Turkey Bone Broth Soup

Sometimes I just don't have time to simmer bone broth for 24 hours so I try to keep some in the house. There are several brands you can buy or order online. I use Pacific Organic Turkey Bone Broth in this recipe and it also works fine with chicken broth.

Bone broth is so mineral rich. It should turn into a jellylike substance when you put it in the refrigerator. I've been using it as often as possible while feeding Ger Sasser and I know it strengthens him. He and Cassie are both great cooks and I am proud of them for cooking things with bones in them. AND, bone broth is very important for people like me. Let's face it, you can't eat whatever you want as your age increases. My bones and joints need all the support they can get and I can really feel the difference.  So, I made this soup today, concentrating on ease and speed and nutritional content. (It's also seriously delicious)

I browned 1 lb of organic ground turkey in a skillet.
While that was browning I put the following ingredients into a stock pot over medium heat:

32 oz turkey bone broth
1/4 cup quinoa
3 carrots, peeled and sliced

When the carrots begin to soften, about 20 minutes, I added the browned ground turkey into the stock pot. Then I added these ingredients and simmered another 20 minutes:

1 red pepper, chopped
1 bunch kale torn from the stems
1 tsp dried onion
1 tsp Garlic Gold Nuggets (if you'd rather use fresh garlic, add it to the skillet when browning turkey)
1/4 tsp turmeric
pink Himalayan sea salt (more than you might think - bone broth isn't salty)
freshly ground black pepper

So, be strong and get some bone broth into your system.

Paleo Snow Cream Flavors (Coffee, Cocoa, and Strawberry Snow Cream)

What do you do when life gives you lemons? We all know the answer to this one - Make lemonade. What do you do when life gives you record amounts of snow? Make snow cream. Here's my classic recipe:  Paleo Snow Cream
What do you do when it's a week and a half later and school is still out, snow is still here and water lines are breaking all over the area? You keep working and stay positive, that's what, and you make many different versions of Paleo Snow Cream.

Paleo Coffee Snow Cream
I stirred the following ingredients in a huge bowl:

1/4 cup strong coffee, cooled 
1/3 cup coconut milk from a can, CHILLED ( or almond milk if you prefer)
1 tsp real vanilla
1/4 cup real maple syrup  ( you can also use 1/4 cup local honey instead if you prefer)

I added 4-5 cups of fresh snow and stirred it all up. (You will want to add 4 cups of snow and stir it up and taste it just to see if you need more. Different moisture levels in the snow make a big difference.

To make Paleo Cocoa Snow Cream, just add cocoa to the original snow cream recipe, starting with 1 TBSP and adding until it's as chocolaty as you like it. (Kids love this!)
You could add cocoa to the coffee version, too.

Here's a photo from Abigail Edwards. She adds strawberries to Paleo Snow Cream. Try smashed blackberries, little wild blueberries and whatever else you might think of.  Leave a comment or send me a photo on the Feeding Ger Sasser Facebook page or tag me on Instagram @feedinggersasser.

Make the most of whatever the weather throws at you.

Slow Cooker Smoked Ham

Ger's been so busy lately - 4th place Men's Elite in the Orange County Throw Down, 2nd place Men's Elite Team at Wodapalooza Miami 2015, and he and Cassie just got back from training in Miami. We are days from the Open and then he'll be playing for the San Francisco Fire for the National Pro Grid League Season 2.
 In other words, it's go-time. I fed Ger some quality farm-raised protein yesterday when I made this beautiful smoked ham.

I poured 12 oz apple juice into the slow cooker.
I stirred up a glaze with the following ingredients:

1 TBSP stone ground brown mustard
1 TBSP cherry balsamic vinegar
3 TBSP honey
1 tsp arrowroot powder
(optional - sometimes if it's a big holiday I add 2-3 TBSP organic brown sugar)

I rubbed this mixture into the big ham and then placed it cut side down into the slow cooker. This ham was so big I had to work to find a way for it to fit and it's a big oval slow cooker! (Cut a pice off if yours is too big)

I added a bit of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and put the lid on. I cooked it on low for 9 hours overnight.

It made for a wonder get-together for 6 people and I still have leftovers.
Feed the athlete within yourself what it deserves - what it needs to run on for an optimal life. So, find a good butcher and order a smoked ham or two, or find a farm-sourced pig. It's worth it.

