Snow Days & Soup

Dear Polar Vortex,

Enough, mmkay? We're good. We get it. Snow, slush, ice. This is Atlanta, you know? We really aren't set up for this. We're set up for record high temperatures that we can escape by ducking into the nearest air-conditioned Chipotle for a spicy burrito bowl. 

Thanks, 

Diana

So Kevin and I have been home since Monday night, bracing ourselves for a few long days of snow and ice and possible power outages. Kevin works from home regularly, but as an Office Manager, my work is mostly location-oriented (like...the office) so there's not a whole lot I can do from home. As a homebody seeing friends and family complain of cabin fever on Facebook, I had to laugh a bit. I love being at home. Now don't get me wrong, I do need some human interaction from time to time, but three days? Cake walk. 

I spent most of my snow-week cooking, cleaning, organizing, and working on some personal projects that I've been trying to get around to for a while. Since the weather outside was so chilly, soup was definitely on the menu. With a fridge full of zucchini (I love zucchini - raw, grilled, sauteed - it's all good), I turned to one of my Paleo fairy godmothers, Melissa Joulwan, for her recipe for Silky Gingered Zucchini soup, and it was so good. And even better than that? It was so quick and so easy to put together. I had all the ingredients on hand already, and you probably do, too (assuming you have zucchini in the fridge!). Here's the recipe!

Nice big bowl of zucchini soup - I tossed in some leftover spicy Moorish meatballs to make the soup more of a meal, but it's equally good by itself!

Silky Gingered Zucchini Soup

from The Clothes Make The Girl

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon (mild) to 1 teaspoon (hotter) powdered ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (if you’re not on AIP)
4 medium zucchini, about 2 pounds, chopped*
4 cups high-quality chicken broth

Directions:
1. Heat coconut oil in a large soup pot on medium heat, 2 minutes. Add onions, then smash garlic cloves with the flat side of a knife or the bottom of a glass and add to pan. Stir often and cook until the onions and garlic are soft and golden, but not browned, about 7 minutes. Add salt, ginger, and black pepper; stir to combine.

2. Toss the zucchini into the pot. Stir to coat the zucchini with fat, then cook ’til beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the broth, bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to simmer. Let the zucchini cook 45 to 60 minutes until it’s very soft.

4. VERY carefully, purée the zucchini and broth in a blender or food processor, or with an immersion blender. If you’re using a blender, work in batches, filling the canister only halfway and holding a towel over the lid while you purée. Eat immediately, or store in a covered container in the fridge.

Happy Cooking!

Noodle Night

I don't often miss the processed foods of my pre-Paleo lifestyle. It's been a long time since I looked longingly at a Twinkie. A fresh bag of barbecue potato chips doesn't hold much appeal for me anymore. One thing I do miss from time to time, though? Noodles. Pasta. A little pile of tangled up spaghetti topped with garlic and anchovy-laden home-made sauce. A steaming bowl of Vietnamese Pho topped with fresh herbs. A cardboard container packed with Lo Mein. So delicious, but so not worth the icky feelings that come with all those grain-based noodles. 

Did you know you could make noodles out of vegetables? If noodles are what you're craving, pop over to your favorite culinary store (or head over to Amazon) and get yourself a julienne vegetable peeler. Essentially just a regular vegetable peeler that has a number of small additional blades that transform the veggies sitting in your fridge into delicious silky noodles in a flash. And the best part? If you use cucumber and carrot like I did, you don't even need to cook them...try to contain your excitement!

Veggie time - chop up that scallion into the daintiest little slivers you can manage. It's not much, but it adds a layer of flavor to this dish.

Pretty colors - I love using this sturdy pottery bowl for salads.

Toast up some sesame seeds. I like to toast mine myself instead of buying the pre-toasted ones. It adds such a nice nutty flavor to the noodles. If you're doing a Whole30, omit the sesame seeds, and maybe consider tossing in some finely chopped roasted cashews. 

Ingredient assembly - spicy ginger dressing, warm toasted sesame seeds, and a whole bowl full of noodly goodness.

I paired my noodle salad with freshly grilled skin-on chicken breast that I brined all day to enhance the moisture. After the chicken comes off the grill, my favorite thing is to toss the chicken in the oven under the broiler until the skin gets crispy and golden. Totally irresistible. Try it - I promise you'll be glad you made tonight noodle night!

Asian Noodles

For the dressing: 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon coconut aminos

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon of powdered ginger (if you have fresh ginger on hand, all the better!)

Cracked black pepper and red pepper flakes to taste

1-2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (as much or as little as you like)

For the noodles: 

2 medium cucumbers, julienne peeled

3 medium carrots, julienne peeled

1 scallion, finely chopped

1/4 cup of mint, finely chopped

In a large bowl, combine the cucumber and carrot noodles with the chopped mint and scallion. Mix the dressing well, and drizzle over the noodles. Let the noodles marinate in the dressing for 5-10 minutes, then serve. 

Happy Noodle Night!

January Cure: Complete!

