Category Archives: paleo

“Gravy”

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Tools required: Immersion blender
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 slice bacon
Chicken giblets
Chicken juices reserved from Mediterranean Chicken recipe
Dried oregano and rosemary to taste
2 Tb mashed cauliflower (for use as thickener)
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

In pan, cook the bacon – it adds wonderful flavor.
Remove the cooked bacon, but keep the grease (this is what we’re after anyway – feel free to snack on the bacon).
In the bacon grease, cook chicken giblets and remove from pan for more snacks (this step deepens the flavor of the gravy).
Now, add the chicken juices reserved from the roasted chicken and stir.
Add a tsp each of oregano and rosemary if you like.

Once combined, pour into your 2 cup measure along with 2 Tb mashed cauliflower.
Blend with immersion blender until you reach a gravy consistency (you may need to add more mashed cauliflower to reach your desired texture).
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pour liberally over EVERYTHING. Seriously, this is delicious.

Smoked Salmon Cucumber Rounds

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No special tools required
Serves 4 as a light snack, or 2 for lunch

Ingredients

Smoked salmon
1 cucumber
4 hardboiled egg yolks (Trader Joes sells peeled hardboiled eggs, making this super easy)
1 lemon, zest and juice
Salt to taste
Dill for garnish

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Chicken – 5 ways

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We all get tired of chicken – so here’s 5 different ways to mix it up! Prepare a whole tray so you can eat it throughout the week.

Ingredients: 

Chicken parts – a whole tray full of legs, thighs, breasts or wings
Olive oil

Seasoning Variations:
Use 1/2 teaspoon of each seasoning indicated

-Mediterranean – sea salt, sage, rosemary, thyme
-Italian – juice from 1 lemon, rosemary and garlic infused olive oil (fabulous on salmon also!)
-Moroccan – sea salt, cumin, coriander, turmeric, curry, cinnamon
-Greek: sea salt, lemon salt, oregano, black pepper
-BBQ style: sea salt, paprika, cinnamon, black pepper

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Sweet Potatoes – 2 ways

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This is one of our go-to paleo sides. It’s easy to make a big batch and it reheats well. We’ve come up with two different variations here.

Ingredients: 

3 Sweet potatoes – scrubbed and chopped into 1″ squares
1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil

Variation 1 –
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon thyme

Variation 2 –
1 star anise, finely crushed
1″ piece fresh ginger, grated
1 lime, zested and juiced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon Fresh ground pepper

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Zucchini Pasta

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If you’re craving pasta, this vegetable-based version will hit the spot. It’s easiest if you have an attachment on your mixer that will make nice noodles for you, but a similar effect can be gained by using a potato peeler to create long strands of zucchini.

Ingredients: 

3 Zucchini
Olive Oil
Tomatoes – chopped into 1/2″ cubes
Basil (preferably fresh)

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Instructions:

Either peel the zucchini by hand or use the spiral attachment
Toss with olive oil
Pan fry for just a couple minutes – so the “noodles” just start to soften up
Mix in fresh tomatoes and basil
Enjoy!

Crustless Quiche – 2 ways

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Tired of scrambled eggs? Add some veggies to your eggs and mix up your routine. Great for a weekend brunch or make ahead and bring to work with you.

Ingredients: 

4 eggs
salt & pepper to taste
Coconut oil to grease the pans

Veggie Lovers add:
1 zucchini & 1 carrot (or two of each) – shredded

Meat Lovers add:
2 pieces of bacon, chopped into small pieces
2 breakfast sausages, chopped into small pieces

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Turkey Meatballs with Kale & Zucchini

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The best part about these meatballs is that they’re actually half vegetable! Double the recipe to make a whole pan so you can bring them to work throughout the week for lunch.

Ingredients: 

1 pound ground turkey
2 zucchini – shredded
1 bunch of kale – chopped in food processor
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

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Zucchini Patties

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I was at a friends house and spied a library book called 21 Day Sugar Detox. Never being one to pass up a book, much less a cookbook, I flipped through it and was immediately intrigued. The cookbook lays out a 21 day plan for curbing your sugar cravings, and not only that gives three different levels of detox plans. I snapped a few photos of some recipes and figured I find the book at my local library later. I immediately went home and made these delightful little snacks/sides!

