Category: Paleo Diet

On the paleo diet, we don’t use sugar and most recipes that call for candied nuts have sugar in them.

However, I’ve found a workaround by replacing sugar with 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. It works just as well.

You simply add the syrup to a skillet, add your nuts and stir until the syrup is incorporated into the nuts.

Then, remove the nuts from the skillet, place them onto a large piece of parchment paper and allow them to cool.

Once cool, you can break the nuts up into smaller pieces.

Pretty cool, eh? A healthier option but they are addicting so I try not to have them too often although I love candied nuts in salads.

Here’s another simple and tasty recipe to make for dinner – Paleo Mustard Glazed Chicken. The mustard was not overwhelming at all even though it uses two tablespoons of it. I chose to use spicy brown mustard and I’m sure any mustard will do.

I also used butter instead of coconut oil as my husband doesn’t like the taste of coconut oil in everything we eat and it’s a staple on our paleo diet.

The chicken will only bake for 45 minutes or less and then you’ll get a juicy and skin crusty taste.

It does use 1/4 cup of melted butter — perhaps that’s why it’s so yummy! Ready for the recipe? Here it is …

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup coconut oil or butter, melted (I used butter)
• 2 Tablespoons of stone ground mustard  or mustard of your choosing(gluten free)
• 1/2 tsp. dried sage
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• black pepper
• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs ( used four as there were only two of us eating but I kept the rest of the measurements the same)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine melted butter, mustard, black pepper, salt, and sage.
3. Place chicken thighs in an oven-safe dish and brush the mustard mixture evenly over each one.
4. Bake for 45 minutes or until temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees. (insert an oven thermometer into the center of  the chicken thigh)

That’s it! I served this with another recipe we’ve tried before called Maple Roasted Carrots, Apples and Onions. A great pairing!

Enjoy!

Oh, yum! These Chocolate Maple Crunch Banana Muffins were delicious! However, there was one wee user problem — I didn’t allow them to cook long enough. Yup. I was so afraid they might burn that I took them out about 5 minutes too early even though I checked the “tops” for doneness.

The “tops” felt a little soft but I assumed that the muffins would continue baking a tad more while resting. I was wrong.

So — learn from my mistake so you can enjoy these to the fullest! Here’s a pic of the filling ingredients minus the salt and the coconut oil.

The original recipe uses Grade B maple syrup. I used Grade A Dark Amber as that’s what I had in the house.

The filling appeared to come out a tad liquid-y but that is the correct texture. However, I used an ice cream scoop like the recipe called for as it said to “plop” the filling into the paper muffin liners. Uh, well, no, that didn’t quite work for me at all. Perhaps because my ice cream scoop is only “half rounded.” It took me 2-3 scoops and the batter did not plop for me but instead “poured.”

Now at this point I asked myself if perhaps I should have added more coconut flour to make the filling thicker so it could “plop” but since this was the first time making the recipe I decided to be true to it and play with it another time.

The topping came out just as I expected — a little sticky but perfect.

Here they are before going into the oven with no topping …

And this is what they look like unbaked with the topping.

I could hardly wait for them to bake! And here they are. Notice the indentation in some of them? That’s where they were a little “soft” and I assumed a little baking would continue after they cooled for a little while. (Wrong assumption!)

I tucked them away in a container for snacking or to have as a “side” instead of bread with a meal.

I believe next time I’ll try a little more coconut flour and, of course, let them bake 5 minutes more so I can reach perfection with them!

