Bread-less Sandwiches and a Paleo Meal for Date Night

I’ve been feeling pretty good the last couple of days and I am so grateful for that. Still on the tail end of this cold (congested and sore throat, but very mild) and oral lesions are mild. So I’ve been able to expand on what I’ve been eating and add in some crunchy leaves (that are really difficult to eat when I’m having lots of issues with my mouth). Considering my recent switch to grain-free, being able to eat leaves is nice because I can wrap traditional sandwich fixings in a leaf and BAM- easy meal.

For example:

Grass fed uncured beef hotdogs with organic ketchup and mustard, and raw sauerkraut on a romaine lettuce leaf, with a side of crunchy carrots and hummus.

And breakfast this morning was egg “sandwiches”. Uncured ham and an egg fried in coconut oil, topped with avocado and a side of fruit (the purple thing is a pluot, the yellow is a “flavor grenade” pluot, and everybody knows what an orange looks like).

Some other notable (and mostly paleo) things I’ve been eating lately…

Sardines are supposed to be really healthy. Great way to get those omega 3’s we hear so much about, and lower in mercury than most other fish, particularly canned fish like tuna and salmon. Problem is, I don’t really like sardines. It seems weird that all their bones are in there, and they really need to be prepared in a way that complements their flavor. I’ve had them on crackers with a bit of mustard before, which was good. But crackers (even gf ones) aren’t an option for me anymore. So I found a recipe online for coconut crusted sardines. I love coconut shrimp, so I figured I’d try it. Rinsed the sardines, dredged them in an egg wash, then coated them with coconut and sautéed them in coconut oil. Dipped them in organic mustard. Not too bad.

And for our date night (at home, because I really can’t eat out very easily and this is cheaper anyway) we made (yes, my husband helped) the recipe for meatloaf muffins from my favorite cookbook, Against all Grain. Topped with some organic ketchup and mashed cauliflower. With a side of oven roasted asparagus. Very delicious and comforting meal. (I made a double batch, so we have lots of meatloaf muffins in the freezer for quick meals when we’re busy- or for when I’m sick).

And date night dessert was sliced pears, tossed in coconut oil and cinnamon, and roasted in the oven. Then topped with coconut cream (from the top of a refrigerated can of coconut milk- organic and BPA free) enhanced with a little local raw honey and vanilla extract. Soooo good.

This paleo thing is going to be fun. 🙂

Saturday

Woke up with a headache this morning. Thinking it’s partially due to dehydration and partially due to blood sugar imbalance because of my sweet, high carb dinner last night. I drank lots of water and had this for breakfast (brown rice with sautéed beet greens and an organic egg)… and the headache immediately started to improve. I rubbed some essential oils (clove, lavender, chamomile) around my shoulders and neck, an inhaled them from my hands for a bit. The headache was gone in a couple of hours. Yay for avoiding Advil!

Carrot/ginger/orange juice. Great immune booster with all the vitamin A from the carrots and vitamin C from the orange juice. And the ginger revs up your digestive system. I’m building up my tolerance to the flavor and heat of ginger in my juices, and am using more and more every day. It has so many medicinal properties. I ended up drinking more than 48 ounces of this juice throughout the day, this was just my first glass.

Lots of snacking going on today. Gluten free toast with natural peanut butter, cinnamon, and xylitol.

Hummus and gf crackers.

Sweet treat: banana chips. (These do have some added sugar. I don’t know WHY they do that. I’m sure they’d be sweet enough on their own.)

Mouth is feeling irritated, so I’m reverting to comfort food. Good thing my new comfort food is super healthy. Mashed roasted cauliflower with garlic and onions. It doesn’t look too pretty, but it’s soooo good. This would make a good dip, too. But I just ate it straight, like mashed potatoes.

Blackberries.

Really dragging and feeling tired tonight. The in-laws took baby girl for the night, and I didn’t even realize the extent of my exhaustion until she was gone. Needing something nourishing and healing. Enter my new favorite cookbook, Nourishing Meals. I made some adjustments. Used nori seaweed. Omitted the carrots (since I’ve already consumed so much carrot juice today). Omitted the chili flakes (since I’m a wuss when it comes to spicy heat). Replaced the cabbage, onions, and cilantro with chunks from my frozen nutritional boost greens (kale, celery, and parsley) leftover from juicing. And I added a container of cubed tofu. Since miso soup at restaurants always have tofu cubes and I figured I could use some protein.

The actual recipe.

My version. Very hearty.