Simple Summer Snack- Melon Ball Salad

i know this isn't anything special but i'm super pumped about it, so share i must. here's our snack for the week: melon balls. so easy, so healthy, so delicious! i'm going to make a little salad out of them for work on monday with a little bit of lemon or lime & basil. nom nom!

Nom Nom Grilled Cinnamon Sweet Potatoes

Tropical storm or not, things taste better on the grill. Maybe it's a Florida thing but we love grilled food. We could eat it every single night, and sometimes we do. Check these babies out.

For something so simple, these things are PHENOMENAL.

What you need: (serves 2 but just add more sweet potatoes if you want to make more)
- 2 sweet potatoes or yams
- cinnamon
- sea salt
- aluminum foil

What to do:
- heat up grill
- lay out large piece of aluminum foil
- slice sweet potatoes into thin round slices (about 1/8 inch)
- place sweet potato slices onto foil (it's ok if they overlap)
- sprinkle cinnamon & sea salt over sweet potatoes
- place 2nd large piece of aluminum foil over top & seal the sides of the foil pieces together like a package
- place on top rack of grill and cook for 25- 30 minutes until cooked soft

NOM NOM NOM

Fan- freakin- tastic Ooey Gooey Paleo Fudge Cupcake Brownie thingies

Today was a stressful, ridiculous day. It was one of those days when you want to burst into tears the minute you walk through your door after work. I know we've all had those days. If you're anything like me, stress or crying makes you crave chocolate.

After only 8 months of marriage, my husband has already gotten really good at this game.
Me: "Everything is terrible!"
Handsome Hubby: "You need some chocolate, don't you? Let's go get you some."

This time, I decided to attempt some Paleo friendly brownies, thanks to Juli from paleomg for the idea. We had all these ingredients from last week's aimless wandering around the organic store while I was on vacation so this worked out perfectly.

Yes, they look like little nuggets of poo. BE NOT AFRAID! They taste like little bites of heaven!

In my desperate moments trying to create some stress relief chocolaty goodness, I forgot to take step by step photos. Sorry.

Here's what you'll need: 

 
- 1 1/2 cup dried figs (any stems removed)
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
- 6 tablespoons coconut flour
- 3 eggs, whisked
- 1/2 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips, melted
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch of salt

Here's what you do:

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Next, put figs in food processor and puree until they have broken down evenly. Add your melted coconut oil to the processor to mix with the figs. Next, add your melted chocolate chips and eggs and mix. Now add your coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix together.

I cooked mine in a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. I’m not sure what they would be like if you baked them in a normal 8×8 baking dish. Fill liners with the extra super duper THICK brownie batter (i had to peel my batter off a spoon to put into each tin, as thick as cookie dough).




Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let them cool ALL THE WAY before eating them. Trust me on this part.

 

Paleo Pure Pumpkin Bread !

After another day spent aimlessly wandering the aisles at Rollin' Oats, I decided to take my first shot at a Paleo friendly bread. I was thinking about a banana nut bread or a cinnamon pumpkin bread and decided to try the pumpkin first and the banana next week. I think this bread could also be good with other sorts of roasted squash. Here goes!

You will need:

• Raw Honey (2 tbsp)
• Pure Pumpkin or Roasted Pumpkin (1/2 cup)
• Stevia (1/4 tsp)
• Eggs (3)
• Cloves (1/2 tsp)
• Cinnamon (1 tbsp)
• Nutmeg (1 tsp)
• Almond Flour (1 cup)
• Sea Salt (1/4 tsp)
• Baking Soda (1/2 tsp)

There are only 2 steps for this one! 

First, mix all ingredients in a food processor and pulse for about 2 minutes. 

Next, pour batter into small loaf pan and bake for 35-45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Let it cool for 1 hour & it's ready!

I think the loaf pan I used was too big so my bread didn't "rise" as much as it could have but it was still awesome!!!

Pretty Darn Good Bacon Bbq Basil Shrimp

We decided to try another paleo friendly recipe tonight (but i added a tiny bit of non-paleo bbq sauce, which is optional if you're more well behaved than i am or less bbq obsessed). I also used a bt of parmesan cheese, which didn't actually enhance the recipe in my opinion so it could also be taken out. My hubby is RAVING about this dinner so I thought I would share. This recipe took about an hour to be ready (there is some wait time), so it's not a quick & easy one but it was so good, it may be worth making every so often.  As I type this, the husband is sitting across the room saying over and over again, "that was AMAZING!"  haha.


