Breakfast is a huge weakness for me. I have the day off today and it wasn't that long ago that I would have dropped my son my son off with the sitter and found myself driving to McDonalds for a hash brown.  Btw, that still sounds good to me, but I will not be heading there. Sorry Ronald, it was you, not me. hahah. Instead I have made a Paleo friendly granola.

This is pretty hearty and when served with cold coconut milk and fruit to top, it is a very satisfying breakfast. Make sure the milk is cold, and I used full-fat. It is so thick that when you put it on, it has the consistency of yogurt. The picture I took below has it with almond milk, which is also good, but I much prefer the coconut milk.

Today's ingredients came down to what I had on hand so I just went for it. Once it is baked, it breaks up into chunks. I will keep the bigger pieces as a snack and use the rest for cereal.

Once the ingredients are mixed and flattened out in the pan give it a press with your hands or the back of a spatula so even it out.

Paleo Granola with Coconut Milk

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 mins

Ingredients:
1 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup raw macadamia nuts
1/4 cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 egg white
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 cup raw honey
1 tsp vanilla extract (or how ever much you like)
Optional items - cinnamon or dark cocoa chips, or any other flavorings you like.

For Serving:
1 can of cold coconut milk - unsweetened and full-fat.
Fresh fruit of choice for topping.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300℉.
2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Add all the nuts and seeds to your food processor and pulse to chop the nuts, but just enough for a rough chop  - they can turn into dust quickly if you chop too long.
4. Add the shredded coconut, and any optional flavorings to the nut mix and stir well.
5. In a large, separate bowl, beat the egg white until slightly frothy then mix in the coconut oil, honey, an vanilla.
6. Add the nut mixture to the egg mixture and stir until everything is covered.
7. Press the mixture down into the lined baking sheet and give it a good press with your hands or back of a spatula to flatten it out.
8. Into the oven for 25 mins.
9. When done, remove from the oven and let it completely cool before breaking it up into pieces.
10. Store it in an air-tight container.
11. Serve it with the coconut or almond milk and fresh fruit.

Eggs with Avocado, Tomato, and Bacon

A simple meal? Yes Please. Sometime I just get tired of cooking. It is a lot between the planning, preparing, freezing/defrosting, and cooking. Sometimes I just need to "keep it simple, stupid!"

I got home around the usual time from work, 7, and had to be out the door for my book club by 8. That meant getting my toddler fed and working out dinner for myself and hubby. That calls for the glorious BFD: "Breakfast for Dinner." There is no recipe for this really because it's scrambled eggs with whatever mix-ins you want!

Growing up, I always beat milk into my eggs to make them fluffier, so now I opt to put a little almond milk. This is one spot I would say to not use coconut oil as your cooking fat. It's isn't really a pleasant taste with an egg. Go with avocado oil or ghee with eggs.

My mom also introduced me to cooking bacon in the oven which is seriously genius. It cuts down on the stovetop mess, you can cook more of it at once (who doesn't love that?) and, if you line the pan correctly there is no grease to bother with in the pan.  Read more about baking bacon on my recent post. I do not want to take away from these eggs!

Back to the incredible, edible egg.... I start with the heat on medium low and heat preferred cooking fat in a skillet. Grind a little fresh pepper and salt into the beaten eggs before cooking and then in the last 30 seconds I added the avocado and tomato. I do it at the end because I prefer to try and keep as much of the nutrients in the veggies and fruits I add as I can.

The only thing missing from this photo is that I can't have eggs with out sriracha sauce. This is where I am "paleo-ish" I don't use a lot because unless you make it yourself, sriracha sauces will usually have cane sugar.  There are recipes out there to make your own that is Paleo friendly. I just haven't gone down that road yet. Maybe someday. Until then, this is one teaspoon full of splurging that I won't fight.

Baking Bacon - How To and Tips

Just the title of this post makes me happy. My family loves bacon, even my toddler as a treat. It is true that bacon makes it better, but what I don't like is getting left with the clean up, and figuring out to get rid of the grease.

