Beet Juice

Web MD says "Drinking Beet Juice Increases Blood Flow to the Brain and May Fight Dementia."

post-gazette.com says "British Researchers find beet juice boosts athletic performance and improves race times."

About.com's Alternative Medicine section says that beet juice lowers blood pressure, boosts exercise stamina ,and curbs inflammation.

If that doesn't convince you to try it, know that it's the big new thing for Olympic Athletes. (Google it!)
So, as I watch the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympic Games, London, 2012, I am drinking beet juice. I ordered mine from vitacost.com.  ( If you order form them, please go to vitacostrewards.com and use my email as a referral - you will get a $10 code! I will, too. My email is dinahgt@roadrunner.com. Let me know yours, too, for the referral) This is Biotta Naturals Beet Juice and it says it's for the immune system. Since I'm starting the school year next week, this is probably good timing.

Now, if you don't like beets, you won't like beet juice. I LIKE beets and this juice is good.

There may be a recipe in the immediate future with beet juice.....   (there is a Paleo Beet Juice Cake recipe on this blog now - it's cocoa flavorful)

Paleo Coconut Pistachio Macaroons

So, Tina brought me a coconut macaroon to taste and try to tweak. It needed to be moister and stick together better. You see, Tina, Mike, John, and Cheree ate coconut macaroons off the paleo food truck at the Games for a week and they were obsessed.  Tina made some when she got home but thought I could make it better. She knows I love a paleo challenge.

I rubbed coconut oil on a heavy cookie sheet and set it aside.
In a big bowl I put 3 TBSP raw honey, 4 TBSP warm water, and 1 tsp vanilla. I stirred it up very well.
Next I added 1 1/2 cups of unsweetened shredded coconut and 1/2 cup shelled pistachios. I stirred that in quickly.
I broke 2 organic eggs into a small bowl and stirred them up with a fork. Then I put this mixture into the macaroon mixture and mixed it up with a wooden spoon.

I used my Pampered Chef cookie scoop to make my macaroons and put them on the cookie sheet. It made 18. They were about the size of a golf ball. I pressed the mixture into the cookie scoop with my thumb before releasing them onto the cookie sheet so they would be more compacted. ( if yours spread out, just smoosh them back into little hills....)

I cooked them in a 400 degree oven for 12 minutes. They were moist and tasty. Jessica said all they needed was dark chocolate chips! ( I am going to have to try that!) (THAT recipe is on this blog now, too)

Now, let's talk about coconut. You want unsweetened coconut and they don't have it at our Wal-Mart, and the Kroger brand one is dry and unflavorful. So, online, my favorite is from nuts.com.  I use the organic coconut "chips", the big chunky stuff.  The chips are like bigger pieces just "chipped" out of the coconut.

Lake Cumberland Striper

Ger took a day off from the box and went fishing at Lake Cumberland with some family and friends and they caught some beautiful fish.

I cooked up this fresh Striper in a pan with coconut oil. I seasoned it with Salt Traders Guava Wood Smoked Sea Salt, garlic powder, and lemon pepper. I cooked on medium heat and flipped the fillets  very gently, once.

A side of zucchini in a bit of water with some Kerry Gold pasture butter and a shake or two of smoked paprika rounds out this wonderful meal.

Thanks, Ger!
(He ate the leftover fish for breakfast....)
You can cook any fish this way - you don't have to have lake Cumberland fresh striper - although I felt very lucky to be cooking it!

Paleo Baked Eggs in Roasted Tomatoes

              Don't you love organic summer tomatoes? This was a delicious way to eat them.

I took 4 firm, ripe organic tomatoes and sliced off the top of them. Then I cored them out a little bit with a teaspoon and got out the seeds. I rubbed coconut oil in the bottom of a baking dish. I poured a tsp of olive oil on each one.
I sprinkled them with Salt Traders Cherry Wood Smoked Salt, freshly ground pepper, and garlic powder. I didn't have fresh basil, but it would have been perfect.

I roasted the tomatoes in a 400 degree oven almost 30 minutes. They looked really good and smelled good, too!
I took them out of the oven and cracked an egg INTO each tomato and added more smoked sea salt and pepper. I put them back into the oven for 10 minutes.
                                

(You may like your eggs a little less done, maybe 8 or 9 minutes - just watch them)
You could do more than four tomatoes at a time if you needed to. I've done 8 big tomatoes in a 9 x 12 glass baking dish recently, too. Delicious! They are great for a summer breakfast. They make an interesting side dish, too.

The smoked sea salt I love is from salttraders.com. The glass jar is fairly expensive but if you buy the 16 oz bags, it's a much better deal.

Paleo Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Tenderloins

I generously rubbed coconut oil on my biggest cookie sheet. I used a package of uncured bacon and 2 packages of Harvestland chicken.
 I wrapped bacon around each piece of chicken and when I laid it on the pan I tucked the ends of the bacon under. Then I seasoned them with hickory bacon salt, sea salt, freshly ground pepper, and garlic powder.

I put them in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Then I moved them up to the top rack and BROILED them for 4-5 minutes. This makes the bacon crispier. Wow! How easy was that?

Everyone loves these. Kids love them. Crossfit people love them. Busy moms, too.

Sonia's Ceviche

Since I have been with out power and water and my basement was flooded, I have been concentrating on other things than cooking, so it's the perfect time for a guest blog. Thank you so much, Sonia Leake Dent. Ger  and I loved your Ceviche!
This is Sonia:

"OK Here is what I used:
2 lbs of fresh fish ( I used talapia, but you can use any kind)
6 Roma tomatoes
6-8 limes
1 white onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 Serrano chile
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 fresh garlic clove
1/2 cup Clamato juice
salt fresh ground black pepper

Take the fish and put in a pan. Squeeze the lime juice from the limes to cover all the fish.  Let the fish soak for about 20 minutes or until the fish turns white all the way through. Dice the tomatoes, onions, and green pepper. Finely chop the Serrano chile, garlic clove, and cilantro.  After the fish is drained from the lime juice, cut it into cubes. Add all the ingredients together. Stir in the Clamato juice. Add seasoning salt and black pepper to taste.

You can serve it over lettuce as a salad, a side dish, or an appetizer. I like to put mine in a large martini glass and garnish with a lime and some cocktail sauce. You CAN serve it with home-made almond flour tortilla chips and stay paleo.

ALSO, I used fresh fish but dealing with raw fish is risky. Using frozen is safer to decrease the risk of Anisakis. I just wanted to put that disclaimer in there. So, sushi grade is best, and if you are in our area, I go to Jewel City in Huntington, WV."

Thanks, Sonia, and the pic is beautiful. See you soon at CrossFit Countdown!

No-Cook Paleo Meal

So, what do I do when the power's been out for 72 hours? How many times can you eat a Panera Bread salad or Chicken Fresco at Ruby Tuesday? My brain was fried from the 103 degree heat and we were all tired of eating out. My power came on and my water heater over-heated and flooded my basement so then I had no water..... oh, well. Things happen.

I went to the grocery and got maple turkey slices from the deli, red pepper, black grapes, and Wholly Guacamole. I could have made it pretty by slicing the peppers thin and putting them on the turkey, spreading the guac on the turkey and rolling them up, but I was much too tired. (Moving everything out of the basement and into the garage in this heat was enough for one day!)

Anyway, it was cold, crunchy, delicious, healthy, and fast! Just what I needed. Try it. Mix it up. You CAN still eat paleo and not even have to cook!