The End of the Beginning

Tomorrow is our last weigh in for the competition that we've been in with my family.  It's the end of the beginning.  It's a good thing, because it has kept us motivated this far, but I'm a little wary that not having that motivation will cause us to relapse.

We've been trying to be good lately, but it's been really hard - especially because we are working at getting A/C in the house but it is WAY to hot to cook.  That was kind of the nice thing about trying to not eat meat this week...but that was hard to, because I really missed it.  I think Kurt did too.

The other day, my friend posted a link to the most delicious looking burger ever.  It was a pepper jack and green chili stuffed burger.  Mmmmmmmmm!!  However, we had to go about rethinking it so that it wasn't too horribly awful.  We used mozzarella instead of pepper jack because its less oily and of course no bun.

I was still very much impressed with how it turned out.  It really hit the spot.  We went a little overboard with it and had 2. :/  But you could definitely be filled up with one and a side (we had yams cut up into cubes and barbequed in a foil envelope for about 15 - 20 minutes.

Try it out!!

Green Chili and Mozzarella Stuffed Burgers

Yields 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 lb of lean ground beef
• 1/4 onion, diced
• 3-4 garlic, minced
• 4 slices of mozzarella
• 1 - 3oz can of whole green chilies, seeded and diced
• Green Leaf Lettuce

Directions

1. Mix together ground beef, onions and garlic in a bowl
2. Separate into 8 - 1/8 oz patties
3. Place one slice of mozzarella on each of 4 patties
4. Coat cheese slice with green chili pieces
5. Cover each of the 4 patties with the additional 4 patties
6. Pinch the edges of each burger together to keep stuffing from falling out
7. Grill on barbeque or stove until desired temperature
8. Remove and wrap in 1-2 lettuce leaves
9. Add your favorite condiment and enjoy.

Cheesy Vegetable Pasta

I had a thought today about how I've been doing the blog.  Usually, when I have a recipe, I "predate" the blog post to before we started the blog in the first place so it doesn't get in the way of the meat of it all.

However, then that requires everyone to go to the recipes section and decide whether we've actually put a new recipe in...so I've just decided to integrate it...because the chances of you seeing it are far greater.

This was very yummy...and you could do really whatever vegetables you want.  I'm going to write it out the way we made it though.

Cheesy Vegetable Pasta

Yields 4 servings
Based on a recipe from www.realsimple.com

Ingredients

• 4 servings of whole wheat spaghetti (I have one of those spaghetti forks with the serving holes but from what I remember, 1 serving is 2 oz dry, 1 cup cooked)
• 1 - 16 oz bag of frozen broccoli
• 1 bell pepper (I used yellow)
• 1 zucchini
• 1 - 14-15 oz can of diced tomatoes, strained
• 1/4 yellow onion, diced
• 4 oz of mushrooms, sliced
• Italian Seasoning (as preferred)
• Garlic Cloves, minced (as preferred)
• Salt (as needed)

Directions

1. Boil water and light barbeque or preheat oven to 450*F
2. Slice bell pepper and zucchini and mix with frozen broccoli
3. Create a pouch out of aluminum foil and fill with vegetables
4. Place pouch in barbeque or oven for 15 minutes
5. Add spaghetti to boiling water
6. Drain tomatoes and empty into saucepot
7. Add garlic and other seasonings you prefer to tomatoes
8. Heat tomato mixture over medium heat while blending into sauce with a hand blender
9. When tomato mixture is fully mixed and heated, add onions and mushrooms and continue heating
10. Drain spaghetti when ready
11. When everything has fully cooked, add spaghetti to bowl and top with "steamed" vegetables and tomato sauce mixture
12. Top with freshly grated parmesean

Enjoy!!

I've Been Falling Behind on my Job

I guess now that throughout the summer I will be only getting to update about once a week...so I'll just have to remember everything that has happened since the last time I blogged.

I was mostly good this weekend with my parents and siblings being here.  And I believe that they enjoyed all the food I made for them: baked banana oatmeal, chicken nuggets, honey mustard chicken on cauliflower "rice", frittata, and dry rub burgers (which really aren't so dry rub anymore, because I like the seasoning better mixed in with the meat).

