Diet Plans for Crossfit such as Paleo Blueberry Lemon Bars

I rubbed an 8 inch square glass pan with coconut oil.

 I stirred up the following ingredients all at once:
1 1/2 cups almond meal
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 heaping TBSP coconut oil, melted
2 TBSP honey
2 tsp vanilla

I spread this out in the prepared glass pan and baked it in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

The next layer is the lemon yumminess.
First, I squeezed 1/2 cup of lemon juice and set it aside.

I took a saucepan and put:
 3 organic eggs
 1/4 cup raw honey (or agave nectar, if you prefer)
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest

I stirred this up. Then I put it on the stove on medium low. From this point it must be stirred almost continuously or it will make a scrambled egg kind of thing on the bottom, and you don't want that. (although it will still taste good)
 While this started to heat up, I put:
 6 TBSP of coconut oil, one at a time into the egg mixture. I kept stirring.... letting the coconut oil melt and when it all melted.
 I added the 1/2 cup of lemon juice. (all at once lol) I continued stirring til it began to thicken. (If you aren't sure if it has thickened, it hasn't thickened enough. It will happen and it is worth it!)

When it was thicker, I poured it over the top of the layer in the glass pan and spread it out.
The last thing I did was wash 1 cup of blueberries and pushed them into the lemon layer. They went into the fridge for an hour and then.......WOW

These blueberry lemon bars are part of our Crossfit diet meal plans

I always double this recipe now and use a 9 x 12 pan. it's just too fabulous!

Protein Shakes - Shake It Up

I love a cold protein shake after a tough WOD. I always feel like I earned it!  There's something about that "window of opportunity," the time that you can replace protein for your muscles.... Ger explains it much better than I do.

Ger (spring 2014) uses protein from TEN Institute now. He was looking for a cleaner protein to ingest and really was impressed with what he saw when he started looking into the different ingredients.  When my two bags of Progenex are gone, I'm going to try it next.

The rest of the family uses Progenex for our shakes. We've tried all their flavors and love chocolate and vanilla the best. (We use a ton of it for my Cocoa Delight Bites and Vanilla Date Delight Bites, along with all the other recipes for protein bites ) My favorite is Tropical Vanilla Progenex in coconut water. But, we don't want to get bored here, so sometimes we have a Locha Mocha Progenex with coconut milk and an extra tsp of cocoa. That makes it really dark! We had been using the Myofusion flavors a couple of years back, but the thickness and some of the ingredients were worrying me......

Another great thing you can add to your protein shake is pomegranate powder. I get it from Amazon and the brand is Navitas Naturals. It helps keep your immune system up and running. It doesn't change the taste of your shake much, either.

I also sometimes put chia seeds in my protein shake, too. These seeds help with long term energy. I like to get chia seeds from nuts.com and white chia seeds from vitacost.com.  I even hide a little turmeric in there sometimes. (You really need to throw turmeric into your food every chance you get!)

I have friends who swear by Beverly protein, too.

update Jan 2015 - I am loving SFH recovery protein - I have both the chocolate and the vanilla and use this brand or TEN Institute all the time now, for shakes and for all the recipes here that use protein. Check them out. Let me know what you've switched to in the comments section, ok?

What protein do you use?  Favorite flavor? What do you add to your protein shake?

Paleo Pepper Sandwiches

             This was a great idea and I want to give credit where it's due. I saw a pic on Facebook and followed the link. It was primalparent.com.  They used peppers instead of bread - what an amazing paleo idea!
 So, tonight I made these and they were a big hit! Here is how I did it:

I washed and cut up red and green peppers, into thirds.  I fried up 2 12 oz packages of uncured bacon. I sliced up some little organic seedless cucumbers. I laid out portabello mushroom slices and shredded carrots, brown mustard, and a little nice cheese.

             We loaded them up using one piece of red pepper and one piece of green pepper for the "bread." Wow! They were crunchy and SO GOOD!

             Here's a pic of everything ready for us to make our Paleo Pepper Sandwiches.

So, it's summer and the sweet peppers are cheap and fresh from the garden. eat up!

Paleo Asparagus with Roasted Pine Nuts

               Asparagus is in season. It costs less now and we should all eat as much as we want! This recipe doesn't take long and we loved it.

