I feel like we are just starting to get a few glimpses of Fall around here. There was a crispness in the air the other day that was so refreshing! I really love October in North Carolina! The weather has cooled so that we can start to enjoy park days, bike rides, and overall being outside more!

What better way to enjoy Fall than to drink a Pumpkin Spice Latte right?

Paleo Pumpkin Spice Creamer

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp Butter
4 Tbsp Honey
Pinch Himalayan Pink Salt
4 Tbsp Pumpkin Puree
1 T Pumpkin Pie Spice (you can add more or less depending on how spicy you like it)
1 Can chilled Coconut Cream or Coconut Milk

Directions:
1. Add butter and honey to a pan set over medium heat.
2. Stirring constantly, allow butter honey mixture to come to a boil.
3. Continue to stir for 5-10 minutes until butter honey mixture turns into caramel.
4. Once caramel has thickened stir in salt, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin pie spice.
5. Remove from heat and allow to cool a little bit.
6. Stir in your can of coconut cream.
7. Pour creamer mixture into a mason jar and store in the refrigerator.
8. Add to your coffee and enjoy!
(I like using my little electric whisk thingy from Ikea to make it frothy!)

You should definitely make Detoxinista's Paleo Pumpkin Bars to enjoy with your coffee! I have made 4 batches so far and everyone who has tried them really likes them! They are great for breakfast, an afternoon snack, or dessert! (I bake mine for 30 minutes though!)

Camping at Goose Creek and Camping on Whole30!

Last weekend we went on a little camping trip to Goose Creek State Park. Summer is dwindling down and we are really trying to make the most out of it! We are also in the midst of another Whole30 which added a bit of a challenge as to what to pack for food! I'll share what we ended up eating as well as some other ideas so I can reference back to this next time we go camping! 

We really enjoyed Goose Creek State Park and we will definitely be returning often! In the welcome center they have lots of taxidermy animals and birds as well as drawers that have different animal pelts, tracks, and scat in them. The girls love this kind of stuff. That is homeschool to me.... learning from our surroundings! I loved it!

Near our campsite was a great little dock! Next time we want to bring fishing stuff and a canoe! This time the girls were happy to just touch the water with their hands and feet and throw rocks. 

We went on a few hikes too! The girls were troopers and overall did really well! I think that we are learning that the key to hiking with kids is to take lots of snack breaks :) 

We saw lots of wildlife but this turtle was the only thing the girls were able to touch :) 

It makes my heart swell when they want to hold each others hand...

For dinner our first night we had Onion Bombs and Sweet Potatoes. Both of which I prepared ahead of time, wrapped in foil, and we cooked directly in the fire! 

Onion Bombs are basically Meatloaf balls wrapped in an onion. They are pretty much the best camping food ever. We LOVE them. I used my Paleo Meatloaf recipe and stuffed it into the onion shells. Throw them in the fire and check for doneness with a meat thermometer! 

We packed Cinnamon Ghee to top our cooked sweet potatoes with. Again so yummy! This post is making me hungry! 

For Breakfast I packed chopped onions, green peppers, potatoes, and ghee. Brian cooked that in the cast iron skillet and then scrambled some eggs into it. I also packed hard boiled eggs for snacks or for lunch. 

For lunches and snacks we packed Applegate hot dogs, chicken apple sausages, hard boiled eggs, homemade beef jerky, almonds, Justin's almond butter pouches, and applesauce squeeze pouches. I meant to pack Larabars but they accidentally got left at home. When I made the meatloaf I doubled the ketchup recipe so that we could have ketchup and mustard with our hot dogs. (I also packed PB & J for the girls) 

Here is CLo enjoying the beef jerky on a hike! Next time I make jerky I will write down what I used for the marinade so I can share the recipe! 

The night before we went camping I also made a batch of Paleo chili and put it in mason jars. We reheated the chili over the fire and topped it with avocado! Next time we go camping for a longer trip I will do this again but freeze the chili in the mason jar so that this meal can be used later on in the week. 

It rained our second day so the girls had fun playing cards together in the tent while Mommy napped. :)

Whole30 S'mores :) 

Seriously though next time you go camping roast some peaches! They were delicious! 

