Happy belated Memorial Day!  Im sure everyone had their BBQs and such, but I wanted to share a great tasting side dish that is sure to make anyones tastebuds jump for joy.  Its easy and healthy!  

Over the weekend we planted our vegetable garden.  Growing up, my mom always had a garden, so it makes me exited to have my own!  This year we have a few herbs, a bunch of different pepper plants, tomatoes, cucumbers, summer squash, zucchini, red onions, and last but not least - brussels sprouts.  I am excited to see what the brussels sprouts do!  Ill be sure to update you on the progress.  We have had a little sunshine, but right now its cold and rainy.  We need a good day of sunshine and the plants will sprout right up!  Summer, where are you?  Please come and STAY!

Happy St. Pattys Day!  Although you may already have your dinners planned, I wanted to bring you a corned beef and cabbage recipe in lieu of the holiday!  
Growing up, St. Patricks Day was a pretty big holiday in my grandmothers house.  She's almost 100% irish. Lots of green and salty meats.  Theres some strong Irish blood in the family!  Joe and I have continued this tradition by making corned beef and cabbage for the last few years on St. Patricks day.  
With St. Patricks Day, typically comes spring.  Lets hope that winter stops rearing its ugly head and the snow melts already!  Without further adieu, here is the recipe!

So its been a little while since I have posted….. so I have to come back with a vengeance and some fabulous recipes so you will forgive me! Life has been a little hectic.  Wedding planning is fun, but there are so many things to think about!  I couldn't imagine trying to do this without a wedding planner overseas.  In just 9 short months we will be on the beach in the Dominican getting hitched! After this long, cold, miserable winter - I can't stop dreaming of warm, tropical weather.  Next up - planning the honeymoon!  We will be staying in the D.R. but switching resorts.  Decisions, desicions!

In Crossfit news, the open starts tonight!!!  We are super excited and can't wait to see how we stack up this year!  The announcements of the workouts over the next 5 weeks will be Thursday nights at 8pm.  We will be watching the live stream online - games.crossfit.com

Anyways, we have still be cooking but I have been using the same recipes.  When it gets busy, you tend to get in a routine and just make the same old thing. Time to get creative again!  I have a few goodies lined up for you, but some still need some perfecting. Joe has been asking for sloppy joes, so finally last night his wish came true.  I googled a few recipes, mixed and matched and came up with a pretty good version.  Enjoy!

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 can tomato paste (6 oz.)
• 1/2 cup broth (You can use beef, turkey, or chicken.  I used Turkey because its what I had!)
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon brown or yellow (prepared) mustard
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 1-2 teaspoon of smoked paprika (to taste)
• Stevia - I used 2 of the little tiny scoops and it was enough.  This is just to sweeten it up a little more.
• Optional - 1-2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil, then add your onions and sauté until slightly translucent.
2. Add your beef, and cook, breaking apart any the chunks of meat.
3. Once meat is completely browned, drain any excess grease if needed.
4. Add all remaining ingredients, stirring continuously to get the flavors to meld.
5. Continue cooking about 10 minutes or until sauce is somewhat thickened.
6. Serve on your favorite sandwich method!  Mine is lettuce cups, while Joe's is a hamburger bun.

Happy Tuesday!  Sometimes you just need that comfort meal, a type of meal that is usually a little hard to "paleotize".  Today, I bring you Paleo Fish (or Clam) chowder.  Being in MA, I have a high standard on how we like our Chowda'.  I did bring this home to the family, and they all LOVED it. (Which is HUGE.  They are a tough crowd to please!) 

I have been wanting to try something like this for a while, but honestly, didn't think it would  go as well as it did!  I was inspired when Joe went fishing with a few buddies and brought home some delicious fish!  He caught Sea Bass and Striper.  Both a white fish, Sea Bass is a little sweeter, but both versatile.  See the picture? Thats happy fisherman Joe :)

Hello everyone!  Happy Fall!  Here in New England, the leaves are starting to change.  Its a beautiful time of year.  Currently, we are in a heat wave, its been in the high 70s.  Im not complaining!  It gets pretty cool at night, but its nice sleeping. 

