Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Ingredients (I'm not putting amounts because the recipe works no matter what):
Chuck roast (or any beef roast cut that's on sale)
Chicken broth to just cover the bottom of your slow cooker
Vegetables
At least one onion, chopped in large chunks
At least several cloves of crushed garlic
Whatever spices you like on beef
Salt, pepper

Supplies:
Slow cooker

Season the beef on all sides with salt, pepper, spices. If you have time and want to be fancy, sear the roast in a super hot pan with just a touch of olive oil. Or skip that. Place in slow cooker. Place onions and garlic around the roast. Pour chicken broth (or beef or vegetable) in slow cooker just enough to cover the bottom so the roast sits in a very shallow puddle. Put the rest of the vegetables in. Today I used frozen mixed veggies and baby cut carrots just because that's what I had. Use whatever you want to eat with your beef (except not white potatoes) and whatever amount that you will need to match your beef portions. Turn on your slow cooker to low and if you have a timer set it for 8 hours. If you're lucky like I am, your slow cooker will automatically switch to Warm after the time is up. No need for knives when you serve - the roast will fall apart on your fork.

I made this today and I think next time I'll try to do a peppercorn dry rub on the beef for a day or two in the fridge before I cook it.

Almond Crusted Pork and Sautéed Kale

Ingredients:
8 thin cut boneless pork tenderloin medallions
1/2 cup almond meal*
EVOO for the pan
2 cups kale**
Herbs of your choice
Salt & Pepper
2 eggs

* I use the left over almond meal from homemade almond milk.
** I use wilted/non-crispy kale chips - you can tell in my photo there is a mix of that and fresh kale.

Supplies:
Medium pan/skillet
Plate
Cereal bowl
Scratch proof tongs (2 pair)

Serves: 4

Scrambled two eggs in a bowl. You might be able to get away with using one egg depending on the size of your pork medallions. Rinse and dry pork *very throughly*. Since you are not doing a flour dredge before the egg wash it is very important to make sure the pork starts out very dry. On a plate mix your almond meal with salt, pepper, and your herbs. This time I used tarragon and parsley. Heat the pan to just above medium, with a very small amount of EVOO. The almond meal will absorb the oil quickly so use it sparingly to avoid a greasy taste. As the pan heats, wash a medallion in the egg wash, then dredge in seasoned almond meal. Lay gently in pan with first set of tongs. After about one minute turn over. Add a few drops of EVOO to help establish a nice sear/crisp and help the coating cook/bond onto the medallion. Depending how quickly you can work this "assembly line" you may be able to do two medallions at a time. Cooking time will depend how thin your medallions are. These were about 1/4 inch and took no more than 4 minutes to cook through. If you find your outside burning but the inside still raw, turn your heat down a tad. Remove from pan using second set of tongs to avoid cross-contamination.

Once the pork is done, toss the kale in a drizzle of EVOO and a dash of salt, pour into the same pan and toss occasionally with scratch proof tongs. Careful not to cross-contaminate! The tongs you used to remove the cooked pork should be okay. Kale is done when its just heated through and no longer crispy like lettuce. I like mine a little "al dente" though.

I made this today - I loved the flavor the almond crust brought to the pork!

Chicken Breast and Sweet Potato

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts (skinless boneless)
1/2 onion
4-6 mushrooms
3-4 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp EVOO
1 Tbsp chicken stock*
1 large sweet potato

*If chicken stock is not available, vegetable or beef stock is acceptable or even plain water.

Supplies:
Large sauté pan or skillet with cover
Non-scratching tongs

Serves: 4

Clean, butterfly** and dry chicken breasts. Season with salt and pepper (other herbs and spices if desired - some suggestions: oregano, tarragon, rosemary) set aside. Slice onion and mushrooms, mince garlic. Heat skillet on medium with olive oil; once heated, add onions, mushrooms, garlic. Cook until onions begin to turn translucent. Make room for chicken breasts in pan. Place breasts in pan, cook for two minutes and turn. Add a few drops of EVOO if necessary. Cover chicken breasts with the mushrooms and onions using non-scratching tongs. Add 1 tablespoon chicken stock and cover, turning heat to medium low. After 5 minutes turn breasts. Chicken is done when juices run clear.

