It always sounds cliche, but where has a year gone? Tomorrow, October 1, my blog turns ONE! Every year I am able to take my passions and give them a little more time and love. Each year life gets a little easier, but also a little sad, because my little ladies aren't so little anymore. I am thankful for all of you who have supported my blog and my passions. I've met so many new people this past year. I love it! I love you all! Thank you for being here.

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I mentioned wanting to celebrate my blog's birthday with a 30 day strict clean eating reset before the holidays begin once again. If you're familiar with paleo, which I think most of you are, I will be refraining from all dairy, gluten, grains, legumes, and refined sugar. Essentially, I will be eating a lot of veggies and healthy protein. On here, I will be sharing my weekly meal plan that will hopefully help make your days and weeks a little easier to plan. I will have buttons/links on here you can easily open and save/print. The documents include a meal plan and shopping list! 

Each Sunday on my Instagram stories, I will go through what's planned for the coming week. I will share tips and tricks and advice. Please note that I will base a lot of my meals around my CSA box that I pick up every Thursday from Willow Garden (yes, I'm still getting fresh, organic veggies!).

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I am always here to help and support you! Below is this week's dinner meal plan and shopping list. You can easily download or print, or scroll and screenshot. Enjoy & happy reset! And, again, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE :) 

MONDAY: You're going to simply roast chicken in the oven. I suggest roasting the chicken at 375 until crispy and the insides reach 165 degrees. Same with the veggies. I suggest seasoning the veggies with oil and seasonings, sans salt. I love adding garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper. I salt at the very end after I take the veggies out of the oven.

TUESDAY: Taco Tuesday is pretty simple. Brown your ground beef. Make up your own taco seasoning. I use 2:1 of chili powder and cumin. I also add a teaspoon of garlic and onion powder, and oregano. I add sea salt and pepper to taste. Cauli rice is so easy. I add a tablespoon of oil and saute until done. I add a few teaspoons of taco seasoning to the cauli rice for extra flavor. Serve the tacos in lettuce wraps, or use Siete chips/wraps. Top with fresh tomatoes, jalapenos, salsa, avocado, peppers, etc. 

WEDNESDAY: Some of you might already have a favorite paleo pot pie recipe. I kinda make up my own. I always add lots of veggies like onions, mushrooms, broccoli, celery, carrots, and then add chicken. I would suggest sauteing your veggies and add lots of flavor with garlic, thyme, and pepper. Once your veggies have browned, I'd add enough chicken bone broth to the veggies. I'd make a slurry (say 1-2 teaspoons arrowroot with a teaspoon of cold water, and add it to the simmer bone broth and veggies). This will make for a great filling. I'd then use your favorite paleo pie crust recipe to top it off. I'd suggest using almond flour, coconut flour, and cassava for good texture. Add lots of fat - coconut oil or lard, some sea salt, and knead well. Roll the dough or cut shapes, and top the filling with the crust. I have a surplus of savoy cabbage, so I'll shred cabbage and toss with apples and walnuts. I will dress is with a Dijon dressing - sort of like the dressing I use on my kale salad.

THURSDAY: Grab a cut of meat that super easy to throw in the oven - like wild caught salmon or chicken thighs - or simply make burgers. Cut up your favorite root veggies like sweet potatoes, onions, beets, brussel sprouts - the possibilities are endless. Toss everything in oil and season well. Bake and enjoy. If you make burgers, I love to saute onions in the beautiful beef juices.

FRIDAY: I've shared my paleo pizza recipe here! It's always a staple in our house.

SATURDAY: There's nothing like a roast beef dinner. Click here for my recipe!
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You know that feeling when you find a really good product? So good, you won't buy anything else but that exact product for - forever? That's how I felt when I used La Tourangelle's  organic Sun Coco oil for the very first time to make my paleo mayo. It is mild in flavor, which works perfectly for my mayo recipe.

I've shared my paleo mayo recipe here on my blog, and on my Instagram page. That's when La Tourangelle Oils reached out to me and sent me my first ever blog mail! It was an awesome moment for me. In the package I received a replacement Sun Coco oil, Sun Coco spray oil, sesame oil, roasted walnut oil (a fave!), and the Amazonian NutriBlend. Each oil has their own unique blend that is perfect for any and all recipes. Below I comment on each of the oils I now plan to keep in my kitchen for a very long time!

SUN COCO OIL: This is my favorite for everyday cooking. It is a neutral cooking oil that won't overpower. I can make mayo, roast vegetables, and sear meats. This oil can handle a smoke point of 440 degrees. It's also organic!

TOASTED SESAME OIL: I am so excited to try this oil in my next Asian inspired dish. Other sesame oils can be too powerful and bitter. The flavor of this oil is bold, but not too powerful. According to La Tourangelle, they achieve this through carefully selecting the highest quality sesame seeds, which are lightly toasted, expeller-pressed, and gently filtered to perfection. 

ROASTED WALNUT OIL: This oil is probably my second favorite. It. Is. So. Good. I've added it to my chocolate smoothies, and salad dressings. It's nutty in flavor with zero bitterness! Sometimes I eat a spoonful of it - it's that good!

So, simply put, make the switch to La Tourangelle Oils. You can easily order these oils online, and if you live in the Hillsdale area, Kroger supplies many of their oils. I am proud to support this artisan oil producer who sources organic products, and works with Fair Trade Certified suppliers. La Tourangelle has made a big impact in my kitchen, and the food my family eats. Thank you, La Tourangelle!

