Tag Archives: Paleo

R3000 Challenge: What we’ve been eating…

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All you faithful readers – you’re keeping me going this month. There is so much accountability and interest in this 3k challenge, I’m so inspired. And whether we make it or not – lessons have already been learnt which have been so good for me.

For eg: Yesterday I popped into Checkers (a spare minute away from my kids) and I did a quick price check on some regular items. Some were more expensive, some were less. Saffas reading this, Checkers confuses me. Either way – I left with milk sachets, ginger, lemon (my winter drink of choice/necessity) and Bovril (for R39.90 the cheapest I’ve seen it). Total spent at Checkers R93.77.

Here are some tips and trick and what I’ve been eating:

I’ve fed my sweet tooth with the (massive) block of fondant that has been sitting in the freezer for over 2 years. I kid you not. It was taking up room, and with no spare budget for chocolate, ice cream, cookie dough etc. this was it. I’m glad to not have to relocate it after each new frozen food shop.


The boys have not had cracker bread this month. A quick simple snack – but at R21+ a box. Not this month. Also the juice boxes we spoke of? None of that either.

I’m limiting us to 1 big bulk bag of coffee beans and 1 tub of hot chocolate per month. That way we need to ration it all. Self control.

All in all, I’m much less impulsive in my shopping. Much less. We are not living on bread and butter (quite yet), but because I really don’t know what the end of the month will look like, I question my needs vs. wants.

This past Friday was Market Day at my Good Food Club. As I arrived to fetch my goodies, I saw this: a special. It is hard for me to refuse a special.

Yes friends, this is TOP quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil at such a good price. And I refused. Because it would’ve been too much for the budget. See my self control?

Saturday we scored huge. After a crazy busy morning with play dates and builders, we dropped everything (in my brother-in-law’s hands) to attended my cousins funeral. Hubby and I had barely eaten all day, so grabbed a handful of post-memorial snacks. Hungry again and on our way home, our brother and sister-in-law invited us to the Spur. We don’t frequent the Spur, but they had promised their kids a Spur treat and (super generously) offered money towards our bill. (How amazing!) My first thought was “for suuuure!” and my second was “oh wait, this is going to eat in the budget hard“. Pondering the situation we found ourselves in, hubby kept telling me to – quote – “tell your readers, we’ll take it from the Building Budget”. Pah, as if there is a building budget. 

So, because I feel so committed to you all and this challenge my conclusion, “right, it has to come out the 3k budget”. I was prepared to take the hit. Hospitality, remember? Long story short, our super generous family covered the whole bill, so Saturday was covered. Mahala.

Tips and tricks: find old sugary treats to keep you going and hint at family members to take you out.

WHAT WE’VE BEEN EATING:

Breakfast: Good ol’ fashion Jungle Oats, with a splash of milk and drizzle of honey. I have 3.5 kg’s of honey from my Good Food Club (paid for by this months budget). Brea has fancy yoghurt with some fruit and I usually have 7 cups of coffee. Or 1 cup, heated 7 times.

Lunch: My girlfriend and I joke about deconstructed meals.”I had a deconstructed fruit salad” she’ll say – when she means she had an apple, pear and orange, for eg. Ha. So I usually take a handful of paleo friendly goodies to work. First prize is always leftover dinner, otherwise I’ll grab some boiled eggs, butternut and avo, apple, carrot and cucumber sticks, cherry toms, banana etc.

Boys lunches: Always, a sandwich, cut up apple and cheery tomatoes. Their snacks are either raisins, dried mango (when on sale at my GFC), dates, sometimes nuts, boiled eggs, cut up cucumber, fruit etc. And water. All fresh. No prepackaged snacks.

Afternoon snack: Anything I can find in the fridge, tea (and fondant). Often fruit.

