Tender grilled chicken breasts with Italian seasonings make for a scrumptious Chicken Puttanesca. The recipe includes kalamata olives which I enjoy.
Chicken Puttanesca with Asparagus
The chicken puttanesca was served with asparagus which we’ve been having a lot more of lately. Â I never used to like asparagus but my palette is changing and I’m starting to enjoy it. The asparagus was served with an almond and sun-dried tomato sauce. (Not sure if you notice in the picture, but I had added some of the sauce over the chicken also …) Â Yum!
I never used to make enough food to have leftovers because they always seemed to not get eaten. But, I am appreciating that when my son cooks, he makes enough so that we can have leftovers for breakfast and/or lunch. It does save both time and money that way, doesn’t it?
A paleo diet requires variety — at least for me. Having salmon is a real treat especially when it’s paired with tender asparagus. Yum!
Lemon Dill Salmon with Asparagus
The original Lemon Dill Salmon recipe was paired with cauliflower rice and kale but I much prefer the simplicity of having Roasted Asparagus instead.
I find that the simpler the meals, the better my taste buds understand what it is they’re eating. And we all know that we want to satisfy our taste buds, right?
For me, salmon is king. (Hey, I just made a funny joke … I wonder if I’m the only one who got it?) hehehe
My husband brought me a Lara Bar as a snack from the store and I wasn’t very impressed with it. Perhaps it was the particular kind but it felt dense and heavy on my tongue.
My son, on the other hand, made paleo “Lara” bars at home and these tasted delicious. They are meant to be eaten as a snack in between meals or even as a dessert and can contain pineapple, apples, cherries, etc. And they are healthy!
Paleo Snack Lara Bars
Either way — homemade ones seem (to me) to taste a lot better than the store bought ones. So if you’re looking for a really good paleo snack — make a homemade “Lara” bar!
I would never have thought to put pumpkin and chili in the same recipe — not in my wildest dreams.
This pumpkin chicken chili was actually good although it was quite thick and, although the recipe didn’t call for it, we included squash with the ingredients. I think next time I would water it down just a tad. Otherwise, good chili!
Pumpkin Chicken Chili
When I was asked what I wanted to have with the chili I automatically said cornbread although I knew that we were keeping corn out of our paleo diet for right now. My son did find a recipe for “corn” bread though that actually tasted very good and was quite moist! I was surprised how much I liked it.
Grain Free Cornbread
It doesn’t look much like cornbread though, does it? That’s okay. The important thing is that it tasted good, right?
Pumpkin Chicken Chili with Paleo Cornbread
This meal is great on a cold winter night which is just what we’re having.
Here’s a paleo dessert that you can sink your teeth into — a strawberry and apple crumble. It does taste a little different than the blueberry crumble I used to make in my sugar laden days, but this tastes great nonetheless. The crumble (top) uses macadamia nuts, coconut flour and a few other ingredients. (I love coconut so have not been having problems eating recipes that contain the flour.)
Paleo Apple & Strawberry Crumble DessertPaleo Apple & Strawberry Crumble Dessert
It really is yummy!
One thing I have found on the paleo diet I’m on though is that I don’t really have a need for dessert after dinner as I get full enough on the meal. So — although I have always liked desserts, I don’t seem to eat them as much as I used to.
That’s a good thing, right? Even if the desserts are healthy!
Winters and crockpots are always a good combination so we recently bought a new crockpot to allow our meals to slowly simmer.
This pepper steak was good and I have been eating it for breakfast as leftovers for a couple of days now. It is unusual to have steak for breakfast instead of cereal or toast but unusual does not mean bad. It’s quite filling actually.
The recipe calls for bean sprouts but we did not use them.
Asian Pepper Steak
The pepper steak was served with steamed broccoli and egg foo young-ish. Quite a funny name for a fritter-like pancake, no?
We included most of the recipe ingredients except for the ham so if you try this recipe, adjust the recipe to your tastes. That’s what cooking is all about — tasting and adjusting.
