Trying out new breakfast options

I made a couple of the new breakfast options this weekend. Sam is getting tired of the no-oat oatmeal, so I made some breakfast variations.
 On Saturday, I made this paleo eggs Benedict with avocado sauce

Today, I made this "Elvis" omelet, it had cashew butter and bananas in the middle, with raspberry sauce on the top

Both were really good

Banana omelet with raspberry sauce

 INGREDIENTS
8 eggs
4 firm but ripe bananas, sliced
½ cup almond butter
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt
Ghee or coconut oil
4 tbsp water
Raspberry Sauce (optional):
1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
⅓ - ½ cup fresh orange juice (1 oranges)
½ tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt

PREPARATION
Raspberry sauce (optional):
Put all ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Once boiling reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 - 20 minutes, stirring occasionally so the berries do not burn.
Once the liquid has reduced and a sauce forms remove from heat and set aside.
"Elvis" Omelet:
Whisk together 2 eggs, 1 tbsp of water, ⅛ vanilla extract, ⅛ cinnamon, and a dash of salt until the yolk and whites are well blended.
In a 10-inch skillet heat about 1 tbsp of cooking fat over medium heat.
Pour eggs into heated skillet making sure to coat the entire pan, let set for 30-40 seconds. Use a spatula to lift the omelet gently while it cooks to allow uncooked parts run underneath.
When the omelet is no longer runny place 1 sliced banana and 2 tbsp of almond butter on ½ of the omelet, fold the other half of the omelet over the fillings, cook for another 30 seconds.
Remove from heat and slide on to a plate.
Top with raspberry sauce if using.
Repeat the process with remaining ingredients.

Eggs Benedict with avocado sauce

INGREDIENTS
5 strips of good quality bacon (gluten, nitrate & nitrite, and sugar free), cut in half
4 eggs
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Avocado Sauce:
1 medium avocado, peeled
¼ cup lemon juice
½ tsp garlic powder
⅓ cup olive oil or water
Sea salt

PREPARATION
Preheat your oven to 400 F.
On a baking sheet, arrange the bacon into four separate bases for the eggs: each base should be a few pieces of bacon arranged in a weave pattern. Cook the bacon bases in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
Puree the avocado, lemon juice and garlic powder in a food processor until smooth. Add the olive oil or water until you get a thick but pourable consistency. Season to taste with sea salt.
Bring a pot of water to a boil, drop an egg in, and let it cook until the whites are set (2 to 4 minutes). Remove and repeat for the remaining eggs.
Divide the bacon among the plates, top with the poached eggs and pour avocado sauce on top of each egg.

BBQ sauce

INGREDIENTS
2 ½ onions, minced
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 ½ cups (20 oz) tomato paste (tomato should be the only ingredient)
1 ¼ cups + 1 ½ tsp apple cider vinegar
1 ½ cups water
¼ cup Dijon or homemade mustard
2 ½ tbsp coconut aminos
⅛ tsp dry mustard
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground ginger
1 ¼ tsp + more to taste smoked salt
Smoked paprika to taste
3-4 tbsp ghee or bacon fat

PREPARATION
In a large frying pan or sauce pan heat cooking fat over medium heat.
Add onion and cook for about 4 minutes, until translucent.
Add in garlic and cook for an additional minute.
Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer.
Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Taste the sauce and adjust with more smoked salt, paprika, or vinegar to the desired taste.
Cool and store in the refrigerator.

Balsamic Roast Beef

INGREDIENTS
6 lbs beef chuck roast, boneless
4 to 6 sweet potatoes, cut into big pieces
8 carrots, cut into big pieces
2 onion, sliced
4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
4 bay leaves
4 cloves garlic, minced;
⅔ cup balsamic vinegar
3 cups good quality beef stock
4 tbsp cooking fat
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 bunches swiss chard
2 garlic cloves
3 tbsp cooking fat
Splash of red wine vinegar
Sea salt

