Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce

Hello everyone!

Here's a simple one to get the week started.  I hope you love it!

This recipe will feed two. 

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef

1 jar marinara sauce (I love Bove’s, it’s organic and has no sugar or preservatives)

1 spaghetti squash

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Cut the squash in half fatways, and scoop out the seeds and guts.  Place in a glass pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.  When the squash is about 10 minutes from done, heat a saucepan to medium high heat, cook up the beef, season with salt and pepper, and drain excess liquid off.  Return the pan to the stove, add the sauce, then turn the heat down to medium low, allowing the sauce to get hot.  Using an oven mitt to protect your hands from the heat, scoop the spaghetti squash out with a fork, plate it, and top it with the meat sauce. 

Who says you can't have spaghetti on the Paleo diet?

See you tomorrow!

-C.E.

Paleo Sangria

Alright everyone, this is alcohol plus honey, so it's definitely a 'cheat'.. use in moderation!

You'll need:

1 bottle dry red wine (I like pinot noir)
1 apple, cored and sliced thin
1 orange, peeled and sliced thin
1 peach, pitted and sliced thin
1 pear cored and sliced thin
2 tbs honey

Heat up your honey with a few tbs of water to make a syrup (this will make stirring much easier).  Pour your wine into a large pitcher.  Stir in the honey and add the fruit.  Let it all soak overnight.  Enjoy!

*The fruit tends to soak up alcohol, so if you really want a buzz, eat the fruit too!

I hope you love it,  à demain!

-C.E.

Paleo Chicken Vegetable Soup

Comfort food at it's best: healthy!

Before we get into the recipe, an exciting development has occurred:  I did two muscle-ups today, and I've never done them before!  I can't help but want to think that the Paleo diet is what is giving my athleticism the edge.  Woo hoo!

One last sidenote:  if any of you have actually tried any of these recipes, please leave a comment on the blog.  I'd love to see how they are turning out in someone else's kitchen. :)

This recipe feeds two with leftovers, and takes about 45 mins.

You’ll need:

About 1 ½ lbs chicken breast, cut into 1 in. bites

1 ½ cups chopped white onion

1 ½ cups carrot, peeled and sliced thin

1 ½ cups celery, chopped

1 small head of cabbage, chopped roughly into bite sized leaves

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Red pepper flakes

2 quarts chicken broth

2 tbs arrowroot starch

Start by putting a large soup pot on the stove at medium heat and allow about 1 tbs olive oil to heat in it.  Throw in the carrots and celery to cook first, they’re very fiberous and will take longest to soften.  Add 3 tbs of water to the mixture and cover the pot.  Let them continue to cook up with the lid on the pot, stirring occasionally, for about 10 mins.  After this, add in the onion, stir, and cover.  You can be cutting the chicken while the veggies are cooking.  Throw in the chicken with a little more olive oil, stir, and cover again.  Stir every few minutes until the chicken is mostly white (it will NOT yet be cooked all the way, this is intentional).  Add in the broth and cabbage (if the broth doesn’t cover the cabbage, add water until the cabbage is mostly submerged).  Salt, pepper, and sprinkle lightly with red pepper flakes.  Turn up the heat and bring the soup to a rolling boil, then, cover and turn down to simmer (medium to medium low).  Allow the soup to simmer for about 15 mins.  A few minutes before serving it, sprinkle in the starch and let it cook in the simmer.  This will thicken the soup a bit.  Serve it up hot!

Enjoy!

Until tomorrow,

-C.E.

Paleo Roasted Sirloin with Mushroom and Garlic Gravy, and Pan-Wilted Spinach

The cavemen would have been proud.

This recipe beats the cookies, I think!  It's a wonderfully tender and moist steak, and the gravy has a great aroma.  This feeds two people.

