Chorizo Turkey Omelet

I used about 2 Tbls of the chorizo ground turkey from yesterday's recipe along with two heaping handfuls of spinach and two eggs to make a breakfast omelet. Step 1) Brown the turkey. Step 2) Add/wilt the spinach (I set my stove at "3," a.k.a. medium-low). Step 3) Add whisked eggs. Step 4) Fold in half. Step 5) Eat.

My afternoon snack was cucumber and tomato with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, seasoned with some oregano, basil, and thyme. Yummy and healthy.

I am again amazed by the food that I've been eating with the Paleo diet. Prior to starting this diet, my breakfast typically consisted of instant oatmeal at my desk at work. Don't get me wrong, my high fiber maple brown sugar oatmeal was tasty, but not very filling. Now I eat things like omelets or leftover stuffed peppers for breakfast, which contains protein and vegetables to keep me full. Good choice? I think so!

In other exciting news, KM informed me this morning that she tried out my Jamaican Jerk Beef recipe from back in early March. And in her words, "It turned out really well." Woo hoo! Someone is actually using my recipes! You may not find this as exciting as I do (I don't understand why not), but trust me, it is. I get a sense of joy and pride that y'all actually read my blog and look at all of my pretty pictures. Thank you!

Chorizo Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Chorizo Turkey Stuffed Peppers

I found the recipe below for Chorizo Poppers on The Food Lovers Kitchen. Instead of using 1 lb of mini bell peppers, I used 3 large bell peppers. I also added some garlic salt.

Ingredients


The night before:
1 lb Ground Turkey
1 Tbsp Paprika
1 tsp Black Pepper
2 Tbsp Chili Powder
1/2 Tbsp Cumin
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 Tbsp Dried Oregano
1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

For when you're actually making the meal:
4 large Bell Pepper, tops removed, and seeded (I went with one red, one yellow, and one orange and had just over 1 cup of meat leftover)
1 cup Tomato, diced
1/2 Onion, chopped
[1 Tbsp Cilantro, minced] - Recommended unless you're like me and don't have any at home

In a bowl, season the ground turkey with garlic salt, chili powder, paprika, oregano, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt, black pepper, and apple cider vinegar.

Use your hands to mix the turkey and spices.

Cover the seasoned turkey with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Rinse the bell peppers using cool water. Cut off the tops of peppers, and remove the seeds and membrane from the insides. Set aside peppers.

Brown the seasoned ground turkey in a skillet over medium heat. While this is browning, chop the tomato and onion. Remove the turkey from heat, and stir in chopped tomato and onion. I didn't have any cilantro at home, but if you do, now would be a good time to add 1 Tbls of minced cilantro.

Stuff bell peppers with chorizo turkey mixture, and place on a baking sheet (I lined mine with tinfoil for easy clean up).

Bake peppers for 20–25 minutes at 400°F, or until peppers are somewhat soft.

Happy Memorial Day!!

Yes, yes. I'm a day late. It was such a great Memorial Day weekend that I didn't want to take the time to write up any posts. I spent 4 full days (and a couple partial days) in Pensacola with KM, her parents, and her friends celebrating her winging! So congrats to her for becoming an official helicopter pilot! I'm so proud and excited for her!

No, this is not the helicopter that she'll be flying.

Unsurprisingly, my headaches weren't as bad while I was there. In fact, there were even extended periods of time when I didn't have ANY headaches! Coincidence? I think not. I've frequently mentioned that my headaches are caused by stress (a.k.a work) and this past weekend was additional evidence. While I had no stress in my life, I also didn't follow Paleo. As I mentioned, my headaches weren't any worse, but I did notice that my stomach was super gurgly and I felt overly full whenever I ate dairy, such as the Caramel Apple (spiked) Milkshake that I had at dinner at Tin Cow on Friday night.

I really wish that I could conduct a full-blown scientific experiment to determine exactly which aspect of my life is causing the migraines. I want to isolate all of the variables in my life so that I can vary one at a time to deduce the individual triggers. Unfortunately, life doesn't work like that. I can't keep a set routine, because work and social activities change daily. Oh well, I'm back on Paleo, and I'm super excited about some of the recipes I'm trying this week. Stay tuned!