Dinner:

  • We’ve made 2 massive batches of soup and frozen them in jars (I buy glass jars from Bonpak).
  • We’ve had cheese, tomato and basil (home grown) toasted sarmies.
  • We’ve had chicken and cheese quesadillas with homemade salsa.
  • I cooked 500g of mince and added almost anything I could think of to beef if up (carrots, mushrooms, peppers, 2 cans tomatoes, and lots of lentils). I also divided the mince into jars and have frozen them for quick meals.
  • We’ve had cous cous with chicken (1 chicken breast), butternut, mint, feta and toasted almonds.
  • We’ve had chicken sausage (Elgin) on roasted sweet potato and rosemary chips.
  • Last night we had the pre-cooked frozen mince over sweet pot mash. Yum.

Soup recipes here: Sweet Pot & Bacon Soup and Roasted Butternut and Rosemary. 

Here was my initial meal plan idea – before this challenge was official. Friday night is movie night in our house so, hence the popcorn.

And as we stand, I’ve spent R1171.93 (EXCLUDING my Good Food Club food which should come in at around R1000ish). So I’m sitting on just under R2200.

How you doing? 🙂

Have I introduced you to the Lara Ball?

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If you’re in any Paleo/Whole30/Vegan circles, no doubt you’ve heard about the Lara Ball? And if not, well then, let me enlighten you.

This is quite simply one of my all time fave snacks for when you’re trying to be good (so you’re not spontaneously making fudge, or homemade custard to eat out of a mug, or tackling that tub of Haagen Dazs in your freezer – yup – been there). I hadn’t made them for a while and then when a group of girlfriends were keen on a month of paleo, I remembered my long lost friend and made some last night. And I’ve eaten about 24 in the last 8 hours.

So Lara Balls. So good, so sweet, so healthy, satisfying and ah, they just hit the spot when you need it most.

lara balls 2

WHAT YOU NEED: 

  • 1.5 cups Almonds (I know they’re expensive at the mo, but trust me)
  • 1.5 cups Dates (pitted, always pitted)
  • 3 or 4 tablespoons soft/melted Coconut Oil
  • 2 tablespoons Raw Organic Cacao Powder (optional)
  • However much you feel like adding Chia Seeds (optional)
  • Again, however much you feel like adding fresh Coffee Grounds (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Easy as. You throw your almonds into a food processor and switch on FULL BLAST. It’s loud. Really loud. So switch it on and run out the room. Once it calms down and those nuts have been crushed into small cous cous-like prices, add your dates. Then your coconut oil and then the optional extras. And blend blend blend. (My hubby loves the coffee ones, I’m not such a fan, but cacao and chia seeds – YUM!)

Once everything is nicely mixed, grab them in your hand and squish them into balls and pop them in the fridge. If you find they’re too dry then add a touch more coconut oil so they hold firm when you make balls. On the flip side, if they’re too oily, no harm, you can simply use less oil the next time. And when I say ‘next time’, I mean the next day because you’ll probably finish them all today.

Enjoy xxx

Image credit: www.chocolatecoveredkatie.com

Banana Chips, and how they can save your Life.

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My sister-in-law totally shows me up. She is like the most intentional mom I know, and I know a lot of them. She is so down to earth (so you can’t hate her) makes EVERYTHING from scratch, is like super creative with her kids, all the while being a patient wife (me, not so much) and super calm mother (again, I don’t make that list). She’s constantly calm. How? I don’t know.

And while being awesome, her and my hubby’s brother bought my husband a biltong maker one Christmas. Because, of course, it makes so much more than just biltong. It dehydrates just about anything and so your options are endless. As I type this, I can hear it humming next to me dehydrating slices of banana.

We got through 6 weeks traveling from Vancouver, to New Zealand, to Australia and then finally Cape Town thanks to BANANA CHIPS. Banana chips saved our lives. Banana chips were the then-toddlers premium choice of snack and would do anything for them. You know how you’re all like “hubby, have you packed the dummy?” before you leave the house with a baby? Replace ‘dummy’ with ‘banana chips’ and that was us.

All hail the Banana Chip. It saved us. It saved us on airplanes (that alone means it should receive some kind of Nobel Peace Prize), and in people-movers traveling across the south island of New Zealand. It saved us in supermarkets, on boat trips, during half marathons and when mom and dad just needed.a.break. That crispy little yellow (gold) ray of light was our go to.