My mom introduced me to baking my bacon in the oven. And besides having lovely, flat, crisp, slices of bacon as the reward, if done right, you have no mess to clean up at all! Too good to be true, right?

You will need:

• a rimmed baking sheet
• parchment paper
• bacon
• timer
• patience to wait to eat the bacon (toughest part).

1. Preheat the oven to 400℉.
2. Line the rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper - make sure it goes up the sides to trap the bacon grease.
3. Cook 20-25 minutes - without turning to desired crispiness.
4. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain on paper towels.
5. Take a few used paper towels and place on top the parchment paper to soak up the grease and after the pan has COMPLETELY cooled (please do not burn yourself) throw the parchment paper away and you should have a clean pan.

My Mom takes it one more step and places a wire rack on top of the parchment paper so that the grease drips down and away from the bacon. This is probably a healthier option, but one more item to scrub. 

Good Morning Wednesday

Good morning Wednesday.

That's it. :)

Hold the Banana Bread Phone!

Ok, I have a bunch of Paleo recipes that I love, but his one takes the "cake" for this week. I had a bunch of bananas that sat in my fruit bowl all week. I had the best of intensions to make a frozen banana bite recipe that I saw but the weekend got away from me. These babies were past their prime and pretty much took on the same shape as the bowl they were in - ewwww.

In a last before-ditch attempt I did a search for a good Paleo banana bread recipe and struck gold!!!
This recipe kicked the banana pants off any wheat based bread I have ever had. The trick - make sure your bananas are almost dead. Mine qualified.

I did not change the recipe at all so here is the direct link to the Paleo Banana Bread by Primally Inspired. I did add the chocolate chips, btw. Highly recommended.

Week 5 Menu

Here we go for week 5.  Past weekly menus are also available to look at on my Weekly Menus Page.

WEEK 5:

Breakfasts:

I ended up with extra Cherry Vanilla Powers Bars from last week - not sure how that happened, but I will use those as part of my breakfasts for this weekend.

• Items to wash and bring to work in bulk for the week. Red grapes, raspberries, blackberries.
• Trying a new recipe this week for Paleo Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins from Paleo Newbie.

Lunches/Snacks:

Lunches are grab and go or graze through the day depending on how busy work is.  I pack all the below and grab what I feel like from the fridge. (Same as last week and probably most weeks. It just works for me.)

• Cherry tomatoes
• Sliced turkey - I get a whole, natural turkey breast from Costco every week and all three of us eat a part of it.
• Hardboiled eggs - easy to cut up over spinach or lettuce and I use some of this amazing dressing to make a kind of deconstructed egg salad.
• Mixed nuts. They save me at some point every day. I buy the giant tub of Kirkland mixed nuts from Costco.
• Might eat one of my breakfast bars if I have any left.
• My other treat is salami. I know that's processed right? I try to find the best for me brand and keep some slices on hand. Sometimes I just need a slice of something salty and honestly fatty. This is where I am Paleo-ish. :)

Dinners:

• Chicken Milanese with Arugula Salad - One of family's favorite dinners. Originally, from Martha Stewart, I have changed it a bit to make it paleo friendly. 
• Spicy Cocoa Rubbed Roast and Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice both from Popular Paleo.
• Coconut-Buttermilk Southwestern Grilled Chicken from Paleo Leap with grilled yellow and green squash.
• Street Tacos with the leftover rubbed roast with Cauliflower Tortillas from Slim Palate.
• Zucchini Crust Pizza from FoodGaZm.. with my leftover arugula and Prosciutto.
• Balsamic Steak Rolls from Paleo Leap - I have leftover skirt steak in the freezer from the last time made this so that helps my budget. Will make with roasted broccoli.
• And finally Sweet and Sour Chicken from Paleo Leap will be our Friday night treat. This recipe is a knock-out.

Snacks and Sweets:

Buttermints from Empowered Sustenance. Have wanted to try this for a while. There are a few versions of the recipe depending on your diet. I will follow the one with butter and coconut oil.

