Paleo and Pregnant

There is exciting news in our little household...we are expecting our first baby in March 2014!

It has been a huge range of emotions for us, but we are just positively thrilled for this new chapter in our lives.

One of the very first things that came to my mind when I found out that I was pregnant was my diet...would I still be able to do paleo? I had really gotten into a groove with it, but I was not sure if I would be able to stay on it. I talked to my personal trainer (who basically specializes in prenatal everything), and she applauded the paleo diet wholeheartedly. She did, however, mention that I might need some more calcium so that this baby doesn't suck it all out of my bones, so I have added some dairy back into my diet (mainly whole milk and Greek yogurt, and I don't turn down the cheese as much anymore...which really doesn't hurt my feelings!). I spent hours researching to make sure that paleo was ok for me while pregnant. Being as healthy as I can be is incredibly important to me during my pregnancy. And then I asked my doctor about paleo, and after I explained all the details of paleo to her she responded with, "Oh. So basically it's everything you SHOULD be doing while pregnant."

Here are some of the best articles I found regarding paleo while pregnant:

Top 6 Reasons Why Pregnant Women Should Try the Paleo Diet

Top 7 Benefits of a Paleo Pregnancy

A Paleo Guide to Pregnancy

So don't worry, pregnancy doesn't mean I will be taking a paleo blog hiatus (that will probably come around March after the baby arrives!). My posts may just be a little more sporadic because I just have NO energy to cook! But I plan to stick to it as much as possible to make sure that I keep the baby (and myself!) as healthy as can be! :-)

Eye of Round Roast

My mom makes the best eye of round roast. It has been my favorite for years! I was really craving it a few weeks back and decided to make some.

Ingredients (disclaimer...I am very simple when it comes to GOOD meat! I am a purist!)

~1 eye of round roast (however many pounds you need)
~Sea salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
2. Sprinkle outside of meat with sea salt and pepper. As much or as little as you want. I use some, but don't go overboard. It really doesn't need it.
3. Ok...here comes the math part. You put the roast in at 500 degrees for 5 minutes per pound (I have also heard 7, so you could always do the average and do 6 minutes per pound?). So if you have a 3 lb roast, it would be in the oven at 500 degrees for 15 minutes. Then....turn off the oven! Let it sit for 2 to 2.5 hours, then remove it. If you are cautious you can use a meat thermometer to check the internal temp. Here are standard temperature levels for roasts:

120°F to 125°F (49°C to 52°C) = Rare
130°F to 140°F (55°C to 60°C) = Medium Rare
145°F to 150°F (63°C to 66°C) = Medium

No, I did not give any temperatures above medium, because that would be a sin against this beautiful roast beef. PLUS you will probably have leftovers, and it is good to have it a little on the rare side so it doesn't overcook when you reheat it. As you can tell from my pictures, I like it a LOT on the rare side.

Sorry for the long break in blogging. Life gets in the way sometimes. :-) I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

Kale Chips

So I have heard all this hoopla about kale chips and have been anxious to try them, and I finally got around to making them! They are SO simple, and quite delicious! I even found myself craving more when we finished them.

Ingredients

~1 bunch of kale
~1 tablespoon olive oil
~1 teaspoon seasoned salt (I used sea salt instead)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite sized pieces (I totally used my hands to do this). Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner (first time I've ever used mine and I was EXCITED!). Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
3. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10-15 minutes.

**Note: My large cookie sheet was in use, so I had to dump all my kale onto a smaller sheet. I baked it and turned the kale a few times while baking. It was delicious the whole way through. Loved it!

Paleo Omelette Muffins

I recently pinned a ridiculous amount of paleo recipes on pinterest, so I figured it was time to start tackling them.

I have wanted to try these egg omelette muffins for a while. While there is room for improvement, I would definitely make them again.

Ingredients

~12 eggs
~1/2 cup broccoli (I used more, which ended up being too much)
~6 strips cooked bacon (this ended up not being enough in my opinion)
~Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin tin. (I used cupcake liners, which I am not sure I would use again).
2. Cook up some bacon (I cooked it in the oven and it came out PERFECTLY! More on this is a future blog post!). The recipe takes about 6 pieces, but I believe more is ok! Chop or tear the bacon into little pieces when cooked.
3. While the bacon is cookin', steam some broccoli. Rinse, drain, and chop into very small pieces (I learned this the hard way).
4. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs together with salt and pepper. Add the broccoli and bacon and mix until combined well.
5. Pour the egg mixture into the muffin tin. They will expand, so try not to completely fill them up; however, if you do it's no biggie. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the eggs are fluffy and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I turned on the broiler for the last few minutes to brown and crisp the top of the muffins.
6. Enjoy!

**Some alternate filling options include bell peppers, onion, sausage, spinach, mushroom, etc.

Thanks again for your patience with my blogs during our power outage and my sickness! :-) I am back and blogging! Happy hump day!