I had a couple of cheater moments this weekend...there was a chocolate bar at the food co-op that looked really good - chocolate with almonds and toffee, and I had a burger when I went to the airport to pick up Kurt...but all in all, I was pretty good.  Kurt and I were talking about what he ate while he was away...and well, he was less good, but he still tried really hard to not give up entirely.

Our biggest challenge to date has happened now though.  We both are "sick".  Kurt got off the plane with a low grade fever and sore throat.  I am not sick (as told to me by PA I saw yesterday) but I'm having the worst allergies EVER - which is causing me to be completely congested with a sore throat as well.

As a result, neither of us has the energy to want to make food.  Last night we cheated with a pizza, but tonight we are going to try to not do that again.  It's so easy when you are not feeling well to say "whatever" and just get something quick and easy and not good for you in the least bit.  It's definitely going to be a struggle until we are feeling better. 

We need to go grocery shopping.  The funny thing is we haven't gone in a week and a half, but we had enough left over stuff that we haven't needed to.  When I was putting the dry rub burgers together to freeze before my parents got here, I realized that I already had 8 in the freezer...so I cooked all the new ones, plus those 8 and we had extra for our lunch and dinner on Monday and our lunch again yesterday.  I also found an extra lb of ground beef in the freezer which we are making meatballs with for tonight's dinner and tomorrow's lunch and an extra thing of pork chops for tomorrow.  So I started thinking that even though we spent a little over $200 on our last shopping trip, it actually lasted almost two weeks.

On the way home today we have to run by the grocery store...but I don't think it's going to be a full trip...just enough to get us through Saturday so we can go back on our weekly schedule - essentially fresh fruit and vegis, something for dinner Friday and side dishes.

So, now for some good news!!  Monday was 8 weeks since we've started our "life change".  In 8 weeks, Kurt is down 18 lbs and I am down 20 lbs.  YEA!!  We've had a lot of challenges and we've struggled quite a bit, but we're headed down the right path...so we need to keep on keeping on. 

That's all for now...time to get ready for the day...after I put up some of the recipes that I've been promising for a while!!

Waiting...Waiting...Waiting...

Good morning all...and welcome to Monday!!

Not lots to talk about...just have a moment while my computer is processing photos, so thought I would check in.

I'll start off with new recipes that we are trying this week.  Kurt's mom brought a couple of cookbooks with her when his parents came for the weekend and we went through them to see if there were things that sounded good (whether they came ideally prepared or we had to change up the ingredients to suit the way we eat now).

Last night we made Joe's Special...it's kinda like Ghetto Asian Mac but without the Asian.  It was good...but I think it would be a nicer as a breakfast than a dinner.  I'll put it up soon.

Tonight we're making Zesty Caribbean Chicken...it sounds really good...hopefully it is!!

Saturday we did our grocery run...this week it was $159 - about $30 of it was necessities (dish soap, body soap, ziploc bags, foil, etc).  We had a lot of chicken left over, so we had to get very little - but we decided to go for organic chicken breasts instead and we also decided to get farm raised cage free eggs (both are a bit more expensive, but we are slowly trying to transition into better food now that we are eating better).

Anyway, like I said, not a lot to talk about, just a quick update.

4 Weeks In!!

Last night marked 4 weeks since we decided that we didn't want to change the way we ate and lived (again, and hopefully for the last time).  In these last 4 weeks, we've struggled a lot but have also have had many successes as well.

For example, we had a bit of a cheat night for dinner on Friday (pizza) and I think we've decided that our cheats have to be further apart.  We had decided that before, but always Friday comes around and we get tempted into something else.  This last Friday, though, we were so overly full and bloated with sodium that we decided that, at the very least, when it cheats, pizza is not an option anymore and that we have to do better with not cheating (even if it is once a week for only one meal - we need to try to extended it to once every two weeks for only one meal).  Of course, that may or may not happen this week as we do have visitors for the weekend...but we'll try.

In the past 4 weeks, I am down 17 lbs (12 from my official weigh in 5 weeks ago for our competition - but I put on 5 in the week between) and Kurt is down we think 15 lbs (because he didn't weigh himself when we started - but 11 from the official weigh in 5 weeks ago).

We're starting to have more energy (he gets it a bit more than I do), clothes are starting to loosen up a bit (some that I had that were feeling a little tight fit well now) and we aren't so tired after a long day of work as much as we were before.  Plus being on our feet for a long day is getting easier.

