Preppin' Weapon

It's been a while since I've posted, and I promise to stay up to date from now on with my recipes, tips & advice! =-) 

One thing I've learned is that prepping is key! Especially with my busy lifestyle (as most do) and the unhealthy foods offered at my work. I only eat the devil foods when I have nothing else around. Most of the snacks I bring I can't wait to gobble them down (when I have them). Instead of grabbing that cake in the coffee room at work, how about Greek yogurt? 

Also, it's important to feel good about yourself when you choose a healthy snack over unhealthy. For example, I know string cheese is not THE best snack I can have, but it beats the free potato chips at work. I try not to eat a ton of processed foods but dry cereal, wheat tortillas, and oatmeal are not a bad thing when choosing over junk food. I used to get mad at myself for not eating straight paleo or organic veggies, but now I've realized I'm still making good choices. 

Here's a few snacks I threw together in my lunchbox for work 

-String cheese

-Turkey pepperoni

-Greek yogurt

-Pear

-Tuna w mixed veggies 

-Whole wheat low carb tortilla 

-Trail mix w dark chocolate 

-Cantaloupe and grapes 

Not a bad day for snacking :-) this created sustainable energy to last me all day. 

Remember pride yourselves over the good choices because it could always be worse! Celebrate success and prep, prep, prep!

Pecan paleo waffles

I must warn you, waffles are a little dry but still delicious! They are gluten free paleo waffles so don't expect them to be really moist!

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1/4 cup coconut flour
Handful of pecans
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp Pure Maple syrup
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Chia seeds 1 tbsp

Mix all ingredients with a hand mixer until smooth minus the pecans.

Heat waffle iron with non stick spray & coconut oil.

Pour ingredients into waffle iron for 4-5 min

Serve with pour maple syrup, pecans and bananas :)

Happy Saturday!

Honey-Pecan Cinnamon Date breakfast cookie

So this was a delicious surprise that turned out to be a perfect pair with my coffee! Yum, yum, yum!

The original plan was to make a paleo cinnamon roll, but after I realized I didn't have parchment paper and this seemed a bit more complicated than I wanted to make.. I stuck to a breakfast cookie. This is so delicious warm and I highly suggest serving with coconut milk or coffee like I did.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp coconut flour
2 tbsp coconut milk
1 egg
2 tbsp of coconut oil
Cinnamon!
1- 2 tbsp of fig jam
Chopped pecans
6-7 chopped dates
Agave nectar
1/4 tsp baking soda
Pinch of ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Serving size: one giant breakfast cookie

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Instructions: mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, & nutmeg in a medium bowl.

Make a center hole and add in milk, coconut oil, egg, agave nectar (or honey) & vanilla extract and stir with a fork combining oil evenly in mixture.

Then I put in 1-2 tbsp of fig jam (Fischer& Wieser is my brand) and I added in chopped dates and sprinkled in lots and lots of fresh cinnamon! I mixed in my chopped pecans as well. I think I used about 1 handful of pecans. I wanted my cookie to resemble a snicker doodle so I wanted that cinnamon taste.

I then greased a pan and made a circle in the center of the pan ( a giant cookie) and it bakes for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

I topped the cookie with a few more chopped pecans & agave nectar and enjoyed with egg whites, turkey bacon & coffee.

This one is a must make! ;-)

Dark Almond Chocolate Chip Muffins

This was the easiest recipe ever. I tried a new brand of almond butter (to use as a treat- dessert). This almond butter is not technically paleo, so I wouldn't eat it in large amounts. This is more of a treat when you need a dessert. A guilt-free treat :)

Recipe-
Serving Size: 5-6 muffins (this is what I love best - it makes the perfect amount)

1 cup dark chocolate almond butter
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp honey
Chia seeds (add in extra nutrition)
2 tps vanilla
Dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine together In a bowl and scoop into greased cupcake paper inside a cupcake pan. Add extra dark chips as desired.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Paleo Crab Cakes

My husband and I decided that his favorite to date is my turkey lettuce wraps w/ sriracha and my favorite is the paleo crab cakes with avocado cream.

I was on my way home from work and I was thinking to myself, "what am I going to make for dinner?". I had a long week, so I was craving a healthy delicious fulfilling extra special dinner that I normally wouldn't make on a daily basis. I knew either way I had to head to the grocery store to pick up what I needed. It came to mind that I could make crab cakes, they are fast, easy and delicious. I'm a big seafood lover, so I am always ready to eat seafood.

