Hawaiian Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Happy Fourth of July! Usually on the Fourth I am running a race in Frankenmuth, MI called the Volksaulfe. This year no one is going, but my family has been running in it for 25+ years. I remember as a kid watching my Uncle Craig jump in the river after his 20k and dancing to the polka band with my cousins. Two years ago, Charlie was 7 weeks old, my husband at the time wasn't feeling up to running, but my family was still going so I ran the 5k in his place. It was brutally hot at 97 degrees by the race start time at 10am and I had not been cleared by my doctors to exercise yet, but if you know me at all you know that I am defiant and I do what I want so I ran it anyway. I finished somewhere around 30 minutes and below is a picture of me with my sister who had run the 20k with my cousin Emily that day. I used to hate this picture and was embarrassed by my belly at the time. Now, looking back, I am proud of myself for getting back to the things that made me happy even if it was the slower, softer version of me doing them- No one has ever said it was going to be easy!

It really helps to have people in your life with similar interests and positive attitudes towards fitness. This picture is with my best friends since childhood, Shannon and Ashley, who ran the race with us one year- both were college runners and we have always cheered each other on. Shannon now has a baby girl, Ada, and Ashley got married almost a year ago exactly in Colorado. You win steins and therefore beer when you place in this race and Shannon had one a stein. I have only won one once--- 3rd place in my age group for the 20k when I was 19... no beer :(

As hard as it is to be sitting here with no Charlie today, the parade was this morning in my small town and there are fireworks and the "firecracker mile" tonight, I am going to make the best of my day because that's all I can do, right? Next year we will get to do all those things and it will make it all the more special. This recipe is inspired by something I made for her when she first started eating solid foods. She LOVED sweet potatoes so I made the grown up version like I have here, and the Charlie-version which was the potato out of it's skin with the pineapple and ham on top. It is really filling and serves 4 adults, each getting a whole potato, or more people if the adults or children only eat a half. 

For this recipe I used turkey "ham" because there are a lot of people in my life who don't eat pork. If you eat regular ham then of course you can use that.

Hawaiian Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

(Printable Version)

- 4 Sweet potatoes

- 1/3 Fresh Pineapple (about 1 cup), cubed into bite-szed pieces

- 1/2 lb Turkey Ham Steak, cubed into bite-sized pieces

- 1 Orange (zest and about 1 cup of juice)
- 1 Lemon (zest and about 1/3 cup juice)
- 2 Tbsp Coconut Aminos or gluten-free soy sauce
- Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
- Drizzle of Honey (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
1. Poke holes in the sweet potatoes and bake on a cookie sheet for 45min-1hr until soft when you squeeze them or a knife can penetrate them easily.

2. While the potatoes are baking, make the glaze. In a skillet over medium-high heat, zest 1/2 the orange and 1/2 the lemon. Juice both of them into the skillet- Measurements here don't need to be perfect- however much juice they have is fine. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce has reduced to a glaze.

3. Cut the potatoes down the middle and pour the pineapple/ham mixture in. Enjoy!

Paleo Egg Salad

Do you know what happens when you have women in your life that follow a similar lifestyle as you and you go to Costco together? This happens: 10 dozen organic eggs, 40 lbs of meat, bags of vegetables, amongst other things like toilet paper... almost $500 spent and 3 girls ready to make some gains and eat some healthy food. Mara and Ericka are about to start the Whole30 diet so they are really in for some fun... stay tuned!

Since we had so many eggs I decided to make some egg salad. I ate it plain with a little more cracked black pepper on top, but if you have some gluten-free or paleo bread laying around I would use that. :) I also purposely made this simple because everyone has a way they are used to eating egg salad... some people add pickles, some celery, some peppers... do whatever you want- here's the base!

Traditional Egg Salad (Paleo Style)

- 4 Eggs
- 2/3 Cup Avocado Oil
- 1 Tbsp Mustard (whole grain, dijon, whatever you have)
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 tsp Lemon Juice

1. Hard boil the eggs. Bring a sauce pan of water to a boil- carfeully drop the eggs in. Boil for 10 minutes. Pull them out of the water and let them cool on the counter.

2. While the eggs are boiling make the mayo- put the remaining ingredients in a bowl and whisk until thick. Or use my method... put it in a mason jar and use an immersion blender- mayo in seconds!

