Mini Pizza Meatloaf from Health-Bent

I found this fun recipe from Health-Bent that I thought I would share. It is definitely on my "to-make" list. However instead of sausage I would use regular ground beef and add onions, chili powder, a little garlic, and finely sliced green peppers into the mixture. Then top it off with tomato puree or a paleo pizza sauce and add a mushroom on top. :) this is making me hungry.

Paleo Mini Pizza Meatloaf

Ingredients

• 1 lb. Italian sausage
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 handfuls almond flour
• Various pizza type mix-ins, finely chopped (we cleaned out the fridge–green onions, banana peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, green olives)
• If you’re going to use onions, garlic and/or mushrooms, you need to pre-cook them as they stay crunchy (garlic, onions) or release too much too much water (shrooms).
• 1/2 can pizza sauce

Method

Preheat oven to 400ºF.
In a medium bowl, mix together the sausage, egg yolks, almond flour and your choice of mix-ins. Fill a muffin tin about 3/4 of the way up with the meat mixture. Top each mini meatloaf with a spoonful of pizza sauce.
Bake for about 20 minutes.

No Name Salad

I don't have a picture for this one . ..  but I made it for dinner tonight and loved it! There are so specifics on this one so play around with it :)

Ingredients

• lettuce
• spinach
• green onion
• pico de gallo 
• cashews
• bacon (cut into pieces)
• chicken (cubed)
• pepper
• cayenne pepper

For the "dressing" I made a concoction of olive oil, cayenne pepper, yellow mustard, and pepper (apple cider vinegar would have worked wonders in here as well)

Cut up the ingredients how you like it throw it in a bowl and serve :)

Yummy Paleo "Vanilla" Cake

This is my 1st attempt at making a vanilla cake!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of sea salt
• 1/3 cup honey
• 4 egg whites
• 1/8 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 2 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 tsp orange extract or juice of an orange

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 F
Mix in all ingredients until you get a somewhat runny batter, it can be a little thick, but not too thick.
Place in an 8 inch ungreased circular pan
bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until you pass the toothpick test!

It is a very dense and moist cake- A little goes a long way

Finding my Inner Strength by PaleOMG

I found this blog post from a lady who completely took the words from my head and wrote them down (minus the regionals part . . but hopefully that will come soon!) I hope there are more of you out there can relate to her and I and the battles we face daily . . but like she says at the end, "Work hard. Every day. And never settle for less than your best. And with that,....do this with me--look in the mirror, tell yourself either "you are beautiful" or "you are amazing" and change your attitude for the day. Smile. Show the world what you have to offer. I'm about to go do that now" 

Finding my Inner Strength

Let's just get down to the nitty gritty. I'm a ball of emotion right now. Straight up cluster f*ck. I tend to build all of my emotions inside until they are about to burst out my eyes, in turn bearing tears. And the tears sure came. Full force. Multiple times. For no apparent reason. My lord.

So why am I telling you this? Well, I have this wonderful friend named Ryan who has told me multiple times since the start of my blog to be as real as possible with my audience and they will appreciate it. Ok Ryan, sh*t is about to get real.

As I've entered my CrossFit life, I've changed a sh*t ton. I began dabbling in CrossFit on my own (in a globo gym) when my best friend Jon introduced me to it. I then began changing my diet. SLOWLY. I disregarded the fact that diet was the most important part to a lifestyle and thought exercise could hold me through. Obviously, I was wrong. So I took out most grains, then took out dairy, then took out grains altogether, then zoned, then paleoed, then paleo-zoned, then cut out all cheating, then added in paleo cheating. Wow, that was exhausting.

So my body changed  A LOT during that time frame. I went from almost 160 pounds to 123, then back to 130 where I stuck for several months until I began to train for Sectionals this year. After going through a hard break up and getting below 120, I began to train harder and harder to be sure I would do my best through Sectionals. I also began gaining more and more weight. And I wasn't sure why. My clothes started fitting tighter, my butt started getting back to it's original 160lb size, and my face started to round out more and more. I was excited because I was getting stronger, but more uncomfortable because I was not my small frame I had come to know and become comfortable with.

