If you can open a package...you can make a salad

This recipe is a follow up for all of the members of ACF that could not attend my impromptu cooking lesson between the 4:30 and 5:30 class. I wanted to prove that you could possess absolutely NO cooking talent and still make a delicious meal in under 5 minutes. The salad seemed to be a hit and fall nicely into our paleo challenge(d) family! :)

So, if Trader Joe's is on your radar, you're in luck. All items for this salad are purchase there.

What you'll need:

1 bag shredded cabbage

1 package "Healthy 8" Chopped Veggies

1/2 a bag of sliced almonds (no salt)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

3 green onion, chopped

cooked chicken breast called "just chicken" (not pictured cuz I roasted my own chicken)

for the dressing:

1/3 cup olive oil

just under 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons wheat free Tamari (fermented soy sauce)*

2 Tablespoons sesame oil

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp ground ginger

What you do:

Get out a giant bowl. Open the cabbage, veggies, almonds, cranberries and put them in the bowl. Chop the green onion, put it in the bowl. Open the chicken and chop it into bite size pieces and... you guessed it... put it in the bowl.

Mix the dressing ingredients together and pour over the salad. Toss and serve.

This salad will last in the fridge for 3 to 4 days without wilting.

* Yes, fermented soy sauce is okay.

Crispy Kale Chips

Sometimes, I need a snack. A crispy, slightly salty, chip-like wafer of crunchy goodness if you know what I mean. It has to be light and airy and full of flavor. Not just any chip will do. First of all, aside from sweet potato chips and perhaps a few cassava chips every now and then, chips of any kind are pretty much out of the question.

Until, of course, I came face to face with: The kale chip. Stay with me now! I forbid you to exit from this post until you at least commit to trying these. It just takes a couple of minutes... I promise.

So here's what you do (if you're me...)

Gather 25 diapers, a dozen pairs of underwear, 4 sippy cups, 3 dvds for the car, a portable potty, double stroller, 2 complete changes of clothes (and one for me), snacks for two, but not the same snack! Toddlers can't like the same snack, even if they are twins. Shove all of this into one diaper bag and pray that you don't need what's on the bottom of the bag. Throw that over your neck. Now grab your purse. WAIT! Double check that your wallet is actually in there this time. Car keys? Check! Now, it's herding time. Like a blue ribbon Australian Sheppard, herd your toddlers into the car trying ever so desperately not to lose one.

Diaper bag in, purse in, overly large and way too heavy double stroller in (thank you CrossFit), toddlers in. Buckle, buckle buckle!

"Me peepee!"............................... you've got to be kidding me......................

Unbuckle, unbuckle, unbuckle.............too late............. grab one pair of underwear and change of clothes...............use them before you leave the driveway.

Ok.... you can do this. Buckle, buckle, buckle and off we go.

Sing songs, listen to the DVD in the car for the 100th time knowing every word of every cartoon. Resist the urge to gouge your eyes out and beat your head against the steering wheel because the DVD is actually giving your ten minutes of peace while little eyes are glued to it with nary a blink.

Get to the store. Unbuckle, unbuckle, unbuckle. Toddlers in way to heavy stroller. Diaper bag over shoulder, purse in hand. Proceed into store and buy exactly $4.00 worth of kale. Leave. Repeat all steps above in the reverse order while asking yourself if this was really worth it. Answer: Yes.

Back at home and here's what you'll need:

One bunch of kale washed and dried

one clove of garlic, make it a big one

olive oil

sea salt

What you do:

Preheat your oven to broil or 500. Cut the tough center stem out of the kale and discard. Cut the leaves to about a standard "chip size". Finely chop the garlic or you can use garlic powder to taste if you'd rather. Get out a baking sheet and drizzle it with olive oil. Put the kale on top of the oil and lightly toss it in the oil with your hands. You will want to coat all the kale nicely without making it all drippy so start with less oil and add more if needed. Sprinkle with the garlic and sea salt.

Pop the tray into the oven and watch it carefully for 5 minutes. Since oven heats and times vary so greatly, be sure to stay close. You don't want burnt kale after all the work of going to the store. Half way through the cook time take a pair of tongs and toss the kale around to promote even cooking.

When the kale is done it will be light and crisp and still green. Remove it from the oven and let it cool... well, attempt to let it cool. I usually just stand in front of the molten hot tray while using my best elbow and hip check to keep my husband back and eat it right on the spot.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chili -- PALEO

I love the fall. From the colors outside to the heart warming stews and soups. Even though I am from sunny So Cal, we do have the occasional tree that changes color on my block. And now that the temperature has dipped into the mid 60's it's time to break out a great fall recipe. Yes, the mid 60's is downright cold, just in case you were wondering. I realize that we are rapidly approaching winter and fall is almost over. But I've been a little busy lately, so I'm a bit behind.

This recipe is originally from Trader Joe's. It's just tweaked a little to take out the sugar and beans, etc. I never knew one could put sugar in chili. That just seems weird. All ingredients are available at Trader Joe's. If you don't have a TJ's in your area these ingredients are all available at your local natural grocery store.

So let's enjoy a big bowl of fall (ok... almost winter) Pumpkin Chili.

