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The biggest party of the year is about to begin! That’s right…it’s almost time for Super Bowl XLVIII! (And BTW, the game is going to be played right here in New Jersey, NOT New York…but I digress.)
In less than 50 years, the Super Bowl has become a genuine and huge American tradition. It’s estimated that more than 110 million people will tune in to watch this year’s game – a new record! And what’s the best way to celebrate an American tradition? Throw a party, of course! Nothing goes together better than great football and copious amounts of food and adult beverages…unless, of course, you’re eating Paleo.
We’ve all been there, at one time or another…surrounded by hors d’oeuvres, finger food, main courses, desserts and drinks…and we can’t touch much, if any, of it! Instead, we reach into our bags and pull out a bag of kale chips or a Larabar as everyone else stares with pity…while stuffing their faces.
This doesn’t have to happen! Whether you’re rooting for the Broncos or the Seahawks, there’s no reason you can’t make great tasting, healthy paleo food for a Super Bowl party. That’s why we’ve provided a few recipes of our own, as well as links to other great Paleo recipes that are all excellent choices for Super Bowl Sunday. Enjoy!!!
*This Giveaway is Closed* In spite of its demonization in years past, coconut oil is actually a health food. Elizabeth Nyland, the woman behind the popular blog Guilty Kitchen understands this very well. In her new cookbook “COOKING WITH COCONUT OIL: Gluten-Free, Grain-Free Recipes for Good Living” Elizabeth explains how finding out “fats are good for you” … Read more
Pizza has not been in my life for the last three years. And for the most part I am fine with that. But every now and then I crave pizza, and without a more healthful alternative I am liable to fall off the wagon and go for something really detrimental to my health. So…when I … Read more
There are several paleo pizza crust recipes out in the blogosphere these days. The recipe I am sharing today is the result of the desire for a nut-free, dairy-free, grain-free pizza crust that is easy to make and does not require a yeast dough. I’m a bit lazy like that. This recipe also does not use cauliflower or any vegetables. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! Those versions of paleo pizza crust are great (tasty, low carb, great nutrition)- just more work than I am willing to put forth at times.
This paleo pizza crust recipe is based on my recipe for dinner rolls. The ingredients are the same but the proportions are slightly different. The result is a thin crust (between 12-14 inches) that will get about as crispy as you like it depending on how long you precook the crust.
We returned home from our Texas Christmas vacation just in time for a big blizzard. It served as our welcome back to the East Coast and gave us fleeting culture shock. After a night of blowing snow and frigid temperatures, offices and schools were closed. Many folks took advantage of the opportunity to go sledding on neighboring, snowy hills.
The frigid temperatures did not deter me from making a quick trip to one of my favorite locations to enjoy the natural beauty of the winter in its full glory just before the setting of the sun.
There’s something magical and almost otherworldly about a snowy day. The lightposts of neighboring Natirar always remind me of C.S. Lewis’ “Chronicles of Narnia”. It’s almost as if a faun (or Aslan perhaps?) is just around the corner.
Upon returning home I spied my youngest peeking out of his snow fort. Such rosy cheeks. He could use a hot chocolate. Actually, so could I!
Mexican Hot Chocolate and Mexican Mocha Mix
The morning after the blizzard hit, my husband bundled up and headed out to shovel the driveway and clean off the cars. While he was outside I decided to surprise him with a Hot Mexican Mocha. He had one first during our trip to Texas when we had the good fortune to meet Jenni Hulet (from the wonderful blog The Urban Poser).
Lea and Jenni
We met Jenni and her family (husband Ben and boys Linus and Oscar) on our way out of Dallas and got to spend a while chatting about all things food, faith, blogging and photography. Our boys showed up in Doctor Who t-shirts (kismet!) and talked of Minecraft and Sonic Screwdrivers (Dr. Who reference for you uninitiated). Clearly we all had a lot in common. So nice to meet you, Jenni and family!
The Mexican Mocha in Dallas inspired our desire to create our own at home. The drink mix can also be used to make Mexican Hot Chocolate which is a spicy take on the classic hot chocolate with flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg and cayenne. It’s sure to wake you up in the morning – especially when combined with coffee of a Mexican Mocha. After a day playing or working out in the cold it will warm you and stimulate your senses.
