Banana Nut Muffins

These were an amazingly successful experiment in my house – Nick finished the whole batch in less than 24 hours! They are a delicious, hearty muffin that can fill me up quite easily. (I had one to sample, which was plenty for me.) They are surprisingly like grain-based baked goods, although they are 100% paleo challenge approved – no grains, legumes, dairy, or added sweeteners. They are not quite as sugary as modern bakery goods, because the only sweetness comes from the bananas, but they would make a delicious, filling, and just-sweet-enough addition to the breakfast table – maybe along with some eggs or meat – or a satiating and portable mid-afternoon snack – maybe for those times when we all get stuck at work with no healthy food in sight.

3 cups almond meal
4 eggs
4 over-ripe bananas
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce (I used homemade applesauce that I canned last fall, which contained nothing but apples and cinnamon)
¼ cup coconut oil
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
½ cup coarsely chopped nuts

Preheat your oven to 350. Combine all ingredients except for the chopped nuts in your food processor and blend until smooth. Stir in the nuts. Place muffins liners into your pan and pour batter into the muffin liners, until about ¾ full. (This recipe made 16 muffins for me.) Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until set in the middle. Allow to cool slightly. If I were not currently doing a paleo challenge, I would suggest eating them warm with a melting slab of grass-fed butter. But just serving them warm is pretty darn tasty, too.

I am sharing this post at Whole Health Weekend, Sugar Free Sunday, The Weekend Gourmet, Muffin Monday, Mangia Monday, Maff Monday, Monday Mania, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday at Beauty and Bedlam, Tasty Tuesday at 33 Shades of Green, Let’s Do Brunch, and Gluten-Free Wednesday.

Fitness Friday for August 19

Less than two months from my due date, and I am still going strong, and still beating my pre-pregnant workout times! I am feeling strong and energetic, and enjoying being active. I am also enjoying walking with Dakota in this slightly cooler weather. We were out walking for over five hours this past week – I am being sure to get plenty of activity and vitamin D for me and the baby.

Saturday

4 rounds for max reps:
:30 deadlifts (65lbs)
:30 rest
:30 push press (33lbs)
:30 rest
:30 pull-ups
:30 rest
63 deadlifts, 53 push press, 35 pull-ups

Sunday

As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes of:
3 push jerks (33lbs)
6 push-ups
9 kettlebell swings (26lbs)
9 rounds + 3 jerks

Monday
As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of:
10 ring push-ups
10 ring rows
50m run
8 rounds + 6 push ups
(Compare to 7rds + 4 push ups a year ago – pretty good, especially considering my run is more and more resembling a waddle ☺)

Tuesday

Greasing the groove:
500 1-leg deadlift squats with a 5lb weight
That is the most I have ever done in one day, and the next morning I was feeling it!

Wednesday

Rest

Thursday

5 rounds for time:
50m sprint
10 ring dips
50m sprint
10 kettlebell deadlifts (70lbs)
12:23

Canning Peach Salsa – Or Is It Salza?

Fall must be just around the corner, because I have do lots of peaches, the garden is producing massive quantities of tomatoes, and consequently I have had to bring my canning supplies in from the garage and put them to good use.

My first project this year was peach salsa – a favorite of mine and Nick’s that is such a fresh, tasty, and welcome treat during the winter months. This salsa is a little acidic, a little sweet, and a little spicy; we both love the interplay of flavors. I think that the cumin – one of Nick’s favorite spices, that he taught me to love – absolutely makes this recipe.

Nick and I do have one little dispute concerning this recipe, however. It has to do with pronunciation. So, readers, feel free to chime in, if you so desire. How do you pronounce the word ‘salsa’? Do you say it ‘sal-sah’ or ‘sal-zah’? Just taking an informal poll . . .

But back to the task at hand. If you have a hot water bath, a desire to do some canning, and lots of tomatoes and peaches to use up, give this recipe a try – you will end up with approximately eight quarts of salsa to enjoy throughout the winter months.