So SUCCESS!!

Cravings are slowly going away...and randomly one comes up and you think...REALLY, that's what I want.  And we've been trying hard to quell those cravings with other things.  We made some blackberry sorbet a couple days ago, and the tartness is kind of a nice change from the sweetness (I think I need to look at something that is a little less seedier though).

Yesterday we stopped by the Great Basin Community Food Co-Op which reminded me a lot of being in Santa Cruz again.  Some things were pretty pricy - raw unpasteurized almonds for $12.99/lb but other things weren't as bad - 32oz of local raw honey for $10 and some change.  We picked up some honey mustard salad dressing (which does have some cane sugar in it - but I tried to make a honey mustard vinaigrette and it was awful and I need a salad dressing).

My favorite thing that I TOTALLY want to go back for when I'm ready...refrigerated ladybugs!!  They were so cute - and depending if I actually get the garden in shape this year (because my seedlings desperately need to be transplanted), I might have to get some.

Last thing before I go (since I have to get ready for work) - our budget.  We went grocery shopping last Thursday, and we though there was no way we were going to get out of there under our budget because we bought a ton more meat than usual for this week (ground beef, pork chops and chicken breasts - more chicken than we needed but we figured we could use it the next week) and it still came out to about $142.  We were stunned.  Of course now that we went to the Food Co-Op and seeing the prices of meat there I'm starting to really thing about the meat we've been buying at the grocery store...but more on that later.

Ok...I lied...two things

1. Celery has become to salty to us...especially after reading how much sodium is in celery...we can taste it now!!  Suggestions for other vegi snacks to take out with us (to go with our carrots)

2. Dry-Rub Burgers...mmmm...check it out

The Plan

The plan is...there is no plan.  When I have a diet and exercise "plan", I get bored easily.  Kurt can usually last through it a little longer than I can, but I NEED change.  So it'll require more research than I would normally do, but if that's all it is to keep it interesting, then it's a good use of my (our) time.

What we have started doing is making a conscious choice to remove a much processed food from our diet as possible.  I honestly thought it would SUCK - that the food would be awful and that it would take SO much time.  Realistically, the food isn't half bad and, sure, it takes a bit more time than I'm use to spending on making a meal (or unpackaging it for consumption) but it's time well spent now and will lessen as I get in the habit of cooking more (however, to be honest, after eating dinner tonight, which took us roughly 2 hours to prep and cook, I was worn out and took a little nap).

One thing we are looking into is Paleo - which one set of my parents have gifted us a diet guide/cookbook to help model our meals.  For those of you not familiar, it is a lifestyle based on the food accessible to humans in the Paleolithic Era - essentially things that you would have found either as a hunter or a gatherer.  My biggest hurdle with this would be both the no grains, no dairy.  Reading the reasoning behind the "diet" and looking through the cookbook, there are definitely good ideas that can be implemented and good meals that can be made. We just got the book yesterday, so we haven't done more than read the "why its good"s and look at the recipes, but we'll let you know what we think.

The resource we have started implementing is a website that I was directed to from my cousin, who in my opinion has WAY more knowledge and information to give about food and exercise than any of the trainers or nutritionists I've seen in the past.  The site is http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/ and so far we are really enjoying it.

The funniest thing (not funny - haha, but funny - coincidence) between 100 Days of Real Food, Paleo and an audiobook I'm trying to listen to is there has been one key model that has been consistent about shopping for food - shop the perimeter of the store except oil and spices (and flour for 100 Days).  I haven't heard (let me rephrase - don't remember hearing) this once in any of the other "diet" research I've done in the past, and yet I've already run into it 3 times this week (that's the funny part - you are allowed to laugh here).

My biggest challenge so far - the cooking.  It might even be worse than the processed sugar withdrawal that I am currently going through.  I love to bake - cooking is ok.  I try to keep upbeat throughout the whole process, but by the end I'm longing for it to be done...especially today.

Today we decided to make chicken enchiladas for dinner - http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/04/14/recipe-chicken-enchiladas/ - I'll add the recipe to the recipe section in the next couple days.

