Bang bang!!!

Oh hi there. It's just me coming back to this blog.

He-he.

Anyways, what's been happening? I was out of Paleo for a while and I am coming back in, with a big bang.

And oh, I did a couple times of cleansing diet using GM Diet. I saw a friend doing that and I was very impressed with the result and tried it myself. When the husband and my friend came back from their trip, I did the cleansing diet again.

And because coffee wasn't allowed in the GM diet (allowed but strictly no sugar), so I challenged myself if I could rule over coffee and put it at the back shelf.

I'm glad I did. It has been more than a month since I am off-coffee.

I'm happy I am celebrating.

With a coffee.

Hehehe.

But it's not just a coffee. It's a Bulletproof coffee. I got my ingredients from a Paleo cafe in Adelaide, Australia when the family went there for a visit in June this year.

I also bought Bulletproof Upgraded MCT Oil to go with my Bulletproof Upgraded coffee. I bought one pack each so I was a bit hesitant to open them up straight away. I wanted to wait for a big moment and today, I'm kinda feeling it's the right time to do, especially after doing Samantha's hair. I really don't know the connection... but I guess it's just me celebrating something random, or randomly celebrating without much special reasons.

To make it really special and authentic, I used the exact recipe. I even dug for my  Bialetti stove top coffee maker.

Brewed coffee using the stove top coffee maker.
Added 2 tbs grass-fed butter
Added 2 tbs MCT Upgraded Oil
Blend them together.

The result is...

Divine.

Although it doesn't have any sugar.

Samantha has acquired a taste in coffee. So she really loved it. Schenker hasn't developed a taste for coffee yet and I hope he won't anytime soon because I don't wanna have a competition in drinking coffee. Hahahaha! Kidding!

Limiations don't define us.

A thought came to mind:

My national passport doesn't define me. God's favor does.

So the family and I decided at the last minute to watch X-Men: The Days of Future Past. Chose Citta Mall cinema coz it's usually not crowded in that place. Glad we got some good seats for the four of us.

I've seen X-men films before and The Wolverine. Of course, I had to watch the sequel, right? I'm glad I did coz I really enjoyed the movie.

There's one scene where Quicksilver and Charles and Wolverine saved Magneto from the prison. In that scene, all other subjects were frozen and in slow motion while quicksilver was trying to save the rest of the superheroes from the bullets.

Then there's Time in a Bottle.

I almost died.


Here's Time in a Bottle.


Here's the detailed description of Quicksilver + Time in a Bottle scene:

http://www.businessinsider.my/quicksilver-evan-peters-x-men-2014-5/#.U4K1XCgZ-P8

Time in a Bottle + Quicksilver = Ridiculously awesome!

I couldn't believe I finally got to sit down and make ourselves green smoothie. It's not just green smoothie. It's wicked green smoothie. I got some powerful ingredients, that's why.

2 stalks celery
1 bunch of baby spinach (frozen overnight)
1 apple
1 cup coconut milk
2 tbs virgin coconut oil
2 raw eggs
ice cubes

Put everything into a blender. Blend until... err... smooth.

It's protein packed.
Healthy fats included.
Fiber rich.
Healthy carbs.

All in one smoothie.

That's why it's powerful.

It's wicked.

My wicked green smoothie.

Oh, by the way, this was our dinner tonight (breakfast for dinner) after the kids and I returned from the park. And yeah, I started running again. Things we do for our kids.

Just had to do this.

Paleo chia pudding.

Will update you of the recipe later.

Here's a new discovery.

Cold brewed coffee.

It is rich in taste.

Less acidic.

Tried it with Colombia coffee from a friend.

Here's how I made this cool cold brew coffee:

Using French press place 2 tablespoons of roughly ground coffee.
Add 2 cups of water.
Leave for 12 hours.

You may enjoy it with ice cubes or with organic molasses and coconut milk. Either way is a great way to enjoy this refreshing cold brew coffee.

Here, I made a little discovery about this Malaysian desert.

It's sweet.

It's rich.

It's creamy.

But it's also oh, so healthy.

Here's a little Paleo treat just for you.

Paleo. Malaysian. Desert. 

