Because I think you all need some comfort in your life, here are my favorite healty soup recipes. Hopefully we won’t have snow for a while, but a cool, cloudy day is more than enough excuse for a bowl of soup.
Tag Archives | paleo
Sugar Detox Sloppy Joes
1969. It was a big year the world. Richard Nixon became president, man walked on the moon and Hunts came out with a can of deliciousness called Manwich. Yes, Manwich. Just add ground meat and you have yourself a delicious sloppy joe. I grew up with this stuff. We kept it on hand a long with emergency water and matches in case of power failure. So when I got married and started my own family, I knew I had to stock up on the Manwich.
Sadly, life changes. Richard Nixon resigned after questionable activity, NASA had budget cuts and had to put an end to the Apollo missions, and I read the label on the back of a can of Manwich. The second ingredient listed is high fructose corn syrup, followed by regular corn syrup. A few ingredients later we have sugar and down the list we have ingredients with a breakdown that include high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup and sugar. That’s one giant crash for mankind, Manwich.
Yet if we learned anything from Adam Sandler and Chris Farley, it’s that sloppy joes are awesome. So something had to be done.
What I came up with was a delicious, healthy, saucy mixture to go with my ground beef for a sloppy joe that puts Manwich to shame. Eat your heart out, Manwich! But first, drizzle a little high fructose corn syrup over it.
The key is to let the ingredients simmer together.
After you brown your beef and onion, add the liquids and spices and let the whole mixture simmer together for 20 minutes. One of the ingredients in this recipe is that amazing bone broth I told you to make a few weeks ago. Now it’s even healthier than before.
We sometimes have this on whole wheat buns, but my favorite way is to scoop some into a lettuce cup. The crunch pairs nicely with the meat.
My husband and kids eat this with shredded cheese on the top, but dairy makes my hand beak out in eczema like I have a zombie hand, so I pass on the cheese.
Now if I could just find another way to put man on the moon…
Forget Taco Tuesday! Let’s do Taco Burger Tuesday!
A few weeks ago our family was in Breckenridge, CO. It’s one of the most beautiful, peaceful places I’ve ever been and one of our family’s favorite vacation spots. Seriously, if it didn’t snow six months out of the year, we’d live there. Our first night there we ate at a steakhouse. Steakhouses are great for healthy eating because it’s usually really easy to order any cut of meat you want and a ton of veggies.
I saw a “Spicy Santa Fe” burger on the menu that looked delicious. I asked if they could serve it without a bun and they were more than willing (side note: most restaurants will happily serve a burger without a bun). The burger was so amazing I wanted to recreate in at home. While I love the name “Spice Santa Fe” burger, It basically seemed like a taco in burger form to me, so I decided to just call it a Taco Burger.
I seasoned the meat with my Healthy Taco Seasoning (click here for recipe). This gave the patties themselves great flavor. Then add the toppings to the cooked patties and they tasted like a taco, but even better.
We all used different toppings in our family, but some suggested toppings are:
- Better than Restaurant Pico de Gallo (click here for recipe)
- Avocado
- Sauteed bell peppers (green, yellow, red, orange, whatever combination you like)
- Caramelized onions
- Pepper Jack Cheese Slices
- Salsa
- Mayonnaise
The rest of my family had their burgers on whole wheat buns, but I had mine on a lettuce cup. You could even serve it on a bed of spinach like a salad.
What Happens When You Go 21 Days Without Sugar?
This summer got a little rough as far as me eating sugar goes. The early part of the summer we moved which encouraged my stress eating. I tried to keep it “approved” with dark chocolate, fruit and treats made with natural sugars, but still, I overdid it. Then the vacations started: camping, Disneyland, weekends with family, […]
Drinking This Will Make Your Life Significantly Better
As a general rule I tend to avoid “nutrition” trends as they are generally unhealthy scams designed to make we women feel bad about the shape of our bodies, convincing us that if we just spend an exorbitant amount of money for this one product we will have perfect bodies, skin and fart rainbows. Bone […]
12 High-Energy Breakfasts to Get Your Kids Through the School Day
When I was a little girl I would get angry and throw fits, as most kids do. In the morning if I didn’t like what I was wearing, or my pigtails were too tight, or my favorite lace-trimmed socks were dirty, it was the end of the world. I’d cry, scream and lose my ability […]
Salted Caramel Cookie Dough Brownies
Back in the day (the day of processed sugars), I used to have a reputation for baking. People asked me to make cookies and cupcakes for events and whenever people came for dinner, they were always most excited for dessert. So when I gave up sugar, I was scared to lose that reputation. I still love to make (and eat) yummy treats. I just have to do it with healthier ingredients and eat it in moderation (meaning i can’t have an entire pan of brownies myself. Sad day.)
