I bought this awesome electric pressure cooker called an Instant Pot. This thing is king of the kitchen right now! It pressure cooks, sautés, steams, slow cooks, ferments, and lots more! The ability I am most excited about is being able to make cakes and bread in it! I thought this was so neat!! Most of the recipes I found for bread or cake are not Paleo compliant so I had to come up with one of my own! I used this steamed banana bread recipe and substituted ingredients for Paleo ingredients. The results were AMAZING! This pressure cooker Paleo banana bread is dense and moist! I am still incredibly shocked that this works in a pressure cooker!! You can get the Instant Pot IP-Duo60 7-in-1 Programmable Pressure Cooker here: Amazon

My mom used to make a very similar Pumpkin bread around the holidays! I plan to order more cassava flour and make a Paleo pressure cooker pumpkin bread! I am thinking it will turn out the same and that is really exciting!

Pressure Cooker Paleo Banana Bread!

Ingredients:
1/3 cup softened ghee
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1 egg (room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla
2 mashed, very ripe bananas
1 1/2 cup cassava flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/3 cup cashew milk (or coconut, almond, etc)
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

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Instructions:
Add alternative milk (can use coconut, cashew, almond, etc) and cream of tartar together in a small bowl and set aside. (This makes “buttermilk”)
Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
Add mashed bananas and continue to mix.
In a separate bowl mix cassava flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to wet ingredients while mixing.
Add in the “buttermilk mixture” of alternative milk and cream of tartar.
Cover with foil. If you make a foil “tent” and spray with cooking spray it won’t stick!
In a greased 7 inch or smaller cake pan (I used my AMAZING 7 inch springform pan) add the mixture.
Add 2 cups of water to the instant pot.
Set metal trivet rack in the bottom of the Instant Pot.
Lower your pan filled with batter onto the trivet.
Close lid of Instant Pot and move knob on top to SEALING.
Press MANUAL 30 minutes. The Instant Pot will start to count down AFTER it has come to pressure.
When the Instant Pot beeps finished allow it to NATURALLY release pressure. Mine took 17 minutes, but this time varies.
When the pressure is gone and you can remove the lid do so.
Carefully remove the trivet and pan. Remove the foil. Allow to cool on a wire rack IN THE PAN. Once it is cool if will easily remove from the pan.
I let mine sit out until completely cool and then put it in the refrigerator overnight to enjoy with my coffee in the morning!

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No-cook fresh cranberry salad!

This year we are not able to go home for the holidays so I decided to try to make a few of my mom’s Thanksgiving recipes Paleo! This recipe is one of our family favorites. Most people have some sort of cranberry dish on their thanksgiving table. Most of which are the canned, jello-like “cranberry” or a cooked cranberry dish. This cranberry salad is made with fresh ingredients and is served cold. It is sweet with a slight nutty flavor from the pecan. I actually eat it right out of the fridge. I find that this is better after it sits for a day in the fridge, so it is perfect as a make-ahead Paleo dish for Thanksgiving.

Fresh Cranberry Salad

Ingredients:
1 bag of whole cranberries
1 green apple
1 peeled orange
1/2 cup of raw honey (melted)
1/2 cup pecans
1 cup celery

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Instructions:
Pulse the cranberries, apple, orange, pecans and celery in a food processor until course, not fine. I would do this individually and combine all in a large bowl.
Pour melted honey in bowl and mix well with the rest of the ingredients.
Refrigerate at least two hours before serving. Stir, then serve.

The post No Cook Fresh Cranberry Salad appeared first on That Savage Life.

My favorite stoneware can be found here: www.pamperedchef.biz/katiwoods

I am ALWAYS looks for some way to pack vegetables into our mornings. We are notorious around here for a strictly bacon and eggs breakfast. This spaghetti squash breakfast casserole does just that! With six different vegetables and protein it is the perfect paleo breakfast! This dish can be cooked the night before, cooled and refrigerated so that it can easily be sliced and reheated in the mornings!

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Instructions:
First thing first… cook the spaghetti squash.
Sauté the onions, pork, peppers until cooked and tender. Set aside.
Pull apart the insides of the squash with a fork. Set aside.
Mix all ingredients together thoroughly.
Pour into a 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish.
Bake at 375 degrees for one hour. Stoneware can be found here: www.pamperedchef.biz/katiwoods
The dish is ready when the center is firm and set-up.
Cool for about 5 minutes and slice and serve!