Pearl Sago with Coconut Milk and Gula Melaka a.k.a Coconut Sugar.

Here's how I made this #Paleo treat:

Ingredients:

1 cup pearl sago
coconut milk
gula melaka or coconut sugar syrup
pandan leaf
a pinch of sea salt

1. Boil the pearl sago with water. Stir often to avoid clumping. You may boil in low heat for 15 minutes.
2. Strain the boiled sago in cool running water.
3. In a medium heated pan, place the coconut milk, sea salt and pandan leaf. Let it boil.
4. Take off from the pan.
5. Pour the coconut milk over the cooked sago.
6. Add in coconut sugar syrup to a desired sweetness.

Enjoy.

Who says one can't be healthy and have some treats, too?

It's like having a piece of cake and eat it, too. :P

Yeehaa!!! I finally made the kids paleo pineapple smoothie. They have been asking for it and so I decided to make today since I had time to do it. It's Sunday afterall and what way to spend the afternoon with the family better than having pineapple smoothie and chocolate brownie?

Yep, my chewy chocolate brownie made of raw almonds and raw cashew nuts just made its way back onto our dining table, for the 4th time.

Things said like: "This is the best brownie in the world" and "I am glad you are my mother" are truly heart-warming and encouraging to make treats for my kids. Of course, with an added "I am not flattering you, Mom. Ok?" just melts the heart.

Anyways, here's how I made my paleo pineapple smoothie:

 Ingredients:

Pineapple
A dash of cinnamon powder
1 cup almond milk
1/3 cup coconut palm sugar syrup
3 limes

Cut the top part of the pineapple and scrape the flesh out.
Place the pineapple flesh into the blender along with other ingredients.
Blend well.
Put back the smoothie into the pineapple shell.
Serve with chocolate brownies made of raw almonds and raw cashew nuts.

And have an awesome snack time with the fams.

My friend Lalaine (thanks, by the way) gave me this link of a post on how to make your own almond milk. I followed every instruction it said and I am so glad I did because the almond milk from raw almonds was really very nice.

You may click the link below to follow instructions:

How to Make Almond Milk at Home 

And so, here is mine.

It took 2 days to soak it in the water but it's quite worth it.

I added coconut palm sugar for a sweetener. Although Schenker is not a big fan of it, Samantha straight away took to liking it. or maybe, loving it.

I tried it in my coffee.

If you're a coffee lover, this is a must try.

A coffee to die for.

It will take your coffee life to greater heights, indeed.

I had one pumpkin sitting in my "store room" for almost a couple of weeks now. I am running out of ideas to cook for the kids and so I thought I had to make something out of pumpkin.

So I cut the top of it, scrape some of the flesh and thought it would be a good base for pumpkin and cauliflower soup.

 

Ingredients for Cauliflower and Pumpkin Soup in Pumpkin:

pumpkin flesh I scraped out from the pumpkin above.
cauliflower florets
homemade chicken broth

1. Steam the cauliflower florets and pumpkin flesh.
2. Let it cool.
3. Put them into the blender, add in chicken broth, blend until the desired soup consistency.
4. Put into the pumpkin shell.
5. Place inside the preheat oven at 375 F for 30 minutes.
6. Scoop out the soup and serve hot.

 Verdict: One taste and Samantha straight away said: It's one of my favorites, Mummy!

What to do with the rest of the pumpkin? I put in the fridge and made it the base for my next dish.

Minced Beef with Carrots and Spinach in Pumpkin!

Ingredients:

minced beef
a bunch of spinach
carrots, grated
garlic, crushed
onion, diced
virgin coconut oil
spices
sea salt

1. Sautee garlic and onion until light brown.
2. Add in the minced beef. Cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add in carrots and spinach and simmer for another 5 minutes. Sprinkle some spices of your choice and add in sea salt to taste.
4. Scoop out and put into the pumpkin shell.
5. Place into the preheated oven at 375F for 30 minutes.
6. Serve hot.

Totally delish!

Since the pumpkin shell has been cooked thoroughly, I served the whole thing. The flesh of the pumpkin has a very delicious flavour in it, since I used it as a base for my cauliflower and pumpkin soup.

