It’s still officially summer although the temperatures in Minnesota have been quite mild for August — in the 70’s. So, we’re still grilling (indoor and outdoors) and having “summer” food.

Here’s a new Egg and Potato Salad that I’ve revamped a wee bit. I used this recipe for the Paleo Mayonnaise instead of the one that the original recipe suggests as I didn’t want to buy avocado oil when I have plenty of olive oil in the cupboard. (The picture below shows a jar of honey but that’s because I haven’t re-labeled it to show that it has paleo mayonnaise in it.)

The hardest part of this recipe will be peeling and cutting up the potatoes into bite size pieces.

So — let’s try it and see how it goes. It tasted very good for having so few ingredients.

Ingredients

• 2 sweet potatoes, diced
• 4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 4 eggs, hard boiled and diced
• 2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard (or more if you like the taste of mustard)
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice (I used fresh lemon juice)
• Paleo Mayonnaise (you’ll be adding the mayonnaise a tablespoon at a time until it’s the right consistency for you)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Coat diced sweet potatoes in coconut oil then place them on a baking sheet and bake for 15-25 minutes until soft. After you remove them, let them cool.
3. Place eggs in a saucepan filled with water and let them boil for 8-10 minutes. Let them also cool then peel and dice them.
4.  Mix cooled sweet potatoes, eggs, onion, lemon juice and mayonnaise in a bowl.
5. Taste and sprinkle with salt and/or pepper if you wish.

And — here’s the final product.

I served this with baked salmon and it was a perfect side for it.

Enjoy!

Finally! A paleo bread that tastes and can be used like “real” bread. I am overjoyed — truly! I have not had much luck making bread products (although the rosemary biscuits I made came pretty close).

I am so excited to share this recipe with you. I made one loaf and have already made sandwiches for lunch and toast for breakfast. Oh boy oh boy!  Bread!

In addition, I was reading about the benefits of a couple of the ingredients that are used, i.e. arrowroot powder and flaxseed meal. There are a few links I gathered below on that topic so you can do some reading on your own.

I must warn you — my picture did not come out the best but don’t let that deter you from trying this recipe. You will enjoy this gluten and grain free bread as much as I did.

You’ll be mixing the ingredients all together.

And you’ll get this wonderful loaf!

Ready to try this recipe? No, no, you don’t have to thank me for finding it for you.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup Arrowroot Powder
• 1 cup Golden Flaxseed Meal
• 4 Eggs
• 4 Egg Whites
• 4 Tablespoons Walnut Oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Coarse Sea Salt (I used Kosher Salt)
• 4 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 2 teaspoons Cider Vinegar (I used Apple Cider Vinegar)
• Olive Oil Spray (for the bread loaf pan you’ll be using)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl then use a whisk to blend them together.
3. Combine all the wet ingredients and whisk them together to blend them also.
4. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and blend it all together.
5. Spray the bread loaf pan down with the oil.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the bread comes out clean.

You can also make muffins with these although I haven’t tried that yet. The directions for the muffins would be to bake 20-25 minutes then remove them from the oven when a toothpick inserted in the middle of one of them comes out clean.

The ideas for variations on this bread are endless. Perhaps I’ll try using cinnamon and raisins one day.

Benefits of using Arrowroot Powder

• More Than Alive
• Girl Meets Nourishment
• Nutrition and You

Benefits of using Flaxseed Meal

• Low Carb Diets
• The World’s Healthiest Foods
• Dr Oz – 3 Benefits of Flax

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  And a special thank you to Meghan at Paleo Effect for this recipe. You are a gem!

I never like to say that food is “heavenly” because I know there is no comparison with the food that will actually be served in heaven. So, let’s not call them heavenly but … hmmm … sublime.  (Not bad, eh?)

This recipe is called No Breadcrumbs Meatballs and the substitution of the almond meal/flour worked very well. I halved the recipe as I didn’t want to have a bunch of leftovers although my husband took some for lunch the next day.

