Month: January 2017

Super Bowl Recipe Roundup

Super Bowl LI (in case you’re not a Roman, that’s 51) is February 5th at 6:30 PM. The Atlanta Falcons will be playing the New England Patriots. And if football isn’t your thing, there will most certainly be quite a collection of bizarre, discussion-worthy commercials.

And even more importantly, there will be be food. As you start to plan what you will be preparing for your gathering or to take to someone else’s soiree, I wanted to give you a round-up of my favorite party foods.

New Cookbook

There is a whole chapter devoted to The Super Bowl in my book, Your Paleo Holiday. You can download the book right now through these links:

iTunes

Amazon

My Shop Page

Including the New Year’s Eve chapter, there are a total of 12 snack recipes in the book, plus 9 desserts. Here are some of them (if there’s a link, it’s a recipe you can get for free on the blog, if there isn’t a link, it’s only available in the book):

Paleo meatballs

Super Simple Teriyaki Wings and Hot Wings – You can even watch a video of me making these over on my YouTube Channel. Surprise – I used the Instant Pot!

Ranch Dressing/Dip

Bacon Cheese Dip with Plantain Chips – Fried or Baked

Stuffed Mushrooms

And there are lots more party appropriate food recipes free here on the website. Like these amazing sausage balls:

Pigs in Blankets

Mini Quiche Lorraine in Prosciutto Cups

Paleo “Shake and Bake” Chicken Nuggets

Tempura Shrimp – Paleo and AIP Options

Baby Back Ribs for Instant Pot or Paleo Low and Slow Baby Back Ribs

Heavenly Eggs – they’re not just for Easter! Everybody loves them and these made with bacon mayonnaise will disappear super fast!

Homemade Mayonnaise or Bacon Mayonnaise – you need this for a base for all sorts of dips and dressings

We’re trying really hard to curtail the sweet teeth around here, so we will not be serving any sort of cookies or cakes at our Super Bowl Party, but if you are not trying to follow any such ridiculous ideals, then here are some sweets recipes sure to please:

No one Will Know it’s Paleo Chocolate Cake with Almond “Buttercream” Frosting

Fudge Bars

Cake Pops– decorate in team colors

And LOTS more! Check the recipe page for a full list of recipes.

Last, but not least, If you have partying to do and don’t have time to cook, I can do it for you! Order any of my cookies by the dozen and have them delivered to your door. The only catch is that for delivery by Saturday, you’ll need to place your order by tomorrow, Wednesday, February 1st.

Shortbread in custom shapes. These are for Valentine’s Day, but footballs are certainly an option.
Better than Baklava. These are tied for first place with the molasses gingerbread for most popular. These do not last around here. If you miss baklava since going paleo, they are a must try!
Molasses Gingerbread: Chewy inside, crispy outside and just the right amount of spice. These are the perfect cookie.
If chocolate is your thing, this classic chocolate chip is, “better than gluten filled cookies.” That’s what I’m told all the time!

In case you’re wondering what’s on our menu this year, we will be having teriyaki wings, meatballs, sausage balls, an assortment of raw veggies with ranch dip, fresh fruit and mozzarella sticks. The picture below is last year’s version of the cheese sticks. It’s the best they’ve ever turned out, but there is still too much cheese oozing out. I’m working on that recipe and hopefully will get it to you soon! The sauce on the side is the same marinara sauce that comes from making the meatballs. It is SOOOOO rich and flavorful!

How are you planning to enjoy the Super Bowl? I’d love to know! And if you’re not into football at all and don’t care to watch, even for the silly commercials, then put out a picnic blanket, make some yummy food and have a family fun night. We’ve been really enjoying some old classics that are now on Netflix: The Parent Trap, the original Superman, and ET. It’s been fun to share these movies from my childhood with my kids. The kids absolutely love them! And bonus, they think we’re super cool because we watched these awesome movies when we were their age.

This Week with Our Paleo Family, January 28, 2017

Trunk Bay Beach
Photo Credit: Phil Comeau via Flickr

Hey Friends! What have you been up to this lovely month of January? We’ve had snow and 70 degree weather. Not on the same day, but close! It’s been a weird weather month, for sure.

How go the resolutions? Did you make food related resolutions? How’s it going? Have you been doing a Whole 30? Or a 21 Day Sugar Detox? If so, I’d love to hear how it went for you.

Around here, it’s been a crazy start to the year. Nothing out of the ordinary, but trying to stay a sane wife, mother, homeschool teacher and business owner has been a challenge.

Concerning that lovely picture above, I have not been in Trunk Bay, USVI, but I sure wish I had! Well, I have been there, but not recently. However, in the world of blogging, you’re always supposed to lead with a great picture, so that’s the one I chose for today.

