Recently at the farmers market I've been looking for new foods to try and I spotted these little guys! Sweet Dumpling squash. They are about the cutest thing I've ever seen and I just had to have one! I talked to the lady a bit about them and she said I could throw them in the oven whole and bake them, she also suggested I could serve them filled with a cream soup. These both sounded wonderful but I wanted to stuff my little guy with some protein! I have tried them a couple times and have found tonight to be the best (so far). They are really good and easy to pack in a lunch, just add a side of greens and you are good to go!

What you'll need:
4 sweet dumpling squash
1 package ground beef- about a pound
1 onion chopped
1/4 c chopped dried cranberries
1/3 c chopped dried apricots
1/4 c chopped pecans
1 t thyme
1 t oregano
salt, pepper and olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Chop tops of squashes and scoop out seeds, place in baking dish and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil- place tops next to squash while baking
Bake in oven for 20 minutes
While squash is baking saute onions for a few minutes and add ground beef, apricots, cranberries, pecans and seasoning. Do not fully cook mixture.
Remove squash from oven, stuff with ground beef mixture and put back in the oven ( you could pre-cook squash a day ahead, just need to cook a little longer to fully heat it when stuffed.)
Bake in oven for another 15-20 minutes(this depend on the size of your sweet dumpling squash) tops should be slightly browned and toasty, you will have a little extra meat depending on the size of your squash! save for another or stuff something else!

Done!

These guys are too cute to pass up! Enjoy.

"When the moon hits your eye like a big Meatza pie, that's amore!"

You don’t have to trick your kids into eating healthy, just make it fun! For the Meatza let them shape their own crust into hearts, triangles, alphabet letters or whatever! (Just make sure it’s semi-flattened before cooking) Bring your little ones to the Farmers Market and tell them to pick their Meatza toppings. Whether they come up with strawberries and green beans or cauliflower and kale, involving them in the decision making process of what they are going to eat makes them more apt to actually eat the foods. And just so you know, designing and devouring an adult Meatza is just as fun!

Cheese-less Meatza

1 pound hamburger
1 pound Italian sausage, uncooked and squeezed out of it’s casing
1 teaspoon sea salt (optional)
½ teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons oregano

Paleo tomato sauce

1 can tomato paste
1/2 cup water or to desired thickness
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Meatza toppings!!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix the hamburger meat and sausage, salt, pepper, oregano and garlic powder together. Spread the meat out on a cookie sheet or mold into whatever shape desired. Make sure the meat is spread fairly thin, but without holes and round the edges up to make a crust. Cook in oven for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, you have two tasks. One - chop up and sauté your Meatza toppings in a bit of olive oil. Two - Mix together the tomato paste, water, oregano and garlic powder to create a Meatza sauce.

Once the Meatza is done cooking, pour off the grease and immediately cover the meat with the tomato sauce to warm up the sauce. (or you can warm the sauce in a pan first, the other way is just easier!) Add your toppings and have a Meatza party!

Enjoy!

carrot ginger soup

I was out to dinner monday night and got inspired by a soup they served some of my friends. I did not taste the soup, but decided I could probably make something similar. So, I took matters into my own hands and created my very own Carrot Ginger Soup. I had all the ingriedients, (so i thought) and really, it can't be that hard. I wanted to keep it paleo (ish) so I did. I think it turned out delicious.
I used to eat a lot more carrots, but I don't consume many of them these days, I just happend to have a bag in my fridge. Little kids usually love these things so they are good to keep around. Carrots are full of beta carotene which the body then converts to vitamin A, this helps boost our immune system. Ginger is something that I often forget about, but when I have it I try to use it. It's great for stomach aches and is used in many recipes for sweet and savory dishes.

What you'll need:

3/4 package baby carrots-steamed
1 sweet yellow onion chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 can low fat coconut milk (trader joes)
1 medium size nub fresh ginger grated (about the top of your thumb)
1/3 c organic chicken broth
1/2 can organic pumpkin

spices:
nutmeg- a few dashed
cumin- more than a few dashes
cloves- Just a little bit
salt- to taste
pepper

1- sautee onions until translucent then add ginger and garlic and cook till aromatic.
2- steam carrots until they are fork tender- drain and set aside
3- combine steamed carrots, onions, garlic and ginger mixture into pot on stove with no heat.
4- Add coconut milk and use an immersion blender to make soup smooth. (this can get messy)
5- then add pumpkin and chicken broth and keep blending until smooth.
6- Turn heat on to medium and add spices to taste and cook for about 20-30 min. The longer you cook the more the spices become alive.

