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grain-free

No Bean Paleo Pumpkin Hummus

September 18, 2013 by Jackie Ritz 15 Comments

Don’t you just love that name…meatified!?!!! It just makes me want to search the Meatified website and make a big juicy and meaty pot roast!  Rach from Meatified has such a beautiful website with some delicious recipes. I get lost looking at her food photography on her page! She has put together a recipe that will satisfy that Pumpkin itch and leave your belly satisfied and full of Paleo Pumpkin Hummus…oh and with no beans! Cause we all know friends don’t let friends eat beans! Please welcome my friend Rach from Meatified!!!

I think if I ever wrote a memoir of my former vegetarian days, it would probably be titled something cheesy like “Hummus: A LOVE STORY”. Because, boy, could I chow down on the stuff. I think it’s safe to say that I was bordering on the obsessive. I can’t remember how I first came to the realization that a plain ol’ bean could be transformed into something creamy, tangy and ridiculously delicious, but once I did, I’d hazard a guess that approximately 347% of my meatless meals probably featured hummus.

Well, ok, that might be a teensy bit of an exaggeration. But only a little. I really, really liked the stuff. And then came Paleo. Well, actually, first came the misery of Hashimoto’s Disease. Paleo definitely helped to alleviate the symptoms of my thyroid problems, but it’s safe to say that it also destroyed my hummus dreams. If there was ever a reason to lament the loss of legumes, the absence of hummus in my life was it.

When people began telling me that you could make hummus from zucchini, I flat out refused to believe them. I mean, there was no WAY that a squash was going to replace a bean. Stop taunting me with your Paleo lies! And then one day, desperate for my dip-fix, I caved. I made zucchini hummus. And the hummus-afficionado in me became so ecstatic that it’s a good job I live in the middle of nowhere. The perks of country life? No one can see you dance around your kitchen like a flailing toddler. Yay.

Since Fall is supposedly coming but it’s still in the 90s for me temperature wise, I’m not quite ready to pumpkin spice ALL THE THINGS! But I did want to get my pumpkin habit started on time, so I flavored this batch of no bean Paleo hummus with pumpkin puree. It adds a gentle sweetness, a vibrant color and even a little extra snazzy creaminess to the original recipe. Top that with a little smoked paprika and this is one heck of a dip! Best part? It will take you all of 2 minutes to make if you’ve got a mini food processor. Let’s face it: nothing beats fast, healthy AND tasty in the kitchen!

No Bean Paleo Pumpkin Hummus
makes just over 1 1/2 cups

Pumpkin Hummus 3 WM

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 cup peeled & chopped zucchini
  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Directions:

  1. Add all ingredients to a mini food processor.
  2. Process until everything is combined and the texture is as smooth as you like – that’s it! Drizzle with a little extra olive oil for prettiness before serving.

A former vegetarian, Rach at Meatified originally came upon the Paleo lifestyle while looking for a way to improve her health after years of Hashimoto’s disease. She writes original recipes that are grain and sugar free while trying to finally figure out how to work the camera she shamelessly “borrowed” from her husband. When she’s not in the kitchen, she can usually be found planning her perfect future mini farmstead in gloriously overly-exaggerated detail.

You can find Meatified on Facebook, Pinterest & Twitter, too!

Recipe shared on: Real Food Forager and Healthy Roots Happy Soul 

Filed Under: Guest Posts, My Recipes Tagged With: bean free hummus, dairy free hummus, gluten-free, grain-free, no bean hummus, paleo hummus, pumpkin dip

Vitamix Giveaway (Closed)

September 1, 2013 by Jackie Ritz 480 Comments

I wanted to give my fans and followers a incredible giveaway to jump-start the fall season. However, the price tag for this giveaway was a little more than I can handle right now, so a few other of my blogging friends are teaming up with me to to throw this amazing giveaway.

I am super excited to announce that along with 11 other bloggers we are giving away a Vitamix Blender!!!

 Vitamix 5200 Blender – $549.99 Value!

vitamix

The Vitamix 5200 is SOOOO much more than just a blender. This machine is an all-in-one: blender, mixer, food processor, and soup maker.

 How can we win it??

We are using Rafflecopter, which is a reputable resource for online give aways. In a few easy steps you will be entered in a drawing to win.

Step 1):  Click RIGHT HERE to find out more about this Vitamix

Step 2): Leave a comment and let us know what you would make most if you won a Vitamix.

Step 3) Scroll to the bottom and enter on the Rafflecopter!

Bonus entries for going to each of the bloggers below and entering on their site! 

