Sweet and Spicy Cabbage Tacos

The sweet potatoes, carrots, and cherry/grape tomatoes adds some sweetness to the heat from the ground beef seasoning. If you like dishes that give you a little kick while also providing you with soothing sweetness (thanks to the sweet potatoes in particular), give this a try.

Sweet and Spicy Cabbage Tacos

1 lb grass-fed ground beef

6 leaves of green cabbage, carefully removed from the head of cabbage (you don't want any tears in your taco "shell")

1/2 sweet potato, diced

1/4 onion, chopped (I'm not a huge fan of onion, so feel free to add more if you like it)

1/2 cup carrots, chopped

1 cup broccoli florets,

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half

1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped

Taco Seasoning (http://adventurepaleo.blogspot.com/2012/05/guacamole.html)

1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (add another 1-1 1/2 tsp if you really like spice)

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp pepper, freshly ground - See more at: http://adventurepaleo.blogspot.com/2012/05/guacamole.html#sthash.Nekjm48U.dpuf

1. Mix the taco seasoning and raw beef together in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge for an hour or so.

2. Remove the seasoned beef from the fridge, and toss into a pan on medium heat. Once the meat is thoroughly cooked, drain the fat and transfer the beef to a paper towel-lined plate.

3. With what fat remains in the pan, throw in the sweet potato, onions, carrots, and broccoli, but don't add the mushrooms, red bell pepper, or tomatoes yet. Sprinkle with salt and cayenne pepper for a bit more flavor. Cook for 5 minutes. (I know that I'd usually cook the onions until they turn translucent before adding other veggies, but I figured that that these veggies all could do with roughly the same amount of cooking time and I didn't feel like doing this is too many stages).

4. Add in the mushrooms and tomatoes, cooking for a couple minutes.

5. Then return the ground beef to the pan. Heat for a couple more minutes or until the beef is thoroughly warmed.

6. Add a couple spoonfuls of the ground beef mixture to one of the cabbage leaves, curl up the edges, and dig in.

Bolognese Sauce

Bolognese sauce refers to a meat-based red sauce generally used on broad/flat pasta (e.g. tagliatelle or fettuccine) or shorter tube shapes (e.g. penne). It typically consists of onion, carrots, and celery, as well as meat like ground beef or pancetta, a bit of tomato, and some wine. I cooked mine without the wine, but it still tastes delicious. The carrots give it a bit of sweetness. Enjoy!

Bolognese Sauce

1 Tbls olive oil
1 1/4 lb grass-fed ground beef
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 cup carrots, finely diced
1/4 cup celery, finely diced
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
1 6-oz can tomato puree

1. Heat 1 Tbls olive oil over medium heat on the stove.
2. Break up the beef into small pieces and cook until thoroughly brown.
3. Once cooked, remove the beef from the heat and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
4. Drain some of the fat from the pan, then add the onions, carrots, and celery to the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until veggies start to soften.
5. Mix the beef back in and stir in the tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 20-30 minutes to thicken.
6. Serve with zucchini noodles. If you don't have a mandoline, use a peeler to cut the zucchini thin and wide.

Whole 30 - Day 32

My fingers are burning. The cuticles and the skin beneath my fingernails are burning. And even worse... the open blisters from last weekend's regatta. Seriously... OMG! It's not stopping... Why? Because I was cutting jalapenos. And apparently I didn't do a good job washing my hands. Sigh. I'm not sure how to make it stop. It's been burning for the last hour at least. Oh well. I guess something's bound to happen when you cook frequently. The other week my mom said that she used coconut oil to combat the burning. It doesn't seem to work for me. Tragic!

Yesterday I went to a Krav Maga class and Metamorphosis class. The Meta class is basically a boot camp/CrossFit/kettle bell class. Yesterday's class consisted of 1 minute of each exercise, with 15 seconds in between. Two rounds. I kind of wanted to die. I had to actively think about breathing to make sure I kept sucking in oxygen. And I was sweating like crazy. It was a great workout. Here's the list of the exercises:

1. Toe taps
2. Straight Punches
3. Knees/Kicks (with the punching bag)
4. Ground-and-pounds
5. Push-ups
6. Burpees
7. Jump Squats
8. Battle rope/high knees
9. Kettlebell Swings

And then I had an hour of Krav Maga. Good recovery meal is leftover sweet potato and ground beef. Great way to get some carbs and protein in for post-workout recovery.

