Tuna Stuffed Post-Workout Potatoes (Paleo-Zone)

So about six months ago, we stopped drinking protein shakes as part of a Whole30 that we were doing. Instead, we focused on having a real meal as soon as got home, usually within 20-30 minutes after our workout. I've really been trying to find something that is easy to make and comes out to equal parts of protein, fat, and carbs for a post-workout refuel. I found a recipe for tuna-stuffed potatoes on pinterest that was really good, but it was really fat heavy and hardly any protein and that's not what you want right after your workout. So I modified it, and almost tripled the protein and halved the fat to try and equal the proportions out. The result was really tasty and we've been loving eating it after our workouts! I've been making a batch every weekend and eating it after workouts for about a month now, and I am definitely performing better each day!

Try it out and let me know what you think. This happens to be Paleo-Zone, for the most part, but more than that it is a good amount of protein and carbs right after your workout, with minimal fats. Everyone can benefit from a good post-workout meal, not just those who are doing Zone or Paleo-Zone.

Ingredients
1) 8 potatoes of your choice (similar sized -- 2.5 pounds total) -- about 22 blocks carbohydrates
2) 2 eggs -- 2 blocks protein
3) 1 cup of chopped pickles -- about 2 blocks carbohydrates
4) 28 ounces of tuna, drained (this was 4 cans of Costco tuna) -- about 22 blocks protein
5) 1/2 cup ghee or olive oil -- 24 blocks fat
Salt & Pepper
[Equals about 24 blocks carbs, fats, and protein. Makes 8 halves of a potato, approximately 3 blocks per potato half. Perfect post workout meal!]

Instructions
1) Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2) Add a drop or two of your oil to the potato skin and rub it in. Then sprinkle with salt. This really makes the skin delicious so don't skimp!

3) Cook the potatoes for 50-60 minutes, until tender in the middle when you insert a fork.
4) Remove the potatoes from the oven, and using your cooking mitt, cut the potatoes in half to help them cool down.

5) Let the potatoes cool about 10 minutes. Once they are cooler, take a spoon and remove the flesh from the skins, leaving just a small amount on the edges to maintain the shape. Add to a large bowl.

6) Chop up your pickles into small cubes.

7) Drain your tuna and add it to your potato flesh. Mix thoroughly.

8) Add your pickles and mix thoroughly once again.

9) Add your 1/2 cup of ghee or olive oil, and 2 eggs. Mix until incorporated.

10) Using an ice cream scoop, or cookie scoop, or a measuring cup, evenly distribute the mixture into your 8 potato halves. You want them to be even! I ended up doing 2.5 scoops with my largest cookie scoop, and then pressing the mixture into the skin until packed.

11) Bake in the oven at 400 for an additional 15 minutes, until starting to brown on the tops. Enjoy! Your workouts will thank you!

Shredded Pork Hash Egg Bake (Paleo-Zone)

Our super amazing friends have been trading up grain-free cookies in exchange for them smoking us a bunch of pork. We are so lucky! I've been using the pork a lot just for salads, but wanted to try and make a breakfast-y dish with it. I used regular russet potatoes for this recipe, but you could substitute for sweet potatoes if you prefer. The result was delicious, and the apple added a nice sweetness in the background.

This meal is Paleo-Zone! Hooray! I haven't posted one of those forever. If you're not concerned with balancing your macro nutrients as much, you don't have to be quite as specific with your measurements.

Ingredients
1) 10oz pound of cooked, shredded pork (10P)
2) 10 eggs (10P, 20F)
3) 1 onion, diced (3C)
4) 1 apple, diced (2C)
5) 1.5 pound of potatoes, diced (15C)
Total: 20P, 20C, 20F -- 20 blocks

Instructions
1) Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Then, chop up your potatoes.
2) Add your potatoes to the heated skillet. If you had a pan that is not non-stick, you may need to add a little oil to ensure the potatoes do not stick.

3) Let the potatoes cook for 10 minutes, and during this time chop up your apple, onion, and your shredded pork.
4) After the 10 minutes, add in your apple and onion. Cook for an additional 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes are 90% soft. They'll cook the rest of the way in the oven.

**Now preheat your oven to 350 degrees**

5) Fold in your chopped shredded pork.

6) Transfer all of your food into a 9x13 cooking dish.

7) In a separate bowl, whisk together your 10 eggs. Then pour on top of your food, and stir to mix it all together.

8) Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, until the eggs are firm. Enjoy!

Chicken, Squash and Fig Soup (Paleo-Zone)

It's been a while since I've posted a Paleo-Zone meal on here, but we are still eating this way 90% of the time. I bought some figs at Costco again the other day, and I wanted to try and make a sweet and savory soup with them. It was actually my boyfriend's idea to mix these ingredients, and he referred back to my beef and dried prunes stew to show me that fruit could work. Plus, it helps even out the carb count to make this Zone appropriate.