What you'll need:

3lbs. Ground turkey (or grassfed ground beef)

1 onion, diced

1 bell pepper, diced (I like red, yellow or orange)

1 14oz can of canned pumpkin (make sure it's just pumpkin)

1 tsp pepper

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 jar chipotle salsa

1 box of Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup

1 tsp cumin

What you do:

Cook the ground turkey, diced onion and pepper in a large pot until the meat is crumbly and no longer pink. Drain. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and then simmer for one hour.

That's it! Enjoy!

Stirfry Pork Wrap - Paleo

I didn't really even know what to call this, but I do know it's amazing! I guess it was meant to be. You see, I had a pork roast sitting in the fridge for the last couple of days. As I went to throw it in the crock pot I could not find the lid anywhere... and I do mean anywhere. After about an hour of searching, I decided it was a lost cause and I would have to find another way to cook my pork roast. As I was reaching for one of my cookbooks this tiny sheet of paper floated down before my eyes. On it was a recipe for pork burritos. It must have been a really old recipe. We haven't used a tortilla in this house for a very long time. None the less, it started by creative juices flowing... The following is the actual conversation I had in my head:

hmmm... burrito? that's no good. What about a lettuce wrap? hmmm.... no lettuce in the fridge. Oh, but I love the flavor of lettuce wraps. Oooo... PF Chang's. OMG, is that a spider on the bananas? I could make the "guts" to a lettuce wrap, but that's no fun to eat with a fork. 6:15... shoot, I'm running out of time... What can I wrap it in? Tortilla... no. Mu Shu pancake? Temping, but no... crepe? ya... in my dreams. And then it came to me. AAAAAAAAA (angels singing) I will make a very thin pancake out of egg!

Ya... I'm nuts

What you'll need:

A pork roast or if you want to make it easy on yourself get ground pork

1 onion sliced thinly

1 package of coleslaw mix (cabbage, carrot)

1T ground ginger

2 garlic cloves, crushed

3T Tamari (wheat free)

2 tsp sesame oil

2 T lime juice

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (mind the heat for the little ones)

1 egg per "wrap"

fresh chopped cilantro for garnish if you are trying to impress

What you do:

Since this is all about fast, get yourself the ground pork, brown and crumble it so it looks like taco meat. Add the ginger and garlic, onion and coleslaw mix and stirfry until veggies wilt.

Stir in the Tamari, sesame oil, lime juice and red pepper flakes. Blend all ingredients well. Turn off the heat and let the mixture rest while you make the eggs.

To make the egg "wraps":

Use a small skillet. Coat the skillet liberally with oil. Crack and beat an egg in a bowl and when the oil is hot add the egg to the pan. Swirl the pan so the egg spreads into a very thin pancake. Don't flip it. Just keep swirling until the egg cooks through. Slide the egg out of the pan onto a plate and keep warm.

Assemble just like a burrito and garnish with cilantro.

Enjoy!

Tuna Salad with Capers and Sundried Tomato

How insanely yummy does this look? I actually want to jump through the screen and have a bite right now! The inspiration for this little salad comes from my friend Carol at Anaheim CrossFit. She is a serious sea food lover. She is also on day one of her Paleo program along with a few other poor soles who I'm sure are in carb depletion hell right about now. Hang in there guys... it gets better.

It's also an ode to Carol because rumor is she doesn't know how to cook and you don't even really need to have a kitchen to make this salad. So let's get to it!

What you'll need:

Romaine, butter or any lettuce you happen to have laying around except iceberg. If you even have a shred of iceberg in your house you should go outside immediately and flog yourself repeatedly with the garden hose. I don't want to hear how iceberg lettuce make a great "bun" either. It basically has no nutritional value what-so-ever.
tomato

1 Persian cucumber (or 1/2 an English)

1/2 a red onion

a can of dolphin safe, free range, cage free, net free, line caught, humanely treated, grass fed albacore tuna packed in water (I'm being silly)

3 or 4 pieces of sundried tomato packed in oil

a couple tablespoons of capers

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 tsp garlic powder

What you do:

Rinse the tuna and squeeze the water out of it. Put it in a small bowl and flake it up with a fork. Add the capers. Chop up the sundried tomatoes into bits and mix in with the tuna and capers. This is where your taste comes in. I like strong flavors so I like lots of capers and lots of sundried tomato. You may not, so play around with the amounts to your liking.

Chop up your lettuce, tomato and cucumber and mix together. Put that on your plate and top it with a big 'ol scoop of the tuna mixture. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon and garlic powder. Pour some over the salad.

Enjoy!

