21-Day Sugar Detox

Do you see this beautiful bright cookbook?!?!?

I might be a huge fan of Diane Sanfilippo from Balanced Bites. Zach and I were trying to go "Paleo" a while back and somehow Zach was able to receive a free copy of her book Practical Paleo. I loved that book from the moment I laid eyes on it. I wanted to try every recipe in the book. Well, we didn't get to all the recipes but we put a big dent in them. We bought Practical Paleo for several people and we know several people who have bought the book after we talked to them about it or after they borrowed ours.

When I saw that Diane was coming out with a new book, I had to get my hands on it. Her website Balanced Bites is also known for the 21-Day Sugar Detox. Thankfully, Diane decided to make this into a book. I saw that there is a special instructions for nursing mothers. I just had a son 4 1/2 months ago and I am a very active nursing mother. 

In this book, 21-Day Sugar Detox, I love how she includes special instructions in the book for nursing mothers, people who are very active, autoimmune health conditions, a quiz to help you pick which level you need to follow, yes and no foods, and even a dining out section to help you stay on the plan while out on the town.

Diane has put in a lot of work and research into this book. The way she writes really helps you understand the science behind the foods we eat and how they affect the body. 

I have tried several recipes from the 21-Day Sugar Detox and let me just tell you.... 

They are DELICIOUS!!!! 

I posted these pictures to our Instagram and Facebook page TheCave101. 

Green Apple Breakfast Sausage

Buffalo Chicken Egg Muffins 

Moo-less Chocolate Mousse 

Coco-Monkey Smoothie 

Is your mouth watering yet?!?!?  Yes, there are even "not-sweet" treats in the 21-Day Sugar Detox. She is very creative in finding ways to sweeten treats without sugar, honey, dates or anything else you might usually sweeten treats with. 

I have never done any sort of detox, mainly because I am opposed to the popular 3 or 5 day liquid detoxes. I love how this is a full 21 days of scheduled meals and teaching the body what it really needs. It takes 21 days for something to become a habit. I am starting my 21 days on November 1st. I will (try) to post daily of what I ate, how I feel, how I  am sleeping at night, etc. 

Bottom line- 

If you are tired of that sugar monster or those blood sugar dips throughout the day, pre-order your book HERE. Yes, you can get this book on Kindle but I highly recommend getting it in paperback. Her books are so in depth and just all around beautiful!

Homemade LaraBars

A little over a year ago, we were introduced to Lara Bars. Ever since the first time I tasted one, I have been hooked! They are jammed backed with fruit and nuts. Not only are they nutritionally dense but you can pronounce and know what every ingredient is.

Zach saw that Lara Bars has come out with two new flavors for the fall. We have been on a mission to find these... Snickerdoodle and Pumpkin Spice. We have been to several different Krogers around town and we have had no luck on finding them SO, we decided to make them ourselves. We totally just winged it and they turned out delicious! We wanted to share the recipes with you....

Snickerdoodle

4oz of pitted Dates

4oz roasted salted almonds

1/2 tsp of vanilla

1/4 tsp of cinnamon

2 tbsp of coconut milk

 Optional:

1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

2 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes

 Pumpkin Spice

4 oz of dates

4 oz of roasted salted almonds

1/4 cup pumpkin

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients in the food processor until well blended. 

2. Line a small loaf pan with parchment paper.

3. Pour all ingredients in loaf pan and mash it in as tight as you can.

4. Put in fridge for several hours to let it set up.

5. Slice and enjoy!

Easy, easy, easy and SO good. 

Let us know what you think!

