Fancy scrambled eggs

Ok, they're not fancy, and I'm sure I'm not the first person to come up with this either, but I feel kind of silly for not thinking it sooner! Since we started eating healthy, my breakfast options dwindled significantly...like, no more cereal, sandwiches, oatmeal (yuck, anyway), french toast, etc.
So the go to is eggs, and usually scrambled because what's easier?
But eating eggs day in and day out gets SUPER boring so I just starting throwing stuff in.
First I started easy with "omelet" ingredients. I threw in a little green pepper and onion and called it a day. There are so many things that you can do with scrambled eggs, it's not even funny. Here are some of my favorites:

1. Cheese (duh!) green peppers, onions, and ham
2. fresh spinach (this was super good)
3. oregano (gives it just a little extra kick - it's all it needs)
4. asparagus (goes good as a side with plain scrambled eggs)
5. top with homemade salsa
6. top with avocado

What do you put in your scrambled eggs?

Homemade Salsa

Did you notice all the yuckies in store-bought salsa? All the unpronouncable ingredients and sugar.. now tell me why salsa (the one that's not SUPPOSED to be sweet) has freaking sugar in it?
Salsa is just as versatile as you can imagine, you can literally throw everything in there. We like ours a little spicy, and our favorite combination is:
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 small can of green chillies
(if those two items are in season, get them fresh!!)
1 tsp. cumin
a squeeze of lemon juice
1 tsp. dried cilantro (i'm not a huge fan of cilantro, but use fresh if you like it!)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup sweet onion
1 clove garlic
Combine all ingredients and pulse a few times in food processor.
Enjoy knowing all the ingredients in your salsa!

Banana Ice Cream

The other day my mom posted this banana upside down cake recipe. Hang on while I clean up this puddle for salivating over her dessert! Since we eat gluten/grain-free, this was unfortunately a no go.
My healthy alternative?
Yummy banana ice cream that's so easy to make, you'll wonder why I even bothered posting a recipe!

Ingredients:
3 Ripe Bananas - the riper (more ripe?) the bananas, the sweeter the ice cream will be.
1 T almond butter (or peanut butter if you prefer)

No, I didn't forget anything....

1. Cut the bananas up into small pieces, stick in a tupperware container, and freeze.
2. Try not to check the freezer every 30 minutes to see if they're frozen yet.
3. Take them out and put them in a blender and blend.
4. Blend some more.

5. Scrape the sides, mix it up, and blend some more.
6. Yep, you're still blending.
7. Once smooth, (don't give up it'll get there) add almond butter.

Oh, and don't even try to compare this to the pictures on my mom's blog, hers are far superior.

Delicious! Next time I'll experiment with flavor a bit, perhaps add some berries, or dark chocolate...mmm.

Cauliflower-crust pizza

When we were doing our 30 day challenge, we had a hard time finding something that would substitute pizza. We did try "meatza" which was disgusting. It was basically a crust made out of ground beef and egg and it was thick and crunchy and ..just gross. I don't know how people eat that stuff.
As we are eating mostly gluten-free and still trying to avoid grains, I was still inclined to find a reasonable substitute.
We had just gone out to get pizza the night before, and since nothing compares, I was sure this was going to be a flop. Much to my surprise, not only was this recipe delicious, but Husband even said he'd it again. (As a matter of fact, I've got a cauliflower crust, baking in the oven right now!)
We followed this recipe, but added some veggies to ours.
I highly urge you to try this yummy alternative to pizza. It's delicious.
Here's the recipe:
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/08/the-astonishing-cauliflower-pizza-crust-you-have-to-taste-it-to-believe-it.html

And here's our version:

Cauliflower Rice

I'm happy to report that we're still eating healthy for the most part. 90% of what we consume is natural, organic, gluten-free or grain free. Yes, it is a little more expensive. No, Husband has not given up pizza.
What works for us is moderation. We allow ourselves to have pizza every now and then in exchange for not eating starches and grains every day. Also, I have stopped buying processed foods and breads. It has been an adjustment not eating sandwiches, but honestly I don't miss them all that much.
It truly has been a lifestyle change, and I don't actually have a hard time saying "no" to certain foods as I thought I would. If I do cheat, it's not for the day. It might be a meal, or a side, or something that is not a huge variation from what I eat anyway.
I actually feel better body, mind, and soul. I guess you really are what you eat!!
Since rice was a huge staple in our diet, I was happy to find Cauliflower "Rice" which more so has the consistency of couscous.

You'll need:
1 head of cauliflower
1 egg
2t Italian Seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive oil
1 small onion
1 clove garlic

Remove stems from cauliflower and pulse in food processor until it has a "rice-y" consistency. (It really only takes seconds)
In a heated pan, saute onion and garlic with a little olive oil. Once soft, add cauliflower, egg, and seasoning. Mix everything together and keep mixing well so that the egg "scrambles." (you won't even notice it!) Cook on medium until soft.

I served my cauliflower rice with a side of shrimp ( I bought the frozen, pre-cooked kind.) You can use whatever you like, but I threw some Oregano, Parsley, Salt and Pepper, and Cumin in a bowl and tossed the shrimp in it. Then added worcestershire and lemon juice in the pan. Yum!

