Sweet and Spicy Roasted Squash

Ingredients
6lbs Acorn Squash (we used 4- 1.5lb squash), cut in half and seeds removed
14 Dates, pitted and chopped into small pieces
1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
3/4 tsp. Onion Powder
1 tsp. Chipotle Powder
1.5 tsp. Fenugreek
1.5 tsp. Sea Salt
2.5 T. Coconut Oil

Step 1: 

1. Preheat an oven to 400°F. To a baking sheet, add 1/4 cup of water and place the squash halves cut side down. Roast until a thin knife easily pierces the squash, about 20-25 minutes (depending on size).

Step 2:

1. While the squash is roasting, prepare the Date-Spice rub/smear:
2. Microwave dates and 1/4c of water until warm and dates are softened. This step can also be done on a stovetop, if you do not have or use a microwave. 
3. Once softened, mash the dates with the back of a fork until smooth. 
4. Add remaining ingredients and combine until smooth. Season with salt, to taste. 
5. Set aside mixture until squash is ready for the final step. 

Step 3:

1. Remove the softened squash from the oven and distribute the date-spice mixture evenly amongst the squash halves. Spread the mixture until the squash flesh is covered. 
2. Transfer baking sheet back to the preheated oven and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, until squash is completely cooked.   

RECIPE CREDIT: My little sister, Lauren, created this recipe a few weeks ago using spices I had on-hand. It's the perfect Fall side dish!

Nom Nom Paleo Book Signing at CFOC

One of my favorite Paleo bloggers, Michelle of Nom Nom Paleo, is coming to CrossFit Oregon City (my affiliate) Wednesday, January 15th for a book signing, Q&A, and fun giveaways. We'll have her new book, "Food For Humans" available for purchase the day of the event.

RSVP HERE.

Photo courtesy of Nom Nom Paleo

Grilled Chicken Thighs w/SunButter Sauce- UPDATED

Ingredients:

Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs (this recipe will work for up to 5lbs)

1/2 cup Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

Juice of 2 Limes

3 T. Olive Oil

2 T. Granulated Garlic

2 T. Ancho Chile Powder

Sea Salt

Chopped Fresh Cilantro, for garnish

1. Add all ingredients, except for sea salt, to a large plastic bag or tupperware container and toss to coat. 
2. Transfer to the refrigerator and marinate overnight. 
3. When ready to grill, remove from liquid and season thighs with sea salt.*
4. Grill, until cooked through. 
5. Cut thighs in half and transfer to a platter. Serve with toothpicks and sauce (recipe follows). 

*You can cut the thighs and skewer (make sure to soak wooden skewers, if using) at this point, or grill and cut into bite-size pieces (serve with toothpicks, as hors d'oeuvres) after grilling. 

SunButter Sauce

1/2 cup SunButter

1/2 cup Coconut Milk

1/2 cup Chicken Stock

1/3 cup BBQ Sauce (I used PaleoChef Peach BBQ)

1/4 tsp. Fish Sauce (I use Red Boat)

1/2 tsp. Ground Ginger

1/2 tsp. Berebere Seasoning (I buy mine from Penzeys, but you can also find a recipe HERE)

1. Add all ingredients to a small saucepan and whisk until smooth. 
2. Simmer until thickened, whisking often, about 10 minutes. 

Lamb Burgers w/Apricot, Mint, and Pistachios (Feta Optional)

This recipe is inspired by the Lamb Burger I ate this weekend, at Davis St Tavern (Portland, OR). I ordered mine without the bun and asked for it to be served on a bed of Arugula- perfection! Here is my version:

Ingredients
2lbs Ground Lamb
3oz Dried Apricots, diced
1/4oz Fresh Mint, chiffonade
1T. Sea Salt
3oz Feta, crumbled (omit, if you do not eat dairy- I enjoy it on occasion)

1. Add ingredients to a bowl and blend [with your hands] to combine.
2. Meat can be formed into burgers, meatballs, or mini burgers. Use an ice cream scoop or melon baller for uniform patties/balls. 
3. Heat a heavy-bottom pan to medium-high. DO NOT oil your pan, the lamb likely has enough fat as is. Transfer patties to the pan and cook until browned (about 2-3 minutes, depending on size). Flip and continue to cook until burgers reach desired doneness. 
4. Remove from pan and left rest 1-minute. 
5. Serve atop Arugula (or other greens) tossed with THIS dressing or other citrus-based vinaigrette and sprinkle with garnish (recipe below). 