              I took 1/3 cup of pine nuts and poured them in a small pan. I shook the pan so that the pine nuts spread out evenly. I toasted them in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes. Then I set them aside. ( This step makes all the difference in the taste of the pine nuts. Don't just throw them in.)

             I broke off the bottom of the ends of 2 bunches of asparagus. I broke them up and threw them in a big skillet. I added 2 TBSP coconut oil, (olive oil would work, too) sea salt, and pepper. I cooked this for 6 minutes at medium high heat. In the last minute I squeezed a little lemon juice over the top and stirred the roasted pine nuts in.

            Some of us put a little sprinkling of parmesan cheese on top. Bliss.

Paleo Tacos with Summer Salsa

So, I was going to have grass-fed burgers tonight, but Ger called me from CrossFit Countdown and said, "Mom, Kim has me wanting Paleo Tacos. They sound so good. Can't you make that? Wouldn't that be good?" It did sound good, and thanks to Kim, this is what I did.

I cooked half a diced white onion in a little bacon grease in a skillet. Then I added 2 lbs. of grass fed ground beef, 1 1/2 tsp McCormick Chipotle Chili Powder, 1 tsp Smoked Paprika, and a little sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

While that cooked, I made up the salsa. I put in a 28 oz can of organic diced tomatoes, ( I poured off most of the liquid) 1 1/2 cups cole slaw mix, 1/2 of a red onion, diced,  2 small organic mini seedless cucumbers, chopped, a splash of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. ( You can also add fresh cilantro or basil if you like) I stirred this up and put it in the fridge.

When we put them together we used large romaine leaves, the ground beef mixture, the salsa, and then slices of avocado. It was very delicious. We ate like CrossFitters! Ger doesn't usually like cucumber, but he didn't complain about this one.  Isaac slept through the whole thing, but there's leftovers.  zzzzzzz-z-z-z

We forgot all about the roasted acorn squash in the oven! Hey - more leftovers. Tomorrow I will be glad about that!

                             This Summer Salsa will be good on eggs in the morning....

Paleo Zucchini Chips

I took 2 big cookie sheets and covered the bottoms of them with parchment paper. (foil would work, too) I rubbed coconut oil on my hands, then on the parchment paper.

I washed 5 zucchini, cut off the ends, and then sliced them very thin. (I've used the food processor for this if I am making mountains of them for some reason....) I laid them on the parchment paper, touching. I didn't overlap them, but I really packed them in there, like a puzzle. (I knew they were going to shrink...)
 Next, I brushed them with a light coating of melted coconut oil with a little silicone brush. I sprinkled them with smoked sea salt and garlic powder. (you can get a little creative here...basil or dill, smoked paprika - I know all of those work well here!)

I popped them into the oven on 250 degrees for 40 minutes, then rotated the pans and let them go another 35-40 minutes. You will have to watch them at the end - you want them to be "chip"more than just baked zucchini. Wait for them to brown a little.  They are really good!

(Look how much they shrank! They were touching each other....)

Scrambled Eggs with Fresh Basil

Eggs are wonderful. They aren't expensive, even when you buy the ones without hormones or antibiotics. I have a local farm egg source now and I can't believe how big and delicious these eggs are!  They are an excellent protein source and they are delicious many different ways. Ger has 4 eggs and 2 egg whites many mornings, cooked in coconut oil usually, with the yolks just a little soft.

Today I wanted scrambled eggs for lunch. It would be fast, fresh, and delicious. I melted 1 tsp of Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter Tub - 17.6 oz. - Butter  (Kerrygold butter is from grass-fed cows. You can find it now at most Kroger and Sam's) in a small skillet. I added 3 eggs, one TBSP coconut milk, and a pinch of smoked sea salt, and stirred that up with a spatula. I scrambled the eggs and just before they were done, I added a heaping TBSP of fresh basil, chopped. It was simple bliss with coffee and fresh cherries.

Eat eggs. They're good for you. They are not just for breakfast, either! I have several interesting recipes starring eggs on this blog. Search box it.

Mom's Best Cake in the World ( a favorite Paleo cheat meal dessert)

                                                           Mom's Best Cake in the World

                             WARNING! WARNING! THIS IS NOT A PALEO DESSERT!

   It is, however, a great way for Paleo-eating CrossFitters to have a "cheat meal dessert" that's worth it!

