Hello, It's Your Friend Ice Cream Calling

Today is Day 5 of the Whole30ish Challenge. I say "ish" because I'm not following Whole30 but my sister and a few friends are so I'm along for the ride with them. I'm sticking with what I know works for me which is mostly paleo with some high quality dairy (Organic, pastured heavy cream in my coffee/grass-fed cheese or high quality hard cheese on a burger or in my chicken stew) and organic 70% dark chocolate.

Today was a struggle. Weekends are hard for me to stay on task. I am pretty busy during the week but when the weekend comes it's time for a reward for all that hard work! A little rest, relaxation, DVR and ice cream. I'm an ice cream connoisseur. I love the stuff and when I cheat indulge, you better believe it's gonna involve ice cream. The more I journey down this path of wellness, the more I figure out what's not worth it. But ice cream, yeah, totally worth it.

I got done with a work thing early today. An hour and a half early. That meant I would either wait to take the class I was planning on taking at my gym or just go and do a workout on my own. I was tired and unmotivated. My husband was taking my oldest to an away football game. That meant, youngest in bed at 7:30 and a house all to myself. I started thinking about the couch, my DVR, and ice cream. But, thankfully, I remembered the conversation I had with my small group earlier this morning about self-control (I was at least good about looking ahead and seeing what stumbling blocks lay before me!) I prayed for these. God said, "Call someone for help and accountability!" So I called the Hubs and said, "tell me to go to the gym." He did. So I said I would, and I did.

I got to the locker room. I weighed myself. No change. Which didn't surprise me since I've eaten a ton of sweet potatoes and some paleo granola (post coming soon!) to stave off the sweet cravings. But I'm still disappointed. I laid face flat on one of the benches and reasoned with the voice that said, "just go get some ice cream and forget it. Don't eat dinner. Just eat ice cream. It will even out."

Well forget you, ice-cream-lovin', tryin'-to-make-me-cheat voice. I went to a work meeting this morning and said, "no" to one of the tastiest looking muffins I've ever seen. I'm not going to give in to you! I will make it through the 30 days with NO CHEATING! Then, with structure and plan in place, I will have my beloved. . . maybe this, or this local goodness, or maybe even this. So I friggin' worked out (after stretching and rolling around on the floor for 30 minutes trying to work up the energy/gumption/enthusiasm to do work!), went home, ate chicken stew and had some more homemade sweet potato fries with almond butter and it was dang good.

Please know, I believe in having food you enjoy. I believe in having cheat indulgence days. Life is too short and food is too yummy. But I have struggled the past 5+ years of my life to not have an indulgence day every day. And now, I'm digging myself out of that hole. I'm doing the Whole30ish Challenge to get back on track. I may have to get back on track more often than I want, but I can do it. I will. I don't want food to be a creature comfort or something I depend on to unwind. I need God to fill that void. I want food to fuel me, nourish me, and be an enjoyable part of my life not in control of my life.

Freezer Party!

My sister and I attempted our first Paleo Freezer Party last weekend and we're extremely pleased with the results! It took us about 5 hours total but we came away with 12 (1gal) bags of chicken stew, 32 stuffed peppers, 7 pans of Honey Mustard Bacon Chicken, and 46 meatballs with marinara. The cost was $300 (that doesn't include some seasoning and staples we had on hand or freezer bags/foil/saran wrap/etc.) but we'll get about 100 meals out of this food! Crazy right?! All the ground beef, veal, and pork came from Marksbury Farms in Lancaster, KY. Check them out here. All the chicken we bought was organic from Trader Joe's. We used organic chicken thighs instead of breasts in the chicken stew to make it more affordable. 

Below are the recipes we used and I added the freezer instructions. I'm new at this blogging thing so I apologize if I didn't cite my references correctly or forgot to provide any links, info, etc! Please ask questions, comment, and let me know how the recipes turn out for you!

Recipe Round-up:

Crockpot Chicken Stew

Stuffed Peppers

Honey Mustard Bacon Wrapped Chicken

Meatballs w/Marinara

Recipes:

Crockpot Chicken Stew 

(Recipe adapted from my Dad & Stepmom)

2 bunches carrots, sliced

1 bunch celery, sliced

1 onion, chopped

1 carton sliced mushrooms

1-2 cartons chicken or vegetable broth (check ingredients for anything non-compliant)

1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes

1 bag frozen chopped spinach

1 bag shredded cabbage

1 bag frozen green beans

3 boneless chicken breasts

Seasoning:

sea salt (about 2 tablespoons)

black pepper (sprinkle to taste, not a lot)

Italian seasoning (shake generously all over the top)

garlic powder (shake generously all over the top)

cayenne pepper (about 5 shakes)

olive oil (about 1 tablespoon)

*** everything we use is organic and sodium free. If you use tomatoes and broth that has sodium, you should reduce the amount of salt you add.

Put carrots, celery, and onion in the crockpot. Add tomatoes and broth. Then add olive oil and seasoning. Stir well, add the frozen vegetables, and stir again the best you can. It will be pretty thick, but it thins out quite a bit as it cooks and the frozen veggies thaw. However, it is a stew, so it’s thicker than a soup. If you like it with more juice, just add some water.

Lay the chicken breasts on top and sprinkle with additional salt and black pepper.

Cook on high for 6 hours. Remove the chicken, break it up to your preference of chunkiness, and add it back in. Stir well and serve. 

This recipe makes about 10 servings (2 cup serving sizes- A LOT) so if you want less, just add fewer vegetables or half the recipe. 