The great thing about this recipe is it can be made in advance and stored for when you need it. Just add hot liquid like coconut milk or almond milk (for a dairy-free Mexican Hot Chocolate) or strong coffee (for Mexican Hot Mocha). As long as we are getting our measuring cups and spoons dirty we might as well make enough for a few drinks, right?
New York City is a magical place at Christmas time. This was not the first year I have ventured in from the ‘burbs to partake of the festive atmosphere.
*Static Noises*
STOP!
Ben-time.
Mwahahahahahahaha! My mom was going to write about her paleo Christmas recipes but I have taken her computer hostage to write about MY day in NYC. I write this on an airplane, with a dying macbook pro, my mom is looking over my shoulder at the progress window as we back up the whole computer onto a hard drive. I am super tech savvy, so I helped her use it even though it is meant for Microsoft Windows machines. SO there. Ha!
Oh, you wan’t me to stay on-topic? Where do I start? Well… I’ll break our day up into small segments, (in chronological order) that have titles that sum-up the segment.
Enjoy!
Take the train, he said. It will be fun, he said.
The first memorable part of my day was waiting for the train to arrive at the station. Because NJ transit is pretty much the worst commuter train ever, we literally had about 45 minutes in delays. Fun! 😐
Bareburger. Yum. Best burgers. Ever. Not sure if I get the bear theme, but you know, BURGERS! By the time we got there we were pretty tired out from walking for such a long time, so I was ready for some epic omnom time. The food was ready almost immediately after we ordered, which was awesome, because it usually takes longer based on past experiences. Gluten-free bun + bison patty + bacon = heaven in a burger. I’m completely serious. It was delicious. My mouth waters at the thought of such deliciousness.
Hat
I got a new hat. I guess you could say that I am a “smurf.” See photo below!
WhoahAhhhhhhh!
We went Ice skating next, which was a nightmare at first but got better as I got the hang of skating, Nathaniel, on the other hand, never quite got it, but he had fun regardless of his skill level. We both fell over like 700 million times, and the zamboni took like 300 years, but like I said, we had fun. Afterwards we got hot chocolate which tasted SOOOOO good.
OOOOOH! AHHHHH!
We walked to the Rockefeller tree afterwards. It was pretty amazing but then we realized that it lined up with angelic statues, when you looked at it from a certain angle it was absolutely stunning. It was quite literally breathtaking. The amount of work that must have gone into making it look like that is crazy if you think about it. The Saks 5th avenue show ON THE SIDE of the building was pretty incredible too.
The ride home
Of course, not everything can be perfect. That’s why our day unfortunately ended with my worst experience I’ve ever had on a train, ever. It was a double-decker train, but it was packed. We didn’t get a seat until much later in the train ride, but that was almost immediately before we got off the train, so it didn’t really help. Whatever, the day as a whole was great, so it made up for the bad train ride.
It started snowing early on Saturday morning, far earlier than expected. The flakes were the big, fluffy kind you see when the air temperature is not terribly frigid. We were inclined to stay inside and enjoy the view from our warm home. But, unfortunately, we were out of coffee and there was grocery shopping to be done. So, I grabbed my husband, Gavin, and we trekked to the store to stock up on supplies. In a state like New Jersey where snow is no stranger you would think people would know not to panic-buy. But judging by the bustling grocery store, that is not the case.
Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars
After deftly battling the crowds, and stocking up on necessities, we ventured to Starbucks for a pound of their Christmas Blend coffee. I am no stranger to Starbucks and may have mentioned before my penchant for the Grande Americano with Heavy Whipping Cream. But each time I’ve been in the store in recent weeks the seasonally available Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bar has been sweetly calling my name. I resist. In fact, having celiac disease means there’s really no way I even seriously entertain the notion of eating one of these beauties. It’s sad, actually.
But I got a bright idea! I would have Gavin eat one and describe, in detail, what he tasted so I could make a gluten-free, paleo-friendly version of the Cranberry Bliss Bars. And that is exactly what we did. He ate it a little too quickly if you ask me. And in fact I got a little snippy telling him to slow down, that the ONLY reason he was eating it was because he was on a mission – a mission of mercy to those of us longing for, yes, CRAVING, one of these things!