And I know what you might be thinking… banana chips… gross. And maybe (if you’re grabbing them from the bulk bin at your local grocery store). But not if you make them yourselves. Ohhhhh no. Delicious, and (somewhat) healthy, and cheap, and e-a-s-y, and don’t forget – top quality bribery tool.

HERE’S THE HOW TO:

Homemade-Banana-Chips-on-parchment-paper-682x1024

What you need: bananas. (No additives!)

IF you have a food dehydrator:

Slice the bananas and place them on the dehydrators shelves/wracks. Pop them in and turn your dehydrator on. Leave them around 12 hours, and when you have a moment, take them out, flip them over and put them back in for another 6-8-ish hrs (all depends on how thick you cut your banana). Be careful when flipping them as they can still be soft underneath and can break.

IF YOU DON’T have a food dehydrator:

Pre-heat your oven to 120C and line your slices of banana on parchment paper. Pop them in the oven for 30min. Take them out and flip them over. They can be a little tricky to flip, but you can do it. Use a thin blade to get under them if need be.

Once they are all tuned over pop them back into the oven and allow them to dry for another 30 minutes. When the time is up, take them out of the oven and set aside to cool. Your chips will still be drying out slightly when you take them out from the oven.

After 10 or 15 minutes you are ready to have a taste. I usually store mine in an air tight mason jar in the grocery cupboard. Done.

Now go for it and throw yourself this lifeline.

Picture credits: www.thecarameljar.com, www.recipeshubs.com.

What I’m eating this evening

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This recipe just popped at the bottom of the latest Yuppiechef mail out and it looked so delicious I couldn’t help myself but drool over the recipe and scribble it down and pin it that minute. (Check out my alternatives to make it a little more paleo-y).

I love these, no fuss, throw it all together and pop-it-in-the-oven recipes. And this one looks goooood – too good not to share. So thank you to Yuppiechef and Lisa Grey.

Coconut and Lemongrass Chicken Bake

lemongrass-chicken-lifestyle-creative

Ingredients:

Prep time: 10 min | Cooking time: 45 min | Serves 4

8 free range chicken pieces, bone on (usually I don’t love chicken on the bone, but I’m making the exception here. Also, use the bones to make your own chicken stock in your Wonderbag).
250 g/1 cup coconut cream
1 lemongrass stalk, thinly sliced
1 small red chilli, thinly sliced (go easy on the chilli if serving to your kids).
1 lime, cut into rounds
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp soya sauce
Salt and black pepper to season
250 g egg noodles (go with cauliflower rice if you’re going paleo).
200 g mange tout (also known as snap peas for us less fancy)

…and a bunch of coriander. We always need coriander.

Lemongrass-Chicken-plated

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°c.
2. Place the chicken pieces into an oven-proof casserole dish (something similar to the Yuppiechef Rectangular Baker). Top with coconut cream, lemongrass, chilli and lime rounds. Drizzle over the honey and soya sauce and season. (I’d squeeze some extra lime in too – love lime). 

prepping-lemongrass-chicken

4. Bake for 45 minutes, until the chicken is golden and cooked through.
5. Five minutes before the chicken comes out of the oven, prepare the noodles and snap peas. Place the noodles into a glass bowl, pour over boiling water and set aside for 3–4 minutes. Drain. Blanch the mange tout/snap peas in salted boiling water.

lemongrass-chicken-dish

Pour yourself a glass of wine, call the family to the table and serve. (Yes please!)

lemongrass-chicken-recipe-feature

Lemongrass-Chicken-eating

Right, so I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I don’t think I can stuff it up – I’ll let you know how it goes. Who doesn’t love Asian flavours, lemongrass, coriander, coconut milk… yummmmm.

Enjoy!

All pics and recipe: www.yuppiechef.com

3 Ingredient Iced Tea

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Ice tea

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh man, has it been hot. That’s not even a question. It’s a statement.

While staying away from the alcohol on my January Paleo eating, my options of super refreshing drinks have been limited to the following:

  • ice cold water
  • soda water and lemon
  • kombucha

But what about when your kombucha is finished and you’re patiently waiting for the next couple bottles to brew? Ping! Iced Tea. Duh.

