Whole30 and Paleo Spicy Chicken Thighs

24 Jun

Here is a fast an easy recipe.  Minimal prep, plenty of flavor.

Whole30 spicy chicken thighs

Ingredients:

3 pounds of chicken thighs (bone in, skin on)

2 1/2 tbl. Tapatío hot sauce or Louisiana hot sauce (or any other sugar free hot sauce)

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. cayenne

1 tbl. kosher salt

1/2 tbl. pepper

1 1/2 tbl. extra virgin olive oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 425°F.  Line baking sheet with nonstick foil.  Whisk together hot sauce, olive oil, and seasoning.  Brush both sides of each chicken thigh with season mixture and place skin side up on foil.  Bake at 425°F for 45 minutes, then broil on high for 2 minutes.

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Whole30 and Paleo Guacamole Tuna Salad

4 Jun

For as unique as this dish looks, it is so simple and easy to make!  I served mine on sweet potato slices which made it finger food.  A great meal or a party appetizer!

Whole30 guacamole tuna salad

Ingredients (2 servings):

6.4oz white tuna (I used a pouch)

2 Wholly Guacamole* mini packs (2oz each)

1 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard (Westbrae Naturals brand has no sugar)

1 rib of celery, thinly sliced

2 tsp. fresh chives, minced

1 1/2 tsp. fresh dill, minced

1/4 – 1/2 tsp. cumin

Pinch of salt

3 cracks fresh pepper

1 sweet potato, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch rounds (I used a purple sweet potato)

Olive oil, salt, and pepper (for baking sweet potato)

Method:

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Toss your sweet potato rounds with olive oil, salt, and pepper to coat.  Spread rounds in a single layer on a baking sheet (I lined mine with nonstick foil – yes, that’s a thing now!).  Bake sweet potato at 375°F until fork tender, 20 minutes.  In a bowl mix together tuna, guacamole, dijon, celery, chives, dill, cumin, salt, and pepper.  When the potato is finished, scoop 1 1/2 tablespoons of tuna mixture onto each round.  Makes ~10 rounds.

*That’s right, this is Whole30 compliant!  Just Hass avocado, vinegar, jalapeño, onion, salt, and garlic.  No need to make from scratch.

Approximate Macros per serving (when served on sweet potato):

346 calories

10.5g fat

38.5g carbohydrate

21.5g protein

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Paleo Banana Espresso Nut Muffins

21 May

These muffins contain no added sugar!  The bananas themselves provide the sweetness, therefore these muffins would be Whole30 if the program approved of baked goods (which the program does not).

Paleo banana espresso nut muffins

Ingredients (yield 24):

6 overripe bananas

8oz (by weight) unsweetened applesauce

6 large eggs

2 tbl. instant espresso powder (I use Ferrara brand)

1/2 cup Trader Joe’s mixed nut butter (This is a blend of roasted and salted almonds, cashews, walnuts, brazil huts, hazelnuts, and pecans.  You substitute your favorite nut butter for this mix)

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup coconut flour, sifted

Method:

Preheat oven to 350ºF.  In a stand mixer combine bananas, applesauce, eggs, espresso powder, nut butter, and salt until well and evenly blended.  Sift in coconut flour and baking soda and mix to combine.  Distribute evenly across muffin pans lined with 24 wrappers.  Bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes.  I rotate the rack position of the muffins at the 15 minute mark.

Approximate breakdown per muffin:

88 calories

5g fat

12g carbohydrates

3g protein

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Whole30 and Paleo Turkey Salad

18 May

Today happens to be 50 degrees warmer than the temperature just four days ago.  I don’t know about you, but that leaves me in the mood for food that is not hot (temperature hot)!  So I pulled random ingredients out of the fridge and made this yummy dish.  Due to the size of a turkey breast, this recipe makes a large dish.  You could easily substitute chicken for the turkey and scale down the recipe.

Whole 30 turkey salad

 

Ingredients:

4 pounds oven roasted turkey breast, chopped

8 ribs celery, chopped

2 bell peppers, chopped

1/2 cup cornichon pickles, diced

1 cup peppadew peppers, diced

1 cup mayo

1 tbl. + 1 tsp. dijon mustard

1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. pepper

Method:

Stir together mayo, mustard, salt and pepper.  Stir in remaining ingredients.

