RECIPE - Carrot Fries + Mexi-Meatza Pizza

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Tonight was a very ambitious cooking day indeed, I made 2 recipes.
Each does require a little extra prep time, but so worth it in the end!

-Carrot Fries-

Ingredients
11 medium carrots
4.5 tbsp raw coconut oil
salt and pepper to taste
yup, that's all-you can thank me later!

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450
Line cookie sheet with tin foil
Peel and cut carrots into french fry sized strips
Melt coconut oil, add to carrots and toss to coat
Cook for 35-45 minutes (keep an eye on them, a little browning is good and you want them to be crisp)

Tips and variations:
If they are not quite crisp enough, turn the broiler on low for a minute or 2 and pop them back in the oven.
I have made this recipe numerous times, tonight I finally measured out the oil and carrots to make the best batch EVER! I have found that if you use more oil, they taste way too oily and less gives you more of a carrot flavor. The amount given above is perfect and an ideal substitute for potato french fries. If you add Ketchup (preferably homemade Paleo Ketchup which I have yet to make) you won't even know the difference!
The carrots start off looking like a huge amount, but they do really cook down. They'll serve 4 (unless you gobble them down like I do).

I have given this recipe out to numerous people, all of whom have absolutely loved it! Enjoy, I guarantee you'll never look at a potato the same way again.

...

-Mexi-Meatza Pizza-

Ingredients:

Meat crust:

1 lb ground beef

2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp salt

2 cloves crushed garlic

Topping:

1/2 to 3/4 c salsa (I use jalepeno salsa, it's my favorite and has no added ingredients)

Avocado

Fresh cilantro

Fresh lime

Lettuce

Red onion

Tomato

Green and red peppers

and whatever other veggies you want to add!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400

Line 2 cookie sheets with tin foil

Mix beef and crust seasoning

Divide meat into 2 equal balls

Press meat into a thin "crust" into each pan

Bake 10-15 minutes until edges are brown

Remove from oven and leave open to cool a little (but don't turn it off...)

Assemble:

Spread 1/4 c salsa on each crust

Arrange veggies

Cook 10-15 minutes

Remove from oven

Add fresh cilantro and avocado slices

Sprinkle with lime juice

enjoy!

Tips and variations:

I added shredded cheese and sour cream to my husband's "pizza" That's what I love about Paleo recipes, it's so easy to make food for everyone and just add on a few extras for those who are not ready to step over from the dark side. 

Make sure and press the meat "crust" as thin as possible otherwise it's more like a huge hamburger.

It would be very easy to make an italian version on this dish, swop out the mexi spices for traditional italian ones and use a homemade marina instead of the salsa. I will be trying that next for sure!

As far as serving sizes go, each one is pretty big. My husband ate the whole meatza pizza, I only ate 1/4 of mine and now I'll have some delicious leftovers for lunches this week. mmmmm, can't wait. 

...
Well, those are today's recipes, now I can move on to finding more yummy recipes to try and share.

Hilary

RECIPE - Thai Beef and Cucumber Salad

Tonight I made a delicious dinner and it was a recipe I made up myself! Well, I originally had a recipe and wrote down the ingredients but not the directions-my bad. So maybe it was only half made up. Whatever the case may be, it was delicious and I had to share it.

I call it Thai Beef and Cucumber Salad, I can't even remember what it was originally supposed to be but I do know the original didn't have steak in it and well, everything is better with steak!

Ingredients:
1 lb steak
4 cucumbers (basically 1 per person, more if you're super hungry)
1 tbsp toasted sunflower seeds
1 tbsp raw coconut aminos
1 tbsp almond butter
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1-2 tbsp water
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 tsp powdered ginger (fresh would be good too, I just didn't have any)
1/2 tbsp coconut oil (optional)
sesame seed to garnish
grapes

makes 4 servings

Directions:
1. Use a julienne peeler to make your cucumber "noodles" and set aside
(this was the first time I tried a julienne peeler and it worked great!! So easy.)
2. In a medium bowl, mix coconut aminos, almond butter, rice wine vinegar, water, pepper flakes and ginger (this will be your sauce), set aside
3. Mince garlic
2. Slice or cube steak and sautee in pan, add garlic and coconut oil
3. Once steak is almost cooked, add sauce and simmer for a five minutes
4. Put cucumber "noodles" in a bowl and pour sauce over them
5. Add grapes (I used 8-10, use as many as you'd like)
6. Aprinkle sunflower seeds and top with sesame seeds (then if you're like me, add the spicy chili sauce!)