This recipe is so easy it's kind of dumb. And I didn't even come up with this brilliant plate of food. I might have plated it, but it wasn't my idea. My awesome husband bought some wasabi seaweed snacks yesterday. He proceeded to tell me these would be "up my alley" (not so much his) and I should turn the seaweed into sushi. I MEAN COME ON. SO. GOOD.

The closest sushi spot is a good 40 minutes away, so if you're craving sushi (like I do 24/7) and live in a tiny town with zero sushi options, these wraps will hit the spot. I used smoked wild Alaskan salmon. I also sliced cucumber and avocado. I dressed the wraps with coconut aminos - a paleo friendly substitute for soy sauce. I topped it all off with toasted sesame seeds. Simply pick them up and consume. This is the perfect snack, lunch, or dinner. I might have made four more wraps after cleaning this plate...

PALEO SUSHI
dairy free, gluten free, grain free, soy free

INGREDIENTS

• 4 ounce package of wild Alaskan smoked salmon (make sure you are using wild caught fish, especially fish that was caught and smoked in the USA. Say NO to farm raised fish!)
• 1 package organic wasabi (or plain) seaweed snacks (you can find these at your local Kroger in the nut/snack section or Thrive Market!)
• 1 organic cucumber, peeled and cut into strips
• 1 organic avocado, sliced
• Sesame seeds, optional
• Coconut aminos for dipping/topping

METHOD

• Lay the seaweed wrappers on a plate and top with smoked salmon, sliced cucumber, and avocado.
• Top with sesame seeds, and drizzle (or dip) the wrap in coconut aminos.

​Enjoy! 

This is really, really good, guys. I'm making this again, and again. I didn't grow up with stroganoff, so I'm not familiar with the original version. I googled a classic beef stroganoff recipe, and I'm glad I didn't grow up with it. Thanks, Mom!

I've been told that Danielle Walker's beef strogranoff was pretty awesome, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Her recipe calls for ground beef, but Dan and Deb with Greener Grass Farms gave me a sirloin tip steak to prepare this month, and I thought this cut of meat would be a great addition to the dish. If you're new to my blog and page, Dan and Deb provide a new cut of meat every month for me to prepare on the first Sunday of each month. I buy all of my meat from Dan and Deb! They raise grass fed and finished beef, pasture raised pigs, turkeys, and soy free chickens. It is glorious.

Below is Danielle's recipe from her second cookbook, Meals Made Simple. I added a few ingredients and tweaked a few things. She said the recipe would serve six, but I beg to differ. It fed four with zero leftovers. I would suggest doubling the recipe if someone wants seconds, or if you simply want leftovers. I buy my cashews at the local health food store - Hillsdale Natural Grocery. You can find raw cashew pieces for a decent price. They're on the bottom shelf, FYI. The whole raw cashews are on the top shelf, and are more expensive, but who cares. They're being blended.

Did you grow up with the classic strogranoff? Tell me your stories!

PALEO BEEF STROGANOFF
dairy free, gluten free, grain free, and soy free

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups water
• 3/4 cup raw cashews (pieces work great, too)
• 2 tablespoons organic grass fed butter, ghee, or olive oil
• 1 pound Greener Grass Farms sirloin tip steak, or ground beef
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 3-4 yellow squash or zucchini, spiralized and dehydrated (see method)
• 8 ounces organic mushrooms
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup beef bone broth (chicken stock will also work)
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons raw apple cider vinegar
• Freshly chopped chives/green onions

METHOD​

• Prepare the steak. I marinated my tip steak in my paleo Worcestershire sauce (1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, 2 tablespoons coconut sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon onion and garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon cloves and all spice. Let simmer until slightly thick. Water down if necessary) for a good hour.
• While steak marinates, spiralize and dehydrate the squash noodles. I've mentioned this tool before, but if you don't have it, click here and get yourself one! Preheat oven to 200. Line a baking sheet with paper towel. Put the zoodles on the baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt. Toss well. Dehydrate the noddles in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven to cool. Wrap the noodles kind of like a sushi roll, and gently squeeze. You may need extra paper towel to absorb the liquid. That's ok! You don't want watery noodles.
• Bring three cups of water to a boil and add cashews. Set the cashews aside to absorb water and become soft.
• By now, your steak should be marinated. I suggest pulling the steak out of the fridge 30 minutes prior to cooking time. You don't want to cook meat, especially a steak, cold.
• Get a cast iron skillet hot - like smoking hot - and add a tablespoon of ghee or butter. Cook the steak on both sides for approximately 5-6 minutes. Set aside to cool. I like to slice the steak in small bites (for the girls!). You may cut the steak to your own personal preference. 
• Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and add the onion, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and saute for 5ish minutes until the onion becomes translucent. AND keep all those lovely juices in the pan from the beef! That's flavor!
• Add the mushrooms to the onions and continue to cook for another 5 minutes until mushrooms are soft. 
• Add the dry white wine to the pan and stir constantly to remove any browned bits from the bottom. Simmer for another 5 minutes.
• Add the beef stock and meat and reduce heat to medium-low.
• Drain cashews and put them in a blender with a 1/4 cup of the water, lemon juice, and vinegar. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add a tablespoon of water at a time if it seems too thick.
• Add the cashew cream to the onions, mushrooms, and meat, and combine. 
• Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
• Finally, add the dehydrated zoodles and combine.
• Top the dish with chopped green onions and enjoy!