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Feel free to add or take away any of the vegetables! Kale works great in our family and I love that it does not have a lot of liquid in it after it is cooked. Did you decide to make this? Come back and tell us if you liked it!

The post Spaghetti Squash Breakfast Casserole appeared first on That Savage Life.

Salsa verde pork loin recipe!

My friend was telling me about this super simple, delicious meal that she prepares for her family and I knew I had to try it! I used four ingredients, but you really could use only two and have it turn out fantastic! This would be an excellent main course for those who are pressed for time. It worked beautifully in my crockpot, but I am sure you could easily cook it in a pot on the stove on low. I added fresh, roasted green chilies and cumin to mine. If you would like to see the video about how to roast fresh green chilies CLICK HERE. You could also always use canned green chilies!

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Ingredients:
1 Pork loin
1 jar salsa verde (green salsa) fresh or canned green chilies (optional)
1 tsp cumin

Instructions: Place everything above in a crockpot and slow cook on low for 6 hours or until the meat is falling apart. See? Simple!

Serving suggestions:
Pulled salsa verde pork loin over a bed of fresh spinach.
Pulled salsa verde pork loin over zucchini noodles.
Pulled salsa verde pork loin “tacos” using romaine lettuce.
Pulled salsa verde pork over cilantro lime cauli-rice.
Pulled salsa verde pork in an omelet.

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The serving ideas are endless! Get creative! Heck, we re-heated it later and ate it as it was! It was insanely delicious and so ridiculously easy! This will definitely make it into our Paleo monthly meal plan!

This can also be made into puled pork by cooking until the meat is falling apart and shredding it with two forks!

The post Crockpot Salsa Verde Pork Loin appeared first on That Savage Life.

Supreme Pizza Smoked Fatty

Recently my husband bought a smoker and started to learn everything he could about smoking. For almost 5 weekends in a row we have had smoking parties and smoked every kind of meat we could think of. While on a few smoking sites we ran across fatties. Our imagination went wild with all the things we could stuff in ground meat and wrap in bacon. This is the first one we tried and it was a HUGE hit! This thing tastes just like a supreme pizza! I was really surprised how easy it actually is to put together! It takes a bit of time, but it will be so rewarding once it is pulled out of the smoker! I am pretty certain this could also easily be done in the oven, but you just won’t get the same smokey flavor.  Below I will post the ingredients and step by step pictures! If you make this please come back and let me know what you think of my recipe!

Ingredients:
1/2 can tomato paste
1/4 red bell pepper
1/4 yellow bell pepper
1/4 green bell pepper
1/4 small red onion
3 baby portabella mushrooms (optional)
8 sliced black olives (optional)
Italian seasoning
Garlic Powder
1 1/2 pounds Ground italian sausage
1 package of bacon
6 slices chopped Applegate farms pepperoni
Mozzarella or goat cheese if you tolerate it.
Norpro Cotton Cooking Twine
Heavy duty foil

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Instructions:
1) Weave bacon into a square.
2) Press out ground italian sausage (or meat of choice) to the edges of the square.
3) Season with italian seasoning and garlic powder.
4) Spread tomato paste on the middle 1/3 of the ground meat.
5) Add veggies, pepperoni and cheese.
6) Carefully fold, roll and mesh the sides together to form a log and seal the ingredients in.
7) Tie with cooking twine
8) Smoke at 275 degrees for 5 hours in an offset smoker.
9) Remove from heat, wrap in heavy duty foil and let sit for 20 min.
10) Slice and enjoy!

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Did you make this recipe? Come back and rate it!

The post Supreme Pizza Smoked Fatty! appeared first on That Savage Life.

Easy Paleo Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise is one of those food items that I crave, but unfortunately store-bought mayo is usually made with canola oil and is not a healthy option for Paleo eaters! I was so worried about how long it would take or failing miserably that it was months before I even attempted to make mayonnaise! One day I decided to try it, assuming I would fail, and to my surprise it was so easy I could not believe I waited so long to try it!  I found a recipe online and converted it to a Paleo version the best I could.

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Ingredients:
1 Egg yolk at room temperature
1 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
Juice from half a lemon
1 cup of Avocado oil (or Olive Oil)

Instructions: 
Add all ingredients to a cylindrical container. Insert a stick blender into the mixture and on low-speed begin to blend. Do not remove, move or speed up blender. Just be patient and allow the mixture to fully emulsify. I found the video below to be very helpful when I first attempted to make Paleo mayonnaise. This mayonnaise is also Whole30 and 21-Day Sugar Detoxcompliant.

