Sweet potato side dish

2 lbs sweet potatoes, thinly sliced
1 green apple, cored and grated
3 leeks, white and pale-green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced 1/8 inch thick, and rinsed well
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 
Course salt and freshly ground pepper
2 ounces grated gruyere cheese (1 cup)

Toss together potatoes, sweet potatoes, apple, leeks, oil, and 1 teaspoon salt. Season with pepper.

Transfer to a 9-by-12-inch oval baking dish, spread into a thin layer, and cover with parchment-lined foil. Bake for 15 minutes.

Raise oven temperature to 400. Remove, uncover, and top with Gruyere. Bake until bubbling and top is browned, about 30 minutes.

Sunday cooking

Haven't done one of these entries in a while, but I knew I was going to be cooking a lot, so thought I'd take some photos.
I made omelets for Sam and me first thing in the morning.  Mine had too little egg and too many additions, so it fell apart!!!!

I made bacon for all of us....

I made a big batch of no-oat oatmeal for in the week

I made 2 pans of roast vegetables for Sam to take to work during the week.  I used the pumpkin seed oil and ginger lemon vinegar from Vom Fass

I roasted two chickens on Saturday night, so I used the bones to make chicken noodle soup for the kids.  Maggie loves it

Ben wanted apple pie so I made Melissa's recipe, it's about as far away from paleo as you can get without buying an oven pizza, but it is so worth it

I made some sweet potato hummus.  I bought a taro root to make chips, will make them on Tuesday to go along with this

Sam grilled salmon for dinner and I made sweet potato casserole to go along with it.  Forgot to take a picture while it looked all pretty in the pan, just got this one of the leftovers!!!!

After all of this cooking and eating dinner, I made meatballs.  Forgot to take a photo of them before I put them in the fridge!!!

October run #2

Ivory Crockett is a great run and supports the school district's foundation.  It is pretty hilly though and slowed me down considerably.  Plus, I had to stop and walk for a while as I felt pretty nauseous-do NOT eat pizza the night before or drink too much coffee right before running.......

Lulled into a false sense of security

Four weeks into WLC, I thought I was doing so well.  I had lost 6lbs from my starting weight and my clothes were feeling more comfortable.  Well, here comes the weekend.....
We had pizza on Friday night.  No big deal, I had won some indulgence bonus points.....
Saturday-free day bonus points-didn't exercise or stretch, had regular milk in my lattes, went out for dinner with Sam and Caroline.  Made the free day count....
Sunday-ran the Go! St. Louis 5 k in the morning, had regular milk in my coffee, ate well the rest of the day.
Definitely didn't drink much water this weekend, but did OK yesterday
Monday morning-step on the scale.  Put on 3 lbs since my low weight on Thursday.  So, it took me 4 weeks to lose 6 lbs and 4 days to add back 3.
Let this be a lesson.....

October Run #1

Great run this morning.  I'm still slow, but steadily improving.  Most importantly, I ran the whole way and felt good!!!  Another run next weekend to round out October.

Whole Life Challenge update

I am half way through Challenge #4 and have been doing pretty well.  I have had a few treats along the way, but still have a perfect score because I have had enough bonus points to apply.  So far, I have lost about 5-6 lbs in weight and lost 1 1/2 inches off my waist.  Thank goodness I can wear my cords again because the weather is definitely getting cooler.
So far, the lifestyle challenges have been eating with no distractions, making "to-do" lists , positive thinking and sleep (my least favourite, but should not be).

Flatbread recipe with dessert modification

Ingredients

• 1 cup Tapioca Starch
• 1/4 cup Coconut Flour
• 3 Tbsp Flax Seed Meal
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp dried Oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried Basil
• 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup Water, warmed
• 2 whole Pastured Eggs
• 2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
• 2 Tbsp fresh Thyme
• 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
• 2 Tbsp Garlic Powder

Process

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place pizza stone in the oven while it preheats.
2. Meanwhile, mix dry ingredients in a bowl.
3. Add warm water, olive oil and slightly whisked eggs.
4. Mix thoroughly, adding additional coconut flour as needed. It should end up being a very sticky dough that can be flattened with a spatula.
5. Let sit a few minutes to let coconut flour absorb water.
6. Pour onto parchment paper and spread with spatula to 1/4 inch thick.
7. Carefully* place parchment paper on pizza stone and bake 8-12 minutes or until crispy.
8. Remove and add optional toppings. I mixed garlic and butter and spread over the top and then added herbs and cheese (optional).

Ingredients

• 1 whole Grain-Free Flatbread (above)
• 4 Gala Apple, peeled and chopped (for the apple topping)
• 9 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, divided (4 TBSP for the apple topping, 3 TBSP chilled for the streusel topping, 2 TBSP for the caramel sauce)
• 2 tsp ground Cinnamon, (for the apple topping)
• 1 tsp ground Nutmeg, (for the apple topping)
• 2 Tbsp Grade B Maple Syrup, (for the apple topping)
• 1/3 cup Blanched Almond Flour, (for the streusel topping)
• 1/2 cup Coconut Sugar, divided (2 TBSP for the streusel topping + 1/3 Cup for the caramel sauce)
• 8 oz Coconut Milk, (for the caramel sauce)
• 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract, (for the caramel sauce)

Process

1. Make the flatbread pizza according to the directions (click the ingredient for recipe). Once the flatbread has cooked, remove from oven and add toppings (per ingredients below.) Once all toppings have been added, place back in oven for 5-7 minutes or until done.
2. [For the Apple Topping] Peel and chop apples.
3. Heat a medium pan over low-medium heat and add butter.
4. Once butter begins to melt at spices and stir until fragrant.
5. Add apples and maple syrup. Let saute until apples are tender.
6. Remove from heat and add to flatbread.
7. [For the Streusel Topping] In a bowl add almond flour and coconut sugar, stir.
8. Cut butter into smaller sections and add to dry ingredients.
9. Cut butter into flour until small pea sized pieces form.
10. Crumble on top of apples.
11. [For the Caramel Sauce] Add coconut milk, sugar and salt to a small saucepan.
12. Bring to a simmer over low-medium heat, stirring frequently.
13. Let simmer 15-30 minutes until reduced to proper consistency.
14. Once reduced, remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter.
15. Let cool slightly, stirring frequently.
16. Drizzle over flatbread