My mom reminded me of her really simple Rooibos homemade iced tea recipe, which is less of a recipe and more of a throw-this-together drink. So we made some and it was DELICIOUS (and really easy to make and really healthy).

3 ingredient Iced Tea, made from rooibos tea, lemon wedges and mint leaves. If you really need it a touch sweeter you could add some xylitol or erythritol (and if you don’t have either then yes, you can add in a litttttle sugar if you so wish).

Pop it in the fridge, add some ice blocks and drink away.

Picture credit: www.huffingtonpost.com

Easy-Peasy Homemade Chicken Stock

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When we first did Paleo (Whole30) back when I was pregnant with #2, we stuck to the rules military-style, and that included no chemicals in any-thing. So we had to make our own stock. What?

Making your own stock is awesome, super rewarding and easy-peasy. And it is delicious. In fact, after we learnt about it we stopped buying boneless, skinless chicken breasts so we had extra bones to use, and by doing so, saved some money at the same time (boneless meat is often more expensive).

So here’s how you do it:

Cook a roast chicken. This is my go-to recipe and I love love love it. It’s a throw-together rustic version of a roast chicken. Invite some friends over, and enjoy your dinner with some good wine and laughter. Pick as much meat off the carcass as you can, gobble it all up or save whatever you have left over for chicken mayo toasties, salad toppings etc.

Jamie Oliver Roast Chicken

Then take the carcass and pop it in a pot and pour about 3L-4L of water over it. Now you get creative… Was there a mushy lemon in the carcass cavity? Throw that in the water. Cut up a couple carrots, an onion or two, a couple sticks of celery, salt, pepper and some herbs (bay leaves, parsley, thyme etc.) from your garden. Basically any veggies (flavours) you have lying around, chuck them in.

Bring it to the boil for around 20min. Then (my favourite bit), pop it in your Wonderbag. Overnight. At end of cooking time, open bag, check temperature immediately to be certain stock measures 60° C/140° F or higher. Strain the liquid through a sieve and throw the veggie bits in your compost. For maximum flavor use the back of large spoon to press as much liquid as possible from meat, bones and veggies. Add additional salt and pepper to taste and pop your delicious flavoursome liquid it in the freezer. Done!

(If you don’t have a Wonderbag, you can let it simmer gently for around 30min. Check on it and then turn it down and let it cook on low for another hour or so – just don’t forget about it).

Chemical, MSG, nonsense-free stock. Yum.

Picture Credit: everydaygoodthinking.com

Absolutely Delicious Homemade Salsa

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One Christmas, our pastor’s wife gave us a jar of homemade salsa and it was absolutely delicious. So as soon as I had finished the jar I needed to find a recipe to make some more. So I did, and thanks to Two Peas and Their Pod Blog the deliciousness continued…

Here’s what you need: 

Ingredients:

1 can whole tomatoes with juice
1 can diced tomatoes with chilies and herbs (or something similar)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 whole jalapeño, sliced thin (more if you like it hot hot hot!!!)
1/4 teaspoon sugar (omit this if eating paleo)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup fresh coriander (or more to taste – I LOVE coriander)
1/2 whole lime, juiced (I usually add more lime, since I LOVE lime)

Directions:

In a large food processor or blender, combine whole tomatoes, tomatoes with chilies, onion, jalapeño, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and coriander. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you’d like. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.

Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour.

You can eat this with tortilla style chips, or throw it over some nachos. We recently added it to delicious Mexican tortillas – with homemade spiced mince, tomatoes, lettuce, guacamole, cheese, sour cream and coriander. Yummmmm!!! You can add it to your burger or on your homemade pizza or on some crackers with cheese. It’s also a great Christmas gift if you’re doing the homemade Christmas gift thing.

restaurant-style-salsa3

Yum. It is also paleo approved (if using no sugar). I can eat this with a spoon, it’s that good.

Enjoy!

Coconut Oil, Coconut Oil Everywhere

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When I first embarked on this green life about 3 years ago, coconut oil popped up every-where. It’s like I couldn’t get away from the stuff – and for good reason.

