snacks | Paleo Adventure

July 29, 2012

Paleo-friendly Chocolate Chip Muffins – Recipe in progress

This is a recipe in progress! After my success in making delicious paleo muffins including banana berry and pumpkin pecan, I decided to try making chocolate chip muffins!

I’ve made really tasty chocolate chip cookies in the past (I’ll save that recipe for a future post) using Enjoy Life Semi-sweet chocolate mini chips. Only THREE ingredients: evaporated cane juice, chocolate liquor, and cocoa butter! They’re as paleo friendly as chocolate chips can get! Plus the mini chips means that you can use a lot less chocolate. Who wants that really, but being paleo you’re probably trying to keep your sugar intake at a minimum.

These muffins turned out grainier than the others. Haha, a grainier grain-free muffin! I used 2/3 cup almond flour and 1/3 cup coconut flour, which is a different coconut to almond ratio than I’ve used in the past. It was also a tad dry. I also either used too much banana or not enough. There’s a hint of banana flavor of which I ended up wishing there was more or none at all. I think next time chocolate chip banana muffins would be better, especially since the extra banana will help with the dryness. There’s lots of potential here though. I basically followed the banana berry muffin recipe, using chocolate chips instead of berries. I only added some vanilla and used less banana. I won’t post a recipe until I feel like I’ve perfected it though! Leave a comment if you’d still like the recipe or if you have any baking tips!

Even the batter/dough was dryer and doughier than the other muffins I’ve made.

Good thing I made half a batch and ended up with only 5 or so muffins! These weren’t bad at all. They were good enough for me to eat all of them in two days, actually… They were better than most gluten-free muffins. Just not up to par with the other muffins I’ve made, so that’s why it’s in progress.

Posted in Paleo Baking | 2 Comments »

Tags: baking, breakfast, chocolate, dessert, muffins, paleo, snacks

March 31, 2012

Skydiving, landjäger, and paleo sliders!

It’s Saturday and I’m still in bed because it hasn’t stopped raining for a week. Doesn’t look like it’ll stop raining for yet another week, but next weekend looks promising! I can’t wait to jump again. After so much tunnel time, I feel like a brand new skydiver and I’m completely addicted again! There is sooo much space in the sky! No walls up there! And the skydives actually go as planned! Fascinating! The tunnel is such an invaluable training tool. I was able to get 12 jumps in last weekend and I thought I’d share a few pictures! All photo credits to Kelly Craig.

I’m sure I’ll be posting more photos and videos as the season goes on! Thank goodness we have a wind tunnel here now to get through the rainy days. I’m pretty excited to go fly tonight!

The downside of so much tunnel flying and skydiving has been that I’m way less motivated to work out. I haven’t consistently exercised in several months now and I can feel myself getting out of shape. It’s such a waste because I felt so amazing and so fit after months of daily intense activity and I am just letting it all go. I still LOOK fit, but I don’t FEEL fit. Every day I wake up thinking, I should really go to crossfit/hot yoga/climbing/running/skating today and then I never really make it out. I know that if I just commit to a few days, I’ll get into a routine again. So I am going to hold myself accountable to do that starting on Monday.

The upside of skydiving is definitely our close community full of awesome friends. One of them is actually a butcher and I got hooked up! I’ll never go hungry again! I’m going to try to do a post about him and the butcher shop in the near future, if he agrees to it. His shop only carries the highest quality local meats, including the best tasting 100% grassfed local beef I’ve ever had. He actually makes lard, tallow, sausages, and cured meats, all completely paleo! I’m planning on stopping by every week! This is how I found my new favorite snack, called the landjäger (I’m too lazy to describe it so I linked to wikipedia)!

Soft, not too salty, meaty, satiating goodness! This would be perfect for hiking/trail running! I had never even heard of this before, so ask your local specialty butcher?

The NY steaks I got were so giant that I had to cut one in half. Steak and eggs for breakfast! I poached the eggs this time and put it on some arugula and baby spinach.

I also grabbed some lean ground beef for burgers. I usually don’t season or do anything but shape the beef into a patty when I make burgers, but this time I was inspired to actually put some work into it. I added 1 tsp minced garlic, 1/4 cup chopped onions, 2 slices of bacon (cut into little pieces), 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp coriander, 1 tsp chipotle chili powder, salt, and pepper to a pound of lean ground beef with delicious results! These are my naked sliders! Heirloom tomato slice and a dollop of avocado for each mini patty! I was out of all lettuce or I probably would have wrapped them. Delicious!