On our way out the deer came to send us off! 

Until next time Goose Creek! 

Whole30 Camping Food Ideas

Breakfasts:

Egg and Veggie Scrambles

Chicken Apple Sausages

Hard boiled eggs

Dinners or Lunches:

Meatloaf Onion Bombs w/ Sweet Potatoes

Paleo Chili topped with Avocado

Taco Salad (Brown Beef and salsa over the fire) Serve with Lettuce, Tomatoes, and Avocado

Chicken, Peppers, Onions, and Zucchini Kabobs (use a Whole30 marinade)

Salmon in foil pouches

Burgers with all the fixings except the bun

Chili topped Baked Potatoes

Hot Dogs and/or Chicken Apple Sausages

Do you have any other Whole30/Paleo Camping Food Ideas for me? 

Whole30 Strawberry Clementine Omelet

Eggs are such a great compact source of protein to start off your morning. However, when you are doing a program like whole30, plain eggs in the morning can get boring quick! When you first tell people the parameters of whole30 they tend to think that you can't eat anything sweet but that just isn't the case! When you cut out all added sweeteners from your diet you start to notice and appreciate foods natural sweetness! That has definitely been the case for us with strawberries this season! Every single one I have eaten this week has been so juicy and bursting with sweetness! 

This recipe is great for serving to kids who aren't crazy about eggs! Claire adores eggs of all kinds but Kenley is much more picky about her egg consumption. Kenley gladly ate her portion and then asked for seconds! 

Strawberry Clementine Omelet

Ingredients:
4 Eggs
3 Tbsp Coconut Cream (the thick part at the top of a can of full fat coconut milk)
2 Clementines or Mandarin Oranges
1/4 Cup Chopped Strawberries plus more for garnish
Pinch Himalayan Pink Salt
Coconut Oil for pan

Directions:
1. Place eggs, coconut cream, zest from 1 clementine, the juice from 1 clementine, and pinch of salt in your blender. Process until mixture is well combined.
2. Add chopped strawberries to the blender and pulse until strawberries are just barely broken down a bit.
3. Add a bit of coconut oil to your pan, pour your omelet batter in, and cook as you would any other omelet*.
4. Plate your omelet and then top with additional chopped strawberries, then add the zest from the remaining clementine, finally squeeze the juice from the remaining clementine over your omelet.
5. Serve and Enjoy!

*My omelet making technique isn't the greatest so rather than ending up with scrambled eggs by making my omelets in a pan. I like to use my electric griddle. I pour a bit of batter on my griddle (like a pancake) and then let that cook until the top is starting to bubble a bit. Then I flip it in half and am left with mini omelets. This way works great so that I can easily divide this recipe between the girls and I!

How to make Ghee

Ghee just might be the one thing that I insist you make when you do a whole30. Really I think that you should make ghee even if you are not on whole30! It is a great high temperature cooking fat and the flavor is incredible. It tastes kind of like toasty butter... what could be better than toasty butter? Lucky for you it is incredibly simple to make ghee at home! 

All that you need is 2 packages of Unsalted Kerry Gold Butter... Place them in a cast iron pot and place the pot in your oven. Turn oven on to 200 degrees and let the ghee cook undisturbed for 2 hours. 

Once the 2 hours are up, you will need to strain your ghee from your milk solids. I allow my ghee to cool for about 5-10 minutes while I set up my straining station. I use a cut up old t-shirt and place that over the top of a metal strainer and then pour my cooked butter through the t-shirt and strainer into a glass measuring jar. Discard milk solids left in the strainer. (I always throw away that square of t-shirt too!)

Pour your strained ghee into your container of your choice. You can store your ghee in a dark cupboard or in the refrigerator for longer shelf life. Ghee tastes amazing on cooked veggies (steamed broccoli is my favorite!). It is also a great fat to fry things in on the stove top! You've really got to try it!! 

Enjoy your ghee!!

