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Paleo & Whole 30 Green Smoothie

4 Jan

Ok so mine wasn’t so green, but that’s what happens when you only have raspberries and blackberries in your freezer.  This is a simple breakfast that’s fast enough for my weekdays.  Also makes a great snack!

Paleo and Whole 30 green (or in this case purple) smoothie

Paleo and Whole 30 green (or in this case purple) smoothie

Ingredients:

For one serving…

1/2 cup baby kale (make sure it is baby kale, can substitute baby spinach)

1/2 – 1 cup frozen fruit, pick your favorite (I used 1/2 cup blackberries, 1/2 cup raspberries today)

3/4 cup unsweetened cashew milk (can substitute unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk)

1 tbl. chia seeds (can substitute flax seeds)

Method:

Combine everything in your high powered blender (I used my Vitamix) or food processor until smooth.  Pour into one of those reusable BPA free tumbler cups with a straw and you’re good to go!

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Paleo & Whole 30 Loaded Baked Sweet Potato

3 Jan

Eating clean but missing your loaded baked potato with your steak?  Have no fear!  This combination has amazing flavor!  Not only will you no longer be missing out, this might replace your old loaded baked potato forever!

Paleo and Whole 30 loaded baked sweet potato

Paleo and Whole 30 loaded baked sweet potato

Ingredients:

Whole 30 Jalapeño roasted garlic aioli (recipe here)

Whole sweet potatoes (I cooked 8)

1 package bacon (nitrate free, no sugar added for Whole 30 compliant)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 425°F and bake your sweet potatoes on a baking sheet line with foil, 60-70 minutes.  While your sweet potatoes are baking make your aioli.  Dice your bacon and cook it over medium high heat in a skillet to desired crispiness, transfer to paper towel to drain excess fat.

When cool enough to handle, cut your baked potato lengthwise, add a dollop of jalapeño roasted garlic aioli, and top with bacon.  Devour.  Great as is or as a side dish.

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Paleo & Whole 30 Jalapeño Roasted Garlic Aioli

3 Jan

I was looking for something to jazz up sweet potatoes.  My favorite burger restaurant makes a jalapeño aioli that dresses some of their burgers.  I always get a side of it to dip my sweet potato fries into:  little sweet + little spice = perfect!  I don’t have their recipe so I gave my own a whirl.  Success!

Paleo and Whole 30 jalapeño roasted garlic aioli

Paleo and Whole 30 jalapeño roasted garlic aioli

Ingredients:

4 tiny garlic cloves, roasted

2 jalapeños, slided until you hit seeds, then seed and dice

1 cup mayonnaise (homemade, canola or olive oil based for Whole 30)

1 tsp. dijon mustard (Westbrae Natural brand because it meets Whole 30 standards)

Juice from 1/4 lime (~3 tsp)

4 tbl. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 – 3/4 tsp. kosher salt

Pepper

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 dashes coconut aminos

Method:

Cut the top of a head of garlic to expose the cloves.  Brush the exposed cloves with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.  Wrap into a pouch with aluminum foil and bake at 425°F for 30 minutes.  Squeeze 4 small cloves out, save remainder for any other use.  Place 4 roasted garlic cloves, jalapeños, mayo, dijon, lime juice, olive oil, salt, one grind of fresh pepper, cayenne and coconut aminos in your food processor with blade attachment.  Process until smooth.

 

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Paleo & Whole 30 Chorizo Breakfast Hash with Poached Eggs

3 Jan

I love weekends and holidays because you can make a dish like this one for breakfast!  You might be able to do this on a work day, but if you’re like me and scrambling to get out the door at 5:30am you probably won’t be waking up early enough to make this 😉

Paleo and Whole 30 chorizo breakfast hash with poached eggs

Paleo and Whole 30 chorizo breakfast hash with poached eggs

Ingredients:

Makes 2 servings.

2 tbl. ghee

1/2 sweet onion, diced

1/4 pound butternut squash, chopped

2 links chorizo (no nitrates, no sugar), chopped (I use Wegman’s brand)

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

2 jalapeño peppers, one sliced, one seeded and diced

2 cloves garlic

4 large, fresh, cold eggs

Water

1+ tsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. white vinegar

Pepper

Method:

Prepare the water for your poached eggs.  Alton Brown has a tutorial for perfectly poaching eggs at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/perfect-poached-eggs-recipe.html.  Melt ghee in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add onion, butternut squash, and chorizo and sauté for 15 minutes.  If your water is ready poach your eggs according to Alton’s instructions.  Add bell peppers, jalapeño, and garlic to skillet and sauté for 5 minutes.  Season hash with kosher salt and pepper to taste and top with poached eggs.

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Paleo & Whole 30 Jalapeno Popper Turkey Chili

2 Jan

Anyone who thinks eating clean means eating bland food definitely needs a bowl of this!  Chili is great.  It is easy to make, packed with flavor, and you can make a large batch just as easily as a small batch.  I love making large batches of a few different meals, that way you have a bunch of options in your fridge for lunches or subsequent dinners.  If you are doing a Whole 30 challenge eating out is basically not an option, the only way to avoid cooking constantly is to make enough food to have leftovers.

Paleo and Whole 30 jalapeno popper turkey chili Paleo and Whole 30 jalapeno popper turkey chili

Ingredients:

1 tbl. ghee

1 large sweet onion, diced

6 cloves garlic, minced

5 bell peppers (mixture of red, yellow, and orange), diced

7 jalapeno peppers, some sliced, some seeded and diced (seed everything for less spice)

2 1/2 pounds ground turkey

3 tbl. chili powder

2 tbl. cumin

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

2 tsp. kosher salt

1 1/2 tsp. paprika

2 1/2 cups salsa (no sugar or nitrates to be Whole 30 compatible), I used medium heat Wegman’s organic.

2 1/2 cups cauliflower cream (recipe here)

Kosher salt & Pepper

Method:

Heat ghee in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onion and saute 5 minutes.  Add turkey and spices and break up with a large spoon.  Add garlic, bell peppers, and jalapeno and cook until turkey is no longer pink.  Add salsa and cauliflower cream and warm through.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

I garnished mine with crispy bacon.  This is the only bacon I’ve found that meets Whole 30 standards:

Whole 30 bacon! Whole 30 bacon!

 

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Paleo & Whole 30 Cauliflower Cream

2 Jan

One problem for a lot of people in Whole 30 or paleo cooking is the lack of dairy.  There are so many recipes people have that call for cheese or cream.  Well then this recipe is for you.  This is not an entree or a side dish, this is an ingredient to use in other dishes.  Any recipe you have that calls for making something creamy – try this!  By the way if you find a “paleo” recipe with cheese/milk/cream in it, it isn’t paleo!

Paleo and Whole 30 cauliflower cream

Paleo and Whole 30 cauliflower cream

Ingredients:

1 large head of cauliflower, cut into florets

10 cups water

~6 tbl. lemon juice (two lemons worth)

3 tsp. kosher salt

Method:

Bring 10 cups of water, 6 tbl. lemon juice, and 2 tsp. kosher salt to a boil in a large pot.  Once boiling add the cauliflower florets and reduce the heat to a simmer.  Simmer until the cauliflower is tender (at least 20 minutes).  Reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid.  Drain the cauliflower.  Transfer cooked cauliflower to a high power blender (I used my Vitamix) or a food processor along with 1 tsp. kosher salt and the reserved 1/4 cup of cooking liquid.  Process until creamy and velvety smooth.  About 50 seconds in my Vitamix, but that bad boy doesn’t mess around.  This recipe makes ~3 cups of cauliflower cream.

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Paleo & Whole 30 Thai Cashew Chicken

2 Jan

This was a very flavorful dish that, in hindsight, would have been great over a bed of cauliflower rice!

