Category: Paleo Diet

I’m finally back home after two birthday parties, a graduation party and a family reunion. Whew! That’s a lot of family to see.

Here’s a recipe I made right before I left that I think you’ll enjoy.

Most recipes are easy to “paleo-ize” and this one was no exception. Not only was it easy but it was quite delicious as well. Originally I was going to make this recipe for my husband’s lunch but I kept forgetting so we had it for dinner instead. The ingredients are simple enough to purchase.

And, of course, the chicken.

I prepared the vegetables which consisted of shredding the carrots and slicing the celery.

Next I cleaned and shredded the lettuce then tossed it in a bowl.

I used three boneless skinless chicken breasts and prepared them by grilling them on the stovetop then cutting them into bite size pieces. Then I seasoned them with a little bit of black ground pepper.

The original recipe calls for peanuts but I used raw cashews that I chopped up.

The coconut dressing is a combination of light coconut milk, maple syrup, almond butter, lime juice, coconut amino and a tad of red pepper flakes.

So far, so good? Take a peek at the recipe …

Ingredients

• 4-6 cups romaine lettuce (cut up)
• 2-3 skinless boneless chicken breasts, grilled and cut into bite size pieces
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 3/4 cup celery, sliced
• 2/3 cup light coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons almond butter
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 2 tablespoons coconut amino
• Red Pepper flakes (just a dash)
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped raw unsalted cashews

Directions

1. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl.
2. In a separate medium sized bowl, add the coconut milk, maple syrup, almond butter, lime juice, coconut amino and the red pepper flakes (or use ground pepper if you prefer) then stir everything together.
3. Transfer the coconut mixture to a small saucepan and bring it to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until the mixture has thickened. Stir to make sure everything is well combined.
4. Remove the coconut mixture from the heat and let it cool for a couple of minutes.
5. Pour the coconut mixture over the lettuce mixture and sprinkle with the cashews.

And here is the final result. Easy and delicious!

Adapted from Thai Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing.

For a list of paleo recipes, click here.

Interesting. This paleo Roasted Moroccan Spiced Grapes and Chicken recipe is very interesting indeed and delicious.

I wasn’t sure if I would like the taste of grapes and olives together but it worked quite well. Really, it did.

Here are the ingredients you’ll be needing … (olive oil and chicken not shown). I substituted the red pepper flakes for ground red pepper.

With the spices, you’ll be making a spice mixture. Here’s what it will look like when you combine everything.

Next you’ll need to cut up your vegetables, add them to a bowl along with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and salt then mix it all together. It doesn’t look like a lot but I’m only cooking for two. Add more if you wish.

I like to have most things prepped before I start so I don’t go “oops, I forgot something” later on.

You’ll be needing 2 cookie sheets or  jelly rolls. The cookie sheets/jelly rolls will be put in the oven and left there while it’s preheating at 450° Fahrenheit.

Then you’ll be removing one of the cookie sheets from the oven and adding the vegetable mixture to it and putting that back into the oven for about 10 minutes.

While the veggies are in the oven, prepare your olive oil and grape mixture.

Next you’ll be preparing the chicken. After cleaning the bone-in skin-on chicken and patting them dry, coat them with the spice mixture.

Prepare a cast iron skillet (that’s what I like to use for browning meat) by adding a coating of olive oil on the bottom then preheating the skillet on medium. (What a boring picture, eh?)

Once the olive oil is hot, add the chicken pieces, skin side down so you can brown them and make them crispy. It shouldn’t take too long — 5 to 7 minutes. They should look like this …

Make sure you don’t forget to take out the veggies that are in the oven. Once that’s completed, add the pieces of chicken on top of the veggies and pop them back into the oven. You’ll be baking this for 15-25 minutes — check to make sure the juices run clear by poking the chicken with a sharp knife or a skewer (you can also use a meat thermometer).

Remember that second cookie sheet that’s still in the oven? Remove it and place your grape/olive mixture on it and bake it for 10 minutes or so until the mixture is soft.

Once everything is cooked through and removed from the oven, you’ll be adding part of the grape/olive mixture and part of the vegetables on the bottom of a plate then adding the chicken on top.

Ready to see the recipe?