Posted in Activities, Paleo Meals | 1 Comment »

Tags: beef, dinner, ground beef, lunch, paleo, skydiving, snacks

March 27, 2012

Truffle goat cheese-stuffed bacon-wrapped dates

For last night’s dinner, I made some bacon-wrapped dates and lamb meatballs with a balsamic reduction over arugula and baby spinach, sprinkled with more balsamic vinegar. YUM!

View the lamb meatballs post for the recipe! I did make one small addition – I added 1/2tsp of CARDAMOM! I loved it even more!

Goat Cheese-stuffed, Bacon-wrapped Dates

Ingredients:
- Noor dates, pitted
- Chevre goat cheese
- One slice of bacon per 3 dates
- Toothpicks, cut in half

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cut the dates almost in half and spread them apart.
3. Fill the pitted part with goat cheese and close the dates.
4. Cut bacon slices into thirds and wrap the dates, securing each with half a toothpick.
5. Bake in a baking pan for 20-30 minutes until bacon is cooked to your liking, turning the dates over half way through.

To make this fully paleo, you would skip stuffing the dates with cheese. However, I think the cheese is necessary to add a tangy flavor to cut the sweetness of the dates because bacon just isn’t strong enough for that. So this one is primal! I found this super delicious chevre goat cheese - Cypress Grove Truffle Tremor at Whole Foods. It’s probably one of the best goat cheeses I’ve had because I LOVE truffle. I used Applewood’s Sunday Bacon, which is thin and great for wrapping, and noor dates because they are smaller than medjool dates.

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Tags: bacon, cheese, dinner, lunch, paleo, primal, snacks

January 30, 2012

Paleo Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

I’m really getting the hang of this paleo baking thing! I should stop posting my recipes and open a paleo bakery! Seriously. I’m that awesome. I especially enjoy making banana-based paleo breads and muffins! So far I’ve made banana bread, banana berry muffins, and now these PUMPKIN PECAN MUFFINS!

You might recall from the last muffin post that Holly made me a batch of pumpkin muffins as well. I ended up doubling the recipe and then making several changes to create a denser, heartier muffin with pecans throughout and more pumpkin spice flavor. The original muffins were sweeter, lighter, and had sliced almonds on top. Here is the original list of ingredients plus all the changes I made so that you can follow either recipe.

Paleo Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:
~~1 cup~~ 1 15oz can pure pumpkin puree
1 2 large [over]ripe bananas
~~1/4~~ 1/2 cup pure almond butter
~~1/3~~ 1/4 cup raw honey
~~1 Tbsp pure coconut oil, melted~~
4 large eggs
~~zest of 1 lime~~
~~1 3/4~~ 2 cups almond flour
[1 cup coconut flour]
~~1/4~~ 1 tsp ~~freshly~~ ground nutmeg
~~1/4~~ 1/2 tsp ground allspice
~~1/8~~ 1/2 tsp ground ginger
~~1 1/2~~ 3 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
~~1 1/2~~ 3 tsp baking soda
~~1/4~~ 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
~~Sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds, or unsweetened shaved coconut, for topping.~~
[1 1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped]

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans.
2. In a medium bowl, mash the bananas and then mix in the pumpkin puree, raw honey, and eggs. In a large bowl, combine the almond and coconut flours, spices, baking soda, and sea salt. Stir the wet mix into the dry mix.
3. Fold in the pecans.
4. Fill the cupcake pans using an ice cream scoop
5. Bake for 30 minutes. Makes 20 muffins.

These were super delicious and turned out exactly the way I like my muffins! I like my muffins to be dense yet soft and slightly moist… Something I can eat on the go for breakfast or as a snack and be full. I also like my muffins to have only a hint of sweetness without losing the flavor of the star ingredients. Less added sugar of any kind is more paleo, too. I find that I can stop at one muffin because mine aren’t too sweet. Good luck stopping me from eating a whole batch of anything that’s sweet enough to register as dessert in my mouth!