There are two ways to enjoy your eggs on a bed of spinach for breakfast:

Fried

and

Scrambled.

I love both.

Fried - Stir fry the baby spinach in coconut oil. Break the egg on top of the spinach. Sprinkle some garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and sea salt.

Scrambled - Stir fry the baby spinach in coconut oil. Break the eggs on top of the spinach. Sprinkle some garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and sea salt.  Stir until the eggs are scrambled.

Or you can do egg omelet spinach. Next time, I'll do that.

Paleo cooking has never been more fun when you discover dishes that you love.

Because my kids deserved it.

They have been so good in eating what I prepare for them... although they don't like most of them, they're still okay to eat Paleo food.

So yeah, I made this #Paleo treat for them:

Super Fudge-y Chocolate Brownies.

It's so healthy you won't feel guilty of eating all of them in one go. It doesn't have any flour, not even gluten-free flour.

I made this with almond and cashew nut butter. I made my own nut butter because, yay, the husband bought me a new blender!

Ingredients:

1 cup homemade almond and cashew nut butter
1/3 cup coconut palm sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
2 tsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/3 cup cocoa powder


1. Whisk almond and cashew nut butter with coconut palm sugar, coconut oil and egg.
2. Add baking soda and cinnamon powder and cocoa powder. Whisk until mixed well.
3. Bake in a preheated oven at 375F for 25 minutes.

Serve with anything you like.

In my case, I served it with pineapple smoothie because, yes, the husband has finally bought me a blender replacement. Didn't I say that already?

And yeah! This chocolate brownies is such a big hit with the kids. 

Because they deserved such Paleo treats!

Update: I warmed up the brownies after school to give to the kids for their snack time:

Samantha: This is better than what Daddy usually buys from outside. This is the best in the world!
Schenker: Yes, I agree. The best in the world. Why don't you open a restaurant, Mummy?

I love 'em 'shrooms. I cook them every chance I get. I have cooked stuffed portobello mushrooms a few times but I could never get enough of 'em. This time, I am trying out baked eggs in portobello mushrooms. And it's equally good.

Paleospirit.com inspired me to make this dish. But I modify mine a little bit. I don't have prosciutto. So I went ahead without it.

So here's how I did mine.

Ingredients:

2 eggs
2 medium sized portobello mushrooms
Himalayan salt
garlic powder
paprika
English parsley
extra virgin olive oil

1. Take out the stem and scrape a little bit of mushroom meat to make way for the egg. Rub olive oil on the mushroom caps.
2. Crack the egg, making sure it doesn't run.

 3. Sprinkle with garlic powder and salt and add some diced parsley.

4. Make one more if one is not enough.

Here you go...

Put into the pre-heated oven at 375 F for 20 minutes or depends on how you want your eggs done. I like mine to be half-baked. Here it is, my baked eggs in Portobello mushrooms.

The egg ran a little bit during cooking time... but it's fine with me.

There's just a lot of health benefits of Portobello mushrooms. It is rich in fiber and simply nutrient dense mushroom. Portobello belongs to cremini family of mushrooms. Portobellos are bigger compared to other mushrooms and they take up so much space but they have little calories in them. It's pretty good if you want to lose weight.

Morning has broken.
Fix it.

I can still remember vividly when the husband and I were in London in 2010. We ate Subway sandwiches most of the time. We had it for breakfasts, lunches and dinners  while we were there... except when we went out for a pub grub with a friend, Peking duck with another friend... and Bella Italia for our last night's dinner. And of course, every morning, I would see this sign in front of Subway:

"Morning has broken. Fix it."

So I am kinda using that everytime I post something breakfast-ey.

My trip in London has nothing to do with my breakfast, really, except that every morning, I have to fix our breakfast, when the dawn breaks. :P

I would usually have a me time during my breakfast. I plan for the day, plan for our meals, and pray for my family. I would usually eat first before I wake the kids up to prepare for school.

Today is Saturday. I woke up at the same time although I asked my husband it's his turn to wake the kids up. I ended up doing it anyway. My husband likes to sleep. Oooppss. Sorry, I had to tell the world about it. LOL.

Anyways, here's a great kick for the day.