Road Trip to Pensacola

I made a 530-mile drive to Pensacola today to attend KM's winging ceremony tomorrow. I left my apartment at 10 this morning, and after a quick stop at Whole Foods for some cut celery, baby carrots, fresh fruit, and Larabars, I began my journey. After driving for 250-miles, I found myself at The Tiger Truck Stop along I-10, where I stopped to fill up on gas and take a 30-minute lunch break. My lunch consisted of an extremely greasy hamburger pattie. I don't recommend it, but there wasn't a whole lot of other options around. Alas, such is life. I only stopped once on my drive and made the entire trip with 1.25 tanks of gas. I love my new car and it's gas mileage. I've averaged 33.0 mpg in the past week of driving my car.

This morning my breakfast was a kale, spinach, mushroom, and Swedish Meatball Turkey Burger crumbles omelet, with two slices of oven-baked bacon. It was delicious, but ended up being too much food for me. Unfortunately, one-third of my omelet ended up in the trash since I was taking off for my 9ish-hour drive.

Tonight I broke Paleo for some fried, Boursin-stuffed artichokes at the Global Grill. They were delicious and went very well with pork tenderloin! I'm well aware that I won't be able to maintain Paleo all of this weekend with all of the winging activities, but I'm going to choose the healthier options wherever available. And I'm not going to worry about it. Stay tuned...

Fiber!

Following the Paleo diet promotes an increased consumption of vegetables, but does it really make up for not eating cereal grains ("cereal fiber")? As you can see below, only 3 of the top 10 sources of fiber are part of the Paleo diet. ONLY 3! So how can I make sure that I eat enough fiber?

According to WebMD, the top 10 sources of fiber are (bold are Paleo-friendly):

1. Beans. Think three-bean salad, bean burritos, chili, soup.
2. Whole grains. That means whole-wheat bread, pasta, etc.
3. Brown rice. White rice doesn't offer much fiber.
4. Popcorn. It's a great source of fiber.
5. Nuts. Almonds, pecans, and walnuts have more fiber than other nuts.
6. Baked potato with skin. It's the skin that's important here.
7. Berries. All those seeds, plus the skin, give great fiber to any berry.
8. Bran cereal. Actually, any cereal that has 5 grams of fiber or more in a serving counts as high fiber.
9. Oatmeal. Whether its microwaved or stove-cooked, oatmeal is good fiber.
10. Vegetables. The crunchier, the better.

Good sources of fiber: lettuce, dark leafy greens, broccoli, okra, cauliflower, sweet potatoes^, carrots, pumpkin, potatoes*, corn*, snap beans*, asparagus, cabbage, whole wheat pasta*, popcorn*, nuts, raisins, pears, strawberries, oranges, bananas, blueberries, mangoes, and apples.

* Not Paleo-friendly
^ Somewhat Paleo-friendly

How much do I need? Women need 25 grams per day and men should get 38 grams per day, according to an Institute of Medicine formula based on getting 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories.

Foods high in fiber can make you feel full longer and keep you from overeating. High-fiber foods require more chewing and stay longer in your stomach absorbing water (insoluble fiber absorbs water as it moves through your digestive system); thus the full feeling. There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber partially dissolves in water to form a gel-like substance and can help lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels. Obviously insoluble fiber is just what it's name entails. Insoluble fiber is metabolically inert and promotes movement through your digestive system. Fiber is also associated with lowering risk of certain cancers.(WebMD)

Here are a few Paleo-friendly (and delicious) sources of fiber:

Avocado: 11 g

Artichoke: 10 g

Raspberries: 8 g

Blackberries: 8 g

Broccoli: 6 g

Pear: 4.5 g

Apple: 4 g

2 Tbsp. Ground Flaxseed: 4g (Whole flaxseeds are a good topper for salads, too!)

Swedish Meatball Turkey Burgers

I come from a family of proud Scandinavians and I identify strongly with my Swedish roots. One of the traditional dishes that my family would always have for holidays was Swedish meatballs. I'm guessing that most of you will probably think of Ikea when I mention Sweden and Swedish meatballs; I love walking through the grocery section of Ikea to get some of the candies (back when I ate candy), flatbreads (back when I ate grains), and sparkling pear juice (back when I had carbonated beverages). Huh. Apparently I shouldn't eat anything at Ikea. Swedish meatballs are usually made with ground beef and ground pork, but I only had ground turkey at home right now. So I ended up making...