1L oil

If you spend 7 seconds browsing Pinterest you’ll see literally thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of posts about coconut oil, the benefits, the uses, the recipes, the health properties, and on and on it goes. It seems coconut oil really is one of the most versatile and healthy MUST-HAVES in your pantry, bathroom, bedroom, kids room, ANY-room.

You can read up more about their vast number of benefits and uses here and here. Below I’m highlighting three products in particular that I’ve found to fit into my day to day.

I have kids, am faaaaaairly addicted to sugar and love good skin. So, when Jenna from Coconut Connection, a local company, offered some product to try I grabbed the Baby Care, Organic Coconut Sugar and the Coconut Body Scrub.

Now, if you’re new to this, it’s good to know that coconut oil is an OIL. So it’s oily. Got it? I know a few people whose sensory vibes don’t dig the oil factor and so if that’s the case this might not be for you. But, as for the rest of you, let’s get greasy.

Oh wait, another thing. Coconut oil solidifies in cool temperatures, so, in colder climates it might need a slight warm up before use (like dipping the jar in warm water), and in hotter climates, if you don’t want to dip your fingers into runny oil, then keep it in a cool dry place, out of the sunlight.

Ready? Let’s go.

Coconut Connection’s Organic Baby Care:

Smothering my kidlets with coconut oil comes as NO surprise to me. From the very beginning, I ditched all the fancy branded creams (which had plenty of unknown ingredients) and went al-natural with the littlies using a single ingredient – Organic Coconut Oil. In fact when my second was born, his skin looked like it was almost cracking on his feet and hands and I lathered him up goooood and proper with the stuff. Within days, his skin was plump and juicy. And its a huge money saver as a little goes a very looooong way.

Uses: Can be used to treat baby acne, cradle cap, croup, nappy rash, ear infections, massage, bath oil and as a moisturiser.

Liven up your little ones bath time routine by running a warm bath, dim the lights, cuddle up your littlie in a towel, put on some relaxing music, drop some lavender essential oil in the diffuser and enjoy bonding time together involving some baby massage.


 Clayden skin 2

Coconut Connection’s Coconut Sugar:

I didn’t even know there was such a thing. Stevia, yes, Xylitol, yes… But coconut sugar?

Coconut sugar is made from the coconut flower, where the sap is removed and heated and you’re left with a sugary substance which leaves a caramelly aftertaste in your mouth. Whoooooaaaaaa, it is delicious. I can eat this stuff by the teaspoonful. In fact, if I’m honest, I do.

Compared to Xylitol, coconut sugar has a milder taste and flavour. When added to coffee, it knocks that bitter taste off, or adds a slight sweetness to tea. My rooibos addicted toddler loves coconut sugar in his morning tea and I way prefer using this than any other sweetener. Win.

Uses: you can use coconut sugar in many different sweet and savoury recipes. It is safe for diabetics and has a low GI of 35.

sugar

Coconut Connection’s Body Scrub:

I like things with as few ingredients as possible, and this scrub has 2. Coconut Oil and Sugar. So it’s a scrub, aaaand a dessert (almost).

Since my scrub had hardened, I warmed it up (you can pop the bottom of the jar in the bath) and gave it a stir to distribute the oil and sugar evenly (as the sugar had settled at the bottom of the jar). I quite like the oil-on-oil method of cleaning and so for me personally I like oil based scrubs. This scrub has a neutral smell and so if you don’t have a high sensitivity to essential oils, you could add a couple drops to your bath depending on what mood you’re in. Being oily, its quite nice to just give yourself a little neck massage while you’re at it. Well that’s what I do anyway.

Coconut Connection have a whole range of products, including coconut oil for cooking (or DIY-ing), toothpaste (similar to my homemade recipe), lip balm and much more.

What have you made recently that has coconut oil as a main ingredient?

The Yummiest Paleo Recipes EVER

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We have only one more day to go friends, and so I’ve rounded up my favorite Paleo recipes of all time. I find myself coming back to these again and again, even when intentionally eating Paleo is far from my mind…

Most of these recipes can be found on my Paleo Board on Pinterest. Pinterest is an amazing resource for Paleo recipes and inspiration. Included in this blog post are just a handful of the gazillions of recipes that are all amazingly delicious and easily found online. So make friends with Google and enter a world of deliciousness. I’m currently also re-reading Pete Evans‘ book Family Food.