Challenge update

Our 30 day diet challenge ended about a week ago and I'm happy to report the results: husband lost 14 pounds and I lost 7 (darn men!)
But the best part of it is that we actually continue to eat the Paleo way most of the time. Yes, it's only been a week since we've finished and I understand most diets soon fall to the wayside, but for
 us the benefit has been huge. I personally have more energy, feel fuller longer, and obviously the weight loss has been a bonus. I actually cheated about two days before the diet ended (husband ate my lunch ...sabotage?) and had myself a bowl of pasta. The entire time it was cooking, my little carbohydrate loving heart was sighing sounds of love and endearment ...and then.... It didn't taste so good..and it made my stomach hurt...and I was hungry a mere hour later. Drats!

Here's a quickie recipe for my go to breakfast and quick lunch :
(There's a few varieties of this recipe floating around the Internet, but I tweaked a few things and this is my fave version)

Paleo banana pancakes

2 bananas
1T coconut flour
2 eggs
1T almond butter (I tried this with peanut butter when I was out of almond butter...not the same but it would do if you're in a crunch)
1t vanilla
1t cinnamon
Coconut oil
Agave nectar

Mix all ingredients together except coconut oil and one of the bananas. Melt some coconut oil in a hot pan and pour a spoonful of batter in the pan  ( if you make your pancakes too thick, they will fall apart. Make sure one side is well done, otherwise they won't flip). This makes about 4 pancakes or one serving, they're very filling.
Cut up the other banana and top pancakes. I like agave nectar on top, but raw maple syrup would do, if you prefer.

They are pretty versatile, you can add nuts or berries, whatever you like. I'm obsessed with these. Enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers

The heavens have parted, the angels are singing, and pigs are flying...not really, but pretty darn close. My mom, The Cook, asked ME for a recipe. And no, not out of pity!

Normally I make what I lovingly dubbed "unstuffed peppers" meaning I throw a bunch of tomato sauce, peppers, meat and rice in a pot and serve it with a heaping side of mashed potatoes.

side of mashed potatoes. seriously.

In order to try to make things a little healthier, I tried something new. I know things can be even more healthy, but that's not the point... baby steps!
Also, disclaimer: by no means is this a food blog, so don't expect any spectacular pictures like over at my mom's blog.

Ingredients:

4 Green Peppers
1 cup rice (i used jasmine, brown would be better, none would be best)
1/2 can corn
1/2 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can tomato sauce
1 Tbsp. Taco Seasoning ..I made my own
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 lb. ground beef (or ground turkey if you prefer, but I do get all my meat from a local butcher and it's all hormone-free)
1/2 onion
Shredded cheese - I used Mexican 5-cheese
Green beans

Preheat oven to 400. Brown meat and cook rice. Chop onion and throw in with the ground beef so it softens.
Prepare your green peppers, cutting them in half length-wise and de-seeding.

Brush the peppers with olive oil and stick 'em in the oven for 20 minutes.
Now that your meat is done, pour can of tomato sauce in the pan, some salt and pepper, and the taco seasoning and mix together. Simmer for about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl combine cooked rice, meat mixture, corn, and black beans. My husband hates beans so I smushed them up with a fork, and he never noticed.

Stuff peppers with mixture and put back in the oven for another 20 minutes or until peppers are soft. Cover with shredded cheese and leave in oven until melted. Serve with a side of green beans. Yum!

You can find many variations of homemade taco seasoning online, but here's the recipe I used:
Equal parts cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and chili powder, and 1/2 part red pepper. Mix together and store what you don't use.

Small changes

Normally when I delve into something, I go at it full force. I've had to step back a bit with wanting to change our lifestyle because, well, it can't be done overnight. It is a commitment and an ongoing learning experience and I feel like if I change everything all at once, it'll be too much and I'll give up. But this is important to me to make a better life for my daughter and for husband and I's quality of life as well. I want it to be second nature for her to pick veggies over french fries when we go to a restaurant.

It's about the small changes; first off, I want to try to eliminate as much plastic as I can from our home. When I saw my measuring cup start to crack from overuse, I could just picture all the toxic chemicals leaching out of it.
I bought a glass one and if one can be in love with a measuring cup, I am.
Also, I was keeping frozen breastmilk in the freezer inside a tupperware container. It was way too small, and I kept having to use multiples. In search for a bigger container, I also bought glass.
I know that as small as it is, it is making a difference and before I know it, it will become second nature to me as well.

As far as healthy eating goes, to me healthy eating is not about fat-free foods and shredding calories. It is about eating clean food, knowing where it comes from, and minimizing/eliminating boxed foods that have ingredients no one can pronounce.


If you're wondering what happened to the avocado from last week, it never did ripen: It eventually grew some things, and walked itself to the trash can.
Since it's college football day at our house, I was determined to give it another go. I found ripe avocado at the store today (though I'm willing to bet it was the same avocado that was sitting there last week) and made yummy guacamole. My husband doesn't like guacamole, so I made buffalo chicken dip for us as well.
To my surprise, I preferred the guacamole over the dip and devoured the whole thing.
Husband tried it and said "it's not horrible." I assure you that's a small victory.

 

Knowing my kitchen history, I'm sure you're dying for a recipe from me, but I didn't actually have to cook anything so it doesn't count. ;)

 

 

I didn't measure anything, but for one serving I used:

 

1 avocado

Juice from one lime

a pinch of salt and pepper

about 1/3 cup of chopped sweet onion

One small tomato, chopped

a pinch of cumin and chili powder (this was a new addition for me, and is a combination of two different recipes I found for guac, I think it made a huge difference in taste from my previous guac)

 

Mash the avocado, mix all ingredients together, enjoy!