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September 15, 2011 | 0 Comments

Tangy Avocado, Grapefruit, and Pomegranate Salad

Avocado, Grapefruit and Pomegranate Salad

I owe this tangy, satisfying salad all to my husband.  I’ll be the first to admit that these days, when I think about what to make for dinner, I think about meat. Mmmm, meat. That sometimes has the unfortunate side-effect, however, of leaving my vegetarian hubby out in the cold. Being that I’ve only recently come to enjoy the greener spectrum of foods, P.J. has been a great resource for figuring out tasty new veggie-friendly dishes, and he’s always game to experiment with whatever’s fresh.

On this particular occasion, we had been to the Farmers Market that morning and picked up some yummy local pomegranates…inspiration! This salad is his creation… it’s got a really nice tang to it, and the pomegranate seeds and almonds add a nice crunch of texture.  Follow the jump for the recipe!

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September 12, 2011 | 20 Comments

Paleo Sweet Potato Pancakes with Cinnamon Apples

Paleo Sweet Potato Pancakes on the Griddle

Since going Paleo, I have to say that breakfast has become a whole different animal for me. I’ve always been a breakfast person, but for years, breakfast consisted of a glass of skim milk, a banana, and a cereal bar. Holy glycemic spike, Batman! I’d feel great for about 45 minutes, and then I’d be starving and dragging within a couple of hours… it was all I could do to make it to lunch.

These days, I get some pretty awesome sideways looks from my coworkers when I pull out leftover ribeye and salad to have for breakfast.  I’ll admit, it took some getting used to, but I feel so much more satisfied having some good protein and fat in the morning… I’m no longer starving by lunch, and my energy levels stay much more constant throughout the day. That said, every once in a while I’ll get a craving for some traditional breakfast food… e.g. pancakes.  Given that I love sweet potatoes, I figured I’d give some Paleo sweet potato pancakes a try for me and the hubby over the weekend.  There are tons of great recipes out there, and here’s my custom version, topped with sauteed cinnamon apples.

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September 1, 2011 | 2 Comments

Hatch Green Chile Breakfast Scramble

Hatch Green Chile Breakfast Scramble with Avocado

It’s Hatch chile season here in Austin, which basically means that all the grocery stores are overflowing with these gorgeous green chiles.  I’ve only recently started using a lot of chiles in my cooking… I found them a little intimidating before I started using them regularly. Needless to say, I hadn’t yet experimented with this particular chile until this past Sunday.  The hubby and I were home enjoying some much-needed quiet time, and rather than go out for brunch, I decided to whip up a super simple breakfast scramble using one of the chiles I’d grabbed at the market.  I made this version vegetarian so we could both enjoy it, but you could definitely add some cooked bacon directly into the eggs if you’d like! Follow the jump for the scramble recipe.

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September 1, 2011 | 9 Comments

Lemon Coconut Macaroons

Lemon Coconut Macaroons, Fresh from the Oven

It’s been a little while since I posted a dessert recipe, so in honor of my 20lb. PR deadlift last night and the upcoming holiday weekend, today’s recipe is a sweet treat. I’m a huge fan of coconut macaroons – they’re such a simple, tasty little cookie – so I decided to give ’em a go.  (Plus, they’re gluten- and dairy-free!) For inspiration, I looked to Elana’s Pantry – she’s got some incredible recipes for gluten-free goodies.  While I was grabbing supplies at the store, I ran across a gorgeous little bottle of pure lemon oil, and I thought it might pair really well with the clean coconut flavor in the cookie. Follow the jump for my adapted recipe…

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August 29, 2011 | 0 Comments

Fight Gone Bad 6 – Help PaleoBetty Raise $500 for College Funds!

Hi guys!  More yummy food posts coming soon, but I would like to take a minute to tell you about the Fight Gone Bad 6 event happening all over the world on September 17.

On Saturday, September 17, CrossFitters around the world will come together to endure 17 minutes of one of our most grueling workouts in honor of the incredible men and women who have committed their lives to serving our country. For 17 minutes, we will push ourselves further, challenge ourselves deeper, feel the doubt and wonder if we can make it, but then remember why we are there and appreciate fully those who we are there to honor.

I’ll be doing Fight Gone Bad for the first time this year in Las Vegas, NV, and I would be incredibly grateful of your support in this endeavor.  I’m shooting to raise $500+ for the event.

Raised funds are pledged to provide full college scholarships for the children of fallen soldiers, and every little bit helps. If you have the ability to support this cause, you can make a real and meaningful impact on two phenomenal organizations (Special Operations Warrior Foundation and CrossFit Foundation) that provide immediate and measurable support to families needing it most.

Able to Donate?

Click here to visit my personal fundraising page. Thank you so very much!