PREPARATION
Season the roast on all sides with sea salt and black pepper.
Melt some cooking fat over a medium-high heat in a large skillet, and sear the roast for 2-3 minutes on each side.
Place the meat in the slow cooker and top with the onion, minced garlic, balsamic vinegar, beef stock, bay leaves, rosemary sprigs.
Cover the slow cooker, turn it on low, and cook for 6 hours.
Add the carrots and sweet potatoes, set the slow cooker to high, and cook for about another 2 hours, or until the vegetables are nice and soft and the meat is fork tender.
Remove and discard the 2 bay leaves and rosemary sprigs.
Pour the liquid from the slow cooker into a saucepan and bring to a slow boil over a medium-high heat. Keep it boiling and let it reduce until you get the desired consistency for your sauce.
Pour the sauce back in the slow cooker and serve with the meat and vegetables.
Right before you are ready to eat prepare the sautéed Swiss Chard.
Remove the ribs of the Swiss chard and chop them into bite size pieces, then chop the leaves crosswise into ½ wide strips.
Heat cooking fat in a large sauté pan over medium heat and add garlic, sauté for 1 minute.
Add in the ribs of the Swiss chard and cook for 4 minutes.
Next add in the remaining leaves of the chard, splash of red wine vinegar, and salt to taste.
Sauté until leaves are wilted.
Remove from heat, transfer to serving bowl, and serve.

Bacon, grape, broccoli salad

INGREDIENTS
2 or 3 heads of broccoli, depending on their size
1 cup red or green grapes, halved
10 slices good quality bacon (gluten, nitrate & nitrite, and sugar free)
½ chopped onion
½ cup slivered or chopped almonds
1 ¼ cup homemade Paleo mayonnaise
¼ cup lemon juice
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

PREPARATION
Place the slices of bacon in a large pan on medium heat and cook for about 8 minutes on each side until crispy.
While the bacon cooks, cut the broccoli in small florets. You can use the stalks as well, making sure to cut it in pieces about the same size as the florets.
Mix the florets with the almonds, chopped onion and halved grapes.
Once the bacon is cooked and crispy, crumble and add it to the salad.
In a separate bowl, mix the mayonnaise with the lemon juice, season with salt and pepper.
Mix the dressing with the salad, mix well, and serve.

Egg nests with avocado and bacon

INGREDIENTS
8-10 slices good quality bacon (gluten, nitrate & nitrite, and sugar free)
5 eggs
4 cups spaghetti squash flesh, cooked
1-2 avocados, pitted and sliced
2 green onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 tbsp fresh oregano or thyme (about 2 large sprigs of oregano)
Cooking Fat
Sea salt and pepper to taste

  PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
Lay bacon slices in a single layer on the baking sheet and cook 15-20 minutes until crisp.
Transfer to paper towels to drain, set aside.
Set oven to broil.
While the bacon is cooking prepare the nests by mixing the spaghetti squash, 1 egg, green onions, garlic, oregano or thyme, and salt.
In the bowl loosely divide the mixture into fours (this will make it easier to make even nests).
Heat an oven safe skillet over medium-high heat with some cooking fat. The nests are pretty large, you may only be able to fit 2 per pan so you can use 2 oven safe skillets or cook them in batches.
Once the pan is very hot place each portion of the nests into the pan, using a spoon or fork flatten and shape a nest. Create a hole about 1 inch x 1 inch (large enough to nicely fit the yolks) into the center of the squash.
Crack an egg into each of the craters you created. A little egg white may spill over and that is fine, just scrape them away as they cook so they don’t burn.
Cook until the bottom of nests are nicely brown, about 5-8 minutes depending on how hot your stove is. The yolk will still be pretty raw at this point.
Once the bottoms are nice and crisp transfer the skillet to the top rack of the oven and broil for 2-5 minutes depending on how well you like your eggs cooked.
Remove from the oven and transfer them to a serving plate, season with salt and pepper and serve warm along side sliced avocado and bacon.

Looking for exercises to do once we are in an apartment

25-50 jumping jacks 
25 wall or incline push-ups 
30 second plank 
40 calf raises 
20 crunches 
Jog in place for 1 minute 
5-10 push-ups 
20 squats 
20-60 second wall sit 
20 mountain climbers 
10 lunges per leg 
5-10 burpees

Banana boats

 INGREDIENTS
4 Bananas (large ones work best)
Your choice of toppings:
Macadamia nuts, chopped
Unsweetened coconut, shredded or flaked
Grapes, halved
Fresh pineapple, diced
Strawberries, diced
Almond Butter
Nuts, chopped
Cinnamon
Coconut milk or cream

PREPARATION
Preheat your oven to 300 F.
Without peeling the bananas, cut a slit lengthwise into each fruit through the peel, but don’t cut all the way through the peel on the far side.
Carefully separate the banana to form a pocket.
Fill each banana with desired fillings.
Form a boat shape with aluminum foil around each banana to help keep them upright and place on a baking sheet.
Cook the bananas in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the skin starts turning black, and serve hot.