I think I was in & out of the grocery store in 15 minutes & I made the meal in 15. I would say it was a success.

Recipe
1 container of FRESH premium crab meat (you could use canned but fresh to me tastes 100x better)
1 cup almond meal
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 tbsp of green onion
1 egg
1 lime
Cilantro
Coconut oil for frying

Combine everything in a bowl, adding in more almond flour if you like more crabby- crab cakes or more cake like (if that makes sense).

I used coconut oil for frying, putting in the skillet 2 tbsp and making crab cake mixture into balls & throwing into the skillet. I cooked each side about 4-5 minutes.

In a small food processor- combine avocado, salt, pepper, cilantro, lime, 1 tbsp of coconut milk and process until smooth.

Place a Dollop of avocado on each crab cake and enjoy. I served it with blackbeans and sautéed veggies. I could eat these every night! Yummy

Enjoy! Xoxo

Turkey lettuce wraps

This is my hubby's new favorite! Turkey lettuce wraps! We had the turkey in the fridge already & decided to create turkey lettuce wraps. We both have been craving spicy lately - so sriracha was on the grocery list to get!

Recipe

1 package EXTRA lean ground turkey meat
2-4 tbsp of Green onions
4 tbsp of onion
2 cloves of garlic
Romaine lettuce (I found romaine works best)
Red bell pepper (enough for a handful)
Low sodium soy sauce
Sriracha hot chili sauce
Optional: chopped cashews

First we spiced up the turkey meat and cooked in a skillet. We used Mrs. Dash fiesta lime, garlic powder, smoked paprika, & cayenne pepper.

In a separate skillet, combine veggies and sauté together to make sure the onion cooks down.

Then after turkey meat is cooked all the way put in a large bowl. Throw in sautéed veggies in the bowl & add in about 1 tbsp of soy & sriracha sauce. (Add more or less to taste) then we threw cilantro in there (we like a lot so we threw in a big handful)

Also throw in chopped cashews for crunch- this was a big hit.

Make your lettuce wraps and ta-daa. So spicy & yummy and definitely hit the spot.

Pumpkin cake with almond butter whip!

I used a friend's recipe yesterday and made some tweaks! I had paleo pancake batter in my fridge and I figured I had the base of a good batter. Let me try to recreate this recipe

1/4 Cup coconut flour
1/2 cup almond milk
2 whole eggs
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 container of unsweetened apple sauce
2 trivia packets
2 tbsp of honey
2 tbsp of vanilla extract
1 can of pumpkin
1 tbsp of flax seed

& mix all together & I ended up baking for 45 min at 350.

The consistency still came out like sweet potato, but it was good warm! Then I used my maple spice butter and put almond butter on top (with a little whip - this is not paleo) and ta-daa! It was great warm & you could taste the healthy!

Mango salsa grilled trout & shrimp

This was a hit! My belly is so happy right now. Roger and I were shopping at HEB yesterday and saw fresh trout and had to buy some. Roger immediately thought - mango salsa! And then the idea for dinner tonight was in full force.

Roger takes credit for dinner tonight.. It's fun to share food as a passion and enjoy cooking and eating clean meals together. He was the inspiration behind the mango trout.

Ingredients:

Mango salsa:
1 large mango
1/4 cup white onion
1/2 jalapeño (seeded)
1 clove of garlic
Handful of cilantro
1 tsp fresh ginger
Lime juice
Salt & pepper to taste

He chopped all the ingredients and put in the fridge to let the flavors meld together. He really is the chop master, so I usually let him take over on chop! I don't want to loose a finger.. Haha

We had about 10 shrimp left so we decided to cook that too. He seasoned the fish and shrimp with garlic salt, fiesta lime (Mrs. Dash seasoning). He also put some lime juice on the fish to cover any fish-y flavor. We like very basic seasoning to enjoy the natural flavors of the fresh seafood. He grilled the shrimp and fish in a large grill pan on the stove and taaa- daaaa!!

It was delicious, fresh, flavorful and a new favorite.

We also cooked up a sweet potato, but I only ate 3 tbsp since the paleo diet is only little starch.

Now it's time to watch the Bachelor in my food coma.

Enjoy!!! Xoxo

Stuffed Bellpeppers

This is one of my husband's favorite dinners.. So quick & easy!

Ingredients:
Chopped ground chicken
Onions
Bellpeppers (We like green)
Garlic
Mozzarella cheese (Rog loves cheese, so I got him some fresh cheese from HEB)

Preheat oven to 350.