Here are the two sets of ingredients that you’ll need. The first one is for the sauce, the second is for the actual meatballs.

I did not use the Italian Seasoning that the recipe called for as it usually has too much salt so I simply used oregano in its place and it turned out fine. You could use other seasonings and the only thing it will affect is the taste. I also used 1 pound of beef instead of 1/2 beef and 1/2 pork.

Ready to start making these wonderful meatballs?

Ingredients For the Sauce

• 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes
• 1/2 small can of tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/4 medium onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Ingredients for the Meatballs

• 1 lb. ground sirloin
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup almond meal
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/4 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1/4 carrot, shaved
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. For the sauce — in a large saucepan, heat the olive oil and then add the garlic and onion and saute.
2. Once the onion is clear, add the diced canned tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano and the black pepper then stir and cook on low heat.
3. In a large mixing bowl combine the ingredients for the meatballs. (It works really well if you use your clean hands.)
4. Once all the ingredients are mixed together, form the mixture into balls about an inch or two around.
5. In a skillet, brown the meatballs (add some olive oil to the skillet if necessary). Be sure to turn the meatballs slowly and often. I did not have any problems with the meatballs falling apart which I thought might happen because I wasn’t “real” breadcrumbs.
6. Make sure the meatballs are well browned.
7. Once the meatballs are done, add them to the sauce.
8. Cook the meatballs in the sauce on low heat stirring occasionally for at least one hour.

Absolutely scrumptious!

Oh — did you notice I served the meatballs on noodles? We haven’t had noodles in awhile  because of the paleo diet but I decided to try these gluten free noodles. They were thin — very similar to the ones you would eat if you were eating Pad Thai (if you’ve had that dish before).

I was pleasantly surprised that they were good! Other gluten free noodles I’ve tried in the past tasted gummy but these Pumpkin, Ginger & Rice Noodles by King Soba tasted just like good ‘ol noodles.  Yum!

Enjoy!

Bleh — I don’t know what happened to all of the pictures I took while making this Herb Roasted Chicken Thigh recipe. I have the “before” picture of what the thighs look like when they are prepared and ready to go into the oven.

And — they were very very good as the recipe is a definite “keeper.” So — forgive my lapse in taking pictures (or deleting them).

Here’s the recipe for you to try. They were very very tasty. The original recipe calls for 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs but I used what I had a lot of — bone-in, skin on chicken thighs AND I only used 4 of them. I did not change the rest of the ingredients though.

Ingredients

• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon gried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350℉.
2. Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil.
3. Rub about 1 tablespoon of the olive oil on the bottom of the pan.
4. Place the chicken, in a single layer, in the pan.
5. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the chicken thighs.
6. Turn the chicken thighs once to make sure they are evenly coated with the oil.
7. In a small bowl, combine oregano, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper.
8. Sprinkle half of the herb mixture over the chicken thighs then turn each thigh over and sprinkle the remaining herb mixture over the thighs.
9. Place the pan in the oven and cook for approximately 45 minutes or until juices run clear and chicken is cooked throughout. (It takes longer for it to cook when you use bone-in thighs.)
10. Remove from the oven and let rest for approximately 5-10 minutes before serving.

That’s it. Easy, delicious and paleo friendly. Those are always my kind of recipes (although I do try the harder ones every now and again). I served this with Mashed Parsnips and steamed brussel sprouts.

Enjoy!

These Mashed Parsnips are a good side to any meal — even served at a picnic in place of mashed potatoes or potato salad.

The ingredients are fairly straightforward. Oops, I forgot to show the turkey bacon but it is listed in the recipe below.

You’ll be peeling, slicing then cutting the parsnps in half if they are large pieces. I like to have most of my pieces be the same size so they all are done around the same time.

Next put them in a medium pot and boil them.

Outside of frying the bacon, those are the major instructions so it’s pretty simple.