The Skinny Pear

Learning and Yearning

Don’t Mess with Mama

Nourishing Herbalist

Wellness and Workouts

We Got Real

The Darling Bakers

The Paleo Mama

Rethink Simple

Real Food Outlaws

Natural Family Today

 Moderately Crunchy Mommy

Healthy Roots Happy Soul

 Right now, the Vitamix 5200 Blender is on sale for almost 15% off retail price. That’s $64 SAVINGS — a wonderful deal. If you want to take advantage of this deal, CLICK HERE – that is if you can’t wait to see if you win the giveaway!

ENTER BELOW!!!! 

rel=”nofollow”>a Rafflecopter giveaway

Filed Under: Giveaways, Uncategorized Tagged With: best blender, best food processor, grain-free, paleo, primal gluten free, vitamix 5200, vitamix giveaway

20 Recipes Using Bacon Fat!

August 27, 2013 by Jackie Ritz 6 Comments

baconfat

Paleo is so liberating! Before Paleo, I used to shun away from fat and gave into the whole “low-fat” culture. I hung that up 2 years ago when I began my journey into eating whole, real, unprocessed foods and realized that saturated fat is not what’s killing us.  And the best thing Paleo has done for me is given me a love for BACON! Oh I heart bacon…and I no longer feel bad about eating it, as long as I do in moderation. I’ve continued to lose weight and I continue to feel amazing all the while eating bacon a few times a week. We cook it on our griddle which cooks it perfectly. We prefer thick sliced bacon and try to get bacon that comes from pastured pigs.

A few years ago, I would just throw the bacon fat away, but as I was becoming more aware that bacon fat is not bad for your body and it makes food taste even more delicious, I started saving it and using it in various ways.

How to Save the Fat: once the bacon fat has cooled, pour it into a little jar and store it in the fridge. Some people recommend straining it to prevent any larger clumps of bacon or fat from going into the jar. Scoop it out as needed.

In the fridge, bacon fat will last for months and months (especially if you are careful about making sure all the chunks of bacon are out of it) and even several YEARS!  Ask your grandparents! Just give it the “whiff” test before using. If you have large amounts of bacon fat to save, you can toss it in your freezer.

On the countertop, bacon fat will last for several weeks. It’s best to put it in the fridge to prevent it from becoming rancid.

20 Delicious Recipes Using Bacon Fat

1. Roasted Beet & Basil Salad with Hot Bacon Vinaigrette – Oh my!

baconbeetsalad

2. Brussel Sprouts with Bacon

brusselsprouts

3. Make Bacon Mayo.

4. Use it to fry my Fishy Bites in…or anything else!

_MG_4941

5. Make these Silver Dollar Pancakes with it, subbing out the grapeseed oil for bacon fat! (We order our almond flour from here) 

gluten-free-pancakes-almond-board-california

6. Sweet Potato Drop Biscuits – these are from my FAVORITE cookbook right now, Beyond Bacon! It’s a beautiful cookbook dedicating to the hog! Use bacon fat in place of lard (it’s really the same thing).

sweet-potato-drop-biscuits-from-BeyondBacon-by-PaleoParents-740

7. Stir Fried Eggs!

8. Bacon Fat Vinaigrette Dressing – we make this all the time and it’s delicious!

courtesy of simply recipes
courtesy of simply recipes

9. Maple Bacon Aioli to dip Sweet Potato Fries in!

10. “Cornbread” – follow this recipe, BUT while putting the batter together, add a few TB of bacon fat to the 9″ baking square and melt in the oven. Then add the batter and bake according to directions. No joke…this tastes like cornbread and it’s a staple in our house. (We buy this almond flour)

_MG_6594

11. Bacon Cookies – substitute some bacon fat for the coconut oil!

12. Fry your steak in it!!! OMG!

13.  Yellow Lard Cupcakes (or Cake) – I made these and LOVED them. We substituted bacon fat for lard and it was incredible!

unfrosted cupcakes

14. Bacon and Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms – if you do dairy, this is amazing!

stuffed-mushroom-recipe-bacon

15. Bacon Deviled Eggs – I have had these a few times and they are sooooooo good!

BaconDeviledEggs3

16. Paleo Roasted Stuffed Tenderloin – doesn’t this look beautiful!

stuffed tenderloin

17. Saute your spinach, in bacon fat!

18. Saute your cabbage in bacon fat!

19. Saute your kale  in bacon fat!

20. Spinach Bacon Potato Frittato – eliminate feta if dairy-free. This is on the menu!

fritatta-finished-for-real

 

So, don’t throw another drop of that delicious bacon fat away! You have no excuse now…eat up and enjoy! 

