Summer fun :)

Today I got up with a fun plan for the day: to hang out with one of my college teammates and her family!  I had a quick breakfast of a hard boiled egg, half an avocado and a few strawberries.

Then I headed out to see the fantastic four (the Hedgpeth family).  We picked up Flame Broiler for lunch - I had a chicken veggie bowl.

After lunch we played at a family water park in La Mirada.  It was so much fun!

Ali and I took Luke in the lazy river and he demonstrated his amazing underwater skills.

After family fun day, I headed to crossfit where I did not one, but one and a half WODs!  Yay me!  Luckily I didn't have to do much for dinner because I put a grass fed brisket in the slow cooker this morning.  When we got home from crossfit I plopped some coconut oil in a pan and cooked up a handful of green beans and we had dinner!

BBQ Buffalo Balls!

Sounds delicious, huh?  My dinner date for the evening rescheduled for Monday, so I had to figure out something for dinner.  Continuing on with the uninspired cooking, I started dinner with a pound of ground buffalo and broccoli.  I really didn't have a clear direction to go in, but I somehow settled on blasted broccoli (a staple) and buffalo meatballs.  The problem I have with meatballs is that I need ketchup or barbecue sauce to make them palatable to me.  So, paleo BBQ sauce was born.

Recipe: 

1 6oz. can of organic tomato paste

1 cup of chicken stock or water

3 cloves of garlic

1/2 an onion

2 tbs dijon mustard

2 tbs apple cider vinegar

1 tbs EVOO

1 tbs chili powder

1 tbs worcestershire sauce

1tsp salt

Optional: 2 tbs. agave syrup (do not add until after the 30 day challenge)

Directions:

Chop the onion garlic as small as possible (I used a teeny food processor/chopper, which worked great).  Then measure and add all of the ingredients to a saucepan over medium heat.  Use a whisk to fully mix everything together.  Once bubbling, turn down heat and simmer on low for 30 minutes.

At this point, I had browned the buffalo meatballs, and just dropped them directly into the sauce to finish cooking.  It came out great, if I do say so myself.  

Lunch, day 22.

Immediately after finishing today's (killer) WOD, I raced out to meet my good friend Sandy for lunch.   Lucky for Sandy, I brought a fresh t-shirt to change into.

We usually pick Chipotle because they have really great paleo options AND their meat is naturally raised and produced.  Carnitas salad with pico de gallo and guacamole.  Yum!

Foodz, day 21.

I don't know what's wrong with me, but I've been feeling uninspired when it comes to cooking lately.  Good thing I have a lunch date AND a dinner date for tomorrow.  I'm not cooking again till Thursday!  This is what I came up with for lunch: a carne asada, egg and tomato scramble with a side of avocado.  

After gymnastics day at crossfit I was feeling even more uninspired about dinner, but then I remembered that I had an early birthday present waiting at home!

Isn't she pretty?

I've been wanting a food processor for a LONG time, and my dreams have finally come true.  I was determined to hold out until our wedding to have one, but who am I to turn down an early birthday present?  With this lovely tool and a head of cauliflower, I made rice.

I cooked up some chicken and steamed a few veggies to go along with it, and dinner was had:

Halibut!

Ryan came home from work a little early today, so I put him right to work on dinner (won't I be a great wife?).  When we bar-be-que I usually request that Ryan cook more than one thing, which I'll later package for easy and quick meals.  Today was no acception.   He cooked carne asada, pork tenderloin chops and wild caught halibut.

The halibut was the main attraction for dinner tonight, the other two were cooled, chopped into pieces and packed in the fridge.  While Ryan was cooking away outside, I prepped our veggie: green beans.  I know, not paleo!  Technically green beans are a legume, which is NOT ALLOWED.  But wait, I had my reasons.  Reason 1: I was looking for asparagus, but Costco was out.  Reason 2: green beans are unlike most beans; they can be eaten raw and they contain very little lectin (the most offensive part of beans).  Reason 3: Robb Wolf and Mark Sisson agree that green beans are okay.  So, I roasted green beans (which were delicious), and we had dinner!

Yum :)

Lunch, day 20.

On my way home from crossfit this afternoon I stopped off at Whole Foods for a nice piece of fish for dinner (and two pounds of ground buffalo for later in the week).  I walked through their cooked food section in search of something I could stuff in my face for lunch, but didn't find anything that 1) looked good enough, or 2) wasn't over $15.  I paid for my groceries and left Whole Foods.

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted In-N-Out and thought, "Meat?  Yes.  Veggies?  Yes.  I can eat this!".  I ordered a triple meat, no cheese, no spread, extra tomato and grilled onion protein style burger.  Sounds complicated, but it was so simple and delicious, I can't even tell you.  When I got home, I added avocado slices and ended up with this.

The best part?  It was $3.53.  No joke, I had this amazingly delectable and quick lunch for less than four dollars.  See?  Proof!

Father's day: part 2.

Last night brought many hours of sleep, which I needed after our long day of paintball.  When we got up, I reheated the leftover eggplant parmesan for breakfast.  Don't judge, it was an easy meal!  Once we got cleaned up and dressed, we headed out to my parents' house for father's day, part 2.  My parents have been really supportive about our decision to eat paleo.  My mom even made this lovely and refreshing "mocktail" for me!  Ice, pellegrino and fruit, oh my!

My dad was stationed at the barbecue, and cooked our whole meal.  Best father's day lunch ever?  I think so!

New York strip steak, grilled tomato and grilled asparagus.  It was delicious, and a great way to celebrate one of my dad's many skills.

My dad and me :)

Someone must have mentioned to my body that today was the day to rest, because I was ready for a nap as soon as we got home.  When I woke up from my nap I was feeling a little groggy, so Ryan made dinner!

Chicken breast with organic rub aside steamed broccoli and carrots.  All in all, a great father's day.