An old friend

And so it begins! We start our Paleo challenge with week one of NO SUGAR. No sugar? No problem! Our friend No Sugar has visited us many times before. In fact we LOVE when No Sug' comes into town! No Sug' is a flirt and is full of compliments always telling me how rested I look, how productive I'm being, how fresh and clear my skin is and how slim I'm looking. Oh No Sug' stop, tee hee! Just stop it, (blush) you're too kind!

Week 1 guidelines: Do not eat sugars of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, Splenda, Stevia, molasses, sucrose, high fructose corn syrup, fructose, any processed sugar, etc, you get the idea.

Mark Sisson has an excellent blog post I highly recommend reading which discusses why you should avoid sugars and explains the different types of sugars out there.

Good luck Sweet Cheekees and keep us updated!

Turkey meatloaf muffins

1 pound ground turkey

1 egg

1/2 cup salsa (I recommend using Trader Joes Salsa Athentica. It contains no sugar and is quite delicious!)

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 zucchini shredded, about 1 cup

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup coconut flour or almond meal

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl combine the turkey, egg, salsa, red bell pepper, zucchini, onion, coconut flour and pepper. Mix well with hands until blended.

Line muffin pan with muffin cups. Fill cups with rounded handfuls of the meat mixture. I filled 12 muffin cups with this recipe.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Top with salsa.

Enjoy!

Waffles....... coconut flour waffles that is

It's Sunday morning and you've got a little extra time....right? Well, maybe it's Monday and you've got a little extra time, whatever it may be, make some time for these gluten free waffles, made with coconut flour. Now they aren't paleo because they have agave in them, but they sure are tasty and did I say gluten free? This recipe is adapted from The Good Eatah's Blog- check it out, she's got some good stuff. I had tried few recipes with coconut four but decided it was time to bring in some professionals. She does all gluten and casein free cooking. Coconut flour absorbs A LOT of moisture, so you have to work with it differently than regular flour. Our friend over at Azukar Organics make some great products and that's what I used to make these breakfast treats! Give them a try and let me know what you think. Remember, just one more day until the Paleo challenge starts!

4 tablespoons melted Azukar Organics coconut oil

6 eggs

1/3 cup raw agave nectar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup Azukar Organics coconut flour

Get out your blender, you have one don't you? Well if not- get ready for some heavy duty mixing!!!

Put six eggs and melted coconut oil in and mix till smooth. Next add the agave, salt and baking powder until thoroughly combined. Lastly add the coconut flour and mix until completely combined without any lumps. Remember the moisture wicking properties I mentioned earlier, this is when it happens. Let batter sit about 5 minutes before making waffles, during this time grease up your waffle iron. I didn't the first time and it was a MESS!! Enjoy your breakfast, I served them with strawberries and sprinkled coconut on top. Don't forget to add your protein too, some eggs or sausage will do nicely.

Enjoy and let me know what you think.

One more sweet treat!

Make me before Monday!

Have you been preparing for the Sweet Cheeks Paleo challenge by eating piles of chocolate and loaves of bread? Well we sure have!! Hee, hee! I kid, I kid! Well, sorta. I've definitely been a little bit more relaxed in what I've been consuming lately with the notion that all will be redeemed with the start of the challenge on June 1st. It has come with a price though! I've been pimple-y, moody and groggy. Blech. Paleo here I come!

Go here to join The Cheeks in the challenge!

(Gluten-free!) Coconut Blueberry Cakes

3 eggs

½ cup coconut oil

½ cup agave nectar

½ cup coconut flour - We tested out Azukar Organics coconut flour and it is deeeelightful! Definitely Sweet Cheeks approved. Available on their website or throughout Whole Foods and Erewhon stores in the Los Angeles area.

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl blend eggs, coconut oil and agave nectar preferably with an electric mixer because the coconut oil is kind of hard to mix by hand. Then blend in coconut flour, baking soda, coconut and vanilla extract. Lastly, gently mix in frozen blueberries with a spatula.

Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.

Fill the cups with about 1/4 cup of the batter. This recipe should make about 10 cakes. You can scoop it out with your hands and mold it into a circular shape before dropping it into the lined cups. This will make nice round tops to your cakes.

Bake in oven for about 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Inspired by Elana's Pantry.

Hash IT out---No Recipe Required

b-fast hash with eggs, potatoes, almonds, apples, turkey burgers and cheese on half

It's not apple season anymore, but for some reason I continue to buy them. Sometimes I get lucky with a good crunch, but lately they have been a mealy mess. I don't like to think of myself as much of a complainer, but mealy apples are really the worst. So, what do I do with those apples sitting on the counter? Hash IT OUT.

more hash with: chicken apple sausage, walnuts, 1 apple, 1/2 onion, 1/4 sweet potato

(already cooked), and a fried egg on top!