7 lbs chopped Roma tomatoes
5 lbs peeled and chopped hard, unripe peaches
8 cups diced yellow onions
5 cups chopped green, red yellow and/or orange bell peppers
3 tbsp canning salt
3 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
3 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp black pepper
1 lb honey
6 cups cider vinegar (5%)

Place all of the ingredients into one very large sauce pot – or divide the ingredients between two somewhat large sauce pots. You should have a gorgeous rainbow mix of home-grown fruits and veggies. Bring to boiling, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the peaches have softened. With a slotted spoon, fill salsa solids into hot, sanitized jars, leaving 1¼-inch headspace. Cover with cooking liquid, which then should leave ½-inch headspace. Wipe rim and screw threads with a clean damp cloth. Add lid, screw band and tighten firmly and evenly.  Process the jars in a boiling water bath, 45 minutes for quart jars and 35 minutes for pint jars.

I am sharing this post at the Ultimate Recipe Swap, The Gallery of Favorites, Healthy Today Wednesday, Cooking Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday, Food Friday, Fresh Bites Friday, Foodie Friday, Friday Favorites, Fresh Food Friday, Freaky Friday, Food On Fridays, Fight Back Friday, Food Trip Friday, Whole Health Weekend, Seasonal Sunday, The Homestead Barn Hop, the Living Well Blog Hop, and the Canning Week Linky.

Kapusta! Eastern European Cabbage and Sausage

When I first moved to Russia, I was not impressed with the food. It was mostly white and bland, all meals relied heavily on starches, there were few vegetables and little meat, and what meat there was often came in a tube. But over the months, there were many things that I learned to love. Cabbage is one of them. It seems to be omnipresent in Russia, and since living there it has become one of my favorite vegetables (particularly when it is sautéed in grass-fed butter and doused with salt and pepper). I also learned to love sauerkraut. Many thrifty and green-thumbed Russians grow cabbage (kapusta, in Russian) in the gardens at their dachas. Dachas are summer homes outside the city, which sometimes lack electricity and running water, but typically come with a tiny plot of land, dedicated entirely to gardening. (Many Russians, including the family with whom I lived, also grow berries at their dachas that they make into an alcoholic beverage they call ‘wine,’ but which in reality is much stronger. But that is another story.) Much of the cabbage must be stored for the winter, and lacto-fermentation is a wonderful storage method. So, while living in Russia, I had my first experience with sauerkraut; although at the outset I thought it was terrible, I eventually grew to like it, and now I make my own, since I have such an appreciation for its taste, and for the health benefits of lacto-fermented foods. And I even came to like some of the meat in a tube that is so common in Russia. Some of it I still have a rough time stomaching, some of it is so very artificial and processed that I would not want to ingest it, but some of it is really good. . . I just had to sift through to find what I like. Now that I am back in America I have a slightly wider variety of more natural and less processed meats from which to choose. I opted for Polish sausage in this recipe, because I love the taste, and because I was able to locate some sausage of fairly high quality right here in town, for a fairly low price. So here is my latest recipe, in appreciation of the frugality and culinary virtues of Eastern Europe.

2 tbsp cooking oil of your choice (Lard could be tasty!)
1 lb Polish sausage, cut into bite-size chunks
2 cups shredded cabbage
2 cups sauerkraut with juices
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 onion, diced
Caraway seeds, salt, and pepper to taste

Heat up a large sauté pan and add your cooking oil and sausage pieces. Cook until the sausage is nicely browned on all sides, then remove from heat. Add the sausage, cooking oil, and all of the remaining ingredients to your slow cooker, stirring to combine. Cook on low for six to eight hours, and then sit down to a frugal, tasty, and filling dinner that hearkens back to Eastern Europe and Mother Russia.

I am sharing this post at Foodie Wednesday, Pennywise Platter Thursday, and the These Chicks Cooked link party.

Sweet Sunrise Carrot Muffins

This is a great, simple, grain-, dairy-, and sweetener-free recipe that takes advantage of the naturally sweet flavors of carrot and banana. I love the vibrant orange color of carrots and pastured eggs yolks in the morning. Pair these carrot muffins with some meat or eggs for a well-rounded breakfast – they are a wonderful sweet morning accompaniment – or simply enjoy as a snack.

