Paleo Oatmeal!

I have been making my own apple sauce in the slow cooker for a while now.  When I get a very good deal on apples, sometimes we do not eat them fast enough and they start to go soft.  I peel, core, dice, dump into a slow cooker, and sprinkle with cinnamon.  I do not add water, because I find that as the apples break down over hours in the slow cooker, the liquid that the apples themselves surrender is more than adequate, and does not make the end result too runny.

A few mornings ago, I noticed that it was time to make some more apple sauce.  As it was nearing completion, I thought about the recipe that I had tried from my new cookbook...

A couple of weeks ago, I bought what I think is going to be a really great addition to the cookbook collection: "Paleo Slow Cooking Recipes Made Simple." by Chrissy Gower.  I had only tried the "Slow Cooked Apple Almond Cereal" before, and it had gone over fairly well with the family as an alternative to oatmeal, which we love.  Our only issue was the lack of robust flavor in any area other than almond.

http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Title/book--q1Yej_iI0SMMcmyuc2Hdg/page1.html?utm_source=productlistings&utm_medium=g&utm_campaign=title-Paleo+Slow+Cooking%3a+Gluten+Free+Recipes+Made+Simple&gclid=CLCx9dKP4bcCFXRk7AodtSQAzA

I had already diced 8 or 10 apples into the slow cooker with ground cinnamon, so before bed time, I added 4 cups of almond meal, and 4.5 cups of water.  I moved the temperature control to "low" and turned in for the night.  I lifted the lid 6 hours later, and it was more fragrant than the first recipe go-round.  I think that in the future, I will be grating or dicing 2 apples per cup of almond meal for this recipe.  The flavor is more to my liking with more apples in it.

10 apples                                                                               $2.79
4 cups almond meal                                                               $4.00
4 cups water                                                                           $0.08
                                                                             TOTAL = $6.87

This made about 10 medium servings, or 7 large servings, so figure between $ .69 or $ .99 per serving. Add a few cents for toppings, and you have a really good breakfast for about a buck.

In dishing up Husband's breakfast, I made it 4 ways... (knowing that I would take a pic for the blog...)

Top left - with a little bit of almond milk
Top right - with a pat of butter
Bottom left - with a drizzle of honey
Bottom right - with a sprinkle of cinnamon

Husband dumped all 4 mini servings into a bowl and ate that, declaring it to have "hit the spot".

You may feel the need to add salt to your individual serving.  I feel that the meal tastes flat if I do not add salt to it.

t

Paleo Breakfast in, 1...2...3...

Do you want to know how very easy it is to eat paleo?  I made my breakfast yesterday morning in less than 3 minutes.

Almond Milk                                                                                    $ 1.00
Apple                                                                                                $   .20
Orange                                                                                              $   .20
Banana                                                                                              $   .20
                                                                                        TOTAL = $ 1.60

t

Almond Crusted Swai

I loved the results of my Almond Crusted Tilapia so much, that I wanted to try my hand at Swai with the recipe.

What is Swai, you might ask?  Well, consumer reports has this to say... (http://news.consumerreports.org/money/2009/01/swai.html)

"Swai is a white-flesh fish (typically available in fillet form) with a sweet mild, taste and light flaky texture that can be broiled, grilled, or coating with bread crumbs and fried, according to experts. It can be prepared simply, but also takes well to sauces. A 3.5-ounce serving of plain fish contains around 90 calories, 4 grams of fat (1.5 saturated), 45 grams of cholesterol and 50 milligrams of sodium. Not bad."

Swai is a thicker fillet, and more meaty.  I have broiled it, fried it, and now, I have almond crusted it. :-) I tried an experimental side dish with a cream sauce.  Again, I took inspiration from Paleo Nick's "Paleo Pesto" (second video from the top in this link, the one with the puppy at the start... made before he went Paleo, I think, since he has traditional pasta in the recipe... the pesto sauce starts at about minute 2 out of 3...  http://www.paleonick.com/articles/Paleo-Pesto)

Pesto going into cream sauce.

