WOD On-the-Go

If you only have 5-10 minutes to work-out, try this work-out...

21-15-9

1. Air Squats (Jumping Air-Squats if really want to challenge yourself)

2. Burpess

3. Lunges (Lunges Jumps if you really want your heart rate to increase)

Watch my video for more instructions:-)

Stay Fit & Keep Moving!!!

Pork Green Chile - A Comfy Winter Favorite

About this time we usually throw a chile cook-off and I usually throw people out of my house if I don't win...Just joking or am I:-)

Chile is one of favorite meals to cook & eat because there are so many variations and ingredients you can use in chiles. I've made so many different kinds of chile in my life, but I must say my absolute favorite is my pork green chile. If you have the time I recommend slow cooking a 4-5 lb pork shoulder (aka bone-in butt) until is is fall off the bone tender, but today I didn't have the time so I used pork stew meat instead. Pork stew meat is usually meat from the shoulder already cut up into pieces so it doesn't take as long to cook.

Ingredients

- 3 to 4 lbs Pork Stew Meet

- Seasoning: Salt, Pepper, Granulated Garlic, Granulated Onion, Chile Powder, Smoked Paprika, Dash of Nutmeg

- Cooking Fat: Coconut Oil, Ghee or Bacon Fat

- 1 Onion, Chopped

- 4 Pablanos Peppers, seeded & chopped

- 6 Anaheim Peppers, seeded & chopped

- 4 Jalapeños, seeded (only if you don't like it hot) & chopped

- 12 Fresh Tomatillos or 1 12 oz can, drained

- 1 cup Cherry Tomatoes

- 1 qt Beef Stock (homemade or low sodium organic from the store)

Homemade beef stock, how can I make that and why would I want to?

Don't worry I got you covered...Find answers here...

- 1 (25 oz) can Hominy, drained and rinsed

What's hominy and where can I get that?

Hominy is a dried corn that has been soaked in minerals which loosens the hulls, softens the kernels and causes the kernels to double in size and sprout making it more digestive then regular corn. Bottom line, if we didn't have hominy, you wouldn't have corn tortillas.  

- 1 Celery Root, peeled & chopped

What's Celery Root, how do you chop it and why use it in this recipe...???!!!

Don't worry I got you covered, click here to learn about Celery Root...

To keep this recipe paleo and gluten-free, I'm using celery root to help thicken the chile while giving it a slightly tangy flavor. 

- OPTIONAL 1 Butternut Squash, Baked and chopped

How do you bake and chop a butternut squash...???!!!

Don't worry, I got you covered again, click here to learn about butternut...You can make the squash ahead of time and reheat as stated below, or you can bake the squash as you make your chile or you don't even have to use it, but I think it adds great texture and a unforgettable delicate sweetness to this dish...

Garnish Options:

- Avocado, seeded & chopped

- Cojito Cheese

- Cilantro, crumbled

- Fresno Peppers, thinly sliced

- Chips

- Toasted Butternut Squash seeds, click here to see how to prepare

1. Put the stew meat in a bowl, pat dry and break apart if stuck together.

2. Place seasonings in a container and season the meat thoroughly. The seasoning will turn into fond which will be the foundation of flavor for your chile...So season well!

3. Heat a large pot on high on the stove (I'm using my wonderful dutch oven.)  Coat bottom of pot generously with cooking fat. Make sure oil is hot enough before adding meat by testing a piece of meat, if it sizzles you know it's hot enough, if it doesn't you need to wait. Add the rest of the meat to the pot and brown by stirring occasionally.

4. Take meat out of pot and reserve. (I use the lid of my dutch oven to reserve the meat.) Tent with foil to keep juices inside (this is important if you want to keep the meat juicy and tender) 

5. Reduce heat to medium. Add the onions and garlic to the pot and coat with reserved leftovers from browning the meat. Add more fat to pot and stir until onions are translucent. Mix in peppers and add a little salt, cook for another 2 minutes until the peppers start wilting a little. Add in tomatillos, tomatoes, and celery root and sauté. If it appears dry, add more cooking fat, veggies should be well coated.

6. Scrape the bottom of the pot as you sauté the veggies...Remember, that's where the flavorful fond is...  

7. Gradually add stock and whisk to incorporate all the brown bits (fond) into the liquid which will eventually dissolve creating great flavors.

8. Add enough water to cover the veggies. They should be floating at the top. Bring to boil, turn down and simmer for 30-45 minutes until the tomatoes burst their juices and the celery root is tender.

9. Puree in a blender or food processor. (I'm soooooo exited, I just got my very own Vitamix!!!)

10. Place the pureed green chile back into the pot, add hominy and reserved pork. Bring back up to a boil and then back down to a simmer for another 15-20 minutes. 

11. If serving with butternut squash and needs reheating, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Chop squash into 1/4 in pieces and remove the skin. Place a baking dish and reheat for 10 minutes.