It calls for whole grain corn tortillas (which she has a recipe for), but I didn't feel like picking up some masa harina and I forgot to get it when we were shopping the other day, so we decided to go for whole wheat tortillas - which we made from scratch, and honestly are really much better than I expected them to be...but were a little more work than I originally imagined.  From there is really was just normal cooking dinner prep, but its prep that I am not used to in the least bit, so by the end, I was almost too exhausted to eat dinner.  But it turned out really good...there are a few changes I would make, but all in all, a nice filling dinner.

We've also made a few things for snacks in the mornings to go with out smoothies...one is the Breakfast Casserole Bites (http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/01/11/recipe-breakfast-casserole-bites/) which are REALLY REALLY good!!

And the other was granola bars (http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/04/04/recipe-granola-bars-cereal/).

Now here's the problem I run into...and I really need to get over it quickly if I'm going to succeed at this...the granola bars have this very seedy smell to them which makes me want to throw them all the garbage, but flavor-wise...it's not bad.  I think the one thing I wouldn't put back into it is the pumpkin seeds...I really think that's where some of the smell comes from, plus I think its the one flavor in there that doesn't belong.

All it all...we - and by we I mean me, because Kurt's never really had a problem with it, are trying to cook a little bit everyday, because it gets us in the habit of doing it and because some of this stuff can be prepared in advance...for instance, the casserole recipe makes two dishes (the one pictured I put in the freezer).

I'll start utilizing the recipe section that I added to the page as well as my feelings on the dish or how I might have changed it.  If any of you have any recipes that you would like to share, it just cannot contain anything processed and preferably no sugar (but I can substitute with honey or agave nectar).

Again, thanks everyone the support - I greatly appreciated all the likes and the comments on my fb link.  I know that we've fallen off the wagon many times and we appreciate that you all support us every time we get back on.

Goodnight,

Honey Mustard Chicken

Serve on a bed of brown rice or cauliflower "rice"

From: eatnourishing.com

Yields 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup butter or coconut oil
• 3 lbs chicken breasts, drumsticks or thighs

Directions:

1. Place chicken in slow cooker.
2. Combine honey, mustard and butter in a saucepan.
3. Mix over medium heat until it reaches a boil.  Boil for 1 minute.
4. Drizzle prepared glaze over chicken.
5. Place lid on top and cook on low for 6 - 8 hours

To prepare for dinner place a bed of rice on the plate, drizzle the juices from the slow cooker onto the rice and place some chicken on top.  Serve with a side of veggies.

Joe's Special

This is what I referred to as the Ghetto Asian Mac without the Asian

From: Favorite Brand Name Low-Carb Recipes

Yields 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp dried oregano leaves
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 pkg (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Spray large skillet with nonstick cooking spray
2. Add ground beef, mushrooms and onion.  Cook over medium-high heat for 6 - 8 minutes or until onion is tender
3. Add Worcestershire, oregano, nutmeg, garlic powder and salt
4. Cook until meat is browned
5. Drain spinach and stir into meat mixture
6. Push mixture to one side of the pan and reduce heat to medium
7. Pour eggs into other side of pan.  Cook without stirring 1 - 2 minutes or until set on the bottom
8. Lift eggs to allow uncooked portion to flow underneath. Repeat until softly set
9. Gently sir into meat mixture and heat through
10. Stir in cheese

Serve with salsa and toast, if desired

Zesty Caribbean Chicken Breasts

For when you are looking for a little tropical in your food.

From: Favorite Brand Name Low-Carb Recipes (with minor changes by me)

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp grated lemon peel
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp paprika
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp dried oregano leaves
• 1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce (if desired)
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Directions:

1. Combine oil, lemon peel, lemon juice, paprika, honey, garlic salt, ginger, oregano and hot pepper sauce in shallow baking dish.  Stir well.
2. Puncture chicken in several places and add to mixture. Turn to coat.
3. Refrigerate 30 minutes or up to 4 hours, turning occasionally.
4. Heat broiler or prepare grill
5. Remove chicken from mixture and broil or grill for 3 to 5 minutes per side or until chicken is no longer pink in the center.

So here is a funny thing I have learned with this recipe that has come from a book published 9 years ago...they say 6 chicken breasts (about 1-1/2 lbs).  If you buy regular grocery store chicken breasts, 4 breasts are just over 1-1/2 lbs and if you buy organic free range breasts from the regular grocery store, they still weigh about 1-1/2 lbs.  It's amazing to me to think that in such a small period of time, chicken breasts have essentially gotten at least 1.5 times bigger (even free range, organic breasts).