Hash comes from the French word to chop- so, we chop them up, along with my other favorite breakfast foods and there you go, a HOT and TASTY meal appears before us! Hash is great for any leftovers.

Here are some guidelines:

Protein: chicken, turkey, chicken sausage, salmon or eggs

Carbohydrates: any vegetables, onions, red peppers, jalapeños, mushrooms, spinach, anything you like really. Fruit: apples or pears (something crunch and not too soggy, cranberries, or other dried fruit

FAT: try nuts like almonds, walnuts or pecans are great. You'll probably need a little oil in the pan, that will add a bit of fat too!

Throw it in the pan and BAMM (not quite like Emeril).... you're done!

Hash is also a great option with leftovers, have a little turkey or chicken from the night before, half an onion, peppers, heck throw it all it add some salt and pepper and any spices of your choice. Throw a fried egg on top and you're set!

And don't forget to sign up for the PALEO challenge, Starts JUNE 1st email Sweetcheekshq@gmail.com NOW!!!

The Green Enchilada

For those of you gearing up for the Sweet Cheeks Paleo challenge we want to make sure you have some food to eat. It would seem like after getting rid of sugar, dairy, grains, processed foods and legumes it leaves you with nothing left to eat, right? We are giving you lots of Paleo friendly recipes so you can just pick and chose what to make.

Now it's up to you what degree of Paleo you are going to take this to. TRUE paleo according to The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain, Ph.d, has a list of guidelines. If you want to be super strict follow along with these guidelines below.

Foods to Avoid:

• All dairy and foods including dairy, milk, butter, cheese, any creams etc.
• Cereal grains: including barley, Corn, Millet, Oats, rice (brown or rice), Rye, Sorghum, Wheat and anything including wheat, and wild rice.
• Cereal like grains: Amaranth, Buckwheat, Quinoa. Legumes: all beans, black eyed peas, chick peas, lentils, peas, miso, peanuts and butter, snow peas, sugar snap peas, soy beans and tofu products. Starchy vegetables: potatoes, Yams, tapioca pudding, and starchy tubers.
• Salt containing foods: bottled salad dressing, bacon, cheese, deli meats ham, hot dogs, ketchup, olives, pickled foods, salted nuts, salami, sausages and all canned meats and fish unless unsalted.
• Fatty Meats: Bacon, beef ribs, chicken and turkey legs, thighs and wings, fatty ground beef, fatty pork roasts, and lamb chops
• Soft Drinks and fruit juices: all sugary soft drinks, canned and bottled and freshly squeezed fruit drinks
• Sweets: candy, honey, sugar

It's up to you what level you want to take this challenges too. Here at Sweet cheeks we occasionally will eat oats, sausage, bacon and sweet potatoes. The point is to NOT over do it. If you find yourself eating bacon and sweet potatoes every morning and lunch meat for lunch each day, it's time for a change. We want you to eat as natural and whole as possible. This means leaving out the prepackaged foods and cooking and prepping your own foods. All you need is some time to go to the market and prep in the kitchen!

chicken enchiladas wrapped in collard greens

Sometimes I'm in the mood for Mexican food, and I usually always have a craving for enchiladas, as we know they are not paleo friendly. I decided I would make my own version of enchiladas. They turned out pretty good. This recipe is pretty darn simple and can feed you for a couple days at least. Part of this recipe can be made ahead and then all you have to do is assemble and bake!

What you'll need:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 large onion

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 tbsp garlic powder

1/2 t oregano

salt and pepper to taste

fresh cilantro

1 bunch large collard greens- de stemmed

4 green onions

1 package white or mini portabello mushrooms-chopped

1 small can black olives

Avocado or guacamole for topping!

Sauce:

1 16oz can tomato sauce or more (depending on how much sauce you like)

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

Here is how it works.

It's morning time, get out your personal chef (the crock pot) Put chicken and spices. Do no add cilantro or other vegetables.

Cook on low heat for 6 hours or until fork tender-chicken should fall apart!

When chicken is almost done get out a large pot and wash, remove stems from the collard greens. Steam them for 10-15 min, until thy are tender and bright green! Rinse and cool greens.

Preheat oven to 350.

In a small bowl mix tomato sauce and spices in bowl. Prep a 9 x 13 inch pan by putting a spoonful of sauce on bottom. Shred your chicken and chop your green onions, olives, mushrooms and cilantro. Grab a leaf, dip in sauce, place in pan and fill with chicken and vegi mix. Roll it up and put it seam side down in the pan. Continue until all leaves and chicken is rolled up. (I needed an extra 8x8 pan.) Cover with Foil and bake for about 20min at 350 degrees.

Done, serve with avocados and vegetables of your choice, then let me know what you think!

Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon salad!

No chameleons were harmed in the making of this salad.