Paleo and Whole 30 Thai Cashew Chicken

Paleo and Whole 30 Thai Cashew Chicken

Ingredients:

1 can Thai Kitchen lite coconut milk

1/4 cup coconut aminos

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic

2 tsp. coconut sugar (omit for Whole 30)

2 tsp. sesame oil

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded

1 1/2 cups raw cashews

4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed

4 pounds julienned veggies (red bell pepper, carrot, red onion, yellow and green zucchini)

Extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

Pepper

Red Pepper flake

Method:

Place coconut milk, coconut aminos, rice wine vinegar, garlic, coconut sugar, sesame oil, jalapenos, and cashews in a high powered blender or a food processor and process into a smooth sauce.  Heat ~3 tbl. olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat.  Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to pot.  Cook 5 minutes then add julienned vegetable mixture and sauté until chicken is cooked through and veggies are crisp tender.  Pour sauce over mixture in pot and heat through.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  If you like more heat stir in red pepper flakes.

 

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Paleo & Whole 30 Pepper and Onion Scramble

2 Jan

This is my favorite go to weekend breakfast or fast weekday dinner!  So easy but so delicous.  When it will just be me, what I love to do is cut up the veggies in advance and portion it out as individual servings in zip top bags.  That way if I’ve had a long day and want a super fast but healthy dinner I just grab a bag of already diced veggies from the fridge, toss them in a skillet, add the eggs…done!

Paleo and Whole 30 pepper and onion scramble

Paleo and Whole 30 pepper and onion scramble

Ingredients:

For 4 servings

1 large sweet onion, diced

2 bell peppers (any color), seeded and diced

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced

12 large eggs

Kosher salt

Pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

Method:

Heat 1-3 tsp. olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add veggies and sauté until crisp tender (or to your desired texture).  Whisk eggs with ~1 tsp. olive oil and season with salt and pepper then add to skillet and scramble to desired texture (soft or hard scramble).  So easy!

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Paleo & Whole 30 Brussels Sprouts Slaw

2 Jan

I’ve been trying to think of some new ideas for side dishes.  Nine times out of ten we toss vegetables with olive oil, kosher salt and pepper, and roast them in the oven.  Easy, simply, delicious!  However, sometimes you want to get a little more creative.  This panned out nicely.

Paleo and whole 30 brussels sprout slaw

Paleo and whole 30 brussels sprout slaw

Paleo and whole 30 brussels sprout slaw ingredients

Paleo and whole 30 brussels sprout slaw ingredients

Ingredients:

1 pound raw shaved brussels sprouts (or buy whole and shred in food processor)

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup dried cranberries (Whole 30 compliant like these are sweetened with fruit juice)

1 large clove garlic, minced

1/4 + 1/8 tsp. kosher salt

1 1/2 tbl. dijon mustard (I use Westbrae Natural brand because it meets Whole 30 standards – no sugar, no chardonnay in it!)

3 tbl. apple cider vinegar

6 tbl. extra virgin olive oil

Method:

Mash the minced garlic with the salt using the back of a spoon to form more of a paste.  Whisk in dijon and apple cider vinegar.  While whisking slowly drizzle in olive oil.  Combine shaved sprouts, almonds, and cranberries in a large serving dish.  Pour vinaigrette over the top and toss to coat.

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Paleo & Whole 30 Pumpkin Leek Soup

1 Jan

I had two sugar pumpkins in my kitchen.  It is rare to find them this late in the season so I grabbed them as soon as I saw them at the store, even though I didn’t have a plan for them.  Then I ended up with two large leeks in the fridge because they come in a bunch of three and we only needed one for a risotto.  Just made sense to combine these two ingredients into a soup!

Paleo and Whole 30 pumpkin leek soup

Paleo and Whole 30 pumpkin leek soup

Ingredients:

4 tbl. ghee

2 small sugar pumpkins

2 leeks, only white and light green section, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 quart organic low sodium chicken (or vegetable) broth

Kosher salt

Pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 425°F.  Halve pumpkins and coat flesh with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Bake pumpkins cut side down on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil at 425°F until flesh is soft (fork tender), 20-40 minutes.  Remove and discard seeds and membranes once cooked.  In a large pot over medium heat melt ghee then add leeks.  Sauté until leeks are soft, add garlic and sauté 2 more minutes.  Scoop roasted pumpkin flesh from skin and add to pot.  Add chicken broth and puree with an immersion blender until smooth.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Would be even better topped with some crispy bacon!

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