Swedish Meatball Turkey Burgers
1 lb ground turkey
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
1/4 tsp. Allspice
1 Tbsp. parsley

Salt and pepper, to taste

Use your hands to mix the ingredients together in a bowl. Form into patties and broil in the oven. I did 8 minutes on each side. Serve wrapped in lettuce. I topped mine with bacon, red cabbage, and baby spinach.

Nap Time

I took a 5-hour nap today and it was amazing! This afternoon some buddies and I watched the Chelsea - Bayern München football (soccer) game. Congrats go to Chelsea for winning the UEFA Championship. Failure goes to me for falling asleep during overtime; I woke up in time for the shoot-out though. As soon as I got home after the match, I fell asleep on my couch for 5 hours. Finally getting sleep made my headache go away. I'm attributing today's lingering headache to a lack of sleep, though my body probably doesn't need a reason to have a headache.

Last night for dinner I sauteed some kale, onion, mushrooms, and spinach over bacon fat and then mixed in some eggs for a kale-veggie scramble. Here was my dinner plate:

Doesn't it look yummy?

1 Tbls bacon fat
2 leaves kale, ribs removed, and ripped into small pieces
3 mushrooms, washed and sliced
1/4 onion, chopped
1/2 cup baby spinach
1/4 cup vegetable broth
3 eggs, whisked

Heat vegetable broth on medium heat in saute pan. Place kale into pan and cook down until kale turns dark green in color. The kale will absorb most of the broth. Put 1 Tbls of bacon fat into the pan before adding the onions and cooking until translucent. Next add the mushrooms and finally the spinach. Once the spinach is wilted (will turn dark green). Pour in the eggs and cook, stirring frequently (unless you'd rather make an omelet). Plate and top with salsa or guacamole. Easy peasy!

Back on Paleo

As I had mentioned the other day, I'm back on the Paleo diet and very happy about it. I haven't had a ton of time to cook this week, but the meals I've managed to throw together have been wonderful. I swear my body was craving meats and veggies (and was none too pleased with my food choices last week). During the first few days of this week, my stomach was still grumbling at me, but we're back to my Paleo normal. The headaches are marginally better than last week, so I'm hoping that will get a bit better over the next few days.

I just spent the last 20 minutes watching Call Me Maybe videos on youtube. It seems like baseball and rowing teams are really enjoying this viral video thing. Here are my three favorite:

The video that started it all:

SMU Women's Rowing Team's follow up:

My favorite - Texas State Baseball Team (yeah, go Texas!)

Guacamole

I bought a car today! I've been researching for the past few months and finally went in to the dealership. I stuck with Mazda. I'm excited and relieved that the whole buying process is complete! After all the excitement I wanted something easy to make.

Lazy Guacamole
1 avocado, mashed
2 tsp lime juice
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp pepper, freshly ground

Take all of the ingredients and mix. Enjoy. There are also alternatives which include tomato chucks or onions, but I was worn out after spending 3 hours at the dealership buying my car. Thus, my super lazy avocado-only guacamole. I served it with some ground beef that I seasoned with the following:

Taco Ground Beef
1 lb local grass-fed ground beef
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp pepper, freshly ground


I hope y'all had as exciting of a day as me!

Rumspringa 5-6-7

For the last few days, I've gorged 

My last non-Paleo recipe...

Definitely Not Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookie - Oreo - Brownies - OMG!

1 pack Oreos

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (see below)

Brownie Batter (see below)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Bowl 1
2 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
Bowl 2
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla

2 large eggs at room temperature
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Sift the ingredients of Bowl 1 together. Bowl 2: use a stand mixer with paddle attachment (or hand mixer) to beat the butter, brown sugar, and sugar until pale and fluffy. Mix in one egg at a time, followed by the vanilla Once the eggs and vanilla are incorporated, slowly mix in Bowl 1. After all of the flour has been blended in, fold in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Brownie

8 Tbls. unsalted butter
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 cup flour
2 Tbls natural cocoa
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Melt butter and chocolate over low heat. Cool slightly and transfer to different bowl. Mix in sugar, salt, and vanilla, followed by the eggs, one at a time. Beat in flour and cocoa. Fold in white chocolate chips.



