I posted these on my Facebook page and everyone wanted to know my recipe. Honestly when I posted them I didn’t have a real recipe. These are so easy I just toss everything in a muffin pan, bake, cool and store so they can be reheated all week for breakfast. My boys love that they can pull it out of the refrigerator themselves and toss it in the microwave. When we reheat these we only heat them for around 40 seconds, otherwise they will get crunchy.

My general recipe for a 12 muffin tin:
12 eggs (we strongly prefer farm fresh)
2 heaping tbsp of cooked meat (we use turkey breakfast sausage, ham or bacon would work well also)
Various vegetables. If the veggies are hard like peppers, onions then we pre-saute them until they are soft. If the vegetable is already soft like spinach, kale or arugula we just toss it in.

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Directions:
Grease each cup of the muffin tin. We use a Pampered Chef tin so I don’t use liners.
In a large bowl scramble your 12 eggs.
Place 2 tbsp of meat in each muffin cup.
Add vegetables to the top.
Fill each cup with egg about 3/4 of the way to the top. The egg will expand.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 35 minutes until the tops are golden and the centers are no longer runny.

To order your own non-stick awesome muffin pan please click here: Kati Woods Pampered Chef

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If you really want to change it up sometimes we add spices like creole seasoning or garlic. The boys really just like the turkey sausage and egg muffins. Experiment a little and see what your family likes!

The post Breakfast egg muffins appeared first on That Savage Life.

I am on a quest to find what the average family spends a month on groceries! I polled a ton of people on Facebook and I would love input from my readers!

What do you spend a month on groceries for your house?

How many people do you feed?

Do you buy some, all or no organic foods?

Click the picture below and it will take you to Instagram so that you can be a part of the conversation! If you don’t have Instagram that is ok! Leave me a comment here!

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I’m doing a little research for my blog and would love for my readers to answer this question for me!! Leave a comment here or send me a dm please! Also knowing if you buy all organic would help too! #research #blogger #foodblogger #food #help #question #feedbackneeded #qa #answerthis #paleo #weightloss #budget

A photo posted by Jennifer Hodgkiss (@the_paleo_gypsy) on Sep 15, 2015 at 11:10am PDT

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The post What is your monthly food budget? appeared first on That Savage Life.

We found ourselves with an abundance of overly ripe bananas. What I was wanting was Paula Deans Banana Cake with cream cheese frosting, but we all know that would have been a terrible idea! This recipe is my attempt to replicate the taste of Paula’s famous cake in a bar format that my family can eat.  The boys wouldn’t stay out of it and the entire pan of Paleo Frosted Banana Bars were GONE in less than 24 hours. My husband might have helped a little! These are great as dessert, but they are super awesome in the morning with a cup of black coffee! I like mine without the icing, but the boys really ladled their icing on! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!

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Paleo Frosted Banana Bar recipe:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Butter or Ghee
3 cups Casava flour or a mix of almond/coconut flour
2 cups Coconut Sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Himalayan sea salt
3 eggs beaten
3/4 cup coconut oil
4 large very ripe bananas mashed
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions: 
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) In a large bowl gently combine butter, flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, eggs and oil. Don’t over mix. Just mix enough to combine ingredients.
3) Mash in banana, pecans and vanilla.
4) In a greased (you can use coconut oil) bar pan press the dough all the way to the sides.
5) Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes until the dough is firm and cooked lightly golden brown.
6) Allow to cool completely and drizzle icing just before eating! (Recipe for icing to follow!)

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Icing:

Ingredients:
1 can COLD coconut full fat milk from the refrigerator.
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions for icing:
1) Open can and drain off the liquid. The fat should be solid.
2) Add coconut milk fat and vanilla in a bowl and whip with mixers until fluffy.
3) Drizzle and enjoy!

** You can also use a cashew cream cheese, but I have not tried this yet!

The post Paleo Frosted Banana Bars appeared first on That Savage Life.

Purple Sweet Potatoes

Purple is probably one of my all time favorite colors. Boy was I surprised to find out that PURPLE sweet potatoes existed! We discovered them while looking through Pinterest and I asked our local grocery store to order them for me. It took them a few months to actually get them in, but I was so excited once I had them in my hands! These potatoes are so vibrant and fun to work with. Plus the kids think they are really cool!