If you're not interested in making it Paleo-Zone, you don't have to be as specific with the ingredient measurements. It still is super delicious, regardless!

There is some stove top cooking involved in this, so plan accordingly and do it the night before or make this on a weekend.

Ingredients

1) 2 pounds of chicken thighs or breast, cut into cubes (24 blocks Protein)

2) 2.5 tablespoons of ghee, butter, or coconut oil (24 blocks Fat)

3) 2 pounds of cubed butternut squash (11 blocks Carbs)

4) 1 large onion, diced (3 blocks Carbs)

5) 1 roughly packed cup of figs, stems removed, about 12 figs, diced into small pieces (10 blocks Carbs)

Optional: 1 cup of chicken stock or water

Optional: 1-2 tablespoons seasoning of your choice for the chicken. I used a store-bought rosemary garlic blend with no sugar or MSG.

Total: 24P, 24C, 24F

**Servings: 6-8 (6 meals of 4 blocks, or 8 meals of 3 blocks ---just measure out the cooked soup into tupperware containers and weigh them to make sure all 6 or 8 weigh the same)

Instructions

1) Heat up a large skillet over medium heat, and add your oil. Then add your diced chicken to the pan. Stir it as it browns.

                                  

2) Cut up your onions and figs while the chicken is cooking.

3) Add the onions to your cooking chicken, and sprinkle on your optional seasonings at this time.

4) Add your cubed squash and figs to your crockpot. You can also add 1 cup of chicken stock or water at this time, to make the mixture more soup-like at the end of the cooking. If you want it more like a thick stew, omit the stock/water.

5) Let the chicken and onions cook for 10-15 minutes, until the chicken is browned and the onions are translucent. Then add the entire contents of the skillet into the crockpot.

6) Stir to mix all your ingredients together in the crock pot. Then cook on low for 6-8 hours. If you want your squash to stay more crunchy, cook for 4-6 hours only. 

7) Portion out your meals and enjoy!

Pureed Coconut Carrots with Shredded Meat Topping (Paleo-Zone)

We made a big pot of slow cooked ribs this weekend for a game night we hosted, and we had a lot of leftovers the next day. Trying to make a Paleo-Zone meal with the leftover shredded meat, I thought about using up some of the awesome organic carrots we just bought from Costco. You would think that coconut and carrots don't really go together, but the coconut cream eases the pureeing of the carrots and adds a nice subtle sweet flavor to it as well. The combination of some salty meat on top of a mound of mildly sweet carrots was very delicious!

You can definitely serve these carrots as a side dish and not do the shredded meat topping, but this is an easy way to make up a complete meal with some leftovers and minimal ingredients. If you don't care about the Zone part of it, just use roughly the same measurements but you don't need to be as specific.

Ingredients

1) 2 1/2 pounds of carrots, roughly chopped (12 blocks of carbs)

2) 2 1/2 tablespoons of coconut cream concentrate (aka coconut cream or coconut butter) (15 blocks fat plus 1 block of carbs)

3) 1 tablespoon of honey (2 blocks of carbs)

4) 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

5) Optional: 15 ounces of precooked shredded meat---I used shredded pork from ribs, you could use shredded chicken/beef/etc (15 blocks protein)

Zone total: 15 protein/15 carb/15 fat (I weighed it when done into five portions of 3/3/3 each)

Instructions

1) Add your chopped carrots to a large pan and cover the carrots entirely with water.

Carrots & Water

2) Bring the water to a boil and cook the carrots until completely soft, 25-35 minutes. (Mine took 30).

After boiling for 30 minutes

3) Drain your carrots and add half of them to a food processor or large blender. Add your coconut cream, honey and cinnamon.

Ready to blend

4) Blend your mixture and then while the motor is still running, slowly add in the rest of your carrots until the whole thing is pureed. Mine took about 5 minutes to get completely smooth.

Adding in the rest of the carrots

All pureed and smooth

5) Top with shredded meat for a great complete meal, or serve as a side dish.

Delicious meal in no time!

Chicken Pot Stew (Paleo, Zone)

So this is kind of like chicken pot pie, except there is no crust on the top and I instead mixed what would have been the crust into the filling to make it creamy and rich. So it tastes like chicken pot pie, Paleo-style, but it is stew! And I pretty much call everything stew!

Man, it is freezing in Texas this week! It is 30 degrees right now and I would happily heat some of this tasty stew up and warm my insides!

Working out in this weather has been interesting...My second CrossFit competition is coming up in TWO WEEKS! Yikes, where did the time go? My only hope is that it's not 30 degrees, and that my boyfriend brings me some of this chicken pot stew for a happy post-WOD celebration!

This meal is also Zoned, but if you are not following the 40-30-30 guidelines, you don't need to be as specific with your measurements, and you certainly don't need to use as many vegetables if you don't want. But I like the bulk that it adds without the added guilt!

