Very Paleo Breakfast

The only thing that could make this breakfast better is bacon, and unfortunately we were out.

Banana Bread French Toast
4 slices of banana bread (see previous post)
1 egg
1/4 almond milk
1 tbsp cinnamon
1tsp nutmeg
Splash of vanilla extract
Coconut oil
Honey

*I used the banana bread that I made the other day. From there, you make this like normal french toast. The coconut oil is used to coat the frying pan, and I top the toast with honey at the end. If you have pure maple syrup, that would work too.

Smoothie
1 banana
1cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup frozen pineapple or blueberries
1-1 1/2 cup 100% orange juice

*Place all of the items in a blender


Eggs
3 eggs
Splash water
Salt
Pepper

*Mix well and scramble in a frying pan

Almond Crusted Tilapia and Fried Zucchini

Holy hell, this recipe is delicious and a pain to make. Even though its stressful to cook, the pain doesn't last for long. Kinda like crossfit, you're in and out before you realize what hit you.

Speaking of crossfit, I am officially finished with the fundamentals classes. Apparently, I'm ready to participate in the WOD with the normal classes. I feel confident about the majority of the movements, but I'm terrible at remembering the names. Snatches, cleans, thrusters.... Ummmmmm whaaaaat?

Ingredients
2 lbs tilapia
2 zucchini
2 eggs
Almond flour
Coconut milk
Coconut oil
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Red pepper flakes

Directions
1. Slice the zucchini hamburger style
2. Rinse the tilapia and slice into strips
3. Create an egg bath to dip the meat and veggies in (I used egg and some coconut milk. I then seasoned it with garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper flakes.)
4. Put some almond flour in a bowl (we made out own in the Vitamix, but you can buy it at most stores)
5. Heat the coconut oil in a frying pan. Ignore the warning on the label of the oil...we fry with it and nothing bad has happened yet.
6. Dip your zucchini in the egg and then almond flour. I do all of the zucchini first so that the veggies don't end up in the same breading as the raw fish.
7. Do to the same with the fish.
8. Fry your food, but be aware how dark almond flour gets. This is the part I start to stress because I feel like its burning. Don't worry, it's not.
9. Enjoy your completely Paleo fried dinner.

Disclaimer: the picture is terrible. I swear this meal is really, really good. Like, really, seriously. (Miss you, D's!!!)

Paleo Banana Bread and Coconut Brownies

It happened. I finally made bread and brownies that were completely paleo, and stupid delicious. These two recipes were life changers for two reasons.

1. I seriously hate eggs and most things breakfast. This banana bread has changed my mornings forever. My only suggestion is to keep it in the refrigerator. Something strange and sticky happened when I left it out, most likely because there are zero preservatives.

2. We needed some kind of treat in the house, and these brownies are perfect for that. They're crazy easy, especially because of our Vitmax. (Teresa, thank you again...best.gift.ever.)

Until I have more experience with coconut flour, I will stick to these recipes 100%. I will most likely alter the banana bread a little in the future, just to add variety, but for now they are just fine.

Banana Bread


Coconut Brownies

We'll work on our photography skillz. These were super delicious and the pic doesn't do them justice. Also, the coconut kinda looks like cheese. Oops. 

 

Green AAS Smoothie

What a week! School is in full swing and life is back to normal. Well, I guess a new normal. James and I had a pretty solid routine down during the work week, making eating paleo pretty easy. We're to the point where we don't cheat throughout the week at all, and recipes are becoming easier and easier to create. We recently joined Crossfit Strom (insert large amounts of excitement here), which has been awesome, but has proven to be a little more difficult in terms of cooking and meal preparation. The crockpot may have to start making more appearances than before, but we'll see.

 

Green Apple Avocado Spinach Smoothie

*I can't take any credit for this recipe, but it is worthy of sharing. I know Juli created this recipe for people on a sugar detox, but fortunately I am not on one...so I added:

 

1. A little agave and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

2. I didn't want to use a lemon, so I used a splash of 100% orange juice.

3. We were out of ice cubes (James: hint, hint...), so I used a few frozen pineapple chunks from Trader Joe's.

 

Here are a few of my Random Thoughts:

 

1. I love crossfit more than I thought I would.

2. I was so sore this week that I had a hard time moving. At one point I was standing at the base of the staircase at school wondering how I would get up. A student stopped and asked if I needed help. My response? "Yes. Yes, I do. Please hold my coffee so I can use the railing."It was awesome.

3. I love three day weekends.

4. James got a muscle up on his first try. He's a beast.

5. I wish I had a yard for Ricky to roam in.

6. I won a give-away on paleomg.com! I've never entered one, but I actually won. What did I get? A Paleo Ebook and this awesome shirt.

