Its summer, and what do you do in the summer?? You BBQ!! What's a BBQ without BBQ sauce?!?! I found a few recipes for sauce, but I like things that are easy, so this is the recipe that I tried first. Luckily for us, we liked it, and I just made a fresh batch!! Its not the kind of BBQ sauce that you would want to use as a dipping sauce, but after it has been on the grill its delicious!! I suppose you could try cooking it first if you wanted it as a dipping sauce...
How did the family like it? Avery has not eaten anything I have made her in the sauce so far, but that is not much of a surprise. My husband, he likes it! He is quite happy to have his chicken thighs/wings dunked in BBQ sauce and thrown on the grill. It was great on my BBQ chicken Meastza, and I have even used it on some grilled eggplant!! Yum Yum!
I think the next time I make it I am going to experiment with the spice blends a little. I quite fancy a Chipotle BBQ sauce!
Ingredients:
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce – no sugar added - I used a giant can of crushed tomatoes and just guessed what 15oz would be
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste – no sugar added - we get 5.5 oz cans here in Canada, or at least the stuff I bought was
- 1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce - you can use coconut aminos, OR my soy replacement
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika - I used smoked paprika, and I am very generous
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 4 tablespoons unsulfered molasses
- 3 tablespoons honey - use raw honey - we like Grandma Bee's (you can buy it at the St Albert Farmers market, or Save on Foods) Grandma Bees Honey
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl and mix well using a whisk.
- Use as you would any other bbq sauce!
I got the recipe from: http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-bbq-sauce/
I told you it was easy!! LOL. It makes quite a lot of sauce, so be sure to start saving your empty jars!
Happy BBQ'ing
JoJo!!
So I am throwing in the towel... sort of... I am going to keep some aspects of the detox going, but I am also adding some things back into my diet.
This has been a really hard decision for me to make... I am not a quitter, I don't just give up on things, but I do think it is for the best... LONG TERM.
So WHY am I giving up?
I need to think long term. I have spent the past 3 months training to run the Edmonton Marathon in August. (That's a big commitment). Since I have started the sugar detox my runs have suffered, and I am struggling to recover from my workouts. Yesterday I ate a lot more "carbs" (meaning almond flour, sweet potato, fruit) than I was supposed to, and this morning.... well I had a good run. On top of that I was able to double up and do a Hot Yoga workout. I didn't need a nap today, managed Avery, and even took her for a bike ride! I really want to race well, so I think I need to make the commitment to my race, not the sugar detox.
I'm not feeling all the "positives" that are supposed to come along with the detox. Granted I don't crave the sweets as much as I used to, and I am not chugging bottles of wine on a bad day. BUT, I am not feeling a new found energy. I have been tired and groggy. I have been needing naps and feeling very lazy!! Not what I signed up for!!
What am I giving up? What am I keeping?
I'm not giving up 100% on the detox. I will continue to eat the Paleo way I have been eating. I will also not be jumping back into the wine. I will stick to one fruit serving a day, but it will be a fruit of my choice. If I have the urge for something sweet (chocolate) then I will eat some more fruit. I am not going to avoid sweet potatoes on the days I am not working out. I will incorporate them into every meal, just not as the bulk of my vegetable servings. I will avoid eating foods with added sugar (even if it is a natural sweetener such as raw honey or pure maple syrup); however, if I want one of my delicious muffins before a workout, then I will have one. I'm allowed treats :-) I will continue to avoid dairy. I have given up sour cream and liquid whipping cream in my coffee, and I can say I don't miss them too much!! I now use guacamole (homemade) and unsweetened almond milk.
I know I was hoping to lose weight, and some more inches from the middle, but that will come with time and hard work. My goal was by the end of the summer, and I still have 6 weeks to get that done!! So stay tuned for my updates on my progress, and more exciting new recipes!!
Hope your not too disappointed in my decision!!!
JoJo!!
Yes, that's right, PIZZA!! Avery LOVES pizza, so I have to give this one a try. I love pizza too, but because of the silly 21DSD I was not supposed to be eating anything of that nature. Screw it, I tasted the crust of Avery's pizza and I loved it. It was absolutely delicious. It tasted like a focacia bread to me. Yum Yum Yum. Avery seemed to enjoy it too. She ate about as much of the crust as she would a regular pizza, so in my books its a winner!!
I know Tapioca flour and arrowroot flour are "questionably" Paleo, but everyone needs a treat once in a while and this seems like a much better option. Since my goal for Avery is just gluten free, I think we did good.
The crust is super easy to make. They are not joking when the said that it would be a runny batter rather than a dough either! It does firm up into a bread formation though, so don't worry (and you bake it a bit before you top it). It is a pan style crust, so you could try to make a thinner crust I suppose.
I personally think it would be just good as a bread... or garlic bread. Who needs pizza all the time?!?! Well maybe some of us do ;-)
Ingredients
2 cups almond flour
1 cup arrowroot powder (or tapioca flour) I bought both flours, but I am pretty sure I used tapioca flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. oregano - I didn't have any oregano, so I used dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp. black pepper
3 eggs
1/2 cup almond milk - unsweetened almond milk in our house
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a round pizza pan (no holes) or cookie sheet.
- Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk to blend together.
- Add eggs and almond milk to the dry ingredients. Mix well. (The batter will be runny–not like typical pizza dough.)
- Use a spatula to spread batter onto greased pan. The thinner you spread it, the quicker it will cook (duh) I sprayed my pizza dish with coconut oil - wonder if my stoneware would have worked?!?!
- Bake crust in preheated oven 8-12 minutes. If it’s really thick you may need to continue cooking for 3-4 more minutes. The crust was kind of thick for me, so I baked it 12+ minutes
- Remove crust from oven and top with sauce and desired toppings.
- Bake for another 10-15 minutes.
Recipe from Unrefined Kitchen
Let me know how it goes for you, and if you enjoy it!!
PIZZA!!
JoJo!!