Ingredients
1) 1 1/2 pound of cooked shredded or diced chicken (24 ounces = 24 zone blocks protein)
2) 3 pounds of carrots, thinly sliced (10-11 zone blocks carbs)  --- you can add less if you don't want it as carrot-y, but I like all the bulk it gave to the meal
3) 3 large onions, diced (8 cups raw = 13 blocks carbs)
4) 2 cups of chicken stock (or water, but it won't give as much flavor)
5) 3/4 cup of almond flour (24 blocks fat)
Optional: Salt & Pepper to taste

I made chicken stock in the crockpot the day before, via this recipe of mine, and then used the cooked chicken AND the stock from that recipe. Easy peasy!

Instructions
1) Get out the biggest pan you have, because this is a lot of veggies!
2) Chop up your carrots and onions, and add them to your large pan over medium-high heat.

3) Let your veggies cook and soften, stirring about every 5 minutes, until they are very tender. Mine took about 30 minutes. Your veggies will slightly cook in the oven, so make sure you get them 90% of the way there in the saute pan.

***Preheat your oven to 350 degrees now***
4) Once the veggies are cooked, stir in your two cups of chicken broth and your 3/4 cup of almond flour. Mix completely.

5) Add in your cooked chicken, and stir to incorporate.

6) Pour into a large cooking dish, and put in the oven for 60 minutes on 350 degrees.

7) Enjoy! It's hot, so be careful!

Pork Apple Hash (Paleo, Zone)

It's fully into the fall season, which means that apples are finally getting cheaper! Growing up in Washington state, I am a huge apple lover. And what meat goes better with apples than pork? I remember growing up eating pork chops and apple sauce! So this hash is a take on that.

This meal is also Zoned, and it's a one pot dish which is hard to find when it comes to Paleo-Zone meals. This makes 24 blocks, so split it up accordingly!

Ingredients

1) 2 pounds of ground pork or sausage

2) 3 apples, cored and diced

3) 3 large onions, chopped (6 cups)

4) 1 large sweet potato, chopped (12 ounces)

Instructions

1) Heat up a large skillet over medium-high heat, add your pork and cook until brown.   

                                            

2) While your pork is cooking, chop up your apples, onions and sweet potato into bite-sized pieces. Try to make them all the same size to aid with even cooking.

3) Once your pork is cooked, add in your chopped vegetables and fruit.

4) Cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring often, until everything is tender and cooked thoroughly.

5) Eat up! This makes a delicious breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Plum-flavored Eggplant Casserole (Paleo, Zone)

Plum-flavored? I used prunes, which are technically dried plums. Plus, who wants to eat a prune dish? Even though prunes are delicious. Plum sounds fancier. And I like fancy pants sounding dishes that are actually super easy and rustic.

This is yet another complete meal that I have tried to make Zone friendly, so there are some pretty specific measurements in the ingredients, but if you don't care about making it zone, then just approximate it! That'll make life simpler, indeed.

Eggplant was on sale at the grocery store, and it made me very happy! So I bought a crap ton of it, and vowed to figure out a way to make it into a tasty, Paleo-Zone meal. And I did it! The addition of prunes to the tomato sauce helps even out the proportions and up the carb count, so that it's equal. If you don't want as many carbs in your meal, or you're limiting fruit, or you don't like prunes (PLUMS!), or don't have any: omit them! Easy peasy.

Ingredients
1) 3 pounds of peeled, cubed eggplant (weighed after the fact) - this was about 4-5 large eggplants (I know this sounds like a lot, but it cooks WAY down)
2) 2 pounds of ground meat (I used beef, but turkey/pork/chicken would equally be tasty)
3) 4 cups of tomato sauce (2 cans of 15oz)
4) 3/4 cup of prunes, chopped after measuring (about 20 prunes)
5) 1/2 cup of almond flour

Instructions
1) Brown your ground meat on medium heat.

Browning your meat

2) While the meat is browning, peel and dice your eggplant. Place in a colander or a large bowl, and sprinkle with a small amount of salt. This will help with some of the bitterness.

Chopped up eggplant

3) Once the meat has browned, strain it from the pan, leaving some oil in the pan to assist in cooking the eggplant. I strained my meat straight into my casserole dish to help cut down on dishes.

Drain your meat

4) Add in the eggplant to the pan with your reserved oil from the ground meat. Continue to cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes, until the eggplant has softened completely.

Add in the eggplant

5) While the eggplant is cooking, let's make our tomato sauce. In a food processor, add 1 can of tomato sauce and your prunes. Puree until smooth.

Sauce and prunes

Pureed tomato mixture

6) Once your eggplant has finished cooking, stir in your tomato mixture and add the 1 additional can of tomato sauce to the mixture. Then add in your ground beef, and stir to incorporate.

Softened eggplant

Eggplant plus tomato sauce/prunes

7) Transfer everything into a large 9x13 pan and spread evenly.
8) Sprinkle your almond flour on top of the casserole as evenly as possible.

Ready to bake!

9) Cook in the oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until nice and bubbly.

And cooked!