You’ll need:

1 sirloin steak, preferably grass-fed, between 1 ½ in thick and 2 in thick (about 1 ¼ lb)

Steak seasoning

11 oz package fresh baby spinach

1 large petal garlic, minced

4 baby bella mushrooms, sliced thin

¼ cup white onion, chopped

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

¼ tsp arrowroot starch

First turn the broiler on 'low.'  Season the steak on both sides.  Place your sirloin on a metal pan lined with tin foil, then place in the oven about 5 inches from the broiler (the top coil).  Time it to broil for 12 minutes for medium rare, 15 minutes for medium, etc.  In a small sauce pan on the stove over medium heat, start to cook up your onion and garlic in a small amount of olive oil.  Salt and pepper the mixture. 

Once the onions start to turn golden, or carmelize, throw in the mushrooms, stir, and cover the pan to trap in the moisture, also remember to stir occasionally.  Once the steak’s 12 mins are up, turn it over and broil for 12 more minutes on the other side.  When the steak is about 10 mins from done, wilt the spinach in a pan with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, on medium to medium-low heat.  You may need to only do part of the spinach at a time because it may not all fit in the pan at once.  You want it to still be leafy, not reduced to mush, when done.  Also when the steak's about 10 mins from done, turn the heat on the onion and mushroom mixture to simmer, add about 2 tbs water to it, and cover again. 

When the steak’s about two mins from done, stir the arrowroot starch into your mushroom mixture, and cover with the lid again.  It will begin to thicken.  Once the steak’s done, remove it, slice in thin slices, and serve with the spinach and a bit of the chunky gravy on top. 

It's the bee's knees, y'all!  

On a more personal note, a few discoveries I've made since starting the Paleo Challenge...

1.  I've discovered that Golden Corral has a good deal of Paleo options you wouldn't be able to choose from at other restaurants (where I often feel like the only veggies I can get are lettuce and tomato via a salad).  They've got roasted chicken, beef, ham sometimes, baked yams, a myriad of hot veggies, and a salad bar with fresh fruit.  Just another option for those of you who want more variety.  Of course, you always risk not knowing what's in your food when eating out unless they have a specified ingredients list.

2.  I've become far more scrutinizing of food, even when I don't have to be.  I'm becoming afraid of meats that are not grass-fed, wary of any food that comes in a box or bag, and am beginning to sneer snobbily at foods I used to buy pretty regularly, for fear of the dreaded cane juice and high fructose corn syrup monsters!  These are all positive changes, I think.  Alas, dairy still calls my name on a regular basis, and I'd die for a spoonful of mac-n-cheese, but I'm being strong, and seeing the payoff of it.  I've lost a few pounds and look a bit more lean.  Hopefully some PRs at the gym are in my future.

Until tomorrow, over and out.

-C.E.

 

Chicken with Spicy Mango Salsa, Pico-guac and Plantain Chips (Paleo, of course)

Mmmmm.

Who's in the mood for Mexican?!  This is a fresh and filling twist on some old favorites: we have the chips and dip, and the protein with salsa.  This time, however, the mango brings a sweet touch to the traditionally spicy flavors associated with Mexican food. 

This recipe will serve two people, and takes about 45 mins with help (the prepping of the fruit and veggies is the most time-consuming part). 

**Note: the fat content is fairly high in the plantains and pico-guac; if you make them to snack on, keep the snacking to a minimum.  All things in moderation.  Also, it would be delish with pork as well, as pork always pairs nicely with fruit.  :)

First, make the pico-guac:

3 ripe (soft and black) avocados, pitted and skins removed

1 half of a large tomato, diced into ¼ in pieces

Juice of ½ a lime

⅛ cup onion, diced

¼ cup cilantro, chopped

Mash avocado in a bowl with lime juice with a potato masher, but leave some chunks in the avocado.  Stir in tomatoes, onion and cilantro, then season with salt and pepper and stir.  Chill it in the fridge until it’s time to eat.

Next come the plantain chips:

3 plantains, cut into very thin slices, lengthwise

1 large petal of garlic, minced very small

About 2 oz olive oil in a small bowl

Salt

Add minced garlic to oil and stir.  Lay out the plantain slices on a cookie sheet, and brush them generously with the olive oil and garlic mixture.  Salt lightly.  Place under the broiler on low until they become golden-brownish in color and start to curl up.  Remove the pan from the oven, flip the chips over, brush with oil again, salt lightly, and broil until they’re golden-brown.  Don’t add more garlic if you run out of olive oil, just brush the backs with plain olive oil.  You don’t want too much garlic.

