sweet peas and other things » the family behind sweet pea photography

I love this recipe from Elanaspantry.com – though this is the first time I’ve made it with a whole chicken! Usually I just put 4-5 chicken breasts in a baking dish with the rest of the ingredients, but today I picked up a whole chicken at the store to try this out for real.  Actually, we haven’t eaten chicken in quite a while… since thinking more about the fact that what our food eats becomes our food, I’ve been less excited to buy walmart chicken. Plus, we’re still working through our 1/4 grass-fed cow, and I don’t want to spend more money on meat when we have lots of yummy beef in the freezer.  But today I decided to treat us to some chicken, so I found some at the store that claims to be raised cage-free with an all-vegetarian diet… it’s a start I guess!

Breakfast: fruit smoothies (frozen peaches, cherries, blueberries, orange juice); a cheese stick; coffee

Lunch: leftovers of course! Cauliflower mash with sausage mixed in; carrots and green beans; water

Snack: zucchini-blueberry muffin (recipe to come tomorrow!)

Dinner: Roasted Chicken with Olives and Prunes; cauliflower mash; fruit salad (bananas, oranges, blueberries, grapes); water

Bedtime snack: 1 zucchini-blueberry muffin and a small glass of milk

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH OLIVES AND PRUNES

1 whole chicken
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup pitted green olives
1 cup pitted prunes
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon capers
2 bay leaves
1 clove pressed garlic
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup agave nectar
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup water

1. Rinse the chicken and pat dry
2. Place the chicken breast side up in a pyrex baking dish, then sprinkle with salt
3. In a large bowl, combine the olives, prunes, oregano, capers, bay leaves, garlic, olive oil, agave, apple cider vinegar and water
4. Spread the contents of the bowl in the dish around the chicken
5. Bake at 425° for 20 minutes
6. Lower heat to 375° and continue to roast the chicken until it is cooked through, about 40 minutes
7. Remove from oven and serve

Breakfast: 1 banana; 1 cheese stick; coffee (yep, ate breakfast in the van today…)

Lunch: leftover tilapia; leftover sweet potato; water; a spoonful of sunflower seed butter for dessert!

Snack: 1/2 banana; handful of pistachios; 2 slices of provolone cheese

Dinner: Italian beef with mozzarella cheese; fresh fruit (grapes, cantaloupe, pineapple); water

Bedtime snack: greek yogurt with blueberries drizzled with honey

ITALIAN BEEF

2 lb. chuck roast (grass-fed beef)
1/2 jar pepperoncinis with juice
2 c. water
3 beef bouillion cubes
oregano, garlic salt, onion powder, pepper, basil to taste

Toss everything in a large crock-pot on low for 8 hours. Serve shredded, topped with mozzarella cheese.

A few months ago we started a new family tradition… breakfast for dinner on Sunday nights!  Most Sunday mornings are super-early and super-busy for us, since both Sky and I volunteer in the praise band at FCC.  Thus, Sunday breakfasts are usually fruit or breakfast bars in a baggie that we bring with us to church, to scarf down between services… and lunches are usually something light that we can scarf down when we get home, right before we all crash for Sunday afternoon naps! So… we have our lavish breakfasts on Sunday nights – and we LOVE them!

Breakfast: fresh pineapple; grapes; coffee

Lunch: meat and cheese roll-ups (basically ham and turkey lunch meat rolled up in slices of provolone); broccoli and carrots with hummus; water

Dinner: Paleo* Pancakes with fruit syrup; omelets with ham, sausage, feta, avocado, spinach, and tomato; cottage cheese; OJ

The omelet-making station:

PALEO* PANCAKES

3 eggs
1/4 c. agave nectar
1 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla
3 1/2 Tbsp. half & half
2 1/4 c. almond flour
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. soda

1) Mix all ingredients in BLENDER – it gets pretty thick
2) Let batter sit for 15 mins. or so
3) Grease skillet with coconut oil (or butter, but the coconut oil burns less)
4) Spoon batter onto hot skillet – again, it’s thick batter so you can’t just pour it like regular pancakes. Also, these pancakes get dark quickly, but aren’t burned. Just flip them after a few minutes and keep an eye on them.
5) Top with fruit syrup

FRUIT SYRUP FOR PANCAKES

Frozen blueberries, raspberries, tart cherries, peaches, strawberries – whatever no-sugar-added fruit you like!
Fresh bananas, sliced

Simply mix the frozen fruit and microwave it for a few minutes til hot. Then add the bananas, mix it up, and put on top of pancakes. Super yummy and waaaay better than maple syrup!