DIY Quest Bars....yes, please!

So, if you're into fitness and/or health supplements, you're well aware of the existence of the infamous Quest bar. So many incredible flavors to choose from, budding fitness culinary artists figuring out different ways to consume them (quest pop tarts, cookies, cannolis, you name it), and did I mention the cookies 'n cream one?!?! <insert watering mouth>

After PR'ing my squat today, and watching a random Netflix movie...I decided to conjure up my own version of one of my fave afternoon snacks...in the form of my absolute favorite flavor of all time: Mint Chocolate Chip.

I'm not going to sit here and preach about how I've outdone the Quest bar. Please. Not trying to do that. However, if you're in the mood for some DIY snacks, it is definitely worth giving it a go. Cost savings per bar is maybe around 50 cents...but hey, money in the bank is money in the bank.

supplies ready for action

ready, set, consume!

4 scoops of your fave protein powder (I used Muscle Pharm Mint Chocolate Chip)
1/4 cup ground oats
1/4 cup nut butter of choice (I used Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams)
1 Tbsp ground flaxseed
1/4 cup water (you may or may not use it all)
1 Newman's Own mint chocolate cup, finely chopped
1 Tbsp raw cacao nibs

Mix all dry ingredients together. Slowly add the water until it is fairly sticky (then don't add more!), and all dry ingredients have been incorporated. Then, flatten out onto some parchment paper and place in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Cut, eat, and store! Should make about 6 bars.

Clearly, my cacao nibs and my mint chocolate cup were the icing on this mint chocolatey cake...so feel free to get creative and create your fave flave!

Here's the approximate nutrition info per bar:

Calories: 189
Fat: 7g
Protein: 20g
Carbs: 12g (5g sugar)

*nomnomnom*

Let's Talk About....

...Cheese, bay-bee. Let's talk about you, and me. Let's talk about all the good things, and the bad things, that may be.

...no? Was I the only one that was tickled by my salt 'n pepa reference?

...anyhoo, I'm going to deviate a bit from mere recipe sharing. Why? Because I had a fabulous cheese experience, that has inspired me to perk up and become inquisitive about cheese and their interesting origins. I've had thoughts of educating myself more on the wondrous art of cheese making in the past, just never really felt like investing the time to get to know my cheeses a bit more personally. But...thanks to gouda reserve...I'm in.

My little heaven at Whole Foods

I often find myself perusing the small basket in the corner of the cheese section at my P Street Whole Foods. You know, the one where they put the odds and ends of cheese that can't really be sold with the rest of their coagulated compadres. See, I'm a "let me taste that" kind of girl...wanting to experience as many flavors, textures, aromas as possible in the things I eat...not necessarily wanting to commit to a large portion of any one of them. <smorgasbords are perfect for me> So I loooove when the little basket at Whole Foods is filled up with various cheeses for me to try. I'll often get one or two per week, trying to remember what I like and don't like, occasionally googling the whereabouts of particular ones that stood out on my palate (and creating no form of actual notes to re-reference either. #colormelazy). But never have I been completely compelled to dedicate some weekly time to cheese discovery.

Without further adieu, here's my first cheese review and knowledge bomb...

GOUDA RESERVE

This cheese is quite hard. At first, I thought it was mislabeled. Gouda, not soft? Won't bend? Huuh? I wouldn't necessarily consider it super hard like a grana padano (my heart belongs to this guy, btw), but just seems like it's been sitting in the fridge too long and lost its moisture. The taste is one-of-a-kind. Strong, tart in its own way, with a bit of a bite. There are interesting crystals inside that crunch while you chew, and if you let it rest in your mouth, it'll slowly become slightly creamy. This leads me to wonder how delicious it'd be shaved onto a warm, tomato soup for garnish. Hmmm....

• Ingredients: Pasteurized cow's milk, salt, cheese culture, animal rennet
• Country of Origin: Holland
• Aged: At least 18 months
• Price: $16.99/lb.
• Verdict: Buy buy buy!! (you won't regret it)

...until next time...

Back at it....with Cinnamon Currant Protein Bars!

