Purple Soup!

Hello from Florida! When I arrived in Naples, Mom took me to Trader Joes and Whole Foods to stock up so I would have all of my paleo staples. While it was 80 degrees when I arrived, I still thought it would be a great idea to make a big pot of soup so there would always be a good serving of veggies on hand. If you haven't noticed yet, I care about the colors of my food almost as much as the taste! A colorful plate tends to be a healthier plate, so I decided we needed to make purple soup. The purple cauliflower (which I've never had before) looked awesome, so we grabbed two heads of it and a bunch of other white or lightly colored veggies so we could keep the color going. The soup came out great, and it was beautiful to watch! Try to eat a different color fruit and vegetable every day of the week - you will nourish your body and enjoy the view along the way. 

Ingredients:
- Olive oil
- 2-3 Tbsp. garlic, chopped
- 2 sweet onions, chopped
- 1 leek, chopped
- 1 bunch celery, chopped
- 2 yellow squash, chopped
- 1 bunch white asparagus, chopped
- 2 heads purple cauliflower, chopped 
- 2 quarts organic, gluten-free chicken stock (or veggie broth)
- Black pepper & fresh rosemary

Instructions:
1. Chop all of your veggies! You can use a food processor to save time if you want - roughly chopped is fine since we will be blending this soup.
2. Heat the olive oil over medium heat
3. Saute the garlic, onion, and leek about 10 minutes until soft
4. Add celery, squash, and asparagus and cook another 5 minutes
5. Add the purple cauliflower and the chicken stock and bring to a boil
6. When soup boils, cover the pot, turn heat down to low, and cook for 40 minutes
7. Let soup cool for a few minutes and then puree with the immersion blender until smooth
8. Serve with black pepper and fresh rosemary

  

Frittatas 3 Ways

On the road again! It is that time of year with a lot of travel, so tons of eating out and not a lot of home cooked meals over the past few days. Paleo on the road has luckily become second nature, and I always plan some backup snacks/meals just in case. As I was packing up my stuff at work today to head back up to Boston, Steve came into my office and asked why I had a can of cat food in my suitcase. While he should clearly know better not to be looking in a female colleague's suitcase, he totally caught me - it wasn't cat food, but I did have an "emergency" can of wild salmon just in case I was unable to get a paleo meal throughout my travels. The moral of the story is that you can never be too prepared, but you also need to be willing to take a little heat from your not so paleo friends! 

I have experimented with a ton of frittata / egg casserole recipes, and tonight I am sharing three that I made in my first month or two of experimenting with paleo. They each make enough for five solid servings, so it is the perfect thing to make Sunday night and have five quick and easy breakfasts for the work week. The possibilities are endless, but here is a trio of recipes to get the wheels turning. Enjoy!

Mushroom & Onion Frittata 

Ingredients:

- 1 carton egg whites or 10-12 eggs, beaten

- 16 oz. mushrooms, chopped

- 1 large sweet onion, sliced & chopped

- 1 Tbsp. coconut oil

- Salt, pepper, & garlic powder

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Saute onion and spices in melted coconut oil over medium heat until soft (7-10 minutes)
3. Add mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes
4. Pour into greased 9x12 casserole pan, top with eggs of choice, and cook for 30 minutes or until set.

Kale, Pepper, & Asparagus Frittata w/ Avocado

Ingredients:

- 1 carton egg whites or 10-12 eggs, beaten

- 1-2 cups kale, stems removed

- 1 red pepper, chopped

- 1 bunch asparagus

- 1 Tbsp. coconut oil

- Salt, pepper, & garlic powder
- 1 avocado 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Saute kale, pepper, asparagus, and spices in melted coconut oil over medium heat until soft (7-10 minutes)

3. Add mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes

4. Pour veggies into greased 9x12 casserole pan, top with eggs, and cook for 30 minutes or until set

5. Top with sliced avocado

Sweet Potato, Spinach, & Onion Frittata w/ Grass-Fed Ground Beef

Ingredients:

- 1 carton egg whites or 10-12 eggs, beaten

- 1lb. grass-fed ground beef

- 2 small-medium sweet potatoes, chopped

- 2 cups+ spinach

- 1 large sweet onion, sliced & chopped

- 1 Tbsp. coconut oil

- Salt, pepper, & garlic powder

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Cook ground beef over medium heat

3. In a separate pan, saute onion, sweet potato, and spices in melted coconut oil over medium heat until soft (10-15 minutes)

4. Add spinach and cook another 2-3 minutes until soft

5. Pour drained meat into a greased 9x12 casserole pan, cover with the veggie mixture, top with eggs, and cook for 30 minutes or until set

Note: For those who don't want ground beef for breakfast, this version makes a perfect lunch or dinner!