It makes you think.

Apple Shallot Pork Chops

Kurt says that these are about the best thing we've made for dinner so far (minus the meatballs).  It was definitely good...better than any pork chops we've made before.

From Everyday Paleo

Yields 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 apple
• 2 shallots
• 5 Tbsp coconut oil
• Cinnamon and Salt
• 4 big pork chops
• 1/4 cup white wine
• Slivered toasted almonds (I didn't try it with these because we ran out, but I will the next time)

 Directions:

1. Slice the apple as thin as possible and then cut the slices in half
2. Thinly slice the shallots
3. In a large skillet, heat 4 Tbsp of the coconut oil over medium heat and add the apples and shallots.  Sauté for 5 minutes or until the apples are tender but still a little crisp
4. Remove the apples and shallots from the pan and add the last Tbsp of coconut oil
5. Generously sprinkle cinnamon on both sides of the pork chops and lightly sprinkle on salt if desired
6. Rub the cinnamon and salt into pork chops and pace the chops in the hot oiled pan.  Sear on each side for 2 minutes
7. Add wine to skillet and make sure you bring the wine to a boil to cook off the alcohol
8. After adding the wine, add the apple-shallot mixture back to the pan, cover and cook over medium heat for 6 - 8 minutes.  Depending on the thickness of your pork chops, it might need more or less time
9. Serve the pork chops with plenty of the apple and shallot mixture, and add a sprinkle of slivered toasted almonds on top

Dry Rub Burgers

Mmmm...yummy burgers...I haven't decided if I like it best as a dry rub or mixed into the meat.  I'll have to let you know.

From Everyday Paleo

Yields 6-7 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 - 1/2 Tbsp chili powder
• 2 - 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I omitted because I do not enjoy cayenne)
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 2 - 1/2 lbs ground beef (makes about 7-9 medium sized burgers)
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Mix all dry rub ingredients together
2. Form hamburger meat into patties and cover both sides generously with the dry rub
3. Let the burgers sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes before cooking
4. Either grill or pan fry about 4 minutes each side for medium, less for rare, more for well (sprinkle on salt once the burgers are in the pan or on the grill)
5. Serve with red onions and tomatoes if you like,and wrap in lettuce leaves

BBQ Chicken Pizza Pockets

These are yummy and totally worth making!!


From www.eatnourishing.com

Yields 8 pockets

Pocket Crust:

Ingredients:

• 1 - 1/2 cups of water
• 3 tsp dry active yeast
• 1 - 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 - 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Filling:

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, grilled and chopped or shreaded
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup homemade barbeque sauce 
• 3/4 cup of pineapple, diced
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated
• 4 strips bacon, cooked and finely chopped (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425*F
2. In a glass measuring cup, heat water to 110* - 115*F and drop yeast into water and let rest for 1 minute
3. After yeast foams up a bit, add salt and olive oil to the water mixture and stir gently
4. In a large bowl or food processor, add flour and gradually add water mixture while blending (either in processor, with dough hooks or by hand) until a smooth dough ball forms
5. Coat bowl with oil, place dough in and turn to coat.  Cover with plastic and let sit while prepping filling
6. Once filling is prepped, divide dough into 8 equal pieces, form each into a ball and flatten out with a rolling pin to about 1/8" thick and about 6" in diameter
7. Spread 1 to 1 - 1/2 Tbsps of barbeque sauce into rolled out dough and top with some chicken, pineapple, cheese and bacon (optional)
8. Seal up dough by either folding in half and pinching the edges together or fold in sides opposite sides over mixture and pinching together at the top (if doing the latter, bake with folded side down)
9. Place on a greased baking sheet and prick pockets with a fork to prevent cheese from leaking out
10. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes or until lightly browned
11. Serve with extra barbecue sauce and a steamed vegetable or salad

Homemade Chipotle Barbecue Sauce

A little spicy and for me the chipotle flavor is something I have to get used to, but otherwise...SUPER good!!

