Browsing Tag

Paleo Breakfast

What Do I Eat On The Paleo Diet?

July 11, 2016

I still get weird looks when I tell people I’m paleo. Either it’s because they don’t know what that means. Or because they do know what it means, and are thoroughly confused as to how I get by every day with such a "restricted" menu. They always ask, without bread, grains, beans or dairy*, what do you eat?? The answer: A LOT.

*Note: I am paleo-ish, so at times, I do eat dairy, quinoa, hummus and trial bites of my husband's burger pretty much every time he orders one 🙂

So I thought that I’d share with all of you who are curious – what does this paleo girl eat in a day?

— June 24 —

First Thing: Turmeric Bone Broth

This is paleo bone broth with a touch of turmeric and salt and peper

If you read my last post on how to make bone broth, you know how I'm a big fan of sipping the golden juice daily (or at least a few times a week) for preventitive care of joint pain, inflammation, indigestion and tons of beauty benefits. Any way I can get turmeric in my day is a good thing. So this  morning, I tried a simple combo of turmeric, salt and pepper + coconut oil. Remember, turmeric is much more effective if it's taken with pepper and fat.

Ingredients:

Breakfast: Booger Smoothie

PaleoSmoothie

You can't get away from the ugly colored smoothies when you've got greens in your juice, but you can make it prettier by adding pretty healthy toppings like bee pollen and goji berries. I've already told you all about why Bee Pollen is the New Black and why Turmeric is my Favorite, but there are some other gems in here like Ginger Root (good for inlammation), Wheat Grass (known to be a healing agent, but not to be used in mass amounts on a regular basis) and Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides (my favorite – and the most natural way to get extra protein in my smoothies). I was particularly proud of this combination of fruits and greens, as the flavor turned out delicious – which is not always a guarantee when your as ambitious as I am about stuffing every fruit and veggie imaginable into one Vitamix.

Ingredients:

  • Romaine Lettuce
  • Ginger root
  • Turmeric
  • Pepper
  • Frozen Pineapple
  • Frozen Mango
  • Coconut Water
  • Bee Pollen
  • Wheat Grass
  • Vital Proteins Collagen
  • Goji Berries

Lunch: Fruits from my Roots Salad

PaleoMangoAvocadoSalad

I have a salad almost every day. I know to some that sounds boring. But I don't see it that way. With the pure number of fruits and vegetables, spices and seasonings, and nuts and seeds in this world – there are endless combinations to what you can stuff in a bowl. This particular one reminded me of my childhood because I used two fruits that were staples in my house growing up – Avocados and Mangos. My Barbados-born dad was adamant about never wasting ANY of the fruit. So I'd always have to scrape that mango dry before I threw away the skin. Don't worry Dad, I made sure to get every last drop 😉

Ingredients:

  • Romaine Lettuce
  • Sliced Cucumber
  • Chopped Mango
  • Chopped Avocado
  • Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette (Balsamic Vinegar + Red Chili Pepper + Salt + Pepper + Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

 

Dinner: Hormone Balancing Meatballs + Paleo Pasta

Paleo meatballs with zucchini pasta and sweet potato pasta created in a spiralizer PaleoPasta

You guys have already heard me sing the praises of my hormone balancing meatballs. You'll see these pop up on my dinner table (and my Instagram feed) often because they're so easy and so damn good. I love coming home from work, and pulling out a few already-made delicious meatballs from the freezer. All I have to do is simmer them in bone broth for 10 minutes or so in a saute pan. They are part of my fertility diet, but I highly recommend them to anybody who is looking to balance their hormones. My favorite thing to top them with is "Paleo Pasta" which is really just a combination of any vegetable I can spiralize. In this case, I used a Sweet Potato, Zucchini and Yellow Squash.

Ingredients:

  • Spiralized Sweet Potato >> sautéed in Dr. Bronner's coconut oil and sprinkled with Salt, Pepper and Cinnamon.
  • Sprialized Zucchini and Squash >> sautéed in Dr. Bronner's coconut oil and sprinkled with Salt, Pepper and Herbs de Provence.
  • Hormone Balancing Meatballs, defrosted from frozen by simmering in Bone Broth for 10-ish minutes.

Alrighty folks, that's all she wrote. Question: Did you like this post? Would you like to see more of what I eat in a day? Or could you care less? Comment below and let me know!

Much Love,

HealthyStaceySignature

Sweet Potato Paleo Muffin Recipe

August 18, 2015

Sweet Potato Paleo Muffins

I don’t own a measuring spoon.

In the beginning it wasn't intentional. I had misplaced the ones that I did own. But weird as it sounds, I found this freedom from measurement liberating. With all the other things I obsess and perfect over in my life, cooking should be the one thing I can do without rules. Everything I need, I can get from my silverware or the pinch of my fingers.

