Almost Grandma's Meatloaf

This recipe is NOT Whole30 friendly and the ingredient that makes it that way really shouldn't be left out

Ingredients:
1 - 1.5 lbs ground beef (85% lean or leaner)
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 zucchini, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 tsp each oregano, basil, paprika, salt, garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 egg
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Ketchup or thick (but not chunky) red pasta sauce

Supplies:
Standard loaf pan, nonstick or very lightly greased on the bottom
Medium bowl

Serves 3-4

Preheat oven to 350F. In the bowl mix all ingredients except ketchup/red sauce. Mixing with your hands is most effective. Make a loaf in the loaf pan, then spread the ketchup or red sauce over the top. This is optional. Cook in oven 1 to 1.5 hour. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing.

This is inspired by my Grandma's meatloaf which is SO good. But not even a little paleo friendly, which is so unfortunate. This one is still pretty good though. Pictured served with roasted asparagus.

Chicken Veggie Kabobs - No Grill

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts
1/2 zucchini
1/2 red onion
1/2 tray mushrooms
Any veggies you want (peppers are another good one)
Or even fruit (pineapple is a good one)
Organic Ville Miso Ginger Organic Vinaigrette to taste

Supplies:
8-10 wooden skewers, soaked in water 20 minutes
Cookie sheet

Serves 2-4

Preheat oven to 325F. Cut ingredients into even sized chunks, about 1 or 1.5 cubic inches (or cut the mushrooms in half and make everything else the same size as that). Put on skewers making sure each one has the same or similar amount of each ingredient. If you're nuts like me you'll make sure the number of chunks are divisible by 8 or 10 and keep track and make a pattern. I told you, nuts. Season with salt and pepper to taste - add other spices or herbs like garlic powder, ground ginger, oregano, paprika, etc if you want. Drizzle or brush each skewer with a small amount of the dressing. Cook in oven until the chicken juice runs clear, about 30 minutes (depending how big your chunks were).

Of course, if you have a grill and have the energy, grilling is always tastier.

Serve with a ramekin of a little more of the dressing for dipping.

Strawberry Jam

Ingredients:
2 C roughly chopped fresh strawberries
2 Tbsp chia seeds
2-4 Tbsp sweetener (suggested: agave nectar or coconut sugar)

Supplies:
Hand blender or food chopper

Chop or blend strawberries until desired smoothness is achieved. Add chia seeds and stir in sweetener. Refrigerate and stir occasionally, much like the process for the various Chia Seed Puddings I've posted. There are no preservatives and so unlike store bought jellies and jams, unless you use a canning system, use within a week or two.

Goes really well atop Paleo Rolls!

Pumpkin Pie Chia Seed Pudding

Ingredients:
1/2 C puréed pumpkin
1/4 C homemade Almond Milk
1 Tbsp each: ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground allspice, ground nutmeg
3 Tbsp honey or coconut sugar
1/4 C chia seeds

Combine everything well and store in the refrigerator. Wait at least 25 minutes before serving. Depending how clean you're eating, this would be amazingly delicious with a dollop of Cool Whip. If you like this you'll probably also like Vanilla Cinnamon Chia Seed Pudding or Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding.

Herb Rubbed Pork Roast

Ingredients:
4 lb pork tenderloin
1 tsp each of:
   Basil
   Cumin
   Mustard
   Onion powder
   Parsley
   Rosemary
   Thyme
   Salt
   Pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil

Supplies:
Large ziplock bag
Medium roasting pan

Mix herbs in bag. Add tenderloin and shake (think Shake n Bake). Refrigerate 24 hours. Preheat oven to 375F. Place tenderloin in shallow pan greased with olive oil. (Add vegetables around the roast if desired. I places asparagus spear in the pan.)  Cook on lower rack 35-40 minutes or until internal temperature is 160F. Let rest 5 minutes before carving.

Almond Crusted Pork Medallions

Ingredients:
1/4 C Almond Meal
1/2 tsp each basil, parsley, onion powder
1/4 tsp mustard
5-6 medallions 1/2 inch thick (I cut mine from a pork tenderloin the rest of which I will be roasting)
Salt & pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil

Supplies:
Small bowl
Tongs
Medium nonstick sauté pan

Serves: 2

Mix almond meal and herbs, season medallions with salt and pepper. Toss in almond meal mixture and coat well. This can be done ahead of cooking and stored in the fridge. Heat half the olive oil to medium heat. Once the pan and oil are hot, place medallions in pan gently. They should sizzle but not loudly. If it's loud, turn your heat down. Flip after a couple minutes after a crust is formed on the bottom of the medallions. Add the rest of the olive oil around the pan. Continue to cook until firm or internal temperature is 160F. If you had left over almond meal add it to the pan to toast and use it to top your vegetables or as "croutons" for a salad.

Pictured here served with sautéed kale.

Off the Wagon

Alright so I have to say (though the radio silence on my part makes it obvious) I fell off the wagon recently. I could list all the various special occasions that happened in April or talk about the two and a half week "intermission" from my workout class, trainer and workout buddies. Doesn't matter, it's all excuses.

But it's ok, because I just learned something about building resiliency. Without going through the whole thing (it's pretty in depth) I'll just try to briefly explain why occasionally going "off-plan" actually builds a stronger habit change. If you have a series of small successes and then a fair sized failure, you're more likely to pick up again, set a reasonable goal and continue to have small successes. If you succeed for a sustained period of time with absolutely no failures or obstacles, the moment you falter (and you will, because you're human), that one failure will be too crushing to overcome and you're much more likely to give up entirely.

Therefore, I'm back to clean eating for May. It's getting harder to come up with new recipes to post but I'll try. Stay tuned - I have Almond Crusted Pork Chops 2, Herb Rubbed Pork Loin, and some kind of chicken coming up in the next several days.