Sweet Potato & Crispy Kale Breakfast Skillet

It took me a really long time to jump on the kale bandwagon, but now I'm hooked.  I see it at the grocery store and it's so affordable, so curly, and so healthy looking that I have to buy it.  The flavor of kale takes a little getting used to, but I've found that when it's crispy and/or cooked with garlic, even haters will happily chomp on it.  This recipe delivers on both counts, and also offsets the leafy kale with sweet potatoes and perfectly-cooked eggs.  You start the breakfast skillet on the stove, pan-roasting the sweet potatoes with chopped red onion until they're tender.  The garlic and kale are tossed in and stir-fried just for a minute.  Next, you make four little wells amongst the veggies, crack an egg into each one, and then pop the skillet into the broiler.  In just a few minutes, the eggs cook and the kale crisps up just like kale chips.  You are going to love it!

Cooking with Coconut Oil Review + Pork Chops & Apple Compote (Whole30 Day 5)

When I was offered a review copy of Cooking with Coconut Oil by Elizabeth Nyland of Guilty Kitchen, my answer was a resounding YES!  I am a huge cookbook junkie, and especially like to read books penned by fellow food bloggers.  Also, since I started eating paleo in August, I've loved using coconut oil in the kitchen, and was eager to learn more things I could do with it.  Today I'm sharing my experience cooking & photographing three amazing recipes from the book, and the recipe for Pork Chops with Apple Compote is at the end of this post!

Cooking with Coconut Oil arrived the day before I left to spend the holidays in Tennessee with Ben's family, so I did not get to cook with it right away.  I had plenty of time to page through it, though, bookmarking recipes I wanted to try and craving almost everything pictured in the gorgeous photographs.  This cookbook features a large, full-color photo of every single recipe, which I love.  (Cookbooks that only show pictures of some of their recipes are a huge pet peeve of mine--I never want to make any of the un-pictured recipes!)  The book also has informational sections that cover the health benefits of coconut oil, details about many of the ingredients used in the book, and ten tips for living a paleo lifestyle.  Did you know that the medium-chain-triglycerides in coconut oil improve brain function and can have therapeutic effects on Alzheimer's patients?  Yeah, neither did I!

Creole Hash & Eggs (Whole30 Day 2)

It's Day 2 of my Whole30, and I'm feeling great so far!  Yesterday I had quite a headache, which I think was because I tried to replace my morning coffee with tea.  It was too soon for that--I need to take my changes one at a time!  Since I don't like black coffee very much, I did a little research and found this recipe for bulletproof coffee.  It's basically hot coffee mixed with some ghee and coconut oil.  I made some using my immersion blender, and it was pretty good!  Not quite as delicious as my regular cup of joe (with copious amounts of grassfed milk, a splash of maple syrup, and a few drops of vanilla extract--none of which are allowed on the Whole30), but much more palatable than plain coffee.

Stuffed Zucchini with Goat Cheese & Herbs

Cheese is back!  After finishing up my version of a Whole 30, I've been adding some dairy back into my diet.  I've made some interesting discoveries.  I used to think that too much coffee upset my stomach, but since switching to almond milk, I realized it was all the milk in my coffee that was causing me problems (I like a LOT of milk in my coffee).  So I'm trying not to go too crazy with the dairy, but I'm fine with a little cheese.  

Goat cheese is one of my favorite cheeses, and it's one that people who are lactose intolerant can often still enjoy.  Apparently this is because the fat molecules in goat's milk are shorter than those in cow's milk, and thus easier to digest.  Whatever the reason, I'm glad I can enjoy goat cheese.  It really takes these stuffed zucchini over the top.

One more note on ingredients: this was my first time cooking with ground pork.  It was so good!  Why is everyone still buying ground beef all the time?  I mean, I'm sure this recipe would be good with beef, or even ground chicken or turkey, but the pork just has so much great flavor.  Perhaps this is due to a higher fat content?  What I really want to know is this: why don't people make hamburgers out of ground pork?  Any thoughts?  After all, they are called HAMburgers...

On to the recipe!  I'm eager to try this with other vegetables as well: maybe mushrooms instead of peppers, or shallots instead of onions.  Let me know if you try this or any variations!