Sweet Potato Hash

I love hash browns…or at least I did before I gave up potatoes. Potatoes are one of those things for me that was really hard to kick my cravings for. So to help deal with my cravings I decided to experiment with a Paleo option.

INGREDIENTS

1 white sweet potato
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 small bunch green onions, diced
2 tbsp garlic coconut oil (or 2 tbsp coconut oil and 1 clove garlic diced)
salt
black pepper

RECIPE

Skin sweet potato and shred, a food processor or salad shooter is great for this.
In a medium frying pan, heat garlic coconut oil to medium heat.
Add shredded sweet potato, diced yellow onion and diced green onion. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Cook for 8-10 minutes or until sweet potato begins to brown.
Enjoy while it’s still warm, preferably with Bacon!

Have a happy Paleo breakfast!

Melissa Van Dover

@mvandover | melissavandover.com

Paleo Energy Bars

If you’re looking for an energy bar that’s Paleo we’ve got you covered! This energy bar is packed with natural sugar, proteins and healthy fats to keep you energized during your workout. To top it off, they’ll only take you about 10 minutes to make.

INGREDIENTS

14 medjool dates, pitted
1/3 cup almonds
1/3 cup dried cranberries, sweetened naturally
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp cocoa powder
plastic wrap

RECIPE

In a food processor add dates, almonds, cranberries, honey and cocoa powder. Blend until combined. (As a note, this is going to make a ball of mixture and it’ll probably get stuck in your food processor occasionally.)
Scoop mixture onto plastic wrap and cover. Form into a flat, square sheet.
Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes to harden, cut into bars and re-wrap.
Keep in fridge until you are ready to eat.

Here’s to getting energized!

Melissa Van Dover

@mvandover | melissavandover.com

APRIL & MAY 2014 EVENTS!

We are very excited to announce our April and May Cooking Demo topic: Paleo Breakfast!

Demos will be held on two dates at two different Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage locations:

Wednesday, April 16th @ 6pm – The brand new Natural Grocers store, corner Colfax and Washington, Denver CO.
Tuesday, May 6th @ 6pm – Natural Grocers Littleton, corner Kipling and Coal Mine, Littleton CO.

We’ll be showing you how to make some of our Paleo-tastic breakfasts! As a note these breakfast do include eggs. We’ll be coming out with a demo shortly for Paleo breakfasts that are also egg-free.

We hope to see you there!

Camilla & Melissa

ThePaleoPact.com

Expert Guacamole

Guacamole is a fantastic Paleo snack and condiment. You can have it by itself or you can add it to any meal to spice things up. This is a quick and easy guacamole recipe.

INGREDIENTS

2 avocados
1/2 red onion diced
10 cherry tomatoes cut into quarters
4 limes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (roughly half a bunch from the grocery store)
paprika
garlic powder
salt
black pepper

RECIPE

In a large bowl, add avocados, diced red onion, quartered cherry tomatoes and chopped cilantro.
Slice limes in half and squeeze juice into bowl.
The paprika, garlic powder, salt and black pepper can be added to taste. To give you an idea I use roughly 2 tbsp paprika, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1.5 tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper.
Then mash everything together until you reach your desired consistency. You should taste your mixture at this point to see if you need any additional spices.
You’re ready to go! If you like things spicy try adding a diced jalapeño.

Here’s to making guacamole an expert would be proud of!

Melissa Van Dover

@mvandover | melissavandover.com

PALEO CHOCOLATE PUDDING

Finally a dessert you don’t need to feel bad about eating! You’ll have a hard time believing that this chocolate pudding is Paleo when you taste it but I promise it is very much Paleo. It’s packed with healthy fats and Omega 3. This is perfect as a dessert or even a snack during the day.

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup coconut milk
3 tbsp honey or agave
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp chia seeds
1 ripe avocado

RECIPE

Place all ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth.
Scoop into a bowl or container, place in the refrigerator for 1 hour for chia seeds to grow.
Enjoy!

Yes it really is that easy!

I hope you enjoy this nutrient packed dessert!

Melissa Van Dover

@mvandover | melissavandover.com

Vegetarian Fed Does Not = Grass Fed

I’ve noticed a trend recently with labels on beef packaging, I’ve been seeing a lot of “vegetarian fed” beef. To set the record straight, vegetarian fed beef is not grass fed beef. In fact they are basically as far from each other as you can get. The addition of the “vegetarian fed” label on beef is simply a marketing tactic used to make shoppers think it’s healthier for them. Vegetarian fed beef is not the equivalent of grass feed beef and it is worse for you.

The bottom line…

Vegetarian Fed Beef- Beef that is raised on a diet of grains (i.e. corn).

Grass Fed Beef- Beef that is raised on a diet of grass and grazing.

Since grains are strictly not Paleo, you can see how this may pose an issue. Commercially raised cows are fed a grain based diet to help them gain more fat and mass, this way they provide more revenue when they are slaughtered.

So when it comes down to it, vegetarian fed does not equal grass fed.

Stick with grass fed beef!