3. Peel and chop the eggs... add about 2 Tbsp of mayo and mix. If you want more add more... put in the fridge to chill and then enjoy. :)

Easy Baked Meatballs with Tomato Dipping Sauce

I am on Day 3 without Charlie... if you wanted to know if I am still doing okay here is your notice that I am. :) There are two activities in this world that almost always make me happy and they are cooking and working out....therefore I am doing both every day this week.
This past weekend members of my box got together to celebrate one of the owner's birthdays. We played euchre, ate great food and chatted late into the night. After spending another night with everyone I came to a conclusion...The people at Maven are good people.

This is a picture of my dad, my boyfriend Rudy, and me showing off our guns because my dad's nickname is "Pipes" due to the muscles he has at his age (and by that I mean he's obviously really young.)

These meatballs are what I brought to the party. I did half wrapped in bacon and the other half without because some people there don't eat bacon (say what?!) I also brought two dipping sauces... one that was a combination of dates, lime juice, coconut aminos, chili flakes and water. The other is listed with the recipe below. I used red onion in mine because I had one to use up, but use whatever you have! I hate making extra trips to the store so improvise with what you have. I use my cookie scoop (about a tablespoon) when I make them so they are all the same size which means they bake evenly.

If you are wrapping them in bacon, cut a piece of bacon in thirds and wrap 1/3 around each meatball. Bake the same way and broil at the very end to make them crispier.

I ate mine over spaghetti squash, but may I recommend zucchini noodles (zoodles) instead?.... they are in season right now!

Easy Baked Meatballs

- 1 lb grass-fed Beef (makes 24-26 meatballs)

- 1/2 Onion, finely chopped

- 2 Garlic Cloves, minced

- 1 Tbsp Fat or oil

- 1 Tbsp Coconut Aminos (or gluten-free soy sauce)

-  1/2 tsp Paprika

- 1/2 tsp Salt 

- 1/4 tsp Pepper

- 1 egg

- 1 Tbsp Coconut Flour 

- 1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper

- 1/2 tsp Cumin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic in the fat/oil until translucent. Set aside to cool. 

2. Combine and spices, flour and egg in a large bowl. Mix until well combined. Add the beef and cooled onions/garlic. Mix with your hands until just combined... don't over mix or you'll have tough balls. 

3. Using a scoop or your eyes, make roughly 25 meatballs, about 1 Tbsp a piece. I put mine on a rack on a cookie sheet to catch the drippings, but just a cookie sheet would work fine. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Serve immediately, freeze for up to 2 months, or keep in the fridge up to 5 days.  

Tomato Dipping Sauce 

I use this for sauce instead of spaghetti sauce with my meatballs, but also brought it as a dipping sauce to a party. 

- 1 can 14-oz Crushed Tomatoes (or diced if you have those)

- 2 Tbsp Tomato Paste

- 2 Tbsp Coconut Aminos or gluten-free soy sauce

- 1/4 Cup Water

- 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

- 2 Tbsp Raw Honey

- 1/4 tsp Pepper

- 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

1. In a sauce pan over medium-high heat, whisk the ingredients together and bring to a boil. Reduce to low and simmer 15 minutes. Taste to see if you need to add more salt. 

Sweet and Spicy Bacon

Today starts the first day of seven that I will be without my daughter. We have never been apart for more than two days, so seven is going to be a lot for me to handle. I am fully aware that I made decisions that put myself in this situation, but that doesn't make it any easier. When she is gone I feel like a piece of me is missing and I hate being at home... it's too quiet and lonely without her. I don't know if there is anything anyone could tell me when I am crying this week that will make me feel better. I'm not illogical... I know she will be okay and I will get through it, I know she needs to spend this time with her dad, I just know my life is better when she is around. My plan is to just stay busy and treat this week like a boot camp of excerise. It is rare I get to spend as much time as I want at the box so I am planning to go at least once a day so I can work on everything that has been on my to-do list. Exercise makes people happy naturally (yay endorphins!) and I really enjoy most of the people I workout with so I think that's where you will find me.