And here’s the recipe …

Ingredients (for the filling)

• 4 bananas (very ripe)
• 6 pitted dates
• 4 eggs (at room temperature)
• ¼ cup melted Coconut Oil
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 5 heaping tablespoons coconut flour (perhaps mine weren’t heaped enough?)
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Sprinkle of cinnamon
• Pinch of salt

Ingredients (for the topping)

• 1 cup mixed nuts, chopped
• 2 heaping tablespoons almond flour (meal)
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• sprinkle of cinnamon
• Pinch of salt

Directions

1. In a food processor, puree the bananas and dried dates until you get a paste. Make sure the dates break up completely.
2. Add the eggs, coconut oil, and maple syrup then puree.
3. Add the coconut flour and mix.
4. Then add the cocoa powder and mix again.
5. Add the baking soda, powder, cinnamon and salt and mix everything together in the food processor.
6. In a separate bowl, add the ingredients for the topping and mix it all together.
7. Line your muffin tin with paper muffin liners and use an ice cream scoop to plop batter into each muffin liner. It should make 12 muffins so try not to pile it too high because the topping will take up a lot of room.
8. Now add a heaping tablespoon of topping on each muffin and spread it out around the top of the muffin.
9. Place in an oven and cook for 35-40 minutes. (I took them out at 35 minutes but should have kept them in longer. The original recipe cautions that they do take a long time to bake because they are dense and wet and to check them at 35 minutes and every couple of minutes after that. Good advice!)
10. Press on the top the muffin to check for doneness. It should not give at all (at least in my oven that’s what I found out).
11. Once they are cooked, let them cool for at least 20 minutes then remove from the muffin tin.

Special thanks to PaleoOMG for this recipe. She has other recipes that are good to try so head on over there and check out that website.

The recipe I’d like to critique today is the Asparagus Broccoli Stir Fry that I recently made and served with baked salmon and steamed sweet potatoes.

It was quite easy to make and tasty. It’s not always easy to find simple recipes that are also tasty, eh?

Ingredients

• 1 lb asparagus
• 1/2 cup broccoli florets
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 shallot onion (finely chopped)
• 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
• 2 tablespoons oil
• Lemon juice from 1 lemon

Directions

1. Prepare your asparagus by cutting the “woody” bottom portion then rinsing them.
2. Rinse the broccoli and cut the bottom so you only have the florets left to use.
3. In a medium sized bowl, add the pepper, garam masala, salt and the ginger paste then combine it together.
4. Add the broccoli and asparagus to this mixture then toss well to coat it with the mixture.
5. In a large skillet, heat the oil and add the chopped shallot.
6. Saute the shallot for a couple of minutes.
7. Next add the veggies to the skillet and stir fry for 5 minutes on a medium high flame.
8. Turn off the flame when the veggies are still crunchy.
9. Add the lemon juice and toss everything again.

Whala! It’s done and that easy.

Only takes a little while for the stir fry to cook through.

This Moroccan Lamb Kebab recipe was one we had a couple of months ago but I thought it would be good to post it now since we’re so close to July 4th Independence Day in the U.S. and lots of people grill outdoors.

This is truly a simple recipe AND it tasted wonderful. I’m sure this recipe could be used if you had beef or chicken kebabs also.

Served with steamed broccoli, Cauliflower Tabouli and Tahini Sauce, you just can’t go wrong in serving this paleo trio together.

This Moroccan Chicken Casserole was good BUT it did take some time to make. Don’t put it on your “simple” recipes list.

We took a country drive and arrived home late in the afternoon. I thought I could squeeze this recipe in quickly for dinner but it took more time than I anticipated. So — just a word to the wise or is it just a word from the wise?  (smile)

Some of the steps you’ll need to take … cutting and grating the cauliflower. Yup — cauliflower. This is definitely a paleo recipe so the cauliflower base is unique.

Next you’ll be making the sauce that will eventually go over the grated cauliflower.

But first you’ll add your prepared chicken to it …

Lastly you’ll be pouring the sauce and covering your grated cauliflower, adding your sliced lemon and … it will look like this …

