Pizza Face Off

We've been “afterschooling” lately-supplementing a not-so-great teacher’s kindergarten curriculum (AKA free daycare) with our own lessons. Tonight’s lesson combined reading, math, science, civics, photography, and writing, and ended with a delicious dinner. 

Left: cauliflower crust, right: meatza

I planned for pizza this week, but we needed a few last minute items, so we started at the grocery store where the man cub had a list of things to find and compare prices. The question of the night was: cauliflower crust pizza, or meatza? He was skeptical of meatza and oddly confident about of cauliflower crust so we decided to make both. We measured and cooked together, he took pictures and wrote our recipe tweaks for next time, then we ate and voted for the winner. 

Candidate #1 Cauliflower Crust Pizza:

We followed this recipe pretty closely for the crust, but topped with just mozzarella and pepperoni. I mixed an easy sauce with a small can of organic tomato paste, a can of water, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp each oregano and basil, and a dash of sea salt. 

The recipe says to use a cooking spray to grease the pan and then “spray crust with cooking spray”. Instead, we used coconut oil on the pan and took our chances with the crust. After 15 minutes of baking the edge was getting a little dark and the top wasn’t as golden as it could have been, but once the toppings were added and broiled, it was perfect.

Candidate #2 Meatza:

We started with this recipe as our base, but changed a few things out of necessity. We left out the cheese in the crust since I can’t tolerate it. We used fresh pressed garlic instead of powder, added an extra ½ tsp chili powder and skipped the cayenne since we didn't have any on hand. I diced up some shallots instead of using onion powder. Finally, we added some finely chopped basil to the crust mixture.

We topped it with the sauce mentioned above and made one with mozzarella and pepperoni, another with no cheese, just sauce, peppers, tomatoes, shallots, garlic and basil.  

Here are all of the crusts going into the oven

The verdict?

That's "best guess spelling" for "meatza is the winner"

Pizza is a lot like sex; 

even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty damn good!

I couldn’t try the cauliflower crust because it has cheese in it, but it smelled amazing and had a texture that was closer to traditional crust. Man Cub was sad to find out that “it tastes like cauliflower”. (Next lesson? Predictions)

Meatza was a clear winner for him. He was thrilled with himself, and ate about four pieces. Mine was good, but it’s not quite pizza without cheese or pepperoni (If anyone knows of a casein free pepperoni I’d be all over it). 

So there it is...give it a try and let me know what wins in YOUR house! 

Plan Ahead for Success

Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.
-Alexander Graham Bell

I'm a full time single mom and I work at least 40 hours a week. I take a 7pm CrossFit class three or four days a week. Between my son and I, we have two other appointments weekly after work. I sit on an executive board which meets monthly, and I try to keep up with friends and family somewhere in between all of this. I never thought I could cook real food with that schedule, but I found a way to do it, and you can too! The trick is planning ahead, and thinking like a prep cook.

Here’s my game plan:

One day a week I sit down for about 30 to 40 minutes and plan out two weeks of meals and a grocery shopping list. Yes, you read that right I plan two weeks every week. This means I'm always reviewing and revising one week and planning a fresh new week. I find that doing this helps me make the most of my leftovers and keep things from spoiling because I can take a look at what’s sitting in my fridge that needs to get eaten up before it spoils, and what’s in my pantry that I could use with a few more ingredients. (We eat mostly paleo in our house, but you can use the same methods to prepare clean and healthy vegetarian, vegan, or other kinds of foods.)


Here's a sample:

Breakfast	Lunches/snacks	Dinner	Sides	Other
egg muffins	date bars	herb roasted chicken	sautéed kale	potluck: Guacamole deviled eggs
bacon and eggs	fruits	carne asada fajitas	cauliflower “rice”	POW: sweet potatoes
avocado-coconut-milk smoothie	veggies with guacamole	chicken soup *Just sub chicken for turkey in that recipe	fruit Salad	lemons for water
coconut pancakes		bacon avocado burgers	sweet potato fries
cranberry walnut muffins*	boiled eggs	curry shrimp over spinach	cabbage “noodles”
sausage scramble	smoked salmon	“breaded” chicken (breaded with coconut four, spices, and pounded pork rinds)	sliced tomatoes and cucumbers drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper
chia seed crackers* with almond butter	tuna	grain free pizza (or meatza)	salad greens
grain free zucchini bread*	avocado	steak and eggs	sweet potato hash
	turkey	stuffed peppers	salad greens
	hot dogs (Hempler’s all beef uncured no nitrates or additives)	Civilized Caveman’s Sweet Pulled Pork in an acorn squash
	meat cookies	lemon pepper baked Salmon	mashed Sweet Potatoes, Green Salad	girl’s night- dark chocolate bark and wine
	macadamia nuts	Big Tim’s Primal Chili
	olives	asian lettuce wraps
	applesauce	coconut shrimp and veggie skewers	Cauliflower “rice”
	dried fruit, coconut flakes	spaghetti Squash with meat sauce

*I can’t vouch for these recipes, I haven’t tried them yet. I’m beginning this month to prepare snack and breakfast for the man cub to eat at school instead of the cheerios and chocolate milk they offer- so these are some things I thought I’d try. Wish me luck!!!