The Best Nut Butter Bars

I am happy to be snowed in with an entire week off from teaching school - as long as the groceries last, I'm happy to have time to spend on creative recipe development. Look what happens! These bars happen. They are gluten-free, no-bake, vegan, practically raw, easy, and delicious. You notice I didn't say paleo - they have a few chocolate chips melted on the top. Oh, well. They are really nice without the top layer, but I think they make it the Best Nut Butter Bars.

I put the following ingredients into a small sauce pan:

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup almond butter

1/2 cup peanut butter (or one cup of either nut butter)

1/2 cup maple syrup ( or honey)

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp sea salt

I stirred this mixture up on low until smooth and then stirred in:

1/2 cup pecans

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut (the big chunky stuff)

1/3 cup cranberries

1/2 cup almond flour

I put parchment paper into an 8 x 8 glass baking dish, pushing it into the corners. Then I poured the mixture into the dish and placed it in the freezer for 45 minutes.

You could eat it just like this but I like to have a little chocolate layer on the top so in ia small sauce pan I melted:

1 cup Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips

1 TBSP coconut oil

I stirred this over low heat until it was warm and smooth and then poured it over the bars from the freezer.  I put them back into the freezer for another 45 minutes.

I took them out and cut them into 9 big pieces but 16 small pieces would work, too.

Heaven. They are the Best Nut Butter Bars!

Paleo Crock Pot Chili

We are living through Snowstorm 2015 and as long as the power stays on, it's actually OK. When it's cold outside (possible -17 tomorrow....) nothing warms the belly better than soup or chili.  I made this Paleo Crock Pot Chili today and we are nourished and happy.

I browned 2 lbs of grass fed beef in a skillet and then put it into the crock pot.
I added:

24 oz tomato juice
2  28 oz cans of organic diced tomatoes
6 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 small onion, diced
1 can pumpkin (optional - I slip it in if no one's watching....)
1 TBSP cumin
1 TBSP Garlic Gold nuggets (or minced garlic)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chipotle chili pepper
1 tsp sea salt
freshly black pepper, to taste

                                                  This should keep us going for a while.

This was WAY before it stopped snowing for this round. They are predicting another 2-4 inches of snow tonight, too. As long as I've got food to cook, I don't mind at all.  

Fried Eggs in Portobello Mushroom

I love to try different breakfast ideas and sometimes they make a great dinner, too. This is one of those fast and easy things. I started off with the portobello mushroom with egg cracked in it baked in the oven BUT the portobello got too juicy for the egg to bake properly and it just didn't work well.  So, I tried it all in the skillet and it was much better.

I put 1 tsp butter in a skillet over medium heat, letting it melt and swirling it around.
I added 2 large portobello mushrooms that I'd taken the stem out of. I smashed them down with a spatula and flipped them often until they were done, but still firm.  I put them out on 2 plates.

I added a bit more butter to the skillet and cracked 4 eggs into the skillet. I ran the edge of the spatula between them as they cooked so I would be able to flip them separately.
I sprinkled them with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

When they were done I placed them on top of the mushrooms, added parsley and 1 TBSP of guacamole.
Done. This can easily be halved for just one person or doubled for 4. It's beyond delicious with Buttered Sweet Potatoes with Molasses on the side. Seriously, this is a beautiful meal that's easy and economical.


So, this recipe didn't work out the first time but I tried a different approach. Life is like that. You sometimes have to let the old habits just fall away and be brave enough to try new things. Who knows what you might uncover?

Green Protein Smoothie

Sometimes you get so busy a smoothie is about all you can handle.
 Sometimes your job has a crazier week then usual.
You have appointments every single day after work and you've taken on a 5-day blog challenge with the most wonderful writer, Lisbeth Darsh, and some big appetites are coming over for dinner.
 So, you find that you can still make up a great smoothie, throw a little high-quality protein in there and just keep going.
You find that you can do more than you thought you could.
 So many times, having the energy to get things done simply lies in the choice to get things done.

When you find yourself in that spot, make this Green Protein Smoothie, like I do, and then get back to all the things that you need to do.

I put the following ingredients into the Vitamix in this order:

1 cup cold water
4 mint leaves
1 cup kale, torn from the spines
1 small banana
1 scoop vanilla protein
1 cup pineapple chunks, frozen

I put the lid on and pressed the Smoothie button.
Good things come to those who work hard.