A Word on Nitrates

Since this is about bacon I thought I would take a second to explore the hot-button topic of "nitrate-free" bacon. I am a high school science teacher and when I saw the word "nitrate" my interest was peaked, because just like gluten, I am assuming a lot of people don't know what a nitrate is but know they want to avoid it. Nitrate is NO3 (1 nitrogen atom bonded to 3 oxygen ones.) Nitrates have uses in explosives, but for our purposes of discussing food the biggest sources of nitrates in our diet comes from all things vegetables, not bacon. Nitrates found in foods like arugula and celery are shown to reduce hypertension (high blood pressure.) There is no bacon product without nitrates... the hotdogs and bacon products labeled "nitrate free" just lack sodium nitrate, they all have a nitrate product in them, probably from celery or beets because it is needed in the curing and preserving process. Other gimmicks on bacon include saying the pigs were raised "hormone free." There are actually fairly strict laws on pigs in this country as far as hormones are concerned and they shouldn't be using them anyway. Your call on the nitrate vs. nitrate-free bacon... just know they all have nitrates in them, natural or not, and in the studies I looked up you would have to eat pounds of bacon a day to cause ill-effects from the nitrates in bacon... but then again eating pounds of bacon probably isn't good for you anyway. I would go with the so-called "nitrate-free" purely because I would like to eat the naturally occurring nitrates found in celery versus the more artificial sodium nitrate.
PS- Uncured bacon is also technically "cured"... this is the same information as above. "Uncured" bacon is bacon that has been preserved with naturally occurring nitrates (celery or sea salt) which draw out the water and preserve the meat. Cured bacon has chemicals that mimic those salts and do the same thing, usually this is sodium nitrate. Something truely "uncured" hasn't gone through the same process and wouldn't be bacon, more like ham. 

Sweet and Spicy Bacon

- 1 lb Bacon, your choice on the cut thickness
- 1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
- 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

1. Mix the syrup and pepper in a bowl. Spread the bacon onto a rack over a baking sheet, this keeps the bacon from sitting in its own drippings and becoming saturated in fat, it also keeps the bacon flat so it doesn't shrivel. Brush the syrup onto the bacon.

2. Bake for 15-25 minutes depending on how thick your bacon is and how crispy you want it. Eat it immediately or store it for breakfast all week.

See the pretty cayenne speckles? My mouth is watering... too many years without bacon.

Other Bacon Flavor Options?

- Sriracha or Frank's Red Hot
- Cajun Seasoning
- Apple Chutney
- Cinnamon and Syrup
- Garlic Powder
- Almost any jelly or preserve

Chicken Tikka Masala

After college and before starting my career, I taught High School in Tajung Malim, Malaysia. To get used to such a different culture I stayed with an Indian family my first few weeks there. This was one of the first dishes they prepared for me and I remember it distinctly because at the time I didn't eat meat. I felt really bad not wanting to eat it and did not want to be ungrateful in a town where the average monthly income was less than most of us make in a day. My "family" wasn't poor per se, but for the normally vegetarian family to buy chicken was a big expense in my honor. I ate the tomatoes and the rice, but now looking back REALLY wish I had tried their version cooked in the traditional tandoor oven (basically a clay pot.) Below is a picture of me with some of my students.

Tikka Masala, in general, involves a spicy, tomato based sauce, cream, some type of protein marinated in yogurt, and spices like cinnamon and cumin. It is also really easy to freeze. If you are in the midst of a food prep, or feeding just you, freeze half or double the recipe while you have the ingredients out and freeze half. If you can find boxed tomatoes use them, saves you some can opening and they are tasty! They are usually 26.5 oz and found next to the canned tomatoes... replace the tomatoes and paste in this recipe if you find them.
I know rice isn't Paleo but I ate this over rice.  I needed to stretch a buck and I also have been running a lot more on top of going to the box so I wanted some extra, gluten-free carbs in my diet. I also used a skillet instead of my dutch oven... not sure why?! So use your dutch oven. :)

Chicken Tikka Masala

(Printable Version)

- 1.5 lbs Chicken (thighs or breast), cut into 1" cubes

- 2 Tbsp Oil or fat

- 3 tsp Salt

- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper

- 1 tsp Cumin

- 1/2 Small Onion, finely chopped

- 2 Garlic Cloves, minced

- 1 Tbsp Fresh Ginger, minced

- 1 Serrano Chili, minced (this is a long, green chili, if you can't find it pick another chili that's comparable, like a jalapeño) ** Take out the seeds and membrane if you are sensitive to heat

