Primal Peach Cobbler

I love weekends with my parents. Not only do their visits give me an excuse to do something new, but also it's a great excuse to make paleo treats! Yesterday I drove my dad and my partner out to Herman's Orchard in Saint Charles, MO. They have amazing juicy peaches (the size of softballs) practically falling off their trees and ready for picking. I love the idea of picking my own food- straight from the tree, to my hand, to my kitchen. Knowing where my food comes from has become more and more important to me as I've continued to research the way food is grown, raised, and produced. In addition, a greater understanding of economics and the benefit of supporting local farmers has been a motivating factor in being more cognizant of where I'm buying my food and where I'm going out to eat. Herman's still has lots of peaches, tomatoes, and peppers ready for picking. I plan to make the trip back out in the fall for apple picking if anyone is interested in coming along!

Herman's Orchard:

I've made several attempts at paleo cobbler in the past, all with frozen fruit. I have to say, fresh fruit makes a HUGE difference. Here is my creation!

Primal Peach Cobbler:

Ingredients:

• 3 large peaches, chopped
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons raw organic honey
• 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 4 tablespoons ghee or grassfed butter
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 3-4 teaspoons organic maple syrup 

Place chopped peaches in the bottom of a baking dish. Pour lemon juice and honey on top, then sprinkle with coconut sugar. Let sit for about an hour. Chop walnuts or pulse in food processor. Mix with almond flour and coconut flour. Melt butter and coconut oil and stir into the flour/nut mixture.  Sprinkle over peaches and bake for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Drizzle maple syrup on the top and cook for an additional 15-20 minutes. Let it sit for about 10 minutes and it will firm up!

Stuffed Pork Loin

Over the weekend I had the most amazing pork chop at Big Sky in Webster Groves. Served with potatoes and kale (yes, kale again!) Big Sky provided an amazing paleo meal. Their food sources are local and organic, putting the restaurant at the top of my favorites list. I decided I wanted to make some awesome pork too, so I stuffed a pork loin. This was my first attempt, which surprisingly turned out to be blog worthy. However, you can totally expect improved pork loin recipes in the weeks to come :-)

Stuffed Pork Loin:

Ingredients:

• Pork loin
• 8 pieces uncured bacon
• 10 oz mushrooms
• 3 cups spinach
• 1/2 onion
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• Freshly ground pepper

Butterfly pork loin, then pound it out with a mallet or hammer as flat as possible. Cook bacon in a skillet. Remove bacon and add coconut oil to the fat left in the skillet. Saute onion, mushrooms, and chopped spinach. Mix with bacon pieces and place on loin. Fold pork loin over once (if it's flat enough you can roll twice, but mine was really thick), then hold it together with toothpicks. Place in a roasting pan and grind pepper over the top. I baked mine at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. I then sliced it and baked the slices in a baking dish for another 15 minutes. Baking time will depend on your oven and how thick the pork loin is. 

Easy Paleo Hash

Paleo cooking does not have to be difficult, time consuming, or a financial burden. Hash is a relatively inexpensive and quick way to throw together an awesome paleo breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Here are two that I throw together regularly.

Beef Hash:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb grass fed beef
• 1 green pepper
• 1 large sweet potato
• 3 cups kale
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• salt and pepper

Brown beef. In a separate skillet heat coconut oil and saute chopped sweet potato about 8 minutes. Throw in green pepper for about 3 minutes, then kale. Add beef and salt and pepper. VOILA!

Sausage and Bacon Hash:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 lb sausage (Applegate is a good brand)
• 3/4 package nitrate free bacon
• 2 cups kale
• 2 cups spinach
• 1 large sweet potato
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• salt and pepper

Cook sausage and bacon. Saute sweet potato in coconut oil. Add in meat, kale, and spinach then salt and pepper. Enjoy :-)

Primal Walnut Brownies

These are good.. like really good. These are so good that I would recommend making a pan and then rationing them out for a week so you don't over indulge. Sharing with a paleo buddy is also always an option :-) Thanks to my paleo/CrossFit buddy Nikki for taking a few off my hands.

Primal Walnut Brownies:

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup organic maple syrup
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients, folding in walnuts last. Bake in a foil lined pan for 20-25 minutes. 

