I want it NOW!!

My family and friends love to go out for pizza, but it is not my thing. Unless I want a salad. And who wants to eat a salad while you sit and watch every one else sit and eat gooey, cheesy pizza? Oh and then there is "gluten-free" pizza. But then that is usually made out of rice flour, so whaddya do? Well we have a local pizza place here called Tommy's Pizza. They have what they call Paleo Bowls. And they are awesome!! Basically you can get any pizza topping you want along with their sauce on a bed of spinach. Just let me tell ya....it is SOOOOO good. I think they are about 7 bucks but you totally get enough for 2 meals.....well, I know I do! haha! And you can just mix and match any ingredients and come up with drastically different flavors each time. I'm a traditionalist, so I tend to stick to the same thing each time, but who knows... I might venture out and change it up next time....probably not. Who am I kidding??? I'm not the least bit adventurous! lol! O.k here is a pic of the last Paleo Bowl I got at Tommy's Pizza.

I KNOW! How great does that look? I just ate breakfast but I think I could still take that down, cause it looks so good! This one has some spinach, sauce, chicken, onion, mushrooms and peppers. So GOOD!

Well this last week I was stuck at home due to that darn stomach bug that hit everyone in my fam except for me. Praise the Lord! And it just so happens I was craving a Paleo Bowl...MAJORLY! So what's a girl to do? Make my own....that's what I'll do.

So I took about 2 cups of fresh baby spinach and put it in the bottom of a bowl. Topped that with warm marinara sauce mixed with grass fed beef, onion, and green pepper. Topped that with sauteed mushrooms, 1 slice of chopped bacon, some diced jalapeno and VIOLA!!! I had a paleo bowl right in my own house! Craving crisis averted!

So your take away lesson here is......If you are near Tommy's Pizza....go there and getcha a Paleo Bowl! And if your not....make your own at home! Let your tastebuds be your guide! You won't be sorry!!

IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!!!!!

Oh my, I am so excited about this one! And it is because I LOVE this product, and the message that the folks over at The Sox Box are sending. Today begins The Sox Box giveaway. And we are giving away a pair of sock that continuously runs out of stock cause they are SO popular.....the STRONG MAMA socks!!

We call these PR socks at my box. Anytime you are going for a PR you should be wearing your socks for good luck!! haha! Now If I know anything, I know we have some STRONG MAMA's here at Paleo Mommy, so get in on this giveaway!! I love this message and I love the quality and the way these socks fit!!

So here is what you need to do to get entered to win this socks.....

1."Like" Paleo Mommy on FB

2."Like" The Sox Box on FB and tell them "Paleo Mommy sent me!"

3.  Share this contest post on FB

4.  Leave a comment here telling me you have completed all tasks!

I will randomly draw a winner out of the lot that completed all tasks on Wed. Feb 27th. Let's make this a good giveaway. The more people that participate the more giveaways I can do for you guys! <3

My Favorite Smoothie

Hi guys,

How is the week going so far?? Well mine just keeps getting better and better.

So last night I felt pretty good about myself catching up on all the laundry. When your husband is an engineer by day and magician by night, and you have two little girls who like to change clothes every hour, you end up with a LOT of laundry. I was making a huge dent in the enormous pile when I started switching a load from the washer to the dryer. I see stuff falling off the clothes and I thought, "oh my, the girls must have gotten glitter in here somehow." Then I realized it wasn't glitter, it looked more like ice. So I thought...."oh no! The washer must be broken. How did ice get in here?!" I'm a genius....I know! Come to find out, it was all the water absorbent gel from the inside of a pull up. Yep. That's right. It was never ending and it would not come off. So after a total of 4 hours rinsing and re-rinsing clothes, wiping and re-wiping out the washer along with rinsing and re-rinsing the washer.....the horrible nightmare is over. I thought to myself this morning after I could finally sit back and laugh about it (scratch that, not there yet... After I could sit back and not be quite as angry about it) "look on the bright side.....At least it was a new, clean pull up........ It could have been worse.....MUCH worse."