Pesto mix

Spaghetti Squash pretty much all cooled off, Swai fillets about ready to go into the oven.

My first thought was to ladle the sauce over the spaghetti, but it was not "sticking" very well.

Sauce poured over the squash, and tossed into the oven with the Swai.

Dinner complete: Almond crusted Swai, Spaghetti Squash Pesto cream bake, and green salad.

Swai 1 Bag                                                                                       $ 5.49
1 cup Almond Meal                                                                          $ 2.00
2 eggs                                                                                                $  .30
                                                                                    TOTAL =    $ 7.79

Spaghetti Squash                                                                              $ 3.98
1 container of heavy whipping cream                                              $ 1.99
2 tbsp pesto                                                                                       $  .50
                                                                                    TOTAL =    $ 6.47

1/2 container artisan lettuce                                                              $ 1.00
1 tomato                                                                                           $   .25
2 radishes                                                                                         $   .20
vinaigrette dressing                                                                           $  .20
                                                                                    TOTAL =    $ 1.65

Grand Total: $7.79 + $6.47 + $1.65 = $15.91 for a diner for 4, and we had leftovers enough for 2 full lunches for Husband to take to work.

So, six bountiful, filling, and Paleo meals @ $2.66 each (2.651 rounded up)  Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.  Rinse/Scrub the exterior of the Spaghetti Squash, and pierce the skin repeatedly before you put it on whatever you are going to bake it in.  I used to do the whole cutting it in half, scooping the seeds, and laying it open side down on a cookie sheet, but this works better for me.  The enclosed skin of the spaghetti squash helps to steam the squash.  Cook for 45 minutes, then let cool.

To prepare your white sauce mix, add 2 tbsp traditional basil pesto to 16 ounces of heavy whipping cream.  Pepper to taste.  I have found that when working with dairy, it is naturally salty enough that I do not have to add any.


In this instance, I had made the spaghetti squash about three hours in advance, and it was a lucky thing, since I wound up needing to bake it in the white sauce.  I wound up baking it for about 20 minutes, and sprinkling with some parmesan cheese before serving.

Coat the thawed Swai in eggs, and place on foil lined cookie sheet.  I spoon the Almond meal on to the fillets and spread with my hand, gently making sure that the top is fully coated.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, depending on thickness of fish.

Toss together your salad, and presto - Dinner!  ;-)

t

Tomatillo Salsa

I have been making my own salsa for some time now.  Husband likes home-made better than store bought.  I adjust it to his preferred heat index, and I can customize it the way we like it. After seeing this blog entry on Paleo Nick's site (http://www.paleonick.com/articles/Tomatillo-Salsa), I decided to try my hand at Tomatillo Salsa.

Basic Tomatillo Salsa...

8 choice tomatillos

Boil the tomatillos.  I tossed 2 cloves garlic in the water with them.

10 dried Arbol peppers

Juice from a medium lemon

Place boiled tomatillos, peppers, 2 boiled cloves garlic, and three more fresh cloves into blender with a handful of cilantro - pour lemon juice over and sprinkle salt to taste - BLEND!

Pour into your clean Ball jar

Tomatillo Salsa ready for consumption!

I added quite a bit too much cilantro, and had to make another batch the next day without any cilantro, mix the two batches, and re-jar and stow in the fridge.

Tomatillos                                                                                          $  .87
5 garlic cloves                                                                                    $  .20
Lemon for juice                                                                                  $ .25
Arbol peppers                                                                                    $  .50
Salt                                                                                                     $  .05
Cilantro                                                                                              $  .25
                                                                                      TOTAL =    $2.12

If I had used the proper cilantro ratio the first time, I could have saved another two bucks, but as it was, I made about a quart and a half of Tomatillo Salsa for less than 5 bucks.

t

Groceries 5/15/2013 and 5/23/2013

Even though I had made a trip to Aldi on the 11th, I made a special trip on the 15th, because Aldi had a trampoline with enclosure for $199.99.  I had budgeted to buy a similar trampoline from Wal-Mart later in the summer for $350.00.  When the ad came out the week before, letting me know that I could pick up a trampoline for almost half the amount that I had budgeted for, I leapt on it!  While I was there, I did pick up a few things, especially the bagged frozen broccoli cuts for 85 cents for a 1 lb bag.  I use them in frittatas, and as side dishes on "toss it all together quick" nights.  So, I picked up 10 of them.