Once you add the meat and sauce to the cucumbers it cools off rather quickly for a nice and light tasting summer salad. Enjoy!

...
This recipe in particular was very quick and easy - which I love.

I used my julienne peeler for the first time today and absolutely LOVED it! again, this is a gadget I recommend going out and buying. I think mine was about $8. I used it on the cucumber to make the "noodle" and I couldn't be happier with the results and I look forward to trying it on other vegetables. The cucumber made for a very light tasting base to this dish, it's getting warmer out so it was perfect timing. I probably could have added lettuce, but quite frankly I just didn't want to take the time and besides there were plenty of cucumbers for both my husband and I. During the summer our garden overflows with fresh cucumbers so it's going to be a perfect dish to make and I plan on making it often.

Tips and Variations:
-In Winter, try sauteed cabbage and adding veggies such as carrots or peppers and serve warm.
-I used grapes in my recipe, but Mango or pineapple chunks would be delicious too!
-Try julienned squash noodles or experiment with other favorites


Tomorrow I will be making a crustless "meatza pizza" with carrot fries so stop back for those very tastey recipes! (the carrot fries are my absolute favorite, seriously you'll never go back to white potato fries! ...shhhhh, I live in Idaho so don't tell anyone I said that).

-Hilary

LINKS - Paleo recipes & resources

Tonight there is no recipe to share. For dinner I frankenstien'd various leftovers from other recipes but it was basically spaghetti squash "noodles" with a homemade sauce (my husband makes the best marinara) and plain meatballs. I have to say it was pretty good.

...
Last week I found a recipe for spaghetti squash "noodles" I was so excited, and a little nervous to try it. I have never been a fan of squash, but I really wanted to find a good replacement for pasta, something other than sweet potatos-I want to build an arsenal of veggie alternates to pasta. The picture looked yummy so I decided to give it a go (to the utter shagrin of my husband, he hates squash). Well, let me just say it was a fail. Not an utter fail because now I know I like spaghetti squash, but a fail nonetheless. You see this yummy looking recipe took 2 hours!!! I couldn't believe it! Seriously, WHAT?! OK, a little background on me. I am not a great cook-I rely on recipes, I can't just open the cupboard and imagine everything simmering sweetly on a pot atop my stove. That said, why oh why would I even attempt a recipe that takes 2 hours? I pretty much have recipe ADD. After 30 minutes I am restless, 45 minutes and I find myself trying to combine it with other recipes or just give up altogether. But I swear the recipe said it would take 45 minutes. So I am not sharing it. I won't be making it again, and I am sure no one else wants to spend 2 hours making it either. So I will find one that it awesome and post it at a later date.

Not being a foodie, or a naturally good cook, I rely on finding recipes that look simple and easy yet pack a lot of flavor...that's what I plan on sharing on the Healthy Flamingo (although no fish, seafood shellfish etc., recipes-unlike a healthy flamingo, I don't eat any of those. Ever).

...
Paleo has become quite the buzz-word lately so it's difficult to know what's real out there and what's just trying to get to the top of the search engine results. And Since there's not a yummy recipe tonight, let me share some of my favorite and trusted Paleo recipe sites and resources.

The Clothes that Make the Girl - awesome site! One of my favorites. All the recipes I've tried from this site have exceeded my expectations and when I get confused about Paleo ingredients, I know I can try this site first to see what she's used and I know it'll be Paleo compliant. Plus, she now has a cookbook. I have not yet bought it, but I will for sure!

PaleOMG - also an awesome site for recipes! I have been seeing more and mmore recipes from this site popping up in the instagram feeds I follow as well as some of the Pinterest Boards. I have already tried a few and loved them and I have so many more to try.

Robb Wolff - a MUST read! He's one of the world's leading experts on Paleo. 'nuff said. You'll want to bookmark this site for sure.


Those are just a few of my favorites, I hope they become a favorite of yours as well.
-Hilary

RECIPE - Paleo Pad Thai Chicken

This evening I made Paleo Pad Thai Chicken. I originally found the recipe on Pinterest (gotta love Pinterest! Check out my Paleo and Whole30 boards...). I clicked on the link and discovered not only a new site full of resources, but what would become my very favorite Paleo recipe! I have modified the recipe slightly, as I do most of the recipes (again, food allergies). Check out the original recipe here.