You can’t mess this up. You can substitute any vegetables in or out that you like/don’t like. You can sub chicken thighs for breasts, etc. You can also vary how long you cook it. I get the best results when cooking it longer (like 12 hours) but I don't like crispy veggies- the longer you cook it the softer they'll be. You’ll just have to decide how long to cook it based on your crockpot and specific taste.

FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS:

This recipe will make 2 (1gal) size freezer bags. Split all the ingredients between the two bags. It doesn't matter how you layer or which order they are put in. It is easiest to put the liquid in last. When using this method you will need 1 carton of chicken broth/bag. You do not have to thaw- it can be put directly from the bag into the crockpot. I find it easiest to refrigerate overnight or place in cold water in the sink for 30 minutes to soften it up a bit so it is easily transferred and fits into the crockpot. 

Mrs. Paleo Stuffed Peppers

http://www.mrspaleo.blogspot.com/2012/05/stuffed-peppers.html?m=1

Stuffed peppers
8 bell peppers
1 lb Italian sausage (we subbed ground veal and ground pork)
1 lb grass-fed ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 C mushrooms, chopped
1 head of cauliflower, riced
(how to rice caulifolower in your blender- http://pinterest.com/pin/125819383313076417/)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Clean and remove the tops of the bell peppers, removing internal membrane
3. Brown sausage and beef in a large pan over medium heat adding salt and pepper then remove and set aside
4. In the same skillet add garlic, mushrooms and onions scraping up browned meat bits
5. Mix in cauliflower and sautee for about 3 minutes 
6. Add tomato paste and meat back in mixing well.
7. Stuff peppers with about 2-3 tablespoons of the meat mixture then place in 8x12 pan 
8. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS:

After stuffing the peppers, wrap each pepper individually in saran wrap, then store in freezer. When ready to eat, remove saran wrap, place desired amount of peppers in shallow pan, bake at 400 for 40-60 minutes.

Honey Mustard Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenderloins

(Not Whole30 approved!)

http://jimmyboswell.com/foodblog/honey-mustard-bacon-wrapped-chicken-tenderloins/

Ingredients 

1 kg (2.2 lb) free range chicken tenderloins

500 g (1.1 lb) streaky bacon

1/3 cup raw honey

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp fresh chopped thyme

1 tsp smoked paprika

Juice from half a lemon

1 tbsp orange zest

½ tsp fresh ground black pepper

pinch of salt 

Method 

Preheat oven to 175  (350 F). 

Wrap each piece of chicken with a piece of bacon. Place on a cookie tray lined with aluminum foil. 

Mix together the honey, mustard, paprika, lemon juice, zest, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Use a pastry brush to coat the tops of the bacon wrapped chicken with the glaze. 

Bake in a the oven for about 12 minutes then flip the chicken over, brush the remaining glaze on the other side and bake for another 12 minutes or until the chicken is done.

FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS:
Place bacon wrapped chicken tenders in a freezer safe container. (We used 8x8 foil pans and fit 6 tenders/pan. You can use a 9x13 if you want more tenders per pan.) Brush sauce on both sides of tenders. Press a piece of saran wrap onto the chicken- literally onto it. This will prevent freezer burn. Then cover with foil or lid that came with pan. This can go directly to the oven from freezer or thaw 24 hours in fridge to reduce baking time. Remember to remove the foil and saran wrap before baking! Bake at 350 for 30 minutes if thawed or 50-60 minutes if frozen. Check temperature of chicken if you are unsure whether or not it's done. Safe temp for chicken is 165. 

Baked Paleo Meatballs

(On Pinterest, it says these are from Paleo Belle but I cannot find them on her site to link.) 

1lb grass-fed ground beef
1lb ground pork (we subbed 1/2 for ground veal)
1/2c almond flour
2 eggs
1T Italian Seasoning
1T Garlic Powder
1t sea salt

Preheat oven to 400. Mix together with hands. Roll into small balls, place into 9x13 dish, cover in about 2 cups favorite paleo sauce (marinara, bbq, teriyaki.) Bake for 25-30 minutes until cooked through. 

Paleo Marinara

http://www.primalprimos.com/paleo-marinara-sauce/

Primal Primos Marinara Sauce (Makes about 6 cups)
Ingredients

• 1 large onion (chopped)

• 5 cloves garlic (chopped)

• 2 teaspoons olive oil

• 28oz tomatoes (crushed, peeled)

• 6oz tomato paste

• 7 cups water

• 3 tablespoons italian seasoning

• 2 tablespoons dried basil

• 1 teaspoon honey (leave out for Whole30)

• 1 pinch crushed red pepper

• salt

• peper

Optional

• 1/2 cup red wine

Directions

Step 1	In a large pot over medium heat, add olive oil and sauté onion, shallot and garlic until the onion becomes transparent.
Step 2	Next, add crushed tomatoes, water, tomato paste, seasonings, wine and honey.
Step 3	Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally.

Note

This marinara sauce is perfect for an all-day simmer in a crock pot if you don't want to use a pot.

FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS:
After rolling meat into balls, place meatballs in a deep freezer safe baking dish. Cover with marinara. You may also split this recipe into 2 or 3 smaller pans depending on what works best for your family. Press saran wrap directly onto the top of meatballs/sauce. Cover dish with labeled foil or lid and freeze. Thaw 24 hours in fridge. Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes. **If you have more marinara than you need for meatballs (the recipe makes about 6 cups), let cool completely, place in quart size freezer bags in 2 cup increments and freeze. 

Let me know how you do! Enjoy!