The one thing I would do differently (so I’ve adjusted the recipe) is to use less chicken broth as 2 cups of broth made the mashed parsnips taste more like chicken than parsnips. Not good if you happen to like the taste of parsnips. And, it made them taste really heavy in the belly.

With that change, I think this recipe would be really really good. Ready to try it?

Ingredients

• 1 lb parsnips, peeled skin and cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1 cup chicken broth plus enough water to cover the parsnips
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 3 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh chives, chopped
• 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Place the parsnip chunks in a medium sized pot.
2. Pour the chicken broth and water over the parsnips.
3. Bring the parsnips to a boil over medium high heat.
4. Keep boiling over medium high heat until all or most of the liquid has evaporated — about 20 – 25 minutes.
5. Once all or most of the liquid has evaporated, turn off the heat then add your butter, salt, pepper and garlic powder.
6. Mash the parsnips until you reach your desired consistency.
7. Add in the bacon and chives and stir until all is blended together.

That’s it! Here’s the finished product.

What a great lunch idea — Paleo Tuna Salad. This recipe is really good and I’ve made it twice already in the past week with a little variation.

The ingredients are easy to find at your local grocery store. Make sure you have the paleo mayonnaise made ahead of time so that you can keep things moving as it’s so so simple to put this together.

Are you concerned about the cayenne pepper? Don’t be. I don’t like spicy foods and the amount of cayenne pepper in this recipe gives it a nice hint of spice but it is not overpowering at all.

Ingredients

• 2 cans tuna, drained (or you could use 10 oz cooked tuna)
• 1 Celery Stalk, diced
• 1 Shallot, diced
• 1 Garlic clove, minced
• 3 Tablespoons Paleo Mayo
• 6 Tablespoons Dill Pickle Relish
• 1/2 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
• 1 Tablespoon Stoneground Mustard, or more if you like a strong mustard taste
• 1 Teaspoon Dill
• 1/2 Teaspoon Parsley, chopped
• 1/2 Teaspoon Onion Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• Sea Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Directions

1. Put all ingredients in a large bowl and combine everything. 

Whala! See how simple that is?

Now, for the variations …

The first time I made this recipe, I used 2 cans of tuna in water.

The second time I made the following adjustments:

• One can of tuna in water and one can in olive oil, drained
• 2 tablespoons paleo mayonnaise
• 4 teaspoons dill pickle relish
• No lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons mustard

I liked this better the second time around but you can play with it and see what you think.

These Rosemary Paleo Biscuits were surprisingly good. They are bite sized and even though I made them small, they could have been smaller as some of them didn’t quite bake all the way through although they were edible and got eaten.  I served them with a little bit of honey on top.

I was quite leery of making biscuits with almond flour because I haven’t had much luck in making anything “bread-y” with it. This recipe alleviated my fears so I will be bolder in the future.

There aren’t too many ingredients needed to make these biscuits. (And no, the coconut oil didn’t make them taste like coconut — another surprise.)

The dough, surprisingly, came out dough-y — just like bread that uses white or wheat flour.

I almost forgot to flour the cutting board. The texture of the flour was more coarse than what I used to bake with but it worked well.

You’ll be rolling the dough out to about 1 inch thick. I didn’t roll mine out evenly which is why I had some that didn’t cook all the way through. Next time I’ll know better.

The recipe said to use a biscuit cutter (which I didn’t have) so I just used my hands to form them. I’m sure it will work better with a biscuit cutter. (Note to self: buy a biscuit cutter.)

Then you’ll be baking them and they’ll come out like this. I checked the bottoms of them before I took them all out of the oven and it was lightly browned — any more brown and they would have been burnt so they came out right on time.

Ready to try it?