________________________________________________________________

You can find some of the ingredients for these recipes here:

  • raw honey
  • wild caught salmon
  • shredded coconut
  • almond flour
  • coconut flour
  • vanilla extract
  • celtic sea salt
  • real maple syrup
  • good olive oil

Shared at Real Food Forager

Filed Under: My Recipes, Paleo Education Tagged With: bacon, bacon fat, bacon grease, dairy free, gluten-free, grain-free, paleo, primal, recipes

The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Guest Post for Popular Paleo

August 20, 2013 by Jackie Ritz Leave a Comment

 

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If you feel like salivating over amazing Paleo food porn, you need to go check out Popular Paleo’s recipes! They are beautiful and delicious.

I was so excited when Popular Paleo asked me to do a guest post on “The Best Thing I Ever Ate“. I have ate some amazing, Paleo food the last 2 years…but I have a few favorites!

Click here to go to my guest post on Popular Paleo and find out what my favorite Paleo recipes are!

Filed Under: About Me, Guest Posts Tagged With: Balsalmic chicken, gluten-free, grain-free, Mexican slaw, paleo, Popular Paleo, primal

The Paleo Mama Meal Plan #3

June 4, 2013 by Jackie Ritz 7 Comments

I hope you are enjoying these weekly meal plans. They should be making your life a little easier in the kitchen. I know the challenges of switching to Paleo. It can seem very overwhelming, at first. I try to pick out easy meals to make that are also favorable with kids.

The dinners I picked out this week should fit your budget and make your taste-buds very happy! You have the option of making the meal #1 in the crock pot and, also, I included a meal-on-the-fly in case you find yourself too busy to cook. Just prep them beforehand and grab them when running out the door!

The Paleo Mama Meal Plan #3

**Bookmark this page to reference it throughout the week**

Meal #1 (optional crock pot meal) : Thyme Roast Chicken with Roasted Root Veggies – This recipe is so simple yet so delish! Throw the chicken in the crock pot if you choose and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Thyme Roast Chicken
Thyme Roast Chicken

Meal #2 : Balsamic Chicken and Oven Roasted Brussel Sprouts – I rave about this dish to everyone! It’s also *that* dish that I make to impress. It’s the most tasty chicken I have ever had!!! Don’t skip the brussel spouts because you don’t like them OR think your kids won’t eat them. Mine LOVE brussel sprouts! We call them Monster Eggs and pretend we need to eat them before the monster hatches!

Balsalmic Chicken
Balsamic Chicken

 

Meal #3 : Butternut Squash Lasagna – I just love this dish and I also love that it has veggies already in the dish, so no extra side is needed!

Butternut Squash Lasagne
Butternut Squash lasagna

Meal #4 : Salmon with Cherry Tomato Salsa and Asparagus – we make ourselves eat a seafood dish or two every week. It’s good to give kids a taste for fish early in life. Both my kids (4 and 1) devour fish. I will say, they do not like Ahi Tuna, but Salmon, Tilapia and Shrimp don’t last long in our house!

Salmon with Cherry Tomato Salsa
Salmon with Cherry Tomato Salsa

Meal #5: Dinner-on-the-Fly: Meat & Spinach Muffins with a Mason Jar Salad : These muffins have been a long-standing favorite among my family. They are easy to make and so delicious. These are great to eat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

Mason Jar Salads
Mason Jar Salads

The Mason Jar Salad that my friend, Dusti, guest-posted about has been a LIFESAVER for me! It’s a genius way of making salads and they really do keep for up to a week! I included the ingredients in the shopping list to get your started on making your first mason jar salads! You can omit this if you do not want to make it and just throw a salad together for this meal instead.

 Hope you enjoy this week of healthy, Paleo eating!

Print out your shopping list HERE!

***Per Your Requests*** (and because I love you all!)

Breakfast Ideas: If you are stuck and not sure what to make for breakfast, or just getting tired of eggs and bacon, check out my Pinterest page here (for egg-y dishes) and here (for non-egg).

Need snack ideas? Check out this board on my Pinterest page and this one also.

Filed Under: Weekly Meal Plan Tagged With: budget paleo, dairy free, gluten-free, grain-free, paleo, paleo meal plan, primal

Why We Are 20% “Not-So-Paleo”

May 28, 2013 by Jackie Ritz 53 Comments

If you’ve been around my blog for a little bit of time, you may have realized that I don’t mind sharing my imperfections. I list them out on my post called, “I Am Not Perfect but I Am Enough” with transparency and honestly. Why not? I know we are all imperfect and I don’t try to live up to some fantasy housewife who has it all put together.

So, when it comes to eating Paleo, you should know that I am NOT perfectly Paleo. I know, I know…how can I call myself “The Paleo Mama” if I am not even 100% Paleo?

