Stanley BLD: Inspiration...Cultures of the World!

Sometimes when I write up these blogs, I feel the need to start it with some sort of funny story that's happened or a recent life event. But lately I haven't been as much into blogging as I have been some other things we have going in life. Things much more exciting and bigger. Well, something we think is bigger but I guess it depends on who you talk to. So today, I have no events to tell and I feel the need to keep the funny/embarrassing story to myself (believe it or not, I have some things I don't share with you).

This week we're making it cultural week around our house when it comes to the dinners...sampling out some new recipes that come from all sorts of cultures. We pulled upon our trusty go-to big namers and their online recipes to provide you with a weekly menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner plus a nice, long grocery list. Here ya have it...

BREAKFAST

*PaleOMG Mexican Egg Hash Bake with Sliced Grapefruit

(click the link above for the recipe)

*Pumpkin Pie Chia Seed Drink/Pudding with an OEG (over easy egg)

3 mason jars

1 can pumpkin

about 2 1/2 C almond milk

pumpkin pie spice

2-3 tablespoons chia seeds

toppings (walnuts, almond butter, honey, etc)

Split up your pumpkin can into three of your mason jars. Pour your almond milk into each jar evenly. Stir well until mixed. Dump your chia seeds into your mix, put the lid on, shake well. Let it sit for a few minutes, then shake again before putting it into the fridge. Let it sit overnight and pull them out each morning. Put some of your topping ideas over the top of your pudding and enjoy! (Add an egg or two to finish off your breakfast and you'll be set!)

LUNCH

Dinner leftovers. Always leftovers.

Are you sick of me telling you that yet?

DINNER
"Caribbean"
(per wikipedia, my trusty guide today)

*AAG Pulled Pork (barbacoa) Lettuce Wrapped Tacos

+ sliced jicama

(click link above for recipe. Grocery list written for lettuce wrapped tacos, ingredients not on 

list for the tacos in this recipe)

"Italian"

*AAG Cheesy Baked Spaghetti Squash (primal)

(click on link above for recipe)
side salad with carrots, cucumber slices, & tomatoes

"Thai"

*Paleo Leap Tom Kha Gai Soup

(click on link above for recipe)

*I doubled this recipe, added 1-2 chopped lemon grass stalks, and piled more chicken into the recipe (it was heavy on the veggies and needed a little more protein for me).
Pick a fun new fruit for a side that you've never tried before!

"Indian"

*PaleOMG Indian Chicken & Rice

(click on link above for recipe)
+ "naan bread"

"Mexican"

*AAG Fish Tacos

(click on link above for recipe)

GROCERY LIST

(written for a typical layout of a Winco store)

2 limes

3 grapefruit

melon of any sort (add as a side to any dish)

grapes, apples, pears (add as a side to any dish or as a snack)
pick one fruit you've never tried before!

1 bag shredded cabbage
1 bag salad (your choice in lettuce)
1 small cucumber
1 tomato
1 carrot

1 small jicama

2 red bell peppers

3 yellow onions

1 white onion

1 sweet potato

4 avocados

1 head cauliflower

Butter leaf lettuce (for lettuce wrapped tacos)

1-approx 3lb spaghetti squash

1 bunch cilantro

1 cup button mushrooms

chia seeds (may or may not carry them)

shredded mozzarella cheese (can buy higher quality elsewhere)

ricotta cheese (can buy higher quality elsewhere)

parmesan cheese (can buy higher quality elsewhere)
salsa of your choice
1lb organic, grass fed ground beef
1lb chorizo
3lb pork shoulder (can buy higher quality elsewhere)
2lbs chicken (frozen or thawed)
1lb cod, salmon, or halibut (can buy higher quality elsewhere)
almond milk (unsweetened)
5 dozen eggs
1 can pumpkin
2 cans tomato paste
3 cans tomato puree/sauce
1 large box chicken broth
3 cans full fat coconut milk
1-2 stalks lemon grass (may or may not be at winco)
dried chipotle peppers (mexican section in a bag)

Side notes
*if you don't have almond flour, coconut flour, tapioca flour, unsweetened shredded coconut,
ghee, honey or coconut sugar then you should add that to the list. They are great to have on hand!
*I did not include spices on this list as we have most of them. Be sure to look over the recipes to make sure there's nothing you may need.
*These recipes make enough for the two of us for dinner and lunches, which may differ for your situation

That does it folks! The list looks much larger as I type it out this way than it does when I make it on my phone for the trip to the grocery store. Heaven forbid I forgot something. Blame me if that's the case, but I'm hoping we've got it all covered. Don't forget to read all the side notes!