Whole 30 - Day 29

I'm almost done... Except I'm adding a couple more days to make up for my cheat days. I'm obviously the type of person that can be really good about following something until I have one slip up, and then it's a lot harder to stick with it. So, I'm going to keep up the Whole 30 until Friday (day 33), even though I know that the 30 days have been blown by the fact that I had those cheats. Once you put that in your system, you can't "make it up" by extending it. I know this, but I'm doing it anyways. Kind of as penance I guess. The only things that I intend to change come Saturday are:

1. I will allow alcohol for some social situations.

2. I will allow myself to make foods that contain Whole 30-approved ingredients, but could be labeled as Sex With Your Pants On (SWYPO). I see Paleo pumpkin concoctions and crackers in my future.

3. I will restrict the amount of nuts and fruits I'm consuming.

Reasoning behind number 3: I've noticed that I seem to be eating a lot more nuts and fruits which I guess I'm viewing as "treats" since I'm not letting myself have "sweets" or cheats, like gluten-free crackers. I think that my face might be breaking out because of the increased nuts and sugars, so I'm going to give it a try. One of my weaknesses lately has been dried fruit, in particular dried mango, which is vaguely hilarious to me, since I used to hate mango. My how Paleo has changed my taste buds.

This will coincide nicely with a day excursion for Highland games. I love all things Celtic, so I'll be in heaven surrounded by kilts, dancing, men in kilts, bagpipes, men in kilts throwing trees, turkey legs, men in kilts throwing trees and giant stones, Celtic jewelry... need I continue? I may even go for mead. We'll see what the day brings. I promise to provide photos!

Now to what I ate for lunch today...

Ground Beef Salad

1/2 lb grass-fed ground beef

salt and pepper, roughly 1/4 tsp each

2 shakes tabasco sauce

1/4 orange bell pepper, sliced (chopped is better if you're not feeling lazy like I was)

1/4 cup cherry tomatoes

2 cups mixed greens

1. Heat 1 tsp olive oil over medium heat on the stove.

2. Once the pan is hot, add the ground beef, crumbling as you toss into the pan. Add the salt and pepper and stir.

3. Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until all of the ground beef has turned brown.

4. Serve with the remaining ingredients. Easy peasy.

Whole 30 - Day 24

Taco Salad

1 lb grass-fed ground beef

2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 red pepper, roughly chopped

1/2 green pepper, roughly chopped

1/4 onion, roughly chopped

1. Heat 1 Tbls oil oil in pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion and cook for a few minutes.

2. Once the onions are just starting to get soft, crumble the meat into pan. Sprinkle the seasonings on top, and stir to combine.

3. When roughly half-way cooked, add the peppers.

4. Once the meat is completely cooked, throw some together with shredded green cabbage and baby kale and spinach (or use whatever leafy greens you have on hand. Add a handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half, and 1 avocado (or half of one if you feel like sharing the other half with a friend).

21DSD Day 7 - Paleo Chili

Slow Cooker Paleo Chili
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground turkey
24 oz. can of diced tomatoes

2 cups beef broth

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 poblano pepper
1 jalapeno

1 small yellow onion

2 Tbls parsley, chopped

1 Tbls cumin

1 Tbls chili powder

1 1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1. Toss everything together into the crock pot. Set for low - 8 hours. And you're done. (Don't you just love it when there's only one step? At least after you chop everything.)

Chemo - Part 13 - Day 16

Have I mentioned that cancer sucks? Apparently the allergic reaction is enough that my parents made a trip to the dermatologist. The doctor biopsied a part of the rash to run some tests. They also ran blood work to test liver and kidney functioning. My parents finished off the day with two units of blood transfusion. They were at the doctor from 7:45-8:40 a.m., and from 10:40 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. Yikes. I'm hoping that the transfusion will help and improve energy. At this point it looks as though the second round of chemo will get pushed back a bit. We'll have to wait and see what the test results are.

While we're waiting, check out this YUMMY version of Paleo lasagna. It's delicious! Enjoy!

