Primal Blueprint Recipe: Avocado Cocoa Rolls

I found this recipe video via Mark's Daily Apple submitted to Mark's video recipe contest by a reader Betty. I have started using bananas alot to trick our sweet tooth on family dessert night, and have paired them with cocoa. But I never would of thought of a cocoa, banana, and avocado combination! Thank God for more those with more fitness lifestyle experiences who are willing to share their ideas!

Thanks MDA and Betty!

Eating This - India Chicken

I love my crock pot. It just makes my life so much easier. Anything I can cook in there I do. Yesterday I made a huge fryer hen, and had enough for our dinner and leftovers for a few lunch portions.

India Chicken

7-8 lb Whole Fresh Fryer Hen
6 cloves garlic - minced
1/2 lemon
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Curry Powder
Turmeric Powder
Paprika
1 small Red Pepper - seeded and diced
1 small Onion - peeled and diced.

Warm up crock pot. To help remove the chicken later, Take a long length of aluminium foil and fold it legth wise. Line the crock pot length wise with the ends of the foil extending over the edges. Take another length of foil, fold it in half length wise, and lay it in the bottom of the crock pot perpendicular with the ends extending over the edges of the crock pot.

Wash and rinse chicken. Tuck wings under back of chicken. Place in crock pot. Pour in just enough water for about 1/2" depth. Drizzle chicken with olive oil. Rub with sea salt and minced garlic. Sprinkle generously with Turmeric Powder, Curry, and Paprika.

Fold the ends of the foil over the chicken so you can put the lid on and have a good seal.

Cook on low all day, or cook on high for 3-5 hours. About 1 hour before it's done, generously sprinkle the red pepper and onion over chicken.

When you think it's done, check the temp with a meat thermometer to ensure it's done.
Lift Chicken out using ends of foil. Let most of the juices drain, then place on a cutting board. Let set 10-15 minutes, then slice to serve. Serve with broth in a serving bowl.

Let's talk about eggs!

Lets talk about eggs or What are you going to do with all those eggs?

My family eats a lot of eggs. We could easily go through 1 ½ or 2 dozen a day. We have eggs in some form for breakfast almost every morning. And eggs make a great take along snack when they are hard boiled.

It's not unusual for me to go to Braum's on my shopping day and get a case of eggs or more.

I love the reactions I get when I walk in and get that many eggs at once. The question I get the most is “What are you going to do with all those eggs?” DUH!!!! We're going to eat them. But sometimes I feel almost onery enough to say “We're having an egging spree tonight. We need a few new targets, can I have your address?” I haven't done it yet, but it's more tempting each time! :)

I also get the response in the statement that “Eggs are so expensive”. I had one lady tell me that, just as she was paying over $5.00 for one ice cream sundae with all the trimmings.

For that same $5.00 I got my family 4 dozen eggs. For the same price that she purchased a small boat of fat and sugar, I was able to get protein for the next 2-3 days for my family.

It's all a matter of perspective, and all a matter of priorities.

Eggs are cheap protein. When you compare 1 egg to the price of 1 oz of cheaper ground beef, the cost is usually the same or less. Then you have to take into consideration, that when you cook the ground beef, you loose some of the volume as the fat is cooked and drained off. 1 full oz of raw meat is not going to remain 1 full oz cooked. You're going to need to eat a little molre 1 oz of cooked ground beef to get the same protein as in one cooked egg.

Eggs are nutrient dense, and considered a high quality complete protein. They contain all the essential amino acids required for the human body. They are calorically low, and one egg can have as few as 3% of the daily calories needed by a adult man. Eggs contain most of the vitamins and many minerals the human body needs. They are high in the B vitamins, especially B12.

And yes they contain fat. But fat has gotten a really bad rap. Fat is essential for the cells to properly develop, and the brain required a fair amount of fat to function to it's full potential. The right kinds of fat taken in moderation are not as harmful as most of the nutritional communitiy would like you to think.

I could go on, about the nutritional contributions that eggs make to the human diet. But there are already countless websites and journal writings that say way more that I could. Just do a google search on eggs and nutrition.

So here's just a few ways we make our eggs, and eat them too!

Perfect breakfast:

2 egg as an omalette or scrambled with ¼ cup whole milk with small dash sea salt

2 cups raw spinach leaves tossed in just before eggs are completely cooked

4 Tablespoons fresh salsa

Snack

1 hardboiled egg, 3-6 almonds/cashews, 1 medium apple or orange.

