Feast your eyes on THIS delicious creation! This is my first attempt at high fat tomato soup and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out! Normally I would load up something like this with heavy cream, but seeing as how the Better Body Challenge doesn't allow for that, I went with coconut milk instead.

Ingredients:
120g sliced onion
40g garlic cloves (with skin on)
2.5lbs ripe roma tomatoes sliced in half
2T olive oil, salt & pepper

First you gotta roast these delicious veggies. I recommend popping them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30-60 minutes. My onions finished first, garlic second, with the tomatoes taking a bronze medal. Onions should be shriveled looking, and their ends starting to blacken - garlic should be fork tender (drizzle it in olive oil and wrap it in foil to roast it) and tomatoes should look, well, roasted.

After roasted, transfer all those delicious goodies to a pot. Now add the following:

1T tomato paste
1 can coconut milk (NOT the light version)
1-1/2c beef broth
4T butter
1 tsp Garam Masala (or make your own)

Simmer it all together for about 10 minutes. Add salt & pepper to taste. Then carefully transfer it all to your blender, and blend until smooth.

Here's the stats

Whole shebang makes 1160 grams of soup with the following macronutrient ratios:
153g fat
56g carbs
17g protein

This AMAZING recipe came from "http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/. I was interested in cooking with coconut aminos, a soy free "soy" sauce, and I came across her recipe. Soooooooooo, I made the spicy pork shoulder to have leftovers for this "rice" dish and it was awesome! Not to mention the little ankle biters loved it too! Follow the recipe and add the leftover shredded slow roasted pork shoulder to make a Sassy pork fried "rice".  I also added more coconut aminos and more eggs for personal taste.

On a side note- I am having so much fun exploring new recipe ideas and sharing them with friends and family. It is so amazing to watch their faces in disbelief that healthy CLEAN eating is really good food! Just ask my brother-in-law who ate 2 plates of this fried rice.

Ingredients:
1 head fresh cauliflower, stems removed, pulsed to rice texture in the food processor
2 eggs
2 teaspoons + 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
1 teaspoon + 1 teaspoon + 1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/4 white or yellow onion, diced
1 cup steamed broccoli florets, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
8 oz. leftover cooked pork (like  BBQ pulled pork or pork carnitas), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2-3 scallions, green only
salt & pepper, to taste
sesame oil, to taste (optional)
2 teaspoons sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Put the grated cauliflower in a microwave-safe container and nuke for two minutes. This step preps the cauliflower so it’s almost-tender before the stir-frying process. If you skip this step, you run the risk of the cauliflower turning to mush. You don’t want Chinese Pork Fried Mush. (At least I don’t think you do.)

2. If you’re using the sesame seeds, heat a large sauté pan or wok over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, toss in the sesame seeds and stir constantly ’til they’re lightly toasted, about 3-5 minutes. Keep an eye on them! They can quickly change from pale white to dark brown in a blink! When you’re happy with the toastiness, remove from the pan and save for step 6.

3. In a small bowl, scramble the eggs with 1 teaspoon coconut aminos. Heat 1 teaspoon coconut oil over medium-high heat in the pan, then add the eggs and scramble until cooked through. Remove them from the pan and save for step 5.

4. In the same pan, heat 1 teaspoon coconut oil over medium heat, then sauté the diced onion until it’s tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Things are going to start happening a little faster now. Alert your dining companions that you’re about to “drop the f’rice.” (That’s what I bellow from the kitchen at my house to alert Dave and Smudge that dinner is imminent!)

5. Add 1 tablespoon coconut oil to the pan and increase heat to high for about 90 seconds. When the pan is good and hot, add the cubed pork, chopped broccoli, cauliflower, and scrambled egg. Stir with purpose! Then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons coconut aminos. Continue to stir with purpose until it’s heated through, and you’re getting some lovely brown bits. This takes about 3 minutes or so.

6. Divide the fried f’rice onto two plates, then sprinkle with the chopped scallions and, if you’re into this kind of thing, about 1 teaspoon of sesame oil and 1 teaspoon of the toasted sesame seeds. Dig in with the sure knowledge that you are consuming at least two servings of vegetables, plenty of protein, and zero mystery ingredients. Takeout, shmakeout!

ENJOY FRIENDS!!!!

This is such an  easy fix for a day when you just need to get other things done, but still have a good healthy dinner. GREAT part of this meal is  the leftovers can be turned over- WHICH I will also post in a few days.

12 Ancho dried chili peppers ( remove stems and seeds from inside , sometimes these seeds pack heat)

1 yellow onion

8 cloves of garlic

smoked paprika 2 teaspoon

cumin 2 teaspoon

4 long green peppers(or your favorite pepper)

1 jalapeno (seeds removed)

1/2 pint cherry tomatoes

salt/pepper

2-3 cups water

3-4 lbs pork shoulder roast

-FIRST roughly chop veggies and  clean  seeds from peppers,   add all  ingredients(except the pork ) in a pot  using enough  water to fully immerse the veggies.  Bring to boil and then simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Let cool.

-SECOND- add veggies from pot to a blender and 3/4 the water from the pot- be sure to vent the blender before mixing!! Blend well adding more water if necessary.

- THIRD- add pork shoulder(I use bone in) and the veggie mixture  into a crock pot and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until pork falls apart. I add just enough veggie  mixture to barely cover the pork..

- LAST- remove pork  from crock pot and begin to pull pork apart with two forks ;  we serve this with a fried egg , chopped cabbage for a crunch and of course avocados.

