Paleo alfredo-carbonara

26 Aug

If I’ve had a bad day, am upset or stressed I don’t want chocolate.  I don’t want alcohol.  I want a gigantic bowl of fettuccine alfredo.  That creamy, garlicky, aldente deliciousness is my favorite comfort food.  Tonight I got to work on an acceptable paleo substitute for this delicious comfort food.

Ingredients:

12 oz. uncured nitrate free bacon

Mandolin slicer with 1/4 inch wide slicing attachment

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into strips with mandolin

2 zucchini, peeled and sliced into strips with mandolin

2-3 tbl. avocado oil

12 oz. asparagus, trimmed and cut into small pieces

1 cup raw cashews

1 quart organic low sodium chicken broth

1 tbl. lemon juice

4 cloves garlic

2 tbl. fresh chopped parsley

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Pepper

Method:

Pour quart of chicken broth into a small pot and add the cashews.  Let soak for 2 1/2 hours.  Bring chicken broth to a boil and boil nuts for 30 minutes.  Reserving liquid, strain cashews into a food processor.  Process the nuts with 1 cup of the cooking broth, lemon juice, garlic, freshly cracked pepper, and a pinch of salt until smooth.

In a large pot heat 1/2 tbl. avocado oil over medium high heat.  Add bacon and cook bacon until crisp and fat has rendered.  Remove bacon to paper towels to drain.  Discard bacon fat.  Add 2 tbl. avocado oil to pot over medium heat. Add sweet potato noodles, season with a pinch of salt, and cook for 10 minutes.  Add asparagus and cook for 3 minutes.  Add zucchini noodles and cook for 2 minuts.  Add bacon, parsley, and sauce to noodles and toss well to coat.

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Paleo for athletes: hummus

25 Jul

For those not owning a copy of Paleo Made Easy, I title paleo recipes containing sweet potatoes “paleo for athletes” because sweet potatoes are an excellent post-workout muscle glycogen replenisher.

Chickpeas, being legumes, are not part of a paleolithic diet.  This is bad news for all those people who love to eat hummus with veggies as a “healthy snack”.   To the hummus lovers out there who have turned to a paleolithic lifestyle have no fear!!!  This is a delicious hummus made from paleo ingredients!  I’m partial to eating this with strips of yellow, red, and orange bell pepper, but honestly it is amazing with vegetables period.  You could even take the paleo “bread” recipe in Paleo made easy and make little tea sandwiches with this hummus and thin slices of cucumber.  Just a creative thought 🙂  If you are serving this hummus as an appetizer for a party, place the hummus in a decorative serving dish and sprinkle it with hot smoked paprika.  Either make a well in the middle and drizzle in some extra olive oil, or drizzle extra olive oil around the edge.  Makes for a beautiful presentation.

Ingredients:

1 lb. eggplant (I picked up local, white eggplant)

1 lb. sweet potato

1/4 cup tahini (feel free to make your own sesame seed paste from scratch)

1/4 cup lemon juice

4 large cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

Kosher (or sea) salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Slice eggplant in half lengthwise and brush with olive oil.  Bake the eggplant, cut side down, and sweet potato on a baking sheet covered in foil at 400°F.  Eggplant should take about 30 minutes, the sweet potatoes 60 minutes.  Once cooked scoop the eggplant and sweet potato flesh from the skin and add to a food processor along with the tahini, lemon juice, and garlic.  Blend ingredients until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  I used about 1 tsp. kosher salt and 5 turns of my pepper grinder.  While the food processor is running slowly drizzle in the olive oil until well combined.  Yield is approximately 4 cups of hummus.

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Paleo key lime cashew frosting for coconut key lime cupcakes

28 Jun

Key lime is a flavor I love in the summer!  Key lime pie, key lime cheesecake, and coconut key lime cupcakes!  The cake part of my coconut key lime cupcakes was perfected for Paleo Made Easy.  Don’t have a copy?  Click the paypal link on the upper right hand side of this page!  In Pale Made Easy I topped the cupcakes with a paleo (of course) key lime glaze.  To date my favorite topping on these cupcakes is my vegan key lime buttercream frosting, alas, that still contains confectioners sugar making it far from paleo.  Tonight was an attempt at a completely new frosting, using cashews as the base.  It is good and, importantly, holds up to a cupcake.  I made enough frosting for at least 48 cupcakes (whoops) so you might want to scale back.

Ingredients:

2 cups raw cashews

4 cups water

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

1/3 cup + 1 tbl. organic blue agave

1/3 cup + 1 tbl. key lime juice

1/8 tsp. vanilla extract

Method:

Soak cashews in water for 8 hours.  Cashews should now be plump and much larger than their original size.  Drain cashews.  Add drained cashews to a blender and blend as fine as possible.  Add coconut oil, blend until incorporated.  Add lime juice, agave, and vanilla and continue to blend until the frosting is as smooth as possible.  Spread onto cupcakes and enjoy.

I used a Ninja Pro 1100 blender.  There is still a bit of texture, but it looks very smooth.  If you have a Vitamix you will probably achieve a more silky texture than I can with the Ninja.

Side note:  Know any vegans looking for cheesecake?  Try putting this mixture in ramekins and freezing it!  Should make an excellent no bake key lime no-cheesecake 🙂

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Paleo Thai Red Curry with Pork

24 Jun

One of my best friends loves to cook Thai food.  As a prequel to her plan to start CrossFit this summer she has been going through Paleo Made Easy eating an increasingly paleo diet.  The two of us teamed up last night to make a paleo version of her red curry, and it just happened to be her best one yet!  🙂  Since I had to go to the Asian market to pick up lemongrass, I decided to wander around and see what I might find in the way of paleo “noodles” I could add to the dish (not that the dish needs it).  I was hoping to find kelp noodles, no dice.  I did, however, find sweet potato starch noodles.  Figured I try them, so they made it into the recipe.  We decided to make this dish with pork, but you could easily use chicken or even shrimp or scallops.  The seasoning amounts listed below are not exact, we are two people who tend to season, taste, season, taste…until it is perfect.  At some point measuring goes out the window.  This recipe makes 10 servings, feel free to cut back if you aren’t having dinner guests.

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

Oil for cooking (coconut, canola, or olive oil)

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 (Thai Kitchen or any brand from an Asian market)

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

1/2 – 1 tsp. cayenne pepper

3 tbl. chili powder

3 tbl. fish sauce

2 tbl. ground cumin

2 tbl. ground coriander

2/3 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tbl. coconut crystals

1/4 + cup organic low sodium chicken broth (if you wish to thin out sauce)

2 cups pineapple chunks

1/2 lb. asparagus

1 handful fresh basil, chiffonade into ribbons

Freshly chopped cilantro (optional, garnish)

Freshly sliced limes (optional, to squeeze over your plate)

Method:

Steam asparagus for 3 minutes, slice into 1/2 inch pieces and set aside.  Season pork with salt and pepper.  Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large stir fry pan over medium heat.  When oil is hot add shallot and saute for 1-2 minutes.  Add pork and bay leaves and saute until pork is no longer pink.  Set pork aside.  Drain excess fat from pan and return to heat.  Add garlic, ginger, and tomato paste.  When fragrant add bell pepper and tomato and saute for 3-4 minutes.  Add coconut milk, fish sauce, 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.  Add coconut crystals and simmer sauce 5 minutes.  Discard lemongrass.  In a blender (in batches as needed), food processor, or using an immersion blender puree the sauce until smooth.  Return sauce to stir fry pan and season with salt to taste.  Add pineapple, asparagus, pork, and basil and bring to a simmer.  Simmer sauce 10-15 minutes.  Remove bay leaves and serve.  If desired garnish with fresh cilantro and fresh lime juice.

For the sweet potato noodles: boil in salted water for 6 minutes.  Run under cold water to stop the cooking process.  This was my first experience with these noodles.  They look like glass, they feel like thin gummy worms.  They have zero flavor to themselves, so I ladled some of the red curry sauce over them, problem solved.  They were fun to eat and added an additional texture to the dish.

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Paleo for athletes: Chicken and sweet potato gnocchi soup

12 Jun

If I do say so myself, this is a pretty spot on representation of the chicken and gnocchi soup you’ll find at any Olive Garden.  Just paleo (mostly, see explanation in gnocchi recipe link below), and way healthier 🙂  The next time you’re in the mood for a good soup give this recipe a try.

Ingredients:

1 batch of Dee’s paleo for athletes sweet potato gnocchi (https://deliciousprimalcooking.com/2012/06/10/paleo-for-athletes-gnocchi/#) or some of my paleo sweet potato gnocchi (https://deliciousprimalcooking.com/2013/05/29/paleo-sweet-potato-gnocchi-version-2-0/)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced.

2 tbl. extra virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

2 carrots, shredded

4 celery stalks, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

6 cups organic low sodium chicken broth

2 cups unsweetened coconut milk beverage (today I used So Delicious brand)

2oz. baby spinach, washed

4 sprig fresh thyme

1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Method:

Cook gnocchi as described in recipe.