At that point all I heard was, “cream cheese…lemon…ginger…*garble* some kind of chunky white stuff, oh, that’s probably white chocolate..boy, that was good!” And with that, the cranberry bliss bar was history. Gee, thanks for that in-depth analysis, honey.
So let’s go for it. This recipe for Paleo Cranberry Bliss Bars is gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free and (mostly) free of refined sugars. The dried cranberries will almost certainly contain sugar. So if you are just absolutely opposed to it then this recipe is not for you. But compared to the original recipe, and most other treats you will be offered this holiday season, this recipe has far less sugar and still manages to be moist and delicious.
Just down the street from our home lies a lovely, family-owned Christmas Tree farm. In spite of this, we have opted for an artificial tree the last few years primarily because of my son’s tree allergies. But, I will admit, another factor is the artificial tree is “pre-lit”. Yes, the convenience trumped the natural beauty of the real thing – at least until now. This year we decided to take a chance with the allergies and opt for the full cut-your-own-Christmas-Tree experience.
Nathaniel found a “little tree”.
His little tree reminded us of Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tree. We ultimately chose a larger tree and the boys took turns (with close supervision!) cutting it down.
The tree farm is close enough we could walk home with our tree.
We really had fun with cutting our own Christmas tree. It looks and smells great and I’m pretty sure we will be tossing out the artificial tree and going natural from now on.
The experience reminded me of a poem by e.e. cummings I memorized for seventh grade English class:
little treeby e.e. cummings
little tree
little silent Christmas tree
you are so little
you are more like a flower
who found you in the green forest
and were you very sorry to come away?
see i will comfort you
because you smell so sweetly
i will kiss your cool bark
and hug you safe and tight
just as your mother would,
only don’t be afraid
look the spangles
that sleep all the year in a dark box
dreaming of being taken out and allowed to shine,
the balls the chains red and gold the fluffy threads,
put up your little arms
and i’ll give them all to you to hold
every finger shall have its ring
and there won’t be a single place dark or unhappy
then when you’re quite dressed
you’ll stand in the window for everyone to see
and how they’ll stare!
oh but you’ll be very proud
and my little sister and i will take hands
and looking up at our beautiful tree
we’ll dance and sing
“Noel Noel”
Parsnip and Celeriac Soup with Fried Beet Matchsticks
Thanksgiving is just a few days away but preparations are already beginning. There’s a lot of grocery shopping yet to go and I’m never sure how I will get everything done in time. Just recently we were rather touched when our youngest son, Nathaniel, declared Thanksgiving to be his favorite holiday. That’s a sophisticated choice, if you ask me, given the other candy and gift-laden holidays. But Nathaniel is one of those sensitive and sentimental souls and his choice made me ponder why Thanksgiving has such an attraction.
Well, first of all there is food and we all love food. But one of the reasons we especially look forward to the Thanksgiving holiday is the time with family. At Thanksgiving we focus more on family time and less on the hustle and bustle of shopping for gifts. It is also a wonderful reminder of how blessed we are and an opportunity to give thanks to God.
We can take inspiration from some great thinkers who have pondered the wisdom of gratitude:
“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” ― Epicurus
“You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.” ― Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” – Colossians 3:17
“You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” – Psalm 118:28-29
Paleo Thanksgiving Recipes
Today I’m sharing the Paleo Thanksgiving Recipes we will be having this year. There are tons of paleo Thanksgiving roundup posts around lately and they are great for seeing a lot of recipe options in one place and finding new bloggers to follow. The only trouble for me is I sometimes get a bit overwhelmed with the choices. So to keep things simple I am just posting recipes that would make up one totally wonderful paleo thanksgiving feast. It’s not to say you have to make ALL these recipes to have a great holiday meal – but they pretty much cover the gamut of traditional Thanksgiving recipes. Many of these are my own time-tested and beloved recipes but a few are finds from around the internet that look and sound delicious. I can’t wait to give the new recipes a try.
The biggest party of the year is about to begin! That’s right…it’s almost time for Super Bowl XLVIII! (And BTW, the game is going to be played right here in New Jersey, NOT New York…but I digress.)