Preheat oven to 375 F. Spread the cookie dough along the bottom of the pan and top with a layer of Oreos.

Spread the brownie mixture over the Oreos. Cover with hot fudge

Bake in oven for 40 minutes or until center is baked through. Let cool and then eat!

Rumspringa 4

Last night I made the gooey goodness of homemade mac and cheese. All of the ingredients except for the spices are not Paleo. Here's what I did:

Definitely not Paleo Mac and Cheese

Topping:
1 cup panko bread crumbs
4 Tbls butter
1/4 cup Parmesan-Reggiano cheese
2 shakes paprika

Mac and Cheese:
1 lb macaroni
5 1/2 Tbls butter (salted)
1/4 cup + 2 Tbls flour (all-purpose)
2 1/2 cups milk
2 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan-Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
Salt and Pepper, to taste (I used ~1/4 tsp salt and 1/3 tsp pepper)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Bring salted water to a boil and prepare macaroni according to instructions until al dente, cooking 6-7 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a medium sauce pan, melt 5 1/2 Tbls butter on medium-high heat. Once melted, stir in the flour. Continue stirring for 1 minute, making sure not to brown the mixture. Then whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil while continue to  whisk. Lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the mixture thickens.

While the milk is simmering, melt 4 Tbls of butter in a pan on medium heat. Add the panko bread crumbs, coating evenly. Mix in 1/4 cup Parmesan-Reggiano cheese and continue to cook until bread crumbs have been thoroughly toasted. Remove from heat.

After the milk has simmered, mix in cheddar cheese, Parmesan-Reggiano cheese, and mascarpone cheese, as well as the mustard powder, nutmeg, paprika, Tabasco, salt, and pepper. Stir until fully incorporated.

Mix the cheese sauce with the pasta, coating evenly. Transfer to a pan and spread Panko bread crumbs across top, patting down with hands if necessary. Place in preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove and serve. It got a "surprisingly good" out of my new co-worker MB, clearly he didn't realize I could cook.

I finished off the evening by watching Improv Everywhere youtube videos from 12:00 to 12:45 a.m. Smart decision? Probably not. Enjoyable? For sure! Recommended? 100% Yes.

Music of the day: Jake Owen - The One That Got Away

Rumspringa 3

Ugh. Today I had some Jif Natural Peanut Butter Spread - Creamy (Low Sodium). It's tasty but way too sweet (my sweet tooth is shaking its enamel at me for even thinking that something is too sweet). Let me just share some of the things written on the Jif jar:
"Peanut butter spread contains 90% peanuts."
"Ingredients: Made from peanuts, sugar, palm oil, contains 2% or less of : salt, molasses."

Compare that to what I've substituted for peanut butter:
100% almonds
Ingredients: Almonds











Tell me, which sounds more appealing to you? I vote almond butter. Or even 100% peanut butter, each of which is readily available in the bulk foods section of the grocery store. With the flip of a switch you can blend it yourself! Ohhh, look at you... so talented! You can even get honey roasted peanut butter. Oh, the options!

Rumspringa 2

Breakfast was a Chocolate Coconut Chew Lärabar, which I can only describe as "eh" with a shoulder shrug accompaniment. Lunch consisted of a trip to the nearest Panera Bread for Broccoli Cheddar Soup in a Sourdough Bread Bowl. Delicious! I finished off my day with 2/3 of a can of a caffeine-free Diet Coke. I used to be able to pound through a can of Diet Coke in a matter of minutes, yet here I am, 40 minutes in, and still not finished, nor with the desire to finish it. Strange.

How I felt this afternoon...

There aren't any huge differences between how I feel eating Paleo and how I feel eating whatever I want. However, my stomach is grumbling at me more than it ever used to, I'm having slightly more intense headaches so far, and a little light-headedness, not to mention the mid-afternoon carb crash. Oh, and I feel totally bloated. Geez! After listing these out, it sounds worse than I thought.

I recognize and admit that I'm eating more than I normally would because I want to eat all of the foods that I can't eat with Paleo, so that could have an effect on how I feel. But I don't remember feeling all of the things I listed above just from over-eating.