It was gorgeous out today so the chicken breasts were brushed with extra virgin olive oil, seasoned with kosher salt and pepper and grilled.  After the chicken rested the breasts were diced.

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium to medium high heat.  When hot add the onion and 1/2 tsp. kosher salt and saute 3 minutes.  Add carrot and celery and saute an additional 3 minutes.  Add garlic and saute an additional 1 minute.  Add cooked chicken, chicken broth, coconut milk beverage, 1 tsp. salt, pepper, and thyme.  Bring to a boil and cook for 4 minutes.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes.  Remove sprigs of thyme and add spinach and gnocchi.  Cook until spinach has wilted and gnocchi are warmed through.  Enjoy!

Paleo for athletes: gnocchi!

10 Jun

This recipe is 99% paleo.  As an Italian I LOVE bread, pasta, and cheese.  I’ve made paleo bread, it isn’t anything like a nice baguette, but it is great for a roast beef sandwich.  Cheese?  There is no way to make cheese paleo, sorry.  Pasta.  My first attempt at paleo sweet potato gnocchi gave the right texture and held up perfectly in boiling water, but I used coconut flour.  Let me tell you, coconut is not the flavor profile you want in pasta.  Yuck.  Tonight was attempt number two, this time with quinoa flour.  OK, this is where the 99% paleo comes in.  Quinoa is a gluten free seed native to South America and related to dark leafy greens.  With a glycemic index of 53 it just falls into the low glycemic category, making this a potential post workout glycogen replenisher.  The saponins, phytic acid, and tannins (the irritants and antinutrients classifying quinoa as not paleo) found in quinoa are removed or reduced to under 1% through scrubbing/polishing and washing.  The majority of quinoa found in this country today has already been polished and pre-washed, therefore, in small amounts I personally find quinoa to be a paleo-friendly ingredient.  So tonight I made sweet potato gnocchi with quinoa flour.  The quinoa gives the pasta a nutty, almost brown rice like, flavor.  The texture is spot on!  Would be great with any of the paleo sauces in Paleo Made Easy.

Ingredients:

1 lb. sweet potato, baked and mashed

1 extra large egg + 1 extra large egg yolk

12oz (~2 cups) organic quinoa flour

4 tbl. tapioca flour

1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Bake sweet potato at 400°F until fork tender, approximately 60 minutes.  Scoop from skin, mash, and cool sweet potato.  Mix cooled sweet potato with egg, egg yolk, salt, tapioca flour, and quinoa flour.  Roll dough into approximately 3/4 inch thick ropes.  Cut the ropes into 1 inch pieces and roll each piece down the back side of a fork to form ridges.  Drop gnocchi into boiling salted water, they will float when done, approximately 5 minutes.  Mix with desired sauce and enjoy!

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Twice baked jalapeño bacon leek sweet potato

22 May

If you’re looking to jazz up your post workout sweet potatoes, here’s a great recipe!

Ingredients:

2 tbl. extra virgin olive oil

3 lb. sweet potato, peeled and halved lengthwise

12 oz. uncured nitrate free bacon

2 leeks, white and light green parts only, halved and sliced

3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

Kosher salt

Pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 425°F.  Place peeled, halved sweet potatoes on a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil.  Bake until flesh is fork tender, 50-70 minutes depending on thickness of potatoes.  In a cast iron skillet over medium high heat cook bacon until crisp and fat has rendered.  Remove bacon to paper towels to drain.  Discard bacon fat.  In a large skillet heat 2 tbl. extra virgin olive oil over medium heat.  Saute leeks until soft.  Add garlic and jalapeño and saute an additional 1-2 minutes.  Remove from heat.  When sweet potatoes are tender remove from oven.  Using a small spoon carefully scrape out the middle of the sweet potato, leaving approximately 1/4 inch on sides and bottom.  Mash the sweet potato you scooped out and mix it in with bacon, leek, garlic, and jalapeño.  Season mixture with salt and pepper to taste.  Stuff the sweet potatoes with this mixture and return to the oven to warm through, approximately 10 minutes.

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Paleo for athletes: Chowder

28 Apr

I would like to start out by saying that normally bacon, sausage, and sweet potato are not paleo.  Given that sweet potatoes make and excellent post workout recovery carbohydrate, they are allowed for paleo athletes.  As for the meats, these are not paleo because they typically contain a lot of salt, fat, and nitrates.  I purchase uncured and nitrate free bacon and freshly ground, nitrate free sausage and you can skim excess fat off the top of the chowder.  Please keep all of this in mind as you decide whether or not this paleo-ish recipe is for you.

