Paleo sweet potato fries

One thing I miss while on the paleo diet is French fries. So salty and addicting... Ugh. But luckily, sweet potatos are paleo and it's actually super easy to make French fries out of them!! So here is the recipe! 

Ingredients:

A few sweet potatos

Cinnamon

Salt

A little coconut sugar 

Olive oil

Recipe: 

Peel the sweet potatoes. You can just use a knife if you don't have a fancy peeler thing (that's what I did at least.) 

Cut them in half, then half again. Take those pieces and cut smaller French fry shapes. You can get creative here. 

In a bowl, toss them with enough olive oil to coat all sides of them, cinnamon to your taste, and a bunch of salt. Mix with your hands... It's easier, trust me. 

(This was before I tossed them together with my hands. Hands were too messy to take pictures!) 

Place on a cookie sheet or whatever flat surface you want (I used a pizza pan lol) and bake in an oven that is set at 375. 

15 minutes on one side, then take them out and flip them over and bake for another 15 mins. 

There you go! They are not too sweet, because the cinnamon and sugar just bring out the sweet potato taste instead of adding a sugary taste like you would think. 

By the way, sweet potatos at central market are cheaper than regular potatoes. I think they are like $0.55 cents each or something. Doesn't get much cheaper than that man. 

Enjoy! 

Flax seed encrusted pork cutlets

I have a few favorite discoveries since going paleo. One is pink Himalayan salt, and the other is flax seed. Both are delicious and healthy and can make anything feel fancy! I got a two pound bag of the pink salt at Home Goods for less than $6, and I got a huge thing of flax seeds for pretty cheap at the store. 

The other day I got a pack of pork cutlets for this week, because it was less than $3 for 3. Yay! So I decided to make them tonight with an earthy flax seed crust. 

This actually took way faster than I thought to cook... Total time with prep and everything maybe 15 minutes tops. Win! 

For this recipe, you need a coffee grinder or blender- basically you want the flax seeds to be ground up. I bet it would be good not ground too though! 

Ingredients:

Pork cutlets (or veal or whatever you can find for cheap)

A few handfuls of ground flax seeds

A sprinkle of almond flour

Salt

Pepper

Cayenne pepper

1 egg

Splash of water

Instructions:

Prep your coating station. In one bowl, put the egg and splash of water. Whip it together til it is combined. In another bowl, put your flax seed, almond flour, and cayenne pepper. Mix with your finger to combine. 

Season the cutlets with salt and pepper on both sides. Then dip each cutlet once in the seed mixture, then egg mixture, then seed mixture again. Make sure to cover the whole cutlet with the seed mixture!! 

In a pan, heat up some olive oil. Place each cutlet into the pan. Cook for about 5 mins, then flip and cook for another 4-5 minutes. 

Then you're done when you cut into it and it's completely white in the middle. 

They have a really cool texture that is similar to bread crumbs but without the gluten and grain. The cayenne pepper gives them the slightest hint of spicyness. 

Maybe add some steamed veggies and a glass of wine for a cheap, easy, fast date night dinner or just eat them by themselves like I did. Whatever you do to it, this will be a cheap, easy, and healthy recipe that anyone can do! 

Paleo chicken sickey soup

Today I got to have the honor of playing doctor! My mom, sister, and boyfriend are all sick. After taking my sister to the doctors, I came home to cook up some soup for Chris. Since he has been coughing, mild and comforting was the best idea. 

For this recipe, all you need is a crockpot! It's super easy. And cheap, too. All the ingredients were less than a few bucks and I have left overs of all of it to make more things later! (I got a whole bag of onions for less than $2!!!). Great for days when you don't feel like cooking but want a warm delicious meal, or when you are busy with rehearsals and don't want to be cooking all night after a 3 hour orchestra rehearsal... Ahem. 

Without further ado, here is my paleo chicken sickey soup! 

Ingredients: (and I don't use exact measurements because I believe the cook should be able to use however much they want! Plus this is straightforward enough that exact measurements aren't needed.)

Some boneless skinless chicken

Two boxes of organic chicken broth (check the ingredients!!!)

A few big carrots

A few stalks of celery

One onion 

5-6 cloves of garlic

Some basil and oregano 

Salt and pepper 

Cut your carrots into little circles, throw them in. 

Chop up dat onion doe. 

Take the skins off the garlic cloves, cut each clove in half and throw those babies in the pot!

Toss that chicken in. 

Cut up that celery, and you guessed it, throw it in. 

Squirt all the chicken broth in there! (You can use less if you want a small batch but I like soup leftovers, especially if you have a sick boyfriend...)

Rip up some of those herbs, toss them in. 

Finish with salt and pepper to taste, then then turn on the crockpot high for 5 hours or so. 

Viola! Delicious soup that can cure any sore throat. Chris says it's delicious with franks red hot, too, but I didn't have the guts to try it! 

Enjoy your dairy, grain, gluten, sugar, legume, and corn free sickey soup! Let me know in the comments how it comes out! :) 

Chicken, brussels sprouts with garlic

Spent all day today practicing the second Shostakovich concerto (which is AWESOME by the way... Major chills. Even when I'm playing it!), teaching, and figuring out how to get a bank to accept a student loan for me... So when it hit dinner time and I didn't have anything thawed to eat, I decided it was time for a trip to central market! 