Paleo Zucchini Lasagna

Ingredients

2 zucchini, sliced
1 lb grass-fed ground beef

Macadamia Nut Cheese

• 2 cup macadamia nuts
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp parsley
• 2 Tbls of water

Sun-dried Tomato Pasta Sauce

• 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in water for 1 hour
• 2 Tbls olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large can of tomato sauce
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 3/4 head of broccoli, chopped to ~1" pieces
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 4 carrots, diced
• 2 cups spinach
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp fresh basil, chiffonaded
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Macadamia Nut Cheese

1. Dump the nuts into a food processor and run until the macadamia nuts are fully ground. 

2. Mix in the lemon, salt, oregano, basil, and parsley.

3. Add in the water 1 Tbls at a time. The mixture should become slightly sticky and look a bit like ricotta cheese.

Sun-dried Tomato Pasta Sauce

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pot.

2. Add the onions and garlic, cooking until onions are translucent.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients, cover, and cook for 30 minutes until the broccoli and other veggies are slightly soft.

Paleo Zucchini Lasagna

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2. Use a mandolin slicer to cut the zucchini into thick slices.

3. Place one layer of the zucchini slices at the bottom of a greased 8"x8" square pan

4. Spread out a ~ 1 cup of the Sun-dried Tomato Pasta Sauce and top with ground beef. Spread out some of the Macadamia Nut Cheese on top of the ground beef.

5. Repeat the layers, finishing with the pasta sauce.

(You can also use small Corningware if you have leftovers like me.)

6. Bake for 30 minutes in the oven. Let cool for a bit, then devour!

Chemo - Part 2 - Day 1

Today was our first day of chemo. We all went to the oncologist for this first one so that we would know what the procedure is for when I'm not in town. Each patient gets a reclining chair in a "room" with curtains as walls between each patient. There is a small TV with 15 channels and a DVD player for you to use, but my family each brought something to do. A book, the newspaper, and my iPad for typing up this blog post. Oh, and for your first day of chemo, they give you a folder of information for you to review if you wish. My dad is currently highlighting the important parts of one of the booklets. Did I mention that we came prepared with highlighters? Yeah, that's how we roll...

Today's cladribine drip took two hours, but the overall visit lasted four hours. We were told to expect each visit to take roughly that long. We started off with Zofran, "The Mercedes of Anti-Nausea Medications," which is taken orally, so requires some time to kick in. After that, we chatted with the nurse for a little bit. She gave us a brief summary of what to expect and what to watch out for: shortness of breath, red blotches, itching, lower back pain, and sore throat. If we notice any of these, we're supposed to let her know immediately. (So far, so good.) The nurse then inserted the IV, which is to be kept in for the next three days. Who knew that an IV connection could remain for that long? She connected a bag of saline "to keep things flowing" and then connected the cladribine bag via a pump which maintains a steady flow of the chemo drug.

Because we were here during lunch hour, we each brought something to snack on. Altogether we brought water, yogurt, almonds, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, Toasted Oatmeal Squares cereal, a Diet Coke, Sweet Potato Scrambled Eggs, carrots, celery, and pistachios. I ate the eggs.

Here's what I put into my Sweet Potato Scrambled Eggs (mainly a mix of leftovers):

2 eggs

1/4 cup baked sweet potato, mashed

1 handful of celery, chopped

6 cherry tomatoes, quartered

a pinch each of oregano, basil, salt, and pepper

Start with the celery in the pan, adding the tomatoes once the celery has softened a bit. Add the sweet potato, whisked eggs, and seasoning, cooking until the eggs are done.

This morning, before heading off to the doctor, I whipped up some Stuffed Peppers to cook in the slow-cooker while we were at the doctor.

Stuffed Pepper with Rice

4 bell peppers, thoroughly scrubbed

1 1/4 lb ground beef

1/3 cup + 1 Tbls olive oil

2 Tbls lime juice

3 chipotle peppers

2 tsp adobo sauce (the sauce that canned chipotle peppers come in)

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup chopped green bell peppers

2 cups cauliflower, roughly 1.5" diameter bunches

1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the olive oil, lime juice, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, cumin, oregano, paprika, pepper, salt, and green peppers. Mix in the ground beef and set aside.

2. While the beef is marinating, prep the bell peppers (you can use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and remove the white flesh on the inside of the pepper.

3. Put your cauliflower into a food processor and pulse 6 times, or until the cauliflower has been reduced to rice-sized pieces.

4. Heat ~1 Tbls of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Transfer the ground beef mixture to the skillet and brown the beef. Once the beef has finished cooking, remove from heat and stir in the cauliflower.