The Fight Gone Bad 6 Workout

In this workout, athletes rotate through five stations of different challenges. The competition is done in five rounds, with each athlete spending 1 minute per station per round with a 1 minute rest between rounds, all for a total of three rounds. The stations are:

  • Wall-ball: 20 pound ball, 10 ft target. (Reps)
  • Sumo deadlift high-pull: 75 pounds (Reps)
  • Box Jump: 20″ box (Reps)
  • Push-press: 75 pounds (Reps)
  • Row: calories (Calories)

The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. On call of “rotate,” the athlete/s must move to next station immediately for a good score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.

Will you support my 17 minutes?

August 23, 2011 | 2 Comments

Sous Vide Herbed Pork Chops

Tender, Juicy Sous Vide Pork Chops

I can’t even tell you how excited I am about this recipe… As you know, I got my very own SousVide Supreme for my birthday in July – each new recipe is an experiment! I’d been eyeing the beautiful bone-in pork chops at the Central Market meat counter, and I figured they’d make a good 2nd dish to try out (first dish was a ribeye… still need to work on that one). Pork can be a bit of a challenge to cook without the right tools – it’s super easy to dry it out, and there are few things that I like less than a dried-out pork chop. Ugh. So, I did a little hunting around and ran across a Williams Sonoma recipe that I’ve adapted for the blog… Check it out after the jump!

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August 17, 2011 | 4 Comments

Guacamole with Fresh Crab and Tart Apple (Yum!)

Fresh Crab and Tangy Apple Guacamole

So, there’s a fantastic restaurant downtown here in Austin called La Condesa… it’s a gorgeous space that specializes in small-bites, interior Mexican cuisine that feels like gourmet street food. Yum! (BTW, if you feel like stepping away from super-strict Paleo for an evening, their Mexican street corn is to die for!)

Anyhoo… the point of this post has to do with one of their specialty guacamoles. They have all manner of fabulous guacamole on the menu… guac with pomegranate, guac with chipotle and almonds, and my favorite, the guac with crab and green apple. I adore this guacamole. So. Stinking. Much.

So, since I’ve been trying to come up with ways to use the gorgeous tubs of fresh lump crab meat from Central Market, it seemed only right that I try to recreate this delicious treat. Following (after the jump) is my version… enjoy!

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August 16, 2011 | 1 Comment

Happy Birthday to Me! My New Sous-Vide Machine…

I have the best hubby in the world.  After about two months of my not-so-subtle hinting that I was dying for a sous-vide machine of my own (love you, Richard Blais!), my lovely husband hooked me up with the oh-so-gorgeous SousVide Supreme. Plus, my wonderful mom and dad completed the package with a counter-top vacuum sealer. Behold.

My Brand-New SousVide Supreme

Cooking sous-vide (or “under-vacuum”), is method of cooking wherein food is vacuum-sealed in plastic bags and then dunked in a (precise!) temperature-controlled water bath for extended periods.  This method allows you to cook food at the exact temperate at which you’d like it to end up (i.e. 134 degrees F for a medium-rare ribeye). Because of the slow cooking time and constant temperature, foods are cooked evenly all the way through to a precise level of “doneness.” Foods, such as animal proteins, can then be finished with a pan sear or kitchen torch to give it that additional flavor and texture that we all love.

More about my first sous-vide experiment after the jump!

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August 13, 2011 | 2 Comments

Melon Summer Soup with Crispy Prosciutto

Melon Summer Soup with Crispy Prosciutto

So, P.J. (my lovely husband) loves cantaloupe, and I love prosciutto. You’d think that would mean we’d share a mutual love for the Italian classic of prosciutto-wrapped melon, right?  Well, we have a small challenge – P.J. is vegetarian, and I wouldn’t say that I love cantaloupe.  That said, I recently saw a recipe in Cooking Light for a cantaloupe-based chilled gazpacho with crispy prosciutto, and I thought I might give it a try.  I’ll say up front that, while we both liked the dish, it was perhaps not our very favorite.  Not because it’s not good, but more because the prosciutto really is a key element (which P.J. couldn’t eat), and as it turns out, I really just don’t care that much for cantaloupe.

I realize the above is not the best sales job for this recipe… 😉  That said, I believe that if you’re a fan of cantaloupe and you’re up for adding the prosciutto, you’ll probably really like this one. You’ll find my adaptation after the jump.

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August 11, 2011 | 3 Comments

Every Day Shredded Chicken

Every Day Shredded Chicken

For many years, I’ve been nervous about cooking chicken, and I’m not entirely sure why.  I really like chicken (especially dark meat, not gonna lie), and I ate loads of it growing up (thanks, Mom!).  Since I’m working on adding some great easy, tasty proteins to my weekly menu, a roasted chicken that can be added to just about anything seemed like a good thing to try.  This one’s good solo, but it can also be a salad topper, a frittata protein, whatever!

This is a super-easy recipe that will give you several servings of protein to use at will during the week… enjoy!

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