When I first taught myself to cook, I followed recipes as if it was the word of God. I could not begin the process until I had spent at least an hour looking for the perfect recipe. And then I might change my mind 10 more times. And then, if I was missing one ingredient, I'd change my mind 10 more.

Paleo Sweet Potato Muffins

But as I got more comfortable, I realized how much more freeing it was to close out of the recipe on my phone, drop the measuring spoon, and just eyeball it.

This is all well and good for cooking. But they tell me (you know, the imaginary kitchen police) that this approach can’t be done for baking.

Baking requires formulas. Baking requires science. And baking most definitely requires measuring spoons.

Umm, respectfully, I say, F that.

I baked the meanest muffins this weekend (mean as in AWESOME), and I totally ignored the rules. Yes, I did consult a few recipes first (to get inspired), but then I just went for it.

I realize that it may take awhile for newbie cooks to get to this point. Obviously for me it took years of trial and error and obsessing. Which is why, before I dive into the recipe, I wanted to share with you a post that I did awhile back that helped me understand why formulas are used in baking – cookies specifically. If I could understand that, then I could be creative within the parameters of the rules. I highly recommend reading it it if you would like to come up with your own recipes:

Healthy Stacey Cookie Creation Guide

HealthyStaceyCookieCreation

Now, this time around, I didn't make cookies. I made muffins. But the process wasn't much different than cookies. (I'm sure many bakers would disagree with me)….

You've got your wet ingredients, your dry ingredients and your main ingredient – what creates the flavor. You mix them up seperately, then you mix them together. Then add in any finishing touches (i.e. a chocolate chip or a dried berry).

I knew I wanted something sweet. But not too sweet; something I could eat for breakfast, but also dessert. I had oodles of sweet potatoes that needed to be used before they went bad. And I wanted to use ingredients that boost the nutrition factor up a few notches.

And thus, Sweet Potato Paleo Muffins were born! Complete with nutrient-packed sweet potatoes, anti-inflammatory turmeric and healthy-fat coconut oil. Naturally sweetened with dates and a bit of maple syrup. And, best of all, the perfect dense/moist texture with just enough sweet to satisfy that nagging tooth.

Below is the recipe.

I realize the irony here that I’m writing a post about not following a recipe by giving you a recipe. But what I want you to do is feel inspired by the possibility that you don’t have to follow it to a T. You can be a little loose, and have a lot more fun.

So follow it. Don’t follow it. But whatever you do, don’t overthink it. Just test the batter as you go, add more good-tasting things if it’s not tasting good enough (your batter is a pretty heavy indicator of your final product), use common sense, and enjoy the process.

Sweet Potato Muffins Recipe

Sweet Potato Paleo Muffins

Ingredients:

  • 6 pasture-raised eggs
  • 1/2 cup butter, clarified butter/ghee, or coconut oil, melted – I like this one
  • 1 teaspoon pure star anise extract (because that’s what I had – feel free to use vanilla extract)
  • 1 cup of dates
  • ¼ cup of maple syrup
  • 3 cups shredded sweet potatoes
  • ¼ cup coconut flour
  • ¼ cup arrowroot flour
  • pinch of sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 
  • optional: 1/4 cup of some fun mix-in – dried cranberries, dried cherries, chocolate chiiiips!

 

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Put your cup of dates in a glass of water. You will let them soak for about the amount of time it will take you to do the next steps before you need to add in your dates (10 minutes or so).
  3. Prep your counter ahead of time with the following: 1 dry bowl (bowl for dry ingredients), 1 wet bowl (just guess what this one’s for), a muffin tin or muffin liners spread with coconut oil or butter so the batter doesn’t stick, snd a food processor.
  4. Pulverize the sweet potatoes in a food processor with a shredder. It took me about 10 sweet potatoes, but I was using the organic Trader Joe’s sweet potatoes which are unusually small. Unload them to a seperate bowl (you'll be needing the food processor for the dates).
  5. Mix together the dry ingredients: coconut flour, arrowroot flour, sea salt, baking soda, turmeric and cinnamon.
  6. Whisk eggs in wet bowl.
  7. Time to take care of your dates! Drain half the water out of the glass of dates. Throw them in your food processor (no reason to rinse out the sweet potatoes mess; it’s all going the same place). Pulse until it’s a smooth liquid.
  8. Add in melted butter/oil, anise (or vanilla) extract, maple syrup and date syrup.
  9. Mix dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
  10. Fold in shredded sweet potatoes.
  11. Add in raisins, cranberries, chocolate chips – whatever floats your boat!
  12. Spoon the batter into your muffin tins or your muffin liners.
  13. Pop in oven for 25 minutes. Take out, check them with a toothpick to see if it comes out clean. Most likely, you’ll need 5-10 more minutes. But I’d rather you be safe than sorry.
  14. Once done, put on an upside down plate (or a cooling rack if you’re fancy like that). Do your darndest to wait until it cools off to eat one.

 

Much Love,

HealthyStaceySignature

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