Fresh Salsa

So what do you do when organic cherry tomatos are buy one get one free??? Make salsa of course! Thank you to my amazing sister in law Joy for her super yummy fresh and healthy recipe! 

Ingrediants:

2 cartons of cherry tomatoes

2 large jalopenos (deseeded)

2 large cloves of garlic

2 tsp apple cidervinegar 

1/2 medium sweet onion

1 tsp hot chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Hand chop all fresh ingredients I use a Pampered Chef hand chopper and do each ingrediant individiually and add it to a bowl. Chop to the consistency you like. I prefer my salsa to be very fine no large pieces. Pour in vinegar, chili powder and cumin. Mix all together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chill in fridge 30 minutes allowing ingredients to marinate together. Serve over your favorite veggies!

I had a cheat night and had a half of a half of baked potato covered with salsa along side some yummy meatloaf and purple cauliflower! 



In the bottom of the deep freezer

The excitment when you find a prime rib cut from your local grass fed cow in the bottom of the chest freezer…there are no words for how amazing it came out! 😍



Garlicky Red Pepper Calamari, Shrimp, and Spinach over “Spaghetti”

Of course we all know typical pasta is not paleo but I have been craving seafood fra diavolo badly! My local grocery store had wild caught squid the other day so I scooped up all of it to create something spicy enough to fill the need for a spicy seafood dish but also quick and healthy. Last weekend was also the start of the winter farmers market here in town so I had two great Spaghetti Squash to use as my “pasta”! This recipe fed 4 plus 2 left over servings for hubby and I to take for lunch tomorrow!

Ingredients:

Garlicky Red Pepper Seafood
1lb uncooked wild caught squid (tubes and tentacles but use which ever you prefer)
1lb cooked shrimp (de-tailed I hate pulling tails off while your eating!)
4 heaping cups of spinach (this will cook down so feel free to add more if you like)
1 large garlic clove minced
1/4 large sweet onion finely chopping
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried basil
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Red Pepper Flakes

Spaghetti Squash “Pasta”
2 medium cut in half and deseeded
Salt
Pepper

Directions for Squash
1. Preheat oven 425
2. Season flesh side of squash with salt and pepper
3. Place flesh side down on thin layer of water on baking sheet
4. Bake 40 minutes
5. Using fork gently scrape flesh into bowl

If you are good at managing your time you can start prepping your seafood while squash bakes or just keep it in the microwave on warm until you need it.

Directions for Seafood

1. In mixing bowl place squid season with salt, pepper, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 1/2 tsp garlic powder mix well
2. Warm 2 tbsp olive oil
3. Once warm add garlic and onion (they should sizzle a little when they hit the pan thats when it is warm enough but be careful not to over cook your garlic) the onion and garlic are done when they become fragrant
4. Add seasoned squid and sauté 1 minute (this cooks quick and you don’t want it to be rubbery and over cooked)
5. Add shrimp to squid sauté 1 minute (shrimp in my recipe were precooked so I just needed to warm them but if you use raw throw them right in with squid initially)
6. Add spinach, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp garlic powder and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp dried basil and sauté and continuously stir till spinach is wilted approx. 3-4 minutes
7. Serve over your spaghetti squash

Paleo Chicken Nuggets for Paleo Baby

My kid loves chicken nuggets but have you looked at the ingredients of even the “healthy” chicken nuggets lately? Why does there need to be sugar or soy in chicken nuggets??? It is amazing how many additives there are in foods that should only have a few ingredients in them. We are lucky Paleo Baby eats anything and everything including some of my crazy recipes! We want him to feel like he gets to eat things his peers eat too. We don’t deny him the chance to try treats or the option to try something we might not consider “healthy” but we do try to give him better alternatives to choose from that are more nutritious and just as delicious!

There are tons of Paleo nugget recipes out there but I wanted something simple and quick so I came up with my version of Paleo chicken nuggets. They were Paleo Baby and Husband approved and easy to make with ingredients I had in the cupboard. They also looked very much like any other chicken nugget you may see!

Ingredients:
1 boneless Chicken breast
1/8 cup almond meal
1/16 cup coconut flour
1 tsp salt
3 tsp pepper
3 tsp dried basil*
1 tsp dried thyme*
1 egg
Olive oil

(*You could substitute basil and thyme for Italian seasoning)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven 400 degrees
2. Lightly grease baking sheet with olive oil
3. Cut chicken into nugget size pieces and season with salt
4. Wisk egg in small bowl place to side
5. Mix almond meal, coconut flour, pepper, thyme, and basil in bowl
6. Coat one piece of chicken at a time in egg and then dredge in flour/spice mixture making sure to coat the outside evenly and on all sides
7. Continue till all pieces are coated
8. Bake on baking sheet 15 minutes
9. Allow to cool for a few minutes so they are cool enough for little hands to handle

Paleo Crab Cakes

Last time I attempted a crab cake recipe it was a complete disaster. We ended up with flaked crab over a salad as my cakes ended up in a million pieces. So I’ve been scouring the internet for a tasty recipe that I could convert to paleo/primal. My base recipe is from Paula Deen with substitutions to fit our lifestyle and tweaks to the cooking process.

The cakes I came up with held together well. They had wonderful taste and were full of large chunks of crab meat! They easily browned on both sides and came out picture perfect. These cakes paired with a homemade Chipotle Aioli added a zing to the sweet crab meat.