I can't believe it's February. My current state of disbelief is probably due in part to the fact that January was insane. Between work being crazy, having critters in our attic, car repairs, a sick dog, and getting stranded at my parents house for two days while Atlanta was in the grip of the Polar Vortex, it's been nuts. 

It's not all been bad, though! If you recall my post from the beginning of the year, I participated in Apartment Therapy's January Cure. While I strayed a bit from the step-by-step instructions, the overall process was so great. It really gave me the motivation I needed to go room-by-room in our house and figure out little project lists for each area. Little things like sorting through clothes to donate to Goodwill, and organizing my spices were done quickly. Putting the finishing touches on our kitchen remodel, and organizing our cluttered closets took longer. I'm not 100% of the way through all of my little to-do's, but I sat down today at my clean organized desk and gave myself a little treat (picture above). Just a little dish of raw pecans, a teeny weeny slice of pecorino romano, a small square of very very dark chocolate with flaked sea salt, and some dried cranberries. I rarely eat chocolate or cheese, but just a tiny piece of each felt like a decadent reward for a month of really hard work! 

What did you accomplish in January?

What Matters Most

I love this quote. It's been playing over in my mind for weeks since the first time I heard it. It's so true, too. I think all the time about intentionality, and about how if I don't set my priorities, the world will do it for me. It's true in the big things as well as the little things. If I don't set aside quality time to spend with Kevin, my week will get filled up with running around and checking things off my to-do list. If I don't make eating clean and healthy a priority, I'll run around chasing other things until I'm left with just enough remaining energy to hit the Wendy's drive-thru and collapse onto the couch as I stuff my face with a couple of crispy chicken sandwiches and one of those tasty tasty frosties. 

The sermon that this quote came from focused a lot on investing your time wisely, and how when it comes to the most important stuff (health, family, etc.), you can't just let things fall by the wayside with the intention of 'making up for it' later. Time is a finite thing, and we only get so much of it. I feel like it makes a lot of sense, even if you're not religious.

So the question I'm trying to ask myself this year is: "What are the areas of my life that matter most, and am I investing my time wisely in those things?"

What's the answer for you?

Paleo Mocktail

I love eating Paleo. That's not a surprise. I feel great, and my body just works better when I'm not putting junk in it. The funny thing is, though, I don't really find myself missing bags of BBQ potato chips, my coveted Canadian Oreos (yes, they are different than American Oreos, so don't even try to convince me otherwise), or sugary sodas. The one thing I do really miss? Pouring a nice glass of red wine to sip on while I cook dinner. Or a nice cool beer with some grilled chicken on a Saturday night. I never drank a whole lot before I went Paleo, but I sure do miss it now! So what to do with all those beautiful champagne and martini glasses now that I'm steering clear of booze? Paleo mocktails! Now, I realize that "paleo-fying" things is sort of a no-no, especially if you're doing Whole30, but I don't consider the occasional little indulgence to be too off the mark!

Paleo Pomegranate Mocktails

POM Pomegranate Juice (a splurge in the produce section, but you don't use much for this recipe!)

Fresh limes

Club soda

In a standard size martini glass, add about an ounce of Pomegranate juice into the martini glass (I keep mine chilled in the fridge). Grab a fresh-cut wedge of lime, and squeeze it in. Top off the glass to the brim with club soda, toss the lime wedge in for garnish, and enjoy! 

The pomegranate juice adds a nice tangy flavor, and the club soda gives it some fizz! The lime adds just the right touch of citrusy flavor. It might not be a Cosmopolitan, but it sure tastes delightful, and it feels so decadent to sip it from a fancy martini glass. 

Bottoms up!

Paleo Kitchen

I am a nosy person. That doesn't sound quite right. OK, I'm a curious person, especially when it comes to people's houses. I just think it's sort of fascinating to see how people personalize their spaces. I'm the crazy person who drives by a pretty house, notices a "For Sale" sign on the outside, and immediately does a Google search on the address to check out and see what the inside looks like. 

Anyway, I thought you as readers might enjoy a little peek into my kitchen. Apart from the 8 hours per night that I spend in bed, the kitchen comes in a close second for the amount of time I spend in there. I'm super thankful that a year ago February, Kevin and I undertook a full renovation of our kitchen - it's definitely made it one of my favorite spots in the house!

EAT! As if I need to be told. Took some time taking pictures today
while a pot of butter simmered on the stove, well on its way to becoming a
fresh batch of ghee.

I love the light in the kitchen - in the morning everything is all
shadowy and mellow.

It took a while, but I believe my current setup is the best yet. My hefty bamboo cutting board sits in front of my cookbook stand. I have a little basket (to the left of my copy of Well Fed 2) that holds my Red Boat fish sauce, and my hot sauce, as well as the little grinders I have for fresh black pepper and Himalayan salt. Don't let your eyes fool you - that plant is 100% fake. Close at hand I keep a canister of almonds (perfect to add to any meal for a boost of good fats), my compost container, the knife block, and my favorite mug (in case the mood strikes for a cup of coffee or tea)

Even though there's not much room in my current diet for alcohol, I do enjoy the occasional glass of wine. In the mean time, though, I love a good Paleo-friendly 'mocktail' (recipe to come soon!). I like the look of all our glasses all neatly lined up, and always keep a canister of cute paper straws on hand to dress up a boring glass of water or LaCroix. 

