HG SUPLY CO. Part II

Those of you who know me well, know that I have an odd obsession with beets (I love the earthy flavor they deliver) so when I saw HG's ROASTED BEET SALAD I was committed (that and the green goddess dressing, oh and the szechuan pecans.)  I added chicken and called it a day.  Once we got back to the hotel I had worked up an appetite from all my excitement and dived into my salad, which might I add was packaged wonderfully.

Salad in one, chicken in the other, dressing on the side.  Salads can get a bad rep, some think in order for them to be good you have to add a lot of stuff.  This (and all of HG's salads) are examples of how that doesn't have to be the case. My first bite was delightful.  The butter lettuce was the perfect base.  The beets were roasted to perfection\, fully debuting their earthy flavors and the subtle heat of the szechuan pecans perfectly balanced the creaminess of the green goddess dressing.  There were three components from this salad that really stood out to me.  The first was the szechuan pecans. They were absolutely delicious, perfect balance of heat with a slight hint of sweetness and added wonderful texture.  The second was the chicken.  It had something to do with the seasoning, I couldn't put my finger on it but I think it may have been the pepper they used.  It was perfect.  More to come on this, as I have emailed them to ask :) The third was the green goddess dressing.  I was hesitant as I'm not the biggest fan of creamy dressings but since discovering paleo mayo I've become more open minded.  It was perfection.  Perfectly complementing the slight heat of the pecans and the sweetness of the roasted beets.  As I shoved the last bite into my mouth I knew I had to learn how to recreate this recipe and that's what I did.  As soon as my plane touched done in Nashville we were off to Whole Foods to gather up the ingredients to make this delightful salad.  It wasn't as perfect as HG's but it was pretty darn close.  

Hacked HG SUPLY CO. Roasted Beet Salad

1 head of butter lettuce, washed, dried and then torn 

3 beets (I got two red and one yellow) 

Handful of whole pecans

1t of siracha chili sauce

2t of organic, coconut palm sugar

1lb of chicken breast or tenders

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Rinse beets well under water.  Place eat beet on a square of tin foil with a dollop of coconut oil, twist tin foil ends closed and place beets on a cookie sheet lined with tin foil so they don't leak in your oven like mine did :) Place beets in oven for 45-60 mins.  If you're impatient or in a time crunch at the 45 minute mark if they're soft enough you can take them out.  Let cool and then use tin foil to wipe away the skin of the beet.  Slice beets and let chill in fridge.  

While beets are roasting, pan fry some bacon, chop and put to side.  

I used a handful of pecans-all I had on hand were the chopped variety (HG used whole.) Toss them in a dry pan and add about 1-2t of organic palm sugar.  Once that starts to melt down add the 1t of siracha, mixing to coat the pecans evenly.  Once the sugar starts to break down it's just a matter of how caramelized you want them.  Let cool on a plate until you start to build your salad.  

When you make your dressing verses your chicken will depend on if you want a cold or warm salad.  I opted for a cold salad, making my chicken after the pecans.  Be sure to salt and pepper chicken, add just a little dab of coconut oil and cook until done.  Take chicken from pan, let stand for a few minutes so the chicken is cool enough for you to slice into pieces.  

Place torn lettuce pieces in vessel of your choice.  Add beets, a few pecans, bacon and chicken pieces.  

Paleo Goddess Dressing review (AKA the best dressing ever) recipe via Preppy Paleo 

2 tbs. sesame oil
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup tahini
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
3 tbs. toasted sesame seeds *Didn't have any on hand, omitted 
3 tbs. chopped green onions *Didn't have any on hand, omitted
small handful parsley *Didn't have, subbed fresh cilantro 
juice of 1/2 lemon (about 2 tbs.) *Used organic lemon juice not fresh 
1 tsp. coconut aminos or gluten-free tamari
2 minced garlic cloves
salt & pepper, to taste
Blend all ingredients well, either in a blender (for a smooth texture) or with a whisk. *I used my mini food processor and it worked well.  

I cannot say enough things about this recipe! It's full of flavor and could easily be used to compliment steak or used in a chicken salad..I will have to play with the proportions and let you know!   It does yield a good amount so just be sure to store in an air tight container.  It's our new obsession! 

Enjoy!

HG SPLY CO. Nutriment & Spirits Part 1.