After making the banana berry and pumpkin muffins, I think I can be the queen of paleo muffins. I’m planning on making the following in the future inspired by my favorite muffins, scones, cupcakes, and ice creams from my non-paleo days!
- Cranberry Orange
- Lemon Poppyseed
- Chai Cardamom
- Strawberry Almond
- Honey Lavender
- Green Tea
- Pineapple Coconut
- Chocolate Hazelnut
- Date Nut
- Cinnamon Raisin
Sooo many possibilities!!! I’m thinking one batch of muffins per week, that should keep me busy! I also see breads, cakes, and more cookies in my future.

Maybe I AM serious about this paleo bakery thing… I’ll take online orders, let me know!

Posted in Paleo Baking | 2 Comments »

Tags: baking, breakfast, dessert, muffins, nuts, paleo, pumpkin, snacks

January 22, 2012

Paleo Banana Berry Muffins

I’ve actually been meaning to post about these muffins for several months now! Holly, my tunnel coach’s wife, is an incredible baker and she was so sweet (seriously… she’s not even paleo!) to bake me TWO kinds of PALEO MUFFINS on one of my trips to Utah. On this last trip she made paleo brownies for me! I don’t go to Utah for tunnel time, I go for the baked goods… haha! They were all delicious, I think I almost cried eating them they were so good! I actually ate all dozen or so muffins in one day! And I have the recipes to share with all of you! I would absolutely love to spend a day baking with Holly, hope it happens soon!! Check out her food blog, Phemomenon!

Holly used frozen huckleberries and raw honey. Huckleberries are by far my favorite kind of berry, but all I had on hand were fresh blueberries which worked just as well. I would love to bake these with a whole medley of different kinds of berries. I also didn’t have raw honey, but figured I didn’t need to add any extra sugar because I had super overripe bananas. Instead, I made a cinnamon-nutmeg-coconut palm sugar topping to sprinkle on the tops of my muffins for a little extra sugar and spice. Note: That’s why the tops are brown, I didn’t burn my muffins! My muffins weren’t as moist as the ones I had from Holly, maybe because I omitted the honey or because I used fresh instead of frozen berries? But it doesn’t really matter because they were fantastic!

Paleo Banana Berry Muffins
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup almond flour
1/3 cup coconut flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp coconut oil
2 large eggs
2 large overripe bananas
2/3 cup berries of your choice, fresh or frozen
2 Tbsp raw honey (optional)

Cinnamon sugar topping (optional):
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4tsp nutmeg
1 Tbsp coconut palm sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mash the bananas, add oil and eggs (and honey if you wish).
3. Combine the dry ingredients, then mix into the bowl.
4. Gently fold in the berries. (My batter was more dough than batter.)
5. Fill cupcake/muffin pan lined with cupcake paper. (They don’t rise much, I use an ice cream scoop to fill the cupcake pans.) Sprinkle the tops with cinnamon sugar.
6. Bake for 30-35minutes.

Enjoy!

In case you were wondering, the other muffins from Holly were pumpkin! I’ll have to make those soon, too!

Posted in Paleo Baking | 7 Comments »

Tags: baking, banana, breakfast, dessert, fruit, muffins, paleo, snacks

January 19, 2012

Chocolate coconut cookies

I make Coconut cookies more than any other treat because they’re easy to make and yummy! I decided to try adding some cocoa powder to make them chocolate coconut cookies and they were pretty good! Much better than the chocolate cookies I made before with disappointing results.

Chocolate Coconut Cookies

Ingredients:
1 egg
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup coconut palm sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
2/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine wet ingredients, add dry ingredients, mix into dough. Roll dough into smaller than walnut sized balls, press down half way. Makes about 12 cookies. I always line my cookie sheets with foil or parchment paper for easy clean up.

3. Bake for ~10 minutes! Make sure they cool before you attempt to remove them from the pan because they fall apart when warm.

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Tags: baking, chocolate, coconut, cookies, dessert, paleo, snacks

January 10, 2012

Paleo-friendly zucchini brownies with chocolate frosting

Three posts today to make up for being behind on blogging! Now that I’ve justified my ~~inability~~ refusal to get rid of my sweet tooth, it’s time to share my latest paleo baking experiment! Paleo-friendly, rather, since it uses plenty of my beloved coconut palm sugar! These were rich, moist, non-cakey, dark chocolatey brownies that taste like brownies. The frosting may need a little work.

