Spicy Turkey Burgers

These burgers turned out really good. A hint of spice, a hint of sweet from the fresh carrot, and the zucchini and carrot really help to keep the meat moist, which ground turkey can often miss. Hope you enjoy. Plus, who can argue with some extra veggies getting throw into a food the kids might actually eat (and you could always melt some cheese on top if you want to hide it more for them)!

Spicy Turkey Burger

20 oz ground turkey

1 shredded carrot

½ shredded zucchini

2 tsp onion powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp garlic powder

2 tsp chili powder (or Cheyenne if you like more heat)

1 egg

Hot sauce to taste

Mix together all ingredients

Form into about 2.5 oz patties, or whatever size you like. Grill either outside or on a countertop unit (as we have become very comfortable with, thank you Pacific Northwest rain).

 You should get about 9 mini-burgers per batch if you do the small size.

Enjoy wrapped in romaine, topped with mustard, guacamole or any other topping you like. We had ours with some homemade Paleo Pickles and buttered carrots. Yummy.

Plenty leftover for Steven's lunch tomorrow!

Make small changes fun

I have heard a lot of people talk about the positive changes Paleo has made in their own bodies, but seeing it an impossibility to incorporate paleo options into their children's lives. I completely get it... my picky eaters are very reluctant to venture outside their current food box. One thing I think is helping us with the process is making small changes one at a time that will inevitably lead to a better big picture.

I am able to do this with some foods by making them fun. I have switched out my children's traditional peanut butter with Sunflower Seed Butter.  A much healthier option, without a dramatic palate change. Instead of peanut butter and jelly sandwich I have given them SunButter Flowers, and of course Beatles for Colton as he is much too manly for flowers!

Now, my children are far from squeaky clean Paleo, but by making small changes like these I see the progression in the right direction, and recognize that they are getting better nutrition without feeling like their food world has been turned upside down.

Seafood Cake Salad with Avocado Dressing

This is a delicious summery salad that was perfect after working in the yard all day.  I served this with a side of broiled yellow squash simply dressed with extra virgin olive oil, onion powder, and salt.This recipe made a ton of crab cakes that we will be eating on for lunches this week. They are wonderful plain without the salad for snacks as well.  Enjoy!

Seafood Cake Salad

12 oz white fish (I used 1/2 Alaskan Pollock and 1/2 crab… stretches the crab, but still gives the flavor. )

1 tsp coconut aminos

2 tsp lemon juice

¼ C fresh chives (finely chopped)

3 tbsp fresh dill (finely chopped)

1 tsp onion powder

½ tsp sea salt

2 eggs

2-3 tbsp arrowroot powder

¼ C Almond Flour

Avocado Dressing

1 avocado

3 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp olive oil

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp onion powder

Be sure to squeeze any excess liquid from the crab meat before you combine ingredients. Flake cooked fish and combine with remaining ingredients. Shallow fry in extra virgin olive oil on stove top, about 3-5 minutes per side till golden brown.

In small food processor, puree avocado and then add additional ingredients. Note: this dressing definitely has a lemony kick. If you like a more subtle lemon flavor back off and only do 1-2 tbsp lemon juice.

Place crab cakes on bed of fresh lettuces, carrots, cucumber and any other vegetables you like. I topped mine with cooked bacon as well. Dollop avocado dressing on top and enjoy!

Paleo Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

 First off, to be clear, this is not an everyday dish. Though the ingredients are all paleo, there is still natural sugars in this. I am thinking this would be a great dessert for upcoming Father's Day, or to substitute a gluten laddered traditional Birthday Cake.  My husband hates pineapple and coconut, but I forced him to try a bite a this and he said, 'Wow, this is really good', and actually ate more of his own accord. We both decided this is probably the best tasting Paleo dessert I have made yet, YEAHHH!! I hope you enjoy! It is delicious!!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Topping:

¼ c coconut oil

1/8 c maple syrup

2 fresh pineapple slices (one left whole, the other cut to fit edge)

Cake:

1 C almond flour

¼ C coconut flour

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp sea salt

¼ C coconut oil

½ C coconut milk

1 slice of pineapple (diced)

1 tsp maple syrup

In an 8 inch cake pan, place coconut oil and maple syrup.

Place in oven preheating at 375 for about 5 minutes, or until melted and bubbly. Place sliced/cut pineapple slices into pan with oil/syrup mixture and return to oven for another 5 minutes.

While pineapple is in the oven, mix together all ingredients for cake.

 Spoon over pineapple mixture in the cake pan. Return to oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until done. Let cake sit for 10 minutes after it comes out of the oven. Then flip onto plate. Serve warm or cool. Refrigerate leftovers.

Cinnamon Swirl Banana Cake

This is a happy experiment Loralei and I created this morning. I like to have an easy snack on hand during the weekend, so I looked at what I had on hand and kind of threw this together. Again, this measuring ingredients is really working for me... I will be making this again and now I have all the measurements to do so. It is not super sweet, as the bananas are the only sweetener in the dish, but it is really yummy.  You could always add some raw honey for some additional sweet, or perhaps maple syrup which would add a great flavor element as well as the sweetness. Hope you enjoy!