I took 2 photos tonight, the one on the left is what my husband ate, he had his with rice, the one on the right was mine, no rice and added siracha sauce (I love spicy food!!). I love recipes that are flexible like that and usually have to make modifications for one of us. The whole recipe takes about 25 minutes (which I have found to be the ideal amount of time for a weekday meal).

Ingredients:
2 chicken breast cut up
(I like smaller pieces)
1/4 C Almond Butter
(if you haven't tried almond butter, I say go get some. stop reading and go now! we'll be here when you get back. I'm in the middle of a recipe, but I'll tell you more about the wonders of almond butter in another post...)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c coconut aminos
(these can be hard to find, at least for me living in a small town)
1 lime
1 tsp salt
1-2 tbsp coconut oil
1/3 C cashews (crush 1/2 of them)
cilantro
(I used more than the original recipe called for because I love the flavor it gives. I say chop some up so you have it ready and add how ever much you want)
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Cooking Instructions:
1. Make the Sauce:
2. In a bowl, combine almond butter, coconut aminos, juice from 1/2 lime and salt. Set aside
3. Heat oil coconut in a pan

4. Add chicken to the pan and cook

5. Stir chicken, when it's about half way coooked, add minced garlic, crushed cashews and red pepper flakes. 

6. Once the chicken is done or almost done, add the sauce and stir. 

7. After 2-3 minutes if it seems a little dry add 1/4 C water (The water is a new addition just tonight, I was finding that the sauce was a little thick and would stick too much to the pan. The water helped so much and I liked that it truly was more like a sauce). Mix well, simmer for a couple more minutes.

Add fresh cilantro, cashews and lime juice to each serving.

Tips and variations: I have used both cashews and almonds, both are good. I say use what you have on hand. The almond butter give a really rich flavor, I do recommend adding the 1/4 C water to the sauce as it cooks with the chicken not only to make it saucy, but to cut the richness a little.

The coconut aminos can be hard to find, I tried using red wine vinegar as a substitute when I was out and it was not the same, it was ok as far as flavors go but next time I will just make something else. However another time I only had half the amount I needed, I substituted the other half with rice vinegar and it tasted fine.

Possible additions: Serve with rice for your non-Paleo friends and family (seriously, this recipe is so delicious you'll want to make it for everyone!!), add siracha sauce for an extra kick, serve over veggie noodles (i will try that next) and finally top with grapes, pineapple or mango for variety.

....
I can't tell you how many times I have made this recipe since I first discovered it in January. I've made it many times for dinners with just my husband, twice when we had company over and then when my Dad came to town to visit (he requested the recipe for himself). I love Thai food but haven't really found a fabulous restaurant where we live so I have resorted to finding my own fabulous recipes.

If you decide to make this recipe I do hope you enjoy as much as I have! And if you tips to make it better or discover amazing (or just easy) additions, please share I'd love to hear them.

-Hilary

RECIPE - Sweet Potato Lasagne

A couple of weeks ago i found a sweet potato lasagne recipe on pinterest (see original recipe here).

It looked really good and I was excited to try a recipe that had a vegetable substituted for the noodles.

....

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 chopped red pepper
2 chopped yellow pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne
pinch of salt
1 tbsp garlic powder
3 cups tomato sauce (I used homemade)
1/2 cup water
2 Handfuls of spinach leaves
1 large sweet potato

....

Cooking Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350.

2. Cook the meat and spices.
3. When meat is cooked, add peppers, tomato sauce and water, let simmer for 10 minutes.
4. While that mixture is simmering, peel and slice your sweet potato. I used a mandoline (get one!).
5. Grease a lasagne pan with some coconut oil.
6. Layer meat sauce, a layer of sweet potatoes, then sauce, sweet potato, sauce, spinach, repeat until all ingredients are gone. This doe not have to be precise really, any layer order would work. I got mine mixed up. Cover baking dish with foil and bake for 30 mins.
....

After 30 mins, remove the foil and bake for another 15 mins. Let cool and serve.
Serves 6.

I made recipe, and although the photo from the original post looked like lasagne, mine looked nothing like it once cooked. It was more like a casserole. which was just fine. It was my first time replacing a noodle with a vegetable and that part of the recipe was highly successful. I will do that again for sure!

What I will do differently next time:
Use more spinach and fewer peppers, I found using  peppers overpowered the other flavors. Also next time I will transform this recipe into a goulash. I remember that being one of my favorite recipes as a child. I will have to look up what spices to use and will slice the potato into potato chip size slices instead. And when making a goulash, I will cook in the crockpot and let you know when I make it for sure!