When I worked in Boston, one of my FAVORITE places to eat was Wagamama.  Its a healthier, japanese style restaurant.  They are known for their Ramen (aka - Big Bowls of Noodle Soup).  Clearly, we know ramen is pasta and not paleo. Before I knew about paleo and I would go there, I would eat around the noodles!  There was just too many!  Deep down, I guess I was destined to be paleo :)

Anyways, It has been a mission (although it seemed easy, it wasn't!) to figure out how to make a paleo version of this.  I was on Facebook, and I saw that one of my favorite sites http://civilizedcavemancooking.com had a recipe for Beef Noodle Soup with Shitake Mushrooms and Baby Bok Choy.  This got the wheels turning!  So with that said, I bring you Chili Steak Soup with "Noodles".  I am also a mist the Lurong Paleo Challenge.  Anyone participating, this is a great recipe!

Hello all my happy readers!  Im sorry if you feel neglected, it has been very busy around here!  The wedding planning is in the works!  We did decide we are doing destination - Punta Cana DR.  We are very excited to be having a vacation with all of our family and friends, late 2014.  Now, to get those Save the dates out….

We are trying to go apple picking this weekend (as long as the weather cooperates!) so hopefully I will have some apple recipes for you! 

We have still been cooking, but have been using recipes I have already shared! I did however amend a great recipe the other day, and wanted to share.  

Its Mamas Stuffed Peppers Gone Paleo - REVISED!

• 6 peppers (I used green, but you can use other colors as well!)
• 1.5 Lbs. of ground beef (the leaner the better)
• 1 onion
• a few cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup of cooked quinoa (I cook mine in chicken broth)
• a handful of fresh herbs (I used basil, rosemary and thyme because its what I had!)
• 1 can of Trader Joes tomatoes Diced & Fire Roasted with Organic Green Chiles
• Jalapeño (Optional!)

1. Start by par boiling the peppers until semi soft
2. While those are cooking, start cooking the meat - add chopped onions, garlic and herbs. (you can cook it as much or as little as you like.  It will take longer to cook in the over, the less the meat is cooked)
3. Once the peppers are done, cut of the tops, chop them up and add to the meat mixture. 
4. For the tomato mixture, add the can of tomatoes in a foo processor and puree.  I also added a jalapeño to give a little extra kick!
5. Mix about half the tomato mixtures and the quinoa into the meat mixture.
6. Stand your peppers up in a glass-baking dish and stuff the meat mixture into the peppers.
7. Cover the tops of the peppers with the remaining tomato sauce.
8. Bake at 350 until all the meat is cooked through!  (The time will depend on how much you cooked the meat before hand.  The flavors may be richer if you cook the meat about half way and cook the other half in the oven.)
   
   Enjoy!
   
   

Im coming at you with a recipe today that will surely knock your socks off.  It does have some dairy, so for anyone who is lactose intolerant - I'm sorry!!!  Its a great little side dish, comfort meal, or snack.

But, first and foremost - I would like to wish my Grandma a very happy birthday!!  Today, she's 92 years YOUNG!  I know she won't read this, but Happy Birthday Grams!!!  She's just as witty as she was years ago :)

Next subject, wedding planning!  Still trying to get prices and such for a destination so we can make the decision to find somewhere local, or hop on a plane to Mexico!  Decisions, Decisions!  Im getting anxious, I want to start planning!!!

Those of you who planted a garden, how’s it going?  We picked some cucumber, and there’s more to come there!  These guys are doing well.  We also have a TON of tomatoes, hopefully be picking one in the next few days! We have had a few cherry tomatoes but that’s it.  My Zucchini, summer squab, and green peppers all decided to just grow flowers and no veggies this year.  Not sure what’s going on there!  I have picked a few jalapeños and chills, but no habaneros either.  All in all, its 100X more successful than last year, but its pretty slow.  I will def be doing it again next year!

SO for the recipe.  This is a recipe I sort of made up on the fly.  We are doing a nutrition challenge at the gym (not Paleo, but Healthy…) so I am "allowed" to eat cheese.  I don't eat much dairy, but once in a while, its just good!  The Cheese I chose was else a block that needed shredding.   I would recommend getting already shredded cheese, it will save a lot of time!

• 1 Spaghetti Squash
  
• 5-8 oz. Cheese (I used a Jalapeno Habanero Jack, but you can use what you like!)
  
• 4 slices of bacon, cooked
  
• Optional: Jalapenos!
  

First thing you need to do is cook your squash.  You have 2 options:

• Preheat oven to 350, cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  Put a small amount of water at the bottom of baking dish and put the squash halves in flesh down.  Bake for about an hour.  When the meat starts to “spaghetti” and come out easy with a fork, its done!
  