Serve and enjoy!

If you don't have an immersion blender you could put small batches of the soup in a regular blender or if you have a vita-mixer you could put the whole soup in there and cook it. Those things are pretty powerful!

Sweetums, I made you lamb… cause I love you like crazy.



Happy love day! Turn down the lights, pour the red wine, snuggle up on the couch and serve your lover a hot (and steamy!) meal tonight. And for your pleasure and amusement, a litany of love quotes...

"Love is the irresistible desire to be desired irresistibly."

"Love makes the world go round."

"Love doesn't make the world go round. Love is what make the ride worthwhile."

"Wild thing you make my heart sing - you make everything groovy!"

"We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love. "

"What the world really needs is more love and less paperwork."

"Love is when two people who care for each other get confused."

"Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence."

"A hundred hearts would be too few, to carry all my love for you."



Lamb Tagine


3 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, smashed

1-2 pounds of shoulder steaks of lamb, cut into bite-size pieces (ask the meat department man to kindly cut it up for you please!)

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon paprkia

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 cup green olives, chopped

1/2 cup golden raisins

1 cup diced tomatoes

1 cup chicken stock

Preheat oven to 350.

Put the olive oil into a skillet on high heat. Add the diced onions and saute until they start to soften, about five minutes. Stir in garlic. Put in the pieces of lamb and add the salt and pepper. Let the lamb cook for about 1 minute, until just slightly browned on the outsides. Remove the meat from the skillet and set aside for the moment.

Add the cumin, paprika, green olives, golden raisins, and tomatoes into the skillet and cook 1-2 minutes.

Put the sauteed lamb pieces into an oven safe dish. Add the tomato mixture and chicken stock to the dish. Cook in the oven for 1- 1 1/2 hours (depending upon how thick your lamb pieces are) until the lamb is done.

Enjoy!

PS You can cook this dish for your lover on any day of the year!

Ginger dressing over steamed bok choy-pair this with some protein and you are good to go

I truly love vegetables. I love how they taste, their texture and how they look, I even love them naked. Sometimes it's nice to dress them up a bit. It's escpecially nice to know what exactly is in your salad dressing. I did a little online research today in search of easy and tasty salad dressings and I found Ginger Dressing. This was appealing because I had all the ingridients and it was fast. All you have to do is decide what to put it on. It can also be made gluten free-just use wheat free/gluten free soy sauce. I only had the regular low sodium kind so I used that.

Ginger Dressing

2 T seasame oil
1 T olive oil
4 T rice vingear
2 T soy sauce (can you use wheat/gluten free)
1 inch fresh ginger grated
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 t organic agave nectar



Grab a bowl, whisk all ingridients together and you're set. This dressing can go great on mixed greens or cabbage slaw. I steamed up some boy choy and tossed it together! Store it in an airtight container in the fridge!

This was so easy I'm excited to make more dressings in the future. What's your favorite?

Goes well with big curly hair.



Since becoming a Crossfitting enthusiast my meat consumption has increased. So when someone introduced me to Korean BBQ about a year ago I was in love! That is until I walked out of there smelling like I'd been thrown on the grill myself! Not good for someone with as much hair as I have. But now I give you the secret to Korean BBQ at home!! Although traditionally grilled, you can pan fry this dish and still sit down smelling pretty.

Bulgogi Beef

1/4 cup soy sauce 

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Tablespoon rice vinegar

1 chopped kiwi

1 chopped onion

1 cup chopped green onions 

3 cloves garlic
or 1 teaspoon pre-crushed garlic
1 teaspoon ginger powder

1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds (can be found at Whole Foods)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 pound flank or skirt steak, sliced thinly


Mix everything! Throw in 1 pound flank or skirt steak and don't forget to slice it thin! (yes, I forgot and had to take it out of the marinade to cut it...what a mess.) Marinade overnight, then grill or pan fry until done.

Enjoy!

my first roast chicken!

