BBQ shrimp recipe

Ingredients

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined

½ cup green onions, chopped

1 cup romaine lettuce, chopped

¼ cup avocado, diced

1 big tomato, diced

¼ cup fresh cilantro, minced

Spicy Vinaigrette

3 tbsp.  extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup lime juice

2 tsp. garlic, minced

1 tsp. ground cumin

2 tsp. of your favorite hot sauce

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preparation

Preheat your grill to a medium-high heat.

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for the vinaigrette and mix well.

Coat all the shrimp with 1 tablespoon of the vinaigrette, and place on the grill. If you skewer the shrimp before grilling them, they’ll be easier to handle, but it’s not required that you do so. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, turning them once. Remove from the grill and set aside.

In a salad bowl, add all the ingredients except for the cooked shrimp. Add the remaining vinaigrette and toss gently.

Serve the shrimp on top of the salad with some fresh homemade guacamole if desired.

Avocado, cucumber and mango salad

Ingredients:

1 cucumber cut into cubes;

1 avocado cut into cubes;

1 mango cut into cubes;

¼ cup fresh cilantro, minced;

Simple Vinaigrette:

3 tbsp. fish sauce

The zest and juice of one lime

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. white wine vinegar

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for the vinaigrette and season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Add the cucumber, the avocado, the mango and the cilantro to the bowl, and toss gently until everything is well coated with the vinaigrette and serve.

Another post about kid's lunch ideas

I really need to try to get the kids back to eating better
http://www.ourpaleolife.com/2013/03/kids-paleo-lunches/

Pork and Apple for the Grill

Copied from http://paleodietlifestyle.com/pork-and-apple-skewers/

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lb. boneless pork loin, cut into 1-to2 -inch cubes;
• 1 green apple cut into 1-inch cubes, (skin on);
• 1 large red onion, cut into 1-inch cubes;
• The juice from 1 medium sized orange;
• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil;
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar;
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed;
• ¼ cup raw honey; (optional)
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste;
• 6-7 Bamboo skewers;

Preparation

1. In a non-metallic container (otherwise the metal will react with the acid in the marinade), combine the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, orange juice, garlic, and honey (if using any). Season to taste with sea salt and ground pepper.
2. Add the pork cubes to the marinade, and refrigerate for at least an hour.
3. Once the meat has finished marinating, heat up the BBQ to medium-high.
4. Skewer the meat with the green apples and the onions. Try to place the meat between the onion and the apple to give it extra flavor.
5. Season the skewers to taste with sea salt and black pepper, and place on the grill.
6. Cook each side for about 3 to 4 minutes (a total of 12-16 minutes).
7. Serve with a light summer salad. 

Sam grilled asparagus with it.  It was really good

Girls on the Run 2013

http://results.bazumedia.com/event/results/event/event-3028
This was our best time EVER!!!! Maggie was truly amazing.  I'm going to have to get Sam to run with her in future if she gets any faster!!!!

Lemon Almond Biscotti

• 1 ¼ cups blanched almond flour
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ cup agave nectar or honey
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• ¼ cup toasted almonds, chopped

1. In a food processor combine almond flour, arrowroot powder, salt and baking soda
2. Pulse until ingredients are well combined
3. Pulse in agave nectar and lemon zest until the dough forms a ball
4. Remove dough from food processor and work in chopped almonds with your hands
5. Form dough into 2 logs on a parchment paper lined baking sheet
6. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes, then remove from oven and cool for 1 hour
7. Cut the logs into ½ inch slices on the diagonal with a very sharp knife
8. Spread slices out on a baking sheet and bake at 300° for 12-15 minutes
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool, set, and become crispy

Sunday-whole day of cooking!!!

Sam is going out of town this week.  This means that things always change dramatically, including changing my schedule completely and our diet.   I spent the whole day making food for the week ahead so that I have a jump start on feeding everyone.  I made chicken chunks and chicken salad for Greta to take to school for lunch, then I made chicken noodle soup with the rest of the chicken because I know the kids will always eat that.

I had made a bunch of no-oat oatmeal on Saturday, but I will need to make more tonight as it's almost done.  I take it to work for breakfast every day.  I decided that I'd make something new to take for lunch this week, so I made these buffalo chicken egg muffins.  They are really good.

I made this vegetable side dish and meatballs for dinner.  The meatballs are one thing that everyone in the family will eat!!!  Hadn't ever made the vegetables before, but they were pretty tasty.  Sam and I ate them, of course the kids wouldn't go near them.....



I made Sam a couple of things to take with him so that he has something he can eat in an emergency.  I made this granola and these mango treats.  The mango treats were the first thing I made in the morning. Unfortunately, trying to chop up the mango fried the motor in my food processor, so now I need a new one and I won't be trying this again......

I'm going to make crispy pork for dinner tonight.  I cooked some pork butt in the slow cooker and then I will cook it in the oven tonight.  I hope it turns out OK.  I think we have enough to get us through.....

Buffalo chicken egg muffins

• 3/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breast)
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• sea salt & black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup Wing Sauce
• 6 large eggs, whisked
• 2 Tbsp. green onions/scallions, sliced
• sea salt & black pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp. Wing Sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 425.
2. On a baking pan, arrange the chicken thighs and season with garlic, sea salt, and black pepper. Bake for 25 minutes or until cooked through.
3. Place the cooked chicken thighs into a large mixing bowl and shred with two forks. Pour the wing sauce over the chicken and toss to combine and set it aside.
4. In a small mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, wing sauce, green onion, sea salt, and black pepper.
5. Pour the egg mixture into muffin tins to fill them approximately halfway. Gently spoon about 2oz of the shredded chicken into each muffin cup so that it’s evenly distributed. Serve any extra chicken alongside the cooked muffins.
6. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the muffins rise and become golden brown around the edges

Jim Schoemehl run in Webster Groves

Maggie and I ran the Jim Schoemehl 5K in Webster Groves yesterday.  Informal race, but a lot of fun.  We did it in about 33 minutes easily!!!!

Crispy Pork

• 3 to 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder/butt cut into five pieces. You can trim off a little bit of the fat or leave it all on. (1.4 to 1.8 kg)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (7 ml)
• 1 teaspoon cumin (5 ml)
• 1 teaspoon chili powder (5 ml)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, chopped or thinly sliced
• Water, for braising

Instructions:
Mix together the salt, cumin and chili powder and rub all over the meat.
Place in slow cooker with 1/2 cup water.  Cook on low for 8 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350 ºF (177 ºC).  Shred pork into thin strips and place in oven until meat is crispy

Mango Travel Treats

Macadamia nuts, 1 cup

Almonds, ½ cup

Dried mango, 1 cup

Dates, 8-10

Coconut flakes, dried and unsweetened, about 1/3 cup

1. Put nuts into food processor and grind.
2. Add mango and blend some more, until mango is in smaller chunks.
3. Add dates and blend until the whole mixture is sort of gooey and sticks together well.
4. Form into bite sized bars. 
5. Roll each bar in coconut to coat.