Central market is always crazy crowded and pretty stressful, so I wanted to get in and out as soon as possible. I grabbed some food for the next day or so- two oranges ($1.97 a pound), two pears ($1.98 a pound), some pork cutlets (less than $3!), some sweet potato chips (also less than $3), and some other small things. Yay cheapness! 

For  dinner I actually decided to eat with my mom, and she had some chicken and Brussels sprouts. Yum! Both cheap things that are easy to get anywhere. It was absolutely delicious and took no skill! Plus we got to listen to some awesome Victor Goines while it was cooking. For those who don't know who Victor Goines is- I suggest you pull up spotify right now and listen. Yeah, right now. 

It's not pretty (because I like to cut my meat up in little bite size pieces before I eat) but trust me, it was amazing! 

Ingredients: 

Some boneless skinless chicken breasts

Brussels sprouts

A few cloves of garlic 

Grapeseed oil (or olive/any other kind can work great as well) 

Seasoning of your choice (I used mrs. dash)

Directions:

Pound the chicken to your desired thinness. I like it thin because it cooks way faster, but it's up to you!

Season the chicken to your liking. 

Take your sprouts and cut them up in quarters, because it cooks faster and absorbs the flavors better. Put them in a pan with your oil and some whole cloves of garlic and heat those babies up! 

Now, get a pan and heat up some oil. When it's hot, put the seasoned chicken in. It should cook pretty quickly. It is done when it is white all the way through. 

(Tip: I like my chicken crispy on the outside, so to get it this way just cook it a little longer after it is done!).

And that is it! You are done! Everything is completely paleo, grain and dairy and gluten and sugar free. Total it probably took maybe 20 minutes top. 

This is a great recipe for college kids who don't know how to cook but want to make a fancy dinner for a girlfriend or boyfriend or parent or whatever! Cheap ingredients helps that too. :) 

For "dessert," I treated myself to a new kind of woodchuck hard cider. "Smoked apple." 

It tasted unfortunately exactly like what it is called. Have you ever grilled with smoke flavored charcoal and accidentally used something like a sweet potatoe with it? Yeah. This cider is not as sickeningly sweet as some of the other woodchucks, but the smoke flavor made it taste a bit like it was going bad or something. I couldn't finish it. Blech. 

Hope you enjoy your "fancy" chicken dinner as much as I did! ;) 

Snacks

Sometimes, you get hungry between meals. Duh. As difficult as it is to not reach for some potato chips or chocolate, it is important to snack on healthy foods. Recently I've found some great filling snacks that are totally paleo. 

For today, I am at my mother's place practicing all day (her condo has better acoustics than mine... And a piano!). So I brought with me this pack of awesome salami. 

(Sorry, I would have taken a picture before they were eaten, but they're just too good...!)

This brand of salami is thinly sliced and has a great soft flavor, instead of the harsh salami taste you sometimes get with other brands. 

I also brought some bananas over and a bag of raw Brazil nuts (which are the greatest things in the world... By the way.)

(Banana for scale) (and yumz)

I recently spent the holidays with my lovely boyfriend, and part of that included time in Houston with his parents. While in Houston, I got to get some of this delicious coffee:

Which has actual pecans in it! So when it is ground, all the flavorful oils from the nuts mix in with the coffee making it taste smooth and creamy without the use of milk, cream, artificial stuff or sugar. 

There are so many different kinds of paleo snacks you can have, all you have to do is sometimes be creative! 

Happy eating, y'all!

New Year, New Resolutions

Well, it's the start of a new year, and we all know what that means- resolutions!

In the past, I have made many resolutions re: health and fitness that I didn't keep after just a few weeks. I'm sure we've all been there, right?

This year, I have made a few resolutions.

1. Fix my diet.

I intend to follow the paleo diet this year. For those who are not familiar, the paleo diet is when you eliminate all grains, gluten, dairy, added sugar, legumes, starchy vegetables, and corn from the things you eat.  Also, fresh, grass fed, and wild caught meat is encouraged. This is not difficult at all once you find the right recipes. There is a huge world of food out there, and eating whole foods that are good for you really make a difference!

One of the great things about the paleo diet is no calorie counting! You can eat as much as you want, until you are full. Just like the cavemen did.

My boyfriend will be joining me in this resolution, and I will be sharing recipes, pictures, tips, and updates as the year goes on!

Another resolution I made this year is-

2. Practice more.

I have gotten quite complacent in my practicing in 2013, and since I am graduating from college soon, I need to get back on track and work harder and try to improve more on the cello. I am going to be very involved in the new music community in 2014, so keep an eye out for updates regarding performances and other musical things!

My other musical resolution is a more exciting one. I am going to-

3. Learn how to play the trumpet and clarinet.

I am a music teacher, and I think it is extremely beneficial to know at least the basics of the different musical instrument groups to better help your own teaching on your instrument. You can take some tips from one instrument and abstractly use it to help a student with something on your instrument! I'll be taking lessons from two of my friends, which is going to be fun. (Payment in alcohol is also pretty convenient!). This is something else I will talk about on this blog this upcoming year! Now to buy the instruments.....

Well, that's basically it! Welcome to my blog, expect some awesome food pictures and recipes, and ramblings about the life of a poor college-aged cellist trying to get by happy and healthy!