Paleo tips to get started

I woke up this morning and decided to start my Paleo journey today! I had originally decided to start Monday, figured it would give me time to get really prepared. But since I have already started the blog I felt it made no sense. There was no reason I had to wait. Plus, it would give me a good opportunity to start right away on tips.

.......
Tip 1: If you’re not completely prepared, start anyway. A little change is better than none at all!

Driving in to work today I had to stop for gas. Driving up to the station I literally got happy thinking I would buy a diet pop! Wow I thought, this really is bad. What am I thinking (well, clearly I was not, buying a pop for the car comes naturally, instinctively). I resisted... Yay me. that was definately a huge step for me. I am indeed ready to start.

I have no lunch planned out for today and will have to go to the cafeteria/restaurant at work. I know there are options I can work with. As long as I have a healthy protein, a good fat and veggies, I'm good.

Today I’ll have a hamburger wrapped in lettuce. No ketchup (contains sugar). I will have mustard and even sprinkle a little olive oil on it for the good fat I need and probably order a slice of avocado to with it as well. It won’t be organic grass fed as I'd prefer, but with little notice one has to go with the best option rather than just give up. I feel good about that option. It’s easy and affordable and Paleo. Instead of diet pop, I’ll have tea (I keep a stash at work). And for a snack later in the day when I feel restless and want a snack, I'll have a few almonds (a great snack option, just don't go overboard).

I decided to start today without realizing I had plans to go out to dinner and the ballet with a friend (I am so cultured). That’s gonna be more of a challenge... We’ll be eating at an Italian restaurant.
....
What to do when you go out to eat on paleo?
Tip #2: look up the restaurant online and check out the menu, decide on a meal so you are mentally prepared and strong when you get there. 

....
Tip #3: ask for your meal to be prepared a specific way, mention food allergies (they’ll be more likely to get it right if you do). I will get either a steak or chicken, cooked with not oil or spices (who knows what oils they use and most spice mixes have sugar). on a bed of lettuce. To ensure no cheese or croutons end up on my salad (living in Idaho they ALWAYS do), I will mention an allergy or intolerance. And again, I will have tea with dinner (no pop).

I feel good I have a plan and quite frankly if I hadn’t started the blog, I’d just go with the flow, probably have some pasta I’d regret later...

Are you ready to start? Do you have good tips for those unscheduled day you want to hare? I'd love to hear them!

Happy Friday,
Hilary

Lasagne with Sweet Potato "Noodles"

Here's a little teaser-the first recipe I will post. I figured the first two posts were a little wordy.

Stop back soon!

-Hilary

What is Paleo?

What is Paleo? I have gotten asked that a lot over the years. And in the past when I have started to get a lot of questions and had people (almost) scoff at it, not understanding how or why I would want to cut certain things out of my diet, I let it wear me down (because really, no one likes to be scoffed at or be told their way of eating is weird and unnatural). And eventually I would just revert back to the old way of eating.

Hmmm, just because I choose to cut sugar and pasta out of my diet, it's unnatural?!

Paleo in a nutshell is clean eating. By clean eating, I mean no processsed foods, no pasta, no grains, no dairy, no legumes, limited fruits, no sugar, no dairy and no alcohol (that's another I struggle with, I so enjoy a good glass of wine).

What to eat: grass fed/organic beef and chicken, fish seafood, fresh fruits and veggies, eggs, nuts and seeds, healthy fats/oils: olive oil, coconut oil, flaxseed oil, walnut oil, macadamia and avacodo oils.

What NOT to eat: cereal and grains, legumes (including peanuts), dairy, refined sugar, white potatoes, processed foods, salt, refined vegetable oil.

For more complete information and guidelines on Paleo, check out these links: Cordain: the Paleo Diet, Robb Wolf: what is the Paleo Diet,

....
No processed foods - that's easy for me, not so much for others, as it is fast. My husband pretty much refuses to eat fast food, would rather eat cardboard than frozen dinners and so on. (I love him for that).

No Pasta - That's easy for me too, pasta makes me feel sick and bloated. The less I eat it, the less I like it. I think I eat it maybe 1-2 time a year now. My husband however, loves pasta. I will be working on how to incorporate more veggies in traditional pasta meals for me, yet keeping pasta for him.