Chicken Vegetable Soup - PALEO

Disclaimer: I was home today... sick. I made this soup so everyone in my family would have something nourishing to eat since they are sick too. Translation: This recipe takes an hour but it's worth it :)

Do you ever have a half-eaten rotisserie chicken sitting in the fridge or am I all alone in this one? For me it usually starts when I bring one home from the store in the morning planning on using it for dinner (I'm usually making the big bowl of awesome yumminess. Check it out under salads)

When 5:00 rolls around and I go to the fridge to get my ingredients, I find my rotisserie chicken... The lid is mangled, the carton is ripped, the chicken looks like it's been attacked by a wild animal. It's clinging to life... hoping to be resuscitated. It's breasts are nowhere to be found and I'm left with two options. Starve or make dinner out of the underside of the chicken. The culprit who did this to my chicken shall remain nameless but let's just say he blew in at about noon, completely famished and went for it like it was the last supper. Ladies, if this happens to you on a regular basis you can solve the problem with a simple love note. Since we are an Italian household I prefer, "U toucha my chicken, I breaka u face". Just make sure it's displayed prominently to halt the meat hooks before it's too late.

So... as I was saying. I need to turn my half-masticated chicken into dinner. We happen to all be sick in this household right now so I think chicken, vegetable soup is in order.

What you'll need:

A rotisserie chicken, preferably with some meat still attached to it

veggies of your choice such as:

cabbage, carrot, broccoli, onion, bell pepper, etc.

1T Italian Seasoning

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 bay leaves

a little salt if you want

What you do:

Pick the chicken clean of meat and set the meat aside. Get a big ol pot of water going on the stove and drop the chicken carcass in the water with the garlic and bay leaves. Boil the heck out of it for about 45 minutes adding water as necessary to keep the level up. While waiting for the stock to cook saute your veggies until they are crisp tender. Strain the stock with a fine sieve to get rid of the bones and other particles. Return the stock to the pot. TASTE. Does it need a little salt? Is the flavor of the stock too strong for you? If so add some water. If you are not used to homemade stock the flavor will be more intense than the flavor of boxed broth.

Add in the veggies, the chicken and the Italian seasoning and simmer about 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Steak with Tomatoes and Feta - PRIMAL

My life has certainly changed since the beginning of this blog nine months ago. Back then I was a harried mother of two-year old twin boys with a heck of a lot on her plate and not enough time in the day to do it all. Wait... that sounds familiar...

The change has come around in the way of being a gym owner (my husband surprised me on my 40th birthday) and taking care of my mom who is very ill. Those two things have put me right over the top and headlong into crazy-land. Now is not the time to be disorganized... Alas, I am.

I'm not organized by nature. I struggle with it every day. I am a typical mother screaming down the freeway to the next appointment or play date. I am the mother who makes the grocery list and conveniently leaves it in my car or on the kitchen counter, not figuring this out until I'm elbow deep in the zucchini and I can't remember if I am out of tomato paste. I am the mother who has three inches of grey roots that desperately need to be covered but no time to do it, so I'm sure by now people are confusing me with a skunk.

For those reasons and many more, I decided to bring Primal Mama to semi-homemade status. I will still be including scratch recipes but they are going to be lightning fast. Some of my recipes won't be recipes at all. They will be about what you can pick up and throw together, because I know most of you out there feel me. We may have totally different backgrounds and lifestyles, but I know most of you are trying to fit 40 hours into 24.

This brings me to my next announcement:

Primal Mama is also going to include recipes that are, well... Primal.

Yes, that is right... I'm branching out big time. This may upset all of you Paleo diehards but if you look back on my recipes, many of them are not "pure". I will never give up my use of vinegar and truth be told I love and a desperately miss cheese. Now let me explain the fine print.

When I say cheese, I don't mean those nasty plastic filmed slices of yellow dye #17 mixed with corn syrup and gluten. This is what they lovingly refer to as "processed cheese food". What in the name of all things sane does that mean? First of all the word "processed" is displayed right on the front of the package. That's scary enough. They don't even attempt to hide it or call it something else like the case of Yogurt Bites marketed to children with "yogurty goodness" printed on the front and "contains no yogurt" printed so small you have to have the Hubble telescope to read it. Oh man, I've gone off on a tangent again. By this time you should be used to it.

I mean cheese... real cheese. 100% grass fed New Zealand cheddar (Trader Joe's) or raw cheese from US Wellness. I also love sheep's milk feta. The real stuff not the rubbery "Athenos" brand or the like. Real feta can be found at a Mediterranean market. If you live in the middle of "lilly white world" you may have to order it on line. And the bonus of good feta is... It's grass fed!

So you will see some recipes in the future that contain some cheese. I will label them with PRIMAL if the recipe contains cheese or vinegar or other dairy products. I will label the recipe PALEO if it fits in that category. For example:

PRIMAL RECIPE:

Steak with Roasted Tomato and Feta

What you need:

Grass Fed steak (I used Rib Eye)

A container of cherry tomatoes

1/4 to 1/2 cup awesome quality feta

olive oil

cracked black pepper

dried parsley

What you do:

Preheat oven to 400. Place the cherry tomatoes on a cookie sheet and drizzle olive oil over them. Roll them around the pan so they get coated in the oil. Sprinkle with black pepper. Put them in the oven and forget them for about 20 minutes. The tomatoes are done when most of them have popped and have a semi-deflated look. In the meantime grill up the steaks to your liking. If you are not a grill master, it is worth the money to buy a grill pan and cook them stove-top.

Plate the steak and put a scoop of cherry tomatoes on top. sprinkle with the feta and a little dried parsley for color.

Enjoy!