There are so many reasons why I cannot and never will be 100% Paleo. Before I go on to list them, let me disclose to you that this is just how it works for my family. I don’t encourage naughty Paleo behavior :). However, in all things: balance.

For my family, we are “80/20 lean“. I buy all Paleo foods and we eat almost 100% Paleo at home; so we allow our eating out and being out to fulfill the 20% of our foods that aren’t Paleo.

Why We Are 20% “Not-So-Paleo“:

1. This is the most important reason and the one I want you all to remember, so I am putting it on the top. Life is TOO short to stress, CONSTANTLY, about food. I think it’s important to know why you are eating Paleo and what “bad food” does to your body. I think it’s important to eat real, unprocessed foods most of the time. Paleo is NOT A DIET. It is a guideline that you follow, not a diet for fast results. Results will come with diligence and when Paleo becomes a lifestyle to live by.

This is me at ONE year of eating 80% Paleo!
ONE year of eating 80% Paleo!

2. I realize that I will never have 100% control over my children and my husband’s food choices. What I can do is provide healthy options and encourage healthy choices. I respect my kids as a person and if they gag when eating cauliflower rice, then I’ll allow regular rice (just an example).

When we teach our children good habits, we want them to choose to do something because they want to and because they know it’s right. An example of this is if your child picks up a glass vase of yours and you say to him, “Put that down right now.” He looks at you and says, “You have to come get it from me.” What do you say at that point? My response would be, “I’m not going to come get it from you and I’m not chasing you. I want you to put that down because you choose to and you want to do what’s right.”

3. Paleo beer does not exist. I tried to get my husband to drink hard cider, but he ain’t havin it.

4. Three words: Chic-Fil-A. Chi-Fil-A is my survival fast-food restaurant. Sometimes we are out-and-about and just cannot make it home for lunch or forgot to pack a lunch. So, I get my kids the grilled chicken nuggets with a applesauce.

5. Two words: Ice cream. There is this awesome place near us that makes the most unbelievable ice cream. So, we splurge once every few weeks and share an ice cream together.

Our favorite ice cream place!
Our favorite ice cream!

6. One word: Pizza. I cannot turn down a piece of NY style pizza. It is my weakness. I don’t eat pizza everyday. I have even stopped eating pizza once a week. However, I fully accept the repercussions of my pizza-eating actions that bring me a few uncomfortable hours of gas pain followed by a few trips to the bathroom. I accept it. I know it’s coming. And for me…unfortunately, it’s still worth it!

Family Day: Pizza in the Park!!!
Family Day: Pizza in the Park!!!

7. In social functions I do my best to provide a Paleo-friendly side (without announcing the Paleo label) and I encourage my kids to eat it. However, I don’t limit them, constantly, to just Paleo food. I monitor what they are eating and how much they are eating. I allow room for cake at birthday parties…especially if it is homemade cake!

_MG_5694
Eating cake at a birthday party!

8. THIS IS NOT A DIET! This is a lifestyle and for it to be long-term, you have to allow “indulgences”. They keep you balanced.

9. I love some of my childhood foods so much that when my mom calls me up and tells me she has made lasagna, I’m headed right over! I’m not gonna tell my mama no!

10. Paleo does NOT define who I am. I am more than what I eat. I do not live by a “Paleo Bible”. In fact, there are so many gray foods in Paleo…I’ve decided to stop questioning these “gray” areas so much. Do I eat sweet potatoes? Yes. Do I eat quinoa on occasion? Yes. Do I eat rice sometimes? Yes. Do I eat WHITE potatoes? Sometimes. ::GASP::!!!

11. There is no substitute for cheese. Trust me, I’ve tried them and they are not good. I like cheese on my chili PERIOD.

12. When I eat out, I may try something that is not Paleo. I try to choose healthy, Paleo options when I eat out, but if there isn’t something that is 100% Paleo, I don’t stress.

I want you to know, I don’t advocate any of these reasons. I encourage you to do the best that you can and to feed your family the best that you can. Paleo is MUCH different when you are trying to cook for a whole family. You really do need to leave yourself a little room for grace though, and realize that any step towards eating Paleo is better than what you were before!

We think of this little 20% as TREATS for our kids. We also have a reward system set up so that they EARN these non-Paleo indulgences!

 

Filed Under: About Me, Thoughts Tagged With: dairy free, eating paleo, gluten-free, grain-free, paleo

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Hi, I'm Jackie Ritz and welcome to The Paleo Mama! I'm a published author, certified herbalist, and voracious researcher of natural medicine and nutrition. I'm glad you're here and I hope you stick around for awhile!

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