Paleo Cheat List

Lately as we approach the holiday season, I have been thinking about all of the desserts, candies, pastries, meals, and goodies that I no longer eat. Don't get me wrong, I am so happy to eat according to Paleo principles, but I would be lying if I said I haven't been dreaming about Turtles Chocolates.

It really helps to resist these temptations by getting it off my chest. I want to be honest and transparent. I want to help other people understand that it's okay to have these feelings. You don't have to be perfect all the time.

So I've made my Paleo cheat list.

Paleo Cheat List

1. Doritos Cool Ranch
2. All Dressed Ruffles 
3. 5-cent candies
4. White rice 
5. Popcorn
6. Tomato-basil rice cakes
7. Garlic bread
8. Thick cut french fries
9. Yogurt covered raisins
10. Wine gums

I will continue to add to this list. If you have any big ticket wish list items please let me know.

Happy eating!

Paleo Recipes

Beef Heart with Roasted Vegetables

I know what you're thinking...a cow heart?!! Gross! 

But I just hope that you try this recipe. Please leave comments, would love to see how it turns out!

Beef heart - very lean and tender

Thinly sliced

You can see how thin I sliced it

Marinated for 10 minutes 

Close up of marinating heart

Pan-fried in Ghee on high for 4min per side

Chopped broccoli, cabbage, onion - drizzled w/olive oil and oregano

Beef heart and veggies baked at 400° for 20minutes

Beef heart is done

Beef heart served with spicy mustard and radishes

Ingredients

1 beef heart thinly sliced

1 broccoli chopped

1 cup cabbage shredded

1 onion chopped

Marinade

3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp coarse sea salt
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp cayenne

Slice beef heart really thinly with a sharp knife. Cover with marinade and let sit for at least 10 minutes. In a separate bowl toss your vegetables in olive oil with a bit of no-salt seasoning. 

On a large cookie sheet place your marinated beef heart slices and far enough apart put your veggies. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. 

Serve with spicy mustard and radishes. 

My confession

I was talking to my roommate tonight about something that happened on Friday night. So Friday was my graduation day. I completed a peroperative nursing certificate and a group of us went out to celebrate. We were at dinner and I, true to my strict Paleo obedience, ordered ribs and vegetables. I'm not sure exactly, but I guess it was the half bottle of wine and excitement from the day, that possessed me to grab a piece of garlic bread and eat it.

I put that piece of garlic bread in my mouth and I (vaguely) remember being in complete bliss. I'm pretty sure I had my eyes closed as I was eating that buttery piece of bread. It tasted like heaven would. Everyone at the table was shocked to see me eat a piece of bread, and to be honest, I am still shocked by the whole thing.

So it's now two days later, and I am still really stressed out by this whole thing. I feel like I betrayed myself. I feel angry with myself. But I also feel like why can't I just get over it. You ate a piece of bread. So what.

Unfortunately, I'm very hard on myself to the point of a bit obsessive compulsive. Usually, no matter how many glasses of wine I have, I still maintain my Paleo rules. I will generally eat a bunch of almonds, buy some beef jerky, or eat some frozen peaches.

I guess I needed to get this off of my chest. I need to confess my indiscretion, but I also need to learn to allow flaws in myself.

Thanks for listening.

Azin

Paleo Fried Chicken

Ingredients

8 organic chicken drumsticks

3 tbsp ghee

1 tbsp cayenne powder

2 tbsp oregano

2 tbsp thyme

1 tbsp garlic powder

6 tbsp ground flax seed

Preheat oven to 400°C. Cover baking sheet in tin foil and put ghee on top. Place in oven.

Combine all spices together. You can adjust for personal preference. Coat drumsticks and put onto heated baking sheet. 

Bake for 25 minutes, if you want extra crispy then broil at high for 3 minutes at the end. 

Enjoy!

Paleo Macaroons

For people who follow a Paleo diet, or for those who choose to limit certain foods, dessert is always a bit of a complication. Most desserts contain milk. Most desserts contain sugar. And most desserts are not Paleo friendly. But...

You can still eat dessert!

Here's how: When attempting to make Paleo desserts you should try to make something that does not require a lot of rising, has easily substituted ingredients, and isn't too finicky. Here is my take on Paleo Macaroon Balls.

Enjoy!