We’ve had a chilly couple of spring days this week which put me in the mood for a heartier dish.  I think you’ll enjoy the warmth, flavor, and beautiful presentation this recipe offers.

Ingredients:

Extra virgin olive oil

4 acorn squash, 1 lb. each in size

1 lb. uncured nitrate free bacon

6 ribs celery, sliced

1/2 lb. carrots, peeled and sliced

2 leeks, white and light green part, halved and sliced

1 lb. sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1 lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed

1 lb. fresh, nitrate free sweet saussage

1 lb. fresh, nitrate free hot saussage

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 quart organic low sodium chicken broth

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk beverage

Kosher salt

Pepper

1 tbl. fresh, flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

1 tsp. xanthan gum

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Split acorn squash in half lengthwise.  Scrape out the seeds with a spoon and discard.  Plase the squash halved cut sides up on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake for 30 minutes or until tender.

In a large pot cook bacon in a little olive oil until crisp and fat has rendered.  Remove bacon to paper towels to drain.  Discard bacon fat.  Heat 3 tbl. olive oil in the same large pot over medium high heat.  Saute celery, carrots, leeks, and sausage for 3-6 minutes.  Add potatoes, butternut squash, and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.  Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  Add parsley, coconut milk, and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Stir in xanthan gum.  Serve in cooked acorn squash cups.

It seems I have made more chowder than will fit in my acorn squash cups, you might want to cut the recipe in half (still using 4 small acorn squash).

Paleo banana nut muffins

3 Apr

Those with copies of my cookbook, Paleo Made Easy, know that I love using coconut flour for my baked goods.  When it comes to muffins and cupcakes you just can’t beat the texture coconut flour gives you!  Many people honestly believe my goodies are made with all purpose flour.  Well, I’m somehow out of coconut flour, but I have plenty of almond meal!  So here is a simple recipe for banana nut muffins!

 

Ingredients

2 over ripe bananas, mashed

4 large eggs

2 tbl. organic blue agave

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

2 cups almond meal

3/8 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Method

In a mixing bowl whisk together wet ingredients, once combined whisk in dry ingredients.  Evenly distribute batter into 10-12 (those photographed were a batch of 11) muffin cups and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes.

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Paleo hazelnut crusted chicken with mango sauce

20 Mar

This was my first try at a new creation for dinner tonight.  It was a huge success!

Ingredients

Chicken

4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts pounded to even thickness

2 cups hazelnuts

1 cup almond meal

2 tsp. dried parsley

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. dried basil

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. kosher or sea salt

2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1/2 tsp. red pepper flake (optional)

2 large eggs

2 tbl. unsweetened coconut milk beverage

5 tbl. extra virgin olive oil

Sauce

1 tbl. extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

2 sprigs fresh thyme

2 tbl. organic low sodium chicken broth

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk beverage (this time I used Trader Joe’s)

3 threads saffron

1 mango, peeled, seeded, and diced

2 tsp. lemon juice (if your mango is under ripe omit the lemon juice, the fruit itself will be a little tart)

2 tbl. Earth Balance soy free buttery spread

1/4 tsp. kosher or sea salt

Method

Chicken

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Arrange hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 15 minutes.  When cool enough to handle rub them between your fingers, a tea towel, or paper towels to remove their skins.  In a food processor combine your toasted, peeled hazelnuts, almond meal, parsley, oregano, basil, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, pepper, and red pepper flake.  Process until hazelnuts are finely chopped.  Preheat oven to 325°F.  Whisk together eggs, 2 tbl. coconut milk beverage, and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Dip all sides of the chicken into egg mixture then coat evenly with the nut mixture.  Shake off excess nut mixture and set chicken aside.  Heat 5 tbl. extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  When oil is hot add chicken, 3 breasts should fit in one pan.  If you need to cook in two batches start with fresh oil as any of the nut mixture that falls off the first pieces of chicken will burn if they go through two rounds of cooking, imparting a bitter flavor into your chicken.  Cook chicken for 1 1/2 – 2 minutes per side.  Transfer chicken to a baking sheet and bake at 325°F for 25 minutes.

Sauce

Heat 1 tbl. extra virgin olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds.  Add chicken broth and thyme and cook until the liquid has reduced by half.  Add the coconut milk, saffron, mango, and lemon juice and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until thickened.  Remove and discard thyme sprigs.  Puree sauce with an immersion blender.  Melt in “butter” and season with salt.

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