Enjoy!

♥T&C

The Stanley BLD Menu

Newsflash (who says that anymore)! I'm human and just human. Apparently I can't knit a thousand hats, blog, work a regular job, meal plan, exercise, and keep up with some things going on in our life right now. As much as I like to think I can do most of that, there's always something that gets ditched. Blogging and meal planning were it. Not that we weren't eating because that would be unheard of around here. I mean, no meal is skipped in this home...it's just that everything was typically thrown together last minute or we did a lot of snacking on some paleo goods around the house. 

But this week, well I finally pulled my ish together and have a little something for you...a quick BLD menu for the week. You have to do the work as always. Yes, you have to grocery shop and cook it. But at least you don't have to go searching around for ideas, right?

Here you have it...the Stanley BLD menu for our (and your) week!

All recipes come from links we've come across recently. Many of which will be our first time trying them. And because we've already had a few this week, we can let you in on the secret...

so far, so good. Like really good!

Breakfast

1. Pumpkin Waffles

with a side of eggs, bacon, or sausage

(double the batch of waffles so you have them for a few days during the week)

2. Zucchini & Chorizo Breakfast Casserole (add sundried tomatoes)

fruit salad (your choice of fruit)

3. The Quick Fix

just scramble eggs with all sorts of veggies

& toss yourself an apple or pear, they're great this time of year!

Lunch

Leftovers. Leftovers. Leftovers.

(with any recipe we tend to make double the amount so we don't have to make a separate lunch. It works well for us)

Dinner

1. Sloppy Joes

serve with a side salad, fruit, and sweet potato chips

2. Cajun Shrimp Noodle Bowls

go buy yourself a fun new fruit to try out to serve with dinner...a horned melon, dragon fruit, etc.

3. Beef Stew (add a pack of mushrooms and a tablespoon of paprika)

serve with these dinner rolls

4. Special Guest Pizza!

we're having a special guest over (details to come later), so we're splurging on some Garlic Jim's

pizza. It is one of our favorite places to get gluten free pizza, so if you haven't tried it be sure

to get on that. Since we're splurging, that means you should too. Hope you enjoy!

5. Crock Pot Pork Loin with Applesauce

serve with sweet potato mash and a side salad

-place your pork loin along with 1 jar of unsweetened applesauce, 1/2 a chopped up onion,

dashes of salt, and dashes of pepper in your crock pot. Cook on high for 6-8 hours.

Serve applesauce over the pork.

That's all we've got for ya! The stew should get you (if you're a couple), up to three meals worth of food along with the rolls if you double the batch (of the rolls). That means you'll be set for 6-7 days on your meals. Don't get all worked up about finally having some meal planning, but I don't won't expect much of myself next week...at least getting around to making a blog post about our menu. 

That may or may not happen with our upcoming schedule. If it does happen, go buy a lottery ticket.

That's how lucky we all may be ;-)

Happy cooking!

♥Cori Lou

Leftover Tomaters?

If you planted tomatoes this year, you probably have them growing out your ears. Am I right? We got really excited and planted like 5 different kinds. Exciting stuff to say the least. But we obviously didn't know we'd get pound after pound of all shapes, sizes, and colors of tomaters. At first, I gave bags out to the neighbors...one way to get in with them, right? Then I realized they probably didn't want any more so I went back to the drawing board. I decided that sun dried (aka dehydrated) tomatoes are my new favorite thing. It's just as exciting to see that many things grow in your garden as it is to see how many sun dried tomatoes are being produced in that dehydrated. You'd think I'd be ok to just throw some out or if it slipped through the cracks, no big deal...but apparently I feel the need to save all the tomatoes. Nothing can go bad. Nothing. Why am I so weird??

But what else do you do with the tomatoes? I've got 5 of the top ways we'd prefer to use them, however let's just say I went a little overboard this year on just sun dried tomatoes. Like maybe a bit
too overboard. And by overboard I mean I dehydrated tomatoes for three days straight. It makes the house smell wonderful and then you'll have a million dried tomatoes to eat. Easy. I like easy.
Peek below for a few ideas (nothing new to life) and links to recipes!