Our favorite way to eat them is first baked, then pan-fried in coconut oil. Using this method to cook them does something magical to them. The outside gets a delicate, sweet crispy layer while the inside is bright and soft. They are crunchy, soft, sweet and we like to add a little salt to the outside to give it a little salty kick. These are so good that my husband request them for his lunch. He eats them cold right out of his lunchbox. Below is our method of cooking them, but I will also link you to some other amazing recipes that I am dying to try!

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Instructions:
1) Wash the purple sweet potatoes.
2) Slather coconut oil on the skin of the potatoes.
3) Place on baking sheet in oven.
4) Bake at 400 degrees until a knife is easily inserted into the potato. Usually this takes around an hour, but it will vary depending on the size of the potato.
5) Remove from oven and allow to cool.
6) Slice into round disks.
7) Put a few tablespoons of coconut oil in a frying pan on medium heat.
8) Fry purple sweet potatoes until the outside is darker and crispy.
9) Lightly salt if desired.
10) Enjoy right away or store in an airtight container.

Check out these other interesting recipes for purple sweet potatoes:

Mashed Purple Sweet Potatoes:
http://jeanetteshealthyliving.com/2013/11/mashed-stokes-purple-sweet-potato.html

Purple Sweet Potato Muffins:
http://jaybirdblog.com/purple-sweet-potato-paleo-muffins-with-rosemary-golden-raisins/

Sweet Potato Gnocchi:
http://sarahlynnsmile.com/2014/01/08/paleo-purple-sweet-potato-gnocchi/

Sweet Potato Soup:
http://balancingpaleo.com/2013/12/15/purple-sweet-potato-soup/

Sweet Potato Brownies:
http://morethanpaleo.com/sweet-potato-brownies/

The post Purple Sweet Potatoes appeared first on That Savage Life.

Silky Paleo Pumpkin Pie

It is that time of year when the leaves are changing, the weather is crisp and pumpkin EVERYTHING is available! I can only handle seeing so many pumpkin desserts before I have to try to make them myself! I made this pie and put it in the fridge to cool and set-up while I was at work. I got home and my husband and kids had devoured almost all of it leaving me a small piece to try. Luckily I was able to get pictures before they claimed it.

My goal here was to have a thick, silky pumpkin pie. The cream of the canned coconut milk really makes a huge difference in the way the pie turns out. It is easy to remove just the cream. When in the can the coconut milk will separate from the cream. Don’t shake it up or incorporate it at all. You want to pour off the liquid or just scoop out the thick, creamy part to use and discard the liquid. Once all the ingredients are mixed together put them in the blender or a food processor. This is the best way to fully puree’ all the ingredients and make your pie nice and smooth.

Ingredients for almond flour pie crust:
2 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup palm oil shortening
2 Tbsp raw honey
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions for the almond flour pie crust:
1) Combine all dry ingredients.
2) In a separate bowl combine all wet ingredients. Be sure to melt palm oil before combining.
3) Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
4) Press into a round pie plate.
5) Fill with pie filling

Instructions for paleo pumpkin pie filling:
1) Combine all ingredients into a blender or food processor. Blend very thoroughly until mixture is smooth and silky.
2) Pour into prepared pie crust.
3) Wrap pie crust with foil or pie crust protector.
4) Bake at 350 degrees for 45 min.
5) Remove from oven and allow to cool in refrigerator until pie is set firmly.
6) Slice and enjoy with some delicious coffee.

The post Silky Paleo Pumpkin Pie appeared first on That Savage Life.

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Since starting our Paleo journey I have been on a hunt for the PERFECT chocolate chip cookie recipe. I wanted a cookie that was soft and chewy and that still tastes good the next day! I also wanted a cookie that took very little time to prepare and a recipe that was not full of complicated instructions or hard to find ingredients. I heard rave reviews about Against All Grain’s Real Deal Chocolate Chip cookies and decided to try them. I checked out the recipe, but I didn’t have all the ingredients. I substituted some ingredients and let me tell you, these cookies are blow-your-mind good!! My husband and kids ask for them often! My husband’s co-workers have tried them and friends of mine have had them and not a single person disliked them! They are THAT good. Just trust me and try them for yourself! The best part is these cookies are gluten, soy, grain and dairy free!

