Civilized Caveman's Paleo Recipe App Review

I just downloaded the Civilized Caveman's Paleo Recipe App. George, the internet's resident bacon-obsessed (who isn't?) caveman has created this completely awesome, functional recipe app. At an introductory price of .99, it's a fantastic deal and, if you get a chance, you should download it.

The first thing you will notice after the download is how gorgeous all the pictures are. This is what I call high-quality, mouth-watering photography at its finest. The app is organized into different categories (Breakfast, Poultry Entrees, Sides...). Each category leads into a list of recipes, starting with a "Featured Recipes" section that you can swipe through. Talk about delicious.

Once in a recipe, swipe past the photo to the ingredient list then to the recipe steps. I love that I can change the units of measurement! I would definitely look into minimizing the amount of swipes between steps, though, because I don't always have a free (or clean!) hand to swipe with, especially when I'm working with raw meat.

In the future, I look forward to seeing a shopping list and a way to check off the ingredients that you do have. I am also interested in seeing a way to convert into a smaller number of servings because I usually cook for just myself. I would also love to be able to share that I made a recipe on Facebook or Twitter through this app—I don't even need to post the recipe, really, just let people know that the recipe is awesome and that they should try it.

The app also includes less bacon than I expected.

Overall, this is an awesome, very usable app that has room to grow. Worth more than .99, so I am glad that the price is introductory only.

Since this is a blog about maintaining your budget while living a healthy lifestyle, I will leave my readers with a small caution. The Paleo lifestlye can get expensive because the ingredients you use are superior in quality and don't have a high demand yet. Plus, you will fall in love with this lifestyle.

Paleo recipes, however, are fantastic and healthy because they use real ingredients and they work with the thought that our bodies have not yet evolved to combat all the various processed foods we eat. You can always scale your involvement when you begin a lifestyle, though, and I encourage you to start by buying whatever you can afford.

It will change your life!

Agree? Disagree? Questions? Comments? Let me know in the comments section!

TIL: I cannot spell lifestyle on the first try, apparently.

French Baguette Pizza!

So, I made an awesome pizza a few nights ago by using a french baguette, lots of cheese, and garlic. And you can make your own, too! One baguette makes about four individual pizzas (I cut mine into eights to make them easier to eat, but I'd say fourths for the hungrier people out there), and can be bought pretty inexpensively.

What you need:
French baguette (as low as $0.88 from Walmart)
Butter
Garlic powder
Italian seasoning
Tomato sauce
Cream cheese
Parmesan cheese
Shredded cheese (preferably with provolone in it)
Any meat or veggie toppings you may want

So cut the baguette in half horizontally (using your serrated knife, of course!) and then again vertically for as many pizzas as you would like. Then, spread a layer of butter over the crumb of the bread. Sprinkle with garlic and Italian seasoning(french baguettes make awesome garlic bread, too). Cover with tomato/pizza/spaghetti sauce. Following that was a layer of chive and onion cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, and then the "pizza" mix I got from the grocery store. I put the pizza in the oven for 10 minutes at 420 degrees. Then I feasted.

I didn't use any meat, but that doesn't mean that you can't. In fact, I would love to see some meaty, delicious French baguette pizzas. You can also use a bagel as the crust instead of a baguette, but most other breads end up not having the same consistency or texture as a pizza crust, which makes your dinner "Stuff on Bread" rather than "Pizza".

The total cost for me ended up being about $0.30 per little section (so, an eighth). A lot of my ingredients were from before I moved, and I hijacked the baguette from my work. For pizza, that's a really good price.

Now some people may ask why I didn't just make my own crust, and there were several reasons. Firstly, the baguette was free. The baguette is similar (though not the same) as having a slightly tough pizza crust. It's a little on the thick side and you don't have the crust's edge to keep your toppings from falling off. You can use the rest of the baguette for other meals if you don't use it all in one sitting (sandwiches, garlic bread). Baguettes are delicious.1

Ham and Hot Dog Fried Rice

Why, yes, I did put hot dogs in my fried rice. It was delicious. And, for about $0.68/serving, who could argue? I don't really keep track of the ratio of spices that I put in my food when I cook, but I will tell you what sorts of good things I put in the dish.

Day-old rice
Soy sauce
Frozen veggies
Ham
Hot dogs
Egg
Garlic powder
Cayenne pepper
Chili powder
Black pepper
Salt
Onion powder
Brown Sugar