Salads are like chameleons! (Go with me on this one.) As a chameleon can change colors with it's surrounding environments, salads change colors with it's surrounding season. The fall brings orange colors of pumpkins and squash, winter is white with bok choy and cauliflower, spring brings greens of artichokes and asparagus, and summer is reds with strawberries and peppers. (Now you're picking up what I'm throwing down!) How can anyone ever get sick of salads with such an endless and changing variety of crunchy combinations?!

Paleo pointer of the post: As we transition into Paleo eating next month with our challenge, I want everyone to remember the importance of balancing the food groups we consume. Don't eat a big breakfast of only protein eggs and bacon, followed by the carb loaded lunch of a big salad. Instead eat a balance of proteins, fats and carbs for every meal. I believe Jeff Martin, founder of CFKids says it best - "Look at your plate, make a fist, eat that much meat every meal; turn your hand over and fill it with nuts and seeds, eat that much good fat, fill the rest of your plate with stuff you found in the fruit and vegetable aisle. Fill your plate this way at every meal, don't eat more." Simple and doable, just what Sweet Cheeks is all about!

Summertime Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 lime

1 orange

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

10 cups fresh spinach

½ cup walnuts, toasted

1 avocado, cubed

1 ½ cups strawberries, quartered

1 lemon to squeeze on top

Fresh cracked pepper to shake on top

To toast walnuts, place in a frying pan over medium high heat. Cook 3-4 minutes, shaking the pan often to keep the nuts from burning. The nuts are done when they are slightly golden. Set aside to cool.

Whisk together olive oil, the juice of 1 lime, the juice of 1 orange and 1/8 teaspoon each of sea salt and pepper. You've just made orange vinaigrette!

Toss together spinach, strawberries, walnuts, avocado and orange vinaigrette in a large bowl. Top with the juice of 1 lemon and freshly cracked pepper.

Enjoy!

Paleophobia

A little humor to break the ice ;)

Have you been hiding bagels underneath your pillow lately? Is your Brita pitcher filled with milk? Do you sprinkle sugar on your scrambled eggs in the morning but pretend it's sea salt when someone asks? If you answered yes to any of these questions then you have ... PALEOPHOBIA!

Trying out a Paleo lifestyle is nothing to be afraid of. Here at HQ, we've devised a plan that breaks down Paleo eating into simple doable steps. Instead of going cold turkey on everything all at once (eeeep!), we'll be progressively phasing out one food group per week, which will gently ease us into this unfamiliar territory and land us in full on Paleo power mode for the entire last week of our challenge!

Here's an overview of the Sweet Cheeks strategy:

Week 1 NO SUGAR

6/1-6/6 No sugar?! No problem. We've all successfully completed the Sweet Cheeks no sugar challenges of the past! This week will be a piece of cake...cake! Errrr... you know what I mean.

Week 2 NO DAIRY

6/7-6/13 In addition to no sugar, we're tacking on dairy in week 2. Time to rinse out your Brita!

Week 3 NO GRAINS AND LEGUMES

6/14-6/20 This is the week s#@t gets serious! No sugar, no dairy, no grains and no legumes. Take a deep breath!! Relax, you can do it! Luckily you've been prepped by The Cheeks with our recent no grains challenge and already know how awesome you'll be feeling by the end of week 3.

Week 4 NO PROCESSED FOODS

6/21-6/27 Make it yourself! This is what you've been training for all these months with The Cheeks! We're so proud of how many of you have told us you are cooking now. Time to step up and prep up ... your foods that is!

Week 5 LIVING THE PALEO LIFESTYLE

6/28-7/4 You've now eliminated everything un-Paleo and put it into cruise control! This week you can just sit back and enjoy while reaping the many wonderful benefits of living the Paleo lifestyle.

See Cheekees? It's not so scary after all, is it? :)

Another tasty Ball

The countdown to the Paleo challenge continues. (Starts June 1st) Some of you might be thinking, I can't do this, or maybe its, I don't want to do this. Well, either way it's all about preparation. And we are here to help.

This past weekend I participated in the Southwest CrossFit regional competition. Wow, what a weekend. So many amazing athletes and so much support from the crowd, volunteers, judges and competitors. It's amazing what all that support can help you do. This past weekend was truly all about preparation. In my preparation for the competition I have been upping my weights during the daily WODS, and doing more body weight exercises likes dips, pull ups and handstand push ups on my own, but the one thing I didn't do much prep for was Muscle ups. Yep..... and that's what got me. Goes to show its all about preparation.

