Paleo Kitchen: Trail Mix

I don't know why I felt the need to make a post on this, but I really did feel obliged to do so. When I created this, I could have sworn I discovered fire (or somebody's mixtape hahaha.) Like, who knew trail mix was so easy to make? NOT I. Actually, I was never a big fan of trail mix anyways soooooo...

I was starving at my friend's house and she had trail mix and I was like "I CAN ONLY EAT THE CASHEWS AND RAISINS." And she was like "Why don't you make your own?" And I was like ":O."

So I did. I made some trail mix and I put it in a bowl so that I can snack on it during the work day! I'll give you a place to begin, but it's so much fun to experiment!

Trail Mix

Ingredients

• 1 ounce cashews (~16 pieces)
• 2 ounces almonds (~32 pieces)
• 1 ounce organic unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1/2 ounce 100% cacao chips

Instructions

• Mix them together
• Eat over the course of a day
• :D

Like, this looks goooooooodddd. Next time, I'm going to add some raisins or dried cranberries. Maybe some other dried fruits. It needs some sugar to pick me up. But I make this for work 1-2 times a week and I'll eat a little every 30 minutes or so to keep me not hungry :).

Paleo Kitchen: Fried Cauliflower Rice

This shit ain't pretty, but it's yummy, so that's truly all that matters in this case.

I have HATED cauliflower up until I went paleo. Now, I tolerate it, but I can only do so if it is prepared well. So, I decided to make some fried rice with it. It was a little bit soft, but I'll work on that. If you decide to make this and you have tips, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. Kk, thanks.

Cauliflower Fried Rice 

Ingredients (for 3-4 people)

• 6 ounces of organic mixed veggies (mine have corn, peas, beans, carrots, but you can usually whatever you want. My mother likes it with lima beans and broccoli. Low-key, I'd rather starve than eat those. YUCK.)
• 1 cup uncooked cauliflower rice (made by shredding a cauliflower)
• 1 chicken breast, cooked, cut into small cubes
• 1 chicken sausage link, cooked, cut into small pieces
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1 ounce onions
• Sea Salt
• 1-2 tbsp tamari sauce
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp olive oil 

Instructions 

• Heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil in a wok on medium heat
• Add the garlic and the onions and let cook for 3-4 minutes
• Add the mixed veggies and let cook for 3 minutes.
• Then add the chicken breast and sausage. 
• Sprinkle some salt.
• Push to one side of the wok and scramble your eggs on the other side. You want your eggs to be cooked and then cut into smaller pieces before mixing it with your stir fry.
• Add a tablespoon of the tamari sauce and then remove the stir fry mixture and place on a plate or in a bowl.
• Heat up another tbsp of olive oil before adding the cauliflower rice. Add some salt. Cook for 4-5 minutes.
• On high heat, add a tbsp of tamari sauce and mix until the rice is a light brown.
• Add the stir fry and mix until it looks even.
• Cook over high heat for another minute or two, making sure to keep on mixing it every now and then.

Look. Yum. It's comfort food,  but it's made out of organic food and cauliflower.

:D

Paleo Kitchen: Avocado Egg Basket

Ask anybody... I am NOT partial to avocados. I usually skip the guac unless it is just filled with parsley, cilantro, tomatillos, and onions. Also, I need like 500 chips for an ounce of guac. And I just don't eat avocados. And that was just because I didn't know how to eat them.

Did you know that they taste good with eggs? I didn't. Good for you if you did. I stumbled upon a recipe where you crack an egg into the avocado and bake it. I tried that. It failed miserably. I won't even entertain you with pictures of the horrid attempt. So I scratched that and tried something else (because for some reason I was gung ho on eating an avocado.)

I scrambled the eggs and avocado together and it turned out PERFFFFFect.

This recipe is great for doing things on the run. Mix it, pop it in, go do something else, come back to it, and eat it.

 Avocado Egg Basket 

Ingredients (for 2 people)

• 1 ripe avocado, halved, pitted
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp goat*, almond, or coconut milk
• Sea salt
• Parsley

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
• Scrape out the avocado meat (do we call it meat?) into a bowl. You don't have to fully scrape it out. I find that leaving a thin layer makes the dish very good.
• Mix in the eggs, milk, salt, and parsley (and whatever spices/meats you like!)
• Make sure the mixture is not too chunky (I usually use an electric blender)
• Then pour the mixture back into the avocado shell. You will notice that you have leftover... At this point, I usually transfer it to a tiny oven safe dish or a cupcake tinfoil (great way to make portable egg muffins!)
• I put the avocado in a bread loaf pan because it allows the avocado to stand up well without falling over. And then you can place the tinfoil in there too!
• Then I let it bake for 15-20 minutes.
• After removing it, I topped mine with shredded ham and shredded goat* cheese.
• Enjoy ;).

I'll usually take a shower in those 15-20 minutes and then come down and eat my breakfast. Yum. I say 2 people because 1 avocado basket and then part of the egg muffin with a glass of coconut milk and a side of fruits usually does the trick for me. Other times I just eat both baskets and give the extra eggs to my brother who eats it with his gluten-free bread and milk. It's up to you and your appetite!