March 2009--Not quite my heaviest, but barely any muscle at time.

November 2010--Almost my thinnest...yeah, those shorts definitely do not fit now.

Regionals 2011--heaviest I've been.

I began not fitting into my clothes, not being able to shop anywhere because my legs were too big, and not wanting to even step foot in front of the mirror. I was incredibly uncomfortable with who I had become. I had never received more compliments in my life, but all I could think about was how I was "fat." Oh yeah, I just went there. And the most frustrating part of it all, I was (and still am) working with amazing women every day who I am trying to inspire to be comfortable with themselves and to love every muscle on their body, all the while I'm crying at home wishing I looked different.

When Regionals rolled around, I finally felt normal again. I was around women who looked exactly like me. These women looked strong, their legs rubbed together just like mine, and they just oozed confidence. It was exactly what I needed. I needed a wake up call that how I looked was not disgusting, it was not abnormal, and it was not weird. It's how I should look if I'm going to lift 205 pounds 45 times. It's how I should look if I'm going to do 30 handstand push ups. It's how I should look if I'm going to be THE BEST that I can be.

But this confidence is not something I have conquered as of yet. I still am challenged daily by it. I still look in the mirror and see the insignificant things. I still see the acne, I still see the cellulite, and I still see the lumpy areas that I will most likely always have. And I'm coming to terms with that. You know why? Because I'm stronger and faster than I ever have been. I am woding every day, keeping my body healthy, and providing a life that I would never have had if I hadn't found CrossFit.

I have struggled all my life with self confidence. I have never once considered myself beautiful or strong. But I know one thing, I am passionate. I have the passion to find a way to become the person I've always wanted to be. I'm not sure I even know what that person looks like. But I know she is strong, inside and out. And that strength I pursue daily will lead me in the right direction.

What direction do I want to pursue? A direction that leads me to personal excellence. I want to excel, I want to push through pain, and I want to change the world for the better. Whether that be through blogging about a recipe, inspiring someone in the gym, or pushing through a wod to hopefully someday better my chances at making it to the Games, I hope to change at least one person's life in the meantime.

I want to strive to be a better person and I want to base that off of how many hearts I hit. I'm writing this blog not to complain, but to help someone out there who has the same struggles I have. As women, as CrossFitters, as paleo-enthusiasts, or as bloggers, all of us are looking at blogs for a reason. To connect. I hope that you are able to connect with me on a new level now that you better understand my inner demons. Just like strength is not conquered in a day, self satisfaction is not conquered in even a year. I blog because I love people and I love sharing my stories and recipes in hopes inspire one person to see themselves differently. To help someone cook something delicious, feel better on the inside, and let that feeling transfer over to how they present themselves daily...With confidence. With self excitement. And with self satisfaction.

Work hard. Every day. And never settle for less than your best. And with that,....do this with me--look in the mirror, tell yourself either "you are beautiful" or "you are amazing" and change your attitude for the day. Smile. Show the world what you have to offer. I'm about to go do that now.

Paleo "Nutella"

So I still need a little work on this, but it is delicious as is with a piece of fruit or even by its self if you are looking for a sweet paleo treat. . . not that cavemen would ever make this, but you never know.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup hazelnuts
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp honey

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until you get the mixture as fine as possible. It will be a little gritty. You may need to add more coconut milk to try and smooth it out, it helps.

Once blended together place in a Tupperware container and keep in the refrigerator!

Now I must admit, I never ate a lot of potato salad before becoming paleo, but it is a summer BBQ favorite of mine! I am trying Everday Paleo's "No Potato" Salad this weekend and will be sure to give an update! I'm not so sure I am going to include the pickles though, I might swap it for something just as delicious like broccoli or zucchini! We'll see!

Everyday Paleo “No Potato” Salad

 I made a paleo version using my homemade mayo with a twist, and cauliflower in place of the potatoes.  The result was out of this world delicious and satisfied my longing for the creamy comforting salad that used to be a staple at family gatherings. Everyone at the party gave the salad two big thumbs up!  I apologize for the lack of exact measurements in the recipe, but sometimes when food comes from the heart it simply happens, and I think when you make this dish, it will happen just fine for you as well.  I hope you enjoy!

