Paleo Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

I think I've maybe finally grown up. Just over a month ago I started listening to NPR instead of pop or country music stations. I now almost exclusively listen to NPR. I never used to follow the news; I hated (and still kind of do hate) listening to politics. My source of the news used to be my mom who would call me to inform me of recent goings-on and my ex who was much more into news and international affairs than me. Now, I actually know what's going on around the world. WHO AM I? I'm still not sure what happened a month ago that caused me to start listening to the news. I went to Portland... Can a city cause someone to start following the news? Unlikely. So that's why I'm thinking that I've finally become a grownup. Seriously, I called my mom and told her that I'm growing up. (Clearly I define being a grownup as listening to NPR.) Oh well, this is a baffling change in habits... I wonder how long it will last.

Now back to the good stuff... My pumpkin kick is still going strong. Very strong. I spend my free time thinking of what new pumpkin recipes to make. Okay, not ALL of my free time, but a lot of it.

A couple weeks ago, I decided to bake a Paleo version of the pumpkin chocolate chip bars that I love so much. It's hard to duplicate, and this is the closest that I've come so far. The more I ate, the more I liked it.

Paleo Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
1 egg
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup almond flour
1 cup coconut flour
2 Tbls pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbls maple syrup
1.5 Tbls honey
2 Tbls sunbutter (sunflower seed butter)
1 package Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips (dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free, casein-free, vegan, and kosher)

Preheat your oven to 350F. Grease your baking pan with some coconut oil. Whip the egg with the pumpkin puree, then add the vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, mix the almond flour, coconut flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt together. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and then stir in the maple syrup, honey, and sunbutter. Last step is to fold in the chocolate chips. The mixture will be pretty sticky, but mainly just sticks to itself. This is what it looks like:

Transfer to your oiled baking dish,

  ... and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes.

This is what the non-Paleo version looks like:

Lack of Stress Migraine

Happy Halloween! In advance... This is the result of my pumpkin carving.

Did you know that you can get a migraine from a lack of stress? I guess your body/brain gets used to a certain level of stress racing through your system. So if you switch to a situation where you no longer have that stress level, you can get a migraine. Personally, I find this particularly cruel. I've talked to my doctor about this and I guess it's also an issue if you switch up your sleep schedule. So on the weekends when you don't HAVE to wake up early, she recommended that you only sleep in for 30 minutes to an hour. For me, that means that instead of waking up at 5 a.m. like I normally do during the week, I should instead sleep in until a whopping 6 a.m. Um, I think not. I did wake up early this past Saturday because I had to take the FE exam. That deserves a resounding WOO HOO!!!! Finally I'm done! I find myself missing all of the time that I've spent at Starbucks over the last couple months. Maybe I'll go hang out and read a book.

Anyways, the reason why I'm sharing this lack of stress migraine knowledge is because that's my theory for why I had a migraine all day yesterday. I woke up at 6 a.m. to the shrill of my alarm and to the "blinding light" of my room. (I'd like to point out that I have black out curtains hanging from my walls, so the small amount of light that gets into my bedroom is the light of the street lamp outside that sneaks in around the corners of the curtains.) After leaving voicemails and sending emails to my supervisors from my cell phone (which was glaringly bright by the way), I fumbled around for my eye mask and curled back under my covers into my light-free sanctuary. I refused to venture forth until 11. I sat in a dark room for a vast majority of the day. I made a brief and well-shaded trip to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to buy myself a new pillow with the hopeful intention that this pillow won't magnify throbbing headaches when I'm trying to fall asleep. I don't know if anyone else has this, but whenever I had a headache when I'm trying to fall asleep, the pressure that the pillow puts on my head is enough to make the head pain double. The pillow is too hard. Doesn't make a lot of sense, right? Pillows are meant to be soft.

So beware... beware of the lack of stress! Bwuah ha ha...

Pork Tenderloin and Pears

1.5 lb pork tenderloin

2 pears, thinly sliced

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp thyme

Cut off the silver skin of the tenderloin (click on this video for a demo). Season with salt, pepper, and thyme. Heat a skillet (cast iron if you have it) over the burner and cook the tenderloin for 3 minutes on each side. 

While you're searing the tenderloin, preheat your oven to 450F and slice your pears. If you used a cast iron skillet, line your pear slices around the tenderloin in the skillet. Otherwise, transfer the tenderloin to a baking dish and line with pear slices. 

Before

After

Cook in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until cooked through.