Last, the Mango Salsa and Chicken:

1 mango, diced

Juice of ½ a lime

½ a jalapeño, diced small (pick out some of the white guts if you want less heat)

Salt and pepper

2 large chicken breasts, sliced thin in half

¼ cup green onion, chopped

Mix the mango, lime juice, jalapeño, and green onion in a bowl.  Set aside.  Bring a saucepan to medium heat and cook chicken in it.  Salt and pepper the chicken, then plate it with the salsa on top. Serve with your plantain chips and guacamole.  If your plantains come out too soft to dip them in the pico-guac, never fear!  Just lay them flat on the plate, spoon on the guac and enjoy!

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Happy eating!

-C.E.

Paleo Seared Tuna with Vegetable Medley

This one is so fresh and simple, yet satisfying for when you're hungry for hearty food.  It will feed two hungry adults. 


You'll need:


About 1lb fresh raw tuna, cut into two fillets (don't get the frozen kind, it's not as flavorful)
Seafood seasoning or ginger powder, salt and pepper
olive oil
1 large zucchini cut in 1 in chunks
1/2 a red bell pepper (cut same as above)
1/2 a white onion (cut same as above)
2 yellow squash(es?) (cut same as above) 
1 petal garlic, minced
About a cup of baby bella mushrooms cut in 1 in chunks
salt and pepper


Start your veggies first.  Heat a pan with 1 tbs olive oil to medium and throw in your onion, garlic and peppers (they take a bit longer to cook).  Once they've started to soften, add zucchini, squash and mushrooms.  Drizzle generously with olive oil (about 3 tbs) then season with salt and pepper.  Cook until the veggies are about al dente, not mush. 


About half way through cooking the veggies, heat another pan to medium with no oil in it.  Then, generously season the fish on both sides with either salt, pepper and ginger, or with seafood seasoning.  Both are tasty.  Then, place the fish in the pan for 1 min per side to have a nice sear with a medium-rare doneness, 2-3 minutes for medium, 3-4 for well done. Plate the fish with veggies, and enjoy! 


**As a side note, if the quality of the fish is good, you can cook it to your preferred temperature like a beef steak.  Tuna is often cooked to medium rare so it will retain its tenderness.** 


On a more personal note, Paleo seems to be working out great for me, as I managed to comfortably run a ten mile race yesterday without having run more than two miles at a time for a few months now.  Who knows what I'll be capable of in another week!  Scaling a 30 story building with my bare hands like Spidey?  We shall see!  Oh, and some troublesome acne that has stuck around into my adulthood seems to be taking a hike as well.  Woo hoo!




Until tomorrow, I'm out like a light!


-C.E.

Paleo Curried Turkey with Zucchini

Mmm.. this is one is good either hot or cold!  I made this as part of our "road food" repertoire so that we would not have to stop for fast food on an 8 hr. car ride, and it holds up really nicely in a cooler.  I hope you love it!

This should feed two people.

You’ll need:

1 large turkey breast

2-3 large zucchinis

1 tsp olive oil

¼ cup chopped onion

About 1 tsp hot Madras curry powder (yellow)

Salt and pepper to taste

Place the turkey breast in a crock pot, set it to low (8hr cook time) and pour in enough water to cover the top of the breast.  Sprinkle with a dash of salt and pepper.  Let it cook throughout the day or overnight.  About 15 mins before you want to eat it, heat a saucepan with the olive oil in it to medium.  Cut up your zucchini in thin slices, and cook up in the pan with the onion.  Add ½ the curry powder to the veggie mix, and stir it in.  When the zucchini is soft, stir in the crock pot turkey (first break it up with a fork, it will be very soft).  Add the rest of the curry powder.  Serve with your favorite veggie side dish. 

Until tomorrow, a revoir.

-C.E. 