Please try to make as MUCH of this as you can at home. Homemade is BEST. Cooking, baking and almond milk making gets your creative food juices going and is so healthy for the soul.

Michael Pollan says something along the lines of, ‘take as much time to prepare your food, as you do to eat it’. I like that quote. And I think he’s right.

RECIPES:

BREAKFAST: (I usually have fruit and nuts on weekdays and save the bacon and eggy kinda brekkie for the weekend).

– My all time fave is Paleo Granola. Basically 1 cup of each of the following: almonds, cashews, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and coconut flakes. You can throw some linseed and sesame seed in if you like (maybe half a cup of each). Mix all the nuts/seeds in a large bowl (except coconut flakes) and mix in about 1/4 cup melted coconut oil. If you want, you can squeeze in the juice of an orange for a touch of sweetness. Spread it out over a baking dish (or two) and bake at a low temp (110 degrees) for about an hour, mixing once in-between. Toast the coconut flakes separately as they burn quickly! Add the coconut flakes to the rest of the granola and store in airtight container.

This is best served over cut up fruit (apples, oranges, pears, strawberries etc). Since this is oat-free and nut HEAVY, you really only need a couple tablespoons of granola over your fruit. This amount of nuts might seem expensive initially but it will last you a fair while since you don’t need that much – not nearly the amount you would usually use when eating granola (museli). Also, if you find the nuts too big, you can chop them roughly in the very beginning. 

– Classic bacon and eggs, with balsamic grilled cherry tomatoes, garlic fried mushrooms, creamy avo and sweet potato hash. YUM.

sweet pot hash

– Spinach Beef Frittata. (I sometimes make these in cupcake pans so you have portion sizes that are just right!) Make up your own combinations too.

SNACKS:

– Banana chips (homemade)
– Apple chips with cinnamon (homemade)
– Cherry tomatoes
– Cut up apple and almond butter
– Beet dip and cucumber and carrot sticks
– Boiled eggs with paleo mayo
– Yam fries and aioli (paleo mayo, garlic and lemon juice)
– Kale chips. I know it is not everyone’s cup of tea but I love them.
– Spice-free biltong
– aaaaaaaaaaaand… Lara Balls (throw 1 cup almonds, 1 cup pitted dates, 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil into a food processor and blend to smitherines. Grab handfulls and squish into balls. Keep them in the fridge and nibble as you need. You can add a tablespoon or so of organic cacao powder or ground coffee beans if you’re wanting to add extra flavour). Lara Balls were essential in both my previous Whole30’s.

sweet pot friesbeet humus

LUNCHES & DINNERS (I find these quite interchangeable):

Your alternatives to a carby base: cauliflower rice, sweet pot/ yam hash or mash, zucchini ribbons and broccoli and cauliflower florets. You can also make spaghetti squash – but I can’t find spaghetti squash in South Africa. Hmmph.

You absolutely have to make cauliflower rice and sweet potato hash/mash as your hearty meal bases (where you would have used noodles/rice/bread etc.) Omit the lime and coriander from the cauliflower rice recipe if you don’t like those flavours – but I find them super scrumptious. Also, zucchini ribbons (peeling a zucchini like you would a carrot) and broccoli florets or roasted cauliflower are very versatile as bases for a spaghetti type mince or juicy vegetable something-or-other.

cauliflower rice

Soups: (while you’re at it – make double and freeze extra portions so you have spare for the following week, or for an unpredictably busy day). 

– I cannot get enough of this Roasted Butternut Soup. I can now make it with my eyes closed.
– Curried Cauliflower Soup (I buy cauliflower like its nobody’s business).
– Sweet Potato and Bacon Soup (with Ras el Hanout – take the time to make this – it’s easy and so worth it).
– Basil and Tomato Soup (with basil from your garden, obviously).

roasted butternut soup

Salads: (Rule of thumb for salads in general: include 1 green, 1 fruit or vegetable and 1 nut. Usually I would say add 1 cheese, but not while on Whole30).