ENJOY! I will post how to turn this yummy pork  leftover into a pork fried "rice"(using cauliflower)

Every single day, we are bombarded by headlines making claims about what is good for our health and what will inevitably kill us. Most are fallacious, but we would have to do some research of our own to determine this and diving into scientific journals can be quite daunting.

Here are some tips to help with such efforts:

Ingredients;

1.5 lb grass fed ground beef

1 lb wild caught shrimp(cleaned, no tail)

1 jalepeno

2 green peppers

1 onion

1 head cauliflower( chopped finely with a chopper or in a food processor -rice like)

6 ounces-1 small can Trader Joes tomaote paste(my fav)

approx 1.5 cups beef broth (natural , no extra oils)

seasonings- bay leaves,3-4 garlic cloves, 1.5 teas. thyme, salt, pepper, 1.5 teas. smoked paprika,   the next 2 seasonings add to liking -ancho chile pepper, crushed red pepper flakes

Here we go-

brown beef with salt/pepper/red pepper flakes- drain fat( I dnt like beef fat bt keep it if you do)

while beef is browning chop all veggies -

set beef aside, in same pan add all veggies including cauliflower- (peppers, onions, garlic, cauliflower) cook until slightly tender/ rough draining excess liquid from cauliflower

then add beef back in with shrimp to the pan with the veggies- add beef broth and tomato  paste

add 2-3 bay leaves and seasonings

simmer for about 20 minutes

serve with chopped green onion

** add grilled andouille sausage as well for a different flavor**

We have recently had a HUGE influx of new babies at the Fort and a lot of people have been asking me what to feed their paleo babies. I think it goes without saying that you don't need to feed your baby any fancy "iron fortified" crap in a box. (yes, even the organic ones). That's NOT real food. Well, I suppose it all depends on your definition of food.

The guidelines for feeding your little rug rats aren't all that different from feeding yourself. Babies need lots of good, healthy fats and cholesterol to help their brain develop. Plus, they have LOTS of growing to do and they need all the calories they can get.

Ideally, until they are 1 year old, babies will get almost all of their nutrition from breast milk. The rule of thumb for babies is that solid food "before one is just for fun". Meaning, most of baby's calories are coming from breast milk and any calories they ingest in solid foods is just for practice.

So, when it's time to feed your little cave baby, what do you feed them? I have found that it is best to keep it simple and feed them organic purees loaded with extra fat. You'll want to start with purees that you can blend into a super smooth consistency such as sweet potato, avocado or butternut squash.

But Jennie, where does the fat come from? GOOD QUESTION. Probably the most important part of the introduction of solid foods is that they aren't just big carb-bombs. No, not CAR bombs! In order to get your baby the fat they need to get big and smart, load up their food with some grass-fed ghee and a soft cooked egg yolk. Yep, egg yolks. Since you'll be giving them just the yolk and not the protein containing whites, there's no need to worry about egg allergies.

So get to the grocery store and find yourself an organic butternut squash and some free range, Omega 3 enriched eggs. Cook that squash (no seasoning) and puree it in your food processor. The cheapest way to store your baby food is to pour it into ice cube trays and then transfer the frozen blocks to labeled ziploc bags. This allows you to thaw small portions and use only what you need.

When it's time to serve baby, warm up the food and add about 1 tsp of ghee and a soft cooked egg yolk. To cook your yolks, just separate out the yolk and cook it in a pan with ghee on the stove top for about 3 minutes, or until warmed through. Plop that yolk directly on top of your puree, bust it open, and then fish out the solid portion. Add a pinch of celtic sea salt (for digestion, not flavor) and WHAM! A delicious and nutritious meal for your little one!

Brady's (9 months old) favorite puree is chicken, sweet potato and apple. (served with ghee and yolk OF COURSE). A good source for free-range chicken is Trader Joe's, and it blends up into a smoother consistency than ground beef. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients
2T ghee
1/3 c onion - chopped
1/4lb free range chicken thighs chopped
1/2 apple, peeled and chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1c chicken broth

Directions
Heat ghee in saucepan and saute the onion for 3 minutes. Add the chicken and saute until browned. Add the apple, sweet potato and broth. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Puree to desired consistency.

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 6 slices bacon
• 3 slices gluten free salami
• arugula (a pepper tasting lettuce - super flavorful)
• 2 avocados
• 4 portabella mushrooms
• sundried tomatoes in olive oil (approx 2 teaspoons)
• chipotle peppers in adobe sauce (small can)
• onion

This may seem like a lot , but it comes together in about 30 min.

First- add water, chicken to a pot and season with onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, bay leaves (2) and oregano-cook until chicken in cooked through and tender, while chicken is going...

Bake bacon on a foil lined tray in oven at 400 degrees until cooked through (or extra crispy as we like it)

Slice onion and either grill or softened in a pan of butter-season with salt/pepper

Chiopotle Ava-mayo;  In the blender add 1/2 cup olive oil(not extra virgin just olive oil) avacados , 2 teaspoons sundried tomatoes, 2 delicious chipotle peppers in adobe sauce** (more if you want more chipotle or heat), sprinkle salt and garlic powder- blend until smooth adding a little more olive oil if necessary- then set in fridge **I use a fork to remove 2 peppers  and usually an extra drop of adobo sauce)

Portabella mushrooms- Heat a nice pad of Kerrygold butter and 2 cloves of garlic until butter melts and garlic fragrant. Add cleaned mushrooms "gill" side up for 5 min and then flip for 5 min.

When chicken is cooked, place in a bowl and shred -almost like a pulled pork.

Assemble the master piece- Mushroom (gill up) , salami, chicken, grilled onions, bacon , arugula and spread the chipotle ava-mayo on gill side of the other mushroom and place on top.