I thought their name said it all...the "HG" standing for "Hunt and Gather," one of the primary principals behind the paleo diet.  But it's really their slogan that says it even better "AFTER THE HUNT, WE GATHER."  There was a friendly buzz the moment we walked in the door from good conversation and laughter.  The décor itself was rustic and friendly, inviting you to sit and stay a while.  We moseyed on over to the bar so we could order a drink while we waited for our to-go order.  We had had a late lunch of monstrous proportions and weren't hungry enough to eat then, so we had called in a to-go order to take back to the hotel.  Upon drink menus being put into our hands and a glance at their drink specials board I was fairly certain I had died and gone to paleo heaven.  Let me pause briefly in my tale to say I know a lot of you have reached out to me with questions of how on earth do I (or you) eat out paleo? Now, if you're lucky enough to live in Dallas or another city with a restaurant such as this, I hate you...if not remember my previous post you about how you should do the best you can.  It's easier than you'd think and I shall share some of my tips and tricks in tomorrow's post. With that being said, back to HG SPLY CO.  The drink menu itself was enough to make my heart skip a beat as it had concoctions so named "KETTLE BELL" and "DOUBLE UNDER" (my Crossfit friends will appreciate this.) Their infusions are made FRESH AND ALL NATURAL in house.  Again, let me pause here...no, alcohol is not paleo but when I do drink I want choices like these! I want a restaurant that actually takes the time to make their own infusions.  Because chances are if they're doing it with their drinks, guess where else they are? Yup, that's right...their food.  Makes sense, right?  OK, back to the bar.  Some of the infusions on hand were Pineapple cinnamon thyme.  Then there was a beet tequila, which they were making into a yummy inspired skinny margarita of sorts...oh and not to mention the Habanero syrup.

Allow me just a moment to point out that this simple "back to the basic's" concept is the standard that we should be expecting from our food, restaurants and grocery stores.  You should be able to recognize the ingredients in the food you choose to buy, if you need to Google them then you probably shouldn't be putting it into your body.  It's that simple...back to the bar. I sat in complete and utter happiness as I watched (and yes, drooled) as plates came out of the kitchen: BLOOD ORANGE GLAZED PORK BELLY to my left, SLIDER DUO of duck confit & foie gras and chopped brisket with horseradish pickles and HG BBQ Sauce to my right.  I was thankful we had phoned our order in ahead of time, how on earth would I have ever picked?

...I'm going to leave you hanging here.  Stay tuned for tomorrow's post about what we actually ordered-I had to set the stage for ya, you'll thank me later :) I also successfully recreated the recipe in it's glory at home, I'll share that too. Until then... :)

Summers are for salads & hot dogs

There's just something about salads in the summer...they just taste better! 

Last night I made a mixed green salad of baby arugula and spinach. The mix we bought also have cilantro sprigs mixed in and let me tell you they totally make it that much better (going forward I will always add cilantro to my salads!) To the greens I added chopped cucumbers, mushrooms, walnuts, sliced strawberries and fennel. Had every intention of making a wonderful balsamic dressing, that was until the shelf that was holding the balsamic (and coconut oil) fell. Yes, fell. It was messy and sad, mostly messy thou. After mourning the brand new bottles of balsamic and coconut oil we adjusted and made an olive oil, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinaigrette. It was all the more

rewarding because it was by mistake :)  

Paired it with organic, nitrate free "naked" hot dogs. Totally satisfied my hot dog craving! 

MIA

Sorry about my recent inactivity. My best friend and I road tripped from Clarksville, Tennessee to Bryan, Texas last Sunday. She will be attending The George Bush School of Government in the fall for her masters degree. I've been helping to get her settled into her new home and town :) 

Shortly after getting to town we went straight to the HEB (grocery store for you non Texans) as we were both craving fresh and healthy food. Imagine our surprise when we got back to the house she's renting and the stove won't light. Dinner plans quickly changed from shrimp sautéed in a pan to shrimp baked in the oven...after about 30 minutes we realized the oven (while warm) was definitely not performing its baking duties. So we again changed plans and opted for a fresh salad of baby arugula and spinach with sliced fennel, chopped tomato, mushrooms, a few halved grapes and chopped cucumber topped with some nitrate free turkey and dressed with a Dijon mustard, local Texan honey, and balsamic vinegar dressing. 

The aforementioned shrimp (after baking for an hour and a half) while not used the night of was used in this morning's breakfast of scrambled eggs. Another one for you to file away under fast and delicious. 

