My Favorite Paleo recipes: Apple - Dijon Burgers

Two events collided this weekend to point me in the direction of the BEST BURGER RECIPE EVER.  Yes, I realize I shouted that.  If you were here in person you would have actually heard my enthusiasm for this burger recipe.  Event #1: On saturday I picked up my order from Golden Share Foods.  It's "Southern California's largest LOCAL food cooperative".  While the meats are not technically paleo since they aren't grass fed beef and free range chicken, it is REALLY REALLY cost effective and it alleviates me from having to search the ads for meat sales for about 2 weeks out of every month.  I totally recommend using this program.  Event #2: I took the kids Apple Picking while Hubby was trying to survive the Run For Your Lives, a zombie infested 5k obstacle course.  So the kids and I picked probably 10 pounds of apples and you can only eat SO many before you're bribing the children to "eat just one more, for mommy?"  I needed to find recipes to cook them in.  And lo and behold there was the Apple Dijon Burger recipe from Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations.  These burger patties are a bit crumbly, best eaten with a fork rather than in an unstable lettuce "bun".  But they are SO good.  The apples, onion and dijon mustard give them almost an asian flavor which I just adore.  I made these on Saturday, and lucky for the hubby, I'm making them AGAIN tonight because I love them that much.  

My slave labor, I mean, the kids had fun picking apples!

APPLE - DIJON BURGERS
serves 4 cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 Lb Grass-Fed Beef
• 1/2 Cup Shredded Apple
• 1/3 Cup Minced Red Onion
• 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
• 1 Tsp Black Pepper
• 1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
• 1 Egg

Process:

   

1. Place all the above ingredients except the egg in a mixing bowl and mix well.
2. Use your hand to form 4 even size burgers.
3. Have your grill on medium heat (350-400 Degrees F) and grill for approximately 5-6 minutes per side or until done to your liking.
4. Once you place your burgers on the grill, fry your egg in bacon fat on the stove and set aside.
5. You can now plate your burgers how you see fit.  I used romaine lettuce as a base. The Civilized Caveman suggests serving the burger with grilled onions, and topped with the fried Egg. I ate mine topped with guacamole and tomatoes.  
6. Enjoy

Nutritional Info: 381calories, 30.1g fat, 12.2 g sat fat, 96.4mg cholesterol, 458.4 mg sodium, 6.9g carbs, 1.6g fiber, 19g protein

Paleo on the Road

It is indeed Happy Hour when your
paleo-friendly apps are 1/2 off!

I celebrated Day 60 on the Paleo Diet on Monday!  It feels like quite the feat, considering that my last 3 days of were spent eating while traveling to San Jose for the San Jose RocknRoll Half marathon.  It was my first real experience of trying to stay paleo while not being able to cook and refusing to succumb to peer pressure to "just eat like a normal person".  I must have explained the basics of Paleo about 30 times this weekend, each time we ate with a new group of people.  My mom and I traveled with her running buddies, about 14 amazing women who were determined to live it up and run it out.

My race weekend started Friday evening, with a meal at The Counter with my family.  I'd reviewed this downtown San Diego restaurant just recently.  Before taking me to the airport, we decided to carb up at our favorite Paleo-friendly restaurant with sweet potato fries.  I also had a "burger in a bowl" for the iron.  It was going to help my body store and use oxygen more efficiently during my big race.

Not a pretty breakfast but
 it tastes good

Saturday morning, Mom and I woke up at 4 am to see my Daddy off on his 100-mile race.  He'd be running the Rio Del Lago 100 all of saturday and he'd planned to finish around the time we'd be getting up on Sunday morning to run our own race.  A Larabar and a banana continued the carb up while I shivered in the pre-dawn, waiting to see Daddy off at the start line.  (As a note: not ALL Larabars are paleo.  Stick to the ones that contain only dates, tree nuts, fruits, and coconut.  My favorites are Coconut Cream Pie, Lemon Bar, and Key Lime Pie)  We then headed home to pack for our own race.  I completed my carb up with an eggs, avocado and sweet potato breakfast.  That was the last time I was going to get to cook for myself before my race.