If you read this New Year’s article, you read my plans for posting Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week. Weeeeellllllll, I continued that schedule for almost an entire month! Turns out three quality posts a week is a lot. It’s too much, actually. My work/life balance has been out of whack.

I have been working with a blogging coach who is helping me to turn this blog into an actual business that might help to support my family a bit. His advice was that I have plenty of content already and to slow that way, way, way down and focus on some of the business aspects of the blog for a while.

He gave me that advice in early December and so far I have completely ignored it. After all, creating content is what I enjoy. I love creating new recipes and sharing them with you. But I think he’s right, so I’m going to follow his advice. He is the expert after all.

I will still be posting regularly and mostly recipes, I just need to slow it down for a while, meaning not three times a week.

For now, if you haven’t checked out these recipes posted recently, click on over and do that right now:

I especially recommend the mashed cauliflower. Now wait, before you dismiss this as another yucky recipe of cauliflower trying to convince you it’s potatoes, you’re wrong. I add one actual, real potato to the cauliflower and it totally changes the taste and consistency. Trust me, you must try this, assuming you’re not sensitive to nightshades.

I’ve also posted two recipes using the Instant Pot: spaghetti squash (not really a recipe, but just a method, then you use the squash in other recipes) and also my Baby Back Ribs recipe modified for Instant Pot. I’ve also posted a video to my YouTube Channel of a Pot Roast in the Instant Pot. I’ve not written that one up, mainly because I used this recipe from The Domestic Man with only slight modifications. But you can watch me making it over on YouTube.

If you haven’t already, please like my Facebook page and follow me over on Pinterest and Instagram. I’ll be beefing up my presence on social media and doing some more Facebook live cooking videos as a part of my blogger homework. Apparently, this is what you’re supposed to do if you want people to read your blog. 🙂

Ooh, I almost forgot! Thanks to lots of hard work by my IT man/husband, my ebook, Your Paleo Holiday, is now up on Apple’s iTunes Store and Amazon!!! You can still buy it directly from me through my shop page, but you can also download it from iTunes into iBooks or from Amazon to your Kindle or other e-reader. The price is the same everywhere.

New Cookbook

If you’re waiting for a print copy, I’m right there with you. Amazon apparently has this cool feature where you can order a book to be printed on demand. This means I don’t have to have hundreds of books printed and hope they sell. If you want a hard copy, you order it and they print it just for you! That’s coming soon (I hope) so look for an announcement about hard copies in the near future.

The Super Bowl is coming next Sunday, so early next week, look for a recipe round up of Super Bowl Party snacks. Until then, stay warm. Or stay cool, whichever applies to your little corner of the world.

Cookie Sale

Hey folks, if you read my last couple posts, you know I just did a sampling of my paleo cookies over the weekend. I have some of each type still available. If you’ve been wanting to try them, now would be a great time.

These cookies usually sell for $3.50 to $4.50 each and I’m offering you any five cookies for $15 or one dozen for $30. You can mix and match! First come, first served. 

Here’s what I have available:

11 gingerbread

11 valentine’s shortbread

10 chocolate chip

17 walnut and pecan baklava

3 pistachio baklava

Email me at elizabeth@ourpaleofamily.com to place your order and then we can arrange for payment and shipping or porch pick up.

If you happen to be doing a Whole 30 or 21 Day Sugar Detox, no worries. Each cookie is individually wrapped and they freeze really well so you can stash them away for treat emergencies down the road.

Paleo Treat Sampling Today!

Good morning, friends! Quick reminder that I’ll be at Harmony Farms in Raleigh today from 11 AM – 2 PM giving out samples of my paleo treats. If you’re in the area, please stop by. I’d love to see you! Here’s their website with address.

I made a lot of cookies for the demo today so if they don’t sell out, I’ll be offering a special through the website so be on the lookout for that!

Here are my new Valentine’s shortbread, so perfect for your Valentine’s parties!

My Tips for Instant Pot Success

A couple announcements before diving into the Instant Pot (well, not literally diving in – they’re not that big):

  1. I will be at Harmony Farms in Raleigh this coming Saturday, January 21st, from 11 AM – 2 PM handing out samples of my paleo cookies. If you’ve seen the shop page and wondered what a paleo cookie tastes like or if they’re worth the cost, I can guarantee you they’re amazing and yes, they’re worth every penny. Harmony Farms is located at 5653 Creedmoor Rd , Raleigh , NC 27612. I’d love to see you there.
  2. If you haven’t already, please like my Facebook page – Facebook.com/ourpaleofamily and if you are active on Pinterest, please follow me there. You can see all the other great Paleo folks I’m following. There are some amazing ideas out there! And if I have more followers, it makes me look good. 🙂

Now onto the Instant Pot:

After hearing from numerous people over the past year and a half that I simply must get an Instant Pot, I bit the bullet and bought one right after Christmas – all in the name of research for the blog, of course. The things I do for you!