Breakfast for Dinner

Everybody loves breakfast, and after a busy week when your leftovers run out, it can be the the perfect paleo dinner. While I have experimented with many breakfast recipes like paleo pancakes and muffins, tonight's post highlights three quick and easy egg dishes that can be made with a moment's notice. A short and sweet post, but hopefully helpful when you run out of food and ideas! This is just another reason to buy an extra dozen of farm fresh eggs from your local farmers market each week. Enjoy!

Scrambled SOWA Eggs with Bacon & Herbed Tomatoes

Ingredients:

- 2 eggs

- No-sugar-added bacon (I used fresh bacon from Westminster Meats)

- 1 tomato

- Mixed herbs (basil, oregano, etc.)

- Salt & pepper

Instructions:
1. Cook bacon in pan or on a griddle
2. Scramble eggs with salt & pepper
3. Slice fresh tomato and top with herbs of choice

Fried Eggs w/ Sauteed Asparagus & Mashed Sweet Potato

Ingredients:

- 2 eggs

- 1 small sweet potato, baked & mashed

- 1/2 cup asparagus, chopped

- Olive oil

- Cinnamon, salt, pepper, & garlic powder

Instructions:
1. Sautee asparagus in olive oil with salt, pepper, and garlic powder
2. Head up sweet potato (can microwave, bake, or boil it if it isn't pre-prepared), and top with cinnamon
3. When asparagus is done, remove from pan and fry two eggs in the leftover oil & 
spices

Simple Omelet Topped w/ Broccoli & Portobello Mushrooms

Ingredients:

- 3 eggs or 1/2 cup egg whites

- 1 small head of broccoli, chopped

- 1/2 portobello mushroom cap, chopped

- 1 Tbsp. olive oil

- Salt, pepper, & garlic powder

Instructions:
1. Heat olive oil in omelet pan
2. Cook veggies in the oil with salt, pepper, and garlic powder
3. When veggies are cooked to your liking, remove them from the pan
4. Pour eggs (or whites) into the pan, and cook slowly over medium-low heat. Note: you will be tempted to flip! DON'T DO IT! Mal and I learned this the hard way from years of ruining omelets. Be patient, and when the bottom is fully set, flip the omelet, top with veggies, and serve.

Sweet Potato & Beef Stuffed Peppers

I am happy to announce that I will be posting my first paleo-related interview on an upcoming blog post. While in NYC, I tried an amazing new restaurant called Hu Kitchen that focuses on how humans should eat. There are limitless gluten-free and paleo options, and the space is amazing. I will write more about it on the upcoming post when I interview CEO and founder Jordan Brown.

On another note, I came across a great blog this week that I've been loving. I definitely recommend Katie did, and her awesome pepper recipe inspired my dinner tonight. 

Ingredients:
- 4 sweet peppers
- 1/2 lb. grass-fed ground beef
- 1 sweet potato, shredded
- 4 eggs
- Salt, pepper, garlic powder, & cinnamon

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cut the tops off the peppers, clean out the insides, and put them in a baking dish with an inch of water
3. Bake for 30 minutes
4. While peppers cook, saute the ground beef, and drain all excess fat/liquid when cooked
5. Add the shredded sweet potato, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cinnamon to the beef, and cook for another 10-15 minutes until sweet potato is cooked
6. Whisk eggs in a bowl, and add beef mixture
7. Pour the mixture into the peppers, cover the dish with tin foil, and bake for another 30 minutes
8. I served these with some simple roasted asparagus (20 min @ 350 degrees with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder)