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Paleo Strawberry Cheesecake

29 Jan

Ok technically this could probably be considered Whole 30 (no baking, just nuts, seeds, fruit, coconut, a splash of juice…), but the people at Whole 9 Life might call it “sex with your pants on”.  So I won’t call it Whole 30, but it is absolutely Paleo!  Today is Lauren’s birthday (Lauren is the girlfriend of my brother-in-law to be) and she has a dairy intolerance.  In her honor I decided to create this new dessert.

Paleo strawberry cheesecake

Paleo strawberry cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust

2 cups raw macadamia nuts, soaked

5 Medjool dates, steamed and pitted

1/2 tsp. kosher or sea salt

1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

Filling

1 1/2 cups cashews, soaked

5 Medjool dates, steamed and pitted

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1 tbl. full fat coconut milk

2 tbl. lime juice

1 vanilla bean, scraped

Strawberry sauce

1 cup strawberries (I used frozen, which I thawed)

1 tbl. chia seeds

2 1/2 tbl. water

2 Medjool dates, steamed and pitted

Method:

In a large bowl cover your macadamia nuts with water, let soak 3+ hours.  In another large bowl cover your cashews with water, let soak 3+ hours.  Thaw your strawberries at room temp (if you bought frozen ones).  Place your dates in a steamer basket over boiling water and steam, covered, for 5 minutes.  Turn off heat and let dates sit until cool.  Remove pits.

For the sauce:  Mix together chia seeds and water and let sit for at least 10 minutes.  Add the soaked chia seeds, thawed strawberries, and 2 pitted and steamed dates to your food processor and blend until smooth.

For the crust:  Drain the macadamia nuts and add them to your food processor with 5 pitted and steamed dates, flaked coconut, and salt.  Process until the mixture is sticky and slightly coarse.  Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a glass pie plate.

For the filling:  Split the vanilla bean pod in half, scrape out the seeds, discard the pod.  Drain the cashews and add them to your food processor with 5 pitted and steamed dates, melted coconut oil, coconut milk, lime juice, and the vanilla bean seeds.  Process mixture until smooth.  Spread filling onto crust in pie plate.

Spread the strawberry sauce over the filling and place in the freezer for 1 hour to set.  When ready to serve thaw at room temperature for up to 30 minutes.

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Paleo & Whole30 Bacon Wrapped Butternut Squash

29 Jan

Have no fear an easy, delicious super bowl treat is here!  People doing the Whole30 challenge or eating strict paleo are probably starting to wonder: what will I do for super bowl snacks?!  This one is super simple and really yummy.  Why am I wrapping butternut squash in bacon?  Because I hate scallops.  Hate.  So what else might go well wrapped in bacon?  Well, everything I guess 🙂  But I was looking for something that would be a little sweet and cook soft to compliment the salty crisp bacon.  Experiment success!

Whole 30 bacon wrapped butternut squash

Whole 30 bacon wrapped butternut squash

Ingredients:

20 oz Butternut squash – I totally cheated and bought a package of precut cubes!  Saves a lot of time!  If you buy a whole squash, peel it, deseed it, and cut it into 1-2 inch cubes.

20-24 oz. uncured nitrate free no sugar added bacon

Olive oil

Kosher or sea salt

Pepper

Toothpicks

Method:

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Toss the butternut squash with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Wrap each cube of butternut squash with half a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick.  Place on a baking sheet lined with foil and bake at 400°F for 25 minutes, until bacon is crisp.

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Paleo & Whole30 Beet Dip

25 Jan

Don’t you just love colorful food?  I really really wanted to make this with goat cheese, but as goat cheese is not paleo and goat cheese is definitely not Whole 30 I was good .  I didn’t buy any goat cheese 🙂  This dip is great for any raw vegetables and will add an amazing pop  of color to the appetizers at any party.

Whole30 beet dip

Whole30 beet dip

Ingredients:

3 beets, greens removed

1/2 cup tahini

1/2 cup paleo mayonnaise

1 clove garlic

2-4 tbl. lemon juice

1 tbl. olive oil

Kosher or sea salt

Pepper

Method:

Preheat your oven to 400°F.  Wash the dirt off your beets and wrap them in foil.  Place the foil containing beets on a baking sheet and bake at 400°F until fork tender, up to 2 hours depending on size of beets.  Once beets have roasted and are cool enough to handle peel off and discard the beet skin.  Place skinned beets and remaining ingredients in your food processor and blend until smooth.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

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Paleo & Whole30 Granola Cereal

24 Jan

Sometimes you just want a bowl of cereal.  Whether it be for breakfast or an any time of day snack a spoonful of crunchy paleo goodness floating in almond milk can really hit the spot.  This is a modification of NomNom Paleo’s Tropical Granola recipe.  My sister-in-law to be was the first one to create this modification and after enjoying it over the weekend I couldn’t wait to make my own!

Whole30 granola cereal with almond milk

Whole30 granola cereal with almond milk

Ingredients:

2 cups raw sliced almonds

1 cup raw chopped pecans

1/2 cup raw chopped walnuts

1/2 cup shelled sunflower seeds

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

3 cups unsweetened flaked coconut

1 cup canned pineapple tidbits in pineapple juice

5-8 pitted dates, chopped

3 tbl. orange juice

1 tbl. vanilla extract

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. kosher or sea salt

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

Method:

Preheat your oven to 250°F.  In a large bowl toss together almonds, pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, flaxseed, and flaked coconut.  Using a 2 cup size glass measuring cup add pineapple tidbits to the 1 cup line then pour juice from the can over the pineapple and up to the same 1 cup line.  Add pineapple with juice to your food processor along with dates, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.  Process until smooth.  While processing drizzle in your coconut oil.  Toss the smooth pineapple mixture with your nut mixture and then spread evenly across 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 250°F until golden and toasted, approximately 1.5-2 hours rotating racks halfway through.  Once cool, if you like dried fruit in your cereal, toss with additional pitted chopped dates or unsweetened and unsulphured dried fruit.  If you can’t find any Whole30 compliant dried fruit in your local stores you can order from a great selection at Steve’s Original.

I love this recipe best in a bowl with unsweetened carrageenan-free almond milk!

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Paleo & Whole30 Pulled Pork

20 Jan

This is John’s amazing creation.  AMAZING!  In warmer weather it will be smoked over applewood chips, but in the winter it gets oven roasted.  If you love flavor like we do and you have some time and a small army to feed this is the recipe for you!  Pulled pork is always a favorite and to keep it paleo/Whole30 serve it on a bed of mashed sweet potato.  Or you can do what I did with leftovers for the playoff football game:  “bake” a sweet potato in the microwave (simply use the “potato” button), microwave leftover pulled pork for 1 minute, stuff pork into baked potato, top with paleo/Whole30 North Carolina sauce and proceed to stuff your face in front of the television.  Doesn’t get faster than that!  As far as the time factor for making the original batch of pulled pork goes, about 98% of it is simply waiting for the pork to come to temperature in the oven, not actual hands on work.

Ingredients:

6-8 pound bone in pork butt

6-8 sweet potatoes

Spice rub for the meat (if you have extra save it for next time)

2 tbl. kosher or sea salt

1 tbl. ground pepper

1 tbl. ground cumin

2 tbl. chili powder

1 tbl. onion powder

1 tbl. garlic powder

1 tsp. ground mustard

1/4 tsp. cayenne powder

Whole30 North Carolina Sauce

6oz can tomato paste

2-3 cups apple cider vinegar

4oz (~1/2 cup) unsweetened applesauce

2 tbl. lemon juice

3 tbl. mustard

1 tbl. dehydrated onion

1-2 tbl. of the spice rub

Whole30 pulled pork over mashed sweet potato with oven roasted carrots and brussels sprouts

Whole30 pulled pork over mashed sweet potato with oven roasted carrots and brussels sprouts

Method:

Preheat oven to 250°F.  Mix the ingredients of the spice rub together and pat/rub all sides of meat until the pork is liberally coated.  Insert a digital temperature probe into the center mass of the meat (avoiding the bone) and place the roast on a rack in a roasting pan.  Roast the pork in the oven until the internal temperature reaches 180°F.  Remove pork from oven and cool until safe to handle/pull with your fingers (or use meat hooks if you have them).

You can bake your potatoes in the oven while the pork is roasting, at this low temperature it should take 3.5-4 hours for the sweet potatoes to cook to fork tender.

While the pork is cooling make the sauce.  Whisk all ingredients together and, while mixing, bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Once sauce is at a boil reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Use an immersion blender or transfer to a blender or food processor to smooth the sauce.

Remove the bone and shred the pork in the roasting pan with the pork drippings/juices.  You can toss it with the sauce now or leave it as is and pour sauce over when serving.  Remove sweet potato from skins, mash, and serve topped with pulled pork and sauce.

Whole30 pulled pork stuffed sweet potato

Whole30 pulled pork stuffed sweet potato

Everyone enjoyed dinner and the best thing after a slightly spicy dinner is a little something sweet.  I whipped up a batch of Whole30 sorbet for everyone.  I had to double the recipe to accommodate the number of people.  I used 2 cups mango, 2 cups strawberries, 1 cup raspberries, ~2/3 cup full fat coconut milk.  Topped with toasted almond slices (for those who wanted them) and a fresh raspberry.  Absolutely amazing meal!

Whole30 Mango raspberry strawberry sorbet

Whole30 Mango raspberry strawberry sorbet

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Whole30 Pork Red Thai Curry

12 Jan

On June 24, 2013 I posted the paleo version of this recipe, but here is the strict Whole30/strict paleo (i.e. no coconut crystals) version.  So many people don’t want to eat strict paleo/Whole30, not even for just 30 days!  Why?  Usually two reasons.  First they think it is too hard.  It isn’t.  Second they seem to think you can only eat boiled chicken and steamed vegetables.  Um, no, that’s gross (unless you like boiled chicken and steamed vegetables).  Not eating sugar, dairy, soy, legumes, and grains doesn’t mean you can’t have flavor.  Every spice out there is Whole30 approved!  Your food should have amazing flavor and texture!  Here is one really flavorful Whole30 approved dish.

Note:  If you don’t eat pork substitute your favorite mild protein (scallops, shrimp, chicken…just make sure it is cooked properly for the dish)

Whole30 Pork Red Thai Curry

Whole30 Pork Red Thai Curry

Ingredients:

3 lb. pork loin, sliced into stir fry strips

1 large (or 3 small) shallots, sliced

5 small (or 3 large) dried bay leaves

Kosher salt

Pepper

Coconut oil for cooking

1 – 1 1/2 tbl. freshly minced ginger

6 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbl. tomato paste

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

2 fresh tomatoes, chopped

2 cans full fat coconut milk

1 stalk lemon grass, cut off top & bottom, peel off outer layers, use inner layers only

1/2 – 1 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)

3 tbl. chili powder

2 tbl. ground cumin

2 tbl. ground coriander

2/3 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 + cup organic low sodium chicken broth

2-4 cups pineapple chunks (I really like pineapple, I used 4 cups)

1 lb. asparagus

1 handful fresh basil, chiffonade into ribbons

Juice of one lime

Method:

Steam asparagus for 3 minutes, rinse with cold water to stop cooking process, and slice into 1/2 inch pieces and set aside.  Season pork with salt and pepper.  Heat a few tablespoons of coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat.  When oil is hot add shallot and sauté for 1-2 minutes.  Add pork and bay leaves and sauté until pork is no longer pink.  Set pork aside.  Drain excess fat from pan and return to heat.  Add more coconut oil, garlic, ginger, and tomato paste and sauté for 2-3 minutes.  Deglaze pan with chicken broth and add bell pepper and tomato and sauté for 3-4 minutes.  Add coconut milk, cayenne, chili powder, cumin, and coriander.  Bruise the lemon grass by bending and cracking it (much like you would a glow stick).  Add lemongrass to sauce and simmer sauce 5 minutes.  Discard lemongrass.  Using an immersion blender puree the sauce until smooth.  Season sauce with salt to taste.  Add pineapple, asparagus, pork, basil, and lime juice and bring to a simmer.  Simmer sauce 10-15 minutes.  Remove bay leaves and serve.