My own version of a bulletproof coffee with sweet potato bread which I prepared the night before, of course.

And once again, please forgive me for forgetting who inspired me to make bulletproof coffee. It's one of those Paleo bloggers I have been reading. Or maybe, from one of those facebook pages I have seen.

But like I said, here's my own version because I can't follow their exact recipe.

Ingredients

Freshly brewed Brazilian coffee. - (I have an endless supply for it for now because I have Brazilian friends coming in and out of the country and that's the only thing I wish for from their country to bring to me. Other things are a bonus, of course. Hehehe. )

Cinnamon powder

Coconut sugar

Coconut cream (no photo)

I just mix all of them together with the freshly brewed coffee. And I die. Everyday, I do. This bulletproof coffee, once tried, is like a song "Hotel California." Once you're in, it's impossible to go out. LOL.

So yeah, here's my latest coffee obsession:

My very own.

Bulletproof Coffee

This was one of the first Paleo foods that I prepared for the family.

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms.

Here are the ingredients:

6 Portobello mushrooms
goat cheese
parsley
sea salt
olive oil
balsamic vinegar

How to prepare stuffed Portobello mushrooms

1. Remove the stem of the mushroom. Scrape out the mushroom meat carefully as not to break the mushroom shell.
2. Dice the stuff you just removed from the mushrooms.
3. Pour a little bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
4. Crush the goat cheese a little bit and mix into the mushroom mixture.
5. Stuff back into the mushroom shells.
6. Place into the pre-heated oven at 350 F for 20 minutes.
7. Serve it as a side dish. See below image for ideas.

I have seen baked egg in avocado even before I re-started my Paleo lifestyle. And I so wanted to make it. Sorry I forgot to whom the credit is due for this recipe.

Avocado in Malaysia is expensive. One small one can cost you 1.50US$. So I didn't really give in to the cravings.

But last week, I bought a couple of them. I made one like this last week but didn't post it. I made another one today for breakfast.

This baked egg in avocado is...

Divine.

That's the right word. I could eat this everyday. But I can't be spending too much just for avocados. Besides my family hasn't adapted to its taste yet. My family is such a KJ (kill joy) but I am liking it. That means, I can enjoy avocado on my own. Hahahaha. Where did my greed come from? All of a sudden? hahaha. No worries, though... it's only for avocados.

Recipe for baked egg (I prefer it half-baked) in avocado:

1/2 medium sized avocado, scrape a little bit of meat in the middle to make way for egg.
1 egg
garlic powder
paprika
sea salt to taste

1. Take out the avocado seed and scrape out a little bit of avocado meat to make way for the egg.
2. Beat the egg onto the middle of the avocado.
3. Sprinkle it with garlic powder, paprika and a little bit of sea salt to taste.
4. Place into preheated oven at 350 F for 10 minutes. 

This is how I would binge for breakfast:

Baked egg in avocado
Banana bread
Eggplant fritata

and

Bullet-proof coffee.

Will blog about my latest coffee obsession later.

Today's dinner was simple. I missed some of the  food I grew up eating. It's a good thing I saw kulitis in the hypermarket where I usually get my groceries.

Kulitis, a.k.a Amaranth greens, a.k.a, Chinese spinach,  can be eaten raw or cookedl.

Ginataang manok (Chicken in coconut milk) is simply delicious. Add kalabasa (pumpkin) and kulitis (amaranth greens), and it will make your Paleo meal almost perfect.

It's the first time I cooked this for my family and straight away, their tastebuds welcomed it.

Anyways, here are my ingredients:

4 pieces chicken ribs
1/2 medium sized pumpkin, cubed
a bunch of amaranth greens
2 onions, cut in half
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup water
sea salt
spring onion
garlic powder
black pepper, crushed

Broil the chicken in the water with the onions for 30 minutes. Add in the pumpkin and simmer for another 10 minutes. Add coconut milk and amaranth greens and simmer again for 10 more minutes. Throw in the diced spring onions and sprinkle with garlic powder. Add sea salt to taste.

I also put 2 medium sized sweet potato in the oven. Baked for 60 minutes. And served the sweet potato with the Ginataang manok or chicken in coconut milk.