Still Alive

I swear, I'm still alive and cooking. I will be taking the 8-hour Fundamentals of Engineering exam in less than 48 hours. (OMG! So not ready!) And after I celebrate with my friends that my test is over, I fully intend on finally posting the recipes that I've created over the past few weeks. Lately, my days have gone kind of like this: Work, Library, Sleep, or if I'm feeling truly wild Work, Starbucks, Sleep. I've allowed myself one social activity per week to try to maintain my sanity. This week, my social activity was watching the presidential debate with my buddies ZB, EF, and TD. And I took notes during the debate. Yes. Notes. And then I compared the two candidates foreign policy points. I'm so cool.

Anyways, don't give up on me. I'll be back for good in a few days! Stay tuned for a truly delicious pumpkin chocolate chip bar recipe!

Barefoot Running and Blood Blisters

If you really don't like to think about blisters, blood, or other sports-related injuries, then don't read this post. I swear I kept the gross-ness to a minimum.

So Sunday morning, I woke up and decided to go for a run. I pulled on my Vibrams, put on my University of Colorado hat (in support of KM's undergrad years), turned on the tunes on my phone, and set out. It was going pretty well, and then my left big toe started hurting about a mile it. It wasn't too bad, so I kept running. One more mile later, I decided to stop at a bench and see if gravel had gotten into my shoe or something. Lo and behold, when I pulled off my shoe, I had a nice large blood blister on my big toe. So, I slid the shoe back on, turned around, and awkwardly walked the two miles back to my apartment, trying not to put pressure on my toe. During my walk I called my parents for advice. My dad is my source of knowledge when it comes to injuries of any kind. Seriously. For every medical issue or injury that I have, I place a phone call that starts out like this: "Mom, can you put dad on the phone?" Sunday was no different. My dad looked up blood blisters in his handy-dandy Kaiser Permanente book (see, HMOs are good for some things), and told me what to do. So for those of you who are curious about how to handle a blood blister, it's basically like a regular blister, just with blood. Here are a combination of the recommendations from the book and from WebMD, but check with your doctor if you're unsure of what to do.

If the blister is less than 1 inch in size, do NOT drain the blister. Wash the area with soap and water, and dry thoroughly. Lightly wrap the blister with a band-aid. If the blister is in a load-bearing area of the body, such as your foot, use a piece of moleskin cut into a doughnut shape to place around the blister, which reduces pressure on the blister itself. You can find moleskin at most grocery stores or pharmacies. You can also find the moleskin intended for corns, which are conveniently pre-cut into a doughnut shape for you. How nice of them.

If the blister is greater than 1 inch in size, it's time to perform small surgery on yourself. Just kidding. All you need is a needle and isopropyl alcohol. Start by cleaning your foot with soap and water. Grab a clean paper towel or gauze (you'll see why in a second). Sterilize your needle with the rubbing alcohol. Now poke a small hole at the edge of your blister. Place the towel or gauze over your blister/at the edge of your blister, and use your CLEAN finger to squeeze the fluid in your blister out on the hole you just created. Sounds pretty, right? After you've disposed of the gauze, again clean the blister with soap and water. Dry thoroughly and wrap the area with a band-aid, remember to do so lightly. From here, you need to make sure the area stays dry. If your blister is on your foot, try to wear shoes that have air flow, such as sandals. If you don't have this option and have sweaty feet, make sure you change your socks more frequently than normal, and use moisture-wicking socks. You should change the band-aid at least once per day. And don't wear socks to bed.

Now, if you have a blister that got ripped open. Do not remove any skin unless the flap of skin is very dirty. If the skin was completely ripped off, you don't need to keep that. Obviously. Treat the ripped blister similarly to how you would an open wound. You can use antibiotic ointment on the wound before putting the band-aid on. I use water-proof band-aids. And when I do have a blister, I'll frequently use blister band-aids. They stick really well and will last for a while, even through showers.

And finally, if you're like me and have slightly allergic reactions to the adhesive of band-aids if you leave the band-aid on for more than 12 hours, change the band-aids frequently, or invest in sensitive skin band-aids, or other sensitive skin tapes (like paper tape). There are options. 

Just say no... to grains

I really don't know why I get these urges to eat foods containing grain, like pizza or bagels. I had some pizza last Friday at lunch and I was vastly disappointed by the quality. Most of the times that I choose to eat something non-Paleo, I'm disappointed by how it tastes. I know I like my own food, so every time I eat grain or dairy, I wish that I had baked/cooked it myself so that I would have enjoyed it more. Seriously, unless it's from a high quality restaurant or a friend made it, I usually don't like it.