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup ghee (you can use grass-fed butter if you tolerate it)
• ¼ cup coconut palm sugar (We like Navitas Naturals Organic Coconut Palm Sugar)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons raw local honey 
• 1 large egg
• 1½ cups almond flour (We like Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour)
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour (We like Nutiva coconut flour)
  
• ½ teaspoon baking soda 
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup chocolate chips (We like Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Chips)

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Instructions:

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
-Using a food processor (or high powered blender) mix ghee, coconut sugar, honey, vanilla and egg until smooth and combined.
-Add almond flour, baking soda, salt and coconut flour and mix just enough to combine ingredients. If you over mix baked goods tend to get hard once they are cooked.
-Scrape sides down and add in chocolate chips of your choice. Mix with a wooden or rubber spoon.
-Form 1 1/2 inch dough balls and place on a cookie sheet. We use a Pampered Chef stoneware, but you can also add a Silpat or parchment to your cookie sheet and it will be fine.
-Cookie do not spread much so you will need to form them as you would like for them to come out.
-Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are golden browned. The cookie will still be soft to the touch in the center. Remove and let sit and cool on a baking rack.
-Best enjoyed right away, but if you need to save any cookies place them in an air-tight container.

The post Perfect Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies! appeared first on That Savage Life.

It is almost a nightly occurrence that my 5 year old excitedly ask “what’s for dessert?”. Most of the time we tell him we aren’t having dessert, but last night I decided to create something quickly, easy and healthy! We don’t usually keep (or make) Paleo-fied treats in the house because we want to get used to not having sweets around, even if they are better for you than tradional sweets.  When I originally “went Paleo” I did Diane Sanfilippo’s 21 Day Sugar Detox and it gave me the opportunity to re-train my tastebuds. After the 21 days I no longer craved sweets the way that I did pre-paleo. Now, we don’t eat ice-cream, candy, or other sugar laden and processed foods for dessert. Instead we create our own tasty sweet treats from the healthy ingredients I do keep in the house. This is great because WE control how much sugar goes into the dessert and how much sugar our boys consume. The kids helped me search the kitchen for something cookable that we could turn into “dessert” and were super excited with the outcome of their experiment! There is only four ingredients so grab a banana and get started!

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana
1 tbs coconut oil
1tsp cinnamon
1 tbs raw honey

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Instructions:
Peel and slice the banana (we made circles, but you could slice lengthwise).
Heat coconut oil in a skillet on medium heat.
Add diced bananas and cinnamon to the oil.
When the bananas start to brown flip them.
As the bananas start to brown on the other side, drizzle the raw honey onto the cooking bananas.
Let the honey melt and warm while you flip the cooking bananas again.
When they are browned and warm, serve in a bowl!
You could even add coconut cream to this!

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What is your favorite, simple, Paleo dessert?

The post Fried Banana Dessert appeared first on That Savage Life.

Here in Montana the sun is shining, the birds are chirping and we are pulling out our grill and dusting it off (before the cold comes back)! We are Texans and if you know anything about Texans it’s that we like our spices! These jalopeno poppers will hit the spot if you are looking for something spicy and Paleo friendly for your next barbecue get together or tailgate party! The traditional stuffed jalopenos have cheese of some sort in it. Pre-paleo we stuffed it with everything from Boursin to cream cheese to cheddar. Now that we don’t have dairy in our diets we were seeking a creamy alternative to the cheeses. That is how guacamole stuffed peppers were born! We already had guacamole made up (I can add the recipe later) so I sliced the peppers down the center, stuffed them with guacamole, wrapped in bacon and stuck a small skewer stick through them. My husband grilled these, but you could just as easily make them on the stove top in a skillet. We thought for sure that when they were cooked that the guacamole would turn brown, but we were surprised to see that it stayed green (and delicious)! What started as some kind of experiment turned out to be a hit! Now we will be making these for every get together! Here is our version of guacamole stuffed peppers.

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Ingredients: 
Large jalopeno peppers (As large as possible)
Guacamole (either pre-made or home made)
Bacon
Mini-Skewers or large toothpicks

What other Paleo friendly foods are BBQ must-haves? Leave us a comment and let us know!