Chicken has always been a part of my life-but never like it happened on Sunday night. Sunday night was the night I cooked my very first whole chicken. Now, don't get me wrong, I have eaten many breasts, thighs, legs and wings in the past. But never fully cooked by me. In 1996 I cooked my first cornish game hen, it was for Sadie Hawkins dance and I was around 16 years old, I'm sure my mother must have helped me. I have also assisted with many Thanksgiving day turkey's at my aunts house. This past Christmas at Sweet Cheeks headquarters I cooked my very first turkey, and I must say it was tasty. I figured if I can cook a turkey, I can cook a chicken. So with the help of Barbara Fairchild and her cook book Bon Appetite. I did it.

Before I cooked this chicken I didn't know much about chickens. Did you know that there are Roasters and there are fryers? What's the difference? A broiler/fryer is a younger chicken usually weighing between three and four and a half pounds. Roasters are larger weighing around five to seven pounds. Both chickens can be roasted, fried, or grilled, but a roaster is better cooked in the oven. This is because It's larger and the skin, white and dark meat cook at the same rate it also has a higher fat content than a fryer. Roasters meat is usually more tasty than a fryer because of its mature age.

Now, onto the bird;
Roast chicken with artichokes and gremolata butter

What you'll need:
5 tablespoons room temperature butter
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
3 cloves garlic, pressed

1 5 pound chicken, rinsed and patted dry

2 8 oz can artichoke hearts (in water)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 425, mix first 4 ingredient in small bowl and season with salt and pepper

Put chicken in a baking dish and loosen skin from breast. Take 2 tablespoons butter and spread it under skin on breast. Use 1 tablespoon on the outside of the chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put in oven and roast 45min.

Arrange artichoke hearts around chicken in baking dish, baste with drippings, and roast for another 25 minutes until the chickens internal temp reaches 180.

Plate chicken with artichoke hearts and brush with more butter and lemon juice! Enjoy!

Shirley's got some sugar!!

Congratulations to all that participated in the No Sugar Challenge. We applaud you for taking this step and trying something new! At the end of today your time is done. You may now eat or drink whatever you like without any thought. (though we don't advise this) For some, this may mean a trip to the sweet shop for some goodies, to others, this may start a new trend in their life-maybe not no sugar, but hopefully over the last couple weeks you have evaluated where sugar is in your diet, and have found where you can reduce it. When Sweet Cheeks held it's first no sugar challenge it did change a few peoples habits. Two people in the CFLA community no longer consume grape juice or diet coke on a regular basis! I think that is awesome.

We want to hear how the no sugar challenge went for you. Are you now looking at food and drink differently or choosing to eat or drink different foods than before the challenge?

Cookie-less or coincidence?

I have been ridiculously productive lately! I'm working on personal projects, studying for my grad exam for hours at a time, killing it on my lifts at the gym, and on and on and on! What is going on? I've morphed into Wonder Woman!!! Is it the no sugar? As we enter day eleven I feel more focused, my brain has been sharp and I'm popping out of bed in the mornings with no problem at all...hmmmmmm...
What do you think the no sugar challenge has done for you?

So, we had a little cake yesterday, now it's time for some savory goodness! Want something easy yet super tasty? This is it! These turkey meatballs are moist and flavorful. I served them atop polenta with caramelized onions, salsa Verde and a side of steamed asparagus.

What you'll need:

for the meat balls
1 package ground turkey (about a pound)
1/2 red onion-chopped
1/4 c ground almond meal
1 egg
2 tsp cumin
1/2 medium sized jalapeño chopped (seeds are your choice-they make it hot)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/8 cup fresh cilantro
1 tps cinnamon
1 tsp salt

side:
1 package organic polenta ( I get at trader joes)
Salsa Verde (also TJ's)
olive oil
more cilantro for garnish
1 large yellow onion

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Slice onions and put in fry pan with 2 tbs olive oil, leave on low heat and cook until golden brown and soft. stir occasionally taking care not to let them burn

In a large bowl combine ground turkey, all seasonings and other ingredients (not side dish). I recommend mixing with hands to really get all the flavors blended together. Once combined, shape into 1 inch balls and place in 9x13 baking pan(not touching) and cover with foil. Bake for 15-20min. They should be firm, and juice runs clear.

While baking meatballs slice polenta and saute according to package directions.

When meatballs are done place sliced polenta on plate, and top with caramelized onions, meatball and a scoop of salsa Verde and cilantro!

Enjoy

Where's the icing?

