Lunch

Friday 120203

Posted on February 2, 2012 at 9:32 pm by CrossFit Verve with 6 Comments

I’ve heard from some people that, “Hey I’m gonna save up all my cheat points for the last day on Super Bowl Sunday so I can go hog wild.” Well, don’t forget that you can easily eat paleo for the big game this Sunday and still splurge. So in light of this upcoming occasion, I give you one of our go-to websites for paleo recipes and their Super Bowl Round-up of Recipes. Check out FastPaleo here. ”There are crock pot recipes if you want to keep it simple, grilled meats & veg, desserts, and lots of bacon-wrapped everything. There are a bunch of rib recipes, and of course there’s primal chili.” They have chicken wings, meatza pizza, BBQ kale chips, banana nut balls, and an almond wrapped in a date wrapped in a jalapeno wrapped in bacon wrapped in meat (OMG!)

And just to get your mouth watering, here is a recipe for Meat Cupcakes, complete with icing and bacon sprinkles……what are you gonna take to the party?

Oooohhh yeaahhh!

Ingredients
Cupcake: About 12 of Grass-fed ground beef (12P)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 small onion, finely chopped (negligible C)
1 egg (1P)
1/4 cup almond meal (9.33F)
fresh basil, salt, pepper

Icing: 1/2 small head cauliflower (negligible)
1/4 cup coconut milk (3F)
pepper to taste (salt optional)

Sprinkles: one slice diced bacon, cooked (negligible)

Mix all the meat ingredients in a bowl. Stir with hands then throw into cupcake molds. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350F.
Meanwhile, steam the cauliflower. When soft, add into food processor or mash in a bowl. Add coconut milk, salt and pepper and stir. Add this “icing” atop the meat when they are done. Sprinkle with bacon sprinkles!

This makes 4 cupcakes, each approximately 3P, 3F.

Spring salad

Posted on November 30, 2011 at 12:15 pm by 321go with Leave a Comment

Spring time is upon us and I wanted to make a salad that had my favorite protein, bacon! This salad can be made prior to going to your next BBQ and share with others.

Just like a spring chicken

Ingredients:
12oz of grilled chicken or rotisserie chicken 12P
2 hard boiled eggs 2P
3 strips of bacon 2P
2 cucumbers chopped 2C
5 cups of chopped romain lettuce 0.5C
4 cups of spinach 1C
2 apples chopped 4C
Salad Dressing
3/8cup of lemon juice .5C
1Tbl and 1tsp of olive oil 12F
2 cloves of minced garlic Freebie
1/4tsp of dry mustard Freebie

Cook up the bacon and boil a half dozen of eggs and save some for later. Pull out that good old grill and cook up some chicken breasts for this meal and for leftovers. Chop and combine all of the veggies in a bowl sans chicken. Prepare the salad dressing and drizzle on top of the bowl of vegetables. Toss the ingredients together and get all of mixture covered in the dressing. Weigh out 3oz of chicken and place it on top of 3.5 cups of the salad mix and enjoy! Top off with a little grapefruit.
This recipe will make four meals at 4P, 2C, 4F

Paleo BBQ

Posted on July 15, 2011 at 10:06 pm by CrossFit Verve with Leave a Comment

Wooo doggy!! We found a way to have your next ho down with some root’n toot’n good BBQ! This recipe gives you that tangy taste without that added sugar. You can use this BBQ sauce with pork or beef ribs, so go out and wrangle you up a tasty protein and have a grand ole time. Yeee haaawww!!

Ingredients:
The protein of your choice, I used beef short ribs from Costco, 1oz per 1P
12oz can of tomato paste -6C
2cups of beef broth -freebie
4 cloves of garlic chopped -zilch
2Tbls of cumin
1Tbls of chili powder
1 1/3Cups of finely chopped onions -2C
3Tbls of dijon mustard -nada
2Tbls of apple cider vinegar -nope

Preparation:
Place all of the above ingredients in a croc pot and let it cook on low for 8 hours. That is it folks! Set it and forget it. Go to Verve and get your WOD on, then come back home to the good stuff. The BBQ sauce will be 1C per cup.