Ready to start? Here’s the recipe …

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower (I used 2/3 of it)
• 2-3 pounds of chicken (I used skinless and boneless chicken)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 2 tablespoons ginger root, chopped fine
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped fine
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp cayenne (original recipe calls for 1/4 tsp but I didn’t want it to be too spicy)
• 1 red pepper, cut into thin strips
• 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 cup minced cilantro
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 lemon (you’ll use the full lemon)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Chop the head of cauliflower into small pieces then add them to a food processor and grate it until it’s somewhat fine.
3. Spread the grated cauliflower out in a 9×13 rectangular baking pan.
4. Salt and pepper the chicken.
5. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a deep pan over high heat.
6. Add the chicken, browning it well, about 3-5 minutes a side.
7. Remove the chicken from the hot pan and set it aside.
8. Turn the heat down to medium and add the onion, ginger, garlic and carrots.
9. Cook everything through until the onions are soft.
10. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and all the spices then stir well.
11. Add the red pepper, can of tomatoes including the liquid, minced cilantro and salt.
12. Return the chicken to the pot with the sauce in it and simmer for 5 minutes then remove everything from the heat.
13. Pour the chicken mixture over the cauliflower so the cauliflower is completely covered by the sauce.
14. Slice a lemon into thin slices and layer it on top of the casserole.
15. Cover the pan with tin foil and bake for 35 minutes.
16. Remove the tin foil and cook for 25 minutes more.

That’s it! Whew! That’s enough. There’s a lot of measuring and chopping in this recipe. But it’s worth your trouble. Just make sure you have everything done ahead of time.

Now — enjoy! I served mine with steamed broccoli — a healthy and simple side dish.

We don’t have green beans on a regular basis as on the paleo diet green beans are a “no-no” for some people but we decided to have some today with grilled beef ribs.

The recipe for this Paleo Almond Green Beans is very easy to follow and doesn’t have very many ingredients. It also tasted very good and didn’t taste like coconut milk although there was some in the sauce.

They were scrumptious to say the least. Maybe more so because we hadn’t had them in awhile.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
• 1/2 medium onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 pound green beans, trimmed
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, minced (2 tablespoons) (optional)

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat.
2. Add the almonds and cook until lightly browned.
3. Remove the almonds from the pan and set aside temporarily.
4. In the same pan, sauté the onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, paprika, chili pepper
   flakes, and salt.
5. Cook until the onion is soft and beginning to get a tad brown.
6. Add the coconut milk to the pan and mix well, then add the green beans making
   sure everything is blended.
7. Bring the pan to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook covered until the beans are tender to your liking.
8. When the beans have reached your desired tenderness, remove the lid and let the
   sauce cook down until it thickens a bit.
9. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the almonds, lime juice, and cilantro.
10. Stir well and enjoy!

Simple, right? Most people don’t have coconut milk in their pantries but my mother buys me cans of it and sends them with me when I go to visit her. Don’t ask why as I can’t explain it either. (laughing)

Saturday mornings I like to have something to eat that’s simple so I don’t have to rush as I’m getting ready to go to church.

This paleo Spinach Quiche was quite simple to make although my husband (my taste tester for the recipes I try out) said it was a little bland. For me, it tasted fine just the way it was.

Quite honestly, I’m not sure why they called it a quiche as it doesn’t have a crust. So — shouldn’t it be a spinach frittata? The chef who wrote this recipe did state that one could add a paleo crust but he preferred it this way.

It is much simpler to make without a crust, that’s for sure. But if you want more flavor, add more herbs to it to “spice” it up.

Ingredients

• 5 large eggs
• 1 ½ cups fresh spinach, chopped
• ½ medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ cup coconut milk
• ½ tsp baking powder
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (however much you like)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and coconut milk together really well.
3. As you continue to whisk, start adding in the other ingredients.
4. Grease a 9” pie dish and pour everything into it.
5. Bake the quiche for about 30 minutes, or until cooked through in the center. (Put a butter knife in the middle and if it comes out clean then it’s usually done.)

That’s it! Simple, right?

Special thanks to paleodietlifestyle.com for this simple recipe. The author has a cookbook they sell at their website. I haven’t purchased it but if any of you decide to, let me know how you like it.

Can you fry chicken on a paleo diet?  Sure! Why not? This Paleo Fried Chicken recipe uses coconut oil to fry and almond flour and eggs as the coating (not including the spices).

This recipe was one our son made for us. He would make it and we would rate it.

Can’t go wrong with fried chicken, roasted broccoli and sweet potato fries. Yum!