Sliders!

Last night I made dinner in a hurry to take with me to a Bible Study out east I've started going to with my lovely neighbors. It ended up absolutely delicious!

Ingredients:
~1/3lb Ground beef
~1 tsp Seasoning salt
Several shakes of ground pepper
Caramelized Onions (recipe HERE)
Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

Mix the ground beef with seasoning salt and pepper. 

Form the beef into slider-sized patties, and begin cooking on medium heat. They actually took a while longer than I thought to cook all the way through. To make 'em hold together you need to make the height to width ratio a little bigger than a normal patty would be.

When they are cooked through (I like my steak pretty dang rare, but I need ground beef cooked well done) add some caramelized onions on top. Caramelized onions are going on the list of "Things That Are Bad For Me, But I'd Eat a Barrel of Anyway". They're absolutely divine.

Then I topped it off with some of this stuff.... Another little piece of heaven. 

All ready to go! I ate it with some risotto, which isn't strictly Paleo, but I'm frighteningly poor this week, and I need to eat things in my cabinet.

Excuse my poor photo taking skills, fluorescent lighting ain't my friend.

Has anyone else noticed how crazy people are acting right now? I'm beginning to believe in the whole "Full Moon bringing out the crazies" thing. It's been absolutely uncanny today.

 Peace and Blessings to you all!

It'sMahBirthday! Post, and my First Recipe!

So last weekend was my birthday weekend. I spent it in Tuscaloosa with Boyfran and assorted friends. The dear man made it so very special for me :)

My official present from Boyfran

We relaxed, watched Blast from the Past, which is an amazingly clever movie and one of the best things to come out of the 90s, ate way too much cake (Paleo wasn't really in the picture this weekend...But, hey, It'sMahBirthday!), played with some of our best friends, ambled along the Riverwalk with Fuchs, and generally just had an amazing time growing together. 

Last Thursday night I made this Paleo meal. The chicken is super simple, and very delicious. 

I started by heating my skillet to med-high, then placed several chicken breast tenders in the middle. 

Seasoned 'em with salt, pepper, and a little bit of garlic powder. These shakers were also a gift from Boyfran. I love a penguin....

Cooked the chicken all the way through...

Spread some pesto, and sprinkled 'em with a bagged Italian cheese mix.... Leave the chicken on the skillet until the cheese is melted.

I ate it with mashed cauliflower (recipe forthcoming, but I basically used this as a guide), and a big helping of canned turnip greens.

That night I also made my first attempt at Paleo baking. It wasn't pretty.....

I used this recipe for chocolate cookies, minus the chocolate chips, because I didn't have any. It took me a loooong time to make the almond butter in my dinky little food processor. I used Stevia instead of sugar.

I was so excited about them; but they turned out very meh.... I only ate one, and took the rest to Boyfran. It's one of those "substitutes" that really leaves you wanting the original even more, instead of satisfying you. Also, they look kinda like tiny hamburger patties.

I think the basic recipe would make for a good crust for a Paleo cheesecake, or something, though.

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend, a tolerable Monday, and a terrific Tuesday!

Paleo: One Week In

So, yesterday marked a week since I began my journey into Cave Man Land. I have just a few observations so far:

1) I've lost almost two pounds, so that's good.

2) I really really miss pasta. Like, a lot.

3) It's not terribly difficult to make filling meals, but I still crave having a dessert afterward.

4) I've been eating a lot of fruit to satisfy my sweet tooth.

5) A lot of people talk about the increases in energy you get when you switch to this lifestyle. I haven't really seen anything like that so far, but I have seen a HUGE improvement in the way my stomach feels. I used to have nearly chronic stomach pain and digestive issues, and they're almost completely gone :)

I've only cheated a few times so far. Saturday night we had fried chicken and cake; but it was for my family birthday celebration, my mommy's birthday was Sunday! To make up for that I didn't have anything "bad" on Sunday, which is usually a "mini-Easter" or a day we can indulge in the things we've given up for Lent. Then yesterday I had two crackers and a few pieces of rice at a seafood event I attended. My stomach was super upset last night, but I don't know to what I should attribute it.

Today I'm craving sugar like crazy, I'm all out of fruit, and have been trying to hold off going to the grocery store until Monday. I have plenty of meat, sweet potatoes, onions, and veggies to last me until then; but I'm completely out of fruit.

I'mma start posting some of the pseudo-recipes I'm coming up with on here. I'm no culinary genius, but I make pretty tasty stuff.

I hope everyone has been having a nice week so far. It's mah birthday week!

Lent 2012- Let's get Primal!

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the Lenten season, a time repentance and reflection as we prepare our hearts for the celebration of Jesus' Resurrection. It has become traditional to "give up" something during Lent as a sign of penitence and preparation.

In the past I've given up soda, sweets, chocolate, junky foods, etc.

This year I'm going to go Paleo.

What is Paleo? It's a diet/lifestyle that cuts out pretty much everything that wasn't available to the hunter-gatherer peoples of the past. So you don't eat grains, processed anything, refined sugars, etc. But you eat lots and lots of meat, veggies, fruits, nuts, and roots like potatoes. It's also known as "Primal", and it's been catching attention and devoted adherents in the last several years. There seem to be an above average number of Paleo and Primal eaters in the Libertarian community, in particular.

The theory is that our bodies aren't biologically designed to eat the loads and loads of processed grains and sugars that now make up a huge part of our diets. I've read about, and talked to several people who stand by Paleo as an amazing way to get healthy. I've read accounts of people feeling more healthy over-all: they sleep better, have more energy during the day, and have had chronic health problems disappear after transitioning to the Paleo lifestyle.

In particular, I talked to the fabulous fellow KSFP alumna Gina, who lost 50 pounds last year going paleo. She recommended about a billion websites for me, rife with recipes, tips, and advice for transitioning into a more primal lifestyle.

After drastically cutting back the amount of sweets and sodas I consume over the past 7 months or so, I'm not terribly worried about that part of it. I don't crave sweets like I used to, and I don't snack nearly as much as I did before, either. My main concern right now is the cost. Pasta, rice, and processed foods are very cheap (Hey, thanks government subsidies that are distorting our economy and waistlines), and as I've mentioned at least a dozen times, I'm on a pretty tight budget for the next few years. Gina assures me that it's not as bad as it seems... I really hope she's right.

How is this a valid Lenten devotion?
Well, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says this:
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."


I believe one of the ways we can show God honor is to be good stewards of our bodies, including eating healthfully. I think jumping into Paleo in this season of reflection, repentance, and devotion will help provide me with an extra dose of will power and purpose. 


So tomorrow starts a new chapter. I'm committed to this lifestyle change for at least the next 40 days, hopefully I'll receive such a blessing of improved health that I'll want to commit to it longer-term; but until then, please be praying for me!