You can take the hb egg and make a single deviled egg by splitting it in half, mushing the yolk, with a tiny bit of mayo and mustard. If you do this, don't eat as many almonds if you're worried about zone blocks.

Dinner:

Eggs Florentine

½ stick of butter or coconut oil

¼ cup flour – more if needed

2 cups whole milk

Nutmeg to taste

8-12 eggs

Variety of fresh veggies; such as red peppers, tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, onion, green onion, broccoli, asparagus, peas, corn, ect, chopped/diced/sliced.

½ lb grated cheese

Start by making the white sauce. Melt butter or coconut oil in skillet or saucepan. Add flour and blend well. Add milk a little at a time to avoid lumping of the flour. Heat until sauce starts to thicken and bubble. Add Nutmeg and remove. Stir more to help it thicken evenly.

Whisk eggs till well beaten. Add white sauce to the eggs. Whisk well to mix.

Prepare veggies and place in bottom of a square or rectangular baking dish. Pour sauce/egg mixture on top. Bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes. About 40 minutes start doing the toothpic test. Stick a toothpick in the center of the dish and pull out. When it comes out clean and dry, the dish is done. Remove from oven and top with cheese. Place back in oven for about 5 minutes to let the cheese melt a bit.

Let cool 15 minutes before cutting into. Serve along side a big salad of romaine and red leaf lettuce.

Eating This - Crock Pot Chicken

1 5-6 lb roasting chicken
6 cloves garlic, unpeeled and whole
1 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
3/4 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon rosemary
1/2 pound large mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1/2 medium onion, sliced into 1/4 wedges
1/2 - 1 pound carrots, washed, peeled, and cut into long slices

Wash chicken, rinse inside of cavity thoroughly and discard gizzards and neck. Remove skin of whole chicken if desired. Tuck wings under the back to secure, and place in a crock pot. Put whole garlic cloves in cavity of chicken. Sprinkle salt, lemon pepper, thyme, and rosemary evenly over chicken breast. Arrange mushroom slices on top of chicken. Arrange onion wedges and carrots around chicken.
Cover and cook on low all day long, or on hight 4 hours or until chicken temps at 160F.
Serve with steamed brocolli and a large mixed salad.

Eating This - Spinach Mushroom Scramble

Spinach Mushroom Scramble

1 Tablespoon canola or olive oil
1/4 onion diced
8 eggs
1/4 cup milk
4-6 Medium/Large mushrooms, washed and sliced
2-3 cups baby spinach leaves
1 small to medium avocado

Warm oil in large pan over med low - med heat. Add diced onion, and saute a bit.
in a bowl whisk eggs and milk together. Pour into pan with onions. Immediately top with sliced mushrooms and spinach. Stir frequently, to turn mixture, till egg is cooked completely. Portion evenly onto 4 medium plates.

Skin and quarter advocado. Slice quarters and arrange on plates beside eggs. Serve with a 1/2 cup bowl of cinnamon oatmeal sweetened with a touch of honey or stevia.

This does have a bit more fat because of the added avocados. But its a fat that is good for you and your brain. I give it to my kids often because they are growing and need it. But you can omit it if you choose to.

Eating This - Sandwich wraps

One thing that can really throw your diet off is not keeping things simple. It's really easy to let yourself (myself, I'm the pot calling the kettle black here) look at what's on the "what you can eat" list and get so overwhelmed until trying to pick something to eat is stressful!. When you start stressing about what to eat, you're really shooting yourself in the foot. The food you eat needs to be healthy and nutritional because it is your fuel, not only for your workouts but for your daily life. But you can over think about what you're going to eat, letting food dominate your thinking instead of focusing on more important things. Also, thinking about food so much makes it harder to keep eating under control!

Here's a simple lunch or snack that is yummy. It does not take much thought, and is easy to make. Prepare several ahead of time to keep in the fridge to grab through out the week.

Sandwich wraps

1 low carb tortilla OR one large Romaine lettuce leaf, washed and patted dry
1-2 oz Muenster cheese, sliced thin
2 oz thin sliced black peppered ham or leftover turkey breast/chicken
1-2 cups mixed prepared Romaine lettuce and baby Spinach leaves
1 Tablespoon Honey Mustard
1 Tablespoon mashed advocado

On the tortilla or the lettuce leaf, layer the cheese, ham or other meat, and mixed lettuce to fill. Top with mustard. Start to fold and roll tortilla/lettuce leaf. Spread the mashed advocado near where the seams will meet up to help seal the wrap, and finish rolling up the wrap.