Garnish
1/4oz Fresh Mint
2T Shelled, Salted Pistachio Nuts

1. Grind in a food processor, until finely chopped.
2. Sprinkle over burger.

Brussels Sprout Slaw w/Pistachios, Cranberries, Bacon, and Mint

2lbs Brussels Sprouts, cleaned and trimmed of large stem pieces
6oz Dried Cranberries (I buy THESE, from Steve's)
1/2 cup Roasted and Salted Shelled Pistachios, roughly chopped (I use THESE)

1/2 cup Fresh Lemon Juice
Rendered Fat from 6 Slices of thinly sliced Bacon plus Extra Virgin Olive Oil to make 1/2 cup of Fat
1/2 cup chiffonade of Fresh Mint Leaves, lightly packed 
2 T. Bavarian Seasoning
2 tsp. Sea Salt, or more to taste

NOTE: I'm doing a Whole30 right now, but if you're not- 1 T. of Dijon Mustard would be a really nice addition to this vinaigrette. 

1. Using the grater attachment of a food processor, shred the brussels sprouts. Transfer to a large bowl.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, mint, Bavarian Seasoning, and sea salt. Slowly whisk in the 1/2 cup oil. Add additional seasoning, if needed. 
3. Add half of the dressing to the brussels sprouts and toss well to combine, adding more dressing as needed. Top with chopped pistachios, dried cranberries, and bacon pieces and serve. 

Post Workout Yam "Muffins"

Ingredients:

Yams, roasted, peeled, and pureed

Egg Whites, whipped to soft peaks

Ground Cinnamon

Ground Nutmeg

Ground Ginger

Ground Allspice

Here's the deal...the mixture that is best for me, is not going to be the mix that is best for you. With that being said, I am providing a recipe to make a 1-Block (see Zone) serving:

Roasted Yams:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Transfer yams to a baking sheet and roast until they are totally soft and begin to ooze, about 2-hours. 
3. Remove from oven to cool.
4. Once cooled, peel and puree (I used a food processor, but you could use a potato ricer, heavy-duty blender, or go old-school and use a fork!). My mixture was really creamy, so do what you need to. 

Egg Whites:

1. Separate egg whites and save the yolks for future use*.
2. Transfer whites to a food processor or blender and blend until foamy.

The Recipe:

(Makes 1 large "Muffin" or a 1-Block Serving)

3 T. Yam Puree (I used a scale to weigh mine out to 37g, so this is an approximation)

2 Egg Whites

1/4 tsp. Ground Cinnamon

1/8 tsp. Ground Nutmeg

1/8 tsp. Ground Ginger

Pinch of Ground Cloves

1. Preheat oven to 350F. 
2. Add yam and spices to egg whites and blend until smooth. Add a few drops of water, if mixture is too thick to blend. 
3. Evenly distribute the mixture amongst your nonstick muffin tins (1 if using oversized tins, 2-3 if using standard tins) or silicon baking cups (if you want to ensure that they do not stick, I would recommend investing in them) and transfer to the preheated oven. 
4. Bake until puffed and cooked through, 15-20 minutes (the baking time will increase if you are making more than 1-2 muffins) depending on the size of your muffin tins or cups.
5. You can enjoy them now, or remove them from the baking cups and let cool- cooled texture will be similar to a custard, while fresh from the oven they will be more like a pancake in texture. 

*I just added a few each day to my frittatas, for some extra fat. You could also use them to make homemade mayonnaise or a hollandaise for roasted asparagus, or other veggies. 

And, there you have it...Post-Workout "Muffins"! I created these as a way to have something that I could carry with me in my car, that would be easy to eat, and would taste good. I LOVE them...Scott does not; he likes the flavor (they are nice and sweet from the roasting and the spice mixture makes them really flavorful), but not the texture. So, before you make a bazzillion of these, try them for yourself. The texture is souffle-like, right out of the oven, but changes to more of a custardy muffin after refrigeration. So...there you have it!

I am playing around with my post-workout food and got an idea as to what what might work best for me from Robb Wolf's site, and this post in particular. So, read up and play around with the mix that you feel is most suitable for you. 

Here are my stats, for reference:

Height: 69"

Weight: 133lbs 

Waist (measured at smallest point): 29"

Hips (measured at widest): 37"

Very Active. 

Roasted Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients

1 Large Spaghetti Squash, cut in half lengthwise and deseeded*

2T. Coconut Oil or Clarified Butter (I used THIS)

2tsp. Sea Salt

2tsp. Onion Powder (optional)

*Scoop the seeds out with a spoon, leaving the noodle-like flesh intact.