1. sun dried tomatoes

slice large tomatoes into thin slices or cut baby tomatoes (cherry, grape, etc.) in half.

place in your food dehydrater at 135 for about 8 hours.

place in an airtight baggy or as some do, can with olive oil and spices!
-Throw them in with eggs or on cauliflower pizza or meatzas

2. fresh salsa

chop up your tomatoes in small bits, add regular and spicy peppers, garlic, spices, etc.

place in an airtight container. serve as you wish with what you wish.
-Mango Salsa
-19 Homemade paleo salsas

3. eat them whole/slices with Cause & Effect spices

sprinkle your kale garden fusion spice all over your sliced tomatoes.

if you're not paleo, serve with a specialty cheese or some bread.

4. make tomato soup

-Paleo Comfort Food recipe

5. make pizza or pasta sauce

again, find your own recipe that you prefer.
-Freezer pizza sauce

Now get choppin' on all those 'maters before they go bad!

♡Cori Lou

The New Oatmeal: CSP

This isn't actually new and I'm pretty sure I've blogged about it before, but let's get real...this stuff is the new oatmeal. Yet, it's like ten times better for various reasons. The catch is that you actually have to like chia seeds, chia seeds in almond milk, and the texture of it all when it's ready to eat. If you can handle all of the above, you're set. Seriously. If not, your life is not going to be as easy as let's say...everybody else who preps a million of these to make life extremely simple.

So yes, chia seed pudding is the thing. True fact. And instead of buying those mini chia seed pudding cups which are extremely pricey for such a small little guy....why not make a bunch on your own in preparation for all your quick mealtime needs or a snack to fill in between those meals. And who says you can't throw some cocoa powder in the mix of one to bust those cravings?!

AKA chia seed dessert pudding. Duh.

The Quick & Simple Supplies & Instructions

As quick as you can, gather your coconut or almond milk (we like the Silk brand), mason jars with lids, chia seeds, raw honey, your choice of fruit, raw nuts (mainly almonds), and mini tupperware containers.

Dump 1.5 cups of milk into your mason jar, then place 1-2tbsp of chia seeds in the almond milk. Place the lids on jars and shake all of them well. Let them sit for 5-10 minutes, come back and shake it again. Do this one more time, then place them in the fridge. I'm not here to tell you what you like for toppings, so whatever it is your heart desires in the chia seed pudding....place them in a small tupperware for each day you plan to eat a jar of pudding (i.e. blueberries and almonds in one, strawberries and coconut flakes in another). It will make for a quick take-away when you're having a meal on the go or need a quick little snack! When you're ready to eat one, shake your container, open the lid, place the fruits and/or nuts inside the mixture, and then drizzle with some raw honey. Otherwise, if you want it all blended, place all of the above in a processor and do a quick blending and place it in your mason jar. Easy, simple, and quick.

Here are a few ideas...

1. blueberry with raw almonds

2. almond butter & banana

3. strawberry with unsweetened shredded coconut

I like easy. I like simple. I appreciate textured things. And I love putting toppings on food.

Chia seed pudding obviously works for me. Ty on the ohter hand, is not a fan.

So I wish you luck in loving these in hopes it makes life a little easier on you & your food prep.

That's all.

♥Cori

Stanley BLD+S: September, Week 2

I've surprised myself folks. After being a weak blogger the last few months, I pulled my ish together. Two weeks in a row we've got meal planning on the blog. I didn't come up with all the recipes by any means, but majority of them are some of our simple go-to's! Let's just say that this week's theme is "keep it simple, Stanleys" I scrapped together a grocery list for all you readers (the very few of you who read this anymore). So you actually get the whole meal planning and a grocery list!
Please, don't croak with that exciting news  ;-)

3 things before you get started.

1. all meals feed up to 4 individuals at dinner, but we of course only have two to feed so we have 

plenty of leftovers for lunch!
2. under the "menu" section, please note that majority of the recipes will have links you can click on.
Do exactly that. Click and it will take you to the recipe. If there is no link, then
scroll down to find the recipe. Simple stuff.
3. there is a main section for your grocery list, but be sure to scroll just below the list because there are
"additional items" that we have around our kitchen already and does not need to be on our grocery list.
Go through it in case you do not have some of those items lying around.
Ok, that's it....go get started! 