Beyond Bacon

Zach has always been a cook. He loves getting in the kitchen and creating and trying recipes. I, on the other hand, have not always enjoyed cooking. It wasn't until we received Practical Paleo, by Diane Sanfilippo, that I really started to enjoy cooking. Ever since we got her cookbook we have really enjoyed getting Paleo cookbooks and trying as much as we can from them. While I was out on maternity leave, Beyond Bacon from the PaleoParents came out. As I was sitting at home all day and a baby boy sleeping, I just kept noticing all the post and hype that was going on about Beyond Bacon. I finally got my debit out and ordered us a copy! We had tried a few of the recipes here and there since we got the book and they were all delicious!

A week or so ago, the PaleoParents posted on their blog a giveaway and the prize was to win a half hog! I, immediately, sent Zach the link and told him we had to participate. Who doesn't want to win free meat?!?!?! Maybe a vegetarian but Zach and I far from vegetarian! We love meat!

The rules for the giveaway-
Cook from the cookbook, take pics, post it to Instagram, Facebook or Tweeter, and #beyondbacon.

That's it! Too easy not to try and plus you get to try all the yummy recipes! Zach and I started planning what all we were going to cook! Since we have already tried a few recipes we got a head start. We started our cook off last weekend with some delicious chicken...

How awesome does that look?!?!? We cooked 2 and I ate on them for several days. We also cooked plantains, and bacon sweet potato pancakes...

I really want to win this half hog so Zach and I started planning what we were going to cook this weekend. We went through the book and planned each dish out. 

Disclaimer: we ALWAYS cook a weeks worth of meat on the weekend and then we eat on it all week. I get up at 2:45 am and Zach gets up 5:00 am (if not earlier), by the time we get off and get home all we want to do is play with Knox. We don't want to worry about figuring out what to cook. This works well for us although it may not work well for others. Yes, it looks like a lot of meat but if you eat 3-4 meals a day its just the right amount!

Zach figured it out that we could try 12 more savory recipes and 4 more sweet recipes. I was all game! Go big or go home, right?!?!

We got to work....

The Perfect Pork Chops

Porktastic Frittata

Shaken and Baked Pork Chops

Grilled Cubed Pork Kabobs 

 Cajun Rubbed Pork Loin 

Smoked Pulled Pork Shoulder

Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder

Italian Tomato Pork Chops

Bacon Wrapped Dates

Salted Caramel Bacon Sauce

Triple Chocolate Freezer Fudge

Baconnaise

Apple and Bacon Stuffed Pork Chops

Kale and Pistachio Stuffed Pork Chops

Apple Ginger Tenderloin 

Maple Bacon Frozen Custard

We put dark chocolate chips in the custard and Zach topped his with bacon, dates and the Salted Bacon Caramel Sauce.

We also tried The Best Brownies and Sauteed Cabbage as soon as we got the book. 

 Nothing and I mean NOTHING that we have tried isn't good! We sampled each thing we made this weekend and packed it up for the week. It is all delicous!!! If you are a pork lover, I highly recommend this book! Who knew there were so many different ways to cook pork chops, tenderloins and pork shoulders. Beyond Bacon also talks about how to order a hog, about pastured pork, the science of pork and saturated fat, how pork affects your blood work and of course much more. 

So here is to Beyond Bacon!

Order it here!!!

Keep your fingers crossed that we win! The winner will be selected on Thursday Sept. 19th. We successfully have 21 entries! Hopefully one of them will be good enough!!!

Respect the Hog! 

Welcome to TheCave101

Hi, my name is Memrie and my husband is Zach. We have been living the Paleo lifestyle for almost two years now. I never thought that two years ago I would pass on the bread and pasta. We have learned so much over the last two years and it has all been for the best! Going Paleo was something we kind of stumbled across and then the more we read, the more we didn't look back. Yes, we will eat an occasional gluten-free snack or some white potatoes but for the most part we are 90% Paleo. We don't push it on people but we do love it when people come to us when they are interested and want to know more. Zach and I think it is a great lifestyle to live and have seen nothing but great changes in our bodies. On this blog, we will talk about fitness, Paleo, books and cookbooks we like and the recipes we have tried, and how we plan on raising our son caveman style!