From www.eatnourishing.com

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 6 - 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 24 - 28 oz can of strained tomatoes
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp chipotle chili pepper
• 1 Tbsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. In a saucepot, heat coconut oil and sauté onions for 10 minutes
2. Add garlic and sauté for another minute
3. Add all other ingredients and simmer over medium heat for 10 - 15 minutes, stirring occasionally
4. Take off heat and use and hand blender to blend contents of the pot together
5. Use or store in refrigerator 

 

The "Green" Smoothie

It looks like it would be AWFUL...but its actually very yummy!!

Originally from Cassandra Appleton - tweaked by us

Yields 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 1 cup berries (we tend to put in strawberries, but sometimes blueberries)
• 1 banana
• 1 kiwi - if we am using strawberries
• 6-8 spinach leaves
• Ice

 Directions:
(We use a Magic Bullet with the individual cups, but it can also be made in a standard blender)

1.  Blend together berries, banana and any additional fruit that you would like with the bananas closest to the blade (we find that because the bananas blend best, it helps drag everything else in if they blend first)
2. Add spinach and blend again
3. Add ice (we use between 4-6 pieces of ice per serving)
4. Drink :)

 Ok realistically it isn't hard to make a smoothie, and really you can put whatever you want into it...peaches, mangoes, pomegranate...you can even replace the spinach with kale if you like (we use spinach because its sweeter).  The point of it is make sure not to use too much fruit because, although a healthier substitute for processed sugar, it is still sugar none-the-less.  The spinach (or kale) helps toward satisfying your daily need of a green vegetable, plus a great source of vitamins A & K (and C with kale)...not as high in iron as I would have thought.

Roasted Tomato and Basil Casserole

This was a difficult one for me to want to make given that I'm not the biggest fan of tomatoes - little bit a flavor thing, but mostly texture.  The funny thing was it kind of just tasted like pasta with a fresh tomato sauce.  We broke it into 8 servings which meant that you really had to have something else with it (garlic bread, a vegetable side...something), but it's more filling than you would think.

From eatnourishing.com

Yields 6 - 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 medium to large spaghetti squash
• 2 pints grape tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 1/4 cup butter
• 20 fresh basil leaves, chopped roughly
• 1 cup grated romano cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375*F
2. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop out all the seeds
3. Place cut side down on a baking sheet filled 1" high with water (mine isn't even 1" so I just filled it 3/4 high)
4. Bake for 30 minutes (you can do this earlier in the day before preping for dinner)
5. Remove from oven and let cool
6. Preheat oven to 400*F
7. While preheating, place butter into a 9x13 baking dish and place the dish in the oven to melt butter
8. When preheated, place grape tomatoes and garlic into the baking dish.  Stir to coat with melted butter and sprinkle with salt
9. Roast tomatoes for 10 - 15 minutes or until tomatoes begin to burst
10. Remove from oven and carefully smash tomatoes with a fork
11. Use a fork to scrape squash into spaghetti-like strings
12. Gently fold spaghetti squash, basil and cheese into smashed tomatoes
13. Add more salt, as needed
14. If desired, top with additional cheese and place in the still warm oven to melt

Baked Banana Oatmeal

It's taken me years to really be ok with the flavor but mostly texture of oatmeal...and while I still have a little bit of a problem with the texture, I find that a little bit of sweetness in oatmeal can go a long way.

From www.katheats.com (slightly altered to my liking)

Yields 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1-2 bananas
• 1 - 1/2 cups milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon and nutmeg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375*F
2. Combine the dry ingredients
3. In a separate bowl, mash 1 banana.  Add wet ingredients to banana
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well
5. Line an +/- 8" pan with parchment paper or grease (the parchment paper works wonderfully to reduces sticking and removing in one piece)
6. Pour batter in the pan
7. If desired, slice another banana on top (if you prefer, you can also slice another banana at the bottom prior to pouring the batter in)
8. Bake for 26 minutes
9. Just before it is finished, heat honey (on the stove or in the microwave) and add pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon and nutmeg)
10. When done, turn oven to broil and pour honey mixture on top of the baked batter
11. Broil for 3-4 minutes
12. Serve immediately

Dark Chocolate Whole-Wheat Brownies

If you love chocolate like I do, these get you almost all the way there (I have preferred milk chocolate in the past so dark takes a little getting use to).  Definitely a great thing to have when you are needing a small sweet treat.