Stanley BLD+S Menu

Breakfast
-freezer-ready breakfast sink hash & fruit on the side

-strawberry applesauce egg omelette
(click the link, then scroll down to find the recipe...one of our favs!)

Lunch

Dinner leftovers. Always leftovers for us Stanleys.
if you don't have leftovers, easiest go to is:
-tuna salad with plantain chips & fruit on the side

Dinner

-simple flank steak with lemon cucumber salad and cauliflower rice
-pulled pork with mashed or crispy plaintains
-PaleOMG crispy chicken tenders with a dipping sauce and sweet potato fries
-meatloaf with mashed cauliflower (you must scroll down in this link, it's in the middle of the page. Also, you can use the leftover for meatloaf cupcakes or just make a second loaf)
-take a night off of cooking & treat yourself...go test out Cultured Caveman or Dick's Kitchen!

Snacks
-hard boiled egg(s), handful of nuts, costco dates
-prosciutto wrapped melon
-roasted sweet potatoes & bacon

Dessert
-skip the baking this week...grab a few desserts at your local Whole Foods, New Seasons,
or Natural Grocers! We love the HailMerry desserts or the local "cheesecake" that Whole Foods sells.

Grocery List
1 large bag of sweet potatoes
2 yellow onions
mushrooms
1 bell pepper, your choice in color
applesauce (we buy the costco 4 pack, unsweetened)
2 containers of strawberries
canned tuna
plantain chips
flank steak (as many as you need to feed your fam)
coconut aminos
lemon cucumbers (from the garden)
2-3 heads of cauliflower rice (depending on family needs)
4 lbs of ground turkey or beef
1 red bell pepper
tomato paste
BBQ sauce or ketchup (your choice in brand for the meatloaf)
pork roast (we buy the three pack at costco)
4 plantains
1 can coconut milk
1 bag chicken tenders
coarse grain brown or dijon mustard
eggs (mass amounts, we go through so many!)
nuts
dates (best ones are from costco)
prosciutto
cantaloupe
nitrate free bacon (you can get a two pack at costco now!)
fruit (your choice...for breakfast, snacks, and with dinner)
dessert of choice (you can get them at Whole Foods, New Seasons, or Natural Grocers)

If you don't already these have on hand, you'll need...
coconut oil
maple syrup or honey
vinegar
dill
lemon juice
garlic or pre-diced garlic
unsweetened shredded coconut
almond flour

Recipes

-Freezer Ready Breakfast Sink Hash-
1 onion, chopped
1 case of mushrooms, chopped
2 sweet potatoes, chopped
1 pepper, chopped
bacon, cooked and chopped (if you so wish)

Place all your veggies and a tablespoon of coconut oil into a pan. Cook well, let cool, then bag and freeze. When you're in need of a quick scramble/breakfast sink hash, pull out a big chunk of your frozen mix and some eggs and scramble them up in a pan. Boom, you're done. Easy peasy.
We like that.

-Flank Steak & Lemon Cuc Salad-
flank steaks
coconut aminos
garlic, diced
5 lemon cucumbers
1/4 C white vinegar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
water
dill

Before you head to work, throw your steaks, some coconut aminos, and diced garlic into gallon bags. When you get home, place your flank steaks on the BBQ and cook until your liking. There's not much to it and of course, not a lot of seasoning, but we love the simplicity of the steak and it's flavor with the simple ingredients.

Slice your lemon cucumber and place into a bowl. Pour your vinegar over the top of the cucumbers. Add a splash of water to tone down the vinegar and your lemon juice. Sprinkle dill over the top of your mix. Serve with your flank steak. Again, so simple and one of Ty's favorites!

-Prosciutto Wrapped Melon-
prosciutto
cantaloupe, cut into cubes or made into melon balls

If you're prosciutto are long piece, you can cut them in half as long as they will wrap around your melon. Wrap them around your melon bites. Then eat. Like all this simplicity? Me too.

-Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Bacon-
sweet potatoes, cut in half
olive oil or any specialty flavored oil (we like the rosemary or tuscan sometimes)
steak seasoning
nitrate free bacon

I'm not going go tell you how to cook you bacon. If you bake it, great. If you put in the microwave, then stick to that. And if it's a pan, have at it. I don't care, just make sure it's cooked.
Preheat your over to 400 degrees. Poke your potatoes with a fork, then smother those potaters in your oil and roll in the steak seasoning. Wrap each in foil and place on a cooking sheet. Bake for 45-60 minutes.


Have at it! Enjoy a week's worth of meal planning and a grocery list on us!

♡T&C

"Insert Fruit Here" Coconut Flour Muffins

Let's keep this short and sweet. Always something I have a hard time doing. In fact, I'm pretty terrible at it. And what else... I've been blowing up IG and FB. Over. Board. I've been bad at that too. I was THAT person or at least I felt like it. My sincere apologies.

So back to being short and sweet, semi-lazy, and a terrible photog last night. Why I didn't put the slightest effort into making these look a little better, I don't know. Instead, I obviously decided to dive right in, take that bite, then photograph it. So dumb. Next time though folks, next time. 

It can only improve if I wasn't so hungry, right?

This recipe comes straight from the back of the Nutiva Coconut flour bag from Costco. It's legit. Moist, tasty, and a fabulous treat for all times of the day. For me, I eat 2 or 3 after work because I'm starving. It's a bad habit this week and I'm about to break it (and only because we're almost out of them anyway).

"Insert Fruit Here" Coconut Flour Muffins

(from Nutiva & a great find by Pennie M.)

1 cup Nutiva Organic Coconut Flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp raw honey 

(I cut this nearly in half because we never bake with that much, but know that they definitely 

won't be quite as sweet as you may wish if you don't do the whole amount)

1 cup coconut milk

6 eggs

4 tbsp coconut oil

4 tsp vanilla extract

4 tbsp chia seeds

1 1/2 cups organic fruit (we used chopped blackberries, they used blueberries, you can always use raspberries. Your choice!)

Preheat over to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the coconut flour, salt, and baking soda. In a small-med sized bowl, whisk together the honey, coconut milk, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix in the chia seeds and then fold in your fruit. Either grease your muffin tins or use liners, spoon your batter into each muffin tin, and bake for about 25 minutes. Then enjoy!

Great for a little "extrie" for breakfast, a mid-morning/afternoon snack with some protein, or a sweet treat in the evening. 'Short and sweet' is playing over and over in the back of my head, 

so this is where I end.

Happy Thursday!

♡Cori

Menu Planning (Stanley BLD + S)

Remember way back...back when we put together the Stanley BLD+S? Feels like ages ago. Probably because it was. As I've said a million times, I haven't been able to keep up with all this blogging between all these life events, work, and house stuff. Not that many of you have been reading it anyway, so I barely even feel bad. I've decided summers are busy for all...so who is going to bother sitting and reading the blog when there's a million other things to do in the PNW. Feel me?

Back to the Stanley BLD+S. It's back, but back in a lazy way. And for two reasons. One, because I didn't provide you with the grocery list and two, because I'm reusing some recipes from the old BLD+S. This time it's just a different order and has just a few new things. So let's welcome it back this week because who knows how long I can keep up with the blogging again!

The photo below contains the main dinner courses. It obviously doesn't have the breakfast, lunch, and snacks. That's why you have to scroll down, get the details, & click on the menu item for the link to the recipes! That's easy enough though, right?

BREAKFAST

*Cranberry, kale, pine nuts, onions, and eggs filled into a rosemary almond flour crust
(Chucks carries apple juice sweetened cranberries!)

*Blackberry coconut flour muffins (recipe on the costco coconut flour bag)
with Amylu sausage and/or nitrate free bacon

*Scrambed eggs, bacon, & avocado with Ty's famous fruit smoothies

LUNCH

*LEFTOVERS. Always LEFTOVERS from dinner the night before!

DINNER

*Main dish: Meatza (one BBQ with kale, pine nuts, red onion, & BBQ sauce; one with red sauce, garden veggies, peppercinis, olives, and avocado)

*Side dish: sliced watermelon

*Main dish: Stuffed chicken breasts (pre-prepared from Chucks, primal)

*Side dish: my aunt's garden beets, boiled and chopped, served with goat cheese (primal)
Elana's pantry rosemary bread (omitted the olives), & sliced peaches

*Main dish: Lettuce wrapped tacos
(ground beef or turkey seasoned as you wish, toppings as you wish, wrapped in lettuce.
Doesn't get any easier, trust me)

*Side dish: piel melon

*Main dish: Spicy pineapple chili

*Side dish: nectarines & primal Brazilian dough balls
(I found the premixed bag from World Market, believe it or not.)

