hope you are finding a way to stay cool in your little corner of the world. Or maybe you live someplace that is naturally cool. We are envious, if that’s the case. I know it is summer time and we should not complain, but it seems we’ve been experiencing a more mild spring and summer in North Carolina, so now that the typical summer heat and humidity is rearing it’s ugly head, we are not happy. Just a few short months until fall. That’s what I keep repeating to myself, anyway.

To help beat the heat, we have been enjoying some super simple dinners. Lots of salads, quickly grilled meats or simple scrambled eggs. I just don’t feel like standing over the stove for hours or having the oven on very long.

One of those quick dinners recently were these Chicken BLT Lettuce Wraps. Think all the fresh, crisp flavors of a BLT, but with chicken (complete meal) and wrapped in lettuce instead of bread (paleo friendly!). This one is almost AIP as well. If you can tolerate egg (it’s in the mayonnaise) then it’s AIP compliant for you.

chicken blt wraps

We also whipped up a delicious summer dessert with blueberries and peaches. It’s full of antioxidants so it’s ok to consider this health food. 🙂

DSC_4158

There are a couple more new recipes since I last sent an update: sweet potato meatza and fish sticks. I’ve been trying to find ways to get more fish into our diets without breaking the bank, and about the only way to do that is with canned fish. We usually buy wild caught, Alaskan salmon in 15 oz. cans and it costs a mere quarter of the price of fresh. Of course, we have to whip it into something yummy to make it taste as good as the fresh stuff. Hence these fish sticks. Make a big batch and freeze some for quick lunches and dinners down the road. I made these live for the KidCasts channel on Facebook. Head over there to watch the video. The video starts out sideways (boy, were we dizzy!) but a few minutes in, it straightens out. Facebook live is kind of wacky sometimes. So sorry about that.

fish sticks

The sweet potato meatza is my latest paleo pizza creation. I combined a sweet potato crust and meat crust to make the most delicious hybrid crust. It’s a little sweet, still plenty savory, and so full of flavor you can absolutely leave off the cheese and still enjoy a great pizza dinner.

DSC_3686

Other happening in Our Paleo Family:

The cookie business is really taking off. We’re still for sale at Harmony Farms in North Raleigh. I did a demo there this past Saturday and got lots of great feedback. It’s fun to watch someone eat your food and go, “Mmmmmm….” and then take more samples! We sold quite a few as well, so that was nice.

The undeniable favorite of all my varieties were the molasses gingerbread. Close second were the paleo baklava with pecans and walnuts. These two are my favorites as well, so it’s nice to know my tastes are in line with that the customers liked! You can order some cookies delivered straight to your door by clicking here.

**Bonus! The cookies are all on sale right now so here’s your chance to grab some at a great price! 

The holiday recipe e-book is still in the works. I’ve finished all the recipe development now and am working on getting everything written up. My goal is still to have this available by early fall. But–school starts next week for this homeschooling family so my work hours are about to be cut a bit. None of us are particularly excited to get back to school right now, but we have to start early  in order to be able to take the breaks we want/need throughout the year.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have a comment, question, concern, or suggestion, I’d love to hear it. Are you making any of these recipes? What do you think? Writing recipes is a tricky business and I try to write in a way that is easy to understand, but I’m sure everything doesn’t come across as clearly as I hope all the time. This blog is for you and I want it to be helpful.

I’ll end on a sweet note today:

IMG_4721

I mean the cute kiddos and the donuts! Mom confession: I served my children donuts for lunch today. There was not side of kale or beets. Just donuts. Dusted with lots of sugar. They’ve been begging for me to try gluten free donuts for a long time and today I bit the bullet. I’m happy to say they were not hard (though took a little time), the dough was really nice to work with and they were YUMMY!

May your days be sweet!

PastedGraphic-4

FREE Cookie Samples Tomorrow, July 23rd

If you’re in Raleigh tomorrow, July 23rd, come on out to Harmony Farms in North Raleigh (5653 Creedmoor Rd, 27612). I’ll be there from 11-2 handing out samples of my new paleo cookies. Come visit, sample some cookies and take home some sweet treats for your sweeties! I’d love to see you!

I’ll have chocolate chip, molasses gingerbread, baklava (yes, paleo baklava!) and my new summer sugar cookies. They’ll make you hungry for the beach. Or maybe just more cookies. 🙂

DSC_4223

DSC_3799DSC_3787
DSC_3778 (1)

Facebook Live in just a few minutes!

Hey friends,

I’ll be live on Facebook/KidCasts in just a few minutes – 7:30 to be exact. Please tune in!

Tonight we have “kids in the kitchen.” Yes, I’m cooking with my kiddos tonight, making some paleo-ish treats:

Remember, if you can’t watch live, the video will be up on Facebook.com/KidCasts for you to watch later.

Facebook Live Show Tonight!

Hey folks, if you ever wondered how in the world you’re supposed to eat paleo and stick to a budget, tune in tonight for a Facebook Live show over at KidCasts where that’s all I’ll be talking about.

I’ll make fish sticks, homemade mayonnaise, tartar sauce and kale salad, all while filling you in on my best money saving tips.

I hope you can tune in. If you can’t watch live, just go to Facebook.com/KidCasts to watch the video later.

