I thought it’d be nice to break down an easy & cheap dinner for you guys 
{ I’m apologizing in advance for the horrible picture. I didn’t want to break out the pro-equipment, I was hungry and this was a last minute blog post idea so… you guys get iPhone picture! Again, Sorry! But it was yummy if that helps?}
Anyhoo tonight for dinner I made a beef stir-fry and I know on the meal plan it said I was going to do mashed sweet potato, but it’d been a long day and I just wanted green beans {they’re easy} so alas, I had green beans and Mr. Not So Paleo had a big ‘ol helping of rice, plus I made mayo {love me some extra yummy fat!}.
So the Beef Stirfry Recipe was:
Ingredients:
• 1lb grass fed ground beef
• 1 medium onion, big dice
• 1/3 bag chopped frozen spinach
• Apple Cider Vinegar, Butter {Kerry Gold}, Salt + Pepper
How To:
• Melt the butter in a big pan and add in onions and let them soften a bit
• Once soften, add in the beef & spinach and let it start to cook.
• Half way through to the done-stage, add in a splash or two of apple cider vinegar, Salt + Pepper and let finish cooking.
Boom, it’s all done!
Process for all of this:
I had a 1/3 of a bag of spinach leftover from making Soup so I used that up, I had gotten the grass fed beef on clearance for $3.49 a while back, I got the green beans on sale in the steam fresh bag for $1.00 {I didn’t use the whole bag, just half…so yay team! I’ve got breakfast tomorrow morning!}. I’ve always got boiling-bag rice on hand, and of course the butter + onions were just in the fridge.
This is why I stress to stock up when things are cheap. I was able to put together a good sized meal, in about 15 – 20 minutes for the both of us, without having to buy anything special. It was all there, in my freezer, ready to go. I rarely if ever buy something special for a meal as far as the meat goes, I buy whats on sale and work with it.
Now let’s talk about how much this cost:
For the both of us {Stir Fry, Rice, Green Beans + Homemade mayo included} it was about $6.25 total. Which is $3.12 per person. And not all of it was finished. There’s a wee bit of left overs for Mr. Not So Paleo to have for breakfast in the morning, and I now have green beans to eat with some eggs!
So there you have it. That’s a look into one of my nightly dinners. It is totally possible to be paleo, on a budget and still eat really really yummy food.
Heyy! So here’s a quick and easy dessert idea for you for the Holidays. It’s pretty cheap to make in large quantities and it won’t make you feel all that guilty for eating!
Now in this I use a few different dried Fruits, but feel free to add nuts, shredded coconut, different kinds of dried fruit, you could add Vanilla into the chocolate {or peppermint or cinnamon}. Totally customize it to what you like! Your guests will love it and you’ll love the lack of work behind it
The ingredients are basically as much as you want, there’s no set in stone amount {which makes it even better!}
Ingredients:
• Chocolate
• Raisins
• Dried Cranberries
• Chocolate Chips
How To:
• Melt your Chocolate {I did it in a bowl over simmering water… you could use the microwave if you’re super pressed for time. Just be careful not to burn it!}
• Lay a piece of parchment paper over a cookie sheet or some kind of flat portable surface {I’ve used plates, pizza trays, cookie sheets, cutting boards, etc}. And spread your melted chocolate in an even layer over it
• Top it with your remaining ingredients or whatever you’d like {I made this for my Dad and he likes A LOT of raisins and cranberries so I went over board}. Then gently pat everything down so it sinks into the chocolate.
• Chuck it in the fridge for a few hours to harden. When done pull out and break apart. Transfer to a serving dish and either serve right away or stick back in the fridge until ready.
Boom… Easy right? Now you might be thinking this isn’t “totally paleo”, but for the holidays, for a nice treat for yourself I say go for it. Use the best chocolate you can find ingredients wise, make sure it’s dark… and you should be fine!
Happy Holidays!
The last few days before any major holiday are chaotic and slightly stressful. And what happens when life gets chaotic and slightly stressful? We tend to not take care of ourselves as well as we should… A.K.A we don’t eat as well. {well ok at least I don’t….}
So here’s a quick and easy lunch idea for you! This took me all of 5 minutes to make {if that}. If you don’t have shredded chicken on hand, use any kind of pre-cooked & cut meat! Sausage, Leftover chicken or turkey, deli meat, etc.
Ingredients:
• 1/2 a green apple
• Handful or so of Shredded Chicken
• Yellow Mustard
• Almonds
• Lemon Juice {or you could use Apple Cider Vinegar}
• Slice of Cheese {optional}
• Spice of choice {I used Italian Seasoning, Onion Powder & Dried Oregano}
• Olive Oil {just a smidge}
How To:
• Cut up apple into bite sized pieces, Add it into a bowl
• Add Chicken, Almonds {how ever much you want}, and then I added the cheese {just used my hands to tear it into smaller pieces}.
• Add in seasoning, mustard {just a few squirts}, drizzle of olive oil.
• Mix together and Boom…all done!
Best part is..this is cheap to make.. and it’s more to give you an idea on how to throw a really yummy really quick lunch together. Just adapt it to whatever you have at home!
There’s this well kept secret that I love Meatloaf…Why is it a secret? Because I used to be horrible at making it. Normally it’s either too dry or too wet or just not there flavor wise. I hadn’t made a “mini” meatloaf in so long either because I attempted it a few times when we lived in Providence and well… let’s say Mr. Not So Paleo never asked for seconds.
But the good news is… I have defeated the mini-meatloaf <insert epic fist pump here> and finally made one that is so yummy Mr. Not So Paleo will even eat them the next day as a snack! I like to make these as either a dinner {I normally do three-per-serving in that case} or I like to have them on hand for throughout the week as a snack or for breakfast / lunch!
If having these for dinner I normally pair them with sweet potato and a salad or you could do a veggie mix or even a fried / sunny side up egg would be great with it!
To make these I used a muffin / cupcake tin, mine is a 12 serving one and it makes a medium-ish sized meatloaf.
I love these things. If I could eat one food along side meat all day everyday, it’d be these Roasted Sweet Potatoes. You can cut them thickly, thinly or in the middle as I’ve done here. This will make your cooking time vary. Just watch them closely after your timer goes off and try not to eat them all before you plate them {it’s so hard to resist!}
{This batch is for two people, I generally make 1 sweet potato per person}
Ingredients:
• 2 Sweet Potatoes
• Herb of Choice {I used Fresh Rosemary, but dried herbs work great here too}
• Olive Oil
• Salt + Pepper
How To:
• Pre-Heat oven to 400{F}
• Rinse off your sweet potatoes {keep the skin on} and lop off the ends.
• Cut them in half widith wise, then in half length wise. From there continue to cut length wise to create pieces for your desired thickness. {normally I’ll cut the “middle” pieces in half length wise again because they’re so much thicker than the others}.
• Dump onto baking tray, drizzle with Olive Oil, Salt + Pepper and herb of choice {as much or as little as you want}
• Bake in oven. For thin ones start at 20 minutes, for medium ones start at 30 minutes and for thicker ones start at 40-45 minutes, and then watch them from there if not fully cooked!
Enjoy!
I like to serve these with a loose garlic-y mayo {loosen with lemon juice or water or both} or honey mustard {just use some raw honey and mustard, mix well together!}
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