Cooking Time

Before I went primal, I ate very little meat, and mostly carbs. i ate frozen, pre-packaged lunches by lean cuisine and the like. I was a chronic napper.
The first thing that overwhelmed me about the new eating style was the perish-ability of the food i was buying. I must say, due to poor planning, I have wasted alot of food (and money) but I am getting much better. In doing more planning, I have been cooking more often, and going to the store more often, and meal preparation now takes up alot of my free time. the bonus... I actually like it.
Remember when your grandmother would be in the kitchen half the day cooking on the weekend? I always wondered why she was always in there. She was making food from scratch! she didn't have anything to "nuke" for my grandfather.
There is a whole culture and ritual that I am now assimilating to. Musing at what i want to eat, checking out recipes online, stopping at a local store, asking my family who is going to be home, timing the meal so it's hot when most people are home, planning my lunch for the next day... a lot of time and effort go into cooking.
I used to go to the store once a week and get 5 frozen lunches, 3 boxes of cereal and a couple of gallons of nonfat milk. i literally don't eat any of that anymore. for around 10 years I've had oatmeal almost every morning of my life. Now it's eggs.
Ans speaking of eggs.... i eat about 2 dozen a week by myself. its the most portable, easy, no-fuss fatty protein source. love it.

I'm not sure why i love cooking now, after avoiding it most of my life before i was primal. Maybe it's because I wasn't doing anything productive in the free time i had if i wasn't cooking.
I like that my dad has become involved, too. Around 5 o'clock one of us calls the other and asks what there plan for dinner is. sometimes he has it all planned out. other times we both had plans and grumble over who's going to use the stove first, or how we had already thawed our meat so the other is too late!
I enjoy looking at my groceries as they convey towards the register... all different colors of veggies, fruits, nuts and meat. bottles of spices and coconut oil. I'm proud at my new competence in the kitchen, and very pleased to watch my boyfriend go back for second and third portions. i love food.

Here are my favorite recipes ive been making the past couple of weeks

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Serves 2

1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp garlic salt
olive oil (optional)
pizza sauce, shredded cheese and your choice of toppings*

Directions:

To "Rice" the Cauliflower:
Take 1 large head of fresh cauliflower, remove stems and leaves, and chop the florets into chunks. Add to food processor and pulse until it looks like grain. Do not over-do pulse or you will puree it. (If you don't have a food processor, you can grate the whole head with a cheese grater). Place the riced cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 8 minutes. There is no need to add water, as the natural moisture in the cauliflower is enough to cook itself.
One large head should produce approximately 3 cups of riced cauliflower. The remainder can be used to make additional pizza crusts immediately, or can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.
To Make the Pizza Crust:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup cauliflower, egg and mozzarella. Add oregano, crushed garlic and garlic salt, stir. Transfer to the cookie sheet, and using your hands, pat out into a 9" round. Optional: Brush olive oil over top of mixture to help with browning.
Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven. To the crust, add sauce, toppings and cheese. Place under a broiler at high heat just until cheese is melted (approximately 3-4 minutes).

I made a double batch and cooked it 5 minutes longer. it was awesome. i used blobs of Mozzerella and nickels of Italian sausage. sweet, sweet, life.

Fluffy Coconut Flour Pancakes

Ingredients

• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup milk (raw cow’s or coconut both work)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon honey or a pinch of stevia
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• coconut oil or butter for frying

Directions

1. Preheat griddle over medium-low heat. In a small bowl beat eggs until frothy, about two minutes. Mix in milk, vanilla, and honey or stevia.
2. In a medium-sized bowl combine coconut flour, baking soda, and sea salt and whisk together. Stir wet mixture into dry until coconut flour is incorporated.
3. Grease pan with butter or coconut oil. Ladle a few tablespoons of batter into pan for each pancake. Spread out slightly with the back of a spoon. The pancakes should be 2-3 inches in diameter and fairly thick. Cook for a few minutes on each side, until the tops dry out slightly and the bottoms start to brown. Flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.
4. Serve hot with butter, coconut oil, honey, syrup, or fruit.

I used stevia and it was good. these little guys are really suctiony, so get the butter handy. I made them small, as they stay together well this way.