Ingredients

• 1 cup sliced yellow onion
• 3 large carrots, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
•  1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, cleaned
• 1 -2 cups seedless red grapes
• 1/4 cup pitted green olives
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. Place 2 cookie sheets or jelly roll pans in the oven and preheat to 450° Fahrenheit.
2. Combine the onion, carrots and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a bowl then toss together.
3. Once the cookie sheets are preheated, remove one and add the onion mixture on it along with 1/4 teaspoon salt and bake this for 10 minutes.
4. Combine 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, the cumin, coriander, cinnamon and red pepper flakes in a small bowl to make the spice mixture.
5. Sprinkle the chicken evenly with the spice mixture.
6. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat then add 1 teaspoon of oil to the pan to coat it.
7. Add the spiced chicken to the skillet, skin side down, and cook until the skin is browned and crisp.
8. Remove the chicken from the pan and add it to the vegetable mixture, skin side up, then bake at 450°for 15-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
9. Combine the remaining 1 teaspoon oil, grapes, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and the olives in a medium bowl and toss it to combine it together.
10. Remove the 2nd cookie sheet from the oven and place the grape mixture on it and bake the grapes/olive mixture for about 10 minutes until the grapes are soft.
11. To serve: Place part of the vegetable mixture and part of the grape mixture on a plate then top with 1 or 2 chicken thighs.
12. Sprinkle with parsley if you wish.

I served this with guacamole (I had some very ripe avocados I had to use) along with a tomato basil salad.

List of Paleo Recipes

This paleo recipe was adapted just a tad by replacing the ground beef with ground turkey. Otherwise, all else remained the same.

It was a little bland — even for non spicy me — so you might want to spice it up just a tad by adding red pepper flakes or tabasco or whatever floats your boat.

So — here are the main ingredients (yes, 10 eggs!).

You’ll be mixing the eggs, smoked paprika, salt and pepper together in a large bowl.

You’ll need an iron cast skillet — or one that will go both on the stovetop and in the oven.

Next, the ground turkey will be going in the warmed up skillet and you’ll cook that all the way through.  I did not oil the skillet as there was plenty of liquid from the turkey so it didn’t stick.

Prepare the onions and mushrooms while the turkey is cooking then add them to the skillet after the ground turkey is cooked.

While the ground turkey, mushrooms and onions are cooking through, put your frozen spinach in the microwave until and nuke it until it’s softened, allow it to cool (enough so you can handle it) then squeeze the liquid out of it.

This is what frozen spinach looks like out of the bag.

And this is what thawed frozen spinach looks like.

I started to remove the liquid from the spinach by just squishing it between my fingers but found that if I used a fork and a strainer it was less messy.

Now you’ll be adding the spinach to the skillet mixture.

Remember the egg and paprika mixture you made? You’ll be pouring this over the turkey mixture right into the skillet then adding sliced tomatoes on top.

Then you’ll be putting this into a 350° oven for about 20 minutes and whala! — this is what you’ll get.  Quite beautiful!

And here’s what a slice of this beautiful frittata looks like …

Special thanks to Stupid Easy Paleo for this recipe. Click here for the recipe instructions.

List of Other Paleo Recipes

This Martha Stewart recipe is paleo, easy and delicious. The only comment my husband made when he brought these in from the grill was “I should have dried them off a little more as they are charred.”  Actually, they tasted fine but I understand what he means.

For the marinade, you’ll need lemon, oregano (I used dried), olive oil, salt and pepper.

The chicken breasts will go into 2 sealed bags along with the marinade for about 30 minutes so they can absorb the juices.

Here’s what they look like when taken out of the bags —

Then you’ll be ready to grill them up!  Ready to see the recipe?

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2 lemons)
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper (to your taste)
• 4 chicken breasts
• 2-4 lemons, halved crosswise (optional, see note below)
• Oregano sprigs (optional)

Directions

1. Put all ingredients except for the chicken breasts and oregano sprigs (if using) in a small bowl then whisk it together to make the marinade.
2. Divide the marinade in half then add it to 2 plastic resealable bags.
3. Add 2 chicken breasts to each bag and allow to marinade at room temperature for approximately 30 minutes.
4. When ready to grill, remove the chicken breasts and pat them dry with paper towels.
5. Place chicken skin side up on grill then cook for approximately 20 minutes.
6. Turn the chicken over and cook until its well browned and cooked — another 15-25 minutes. (Note: use a meat thermometer to make sure the chicken is cooked through. I use a wooden skewer to poke the meat and if the juices run clear then I know it’s ready.)