Everyday Paleo “No Potato” Salad

2 heads of cauliflower

1 dozen eggs, hard-boiled and diced

1/2 a medium sized red onion, finely diced

6-8 celery stalks, finely diced

A lot of dill pickles, diced

About 1 1/2 cups of my Paleo Mayo with 2 tablespoons of dried dill and 1 teaspoon of crushed garlic added.

About 1 teaspoon of yellow mustard

Black pepper to taste

Cut the cauliflower into large florets.  I used my pressure cooker to cook the cauliflower by placing the florets in the cooker, filling the cooker with about 4 inches of water, locking the lid, bringing to pressure and cooking for about 2 1/2 minutes.  Remove from heat immediately and run the cooker under cold water to quickly bring down the pressure.  Remove the lid and pour the cauliflower through a strainer and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.  You want the cauliflower to be soft but not mushy!  If you do not have a pressure cooker, steam the cauliflower around 7-10 minutes, cooking until tender but not mushy.  Rinse the steamed cauliflower under cold water to stop the cooking process.  Drain the cauliflower well and pat dry with paper towels.  Crumble the cauliflower into a large mixing bowl, add all of the remaining ingredients including the mayo, mustard, and pepper and mix well.  Either eat right away or let chill for a couple of hours before serving.  This salad was HUGE and could serve at least 15 people so cut the ingredients in half unless you are feeding a crowd or want a lot of leftovers.

As always, Enjoy!!

Spicy Chicken Salad

I found this off of Robb Wolfs blog (BFF) and it looks super delicious right now. It looks like all he has in his recipe is lettuce, tomato, green chili, and chicken with El Pato sauce. . I must make this for dinner sometime soon . .  who's coming over??

Spicy Chicken Salad!

Posted by Robb Wolf on Sep 5, 2007 in Cooking

 

So…when I’ thinking about cooking I’m usually focused on time efficiency. This means “Must Cook FAST!” but time efficiency does not always mean fast, just efficient. Example? Here you go: A few days ago I decided to make a salad and needed to cook some chicken to add to said salad. If I’d been in a HURRY I would have cut the chicken into strips, put it in a pan with olive oil and a spice like ginger, garlic powder or chili powder and I would have been done in ~5 min. This day however, I planned on washing a mountain of dishes and doing a little cleaning in the kitchen (yep, pretty domesticated) so I had more time to play with. Time for El Pato. I browned the chicken in a pan for about 3 minutes then I added 1-8oz can of El Pato (I’ll talk more about El Pato in a future post). I covered the pan and let it cook on medium for ~30 minutes. During this time I cleaned, organized and generally made myself useful. After cleaning had sucked the life from me, I uncovered the chicken and let the sauce cook down to a tacky consistency. The chicken was falling-apart tender and I simply scooped some onto the salad I had cut previously. Garnished with a bit of green chili sauce, things were looking good!

When everything was said and done the meal cooked for close to an hour but I INVESTED less than 10 minutes in it’s direct preparation. Clean-up included. Keep in mind I made enough chicken to provide about 8 meals (4 for me, 4 for Nicki). That is VERY time efficient cooking that is delicious, nutritious and actually fun to do. If you are less messy than Nicki you might even finish with a clean kitchen….

Post from Rx Girls Miami

I found this great post a lot of women can relate to! I'm not sure how to put it on here yet besides copying and pasting, but I'll also attach the link . . ENJOY