Another thing I did this morning after finishing cleaning up that mess was make my FAVORITE smoothie. I crave this thing and could possibly survive on this alone and be perfectly happy. Look at this beautiful, tasty thing.....

This is what I use for it. Keep in mind, smoothies are so versatile and you can switch up stuff however you want. 

Paleo Mommy's Spinach, Blueberry Smoothie

1-2 cups of washed baby spinach

1 cup of frozen bluberries

3 ice cubes

1 Tablespoon of almond or cashew butter

1 Tablespoon of coconut manna (optional)

1 teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2-1 cup of unsweetened almond or coconut milk

This with a side of protein (usually a hard boiled egg for me) and it is a good meal. This monster keeps me full for at the very least 4 hours. 

Asian Spaghetti Squash

So if you read my blog yesterday you know I sent my oldest daughter to church with her dress on backwards. Well today I find out I send my youngest daughter out with her coat inside out. What is going on with me?!?! Anyway, here is a recipe for ya'll who love spaghetti squash. I hope you like it.

Asian Spaghetti Squash
serves appx 4

1 medium pre-roasted spaghetti squash
4 slices of bacon, thinly diced
1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil
1 small onion, minced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
2 Tablespoons of coconut aminos
4 fried eggs

In a large pan over medium heat brown up the bacon
Remove from pan and add sesame oil, onion, garlic and pepper flakes
Cook until onions are translucent
Add coconut aminos, squash and bacon (reserving a little bacon for garnish)
Cook until squash is warmed through and all the ingredient are incorporated
Top each portion with a fried egg and garnish with crispy bacon crumbles and red pepper flakes

What the heck do you feed your kids for lunch everyday?!?!

That is a question I have gotten quite often. I will tell ya...it is not always easy. Right now I'm trying to blog about how to feed your kids healthy paleo meals and I really should be asking you guys how to properly dress my child. We just got home from church and I realized that her dress was on backwards all morning throughout church and during lunch out  at a restaurant with friends. Wow, where was MY head at this morning?

Anyway..... listen....I know....I get it mom's...It is super easy to grab some cereal, some granola bars, something prepackaged and quick to thrown down for your kids. I understand, I'm just here to offer some alternatives. Now, don't think I've got it all figured out. My kids aren't 100% paleo. When they eat at home, this is what I feed them. When they go to birthday parties...they eat cake. If you are a mom who feeds your child 100% paleo....Congratulations and good for you, I'm just not there yet. :) That being said....Let's get this started.....

If you have been around Paleo Mommy any length of time at all you know how much I stress the importance of preparation. Same goes with quick easy lunches at my house. I get home from the store and the first thing that happens is boil a dozen eggs.

Next make up some meat for the breakfast and lunch...this weeks I needed some sausage balls.

Prep veggies and fruit for easy grab and go snack and for meals.

Here are some veggie strips, washed peeled and cut. Some grapes, blueberries and apples washed and ready to go, pre-made graNOla, pre-made chicken salad, washed and shredded lettuce, prepped strawberries (not washed until ready to eat) and not pictured is the eggs and sausage balls which will be used for lunches and for breakfasts. Here is the menu for the week, I even gave you our breakfasts.....see how much I love you guys?!?! :)

Monday:

Breakfast- egg, bacon, bluberries

Lunch- chicken salad on lettuce, graNOla, strawberries

Tuesday:

Breakfast- NOatmeal with cinnamon and blueberries

Lunch- hardboiled eggs filled with tuna salad, apples and hazelnut butter with cocoa powder, and pickle

Wednesday:

Breakfast- Coconut yogurt with graNOla and strawberries

Lunch- Leftover spaghetti (zucchini noodles topped with sausage balls and sauce) and asparagus

Thursday:

Breakfast- NOatmeal again 

Lunch- ham roll ups with mustard and pepper strips, coconut yogurt, and blueberries

Friday:

Breakfast- Banana bread with strawberries

Lunch- Pick out what you want day- they chose hard boiled egg, sausage, pistachios, grapes, and pepper sticks.