Melissa Van Dover

@mvandover | melissavandover.com

Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs

Whether you’ve just started Paleo or you’ve been at it for a while there is nothing you’ll probably miss more that a good traditional pasta dish. This is a great alternative for the traditional spaghetti and meatball dish, it’s Paleo, GF and Egg Free. The best part is that it’s simple and fast to make.

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs grass-fed, ground beef (you can use ground turkey or chicken also)
1 spaghetti squash
1 1/2 tbps italian seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
pasta sauce (optional)

RECIPE

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Combine meat, italian seasoning, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Roll golf ball sized meatballs and place in a pyrex or glass baking dish.
Bake meatballs for 15 – 20 minutes until cooked fully.
While meatballs are cooking, cut spaghetti squash in half and scoop the middle out.
Place squash cut side down in a microwave safe dish and cover half way with water. Microwave for 7 -10 minutes. Using a fork pull the inside of the squash out, it should separate and look like spaghetti.
Mix meatballs, squash and pasta sauce together.

I hope you enjoy this home cooked, traditional pasta dish!

Melissa Van Dover

@mvandover | melissavandover.com

Paleo Post Workout

I know that cavemen wouldn’t have had post workout drinks but for anyone who is an athlete, sometimes you need one. Here is a recipe for a Paleo post workout drink.

INGREDIENTS

1 liter of water
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons agave or honey
2-3 tablespoons of orange, lime or lemon juice

RECIPE

Put it all in a large water bottle and shake until combined. It’s that easy.

Some reasons why the ingredients are helpful post workout: Baking soda is great for counteracting the lactic acid that builds up in your muscles from exercising. The sugar from the agave or honey will help give you back some energy. The salt and juice are great for replacing some of your electrolytes that you may have lost during your workout.

This is a lot of fluid. Please take your time drinking this, consuming too much liquid at once can have negative health effects.

One more thing I really love about this…It has a really mild taste! I’m not a fan of most post workout drinks so this was a nice change.

Have a good workout!

Melissa Van Dover

@mvandover | melissavandover.com

The Paleo Flour Options

So you just started Paleo and you have no idea what you can actually use to bake with. We’re going to take a look at what flours are approved for Paleo baking and what flours are not. Let’s start with what’s not allowed.

BANNED FLOURS

Wheat- Wheat is a big no-no on the Paleo diet, stay away from this one.
Rice- Like wheat, rice is a grain and not allowed on the Paleo diet.
Potato- White potatoes are not approved for Paleo consumption.

APPROVED FLOURS

Almond- Almond nuts are allowed on Paleo, so this is an approved flour.
Coconut- Approved.
Flax Meal- Approved and this also doubles as a great egg replacer for baking recipes.
Tapioca- This will add a chewy texture to your baked goods.
Arrowroot- This is basically tasteless which is good for any baking you’re considering doing where you don’t want an additional flavor.

Here is a great article on why grains are bad from a Paleo perspective, since normal flour is made of grain it should give you a better understanding of it’s impacts to your body. This article is from ThePaleoMom.com. It’s a great blog and I encourage you all to check it out.

Here’s to learning more about Paleo!

Melissa Van Dover

@mvandover | melissavandover.com

Sweet Potato Brownies

Who doesn’t love brownies…seriously I have yet to meet a single person. One of the biggest challenges I had when I started cutting out my allergens and becoming Paleo was finding anything to eat as a desert. This recipe was what I needed, and for those of you wondering it did pass “my husband test”.

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups shredded sweet potato, about 1 medium sweet potato (I prefer the orange sweet potato for this recipe)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (make sure you get real vanilla extract)
1/2 cup agave
1/2 cup virgin olive oil
1/2 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder (you want this heaping so don’t make it exact)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons coconut flour
coconut oil

RECIPE

Heat oven to 365°F. Mix sweet potato, eggs, agave, olive oil and vanilla in a bowl making sure they are combined well. Add baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powered and coconut flour to wet mixture, incorporate throughly. Grease a 9×9 baking pan with coconut oil and add mixture so that it is roughly 3/4″-1″ thick. Bake for roughly 30 minutes or until you can insert a pick tooth and it comes out clean.

For anyone new to gluten-free baking, I’ve learned that you should try to keep the oven door closed as much as possible. If you open it regularly, you tend to get baked goods that fall flat.

Happy Baking!

Melissa Van Dover

@mvandover | melissavandover.com

The Paleo Pact

Choose Well. Eat Well. Live Well.

Author: Melissa Van Dover

Sweet Potato Hash

INGREDIENTS

RECIPE

Paleo Energy Bars

INGREDIENTS

RECIPE

APRIL & MAY 2014 EVENTS!

Expert Guacamole

INGREDIENTS

RECIPE

PALEO CHOCOLATE PUDDING

INGREDIENTS

RECIPE

Vegetarian Fed Does Not = Grass Fed

Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs

INGREDIENTS

RECIPE

Paleo Post Workout

INGREDIENTS

RECIPE

The Paleo Flour Options

BANNED FLOURS

APPROVED FLOURS

Sweet Potato Brownies

INGREDIENTS

RECIPE