Messages about You and Your Body

Healthy bodies come in all different shapes and sizes

I was listening to a talk radio show this morning where the discussion was about mother’s effect on their children’s body image and development of eating disorders… this got me thinking. What are some of the ways in which parents can influence our thoughts and feelings about ourselves? I remember when I was younger my dad used to ALWAYS pinch the sides on my waist and tell me I was getting chubby. Those of you who know me might find that hard to believe, and so did I being that I’ve pretty much been skinny my entire life. See even that, I wrote “pretty much” and was about to delete it but the reality is I have always been thin. So anyway, regardless if I didn’t believe him or not I somehow developed somewhat of an eating disorder years later. I was always really concerned about how I looked and never wanted to gain weight while not doing much about how I ate or how active I was. I’m not saying it’s his fault or anything, but I would be pretty ignorant to say that it had absolutely nothing to do with how I felt about my body. Luckily nowdays I would never think about resorting to unhealthy ways of losing weight. I work hard today in my sport and as a result, my body transformed to what I always wanted it to be…. the best part is it came without the added stress or shame and got replaced by confidence and energy.
How many of you can relate to that? Some comments people make just stick with us, whether they were meant to be helpful or not. For example, this girl on the show was talking about how she still remembers after losing some weight being approached by a friend who told her she looked “spectacular”. Even though this was supposed to be a compliment, it made her feel like when she was heavier she was just “average”, and she hated being average, she wanted to look spectacular all the time! So what kind of messages do we send to ourselves and others when we think about ideal bodies and even when helping people to lose weight in the gym? I try my best not to talk about pounds on the scale but I never realized how simply telling someone they look great because they’ve lost weight can be somewhat negative. So how do we change this?
First, if you have kids it’s really important to watch what you say and how you act around them. Avoiding talking about your own negative thoughts about your body in front of them and be a positive role model. Focus on healthy food and staying active and that will promote positive behaviors and feelings in your children.  Next, I think with training the focus needs to be completely different. We focus on health here and to be honest, some people are at a very unhealthy weight. We want them to be in a healthy range, so we take body fat measurements and encourage nutritional changes rather than dieting. We talk about how nutrition relates to performance, health and well-being rather than getting you thin. It’s hard sometimes, because a lot of people come in here with a “goal weight”… a number in mind that doesn’t even make sense sometimes! You need to change your perspective…

CrossFit Beauty in Strength

The best way to do this I think is to separate from people who make you feel bad about yourself and your body. Whether it’s a boyfriend, friend or family member, speak up and defend your efforts to be healthy. Tell people to stop focusing on you and how you look and start supporting how you feel and how healthy you are. If you are in a relationship with someone who puts you down, ditch them! You don’t need that. Surround yourself with good people and you will start to feel good. CrossFit is a great community. It’s not like the gym where you go in and wait in line for a machine after some person you don’t even know. You make connections and friendships here that will support you in your efforts to become a better, stronger, healthier person.
So next time you start feeling down about how you look, take a minute to think about where these feelings are coming from and who in your life might be contributing to these negative feelings. Then get your head right and speak up! You deserve to feel good about yourself!

 Rx Girls Miami Post

Paleo Beef Pot Pie

I originally got this recipe from Cosmopolitan Primal Girl she made a Chicken Pot Pie . . this was just my version!

Ingredients
Crust:

• 1 cup almond flour 
• 1/4 cup olive oil 
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Filling:

• 1lb ground beef/turkey
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion 
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup finely chopped broccoli
• 1 cup finely chopped cauliflower
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 2 tsp coconut flour
• 1 tbsp fresh garlic
• pepper to taste

Directions:
" Pre-heat oven to 350
  In a small bowl, mix together the crust ingredients
  Put the dough for the crust in between 2 pieces of wax paper and roll it out to create a thin layer to fit the    size of your casserole dish (9 inch dish). Remove the top layer of wax paper.  Put to the side.
  In a pot or large skillet heat the olive oil and add garlic and onion.
  Add the carrots, celery, broccoli and cauliflower and cook for 5-7 minutes until the veggies begin to cook through
  While veggies are cooking brown beef in another skillet
  Add the beef, beef stock, coconut flour (to thicken) and herbs
  Simmer for  10 minutes
  Pour into your casserole dish and put the dough on top.  I took the wax paper and flipped it upside down on top of the casserole dish and then gently pulled the wax paper away from the dough – you can see in the original picture that only 1/2 of the crust stayed in tact during this process.  It’s OK if it falls apart, you still get all the flavor.
  Bake for 25 minutes or until crust is brown.  I had to broil mine for 5 minutes at the end to get my crust to crisp up. " 


Directions from Cosmopolitan Primal Girl

Banana Almond Butter Cookie

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1 egg
• 2 bananas
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 tsp almond extract 
• 1 tbsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 F
Blend all ingredients in a large bowl, the cookie is yummy by itself but you could always throw in a handful or two of nuts, raisins, Enjoy Life chocolate chips, dried berries ... whatever you please :)
Drop batter 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet
Bake for 10-15 minutes depending on how hot your oven is

Excuses

This has nothing to do with food but this is one of my favorite clips! Everyone should watch it!