Bacon Guacamole

This week I went to a CrossFit party. Not just any CrossFit party, a CrossFit Saint Louis Endurance Style Paleo Potluck Party. Try saying that five times fast. A couple months ago I had to stop attending my favorite CF class due to health reasons. I left the comfort of my endurance girls and started driving 20 minutes to a new box that was air conditioned (evidently one is less likely to faint in air conditioning, who knew?!). I found a great new community, but I think you always leave a little piece of your heart with the people who you WODed it up with when you were a newbie. The trainer who facilitates the class is one of the most motivating coaches I've ever worked with, and she also happens to know how to throw quite a party.
Exhibit A:

 Exhibit B:

Beautiful table, amazing people, and delicious food. I love going to dinner parties where no one judges me for turning down the dairy and gluten :-) My contribution to the potluck was Bacon Guacamole and Plantain Chips:

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe avocados
• 1 medium firm tomato
• 3/4 large white onion
• fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon lime juice
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
• salt and pepper
• 8 slices uncured bacon

Cook bacon on a cookie sheet at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes, until crispy. Mix all ingredients by hand. Plantain chips are from Trader Joes!

*Photo credit to the lovely hostess JoAnna Dettmann. 

Kale- Three Ways

Last weekend I ran into an acquaintance at Trader Joes who caught me throwing inordinate amounts of kale in my shopping cart. She asked what I put it in and I wasn't sure how to respond. I laughed and told her I put it in everything. I don't think she totally believed me, so here is my proof. I put kale in EVERYTHING.. but here are three things you will probably eat too :-)

Skillet Tuna and Kale:

 Ingredients:

• 2 cups kale
• 1 can tuna
• 1 avocado
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil

 Throw coconut oil, kale, and tuna in a skillet for 2-3 minutes. Serve with avocado. YUM.

Stir Fry Veggies with Kale:

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch asparagus
• 10 oz mushrooms
• 1 onion
• 4 cups kale
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

 Stir fry in skillet- add asparagus first, then onion, then mushroom, then kale.

Kale Burgers:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb grass fed beef
• 2 cups kale
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon almond flour
• 1/2 onion
• salt and pepper

Throw kale in a skillet with a spoon of coconut oil for about a minute. Mix the rest of the ingredients by hand and form into six patties. Broil on a foil lined baking sheet, 6-8 minutes on each side. 

See? Eating kale is easy :-) 

Strawberry Nut Blondies

These make for an awesome high-protein snack or a great vehicle for curbing sweet cravings after dinner! You could probably even flatten them and pass them off as cookies for your paleo kiddos.

Strawberry Nut Blondies:

Ingredients:

• 10 figs
• 3/4 cup hazelnuts
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 cup chopped strawberries (fresh)
• 1/4 cup Enjoy Life mini chips
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 cup shredded coconut

Pulse figs in the food processor, then add hazelnuts and walnuts and pulse until finely ground. Add coconut oil and pulse again. Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl and fold in chocolate chips and chopped strawberries. Roll into balls and roll in shredded coconut. Refrigerate 2 hours before consuming. *Store refrigerated.  

Paleo Lasagna Casserole

This is a casserole version of the lasagna I posted a few weeks ago. This is super easy to throw in a to-go container and heat up at lunch. Meat, veggies, and some carbs from the sweet potato make for a filling lunch all in one dish!

Paleo Lasagna Casserole:

Ingredients:

• 1 sweet potato
• 1 zucchini
• 1 bag frozen spinach
• 1 lb grass fed beef
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 small can tomato paste
• Italian seasonings

Use a peeler to peel sweet potatoes (without skin) and zucchini, or shred using a cheese grater. Brown beef, then add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and Italian seasonings. Thaw spinach making sure all of the water is drained before adding it to the lasagna. Layer all ingredients, starting with tomato/beef sauce and ending with a layer of spinach. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Chocolate Kale Shake

I went to Penzeys Spices in Maplewood a couple weeks ago and bought the largest bag of high quality cocoa powder I could find. Penzeys is a great place to buy high quality spices for all purposes, however my purpose had nothing but sweet intentions :-) I would highly recommend checking them out if you need to spice up your meat and veggies or you just need a great set of salt and pepper grinders. While you are there, pick up some chocolate so you can make this delicious shake. This is an improvement on the chocolate shake I posted a couple weeks ago, mostly in that I managed to shove in another serving of veggies!

Chocolate Kale Shake:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 bananas
• 1 avocado
• 3/4 cup frozen cherries
• 1 1/2 cups kale, chopped and boiled
• 2 1/2-3 cups almond milk
• 3 tablespoons almond butter
• 3 tablespoons chia seeds
• 2 tablespoons raw organic honey
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder

Boil kale (without stems) about 5 minutes. Blend with the rest of the ingredients. Yields 3-4 servings.