Sweet potato hash:
4 sweet potatoes diced 32C
Sprinkle cinnamon to taste
Sprinkle cayenne to taste
2Tbs of Olive oil 18F

Pre-heat the oven to 400F. Cut the sweet potatoes in small cubes and place them in a pyrex dish. Coat with oil and sprinkle the cinnamon and cayenne. Mix together and place in the oven and cook for 20 minutes stirring occasionally.

Split this hash into 1/3Cup for 1C and .5F

Lemon pepper shrimp

Posted on May 7, 2011 at 3:13 pm by CrossFit Verve with Leave a Comment

This recipe brings together the natural tanginess of lemon with the spice of pepper to give you a very flavorful taste. Add a little sweetness from coconut milk, and boom! You get an awesome dish that makes use of some tasty veggies for carbs.

Ingredients:
18oz of Shrimp 12P
3 3/4cups of brussels sprouts 5C
1 1/3cups of sliced onion 2C
2 2/3cups of sliced zucchini 2C
1 1/4cup of sliced bell peppers 1C
1Tbl of coconut oil 9F
2/3cup of Lemon juice 2C
1/3cup of coconut milk 3F
1tsp of black pepper
1tsp of Colorado Plateau Citrus Pepper from Savory Spice Shop(Thank you Donna)
A pinch of Dill

Preparation:

Prep the vegetables and combine them with the coconut oil (save 1tsp) in a pan on medium-high heat and saute for 10 minutes, add the dry dill seasoning to the mix. While the veggies are cooking, cut the tails off and pat dry the shrimp to take excess water off. Mix the black pepper and the citrus pepper in a bowl and then add the shrimp and be sure to cover all parts of the shrimp.

In another pan place 1tsp of coconut oil and then add the shrimp. Cook for 5-minutes, or until shrimp turns pink. Remove shrimp and turn the heat to low. Add the lemon juice and coconut milk and mix together well. Add shrimp back into pan and coat all of the shrimp.

This meal will make 4 meals at 3P, 3C, 3F Place 1 1/2cups of the veggie mix and top with 4.5oz of shrimp and drizzle some of the cream on top. Yummm…

Spiced, Rubbed, Full of Croc Pot Chicken

Posted on November 10, 2010 at 11:59 am by CrossFit Verve with Leave a Comment

Sara Weisbart found this recipe at everyday paleo which is super delicious. It has just enough spice that it is not overpowering. We thank Sara for submitting this recipe and we made some modifications to make it Paleo/Zone.

- One whole chicken or 5lbs of chicken breast. 80P
- 1cup of chicken broth
- 1 white onion sliced, one onion usually will be 2C
- 1tsp of paprika
- 1tsp of cayenne
- 1tsp of white pepper
- 1tsp of poultry seasoning
- 1tsp of garlic powder

Preparation:

Mix all of the spices in a bowl. Rub the spices on all sides of the chicken and make sure that there are no bare spots. Lay the onions on the bottom of the croc pot. Place the chicken on the onions and add the broth. Set the croc pot for 5-6 hours on low.

This chicken is the BOMB! We added some roasted brussel sprouts to make a full meal.

Roasted brussel sprouts

- A bag of brussel sprouts 3/4cup=1C (we get a 2lb bag at Costco)
- 1Tbs of olive oil 9F
- 1/2tsp of Mrs. Dash
- 1/2tsp of dill
- 1/2tsp of pepper

Preparation:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and be sure to cover all of the sprouts. Place on a cookie sheet and cook for 20 minutes or until the the sprouts are crispy.

The meal pictured has 3oz of chicken, 2C blocks of brussel sprouts, 1C block of strawberries, and 3F blocks of pecans. Yummmm!!!

