Friday Five: food blogs you should be following

In the spirit of the blog's facelift, I'd like to share five Paleo-ish food blogs that everyone should be following (if you're not already). You don't have to eat Paleo to appreciate the recipes you'll find here. Delicious is delicious, no matter what kind of meal plan you follow.

1. Nom Nom Paleo: An amazing blog with lots of tasty recipes and beautiful food photography. If you happen to have an iPad, you're in luck--the Nom Nom app is equally amazing. Seriously, if my roommate's iPad ever goes missing, she'll only have to look as far as my thieving hands...
2. PaleOMG: The highlight for me here is all of the Paleo-friendly (or Paleo-ish) dessert options. Like the sweet potato brownies that I plan on making this weekend. And the sweet potato ice cream I want to make to go with the brownies. And the triple chocolate truffles I plan on making for Christmas goodie bags...and well, a lot of other stuff.
3. Civilized Caveman: This guy is pretty amazing, too. He's got some great ideas for meats, crock-pot meals, and...wait for it...pumpkin butter cups.  I'm not even going to lie. I ended up making these for a Halloween party...and have made variations on them every week since. If I hit a plateau, these bad boys will be the sole reason.
4. Against All Grain: I'm fairly new to this one, but I've loved everything I've seen on the blog thus far. The blog is good for a variety of restrictive diets, namely ones that benefit those with Crohns' disease, ulcerative colitis, celiac disease and autism. 
5. Balanced Bites: Diane Sanfilippo, one of the blog contributors, wrote Practical Paleo. So you know I love this website.

 Happy Friday! And happy reading! 

facelift time!

Now that my diet lifestyle has changed, I suppose it's time to change the focus of this blog. I mean, everything I make will still be a "Maggie Meal", for sure. But if 98% of what I make and consume follows particular dietary restrictions, I'd like the blog's name to reflect that. Especially if it means a wider viewership. I mean, the seven of you are great, don't get me wrong. But if my dreams of total world domination are to ever come true, I'm going to need more minions.

It's all about the minions.

Anyhoo...hopefully the name change doesn't turn off the handful of people following. I'd like to take this introductory post as an opportunity to offer up some information about the Paleo lifestyle to those who might not be familiar. Hopefully it's not too "in your face" or preachy.

The Paleo diet is gluten-free, so it's perfect for those with celiac disease, sensitivity to gluten, certain autoimmune diseases, poor digestion, and just about every health condition known to modern man.  The whole approach is based on the idea that the best diet for us is the one we're genetically adapted to. And what our bodies were not designed to process are the very things that foods of convenience are full of. The biggest offender? Grains.

But wait...aren't grains supposed to be healthy? Well...yes, they're supposed to be, but they're really kind of not. They're full of lectins (one of which is gluten), which can cause or aggravate intestinal damage, inflammation and digestive issues like IBS. They also contain phytic acid and other junky things that strip much-needed nutrients from your body. Grains also cause insulin levels to rise.  Know what else has these lectin jerks? Beans and legumes (including soybeans). What about dairy? Well, even though it doesn't have lectins, many people have some level of lactose intolerance (myself included). What can I say? I love the stuff, but it just doesn't love me back.

So to break it down in lay-dieters terms: Paleo is a high-protein, low-carb, grain-free, gluten-free and sugar-free diet. So you might ask...what the heck are you eating? Meat and fish. Eggies. Veggies. Berries. Nuts and seeds. And more avocado than is probably kosher. 

I'm not very good at explaining the science behind it, but I am good at giving people TMI when it comes to how this diet has affected my body. (And let me just say...I can't believe the difference.) So, in the spirit of over-sharing, here are some handy resources I encourage people to peruse:

1. This post on Simple Good and Tasty is an excellent overview/starting point. Want to learn more? Keep on reading.
2. I know I've recommended Diane Sanfilippo's book (Practical Paleo) to just about anyone who will listen to me, but I can't stress enough how much it's changed my whole approach to food, health, and wellness. If you don't want to commit to buying her big book and sifting through the massive amounts of information it contains, I suggest visiting her website and listening to some of her podcasts to get a feel for her approach. She's awesome. I really, really, really regret brainfarting and missing her book signing here in Dallas last month.
3. Robb Wolf is another genius, and the little grandaddy of the movement. I've heard excellent things about his books, but his website is also packed with information. 

Think you might be ready to try your hand at cooking a Paleo meal? Don't want to eat strictly Paleo, but want a handful of other recipe resources? Stay tuned. Up next will be a list of my top five favorite Paleo blogs. Until then, happy eating!

chicken enchilada stew

So...it's been almost a year since I updated this blog. A lot has changed in that year, and I like to think that most of those changes have been for the better. One major difference between then and now is my eating habits. For the last several months, I've been following (sometimes very loosely) a Paleolithic meal plan. I don't use the word "diet", because it's more of a lifestyle change than it is a temporary solution. In the month of October, I did a strict 30-day challenge (much like The Whole30) and dropped almost 20 pounds. IN ONE MONTH. Along with the weight loss came increased energy and dramatically improved digestive health, the latter of which I've struggled with for more years than I can count. So needless to say, I am very motivated to stick with this lifestyle change, for all of those reasons and more. 

Anyway, after following one of the 30-day meal plans in Practical Paleo (a book I think everyone on the face of the earth should have), I've started to seek out more and more Paleo food blogs and recipe sources. Yesterday I stumbled across PaleOMG and instantly wanted to make pretty much everything I saw. I was interested in making this one particular stew for dinner, but I ended up changing so much of it that it became my own little chicken stew baby. So here's the modified version. Hope you enjoy!

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or bacon grease)
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 bell peppers, chopped (I used one red and one orange, but any combination will do)
• 2 fresh serrano chile peppers, finely chopped
• 1 fresh jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 rotisserie chicken, de-boned, pulled/shredded (about 4 cups of chicken)
• 1 (28 oz) can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 (32 oz) box chicken broth
• 1.5 tablespoon cumin
• 0.5 tablespoon chili powder
• salt and pepper, to taste
• bundle of cilantro, chopped (to garnish)
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped (to garnish)
• 1 avocado (to garnish)

Instructions:

1. Heat coconut oil (or bacon grease) over medium-high heat in a dutch oven (or your favorite big stew pot).
2. Add the onion, peppers, carrots and celery. Cook until translucent, then add in the garlic. (Note: for a spicier stew, reserve half of the serrano and jalapenos, and add them in after the stew has been simmering for 10-15 minutes.)
3. Once the veggies start to get sweaty, add the pulled chicken, tomatoes and chicken broth. Give it a big stir.
4. Add the cumin, chili powder and salt and pepper. (I get a little heavier-handed with the cumin--it's a genetic thing.) Cover halfway. Once it's bubbly, reduce heat and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Spoon some in a bowl. Top with cilantro, green onions, and avocado. 
6. Go back for another bowl. This time, top it with super spicy Green Sauce from your neighborhood Pollo Regio (or, say, a random taco/convenience shop that sells their own version by the liter. BY THE LITER.) Or plop some of your homemade Green Sauce on top (Hilah Cooking has an excellent and easy-to-make version). You know what? Just promise me you'll get or make the Green Sauce. I can't live in a world where Green Sauce is ignored.
7. Dream about how good it's going to taste again for lunch tomorrow with Green Sauce all over it.