You may be wondering why I was so hesitant If everyone is always singing the praises of this particular appliance. Well, it’s because of my grand dislike of crock pot food. I was afraid that this new contraption was just another way of making bland, over-cooked meat.

I’m very happy to say that I was wrong.

I’ve only had this kitchen wonder in my possession for two weeks, but I’ve used it a ton! I’ve made:

  • Kalua Pork and Cabbage from Nom Nom Paleo
  • Paleo BBQ Baby Back Ribs
  • Beef Roast/Stew with Carrots, Potatoes and Onions
  • Hard Boiled Eggs
  • Chicken Bone Broth (twice)
  • Spaghetti Squash
  • Sweet and Sour Cabbage (Blaukraut – for our German feast for school)

There are a lot of great websites with Instant Pot Recipes, many of them paleo and many others just pressure cooking sites. But for all the recipes I read and used as a reference point, I missed some tips that I have had to figure out on my own and I wish someone would have told me.

With all due credit to the Instant Pot experts out there: it’s highly likely that this information was somewhere on their sites, but I didn’t see it. And it wasn’t with the recipes, which is where I looked for it. So I’m giving you my tips. In the coming weeks, I will be posting all my Instant Pot recipes. Most are my original recipes, already posted, which have just been reimagined for the Instant Pot, but the methods and timing are completely different so I will post an entirely new recipe.

Here are things to keep in mind when working with your Instant Pot – tips I wish someone would have told me:

  • It looks like you can remove the inner stainless steel pot (you can) and then also the next layer down (looks like cast iron), but you cannot remove that piece. So when ladling your food out of the stainless steel pot, be careful not to drip in that outer rim area because it’s a pain to clean. Here, I’ve placed a dish cloth in that area so any drips from my ladle will hit the cloth. Or just carefully remove the inner pot and place on a pot holder. That’s tricky though when the pot is full, as it is here with my broth.

  • Be mindful of where you place your Instant Pot. If you need to use the quick pressure release, a lot – I mean A LOT – of steam will come out, straight up, and you don’t want that steam bombarding your cabinets, delicate light fixtures, wall paper, etc. Unless you are wanting to remove your wallpaper or refinish your cabinets.
  • Also regarding that steam release: steam is hot and it will burn you. Make sure you cover your hand (see video) and flip that switch quickly and move your hand out of the way. And make sure you aren’t bent over looking at the steam release valve. This is not the steam facial you’re looking for.
  • Timing is a big deal. All the recipes I read told me how long to set my Instant Pot to cook. They did not tell me that it can take up to 30 minutes for the pot to come under pressure. Your cooking time will not start until that pressure has been reached, so if you intend to cook your food for 20 minutes and think you will have dinner on the table in 30, you are mistaken. It will take about an hour. You need to account for the pressurizing and depressurizing time. To depressurize naturally takes 15-30 minutes, depending on the volume of food/liquid inside. A quick pressure release takes 1-2 minutes.
  • It’s easy (though a little time consuming) to do a quick release, check the done-ness of your food and then re-pressurize and cook longer if necessary. My beef roast was apparently from one old, tough cow because it took a really long time to get tender. A full 3 times as long as all the recipes I saw. If I were having company for dinner that night, I would have been in trouble. Bottom line on the timing: allow yourself ample time. The Instant Pot does an excellent job of keeping food hot for a long time after the cooking is complete so if it’s done earlier than you need, just let it sit and keep warm.
  • Regarding keeping the food hot: do not take advantage of that feature where vegetables are concerned. They will cook very, very quickly and unless you want to make baby food, you will not want to keep them warm in the Instant Pot. When I made cabbage for the Kalua Pork and the BlauKraut, it was done to my liking (still with a little body, not too mushy) in just 5 minutes of cooking time. With meat, you have a lot more grace than with vegetables.
  • Broth in the Instant Pot is a wonder. To get the most from your bone broth, it really needs to cook on the stove for 2-3 days. In the Instant Pot, it’s done in an afternoon. I hate dealing with bone broth: the straining, the storing, the cleaning up, the smell. I love the result so I do it anyway. Plus, I can’t bear to throw away perfectly good bones that I know could be beneficial. Before I had my Instant Pot, I would see my broth boiling away on the stove day after day and it would taunt me. I knew the processing and cleaning was coming and I was dreading it. With the Instant Pot, the process is still the same in the end, it’s just over a lot faster and that is extremely valuable.