I wonder what else I can bake my eggs in...

*Goat milk isn't paleo but it is primal and I use raw, organic, grass-fed goat milk. It has a strong taste but it complements eggs so wonderfully in my opinion! My brother drinks it regularly, but I'll only use it in my eggs. I found unflavored almond or coconut milk works well to give the eggs a good milky flavor :).

Paleo Kitchen: Chardonnay Shrimp Scampi

There are actually no words to describe my love of shrimp scampi and Chardonnay. So, I decided to put them together because why not? It's paleo... right? (Maybe not 100% the wine, but... it's wine. Isn't it essential to life? I think Cavemen and cavewomen alike would make multiple exceptions.)

Can I just complain for a quick second? I LOVE SHRIMP! WHY DO THEY HAVE TO BE CALORIE FILLED? Damn things. I mean like... 6 large/extra large pieces for 140 calories. I can low-key easily eat like 18 pieces of shrimp soooooooo.... Stackin' up them caloriessssss. I try to only eat shrimp like 4 times a month (aka every other week and then the next day for leftovers, yum.)

Also... It is just SO TEMPTING to snack on the shrimp as you're making them. The best chef always tastes her own food from time to time ;). But these tasty little morsels are just... Well, gotta taste them all, right?

JUST LOOK AT HOW APPETIZING THEY ARE #YUM.

Okay, let me give y'all the recipe because that's why you're probably reading this hahaha.

Chardonnay Shrimp Scampi

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of thawed, raw, unshelled shrimp (any size shrimp works, but I personally love the large/extra large ones)
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tbsp garlic oil
• 1/2 diced tomato
• 6 ounces of Chardonnay (cheap is fine, the world will continue. I use Oak Leaf. They're like $3-5/bottle!!!)
• 3 tbsp coconut oil (or ghee, but the coconut oil is just as good)
• 1 diced jalapeno
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp parsley (I love parsley, so I'm never parse on it, hehe)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice or the juice from 1 lemon
• Lemon zest from 1 lemon

Instructions 

• Heat up the olive oil in a large sauce pan on medium heat.
• Throw in the garlic and jalapenos for 3-4 minutes (If the smell of jalapenos bother you, then wait to throw them in!)
• Throw in the tomatoes. (Then throw in the jalapenos if you didn't put them initially!)
• Add the coconut oil (or ghee)
• Throw in the shrimp and cook for about 1-2 minutes.
• Add the salt and parsley.
• Add the lemon juice.
• Throw in the Chardonnay. Then cover and let sit for 4-5 minutes.
• Uncover and then add the lemon zest. Mix.
• Lower the heat until it simmers and let it simmer for about 10 minutes with the cover half on.

Salad 

Okay, this was boring, but it photographs so beautifully. I only used romaine lettuce, carrots (which I peeled to make small ribbons), and raw onions. Then I used the sauce from the shrimp as my dressing. And then topped it off with shrimp (and extra parsley!) 

The whole thing was yummy! Not all too filling, so make sure to add a side of veggies! I had baby carrots and green beans on the side that were tossed in the sauce :).

So, these instructions and ingredients might not work for you, but that's fine. I'm not one to stick to recipes and neither should you. Cooking is so much more fun when you are inspired by something and then free hand the rest! I don't even actually use measuring utensils, so everything listed is a rough estimate, hehehe. I hope you enjoy it though :D!

Paleo Kitchen: Energizing Milkshake

Easy peasy, lemon-squeezy. I was reading something somewhere that said that raw eggs (hormone free, organic, free range) are good for you. Way better than cooked eggs. When you cook the eggs, the protein structure gets messed up and that's why people have egg allergies. So I started having raw eggs. 

Newsflash: they're not tasty. Yuck.

So I started drinking them with coconut milk!

Tasty but then if you don't mix the eggs well, then you caste feel it going down your throat. Appealing, right?

But then I started getting hungry like an hour after having it! Which really is no surprise. It's protein and 60 calories worth of milk. But I wanted a way to stay full longer. And for the eggs to blend better. So I created the milkshake! YUM. Tastes like vanilla ice cream, so I feel as if I'm treating myself :D! Low calorie too :).

You don't need much.

Energizing milkshake 

Ingredients

6 oz unsweetened vanilla coconut milk (it has a crapton of Vitamin D and Vitamin B12)

6 oz unsweetened vanilla almond milk (crapton of Calcium and Vitamin E)

2 raw organic eggs

1 tbsp organic raw honey (if you want it sweet!)

6 - 8 oz of cubed ice

Instructions

Put everything in a blender. Blend. Add more ice if you want to thicker. 

What you have now is a low calorie milkshake with a lot of nutrients which gives you a lot of energy and makes you feel full and refreshed :)! Plus in my opinion, tastes like the Starbucks vanilla frappé.

So, enjoy!