2 cups sliced carrots, steamed (until they are really, really soft)
2 over-ripe bananas (the riper they are, the sweeter your end-product will be)
4 eggs
¼ cup coconut flour
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350. Blend all of your ingredients together until smooth, and then pour into muffins tins. Sprinkle the tops of your muffins with a little bit of cinnamon to add color. Bake for for approximately 25 minutes, or until the centers are set. Allow to cool slightly, and then enjoy. This recipe makes about 10 large muffins.

I am sharing this recipe at Totally Tasty Tuesday, Delicious Dishes, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Teach Me Tuesday, the Tasty Tuesday Parade of Foods, Foodie Wednesday, Cast Party Wednesday, and Let’s Do Brunch.

Kohlrabi Fritters

We have a lot of kohlrabi in the garden, so I dreamt up this side dish, my own take on zucchini fritters. It was a tasty and filling addition to a steak dinner – the bulk of the kohlrabi is very satisfying, and the eggs and cooking oil deliver some healthy and satiating fats. This recipe could easily serve four people as a side dish.

3 kohlrabi
4 eggs
¼ cup coconut flour
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
2 tsp parsley
Oil for frying

Peel your kohlrabi and grate. (I used a cheese grater – I am still getting some mileage out of that utensil, even during the paleo challenge.) Then squeeze out as much of the excess water as you can – you should be left with about 3 cups of fairly dry kohlrabi shreds. Place them in a large mixing bowl, add the rest of your ingredients, and mix until everything is well-blended.

Heat a large skillet on medium heat, and grease with liberal amounts of cooking oil. Plop your batter down by heaping spoonfuls, and flatten with the back of your spatula. Cook until well browned, flip, and then cook on the other side until the egg is set. I served my fritters with some garlic-spiced paleo mayo for a bit of extra flavor.

I am sharing this recipe at The Weekend Gourmet, A Southern Fairy Tale, Maff Monday, Menu Monday, Tuesdays at the Table, Tuesday’s Tasty Tidbits, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Traditional Tuesday, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, What’s Cooking Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Works For Me Wednesday, Healthy Today Wednesday, What’s Cooking Wednesday at Extreme Personal Measures, Women Living Well Wednesday, It’s A Keeper Thursday, Recipes I Can’t Wait To Try, and the Hearth and Soul Blog Hop.

31-Week Pregnancy Update and Belly Picture

I have been terribly lax in posting pregnancy updates lately! I guess that I got a little too busy with work and all of my summer activities. Here I am at 31 weeks, and the time is simply flying by! I have been feeling great lately: no aches, pains, swelling, or any other symptoms to report. Sleeping has become a bit trickier lately, but only because I am a side-sleeper who likes to flip from left to right fairly frequently – with such a large belly, flipping over requires a bit of maneuvering now, and I have to be at least half-awake to manage it. But that is my only pregnancy complaint thus far, so I figure that I am doing spectacularly well!

My waist is continuing to grow, but I am still wearing that same pair of pre-pregnancy jeans that you saw in earlier photos of me, and they still button just fine. Even though I have only gained 14 pounds thus far, my baby is measuring two weeks ahead in his growth – at my 30-week appointment with the midwives, he was looking like a 32-week-old baby. He is still in the head-down position, and I was amazed to feel how far down in my pelvis he actually is. The midwives showed me how to feel for his head, which was just slipping down behind my pubic bone, and to me it felt like he was ready to come right out. Maybe he is anxious to be born, or maybe that was just the only place he could find the room to accommodate his growing body.

I am still fairly active with my CrossFit workouts, although this week I have made the decision to cut back and only work out five times per week. In addition to my planned workouts I am also spending a lot of time – about five hours per week – out walking with the dog. It is by no means strenuous exercise, but rather a slow-paced (Dakota has to stop and sniff now and then!) form of activity that leaves me feeling energized and healthy. And at this point in pregnancy, my goal is not to push my physical limits, but rather to stay active and in shape, so I feel like I have found a good balance for me.