Paleo Macaroons

• 2 large egg whites
• 1/4 tbsp organic raw honey
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
• pinch of cinnamon (optional)
• 2 1/2 cups of organic unsweetened coconut flakes or shredded coconut
• 4 squares of organic 80% dark chocolate
• 1/4 tsp cayenne powder (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°C. 

In a large bowl mix together your egg whites and honey with a whisk or fork. Then add sea salt, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Next add in coconut flakes or shredded, and stir together until it is all mixed together. 

Here's the trick. Place mixture in freezer for 10 minutes. Remove from freezer and scoop onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Use a scoop that gives you golf ball sized balls. 

Bake in oven for 10-15 minute, until they are golden brown. Remove and let cool for at least 1 hour. 

On stove top bring water to a boil. Place a stainless steel bowl on top and put in your chocolate. You can use a double boiler if you have one. Heat chocolate until melted. Add cayenne powder to give you a slight spicy chocolate flavor. Drizzle melted chocolate over top of macaroons. 

Store them in an airtight container in the fridge or even freezer if you prefer a cold treat. 

Enjoy!

Yield: 16-18 golf ball sized macaroons

Review of Coconut, Almond and Soy Milk

As a CaveGirl who lives in a busy city, coffee is a big part of my life. I would consider it one of my passions. It's the reason that I go to bed at night, the reason that I wake up in the morning, and the reason I was successful in University.

As I began my Paleo journey, my main concern was "Will I be able to drink coffee"?

The answer is yes.

Not only can you drink coffee, but you can explore new coffee creations that you might not have thought of otherwise!

I will review three milk-substitutes and score them on based on taste, availability, and affordability. I will also post a recipe for a luxurious Cinnamon-clove Coconut Latte.

Coconut Milk

Taste: 4/5

Affordability: 3/5

Availability: 4/5

Coconut milk is really big in Paleo recipes. I used to drink coconut water as a hangover cure and then I realized you can also buy coconut milk in most grocery stores. The brand that I buy is Coconut Dream. I usually just buy the small tetra pack containers because I only use it for coffee. But if you use it in recipes like curry, then it might be worth it to buy the bigger size. That's what I have displayed here. To be honest it's a better value. 

Price: $4.49 - Sale $2.25

Available Stores: Supervalu, Whole foods, IGA Marketplace, Safeway, London Drugs, Saveon Foods

Coconut milk has the lowest carbohydrate content of the three. It appears to have the highest fat content, 5g/240mL, but if you have not already discovered, fat is a good thing. It's protein is quite low and calories are low as well. Overall my favourite alternative. 

Tip: I recommend that you heat up your coconut milk before putting it in coffee. Just put it in the microwave for 40 seconds (or heat it up on the stove). This makes it more smooth and creamy. 

Almond Milk 

Taste: 3/5

Affordability: 4/5

Availability: 5/5

I started drinking almond milk last summer when I did the Wild Rose Cleanse. It was hard to get used to the Original Silk flavour and I didn't like the Vanilla Silk flavour because it was too sweet. The hardest thing for me was the lack of availability in coffee shops. 

You are lucky if you can find soy milk in coffee shops, now just try almond milk. I only found two places that offer almond milk:  Bean Around the World and Melriches. 

The good think about almond milk is that you can pretty much buy it anywhere, and it is usually on sale. Same as coconut milk, I would recommend that you heat up the almond milk before adding it to coffee. 

Price: $4.99 - Sale $3.49

Available stores: London drugs, Supervalu, Safeway, Savon Foods, Thrifty's, Superstore, Costco, Shoppers, Whole Foods, IGA, Cappers

Soy Milk

Taste: 5/5

Affordability: 4/5

Availability: 5/5

Just an FYI, soy milk is not actually Paleo. 

I first began drinking soy milk when I began my lactose free life in July of 2003. At this time soy milk was not readily available in all stores. And you could forget getting soy milk in a coffee shop. 

But now in 2012 you can get so many different brands of soy milk. Some of them are even these Asian brands that are more raw/unprocessed versions. 

I have completely cut soy from my diet. When I look back I was eating too much soy: tofu, edamame beans, soy milk, soy cheese, soy nuts. You would be surprised at how many products actually contain soy but wouldn't seem like it. Also, soy is a very common genetically modified food (GMO), better to avoid these when you can. 

Price: $4.99 - Sale $3.50

Available stores: Everywhere!