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour, plus 1/2 cup for dusting
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped (I used dried rosemary)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, and rosemary in a bowl.
4. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the eggs, honey, and oil.
5. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ones until a nice dough forms.
6. Roll the dough out until it’s about an inch thick.
7. Use a biscuit cutter to cut rounds out of the dough.
8. Place biscuits on the prepared baking sheet. (If you don’t have a biscuit cutter, just form 1-inch thick round biscuits with your hands.)
9. Bake biscuits for about 12 to 15 minutes or until golden.
10. Makes about 12 biscuits.

Here’s one with honey on top. Now, enjoy this great tasting paleo biscuit.

These will go great with soup, beef stew or for breakfast — anytime you want bread.

Thanks to Walking for Dummies for this recipe.

While on the paleo diet, one of the foods I miss (if it can be called a food) is hot chocolate. So … I have created a “cheat” hot chocolate. It’s not quite paleo because the chocolate has a tad bit of sugar and milk in it but it’s such a small piece of chocolate that I don’t think it matters that much. (Perhaps I think that because it tastes so good?)

Anyway … I’ll share my homemade recipe with you. It can be sweetened more by adding a tad bit more honey but I (having a sweet tooth) believe it tastes perfect just as I made it.

You’ll only need three ingredients. The chocolate I used was a Ghiradelli Chocolate Bar with 72% cacao. You can use a darker more bitter chocolate if you like but this percent seems to work well for me.

I used canned coconut milk as it seems to have a much smoother consistency than the boxed ones you see on the grocery shelves thus giving the chocolate a “fuller” taste.

I also used a frother by BonJour. It makes the chocolate frothy and you feel like you have an expensive cup of chocolate that you bought at the local cafe.

Here’s the recipe — tell me what you think.

Ingredients

• 1 square of a Ghiradelli Twilight Delight Chocolate Bar
• 8 ounces Coconut Milk, from a can
• 1/2 teaspoon organic raw honey

Directions

1. In a small sauce pan, on medium low heat, add the coconut milk.
2. With your hands, crumble the chocolate square and add the pieces to the coconut milk then stir until its all melted.
3. Add the honey to the milk mixture and stir until well combined.
4. Allow the mixture to almost boil (unless you like really really hot chocolate) then remove the sauce pan from the heat.
5. Pour the chocolate into your favorite mug and enjoy.
6. If you want to use a frother, I usually froth it right in the mug until I have the amount of frothiness that I want.

That’s it!  Pretty simple and quite tasty. (I could have it every day.  Shhh … don’t tell anyone because I said I “could” not I “do.”)

I had a desire for barbecue chicken. Do you ever get those gut desires? This time I had to follow my desire … and I wasn’t disappointed.

This is taken from two recipes that I combined and frankly – it came out great!

First I made the ingredients for the chicken coating (rub). My kind of recipe — not too many ingredients.

The ingredients for the barbecue sauce were a few more but manageable.

I thought the ingredients for the barbecue sauce would make too much but it evaporated just like the recipe said plus I halved the original recipe.

So … let’s look at the recipes.

Ingredients for the Chicken Rub from the Paleo Flip website

• 1 lb chicken thighs (I used skin on/bone in)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder.
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 380 degrees.
2. Mix the spices in a bowl and dip the chicken pieces in it to coat the chicken.
3. Put the chicken in an oven proof baking dish.
4. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes.
5. Prepare the barbecue sauce while the chicken is baking.
6. After 35 minutes (or so) take the chicken out of the oven and brush it on both sides generously with the barbecue sauce.
7. Put the chicken back in the oven for 5 additional minutes.

Ingredients for Barbecue Sauce from the Paleo Cupboard website

• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2.5 tablespoons raw honey
• 1/4 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 tablespoon onion powder
• 1/4 tablespoon ground mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

1. Put all the ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium high heat and stir to combine.
2. Taste and adjust any seasonings to your liking then bring to a boil.
3. Reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for approximately 1 hour.
4. Brush the barbecue sauce on the chicken.

And this is the beautiful final result.

Ahhh .. I’d say heaven but I don’t believe we’ll be eating meat there as there will be no killing … so, I’ll say delicioso!