I am not a big fan of granola but my son is always coming up with different things we can have for our meals — including breakfast — so it was not unusual that paleo granola came into the picture as I recently threw out our Honey Nut Cheerios and other cereal that has been sitting in our pantry for awhile.
I had this granola with warmed Almond Milk. For some reason, I haven’t been able to drink Almond Milk cold. Is that unusual?
Paleo Granola
It tasted okay. The nuts in it were a little too large for me so I probably should have cut them up into smaller pieces. I’m not sure if that would have made a difference for me though as I’ve never been a big granola fan.
Overall, it is a good diversion from having eggs in the morning.
If you try it, let me know if you like it AND if you made any changes to the recipe. Thanks!
I recently took a trip to Seattle to check in on a friend who has started on hospice for the second time in a year. She looks healthy but did not remember me when she first saw me. Her dementia is getting worse and she is pretty much bed bound now.
She sits in her bed and “counts” her blanket as if she’s measuring it. Over and over again — she counts, one, two, three, four, five, one, two, three, four, five. This is not unusual to me as she was an avid hand quilter for many years and subconsciously she must be remembering those days.
While in Seattle, I also visited other friends. Most of them knew I have been trialling a Paleo Diet so they attempted to accommodate me the best they could. One couple in particular really went above and beyond the call of duty.
They made seasoned beef-filled green peppers with roasted eggplants, veggies and lemon dressing. The green peppers were absolutely delicious!
Stuffed Peppers Paleo Style
The roasted eggplants with veggies and lemon dressing was also good but a bit “juicy.” I’m including the “recipe” below but keep in mind that my friend doesn’t use a recipe and this is all from the top of her head. (Good luck if you try it!)
Roasted Eggplants with Veggies and Lemon Dressing
Dessert was baked apples. Yum!
Baked Apples
Since I had gone to visit my friends with another friend, they brought out a beautiful dessert torte. Oh! This was so tempting to me but I declined a few times and made it out of Seattle without one bite of this torte.
Torte
I had a great time in Seattle even though my reasons for going weren’t for “fun and relaxation.” It’s rare when I get to really relax because of visiting most of the people I know there.
Below is the recipe for the Roasted Eggplant …
Ingredients
2 eggplants roasted, then remove the skin and mash the pulp (make sure you poke a few holes in each eggplant so they don’t burst open)
Mash the pulp in a food processor on “pulse”
1/2 – 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
3-4 green onions chopped
2 T chopped fresh mint
1 medium tomato chopped (save some for decoration)
Dressing
1-2 garlic cloves crushed to a pulp
juice of 1 lemon
salt to taste
1/4 C olive oil
Instructions
Mix most of the above together then taste to adjust for how much salt and lemon you want
Decorate with the saved chopped tomatoes
Note: Â This dish tastes better if left to marinate a little in the refrigerator
The ratatouille was pretty good but a little soggy although I’m told that’s how it’s supposed to be. I enjoyed (again) the sweet potato mash but didn’t enjoy the Indian Spiced Butternut Squash as much as my husband did. I rated it a 3 on a scale of 5 (with 5 being the best) and my husband thought it was a 5. Go figure. For me, it had a tad bit too much lemon and cardamon seeds (only 2 pods though).
Ratatouille, Indian Spiced Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Mash
Had the butternut squash been spiced down just a bit I would have enjoyed it a lot more. But it really depends on the person and how spicy they like their food, eh?
The main ingredient in this gluten free paleo bread is almond flour. The texture is a little different than wheat or white bread — it’s a little more dense. But add a tad of butter — oops! now you know we’re not having butter on this part of our paleo diet journey — so, my husband had egg salad on his slice of bread.
Paleo Bread
Either way — dry or with something else it was good. But if you’re looking for something soft and mushy in your mouth, this is not your bread. A fried over easy egg would also be a good accompaniment with this bread.
It is filling though so slice your bread nice and thin …
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