Scrambled eggs with fresh herbs

INGREDIENTS

• 8 eggs
• ¼ cup full-fat coconut milk
• 1 tbsp fresh marjoram, minced
• ½ tbsp fresh thyme, minced
• 1-2 green onions, minced
• 3 tbsp cooking fat
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Green Salad:
• 5 oz mixed greens
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 ½ tbsp red wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

  PREPARATION

• At the bottom of a salad bowl mix together Dijon, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.
• Add in the mixed greens and toss to coat. Set aside.
• In a bowl add the eggs and coconut milk and mix until everything is very well combined.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and melt the cooking fat.
• Pour in the egg mixture and gently stir with a wooden spoon or spatula as the egg begins to cook creating soft curds.
• Once the eggs have begun to set but still very moist add in the marjoram, thyme, and green onion. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Gently stir to evenly distribute.
• Once the eggs are fully set and no longer runny remove from the heat and serve with the green salad.

Prosciutto, strawberry and onion salad

INGREDIENTS

• 12 slices all natural prosciutto (gluten and nitrite free), chopped
• 10 oz mixed greens (about 8 cups)
• 1 large onion, sliced thinly
• 12 strawberries, hulled and sliced thinly
• ½ cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp cooking fat
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

  PREPARATION

• Add cooking fat to a large skillet and heat over medium-low heat.
• Add onions and cook until very soft and golden, about 10- 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• After the onions are golden turn up the heat to medium and cook another 5 minutes so they are nicely browned, again stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile pour 1 cup of balsamic vinegar into a nonreactive saucepan and heat over medium-high heat.
• Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and bring the vinegar to a simmer.
• Let simmer for 10-15 minutes until the mixture begins to thicken and reduce by about half.
• When it coats a spoon it is thick enough. Be careful not to over thicken or you may wind up with molasses.
• Remove from heat and as it cools it will thicken more.
• While the onions and balsamic are on the stove, prepare the salad by adding the mixed greens, chopped prosciutto, strawberries, and walnuts in a salad bowl.
• When the onions are done cooking, let them cool if desired and then add them to the salad. Season salad with salt and pepper.
• Drizzle desired amount of balsamic reduction over salad. It has a much more concentrated flavor so generally a small amount is all it takes for delicious flavor.

Breakfast sweet potato

INGREDIENTS

• 4 sweet potatoes
• 1 lb ground pork or good quality ground sausage
• ¾ cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
• 1 ½ tbsp fresh, or 1 ½ tsp dried sage, minced (12 leaves)
• 1 ½ tsp fresh, or ¼ tsp dried marjoram, minced (3 sprigs)
• 1 tsp fresh thyme, minced (optional)
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg (optional)
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Cooking fat (coconut oil or ghee work well here)

  PREPARATION

• Preheat oven to 400 F.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
• Pierce the potatoes a few times all over with a fork and place on the baking sheet.
• Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour until the potatoes are easily pierced all the way though with a fork.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet.
• Turn oven down to 375 F.
• While the potatoes are baking heat a skillet with 1 tbsp of cooking fat over medium heat.
• Add the ground meat, season with salt and pepper and cook until beginning to brown using a wooden spoon to break the meat into pieces.
• Once the meat starts to brown add in the blueberries, sage, marjoram, thyme and nutmeg if using, and season again with a little salt and pepper.
• Stir mixture continuing to break up the meat until it is fully browned and cooked through.
• Remove the meat from the heat. If needed drain any excess fat.
• When the potatoes are done cooking and cool enough to touch slice them in half lengthwise and scoop out a small amount of potato from the middle of each half and divide the filling equally among them. You can mix this extra potato into the meat mixture or eat on the side.
• Bake for another 5-10 minutes just to warm everything up.
• If using pre-baked potatoes they may need 15-20 minutes to fully warm up.

