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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Bacon-Wrapped Mini Paleo Meatloaf

I grew up loving my mom’s meatloaf. Really!  I have no problem with the idea of multiple ground meats mixed together with some veggies and tomato sauce and baked to perfection. The only way I can see making it better is to cut the gluten and add bacon (words for life, eh?). Most recently I tried the Seriously Tasty Paleo Meatloaf over at Health-Bent.com – loved it and wanted to make it my own.

So, here is my take on some fun mini-meatloafs that would be great for a casual get-together or family meal… and everyone gets their own!  I’ve opted to include veggies directly in the loaf in this recipe, but if you’ve got persnickety young ones, it tastes great without ’em, too.

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Indulgent, gluten-free, and dairy free. Oh, yum.

CrossFit Central is hosting a bake sale today to support the Habitat for Humanity build, and given that I’m a huge fan of baked goods (professional cake baker in a past life), it seemed like a good idea to try a recipe.  For inspiration, I looked to Elana’s Pantry (amazing gluten-free, low-dairy, low-sugar treats) – I’d tried her Almond Joy Bars in the past, and I’d been looking for an excuse to do an adaptation of my own.

I think I’ll keep tweaking the recipe – the very bottom bit does still tend to come out a little underdone, but honestly, these things taste ridiculously good. They passed with flying colors with my 12-year-old, and he was VERY nervous about the almond extract going in…  I think the key is getting really high quality dark chocolate chips.  Next time, I’ll further reduce the quantity of palm sugar – I like my treats a little less sweet.  I’ll keep you posted as the recipe evolves!

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