Paleo Meatballs and Sauce

Who doesn't love a good meatball and marinara meal? Nom nom nom! This was one of the first recipes I tried on paleo. I became impatient and it turned out more like a chili, but it was still zesty and delicious! I know it looks intimidating at first with all the ingredients, but the majority of them are just spices you probably already have. I actually spent very little money on this recipe! :-)

Ingredients

For Meatballs:

~1 lb ground beef
~1 small onion, grated or finely chopped
~2 tablespoons ground cumin
~1 tablespoon paprika
~1/2 teaspoon pepper
~1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
~1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
~1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
~3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
~2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
~1 egg

For Sauce:

~2 tablespoons olive oil
~2 medium onions chopped
~4 garlic cloves minced
~2 teaspoons ground cumin
~1/2 teaspoon black pepper
~pinch of cayenne
~1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
~2 cups crushed tomatoes (organic)
~1 cup of beef broth (I bought organic)


Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix the beef with all ingredients. Roll into one inch balls and set aside. (Yes, I did do this step, which ended up being a waste of time for me)
2. Heat olive oil in bottom of a saute pan. Add onions and cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, until tender and translucent. Add garlic, cumin, pepper, cayenne, and parsley, and cook for 5 more minutes to blend the flavors. Stir in the tomato sauce and beef broth and bring to a simmer.
3. Brown the meatballs in a pan over high heat with a little coconut oil. Then add to the sauce, cook for 15 minutes, and serve the meatballs. (my meatballs were taking FOREVER, so I ended up just chopping them up and mixing them in with the sauce to creat more of a chili. Tasted awesome!)

Tips

~I get really irritated while dicing onions. It is one of the most tedious tasks, in my opinion. If you pull a Rayna and decide to just mix the cooked meat in with the sauce to create a chili, I believe you can cut down to just one onion in the sauce since there is already 1 onion mixed into the meat. I didn't find a third to be necessary.
~The serving suggestion is to serve the meatballs over fried kale or spinach, but honestly, if you do it as a chili that is just not necessary.

Paleo Outside Your Home

I recently received the question, "I find paleo super hard outside my own home because of the lack of choices and convenience. How are you managing paleo outside your own kitchen?" (thanks for the question, Erin!)

This one gets a bit of a complicated answer. Eating paleo when out at restaurants can be very tricky due to the lack of control you have over your meal. Having been a waitress before I try not to be too much of a pain when I am out eating, but at the same time I will not hesitate to make a reasonable request for the benefit of my health. I'm not going to sugarcoat it...dining out while on paleo can definitely be a challenge. That being said, there are ways to make it easier!

1. I always google the menu beforehand if possible! Even if you have been to a restaurant a bunch of times, check out their online menu (if they have one) and see what options are available. It helps to be prepared and go in knowing what you can have. Sometimes you will have some awesome options, and sometimes not. There is a Mexican restaurant in town that I simply LOVE. We go there fairly often, and the owner is incredibly accommodating. I always get a shrimp fajita (something that is not even on the menu), and instead of the guacamole, sour cream, and tortillas, I just ask for extra veggies and shrimp. And let me tell you...it is ooooh so delicious! I don't feel jipped by any means because the fajita is just so dang scrumptious.

Now, some people may put up a paleo stink that the restaurant probably doesn't use olive oil for these fajitas...and in all honesty I would be surprised if they did! But going back to the fact that I used to be a waitress I don't want to be THAT customer who makes ridiculous demands. I love that little Mexican restaurant, and I want to maintain my reputation as the good tipper as opposed to developing a reputation of being a pain in the butt! I am not sure what oil they use, but I don't sweat it too much. I am confident that I made the best decision I could based on what was available to me. A big part of paleo, in my opinion, is knowing that it won't ALWAYS be possible to be perfectly paleo, and kind of accepting that. Some easy, go-to alternatives while you're dining out can be salad with oil and vinegar as a dressing or good ole grilled chicken.

2. Tell people you are on paleo! Sing it loud and sing it proud! It is nothing to be ashamed of. It is a lifestyle choice, and you should own it. When you make it known, people won't shy away from it. In fact, I have found that most people are very supportive! And if people have you over for a meal, 9 times out of 10 they will ask you what you can have so they know what to make! I don't like to be picky so I usually just say any kind of meat and vegetable. Either way, if you make it known that you are eating paleo, in my experience most people will do their best to help you stay that way!


3. Plan and prep. I can't stress that part enough. I work at a camp, and there are times where I may have to spend the night for a night or two at work. The night before I go I spend about 2-3 hours prepping my food for being away. It is a whoooole lot of work, but I know that if I eat the camp food I will feel like crud the whole time I am there. It takes time and dedication, but it is so worth it.



I believe that a big thing with paleo is doing the best you can with what you have available, and just knowing that you are making better choices and feeling good about that. For example, paleo really stresses organic fruits and veggies, but guess what...this girl works for a non-profit and just doesn't have enough money to pay that much more for organic! So I do the best with what I have because it is just so expensive. I would rather pay our electric bill than eat organic fruits and veggies. Priorities. One day in the future when money isn't so tight I would LOVE to buy organic, but right now I do the best with what is available to me, and I feel good about that decision.