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Did you make it? How did it turn out?

The post Easy Paleo Mayonnaise! appeared first on That Savage Life.

Avocado Chicken Salad

In our house we have two favorites: chicken thighs and avocado. I was really looking for a way to make a Paleo friendly chicken salad to put into lettuce wraps, but all the recipes had mayonnaise in them. I still wanted the creamy texture of chicken salad so I decided to mash-up avocado with chicken and it was a total hit! I could eat this stuff right out of the bowl! This Avocado Chicken Salad is an ultimate summer salad and is so refreshing and delicious! Here is the recipe for the Avocado Chicken Salad we made:

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Ingredients:
1 whole avocado (Remove pit and dice)
2 chicken thighs (De-boned and chopped)
A squeeze of Lime juice
Garlic (powder or crushed)
1/4 cup Cilantro chopped
1/4 cup Red Onion chopped
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)

Instructions:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and serve immediately. We serve this with either iceberg or romaine or butter lettuce leaves or use bell peppers, cucumbers or carrots to dip in it.

Paleo Avocado Chicken Salad Lunchbox

My husband took this in his Paleo lunchbox and really enjoyed it! I packed it with lettuce, bell peppers, grapes and Dang brand coconut chips. He says this will be his most requested lunch!

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Are you looking for more Paleo Lunchbox ideas? CLICK HERE!

The post Avocado Chicken Salad appeared first on That Savage Life.

My Paleo transformation after six months!

My whole life I have struggled with my weight and health. There are so many diets, pills and quick fixes and I am sure that I have tried them all. When I was in high school I was athletic. Very athletic. I worked out between 3 and 5 hours a day. Then I grew up and moved out on my own. This meant cooking my own food, drive thru’s and partying. As the years went by I had two kids and I packed on the weight and my health started to decline. At my worst point I weighed 306 pounds. My feet ached, back hurt, and legs swelled. I had constant heartburn, depression, chest congestion, coughing, headaches and I wanted to sleep all day because my energy level was so low. At that point I was AFRAID to go to the doctor because I was horrified about what he might find or say.

We do a lot of traveling. My family always dreamed of hiking, but it just was not easy for me. I would be out of breath and having to stop every few minutes. This frustrated my kids, but they were patient with me. I would circle the parking lot of grocery stores for 30 minutes before finding a parking spot up close to the door so I didn’t have to walk as far. I flew on the plane to Culebra, Puerto Rico and my hips were so wide that I sat squeezed into the seat for 6 hours. Once we got there the beach was beautiful, but walking everywhere had me out of breath and exhausted. I just couldn’t keep up!  I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted with reckless abandon. Pizza, ice-cream, fried foods and burgers were among my favorites!

After I had my boys I only wanted to feed them the best. I made their baby food and made sure that everything they needed was taken care of. I put myself last… like most moms I know. As the kids grew we began to eat at restaurants more and more. Not only was I unhealthy, but my whole family was on the same path I was on. Last summer my 7 year old wanted me to play soccer with him. It was THEN that I realized that I couldn’t. I physically could not run, jump or kick the ball because my body hurt and my lungs burned. I was so out of shape and weighed so much that I could not play with my kids. The thought of living life on the sidelines scared me to death.

At this point in our lives we were in Cheyenne, Wyoming and a woman I met at a homeschool group was telling me all about her experiences with the Paleo lifestyle. I had never even heard of Paleo before that. She was so passionate about it that it made me think that there had to be more to it! I got home and googled all about the Paleo lifestyle.  That next week I decided we were going to give it a try. I thew out everything in the house that was not Paleo approved and made my first meal plan. My husband went along with this because he was used to me trying all the fad diets. We started full throttle with Paleo the next week and committed to one month. If we hated it we would go back to our old lifestyle. In that one month we noticed changes almost right away. My acne cleared up, my weight started dropping, and my sleep was improving. When we reached the one month mark we decided we would keep going. We were not missing the grains at all. The one thing I had held onto for the whole month was my morning coffee ritual. I would pour BOTH hazelnut creamer AND heaps of sugar in it. It wasn’t really even coffee anymore. I decided that if we were going to do this and change our lives I had to get rid of the sugar and creamer. I researched and talked to my Paleo friend and she told me about coconut oil in my coffee. Believe me… I thought she was nuts. Being me, I will try anything once. Sometimes twice. So, I tried it. I have to admit, at first it was a little weird, and totally different from my super sugar coffee. I committed to a full two weeks. I was going to have my coffee that way for two weeks. I was very surprised when I ended up LIKING the coconut oil coffee. I still WANTED and CRAVED the sweet coffee though. At this point another friend introduced me to Diane Sanfilippo’s 21 Day Sugar Detox. That book is the real deal! The whole point of it is to re-train your tastebuds. I committed to the full 21 days with an awesome support group. At the end of the 21 days I was super surprised that things that were once not sweet, like carrots, were now sweet. It worked! That is how I kicked my sugar habit. Even now I can only eat a few bites of something super sweet before I push it away.