*Main dish: burgers

*Side dish: spicy slaw & watermelon with blackberries

(side note: I used almond milk cheese, thinking it was primal...apparently they put rice flour
in the cheddar cheese. However, I don't think they do in the pepperjack!)

SNACKS

*Turkey, bacon, avocado, and tomato roll ups

*Garden fresh beets with goat cheese salad, a piece of leftover paleo rosemary bread,
& nitrate free salami

You've got the paleo/primal BLD+S menu for the week, now it's time to make your grocery list.
If only you could talk someone into doing the shopping, you'd be set.
Enjoy!

♥T&C

Stay Fit, Keep Cool

So the other day I was trying to call T-Mobile's customer service and I kept having to rephrase EVERYTHING to the automatic lady on the other end. I've never had a speech impediment so why couldn't she understand me or get me to the right representative? I was so annoyed! It started out by asking me my location, then it was unable to find what I was asking for. She asked me if it was residential or commercial, so I figured my cell phone is a "residential" number. The whole time I was so confused....that was, until I realized I had dialed 411 and not 611 for customer service. Hello! 

Annnyyyway, it's hot. Really hot. Sometimes our back deck gets to be about 100+ degrees and it scorches your body if you're out there too long. Don't get me wrong, I love the heat but I retreat to our front porch in the evening so I can survive. Because I'm pretty sure I would die if I sat out back for too long. Think I'm kidding? I'm not.

The heat is going to continue, like it or not. But if you're like me and still want to work out and 

keep cool, I've got a few of the easiest ideas for you.

1) workout in the morning before it gets too sweaty hot.

(I will post at home workouts each morning starting tomorrow plus a fun outdoor activity) 

2) make one of these sippers (click the photos below for the link) each day to keep cool.

3) drinks lots of water.

4) find some shade or a body of water, kick back, and relax.

5) take a nap because you can, because it's your weekend, & because it's good for you.

Lexi's CK Lemonade

Non-alcoholic Sangria

(ditch the sugar or just add a little coconut palm sugar instead)

Cool Cucumber Mint

Keep cool this weekend and try to get a little workout in each morning to start your day off right!

Have fun.

♥T&C

Sometimes All You Need Is Simple

Lately I've wanted food to pop out of nowhere and land right on our table for every meal. If only that could actually happen, right? I could get so many more things done if it weren't for having to cook and eat. Probably why I snack...like all the time. I've been planning my days without much thought about meals until that moment I realize I'm starving. We all know that's an awful plan and what happens when we're starved. We eat everything. Well, I do and maybe you don't. But what's saved me? 

Two things. Yes, only two things.

An avocado and garlic and herb goat cheese. It requires no cooking, no baking, and no real prep. It's good for any time of day. Breakfast with some eggs, a snack, a side at lunch time. Why not?

When you're in a pinch or when you're lazy like me right now, it's great. Trust me.

I'm heading in to the MD's office today for a good ol' checkup. Praying for some good lab results, that there's nothing else wrong with me (because I'm a nurse and I secretly panic at every appointment that something could be wrong), and only have a little anxiety. Seems silly, but I hate the doctors. 

Send me to the dentist everyday, but the doctor...ugh!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

♡C

Flavored Cubes

I"ve been MIA. And I honestly think this may happen more than once. Sorry ahead of time. I can't quite keep up with documenting/blabbing as I can do on here. Instead I'm utilizing Instagram in full force. It's made my life way too easy in "keepin' up with the Stanwees." It may also make your life easier so you don't have to read through everything. It's just that you'll miss the little detail if you don't read. I'll leave it up to you.

You've all probably seen it all...we're housing, we're playing, we're summer timin', we're adventuring, we're doing what everybody else does with their summer. We're enjoying our Stanley life and we hope you all are enjoying every bit of life as well! 

Because I enjoy these little guys and it made for a quick blog post, I figured I'd share. As always, it's simple, it's easy, and it's quick. All three of my favorite things when in the kitchen.