Mix and Match Burger Time

Posted on October 7, 2010 at 10:47 pm by Joylyn with 3 Comments

Awh yes… The American burger. What is more American than a hamburger? Not much: baseball, apple pie… Eating paleo does not mean that you cannot enjoy this American classic; we just have to be creative. Here are some staples that you will need when you are making a paleo burger. Lets break it down to the three macro-nutrients:

Proteins:

– Lean beef, I mean lean. None of this 80%/20% crap. 80/20 still has 5g of fat in each ounce. That would be 10 blocks of fat in a 3oz patty! You need at least 95%/5% ground beef. Measure 1.5oz per block.

– Ground Turkey, 1.5 oz per block means you can make that patty supper sized!! But watch out for the sodium.

– Chicken, chicken burgers can be great with the right toppings.

– Salmon burgers are making a run at being our favorite protein. It is tasty and full of healthy Omega 3 fats. 1.5oz per block

Carbs:

Yummy salsa, Pace or 505 salsa are some favorites .5c = 1C
Onions, raw or sautéed will make your burger tasty. .5c cooked= 1C, 2/3c=1C raw
Mushrooms, you can have a boat load of them sautéed 3c=1C!!
Bell peppers: sliced, diced, and sautéed 1 1/4c=1C
Pineapples, perfect for that chicken burger! 1/2c=1C
Bib lettuce, great as buns for your delicious burger. Seeing that you need 6cups for 1C, these can be freebies.
Remember that you can mix in jalapenos, spinach, green chilies and other carbs into your burger mix to change things up.

Fats:

Avocados, yummmm. 1Tbs=1F
Guacamole, is that paleo? Here is a handy recipe for some paleo guac:

1 Avocado

Cilantro chopped

1/2c chopped white onion

1 minced jalapeno

juice of one lime

no salt seasoning to taste

Mix all the ingredients. 1/2Tbs=1F

Spices

These should all be freebies

chili powder
pepper
Mr. Dash
cumin
red pepper flakes

These are just a few examples of how you can be creative. Send us your favorite recipe with a picture and we will post it.

Lemon Grilled Chicken

Posted on September 15, 2010 at 12:08 pm by CrossFit Verve with Leave a Comment

Ever have chicken that turned out to be tougher than jerky? Lemon grilled chicken will help keep your chicken plucky and soft. It is an easy marinade that you use for lunch and dinner throughout the week. This recipe is soooo tasty!! It is one of those recipes that you can set up earlier in the day, and cook it later.

Ingredients:

1 1/2lbs of chicken brest 24P
2Tbs of fresh squeezed lemon juice
2Tbs of Olive oil 18F
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1/2tsp pepper
1/2tsp Mrs. Dash seasoning

Preparation:

Combined the chicken, lemon juice, garlic and oil in a Zip-lock bag and marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes. Heat the grill to medium to high heat. Remove chicken from bag and discard marinade. Sprinkle Mrs. Dash and pepper evenly across chicken. Cook chicken 6 minutes on each side or until done. Add to a bed of lettuce for a awesome dinner salad!

This will make 8 servings at 3P 0C 1.25F Why 1.25F? You are going to discard a majority of the fats in this recipe when you discard the marinade. So we kept half the fats and divided them in the 8 servings.

Fish Tacos and Mas’ Perfecto Pico de Gallo

Posted on July 25, 2010 at 12:12 pm by CrossFit Verve with Leave a Comment

Delicious fish and a quick ready to go meal on the run! It’s paleo, it’s zone, it’s fast and it could make Wahoo’s jealous! This recipe is for 4 balanced 3 block meals.

Ingredients:

• 18oz of Cod or Halibut (12P)
• 2 eggs (2P)
• .25 cup of almond meal (9F)
• bag of cabbage mix
• 1 Tb of olive oil (12F)
• Romaine lettuce
• 1 lime
• pepper to taste, cajun seasoning

Mas’ perfecto pico

1.33 cups red onion, chopped (2C)
2 cup of tomatoes, chopped (2C)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped ….freebies!
small bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped ….freebies!
2 jalepenos ….freebies!
1 lime

Preparation:

Heat the olive oil in a pan. Combine the almond meal, pepper, and Cajun seasoning. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs. Cut the fish into 2” pieces. Dip the fish pieces in the egg, then into the meal mix, coating both sides. Place the fish in the pan and brown both sides.

