Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Welcome to The Paleo Review!

Have you ever wondered after if that Paleo friendly recipe in a cookbook or on the Internet with a beautiful picture actually tastes good?  I do!  


Welcome to The Paleo Review!


On this blog, I will chronicle my paleo adventures in cooking.  I'll try recipes I find in paleo cookbooks and on the Internet and will review my cooking and eating experiences here.  As the blog gets going, I hope to receive recipe requests.  


This is very much a work in progress and I look forward to the day in the distant future where I look back at these first posts and cringe and reflect fondly at my inexperience and sloppiness.  I'm a bit of a planner, so I could plan and plan this site and never get started, so I've opted to just start.  Eventually, I would like each recipe post to include:


  • My actual prep time versus the prep time in the recipe;
  • My ease in finding the ingredients and expense;
  • Notes and pictures during the cooking process;
  • My actual cook time; 
  • End product pictures with my comments on taste; and,
  • My clean up time.  
Who am I and why should you pay an attention to my opinions?  I'm an average girl with a full time job, a house (and two kittens) to manage on her own; I swim with USMS swim team; have a social life; and value my health enough to cook on average 95% of my meals.  As many paleo recipes have expensive* cuts of meat involved, I know I'd appreciate not being the Guinea pig sometimes.  Well, I'll be your Guinea pig!  

Now I used the "expensive" word.  I hated to do that.  Eating a paleo diet does not have to be expensive in and of itself.  What I meant there is that within your total grocery budget, your protein (beef, poultry, eggs, seafood) comprises the biggest chunk of your food budget total.  .


Before getting to a recipe post, I'll say a little about me and my kitchen.  I like to cook, but I lack any real creativity in the kitchen.  If you give me a good recipe, I can make it.  Most of the time, I am cooking for just myself, but I rarely cook one meal at a time.  I enjoy cooking for others when I have the chance.  My kitchen is super tiny.  I'm certain the person who designed it has never cooked a meal in his/her life.  Here she is: 




So, cabinet/work space is pretty limited.  I have one kitchen drawer.  Yes, I said, one.  When I bought the house, the kitchen wasn't complete.  I had no idea how inefficiently the cabinets had been designed.   I do the best what what I have and have replaced the contractor grade dishwasher and sink with an upgrade and added the super-duper shiny microwave range hood.  Thankfully, I have a gas stove and oven.  I've managed to spread out some of my kitchen storage throughout the house (my Harry Potter closet under the stairs).  I love kitchen gadgets and appliances, but you have to work hard to earn a place on my itty-bitty counter!  And yes, those are dirty dishes in the sink.  Shame!

Without further ado, lets get to some recipes!