The post Guacamole Stuffed Peppers appeared first on That Savage Life.

Easy Paleo Snacks

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The kids and I are always looking for ways to change up our snacks at home.  We got tire of apples with almond butter, celery with nut butter, and sweet peppers and guacamole. We decided to try some of the ones that were suggested to us by friends. Some of these sounded really weird, but once we put them in our mouths they were DELICIOUS combinations! Some we ate together and some we pulled apart and ate each food separately. You’ll just have to see how you like it! We use nut butters a lot around here. Our all time favorite cashew butter is Artisana creamy cashew butter which is raw and 100% organic. It is by far the creamiest of nut butters we have ever tried! We even keep it in the glove box of my car and eat it right out of the little pouches when we are hungry on the run! Have you tried dates? We were a little skeptical of them, but we tried them anyway and ended up really liking them! I keep them in the refrigerator so they are cold and firm when we eat them. The kids snack on them right out of the fridge. I am told that dates can be wrapped in bacon and cooked. I could see how the sweetness of the date and saltiness of the bacon could go really well together. That will be another post for another day! If you are doing the 21 Day Sugar Detox the apples can easily be substituted with green apples and would be just as tasty!  We love to hear from our readers! Do you have a favorite, healthy snack that you love? Share it with me by leaving a comment on this post!

Grapefruit and boiled eggs:

Dates filled with cashew butter:

Apples wrapped in salami:

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What are some of your favorite Paleo or Primal snacks? We want to hear from you!

The post Easy Paleo Snacks appeared first on That Savage Life.

The readers of PoorPaleo.com asked for a meal plan and this is our response! Our family is big on simple, easy, inexpensive Paleo meals that our whole family will eat. You won’t find a lot of “Paleo-fied” breads, muffins, or desserts because I don’t always have time to make these and I really think these should be classified as treats when they ARE made. A lot of readers ask me if my kids eat the foods that I feature here. The short answer is yes. In our house I (Jennifer) am the one and only grocery shopper and meal preparer. Basically if I don’t want my family to eat it, I just don’t keep it in the house. We don’t have anything in our pantry that is processed or in a box unless it is Paleo friendly. My youngest has food allergies and cannot eat anything with artificial dyes so there is absolutely none of that in our home. I try really hard to keep fresh veggies cut up in the fridge, fruits on the counter, nuts and other easy, healthy snacks handy in the pantry. Believe it or not, after the first month of the whole family being Paleo the kids just stopped asking for the junk we used to buy. This is our simple and inexpensive approach to whole family health…

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Breakfast (any combo of these)-

Eggs scrambled dry (no dairy)
Eggs fried in coconut oil or ghee
Bacon
Ham
Avocado
Sautéed vegetables (we have veggies with every meal)
Omelet or scramble (egg, meat, veggies)
Pork sausage

Lunch-

Buffalo chicken tenders wrapped in romain lettuce
Tuna avocado boats
Chicken legs and veggies (My kids love this)
Ham and green beans (Another kid favorite)
Meat roll ups with lunchmeat (Applegate farms) and veggies like peppers

Snacks (any combo of these)-

Boiled Eggs
Avocado
Guacamole
Banana
Apple
Almond Butter
Cashew Butter
Grapefruit
Tomato
Ham
Pepperoni (Applegate farms)
Summer Sausage (Organic Prairie)
Sweet mini peppers
Almonds whole and slivers (raw)
Cashews whole and pieces (raw)
Snap peas
Dehydrated fruits

Dinner:

Monday– Spaghetti squash with ground grass-fed beef and marinara
Tuesday– Beef fajita bowl with a side of Spanish Cauli-rice
Wednesday– Baked chicken legs and asparagus
Thursday– Paleo pizza (meatza) and side salad with balsamic vinegar
Friday– Paleo Chili in the crockpot and a side salad
Saturday– Paleo Chili leftovers and a side salad
Sunday– Grilled chicken thighs with grilled zucchini and squash.

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What is on YOUR meal plan this week? Leave me a comment and share your ideas!

The post Paleo Meal Plan Week 2 appeared first on That Savage Life.