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We followed AND LOVED the Paleo lifestyle for the next few months. I fell off the horse a few times, but I got back up, dusted myself off and got back on track. Fast forward to today. Today I am 72 pounds lighter. All those symptoms I talked about earlier are gone and I started Crossfit at the local box. I am still out of shape and still overweight, but I was given a warm welcome at the Crossfit here in Helena, Montana! I am excited to be working on me. My kids see the difference and I can feel the difference! We enjoy long family hikes and cooking at home. It’s not about the weight. It’s about my health and the chance to get in the game instead of watching from the sidelines. The Paleo lifestyle has been a true game changer for our family. My only hope is that my story inspires someone who thinks that they could never do it. You can! Just try it! What do you have to lose?

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I hope that you enjoyed reading My Paleo transformation after six months! I am looking forward to updating you in another six months!

The post My Paleo transformation after six months! appeared first on That Savage Life.

Ah, Shepherd’s Pie. Shepherd’s Pie, also known as Cottage Pie, is traditionally an English dish made with lamb or mutton and topped with potatoes. We changed it up a bit to fit our diet and found it to be equally as satisfying. Spices are key in this dish. The recipe below is really modest with the spices. If you are like us and LOVE spices and tons of flavor, experiment and add more! This dish looks really complicated, but I assure you, it is not. This really is a Paleo comfort food! It is still cold here in Montana and this dish really hit the spot for dinner!

Ingredients: 
For the topping:
– 1 head of cauliflower
– 1 tbs parsley
– salt and pepper to taste
For the filling:
– 2 tbs tomato paste
– 1 orange bell pepper (chopped and de-seeded)
– 1 clove of garlic (peeled and diced)
– 2 cups beef broth
– 3 carrots (chopped)
– 3 sticks of celery (chopped)
– 1/3 cup yellow onion (chopped)
– 1 pound ground meat (we used grass-fed beef)
– 1 tsp paprika
– 1/2 tsp thyme
– 1/2 tsp rosemary
– 1 tsp black pepper
– 1 tsp salt
– 2tbs cooking oil (we used avocado oil)

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Instructions: 
For the filling: 
1.  Add bell pepper, garlic, onion, carrots and celery to a skillet with oil. Sauté until carrots are done (those take the longest).
2. Add ground meat and spices. Saute until meat is browned.
3. Add broth and tomato paste and sauté until the “sauce” thickens. Set aside.

For the topping: 
1. Core and chop the cauliflower.
2. Boil in a pan with a pinch of salt until cauliflower is easily mash-able.
3. Drain water.
4. Using an immersion blender (or other masher/mixer) start mashing the cauliflower.
5. Add salt, pepper and parsley.
6. Continue mashing until you have “mashed potatoes”. Some people like theirs chunky, others like theirs smooth. Do what works best for you.

Put it all together: 
1. Pre-heat over to 400 degrees.
2. Using a ramekin or casserole dish, layer the bottom with the filling mixture.
3. Scoop and spread the cauliflower mash on top.
4. Bake at 400 degrees until the top of the mash is browned and the filling is bubbling. This took us about 30 minutes, but every oven is different.
5. Remove from oven and let sit for about 5 minutes to let it cool and firm up.
6. Serve and enjoy! We ate this as a complete meal, but you could certainly add a side salad or other green vegetables. We also topped it with some green onions that we had.

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Did you make this recipe? Leave us a comment and let us know how it turned out!

** ADD your healthy recipe to our Link-up!**

The post Paleo Shepherd’s Pie 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.