- 1 1/2 tsp Garam Masala (Usually cumin, coriander, cardamon, pepper, cloves, nutmeg)

- 1 tsp Cinnamon (optional)

- 1/2 Cup Low-Sodium, or unsalted Chicken Stock

- 1/4 Cup Coconut Milk, full fat

- 1 (28 oz) Can Crushed Tomatoes

- 2 Tbsp Tomato Paste

- Fresh Cilantro (optional)

1. Sprinkle the Chicken with 1 tsp of Salt, the pepper, and cumin. In a dutch oven or skillet over medium-high heat, heat a tablespoon of oil of your choice and saute the chicken until browned, remove from pan.

I always remove my chicken and put it in the container I will be storing the food in later, saves on dishes!

2. Add the other tablespoon of oil and add the onion, garlic, ginger, and chili. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. 

3. Add the Garam Masala and cinnamon and cook 1 more minute before adding the stock, milk, and tomatoes. Scrape the bottom of the pan to dislodge any "bits" and bring to a boil for about 2 minutes stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the chicken back in. Cook another 10 minutes. Serve over cauliflower rice, brown rice, or eat it plain... enjoy!

Grain-Free Strawberry Shortcake

It is strawberry season in Michigan!! This time of year brings back a lot of memories for me with my beloved Grandma Guernsey and my mom taking us strawberry picking and then home to make strawberry freezer jam. There is a crazy amount of sugar in the jam, but it is so good! I will be making some of the original and some of my chia seed jam ... the real stuff is too good to pass up and it's ok to have a tablespoon or five every once in a while. Since my mom is in Hawaii with my dad, Mara and I took Charlotte on our own this year for her first time picking strawberries. Since she is only two she enjoyed picking everything that looked like a berry... rotten, dirty, on the ground, white, you name it... she also wasn't too picky on which ones she ate, so we have to intervene a few times to help her find the red ones on the plant, not the ground.

Driving home the car smelled so good... almost 20 pounds of fresh strawberries is heavenly. We didn't get many big ones, and also didn't get as many as we wanted, for two reasons....1. We went to a natural farm and without the use of chemicals and products to make them massive they were all "regular" sized or little and 2. Charlotte was hard to keep an eye on, especially when the school-kid tour groups arrived. But it was a great morning and a tradition I a excited to pass along to her. 

This recipe uses coconut flour. If you want to use almond flour you will use a little more because coconut flour is a little more absorbent. Start with a 1/2 cup of almond flour, mix in the rest of the ingredients, and then add a little more at a time to get the right consistency. These flours take a second to thicken so be patient, you don't want the biscuits to turn out too dry. The biscuits can be made less sweet, they already aren't super sweet, but you can add chives or jalapenos and use them in chili, pour sausage and gravy over them for breakfast, or even use them as buns for a breakfast sandwich. 

Grain-Free Strawberry Shortcake

(Printable Version)

- 1/2 Cup Coconut Flour*** see note in recipe

- 4 eggs

- 1 tsp Vanilla

- 3 Tbsp Raw Honey

- 5 Tbsp Coconut Oil, softened or melted

- 11/2 tsp Baking Powder

- Pinch of Salt

- Dash of Cinnamon or Nutmeg (optional)

- 2 Cups Fresh Strawberries, hulled and quartered

- 1 Tbsp Coconut Sugar (or honey)

- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1. Mix coconut flour through cinnamon (if using) in a bowl until well combined. Don't over-mix... some lumps are ok. 

*** NOTE: The batter should be able to be "mounded" onto a cookie sheet without running into the mound next to it. If it is too runny add more flour a tablespoon at a time and mix... the most I used total was 2/3 cup flour. This depends the brand of coconut flour, not sure why. Give it some time in between mixing and adding more because the batter tends to thicken over time.

--- if you are letting the batter "rest" now would be a good time to combine the strawberries, coconut sugar, and lemon juice in a bowl. Let them sit out or in a fridge and the juices of the strawberries will start to come out and make a tasty syrup... this is called maceration and has everything to do with osmosis :)

2. Using about 2-3 Tablespoons of batter, make mounds on a cookie sheet. No need to flatten them. This recipe will make about 10 biscuits. 

3. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the top has started to brown and the middle of each biscuit is firm. Remove from the pan immediately so the bottoms don't burn and cool on a wire rack. 

4. Slice the biscuits in half and top with the strawberries before putting the top back on... or just use two biscuits since they are not very thick. ** If they turn out really flat you might not have added enough flour, or had the oven hot enough. But even if they are flat, don't throw them out.... they are still tasty! Just use two :) 

Making Baby Food

I have been asked by a few different people how I made baby food, how I stored it, etc. so I figured it was time to put it in the blog. I don't have a lot of pictures because at the time I didn't think I would have a blog, nor was I thinking about taking pictures when I was trying to make food with a baby to take care of at the same time.

Tips and Suggestions

- Baby food doesn't have to be gross. It should taste good to you too because after all it should be just pureed food that you would eat. You can easily do chicken and rice and veggies and pureed with stock if that's what you are doing for dinner. I used to make a bunch at a time, freeze it, and add different combinations of cubes for one meal or just make sure she was balanced throughout the day.
- It is very American to start with that gross mushy cereal... start with an avocado pureed with milk (breast or formula if that's what they are still drinking) until thin. Way more nutritious than what comes in a box.
- Add vegetables in any way you can... seriously... spinach with any fruit and you can't taste the spinach... try it with apples and cinnamon :)
- Don't buy special equipment... see below on what you need
- Don't give up, keep trying different combinations and see what your baby likes, try foods a few times because these are new textures for baby.
- Making your own food is SOOOOO much cheaper... but in a pinch or if you are out and about don't feel guilty about the high-quality store bought ones... there are some in the pouches that are awesome.

What do you need?

- A blender... yours in fine... please don't invest in a "beba" or "baby bullet" so unnecessary unless you have no blender at all
- A steamer basket, or collapsable steamer
- Ice Cube Trays

Storage:

You can buy fancy storage containers, bags, and various other products to store baby food. I found that the cheapest, easiest way was to put the food in (clean) ice cube trays, wait until they were frozen, then pop out the food cubes and store them in labeled freezer bags in the freezer. To thaw I would microwave slowly, stirring frequently... ALWAYS taste before giving to baby in case there are hot spots. I know you are "supposed" to heat things gradually in warm water or whatever but honestly I didn't have time for that and found that 30-60 seconds stirring a lot was fine. Each cube is about 1oz in you need to know the amount your baby is eating... she would eat 2-3 cubes per meal which is about what a jar of baby food is.

Sweet Potato Puree

One sweet potato makes so much food! It saves so much money to make this meal. This can be done with a lot of different vegetables... I have made steamed carrots, squash, apples, pears, etc. this same way. With fruit, use less water or none at all.

- 1-2 Sweet Potatoes (depending on size and how much you want), peeled and cut into 1" cubes

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil in a pot with a steamer insert, or collapsable basket. Make sure the water isn't infiltrating the basket when it is in the pot. 

2. Reduce heat to a simmer and put the potatoes in the steamer basket. Cover and cook 10-15 minutes, until potatoes are tender enough that if you pierce them with a fork they penetrate easily. 

3. Carefully transfer potatoes and 1 cup of the water from the pot to a blender and puree until smooth. Add more water from the pot gradually until you get the right consistency. Careful blending hot ingredients! They will expand so hold the lid. 

4. Store in ice cube trays.... up to 3 months in the freezer and 5 days in the fridge.

Pear and Spinach Puree

A sneaky way to add veggies... so tasty!

- 2 Pears, peeled and diced

- 1-2 Cups, baby spinach

1. Cook the pears the same way as the sweet potatoes above. Transfer to a blender and add the spinach... don't add water! Puree until smooth.

2. Store in ice cube trays.... up to 3 months in the freezer and 5 days in the fridge.

No-cook Banana, Pineapple, Avocado, Spinach Puree

- 1 Banana

- 1/2 Pineapple

- 1 Avocado

- 1 cup Baby Spinach

- Water/Milk

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender adding water/milk as needed for consistency. 

2. Store in ice cube trays.... up to 3 months in the freezer and 5 days in the fridge.