Bangin' Paleo Walnut and Apricot Cookies

Why are they bangin'?  Because this recipe takes the cake as my favorite so far (no pun intended)!  They have a traditional cookie texture and all the sweetness of sugar, but with honey instead.  Omigod y'all, these thangs ain't playin' around.  Try them out with different types of dried fruit... I bet they'd be awesome with cranberries.

(Makes 2 dozen cookies)

1 cup honey, warmed in a saucer on the stove

1 cup finely chopped walnuts

½ cup chopped dried apricots

1 cup almond flour

1 cup coconut flour

¾ tsp pumpkin pie spice

2 tsp coconut oil

1 egg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Blend flours with the pumpkin pie spice.  Then, whisk the egg in a separate bowl, and add only half the egg at a time to the flour mixture, blending evenly with a fork.  You’ll get a crumbly texture, but avoid large chunks toward the bottom, you want it all the same consistency.  Then, add one tsp at a time of warmed up coconut oil, blending it all together.  Next mix in your walnuts and chopped fruit.  Lastly, add your warm honey, and blend til you get a sticky dough.  At this point you can either flower a cutting board, roll out the dough into ½ in thickness and cut square cookies, or form them into discs by hand.  Bake on a cookie sheet for 12-15 minutes, or until they’re golden brown.  Enjoy!

Hasta luego,

-C.E.

Paleo Asian Beef Lettuce Wraps

I decided to post a little early, while this dinner is still fresh in my mind! 

Paleo Asian Beef Lettuce Wrap (Serves 2 pretty hungry blokes)

Prep/cook time is about 25 minutes.

You’ll need:

1lb beef (preferably grass-fed)

About ½ cup finely chopped onion

2 large petals (NOT whole cloves) garlic, minced nice and small

½ tsp Ginger (dry, ground)

2 tbs Sesame oil

Salt and pepper

2 medium yellow squash, ends cut off, grated in the smaller part of the cheese grater.  You should wind up with a big juicy yellow pile of squash noodles.  (It's a good replacement for rice because it is moist and tender, and will bring a nice texture to your lettuce wrap stuffing.)

3 baby bella mushrooms, diced very small

1 ½ tsp arrowroot starch

1 head lettuce, rinsed and toweled dry

Heat your skillet to medium, and pour about 2 tsp sesame oil in once it’s hot (if you let oil sit in a hot pan too long, it will start to burn and smoke up the kitchen.. ew!).  Start to cook up your beef, onions and garlic, using a spatula to chop beef up nice and small as it cooks.  Once the beef is cooked about half way, add the squash (don’t transfer the juice to the pan) and the mushrooms.  Season it all generously with salt and pepper, but moderately with ginger.  Stir well.  Then, sprinkle in the arrowroot starch evenly over the whole mixture, and stir in.  As the beef and veggies release juices, the starch will soak them up, so you don’t have to drain anything before serving.  Continue to use the spatula to chop up the beef and stir everything, so you get a nice smooth consistency, until the beef is all well browned.  When done, eat the wraps like fajitas, spooning a small amount into your lettuce leaves. 

A few side-notes:

1.  We (hubby and I) served this with baked sweet potatoes dressed with a little coconut butter and cinnamon (YUM), but you can pair it with pretty much anything.  Just the wraps for dinner is not enough carbohydrate, so be sure to have some other veggies on the side. 

2. A mistake people often make with recipes is following them to the “T”.  I tried that once with an Emeril recipe… “A quarter cup of salt?  Four tablespoons of Cajun seasoning? Sure, why not!”  That’s a NO-GO, soldier! The final product was way too salty and way too spicy!  The solution?  Always taste your food as the cooking process goes on.  You can often eyeball the right amount of seasonings, and hey, if it needs some more pepper, add some more pepper!  Make the recipe your own.

Until tomorrow,  ¡buen provecho!

-C.E.

Paleo Shrimp and “Grits”

The beauty of the cauliflower "grits" is that you can use them to replace lots of popular non-Paleo dishes: grits, mashed potatoes, whatever you can think of.