For additional texture you can serve this over riced cauliflower, zucchini noodles, kelp noodles, or sweet potato noodles.

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Paleo & Whole30 Frozen Treat (think sorbet)

6 Jan

Before I get to the good (treat without a cheat) part…I was lazy tonight.  No cooking whatsoever, not even any reheating!  Pulled a (leftover) grilled chicken breast out of the fridge and cut it up.  Mixed it with organic baby arugula and organic baby spinach and topped it off with balsamic vinaigrette (1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 tsp. kosher salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, 1 tbl. Westbrae Naturals dijon style mustard, 3/4 cup olive oil).  Voila dinner.

Then I got more motivation and decided to make a little frozen treat.  Tastes like sorbet, minus all the crap in the sorbet from the frozen food section of the grocery store.  And simple too!

Whole30 sorbet with toasted almond and coconut

Whole30 sorbet with toasted almond and coconut

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups frozen fruit of your choice – one kind or a mixture (for example choose between frozen strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, banana, mango, etc)

1/4 cup + 1 tbl. full fat coconut milk

Toasted almond slices

Toasted unsweetened flaked coconut

Method:

Place fruit in your food processor and add coconut milk.  Now preheat your oven to 350°F and spread raw sliced almonds and/or unsweetened flaked coconut on a baking sheet.  Bake almonds and/or coconut at 350°F for 5 minutes.  Now process your fruit in your food processor until smooth.  Scoop blended fruit into a dish and top with toasted almonds and/or coconut.  Yum!  Makes ~6 scoops.

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Paleo & Whole30 Chili with Avocado Cream in an Acorn Squash Cup

5 Jan

Sorry for the long title.  I think chili might be one of the most perfect cold weather dishes.  Warm, hearty, delicious.  Serving chili in a roasted acorn squash half accomplishes two things.  First, it gets more vegetables into your meal.  Second, it adds some sweetness to cut the heat of the chili.  I know most people love to top their chili with a dollop of sour cream or some cheese, but if you are going strict paleo/Whole30 that’s a no-go.  This avocado cream is the perfect cooling dollop to drop onto your chili without adding a cheat to your meal.

Chili in roasted acorn squash cup with avocado cream

Chili in roasted acorn squash cup with avocado cream

Ingredients:

Acorn Squash

Olive Oil

Kosher or sea salt

Pepper

Chili

2 tbl. olive oil

2 pounds grass fed ground beef

1 sweet onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

29 oz. can organic tomato sauce

28 oz. can organic crushed tomatoes

2 jalapeño peppers, sliced or diced

8 stalks celery, chopped

5-6 cubanelle peppers, seeded and chopped

2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. dried basil

4 tbl. chili powder

2-3 tbl. crushed red pepper

Avocado Cream

2 small ripe avocados

1/2 cup paleo mayonnaise (I wanted to use unsweetened cultured coconut milk yogurt, but couldn’t find any at the store)

2-3 tbl. lime juice

Pinch of kosher salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Cut acorn squash in half width-wise and remove seeds.  Coat inner side of squash with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Place squash on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F until fork tender, usually 30-50 minutes depending on squash size.  Heat 3 tbl. olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  When hot add onion and sauté for 4 minutes.  Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute.  Add ground beef, breaking up with a spoon or fork, and cook until meat is browned.  Add remaining chili ingredients to the pot and cook at a simmer to the desired tenderness of the vegetables.  For the avocado cream reserve one avocado pit for the storage container you will keep your cream in (it will help prevent it from oxidizing…I don’t know why it just works), discard the other pit.  Scoop your ripe avocado flesh, mayonnaise, lime juice, and a pinch of salt into your food processor and process until well blended.  How much lime juice and salt will depend on your personal preference.  Store avocado cream in an air tight container in the refrigerator.