The big news at this point in pregnancy has to do with gestational diabetes testing. The oral glucose tolerance test is administered to almost all women at the beginning of the third trimester in order to screen for gestational diabetes. I declined this procedure in favor of testing my blood sugars with a glucometer. I have several reasons for declining this standard testing, one of them being I do not think it is healthy to expose my baby to a 50g shot of pure glucose and the insulin surge that is sure to follow. For an explanation of some of the shortfalls of the OGTT, check out this article by Robb Wolf. He is the biochemist, and provides a much clearer argument than I could.

But in any case, I opted out of the OGTT and instead checked my blood sugars, fasting and after meals, to ensure that I was not diabetic. My fasting blood sugar was 81 mg/dL – a fair bit higher than my pre-pregnancy levels, which were in the low 70’s, but that is to be expected. I was still perfectly within the 75-95 range expected for pregnant women.

Then I also tested my blood sugars after meals, in order to see how well I was clearing the sugars in my daily diet. The meals that I planned were fairly high in carbs for me, just to ensure that my body could deal with that bit of extra stress. What I discovered is that I am very insulin sensitive, and my body does a great job of clearing out that excess sugar. I tested myself after a breakfast of two soft-boiled eggs, 2 teaspoons fish oil, and a pumpkin pie smoothie. The macronutrient profile looks like this: 470 calories, 45g net carbohydrates, 5g fiber, 20g protein, 23g fat. As you can see, it was a very high-carb morning for me. Blood sugars one hour postprandial should be below 140, and below 120 two hours postprandial. One hour postprandial I was at 102 mg/dL, and two hours postprandial I was at 89 mg/dL. I tested myself after several other meals with similar results, and I was very happy to see that my body was so efficiently clearing out excess sugars. With the way I have been eating I found it nearly impossible to believe that I could have any issues with blood sugar, and my week experimenting with the glucometer confirmed my hypothesis and gave me a good dose of reassurance that my body is taking good care of my baby.

I am far enough along in my pregnancy that now I am visiting with the midwives every two weeks, so my next visit is coming up very soon. I feel like I am a horribly boring patient because I have no symptoms to report or pregnancy ailments that I need help solving, but I suppose that means that we just have more time during our visits to chat about expectations for delivery and new parenthood. I am so glad that I am working with midwives as opposed to an OB, and one of the reasons is that I do get this kind of support, encouragement, and time with my care providers at every prenatal visit.

Cherry-Date Ice Cream – No Dairy or Added Sweeteners

I just cannot get enough paleo ice cream! Even after a whole week of ice cream posts, I am still dreaming up new recipes. Blame it on the hot summer weather. This time around, I was inspired by the cherry trees that are growing in my back yard. They are still very young and immature, so I had to purchase cherries for this recipe, but I am confident that we will be getting a very respectable cherry crop a few years down the road. These little trees have been loving the summer heat and sunshine, and have taken off in the past few months.

This is a wonderfully creamy and decadent ice cream treat that is dairy-free and naturally sweetened using nothing but fruit – the natural sweetness of cherries and dates is so tasty that I did not even have to add honey, and I still ended up with a decadent dessert. And I found that (even though I ate a lot of ice cream in one sitting!) I did not get any sort of a sugar high or crash at all. The natural fruit sugars are perfectly balanced by all the gloriously healthy fats in the coconut milk and egg yolks. I like the added flavor of vanilla and almond extracts, but I left them in parentheses for my paleo challenge participants, since both are out of the question for our strict 30-day trial.

1 can coconut milk
2 cups dark sweet cherries, pitted
4 dates, finely chopped
2 pastured egg yolks (from a farmer you trust, since we are eating them raw!)
(1 tsp almond extract)
(1 tsp vanilla extract)

Combine the coconut milk and chopped dates in your food processor and process on high until the dates are evenly incorporated and no chunks remain. Add in the remaining ingredients and process to your desired consistency. (I left just a few small chunks of cherry in my ice cream, just for some textural variety.) Place the mixture in your ice cream maker and freeze according to your manufacturer’s instructions. Store in the freezer for a few more hours to get a good, solid ice cream consistency (if you can wait that long), and then enjoy. Nick and I found it to be an ideal treat to share on the back porch at the end of a hot summer day.