Ingredients:

1lb of fresh picked crab
2-3 celery hearts chopped thin (I prefer the hearts flavor to the outer stalks)
1 clove of garlic minced
2-3 shallots minced
2/3 cup coconut flour
2/3 cup almond flour
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp grass fed butter
1 tbsp dijon mustard
3 table spoons cream
1 egg whisked

Recipe:

1. On stove top melt 1 tbsp of butter sauté garlic, celery, and shallots till fragrant
2. Pick through crab meat for any excess shell and season with salt and pepper
3. Mix almond flour, coconut flour, and cayenne pepper in bowl put to side
4. In another bowl mix cream, dijon mustard, and egg put to side
5. Once your garlic, celery, shallot mix is sautéed add your crab meat, your cream, mustard, and egg mix, and half of your flour mixture and stir till combined-you can add additional flour mixture if needed but don’t add too much or your cakes won’t stay together they should be slightly moist
6. Remove from heat and form mixture into 8 cakes
7. Using the left over flour mixture lightly coat the outside of your cakes (you may have leftover)
8. Refrigerate until ready to cook
9. When your ready to cook heat skillet over medium heat and melt the last 2 tablespoons of butter
10. Cook each cake 3 minutes per side covering skillet with lid while cakes are cooking on each side
11. Remove from skillet with a wide blade spatula and serve!

Fish Friday but this Post is about the Side Dish!

So we have been having Fish Fridays in our house. I found a nice plump cod filet that I just couldn’t pass up last week. Fish is super healthy and can be so flavorful! It’s simple to bake and can be heavily dressed with herbs or simple with just some salt and pepper. I needed something equally as yummy to go with the nice Red Pepper Cod I planned to cook up. While out shopping for the fish I came across Brussel Sprout stalks! I love buying the full stalks definitely more product for your money. Just pull right off and take off the outer leaves. A fun activity to involve the kiddos too! So I ended up creating a new side dish with things I had around the kitchen and the Brussels as I needed a change up from our typical garlic roasted brussels.

My Parmesan Lime Brussel Spouts are delicious! These come out tangy with that nice crispy roasted taste. The tart lime and the saltiness of the parm is a perfect blend!

Ingredients:

Full Stalk of Brussel sprouts pulled from stem, outer leaves pulled off, and halved
1/4 cup Fresh grated parmesan cheese
Juice of two small limes (roll first on counter to get the most juice from them)
Fresh ground black pepper
1 tbsp of EVOO

1. Preheat over 350
2. In mixing bowl toss your brussels with oil and lime juice so brussels are coated well allow to sit for 10 minutes
3. Next mix in your grated parm with brussels try to evenly coat
4. Sprinkle and then stir in the black pepper with brussels to your taste
5. Place on foil lined baking sheet and place in oven
6. Bake 30 minutes stirring brussels at 10 minutes and 20 minutes so they cook evenly. (Brussels at 30 minutes should be fork tender I prefer softer brussels but adjust the time to meet your level of crunch needed)

(I usually bake my cod filets for 20 minutes so this recipe works out well to get fish ready first 10 minutes of baking and then finish baking brussels and fish the last 20 minutes)

Spicy Ginger Ahi Tuna

I’ve been craving Ahi Tuna Steak lately. I love Ahi. When cooked right it just melts in your mouth. Fresh Ahi just needs a little seasoning and a sear and its done. A super quick and healthy meal. But I’ve spiced up my Ahi with a chili ginger marinade!

I have a few fishy rules I try to follow…

1: Always ask how fresh your fish is (make friends with the person behind the counter and find out what day they get their fresh fish shipment, where it came from, and try to buy the same day it comes in)
2: I prefer Wild Caught when available (there are mixed reviews about whether wild caught is the best so do some research about the type of fish you are buying and whether wild caught vs farm raised is better)
3: Fish should not STINK like fish (yes it will have a smell but it should not be overly fishy it should smell like the ocean)
4: If your not going to eat your fresh fish same day or the next freeze it don’t let it sit in the fridge too long. I prefer to freeze my own fresh fish rather then buying frozen as I can never be 100% sure of how it was packaged and how long it took to get packaged.

So now to the recipe…

A Gift of Spice to Make Things Better

Simple gifts are often the best. This showed up for me today and it was just want I needed. Penzeys Spices are an addiction!

Double Thick Breakfast Frappe

We just started a weight loss competition with friends. Both my husband and I have joined and are super competitive and could stand to lose some of those extra pounds we’ve gained over the years! The plan is a Whole Thirty for the first month. The competition goes till December so getting our bodies cleansed the first month with really help!

When we started Paleo eating it wasn’t for weight loss although both of us did lose some weight. We did it more for the health benefits. When eating right my husband is able to come off his cholesterol meds and for me it helps with an old sports injury which flares up. It’s amazing how putting the right nutrients into your body can make such a big difference! When eating strictly Paleo we have more energy, sleep better, and just overall feel better!

Today is day one! The first week is always the hardest especially since I head away on a business trip out to Boston tonight! Harder to make good decisions when you eat out for most meals. Luckily I stay at one hotel when I’m there and know what’s on the menu for dinner and know I can grab some fresh fruit cups in the AM at the coffee shop. So starting today off right is important. For me when I go strict Paleo I honastly feel horrible because my body craves those things that we consider our “10% ” which in a normal persons diet wouldn’t be considered “bad” but eliminating them is when your realize your body is truly addicted to those “bad” things. Mine is sugar. I’m not a white sugar fan but I do like my raw honey and pure maple syrup in my coffee in the AM. But there will be no coffee and no additional sweeteners so for me coming up with things to offset my sugars is often hard in the beginning . I end up with a headache and feeling fatigued but it passes quickly. One thing this time around is try to wean slowly off sugar so my breakfast is a little sweetener then normal to help get me through the initial sugar cravings.
So for day ones breakfast I came up with my Double Thick Breakfast Frappe. It’s naturally sweet with no added sugar and is thick like a milkshake you could even have this for dessert !

It’s here!!!

20lbs of thick cut straight from the farm in Pennsylvania!