Pie for Derby Day

I can't believe it has been over a month since I last posted.  Life has been busy as I have been preparing for my oldest dd's graduation, finishing up school for the year, driving lessons etc.

I have lived in Kentucky for 5 years now and celebrated Derby Day longer than that.  For our Derby party I was looking for a dessert that would fit in with my style of eating.  I discovered "Derby Pie".  I couldn't believe I had never been aware of it's existence before now.  It sounded yummy, so I found a recipe on the internet and adapted it to make THM diet friendly.  It was a hit, even my family who was not on plan enjoyed it.  My SIL did say it needed to be a bit sweeter so I adjusted the recipe.  Here is my version:

Ingredients 

•   1 cup pecan pieces
•   1/2 cup THM Baking Blend 
•   1 cup chocolate chips
•   1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
•   1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
•   2 eggs (beaten)
•   1/4 - 1/3 cup Pyure Stevia Blend (sweeten to taste)

Instructions

1. Mix baking blend and sweetener. .Add eggs, then butter.Add nuts, chocolate chips and vanilla extract.Mix thoroughly.
2. Pour mixture into a greased pie pan.
3. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 - 45 minutes.Test with tooth pick; pie should be chewy but not runny --Bake longer, if necessary.

Menu Plan Monday - Week of 3/21/2016

 

Here is my Menu Plan for this week:

Monday, 3/21 - Chicken Bacon Caesar Casserole w/Zucchini Fries

Tuesday, 3/22 -  Hamburgers

Wednesday, 3/23 - Spaghetti w/ Salad  and Italian Bread (I will have mine with Spaghetti Squash and no bread)

Thursday, 3/24 - Reuben Sandwiches - thinking about maybe trying this Reuben Skillet Recipe - will need to make my own Thousand Island Dressing with Duke's Sugar Free Mayo and Homemade Sugar Free Ketchup from THM Cookbook.

Friday, 3/25 - Leg of Lamb w/ Salad & Potatoes for Good Friday

Saturday - Pizza Night (for Holy Week) - Little Caesars for the rest of the family.  I use this Pizza Recipe for a Healthier THM Pizza

Sunday - On Your Own Night (I don't cook)

Name Change & Update

I have changed the name of my blog (again) since I am no longer doing straight Paleo.  I was doing great with Paleo, but was looking for a diet that my daughter could work with as Paleo was to strict for her.  I came across "Trim Healthy Mama" and have decided to follow their way of eating as well.  All my Paleo recipes will work with their eating plan plus it give me a little more freedom in the foods I can eat and makes more sense to me. 

Also, I know I was going to try a post a Paleo (with cheese) version of Reuben's, but we ended up needing to change our menu last week so I hopefully I make it this week.  :)

Loaded Cauliflower Chicken Casserole

One of my favorite recipes to make for my family is Loaded Potato Chicken Casserole.  I do allow myself cheese in my diet a couple of times a week and this is one of those times.   I made the potato recipe for my family, and then made a separate one for myself.....I did everything like I do for the or original recipe, the only difference is that I used cauliflower instead of potatoes.  I used frozen cauliflower thindking that I would need to drain the water when it defrosted in the oven, but I guess the high temperature took care of that.  at It was that simple.  I also throw in spinach when I add the chicken to make it a complete meal or you can have a salad on the side.  That is my big adapted recipe for the week.  Next week I hope to share a LCHF Reuben sandwich recipe.  Maybe I will remember to take pictures this time.  :)

Sweet and Sour Pork Paleo Style

One of my family's favorite meals is "Sweet and Pork".  Here is a link to my original recipe (from Better Homes & Garden Cookbook).  I tweaked it a bit and it does need to be tweaked some more, but not bad for my first attempt.

Sweet and Sour Pork

1 8 oz can pineapple chunks (save juice)

1/3 cup maple syrup

¼ cup vinegar (I used Apple Cider, but should have stuck with white)

2 TBSP Tapioca Flour (not technically Paleo, but does not have the evils of grans)

2 TBSP Paleo Soy Sauce (Didn't have the ingredients for this Paleo Soy Sauce)

1 tsp chicken bouillon granules I tried a little bit of turkey stock with salt, but next time I think I will substitue the water added to the juice in directions below with chicken stock plus a little extra salt)

1 beaten egg

¼ cup tapioca flour

¼ cup almond flour (I did a mixture of almond w/coconut but think I will stick to just almond)

¼ cup water

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 lb pork, ¾” cubes (can use chicken instead)

1 TBSP coconut oil

2 medium carrots sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 green pepper, ½ “

2 cups grated cauliflower (which I add bit of water and steamed in the microwave)

For sauce, drain pineapple, reserving juice. Add water chicken stock to reserved juice to equal 1 ½ cups. Stir in maple syrup, vinegar, 2 TBSP tapioca flour, paleo soy sauce and bouillon granules; set sauce aside.

For batter, in a bowl combine egg, the ¼ cup tapioca flour, almond flour, water, and pepper. Stir till smooth. Dip pork cubes into batter. Fry one-third at a time in the hot lard or coconut oil (may want refined if you don't want the coconut flavor) for 4 to 5 minutes or till pork is no longer pink and batter golden. Drain on paper towels.