Cinnamon Swirl Banana Cake

Cake

3 mashed banana (spotted)

1 C Almond flour

¼ C coconut flour

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3 eggs

½ C walnuts

Swirl

1 banana

1-2 tbsp cinnamon (to your liking)

Grease 8X8 Cake pan with coconut oil.

Tip: I put a chunk of coconut oil in the bottom of the pan and put it in the preheating oven for a minute or two. This will liquefy it enough to just coat the pan well, plus it makes a nice crispy fried edge to the cake.

Mix together all cake ingredients, folding in the walnuts last.

Pour into cake pan.

Mash 1 additional banana with cinnamon.

Dollop swirl mixture onto top of cake and cut in with a knife.

Bake at 350 for 30 or until a toothpick comes out cleanly.

Enjoy plain or slathered with additional coconut oil.

Serving up a slice for my 2 biggest critics! Loralei requested a second slice and Colton just kept chanting 'mo, mo, mo' (more for those of you who don't speak 15-month-old).

Yogurt Making

I have had a couple people ask me lately about how to make yogurt at home. I know not all Paleo people do dairy, but for those that do making your own yogurt is so much better for you than buying it, even the organic options. If you start out with farm fresh milk, from local organically produced milk, you are guaranteed the purest, unprocessed yogurt.

I personally do not do dairy on a daily basis, maybe once a week or so, buy my children do. Several people have asked me why I give them dairy, and my answer is this. While it is very true that one can get all of the needed nutrients from vegetables and meat sources, the fact still remains that children will not always eat them. I offer fresh vegetables at every meal, and my children do well eating them. However, there are times when they do not eat them. Yes I know, ‘They won’t starve’. Neither of them react adversely to quality dairy products, so if I can mix a ton of vegetable in some pure organic yogurt and them eat a ton of it, I’m happy!

In addition, the process of making yogurt produces the byproduct of pure whey protein. I would much rather my husband be consuming pure whey protein from organic, local sources than the powder shakes with added garbage that he used to. The whey makes easy protein rich spinach smoothies for both him and the kids, and I know exactly where it came from. Use it in smoothies, sub it for the liquid in recipes and baked goods.

So with all that said, I will walk you through the steps I take to make yogurt. I make yogurt once a week, one gallon of milk at a time. One gallon makes about 7 Cups of yogurt, and 2 of the glass bottles (pictured below) of whey. You can easily adjust the process to make less, but I would not make more in one batch as it would be difficult to maintain heat consistently throughout the milk.

Pour 1 gallon milk into large Crockpot set to low for 4 hours. (to your specifications, ie Organic, local, raw, goat, etc)The key is to get the milk to 180 degrees but not over. The first couple times you make it be sure to use a thermometer to monitor your milk.  This will give you the thickest yogurt possible.

After 4 hours turn the crockpot off and allow it to cool for 3 hours. Leave it in the insert so it does not cool too fast or too cold. 

After 3 hours stir in ½ Cup of yogurt.  The initial time you will need to buy this, but subsequent times you will be able to use a ½ cup of your homemade yogurt. Make sure the yogurt you start with is a good quality, organic yogurt.

Wrap the crockpot insert (or if your insert does not remove, the whole crockpot) in a large beach towel or blanket. Place in a low draft area for about 8 hours. I place mine inside the oven (OFF) overnight. I find that if I start my yogurt at 1 or 2 in the afternoon, by the time I do the process it is time for bed, and when I wake up my yogurt is complete.

Strain yogurt through cheesecloth or a very clean kitchen towel inside a colander. I have 2 specific 'yogurt towels' that I only use for this process, as I find it works better than cheese cloth, for me. This will remove some of the whey protein and give you a thicker yogurt product. The all natural yogurt making process will never produce a thick yogurt as you would need additives to achieve that. The straining process will give you that thicker product without adding unnecessary junk.

The thickness you want is completely up to you. For us, I know it is the right thickness when it begins to pull away from the towel. The yogurt will literally pull off the towel and roll right into the bowl, if that makes any sense.

Barbecue Sauce

There is a Barbecue Chicken Salad that we used to eat a couple times a month that I absolutely loved. Unfortunately, we have not had the salad in many months. With non-Paleo sauce, black beans, corn, fried onion straws, tortilla chips and Honey Mustard salad dressing it is far from Paleo. I have my grandmother's recipe for her incredible barbecue sauce that I use and decided this morning to try my hand at reinventing it. It tastes similar to my grandmothers, not as sweet, but will definitely fit the bill. I am excited to have a healthier version of the salad this evening!

Barbecue Sauce

23 oz tomato juice (1/2 large can, organic, sodium free)

½ onion

½ tbsp crushed garlic

½ tsp sea salt

1 tbsp chili powder

4 tbsp white vinegar

2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tsp coconut amino's

1 tsp honey

Chop onions finely. I leave mine in slightly larger pieces that my grandmother did because I have to strain them out in order for my husband to eat it.



Add all ingredients into medium saucepan. Bring just to a boil and reduce heat to medium low. Allow sauce to reduce by about 1/2, about 40 minutes or so.
The jar pictured is about 1/2 of the sauce I ended up with. The other half is in the crockpot with some chicken breasts. I will update later with the other revisions I make to the salad and how it turns out.