Now onto the meat of the post:

Here at Sweet Cheeks HQ we are addicted to nuts and balls! Give us pecans, walnuts, almonds or coconuts and we'll eat them. We also love our meat, we've concocted many different balls in the past, here are just a couple: Asian turkey meatballs, Tasty turkey meatballs. I thought we'd give you this tasty ball recipe that you can use now or next month. I served with with some broccoli and used a little mustard (not paleo, I know) who needs sauce when they are this good. Give them a try and let me know if you like these balls

What you'll need for the meatballs

Preheat oven to 350 degree

• 1 package ground turkey
• 1 package sweet italian sausage (remove from casings)
• 1/2 large yellow onion minced
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c almond meal
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper to taste

• olive oil
• tin foil

Mix all ingredients together and form small balls. Place in fry pan on medium high heat with olive oil and brown the outside. When all meatballs are brown, place them in baking dish and cover with foil and bake for appx 25min until meat is cooked throughly.

Done, now enjoy your balls.

Twigs A La Carte

Cavemen had sausage, right?!

"Paleo?! You mean that caveman stuff? So you're telling me you want me to eat twigs and grass and meat and stuff?! Gross."

No, no, no that's not what I want! The point of our up coming month long Paleo challenge isn't for you to dislike eating. Sweet Cheeks LOVE eating!! As with all of our challenges, you may take this one to whatever level works best for you. If there is a teeny tiny bit of sugar found in the salsa you love to pour over your morning eggs, it's okay, eat it. If you love chowing on Trader Joes chicken mango sausages (I do, I do!!), that's fine, it's a great protein source. You MUST enjoy what you're eating for this challenge to work. Paleo isn't a temporary fad diet, it's a way of life.

So what's the point of all this then? To continue to challenge your relationship with food. To cut cravings and bad habits, to change the emotional connection you have with food, to understand the impact of all the irritating foods you don't even realize are causing you to feel groggy and foggy, to cut back on muffin tops and love handles and sausage casings or whatever you call it, and to just flat our feel pretty darn amazing (and of course, PERKY!!).

Sausage Stuffed Tomatoes

1 pound uncooked sausage, squeezed out of casing (There are a variety of sausages you can use for this recipe, I chose Trader Joes Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage)

4 large firm tomatoes - red, yellow or orange

1 medium onion, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the sausage and onion together in a skillet until mostly cooked through. Drain any excess fat.

Chop the tops off of the tomatoes and scoop out the insides with a spoon.

Place the tomatoes in an oven proof dish.

Fill the tomatoes with the sausage mixture.

Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes until the tomatoes are soft.

Enjoy!

Inspired by Recipe Source.

Food zoo.

Feeding time at Sweet Cheeks zoo!

I've traveled a bunch these past couple weeks which means less cooking and more eating out. It's fascinating to me what people are eating out there. Piles of pastries for breakfast, sandwiches with big fat slices of bread and teeny tiny pieces of cold cuts for lunch and pastas with buttery creamy sauces for dinner. I found myself staring at folks while they dined on these meals. Occasionally staring a little too long, like I was at the zoo watching a pack of monkeys chow down on some bananas or something! I found myself thinking over and over again - I wish these people knew how good it felt to eat healthily.

I've learned I can't help everyone in the world, but at least for now I can help you. And another opportunity is coming up from June 1st to July 2nd for YOU to know how good it feels to eat healthily. Yes, we're prepping you for Sweet Cheeks next food challenge one month ahead of time because this one is a biggie! Sweet Cheeks month long Paleo challenge! We'll be giving you more details throughout the month of May so everyone will feel completely prepared and fully confident to take on this challenge come June. And yes, it's not a coincidence that the challenge ends just in time for you to debut your hot sexy new beach body on the 4th of July!!

Curry Chicken and Cauliflower Rice

1 1/2 to 2 pounds of chicken leg and thigh

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 onion, chopped

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

1/2 teaspoon crushed chili red pepper flakes

1 can coconut milk

2 tablespoons curry powder

1 head of cauliflower

Cauliflower Rice:

Coarsely chop up the cauliflower and steam it on the oven until super soft and mushy. ( I left mine on for almost the entire time I prepared the rest of the dish)

For those of you that don't know, when steaming on the stovetop you need a large pot and a steamer basket or metal strainer that will fit in the pot. Fill the bottom of the pot with a couple inches of water, bring to a boil, fill the steamer basket with the veggies, cover and let steam until desired doneness. If you don't have either a steamer basket or strainer, it's okay to put the veggies directly in the shallow water, drain when done. Don't worry, it will still work!

Once the cauliflower is mushy, remove from the pot and put into a big bowl. Season with sea salt and pepper. Take a potato masher or just a fork, and mash and mix up the cauliflower until it is the consistency of rice.

Curry Chicken:

In a large skillet heat coconut oil over medium heat. Put chicken in the skillet and cook on each side for 3 minutes until golden brown. Take out of skillet and set aside.

Add onion, garlic and chili pepper flakes to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes. Add coconut milk and curry powder and mix well.

Add the chicken back into the skillet, cover and cook at the medium heat for approximately 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Serve chicken on top of cauliflower rice covered in sauce.

Enjoy!

Inspired by Cosmopolitan Primal Girl