I am sure that you all have seen the news this week, but here's a quick recap if you haven't.  A science teacher in Iowa gave his students an assignment to change his diet.  He challenged them to plan three meals a day, that totaled 2000 calories.  The tricky part was that all these meals had to come from McDonald's.  They also were to keep the macronutrients (protein, fat, and carbohydrate) somewhat balanced.  He followed this diet for 90 days while adding in 45 minutes of walking every day.  He ended the 90 days losing 37 pounds and having a significant improvement in his total cholesterol, dropping it from 249 to 170.  I have to admit I was a bit shocked by these numbers, so let's look in detail to see how this could happen.

A science teacher in Iowa gave his students an assignment to change his diet.  He challenged them to plan three meals a day, that totaled 2000 calories.  The tricky part was that all these meals had to come from McDonald's.  They also were to keep the macronutr...

Whew! We made it through the holidays alive and healthy!  Now its time to get all of our diets back on track and do a bit of a sugar detox.  So I thought it might be a good idea to lay out my top 5 Paleo meals of 2013.  These recipes will help you get your diet back on track and give you a great start into the New Year.  Hope you enjoy them!

Paleo Asian Flank Steak

This is honestly one of the best meals I’ve ever made.  It started my love affair with coconut aminos.  The marinade was fantastic and is still one of my favorite meals of all time.    

Balsamic Chicken Drumsticks & Butternut Squash Slaw

This was one of my most viewed recipes of the year.  This is one of the best marinades I’ve ever used!  The combination of the balsamic, honey and coconut oil surprisingly marries well.  It was a close second to the flank steak marinade.  It is well worth a try again!    

Paleo Chicken Thai See Ew

The kids loved this one!  We usually use the leftovers for lunch or dinner the next...

Here we are again on January 1^st, the start of a new year.  It's a time to reflect on last twelve months and look forward to the coming year.  It's also a time to analyze what we did last year and make resolutions to do better.  Some people love this time of year, and others hate it.   I'm one who gets really excited about it, as I like decide how my year is going to turn out.   I prefer to 'decide' rather than 'plan' because when you make a decision, all other possibilities are cut off.   I love creating my goals, and removing the doubt doesn't allow my subconscious to steer me in a bad direction.

Only about half of Americans make any new year resolutions or goals for the year.  What's really sad is that only 8% of those people actually keep up those resolutions within the first 30 days.  So here are some of the things I'm using to achieve my goals so I will be in that 8%.

Set big goals and plan to act just as big - Conventional wisdom tells you to make your goals attainable, not un...

I don't often post or make dessert dishes and I always leave them up to Erin.  This was an amazing holiday treat that Erin whipped up last night.  This Paleo Toffee was absolutely amazing.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup almond butter
• ¼ cup coconut sugar
• ½ cup coconut nectar
• ¼ cup water
• 1 cup dark chocolate pieces (chocolate chips or chopped bars)
• 3 oz. square unsweetened dark chocolate
• 1 tbsp. butter or palm shortening

Directions:

1. Have your vanilla and almond butter measured and ready to go on the side
2. Line a 9 x 13 baking pan with either parchment paper or a Slat
3. Mix and heat the coconut sugar, coconut, nectar, and water in a small saucepan over medium/medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.  Bring it to a boil, and continue to boil and stir until it reaches 285 degrees.
4. Remove from the heat and immediately mix in the almond butter and vanilla
5. Spread the mixture in your baking pan. covering the bottom of the pan.
6. Cool completely for about 2 or
...

Apparently, paleo ketchup is pretty easy to over spice.  If you like big garlic flavor in your ketchup, then this one will be perfect for you.  If not you may want to think about cutting back on the garlic or using a small amount of garlic powder.  Also, I put a bunch of the other spices that you might want to try in future recipes.  Otherwise, this makes a good ketchup, but you also need to be careful not to overdo the honey as it may become too sweet.

Ingredients 

• 1/2 cup organic tomato paste
• 1/4 cup organic honey
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 2 garlic clove
• 1/4 small onion

Optional:

• ½ tsp clove
• ½ tsp allspice
• ½ tsp Ground mustard

Directions

1. Puree the garlic and onion in a food processor. 
   1. This is important because you don't want any bits in your ketchup; it has to be very smooth. 
2. In a saucepan over medium heat combine tomato paste, honey, water, apple cider vinegar, salt, garlic, and onion.
3. Whisk until ve
...