Paleo-friendly Zucchini Brownies
Adapted from this recipe

Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup walnut oil
- 3/4 cup coconut palm sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup shredded zucchini
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 8×8 baking pan with foil and lightly grease with a little walnut oil. (You could grease and flour the pan, but it’s so much easier to lift the foil out of the pan and not worry about sticking.)
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, and vanilla until well blended. Combine the flours, cocoa, baking soda, and salt then stir into the mixture. Fold in the zucchini and walnuts. This will not look like a batter, it’ll be dry and crumbly since the moisture from the zucchini comes out during baking.
3. Spread evenly into the baking pan, pressing down and compacting with the back of a spoon.
4. Bake for 25-30min in preheated oven. Remove from pan and let cool completely.

Paleo-friendly Chocolate Frosting (Work in progress)
This is a little grainy since the coconut palm sugar doesn’t dissolve as readily as white sugar, but it’s not that noticeable. Maybe I can melt it in the oil and then wait for it to cool back into a frosting consistency? I only made a small amount as an experiment and it’s ok the way it is, but I want to continue perfecting it in the future. The coconut oil is a spreadable solid at room temperature, but has a very low melting point, so make sure the brownies are completely cooled (or better yet, chilled) before spreading. Note: The following doesn’t make enough to cover the entire 8×8 brownie.

Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup (4 parts) virgin coconut oil (Coconut butter might be better, but would have a stronger coconut flavor. The oil lends just a slight hint of coconut.)
- 2 Tbsp (2 parts) coconut palm sugar
- 1 Tbsp (1 part) cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Blend together and spread over cool brownies.

Posted in Paleo Baking | 3 Comments »

Tags: baking, brownies, chocolate, dessert, paleo, snacks

August 7, 2011

A few perfect days full of my favorite hobbies

Continuing on from my previous post!

Thursday

As I had planned, I made it to my boxing and MMA workout classes. At the end of those two hours of intense cardio, I mentioned to the instructor how maybe next week I can do the next class, Capoeira, as well. He told me I should stay because it’s more fun and that I could totally do it. And so I stayed for a third hour at Axtion Club. I like how someone else’s workout of the day is my cool-down.

The Capoeira instructor is this gruff Brazilian guy who barks out “left!” “right” “NOOOO!!!!” etc. among various unintelligible words in Portuguese that I assume are moves in Capoeira. Mostly towards me because I was new and I’m not coordinated at all. Let’s not even get started on how I always confuse left and right! I had so much fun though and I laughed a lot at myself. I finally managed to get some smiles out of the instructor as well. Also, I can’t do a cartwheel to the right to save my life. I really enjoyed that everything is done to awesome music. I may not be coordinated, but I like to think that I have some rhythm. Anyway, he did tell me I did a great job for my first time and that he hopes I come back. Of course I will! But maybe after I watch some videos of capoeira on youtube with subtitles…

I bought my own gloves at Sports Authority. Why do they insist on making women’s gloves a disgusting bubblegum pink? Why not black? Or turquoise? Or lime green?

I was super hungry between volunteering and the workouts, so i stopped by Whole Foods for some snacks! The 1/2lb of prosciutto only lasted 2 days… I’m so obsessed with prosciutto!

I got some carnitas from the taco bar section. All paleo ingredients. I use all the ingredients in my own carnitas except for chicken stock. I will be adding some chicken broth to my next carnitas attempt because this was delicious!

So I’m always looking for paleo friendly (i.e. as paleo as possible?) treats. I know a lot of paleo purists say you should quit everything cold turkey and not try to paleofy your favorite non-paleo foods, but I’m sorry, I cannot do that. Live a little! I LOOVE lemon tarts and I was sooo excited when I saw this at Whole Foods. Check out the ingredients! Not bad, eh? Not bad at all! Apparently that little thing is supposed to be 3 servings, but I ate the whole thing. Deliciously lemony! And I loooved the coconut in the crust.

I saved my coconut for the end of my workout! Fresh coconut = 2394723974 times better than packaged coconut water. I could live on this stuff. Ok maybe not, but it’s the best treat ever after strenuous activity!

Friday

I went climbing outside! My first outing of the season and I’m now so motivated to climb more. I was pretty tired from the night before, but somehow managed to climb a big wall. We went to Exit 38 off I-90.

Snacks! Pluots and cherries from my CSA bag (I’m so sad I’m out of them now), prosciutto, raw almonds, and coconut water!

