Last week Adam and I ventured to Pearl Street to try out Izakaya Den. Everyone we've come across in Denver has recommended us to this place as the best sushi in Denver and it did not disappoint. The cool part about Izakaya is that it shares a kitchen with Sushi Den, so you can choose what kind of environment you want, but you get the best sushi on both sides. Sushi Den is a little more quaint, while Izakaya Den is a two-story restaurant that kind of feels like you're in a rainforest. Regardless, either place you chose you dine, you will love it. Suggestion; make a reservation! This place was absolutely packed!

We started out with cocktails at the bar while we waited for our table to be ready. I went with a Gin Gimlet and Adam, Henricks&tonic. My gin gimlet was delish and I felt so fancy drinking out of a martini glass! When we were sat, we asked the server what he recommended for appetizers. He brought us Japaleno Sashimi with Kanpachi and Pork Gyoza's. If you like yellowtail hamaci, you will love the Kanpachi, it tastes very similar, and anything with jalapeños is delish to me! The (pork) Gyoza's were amazing. Crunchy with a little sweetness with the sauce. Boy oh Boy.

This past week marked the anniversary of two of my most favorite shows ever; Friends & Boy Meets World. If you don't like these shows, move along because here are some great moments from both shows. Whitney sent me this 236 seconds of Friends and it is so amazing.

Let's be honest, work weeks are longgg. I started work Monday and have had some kind of activity every night so far. So the last thing I want to do when I get home is cook dinner, do laundry or clean. All I really want is pizza or carryout, wine & I want to sit on the couch with Adam and watch the DVR. Here are my most recent thoughts on paleo/life/newjob&life.

1. Why don't I have a nanny... for me.. that cooks my meals and cleans my house while I'm at work? 
2. Thank god there isn't carry out on my drive home from work. 
3. Do other people get tired at work between 2 and 3pm? 
4. Why can't my nice knives go in the dish washer. (I hate this because all I do is chop veggies!) 
5. Who is going to invent work clothes as comfy as leggings? 
6. I hate the smell of leftovers, in the microwave, when I'm in the break room at work. 
7. I wish Henry could go to work with me. 
8. I wish it was acceptable to drink a bottle of wine every night because that's what work does to me. 
9. I'm sick of cooking.
10. What would my manager say if I put a TV in my office? 

I love hamburgers. With a bun, without a bun, frozen, homemade, In&Out, McDonalds and even Runza. I could eat hamburgers every day. There are times where I have to literally tell myself, "don't eat another hamburger this week, Kristen" It's that bad people and, last night, I knocked it out of the park. I got this recipe from Practical Paleo, and it was probably my favorite thing so far. The title of this post is probably a bit misleading, it's not really a bun, more like a pancake. But, if you're not up for making the bun, the hamburger was so good itself, it doesn't even need the bun. I hope you enjoy as much as we did!

Hamburger Ingredients: 

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 jalapeño, diced (leave out the seeds for less spicy)
• 1 teaspoon spiced paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder

How to make the burgers: 

1. Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. 
2. Separate the meat into 4 patties (we made three since we like 'em bigger) 
3. Put a thumb print in the middle to make them cook evenly. 
4. Heat some coconut oil in a pan and heat to medium heat. 
5. Cook the burgers for about 4 1/2 minutes on each side. 
6. Eat them, enjoy them and make them again. 

• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons coconut flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 cups shredded sweet potatoes (I had one huge sweet potato and it made 4 cups) I used my food processor to make sure they were nice and shredded
• coconut oil for frying them
• (We doubled the recipe for extra and double it made about 10 pancakes)

1. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the coconut flour, cinnamon and sea salt. Mix in the sweet potatoes until well combined. 
2. Add about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil to a large skillet over medium heat. 
3. Spoon the mixture into cakes, about 4 inches in diameter. 
4. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side. 
5. Once they were done, we turned the skillet up to high and let them fry for about another minute on each side to make them nice and crunchy! 

