Barefoot Girevik

Happy Valentines Day! Alright, maybe I jumped the gun a bit with the 'Happy' wishes a few days early but I love Valentines day.  Do you have any big plans this year?  May I suggest a fun idea?  How about this year, instead of going out to a fancy restaurant, why not stay in and cook a heart healthy meal together?  I have put together a menu built around heart healthy foods and the recipes that go along with it to ensure that your heart keeps beating strong for your main dish. Menu: Appetizer: Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto:   Just like it sounds, heavenly spears of crunchy asparagus spears wrapped together with a piece of salty prosciutto.  Asparagus is chock full of anti-inflammatory nutrients and antioxidants, among them, vitamins K and C respectively.  Heart disease is known to be a chronic disease that evolves due to excessive inflammation and oxidation.  Two key steps in preventing heart disease is to ...

In case you missed it, there was a big football game on Saturday night.  Packers vs Niners playoff game.  It didn't end the way I wanted it to but lets not go there.  If you have been following my blog you know that I like football and you also might know that my team is the Green Bay Packers.  For Christmas last year my husband gave me an NFL cookbook with menu suggestions and recipes for every team in the league.  It isn't always easy to come up with dinner ideas day after day after day after...well you get it.  So on game day it is nice to just flip to the corresponding page of my cookbook and find inspiration. On Saturday the recipe for "Fish Fry with Hush Puppies" caught my eye.  I had fish so I was sure I could make it work somehow.  The problem was that the recipe for the fried fish contained buttermilk, cornflake crumbs and all purpose flour and the hush puppies were deep fried lumps of cornmeal batter. I wasn't about  to sabotag...

The weather is starting to get quite cold and with the cold air comes the frost.  If you have any good apples still hanging in there, you may want to try a good preserve recipe so you can stick them away for the cold winter months.  My Granny had a beautiful garden and orchard on the farm and always had loads of apple and crab apple preserves.  They were always such a treat for us.  I decided this year to try canning for the first time because I finally had enough apples on my tiny tree to attempt it.  The recipe is shared below, we cracked open a jar for Thanksgiving dinner and they were delish. Crab Apple Preserves: Ingredients: 6 cups water 1 cup maple syrup 2 Tbsp lemon juice 4 lbs crab apples cleaned and picked over 1 stick cinnamon If you like cloves, you could add +/- 1 tsp of whole cloves.  I am not crazy for the taste of cloves so I didn't use them. 3-4 quart size canning jars with lids and rings How to: Set canning jars into a la...

Can you tell I'm a Packer fan?  Right now I am relaxing after a long day of teaching and learning with a cup of my special Autumn Spice Coffee.  (while listening to the Packers kick some Saints butt) Until now, this was my own special recipe that I didn't share with anyone.  Everyone has to have a few secrets. I decided that this is just way too good to keep secret.  I tend to think of coffee the way some people think of Red wine.  I like to add interesting combinations of flavours before brewing to see what I come up with.  Just experiment, there will be some disasters, there always is but then there will be that one that is just awesome.  On a cold, fall afternoon, there is really nothing better than a good spiced cup of coffee.  Recipe is below, try it out, come up with your own combinations of flavours, play with it. Autumn Spice Coffee  Ingredients: Good quality coffee beans (I like Kicking Horse, Grizzly Claw) Cinnamo...

Almost a year ago   I posted The Evolution of A Recipe showing how I have changed the recipe for Impossible Cheeseburger Pie over the years so that my family could continue to enjoy it even though our eating habits have changed.  I have made yet another change to that delicious recipe and want to share it with all of you.  Below is my recipe from a year ago with a couple changes.  Most of it will stay the same, the change is to the biscuit mix.  I have hi-lited the changes by changing the text colour to red.  Happy Cooking! My NEW Paleo Version Impossible Cheeseless Burger Pie Ingredients: 1 lb. extra lean ground grass fed beef 1 med. yellow onion chopped 1/4 tsp sea salt 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper 2 fresh chopped Jalapenos (I remove the seeds so they aren't quite as hot) 2 cloves garlic smashed and chopped 2 tsp chili powder 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp paprika 1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne 1 1/2 c. Almond or coconut milk 1/4 C Coconut Flour 3/4 ...