*Emma brought it to my attention that maybe I should explain what ghee is! Ghee is butter that has had all the water and milk solids removed. The resulting product is pure butter fat. With the milk solids (proteins) removed we are left with a mostly lactose and casein free product. While dairy is not allowed on whole30, ghee is the exception and is allowed on whole30. Thank goodness for that! 

My Paleo Mocha

I used to love Starbucks... now I love this Paleo Mocha more than Starbucks! 

I use a single cup brewer, if you don't have one you can easily alter your steps to get the same results! 

Step 1: Add 1 or 2 pitted dates to your empty coffee cup

Step 2: Make your coffee... 

(I like using flavored coffee! This one was a creme brulee flavored one!) 

The heat from the fresh coffee helps to soften the dates

Step 3: Add Coffee (with dates), 1/2 Tbsp Ghee, 1/2 Tbsp Coconut Oil, Heaping 1/2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder, 2 Tbsp Canned Coconut Milk, and a dash of Cinnamon to your Vitamix.

Step 4: Blend until frothy. I have tried doing this in a regular blender but I didn't get the same smooth results as I do with my Vitamix. 

Enjoy! 

Avocado Chicken Salad

Today I have a great recipe for you to add to your lunch rotation! 

Avocado Chicken Salad! 

Not only do I love avocados because of how they taste, I also love avocados because of their many health benefits! Avocados are high in the good fats that we need for our hair and skin, they are high in fiber, and they are rich in B, K, and E Vitamins! As you know, I've been doing Whole30, which is all about eating protein, vegetables, and good fats all at each meal. With this Avocado Chicken Salad, I have all those bases covered and it is delicious! It is so hard to tell that I swapped the mayonnaise out for avocado! Even my chicken salad and avocado hating husband told me that he really liked this dish and would gladly eat it anytime!

Avocado Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

1 lb cold cooked chicken (I bought mine pre-cooked from Trader Joes)

1 ½ medium avocados

½ cup chopped raw pecans

½ cup diced celery

½ cup quartered red grapes

½ cup quartered green grapes

¼ cup pomegranate seeds

Salt & Pepper to taste

Spinach for serving

Directions:

1.     Add cold chicken to the bowl of a stand mixer. Turn to the slowest setting and let chicken shred into desired size pieces.

2.     While continuing to mix, add avocado to the bowl.

3.     Once the avocado and chicken are well mixed, gently stir in pecans, celery, grapes, and pomegranate seeds.

4.     Season with lots of salt and pepper.

5.     Serve on a bed of spinach.

Enjoy!

Super Awesome Meatloaf (Paleo & Whole30)

Lets be honest. Meatloaf is one of the most un-photogenic foods ever! 

Since it won't look pretty either way lets settle for this iPhone picture :)

Meatloaf is one of my favorite meals! Coming from a former vegetarian that says a lot! I posted my old recipe for meatloaf on this blog a few years ago. This is my updated recipe that is both Paleo and Whole30 approved! I combined my old recipe with Eating for Idiots Meatloaf Recipe and came out with a winner! 

Paleo/Whole30 Meatloaf

Adapted from Eating for Idiots and my old meatloaf recipe

Ingredients:

 Meatloaf

• 2 lbs grass fed ground beef
• 1 tablespoon ghee
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 celery stalks, diced
• 1 cup carrot puree
• splash balsamic vinegar (to deglaze pan)
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
• 4 oz white mushrooms, minced
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons coconut aminos
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1 tablespoon coconut flour

Ketchup

• 1 can tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• pinch ground clove
• pinch ground allspice
• pinch cayenne pepper

Directions:

Ketchup:

Mix all ingredients well

Meatloaf:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Add ghee to a cast iron pot set over medium heat
3. Add onions and celery to the pot. Cook until onions are softened and beginning to caramelize.
4. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar to de-glaze the pan.
5. Add minced mushrooms to the pan and cook 3-5 more minutes. 
6. Combine remaining meatloaf ingredients in a bowl. 
7. Add onion, celery, mushroom mixture to the meat mixture.
8. Add half of the ketchup to the meat mixture.
9. Shape meat mixture into a log on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a baking stone
10. Cover with remaining ketchup. 
11. Bake for 1 hour.
12. Let cool 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.