There you have my general tips for Instant Pot success. As I said, in the coming weeks, I’ll be posting all my Instant Pot revised recipes. I’ll tell you right now that the Baby Back ribs are a game changer. I buy ribs when they’re on sale then they sit in my freezer for ages because I know they are a labor of love to prepare: 5-6 hours in the oven, another hour on the grill. Ugh. They are good, but is any food worth that? The Instant Pot ribs, cooked right in the BBQ sauce, were simply amazing. The sauce was so darn rich and flavorful, I could have eaten it with a spoon. Oh yeah, I did eat it with a spoon. Rib soup anyone? Maybe that sounds gross, but wait till you make it. You’ll do the same thing!

My videographer/husband made a little 19 minute movie of me preparing the beef roast. It is a tad long, but he felt that all the information was so valuable, we had to leave it all in. Feel free to speed along or skip to the exciting parts. 🙂

I should tell you that I have this model. I was worried that it wouldn’t be big enough, but it’s just right. The bigger one would likely just be a pain to store.

Now for a few random thoughts: It was my birthday last week and my daughter made me a cake! Actually, she made it in November and we ate half of it, then it was Thanksgiving and we didn’t need more food, so we froze it knowing my birthday was coming in a couple months. Her beautiful flowers got squished, so we scraped them off, made fresh frosting and re-decorated. I even got a decorating lesson from the master. This cake is not paleo, but it is gluten free, made with my gluten free flour mix (no gums!) and some almond flour. It’s a nice, light, fluffy cake that’s a great facsimile for traditional white or yellow cake. The recipe will be in part two of my holiday cookbook.

In case you want to send me a gift, I’ll take one of these:

Or this one would be ok too:

My husband took me to an Art Deco car exhibit to celebrate my big day. These cars truly were works of art. But they wouldn’t let me sit in any or even touch them. Museum staff can be so persnickety!

One more random thought for today: we love to hike, especially when waterfalls are involved. Do you have a favorite hiking spot? I’d love to hear about it. We live on the east coast, but hope to see the whole country someday, so share your favorite spots in the comments. This is Yellow Branch Falls in Walhalla, South Carolina. My family spent a few days in this area at Christmas. Simply beautiful.

Happy week everyone. I’ll be back Wednesday with the Instant Pot Ribs recipe.

Friday Favorites – Thrive Market Edition

Today’s Friday Favorites is all about the great stuff I’ve found from Thrive Market. You know Thrive, that store I talk about all the time and mention in almost every post? I order from them at least once a month. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go back and read this introductory article about it. I even have a little advertising button on my sidebar for them because I am so thrilled with this company. I have absolutely no complaints and that is saying a lot!

Disclaimer: I am in no way compensated for my positive comments about Thrive Market. However, if you sign up for a yearly membership through my referral link, then I do receive a small commission. But I would absolutely not recommend them if I weren’t truly their biggest fan.

Just about any shelf-stable product I would otherwise buy at Whole Foods or other health food store, I buy from Thrive, generally for at least a 25% savings. But I do have my favorites, those items I buy over and over again. These fall into two basic categories: food and personal care. I’m linking to my favorites below with a little blurb about why I like them.

If you haven’t tried Thrive yet, I sincerely encourage you to do so. And tell your friends. You can sign up for a free month trial right from their homepage. They don’t do anything tricky like make it difficult for you to cancel at the end of the month. This company is totally on the up and up. If you decide you like the service, you can just keep on going and they will charge you $59.95 for the annual membership. As long as you order $49 or more, shipping is always free. Seriously, give it a try. Oh yes, one of my favorite things about this company is that for every paid membership, they give a membership to a low income family, making healthy food accessible to all! Now here are my favorites:

Food:

Great Lakes Collagen – green can – this is the one that doesn’t gel. It’s pure protein that dissolves almost instantly. I mix it into my coffee and tea and it is completely undetectable. It’s a great way to boost joint and gut health and increase your protein intake. I sang the praises of this product in my Top 10 Paleo Tip Post.

Price from my local health food store: $22.00

Price from Amazon: $22.99

Price from Thrive: $17.25

Great Lakes Gelatin – Green Can

Great Lakes Collagen – red can – this is the one that does gel. Use this as an egg replacement if you’re following AIP. I make my own gluten free flour mix and I use some of this collagen instead of the xanthan gum that all commercial gluten free flour mixes contain. It’s great if you’re making a pudding or mousse. I found out over Christmas when I was doing some recipe experimenting, that the kind of plain gelatin you buy in the store works very differently from this one, so keep that in mind when following a recipe that calls for gelatin.

Price from my local health food store: $22

Price from Amazon: $20.49

Price from Thrive: $14.95

Great Lakes Gelatin – Red Can

Bob’s Red Mill Arrowroot – I find that most paleo baked goods turn out best when you mix a heavier flour (like almond) with a little arrowroot or tapioca starch. I am sensitive to tapioca, so I always opt for arrowroot.