After arriving in San Jose (by the way, a car with 4 middle age and older women will need to stop at least 3 times to pee during a 2 hour road trip), we checked in, picked up our bibs and explored the expo.  One of the great things about Paleo is that you don't experience the drop in blood sugar that you did before when you were eating processed carbs and sugars.  So while everyone else was getting cranky, I was holding on pretty well.  We lunched at Baja Fresh, which isn't an ideal paleo choice.  But I made it work, ordering a Mango Chipotle Chicken Ensalada.  I suspect that the mango salsa and chipotle sauce contained sugar and possibly soy . . . but overall it was a paleo-ish choice.  I avoided eating the tortilla shell and asked for NO cotija cheese (even though I REALLY REALLY love cotija cheese).  For a pre-race lunch, the chicken salad option was probably the best choice.  It's heavy on fiber, high on water content and low on binding meats.  Red meat can take longer to move through your system, which may make you feel heavy on race morning.

Dinner was probably the most difficult to handle.  All of the group we were racing had arrived and there was much discussion on eating at the Old Spaghetti Factory.  Italian restaurants are nearly impossible for Paleo people, I try to avoid them all together.  It's a lesson that "Gluten-free" does not equate to Paleo.  Luckily they couldn't take our group of 14 for at least 2 hours, so our group ended up breaking up into smaller ones and Mom and I headed to a 50s themed Diner called Peggy Sue's.  They are a counter Service, sit down restaurant.  They're menu was simple and easy to alter for the Paleo diet.  I had a spinach salad (that was of massive proportion) and a bunless bacon, pineapple burger.  Once again, loads of iron to help with oxygen use.  I am also a proponent of fiber on the day before the race.  It'll help you with that pre-race elimination that is oh so neccessary.  (I wondered how long it'd take me to mention poop on my blog).  Everyone's fiber needs are different.  It's important to experiment during the training cycle to see how much fiber you can take in to help you on race morning.

 I woke up on race morning feeling amazing.  I had nine hours of sleep, and maintained my paleo diet while traveling.  Mom and I ordered room service and split a meal.  I got the eggs and bacon, she got the tomato juice and english muffin.  It's nice to travel with a non-Grok!  After breakfast I was feeling even better!

My race review has already been posted.  I've had people ask about my IN-RACE nutrition and will explore that in my next post.  If you have any questions about pre-race nutrition or about staying paleo while on the road, please feel free to ask!

  

Race Day Ready and still Paleo!

Paleo Recipe Makeover: Savory Mug Muffin with tomato-avocado salsa

paleOMG's recipe that inspired me!

I've mentioned before that I'm "recipe dependent", but last night I ate something that inspired me to make my OWN version!  I made the Sugar Detox Pumpkin Cake in a Mug with Chocolate Whip found at paleOMG.  While my family ate nutella pancakes with chocolate chips, I enjoyed my cake in a mug. It was less sweet than I thought it'd be, being my first try at a paleo dessert.  I really enjoyed the texture of the mug cake.  I was eating something that had the mouthfeel of a baked good!  So I thought, "What if this was a SAVORY muffin instead?"  It could be a complement to stews and soups.  I miss having a chunk of break or a corn muffin to go with those types of meals.  Here's my attempt at altering a recipe:


Savory Mug Muffin with Tomato-Avocado Salsa

Ingredients

It worked! 

• 1/4 cup grated zucchini
• 1/4 cup finely diced onion
• 1 tbsp bacon grease 
• 1.5 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1 egg + 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons canned coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 soft, ripe Avocado
• 1 medium tomato

Ugly, but SO nom topped
with the salsa

Instructions

1. Cook the onion and zucchini in the bacon grease until soft and translucent.
2. Mash the vegetables into a puree 
3. Mix puree in a coffee mug with coconut flour, egg and egg white, coconut oil, coconut milk, spices and baking soda.  
4. Cook for 2 minutes in microwave on high
5. While mug is cooling, dice tomato and mix with avocado
6. Top mug muffin with salsa and enjoy!