A peek inside my fridge! Every week when I grocery shop, the first thing I do is come home and clean the fridge out. This involves taking almost everything out, wiping down the shelves with a natural cleaner. Then I load in the goodies, making sure to put any leftover produce from last week at the front (so it gets used first). My fridge layout is pretty standard - the bottom drawers are for produce - peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, carrots, herbs, onions, and scallions this week. The bottom shelf is for raw meats. I found an awesome pork roast at the store today, and picked up a whole chicken (since we embraced brining, our chicken intake has gone up a lot - it's just so tasty!). Off to the right is a pot that has some whole chicken breasts brining to be grilled for lunches this week. I buy the kind with the skin still on, and the bones still on. You get WAY more meat for a way better price! The Deli drawer is full of bacon, lard, Polish kielbasa, hard salami, and some nice prosciutto that I bought for a treat. The top two shelves are full of LaCroix (just sparkling water - no sweeteners or sodium), pickles & olives (two of my favorite things to add to meals), and odds and ends. This week I made a double batch of Paleo mayo, and used it for a double batch of Well Fed 2's remoulade dip. This stuff is good on everything from eggs, to dipping chicken, to veggies. I try to have some on hand at all times, and usually have a few teeny tupperware containers to grab on the way to work. 

So that's my kitchen! I thought it might be something that non-Paleo eaters would be curious about. I have to say, eating Paleo has made my kitchen so much more organized. Since I shop once a week, the fridge is full on Mondays, and by the end of the week it's almost completely empty. I feel like it really cuts down on any waste, since it's harder to end up with mystery containers in the back corner growing fuzzy mold!

Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed a little tour of where all the Paleo magic happens! 

Making Paleo Easy

I think that when people first learn about paleo or Whole30, the first thing they think is "I don't want to do that...it sounds so hard!". It can be daunting at first glance. No grains, legumes, dairy, white potato, refined salts, refined sugars, and processed oils. The immediate response can be "Seriously? Then what is left to eat?". It's a totally reasonable response. The typical North American diet consists of a lot of processed foods, and part of the focus of Whole30 is ridding your body of all the sketchy things they put in our food nowadays. Ever read the packaging on something you're eating and come across a bunch of ingredients that belong on the periodic table? Exactly.

Anyway, I thought today would be a fun day to talk about some great ways to make Paleo and Whole30 easy. And when I say easy, I really do mean easy. I always laugh when I see Martha Stewart doing something on her show, and she says "it's easy!". If you have all the time in the world, of course you can spend the morning trimming your moss garden with gilded manicure scissors before giving your purebred dogs a shiatsu massage, but only after you used a three thousand dollar contraption to perfectly iron your bedsheets. Please. When I say easy, it's coming from a girl who works like 48 hours a week, so you know I'm being real.

5 Ways to Make Paleo Easy:

1. Grocery shopping: I know this sounds dumb. "Wow, you mean I have to buy food? Duh!". Honestly, though, making sure you have quick access throughout the week to Paleo-friendly foods will help you stay on track. When you've had a long day, and you're exhausted and can't fathom stopping at the grocery store, you'll be glad you've got a fridge full of awesome options.
   
2. Check out some new recipes, or get your hands on a couple new cookbooks! Having some new awesome foods and experimenting with new recipes will really help keep things interesting! I recommend these: Well Fed, Well Fed 2, Food for Humans, and Paleo Breakfasts and Lunches On The Go
   
3. Keep it simple. I know I just finished telling you to try new recipes, but sometimes the awesome part of Paleo is just reaching in the fridge to grab some pre-grilled chicken breast, some chopped up raw peppers and carrots, and a handful of olives and calling it dinner. Some mornings for breakfast, I find myself eating some good quality hard salami, a little bowl of blueberries, a palmful of cashews, and some sliced red peppers. Is it a weird breakfast from a traditional point of view? Sure. But it's super delicious, super easy to throw together first thing in the morning, and it's very satisfying.
   
4. Don't skip the fat. I know the whole time you grew up everything was screaming "NO FAT! LOW FAT! 100 CALORIES!" but fat is not your enemy. Good fats are good. Things like nuts, olives, and good oils (coconut oil, walnut oil, olive oil) are things you can add to your meals to make them even more satisfying.
   
5. Plan ahead for times of temptation. I love the occasional Larabar, and although I try not to indulge too often, I usually keep one in my desk drawer. We have a weekly event in our office that usually involves a lot of people gathered around some very non-Paleo (but super delicious-looking) foods. Sometimes it doesn't tempt me at all, but on the days where I almost cave and stuff my face full of pretzels and marshmallow Peeps, I'm glad I have a relatively innocuous Larabar sitting in my office.

Happy Clean Eating, everyone!