Price from Whole Foods: $5.99/sale price $4.99

Price from Amazon: $6.15

Price from Thrive: $3.95

Bob’s Red Mill Arrowroot Starch

Altar Eco Salted Caramel Truffles – Yum! If you have not tried these, you really, really need to. They’re like those Lindt truffles that are so smooth and creamy, but they’re soy free and dairy free. They make multiple flavors, but these are my favorites. And their wrappers are compostable!

Price from Whole Foods: $8.99

Price from Amazon: $14.75

Price from Thrive: $6.45

Alter Eco Salted Caramel Truffles

Yogi Tea – My nightly routine involves this cocktail: Yogi Lemon Ginger Tea + apple cider vinegar + collagen + vitamin C + vitamin D drops. I have tried every lemon ginger tea on the market and Yogi makes the best. I also love their Soothing Caramel Bedtime and Tangerine Positive Energy. This is the only item I’ve found that isn’t always the best deal at Thrive. My local Kroger and Whole Foods will put Yogi Tea on sale for $3/box a couple times a year, but when I run out between sales, Thrive has the best price.

Price from Whole Foods: $4.99/sale $3.00

Price from Amazon: $5.82

Price from Thrive: $3.95

Yogi Lemon Ginger Tea
Personal Care

Jason Conditioner – I have thick, curly, somewhat unruly hair. When my functional medicine doctor told me I needed to start using products that didn’t contain parabens, phthalates, and other harmful chemicals, I had a really hard time finding hair products that didn’t make my hair feel gunky. This Jason aloe vera one is awesome and it smells really good. Who cares how well it works if you smell like medicine afterward?

Price from Whole Foods: $10.99

Price from Amazon: $14.26

Price from Thrive: $6.25

Jason Aloe Vera Conditioner

Alba Botanica Shampoo – I like the Jason shampoo as well, but this Alba Botanica Hawaiian Drink it up Coconut Milk Shampoo works really well and I love how it smells. I usually co-wash, meaning I just use conditioner, not shampoo, but once a week or so I’ll use shampoo too and this one is my favorite. I don’t feel like it strips my hair like some other brands. It just leaves my hair feeling really soft and clean.

Price from Whole Foods: Not Available locally that I could find, but other products from this company such as lotions were $10.99.

Price from Amazon: $8.35

Price from Thrive: $6.45

Alba Botanica Hawaiian Shampoo

Alba Botanica SPF 15 Sea Moss Moisturizer and Alba Botanica Even Advanced Night Cream – These two products have been game changers for me. The daily SPF 15 moisturizer is really light, has a nice scent and costs a fraction of what most products of this quality cost. I know dermatologist recommend SPF 30, but I generally also wear a tinted moisturizer with a higher SPF. The night cream includes some special marine extracts and other magic to help even skin tone. I need this especially at the end of the summer to fight against the splotchy dark spots that come from too much sun exposure. Even though I always liberally wear sunscreen, my skin is prone to melasma, these dark splotches. It works well, smells nice and isn’t heavy and greasy.

Price from Whole Foods: $17.99/sale $12.99

Price from Amazon: $9.90 <– Really surprising!

Price from Thrive: $9.95

Alba Botanica Even Advanced Daily Moisturizer with SPF
Alba Botanica Even Advanced Night Cream

Jason Powersmile Toothpaste -That Jason makes some good stuff. I like his Power Smile Fluoride-Free toothpaste better than any other fluoride free brand I’ve tried. My teeth are sparkling clean and my breath is minty fresh. And no fluoride. Nothing else needed.

Price from Whole Foods: $4.99

Price from Amazon: $18.93/3 tubes = $6.31 each

Price from Thrive: $3.95

Jason Power Smile Toothpaste

Alba Botanica Sunscreen – This is my hands down favorite sunscreen. The spray bottle is easy to operate, even for my kids. The SPF 40 keeps the dermatologists happy. It works really well. We never burn when wearing this sunscreen. And best of all, for all the “healthy sunscreens,” this one rubs in the best and has a pleasant, very faint scent. My local Kroger used to carry this and it was $6.99 there, but they no longer have it.

Price from Whole Foods: $7.99/sale $5.99

Price from Amazon: $27.08/2 = $13.54 each

Price from Thrive: $6.95

Alba Botanica Very Emollient Sunscreen

I could have actually made a much longer list of favorites because I have so many, but this would definitely be my greatest hits list. I order these items all the time. As soon as I’m running low, I place another order.

If you’re interested in giving Thrive a try, click on the link in the sidebar (or at the bottom of the page if you’re looking at this on your phone) and sign up for a free month trial. January is a great time to try it because 1. all those New Year’s Resolutions and 2. If you order chocolate, it won’t melt. I guess those two things don’t go together very well, huh? Just giving you options. Let your conscience be your guide. 🙂 Happy Shopping.