Do you remember this time last week? All you could think of was SUGAR!! And how the heck are you going to get through TWO WEEKS of this?!!
Hopefully by now most of the sugar dementia has left your system and you're less likely to break out in a cold sweat and run in the opposite direction if someone unknowingly offers you a cookie. Keep up the great work!!! Only three more days to go Sweet Cheekers. And in the meantime, I thought it was time for another recipe. Serve yourself up a fat slice of these cakes!


Salmon Cakes

• 2 eggs

• 1 1/2 cups almond meal

• 1/2 pound cooked salmon, thinly sliced

• 2 large zucchini, roughly grated

• 1 tablespoon chopped dill, 1 teaspoon thyme, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• Olive oil

Combine eggs and almond meal in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Stir in salmon, zucchini, dill, thyme and cayenne pepper. Place a generous amount of olive oil in a frying pan and heat over medium heat. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the salmon mixture into your hands and form into a ball. Place in the skillet and gently press the ball to slightly flatten it. Cook for 1-2 minutes each side or until golden underneath and cooked through. Remove and repeat with remaining salmon mixture.

These cakes can be a little tricky to flip without having them fall apart. The secret is to use ample amounts of oil in the skillet so that the cakes don't stick. Be sure to add more oil to the skillet between each batch!

It's officially the start of Week 2 of Sweet Cheeks no sugar challenge! Hooray- we have made it to the halfway point. Now it's not so bad, is it? My sugar cravings have decreased, but there are still many instances where I have to say no thanks and be very aware of what I am putting in my mouth!

All this cutting back on sugar hopefully makes you realize how much sugar is around you daily and find places where you can make improvements or where you are really great avoiding it. I wanted to share a little information about what sugar is and how it interacts with your body. When you have a few minutes check out this article by Dr. Barry Sears on Sugar, find out what sugar is and what it does to your body. Happy reading and enjoy the sugar coated rain drops!

Who leaves this stuff just lying around?!

No sugar challenge in action!

Yesterday I walked into the student lounge at my school and walked right into a pile of sugar! Well not exactly but it was a box of cookies on top of a box of cookies on top of a box of donuts. Oh mommy! I watched as students devoured the sweets but graciously declined when offered some. Today when I entered the lounge there was a huge bowl of candy. It was like Halloween all over again! And even though the bowl contained Lemonheads, oh Lemonheads how I love thee, I still said no thank you. And as I watched my fellow students scarf down the sugar, a smirk grew across my face and I stood up a little straighter. I felt slightly better than these people, above them and their sugar addictions. And you know what? Go ahead, you should too, because you have made it through week one of the no sugar challenge...and it's okay to feel a little arrogant today!

Nature's Sugar

I have to say I'm a bit dissappointed nobody checked to let us know how they were doing on day 3. As of right now I have no idea what is happening with all of you. I could assume the worst and think that all of you have fallen off the wagon and can't stay away from sugar for 3 days and are too embarrassed to fess up, but that doesn't seem right. I'm hoping to hear from some of you as to what you have been up to. Have you avoided sugar, have you given in?

I have stayed strong and avoided sugar. I even took on a sweet challenge! Tuesday night I volunteered to bake for a meeting on Wednesday am. So, I gathered my ingredients for my banana walnut muffins. In the middle of prepping the batter Alyssa came home and was asking what was I doing. I had to calmly explain, I'm baking- but not for you! . Some of you might say- "why would you do this in the middle of the sugar challenge?". My reply is, it's no problem. I'm baking for someone else, this recipe always turns out, so I don't need to try it and it's reassuring to know that I can do it. So, I took my muffins to the meeting and ate Clementines instead, (of course after I age my eggs and chicken sausage at home) If you're feeling the sugar cravings try fruit, it's sweet, has vitamins and fiber too!

Good Luck and Check in!

Ross doesn't do doughnuts.

Congratulations Sugarless Sweet Cheekers, it's Day Three!!!

Day three is the lucky day! And how appropriate it is Wednesday because in the process of a detox I like to call this day Hump Day. Once you get past the third day you tend to slip into a groove and being sugar free becomes much easier for you.

If you had a strong habit, then for the first three days you have most likely experienced withdrawal symptoms. But stay strong!!! As you get further and further into the challenge cravings will dissipate and your dreams of cupcakes will lessen. Unless that's just me, but I seriously dreamed of cupcakes last night!

Are you having any crazy withdrawal symptoms??