5. Spoon the ground beef and cauliflower into the bell peppers, leaving 1/4" of space from the top. Brush the outsides of the peppers with a little bit of olive oil.

6. Place the peppers into the slow-cooker, cover, and place on the lowest setting. Cook for 2 hours.

Before

After

This really only needs to cook on low for a couple hours, but let it go for as long as you're away. I'd suggest cooking this one weekend while you're at home doing chores, or running a few errands.

Another note about this dish. It can be pretty spicy depending on how many chipotle peppers you add, so this would be best at the beginning of chemo before any potential stomach/intestinal issues pop up. Spiciness doesn't always agree with people.

Whole 30 - Italian Greens Frittata

My dad sent me an email a while ago about this and I'm finally getting around to posting this... Apparently cooking with dry heat isn't good for you... or at least not for mice. Cooking meat with dry heat increases Advanced Glycation Endproducts (AGEs), such as the compound methyl-glyoxal (MG). With sustained exposure MG, mice (across four generations) "developed significant abdominal weight gain, early insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes." The study recommends that we stop cooking foods with dry heat (grilling) and replace them with lower heating methods or methods that use a lot of moisture (stewing, poaching or steaming). So check out my slow-cooker recipe from yesterday.

Check out the article here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120820152102.htm

And now that I've shared that it's possibly bad for you, let's bake breakfast...

Italian Greens Frittata
7 eggs
1 lb ground turkey/beef
1 baby bok choy, chopped
1 cup frozen, chopped spinach
1/2 onion, chopped
1/4 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bunch broccoli, chopped to bite size pieces
1 green onion, sliced - for topping
1 tbls olive oil
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp oregano
3/4 tsp basil

Preheat oven to 350F.

Heat the olive oil in a large pan on the stove over medium heat. Once hot (test this my getting your hand slightly wet and flicking the excess water onto the pan. If it sizzles, it's ready.) Add the onions and garlic, and cook for about 5 minutes. While this is cooking, rinse and chop your bok choy, separating the stalks (white part) from the leafy green part. Toss the stalks in with the onions and garlic and cover for ~3 minutes. Now add the leafy bits, broccoli, and mushrooms. Cook until veggies are soft. Transfer the veggies to an 11" x 7" pan.

While the veggies are cooking, use a separate pan to cook your ground meat. Once browned, transfer to the pan with your veggies and spread evenly. Crack your eggs into a separate bowl and whisk with your seasonings. Pour eggs into the pan and put into the oven for ~20 minutes or until the eggs have solidified. Take out, sprinkle with green onions, and slice into 6 pieces. Breakfast for the week. Sweet.

Whole 30 - Family Gathering

Today was my first full day with my family, and it was a bit of a later start than I was expecting. I ate a small banana for breakfast before leaving the hotel. After my parents and I got our ID passes from the Air Force base (the hotel at which we are staying is on the base), we stopped by the grocery store in order for me to pick up some ingredients for Paleo meals. My grocery list consisted of:

• Butternut squash 
• Cauliflower 
• Broccoli 
• Onion 
• Scallions 
• Garlic 
• 2 tart apples 
• Bacon (as organic and free-range as I could get) 
• Ground beef (as organic and free-range as I could get)

While I was there, I also grabbed some acorn squash because it looked delicious. Once we got to my uncle's house, I immediately started cooking. I started off with Mashed Cauliflower, Roasted Broccoli

and Spicy Kale Chips

I also chopped up two bags of Brussels sprouts for a side dish tomorrow. By this point, it was about time for lunch. So while my family ate BBQ pulled chicken, I snacked on some broccoli and salami. And because of happy coincidence, my Atlanta-born college roommate and I happened to be in the same city, so I met up with her in the early afternoon for a catch-up -on-your-life tea break. When I got back from hanging out with her and her hubby, I started making non-Paleo Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars for my family. Yeah, I'm just that nice; even though I couldn't eat it, I wanted to share the deliciousness with my family. I think they liked it... just kidding, it was awesome!

Because the oven was full of baking lasagna and mozzarella breadsticks, I postponed prepping my own dinner until the oven was free. Because I'm on vacation I didn't want to think of any new recipes and the acorn squash reminded me of a PaleOMG recipe that I wanted to try. So I made Stuffed Acorn Squash.

1/2 acorn squash

1 lb ground beef (go for free-range/grass-fed if possible)

1/2 onion diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbls + 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 egg

Preheat the oven to 375°C. Cover a baking sheet with tinfoil.

Cut the acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Coat the flesh of the squash with olive oil (1 tsp on each half). Now shake 1/2 tsp of cinnamon onto each half and rub the cinnamon across the squash to ensure even distribution. Place the squash, cut-side down, onto the baking sheet and transfer to the oven. Bake for 20 minutes before flipping over and baking for another 10 minutes.

While the squash is baking, heat 1 Tbls of olive oil in a skillet over the stove. Once hot, transfer the onion and the garlic into the pan and cook until the onion is translucent. Add the ground beef. Once the beef has been browned, reduce heat to low and keep warm until the squash is done.

Now that your squash is done (the skin of the squash will be squishy when you poke it), carefully scoop the flesh out of one half of the squash, making sure that you don't break the skin.

Transfer to the pan on the stove and mix into the ground beef. Transfer back into the skin of the squash. When the half is almost completely full, use your spoon to make a dent in the mixture and crack an egg into the hole you just made. Put the squash back into the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the egg is cooked.

You could do the same thing with the other acorn squash half, or you could use a knife to cut the squash into squares for use in some other dish. I did the later, but I haven't decided yet what to make... I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow.

So it took an hour after my family ate for me to finish cooking and get around to eating, but hey, I managed to stay Paleo and eat a delicious meal. And I have exercised INTENSE self-control and have not eaten any of the pumpkin chocolate chip bars which you all know that I love. That's dedication to Whole 30. Your admiration of my mad self-control is appreciated.

Hamburgers - 4 ways

Last Friday, Whole Foods had a sale on grass-fed ground beef, so I bought just over a pound of ground beef. When I decided to cook it, I felt like trying out a few different things. And here's what I've been eating this week!

Ginger-Sesame Burger

1 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp sesame seeds

1/4 tsp mustard

2 slices of cored pineapple

Salt-n-Peppa Burger
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup guacamole
3 cherry tomatoes, sliced

Five-Herb Burger
1/2 tsp Basil
1/8 tsp Coriander
1/4 tsp Parsley
1/4 tsp Rosemary
1/8 tsp Thyme

Thanksgiving Burger
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Clove
1/4 cup mashed sweet potato

For me, fall consists of baked goods, especially pumpkin pie, which, if you don't know, contains cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. So though this burger is a bit sweeter than your average burger, it's like autumn in my mouth.

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!

Paleo Shepherd's Pie

So Sunday morning started with my parents and I making a frittata for breakfast. We used one chicken breast and a bunch of veggies. While the frittata was baking in the oven, I started the preparation for my Mushroom-Stuffed Chicken Breast by marinading the chicken (see below) and making the mushroom-bacon stuffing.

Chicken Marinade
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

After a late brunch, we went for a 5-mile walk around Stone Mountain and rented a movie on the way home. We started on dinner (below) after the movie ended.

Paleo Shepherd's Pie

1 lb ground beef, grass-fed (substitute with any type of ground meat)
3 carrots, diced
5 mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 tbls fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tbls fresh sage, chopped
1 tbls fresh thyme, chopped
paprika

Mashed Cauliflower
2 cloves garlic, roughly sliced
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp garlic salt
2 cups water or chicken broth
3/4 head cauliflower, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Saute the ground beef in a large pan on medium heat until browned. Add the onions, garlic, carrots, and mushrooms, cooking until soft. Mix in 3/4 of your fresh herbs. Cover and remove from heat.

Heat the water, garlic, rosemary, and garlic salt in a medium pot on high heat. After it boils, reduce to medium-high heat and add the cauliflower in a steamer basket (I used a stainless steel collapsible steamer basket). Cook until cauliflower is soft and starts to fall apart when stuck with a fork. Remove from heat and let cook for a few minutes. Place into a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in your remaining herbs.

After blender

Before the oven

Transfer your meat/veggie mixture into an oven safe baking pan or corning-ware. Spread the mashed cauliflower across the top and sprinkle with paprika. Bake on the middle shelf for 15 minutes, or until mashed cauliflower is slightly toasty.

We served the shepherd's pie with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and steamed carrots. Enjoy!