Weekly Menu
This week hasn’t even begun yet and I’m already wishing it was over. Next weekend is Labor Day weekend and I’ll be in the sunny Midwest visiting my family. This will be the first time I’ve seen my sister and AdoRABle little niece since we moved to San Francisco and I CAN’T WAIT! I’ve really missed my Sissy and I’m hoping we get to spend a lot of quality relaxing time together. I’m also super excited to catch up with my friends and my parents. Life is nothing without the people you love, cherish them while you can!
Our flight east should be quite interesting because for the first time Michael and I will be looking after a third passenger. Tessie!! I bought her a new airline carrier that fits under the seats and am taking her to the vet Monday for her health certificate. I’m hopeful she’ll be a good dog and not cause trouble, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about her barfing mid-flight! Cross your fingers she doesn’t poop or pee all over the plane floor either.
Okay, onto more appetizing items. Here’s our menu for the week:
Sunday
B: Sweet Potato Pancakes with Bacon
L: Leftovers
D: Spaghetti Squash with Meatballs
Monday
L: Leftover Spaghetti
D: Slow Cooker Ribs with Cole Slaw and Heirloom Tomato Salad
Tuesday
L: Leftover Ribs
D: Apple Mustard Pork Chops with Brussels Sprout Slaw and Salads
Wednesday
L: Leftover Pork Chops
D: Coconut Chicken with Salads and Yam Fries
Thursday
L: Leftover Chicken
D: Grilled Steaks with Baked Okra
Friday & Saturday
Out of Town!
Tessie in her new carrier!
Back to Reality
Our fun-filled weekend in Vegas is over and we’re back in the swing of normal life. It’s always hard after an especially awesome vacation to come back home, but you do what you must. Our weekend getaway was particularly amazing this time around, full of a lot of laughs and relaxation.
On Friday after our flight we checked into the hotel and headed out for some outlet mall shopping. Two words that get me hot and bothered are J.Crew and Outlet. Once we got there though, it wasn’t just J.Crew making me sweat, holy cow mega desert heat! It was at least 102 while we walked around, making the thrill of buying new clothes a little less appealing. Don’t worry though, I did manage to purchase a few items while we were out. After the mall we had dinner at Holsteins in the Cosmopolitan. This may have been my favorite meal while away, really great hamburgers and some awesome booze shakes!
The view from our room and me enjoying my shake at Holsteins!
My dinner plate at Holsteins.
Saturday was spent by the pool soaking up some vitamin D. I do love laying in the sun and our hotel had one awesome lazy river. That night we got fancied up and went out to the French restaurant, Bouchon, in the Venetian. I didn’t snap any pictures of our meal, but we did try the bone marrow! I was expecting it to be some amazing delicacy, but it really just tasted like beefy fat. I’m just glad I can now say that I’ve tried it.
Pool-time and us before dinner.
Michael and I before dinner.
Sunday started out with room service followed by the pool again. We spent the afternoon wandering around and seeing the sights. Of course I had to stop at Kardashian Khaos and make a purchase. I can’t help myself, I love reality tv. That night we had some really great Mexican food at Diego at the MGM Grand. I didn’t take any pictures there either, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.
Our room service and Kardashian Khaos.
View of the Bellagio fountains from the Eiffel Tower replica at the Paris Casino.
Now that the trip is over I’m really trying to “be good” with our meals for the next week. No after dinner chocolate, wine, or Paleo treats, and cutting back on my snacking at work. After Labor day weekend, Michael and I are going to be doing a Whole 30 of sorts, so we’re starting off slow now. I hope you all had a great weekend too!
Sad to leave!
Big Girl Pants
Today I came to the realization that it might be time to put on my big girl pants and take some more control over the blog. By this I mean split my blog from my personal accounts, i.e. Facebook, Twitter… My Twitter account has already morphed itself into my Paleo persona quite nicely, but I had yet to take the Facebook plunge. So today, I did it, and I hope you all like it! You’ll be able to chat with me, see blog updates, and other articles I find interesting.
In celebration of the new Facebook page (www.facebook.com/PaleoKitchenSync, Please go like!) I threw together this awesome Almond Butter Cookie recipe. One thing I still crave every now and again is peanut butter, especially peanut buttery dessert items. These cookies really hit the spot, moist, nutty, yummy goodness. Don’t just take my word for it, you’d better go make up a batch!
Almond Butter Cookies
1 egg
3 Tbsp. coconut flour
1 Cup almond butter
1/2 Cup maple syrup
1 Tsp. vanilla
1/4 Tsp. baking soda
Pre-heat the oven to 350. Beat all ingredients together with a hand mixer. Once the dough is smooth, drop spoonfuls onto a greased or lined cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Enjoy!
P.S. VEGAS in T minus 1 day! Holla!!!
Baked Okra
The past few days haven’t been very exciting. Michael and I are moving along quite nicely through our weekly routine. Eat, Work, Eat, Home, Workout, Eat, Relax, Sleep, and repeat. Sounds mega awesome super exhilarating huh? We don’t have cable so lately we’ve been hooked on watching old seasons of Burn Notice on Netflix, and now we’re really in the thick of things. So when I say relaxing, that’s really code for watching Burn Notice.
For dinner tonight we had some brats from U.S. Wellness Meats, baked okra, and sautéed broccoli slaw. Okra is one of our favorite summer vegetables and comes out delicious every time we make it. This recipe is super-duper simple.
Baked Okra
Fresh Okra
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 400. While the oven is warming up, dice the okra into 1/2 inch pieces. Cover with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread the okra out into one even layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes stirring every 10 min. The okra is done when it starts to brown and crisp up. Don’t be afraid to get creative and try different seasonings like smoked paprika or chili powder. Enjoy!
