Paleo Superfood Potluck!!

Hi there! I am sitting here writing this post while my twitter feed is overflowing with people tweeting about pizzawingsnachossupersh*ttysuperbowlfoodoneword.

Sorry, but WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!?!

OK, so I am kind of shaking my head, trying not to judge, and thinking back to a time I didn't eat so well or look all that good, or for that matter FEEL all that great.

I have been Paleo for eleven months now, and since last March I am stronger, faster, sharper, and just better than ever. An old saying, but I believe it's true: You are what you eat.

I wouldn't be writing this if I didn't care about you. 

Or about the health of the human population in general and the quality of our food supply. See, when you buy cheap, processed food, it creates a demand for more of the same. I know it's easy and convenient to eat fast food or hard to pass up that juicy burger/pizza/french fry basket... but know this: even french fries are fried in cheap soybean oil... most likely grown by seeds from Monsanto and genetically modified in some form. Even the non fast food places in downtown you go to for happy hour. Cheap veggie oil, people!! The only oil you should be (pan) frying in is olive or coconut, PERIOD!

Backing down a bit....

All I am asking is that you make better choices, and your body will be reward you generously.

So many of my friends complain about being sick all the time. I haven't been sick all year long. I hear about migraines, flu, colds, and the list goes on and on and on and on. I also know if the complainers cut out all the garbage some of these ailments, would in fact magically disappear! If you are skeptical, take a look at my pictures... I will paste them below in a bit...

And also skeptics, all I ask is 30 days of your life. It's a crazy scary commitment to stop eating your Subway sammies, your pizza, your #crapfoodofchoiceIknowyouhaveonewealldo.

Cut grains, sugar, dairy, and legumes, as well as artificial sweeteners. You'll probably lose weight, but that will just be a pleasant side note to how much better you will feel in general.

And you can have super fun parties with great food just like this!! (BF's awesome house not included)

Here's the whole spread. So much good food. Eat like this everyday with even minimal exercise and you will lose and maintain your weight and live to be 100 years old. True story.

Our good friend Rick brought this Macadamia Nut Crusted Ahi Tuna Salad. So for those of you who say "I don't have time to eat Paleo/prep food..." Sorry, yes, you do. Super convenient to stop by Nugget Market, Whole Foods, etc, and point to what you want. As long as it's grain/gluten/sugar/dairy free.

Great contribution to the potluck, Rick. I believe this salad can be defined as a pot of luck. ;)

Thank goodness I hung on to my hotel/catering pans and equipment. This dish is actually Brussels sprouts, which I shredded in my food processor. I baked 2 pounds of bacon (because it was a double recipe) and crumbled it up and also dried out some roasted chestnuts and chopped them up to throw them in the mix as well.

So recipe is basically something like this:

Shredded Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Chestnuts (or Pecans)

1 pound of shredded Brussel sprouts

2 sliced onions

1 jar of roasted chestnuts* chopped

*(Optional, really. You can also use a nut of your 

choice like pecans, walnuts or almonds.)

1 pound of bacon

Balsamic Vinegar

Olive Oil

Garlic

You should prep the sprouts in advance, shred them in the food processor. 

Bake the bacon on a sheet pan on parchment to get it extra crispy. 

The parchment will absorb the extra bacon grease.

Dry out the chestnuts or toast your nut of choice and chop up.

Sauté the onions in the olive oil and add some salt, get them carmelize-y... ;)

Add the Brussel Sprouts and cook to barely wilt them. 

Place sprouts/onions in a hotel pan or jelly roll pan and douse them with balsamic vinegar. Roast for about 10 mins at 400. Then take em out and top with the chopped bacon and nuts of choice. Ding!

Gluten Free Almond and Hazelnut Rosemary Crackers

Ingredients:

2 cups almond flour

1 cup hazelnut flour

1 teaspoon celtic sea salt

2 teaspoons rosemary, minced

8 medjool dates, chopped

3 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

2 tablespoon olive oil

In a large mixing bowl, stir together almond flour, hazelnut flour, salt, soda, 

rosemary and chopped dates.

Mix in egg and oil until well combined

Roll out dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper until ⅛ inch thick

Cut dough with pizza cutter into the size of cracker you like.

Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes.

Greek Meatballs (recipe to come). I think these were my favorite dish of the night... 

Well, unless you count the Bacon Wrapped Dates natch ;)

This was salad a contribution from our dear friend and fellow wine lover, Lynda.

It was a spinach salad with dried cranberries, with goat cheese, walnuts, an orange vinaigrette.

Andy's famous Girlfriend-Fetching Bacon Wrapped Dates

(So, I'd go on a date with that guy any day.)

To make them: I am pretty sure he just gets the Medjool dates (love!!) and some really swanky thick cut bacon from Taylor's Market. Then pits the dates, places a pecan in the middle, and wraps a half slice of bacon around the date. Then you bake them at 400 degrees. Watch them closely. The natural sugar in the dates will burn easily. And don't use the maple bacon. It will burn and maybe catch on fire. That is not what you want. ;)

Catherine brought a chocolate fudge torte thing. Recipe and proper name of the dish to come!!

Here's the little centerpiece I labored on. I do kind of miss cake decorating.

The cakegrrl still lurks inside of the cavegrrl. ;)

But, I use my powers for good and not evil, so you will never see me make anything with sugar or flour or and processed crap. #Iwillnotberesponsibleforyougettingcancer. #sugargivesyoucancer

Almond butter filling inside the cake. Recipes to come in the next few days.

Paleo cake pop. Yes, that just happened.

Recipe to come.

That's all for now. Nighty night from Paleo land.

Oh yeah, BTW... I promised my pics.

OK here's one of chubby wubby from last year around this time.

Photo taken by Diana Miller.

And then here's me on New Year's Eve!! Oh yeah!! Thank you Paleo!!

Self indulgent MySpace-esque photo taken by... MYSELF!! Wheeeee!!!

IF you are local to Sacramento and want to LEARN more about Paleo, you can join my Facebook group, Sacramento Beyond the Paleo. Lots of love and support in the group in a really unsupportive world of gluttony, dough, flour and things rolled in sugar. 

One life to live and one shot in this world. 

Why look or feel anything less than your best?