Paleo Honey Mustard Chicken

I found this recipe posted via Pinterest, and tracked it back to GoodLifeEats blog. I altered it a little, and loved how it turned out. Hope you enjoy, too!

Mustard Chicken

1/4 cup of Maile Course Mustard
1/4 cup Maile Original Dijon Mustard
1/4 cup honey
3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small sweet onion, coarsely cut
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken tenderloins
salt and pepper

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the mustards, honey, 2 teaspoons of the olive oil, and rosemary oil (optional).

In a sauté pan or cast iron skillet, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until golden and tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for an additional 1 - 2 minutes, until fragrant.

Place the chicken tenderloins on top of the onion and garlic mixture, or if the pan you cooked the onion and garlic in is not oven safe, transfer the onion and garlic to an oven safe dish and add the chicken to it. Salt and pepper the tops of the chicken according to your personal preference.

Pour the honey mustard mixture on top of the chicken. 

Bake the chicken covered at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes. Then remove the cover, baste the chicken with the sauce, and continue to cook for an additional 10 minutes uncovered, or until the chicken is browned on top and cooked through.

Apple Crisp

Brunch Apple Crisp

4 Cups of Organic Apples, peeled, cored, diced
1 TBSP Coconut Oil (melted)
2 tsp Cinnamon (or more, you decide)
1 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 Cup Honey
3/4 Cup Raw Macadamia Nuts, chopped

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine all of the above really well. Place into a pyrex glass dish and bake for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I serve this with the house-made pork breakfast sausage that our food co-op makes. I buy it at PCC and form it into sausage balls and saute it in my frying pan. 

Our family loves it, and I make it on weekends when we have more time.

Asian Pork Meatballs

I made these a while back, when we first moved to Seattle. Because I'd hit a "rut" food-wise, I dusted off this recipe and made them again last night. Now, I want to make more!

And I HATE meatballs, usually... just FYI! Here's the original recipe from Health-Bent and the below is my modified version.

Asian Pork Meatballs

1 lb ground pork
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 Cup Almond Flour
1 Jalapeno, diced
1 TBSP Asian Chili Garlic Sauce (check the label for no gluten, lower sugar, etc.)
3 Green Onions/Scallions with the tops
1 TBSP Cilantro Squeeze
1/4 t sesame oil

Preheat your oven to 350º F.

I chop everything and start folding it all together as I go along. There isn't really a science to it.

Use your Ice cream scoop or something similar to form the balls.

Place the meatballs in the oven on an ungreased baking sheet covered with parchment.

Bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Turn the oven on broil and brown the tops of the meatballs.

I dip them with Sweet Chili Sauce, and it's super yummy. Although, not totally paleo ;)

We are a Healthier Family

We moved to the Seattle area last March. Since that time, our little family has had the longest stretch of time where we've all been healthy. 

I realized this, because I have to do some research (finally) and find a pediatrician for Tali here! She hasn't had to even go to Urgent Care, not once.

I started thinking about what we changed, and I've come to a few realizations. 

I cleaned out our pantry of all the JUNK when we left Atlanta:

1. Gluten: we have no gluten in the house, save for a treat here and there for Tali.
2. Oil: I stopped cooking with oil other than coconut oil
3. Dairy: my half & half, otherwise we have no dairy. Coconut Milk, Almond Milk, Goat Cheese-that's it
4. Grass fed: Beef
5. Organic: Vegetables, Fruits, Chicken
6. Local/Sustainable: Wild Caught Fish, Honey
7. Canned Goods: I don't buy them. I buy Pomi for shelf stable tomatoes for sauces, etc. otherwise, I use fresh.

When we were in Atlanta, Tali had a drawer in the fridge with yogurt tubes, string cheese, etc. When we moved, we cut that out. We also cut out a lot of the shelf stable super processed snack foods, too.

Organic non-GMO snacks she eats now:

• Applesauce
• Carrots
• Bananas
• Apples
• Raisins
• Almonds with Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips (soy/dairy/gluten free)
• Berries

As most of you know, Beau is gluten-intolerant and eats a mostly Paleo diet. When we moved, it was a good opportunity for me to selectively "get rid of" a lot of the things that were making us feel bad, adding fats, calories etc. to our bodies and chemicals, too.

I fully believe this change has had a significant impact on our health and immune systems :)

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Nothing surprises me with Paleo, anymore. When the hubby sent me this recipe, I knew I'd have every man who even considered paleo (and many who don't care) wanting to have the recipe.

Here's the link to the original: Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1.5 c. almond flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tbsp arrowroot
• 1/2 tsp. maple extract/flavoring
• 1/4 c.  Organic amber honey
• 1 egg white
• 3 tbsp. melted coconut oil
• 1/3 c. Enjoy Life semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 5 strips Uncured Whole Foods 365 bacon, cooked, cooled, and diced

Instructions

1. Mix almond flour, arrowroot and baking soda in one bowl. Set aside.
2. In another bowl, beat egg white and slowly add melted butter and then maple flavoring.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well.
4. Add chopped bacon and chocolate chips last.
5. Use a cookie scooper and scoop out onto a baking stone
6. Bake at 300 for 12-13 minutes depending on the size you made your cookie.
7. At 8 minutes flatten your cookie, if you care about how they look. Then, bake for another 5-7 minutes. *For me, 13 minutes wasn't enough time.

Make sure you cool them completely, they can be doughy if you don't.

Paleo Ahi Poke

Paleo Ahi Poke

1/4 lb. Sushi Grade Ahi Tuna block
2 Green Onions with tops
1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds
1-2 tbsp. Toasted Organic Sesame Oil
1-2 tbsp. Coconut Aminos (soy sauce substitution)
pinch red cayenne pepper powder
pinch sea salt

Chop and dice the ahi block into cubes. Chop and dice the green onions. Sprinkle in sesame seeds, sesame oil and coconut aminos until there's a sufficient amount of liquid coating the diced ahi. Once combined, sprinkle with cayenne and sea salt and allow to marinate in the refrigerator 1 hour up to 24 hours.

Serve cold and enjoy!

Spicy Pineapple Paleo Chili

A lot of family and friends have asked for this recipe, so I decided to post it on my blog vs. emailing it out to a zillion people (and probably forgetting a couple).

The original recipe was posted in Paleo Magazine August/September 2012 issue. When I made it for the first time, I altered it. After my husband wanted to live off of it the past month, I've continued to alter it more based on our tastes. In all, I've made various versions about 8 times in the past month. 

Spicy Pineapple Paleo Chili

2.5 lbs. Local Grass Fed Ground Beef
12 ozs. Uncured Bacon-chopped 
2 Green Bell Pepper diced
1 Large Sweet Onion diced
1 Large Jalapeno diced
2 Tbsps. Minced Garlic
1/4 cup Chili Powder
1 28 oz. can San Marzano Crushed Tomatoes
1 Pomi Diced Tomatoes
1/4 cup Tomato Paste
2 Tbsps. Garlic Powder
1 Tbsp. Ground Red Cayenne Pepper
1 Tbsp. Coconut Oil
1 Pineapple - diced
Sea Salt to taste

Chop and dice vegetables, then saute in coconut oil. Once cooked, set aside in a bowl. Brown ground beef while folding in cayenne and garlic powder. Once brown, combine sauteed vegetables with browned ground beef and tomatoes. In separate frying pan, cook bacon until done but soft (not crispy). Fold bacon into chili pot and let simmer for 45 minutes. Add tomato paste and pineapple 5 minutes before serving, after turning off the heat, but keep the lid on.