Last Sunday we had friends over for dinner for the first time. I was confident I could make a healthy dinner anyone would like because who doesn’t like meat and potatoes? But the dessert had me a little scared. So I decided to combine three different recipes to make one amazing dessert. Everyone was impressed and I still get to experience the joy of watching people eat my treats.
I started out with the Coconut Flour Brownies From Empowered Sustenance. I added 1/2 a cup of dark chocolate chips to these because…. well I don’t think I ever need to give an explanation for adding more chocolate. These brownies are amazing, if you make them right. The first few times I made them, I overcooked them. Check them halfway through baking time and frequently after. If they feel set in the middle, you’ve overcooked them. Watch the edges and make sure they don’t get too dark. These brownies are gooey and soft, unless you overcook them.
I’ve topped these brownies with peanut butter frosting and chocolate frosting and mint frosting, but I wanted to do something more fun. I decided to top them with Edible Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough from Wicked Spatula. When you make this cookie dough, make sure you process it for a long time. If you don’t, it won’t be fluffy. If you keep it going, the dough turns out fluffy and soft just like regular cookie dough.
The brownie and the cookie dough would have been plenty, but I wanted something to really send this over the top. I went with Salted Coconut Caramel Sauce from An Edible Mosaic. This sauce was my favorite part of the dessert. This sauce is great over ice cream, brownies or just a spoon. A massive spoon. A ladle really. It’s that good. This thickened up really well after a bit in the fridge. And it stayed soft and pourable right out of the refrigerator. I just drizzled this over the top of the cookie dough layer. I have a lot left over. Hmmmm… Maybe this would be great with just a straw too.
If you’re looking for an awesome dessert to wow a crowd, this is definitely it!
How to Know if You Should Go Low Carb
About 9 or 10 months after I started to eat healthy and changed my workouts, I stopped losing weight. I decided to try a new “eating plan.” My friend suggested carb cycling so I thought I’d try it out. Here was my experience.
Tender Slow Cooker Salsa Beef
I’m officially insane. Every time I try to simplify my life, I find something fabulous I need to add to it. My son has been taking piano lessons for three years. Plus he goes to karate twice a week and has cub scouts once a week. My daughter is in ballet and tap. Every Sunday I sit on my porch swing and think about how nice it is to relax and how we need to get rid of some activities in our lives. So what did I do last week? I signed my daughter up for piano as well. What’s worse is that it was my idea. She was content with ballet and tap but then I opened my big mouth and asked her if she wanted to take piano. She was thrilled! She’s been “practicing” every day since. The good mom in me is really excited for her. Learning music is important and she’ll love it. But the other side of the good mom is not so happy. I’ve added one more thing to our lives. Sigh. Oh well. It will all work out in the end. Or else I’ll die of exhaustion. Guess I won’t know until I try, right?
So for all you other insane moms out there who are also stretched beyond your limits, I have yet another slow cooker recipe for you. I believe the slow cooker was the best invention since 2-ply toilet paper. Some days, it’s the only way we have a warm meal on the table at dinner time. I can throw everything together in the morning and then come home from ballet or piano or karate or cub scouts or the therapy sessions I should sign myself up for and still be able to give my family a delicious, healthy dinner.
This salsa beef meets all the criteria of comfort food. It’s packed with flavor, tender and super healthy.
This is another fabulous dump and go recipe. While that doesn’t sound glamorous, it’s way better than a bowl of cereal, which is plan B on busy days. Just pull out the slow cooker and add stew meat, carrots, stewed tomatoes, salsa, molasses and garlic. Then let all the flavors meld together. Mmmmmm. A word about salsa. You have to be careful when picking salsa. A lot has added sugar, but it’s still easy to find one that does not if you’re willing to read labels.
Stir this together and cook the entire thing on low for 6-8 hours.
My husband eats this over rice, but my daughter and I like it over mashed sweet potatoes. Either way, you can congratulate yourself at the end of the day for preparing a delicious, healthy dinner for your family even though you spend your days as a taxi driver.
Read This Before You Do the Whole 30
One of the challenges I’ve done is the Whole 30. If you’re unfamiliar with the Whole 30, it’s a challenge that requires you to eat Paleo for 30 days. Paleo basically means you get to eat meat, eggs, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds for 30 days. Not only does this help clean out your body […]