12. Place in a separate bowl. 

13. To plate, spoon a ladle of chile in a bowl, add some butternut squash. Add another ladle or two chile. Put an assembling line the above mentioned garnishes and go to town.

Any garnishes I'm missing...

Eat is for breakfast with a fried egg on top...

Or for lunch on top of a bed of spinach...

Or as a snack with a sprinkling of bacon bits for cruch...

Celery Root...Learn How to Cut and Cook this Scary Knob...

Celery root...

What's that???

What does it taste like??? 

Why would I cook it???

How do I cook it???

Celery root is not the root of celery you usually buy, it's slightly different. The green stalks are more bitter and pungent. I'd use them for stocks, braising and pesto-like sauces. The actual celery root has a starchy consistency and tastes like a combination of jicama, rutabaga and daikon. Because of it's starchy consistency it gives creaminess purees, crunchiness in slaws, tenderness to braises and crispiness to fried goodness.  

The real question is how to cut it... 

Just like the butternut squash, this ingredient can be intimidating because it looks scary...'how the F(&(*^&^ do you get inside'...

Just like the butternut squash, we need to make it cuttable (stable to cut the 'thing' instead of your figure)...

Start by cutting one end.

 Cut the other end.

 Stand it up so it's stable. Take your knife and peel the skin.

Slice down the middle, 1/4 inch between slices.

Stack a couple of slices on top of each other. Cut lengthwise and then across, making cubes. If you want to make celery root fries, just cut lengthwise so they are long and tender.

I used this celery root in my famous pork green chile with hominy and butternut squash... 

But there are so many other uses for this ridiculous root...

1. Celery french fries

2. Celery root puree

3. Celery root soup

4. Celery in homemade stock

5. Celery root slaw

6. Celery mash potatoes

7. Celery root hash

8. (Celery) Root Cakes

I can go on...do you have any ideas...

Butternut Squash...Learn How to Cut & Cook This Awkward Bundle of JOY...

Don't be intimated by butternut squash! The most challenging thing is cutting it up, but if you know the right steps and have to a sharp knife, you should be good to go.

Although butternut squash is available all year round it's really a fall/winter squash. Look for one with a big neck and small bulb; it'll yield the most meat. It should have a pale orange color and should feel heavy for its size.

To cut, place it on its size.

Cut the stem end off.

Cut the bottom off.

Cutting off both ends makes it stable to stand it up and cut through the middle.

You seed it now and bake it, but I want to cook it a little faster so I cut it into quarters. 

Flip it upside down, making it more stable, and cut through center. 

Seed the squash. 

You can reserve the seeds, rinse, dry, season and bake them if you'd like. They are a great snack or garnish.  

 

Bake at 350 degrees, 5-7 min.

Spray butternut squash with (coconut) oil. 

Season with salt, pepper, chile powder, curry powder a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Add a little water at the bottom of the baking sheet to help steam the squash and not burn the skin.

Enjoy!!!

There are other numerous ways to enjoy this fabulous fall squash...

1. Top with some ground meat and sautéed peppers

2. Cut into pieces and add to my famous Green Chile, click HERE for recipe

3. Puree into a butternut squash mash and garnish with seeds & bacon bits

4. Make into butternut squash soup

5. Puree and use to fill raviolis

6. Make into butternut squash cakes

7. Use as a filling in enchiladas

Anybody else have other ideas...???

Homemade Jerky - Primal Eats

If you have dehydrator and you haven't made homemade jerky, you need to. If you don't have a dehydrator you should consider investing in one. It's a great way to make lots of different kinds of homemade snacks...dried fruits, dried veggies, roll-ups, meats, etc...

Homemade jerky is my favorite primal eats...My husband & I actually started a jerky company right after college because we did so many road trips and ate so much jerky we thought it would save and earn us money if we made our own....It was called Trekkin' Jerky...Although the company doesn't exist anymore, it doesn't stop me from making it...

I pride myself as being a jerky connoisseur and refuse to buy bad stuff, although I will try new brands as long as they use quality ingredients...Many brands on the market are loaded with MSG, artificial flavors, sodium and made with conventional meats...Also, hard to find the right texture, dryness or thickness...For a product that is relatively expensive you'd think there would be better options on the market, so since there aren't I just make my own...

If you are really particular about thickness, you should get a automatic slicer...They are not that expensive, will save you time, produce consistent slices and makes it very easy to slice not just meat but fruits and veggies...

Ingredients

- Top Round Beef, Grassfed & Finished: I usually buy at least 8-10 lbs, but buy as much as you want...remember, you will yield about 60% of the total you start with...

- Seasoning or Marinade: I usually do a dry rub of salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, cayenne, turmeric, coriander...But you can really use whatever you want...If you are using a wet marinade you should let if marinade overnight...

Instructions

1. Trim the fat, if needed. 

2. Then cut the big piece of meat into 4-6 smaller pieces so it's easier to cut on my slicer. 

3. Place meat in freeze, frozen meat is easier to slice. If you don't have a slicer you want to partially freeze mea and cut by hand.