Excuse my absence. I know, excuses will likely go in one ear and out the other. So I'll refrain from concocting any creative reasons to beg for your pardon of my slacking off. You're welcome :)

So. I'm staying at my friend @goldiesquats place, watching her little cuddle bug, Tansy. Being the meal prep fanatic that I am, I wanted to make sure I brought my full arsenal of goods, so I wouldn't have to be all up in her kitchen this week. I did my typical slow cooker chicken, roasted sweet potatoes, and broccoli. But I didn't want to keep raiding the local GNC for more and more quest bars (slight addict)....so I thought I'd give a go at making something fun to bring for myself. I recently got some Cellucor Cinnamon Swirl protein....and it is gooooood. I was reminded of loving some cinnamon raisin toast as a kiddo, so I thought I'd create some cinnamon raisin protein bars. The currants came about because I pictured my bars being fairly small, and imagined the raising taking over the whole bar. So...solution? Mini raisins :)

Here we go:

1 cup raw cashew pieces (got them from whole foods, they're cheaper than whole cashews)
3/4 cup organic oats
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
3 scoops Cellucor Cinnamon Swirl protein (or whatever you want, really)
1/4 cup dried currants
1 1/3 cup coconut almond milk (I use blue diamond, but do whatever kind of milk you'd like)
*optional dash of cinnamon if you want!

Cashew pieces go in the vitamix and get chopped pretty finely. Don't go crazy and butter it, just make it like a fairly fine cashew meal. Next, grind up your oats in the vitamix as well. Add all dry ingredients to a big bowl and mix. Then, add in the milk and stir. The mixture should be really sticky. Then, lay out the dough/batter on a parchment lined baking pan, and spread until it is maybe 1/2 inch thick. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, or until the top is slightly brown, and your big bar is pretty firm. Remove from oven, let cool on a rack for a few minutes, then cut into whatever shapes/sizes you want! Mine made about 12 bars that were about the same size as a quest bar. Yummo.

Paleo Pastelón ... aka Puerto Rican Lasagna

Puerto Ricans are resourceful. And "proud" may be an understatement, for most of us at least. The Italians have lasagna? How 'bout we try to make our own with these delicious bananas we have laying around the island, si? Mom made this growing up. Who knows if I do it the same way...nothing ever seems to be as good as mom's. But here we go!

yea yea, it isn't the most attractive dish, I know ;) We're good lookin'
enough, our food doesn't need to look amazing too!

2 fairly ripe plantains, sliced lengthwise
1 lb ground beef (grass fed, preferably)
1 small sweet onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 small can fire roasted tomatoes (or tomato sauce...depending on if you like tomato chunks)
Handful of raisins
1/4 cup red wine
2 Tbsp capers, with juice
6-8 green olives with pimento, sliced, with juice
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
3 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 325F
2. Coat heated skillet (medium to medium high) with olive oil, add onion and peppers. Sauté until onions are translucent. Add garlic and oregano and sauté for another 1 minute.
3. Add ground beef to skillet and brown.
4. As beef is nearly browned, add raisins, capers, olives, tomatoes, and red wine. Stir and allow liquid to significantly reduce.
5. As liquid is reducing, heat another skillet (medium), and lightly spray with coconut/olive oil. Lay plantain slices and allow to cook 2-3 minutes per side, until lightly browned.
6. Lightly grease 8x8 baking pan. Layer plantain slices on the bottom of pan, then fill with meat mixture. Add another layer of plantain over meat.
7. Beat eggs with a little coconut milk (1 Tbsp or so), and pour over meat and plantain. Let settle for 3-5 minutes.
8. Place in oven and bake 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let (almost) completely cool before slicing.

If you don't mind it falling apart a bit, feel free to cut before it cools. But, let me tell ya, it might go all over the place if the eggs haven't cooled enough to hold it together.

Totally paleo, great carb/protein ratio, and is fabulous the next day, day after, etc until it is gone! Delicioso.

Amped Up Butternut

So, we all love some butternut squash soup. What happens when this Paleo chick gets a little bacon crazy with her butternut? The most simple, delicious, butternut squash soup that has ever graced your palate enters reality. Here goes nothin'

1 Butternut Squash, roasted (cut lengthwise, remove seeds, spray with coconut oil, salt/pepper, roast face down)
1 Cup chicken broth
1 Onion
1/2 Red Pepper, roasted
4 Cloves garlic, roasted (keep in skin, toss in the oven for 5 minutes or so, then peel)
3 Slices Black Forest Bacon (I got this stuff at Whole Foods. Use whatever bacon tickles your pickle)
1 Tbsp curry powder

1. While Squash, pepper, and garlic are all busy roasting, rough chop your onion and bacon and sautee in a large saucepan until brown.
2. After squash cools, scoop squash out of skin and add to your onion and bacon mixture. Peel your roasted garlic, and add that in the saucepan along with the roasted red pepper. Add chicken broth (or stock, your choice) and curry powder, simmer for 10-15 minutes, so the squash can absorb some of the other fixins.
3. Once liquid is slightly reduced in your saucepan, transfer everything to your Vitamix (or Ninja, whatever blender works best for you), and let 'er rip! From here, it is really up to you re: the texture you prefer of soups. I like mine not quite pureed, so I don't get to out of control while running the Vitamix.

4. Optional: cook up an additional slice of bacon, cool/drain, and break apart as garnish on your bowls of heaven!

Battle: Paleo Pizza...volume 1

I should preface this post by stating that this is likely the first installation of many future paleo pizza battles. This was initially inspired by my buddy and fellow fitness/foodie freak, LAQ (http://laqfitness.com) who posted her recipe for Paleo BBQ Chicken Pizza. Mind you, paleo pizza is no new phenomenon. "Meatza" is definitely well-known within the paleo community...and is known to satisfy our primal cravings for a round object we can cut wedges out of and eat with our hands. Her post, however, lit a little inspiration fire within me to have yet another throw-down. I decided that yes, I would not only make (my variation, of course...why can't I just stick with the recipe? I'll never know) her version, but also have a little fun with a cauliflower crust as well. Why not, right? What else would I rather be doing on a rainy Friday evening?

Check out the link for LAQ's recipe. My modification was making it a "personal" pizza...and, because of not wanting to get a whole pound of ground chicken...I got 96/4 ground beef (1/4 lb). Pros: hearty, flavor was good. Cons: maybe I didn't use enough egg (tried to do about 1/2 an egg for the 1/4lb of meat), so it wasn't staying circular as I moved it around.

crust vs crust

cauli crust pre-consumption

open up!

Cauliflower crust:
1 cup raw cauliflower
2 cloves garlic
1 egg
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp tomato sauce (whatever you're going to top your pizza with)
1 tsp almond meal
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp sea salt
dash of cayenne pepper or red chili flakes

Heat oven to 400 degrees. boil cauliflower and garlic until just tender. drain excess water, place in vitamix. Add egg, cheese, spices, and almond meal and blend until everything is integrated. spread mixture evenly on parchment lined baking sheet. Place on center rack and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until evenly brown and crispy.
Top with your fave toppings. I used mushrooms, roasted peppers, carmelized onion, kalamata olives, bacon, roasted kumato, and goat cheese. Toss back in the oven for about 5 minutes, remove, and enjoy!

As I'm writing this...I'm already looking at other crust ideas. Talk about paleo ADD. Geez. Can't. Get. Enough! :) I don't have an official verdict. Meatza is fabulous and filling...but cauli crust did me right re: feeling like I was eating (very thin crust) pizza. Post-wod....just have both!

Well Hello, Artichoke

Confession. I had never done anything with a fresh artichoke for nearly 30 years of life. Whaaaat? How could this have happened? Well, my theory is that mom must not have liked artichokes, because I'm not sure I even knew what an artichoke was until I started seeing them in salads and on restaurant menus as an adult (I use that term loosely). Thanks to the 2 for $5 sale at whole foods last week...artichoke experimentation began. 3 artichokes, 3 different preps. One hungry CrossFitter.

At about 60 calories a pop, and actually a decent bit of protein considering its a vegetable...these puppies are a win. After pinteresting away for a while, and considering my typical flavor combos...here's what I came up with:
3 - white wine/garlic/lemon

1 - garlic/lemon

2 - balsamic/feta

3 - white wine/garlic/lemon

Cooking method:
Crank the oven up to 400-425 degrees. Cut the top part off, and pull apart leaves to create space so you can shove flavorful goodness in every nook and cranny (thanks to Thomas' English Muffins for that phrase) you can find. Wrap it up in foil, place on baking sheet, and roast for about 40-50 minutes. When you remove from the oven, give it another few minutes wrapped before unleashing the beast.

Results:
One conclusion that I easily made is that wrapping in foil while roasting is a must. Trial #2, although it looks gorgeous...was quite dry, therefore less meaty than #1 and #3. Lesson learned.
Artichoke hearts from fresh artichokes are SOOOO much tastier than anything canned or jarred. So good. Worth it.

Re: flavors. Based on my 3 tests, I'd go with #3, then #1, then #2. I'm wondering what other cheese might work well though. Parm? Goat cheese? I know there are loads of recipes for artichoke dips that are mostly cheese with a bit of artichoke. Regardless, I've got many years ahead to find millions of different ways to make artichokes delicious. Go try some!