Totally Filipino food, totally Paleo.

Planned to make pizza after church today. But when we came back from church, I and the hubs decided to take a nap first. The one thing about this Paleo lifestyle is, it brings back my nap times. I actually stopped having naps after giving birth to my son. No matter how much I tried to lie down and sleep in the afternoons, I just couldn't. It has been like this for the past 9 years.

But starting last week, I could nap like crazy. It even brings back my 2-level dreams in my naps. What do you call that again? Inception? Yep. I just had an inception, only, it has two levels. I was trying to wake up in my dream, I even washed my face in my dream so I could wake up. But it still was a dream. Hahaha.

Anyways, I woke up at 6pm, finally. I dragged myself because my eyes still wanted to droop.

I intended to make pizza. It's a good thing I chopped my ingredients before I went to church today.

So yeah, we're having pizza. You may think it's unhealthy with all the carbs in the crust. The thing about living Paleo style is you can substitute a lot of things. So yeah, today, I substituted cauliflower for a flour for pizza crust.

Also, thanks to the internet for free recipes online. Who needs a cookbook now? Although of course, I would still kill for a Paleo CookBook.

Anyhows... here it is, my cauliflower crust for our pizza before putting it in the oven.

Recipe for cauliflower crust:

Ingredients

One whole cauliflower head, chop until rice-like texture
2 eggs
2 tbs dessicated coconut
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
garlic powder
dry herbs

Mix all the ingredients together. Place on a pizza dish. Place in a preheated oven at 350 F for 25 minutes.
Take out the cauliflower crust.
Put all your choice of toppings.
Put back in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
Enjoy!


It smells like Italian bread with all the spices and herbs I mixed in.

I love the smell of rocket leaves on my pizza.

Here it is after I took out from the oven.

Served 4. Just nice for the 4 of us.

I didn't quite like my tomato sauce. I accidentally made that dislike face in front of my family. The kids then blurted out: Mommy, it's not nice???

 The husband wanted to rescue, took a bite and said. "Mmmm.. It's nice what."

Schenker: Daddy, are you just lying because you want to please Mommy? It says in my book "Flattery usually works with women."

I smiled a little at my son's remark.

Kids, they grow up fast.

But I am glad that Schenker said: Mommy, can you put this in your list of my Paleo favorites?

Me, giving it back to him: Are you just flattering Mommy?

He giggled and said Noooooo.

LOL.

I am loving my family's Paleo moments.

Planned to go grocery shopping for Valentine's dinner with my family but thought of just sticking to what I had at home.

So I made this Pork Adobo, stir-fried okra with ceylon spinach and baked supposed-to-be red velvet cupcakes (because I wanted something red on my food photos - nah, kidding) but it turned out brown. And yes, I refused to use red food coloring for my cupcakes. It would then defeat the purpose of making red velvet cupcakes Paleo style.

The red velvet cupcake is actually made of beet root with almond flour but following a recipe I found on the internet blindly, I mixed some cocoa powder. Now my red velvet cupcake became like a chocolate cupcake. Will try to perfect it then I share my recipe.

Meanwhile, the family enjoyed this simple dinner of pork adobo, stir-fried okra with spinach, sweet potato (baked in the oven) and red velvet cupcake. Okay, BROWN velvet cupcake. Apart from it being brown, I am proud that I can finally make our own red velvet cupcakes and besides, they are packed with goodness and love.  I just need to perfect the red. Can't be redundant enough.

Dinner tonight was super easy.

I marinated the chicken thighs overnight, put in the freezer last night, put in the chiller this morning, and when I came back home from kids' school, I put it back to the oven for an hour.

My pumpkin with spinach recipe:

Half of medium-sized pumpkin, cubed
A bunch of  spinach
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, diced
coconut oil
sea salt

Process:

1. Stir fry pumpkin in coconut oil for 5 minutes.
2. Take out the pumpkin, sautee garlic and onion.
3. Add in the pumpkin. Simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Add in spinach, leave for 3 minutes.
5. Take out and serve with roast thigh chicken.