The side effect: Without fail, I end up feeling sick to my stomach after eating grains or dairy (especially dairy). After the pizza incident last Friday, I was so tired and icky feeling, I took a 2-hour nap on my couch, and I almost never take naps. Usually only when I'm sick. Plus, my face likes to break out after eating something non-Paleo. So for those of you who see me in daily life... a tell-tale sign that I've eaten something non-Paleo is the condition of my skin. A very cruel and unfortunate Paleometer. Damn you, grains and dairy!

Basically what I should take from this experience is that I should stick to Paleo. The non-Paleo food may be there, taunting me with its grains and sugar and dairy, but I need to stay strong and stick to things that I like and that my body likes. My body and I can get along, right? (The one thing that I will probably always give in and eat is Mellow Mushroom calzones. It's my weakness.)

If you haven't seen it yet, you should go see Pitch Perfect. I loved it. The bouncy version of myself decided to come out to play after the movie. And I found myself spontaneously clapping or bouncing, or even just smiling.

And just to throw in something more random... have you figured out how compulsively organized I can be? No? Well, just so you know, I maintain a spreadsheet of my local friends and their contact info. I updated it again today. Each entry is categorized by how I know the person. And it's in alphabetical order, with filters to sort based on the type of function. For example, if I wanted to plan a work happy hour, I can simply sort for "Work" and then copy-paste all of the email addresses. Oh? I want to host a girls night? Easy. I just sort by gender. Yes. I have included gender into my spreadsheet. Don't get all judge-y. I like girls nights. Cooking, drinking wine or margaritas, bashing boys (sorry guys), and watching cheesy chick flicks = so much fun!

Paleo News

This is a short post, because I'm a tad busy with work and studying these days. But I wanted to share this Fox7 clip on the Paleo Diet:

Check out Melissa Joulwan's post in response:

http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2012/10/10/paleo-news-me/

I think there's one thing that every Paleo supporter can say: We feel SO much better following the Paleo diet. Every time I eat something not Paleo, I regret it later. It may taste good at the time, but I usually feel terrible after I eat it. I still haven't managed to convince myself not to cave in and have a piece of bread or brownie or something, but I'm working on it.

In summary, I have a hard time saying the lifestyle I try to follow is bad when there's so much evidence of it being a great change for so many people.

So if you haven't yet, give it a try! I recommend that you try a round of Whole 30.

Breakfast Bites

Breakfast Bites - Veggie Base

1 dozen eggs

1 red pepper, chopped

1 white onion, chopped

5 mushrooms, chopped

2 large garlic cloves, sliced

1 head cauliflower

1 head broccoli

salt and pepper

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Start by roasting your cauliflower and broccoli. Use 1 Tbls olive oil with a little bit of salt and pepper for a flavor base. Wrap with the aluminum foil, and cook in the over on 425°F for 25 minutes. It doesn't matter if you don't roast it enough for your usual liking, because it will cook further later.

Heat 1 Tbls olive oil over medium-low heat (4 out of 9). Once you think it's ready, wet your fingertips and splash a little bit of water onto the pan. If it immediately sizzles, you're ready to add your onions. Cook the onions until they start to become translucent. Then add your sliced garlic. After cooking the onion and garlic for another 10 minutes, add your red peppers. Cook for ~5 minutes.

In a separate pan, heat 1/2 Tbls olive oil and 1 1/2 tsp bacon fat over medium-low heat (3 out of 9). Once ready, add your sliced mushrooms. The trick to cooking mushrooms properly is don't overcrowd. Cook until they've started to brown and have reduced in size.

While these veggies are cooking on the stove, whisk your dozen eggs. After all of your veggies are done cooking, stir in the broccoli, cauliflower, onions, garlic, red peppers, and mushrooms. At this point you're ready to make veggie muffins.

Veggie Egg Muffins
Veggie base (see above)
1 muffin tin
Muffin tin liners

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Pour roughly 1/4 cup of the mixture into each muffin liner. Bake for 25 minutes or until the egg is fully cooked and solid.

Chorizo Egg Muffins
Veggie Egg Muffin base (see above)
1-2 chorizo sausage links, casing removed

Take your chorizo sausage links and make a slice length-wise down the link. Pull the link open and turn inside out, removing the meat from the sausage casing. Break the meat into pieces and mix into the egg muffin mix. Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour 1/4 cup of the mixture into each muffin liner. Bake for 25 minutes or until the egg is fully cooked and solid. The "muffin" won't rise, so feel free to fill the muffin tin.