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Paleo & Whole30 Mini Sweet Potato Onion Frittatas with Bacon Crust

5 Jan

I haven’t posted any new recipes in far too long!  I had knee surgery, at which point John took over all cooking.  Then he proposed 🙂 and we’ve been busy wedding planning!  With the new year upon us it is definitely the time people are looking to try new recipes, so time for me to get my act together and start posting again!  Here is something that you can make in advance and have on hand for a quick and healthy breakfast:  mini sweet potato onion frittatas with a bacon crust.  For anyone doing the Whole30 challenge, this recipe follows Whole30 guidelines.  If you are interested in learning more about the Whole30 check out http://whole9life.com/2013/08/the-whole30-program/ and http://whole30.com/2013/06/the-official-can-i-have-guide-to-the-whole30/

Mini Frittatas

Mini Frittatas

Ingredients:

12 oz uncured, nitrate free, no sugar added bacon

15 large eggs (I used cage free)

4 tbl. full fat coconut milk

1 sweet onion, diced

2 sweet potatoes, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Kosher salt or sea salt

Pepper

Olive oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Toss your diced sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Spread the sweet potatoes evenly on a baking sheet.  Spread your bacon on a single layer on another baking sheet.  Cook bacon and sweet potatoes at 400°F until potatoes are fork tender and bacon is crisp, probably 20-25 minutes, remove from oven.  Turn oven down to 375°F.  Heat 2 tbl. olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  When oil is hot add onion and sauté  for 7 minutes.  Add garlic and sauté for an additional minute.  Remove onion and garlic from heat.  Whisk together eggs, coconut milk, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper.  When bacon is cool enough to handle cut each piece into quarters.  Place 2-3 pieces of bacon in the bottom of each well of two 12-well silicone muffin pans (place each muffin pan on a baking sheet).  Top the bacon with the onion/garlic mixture, distribute the onion evenly across all 24 muffin wells.  Top the onion mixture with your sweet potato.  Now add ~4 tablespoons of your egg mixture to each well, this should come almost to the top of the well.  Bake the frittatas at 375°F for 16-18 minutes, until the mixture puffs a little and is set in the center.

Slide the frittatas out of the silicone mold and serve immediately or move to cooling racks to cool and then store in the refrigerator.

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Paleo & Whole30 Celery Root Bisque with chive oil garnish

3 Nov

When the weather turns colder I love soup.  Warm, soothing, easy, yum.  Last week it was butternut bisque, tonight I wanted to try something new and more unique.  This soup is delicious, fresh, and clean.  Definitely give it a try!  Never heard of/seen celery root?  Google it 🙂

IMAG1825

Ingredients:

2-3 tbl. olive oil

1 onion, diced

3 celery roots, peeled and cubed (~1 inch pieces)

1 large clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup raw cashews

2 quarts organic low sodium chicken broth (can substitute vegetable broth)

2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped

Kosher salt

Pepper

Chive oil

1 bunch chives

1/3 cup olive oil

pinch of kosher salt

pinch of pepper

Method:

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onion, celery root, and a pinch of salt and sauté  for 10 minutes.  Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute.  Add 1 quart of your chicken broth, bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.  Add about 2 cups of the cooked celery root/onion/broth to your food processor with cashews and puree until smooth.  Work in batches to finish pureeing the remaining soup.  Return soup to your pot, over low heat, and stir in the remaining quart of chicken broth.  Stir in the apple, season to taste with salt and pepper, and allow to warm through.

For the chive oil add ingredients to your food processor and blend until smooth.  Dollop or swirl a little onto your soup for an artistic, tasty garnish.

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