         My mom, Pauline Pike, made this frosting up and the grandkids have been asking her to make this one for birthdays and other special occasions for years in my family. My sister, Annette, and I make it often. So, Ger's little brother, Isaac Houston, wanted this for his birthday today. Everyone ate a little except Ger. (his discipline knows no bounds) Isaac ate a LOT! This cake even deserves my antique cake plate from my Nana.
       Here's what I did:

       I used a Duncan Hines cake mix in Dark Chocolate. (Triple Chocolate Fudge works well, too) I prepared it just like on the back of the box EXCEPT where it says 1/2 cup vegetable oil, I used 1/2 cup melted coconut oil. Did you guess that one? lol
        When the 2 round layers of cake are completely cooled, I flipped the layers out on paper plates and then split the layers with waxed dental floss, making 4 layers. Easy. This will make the cake TALL and there will be lots of the most amazing frosting in between everything.

Then I made the frosting that mom made up. In a large mixing bowl, I put 12 oz sour cream, 2 cups powdered sugar, 6 oz Ghirardelli 30618 Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips (I love the 65% dark ones!) chopped up in a Pampered Chef chopper, and an 8 oz container of Cool Whip. I stirred all of this up and put the layers together with this. I use a lot, but DON'T use it all. THEN, I put 4 more oz of Cool Whip in the bowl and stir that in. This makes it fluffier. This is the part I frost the top and around the sides of the cake with. It will be thick on top!

       It needs to go in the refrigerator for a while before it's served. Any leftovers need to go back into the fridge because of the sour cream. But, it won't be around for long! So, if you want to make someone something really special, (and easy!) try Mom's Best Cake in the World.

                                                                    Isn't that pretty?

Cooney Creek Farms - Local Grass Fed Beef

                        "Does this clover make my sirloins look big?" That's what the back of Cindy Yancy's shirt said as I followed her around, taking a tour of Cooney Creek Farm. The tour included my daughter, Jessica, and a local foods blogger whose name I can't remember - I hope she sees this and leaves me a reply.
                      It's always a good idea to know where your food comes from. I had friends at CrossFit Countdown who had highly recommended grass fed beef from Cooney Creek Farms, so we called her and headed on out there. (People tell stories of buying grass fed beef that's not really grass fed, or it's grass fed but corn finished) We looked all around and we liked what we saw. We met cows, of course, but also "hair sheep" along with their dog-sitter, Patty. We met many chickens and some horses, too.
Cindy explained about moving her herds around and why she has so many more chickens than she ordered...... We met her husband, too, and he was quite entertaining! He had us laughing.
                    We bought burger, ground round, roasts, ribeyes and T-bones. We bought a bunch of the same for Bruce and Leslie, too. It was a morning well spent.

                   

                    The ribeyes were great! The burgers tonight were so juicy and flavorful. Roasts and T-bones will be on the blog soon!  I know where those cows live - it's a beautiful place, not too far away, and they are well taken care of. Check them out.  Just Google Cooney Creek Farms.



         

Secret Spaghetti Sauce

This is Jess, guest blogging again.  Mom and I made a trip to Whole Foods and they had banger pork sausage!  We were so thrilled we purchased 9 pounds of it!  We had them divide it into three pound portions...enough for three meals!  Time to get creative! (note: we choose other sausage now, since noticing that Whole Foods banger sausage has grain in it....)

There's something about homemade tomato sauce that is so comforting!  It is warm, cozy, yummy... and this one is made in a crock-pot.  I put two 28 oz cans of organic diced tomatoes in the crock-pot; along with 1 Tablespoon of garlic powder, 1 Tablespoon of smoked paprika, 1/4 teaspoon of tumeric, 2 teaspoons of ground mustard, and 2 Tablespoons of agave nectar.  To this mixture, an ultra-secret ingredient was added...1 1/2 cups of canned 100% pure pumpkin. (Pumpkin is so healthy for you and it thickened the sauce.) I stirred all of this together.  The crock-pot was on low for 6 hours. (If you're in a hurry, you can do high for 3 hours.)  6 hours later, I added 1 container of fresh organic basil (0.75 ounces).

I went about my day... did 2 WODs... practiced muscle-up techniques...spent time with family...