Hey everybody, let's work out! Here's your weekly Callie workout session and this is a good one! In my wedding prep, I've been working on my arms a lot, because, lets be real, everyone wants nice toned arms in their dress! If that applies to you, then get ready, because this is a great workout for you! Callie is amazing because she shows you the right and wrong way to do the workouts in this video, which I found SO incredibly helpful. Get ready people, you will be sweating after this one! 

Ribs. Need I say more? How about a honey-mustard glaze? Are you tastebuds watering yet? I got this recipe from one of my gals, Lynds and I owe her big time. We made these Sunday while watching some football (don't even get me started on the Broncos). We decided to double the recipe so we could have leftovers, and I'm so glad we did! Hard to believe, but they were even better the second day!

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds of ribs
• 1 onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup dijon mustard 
• 1/3 cup raw honey

How to Make: 

1. Put the ribs and the chicken broth in a crockpot. 
2. Saute the onion and garlic and then put the whole mixture in the crockpot. 
3. Put on high and cook for 3 hours. (depending on how big your ribs are will depend on the time)
4. Hint: Don't open the crockpot! Keeping Adam away from the crockpot while the ribs were cooking was hard, but don't do it! 
5. When the ribs are done, make the honey/mustard mixture and turn the oven on to broiler/high. 
6. Put the ribs in a glass baking dish and rub the mixture on the ribs. 
7. Broil them for about 6 minutes. 
8. Grab some napkins and enjoy! 

It's Tuesday, so what does that mean? If you guessed another dessert recipe, you're correct! (Okay, I don't know what one has to do with the other, but desserts rock). This dessert is perfect when you're craving something chocolate and cold. I really really miss peanut butter. I honestly think my next cheat meal might just be multiple spoonfuls of peanut butter. Okay, maybe not, but these little devils are perfect for my craving. They're so good, enjoy peeps!

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup smooth almond butter 
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut 
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon honey (if I made them again, I'd add one more tablespoon) 
• 1 cup dark chocolate unsweetened chips (If again, I'd use 1 cups cocoa powder mixed with about a tablespoon of melted coconut oil)

How to Make: 

1. Mix almond butter, coconut oil and honey in a bowl and microwave them until melted (about 45 seconds)
2. Stir in shredded coconut
3. Grease a muffin tin. 
4. Add a spoonful of the mixture into the 12 muffin tins. 
5. [Optional] If I made this again, I would freeze this part (the almond butter mixture) and then add the chocolate. 
6. Place the chocolate chips (or cocoa powder/oil) in a bowl and microwave for about 1 minute. 
7. Pour the melted chocolate over the almond butter. 
8. The reason I would freeze the almond butter before pouring the chocolate over is to help the chocolate spread. When they were both melted and warm, it was just one big gooey mess, but they still turned out delish! 
9. Its up to you people, I hope you love them!

Happy Monday! Today is such a big day. Today I started my new job! I am so excited to finally get back into the working world. The last 4 months have been a strange mix between finding my place, taking the bar, looking for jobs and really figuring out what my purpose is. Let's be real, it's been great getting to sleep in, work out whenever I want or nap... But, I went to law school for a reason and I'm so glad I'm finally pursuing my career. What a day. What a great, fun, scary day! I hope you are all having a wonderful Monday! New recipes coming soon!

For the last month, I've been trying really hard to stay up on blogging. Some days/weeks are better than others but I'm trying. So, when Taylor from The Daily Tay mentioned the Blogtober14 challenge  and some inspiration from B, I decided to give it a try! I think it will be a great way for me to stay involved with my blog. But don't worry, I will still be posting all kinds of paleo recipes and stories from Denver! Here are the prompts! I hope you enjoy following along as much as I enjoy writing them!