Hey everyone!  Two posts in one day...whaaat?  Two weeks ago I went to Chapters in search of a cookbook that I had heard about.  I bought the last copy there and brought it home with me.  Since that day I have tried a new recipe almost every night.  The food is amazing and it is, you guessed it, Paleo!  We have had Fish sticks, gravy and biscuits, homemade breakfast sausage patties, Jambalaya, bangers and mash and more.  I think my favourite recipe however is the Tom Kha Gai - coconut chicken soup.  It is so incredibly good.  What is this awesome book you ask?  It is Paleo Comfort Foods by Julie and Charles Mayfield.  I don't know these people, have never met them and I don't get anything for telling you about it but I am so happy with it that I had to share my experience.  I have to say that I never strictly follow a recipe.  I always have to put my own spin on it and these recipes were no exception.  I had to tweak ...

Alright, so it has been about 5 months since my last post.  I have no excuse except to say, football season, a trip to Las Vegas and then it was Christmas.  Anyway, I made this recipe on New Years Eve because I had a craving.  It is not quite paleo, there is some sugar in there but it is a holiday treat.  The bars would not get the caramelized, hardened state without some sugar and would just fall apart. Unfortunately I don't have a pic because it was New Years and I was very busy cleaning and preparing but I will share the recipe all the same. Base: 1 package ground pecans (about 1 1/3 cups) 2 Tbsp cocoa 1 Tbsp Maple syrup 1- 2 Tbsp coconut oil Filling: 1 can Thai kitchen coconut milk 1/4 cup sucanat (Used a lot in Clean Eating recipes, it is natural, ground sugar cane. You can usually find it in health food stores.) Topping: 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips (the higher the cocoa % the better) 3/4 cup chopped walnuts H...

First of all, sorry I have been on a bit of a hiatus lately.  It has been a very busy summer and a lot of my free time has been spend training to finish the last couple things I need for my AKC 2. It has paid off though, summer isn't over yet and I can already do 2 pull ups!  Anyway, I came up with a delicious recipe the other day that I just had to share with everyone.  This took a bit of trial and error but it was worth it.  The boys love these and they are paleo, nut free and safe for school.  I know it is still a few weeks away but it's coming quickly! Ingredients: 1 500g jar of sunflower seed butter or tahini (unsalted) (I prefer the tahini as it has a bit of a stronger, more peanut flavour) 2 Omega 3 eggs 1 cup maple syrup 1 TBSP pure vanilla extract 1/2 cup pure cocoa powder 1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt 1 tsp baking soda "Peanut Butter" Swirl ingredients: 1/8 cup tahini 1 TBSP maple syrup pinch Celtic sea salt How To: 1. Pre-heat o...

Yes, they are Paleo, with a few minor details.  Honey and maple syrup are questionable but they are in small amounts.  You have to be careful with Baking Powder as it often contains cornstarch and can not be guaranteed gluten free.  You can make your own by mixing 1/4 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup cream of tartar - just mix together well and store in an airtight container until needed. My boys loved these, especially the coconut milk topping - they said it tasted like vanilla pudding. Ingredients: Batter: 1 cup coconut flour 2 tsp baking powder (or your own mix as mentioned above) 1/4 tsp sea salt 1 Tbsp maple syrup 5 eggs beaten 1 cup almond milk 2 tbsp grape seed oil Cinnamon "filling": 3 Tbsp coconut oil, melted 1/4 cup honey 2 tsp cinnamon How to: In a mixing bowl whisk flour, baking powder and salt.  In another bowl combine egg, almond milk, oil and syrup.  Add to flour mixture all at once.  Stir until just blended but still slig...