I am sharing this recipe at Sweets for a Saturday, Simply Delish, the Whole Health Weekend Link-Up, Monday Mania, Show Me How Monday, Mangia Monday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Made From Scratch Tuesday, Gluten-Free Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, Turning the Table Thursday, Sweet Treats Thursday, Sweet Tooth Friday, Friday Food, Primal Cave Friday, Friday Potluck, Allergy-Friendly Friday, Fat Camp Friday, and Delectable Tuesday.

Fitness Friday for August 11

It has been another busy week in the fitness department, and I am not showing any signs of slowing down, even as I am approaching 31 weeks pregnant. In addition to my workouts I am also spending a lot of time walking with Dakota – about five hours this past week. It is a very pleasant and relaxing form of light exercise, and with the cooler weather and sunshine we have been having recently, walking outdoors seems to energize me rather than tire me out.

Saturday

As I mentioned before, Saturday was the paleo seminar and kick-off to the paleo challenge, so I completed ‘Helen’ along with the participants, substituting a row for the run.

Helen
3 rounds for time:
21 kettlebell swings
12 pull-ups
400m run
12:19

Sunday

I was a bit sore after Helen the day before, so I just spent some time practicing my pull-ups and deadlifting form, and ended with 5×5 110lb deadlifts.

Monday

5 rounds for time:
5 pull-ups
10 weighted step-ups (53lbs)
10 push-ups
15 kettlebell swings (26lbs)
12:13

Tuesday

I was feeling a bit tired when I woke up in the morning, so I decided to make Tuesday my rest day.

Wednesday

Row
:30 work, :30 rest for 10 rounds
1312m total

I am getting a little bit slower on the rowing machine, just because the size of my belly prevents me from achieving full extension, but I am still moving at a decent pace for somebody this far along in pregnancy.

Thursday

6 rounds for time:
5 push-press (33lbs)
25 kettlebell swings (26lbs)
8:52

And compare those numbers with my pre-pregnant self from a year ago: I did 18lbs kettlebell swings and 30lbs push press, and it took me 11:15. CrossFit is making me faster and stronger, even as my pregnant belly gets larger! It is so encouraging to me to see such measurable progress.

Paleo Hamburger Helper

This paleo-fied version is pretty much just as easy as Hamburger Helper, and a whole lot healthier, too. No mystery foods, and plenty of good fats. And real, fresh veggies, too! I absolutely love the warmth and spice that the garam masala provides to this dish, and I think that it compliments the slight sweetness of the yams perfectly. I also love creamy indulgence of coconut milk – it is so much better than any glutenous sauce I have come across. My favorite brand of coconut milk is far and away Aroy-D – it is rich and thick, and, unlike most other brands, contains no guar gum. (For my paleo challenge participants who might not be familiar with coconut milk, you can find it in Woodman’s in the Asian foods aisle.)

To make this simple, delicious, healthy hamburger helper you will need:

1lb ground beef
½ onion, finely chopped
1 yam, finely chopped (I chopped the yam almost as finely as the onion, just so it cooked faster)
2/3 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp garam masala

Brown your meat with the onion in a large skillet over medium heat. If you have a lot of extra fat in the pan, pour some of it off. (We use it for dog treats in our house because really, who could resist a face like that?) Then add in your veggies, coconut milk, and seasoning. Turn the heat down to low, cover, and simmer until the veggies are tender, about 20 minutes.

Not only is this recipe super-easy, it is also super-versatile. You can switch up your meats – the day that I made the batch pictured above, I had some ground turkey sitting in the fridge that needed to be cooked up. I doubled the recipe, using a pound each of beef and turkey. Do not like yams? Do not have any on hand? Trying to lose some weight and looking for something lower in carbohydrates? Try another vegetable. Chopped carrots would be luscious. If your garden is overflowing with butternut squash, chop some up and throw it in. (Our squash are not quite ripe yet, but I know that we will soon be inundated.) I love garam masala, but if it is not something that you enjoy or keep in your kitchen, then try a different spice combination. The possibilities are endless . . .

I am sharing this post at Turning the Table Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday, Friday Food, Fat Camp Friday, Friday Potluck, Foodie Friday, Savory Sunday, Hunk of Meat Monday, Simply Delish, the GCC Recipe Swap, and Primal Cave Friday.