You're eating WHAT???

I have to tell ya....before Paleo there was no way I was eating or drinking some of the things that I do now. And there are still some things that other paleo people eat and drink that I think....."I am NEVER eating THAT!" Today I will be sharing the top 5 things I would've NEVER eaten before paleo, but now is a staple in my diet.

1. Brussel Sprouts - I hated them...or so I thought. I tried them in a salad and I tried them in a slaw, but it was so nasty to me that I said...NEVER AGAIN! That was, until I tried Everyday Paleo's version of roasted brussel sprouts with bacon...Ummm...they were DA BOMB! And now I don't even need the bacon..GASP!! I know, I know..... but I still love them just roasted in some olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary. And you wouldn't believe it, but I even crave brussel sprouts now.

2. Kombucha - I hate tea. Like, literally, it makes me gag. So the thought of me drinking fermented tea with weird looking scum floating in it seemed never likely. But I love the stuff and I can actually tell a difference in the way I digest food when I drink it.....floating scummy stuff and all. I don't get it all the time cause it is pretty pricey, and I haven't gotten to the point where I'm willing to try to make it myself yet. :)

3. Bone broth - Never heard of it before paleo. And I never used my left over bones from cooking for anything except the trash. Now I look at those bones like they are gold. And the weirder the bones the better. I mean what makes a better broth that some chicken feet and ox tail? haha! Speaking of bone broth I have found this company that delivers real bone broth straight to your door. Check them out at Real Bone Broth. This is a pic from their site.

4. Winter Squash - I never even knew how to get those things open much less how to cook them. I wasn't a big veggie person before paleo so I would usually skip the produce section all together on grocery trips. I didn't even know what these little things that would come out in the fall were. But fall is now my favorite time of year (food wise) and it is due in large part to winter squash. Roast them, puree them in a soup, stuff them with some spicy sausage....anyway you cook 'em... I'll eat 'em!

5. Coconut Oil - Coconut oil, because that just sounds weird and I'm sure it tastes weird too, but it is used ALL the time now in my house, and not just for cooking.

So what are your top 5 thing you never thought you would love before paleo?



Moving on....last night I was thinking about the spicy cashew chicken that I usually get at Thai Garden and I thought...let's try to make this a soup. And here is what came of that....

Spicy Cashew Chicken Soup

Ingredients

1 1/2 T of olive oil

1/2 t of sesame oil (if you don't have sesame oil, just use 2T of olive oil)

1/2 yellow onion thinly sliced or 3 shallots thinly sliced (I like the shallots)

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 - 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated (depending on how much you like ginger)

1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

1 small container of white mushrooms, sliced

2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded ( I used some left over rotisserie chicken)

4 cups of chicken stock

1 zucchini, peeled and julienned with a julienne peeler or cut with a knife into long noodle like strands

2 bunches of baby bok choy, cut into thin strips, could substitute one bunch of kale cut into thin strips if baby bok choy can't be found

1/2 cup of cashew butter

1 cup of water, hot

garnish - chopped cashews, and red pepper flakes


- Over medium heat, in a soup pot. heat the olive oil and sesame oil.
- Once oil is hot add your onion, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, and mushrooms. You made need a bit more oil, add if necessary.
- Cook until onions are soft and mushroom cook down and get some color.
- Add in your cooked, shredded chicken and mix. Cook until chicken gets heated through.
- Add in your 4 cups of stock and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling add zuchini and bok choy or kale. Let this come up to a boil then turn the heat down to simmer.
- Let the mixture simmer for about 15 minutes or until the veg is cooked.
- In a seperate bowl mix the 1 cup of hot water with your cashew butter and start to get it melted. Then add that mixture to your soup. Make sure you mix thouroughly to get all the cashew butter melted into the soup.
- Serve and garnish with chopped cashews and red pepper flakes.

