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.

If you have been a reader here for a while you know we love SIMPLE and easy recipes that the whole family will love. These bacon wrapped chicken tenders are always in high demand with the kids. Ok, with the kids AND the parents. The bacon keeps the chicken tenders moist and delicious! These took just minutes to prepare and were devoured shortly after cooking!

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Ingredients: 
Chicken tenders
Bacon

(Yes, that is IT!)

Instructions: 
– Season chicken with what ever seasoning you like for chicken. This time we just did salt and pepper. I like to season first so that the seasoning stays between the chicken and the bacon and makes it much more flavorful!
– Wrap each individual tender with bacon and place in a skillet seam side down.
– You don’t need any oil because the bacon will make it’s own!
– The trick to making the bacon stick without toothpicks is to lay it seem side down and do not touch it or move it until the bacon on the bottom is crispy and “sealed” together!
– Once you see that it is done, flip and cook other side until lightly crispy.

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We paired this entree with a side salad and onion garlic green beans. All of which the kids loved! It is really a family friendly meal that is easy to prepare! I have seen people prepare Paleo mayonnaise or Paleo ketchup, but it tasted great without being dipped in anything.

Have you made this meal? Leave me a comment and let me know if you love it!

The post Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenders 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.

My husband and I try to cook on the grill every weekend. We cook enough to eat for the entire week and incorporate into our dinner and lunch meals. This weekend we grilled some seasoned skirt steak to slice up for Fajitas! We also use the same skirt steak in our omelets and to top our salads with! I use either Montreal Steak Seasoning (Not super Paleo) or Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute to season our beef with! This is a simple and easy to put together meal that we eat often because we loved traditional fajitas!

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There are a couple of ways to eat this. You can chop everything up and throw it in a bowl to make a fajita bowl, or you can use the romaine leaves as a wrap for the rest of the ingredients. The wrap can be kind of messy, but if you are wanting a true fajita this is the way to go! Either way it is a delicious, healthy and satisfying meal!

I get asked many times if my kids eat what we eat. My 7 year old will eat almost anything, he has no problem with greens and “strange” ingredients. Now, my 5 year old is super picky. For this meal he would have taken the strips and dipped them in the guacamole. We don’t change our meal plans for the kids, they eat whatever it is that I fix and this works well for our family!

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For other dinner ideas check out our DINNER CATEGORY!

The post Paleo Fajitas! appeared first on That Savage Life.

Paleo Meal Plan Week 1

Breakfasts:
Eggs
Sausage
Bacon
Veggies
Ham
Fruit (Limit to two a day)

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Snacks: 
Avocados
Almonds
Cashews
Boiled Eggs
Grapefruit
Guacamole
Nut butters (Almond or cashew)
Veggies (celery, carrot, cucumber, jicama, sweet peppers, bell peppers)

Lunches:
Chicken Legs
Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Vegetables (Canned, fresh, frozen)
Canned Salmon
Pepperoni (Applegate Farms)
Lunchmeat (Applegate Farms)

Dinners: 
Monday- Wild Caught Cod (baked) with super veggie salad and homemade balsamic vinaigrette.
Tuesday- Buffalo chicken lettuce wrap with tomatoes and bell peppers.
Wednesday- Steak, mushrooms, and onions with mashed butternut squash.
Thursday- Zucchini noodle spaghetti with red sauce marinara and chicken sausage.
Friday- Chicken Legs and green beans.
Saturday- Mexican Cauli-Rice with diced chicken and avocado.
Sunday- Grass-fed beef bun-less burgers with asparagus.

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What are YOU eating this week?

The post Paleo Meal Plan Week 1 appeared first on That Savage Life.

As some of you know we travel a lot! If you don’t know you can check out our travel blog HERE. Before we started eating Paleo foods we would just eat whatever we found at convenience stores or gas stations. This lead to us feeling tired, sick and ran down during and after our trip. In September, after two years of eating typical road-trip foods we were sick of it! Our weight was up significantly from the years before, our bodies were sluggish and tired and the kids were cranky and their behavior was all over the place. We decided then that we would always be prepared. We decided to pack our own foods to bring with us in the car on every trip. We did this whether it was a short trip to the park or a long trip across the country. We even packed our own healthy food options in our backpack on our flight to and from Culebra, Puerto Rico. We found that this was greatly helpful as it cut down on last minute stops for fast food and just grabbing something from the gas station to snack on.

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After 6 months of packing our own healthy snacks to take with us in the car we noticed great changes! As a couple we were down almost 80 pounds, the kids behavior and moods became calm and manageable, we felt better than we have in 10 years, and the kids don’t even ask to eat at a fast food place because we have easy “fast food” right there in the car!

These are a few of the healthy snacks we packed recently on our last trip from Alabama to Kansas.

Vegetables:
Avocado
Celery
Carrots
Cherry Tomatoes
Cucumber
Sweet Peppers
Jicama
Bell pepper strips
Kale chips
Greenola

Fruits:
Apple
Banana
Orange
Strawberries
Dried fruits (We make our own here)
Fruit leather
Dried coconut pieces (Trader Joe’s has some awesome ones!)
Grapes
Peaches

Dairy:
Boiled egg
Cheese
Cheese sticks

Meats:
Ham
Pepperoni (We love Applegate Farms!)
Salami (Applegate Farms brand)
Summer Sausage (Natural grocers sells a delicious one!)
Beef Sticks (Grass-fed, farm fresh if possible!)
Jerky (Home made from grass-fed meats if possible)

Nuts:
Cashews (Cashews Whole Raw)
Almond slivers (Wonderful Almond Accents Sliced Almonds)
Walnuts
Almond butter (Woodstock Farms Raw Almond Butter)
Sunflower seeds
Pumpkin seeds

A few tools that make packing your own healthy snacks easier:
Igloo Legend Cooler
Ziploc Snack Bags
Jello Shot Cups with lids
Blue Ice Flexible Ice Blanket

We divide and measure everything into approximate 100 calorie size portions. The snack sized baggies are perfect for portion control. I use the Jello shot cups with lids in our house all the time! These are wonderful for almond slivers (2 tbs serving size) and for nut butters! They are small and easy enough for the kids to use!

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Want to know what the single most important thing to consume on a road trip is? WATER! Water will help you stay hydrated and regular. It will keep you from mindless snacking and help you feel full. Sure, you’ll have to make more bathroom stops along the way, but your body and mind will feel so much better when you get where you are going!

What would you add to the list of Paleo healthy snacks for traveling? 

The post Healthy snacks for traveling! appeared first on That Savage Life.

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Zucchini Noodle and Sausage Spaghetti: 

What’s in it: 

Zucchini (Sliced using mandolin and knife)

Chicken Sausage

Garlic cloves sliced

Coconut oil (refined)

How it’s made: 

Cook sausage in about a tsp of coconut oil, remove from pan, slice.

Toss zucchini and garlic slices in pan and cook together, pouring off excess water from zucchini as you cook it.

Toss everything back in pan. Heat sufficiently. Enjoy.

Linked on LittleHouseLiving

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