Once my sauce was ready, I began preparing the rest of the meal.  I used a knife to jab multiple holes in a spaghetti squash before I placed it in a square, microwave safe dish.  I microwaved it for 10 minutes.  Then, I rotated the squash 180 degrees and microwaved it again for 10 more minutes. (You might have to adjust this for the size of your squash.)  Each time, the squash got softer to the touch.  Once it was ready, I used a knife to cut it in half and a fork to gently scoop out the seeds.  The strands of the squash scooped out easily with a fork.

Meanwhile, I opened the banger pork sausage and into the skillet it went.  I used a spiral shaped tool to gently break apart the meat.  I cooked it while the squash was cooking.  

Once everything was done cooking, I put squash in the bottom of a bowl and topped that with a lot of sauce and sausage.  Even Ger said, "Mmmmmm, it's good!" with his first bite!

Grass Fed Ribeyes

I'd just made a trip to Cooney Creek Farms and was looking forward to cooking these ribeyes! Those cows live on a beautiful farm. I took a  tour and had a great time with Cindy Yancy. I met her husband, her dog, some "hair sheep," many chickens, some horses, and of course, the cows.  Now, I can highly recommend this farm!

I coated my Pampered Chef Grill Pan with coconut oil and heated it to medium.
I rubbed my steaks with smoked sea salt, freshly ground pepper, and a little Private Selection Asian Signature Rub. When my pan was hot, I put the steaks in. I love to hear that sizzle! After a few minutes, I flipped them over and added all the same spices to this side, along with 1/2 tsp coconut oil on each steak.  It doesn't take long, you know.

I served them with my Garlic Kale Chips.

They were a big hit.

If you are in the same area of the country as me, Cooney Creek Farms beef can be found at The Wild Ramp, in Huntington, WV, along with other choices.

Garlic Kale Chips

I wanted to do quick Kale Chips and with garlic, which would be different than the Spicy Kale Chips recipe I have on this blog. I thought that flavor profile would go well with Crock Pot Pork Roast. (oh, yeah!)

So, I opened a big 16 oz bag of kale.

 (you can buy the kale in bunches and wash it and tear it into pieces and dry it, if you would rather, but I was in a hurry. Fresh kale is my favorite though! I  use two bunches of organic purple kale in this recipe in this same recipe for the photo below.)

I split it between 2 big cookie sheets. I put 1 TBSP coconut oil, MELTED, on EACH pan. Then I added 1 TBSP of Rinaldo's Organic Garlic Gold Oil to EACH pan. (garlicgold.com)  If you can't find this, olive oil and garlic powder, or just more coconut oil would be close. I made sure my kale was dry so it would get crispy.  

 Next I sprinkled Hickory Bacon Salt, Maine Woods Smoked Sea Salt, (salttraders.com)  and just a little lime juice on each pan. Then I mixed everything around on each pan with my hands, to spread the oil and seasonings.

 I spread the kale out evenly and popped the pans into a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. I turned off the oven and left them in there a few more minutes after a little stir, too, just to make sure they got crispy.  When I took them out I shook some Garlic Gold Nuggets on them. Wow!

Now, the only thing wrong with this recipe is that the kale shrinks down and it gets eaten up so fast!!!

Crock Pot Pork Roast

I took a 4 lb pork roast out of it's wrappings and cut off the string thing.
I rinsed it off.
 I rubbed my crock pot with coconut oil.
 I put the pork roast in and added rosemary until the top of the roast was nearly covered.
I added 1 TBSP minced garlic.
 I also added a little smoked sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
Then I put in 3/4 cup of water and put on the lid.
I cooked it on high all day because it was big and we like it soft and falling apart.

It smelled so good, even outside, I guess - the neighbor's dog, Molly, sat on my porch all day!

I'd planned to put 4 sweet potatoes on top of the roast for the 60 to 90 minutes, like I usually do with this recipe.    But, Ger  was begging for Kale Chips, so I made them instead. I made my Garlic Kale Chips. YOU should try the sweet potatoes on top for the last hour to hour and a half though - they're delicious that way! Throw them in after work, and then go do your Crossfit WOD. Then, dinner's ready!

Paleo Stuffed Pepper Casserole

                                                             (finished casserole)

       So, Ger wanted stuffed peppers and I've made them before. They taste amazing but they take forever to make! Well, I got to thinking about that - he just wants that great flavor - he doesn't care what it looks like....so, I made it THIS WAY and it's faster, and just as delicious!