Paleo Pancakes

I love pancakes, but I don't love the carbs that come with them. The solution? Paleo pancakes! :-)

Ingredients

~4 ripe bananas
~4 large, cage-free, organic eggs
~1/2 cup nut butter (I've used both almond and cashew and noticed no distinguishable difference)
~freshly ground black pepper, to taste
~2 tsp olive oil

Directions

1. Mash bananas with a fork in a large bowl until smooth. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl until frothy and add to bananas.
2. Add the nut butter and mix well until creamy and smooth. Season with freshly ground black pepper to taste.
3. Heat the olive oil in a small skillet. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake.
4. Cook pancakes for 2 minutes and then flip. Cook until golden brown.

My pancakes ALWAYS turn out looking burnt, but they never taste it (I know the one below doesn't look burnt...it was literally the first one I did so I took a picture of it looking pretty!). They are so delicious with 100% pure maple syrup and some bacon. Perfection.

Paleo Grillin'

Today was a big day for many reasons! Number one, and most importantly, it was Memorial Day. Having a family member who was killed just days before the end of World War II, which left my Memaw a widow and my beloved Granny without a father at a young age, in addition to an incredible Granddad who served in three wars and taught us the meaning of the word "patriotism", I understand the significance of this day. I am eternally grateful to the amazing men and women of our United States armed forces, especially those who make the ultimate sacrifice. We are truly the land of the free because of the brave. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to those who keep us that way.


Memorial Day is traditionally a day where people have cookouts. A lot of the celebrating revolves around food and alcohol, which can make it very difficult to stick to the clean eating lifestyle. Many people see holidays as a good excuse for a cheat day, and believe me there are many holidays where I do the same. However, this Memorial Day I managed to stick to my paleo eating pretty darn well.

I was really craving some charcoal grilled food for Memorial Day. In my opinion there is absolutely nothing better than food off the charcoal grill. Gas grills are good, don't get me wrong, but they in no way compare to that delicious charcoal grilled flavor! I just love it. So we went to Kroger and loaded up on meats and veggies. Meat-wise we got some London broil, chicken breasts, and shrimp. Veggie-wise we got a lot...onion, baby tomatoes, squash, zucchini, mushrooms (y'all know how I feel about mushrooms!), and some red, yellow, and orange peppers. I also got some pineapple to grill up for dessert! (I LOVE grilled pineapple!)

Here is where it gets a little non-paleo. My husband cut the chicken and London broil into cubes for the skewers while I peeled the shrimp. We then skewered them and marinated them in some Italian dressing, and holy moly it was DELICIOUS. I know, I know, Italian dressing is most certainly not paleo, but using it as a marinade when I could have easily had hot dogs, cheeseburgers, barbecue, or all of the above, makes me ok with my decision. We marinated them for about 4 hours. The veggies were chopped and skewered, and then I poured olive oil all over them. Before being cooked the veggies looked like this...


And I actually manned the grill during this whole experience! (with some help from Tim and the boys of course, but I would say it was about 90% me!) Add grill master to my list of skills! ;-) Everything came out beyond perfect. I was quite proud! And the grilled pineapple was an absolutely perfect dessert for the evening. Usually I don't eat fruit after lunch, but I made an exception for some yummy grilled pineapple! :-) Here is what our spread looked like...



I hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day and took a little time to send thanks up to the men and women who have made our lifestyle possible. Your sacrifice is never forgotten.

Random Paleo Concoction

Let's be honest...there are some days you just don't want to cook anything fancy. I get it. I have those days too. And sometimes it is getting close to grocery day and I am stuck looking into my refrigerator for minutes on end pondering what on earth I could possibly make from the most random of ingredients. Well, this time those random ingredients worked out in my favor! I don't really have a name for my concoction...we will just call it a random paleo concoction for the time being.

I ALWAYS have mushrooms in my refrigerator. Like...lots of mushrooms. Because I eat them on a pretty daily basis. I used to hate mushrooms, and then one day my amazing mom made some, and it was like the heavens opened up and I instantly became a mushroom lover. I eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I can. I love, love, love them. So I usually use those as a key ingredient in any concoction I am making. So we have the mushrooms as a shoe-in for this random meal, but what next? I had some spinach and asparagus, both of which I love mixing with mushrooms, so I figured those two wouldn't taste bad together either. So we have the veggie part of the meal covered, but what about protein? So I threw in some chicken. Voila! I served it to my husband and his friends and they loved it, but then my husband made the suggestion of throwing some egg in there as well. GENIUS. More protein! In goes the scrambled egg, and out comes this wonderful paleo, clean eating meal! :-)


Ingredients

~1 lb cut up, cooked chicken breasts (can be grilled, baked, sautéed...whatever you prefer)
~1 cup mushrooms (any kind you like)
~1 cup asparagus (cut into 1 inch long pieces)
~1 cup spinach
~4 eggs, scrambled
~Olive oil to cook

Directions

1. Cook chicken breasts. Scramble eggs. Set aside.
2. Using olive oil, cook mushrooms and asparagus for a few minutes until tender. Add spinach and cook for another minute or two until spinach is cooked.
3. Add chicken and scrambled eggs. Mix well.