Grilled Garlic Flank Steak

As the Caveman and I started our Paleo diet, we found many recipes that we absolutely loved. So much so, that even after we started adding more grains recently, we decided to keep some of the full Paleo recipes in our routine! This recipe happens to be one of our favorites. It's simple and absolutely delicious! This recipe was found in the book Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo.

Grilled Garlic Flanken-style ribs with Peppers and Onions

So far we have paired it with a nice spinach salad, mashed cauliflower, and even some asparagus. All three are an excellent way to add some side flavor to an already scrumptious meal! Additionally, you can use regular flank steak or even flank ribs. I haven't yet tried this on my outdoor grill, but it works fantastic on a broiler pan in the oven. Now let's get cooking!

Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic, minced

1.5-2lbs flank steak

sea salt and black pepper

1 tablespoon bacon fat, butter, or coconut oil

1 onion, diced into 1/2-inch pieces

1 bell pepper, diced into 1/2 inch pieces

First up, begin preheating your oven on the Broil setting. While the oven is preheating, season the steak with the sea salt and black pepper. Once seasoned, massage the garlic into the steak. Place the steak on a broiler pan and cook for approximately 5 minutes on each side. If finished before the rest of the meal, place to the side.

For the veggies, melt oil in a large skillet of medium to medium high heat. Add the onions and peppers and cook until soft and slightly browned on the edges. With the onions and peppers cooked, make a bed of the mixture on a plate. Slice up the steak and serve over the veggie mix.

My favorite side is a nice crisp salad with spinach, cucumbers, carrot, grape tomatoes and a nice balsamic dressing. The flavor combos of the salad and the steak blend perfectly!

So there you have it! The first Paleo recipe the Caveman and I tried and absolutely loved! Try it yourself and let me know how you like it! I've love to know any variations made as well!

School, Diet, Life - Where did the time go!

Hello Blog-o-sphere! Long time, no chat.

Boy have things been busy!  I know I've been feeling a little lost lately and figured I'd come back and share with you all. I finished out #Reverb12 and since then I've been going a million miles a minute!

To summarize, I started my my bachelor's program for Business Management, I wrote my first article for PopChix, I spent 10 days in Idaho with my family in January, Caveman and I decided that we are moving to Idaho in June, I proposed a remote worker arrangement for my job and they approved it, registered for the Color Run in Boise, we started a 30 day Paleo diet challenge, and I celebrated my 29th birthday!

Wow - its only been 3 full months into the new year and already I've accomplished so much! Its time to get back to my writing - back to my sharing - back to my updating!! I'll stick to writing about what I know - recipes that I love, my weight loss challenge, and now the joys of being a college student again!

Keeping it simple for my first foray back into blogging. Looking forward to the weeks to come!

#Reverb12 - Day 31 - Finish the year with a BANG!

Take a moment to yourself, somewhere quiet.

Take a deep breath, and if you have the time/space/inclination do something that has significance for you e.g. light a candle, brew a put of your favourite tea, play your favourite music, whatever.

Think back to where you were all those moons ago, on 1 December when you started #reverb12. All the way back then, I asked: "How are you starting?"

Now, I am not going to ask you "Where are you finishing?" because this is not the end. What I want to ask is, "Where are you now?".

You have spent a month honouring everything that has brought you to this place: the highs, the lows, the messy middles, the exuberant rainbows, the turbulent storms, the fresh strawberries dipped in dark chocolate, the too-tight jeans, the unexpected windfalls, the toddler tantrums (theirs or yours!), all of it.

You have thanked each end every one of these things for the things they have taught you and brought you, and fully know that they reside benignly in your physical, emotional and spiritual being. You know know that while they brought you here and will always be with you, there is no reason for them to hold you back any longer.

You are standing where you are, all that you are, splendidly imperfect and right in the middle of this messy delicious life.

Take another deep breath.

Now quickly and without thinking too much about it, finish these five sentences:

2013 is going to be MY YEAR because... I will get out of it what I put into it and I will be putting my heart and soul into this year!

In 2013, I am going to do... amazing things, like finish my degree, move into a house (rental), try to start a family, and create the life I WANT, not the life I settle for.

In 2013, I am going to feel... Alive, awakened, revitalized, rejuvenated! I'm bringing Sexy Back, hehehe!

In 2013, I am not going to... dwell on the past, sweat the small stuff, worry about things out of my control, or allow myself to get walked all over.

In December 2013, I am going to look back and say... Hot Damn that was an exciting year! And look at me now, a better person, a lighter person, an enlightened person! My husband and I can take on anything thrown our way, just try to tear us down, I dare you!

#Reverb12 - Almost the end of 2012!

So, here we go - from Christmas Eve to the 30th of December! Here are all but the final #Reverb12 prompts and my responses.

Day 24: What is the single most important habit you intend to cultivate in 2013?
A Morning routine. If there is any habit I need to focus on more than anything, it is a morning routine. Now, that could include working out, being up early enough for a shower, making breakfast at home, or even just 20 minutes of ME time. Regardless, I need a morning routine!

Day 25: How will you be vulnerable?
I will open myself up with no restrictions. I will no longer hide behind a shell and peer through the cracks. Its time to just open myself up and see what happens. I'm so guarded with so many aspects of my life and I feel like in some areas, it is holding me back. Time to leave that behind in 2012 and open up in 2013!

Day 26: How do you intend to carve out more time for the things that are the most important to you in 2013?
Time in 2013 is going to be a tough thing to come by. I will be working full time, attending school full time, focusing on my health full time and of course strengthening my relationship with my husband. I guess if I really think about it, those ARE the things that are most important to me.