Place the cooked fish in the romaine leafs, top with the cabbage mix and pico de gallo. Squeeze a quarter of the lime over the taco and enjoy!

Hurry Curry Chicken Salad

Posted on June 15, 2010 at 12:14 pm by CrossFit Verve with Leave a Comment

Okay, so this is a quick go to meal when we are short on time. It’s not only quick to make but refreshing and crisp, perfect for summertime gatherings. If you’ve got a handy food processor, it’s lightening fast to make.

It’s paleo-friendly, it’s zone-friendly……you can add some fruit or other veggies to balance out your carbs for a perfect meal!

Ingredients:

12 oz leftover or rotisserie chicken, shredded or cubed (12P)
2.5 cups red bell pepper, chopped (2C)
2 cups celery, chopped (1C)
1/2 oz sliced almonds (5F)
1/8 cup raisins–I like the golden ones (1.6C)
2Tbs, 1tsp homemade mayonnaise (see recipe below) (7F)
1 T curry powder–freebie and oh so good for you!
pepper to taste

curry chicken salad Hurry Curry Chicken Salad

Preparation:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and serve. Adjust the mayonnaise to meet your fat requirements. This makes 4 servings at roughly 3P, 1C, 3F. ENJOY!

How to make 100% paleo mayo:

This can be made in a larger batch to be kept in the fridge for use in anything you would normally use mayonnaise for.

Ingredients:

2 Eggs
0.33 Cup of Olive oil
1 tsp of mustard powder
2 Dashes of cayenne
2 TBSP Lemon juice

Crack eggs in a blender and add spices. Slowly over a 5 minute period add in the olive oil. This is important, as it aids in making your mayonnaise thicker.

Zone exchange: 1TBSP = 3 Fat blocks (protein is negligible).

Kaleidoscope Kale Salad

Posted on February 21, 2010 at 12:30 pm by CrossFit Verve with Leave a Comment

A wonderful resource for paleo recipes was shared by Verve’s own Catherine, where we came across this yummy new delight, especially after a little tweaking for zone blocks–now it can be paleo-zoned for your eating pleasure. The website to check out is Feed Me Paleo.

At first we were a little nervous about kale, it’s leafy greens with their mild, earthy flavor looked kind of “angry.” But it’s really quite delicious, and can help make a filling, healthy meal.

So, what do you know about kale? After trying this “bomb-diggity” recipe (Mas’s words), I did some further research, and now I like it even more! Kale is rich in calcium, lutein, iron, and vitamins A, C, and K. Kale has seven times the beta-carotene of broccoli, and ten times the lutein. The best season for kale is between mid-winter and early spring–NOW!!! It’s even often planted in gardens for decoration, comes in green and red–amazing!

Ingredients:

12 cups chopped kale (9C)
1 bell pepper, chopped (1C)
1/2 cup chopped red onion (1C)
8 oz dried cranberries (18C)
1/3 cup olive oil (15F)
1 cup slivered almonds (30F)
1 lemon, juiced
dash of fresh ginger, or garlic–your preference

Preparation:

After you’ve washed and chopped your kale, bell pepper, and red onion–throw it in a bowl with the cranberries and slivered almonds. Then mix your yummy dressing which consists of the olive oil, the lemon juice, and spice. This is a good way to use those protein shakers, throw in your dressing mix and shake it! Then add your dressing to your salad mix, throw a lid on it, and shake it all together to your favorite workout song–which you should also be bringing to share at Verve with all of us!

This recipe makes 10 servings total. 1.33 cup salad = 3C, 4.5F.

Add some grilled salmon (1.5oz=1P) or some easy roasted chicken (1oz=1P) for a complete, easy fresh meal on the go. This salad keeps great in the fridge for a couple days. Enjoy the health benefits of our new favorite veggie, and try to keep yourself from picking it out of your neighbors front yard. Let us know what you think!