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.

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.

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.