Day 27: How will you continue (or start) making time and space for your creative passions in 2013?
I always tend to find a few hours on a weekend to do something crafting. However, for 2013, I want to make time for blogging and sharing. I want to find a community that I feel like I belong to wholeheartedly, and not just partially.

Day 28: Think of three things that daunted you in 2012: how are you going to work towards overcoming them in 2013?
I already overcame one of the largest thing that daunted me in 2012: starting school. 1 month in and I've already completed a 3 credit course and am on my way to the next one. The only other item would be my health. I was on such a great path in 2011 and felt like things were really going to go my way into 2012. But once the year started, everything just fell apart. So many other things were going on and I felt like I couldn't get a handle on anything. And here we are, at the end of 2012, and I have gained back all that I lost last year. Its heart breaking, but I know I can not give up. My husband is on board to making us BOTH healthy just year. No longer just supportive, but joining in the lifestyle change. Here's hoping we can overcome that obstacle in 2013 and beyond!

Day 29: What word did you select to be your travelling companion in 2012? What gifts did this word bring? What word will you choose to guide you through 2013? What do you hope it will bring into your life?

My 2012 word was Growth - and boy did I ever grow. So many things happened in 2012 that just showed me that there is SO much more to learn in this world. Good, bad, fun, sad, it was all about growing in work, in play, and in love! In 2013, I choose the word Action. I will take Action on thoughts and feelings and goals. I will not make resolutions to get me through the year, I will take action for a life long change. Time to get into gear!

Day 30: Describe joyously and in great celebration the BEING that you ARE. 
The best way to describe the Being that is Me, is to read my About Me page! It is all about me, glorious me!

One more post before the end of the year! Stay tuned!!

#Reverb12 - A Week of Reverb

So - between studying, work, and Christmas, I've completely slacked on my duties to keep up with #Reverb12 this year. So - I intend to do 2 big posts to finish out the year. This one will be up to December 23rd, and the last one will be til the 31st! That will put me right up to my New Years post! Without further ado, let's jump right in!

Day 16: Who inspired you? My husband. Every day, the Caveman inspires me to keep going. He was, and is, my biggest supporter when I decided I wanted to go back to school. His outlook on life is amazing and I know there is a reason we were meant to be. He calms me down, keeps me level, and maintains that cool look towards life, as if to say "Bring it, I can take whatever you throw!" I'm  jealous, but also inspired, by that outlook.

Day 17: How did you make a difference? I can't really think of anything I did that made a difference. I dont' feel like I affected someones life in any profound way. I feel like there are many things I let myself down on. I didn't do any charitable things this year. I know I did great, but I really feel like I didn't make a difference. I just lived. That's really all I could do in 2012. A fabulous year, a busy year, but just a year when the day is done.

Day 18: The colour of you? Orange. Always Orange. Bright and cheery and happy. And yet I also see it is lonely and angry and full of despair. Its close enough to red to be full of frustration but also close enough to yellow to be full of hope. That's how I am, that's how I always am. I live on this line, always wavering from one side to the other. Some days I'm dark orange, hiding in a corner, wallowing in the thoughts in my head, hoping to find a light at the end of the long dark day, week, or even month. Some days I'm bright orange, bouncing through life without a care, loving everyone and everything and trying to remember to be grateful for what I DO have instead of worrying about what I don't. Its a delicate line I live, but it's my line and I live it to the fullest!

Day 19: How did you nourish yourself? To be honest, I didn't nourish myself at all in 2012. In fact, I was mean to my body all year. I stopped going to Zumba, regular exercise, no more hot yoga, started eating worse, let negative thoughts fill my head, allowed stress and work to control me, and just beat myself up emotionally and physically. I was NOT good to myself, not at all. I want to change. I need to change. I'm starting to change. I feel like every year I learn more about myself that causes me to rethink how I've done things in the past. "Hard Work and Determination" just don't seem to cut it for me. My body and my brain don't work with that philosophy. I want to take better care of myself in 2013. I have plans and goals and I have a husband on board to help me reach those! It'll be a new year, but I'll make the best of it yet

Day 20: What was lost and what was found? Keeping this one simple. I lost thousands of dollars in debt when I finalized my bankruptcy. I found a new respect for money management. The mentality for money management has always been there for me, but I let a horrible relationship dictate my financial decisions for 5 years and wound up in the biggest hole I could ever imagine. I'm recovering, quickly, and on track to reach my financial goals much quicker now! Student loans are getting paid off fast, and I just bought my first car with CASH! Making progress!

Day 21: What’s on the dream list?

* Finishing my Bachelor's Degree

* Live in a HOUSE, not an apartment

* Become a mommy

* Move somewhere with BETTER Seasons (I want SNOW in Winter and SUN in Summer)

* Start my own company (hmmmm - family business with my Daddio sounds good to me!)

* Smile EVERY DAY

Day 22: What was the greatest gift you received in 2012?
I got my Christmas present from the Caveman at the beginning of December. He gave it to me because it is to be used as a TOOL, not a TOY! He wanted to get me something that would help me with school that I really wanted. So, he went out and bought me a Kindle Fire HD! I was completely amazed that he bought it for me. We are a little tight with money, but he still wanted to get me something that I could have fun with but would also be EXTREMELY helpful in me accelerating through my coursework to finish my degree. I couldn't have been happier!

Day 23: Name three excuses -- stories you tell yourself that are holding you back -- that you are going to let go of in 2013.

I'm going to let go of my emotional attachment to food.

I'm going to let go of the internal fear I have that I am not good enough for the great things I already have.

I'm going to let go of half my wardrobe - not hanging onto anything anymore that is too small or too big.

So there you go! Next week I will post the last of the #Reverb12 posts.