This was our latest paleo meal and we knocked it out of the park. Adam told this was his favorite meal I've made, which is a pretty huge compliment. I would eat this again and again. Next time, I might try ground turkey! Enjoy peeps, these are delish!

Ingredients: 

• 2 red bell peppers, halved and cleaned. (I recommend red, they taste better cooked than other colors)
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil 
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup diced tomatoes, I used fresh
• 1 pound bison (you could use beef, turkey or chicken, but I think bison tastes the best!) 
• 6 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1 jalapeño, diced (leave these out if you don't want the spice) 

My favorite (and least favorite) thing about Denver is that every place is new to me. But it's so fun exploring all the different neighborhoods around town and trying all the different restaurants. Last night, my friend Caryn and I ventured to Pearl Street to try out Session Kitchen. Their restaurant motto perfectly captures the atmosphere, cocktails and food served.

Sessions are for sharing, globally-inspired, locally sourced and seasonally-influenced, cuisine from vivid iron-clad cookware. Eighteen taps of elevated craft cocktails, elegant beers and esoteric wines, compliment an extensive beverage program designed to awaken every session whether before or after a day well lived. A casual, vibrant, east-meets-west environment enriched by local and international street art provides both the gateway into, and the backdrop for dining, drinking and lingering in three sweeping architectural areas inspired by nature, movement, music, light and art.

If you live in Denver (or not), I highly recommend Session Kitchen, and if you go, try their version of a Moscow Mule, the Cambodian Mule! It has coconut sake in it, and it is yummy. We decided to take advantage of their happy hour menu and ordered the charcuterie, the olives and pickles and the green beans. So far, everything is so flavorful and delicious. I can't wait to go back and try so much more!

If you're like me, you cook Pork Tenderloin the same way, every time. Well, I wanted to try something different this time, and thought what better than a honey glaze! And boy, oh boy, it was great!

Ingredients: 

• 1 pork tenderloin (again, I got mine at Costco) 
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons salt

How to make: 

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees 
2. Line a baking sheet with tin foil
3. Baste the tenderloin with honey. 
4. Sprinkle the garlic powder and salt over the tenderloin. 
5. Bake in oven for about 20 minutes or until a thermometer says 160 degrees. 
6. Broil the tenderloin for about 10 minutes to crisp up the glaze. 
7. Enjoy! 

It's almost soup season here in Denver. Even though the days are still warm, the nights fall into the high-50's and it makes me crave soup! So, today I made my own version of Chicken Tortilla(less) Soup.  It was pretty easy, very spicy and perfect for the cool evening watching football. I know this looks like a long recipe, but I promise it was fairly easy and very good!

Ingredients: 

• 3 pounds chicken breasts (I used two costco packs, and used 3 breasts) 
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin 
• 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/2 tablespoon cayenne 
• 1 large onion, diced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 jalapeño peppers, diced (leave out the seeds if you don't want it hot) 
• 1 serrano pepper, diced
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 28oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• juice of 2 limes
• 1 cup cilantro, chopped (Coti, don't use this!) 
• avocado for garnish 

How to make: 

1. Cook your chicken. I put the three breasts in a sauté pan covered with water and cooked for 25 minutes on medium heat. But you can cook it however you want, I just think this is a good way to get it nice and tender. 
2. Shred the chicken. I use two forks. 
3. Season the chicken with the cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, cayenne powder. If you want this less spicy, cut out either the chili powder or the cayenne. 
4. Set the chicken aside. 
5. In a large dutch oven over medium heat, melt the 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. 
6. When hot, add the onions. Let the onions cook for about 4-6 minutes. 
7. Add the garlic and the peppers, cook for about 2-3 minutes. 
8. Pour in the chicken stock and fire roasted tomatoes and bring to a boil. 
9. OPTIONAL STEP: If you want a thicker soup, take out half of the pepper/tomato/onion mix and blend it in a food processor or blender. Add it back. 
10. Add the chicken, cilantro and lime juice to the boiling mixture. 
11. Serve nice and hot with some avocado on top! 
12. Enjoy! 