 

Assuming 12 servings in this recipe, here is the approximate macronutrients breakdown per serving:

237 calories

7g fat

5g carbohydrates

33g protein

 

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Paleo Flourless Brownies

24 Apr

Spring is here, summer is coming, and this is the perfect recipe to have on hand when you need dessert for a cookout!  These are a little cake-y, a little fudge-y, therefore perfect for everyone!  Simple, easy, delicious!

Paleo flourless brownies

Ingredients (makes 24 brownies):

16oz jar nut (or seed) butter*

2 large eggs

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 scoop Jay Robb vanilla egg white protein powder (optional)

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 cups organic blue agave

1 tbl. vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat oven to 325°F.  In your stand mixer with paddle attachment beat all ingredients together until smooth (I add them in order listed above).  Line one ~9×13″ baking dish (I used glass) with parchment paper.  Spread batter (it will be rather sticky) evenly over lined baking dish.  Bake brownies at 325°F for 25 minutes.  Turn off oven and leave dish in oven for another 3-5 minutes.  Cool brownies, cut, and enjoy!

*I have used 16oz cashew butter and 16oz almond butter.  This time I used 10oz of Trader Joe’s mixed nut butter (dry roasted and salted almonds, cashews, walnuts, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, and pecans) + 6oz of creamy salted cashew butter.

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Paleo Naan

14 Mar

Happy pi day!  It was a 12″+ snow day here today!  That made for a relaxing day in front of the fire instead of going to work.  What to do on a snow day?  Create a new recipe!

Paleo naan with Whole30 chicken tikka masala

This makes two 6″ diameter naan.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup blanched almond flour

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1/8 tsp. sea salt

2 tbl. ghee, melted

1/2 cup + 2 tbl. unsweetened cashew milk

Method:

Head a nonstick skillet between medium and medium-high heat.  Whisk all ingredients together and pour half of the batter into your skillet.  Cook for 5 minutes per side.  Nan will begin to get a crisp texture and a little color.  Transfer to cooling rack while you cook the second naan with the remaining batter.

I ate mine with my Whole30 chicken tikka masala recipe here.

Paleo naan with Whole30 chicken tikka masala

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World’s Best Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

5 Mar

I recently co-ran a challenge at our gym: no added sugar (including stevia), no dairy, no grains, no alcohol.  Our members saw phenomenal results – both physical and performance.  That challenge also meant my co-workers did not come in to find any baked goods for them.  Now that the challenge is over I wanted to play with a new recipe to bring in as a treat for my coworkers.  This is my paleo version of Alton Brown’s “The Chewy” chocolate chip cookie recipe.  My previous paleo chocolate chip cookies were delicious, but these win!

Deanna's (world's best) paleo chocolate chip cookies

Deanna’s (world’s best) paleo chocolate chip cookies

Ingredients (makes 17 cookies):

1 cup ghee

1 1/3 cups + 1 tbl. almond flour (blanched almond flour)

1/2 cup + 3 tbl. + 1 tsp. arrowroot powder

1/3 cup + 2 tbl. coconut flour

1/4 cup tapioca flour

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1/3 cup monk fruit in the raw

1 cup date sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 tbl. coconut milk (unsweetened cashew or almond milk also fine)

1/2 tbl. vanilla extrace

10oz dairy and soy free semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

Method:

Whisk together almond flour, arrowroot powder, coconut flour, tapioca flour, salt, and soda, set aside.  Melt ghee and pour into bowl of stand mixer.  Add monk fruit and date sugar to stand mixer and beat with paddle attachment on medium speed 2 minutes.  Whisk together egg, yolk, ‘milk’, and vanilla.  With mixer on low add egg mixture and beat for 30 seconds.  Add flour mixture.  Once combined add chips.  Chill dough 1 hour.  Use cookie disher to make 17 evenly sized cookie balls.  Place on parchment lined baking sheets and bake 375°F for 14 minutes.  At the 7 minute mark rotate the cookie sheets top to bottom and front to back.  Note – these cookies won’t spread like normal cookies, but don’t worry, they are cooked!

Remember a cookie is still a cookie!! Don’t eat more than one.

Approximate macros per cookie:

308 calories

20g fat

73g carbohydrate

4g protein

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