Backyard Swimming In March

Yesterday Keegan had a total meltdown in our backyard (after stripping to his skivvies) because he wanted to go swimming.
For starters - it is 50 degrees in March. Second....BRRRRR!!!

Unfortunately 3 year olds don't grasp the concept of weather. I think they see the blue sky and the sun, so that must equal water play.

After calming him down and getting him dressed I was able to give him a new jar of bubbles and off he went.

Love it.

Asian Paleo Turkey Lettuce Wraps

You could make these easy Asian lettuce wraps with any protein, and further customize them based on how you like it....and maybe include a dipping sauce. We ate these without the extra sauce and found them plenty flavorful........

Ground Turkey Lettuce Wraps

stir-fry sauce:
3 minced garlic cloves
1/3 cup olive or melted coconut oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tbs. raw honey
1 tsp. sesame oil
ground black pepper, to taste

wraps:
2 lbs. ground turkey
1 can of diced water chestnuts (we didn't have any so didn't use them)
large handful finely chopped mushroom
2 carrots, grated
3 minced green onions
romaine lettuce leaves
minced cilantro, for garnish

In a small bowl combine the minced ginger, garlic, rice vinegar, aminos, oil, honey, sesame oil and pepper. Whisk well, until all ingredients are combined.

Drizzle a little olive oil in a large pan and heat up over medium. Once hot add in the ground turkey and cook until done. Add in the carrot, water chestnuts, and green onion, cook for 5-8 minutes. Pour in the sauce and stir to combine.

Allow to begin to bubble, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

While the meat mixture is cooking, combine the ingredients for the dipping sauce and set aside.

To serve, spoon filling into romaine leaves, topping with a drizzle of dipping sauce and some minced cilantro, if desired

Paleo Stuffed Pork Chops

I made this crock pot recipe of paleo stuffed pork chops! Yum!

Slow Cooker Pork Chops

Yum

Paleo Simple Blueberry Muffins

Paleo Simple Blueberry Muffins

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 15-20 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Serves 32-48

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1 cup coconut butter
• 2 cups almond meal/almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 6 eggs, whisked
• 1 cup Raw Honey
• 2/3 cup Unsweetended Shredded Coconut
• 2/3 cup Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil, melted
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ cup fresh blueberries

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. If you’re good at baking, you’ll know to mix the dry then the wet ingredients then mix together, but I do all the ingredients together and it works out just fine.
3. Place ingredients into muffin cups in a muffin tin. Or you can use muffin tin paper liners.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Just keep an eye on it, they will puff up and look adorable.
5. Eat them and enjoy!

Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup almond butter in natural oils
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (beverage)
• 1 egg
• 1 cup chocolate chips (we used nestle since that is what was on hand, not ideal of course)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp honey

Directions:

1. Preheat to 350 degrees F.
2. In food processor, combine flour, almond butter, coconut milk, egg, baking soda, baking powder, honey and vanilla.
3. Process until a semi-thick, semi-cream batter forms.
4. Add more flour, if desired, but the batter is not meant to be as thick as regular cookie dough.
5. Remove blades and stir in chocolate chips.
6. With a pampered chef scoop, drop cookie dough onto a pampered chef stone.
7. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown.

Recipe makes about 32 cookies.

Week One of Paleo

After a very lengthy time away from blogging. I have decided to embark on a new blogging journey. It may occassionally be about my kids, family, etc. However, my current goal is to blog about my paleo eating and crossfitting journey.

On Monday December 31, 2012 my husband and I started a journey into a healthier lifestyle.

Back in September I started testing out a crossfit class at our local gym and have quickly learned how amazing the group of instructors and students are. I feel like people are so supportive and helpful. I continued over the past few months encouraging my husband to try it too. It only took him 3 months to get on board. To my surprise, he decided to work on his eating habits along with me. The paleo way of eating has been discussed so much within the group of crossfitters that I thought, what the heck, let's give it a go!

So the weekend before New Years we cleaned out our fridge and pantry - truly an essential to getting started on paleo (or any healthy eating plan really). We have two boys,  a 3 year old and a 20 month old - so decided that we couldn't completely eliminate the food in our pantry, so left a few boxes of crackers, mac & cheese, peanut butter, etc. for them in case they can't hop on board right away. We have always fed the kids whatever we eat, so we continue to do the same with paleo eating just knowing that sometimes meats that are too tough might not be ideal for them.

Today is "DAY 6" of our new Paleo lifestyle and I am down 6 pounds and Jared is down 7 pounds. We have both been so dedicated and committed and I couldn't be more proud!

I will be posting as often as I can, recipes/our meal plan/etc.

Thanks for reading.