Salmon Frittata
Veggie Egg Muffin base (see above)
~ 1.5 cups of Lemon-Rosemary Salmon, shredded

Mix salmon into the veggie and egg mixture. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a round 8" pan with coconut oil. Pour the egg-salmon-veggie mixture into the pan. Cook for 30-35 minutes or until eggs in the center are cooked through and are solid.

And now you know what I've eaten for the week. Yum!

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Bear with me and my recent pumpkin obsession. Yes, I think it's appropriate to call it an obsession now. Feel free to argue with me on the "recent" term though. I keep thinking of more and more ways to cook pumpkin. And I seem to want something pumpkin everyday. Don't worry, I'm kind of restraining myself. I don't want to get tired of pumpkin before Thanksgiving. Heaven forbid that would happen. I'm already craving the pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, and pumpkin bread that I intend to bake. Oh, excuse me while I wipe this drool off of my chin.

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

2 eggs

1 cup pumpkin puree

3/4 cup almond flour

2 tsp pumpkin spice (Add an extra 1 tsp cinnamon if you wish. Trust me, I wish!)

1 Tbls honey

1 pinch sea salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

Whisk the egg, then mix in the pumpkin puree.

Heat 1 tsp coconut oil over medium-low heat (3 out of 9). Spoon 1 large tablespoon of the pumpkin mixture onto the pan, using the spoon to spread the mixture into a circle. The mixture is very thick, so this step is necessary to get flat pancakes. After ~3 minutes, flip to the other side. Be very careful with this step. You need to work your spatula under the pancake slowly, otherwise, the pancake might fall apart. Repeat until you've used all of your batter. It will make about 6 pancakes.

Serve with maple syrup. Yummmmm!

Lemon-Rosemary Salmon

After studying with SD at a Barnes and Noble for four hours on Sunday, I came home with the intention of using my Sunday evening to cook some of my meals for the week. I'm trying to get back into that habit. We'll see if I can or not...

Lemon-Rosemary Salmon Packet

1 whole side salmon, scaled, with skin, de-boned (~3 lbs)

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp coarsely chopped rosemary (use fresh if possible)

2 lemons, thinly sliced

6 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 425°F. Rinse the salmon under cold running water and pat dry. Put a large piece of aluminum foil (large enough to make a packet around your salmon fillet) on a large baking sheet and place the salmon in the center, skin side down. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Then place the lemon slices, onion, and garlic on top of the fillet. Pour the olive oil evenly over the salmon. Fold the edges of the foil up and crimp to seal.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. The salmon should still be moist when it's ready. Here's the final result. Cut it into portions and drizzle with some of the lemony olive oil you can see below. Serve with kale, cauliflower rice, or a side salad.

Please practice good office etiquette and DO NOT bring salmon into the office for lunch. There's nothing worse than the smell of fish permeating the office as someone heats it up in the communal kitchen. Be kind, leave the fish at home!

Oktoberfest Spirit

Happy October everyone! I'm happy to report that we had fall-like weather over the weekend, which made me exceptionally happy.

Because it's October and that always makes me think of Oktoberfest, bratwurst, and Halloween, I decided to indulge and make some bratwurst with cabbage. Here's how it goes...

Slow-Cooker German Bratwurst

3 cloves garlic

1 onion, sliced

2 Gala apples, peeled and sliced

1 Tbls lemon juice

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp black ground pepper

3 Tbls apple cider vinegar

1 tsp parsley

1/2 Tbls Dijon mustard

1 head red cabbage, shredded

1 package bratwurst, sliced

Start by slicing your onions. Layer the bottom of your slow-cooker with the onions. Next, slice your apples and layer the slices over the onions. Sprinkle the cloves, and 1/2 tsp parsley over the apples. Pour 1 Tbls apple cider vinegar and 3 Tbls beef broth over the apples and onions. Spread the shredded cabbage over the apples and onions, followed by the bratwurst slices. Sprinkle the 1/2 tsp parsley. Pour the remaining broth and and apple cider vinegar over the top. Put the cover on the slow-cooker and set for 8 hours on low. (Set for 8 hours, but you're only going to cook it for 6 hours.) After two hours, stir the ingredients. Continue cooking for another 4 hours and turn off the slow-cooker. Done. Happy Oktoberfest!

Note: My slow-cooker can only be set on low when I set the time for 8 or 10 hours. You want it set on low, but you don't want to cook it for too long because it'll end up looking like mine did... brown. I went to a concert while this was cooking and it sat on "Warm" for a while. The purple color of the red cabbage permeated everything and it turned brownish. It may not look appealing, but it tastes good. And it's perfect if you're in the mood for Oktoberfest.