Ever since we released Paleo Comfort Foods, I’ve had this pipe dream of being able to catch up on reading, on blogs, on what else is going on in the world. One day, my dream will come true!
Part of this “feeling behind” is because there is ALWAYS something new out there…new research, a new thoughtful blog, a new resource for the paleo community, new thoughts on the role of certain foods in the paleo-sphere, etc. I just can’t keep up (and hold down a full time job, and run our gym)! However, it is absolutely amazing to see how much this community has grown, and all the varying perspectives, new blogs out there, books, etc. Love that aspect!
That said, the one thing that won’t change in the future (nor would I want it to!) is that of cooking at home. Sure, I’d love a bigger kitchen in which to cook up all our paleo meals with a 6 burner stove and double oven and huge kitchen island like the one at my in-laws…but until then, I’m generally content. We’ve also just started the 25 Days of Clean Eating at our gym with all our members. Close to 40 people are on board, it’s not quite a paleo challenge, in that the way it works is they (the members) decide what things they are omitting for 25 days. For us, it’s grains (of course), all sugars, and alcohol. Yep, the holiday parties will be without alcohol for us. The “motivational consequences” for folks who slip up on their 25 days happens at the end of the timeframe, where folks will have to pay out 25 burpees per day of “cheats” all at once. Cheat on your goals for 4 of the days? 100 burpees. Yay burpees!
Back to Meals 4 the Week. As you recall from our last Meals 4 the Week posting, we made up a bunch of stuff before we departed for Thanksgiving in Philadelphia with my family. With lots of paleo leftovers, Charles vacuum sealed those up into individual meals. Because I like stockpiling and cooking when I have time (and I wanted to get some pictures over the weekend for the next edition of Paleo Magazine), we cooked up a storm. I’ll not spoil what will be in Paleo Magazine’s Jan/Feb issue, but I will say it was super tasty and I hope brings even more good fortune in our lives! PS – if you have not yet liked Paleo Magazine on Facebook yet – please do and spread the word! They will be doing some HUGE giveaways when they hit 10,000 likes!
Here’s the list of all the paleo tasty morsels we cooked on Sunday:
- Smoked pork shoulder with Dad’s Famous Secret Dry Rub (page 118 in Paleo Comfort Foods)
- Smoked boneless leg of lamb
- Pork chops sautéed over cabbage (recipe posted here)
- Chicken wings on the grill
- Special recipe for Paleo Magazine (that is not in Paleo Comfort Foods)!
We also have (in the freezer ready to go as meals): burgers with mashed cauliflower, leftover turkey with stuffing and mashed cauliflower, pot roast, frittata, as well as a bunch of homemade chicken and turkey stock and turkey demi glace!
Our paleo meals for the week schedule looked/looks a bit like this:
Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | |
B | C – Eggs, bacon, sautéed veggies | L – pulled pork with cabbage | L – burger with avocado | C – eggs with Brussels sprouts and pulled pork | C – eggs with sautéed veggies | L – burger with avocado | C – eggs with sweet potato hash and avocado |
L | C – special recipe for Paleo Magazine | L – turkey with stuffing and mashed cauliflower | L – burger with sautéed zucchini and delicata squash | L – burger with mashed cauliflower and squash | L – pot roast | L – lamb or pork with whatever veggies I have on hand | |
D | C – pork chops with cabbage | L – lamb with oven roasted delicata squash and sautéed zucchini | L – chicken wings with sautéed cabbage (Charles cooked up more cabbage) | Date night – not sure if this will be cooking or out! | L – lamb or pork with Brussels sprouts slaw (will cook the Brussels sprouts this night) | L – any leftovers we have in fridge or freezer! | OUT |
Not too complicated, and not a ton of cooking either – which I know some folks living a paleo lifestyle struggle with (cooking all the time). You seriously have to bank on leftovers of delicious paleo food if you don’t want to be cooking all the time! I have conference calls at 8pm on some of the nights, so cooking up some paleo meals isn’t happening a lot at night!
OH, and I almost forgot to mention!! Our fall/winter garden is kicking butt. Now that we seem to have figured out what was eating our Brussels sprouts/cauliflower/broccoli leaves, the plants are growing and thriving. Our broccoli, kale, lettuce, and even cauliflower are looking great – and I can’t wait to cook up some of this stuff from our Paleo Comfort Foods garden. Of course, our rosemary and Italian parsley continue to thrive, too. Anyone else growing anything this winter? It’s so nice to be able to go out and pick your own veggies from your garden for your next paleo creation!