Paleo Cookie with Icing

Ingredients for Cookie:

• 1 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• pinch of sea salt
• 2 tbsp vanilla
• 2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 F
Mix all ingredients into a large mixing bowl and beat until you reach a creamy batter
Drop spoonfuls of batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet 1 inch apart
In each drop of batter make a small divot in the middle before baking
Bake for 8-12 minutes

Ingredients for Icing:

• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp agave nectar
• 2 tbsp coconut flour 

In a small bowl mix icing ingredients together until you get a creamy but somewhat thick batter, if it is too runny add a little coconut flour, if it is too thick add a little coconut milk until you reach this consistancy

Once cookies come out of the oven immediately take them off of the cookie sheet and place them on paper towels
Scoop a little of the icing onto each cookie and let dry for 30 minutes

Paleo Pretzels . . . well the closest thing to it

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2/3 cup coconut milk
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• set aside 1 egg
• set aside 1 tbsp sea salt for topping

Preheat oven to 400 F
In a mixing bowl combine flours, baking powder, honey, 1/2 tsp salt, coconut milk and olive oil
Dough should be kind of sticky
Lightly grease a cookie sheet with olive oil
Roll 1 spoonful of batter into a log (or ball if you prefer pretzel bites) and place 1 inch apart on cookie sheet
In a small bowl beat egg white with fork
Brush the egg white onto all pretzels and sprinkle lightly with sea salt
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Chocolate Chip Raisin Cookie

Ingredients:

• 1cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup water (add a little at a time and if you don't need all the water it is ok!) 

Preheat oven to 375
Mix all ingredients but chocolate chips and raisins in a large bowl until smooth
Fold in the chocolate chips and raisins
Place on an ungreased cookie sheet 1 in apart from one another
Bake for 12-15 minutes

Apple Cinnamon Rasin Cookie

Ingredients:

• 4 apples
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1 egg
• 1tsp baking soda
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 1tbsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350F
Puree apples and lemon juice and a dash of cinnamon.
In a bowl mix together all ingredients (including apple mixture but not the raisins)
Once mixed well fold in raisins with a spatula 
Lightly grease cookie sheet with olive oil
Drop a spoonful of batter about 1in apart from one another
Bake for 10-15 minutes

Zebra Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups almond flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• pinch of sea salt
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 T vanilla
• set aside (1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tbsp vanilla, & 3 tbsp almond flour)

Preheat your oven to 350F
Lightly grease (with olive oil) a 9-in round cake pan.
Mix together almond flour, baking powder and sea salt, set aside
In another bowl combine eggs, honey, coconut milk, olive oil, & vanilla
Mix until well combined
On a low speed, add the almond flour mixture until it is all incorporated.
Divide your batter into 2 equal portions. Keep one plain. In the other add the cocoa powder, vanilla and almond flour and mix well.
In the middle of the round cake pan scoop 3 spoonfuls of plain batter into the middle of the pan. Then scoop 3 spoonfuls of the cocoa batter and pour it in the center of the plain batter (right on top of it)
Continue to alternate between the two batters until all batter is used.
Bake for 20-25 minutes

Banana Bread Mini Muffins

Ingredients:

• 4 bananas
• 3 small eggs
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 3 handfuls of walnuts (or nut of your choice)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F
In a large bowl mix together bananas, eggs, olive oil, honey and vanilla.
Mix until you get an almost creamy texture
Add in the cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and coconut flour and mix thoroughly
I used mini muffin pans (you can use regular ones if you please but it will take longer to cook) and lined them with mini muffin liners and placed a spoonful into each cup
Bake for 20-25 minutes, you want them to be golden brown!
Enjoy!

First Post

Yay!! I've wanted to make a Paleo blog for a long time and I finally did it! I'll be posting recipes as I make or find them! :) I hope you enjoy it!