I can't remember when's the last time I cooked pumpkin. So it feels like it's the first time I am feeding my kids this vegetable. It's an acquired taste probably. Hopefully someday, they'll learn to love the taste of it.

But they loved the chicken!

Maybe, next time, I'll make pumpkin soup. We'll see.

Inspired by healthyfoodie.com's broccoli salad, I made my own version - because I didn't have all the ingredients she used.

The husband totally adored it I am making another one tomorrow.

Here are my ingredients:

• Blanched broccoli florets/heads
• Cubed apples
• Raw almonds, roasted and crushed

For the vinaigrette

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp organic honey
• ½ tsp sea salt

Put together broccoli, apples and  crushed almonds
Put all the vinaigrette ingredients in a blender. Blend until creamy.
Pour the vinaigrette onto the salad.

Incredibly, deliciously crunchy, this one.

Yumminess galore!

I am excited for this new discovery! Sweet potato bread. I didn't need to add honey. Sweet potato has its own sweetness already.

My recipe for sweet potato bread:

Ingredients:

1 medium sized purple sweet potato (grated - coz I don't have sweet potato flour)
1/2 cup dessicated coconut (because I don't have coconut flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/2 cup coconut milk
4 eggs

Mix all the dry ingredients (grated sweet potato, coconut flour, baking soda, sea salt and cinnamon powder)
Mix all the wet ingredients (coconut milk and eggs)
Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Mix well.
Bake into the preheated oven at 350 deg F for 45 minutes.

I do french toast for kids. I eat the bread with coffee with coconut milk. 

This one is another breakfast winner for the kids. I got the recipe for coconut bread from amazingpaleo.com and modified it, added 1/2 cup of olive oil and 3 tbs organic flaxseed.

Had it for breakfast today with freshly brewed Brazilian coffee with coconut milk.


I made French toast for kids. Drizzled with organic honey and served it with grapes. It's quite filling.

But I think the flaxseed in the bread made me feel bloated. Has anybody experienced this before or is it just me?

Came home today too excited for my next dish on this week's menu list: Zucchini Zoodles with Cream Sauce.

I don't have a spiraler to turn the zucchini into pasta form and so I used grater. It worked... but obviously not as good looking as againstallgrain.com's zucchini zoodles.

The best part was: I tricked the kids. Har-har! I am having big smiles while writing about this.

My son loves pasta with creamy sauce so much. I actually didn't know how to make that cream sauce so I always ended up with bolognaise or pesto sauce.

But this one.. you will be surprised. I myself was surprised. This creamy sauce I copied from detoxinista.com is a real deal!

My kids loved it! Until now, they still don't know it's just made of cauliflower.

Just two kinds of vegetables in this super delish Paleo dish.

Success!

Tried something more exotic Paleo food this time. Got Samantha as the sous chef. There's nothing better than having the kids involve in preparing for the food. It encourages them to eat them.

Hehehe. Anyways, today's recipe is inspired by PaleOMG's zucchini pesto roll ups.

But I call mine Zucchini Pesto Rollatini.

Ingredients

• zucchini, ends removed, sliced ¼ inch thick lengthwise
• sausages 
• ½ cup walnuts
• 1 cup fresh basil
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 garlic clove
• salt and pepper to taste
• pinch of garlic powder
• 3 extra tablespoons olive oil to cook your zucchini with

Instructions

1. Heat up your grill.
2. Slice your zucchini with a knife or using a mandoline.
3. Place your zucchini in a bowl with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper, and a pinch of garlic powder then use your hands to mix it and coat the zucchini.
4. Place your sausages on the grill along with your zucchini.
5. While the zucchini and sausages are cooking, make your pesto.
6. Using mortar and pestle, pounds walnuts, garlic clove, and basil. Add olive oil. 
7. Then add lemon juice and salt and pepper.
8. Once your zucchini are cooked through and sausage are completely cooked through, remove them to let cool. 
9. When your zucchini are cool to the touch, use a spoon to spread the pesto down the center of the zucchini strip and cut off an inch or so piece of sausage.
10. Wrap the zucchini around the sausage and use a toothpick to hold it in place. 
11. If they're too big for kids to bite, simply unroll them up, chop the zucchinis and mix all of them. It tastes great all the same.