4. Slice or cut the frozen meat.

5. If marinading, marinade sliced meat overnight. If using a dry a rub, place the meat on the dehydrator.

6. Season with a strainer so it is coated evenly.

7. Set the timer and temperature according to your dehydrator. I set mine at 160 for about 3 hours.

8. Enjoy! 

Remember, this is fresh-homemade jerky without any preservatives so if you don't eat it within 10-14 days you might want to vacuum seal it or refrigerate it...

Got Meat...Yeah, Ribeye Steak, the best cut ever!!!

Ribeye Steak with Garlic Mushrooms

A quick, easy and absolutely delicious meal anytime... 

The Rib Eye cut is one of my favorite pieces of meat because it's not only a little marbly (aka fatty, good fat), which gives it great texture and flavor, it's densely nutritious and satiating, especially if you buy grass fed & finished meat. The rib eye is the center piece of the rib, if it had a rib attached to it it might be called 'cowboy ribeye' or 'cowboy cut', which in my opinion is even better since a bone attached to a piece of meat (pork, chicken, beef, elf, bison, lamb, etc) usually has better flavor and is more forgiving if you accidentally overcook it...Plus, there is something gratifying about gnawing on bone at the end of meal, especially if you are paleo...HA!HA!

Although expensive ($17.99/lb) this piece a of meat (about 1 lb) equaled about 2 1/2 meals for me, (dinner - light breakfast - lunch)...It's because of the cut, it's thick, dense and has some fat...If you don't want to splurge for Rib Eye, that's OK...you can use other searing cuts of meat for this recipe...i.e. sirloin, flank, hanger, etc...  

So the technique I'm going to introduce to you to in this blog post is 'pasting the protein'. A paste for a protein is similar to marinade, but it has more seasoning instead of liquid which makes the 'marinade' denser and thicker to apply to the protein than a marinade. Plus, a marinade you usually have to soak for at least a few hours and sometimes overnight in order for it to absorb the flavors. A paste can be applied right before cooking which helps create a 'crust' on the protein and also helps insulate the meat keeping the juices inside and protecting it from overcooking.

Steak Ingredients

- 3/4 - 1 lb per person

- Paste per piece of steak:

- 1 TBS salt

- 1 TBS pepper

- 2 tsp granulated garlic

- 2 tsp smoked paprika

- 1 tsp chipotle

- 1 tsp curry

- tsp granulated onion 

- 2 tbs olive oil, just enough to create a paste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees

2. Place all paste spices in a bowl. Add oil and whisk again to combine. The mixture should be thick and dense.

3. Brush the paste on the all sides of the meat.

 Don't forget the sides...

4. Sear all sides of the meat. 

Keep searing until golden brown.

5. Place in oven to finish the cooking process. Reserve everything in pan for the sauce.

Mushroom & Garlic Sauce

Ingredients

- 6 Garlic Cloves, chopped

- 1/2 cup Red Wine Vinegar

- 2 TBS Coconut Oil

- Trumpet Mushrooms (aka King Oyster Mushrooms), chopped on a bias, see picture below

- Garnish: Parsley, chopped

- Salt and Pepper to Taste

Below are what Trumpet mushrooms look like. I love these because they are hearty and don't shrink too much like other mushrooms. They pair really well with steak, but if you can't find trumpets you can use any type of mushrooms (i.e. shiitake, oysters, portobellos, cinnamon cap, etc). Remember, don't rinse the mushrooms, wipe them with towel to clean. Also, don't salt until after cooking or it releases water and becomes soggy...nobody like soggy shrooms...

See below to see how to chop mushrooms on bias, aka at an angle.

1. While the steak is cooking, add garlic to the pan and coat with reserves in the pan. 

2. Deglaze by adding red vinegar. The alcohol in the vinegar helps cleans the pan while extracting all the fond from the bottom of the pan. Fond is the fabulous flavor left behind from searing the steak. Many people throw it away, don't be that person. It's like throwing away the bacon dippings and its free.

3. Use a whisk in order to get all the fabulous fond from the bottom and the corners of pan. Turn heat to low and simmer for 5-7 minutes. It will reduce and thicken slightly.

Note, the pan has to be really hot, so hot a steam of smoke will float up - FREE FACIAL!!! The heat will help the extraction and will burn off the alcohol. You can really use any type of alcohol in your cupboard, but I wouldn't use your good stuff.

3. Mix in 1 TBS of coconut oil to the pan. 

4. Add mushrooms to the pan. Increase heat to medium.

5. Add another TBS of coconut oil to pan and sauté mushrooms until softened, about 3-5 minutes.

6. Turn of heat and garnish with parsley.

7. Add steak back to the pan and serve.

Afternoon a weightlifting day, there is nothing I like better than a Ribeye with garlic mushrooms...

Anybody going to make this meal....