Paleo Pop-Ups and The Weekly Menu
Last night Michael and I headed out to a Paleo Pop-up dinner by Zenbelly Catering. For those who don’t know, a Pop-up dinner is like a temporary restaurant for chefs who don’t have their own restaurant. This pop-up was put on by Food Lab and featured an entirely gluten-free and Paleo friendly menu. It was awesome! Having the opportunity to get dressed up and go out to dinner without having to worry about ‘cheating’ was uber cool and the food was amazing! Being able to order Paella made with cauliflower rice, priceless! If you’re in the Bay area this month, I highly recommend checking it out. You can order tickets here.
This is what my 3 course dinner shaped up to look like:
Heirloom Tomato Salad & Tallow Fries
Seafood Paella with Cauliflower Rice & Coconut Chocolate Cake
In other news, Michael and I are getting ready for VEGAS next weekend! This will be our third trip in 2 years and it hasn’t gotten old yet. We love being able to relax by an awesome pool sipping cocktails while having our choice of highly rated restaurants for dinner. Me + Good Food = Love. I’ll be making a special effort this week to eat clean in preparation for the foodie extravaganza next weekend.
Here’s how the menu turned out:
Sunday
B: Eggs with Bacon
L: Coulotte Steak with Leftovers & Tomato Salad
D: Coconut Chicken with Roasted Broccoli
Monday
L: Leftover Coconut Chicken
D: Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Vegetables
Tuesday
L: Leftover Pork Tenderloin
D: Pork Brats with Baked Okra & Sautéed Broccoli Slaw
Wednesday
L: Leftover Pork Brats
D: Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Bake with Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Thursday
L: Leftover Chicken
D: EP Best Ever Chicken Wings with Jicama Home Fries
Friday
L: Leftovers
D: VEGAS!
Saturday
VEGAS!!!!!!
B.L.T.T. Salad
They say as you get older time seems to go by faster. Whoever said that was so right! This summer has whizzed by so quickly I can hardly keep up. Before we know it, our lease will be up and it’ll be time to move downtown! I seriously cannot wait to get down there and live within walking distance of Whole Foods, the Farmer’s Market, and my work! Not to mention getting rid of the horrible electric coil stove we have at our current apartment. Those things drive me bonkers trying to make them level. I hate it when food slides over to only one side of the skillet. Fortunately, the recipe for today involves cooking only one item. This salad turned out amazingly well for being so darn simple. We’ll definitely be putting this in the rotation.
B.L.T.T. Salad (Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Turkey)
Lettuce of your choice
Tomatoes
Bacon
Diced Red Onion
Sliced Turkey Deli Meat
1/4 cup Paleo Mayo
2 tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
Chop and cook the bacon in a large skillet until crispy. Whisk the mayo and balsamic vinegar until smooth. Toss all ingredients in a big salad with the dressing. Enjoy!
Weekly Menu
Michael’s family was in town this weekend for a short visit, and wow, what a blur! We saw all the usual sights, ate some super yummy Mexican food, and did some much-needed catching up. Sunday evening after they went back to their hotel we tried to do some quick menu planning. I think Michael and I were having some serious Asian cuisine cravings because every meal that popped into my head included coconut aminos.
Here’s how our plan turned out:
Sunday
B: Eggs & Ham
L: Out
D: Grilled Chicken Thighs with Cumin-Roasted Carrots & Broccoli (From Well Fed)
Monday
L: Leftover Chicken
D: Egg Foo Young (From Well Fed)
Tuesday
L: Out
D: BALTT Lettuce Wraps (Recipe Coming Soon) with Sweet Potato Wedges
Wednesday
L: BALTT Salad
D: Thai Basil Lettuce Wraps
Thursday
L: Leftover Lettuce Wraps
D: Sautéed White Fish with Roasted Green Beans & Tiny Potatoes
Friday
L: Out
D: EP Best Ever Chicken Wings with Jicama Home Fries (From Well Fed)
Saturday
B: Eggs with Veggies & Bacon
L: Salads
D: Steaks with Grilled Asparagus
We satisfied our Asian cravings tonight with Egg Foo Young from Well Fed, so good!!!!
In the Dark
A couple of nights ago I was rudely interrupted watching Breakfast at Tiffany’s with a power outage. Apparently, a metallic balloon hit some power lines causing it to explode or something. Yes…a balloon. A balloon left us without electricity for 15 hours! I really started to worry about all the food we just stocked in our fridge for the week. Thank goodness it wasn’t out longer! This experience also opened my eyes to just how unprepared we are for any type of emergency like say…. an eARThQuAKe! No flashlight, water, radio, or a lighter to light our decorative candles! Oops (Luckily our roommate had one). Michael and I will be making a trip to Target to secure some of these items in the near future.
In other news I have a fantastic amazing deliciously awesome side dish recipe for you. Michael and I love squash, especially when it’s carmelized in butter and maple syrup. Holy yum!
Cinnamon Maple Butternut Squash
1 Butternut Squash (peeled and diced)
1/4 cup Maple Syrup
1 Tbsp. Coconut Oil
1 Tbsp. Grass-fed Butter
Cinnamon to taste
A pinch of Salt
Heat the coconut oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the butternut squash and let cook, stirring frequently to get all sides soft. Once the squash has become fork tender (about 10-15 minutes) add the other ingredients. Cook for another 5-10 minutes or until the squash is completely coated in maple syrup goodness. Serve, enjoy, and then thank me. 