7. The weather is warming up. Thank. Goodness. I hate being cold.

8. I love my smart wool socks from Teresa.

9. I spent two hours this morning scraping gum off of desks. My team tricked me into volunteering, but I didn't mind. Whatevs, it gave me something to do. Kids are weird and stick things in weird places. Ex. Several pencils were stuck in open wholes in the desk frame. Perhaps this is their way of avoiding a consequence for not being prepared for class. Fools...good luck on Tuesday when your secret stash is gone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who would have thought I would consume a non-alcoholic green beverage in this cup?! 25 year-old Ali definitely didn't see this one coming. A smoothie with 2 full cups of fresh spinach. Boom.

Chicken Stuffed Poblano Peppers

My liver has welcomed the post-holiday drinking break. I actually turned down my weekly Arts and Crafts with my 8th grade team. What is Arts a Crafts? Well, in the teaching world you have to be creative when having 'adult' conversations. So. I refer to Happy Hour as Arts and Crafts. Alcohol Rehab for Tension and Stress. Can't Remember a F!*#ing Thing. Sadly, I cannot take credit for that brilliant name. A veteran teacher I worked with in Pennsylvania created it, and I couldn't help but take it with me wherever I go.

Anyway, this recipe is a Paleo version of a recipe that my friend Amanda Royster gave me. Basically, I kept it the same and removed the cheese. Now, I used to use a lot of cheese, so a piece of my soul is sad to see it go. Whatevs, I love my body on Paleo and I suppose its ok to ease up on the deliciousness of cheese, especially now that we are members of a Crossfit gym. I want to be able to do kipping pull ups and hand stand push ups soon. It's true. I know cheese won't stop this from happening, but who knows. I would hate to blame the cheese gods for my lack of skill.

Ingredients
6 Poblano Peppers
1 lb Tomatillos
2 lbs Chicken Breast
2 Garlic Cloves
Chicken Stock

Directions
1. Boil the chicken breast in chicken stock. You want enough liquid to cover the chicken. The longer you boil, the easier it will be to shred.
2. Broil the Poblano peppers for 3-4 minutes each side. You want the skin to turn dark brown and blister.
3. Let the peppers cool and then peel off the sking. From there, remove the stem and seeds. Try your best to remove all of the seeds, because they are freakishly hot. I like hot, but not this hot.
4. Mince garlic and sautee in coconut oil (or oil of choice). Dice tomatillos and add to the garlic. Let this simmer on low while you prep the peppers. Note: choose tomatillos that are small. The bigger they get, the more sour of a taste they have.
5. Remove chicken from the pot. Shred with a fork and season with cumin, salt, and pepper.
6. Stuff the peppers with the chicken. Once they are all stuffed, top with the tomatillo mixture.
7. Warm in oven, about 5 minutes at 350 degrees.
8. We topped the pepper with sliced avocado and added a side of roasted cauliflower and diced tomato.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup and Avocado/Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Burgers

Today is day 5 of being back on strict Paleo and I feel amazing. It takes a couple days for your body to adjust, but the longer we're on Paleo, the faster our bodies respond. I can honestly say that I will never go back to eating non-Paleo. Yes, I will cheat now and then, and yes the holidays will most likely lead me off the path. No matter what, I'll always find my way back.

This dinner came from two different resources. I modified the soup recipe from my Vitamix cookbook, and the burgers came from Civilized Caveman. The key to this meal was making the soup in advance. I made it on Sunday an was slightly disappointed with the taste. By Monday it was deeeeelish!

James and I tried out a crossfit gym on Wednesday!!! Even though I know it's going to be expensive, we looked at our budget and found a way I make it work. I'm excited to destroy my body and hopefully make new friends. It was super random, but one of James' pledge brothers and his wife go to the gym we tried. Maybe we will become bff's. Who knows.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup
1 jar of roasted red peppers
1 can of coconut milk
2 tbs of almond flour
1/2 c diced onion
1/4 c iced celery
2 minced cloves of garlic

Avocado and Sun-dried Tomato Stuffed Burgers
2 lb ground meat
1 avocado
1 lemon
Sun-dried tomato

*I will post directions later...

Tahini and Sundried Tomato Stuffed Chicken Wrapped in Bacon

Winter break is finally over! I cannot believe it, but I am actually thrilled to be back into a routine. I thrive on structure and really fail without it. I seriously think I spent 36-48 straight hours in the apartment. My couch and I did some serious bonding, and I felt terrible by the end of each day. 

The mister and I found this recipe at www.civilizedcavemancooking.com/category/entrees/poultry/page/2/ and it turned out to be a.m.a.z.i.n.g.! I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. 

Oh, we just got a Trader Joe's close to our place! That's super exciting because we can make even more delicious recipes with reasonably priced ingredients. 

I have so much more to say, but I need to get some schoolwork done. Crap. Maybe I shouldn't have been so excited about the end of my vaca.