Workout #2! Callie never ceases to amaze me. Like I told you the last time, Callie is a teacher, and a fabulous one at that. Trust me, I've heard the songs she makes up for her classroom and teaches to all her kids. She's the teacher all teachers should aspire to be. On top of being the best teacher, she has time to workout like this, and make videos! She makes these videos for her class and people at her school to help them work out! She's a saint, if you ask me. Go watch her video!

"Here is another workout video! I do the first set with you on camera! You need a bench or a step or some raised, stable object! You do two more sets after my video ends and the total workout time will be 12 minutes! I continued the workout and by the end, I was sweaty and out of breath! I hope you enjoy!" --Callie

I've gotten a lot of questions about the paleo diet. Where do I begin? Can I eat beans? Can you seriously not eat cheese? What do you eat? Are you starving? I'll be honest, I was super skeptical before I started. I had no idea what the diet was about, what it included, excluded or what it really meant. I thought I would always be hungry! It wasn't until Callie began telling me about it, that I fully understood what paleo really meant. I probably wouldn't have ever started paleo if it wasn't for Callie helping me. So I want to help you! So here are my 10 tips for starting the paleo diet.

It's amazing to me that 9-11-2001 was 13 years ago.  I can still feel the heartache that morning when I woke up, a freshman in high school. I can still feel the tears burning in my eyes as I watched over and over the plane crashing, the buildings falling and the people dying. I can still hear George Bush's comforting voice,

"America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world and noone will keep that light from shining. Today our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature and we responded with the best of America....Psalm 23, "Even though I was through the valley of the shadow of Death, I will fear no evil for Thou are with me" ...None of us will forget this day, yet we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world. May God Bless America."

I can still feel the immense anger I felt that day. But more than any of that, was the sadness I felt. It was almost unbearable. I can still feel it today as much as I did on that day, 13 years ago. But the amazing thing, on top of all, is the pride I felt. I've never felt more American pride then I did on that day. I watched a country divided; republican, democrat, white, black, stand together. I saw people helping people, loving people, carrying people, holding people, praying for people. I saw love outshine every ounce of hate. I think that's what GW meant when he said "no one will keep our light from shining." We live in the greatest country in the world and regardless of what people try to destroy, Americans will protect and we will stand up to help each other and fight those who try to dim that light. Tonight, as the minutes tick towards tomorrow, I pray for those hurting and grieving. I pray for the kids, the parents, the spouses of those lost. My heart aches for them. Until I can no longer, I will make sure NO ONE forgets this day. Because it was more than just one day, it was the day America proved how strong it was and how strong her people are. May God Bless you and May God Bless America.

When I was in Arizona, my mom and I made this salad and totally botched the dressing. After playing around with it and adding more stuff, it ended up being pretty good, but not what we hoped. I made it again last week and played around with our original recipe and I think I nailed it! If you like thai peanut sauce, then you will love this dressing.

To do something, however small, to make others happier and better, is the highest ambition, the most elevating hope, which can inspire a human being. - Sir John Lubbock

Adam's favorite food is mexican. Basically he loves anything with cheese on it, hence paleo makes him kind of sad. But have no fear, last night we made tacos! We made flank steak tacos with tomatoes and sliced red bell pepper. I forgot to buy avocado, weeps. Okay, so here's my thing with flank steak. It's really good, and cooks so easy and fast, but sometimes its a bit chewy. Does anyone else feel that way about flank steak? Okay, lets be real, its really chewy. But it's good, I promise, you should make them.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound flank steak
• salt and pepper
• 1 head lettuce
• 1 teaspoon garlic 
• 1 teaspoon cajan seasoning (you can use any seasoning, adam loves this stuff)
• 2 Tomatoes, diced
• 1 Avocado (I forgot one, but I would highly suggest it!) 
• 1 Red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil