AIP-Friendly Game Day Wings

As long as we’ve been on our paleo journey, we have been fortunate to not find ourselves specifically reactive to anything beyond standard grains, dairy, and legumes. Because of this, we have had the terrible habit of visiting friends, such as the Paleo Parents, with homemade treats that those following an autoimmune protocol (AIP) can’t enjoy. After 2-plus years of embarrassment for spacing out on this fact, Heather made a commitment to put together something that all could enjoy. That’s how she came up with today’s co-post of AIP-Friendly White Barbecue Sauce.

To go with this barbecue sauce, I put together these wings. They have a sweet and savory flavor that won’t have you missing the fiery spice of traditional barbecue wings. I’ll be honest—at first I was really intimidated by the restrictions of AIP but thankfully I found an exhaustive listing of what can, might, and can’t be used on the protocol (Thanks, Sarah!). These are great for game day, or for any other occasion where you want finger foods and want to make sure everyone can enjoy them.

Real Life Paleo by Stacy Toth & Matthew McCarry: A Story, Review, Recipe, and Giveaway

Let me tell you about my first interactions with Real Life PaleoIt was late on a Saturday evening, after another fun event at Matt and Stacy‘s house. Stacy asked Heather and I, along with Russ and Janey, if we wanted to see the new book. Let me just say that their fantastic book, Beyond Bacon, had recently released; so to hear that they already had another book in the works was surprising, to say the least. (We barely keep up with writing one post each Wednesday!) Lo and behold we were presented with a clipped stack of printed paper that was the rough outline for what is today’s release. It’s been so much fun to watch this project come together (and even help with shooting the front cover), and we think this book is going to do a lot for the paleo community. Even if you have all the other books out there, don’t think this is just another generic paleo cookbook. It’s not. Let me explain…

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

This week I’m excited to share with you a recipe perfect for game-day, potluck, or holiday. Meatballs are a fun and delicious way to start off a meal or serve along other small foods during a gathering (we’re no stranger to meatballs). This time of year, between Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and football parties, we end up being a lot more social and therefore need to cook food that is easily shareable.

Our sweet and sour meatballs are great in the small 1-inch variety, but would also be good in a larger size for a more traditional entreé serving at home. They could also be cooked and kept warm in a slow cooker, rather than a skillet, if you’re planning ahead and hosting a get-together with multiple items on the menu. Whether you use buffalo and ground beef or a combination of different meats (be cautious with very lean meats so that they don’t dry out), we think you’re going to love these tangy meatballs.

Buffalo-Style Cashews

It’s football season, so I am admittedly slightly obsessed with buffalo-flavored everything (did you know that Buffalo Wild Wings has a great chart for what is gluten-free on their site? Perfect for going out for the game and navigating the menu). That being said, one of my favorite previous treats was Snyder’s of Hanover’s buffalo-wing pretzels. They’re greasy, salty, crunchy, and awesome—they just make me feel like garbage with the additives and wheat.

These cashews are a great way to get that kind of experience at home and make a fun project of it, too. The instructions have variations depending on how intense of flavor you want and level of crunchiness. We know you will love these in addition to your Sunday (and Saturday, and Thursday, and Monday) ritual, just so long as you don’t wipe your hands on your jersey.

Waldorf Salad

Early fall is the season of apples for me, and I get excited to use all kinds in every way possible. So, when Brent suggested we try to create our own Waldorf salad–in which apples are a main ingredient–I was completely on board. The original Waldorf salad recipe is attributed to the dinning room manager of New York’s Waldof-Astoria Hotel in the late 1890s. It contained apples, celery, and mayonnaise, and was served on a bed of lettuce.

Soon thereafter, walnuts became another main ingredient and over the decades other ingredients have come and gone. Some common additions are chicken, turkey, dried fruits, and yogurt. I imagine that yogurt plays an integral role in helping the dressing stay light and flavorful. So, I wanted to recreate that experience, but keep it dairy-free.

This Waldorf salad is sweet and light, and can be served as a refreshing lunch, appetizer, snack or even dessert. (Yes, I said dessert. I had the leftovers as “dessert” for three straight dinners.) We hope you will enjoy it, too!