Please Be Patient While I Set Up My New Blog

As you can see this blog is in a state of flux! I am in the process of moving over to Wordpress, and starting a new blog there. I appreciate your readership here since 2010. Hope to see you at www.eatdrinkberunning.com!

#Paleo Cauliflower Rice

Lately I have been hearing a lot about cauliflower rice and became curious about giving it a try. My husband and I have been eating more paleo recipes and are considering giving it a shot as a lifestyle. Neither of us are going to eat bland things that we don't like for the sake of any type of diet, so we are trying to find the things that will become easy staples. We are switching one of our sons to a gluten free diet (a whole other post altogether) so there are a lot of changes going on in our kitchen these days!

As I mention often, I love recipes with minimal ingredients, and this surely met that requirement. Here are the basics:

- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 yellow onion (I used 1/2 shallot because I had one I wanted to use)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 head cauliflower
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper

Start with a whole head of cauliflower

What to do:

Rinse cauliflower under cool water and pat dry.

1. Pulse the cauliflower to a coarse texture (approximately the size of rice grains) in a food processor. You may also use a cheese grater to get the desired texture. 
2. Heat the coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat.
3. Sauté the onion (or shallot) and garlic for 3–4 minutes, or until the onion is relatively translucent.
4. Add in the cauliflower rice and continue to sauté for 4–5 minutes.
5. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Cut of the stem and leaves and make florets

Pulse or grate until it looks sort of like this

The garlic and shallot "clove" provided a nice subtle flavor

Cooking notes: This turned out fabulous, my husband loved it too. My kids didn't get into it, but I didn't expect them to on the first try. I felt this was a very healthy alternative to a side of grains. I think getting out the food processor on a week night is a little much for me, but I like super easy recipes with minimal mess. I will definitely make this again, but most likely on the weekend when I am not as pressed for time to get the dishes and kitchen cleaned up.

Eat healthy, friends!

Paleo Baked Fish

Large enough fish filet to share with my son

 I've been having more Paleo fun in the kitchen again. My hubby has been home at dinner time more frequently, which has been nice so I've been trying out some new dishes on him. This time, we decided to try some seafood, which we both enjoy and offers a nice balance to whatever we usually have at lunch time which is typically poultry (turkey or chicken sandwiches/salads). 

This is adapted from The Food Lover's Pantry recipe for "Halibut en Papillote." The recipe can really be adapted for any fish actually, and we went with red snapper this time around because it was the best fish available at our grocery store's fish counter. It was a great price also...nice bonus!

Shallots have a much milder flavor than onion

In addition to utilizing red snapper instead of halibut, we also used thinly sliced garlic instead of garlic scapes, which are the greens that grow atop the garlic clove on the plant. I'll admit I am a lazy cook, and a lazy shopper so since our store didn't carry them when I went shopping I did not spend a lot of time driving around searching. I absolutely love shallots, I feel as though they are so underrated and under utilized in recipes so I was excited to use them. The cooking process for this fish was tremendously simple, and I am sure I will try it again and again with other types of fish, and perhaps including other vegetables in the parchment packet. To make this, I used:

1 tbsp thinly sliced shallot
2 cloves thinly sliced,
1 lemon, thinly sliced
2 red snapper filets or fish of your choice approx 1 inch thick
1 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to bake at 400°F. Rinse your fish and pat it dry with a paper towel.

Roll out 2 large pieces of parchment paper, approximately 15" squares. Hold them down in an open fashion using a salt shaker or other item.

Sprinkle the fish with pepper, and place sliced shallot on top of your fish filets and arrange garlic slices evenly (1 clove for each filet). Evenly distribute your lemon slices on the filets as well.

My son helped me top the fish with shallot, garlic and lemon

Fold 2 opposite corners of the parchment toward each other, and fold over one side of the parchment and roll the filet up in the paper. Place on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or longer for a thicker cut of fish.

Make sure all sides are closed up

 When you remove from the oven take precautions when opening the parchment. It will likely be hot and steamy, but also there will be a lot of lemon juice in the packet as well.

We served this fish alongside cauliflower rice, which I will also share the recipe for next time. We felt it turned out very tasty, and although we salted the cauliflower rice felt that we should have salted the fish when we peppered it as well. Looking forward to trying this again, perhaps with a different fish and maybe putting some veggies in the parchment to steam as well. Yellow squash sounds like a great choice.

Paleo Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

Hadn't had broccoli in a while. So good!

