The other day, I had a craving for a hearty lunch, not just a sandwich or a salad, but something that really would keep me full until dinner. I have been home during the days lately, so I have the opportunity to cook, but I don’t want something that’s going to take forever and leave me with a pile of dishes. Enter, ten minute farro from Trader Joe’s, and some leftover veggies.

Farro is a grain that is kind of like risotto, and kind of like oatmeal, all rolled into one. And it’s a delight. It’s nutty, and yet simple, so it mixes with everything quite well!

The best part? It really only takes about ten minutes, making it a winner in my book! You can go old school, too, but I rarely remember I want a grain until half way through cooking a meal, making ten minute grains from Trader Joe’s a winner.

I cut up two bulbs of fennel and half a head of broccoli, and stuck ’em in the oven with some olive oil and salt and pepper to roast while the farro cooked.

Then I added the juice of one lemon, a chicken breast I had leftover from another dinner, and a can of black beans. Add a healthy serving of turmeric, and you’ve got yourself a hearty lunch that’ll last you until you eat dinner! Or leave the chicken out, and serve as a delicious side! Full recipe here.

What’s your fave lunch dish? 

A few weeks ago, we set out to create the perfect lamb stew recipe. Naturally, we bought double the ingredients and made two different batches. This prune and parsnip tagine turned out better than we even hoped!

First, stick your prunes in some white wine to soak up some flavor. Then start with the usual suspects – onion and garlic – and brown your lamb and bacon. Add the wine, prunes, broth, some sliced parsnips, and your seasoning. We recommend thyme, fresh ginger, and cayenne for some kick. Not too much though! Our first batch included a teaspoon and a half of cayenne and it was way too spicy. Stick to no more than half a teaspoon if you want to actually be able to eat this stew.

Serve with some brown rice and a dollop of yogurt!

Full recipe here.

Happy Monday folks! Now that spring has sprung, and we’re heading off to the summer (right…??) I am getting more and more into smoothies again. They’re fast, they’re easy, and they can be different each and every time even if you use the same fruits and veggies. This smoothie could have been an orange spinach smoothie, or a berry lemon smoothie, or a flax seed carrot smoothie….but it was all of the above.

I used some carrots, some spinach, an orange, a lemon, an apple, some flax seed, some kefir, and some frozen berries. Use what you’ve got. Or use what I used – it was delicious! Kefir is roughly a cross between yogurt and milk – you can use kefir, or milk, or yogurt, or something non-dairy, whatever works for you, and whatever you like!

This is a Cara Cara orange. They are my fave variety, and MMC likes them because they don’t have seeds. MAC likes them because they are the best. I like them for all of the above. And because oranges remind me of my childhood, and soccer, and half time.

So chop all your stuff, and put it in your blender. This is our new blender after our last one went south and Jeff wrote off to Cuisinart to get it fixed and they couldn’t fix it so they sent us a new one instead. I was about to throw the blender out and just buy a new one. Alas, our free blender/food processor will not go forgotten for at least another six months. Regardless, we have a new blender, and so I was excited to use it!! We’ve been without for too long.

Once you’ve done your initial blend, you can go ahead and add your flax. I have ground flax I keep in the fridge to add nutrients. Completely optional, obviously, but also flavorless, so no big deal if you add it – you and know one else will know!

Add a handful of berries or two, and blend away.

You’ve got yourself a packed fruit/veggie smoothie that is delicious! You can add as much milk or ice as you want to get it to the consistency you want it – or use half an orange and less carrots, or more berries. You get the idea. Go forth and enjoy yourself a delicious smoothie!

I love sweets you guys. Corelyn doesn’t really, but she DOES like a Crunch bar. (I mean, who doesn’t?) So when I got invited to go to a party involving Crunch bars and other treats, I was in.

The party was a kick off for the Birthday Showdown, a competition to find the best Crunch bar inspired dessert. It involves bakeries across the country, including several in Los Angeles. On hand were Coolhaus, Sweet E’s Bakery, Casey’s Cupcakes, and Crumbs Bake Shop.

Coolhaus had an ice cream sandwich involving brown sugar bacon Crunch bar ice cream – yum! This sandwich was a step up from Coolhaus’s normal fare, and it was a pleasant pairing!

Sweet E’s had a peanut butter chocolate brownie with Crunch inside, which was out of this world delicious…I may have eaten the whole brownie in one sitting and not regretted a second of it.

Casey’s cupcake was a royal affair indeed! I loved the glam and sparkle of this one!

Crumbs did a blondie with chocolate cake on top and Crunch on three layers….this was extravagant, delicious, and needed to be shared with a friend, for sure. But every bite I had was a delectable one!

Here are the ladies representing their various bakeries! You can visit the bakeries to get your own samples, and vote online to be a part of the fun. You can also see if any bakeries are competing near you if you’re not in LA! And Happy Birthday, Crunch!

I hope to be invited to another treats-inspired party soon…anyone want to have a treats exchange?

I’ve made Paleo-friendly pesto a couple of times now, and I started out with this recipe. I made some changes to the recipe in order to make it even more paleo-friendly and creamy. I substitute parmesan cheese with ½ of an avocado.

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh chopped basil leaves
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
3 garlic cloves
½ avocado diced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 zucchini
5-7 frozen shrimp
Red pepper (Cayenne)
Coconut oil or olive oil
1/2 lemon

Directions:

Pesto Sauce

1. Put chopped basil, pine nuts, and garlic into a blender or food processor and mix. I used a blender and I had no problems.
2. Add olive oil and avocado. Blend again until creamy.
3. Add salt and pepper as needed.

It doesn’t get much simpler than this!

Zucchini

1. Rinse zucchini, then slice long ways and then cut into spaghetti-like strips.
2. Put in microwave-safe dish and microwave for 1 minute. Zucchini should be soft.

One very important aspect of paleo eating is having enough food on hang to cook a healthy meal on any given day. One of my favorite food items to keep handy is frozen shrimp.

Shrimp

1. Put frozen shrimp in pan and heat until de-thawed.
2. Strain the shrimp and rinse the pan.
3. Add coconut oil or olive oil, enough to grease the pan. Squeeze in lemon and add shrimp back in.
4. Cook on medium heat. Season with cayenne pepper.

Combine all three and voila! A great paleo-friendly dish. This recipe will make enough pesto to have leftovers. I recommend making the zucchini and shrimp on an as-needed basis since it is very simple to make when you already have your pesto handy, but you can certainly make more and have leftovers as well!

I’ll leave you with a great tip from Paleo Diet Lifestyle:

“Ice cube trays make a good vessel to freeze the finished pesto. Simply pour the pesto in the small cubes and freeze. When making a recipe with pesto, thaw a couple of cubes and you’ve got your pesto.”