365 Paleo Recipe Project: DAY 33 - Cucumber-Lemon Water

I found this recipe on Pinterest and it was tauted as way to speed up weight loss, but I never believe that. I just thought it looked quite refreshing, I needed to mix up my water repetoire. I added and extra lemon to the original recipe. It's quite good, and tastes just like it sounds - like cucumber water with a splash of lemon.

Ingredients:

2 quarts of water

1 cucumber, peeled and sliced

2 lemons, sliced

10-12 mint leaves

Fill a large pitcher with 2 quarts of water and add cucumber, lemons and mint leaves. I suggest crushing the mint leaves or tearing them to release the oils. Refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to mingle. Serve chilled or over ice.

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365 Paleo Recipe Project: DAY 32 - Italian Stuffed Bell Peppers

I had big plans yesterday to make spaghetti squash "spaghetti" with meatballs, but alas, the grocery store didn't have a single squash, much less spaghetti squash. Instead, I decided to make stuffed bell peppers with italian seasonings (I was craving italian and I figured the flavor would be the same). 

Typically, stuffed bell peppers have rice or breadcrumbs in them to bind the meat together. Mine does not, obviously, so while the egg helps, I typically serve mine by placing the bell pepper over a bed of vegetables. Then I slice it open and just mix the meat, pepper and veggies together before I eat it. It's just as good. 

Ingredients:

4 green bell peppers, top removed and hollowed out

1 lb ground beef

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 egg

2 jalapenos, seeds removed and diced fine

1 ten oz can of petite diced tomatoes (I like the garlic, oregano and basil flavored), drained of excess fluid

salt and pepper

Prefeat oven to 375 and arrange bell peppers on a baking sheet, cut side up. 

In a medium sized bowl, combine meat, onion, jalapeno, tomatoes and egg until mixed thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper. Fill bell pepper "cups" with meat mixture. If there's any left over, you can form patties and bake them on your baking sheet.

Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes.

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365 Paleo Recipe Project: DAY 31 - Ultimate Grilled Veggie Platter

Since the 4th of July is right around the corner, and as we all know, cookouts are a paleo eater's dream (meat, fruit and veggies abound), I thought this would be a perfect time to introduce a great dish for grilling - the ultimate grilled vegetable platter. I found this recipe on a display at the local supermarket, and figured I'd give it a try. I did not realize just how massive a dish it made until I started prepping all of my vegetables, but they are delicious, so I'm cool with leftovers. If you normally take salads to cookouts, try this one out instead. Just prep the veggies ahead of time and take them with you to grill wherever you're at. 

NOTE: If you've never grilled veggies before, there are several methods. You can use a vegetable basket, tray or flip basket that you set on the grate, but I prefer grill marks rather than just heat, so I like to lay a sheet of aluminum foil (thicker works better) over the grate and just dump the veggies on that. Then I can stir them around or flip them and they don't fall. 

Ingredients:

2 zucchini, sliced into 1/2" slices

12 asparagus spears, fiberous ends snapped off

1 lb fresh green beans, ends snipped off

1 red onion, thinkly sliced

1 yellow onion, thinkly sliced

1 pint button mushrooms, sliced

1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 medium yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced

5 carrots, sliced and chopped into 2" chunks

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

Heat your grill to med-high heat. (If you choose to use aluminum foil, put it on the grill before lighting the fire). Divide the vegetables in half, and toss each half in a collander with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and pour onto the aluminum foil or grilling tray. Close the grill lid and cook until vegetables are cooked through and have nice char marks - if using aluminum foil. Make sure you stir and flip them frequently to ensure they cook evenly. Remove from the grill and cook the second batch the same way. Arrange on a serving platter and dig in.

I chose to cook mine alongside a simple grilled steak that I seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic. Then I sliced it served it atop the veggies.

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365 Paleo Recipe Project: DAY 30 - Chicken and Vegetable Soup

I love soup. I mean LOVE it. I'm not sure what it is, whether I like it so much because it warms me up and fills the soul, or because I'm lazy and I can eat leftovers forever. Whatever the reason, this is my favorite of my soup recipes, because it's simple and tasty. I made it for my sister and her husband the other day, and it was a big hit. (as you can see from one of the pictures, where my sister is devouring the pot)

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken tenders, cut into bite-sized pieces

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

3 parsnips, peeled and chopped

12 asparagus spears, chopped

32 oz of chicken stock

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1/4 tsp ground thyme

salt and pepper

In a large pot or dutch oven, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add carrots and parsnips, sprinkle liberally with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened - about 10 minutes. Add chicken stock, reduce heat and simmer.

In a large skillet over med-high heat, heat 1 tbsp olive oil and add your onions and chicken. Season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently until onions have begun to turn translucent and chicken has browned. 

Add chicken and onions to the stock pot as well as chopped asparagus. Season with salt, pepper and thyme. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Serve.

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365 Paleo Recipe Project: DAY 29 - Spinach, Pepper and Bacon Scramble

I know, I know.. ANOTHER hiatus. I was spending a few days with my sister. I managed to get two new recipes out of the trip though - three if you count the one I haven't made yet. 

When I got back into town today, I stopped by my stepmom's house to check on my little veggie garden (I have lettuce and spinach growing), and harvested some of each. I was pretty pumped to try out the spinach, so for dinner, I whipped up an easy, vitamin-packed egg scramble.

Ingredients:

1/2 c spinach leaves, torn

1/4 c diced bell pepper

3 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped

3 eggs, beaten

In a skillet over med-high, heat bell pepper, bacon and spinach. Pour beaten eggs over them and cook, stirring continuously until eggs are fully cooked and spinach has wilted. Season with salt and pepper.

 

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365 Paleo Recipe Project: DAY 28 - Blueberry Banana "Ice Cream"

Sorry for the hiatus; my sister got married last weekend and the past few weeks have been CHAOTIC trying to get everything ready. Now, however, things have calmed down and I can get back to this recipe project! Lucky you ;P

The recipe for this "ice cream" is not a new concept, but I'm always surprised by how many people still haven't heard about this, so I'm spreading the word. You can make a faux ice cream by just blending up a fozen banana! My 3 year-old actually thinks it's ice cream; that's how convincing it is. lol The only "must" for this is that banana. You can add whatever you want to it. I love the flavor combo of banana and blueberry, so that's what I went with. It's also great with a tbsp of almond butter or some dark chocolate.

Handy note: If you have bananas that are starting to get over-ripe, throw them in the freezer and save them for this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 frozen banana, sliced and peeled

1/4 cup fresh blueberries

In a food processor, pulse frozen banana slices and blueberries until well blended. Scrape contents into a bowl. 

 

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365 Paleo Recipe Project: DAY 27: Pepper Stuffed Portabella Burger

Ok I know I initally said this project was going to be 365 in 365, but stuff keeps seeming to arise that prevents me from making a new recipe EVERY day. Therefore, it will still be 365 paleo recipes; it just might take me awhile to get there.

The following recipe, I made a couple of days ago and meant to post it, but then I had to go out of town, so I never got around to it. Well, I'm doing it now!

I was at the grocery store and had the idea of using a portabella mushroom cap as a type of burger bun. I tinkered with it, and this was the result.

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground beef (grass-fed, of course)

3 large portabella mushroom caps

5-6 small sweet peppers, diced

salt and pepper

Divide your ground beef into 1/3 lb patties. Flatten your patties as much as possible and add evenly divide your diced peppers between them, spooning them into the center of the patty. Fold the patty around the peppers to enclose them and pat down.

Heat your grill to med-high. Season both sides of each patty with salt and pepper and place on top of a portabella cap. Lay burger-side down on the grill and cook for 3-4 minutes. Flip and continue cooking for 3-4 more minutes. If the mushroom side of the burger patty is still pink, you may want to remove from the mushroom cap and grill directly for 2-3 minutes before replacing onto the mushroom.

Remove from heat. Allow to rest for 5 minutes and serve, mushroom side down.

 

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Finally, the Day Has Arrived!

I'm super pumped! The cookbook I've been waiting for FOREVER went on sale for preorders today, and as if that weren't awesome news enough, the preorders are almost 50% off!!

WHAT?!!

Needless to say, I picked that up pretty quick-like. Come October, I'll be the proud owner of Michael Symon's new book, "Carnivore"!

365 Paleo Recipe Project: DAY 26 - Herbed Carrots and Jicama

Back in... um... let's go with 2010, I needed to kickstart a new regimen of eating healthier, so I bought The Biggest Loser: 30-day Jump Start as a way to force myself into new habits. (It worked). One of the snack suggestions in it was a mix of jicama and carrot sticks. I'm not huge on raw carrots as a snack, but I liked the concept behind it. So, I played around after I finished the jumpstart and this is the end recipe that I landed on. If you've never had jicama, it has a starchy texture,similar to a potato but with a slight apple flavor.

Ingredients:

3 large carrots, peeled and chopped

1/2 jicama root, peeled and diced

1 shallot, sliced thin

extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

1/4 cuo fresh sage leaves, chopped

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet, over medium heat. Add your carrots, shallot and jicama and season liberally with salt. Cook, stiring occasionally for 25-30 minutes. Add your herbs, season liberally again with salt and pepper and continue cooking until herbs have wilted, 5-10 minutes more.

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Salt and the Paleo Diet

My newest article, "Salt and the Paleo Diet" was published yesterday. Here's a blurb, but you can check out the whole thing here. 

 

"Because the long-term effects of high-sodium consumption have been linked to such diseases as stroke, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, edema and stomach cancer, many experts believe that stricter guidelines are need for healthy consumption.

The FDA recommends that the average person consume no more than 2300mg of sodium per day (1500mg for people over 51, African-Americans or people with hypertension, diabetes or chronic kidney disease), but studies show that the average American gets between 3400 and 4700mg per day, and that an "estimated 75 percent of the average consumer's intake comes from packaged foods." (according to Food Navigator-USA )

......

Sodium is a mineral, and an essential one at that. It regulates blood volume and blood pressure and our primary source of sodium is salt. For minimal function, the body requires at least 500mg. Too little sodium in the body can lead to muscle cramps, dizziness, neurological problems, or even death. Increased water consumption with insufficient sodium levels can cause a condition known as hyponatremia, or water intoxication.

In the average diet, eliminating sodium is an unwise decision, but for paleo dieters, a large population of which are athletes, the elimination of sodium from the diet can be life-threatening. When you sweat, you lose sodium deposits in your system, and when you rehydrate on a sodium-deprived system, your risk of water intoxication goes way up."

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7059308 

365 Paleo Recipe Project: DAY 25 - Bacon and Mushroom Brussels Sprouts

A couple years ago, I went to one of Tyler Florence's cooking demos at Macy's. He was promoting his cookbook, "Family Meal", and he made these brussels sprouts that were ridiculously delicious! If you think you don't like brussels sprouts, I challenge you to try this recipe.

Up until then, I had never had brussels sprouts, but I fell in love. I got my book (I collect autographed cookbooks - because I'm a weirdo like that) and I started making them for every holiday. Everyone I know loves them. 

When I first started on the paleo diet, I still wanted to make my brussels sprouts, but the original recipe calls for a ton of heavy cream, and since I obviously can't have cream, I had to tweak the recipe a bit. What you see before you is my paleo version of Tyler's masterpiece. PS - Thank you Tyler Florence for showing me what yummy is. :P

Ingredients:

1 lb brussels sprouts, ends cut off and halved

4 strips of bacon, diced

1 pint of mushrooms, sliced

2 tbsp spicy brown mustard

1/2 c chicken stock

salt and pepper

Heat a large skillet over medium and add your bacon. Allow to cook, stirring occasionally, until fat has rendered out and bacon is crispy. Drain all but 1 tbsp of bacon fat out of the skillet and add your mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms have browned and softened.

While your bacon is cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a mixing bowl with water and ice and set aside. When water is at a rolling boil, add your sprouts and blanch (boil for 3-4 minutes). Transfer the sprouts from the boiling pot to the ice water to shock them and stop the cooking process. 

When your mushrooms/bacon is ready, add your mustard and chicken stock, and whisk until well-combined. Add in your sprouts, turn the heat up to med-high, stir and cook until chicken stock has mistly evaporated out. Serve.

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Just a warning, these are crazy addictive. My sister doesn't like mushrooms or mustard, and I've seen her put away two bowls. They also reheat well, though I rarely have leftovers,

365 Paleo Recipe Project: DAY 24: Dark Chocolate and Blackberry Smoothie

If there's one thing I love, and really it goes without saying because I'm a female, it's chocolate. I don't even trust people who don't like chocolate. I personally wouldn't consider chocolate to be paleo, but some do, and that's to my tastebuds' advantage, so I'm going with it. I mean, rules are made to be broken, right? And besides, this smoothie is totally paleo if you ignore the dark chocolate part. 

If you're like me and you're going to play fast and loose with the rules, make sure you opt for dark chocolate. There's really no excuse for milk chocolate, but dark chocolate is good for the heart.

Ingredients:

1 c ice

1 c fresh organic blackberries

1 c Silk dark chocolate almond milk

Smoothies are pretty self explainatory. Toss your ingredients (ice first) into a blunder and blend until smooth.

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365 Paleo Recipe Project: DAY 23 - Zucchini Crudo Over Pork Burger

One of my favorite cookbooks (which I'll be reviewing soon at my main site, ePaleoCookbooks.net) is Chef Michael Symon's "Live to Cook", one of my husband's favorite recipes from that book is Chef Symon's Zucchini Crudo. That's really saying something, since my husband doesn't care much for vegetables. 

For the paleo dieter, this is really a great side dish (or sandwich filling or meat topper - as I'm using it here), because it contains both almonds and olive oil, which offer up protein and heart healthy fats. When I make it, I omit the dill, because I'm not a dill fan, but I'm writing the original recipe, so it will be included. I also like to serve mine over a ground pork patty; I find it to be a delicious combination.

To make your pork patties, take 1lb ground pork (or any ground meat) and divide into 1/3s. Roll each third into a ball and pat down to form a patty. Season each side with salt and pepper and cook in a large skillet over med-high heat for 4 minutes per side. 

Michael Symon's Zucchini Crudo - From "Live to Cook"

Ingredients: 

2 zucchini (about 3/4 lb), thinkly sliced

2 yellow summer squash (about 1 1/2 lb), thinly sliced

1 tbsp plus 1/4 tap kosher salt

1 tsp minced garlic

1 shallot, finely sliced

grated zest and juice of 3 lemons, or to taste

1/2 c extra virgin olive oil

1/3 c slivered or sliced almonds, toasted

1/3 c chopped fresh dill

Combine the zucchini and yellow squash in a colander in the sink and sprinkle with 1 tbsp salt. Toss to coat, and set aside for 10 to 15 minutes, no longer. In a large bowl, combine the garlic and shallot, sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 tsp of salt and whisk in the lemon zest and juice. Whisk in the olive oil in a steady stream, then the almonds and dill. Taste for seasoning and acidity (it should be nicely acidic). 

Add the zucchini and squash to the dressing, toss and serve as a side or over your pork patties.

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