paleo

Things I’ve learned since moving out of my parents’ house to a humble apartment in Chicago’s Lincoln Park area: I. Was. Spoiled. Not only was I saving enough money to afford a $200/month crossfit membership, oh no, that’s just the beginning of it. I also had a 15-minute commute to work (now it’s an hour) so I had extra time to attend said crossfit classes about 5 times per week. Further, every single night I came home to a hot meal cooked by my step mom. Of course, she knew I was trying to follow a low carb, high protein diet, so dinner always, always included a meat, hot vegetable, side salad, and typically a starch I just didn’t eat. Oh, and that’s not all. Nine times out of 10 there would be dinner leftovers for me to take to lunch, so pretty much my life couldn’t be easier.

Since I’m a girl who likes to use her resources, I still go home for family dinner night about once every other week, sometimes more. Of course the main reason I go is to visit with family, but the free (always amazing) dinner doesn’t hurt. How lucky am I to be a part of a family with amazing cooks that adapt to my strange diet??

This Paleo Beef Stroganoff was repurpose recipe using leftover beef tenderloin from family dinner night. I always used to love when my mom made beef stroganoff with egg noodles, so I decided to create the healthy version of the comforting classic. Trust me, you won’t miss the canned soup or cream in this recipe! The coconut milk gives it a creaminess, but I promise you can’t taste the coconut. Serve it over a bed of your favorite veggie noodles and DEVOUR … er, I mean enjoy!

Paleo Beef Stroganoff

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Ingredients

• 1 lb top sirloin steak, cut into strips (I used leftover beef tenderloin)
• 6 tbsp butter or other cooking fat
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat a large skillet over a medium-high heat and allow 2 tbsp of your cooking fat to melt. Add the beef strips and cook on each side for just one minute, until golden brown but not cooked through and then remove from the pan and set aside.
2. Saute the mushrooms in the same pan, just enough time so that they begin to take a golden color. Remove and set aside.
3. Saute the onions and garlic until tender. Leave them in the pan and add the white wine. Cook for a few minutes so that the alcohol burns off and the brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan come up. At this point add the coconut milk and beef broth, stirring until a consistent creamy sauce takes shape.
4. Return the beef and mushrooms to the skillet and allow them to simmer slightly for 5 to 7 minutes. You may need to turn the temperature down to prevent the sauce from boiling. Serve!

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https://smilesandwich.com/2014/05/09/paleo-beef-stroganoff/

There comes a point in your paleo diet when you’re eating a lunch of six microwaved turkey meatballs and you begin to think that the whole thing is totally not normal and no human should ever consume this much meat in a short amount of time. Well, maybe that was just me yesterday.

Eating this way is a lot of work. And money. And self control. And meat. BUT judging by my progress just in the first week, it is definitely worth every damn microwave turkey meatball I have to eat. Nothing has ever worked better or quicker for me than eating a high protein, low carb, low sugar diet. I can proudly say I’m 5 days away from being in a bikini, and I’m almost ready! (Well, as ready as I’ll ever be).

So, per my Sunday ritual, I spent yesterday prepping lunches for the week and came up with this recipe for Paleo Mock Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl. Now, to say this tasted just like Chipotle would be a stretch of the truth, but either way it tastes pretty darn good! If I was eating normally, I’d definitely add black beans, and I think then it would closely resemble Chipotle’s version.

I took the shortcut way of making the cilantro lime cauliflower rice, but it’s better if you sauté it with onion in a pan rather than microwaving it. But, sometimes a girl just wants to be lazy on a Sunday, okay? I also chose to use chicken thighs – not because they’re juicier and not because I prefer the taste to chicken breasts, but because they’re cheaper. This cavegirl is balling on a budget.

Paleo Mock Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl

What You Need:

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

6 chicken thighs

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 small white onion, chopped

1 each green and orange bell peppers, chopped

1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles

Mexican seasonings (I used a blend of cumin, chili powder, coriander, salt and pepper)

1/2 head cauliflower

Juice of 1/2 lime

Fresh cilantro

What You Do:

1. Heat the oil in a pan and season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken thighs on each side, but don’t cook through. Set aside.

2. In the same pan, sauté garlic, onion and peppers. Once they’re soft, add in the tomatoes and seasonings. Place the chicken thighs back in the pan, nestled into the vegetable mixture. Cover and let simmer on low for about 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, blend the cauliflower in your food processor until it resembles rice. Place it in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 5 minutes until it’s soft. Stir in your lime juice and cilantro. (This can also be done in a pan on the stove).

4. When the chicken is done, remove it from the pan and shred it with two forks. Add it back to the pan and stir. (If the mixture is too liquid-y, simply let it cook with the lid off for a few minutes).

5. Serve chicken on top of cauliflower rice! Yay healthy Chipotle.

In exactly 15 days I will be cruising to the Western Carribean, and considering temperatures are well below zero here in good old Chicago, to say I’m excited is a vast understatement. Now of course I’m an advocate of having a healthy lifestyle all year long, but sometimes a girl just needs to go on one of those short-term intense “diets.” Like, for example, after drinking and eating everything in sight during the holidays mere weeks before she has to be seen in a bikini.

Ipso facto: today starts my 15-day modified paleo challenge. Now, I did paleo for the better part of an entire summer before, and my only complaint is that it’s a loooot of meat. I’m not a fan of red meat, but am willing to give it a try for the sake of this challenge. We’ll see how it goes.

To keep myself accountable, of course I’m going to document everything I make, starting with this Paleo Sweet Potato Scramble. The most important thing to keep in mind when doing a challenge like this is, you HAVE to plan ahead. If you fail to plan, you better plan to fail. I’d suggest cooking on the weekends and freezing or refrigerating breakfasts and lunches.

Normally I eat a Greek yogurt every single day for breakfast because it keeps me full until lunch. But, since dairy is a no-no for cavemen, this scramble is something I can reheat for quick breakfasts during the week. The eggs and bacon are great protein while the sweet potato has filling fiber. Reheated eggs are not ideal, but the sacrifice must be made.

This isn’t the sexiest meal, but it tastes really really good. Trust.

Paleo Sweet Potato Scramble

What You Need:

1 sweet potato, peeled and grated

1/2 cup red, green and yellow peppers (mine was a frozen blend)

3 slices organic uncured turkey bacon

2 eggs and 3 egg whites

Coconut oil

Salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, to taste

What You Do:

1. Cut up your bacon into small pieces and fry it, set aside. In the same pan, saute the peppers in coconut oil until soft and set aside with the bacon. Next, add more coconut oil to the same pan and throw in your grated sweet potato. Cook until soft.

2. Add the peppers and bacon back in the pan with the sweet potatoes and stir. Turn the heat down to low.

3. In a separate pan, scramble your eggs. Add the eggs into the pan of sweet potato mixture. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and enjoy!

Check back here to follow me on my get-cruise-ready-quick adventure.