Hope to see you tonight!

PastedGraphic-4

What We Ate Wednesday, July 6

Hey, there! You might see a lot of posts from me in the coming days because my family has deserted me. And I don’t mean they’ve given me yummy desserts. I mean they’re off to various camps (even my husband) so with an absence of actual people around here to talk to, I’m talking to you. I guess technically, I’m talking to myself since I can’t see you, but I do imagine that I’m talking to you.

After discussing it with myself for a while, I decided it was time for another What We Ate Wednesday post. Why don’t I choose one of these posts for a week when we’ve eaten at home every meal and I’ve made extravagant dishes? Because that’s not real life, that’s why!

Here’s what meal time has looked like for us this past week:

Wednesday, June 29th
DSC_4016

Slow roasted lamb shanks, primal spanakopita (there’s cheese in there so it’s not paleo), cucumber and tomato salad

I’ve been busy lately cooking for the ebook that’s coming out this fall. Almost all of the recipes have been created now and I am currently in the process of writing them up and editing. My goal is to have this to you by mid-September because my first “holiday” is fall. I don’t know about you, but I am so ready for our hot and sticky summers to end. We definitely celebrate fall around here like it’s right up there with Thanksgiving and Easter. One of our favorite activities in the fall is visiting the Greek Festival and eating and eating and eating. We can’t eat those foods anymore thoug so I set out to remake all our favorites. That’s where this lamb shank and spanakopita come in. These recipes alone will be worth the price of the book!

Thursday, June 30th

Wednesday night I did my first Facebook live show over at Facebook.com/KidCasts. I’m trying to get the video up here, but having some difficulties. You can check it out at KidCasts though. And my next show will be next Wednesday at 8 PM so please tune in for that. The topic: budget paleo!

So for dinner tonight, we ate what I cooked the night before: citrus glazed chicken thighs, sautéed veggies and white rice.

DSC_1964

Friday, July 1st

The kids did their end of school year presentations to their grandparents tonight so we had a family dinner. I try really hard to keep the meals simple when I’m entertaining. I want to enjoy my guests. I do what I can ahead of time and otherwise try to keep things quick and easy. Tonight we had:

grilled burgers with bacon and mushrooms, plantain buns (same as plantain chips, just bigger), grilled zucchini and broccoli, watermelon and this amazing apple galette (basically a pie made flat rather than in a pie pan). Recipe coming soon for the apple galette.

IMG_8094

DSC_4031

Saturday, July 2nd

I needed to feed my boys well before they left for Boy Scout camp so I made one of their favorites: Eastern style BBQ pork, cole slaw, fruit and some leftover bacon queso dip (recipe will be in the ebook). Sorry I don’t have a picture of this one. Here’s the coleslaw. 🙂 And the queso dip. Soooo good!

IMG_7542

DSC_3984

Sunday, July 3rd

Just me and my girl for dinner tonight. I gave her some choices of restaurants and she chose Wendy’s. She eats the grilled chicken wrap without the tortilla and a vanilla frosty with french fries dipped in it! She swears it’s delicious. Children are weird.

At Wendy’s, I always order the half size apple pecan chicken salad and a junior burger without the bun. The salad is almost enough for me, but I always want a little more protein, which is why I get the burger.

Wendy’s is definitely a contamination hazard if you have a serious gluten allergy, but we do fine with it on occasion.

Monday, July 4th

Didn’t cook today. Mom and dad took us out to a place they like that has a burger special on Mondays. I had a lettuce wrapped burger with tomato and mustard and steak fries on the side. Here’s my lesson learned on this particular day: I need to be more assertive in restaurants. I wanted the sautéed vegetables, but they said it was a mix of zucchini, peppers and onions. I really shouldn’t eat zucchini or peppers and because most restaurant salad contains some sort of preservative that makes me very sick, I went with the steak fries for my side. I’m sure they had another vegetable they could have prepared had I just asked. I will ask next time. Yes, I do love fries, but I don’t want to eat them very often. And when I do, I want to make sure they’re fried in a dedicated frier and definitely gluten free. These were not.

Tuesday, July 5th

Kate had wings Monday night so she ate those leftovers tonight. I have been working on a fish stick/nugget recipe so I ate those. Some were made with salmon, some with tuna. And homemade tartar sauce. Sautéed squash and mushrooms on the side. These fish sticks taste ok, but they’re kind of dry. You definitely need a dipping sauce. I’ll keep working on it. You’ll get the recipe when they’re just right.

DSC_4045

When the boys are gone, I cook really simply.

Looking back over this week, it appears I did really do it up in the kitchen. Those were some pretty elaborate meals for around here. This next week will be really simple with just us girls at home. It’s freeing, but at the same time, I miss cooking. I hopped into the kitchen just this afternoon after working on the ebook for a while, because I just NEEDED to cook something. I’m working on a sugar detox friendly granola. Not quite there yet, but I’m working on it.

I hope you enjoy this look at what we ate this past week and maybe find some inspiration for your own meals.

Don’t forget: Our Paleo Family cookies are now for sale in Raleigh, NC at Harmony Farms Natural Health Foods Store and directly from me through the website. Just visit this page to shop.

PastedGraphic-4