Bonus Recipe and Paleo 101 Post-Poned

If you read last Friday’s post about New Year’s Eve and you made it to the very end, you read that my planned post for today was Paleo 101: The What’s, The Why’s and a comparison of Gluten Free vs. Paleo. I spent all weekend working on that article and there’s so much I want to tell you that I could not get it completed by today. I didn’t want to slap something together just to meet my schedule of posting Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so I’m putting that one off until a Monday in the near future. It is still coming, I just need time to include all the information I feel is important and check all my facts. It’s exciting and encouraging that there is lots of research being done in the paleo world and I want to share some of that with you.

In the mean time, if you need a paleo refresher, check out my What is Paleo article. All the basics are there.

So as to not leave you hanging today, I’m giving you a bonus recipe. You’ll still get a new recipe on Wednesday as planned, but today today I’m posting one I’ve had ready for a while and just haven’t felt the time was right to post.

Luckily for you, now is the time! The recipe: Paleo Biscuits and Sausage Gravy. The time is right because it’s freezing cold and we can’t get out and maybe you can’t either and these recipes use ingredients you likely have in your pantry and fridge. Maybe most people don’t have sausage in their freezer, but we usually do. When I’m eating AIP, I have sausage or ground pork for breakfast most days.

That’s a great tip, by the way. Stock up on protein when it’s on sale. Portion it into appropriate sizes for your needs and keep it in the freezer. Then make a list or spreadsheet of what you have so when you go digging around your freezer, you’ll know it’s really there and won’t give up until you find your treasure.

I hope you enjoy something warm and cozy on these bitterly cold days! Sausage gravy and biscuits would be perfect!

And for you campers out there, this is a perfect camping recipe. You can prepare the biscuits ahead of time by mixing the dry ingredients and wet ingredients and transporting them to the campsite separately. Then mix together and bake in your dutch oven. Meanwhile, prepare the sausage gravy on your camp stove. We will most definitely be trying that on our next camping trip.

How Our Paleo Family Celebrated New Year’s

Happy New Year! I know it’s January 6th, but I thought it would be fun to show you how we celebrated the turning over of another new year. Since I have designated Friday posts as “fun,” I think this qualifies.

A little background: I love to read other blogs in my spare time. It’s interesting to see what other bloggers write about and how they style their sites. I get inspiration and motivation from these clever ladies. Even though I did post that one Stitch Fix review back in the fall, and I might do another one from time to time, I have absolutely no intentions of becoming a fashion blogger (you’re welcome), but I do really enjoy reading several other fashion blogs. It’s how I come up with great outfits like this. 🙂

Honestly, I didn’t set out to read fashion blogs. That seems way too hip for me. I came upon Living in Yellow because I was looking for Stitch Fix reviews, which she posts a lot of, and I happen to think she’s hilarious so I keep reading. The Pleated Poppy arrived on my screen as I searched for something homeschool related. Turns out she is a homeschooling mom, but is really known as a fashion blogger. I like her style so I keep checking back occasionally. I found Pearls and Sports Bras as I researched at-home workout videos, but I keep reading because I like how she pulls together classic looks and a lot of them are really affordable. And she does review a lot of workout videos. I’m sure she’s 20-something and I have absolutely nothing in common with her, but I enjoy reading her posts.

So now I have these fashion blogs I read on a fairly regular schedule and whereas I do learn some blogging tips from them, it’s really just purely for fun that I visit those sites. As I read all of their “getting ready for New Year’s Eve” posts, I couldn’t help but think about how my 20-something year old self would have responded to them. These girls were getting all dolled up in sequins and lace and looking fabulous and talking about all the parties they would attend. I’m sure back in the day, I would have been jealous if I didn’t have such fancy soirees to attend. But fast forward a few (or 20) years and I was able to admire those young ladies’ outfits and sweet words, but in no way whatsoever did I feel even a tiny pang of jealousy or lack of self-worth.

My New Year’s Eve was spent with those I hold most dear, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. For the past 10 years or so, we have spent the entire week between Christmas and New Year’s in a big house somewhere with my husband’s extended family. So, naturally, we always rang in the New Year with that gang. But for the past two years, we haven’t been able to stay the entire week, which meant we were home for New Year’s Eve.

I honestly can’t remember what we did last year, other than that the kids stayed up until midnight and what a milestone that was. They talk about it all the time. And even more importantly, my son waxes poetic about the fact that he slept in until 9:45 the following morning. He has always been an early riser so this was a notable event.

This year I decided to make a little more of a big deal of the last day of the year.