5/15/13 - Aldi

Celery     2@ 1.29                                                                   $ 2.58
Carrots  2 2lb bags @ .99                                                        $ 1.98
Iceburg Lettuce  2 @ .69                                                         $ 1.38
1 lb sliced lunchmeat                                                               $ 3.29
Large eggs 5 @ 1.19                                                               $ 5.95
Chocolate Almond Milk                                                          $ 2.49
Almond Milk 3@ 2.49                                                            $ 7.47
Broccoli Cuts 10@ .85                                                            $ 8.50
Sour Cream                                                                              $ 1.29
Hot Dogs 5 @ .75                                                                    $ 3.75
                                                                            TOTAL =   $38.68




5/23/13 - Aldi

Baby Bella Mushrooms 8oz clamshells    3@ 1.59                          $ 4.77
Zucchini 24 oz packs    2@ 1.99                                                      $ 3.98
Flat Leaf Spinach 8oz bags 2@ 1.69                                                $ 3.38
Bananas .44 per lb - 10.7 lbs                                                            $  4.71
Butter Quarters  2 @ 2.18                                                                 $ 4.36
Hot Dogs 5 @ .75                                                                            $ 3.75
String Cheese 4 @ 2.49                                                                   $ 9.96
Medium EZ Peel Raw Shrimp 3 @ 4.99                                         $14.97
Italian Sausage  2 @ 2.79                                                                 $ 5.58
Ground Turkey 10 @ 1.69                                                              $16.90
Almond Milk 4@ 2.49                                                                     $ 9.96
Center Cut Bacon 3@ 3.69                                                              $11.07
Shredded Cheddar  3@ 3.29                                                            $ 9.87
Shredded Mozzarella 2 @ 3.29                                                        $ 6.58
Deluxe Almonds (for almond meal) 4 @ 4.29                                 $17.16
Chunk Tuna in water 6 @ .69                                                          $ 2.94
Artisan Lettuce                                                                                 $ 1.99
Diced Tomatoes 6 @ .59                                                                  $ 3.54
Frozen Swai Fillets  3@ 5.99                                                           $17.97
Large Eggs  8@ 1.39                                                                       $11.12
Hazlenut Spread                                                                               $ 2.19
                                                                                   TOTAL =   $166.75

t

Paleo Scotch Eggs

I had never made Scotch Eggs before seeing them on Mark's Daily Apple.  I had not heard of them before, but became immediately intrigued.  (http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-scotch-eggs/#axzz2VpClhRKh)

1 lb sage pork sausage                                                                                           $2.49
6 eggs    @ .15                                                                                                       $  .90
olive oil                                                                                                                  $  .20
                                                                                                       TOTAL   =    $3.59

First off, you need to have a kick ass hard boiled egg.  I loosely follow the instructions from this video...  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN2gYHJNT3Y) Kind of, but not exactly.  I put my eggs in my pan, cover with water by about an inch, and a heaping tablespoon of baking soda, get it to a rolling boil, cover and let boil for 2 minutes, then turn the heat off under it.  I set a timer for 15 minutes, then come back and rinse the eggs with cold water to arrest the cooking process.  I do not get the horrid green sulfur ring on my eggs, and they do not taste "off".  I have not been able to duplicate the cool blow-on-the-egg-so-it-popps-out-of-the-shell trick yet, but I do work on it when I boil eggs.