If you would like more liquid in your soup feel free to add more water or stock to your liking.

I'm actually eating this for breakfast as I type and I still love it!! haha! I'm thinking of swiping some of the spicy thai seasoning off the table at Thai Garden for the next time I make this and use that instead of the red pepper flakes. YUMMMMM!! I'm telling ya, if you don't like spice, I wouldn't suggest you NOT make this recipe. In my humble opinion the spice is necessary!! :)

Have a great day!!

Super simple and SUPER yummy one pan oven roasted chicken and veg!!

Guys, Let me tell you......this is an awesome recipe!! I was watching Cooks Illustrated one night on PBS and this recipe was on. I can't really remember the exact measurements (no worries my measurements were still awesome!) and I changed an ingredient or two to make it Paleo. The whole family dug this meal and my 5 year old went on and on and on about how awesome the chicken was. So lets get started.

Now if you don't really like handling chicken too much you can just buy 2 bone in chicken breasts, 2 bone in chicken thighs and two chicken legs. Or you can save a heck of a lot of money and just buy a whole bird. That way you have some awesome stuff to make bone broth with later!! yum!

Let me give you the low down on how to cut up a chicken. This was not easy for me tonight since my knife was totally dull. Fixed that problem and the hubs already ordered a sharpener online! :)

First things first, cut off the wings. We aren't gonna use this in the recipe so save them for some bone broth.

Flip the bird over and cut out the back bone. I find this easier with kitchen scissors.

Now that the back bone is out, the only thing left holding the leg to the breast is skin so cut the leg and thighs right off.

Now we want to separate the leg from the thigh so flip it over and you will find a line of fat. Cut right on that line and you will find the joint to cut through.

Next use your knife to cut right down the center of the breast bone. This'll take a bit of muscle. 

Now, I didn't get a pic of this but you are gonna CUT EACH SIDE IN HALF AGAIN. So you will end up with four pieces out of these two breasts. Kinda cut toward the fat end of the breast a bit so they will cook evenly. 

You will end up with 8 pieces of chicken....2 legs, 2 thighs, 4 pieces of breast. I have them on paper towels and I will pat the top of the chicken as well so they are dry and will crisp up nice for me. 

Now that you know how to cut up a bird you can make this recipe.

What you need:

8 pieces of chicken cut up as I've shown you

1 yellow onion, cut in wedges

2 cups of brussel sprouts, halved

2 cups of sweet potatoes, cubed

2 cups of carrots, cubed

1 tsp of thyme

1 tsp of rosemary

6 cloves of garlic, minced

1 Tbs of olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

For the herb butter

2 Tbs of ghee, melted

2 tsp of thyme

1 tsp of rosemary

Salt and pepper

Run your knife through all the herbs so they are nice and fine.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Yes I know that's hot!! :)

First, make an herb butter to brush on top of the chicken. To make this just melt the two TBS of ghee and add the 2 tsp of thyme and 1 tsp of rosemary.  Add a good pinch of salt and some pepper. Set aside for later.

Chop all of your veggies so they are all in good size chunks and all approximately the same size so they cook evenly. 

Place the veg and garlic in a large mixing bowl and top with olive oil and 1 tsp of thyme and 1 tsp of rosemary. I chopped these very fine before putting them with the veggies. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper. Mix it all together to coat all the veg with the oil and herbs. Add more oil if needed.

Next pour all the veg onto a baking sheet and make sure you place the brussel sprouts in the middle so they will be less likely to burn.

Place your chicken pieces on top of the veg. Since the breast tend to cook quicker place those in the center on top of the sprouts and the rest of the chicken around that.

Now brush your chicken pieces with the herb butter.

Place in the over for 35-40 minutes. And enjoy!