No Dairy - easy for me, as I get older I have more and more of a lactose intolerence. I eat ice cream, I get sick. done. I have great options for dairy, ones I think taste far better than dairy ever did and I will be sharing those freely with tips and suggestions. Looking back to my childhood, I think I have always had intolerences to foods (and allergies - I'll cover that at a later date). I would often feel sick after meals and we pretty much had milk and a plate of (wonder) bread to go with each meal. Gotta love a good midwestern upbringing.

No Legumes - this one is a little harder. I LOVE peanut butter, it's my comfort food. (if I could eat peanut butter and a diet pop every day I'd be a happy Hilary-that's my name. Hi.) I also really enjoy green beans. But I do have alternates to both of those.

Limited fruits - this one is tricky. I am allergic to most fruits! (yes, if you must know it's awful to be allergic to most fruits). I do love the taste of fruit but since they make me sick it's easy. the hard part if finding fruit I can eat, because sometimes it smells so good that it makes me want it regardless of the consequences.

No refined sugar - sooooooo hard!! the body reacts the same way to sugar whether it's real or fake, my body in particular so I try to avoid it. but at work, I struggle. too many tempting sweets! I'll be working on finding a good alternate to sugar that I will actually stick to. I do have some good resources and research sites to share about this topic. It's very scientific, yet makes sense.

No alcohol - I don't drink often, but sometimes I just want to go home, sit in front of the fireplace with a glass of wine and visit with my husband. So giving it up is more like giving up the experience. I am going to have to try putting tea in a fancy glass, maybe that'll do the trick. I have to admit, once I get to my goal weight, I will add some wine back in to the mix, in moderation a couple times a month.

That's just an overview. I am not an expert, I just know what I have leaned and experienced for myself. There are great resources out there and I will share them as I go.

-Hilary

Welcome

Welcome to the first post of the Healthy Flamingo!

The goal for this blog is to keep track of recipes I have tried and liked or want to try, a way to follow other blogs with similar interests and themes and hopefully get feedback, tips & advice from others and have all my healthy eating references is one place (I have things bookmarked on 2 computers and my phone), it's getting ridiculous.

Why Healthy? My goal is to get healthy now, so I when grow old I will be able to live a happy, healthy and fulfilling lifestyle. I have this fear of growing old and not being healthy. Considering I am already technically old (41 - eeeeeek) I need to get going!

The healthy eating "lifestyle" (or diet) I choose to follow is Paleo. I first learned of Paleo back in '08. I was recovering from my 3rd (but not last) foot surgery and had gained a lot of weight. I was  planning a wedding and knew I wanted to lose the weight so I hired a personal trainer (and let me say it was the best investment ever, it was an investment in me!). I love working out and being pushed to my limits so I did very well as far as the work outs go. After just a few sessions he introduced me to Crossfit and things just got better and better. The problem was, although I was getting stronger every day, after a month the weight was just not coming off as I/we had hoped. After reviewing my (meticulous) food diary, he told me the ins and outs of the Paleo diet and had me start right away. I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and did just that. At the next weigh in, I was down! yippee! I was seeing results and found it easy to follow. I had tried other diet programs before but found as I was aging I was less and less successful and more and more frustrated. I started to think (believe) my body just cound't lose weight anymore.

But was I wrong! I lost about 35lbs in just a few short months, I was back to my old self, stronger than ever, and felt great! (and I have beautiful wedding photos to prove it).

........

...Fast forward to 2013
I have changed jobs, am happily married, moved to a new state, had yet another foot surgery, learned I have arthritis in both knee caps, and gained a ton of weight back... Crap.

This is where my journey begins (again). This time I have the tools and knowledge I need to get back on my healthy living track and back to eating a Paleo diet. This time I won't get sidetracked. This time, I am ready to get healthy and stay healthy. This time I will stick to it!

My big hurdle in all this is my "addiction" to diet pop!! More specifically, Pepsi Max.  I know I need to stop drinking it. I know what it does to the body. I know it inhibits me from losing weight. But I also know it makes me feel better, like a an old friend....

That said, as I write this post I am enjoying and saying good bye to my old friend; my vice, my addiction...Pepsi Max.

So here I go. Feel free to tag along with me on my journey, share your comments, pass on great recipes of your own, ask questions (share flamingo photos) and get healthy!

Stop back soon, I have some great recipes (and photos) to share already.

oh yeah, why Flamingo? I love flamingos. Simple as that.
-Hilary

p.s. I am working on a design and logo, they are not done but I didn't want that to stop me.