Rumspringa 1

Yesterday, KS, SD, and I went to Cafe Adobe for a girls lunch out before going to see Avengers with a few friends. I ate chips and salsa and a taco salad (with the flour tortilla shell) for the first time since starting Paleo and let me tell you, my body was not so happy. About 10 minutes after we left the restaurant and walked over to the movie theater, my head started pounding. KS fortunately shared her Excedrin Migraine with me in time for the headache to dissipate before we went into the theater. After the movie we got burgers and beer. I got my burger sans bun and just ate it lettuce-wrapped (I'm not going too crazy with the grains).

I ate Paleo for most of the day: breakfast consisted of lots and lots of carrots, and lunch was leftover burger. This evening however, Z and I went to Star Pizza for some Chicago deep-dish pizza. It wasn't as good as Mellow Mushroom, but I do have to admit that eating pizza crust and cheese was amazing! My stomach didn't appreciate it, but my taste buds bowed down and worshiped the awesomeness of dairy and cereal grains. With their forces combined, they are Pizza!

Rumspringa

Rumspringa: a period of adolescence in which boys and girls are given greater personal freedom and allowed to form romantic relationships, usually ending with the choice of baptism into the church or leaving the community. Origin: from Pennsylvania German, literally 'to run around.'

Obviously, I'm not an adolescent anymore. And I'm not Amish, so this doesn't fit perfectly, but just go with me. I had given myself a goal that I would last until May 6th with eating Paleo and would then re-evaluate on whether I feel better than when I didn't eat Paleo.

In the next week, I plan on eating all of the foods that are excluded from the Paleo diet. So I'll be eating pizza, pasta, milk, frozen yogurt (yum!), cheese (double yum!), and everything else related to grains. I swear I've been craving pizza for weeks. In particular I want Mellow Mushroom pizza, mainly for the crust, and I've raved about it to friends who have never heard of MM before. There aren't currently any here, but thankfully, MM is opening a location close(r) to me, so I will wait anxiously until it opens.

In summary, I'm giving myself a week off of Paleo to see how my body responds to non-Paleo foods. I plan to continue living the Paleo way after this week, but if my system can handle these foods without any problems, then maybe I'll reconsider.

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Happy Saturday!

Last night, LR and I hosted a house-leaving party. It was our last social gathering at our old apartment so we went all out and celebrated the last year and 9 months that we lived together. It is strange not having her around in the evenings to sit down with a bottle of wine and watch one of our stand-by movies, during which we make the same comments each time we watch it (it's a tradition).

Last night I slept on a queen-size air mattress in the closet of my old apartment. Yes, I slept in my closet. Why? Well, one of my friends slept on the floor in my room and he likes to snore; I don't sleep well with noise, so I set up the air mattress in the closet and closed the door to block out the noise. I considered sleeping in my living room, but it would have been too bright in the morning, so I wouldn't have been able to sleep in. Anyways, sleeping in my closet was a great night of sleep, and kind of follows the Paleo way, in that I woke up rested instead of with an alarm clock.

Today consisted of cleaning and making sure we got everything out of the apartment. For both of us it's been a week long process. The bulk was out last weekend, but we've been stopping by in the evenings to grab a few odds and ends that had been left in the cupboards, closets, etc.

Music of the Day: Sara Bareilles - Uncharted

Failure with Mayonnaise

I had a post written up yesterday about how to make paleo mayonnaise. It was going really well and was the right consistency, but I still had 1/2 cup more oil to add and I added it too fast. What resulted was what I'll describe as a butter smoothie. It looked like I had blended butter with oil and the butter had started to separate out into clumps. Not pretty. So very not pretty, that I refused to take a photo of it.

Thus my plans for making a BLT with mayo were foiled. Alas, what's a girl to do but eat the bacon she baked in the oven? A happy ending to the awful liquid mayonnaise.

Score:              Mayonnaise - 1              me - 0

I'll try again, but I need to work on my patience.

I have just not been in the mood to do P90X during the last few days, so instead of doing nothing, I've been hitting the elliptical and getting in some cardio. Also, I'm up to 210 pounds at 3 sets of 15 reps on the leg press. Not bad, eh?