Put bell peppers on a pan and cook for 20-25 min. I used a cupcake pan because mine kept tipping over. This ended up being a great solution.

Sauté onions, garlic, olive oil in a pan

Add ground chicken and seasoning (I used fiesta lime by Mrs. Dash seasoning)

After bell peppers are soft put chicken mixture inside half way and top with cheese. Put more chicken mixture and top with more cheese. I actually didn't use any cheese for mine and I topped with fresh salsa Roger made.

Broil for 5 minutes on top rack.

I topped mine with fresh cilantro and salsa

Enjoy!

Lemon-Blueberry Coconut Flour Pancakes

This was one of the most delicious breakfast my husband and I have ever had!! Wow ..

I used the coconut flour recipe from before and added lemon curd to the batter and put blueberries in the pan!

Then I whipped up some blueberry topping by putting 1/2 cup blueberries in a food processor with 1 tbsp of pure maple syrup. My blueberries were frozen, so this made for a nice ice-y topping on a warm pancake.

I topped with more lemon curd - my brand was Dickinson.

Delicious!!!!

Paleo Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Pancakes (Red Velvet too)

This was hands down one of my favorites (And my hubby's too) for breakfast.

I have to credit Pinterest for this idea and I made some slight modifications.

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
A pinch of salt
1 tbsp of honey
2 tsp of vanilla extract
Dark chocolate chips (if you prefer- mine were 63% dark chocolate)

Mix eggs in a small bowl until frothy, then add milk, honey & vanilla extract. Mix well.

Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl- flour, salt & baking soda.

Next, add wet ingredients into dry.

Put In a skillet and leave for about 5 minutes. Flip after you see multiple bubbles.

Part of my modification was adding chocolate chips in the pancake mix on the skillet and toasting bananas on the side or use as topping (one of my favorite things)

Toasted bananas:

Ingredients:
1 banana
1 tbsp of coconut oil

Mix banana & coconut oil on a small skillet until each side of sliced banana looks toasted.

Top chocolate chip paleo- coconut pancake with toasted bananas & dark chocolate chips. Serve with pure maple syrup!

Now, I want to share the modification I made on today's pancakes!

Red Velvet Paleo- Coconut Flour Pancakes

Ingredients:

Same as above for Coconut Flour Pancakes
1 tbsp Cocoa baking powder
3 drops of Red food coloring

Once the batter is ready, mix in 1 tbsp of cocoa powder and 3 drops of red food coloring. Cook in a skillet the same as before and add toasted bananas and dark chocolate chips.

I served with of my favorite Keurig coffees: Starbucks house blend, with coconut French vanilla creamer

Did I mention, I made poached eggs, turkey bacon, turkey sausage kolaches for my hubby. The red velvet pancakes really stole the show.

Enjoy! :)

Xoxo

Power bowl & Detox Water

I love making power bowls when I don't have any other recipes in mind. How a power bowl works - basically throw anything healthy in a bowl. The natural flavors blend together and I love the nutrition I get from it all.

This power bowl I made tonight had avocados, black beans (seasoned with paprika), and shrimp (seasoned with paprika, chili powder, southwest ancho sear & garlic salt) and cooked shrimp in olive oil.

I threw it all in a bowl and put roasted salsa verde on top. It definitely hit the spot!

And I made a giant batch of "Detox" water:

1 large cucumber
A handful of mint leaves
1 large lemon in slices
1/2 lemon juice

.. The longer it sits the better ;-)

Almond Butter Cupcakes with PB2 Icing

I wanted to post this recipe first because it seems to be a popular one. I went to GiGi's Cupcakes today for my husband, and came home and felt the need to bake a cupcake I can enjoy :)

Here's the recipe:
Serving size: 5 cupcakes

Ingredients:

3/4 cup almond butter
2 tbsp honey
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tsp flax meal
2 tsp chia seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together ingredients in a bowl, until it looks like step2 in the picture.

Grease a muffin pan (I use non stick spray) and it made approximately 5 muffins.

Bake 8-10 minutes and taaa-daaa!

For the "Icing":

2 tbsp of PB2 (With dark chocolate)
1 tbsp of water

Mix thoroughly until smooth, and smooth on top of cupcake. I had to use my finger to smooth icing so the cupcake didn't break. This is not real PB, it has less calories and less fat and therefore comes in dry form.

Enjoy!

Xoxo-
The Food Brat