How to eat paleo out

It's easier than you think...hubby and I went out to dinner on Friday in Nashville to an restaurant I've been eyeing ever since we moved here.  I'm sure some of you may have heard the terms "cheat days"...I'm more of the"cheat treat" or in the case of Friday "treats." 

Now when a restaurant is so named Flyte World Dining & Wine we of course had to each start with a red wine flyte.  Paleo or not it was delicious.  As my husband would say "If the cavemen knew about wine they would have totally drank it." So drank it we did.  In honor of the cavemen.  

My hubby is pretty daring when it comes to trying new food.  I can pretty much guarantee if it's different, he'll try it.  He ordered crispy pork rillette (which were like fried, pulled pork meatballs and no they were not paleo.) He also ordered pigs tail, which as much as I love bacon, I could not bring myself to try.  He, however said it was delicious.  I went with the Tomato Salad which featured delicious, in-season, local heirloom tomatoes, sliced cucumbers and red onion.  It also came with a chili vinaigrette and chevre cheese to offset the heat of the dressing (I asked for the cheese on the side and passed it off for the husband's enjoyment.)

 For our main course J.D. ordered the beef flyte which featured bone marrow (which I not only tried but loved) beef cheek (which was roasted and very tender) and coulotte (similar to a filet.) I settled on the king salmon which was served with sliced squash, zucchini and shaved radish.  When my plate arrived I was a little surprised to find my king salmon swimming in some sort of sauce.  I didn't panic, I didn't send my plate back..I adapted and ate my salmon and veggies out of the sauce.  

It's important to remember that when you're outside your own kitchen you can't control everything.  You can only try to make good choices based on your options.  Do the best you can.  It's not the end of the world if you eat dairy or grains.  

Perfecting pancakes

There seems to be quite a few paleo pancake recipes out there and I swear we've tried them all...ok, that may be a slight exaggeration but we've made quite a few of them.  Some have called for almond flour others coconut. Some claimed unsweetened apple sauce was the trick...no wait, it's a ripe mashed banana...no, no it's almond butter.  The pictures always look encouraging but when we execute they lack the fluffy texture so desired.  If the taste was on point we could abandon our fluffy notions...but it hasn't been.  They've all been too much of this and not enough of that.  Until today-we finally unearthed a paleo "pancake" recipe that tasted wonderful!  The first batch was a bit of a struggle to determine heat of the pan and the necessary thickness of the batter...I am sad to say, this said first batch went into the garbage as the centers were under cooked while the outsides were over.  The next batch proved edible and oh so tasty! The recipe is not yet perfected as they were very thin, more crepe like than pancake but we are encouraged!

Recipe via Koa Strength 

1.5 cups of almond flour

2t coconut flour

1t baking powder

1t cinnamon

1/2 ripe banana -I used a whole as it was on the small side

4 eggs-as I sit here typing this post I realize why the pancakes weren't thicker...I forgot to add the eggs...yup, that happened. Hmmm, now imagine how amazing this recipe is WITH the eggs! I will have a do over tomorrow morning and report back...I promised honesty and honest I am.  

1 C coconut milk-I used Trader Joe's light

1t vanilla extract

pinch of salt

2T of grass fed ghee-I subbed coconut oil

You will need 2 bowls.  1 for the dry ingredients and 1 for the wet.  The mashed banana gets added to the wet ingredients, don't forget the eggs!  Slowly mix the wet into the dry ingredients.  Pan needs to be set at a low heat. ..this is where I will leave you.  To be continued tomorrow....with eggs.  Oy!

Food Fast

Without fail towards the end of the week...we just don't feel like cooking.  Yesterday was that day.  By the time our day brought us back home it was close to 7:00 p.m.  I had pulled out ground beef that morning with every intent of making a Civilized Caveman creation but come the end of the day I just could not find the motivation.  The other problem we found was even our alternative suggestions of burgers...meatballs...just seemed too involved.  So I looked around the kitchen and saw we had a butternut squash on hand.  So we preheated the oven to 400 (time will depend on how big your squash is.  When it can time to eat we just poked it to make sure it was soft.)  Cut the squash in half, scooped out it's seeds and lay it on a cooking sheet and let it cook.  We had half a red onion leftover and a red pepper-so I diced them and threw them into a pan.  I added a clove of diced garlic and let those three ingredients cook until the onions started to soften.  To that I added the ground beef, s & p, and garlic powder, letting everything cook until the meat started to caramelize. We took the butternut squash out of the oven and turned the halves face up to cool some.  Then filled the hole with the meat, onion and pepper mixture and devoured it.