I have to admit that I don’t like mayonnaise, not even a little bit.  I think it’s a texture thing. That being said the flavors that the macadamia nut oil added makes it palatable, especially if you mix it into things.  While it is a bit of a pain to make your own paleo mayonnaise, if you love mayonnaise it is well worth it to make your own. This one is so much better than store-bought.  I seriously have to wonder about something that can be stored at room temperature or hotter before its opened.  What kind of chemicals do they have to put in there to “preserve” those flavors and keep them from rotting?

1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon white vinegar
3/4 cup macadamia nut oil 

Add all the ingredients except the oil in a bowl and whisked until the yolk thickened. Then added 1/4 cup of the oil in a slow steady stream while I whisked vigorously, this should take about a min. I used a towel around the base to keep the bowl from...

Living in Texas this may be one of the most dangerous recipes I have ever posted.  For those that live in other parts of the country, let me breakdown barbecue.  It isn’t just slathering a piece of meat with some kind tomato sauce and throwing it on the grill.  There truly is an art form to true barbecue, of the wood you choose to dry rub or marinade, vinegar vs. tomato sauces to the choice of meat.  So, like I said I am bound to step on someone’s toes on what they think true “cue” is but here is my version of a paleo barbecue sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup Coconut Sugar
• 1/3 cup honey
• ½ cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1 tbs butter
• ¼ cup Smoked Paprika
• 2 tbs garlic powder
• 1 tbs mustard powder
• 12 oz tomato paste
• 12 oz water
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a pot or large saucepan melt the butter and sauté the onion until translucent. 
2. Then put the Tomato paste, water, cider and honey into the pot over med-low temperature and simmer.  
3. Mix the dry in
...

This was a super fast, and simple, primal maple salmon filet.  This only took me about 20 minutes total from start to finish.  The flavors were awesome!  The maple syrup added a great sweetness to the salmon, and the mustard added some tangy flavors that complemented it.  

This made a great meal on a late night at the office when we didn’t have much time to cook.  If you can cook this on the grill, you may shave some time off, and the girl will add a crispy outer crust to the salmon that would be amazing.  Hopefully, you like it as much as we did!

Ingredients:

• 4 skin-on salmon fillets
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons grass fed butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, grease a glass baking dish with butter.
2. In a small bowl mix the syrup, butter, mustard, and vinegar. 
3. Pour over the salmon letting it marinade for 30 min skin side up; I did this part while I got t
...

One of the most common question I'm asked when it comes to diet is why grass-fed beef is so much better for you than conventionally raised beef.

There are actually several reasons, but it all relates to how the animals are raised and fed.  So let's look at this in detail.

All cows are born and raised with their mothers, drinking milk and eating grass until they turn about one year.  It's after that first year, where their fate is determined.  As my friend, Matthew, over at Local Yocal in McKinney Texas says, the cows then either go off to “cow college” (feedlots or CAFO Confined Animal Feeding Operations), or they stay with their family and continue eating grass and living in the fields where they were born.

Conventionally raised (feedlot), grain-fed, beef is really a lot like the typical college experience.  There usually are a lot of drugs, consumption of pretty low-quality food, and exercise is more of an afterthought.  I know for me the college diet consisted of a couple of case...

"Nobody Knows Beans About Chili 'Cause Chili Ain't Got No Beans."

I may lose my Texas residency by making this claim, but in my opinion, a true Texas chili should be made without beans.

Chili is a shortening of chili con carne, which means meat and chili. 

So here is a great recipe for a true (in my opinion) Texas Chili, and is Paleo!

Last Friday we had a massive ice storm here in Dallas that shut the city down for the weekend.  I started this meal at about 7 in the morning, and it made a great dinner at 3.  The leftovers were amazing too! 

If you would like to add some different flavors before you dice the peppers, you can roast them on the grill or in the oven just to where the skin blisters, it adds just a bit more smoky flavor. 

We served this to the kids, so I kept the spice down and didn’t add any cayenne.  If you want it spicy, then add in the cayenne or possibly habanero or more jalapenos.  Hope you enjoy this as much as we did!  If you can tolerate, dairy shredded cheese...