 It has been a while since I have written a post, and even longer since I have posted a recipe. The dreaded FLU of 2013 caught up with me in January and seemed to derail me in every which way! Additionally, traveling for business and still trying to spend time with my kids has put my blog on the back burner. Many of you who follow me on Instagram know that not only have I have surely been eating, but I'm still cooking. I do not live by strict rules when it comes to eating but I try to stay somewhat healthy so when I want to eat a fabulous dessert, great cheese or something greasy from time to time I don't have to beat myself up over it. Lately I have been educating myself on the Paleo Diet, and am intrigued by the results some friends have had eating in this "caveman" fashion. I decided to dabble in some recipes to see if this lifestyle is something I would adopt, and at the very least, to explore something new.

Me, caveman. Eat meat.

 This recipe was adapted from The Food Lover's Kitchen recipe for Beef and Broccoli. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely make it again! I had never used any soy sauce substitutes before and was excited to find coconut aminos at my regular grocery store. Even better, when I compared the sodium content, the coconut aminos had 113 mg/serving vs. nearly 600 mg/serving of my LOW SODIUM soy sauce! I am of Filipino descent and my entire life I have used soy sauce in recipes and on my rice. I never thought I could or would give it up. But honestly, after seeing the low sodium content of the coconut aminos, I don't think I could go back to soy sauce even if I didn't stick to a Paleo lifestyle.

This is a GAME CHANGER for me

 I am a huge fan of recipes with minimal ingredients and simple processes. This was an ideal recipe for me!

1 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 cup raw coconut aminos
1/4 c green onion thinly sliced
2 tbsp ginger root, minced
2 tbsp sesame oil - adds a great flavor!
4 c broccoli florets
5 cloves garlic minced
1 lb beef chuck shoulder roast cubed (I used chuck steak, because the roasts were only sold in 2 lbs or higher weights)

Optional: 1 c shredded carrot, small can of sliced water chestnuts, 1/2 c coarsely chopped onion, sesame seeds for garnish

Heat sesame oil on high - it gets hot really fast and will smoke if its burning. Add garlic and ginger (and onion if you're using), and saute for 3 min or until onion starts to soften.

Add steak and stir frequently and brown on all sides.

Add broccoli and continue sautee on high, then water chestnuts if you're using, then green onion. Add another tbsp of oil if necessary, which it will be if you include the optional ingredients.

Pour in amino, season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.
Saute another 2-3 minutes to combine the flavors.

Garnish with sesame seeds (optional) and serve over cauliflower rice or spaghetti squash, to stay within Paleo guidelines.  This recipe serves 2 generously without a side dish. 

Happy Healthy Eating, Friends!

The Opposite of a New Year's Resolution

I was poised to start 2013 off right. I really had all the best intentions. I worked from home the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve, and worked out diligently. I even ran on Christmas morning! Then, life got in the way. And I can now only look back on how well I did during the month of December, minus all the eating of course, because I haven't done much since! An exhausting week-long business trip to CES in Las Vegas, which included late eating and excessive drinking did not leave much room for fitness. No one forced me to drink cocktails and eat fabulous meals, but I have to admit I enjoy that part! Unfortunately, it was those late nights and several cocktails that interfered with my ability to go to bed early or wake up early to fit in a work out. As they say, "Shit happens."

Cocktails at Fleur

 I tried to get some relaxation time at the cleverly-named spa, TheBathhouse,  at my hotel, cleverly called "TheHotel."  The massage was lovely! But 50 minutes was not enough to recuperate from my week in Las Vegas. Spending time relaxing by the hot pool area and in the steam room did help sooth my throat and voice, until I went into the casino again 2 hours later! Bah!

Nothing more relaxing than the sound of water

Since I've returned from Sin City, where smokey air got the best of me and took away my voice - which I really use every chance I get - I've been saddled with work, laundry, getting back into the groove with the kids, and the excuses continue. Further, we are experiencing record low temps in CA (boo hoo for us, I know) and my early morning runs have not been happening! Girlfriend does not do below 30*. And just a few weeks ago I was striving for bad-ass status. Not now. Brrr. I have been eating well since I've been back - all 2 days so far. But its something!

Ahi Tuna Steak at Mesa Grill

I cannot dwell on what could have been, I can only look forward. Today, I am planning to do yoga in the morning to ease back into it. Thursday morning, I plan to brave the chill and meet up with Scrappy Mama to run at 5:30 a.m. Friday I will run on the dreadmill before work. Saturday bootcamp and Sunday, Dailey Method. These are my best intentions. If one or more of these do not happen I will not beat myself up. Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed, afterall.

Hail Mary (Bloody Mary) at Sporting House

 Fit and Fabulous with the Best Inentions in 2013!