**For how to butterfly the breast see http://www.ehow.com/how_5023503_butterfly-cut-chicken-breasts.html

For sweet potato:
Wash and dry thoroughly, and prick several times. Bake in 375F oven for one hour on the rack; or microwave for 5 minutes, turn, microwave for 5 more minutes. Slice into rounds.

This is one of our go to meals. Super fast, simple, filling, fairly inexpensive. You could add sautéed spinach or kale using the exact same pan, or a fresh salad to get more veggies in. Yum!

Kale Chips

Ingredients:
Kale
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea salt

Supplies:
Cookie sheet
Parchment paper
Salad spinner (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Trim the thick stem from the kale using a small paring knife or kitchen shears. Tear kale into "chip sized" pieces. Wash in cold water and dry *very* thoroughly. If you don't have a salad spinner i recommend leaving it in the colander for a few hours and tossing it every now and then. Once dry, toss in olive oil and sprinkle sea salt over it. If sea salt is not available table salt is ok too. Spread in a single layer over the cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Put in oven on middle rack for 15 minutes. Depending on the moisture in your kale it might be more or less time by a few minutes. Eat immediately - it doesn't stay crunchy very long.

Paleo Friendly Crackers

Ingredients:
1 cup almond flour
1 egg white
Your choice of herbs for flavor

Supplies:
Cookie sheet
Parchment paper
Rolling pin

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix together all ingredients. Roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper - try to roll it to fill the cookie sheet - paper thin! Remove the top layer of parchment paper. This part is important: score the dough into the cracker shapes/sizes you want to make. Place cookie sheet on middle rack - bake about 10 minutes. Crackers should turn golden. The edges might finish faster than the center - since you've scored them you can break off the edge crackers that are done and put the rest back. Check every couple of minutes to avoid burning the crackers (that almond flour can be expensive!).

That's it. The crackers are tasty and can be used to dip in guacamole or by themselves. The almond flour is more expensive than regular flour so this isn't meant to be a daily thing. But sometimes you just need a crunchy snack!

Definitions

Let's be clear, I'm not a nutritionist or fitness or wellness expert. I'm a working mom of an almost-two-year-old who is trying to set a healthy example for my kid. I work in the health industry but have no clinical training or expertise. The company I work for offers amazing wellness programs and incentives - including having a CrossFit trainer come to our workplace 3 days a week to not only conduct CrossFit classes but also to give us nutritional guidance. Coach has opened my eyes to a whole new world of diet philosophy and yet I'm still the same busy, lazy mom on a tight budget I was before. There's often a gap between the lifestyle we live and the lifestyle we know would be "best."

We don't need experts to tell us that fast food and sugary drinks are taking a toll on us as a society and as individuals. What we need is someone to sort through the plethora of (often conflicting) information out there and make it workable to our life demands. I'm just here to share my experiences and maybe provide a bridge between the diet someone follows now by default and the one they wish they had the time/money/energy/information/whatever to pull off.

The recipes I post will always be easy and have minimal ingredients because that's how I cook. I love cooking but at the end of the day I love my family and my books and leisure time more so I can't and won't spend hours in the kitchen every day. I figure most people feel the same way.

I also have to say - the diet I follow is just outside the true paleo definition. I allow myself cheese and other dairy occasionally. This is because I did the extraction diet and found that my body does not have an adverse reaction to dairy. Others may not have this experience. I have not yet reintroduced any wheat, grains, carbs of that nature but since its the only thing left to reintroduce, and I still feel so much better than before I did the Whole14, I am willing to bet I would have a bad reaction. I also don't eat exclusively organic or non-conventional. If I make a coconut curry I'll probably use conventional coconut milk which might have some additives. This is only because I know those additives don't have an immediate adverse effect on me. Down the road if I fall into a bit more money I'll be more selective. My point is things aren't always black and white. You have to start somewhere. I'll try to be clear in my recipes and other posts about the difference between what is "recommended" and what I actually do personally.

If you're exploring the idea of taking a more paleo or low-glycemic approach to your daily diet I strongly urge you to start by doing a Whole30 - or if that's too much right now try doing a Whole14. 14 days is not really enough to break your psychological response to food but its enough to feel most of the physical differences between eating like "everyone else" and eating clean. Then you have a starting point - you'll know how different foods affect your body and be able to make weighted decisions with that information. For info on the Whole30 program visit whole9life.com.

Here goes!