I cut the sausage roll in half, then each half cut into thirds.  Work the sausage a bit in your hands to warm it, so it will more easily be spread into a very thin layer over the surface of your hard boiled egg.  I try to make the layer very thin so that cooking the pork will not overcook the egg.

These little bombs are flavorful and fantastically filling!  2 eggs are more than enough to fuel you for the majority of the morning, until your healthy, Paleo lunch!

t

Julian Bakery Paleo Bread - a review

When first adapting to an ancestral way of eating, bread was hard to kick, in all of it's variations - the croissant, the whole wheat loaf, the multi grain bread, the tortilla....  All of them were so integrated into my daily diet that it was very hard to break that reliance on their ease of use.

I started researching alternatives, and found a lot of home-made nut butter bread recipes.  Most of them seemed to consistently promise a loaf that was about 2 inches high, and while that might work for side dishes, I was looking for more of a "loaf" like experience.  Then, I began to hear about Julian Bakery's Paleo Bread (http://www.julianbakery.com/bread-product/paleo-bread-almond/?gclid=CPLMoJvV2bcCFSJqMgod-msABw) on some of the Paleo sites that I visit, and I was excited.  But, it was EXPENSIVE!  Definitely not for the frugalista's among us.  Still, I was interested, but had not known anyone that had personally tried it, so was unwilling to spend money on an unknown.

I was overjoyed when I saw that Paleo Nick had written a review of Julian Bakery's Paleo Bread.  Finally!  An opinion I trust!  He was not thrilled with the product, and I was disappointed at the thought that my bread search may never be fulfilled.  Here is his review... (http://paleonick.com/articles/The-Paleo-Bread-Review)

Then, when I was in Cooks, I finally gave in and bought two loaves.  I had been wanting to try it for ever, and I justified the purchase by telling myself that I was going to do a personal and in-depth taste test once and for all.  I am grateful that I did.

Reading the reviews set my expectations low, and I think that helped me to be pleasantly surprised when I did find ways in which I could use the bread that I really liked.

Some basic information...

Size - these slices are small.  For some perspective, I took out a rewritable disk and put an end slice and a middle slice next to it.  Then, on top of it.

 The slices from the end of the loaf did not even cover the disk.

The slices in the middle of the loaf are significantly larger than the slices on the ends.

The loaves themselves are small.  I can palm pretty much the entire thing, and I have small hands.

For the sake of scientific experimentation, I bought both kinds of Paleo bread, The Almond Loaf and the Coconut Loaf..

The Almond loaf brings to the table a nutty flavor that will compliment some dishes, but will fight for supremacy with some other flavors.  Tuna Salad sandwiches on the almond loaf are downright unsettling in flavor.  

The Coconut loaf is a more neutral flavor.  Kind of like tofu, it blends with whatever you mix it with.  

If eaten directly from the bag, the bread has a foreign paste-like mouth feel.  It is kind of gross, not going to lie.  It is strictly dumb luck that I decided to try my hand at Paleo Croque Madame's before anything else, and that the recipe turned out quite beautifully...  (http://paleoonthecheap.blogspot.com/2013/03/not-really-paleo-but-paleo-fied-croque.html)

After trying a sandwich on bread directly from the loaf (and being kind of grossed out), I remembered that the texture was different in the Croque's, and attributed it to the fact that the bread had been toasted.  It was too late to try toasting that set of bread - mustard had already been applied - but I salvaged the innards of the sandwich and transferred them to some nicely toasted slices.  It turned out well.  I had to add some mayonnaise for moisture, since the amount of mustard necessary to make the bread not seem dry would have been off-putting.  

If you use Paleo Bread for straight sandwiches, I would highly recommend toasting it so that the mushy/foamy texture dries off.  The bread has a spongy texture that is unusual, and it also pairs better with wet sandwiches.  Egg salad, tuna salad, etc..., because it is surprisingly dry for a slice of bread that is texturally so soft.

The end result was good and flavorful! Spinach, leftover Swai fillet, and tomatoes on Almond loaf with mayo and mustard.  Mmmmm!

t