Ingredients:

4 cups grated zucchini or carrots – well drained
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon garlic
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup coconut oil

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Pork Chops Stuffed with Prosciutto

We found this recipe in the great Italian Gourmet Cooking magazine that’s out on the newsstands now!

Ingredients:

4 bone-in, thick-cut pork chops (center cut rib chops)
8 sage leaves, cut into ribbons
8 thin slices mozzarella
4 slices prosciutto
olive oil
kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper

 

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Squid Ceviche

Ready to eat!

Thanks to Local Catch Monterey Bay for another week of seafood adventures! This week we were lucky enough to get a bag of squid, when we had a big bag of limes that needed to be used. Hence the ceviche! It’s a very basic recipe, made from referencing a few different websites, and adapted to the ingredients we had on-hand.

Ingredients:

1 lb squid 
6-8 limes
1 bunch cilantro 
3-4 tomatoes
1/2 – 1 large onion 

Instructions:

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Zucchini Crustless Quiche

Ingredients:

3 small zucchini
1 onion, chopped
2 pieces of bacon (cooked)
6 eggs total
1/2 cup parmesan (shredded)
1/2 cup feta (shredded)
8 oz Monterey jack cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup fresh parsley
2 pieces of toast cut up into small pieces

 

Instructions:

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Tomato Dill Soup

Ingredients:

1/2 red Onion
2 small leeks – white and light green pieces only
3 Tbls butter
2 lbs tomatoes (from our garden!)
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 tsp fresh ground blk pepper
sea salt and pepper
1 1/2 tbsp dried dill
herbed goat cheese to top it off

 

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Spinach, Black Bean, Pesto Sausage & Egg Breakfast

Here’s an easy recipe for busy mornings… pre-make individual serving egg dishes! Here’s what we used, per person:

3 eggs
1/4 cup chopped spinach
1/4 cup black beans
1 chopped up sausage (optional)

Mix everything together in individual oven-safe dishes

Bake at 350F for 45-60 minutes
(or until egg has cooked through)

Let cool.
Refrigerate if you’re going to eat them in the newt couple days, freeze if longer.
To reheat, place cold dishes in oven
Reheat at 250F for 30-60 minutes (cover with foil to prevent additional browning)
Now you have time to go for a run or get the kids out the door while your breakfast cooks!
Or simply microwave if you’re in a hurry!

“Man Salad”

Over a bed of lettuce, layer chopped up cucumber, celery, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, avocado and, of course, bacon. Dress with a pre-made vinaigrette or olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

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Steak fajita bowl with taco

Dinner time! Grilled up some chunks of steak from trader joe’s, sautéed the onions and bell peppers, layered all that on top of black refried beans and quinoa. Served it up with a taco filled with sour cream, avocado, cheese and bell peppers. Easy, yummy dinner!

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Ceviche

Ingredients:

1 lb petrole sole
6 limes- juiced

1 tomato chopped
1/4 of a green pepper chopped
1 celery stalk chopped
1/2 red onion chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 tbsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp each salt & fresh cracked pepper
A few shakes of Tabasco

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Asparagus Soup

Straight from Nourishing Traditions. The best soup we’ve tried from that cookbook!

Ingredients:

2 medium onions
3 tablespoons butter
6 cups chicken stock
4 red potatoes, quartered
2 bunches asparagus, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
sea

 

 

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Lemon Garlic Salmon

Marinade:

Olive oil, lemon juice, lemon rind, freshly minced garlic, sea salt and pepper

Mix about 1 cup of olive oil, with the juice and freshly grated rind of two lemons
Whisk in the garlic (2-4 cloves), salt and pepper
Pour over salmon to marinate for 10 – 15 minutes
Bake @ 450 for 7-10 minutes