From www.100daysofrealfood.com

Yields: 14-16 small brownie squares

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup of honey or maple syrup (I've only tried honey at this point)
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F a grease a 9x9 inch square glass baking dish with oil or butter (I used a 9x7 because it's the closest I have)
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a bowl including the flour, cocoa and baking powder and set aside
3. In a small pot on the stove, melt the coconut oil together with the honey (or maple syrup) and vanilla extract
4. Once melted, whisk contents of pot into the dry ingredients.  Add the egg and keep whisking until it is mixed together thoroughly.
5. (Optional) If using nuts, fold them into the batter with a spatula
6. Pour the batter into the glass baking dish and bake for 16 - 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean
7. Enjoy or store in an air-tight container at room temperature

Breakfast Casserole Bites

A nice treat to add to an "on the go" breakfast or just as a mid-morning snack!!

From www.100daysofrealfood.com

Yields: 12 muffin sized casseroles

Ingredients:

• 2 pieces of whole-wheat bread (sandwich size)
• 8 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 oz grated cheese (we used Mozzarella)
• 1/2 lb cooked and crumbled bacon or breakfast sausage
• Foil muffin holders (optional - but will need to grease the tins without)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F
2. Distribute 12 foil muffin holders into muffin pan (or grease pan)
3. Cut the whole-wheat bread into half inch squares and evenly distribute them on the between each muffin cup
4.  In a mixing bowl or large measuring cup, thoroughly whisk together the eggs and milk.  Add salt and pepper as desired
5. Evenly distribute the egg mixture into each muffin cup.  It's okay if bread pieces float to the top
6. Sprinkle an equal amount of the grated cheese and the crumbled bacon or sausage into each muffin cup on top of the egg mixture
7. Bake for 15 minutes or until eggs are set
8. Enjoy immediately or refrigerate/freeze for another day

This was a first attempt picture.  Next time I think we may crumble the bacon a little better and cool the muffins a bit longer to see if it prevents them from falling in.

Apple Muffins

A nice treat, but probably best as a side item to a breakfast than a dessert

From the Everyday Paleo Cookbook

Yields: The recipes says approx. 16 but we got 12 when we filled the tins 3/4 full

Ingredients:

• 2-1/4 cups almond meal
• 4 eggs
• 1 apple, preferably organic, finely diced
• 1 very ripe banana
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 heaping tbsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F
2. Using a fork, mash the banana in the bottom of a large mixing bowl
3. Add all other ingredients and mix by hand.  The batter will not be super thick, but more like a cake batter
4. Using a bit more coconut oil, grease a muffin tin.  Fill the tins about 3/4 full.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.  You will know they are done when you can insert a toothpick into the middle of a muffin and it comes out clean

Whole-Wheat Flour Tortillas

We have to get the hang of making these, because we had the temperature of the cast iron skillet too high for the first couple, but in the end, they turned out better than any tortilla we've had from the store.

From www.100daysofrealfood.com

Yields: 12 tortillas

Ingredients:

• 2 - 1/2 cups of whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup of oil (I used olive oil)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup warm water (heat in the microwave for 1 min)

Note - a heavy mixer with a dough hook probably works best (but we don't have one). I used our hand mixture to beat the ingredients together in step one then attached the dough hook to the hand mixer after adding the water

Directions:

1. In a bowl, pour in the flour, oil and salt. Beat with the paddle until crumbly, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Scrape the sides in needed
2. With the mixer running, gradually add the warm water and continue mixing until the dough is smooth, about 3 minutes
3. Take out the dough and divide it into 12 equal sized pieces
4. Roll each piece into a round ball and place on a baking sheet or tray.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or up to 1 hour
5. Heat an oil greased skillet or griddle over med-high heat (heat level may be different for some).  The pan should be hot before cooking tortillas - keep the oil nearby, because you may have to grease after every couple, especially if using cast iron
6. On a lightly floured board or counter top (I find parchment paper worked best), use a rolling pin to turn each ball into an 8 to 10 inch flat circle.  If flouring a surface, be sure to not use too much flour because the excess will burn in the pan
7. Transfer tortillas one at a time to the pan and cook until puffy and slightly brown, about 30 to 45 seconds each side
8. Set aside to cool. Eat within an hour, refrigerate or freeze