My Favorite Meals on Pinterest

I will openly admit that I am a Pinterest Junkie. It is really the best thing invented since air conditioning and refrigerators that make ice. I have a board called "Paleo recipes to try" as storage for items that I think I want to make or alter. Then so far I have two other boards - "Best of Paleo Dinners" and "Best of Paleo Breakfasts." These two boards are full of the recipes that I have made and really liked or changed just a bit to suit my own cooking preferences.

If anyone ever even sees this page, I have found so many inspiring people and cooks on Pinterest that I follow and depend upon for inspiring recipes. If you are just starting a Paleo journey of your own please look at who I follow. It is only a starters list, but ever growing as I find more sources.


Visit Daileo Paleo's profile on Pinterest.

Week 4 Menu

I have decided to post my menu for the week so that I stick to them and commit. I have had to shop once a week since having my son, Cooper, because coming home at 7 o'clock with a 2 year old doesn't allow me to dwell over what we are going to have for dinner and there is nothing worse than "what do you want" conversation with a spouse. I am not going to lie. Planning a week ahead is a pain in the a** but it's a commitment, and my husband doesn't argue. He's just happy to have dinner. And most nights he really enjoys it. :)

I am starting with week 4 because I started this journal after I started switching my diet around.
For now I am linking to all the direct sources of the recipes I have found. Thank goodness for Pinterest. There are lots of amazing people pinning information and recipes for Paleo.

WEEK 4:

Breakfasts:

My mornings put the "fast" in Breakfast. I don't eat until I get into work - which is 9am. I have a small glass of almond milk to put something in my stomach and out the door we go. I pack for the week if I can and bring food on the train in a small cooler.

• Strawberries - I pre-slice them if I have time and into a sandwich bag (enough for the week or at least a few days.
• Blueberries- same thing
• Grapes - in a bag they go.
• Cherry Vanilla Power Bars - a recipe from Elana's Pantry. A-MAZ-ING can make ahead, keep in the fridge and slice them up as needed. (Also goes into the cooler.)
• Trying a new recipe this week Paleo Lemon Coconut Breakfast Bars from Cheeriolala The recipe says it freezes well so I am going to make a double batch and freeze for another week when I have less time to cook ahead - which feels like every week. 

Lunches/Snacks:

Always a challenge. I do the opposite of what everyone tells you to during lunch time - I stay in the office. I am lucky to have a fridge and kitchen in my office suite and I find that if I go for a walk when I am hungry I am tempted to bend my diet. I do get out for a walk, but I go later in the day after I have eaten. Again I pack all the below and grab what I feel like from the fridge. I kind of graze through the day on the below so somedays I have lunch others might be a series of snacks.

• Cherry tomatoes
• Sliced turkey - I get a whole, natural turkey breast from Costco every week and all three of us eat a part of it.
• Hardboiled eggs - easy to cut up over spinach or lettuce and I use some of this amazing dressing to make a kind of deconstructed egg salad.
• Mixed nuts. They save me at some point every day. I buy the giant tub of Kirkland mixed nuts from Costco.
• Might eat one of my breakfast bars if I have any left.
• My other treat is salami. I know that's processed right? I try to find the best for me brand and keep some slices on hand. Sometimes I just need a slice of something salty and honestly fatty. This is where I am Paleo-ish. :)

Dinners:

This week I have a separate post on my dinners for Memorial Day Weekend. Not going to repeat it here for times sake. Starting with Tuesday's dinner.

• Chicken and Pineapple Skewers from Paleo Leap another new recipe to try. I think I will serve with grilled yellow squash and zucchini.
• Paleo Shepard's Pie from Ditch the Wheat. Plan on doubling this recipe to stick one in the freezer - and I will skip the sweet potato and use cauliflower mash instead as the topping. Stuff is addicting!
• Balsamic Steak Rolls another recipe from Paleo Leap. I made this 2 weeks ago, it was easy and looked like I spent a lot more time on it than I did. Score in my book. I have the leftover skirt steak in the freezer from the first time I made it. Score again.
• Baked Cabbage Casserole for Friday. Another meal I have made already and loved.

Week 4 here I come.