So here you have it. 4 versions, 2 of which are refreshing while the other 2 are for fun. I mean, how exciting to wait until the ice cube melts to get that fruit at the end! I know, that exciting!

Ingredients

water

2-3 lemons or 2-3 limes

grapefruit

raspberries or strawberries

mint

pomegranates (bought packaged and ready to eat from Trader Joes)

*The Refreshers*

Zest one lemon or lime into one side of your ice tray. Squeeze the fresh lemon/lime juice into each little cube with the zest. If you feel the need to make it a full cube, add a little water. Then, slice a grapefruit in half (Costco has amazing ones right now). Cut out each sliver and place in a cube on the other side of the ice cube tray. Then guess what? You got it, squeeze your grapefruit to fill the cubes. Place them in the freezer and pull them out to eat or place them in some cold water to add just a hint of natural flavor!

*For Funs*

Place raspberries or strawberry slices (1-2 of them) into the cubes of half your ice cube tray. Then place pieces of fresh mint with each berry. Fill with water. Just the same, add a glob of pomegranates to each cube on the other side of the tray and fill with water. Can't get any easier than that. Let them freeze overnight. Place them in some ice tea or pop them in your water and patiently or impatiently wait until you get to eat the fruit!

There are a million other ideas out there and yes, I know it's just as easy to add all that stuff to our water. It's just that it was kinda fun making ice cubes out of all the flavors. And surely we all know what Google is and how Google works. Utilize it. You'll get a handful of ideas for fruit cubes. 

Enjoy them in this heat and stay cool!

♡T&C

Treat In The Mornin', Treat In The Evenin'

I like easy. I like on-the-go. I LOVE anything that reminds me of dessert. I'm obsessed with this easy, on-the-go recipe that can be purposed for breakfast and then repurposed as a dessert with the leftovers. And since I was challenged to another whole30 for 30 days for a friend's 30th year being alive (Happy early B-day Melanie!), I can't keep away from this. Fair enough, right?

As promised, I said a few days ago I'd get around to posting the goodies that go into this but be sure to test out your own version...if you're feeling like some dairy free chocolate chips, throw some in to spruce up the dessert. If you've got some other fresh fruit, dump a handful into the bowl. I'll leave the "goodies" in the bowl for your cravings, but below is what I've done as my go-to.

The Treat In The Mornin' & The Treat In The Evenin'

What's In It?

1 C full fat (canned) coconut milk, kept in the fridge overnight

1/2 banana, chopped

1 handful of fresh picked raspberries

1 handful of unsweetened shredded coconut

1 handful nuts of choice

1 dash of flax or chia seeds

1 dash of cocoa protein powder 

(protein powder is not whole30 approved, but I'm doing my own version this time around ;-))

And for those of you not on whole30...add things such as:

1 drizzle of honey

1 small handful of Enjoy Life chocolate chips

1 dash of chocolate protein powder (mix well with coconut milk)

1 (or 2) paleo cookie(s) to scoop up your treat in a bowl

Place all ingredients into your bowl. Eat it like cereal for your breakfast (don't forget to add a side of protein in the morning as well). For dessert, throw your bowl in the freezer until hardened

(at your preference of hardness) for a dessert. Or be lazy like me and just do the easy cereal way. It makes life that much easier. Enjoy!

♡Cori

PS-always remember to keep a can of coconut milk and coconut cream on hand in the fridge.
I was once given that advice and it's saved me a million!

Paleo Sweet Bread

This may be my all time favorite paleo bread right now. I call it sweet bread because every other 

recipe turns out more like a almond floury/savory type bread. Plus it kinda reminded me of corn
bread for a minute. But only for a minute. I will say it will be the closest you'll get to corn bread
when you go paleo though! It was super tasty to have with chili, but there's nothing wrong with
just eating it plain because you want to eat it. It's good served in any fashion!

I don't have a photo of the bread because we gave some to the neighbors and the hangries got
the best of it! Somehow we managed to eat it all before I snapped a quick photo of it. Oops!
Instead, you get this photo of what it looked like afterwards...

So you'll just have to trust us on this one!