I bought party hats and noisemakers at the Dollar Store, planned a fun dinner and we got all dressed up. Thinking about my fashion blogger “friends,” I thought it might be fun to pull out our dressy duds, even if we were just staying in. Because of the arthritis in my feet, I cannot wear high heels, which severely limits the fanciness of anything I wear, but for this occasion, I was determined to try my best (I kept the heels on for about 10 minutes and mostly stood in one place!).

The kids and husband were given the instruction to simply dress up fancy. “Fancy” was left up to interpretation. As you can see from the pictures, my husband and I took a mostly traditional approach to fancy. The kids…well, not so much.

My son’s outfit is so crazy, he sort of blends into the Christmas tree. My daughter is some character from the Pokemon cartoons they’ve been watching on Netflix. I made it clear that she was never to leave the house in shorts that short!

Everyone tolerated the picture taking process fairly well, then we dressed down and got on with the fun. Dressing up always seems good in theory, but I’d much rather be in my pjs!

Back to reality here. The feathers had to go or we’d be eating them for dinner.

Speaking of dinner, we had nachos made with this taco filling, plantain chips and all the typical toppings (this yummy grass fed cheddar, guacamole, lettuce, tomatoes and a creamy salsa sauce that was simply salsa mixed with some coconut cream).

It was a fun, casual dinner and the perfect way to finish off the year. The kids got to drink soda, (Zevia Black Cherry) and the adults enjoyed a gluten free hard apple cider. I hardly ever drink any sort of alcohol, but these hard ciders are really tasty and it was the perfect occasion.

We finished off the night alternating between games, putting together a puzzle and chatting with family. Have you heard of the game, Settlers of Catan?

This is actually one of the expansions called Seafarers. My husband’s family is absolutely obsessed with this game. They’ve gotten the kids into it now and so we’ve started playing it at home. It has taken me a while to warm up to it, but it is pretty fun, especially if you have more people playing. There’s lots of trading involved and there are many ways you can win so it feels like a different game each time we play. If your family or friends enjoy board games, I’d recommend this one. (I know Heinzes, if you’re reading this, I actually said I like Settlers!)

So that’s how Our Paleo Family rang in the new year. How did you celebrate? Did you make any of the fun appetizer recipes I’ve posted recently? I’m obsessed with these sausage balls. We will most definitely be having them again for Super Bowl Sunday!

I hope your year is off to a great start. If you haven’t yet seen the recipe I posted earlier this week, it’s a really tasty one and super healthy too. It will work for paleo or autoimmune paleo diets. Be sure to check it out.

I’ll be back Monday with a Paleo refresher. This past Monday, I gave you some tips for getting back on the Paleo wagon if you fell off over the holidays, but this coming article will really be Paleo 101, a great place to start if you have friends who are curious about how you eat and maybe are tired of hearing you talk about it all the time. 🙂 Just send them to me! We’ll talk about some of the what’s, the why’s, the differences between gluten free and paleo. I think we’re about to get snowed in over here in NC, so I’m loaded up with groceries and ready to try some new recipes. I hope you are too!

Top 10 Tips for a Paleo New Year

Welcome to 2017! And welcome to Our Paleo Family. I’m glad you’re here.

Perhaps you’re reading this because you’ve been researching the Paleo diet, trying to decide if it’s right for you. Maybe you’re convinced it’s the way to go, but you’re not quite ready to pull the trigger. Maybe you’ve been following the Paleo diet for a while and are in need of new recipes. Whatever your reason for visiting, I hope you’ll find what you’re looking for.

I’ve been at this blogging thing for a little over a year now and have decided it’s time for some more structure. Whether or not I stick to this schedule long term remains to be seen, but my goal for 2017 is to post at least every Monday, Wednesday and Friday:

  • Monday: science or news type article
  • Wednesday: recipes
  • Fridays: fun stuff – trip reports, Stitch Fix reviews, paleo birthday party ideas, etc.

Since this is Monday (news/science day) and it’s the first Monday of a new year, I thought some sort of Paleo reset article would be appropriate. So today I have for you my top 10 tips for starting the year off paleo. Without further adieu…

1. Ditch the Dairy – If the holidays brought you lots of cheesy dips, dairy laden coffee drinks and creamy fudgey desserts, now would be the perfect time to tame that diary beast. I speak from experience here. Dairy doesn’t cause real noticeable issues for me, as long as I keep my intake to a moderate level and almost entirely from grass-fed cows. However, when I completely cut dairy out of my diet, I do notice a positive difference. I feel better, my skin looks better and I quit craving all that dairy. Most all the recipes on my site are dairy free or can be modified as such, like this overnight egg casserole (recipe found in my book). See a full list of recipes here.

Creamy and delicious egg casserole, but completely dairy free!