Pad Thai salad

  INGREDIENTS

• 4 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
• 4 cups cabbage, shredded
• 8 cups of mixed greens
• 2 bell peppers, sliced
• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 1 cup chopped nuts of your choice
• 8 green onions, chopped
• 6 small chili peppers, diced (optional)
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• Cooking fat

• Dressing:
• Juice of 2 limes
• 4 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 8 tbsp almond butter
• 8 tbsp coconut or almond milk
• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

  PREPARATION

• In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the dressing, mix well, and season to taste.
• Melt some cooking fat in a small skillet placed over a medium heat and cook the eggs for 3 to 4 minutes while scrambling it.
• In a bowl combine all the ingredients for the salad, and add the chicken on top.
• Pour the dressing over the salad and serve.

Poached salmon and dill cucumber salad

INGREDIENTS

• Poached Salmon:
• 4 (6.5 oz) individual salmon fillets, skin on or off (or 4 chicken breasts)
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 celery stalk, sliced
• 1 small onion, sliced
• ½ fennel bulb, trimmed and sliced
• ¼ cup white wine vinegar
• 1 cup good quality chicken stock
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Water

• Dill Cucumber Salad:
• 2 English cucumbers, thinly sliced
• ½ red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp capers, drained well
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• Sea salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

  PREPARATION

• Poached Salmon:
• In a large sauté pan combine the carrot, celery, onion, fennel, white wine vinegar, chicken stock, and a few good turns of the pepper mill. Heat over medium heat and let simmer for 5 minutes so the flavors meld.
• Place in the salmon fillets and fill pan with water until the fillets are fully submerged.
• Poach for 8-10 minutes over medium heat.
• Remove the pan from the heat and gently transfer fish to a plate or wire rack to cool for a few minutes.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
• While salmon is chilling, prepare the dill cucumber salad.
• In a medium sized bowl combine all ingredients for the salad and toss until well mixed.
• Cover and chill for at least 15 minutes before serving.
• Serve salmon chilled with dill cucumber salad on the side.
• If using chicken breasts:
• In a large pot (large enough to fit the chicken in one layer) add the chicken, carrot, celery, onion, fennel, white wine vinegar, chicken stock, a few good turns of the pepper mill, and fill with water so the chicken is covered by at least one inch. If you wish you can add in a few sprigs of fresh thyme or bay leaves as well.
• Heat pot over medium-high heat on the stove and bring to a boil.
• Once boiling, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook 10-15 minutes, until the thickest part of the chicken registers at 160 F. You may want to start checking around 8 minutes depending on how thick the chicken is.
• Remove pot from heat and let the chicken stand in the liquid for 5 minutes.
• If you wish you can store the chicken with some or all of the liquid to keep it moist, if not remove the chicken from the poaching liquid completely and store in the refrigerator until chilled.

Pork and Apple Meatloaf

  INGREDIENTS

• Pork and Apple Meatloaf:
• 1 ½ lbs ground pork
• 1 ½ cups apples, peeled and grated
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 7 slices good quality bacon, or more (gluten, nitrate & nitrite, and sugar free)
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Sautéed Leeks:
• 6 leeks
• 4 tbsp ghee or coconut oil
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

• Applesauce (pre-made all natural, no sugar added) or recipe as follows:
• 3 lbs assorted apples, peeled and sliced
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsp ghee, cut into small pieces
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch of ground nutmeg (optional)
• Pinch of coarse salt

  PREPARATION

• Meatloaf:
• Preheat your oven to 350 F.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment.
• In a bowl, combine the meat, apples, onion, chili powder, cinnamon, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Shape the meat mixture into a loaf on the baking sheet.
• Arrange the bacon across the top, and tighten underneath the meatloaf.
• Place the loaf in the oven and bake for about 1 hour.
• Set the oven to broil and broil for 3 to 5 minutes or until the bacon is crispy.
• Sautéed Leeks:
• Trim leeks so you are only left with the very light green and white parts. Rinse thoroughly and cut into thin slices.
• In a large skillet heat the ghee or coconut oil over medium heat.
• Add the leeks, thyme leaves, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Stir so everything is well mixed, cover, and turn heat down to low.
• Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and tender.
• Remove from heat and serve warm.
• Applesauce:
• Preheat your oven to 425 F.
• In a baking dish, combine the apples, water, lemon juice, ghee, and salt.
• Place in the oven and roast 30 minutes or until the apples are very soft.
• In a big bowl, puree the apple using a hand mixer or food mill. Of course, You can also use a blender or food processor to achieve the same result.
• Stir in the spices and serve while still warm or once cold.
• Serve slices of meatloaf with applesauce and sautéd leeks.