Eat with a piece of fruit or some berries.

Enjoy

Eating this - Berries and Chocolate

I wanted to share this simple snack with you all out there!

I have been pretty good with my diet/eating habits lately, but there are times I just HAVE TO HAVE CHOCOLATE! Chocolate isn't necessarily bad for you, only when it's eaten out of moderation is it bad. And having no self discipline to eat it in moderation is my problem. I can keep a stash hidden for those emergency times, but if I let myself go so long that I'm craving it like there is no tomorrow, I will eat the whole stash.

So I've come up with a simple snack that lets me have my chocolate every other day or so. Now I don't get such strong cravings for chocolate.

1/2 cup blueberries or 1 cup strawberries,
2 oz favorite cheese
1 TBSPN organic dark chocolate chips
1-2 cashews (for the saltiness) or 1-2 Raw Almonds

Put berries in a sandwich baggie. Portion the cheese into a snack baggie. Portion the chocolate chips and nuts into another snack baggie. Put the snack baggies in the sandwich bag with the berries.

This makes a quick snack that is balanced in protien, carbs, and fat. Portion a bunch ahead of time to stick in the freezer for an easy grab and go snack on the days you are out and about.

Enjoy

Recipe: Speared Chicken Bundles

Daily Food Journal

Breakfast:
3 eggs
1 Apple

Lunch:
2 oz tuna
Celery and Carrot Spears
Applesauce

Snack:
1 McDonalds Double Cheeseburger
1 Large Diet Coke

Dinner:
Speared Chicken Bundle
Water

Recipe for Speared Chicken Bundles

Makes 4 servings.

• 2 10-12 oz boneless Chicken Breasts
• 1 Bundle Asparagus Spears
• 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 tspn Herbs De Provence (Available at Whole Foods) OR
• 1/2 tspn Thyme and 1 1/2 tspn Rosemary
• 1 clove garlic

Pre heat a 10" or larger cast iron skillet on the stove top OR Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare the Asparagus spears: Remove the band or tie from the bundle, rinse spears of asparagus under cold running water. To break off woody steams, hold each spear firmly at the base and in the middle and bend the stalk. The stalk will snap off just above the woody base of the stem. It is best to break off the woody ends individually, rather than guess and cut off the ends. Rinse again and set aside to drain.

Place chicken breasts in a gallon size freezer ziplock bag. With the flat end of a meat tenderizer, flatten each chicken breast. (Please don't tell my husband that my kids borrowed and lost my tenderizer and I used his MagLight flashlight.... :P )

Dip a basting brush in olive oil and lightly oil bottom of cast iron skillet. If you are baking it in the oven lightly oil the bottom of the baking dish.

Pour rest of oil into a small mixing cup. Mix herbs into the olive oil. Mince garlic clove and mix in oil/herb mixture. Baste the center of the top of each chicken breast with 1/4 of the oil/herb mixture.

Place 4-6 asparagus spears in center of each chicken breast. Roll up each chicken breast, keeping asparagus in the center. Secure seams with 3-5 toothpicks.

Place chicken bundles in cast iron skillet or baking dish. Baste the bundles with the rest of the oil/herb mixture.

If baking chicken in the oven, arrange rest of asparagus spears in the baking dish and cover with aluminum foil or baking dish cover. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes until chicken is done.

If cooking on stove top, cook over medium heat in a cast iron skillet. Brown bottom of chicken bundles about 5 min. Then with a spatula loosen each bundle from the bottom of the skillet. Cover skillet with lid, and simmer for 30 minutes. Test with a thermometor to ensure the chicken is done. Remove the chicken bundles, drain juice and set aside to use later.

Arrange rest of asparagus in the skillet, cover and saute for approx 5-10 minutes, turning halfway through, until tender. Add chicken and reheat till warm.

Remove toothpicks from bundles. Cut each bundle in half, and place each half on a dinner plate. Arrange 1/4 of rest of asparagus on each dinner plate for a pleasing presentation. Lightly drizzle chicken bundles and asparagus spears with juice from the pan.

Serve along side a spinach salad and enjoy.