2. Read a Paleo Book – I’ve linked to my favorites in several posts previously (like What is Paleo and What is Autoimmune Paleo), but it bears repeating that a well written, comprehensive guide to the Paleo Diet is always a great place to start. Even if you’ve read them before. We all need a refresher from time to time.

3. Head over to Pinterest and look at all the pretty pictures of Paleo Recipes and get inspired. You can find my Pinterest board here. I’ve just recently installed the “pin it” button on my pictures, so if you see a recipe that looks super yummy to you, please pin it and help spread the word that Paleo food is awesome!

4. Make a realistic meal plan. Sure, planning a pot roast on Monday, short ribs on Tuesday, chicken cacciatore on Wednesday, Asian Stir Fry on Thursday and Pork Carnitas on Friday is a great plan. But let’s be realistic. Are you going to prepare that many labor intensive meals each week? Not likely. Read this recent post I wrote on what constitutes dinner. Hint: it should take some of the pressure off. Scrambled eggs make a perfectly acceptable dinner!

5. Buy some bacon. Lots of bacon! If you’re trying to get your family on board with this paleo thing (and you should), you need to start with bacon. Everybody loves it. If you make two meals a week that include bacon, you will have them hooked! One of our favorites: pumpkin pancakes, a side of bacon and a few slices of orange or grapefruit. And if by chance someone in your house doesn’t absolutely love bacon, sausage is a good choice too!

6. Consider Bulletproof coffee for breakfast If you aren’t familiar with Bulletproof coffee, take a look at their website here. If you have a hard time with paleo breakfasts (ie. no cereal, toast, bagels, etc.), and a lot of people do, seriously consider giving Bulletproof Coffee a try. People following a paleo/ketogenic diet are often the biggest fans of this creamy breakfast drink. I tried it a couple years ago and just didn’t dig it. For some reason, I was too hungry in the morning and this coffee drink did not satisfy me. But I recently took it up again about two months ago, and am loving how it’s making me feel. I have plenty of energy for a morning workout and don’t ever have that too full feeling while exercising. But maybe the best part is that I get my coffee and breakfast all in one, perfect for anyone who needs or wants to streamline their morning routine. My morning involves coffee/Bible study/reading the news and if I throw breakfast in there too, it saves me lots of time!

7. Clean out your cupboards. If you think you can resist the chocolates and cookies that are hiding in the back corners, think again. They’re not good for your family either so just get them outta there!

8. Drink enough water. The experts can’t agree on exactly how much water we all need each day, but a good rule of thumb is about 2 liters per day. I think everyone can visualize those 2 liter bottles of soda. Yeah, you need that much. If it’s hot or you’re a competitive athlete, you likely need more. My trick to make sure I drink enough is to keep my favorite water bottle out and visible. I know that I need four of those bottles per day, so I keep it handy and keep drinking.

9. Pay attention to your protein intake. The health experts have a hard time agreeing on just about everything these days! But another good rule of thumb, for protein intake this time, is one ounce of protein for every pound of goal weight. So if you want to weight 130 pounds, you should aim for 130 ounces of protein per day. Warning: it can be hard to get that much. Just pay attention for a few days and see if you are hitting the mark or falling way under or way over then make adjustments as necessary. One of my favorite ways to get in more protein without any effort is a collagen supplement. I use Great Lakes Grass Fed Beef Collagen. There are 11 grams of protein in two tablespoons of this brand. I take it for gut and joint health and it has made a tremendous difference in the arthritis pain in my feet. Bonus: it has the added benefit of contributing to my protein intake. I have a hard time getting in the recommended amount otherwise. By the time I add collage to my coffee in the afternoon and in my tea in the evening, I’ve taken in an additional 22 grams of protein, roughly the same amount as in a 4 ounce serving of meat!

Great Lakes Gelatin – Green Can

10. Try one new vegetable each week. Last but not least, expand your vegetable palate. I know there are people out there who can honestly say they just LOVE vegetables, but I don’t know many of them. This past year, I started buying asparagus every week. Every single week. I just wanted us to eat this somewhat weird tasting vegetable more regularly to see if we could develop a taste for it. We learned how we enjoy it best (grilled, kind of charred) and I love that it cooks up super fast. Then we moved on to cauliflower. I admit that I do not like this vegetable, but I am learning to appreciate it by using it in lots of different ways (cauliflower crust pizza and mashed “potatoes” – this recipe coming soon). So my advice is just to pick something that looks good or at least interesting to you and give it a try. And try it more than once. They say (those experts again) that you have to try something ten times before you know whether you really like it or not.

There you have it, my top 10 tips for a Paleo New Year. If you have any questions you’d like me to address or recipes you’d like for me to transform into a paleo friendly recipe, let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.

I hope this year is full of many blessings for you and your family.