– Chicken, Avo, Mango, Cilantro, Lime, Mint, & Toasted Cashew Salad. Oh my wooord – one of my all time best.
– Bacon, Lime and Sweet Pot Salad
– Grilled Chicken Citrus Salad

mango salad

Meaty Options:

– My BEST EVERRRR: Chipotle Chicken Sweet Pot Skins. Your friends will love you forever. Leave off the cheese. It’s a touch high maintenance, but so, so worth it.

chip chicken skins

– 2nd BEST: Homemade Burgers in Lettuce Wraps. Make it up as you wish. Add whatever tickles your fancy – but keep it dairy free. The crispy lettuce crunch with the warm homemade patty with juicy tomatoes and creamy avo. Stop it. It is so good.

fish tacos

Patty: Throw together minced beef, diced onion, salt, pepper, one egg, a handful of almond flour (leftover from your almond milk), coconut aminos (optional), herbs from the garden, balsamic vinegar, and crushed garlic. Shape into patties, pop in fridge for a while to let the flavours set in and fry in EVOO/Coconut oil on stove. Make extras as snacks. 

– 3rd BEST:  Fish Tacos. I have now started ordering fish tacos in (reputable seafood) restaurants I love them so so much. I adapt this recipe. I leave out the sugar, dairy and carb component and replace it with homemade paleo mayo and crispy lettuce as the wrap. Make this with a mango salsa. A taste sensation.

paleo mayo

Fish & Chips: If you don’t feel like making tacos you can just cook the fish and serve it with yam fries. Yum.

– 4th BEST: Moroccan Meatballs. Yum. Over and Over (on cauli rice). This is another recipe I have continued to make again and again long after our Whole30’s ended.

moroccan meatballs

– 5th BEST: Warm Veggie Salad. The hub is not a huge fan of this one, but I love it. I adapt this recipe (swap the potato for sweet potato or yam). I serve it on baby spinach and mix a couple more flavours into the sauce such as red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and chilli flakes.

When you’re lost for ideas, a frittata is always a safe bet (with whatever you have left in your pantry). Also, how about a delicious roast chicken with roasted veggies? So easy. Use the chicken carcass to make homemade chicken stock (in your Wonderbag) for your soups. So versatile huh?

roast chicken

BEVERAGES: 

– Water, drink it with lemon, or not. Just drink LOTS of it.
– Coffee and Tea with Almond Milk or Coconut Milk. These milks are SO easy to make and have no hidden sugars, preservatives etc. unlike store bought. Also roast the left over coconut and almond flours. They’ll come in handy.
– Soda Water with Lemon (my evening drink of choice)
– Naturally Flavoured Water
– Smoothies (so easy to make)
– Juices in your juicer – such as my fave: Beet, Apple & Ginger
– I’m allowing Kombucha since there is no hard and fast rule if it is allowed. I love it for its probiotic and gut health benefits and so feel it’s a great addition. It’s also a good thing to drink when you feel like a glass of wine.

Beet juice

NEW RECIPES I can’t wait to try:

– Healthy Taco Salad in a mason jar with this deeeelicious salsa.
– Roasted Sweet Pot Salad
– Thai Coconut Soup (I love Thai flavours, and ginger is so good for you)
– Coconut Crusted Chicken Patties (how have we not had these before?)

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Pheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwww. That’s a lot of info to take in. I did so much research on my first Whole30, I put this PDF together with a shopping list, meal plan for my 4 weeks and it really helped me when I was feeling inspiration-less. Print it out and pin it up in your kitchen for when you’re needing ideas: Whole 30 – Schedule (Week 1,2,3,4).

Now it’s your turn! Please share your winning recipes, and your total failures (so we know to, errrmmm, give them a skip). Be inspired to do your own research and create your own meals.

Good luck and enjoy!!

xxx

MUST HAVES in your Paleo Pantry

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So, because I’m the one initiating this Whole30/Paleo month, I feel like I need to be even more on top of it than usual. My type A is kicking in. Not only do I need to get my game on, but I then need to write about it as well. This is accountability at its max.