Paleo Sweet Bread!

courtesy of paleo comfort foods book

3 1/2 C almond flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

4 large eggs

1 tbsp honey (add a little extra for a little more sweetness)

1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar

Preheat your over to 300 degrees. Combine all your dry ingredients in one bowl and your
wet ingredients in another bowl. Then mix them all together. Pour the batter into a well-greased
loaf pan. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the top of your loaf starts to look golden
brown in color. 

As simple as that! Enjoy!

♡The Stanleys

Paleo Maple Scones

Have I ever mentioned I hate rolling out dough? I think that's why I like cupcakes. You don't have 

to roll out batter. But seriously, whoever makes those fancy cutout cookies...lots of credit to you. 

And I mean LOTS of credit to you. Unless it's dough that is not sticky and rolls with ease, then 

I'll give it a whirl. I think that's why I decided to tackle these paleo maple scones.

They're as easy as 1, 2, 3 when it comes to dough rolling. Again, the only dough rolling I'll do. Fortunately they're super quick as well. Right up my alley!

I essentially used the base recipe from Elana's Pantry, but added those fall flavors into it 

instead of the chocolate chips. Here ya have it:

Paleo Maple Scones

2 1/2 C almond flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cloves

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 eggs

1/4 C coconut oil, melted

Cinnamon Maple Syrup/Glaze

2 tbsp maple syrup

3/4 tbsp coconut oil, melted

1/2-3/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix your first six ingredients together in a large bowl. Then mix the maple syrup, eggs,

and coconut oil together in a small bowl. Pour your wet ingredients into your dry

ingredients, mix all together. Spread a piece of parchment paper on your counter, take your

ball of dough and throw it on top of the paper. Roll out your dough until it reaches

about 1-2 inches. You can either slice them into triangles or use a cookie cutter of any shape.

Place your scones onto the baking sheet and bake for about 12 minutes or slightly browned.

Serve these warm after pouring some cinnamon maple syrup/glaze over the top.

Add a cup of tea or coffee to your maple scone and you're set for a lovely fall or winter treat!

♥The Stanleys

The Gift Of Food

Who doesn't like food? And what better to not have to cook a meal, right?

That's why you make huge batches of food...some to freeze and some to give away. Throw in a 

few "extres" as Grandma Nu calls them, and you've got a food gift basket to hand over to those 

who are in need, those who just had a little tot, or those you just want to share your tasty
food with! So go ahead, have a baby...we just may whip up a little something for ya!

Check out what we packed up and sent across the street to the new parents!

The Almost Paleo Care Package!

1) Crater Lake Root Beer (only non-paleo item)

2) Paleo sweet potato chili

3) Paleo sweet bread

4) Paleo chocolate cake with a kick

5) Coconut whip and sliced strawberries to put on the cake

6) "Extres": 2 homemade napkins with a fleur de lis on them & 2 fun straws

7) A homemade card (I never claimed to be a good artist)

Our neighbors just welcomed a darling little girl to this world last week. I forget how tiny those 

things are and all those cute faces they make! You never know if it's just because or if they're about 

to poo on you. I love them! Now we've got a 3 year old, a couple 1 1/2 year olds, and this little 

babe to get our hands on. It's awesome...lots of kid and baby time without all the stuff that 

comes with them ;-) 

Anyway, congrats to B&R in bringing another little life to this world.

May parenting be easy, may your home be full of love, and 

of course, wonderful memories be made!

♡The Stanleys

Cashew Cream

You're probably thinking, why cashew cream. I know, seems random but trust me on this...

it is way too easy to make and can be used on a thousand paleo recipes. Ok fine, 

maybe not a thousand but a lot. And I'm on the verge of buying a lot of 

cashews and testing out some dessert recipes with it. If any of my 

ideas work, trust me...you'll hear about them.

Lucky you!

Cashew Cream

approx. 1/2-3/4lb cashews

water

*Place cashews in a medium bowl. Pour enough water into your bowl

to cover 2 inches above the cashews. Let it sit 3+ hours, but

preferably overnight. The drain & rinse cashews.

*Place the cashews into your food processor and blend until the

consistency becomes thick & creamy. Every so often, I'd

suggest scraping the sides down and continue to cream.

*Once you have your cashew cream made, it can be utilized in a variety

of ways. Stay tuned for a paleo artichoke dip recipe link that

you can use it in or find your own recipe that suites

your fancy! It will serve your time &

tastebuds well!

♥The Stanleys