All the routes were 5.9s. I looove the feeling of real rock on my hands! Cool, textured, and rocky… love it! Plus there’s no tape telling me what to do, so I get the extra challenge of having to find my own way up!

Saturday

I’m so happy that I’ve been keeping up with my goal to hike every Saturday! We went to Lake 22 because I wanted an easy hike after my really active week. It was just 5.4 miles with 1350ft of elevation gain. Nice and easy! I even made myself slow down a little to enjoy the scenery and the company of my two friends. I love seeing waterfalls and lakes on my hikes, can you tell?

Sunday

Today was my designated rest day! And it was the best rest day ever! It was a beautiful day for skydiving. I hadn’t jumped in over a month and it felt soooo good to be back in the sky. Although I may enjoy flying in the tunnel more than skydiving these days, there’s really nothing like the first few moments after letting go of the plane. And the scenery!!!

I did 4 jumps and rushed out of the DZ to make it to a 5pm Bikram yoga class at my new studio, Bikram Yoga Everett. I could definitely feel my week off from hot yoga. It was rough at times and felt like the longest 90 minutes ever. I think the room was hotter than at my last studio too. I will review this studio in a later post.

Here are some pictures from the plane today. You can see the Puget Sound, the other jump plane, and Mt. Rainier!

Posted in Activities, Paleo Meals | 2 Comments »

Tags: hiking, mma, paleo, rock climbing, skydiving, snacks

August 1, 2011

Lake Serene and Bridal Veil Falls

On Saturday, I took my friend on her very first hike. I chose Lake Serene and Bridal Veil Falls because it sounded like a beautiful, moderate day hike to me (7.2 miles round trip, 2000ft elevation gain) and it was only about an hour away. As usual these days, I was overflowing with energy the entire time. I started at a brisk pace, but could not help but run every so often because I LOVE trail running. Then I would wait for my friend to catch up as she gave me death glares. It was really challenging for her on the way up, but I was so proud of her for trekking along at her own pace and not giving up. SO PROUD! I was probably super annoying with how happy I was running and skipping around. Several people on trail actually commented on my fitness and my speed as I passed by. I guess it’s pretty noticeable when most people are huffing and puffing slowly up the hill. I just have SO. MUCH. ENERGY. I get anxious going slow. My heart rate and breathing stayed moderate the whole time and the hike was easy on my body. No soreness whatsoever. I feel like I’m in better shape with each passing day. I consequently feel like I have to push myself to go further and faster, to lift heavier, and to do more than the previous day in order to just keep up with myself. Where is my limit? Is there a limit? I’m constantly impressed by my body’s ability to meet every challenge by becoming stronger each time. I’m not just living anymore, I am THRIVING. I’ve blogged about how incredibly amazing I feel eating paleo every day. I think I’ve reached a new level of amazing now that I’ve added exercise into the mix. It’s an everlasting natural high feeling this healthy and happy, inside and out. My one wish would be for everyone to attain this level of vitality and happiness – I’m pretty sure we’d have world peace as a result. Unfortunately, I realize that such a lifestyle is impossible for many people. I am incredibly lucky to even have the option to move and eat the way I do.

I took water, coconut water, raw almonds, a banana, 90% dark chocolate (higher the cocoa content, lower the sugar – I think this one only has 3g of sugar per serving and it has no soy or dairy), hot coppa, and prosciutto! Perfect snacks for a hike.

And now lots of pictures of the hike! I live in such a gorgeous state! I wish pictures could better convey the beauty of nature, but nature is really something you should see for yourself while out in it.

Bridal Veil Falls

That’s me! I had fun on all the big boulders.

Silliness on trail.

Lake Serene – the water is SO clear.

The start of the falls and the valley below.

The cold water felt sooo good on my feet on the way down. Have I mentioned how much I love my Vibrams?!? I can just go in the water, no problem.

Post-hike meal: grassfed rib eye and a fried egg with sauteed mushrooms, zucchini, and onions

I was ravenous when I got back. Steak with a runny egg yolk is my new favorite thing!

A peach for dessert… I also had some Coconut Bliss!