So – I’ve been shopping. Yeeeowzers, have I been shopping. I dare not tell the hubby how much money I spent on raw nuts last week (lucky for me I put it on the Canadian credit card and so it feels like a distant dream).

Paleo can seem expensive, but if you find the right shops and budget well – it doesn’t have to break the bank. If you’re doing the higher grade version and buying purely organic, 100% grass-fed, pastured kobe beef well then sure, you might crank it up a notch or two on the spending scale, but if you can’t, that’s fine. Do what you can do.

In terms of specific items – here are a few of the must haves in the pantry at.all.times. My top 5:

– Coconut Oil (organic or preferably organic virgin),
– Free Range Eggs (Elgin Free Range Chicken), and
– Nuts for my paleo granola, homemade nut butters and lara balls. I get them all from Yellow Submarine in Ottery (macadamia, almond, cashew, brazil, coconut flakes, dates, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds etc.)
– Coconut Milk/Cream. Buy cans by the dozen. You’ll be amazed at how versatile these babies are.
– Cumin. Well… I just love cumin.

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Fruit & Veg:

I mainly buy our fruits and veggies from our local Pick ‘n Pay – purely for my Vitality Healthy Food benefit (and cash back – see frugal, but smart), as well as Food Lovers when I need things in bulk (like making soups to freeze). When I’m feeling extra green I like to make use of an online organic food box system. I try not shop at Woolworths too much, mainly because I find their prices outrageous and I’m thrifty, and I felt a little fooled about their hormone-free – not so free – milk saga a while back. Holding a grudge? Clearly. Admittedly Woolies do sell good quality fruit and veg and if you are looking for something specific they’ll probably have it, and their fresh food lasts a good while. I also get suckered into their Eat In for under R200. Arghhh… they reel me in with their wonderfully sneaky marketing. (Urgh. did you see that? They even managed to turn me from an average supporter to a fairly pro supporter in just one paragraph. Amazing).

In general I am trying to move towards more of a food box system – mainly because its LOCAL, better tasting and organic, and c’mon – SA needs people to support the smaller entrepreneurs (farmers especially).

Here are a few options you can go with, which I’m going to be making use of this Paleo with Me August.

1) Wild Organics (mini bag R110 and medium bag is R160)
2) Think Organic (budget pack R105 and family pack R155)
3) Abalimi & Harvest of Hope (check out their website and Facebook Page)
4) Ethical Co-op (boxes range from R170 – R115).

And use herbs (from your garden for goodness sake). Please go herb shopping and plant them in the new awesome GROWbags and use them at every opportunity. Once your body has started cleaning out the rubbish, your taste buds will reawaken and these incredibly flavoursome little green leaves will become your best friends.

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I can’t do without: avocados, cherry tomatoes, yams, cauliflower, coriander, lemons, beets and dates.

Healthy Oils/Fats: 

Let’s keep this simple – the most popular and easily accessible oils to cook with are coconut oil and extra-virgin olive oil. If you stick with those you can’t go wrong. Get stocked up on some Oh Mega nut butters (except for the peanut butters – those aren’t allowed). Nuts are the BEST thing to snack on (although, let’s not go overboard).

You can also make almond milk if you simply cannot drink tea and coffee without ‘milk’ in it.

I can’t do without: coconut oil, cashew nuts, almond butter, and almonds (for lara balls).

Just a 1kg bag of cashews for the road. As you do.

Protein:

A couple tips when it comes to protein:

– Fish: please buy wild fish,
– Chicken/Poultry/Eggs: please buy free range,
– Beef: at minimum, please eat lean, fat trimmed/drained beef (remember, we are not banting), and at best, please try find grass-fed and/or organic beef (budget related).
– Processed meat (bacon, sausages, deli meats): please try avoid factory-farmed, or anything with added sugar or MSG, sulfites or carrageenan.

I can’t do without: all of the above really. They are all needed for some of my all time favourite Paleo recipes (coming soon). But don’t overdo it on the meat either. Lets glean the wisdom of our friend, Michael Pollan:

eat food not too much

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Now that we have all the basic staples stocked, look out for the post coming with my favorite recipes. It’s going to be a goodie.

Any questions? Now is the time to ask…