Preheat wok or large skillet over high heat; add the 1 TBSP coconut oil (Add more oil as necessary during cooking). Stir-fry carrots and garlic in hot oil for 1 minute. Add sweet pepper; stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes or till crisp-tender. Push from center of wok.

Stir sauce and pour into center of wok. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more. Stir in pork and pineapple. Stir together all ingredients to coat with sauce; heat through. Serve over grated cauliflower. Makes 4 servings.

Squash Muffin in a Mug

I have been fascinated by this idea of a healthy, low carb muffin-in-a-mug, evidently made popular by the book "Trim Healthy Mama'.  I started Paleo to see if perhaps a reaction to grains could be the cause behind my shortness of breath.  While I do feel healthier I have still been having issues with it. Some of my research leads me to believe that low iron may be the cause of it.  Every pregnancy I had, I was diagnosed with low iron and told to take an iron supplement so this actually makes sense for me. In the past 4 years, the nutrition in my diet has steadily declined with the demands of being wife, mother, teacher, chauffer, chaperone, volunteer and the list goes on.  Anyway, back to the muffin-in-a-mug, I bought some acorn squash because I read that it was good food to help your body absorb iron and wanted to include it in my muffin.  I used a recipe from this website and then adapted with my ingredients.   Here is my recipe:

Ingredients
1 TBS almond flour
1 TBS ground flax meal
1 TBS coconut flour
1 TBS chopped pecans (you can use walnuts)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1 TBS Unsulfured Blackstrap Molasses
1TBS mashed butternut squash (I would imagine you could use any type of squash, pumpkin or sweet potato)
1 TBSP butter (you can use coconut oil)
1 TBS almond milk

Directions
Melt butter in mug in microwave
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Put in microwave for about 90-100 seconds. Don’t overcook.



I would have taken a picture but forgot before I ate it.   I must admit while it may not be sweet enough for everyone's taste, I did enjoy it and it was much better than the lemon muffin I attempted on Saturday.

Brain Fog, Energy & Favorite Sites

The past couple of days have been pretty busy so I have gotten a little behind on my blog. 

Thursday is a blur, a lot of running around and I just ended up getting Wendy's for supper and just removed the bun and has a couple of fries.

My husband is not one to get me Valentine's Day gifts, but he came home a few days ago with a steak  So last night I got pizza for the kids (it was pizza night) and made my husband and I a steak dinner with baked potato (I only had half since I am trying to watch my carbs....here is an article on why I allow potatoes on occasion in my Paleo diet) and asparagus w/Hollandaise sauce which I made from 3 egg yolks, Tbsp of Lemon Juice and a 1/2 stick of butter.  It was delicious and I didn't feel hungry and hour later like I had been the past few nights.

One thing I have started to notice since going Paleo is my brain is not so foggy.  I can actually focus on what I am doing without feeling overly tired and unable to think.  Today, I decided to give up coffee on a regular basis to see how I did.   I am starting to feel a slight headache (which I expected) but other than that pretty well.   I had more energy today than I have had in a long time, so I think I am beginning to make some progress.  

I have found a few sites that have really helped me both to understand the purpose of the Paleo diet and the why's behind the acceptable and non-acceptable foods and have provided me with some creative recipe that I would like to try.  Here is a list:

Paleo Leap - great source of information and recipes.  It does a really good job about why certain foods are nutritionally allowed and others aren't.  It also encourages you to do the best with what you have and can afford instead of guilt tripping use for not using the "best ingredients".

Paleo Grubs - this has been a good source for me for recipes as has A Girl Worth Saving.

That's about it for now!

Day 2/16

So today is Day 2 of my Journal & Day 16 of my Paleo Journey. 

I noticed I have a bad habit of just having Coffee for breakfast. What's worse is that  I am using real cream (dairy) in it and since I ran out of Stevia am using what I have left of my sucralose packets. I really need to make it to the store but the weather has been pretty bad.

Anyway,  I read a promotion called "Makeover Morning"by Crystal Paine (whose name I recognized from the homeschool community) where she was talking about making the first 2 hours of your morning intentional.  I have gotten into a rut` with my mornings so my days usually end up in chaos.  This morning I got up and sucessfully spent at least 1.5 hours doing intentional things that I had written down on a list last night before getting distracted by the computer. So one of the things I am going to try and be intentional about is making a menu (which I normally do for my family's evening meal) about what I plan to eat so I am not floundering to grab something on the spur like I have been.  That is tomorrow morning's project.  :)

PS - I am already considering changing my blog's name to "Make It Pale"  but am undecided.

Going Paleo

I haven't blogged in a long time and didn't think it was something I would take up again.   Some health issues in my life and caused me to re-evaluate my diet as a possible cause.   My SIL, who was visiting at Christmas time, mentioned that she was going to restart her Paleo for New Years and I mentioned I might join her, but didn't, until I had a pretty rough January with my symptoms.  February 1, I decided I was going to take control and start Paleo aka "The Cave Man Diet".  I had a rough start because it was a decision I had made after I had done my grocery shopping for the week, but I did the best I could with what I had.  I had a difficult time understanding why certain foods weren't allowed even though they were considered natural and healthy such as beans, but came across a website, Paleo Leap, that helped to explain all the why's and wherefore's of the plan. So I am 2 weeks into my journey and thought I would use a blog as a journal of sorts which is why I am calling it Making It Paleo.....I am hoping to make it a healthier life by sticking to the Paleo diet.  :)