Of course, you can always add different seasonings too, for example, curry powder, to change the flavor up.  The garlic in this recipe really lends a nice savory aroma to the whole thing.  I hope you love it!


Prep/cook time= +/- 1 hour.  You’ll need a blender or food processor.

Shrimp topping:

2 cups medium-sized raw peeled and deveined shrimp

Seafood seasoning

½ cup green pepper, chopped

½ cup onion, chopped

Olive oil

Cauliflower mash, aka ‘grits’:

1 head cauliflower

3-4 large garlic petals (NOT whole cloves!)

Salt and pepper

2 oz hot almond or coconut milk

Olive oil

*Primal Paleo diet: 2 oz parmesan cheese

First, make the mash.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Peel leaves off cauliflower, and cut into florets.  Arrange evenly in a glass oven-safe pan.  Then, remove “paper” from the garlic petals and place them in the pan also.  (Roasted garlic is SO aromatic and delicious!)  Drizzle the whole thing with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast the cauliflower and garlic 30-45 mins, or until fork tender.  It’s not an exact science, folks.

When you’ve got about 15 mins left till the cauliflower’s done, heat up a saucepan/frying pan to medium on the stove with a little olive oil.  Throw your veggies in the pan to soften first.  After a few minutes, add shrimp, and let them cook till they are nice and firm, and pinky-white in color.  Season, and set aside while you mash your “grits.” 

Now that the cauli is tender, throw it and the garlic into a blender or food processor (the FP is preferable, it’s easier) with your hot almond or coconut milk (just throw it in the microwave for 30 secs right before you need it).  Add cheese if you’re doing the cheese thing.  Blend/process until you have a smooth texture.  The less you blend, the more lumpy it’ll be. 

Until tomorrow, bon appétit!

-C.E.

Paleo coffee-house Pumpkin Spice Latte

Hello all!

I shared this with some friends through a huge e-mail chain earlier, but here is my version of a fancy coffee house pumpkin spice latte (it's cheaper, too!).

You'll need:

Espresso coffee
almond milk (non-sweetened!)
honey
pumpkin pie spice (or ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg)
water

If you don't have an espresso machine, buy a cafetera at your local cheap-stuff spot (you know the ones, the store with the bulls-eye logo has them).  It looks like a tea pot, but is metal and has two different vessels.  Anyway, get one.

Brew up your espresso with a healthy sprinkling of the pumpkin pie spice in the grinds.  Then, heat up the almond milk til steaming in a saucepan on the stove.  Pour about 1 part espresso and 1 and 1/2 parts almond milk in a cup.  Sweeten slightly with honey, and enjoy!

Did you try it?  If so, post a comment!

Until tomorrow, cheers!

-C.E.

(Primal) Paleo chicken parmesan with "angel hair"

The acorn squash is a great substitute for pasta, and it brings a nice crunchy texture to an old favorite. :)

Ingredients:

1-2 chicken breasts

1 spaghetti squash

Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Paleo spaghetti sauce

Salt and pepper or an all-purpose seasoning

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Cut a spaghetti squash in half fat ways, remove the seeds and goop, and then throw it in the oven for 30 mins. At 15 mins into squash cook time, cook up your seasoned chicken breast in a pan.  Heat up the Paleo-friendly spaghetti sauce on the stove.  When squash is done, use a fork to scoop the ‘noodles’ out.  Plate the spaghetti squash with chicken, coat with sauce, and sprinkle on some parmesan. Enjoy!

First things first...

Hello all!

My name is Meg, and I'm a CrossFit enthusiast.

I will be officially starting a month-long challenge to do the Paleolithic diet tomorrow, and I thought, "What better opportunity than this to start a blog?"  I've been playing around with some Paleo recipes in preparation for my dietary adventure, which will henceforth be a major portion of the media that will appear on my blog.  I hope that over the next 28 days, I'll come to see Paleo the way I see CrossFit, as a way of life instead of one of those things people just do because they ought to.  Stay posted for recipes, blogs about my personal experiences and challenges, and may be some other good stuff too!

Til then, cheers!

-C.E.