• The other option is cooking the squash in the microwave.  If you have a being enough micro, this is a much faster option! In a microwave safe dish add about 1/2 inch water or chicken broth to the bottom of the container. Add the spaghetti squash halves with flesh facing down. Microwave for 8-12 minutes until the flesh comes out easily with a fork.
  

1. Once squash is cooked, put the flesh in a backing dish.  Make the thickness pretty thin, spaghetti squash tends to hold a lot of water – this will keep it drier. 
   
2. Sprinkle your cheese and amount of choice on top of the squash.
3. Chop up your cooked bacon and jalapenos if you’re spicing it up, throw them on top.
4. At 350 bake uncovered for 30-45 minutes.
5. Serve. 

Warning: it will be HOT and DELICIOUS!

So its been a little while since my last post.  Its been a great and busy summer!  Where to begin……  I was on Vacation in Nashville TN.  What a wonderful place!  I will say it options of healthy eating were not very good, but the music scene was something else.  Started off as a a convention for work, then Joe flew out for a little vacation.  He did have other plans….. We're engaged!!!!!!  I would say it was the best moment of my life thus far.  He definitely surprised me.  I couldn't be happier!   I think my paleo cooking was something he knew he couldn't live without haha.  So now for the wedding planning!  Joe and I are considering doing a destination wedding, while Mom has her heart set on us getting married here.  But geez!  What an expensive day!  Im sure this will be the first of many rants on here about wedding planning.  I am currently doing some research on some local venues, and trying to get info to try and guess-timate some pricing for a destination.  Any tips from anyone on a destination wedding would be greatly appreciated!  

We are starting another nutritional challenge from August 3rd - September 14th, so stay tuned for some recipes to help get you through it!

So I am dedicating this post to Joe, my fiancé (still getting used to that!)  This is one of his favorites, (and is very versatile!)

• 1lb of meat (we LOVE Shrimp! but chicken or steak, or a combo works well too!)
  
• 1 can of full fat coconut milk
  
• 1tbs of Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste
  
• A bunch of stiff veggies (I used broccoli, mushrooms, Green and Red Peppers, Onions, Zucchini)
  
• Fish Sauce (be sure to look at the label!)
  
• Optional:  Some fresh basil

1. Start by preheating your pan.  For best result, I would recommend a Wok.
   
2. Cut all your veggies to bite size.  Its your preference on how big or small you want them!
   
3. Open your can of coconut milk, be careful not to shake it!  Scoop the fat off the top and put it in the hot pan.  Scoop all of it out until you get to the liquid (its typically about 1/2 the can)  WARNING:  this is going to Smoke ALOT!  Be sure to turn on your oven fan, or you will set off smoke alarms!
   
4. Once the coconut milk fat starts to bubble and separate, add the curry paste and mix well.  This will do it magic and make the curry paste
   
5. Now throw in your meat and cook accordingly.  
   
6. Once the meat is nearly done throw, in the veggies, basil if your using it, and pour in the remainder of the coconut milk. 
   
7. When the veggies are tender, its time to eat!
   

Enjoy!

It almost the first day of summer!!!!  We have had some sun, but New England is getting hit with a lot of rain.  Since planting my garden, I have only had to use the sprinkler once, and that was right after I planted it!  Now we need some sun and the wonderful veggies will sprout right up!  There are already a few peppers on my little red pepper plant.  Must be the daily conversations I have with them! 

So lately in my diet I have been lacking carbs.  Carbs in paleo aren't easy to come by.  You have to eat a TON of veggies and then of course carbs in fruit.  In an effort to get more carbs, sweet potatoes are a wonderful thing.  Theres are so many different ways you can make them:  baking them, mashing them, boiling them - then theres making them into hash!  This is an easy recipe that you can make as much as you want and it will stay good in the fridge for a weeks worth of carbs for your breakfast, lunch, dinner or post workout! 

A note about the maple syrup...... I would highly recommend using one from a local farm, not the commercial brands.  The commercial brands have a TON off added ingredients, such as high fructose corn syrup.   They do sell the real stuff  at whole foods, trader joes, some supermarkets should have it as well (but it will be much more expensive!) So support your local farmers and see if they have some!! 

• 2 large sweet potatoes
  
• 1 onion
  
• 6-7 pieces of bacon 
  
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
  
• 1 teaspoon ginger
  
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  
• 1-2 table spoons of maple syrup (this can be optional, it makes it a slight different dish, but still yummy, without it!)

** If you do not want to cook the onions and hash in the bacon drippings, you can use coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil!