I love a great success story. I love it even more when it has to do with the successful entrapreneurship of an 11-year old girl. I met Eva for the first time at our gym's B4B event in October. She is outgoing, beautiful and the future face of CrossFit. At 11 years old she knows what it means to be strong and healthy. I can tell she is a trailblazer. What makes Eva so unique at her age is that she already has a mind for business. You see...she's a bee keeper. Just the thought of getting that close to bees gives me chills. But with the help of her dad, Eva harvests honey up to four times per year. She and her sister label and bottle the raw honey. This honey is pure, unprocessed and never touched by human hands! I wanted to create a special recipe in Eva's honor. One that would showcase her hard work and at the same time be subtle enough to taste a variety of flavors. And so Eva's Honey banana pancakes were born!

What you'll need:

3 eggs

1tsp vanilla

1 tsp honey (of course I use Eva's!)

1 super ripe banana

1/4 cup coconut milk

3T coconut oil

1/2 cup coconut flour

1tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

A couple of spoons of coconut milk refrigerated until solid (must be full fat!)

Fresh berries

What you do:

In a large bowl mix all the wet ingredients together. In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients together. Don't skip this step. You don't want all the baking powder in one pancake! Now mix the dry into the wet. Do you have something that resembles yellow cement? Perfect! Start thinning the batter with water 1/4 cup at a time until you have it about the consistency of cake batter. I end up using 3/4 cup of water. Heat your pan with coconut oil. Now here's where it can get tricky so pay attention. Turn your flame down to low. Get out a large soup spoon and use that to spoon the batter into the pan. Use the back of the spoon to "swirl" the batter into a silver dollar sized pancake. If they get too big you will never be able to turn them and you will hate me forever. Be patient and let them cook almost all the way through on one side. Now ever so gently slide your spatula under the pancake. It takes a little practice and goes something like this: Slide, shimmy, slide, slide, quarter flip, cuss like a sailor, and giant flip! Inevitably your first couple will break, fold or land somewhere outside the pan. Stick with it! It gets easier and they are worth it. Plate them, top with a little solid coconut milk and fresh berries. These are pure heaven!

Enjoy!

Sunday Frittata

Frittatas are fun to make. They are so simple but they look like you really slaved away. You can also put just about anything in a frittata that sounds good which is why it is a perfect Sunday breakfast meal for me. I can get something on the table that looks amazing while cleaning out the dregs of the fridge and preparing to shop for the week once again.

So today I've got some spinach, an onion, a link of sweet Italian sausage, some basil, a red bell pepper and half a tomato. Easy enough! That's really all there is to it. Open the fridge. What do you have in there? Bacon? That works... Salami? For sure... Turkey? That'll do! You get my drift. Add in a few veggies and you have something hearty and yummy that's all your own.

What you'll need:

One or two links of Italian sausage (or meat of your choice)

1/4 cup of chopped basil

1/2 a chopped red pepper

1/2 a large tomato, guts removed and chopped (otherwise the tomato makes the frittata to wet)

a handful or two of spinach

one small onion, chopped

a 12 inch non-stick skillet

What you do:

Preheat your oven's broiler. Beat 8 eggs in a bowl with 1 tsp of water and set aside. Start by cooking your meat if it's raw. In my case, I will start by removing the casing from my sausage and browning it so it looks like ground beef. When that is done remove it to a plate. Put a little olive oil in the pan and saute the onion, red bell pepper and tomato until soft. Add in the basil and spinach and saute until it cooks down. Turn the heat down to medium low.

Pour your eggs over the meat and veggies and start moving them around the pan like you are making scrambled eggs. When the eggs start to set slightly spread them evenly about the pan and let them cook through on the bottom. No more stirring. Watch you flame. You may need to turn it down. You want the frittata to cook almost all the way through. When you are at the point that you have it almost cooked through but it's still liquid at the top take the pan off the flame and put it under the broiler for about 2 - 4 minutes. Watch it carefully! You want a frittata, not a hockey puck.

When it's done you can remove it whole from the pan and place it on a cutting board. Put some cut fruit along side it and serve it at the table right on the cutting board. Make sure everyone is sitting down when you bring out your masterpiece. You can cut it and serve it at the table for effect, wowing everyone around you. If your family is not paying attention or doesn't give you the response you deserve, I give you permission to channel my husband's grandmother and give each member an Italian backhand. That should shape them up!

Enjoy!

Caveman Scramble meets the bare bones of the fridge

It's Sunday. Sunday is considered the beginning of the week, but not in my book. I think of it as the end because I have cooked all week long and now when I open my fridge there is nothing in there except an old steer skull and a tumble weed. Oh lord! What to make for breakfast.

Let's see, I have a couple of eggs in the carton, a half rotting/half good bell pepper, a couple of sad green onions, some left over turkey bacon and as always, sun dried tomatoes. That will do!

Even if you don't have these ingredients sitting around waiting to receive their last rights, this little scramble is so tasty that it is worth buying them. Fresh, of course.

What you'll need:

refer to list above

keeping in mind

you don't want food poisoning

or

Get creative with your own mixin's

What you do:

If you have to cook the bacon, start with that. I use no nitrate, no preservative turkey bacon from Trader Joe's (I should have stock in that store). Get it crispy and set it to the side. While the bacon is cooking chop your veggies. In the same pan you used for the bacon, add a touch of olive oil and sautee your veggies until soft. While the veggies cook take a couple of strips of cooked bacon and chop it up. Do your best imitation of Bruce Lee while making sure there are no children or pets within the blade's reach. If you are clumsy, skip this step. Put the chopped bacon in the pan with the veggies.

Whisk up two eggs in a bowl and pour the egg mixture into the pan with the veggies and bacon. Scramble to your liking. Be proud of your creation and smile! You've just made a yummy breakfast without spending $12.00 a person and waiting all morning for a table.

Paleo Pancakes

What could possibly be better on a Saturday morning than pancakes? Not much in my opinion, except perhaps to have them served to me while I lay in bed all day watching The Godfather trilogy. Those movies give me such a laugh. I know that sounds odd, but really, being married into a very Sicilian family gives those movies a whole new meaning. So you'd better love my recipes or you may find a horse head in your bed.

This recipe for Paleo Pancakes is not my creation. Not by a long shot. I would have never put this combination together since I really despise eggs and I'm not a fan of bananas. Their creator is a genius. I begrudgingly made them one morning for my husband after he repeatedly badgered me. I figured I owed him. He's been a champion spending hours up in the middle of the night with our son who doesn't seem to need the sleep that the rest of us do.

Let me just say that these pancakes taste like banana bread with all the warmth of home and a giant hug mixed right in. They are comfort food at its finest. Paleo purists may say that they are a little on the "carby" side but I say go for it! Throw caution to the wind and make up a batch. You won't be disappointed.

Thanks to Mark's Daily Apple for this recipe. It comes from Jack Etherington, one of his readers. If you want the full scoop go check it out at: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/?s=banana+pancakes

What you'll need:

2 ripe bananas

1 egg

1 heaping tablespoon almond butter

What you do:

Mash the banana really well and beat in the egg. Add in the almond butter and stir, stir, stir. Get a pan going with a little butter. (We use Earth's Balance gluten/casein free) Spoon in the batter. Now, here's the trick. Use a MEDIUM flame and be patient. Wait until the batter is set (similar to cooking an omelet). They are not easy to turn over so don't make them big and don't crowd the pan. Ever so gently turn them over and cook through. Serve them with some butter or plain.

Truth be told I didn't even use a fork. There was no time for butter, or a few berries on top. I ate them straight out of the pan like an animal and loved every bite. I know you will too.

Chocolate Banana Shake on the Run

Are you ever pressed for time? (It's rhetorical... you don't have to answer). Several days a week I have to wake up way too early, get my boys up, chase them around the house trying to dress them while they tag team me like a WWF duo, make their breakfast and pack it, manage to get myself dressed, slug down a cup of coffee, wrestle the boys into their carseats and head off to their morning round of therapy. All the while I've left myself with nothing in my stomach and a hungry husband. Yes, I still try to make him breakfast every morning, and he's worth every effort.



So this quick shake is my answer a couple of times per week. I know what you are thinking. "Cave men didn't have blenders and powders and ice!" Yes, that is true. But this blog is about a real mom with a crap load of duties and no time to slay a zebra and suck the marrow from it's bones. This shake is easy, convenient and follows the paleo spirit. I hope you enjoy it.

Here's what you'll need:

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 a banana

1T unsweetened, natural cocoa powder

1 scoop of egg protein (I use Jay Robb)

about 6 ice cubes

a packet of Stevia or if your really naughty, Splenda

Here's what you do:

Enter the kitchen at Mach 3. Grab the almond milk and poor it in the blender, spilling half of it all over the kitchen when one of your sons chop blocks you unexpectedly. Slice off half a banana trying not to cut into your hand. I know, it's hard to tell the difference between a hand and a banana since you got a total of three hours of sleep the night before when your son decided to party like a rock star and make you his groupy. Put the banana in. Get a tablespoon of cocoa into the blender next. Resist the urge to eat it straight off of the spoon... trust me, it doesn't taste like a Hershey Bar. Next, dump in your Jay Robb egg protein being careful not to flip Mr. Robb off. His picture is smiling and happy and way too relaxed on the front of the container for the morning you're having. But hey, he does have a great product. Put in that packet of Stevia (Splenda). It's ok, no one is looking. Now, pray for forgiveness from the Paleo gods. Get that blender rockin'. When things look mixed, add in the ice cubes. Ignore the terrified screams of your toddlers because the noise from the blender is so loud it is now waking up your neighbors. Blend away baby.

Put it in a cup. Grab both your two year-olds, two diaper bags, two toddler breakfasts, 4 bottles, 2 sippy cups, 400 diapers, a few toys and run to the car like you play on defense, you just intercepted the ball and there's nothin' but green field and the goal line in front of you. Hum the tune from Barnum and Bailey's Circus in your head. Wrestle your kids into the car without dumping out any of the bags. Get yourself strapped in... wait... ok, you do have BOTH kids. Drive off like a maniac because although you started preparing 2 hours ago, you are now ten minutes late. And of course, leave your shake on the counter where it will sit, and melt, and render itself useless.

Have a great day!