Pretty Darn Good Bacon Bbq Basil Shrimp


You will need:

• 1 lb Large Shrimp, peeled and deveined (I left the tails on this time but I think I will take them off next time I make this)
• Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese (1/4 cup)- this can be eliminated if you want to for paleo
• Thinly sliced bacon (16 pieces or 1 package)
• Dried Basil (1 tbsp)
• Garlic, minced (2 cloves)
• Olive oil or other paleo approved oil (3 tbsp)
• Bbq sauce (1/2 cup)- this is optional

 What to do:

First, combine the Parmesan, oil, and garlic in a bowl & mix together. 

Place shrimp into the marinate & let sit for 30 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook the bacon a little bit until it's partially cooked, about 3-5 minutes over medium heat & place on paper towels to drain.

Wrap marinated shrimp with bacon. Depending on the size of your shrimp,you may want to cut bacon slices in halves or thirds (we did it in halves). Place bacon wrapped marinated shrimp on greased baking sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for 7 to 8 minutes. If you decide to add the Bbq sauce, take the cookie sheet out now  & brush Bbq sauce over shrimp and bake for another 2 to 4 minutes.

Cave Girl Lemony Pineapple Chicken

In an effort to improve our energy levels, moods, and  overall health, my hubby and I have decided to try out the Paleo lifestyle. The basic idea is that you only eat foods that you could've found if you lived in the Paleolithic age. This site contains some very basic info about the lifestyle, if you're interested-  Intro to Paleo

Tonight, I made my 1st Paleo friendly dinner and it was very good! 

Cave Girl Lemony Pineapple Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 can sliced pineapple (I used a 20 ounce can)
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• Cornstarch (1 tbsp)
• Worcestershire sauce (2 tsp)
• Dijon Mustard (2 tsp)
• 1 small lemon, thinly sliced
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (5-6 ounce)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

First, you make the sauce. Drain the pineapple juice from the can into a small mixing bowl and add the garlic, cornstarch, Worcestershire sauce, and Dijon mustard. Mix together. 

Next, you arrange the chicken breasts in a shallow baking dish (9 x 13 worked very well) and pour the sauce evenly over the chicken.

Bake for about 25 minutes (depending on thickness of your chicken breasts).

Then, you arrange the lemon slices and pineapple slices on top of the chicken breasts and baste with the sauce in dish. 

Bake for another 5-7 minutes and you're done! Enjoy!

20 Secrets of Fit People

1. Keep a water bottle with you at all times and drink from it often. Water should always be your drink of choice. To kick things up every once in a while, try adding lemon, lime, cucumber, or a few berries to liven up the flavor without adding significant calories.
2. Look at exercise as a pleasure and a privilege, not a burden or chore. Think positively about the changes regular exercise will produce. Rather than obsessing about your next meal, get excited about your next workout!
3. Eat well-balanced meals and remember that excess calories, even if they’re from food that’s fat free and high in protein, will turn to excess weight. No matter what the latest fad diet says, extra calories equal extra weight!
4. Limit caffeine and exposure to even secondhand smoke.
5. Focus on short-term fitness goals with an emphasis on completing daily exercise.
6. Keep a daily log of what you’re actually eating. This includes every time you grab a handful of chips here or eat the crust of your kid’s sandwich there, and ALL of your snacking.
7. Enjoy an occasional (once a week) “unhealthy” treat, but never an unhealthy week or unhealthy vacation.
8. Enjoy contributing to the health of others by having a partner or friends to exercise with, as well as recruiting others who want to feel better and have more energy. Have a neighbor who’s sitting on the porch every morning when you walk by? Ask him or her to join you on your walk!
9. Avoid monotony by taking up new forms of exercising, or using things that keep you motivated and inspired, like new shoes or great music.
10. Subscribe to fitness magazines to keep focused on health as an overall way of life.
11. Invest in the right tools—good shoes, a portable MP3 player or iPod^®, fitness equipment, a new series of tapes, etc.
12. Make it your goal to do some form of exercise 6 or 7 days a week. If some days you exercise once in the morning and once in the evening, even better! If you’re eating right, exercise will fuel your energy level!
13. Don’t compare your body to others’. Instead, work to be your personal best.
14. If your diet is unbalanced, take daily vitamin and mineral supplements for total health.
15. Work to take your exercise to new levels of intensity.
16. Create an exercise schedule the day before instead of leaving it to chance or waiting to “find” the time. If our last three Presidents of the United States can make time to work out every day, you can make time too!
17. Move beyond the boundaries of weight loss and into total fitness. Measure success by the way your clothes fit, not some number on a scale.
18. Stick with eating plans you can maintain indefinitely. Remember that no matter how hard you’re working out, if you’re consuming too many calories, you’ll never see the muscles that lie beneath layers of fatty tissue.
19. Get adequate amounts of sleep, but remember that people who exercise regularly fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly.
20. Limit alcohol intake to special occasions.