I slept wonderfully on Saturday night and went to Bikram yoga the next morning. It was my last day at Hot Yoga of Woodinville since my Living Social voucher expired. I made sure to tell Sandy how much I’ve appreciated her guidance this past month and that I will definitely be back after I use all my other hot yoga vouchers. I saw so much progress in my yoga practice thanks to how much she cares about each student’s practice. I’ve mentioned before how she always shares words of wisdom during class. Yesterday she said that people who are attracted to Bikram yoga and practice regularly are very hard working people, that it’s difficult to teach them to relax. Now, I don’t know if I’d describe myself as “hard-working”, but I definitely have a hard time relaxing. My last post was about how I force myself to take rest days and how bored I am staying still. I started this post with how I always have to push myself harder and do more. My idea of relaxation is Bikram yoga, which certainly is challenging as well. I think it’s time to add meditation back into my life. A balance between relaxation and activity is key to a sustainable lifestyle and I am definitely skewed towards activity right now.

Ground Elk and Veggies

I have a lot of ground elk in my fridge.I had no idea what to make yesterday, so I threw a bunch of stuff in a pan and made myself something that looks like gourmet dog food.

Chop up onions,mushrooms, zucchini, butternut squash, and garlic.
Add veggies into sauté pan with olive oil and cook until squash is softened.
Add ground elk until brown.
Crack an egg into the pan and stir everything around.
Tear up some fresh basil and add at the last moment.

I started eating it when I felt like it was missing something. One swirl of balsamic vinegar later, it was DELICIOUS! I will definitely be making this again. Nothing I love more than 5 minute meals!

Posted in Activities, Paleo Meals | 1 Comment »

Tags: elk, hiking, paleo, snacks, steak

July 25, 2011

Elk steaks and trail running

On Saturday I went hiking with a friend and his sister’s two Siberian huskies to Wallace Falls. It was about 5.5 miles round trip. I like hiking, but I like trail running more. I’m not patient enough to enjoy the scenery at a slow pace, I want to get to whatever the main attraction is asap. So my hikes always turn into trail runs! I LOVE trail running, especially compared to running on pavement or on a treadmill (waste of time!). I love the softer surface of dirt, the varied terrain, the elevation gain, and the agility needed to maneuver around any tripping hazards. I’m actually pretty clumsy until you get me on a trail! It’s super fun for me. I wore my Vibrams and am even more in love with them. I love being able to feel the ground and how my foot reacts to the different surfaces and angles. I felt so much more secure running up steeper parts of the trail and I loved how light they were on my feet, like I wasn’t even wearing shoes! I ended up taking both the dogs because my friend had a bad knee and was too slow for me. Funny thing is, I had so much energy that I ended up pushing the dogs a lot (with my hands on their bums) on the way up. They decided to run on the way down and so I was running down hill while pulling them back. What a workout!! Because of where the dogs were in front of me, it was really hard to see where I was going, so my run wasn’t as efficient. I ended up being pulled to land really hard on a root with the middle of my left foot. 10 hours later, it hurt really bad. I could barely sleep because it was cramping up so badly! The next morning I couldn’t even walk on it, but I went to Bikram anyway… and guess what? It was 100% normal afterwards! Hot yoga is miraculous!!!

The trail follows the river for the first mile or so. The dogs enjoyed dipping into the water.

I took along almonds and clementines as snacks, along with lots of water and coconut water. I would have loved to have some jerky or prosciutto too! Not sure if you can see very well in this pic, but there are callouses forming on my hands from climbing and crossfit.

The upper falls!

The middle falls were much more spectacular.

Elk Round Steaks

When I got home, I made myself elk steaks! Look at how dark and lean the meat is! I really enjoy the flavor of elk. It’s mildly gamey and tender if you cook it right. I sear both sides on a cast iron pan and stick it in a 400 degree oven for only about 2 minutes for perfect medium rare steaks. These steaks were pretty thin and they cook much faster because of the lack of fat. I seasoned them with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and Italian seasonings.

While the steaks were good plain, I couldn’t help but make the balsamic vinegar, chicken broth and shallots sauce that I first mentioned in this previous post. This time I added some garlic to it. SOOOO GOOD. I would have loved mushrooms with this. I have more ideas for the rest of the elk meat I have. I think a huckleberry sauce with mushrooms would be awesome with it!

I’m definitely going to be trail running every saturday morning from now on! 5-10 miles with plenty of elevation gain. I love being outdoors in the fresh air amongst all the trees I love so much.

Posted in Activities, Paleo Meals | Leave a Comment »

Tags: elk, hiking, paleo, snacks

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