      So, instead of taking all that time to hollow out the peppers, stuff the grass fed burger into the peppers and then make them stand up, I turned it into a casserole.

       First, I cut up 3 peppers. ( I did 2 green and 1 red ) I rubbed them with Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil and laid them in a 9 x 12 cake pan, with the outside of the peppers on the pan.  Now, it may seem weird but I don't wash that amazing coconut oil off of my hands - I rub it into the back of my hands and up my arms and into my elbows. You should, too!

       Next, I cooked 2 pounds of grass fed burger with 1 tsp of coconut oil, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp rosemary, 1/2 tsp hickory bacon salt, and freshly ground pepper.
 When that was done I microwaved a 12 oz package of SteamFresh frozen broccoli cuts and threw it into the pan of burger.
 I cut up 4 oz. of Formaggio Cheese with Roasted Garlic, Tomato, and Basil. (I also do it with smoked gouda, so whatever you like, you should try.) Then I shook some shredded 3-cheese blend on. Here's a pic of that:

       Next, I poured this onto the peppers in the cake pan. It's the filling.
Then I cut up 3 more peppers ( 1 green and 3 red) and rubbed them with coconut oil. I placed the peppers on the burger filling and smashed everything down. I put it into a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. (then I rubbed the coconut oil into my knees!)

 If you want it strict paleo, you are going to have to leave out the cheese. It's still good.....

       Get ready for some compliments! (not only on the food, but your moisturized skin!) Ha!

Paleo Salmon Patties

I opened up 2 cans of Wild Caught Alaskan Pink Salmon, 14.75 oz (from Whole Foods). I removed the skin as much as possible while putting the salmon into a big bowl. I crushed up the spine-bones for the calcium.
 I added 1 tsp ground mustard, 1 tsp Garlic Gold nuggets, 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper. I added 2 eggs and 2 TBSP almond flour. I mixd it up with my hands until everything started sticking together.

I put 1 TBSP coconut oil into a pan and heated it up. I made patties and laid them into the coconut oil. I browned them on both sides.  I took them out of the skillet and set them aside.

In the same skillet I melted another TBSP of coconut oil, turned my skillet down, and added a big container of organic spinach. I stirred to wilt it. This only took a couple of minutes.

Dinner's ready. Be sure and have a good fat with this, like a few pecans, or whatever nut you like.

Salmon patties, before.

Paleo Walleye with Broiled Zucchini

Mike and Jenny Miller shared their walleye from a fishing trip to Lake Erie with us today, so this is my first walleye! It's beautiful fish!

I washed off the big fillets and rolled them in almond meal. ( from nuts.com) I put them in a skillet covered in sizzling coconut oil. Next, I sprinkled them with Salt Trader's Maine Cherry Wood Smoked Sea Salt, lemon pepper, and plain sea salt. I browned them up on both sides.

Our side was broiled zucchini. I cut each zucchini long-ways into 4 pieces. I covered them with olive oil and laid them straight on a big cookie sheet. I put sea salt and basil on them and put them under the broiler for 13 minutes.
 Done! Beautiful! Easy! Healthy!

Paleo Vanilla Date Bites

These little babies are a take on my Cocoa Delite Bites. In just a few minutes you can have them for yourself. They go fast!

I put all the ingredients in one bowl:
1 cup vanilla protein powder ( I use FSH or TEN Institute's ITP, and sometimes Progenex; it's up to you)
1/2 cup coconut oil, NOT melted
2 TBSP raw honey
2 TBSP raw almond butter (or organic peanut butter, if you love that)
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (nuts.com, it's the big chunky coconut)
3/4 cup dates, chopped (if you buy chopped dates, read the ingredients - they sometimes add sugar so that the pieces don't stick together and you don't want that)
4 TBSP coconut milk (once in a while a batch needs a little more...)

I stirred them up with a wooden spoon.  I used my cookie scoop to make them quickly into balls and placed them on parchment paper. Then I popped them into the freezer for 10 minutes. They were so good!

Of course, if you know my crew, we immediately, in the same bowl, made a batch of Cocoa Delite Bites, too!  I added a handful of cocoa nibs - wow, even more depth of chocolate! Just put "protein balls into the search box on this blog to pull up all the different flavors)