1. Preheat oven to 350F. 
2. Place the squash halves on a baking sheet, flesh-side up. Rub with fat (1T. per side) and sprinkle with sea salt and onion powder (if using). 
3. Transfer baking sheet to oven and bake, flesh-side up, for 1-hour. 
4. After 1-hour, flip the squash upside down so that it is skin-side up in the baking sheet. Bake an additional 90-minutes, until the edges of the squash flesh are brown and caramelized. 
5. Scoop the "noodles" from the skin and serve. 

I actually discovered this way of baking by accident, when I left my squash in the oven [after turning it off] overnight. The result was a more flavorful, less watery "noodle". 

Sausage, Butternut Squash, and Brussels Sprouts

It's been months since my last post...

This is one of those "recipes" that is not really a recipe, but that may be helpful for anyone who doesn't just naturally throw things together.

I love the combination of bacon, butternut squash, and brussels sprouts [I originally discovered this combination HERE], but had no bacon in my fridge or freezer. I do, however, have a bunch of ground pork so I decided to make some Pork Breakfast Sausage and liked the way that this turned out.

Here's what I did for tonight's meal:

1lb Pork Breakfast Sausage
3lbs Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
2lbs Brussels Sprouts, trimmed

The squash and the sprouts should be the same size, so keep that in mind when cutting/trimming.

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Heat a large pan over medium-high heat.
3. Add the sausage to the heated pan and cook until browned; break up the sausage as it cooks.
4. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the sprouts, squash, and browned sausage (add fat from the pan) with 1 T. fat and 1 tsp. smoked sea salt until coated. 
5. Transfer baking sheet to the oven and roast until veggies are cooked through and browned; about 1-hour, depending on size of veggies. 

Mini "Eggs in a Nest" (Leftover Edition)- REPOST

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:

1T. Coconut Oil (or other fat)

1 Cup Leftover Veggies (I used roasted carrots and celery root, that I had tossed with olive oil and Za'atar. I also added a few pinches of shredded, raw zucchini that I had in the fridge.)

1/2 Cup Leftover Meat (I used shredded pork; a pork shoulder that I slow-cooked with salsa verde)

3 Eggs

Cilantro or Other Fresh Herb, for garnish (optional)

This is what  used for mine,  but you can also use ramekins:

Oversized Muffin Tin*

1. Preheat oven to 350F. 
2. Use your fingers to smear the coconut oil into three oversized muffin tin cups. 
3. Distribute the meat and veggies amongst the three cups and form a little indentation for the egg.
4. Crack eggs and put one egg into each tin, as pictured. Fill remaining, empty, cups with water (about 1/4 full).
5. Transfer muffin tin to the preheated oven and bake 15-20 minutes, until cooked to your desired doneness. 
6. Use a spoon to scoop out your egg creations, transfer to your plate, and garnish with fresh herbs. 

 

 

This recipe came about because I have little bits (not quite enough to make a full meal) of random leftovers in my fridge that needed to be eaten. I love this "recipe" because all of the prep is done and it doesn't involve any whisking, cutting, or work, other than the filling of muffin tin cups. Easy! 

Let me know if you try this and what combinations you try! 

Ground Pork-Broccoli Rabe Mini Frittatas

1lb Ground Pork
1 cup Chopped Broccoli Rabe
1 T. Fat, plus extra for greasing tins
1 T. Penzeys Forward Seasoning (this is one of my new favorites)
Pinch of Sea Salt

12-14 Eggs (depends on the size of your eggs)
2 T. Chive Oil
1 T. Penzeys Tuscan Sunset (I use this regularly, as my "Italian Seasoning")
1 tsp. Granulated Garlic Powder (the BEST garlic powder I've tried...LOVE it!)
Pinch of Sea Salt

1. Preheat oven to 350F. 
2. Grease muffin tins; I use my fingers to smear the fat evenly throughout the cups.
3. Melt 1T. fat in a saute pan, over medium-high heat. Add the pork and brown; breaking up the meat throughout the process. Add chopped broccoli rabe and seasoning and toss to combine. Set aside to cool slightly. 
4. While meat is browning, break eggs into a blender (or bowl), add chive oil, salt, and seasoning. Blend until whipped and slightly frothy (about 15 seconds). 
5. Transfer meat-veggie mixture to the muffin cups, evenly distributing the mix. 
6. Pour egg mixture over the meat-veggie mixture until filled to the top*.
7. Transfer the muffin tin to the preheated oven and bake until puffed, about 20-30 minutes.

*I added slices of tomato (sprinkled with additional Tuscan Seasoning and sea salt) to the tops of my frittatas, prior to baking.