Things to consider when planning:

• You’ll want to eat batch cooking early in each week (assuming you batch cook on weekends)
• You’ll want the freshest foods just after shopping, and more stable things later
• If you know you have got a busy evening a certain night- plan for something easy like leftovers or breakfast for dinner
• Use leftover ingredients from one meal in another soon! (leftover roast chicken can go in the soup)

Now for the prep:

1. Prepare all your veggies and snacks into the most portable containers they will stay fresh in. I chop up and individually bag celery and carrots sticks, cucumber and jicama. I wash apples and produce and put them in a giant fruit bowl on my dining table. Berries and grapes go into individual servings for lunches. Wash and prepare mixed salad greens in a big container.
2. Bag up some school sized trail mix snacks with dried fruit, nuts, coconut flakes, and a few dark chocolate chips
3. Throw a few lemon slices or mint into a large picture of water to keep in the refrigerator throughout the week.
4. Boil a dozen eggs 
5. Marinade a large roast of some sort in the crock pot insert. In the morning you can plug it in and it will be ready for dinner, with plenty of leftovers.

Now, I take a few hours to batch cook for the week. All of my recipes are simple and I can make everything listed below easily in 3-4 hours. I dance around my kitchen and do squats while I’m at it to get a little movement in.

1. Start a big pot of soup with whatever leftover veggies you have around. I like to start with a bone broth or chicken stock, then add my favorite meat and leftover vegetables.
2. Season and grill hamburger patties and package them two to a bag. I use my George Foreman grill for this but you could use any grill or a skillet. Rare is best, this allows you to re-heat them without overcooking. These are affectionately known in the Paleo world as “meat cookies”: perfect for a quick protein snack, or as part of a meal.
3. Throw a pack or two of bacon on a cookie sheet and cook ‘em up. They keep just fine in a paper bag in the fridge.
4. Make and cook about 20 grain free pancakes and freeze. 
5. Egg muffins! These don’t freeze well, but I make 12 and they last about a week in the fridge if I don’t eat them before then. Again, make them slightly underdone, to allow for reheating.
6. Date bars, similar to the Larabars you can buy for $1.50 at the store. My recipe is even more delicious and can be cut large or small and individually wrapped for lunches or PWOD

Now we’re ready for the week!

I can grab an egg muffin, a few strips of bacon and coffee to go, lunch for the man cub, and leftovers for me in the morning. Later, my roast will be done and I can toss some greens for the side.  

If I know I'm rushed the following day and I have extra time the night before, I'll cook as much of tomorrow's meal as I can and then all I have to do is reheat when I get home. This lets me spend the hour and a half between work and working out on sitting and eating with my son and finishing up homework, instead of cooking and doing a ton of dishes.


Enjoy!!!!


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Recipes: 

Egg Cupcakes

These can also be made with bacon <3

• 10 -12 eggs whisked well
• 1 green onion
• 3 big handfuls of spinach
• 2 organic nitrate free sausages cooked and cut up
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 and grease one muffin pan. Whisk all your eggs in a big bowl. Dice sausage and vegetables. Add this mixture to your eggs.  Throw your spinach into the processor, finely chop and also add to your eggs. Mix the egg mixture well and using a 1/4 measuring cup, fill the muffin pan (any extra makes a great scramble, unless you can eat more than 12 egg muffins in a week). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the eggs are set in the middle. 

Easy Almond Butter Pancakes

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup mashed banana or blueberries

Mix all the ingredients together (use an electric mixer for best results). In a large skillet add a little coconut oil to the pan. Pour the batter in the pan, flip when tiny bubbles form. 

Easy Guacamole

• 2 avocados
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 ripe tomato, chopped
• 1 lime, juiced
• salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, minced

Peel and mash avocados in a medium serving bowl. Stir in onion, garlic, tomato, lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper. Season with remaining lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Chill for half an hour to blend flavors.

  

Coconut Shrimp Skewers (makes 4-5 skewers)

• 1 lb large shrimp (about 6 per skewer)
• 2 roma tomatoes, one medium onion, and one green pepper, each cut into 1 ½ inch pieces
• 1 cup pineapple, chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 6-8 whole white mushrooms

Dip deveined shrimp in coconut milk, then roll in fine (unsweetened flakes). 

Fry in coconut oil.

Stir fry mushrooms, tomato, onion, and green pepper with a dash of coconut aminos. Add pineapple and stir fry just until warm

Thread vegetables onto skewer between shrimp and serve over a bed of wilted spinach.

Guacamole Deviled Eggs/ Green Eggs and Ham

Guacamole Deviled Eggs 

• Guacamole (see recipe above, or use store bought with minimal ingredients and no preservatives or additives)
• 12 boiled eggs
• Pico de gallo (Store bought with minimal ingredients and no preservatives, or make it from this recipe)
• 4-5 slices bacon
• salt and pepper

Boil, cool and shell eggs the night before serving deviled eggs.

Less than two hours before serving, mix yolks with 2 cups guacamole, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon mixture into egg whites, and top with bacon bits and pico de gallo.

WARNING: The guacamole turns brown after about an hour and a half, so these won’t be pretty prepared too far in advance of an event.

Green Eggs and Ham variation for a snack or a meal:

Chop boiled eggs, mix with guacamole to taste.

Hollow out a large tomato and stuff it with egg mixture, top with bacon bits

Chocolate Macadamia Bark

• 1 box of Bakers 100% dark chocolate
• 3 tbs of raw honey, to taste
• 2tbs coconut oil
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• ½ cup macadamia nuts (whole or chopped)
• 1 tbs sea salt

Melt chocolate, coconut oil and honey in a double boiler.

Pour it into a shallow tray lined with wax paper.

Sprinkle with nuts, cranberries and coconut flakes evenly, sprinkle with sea salt.

Place in refrigerator or freezer to cool until hardened, then break into pieces