Martha Stewart placed lemon halves on the grill (cut side down) and charred them after she removed the chicken.  We decided to skip that step. The oregano sprigs are for decoration so we skipped that step also.

Served with steamed carrots and roasted sweet potatoes, I must say, it was quite good!

Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken with Lemon and Oregano (Martha Stewart)

List of Other Paleo Recipes

These Apple Bison Burgers were absolutely delicious! We did not serve them with buns but had them with burger fixings, guacamole, sweet potato fries and roasted squash. This makes for a great summer meal.

Let’s look at the ingredients, shall we?

I believe the apple really helped to keep the burger moist. It was a great combination!

You’ll be tossing all the ingredients together (in the correct measurements – of course).

Then you’ll be putting them on a skillet to cook them.  I used a little bit of olive oil on the bottom of the skillet just to get things going. Once you see that they are turning brown on the bottom, flip them over and cook them on the other side.

They should be cooked all the way through — no RED in the middle.

Ready to try it?

Ingredients

• 20 ounces of ground bison
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 red apple, peeled and diced
• 2 teaspoons minced onion
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon pure honey
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste

The leftovers made great breakfast patties.

Directions

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
2. Form the meat into patties (whatever size you’d like).
3. Grill the patties in a skillet until they’re cooked.

I served the burgers on a bed of lettuce with sliced tomatoes, sliced onions, Guacamole, Baked Sweet Potato Fries and Sauteed Yellow Zucchini.

And this is the final product  with all the fixings

Hope you enjoy it when you make it.

This recipe was adapted from one found at Fast Paleo.  Click here to see the original.

List of Other Paleo Recipes

My husband had been a hankering for pot pie (he really needs to stop looking at commercials). He used to love the Marie Callender’s frozen pot pies but that was many moons ago and we try to eat a more “fresh” food these days.

In my hunt for a paleo chicken pot pie, I came across this recipe. It looked good except that I didn’t “like” the recipe part of the crust so I decided to try a different paleo one.  That was a mistake. I don’t know if the one associated with this recipe would have been any better so next time I’ll have to try it instead of dickering around.

The recipe came out great! However, as far as paleo goes there is a huge cheat — the crust.  I was so frustrated with the paleo crust recipe that I found online (it fell apart) to replace the one that came with this recipe so I went to my cupboard and used my “old” ingredients for making a crust and used a Martha Stewart recipe instead.

So — this is a semi-paleo recipe.  (laughing)  I know, I know.  There is no such thing as a semi-paleo recipe — it’s either paleo or it’s not but, well, I had to improvise.

So — ready to see what I did?

First the ingredients …

You’ll be adding the celery, carrots, onions and garlic to a large pot and cooking the veggies until they are semi-soft.

Next you’ll be adding the rest of the ingredients to finish up your pot pie filling including about 2 cups of cooked chopped chicken. Then add salt and pepper (to your taste). That’s all that’s needed for my me.

However, my husband said he thought the filling was a bit bland but keep in mind that my husband likes spicy food. If you want more of a “kick” to this recipe, add a little bit of cayenne pepper — just a wee bit at a time until it tastes good for you — or even curry powder.

Here’s how it looks before I added the crust — just before I put it in the oven.

And here is a picture after the pot pie is baked –with the Martha Stewart crust. (Stop laughing at me!)

And — drum roll please!

The filling looks a little “soupy” and it was just a tad liquid-y. It needed a little more arrowroot to help thicken it up more.

I served the pot pie with a Spinach Orange Blue Cheese Salad that I created. I don’t have the recipe put together for that yet so you’ll have to wait on it. It looked quite beautiful though — see?

Here’s the recipe for the chicken pot pie filling that I adapted just a bit …

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil (for bottom of pot)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 stalk celery, sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup green beans
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 14 ounce can light coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons arrowroot (for thickening)
• 1-2 teaspoons salt
• Pepper, to taste
• 2 cups cooked chicken, chopped into bite size pieces

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit.
2. In a large pot, add the olive oil and heat it through.
3. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic then cook through until the vegetables are semi-soft.
4. Add the chicken stock, coconut milk, salt, pepper, green beans and chicken then bring this all to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat to low and then add the arrowroot little by little until it’s all dissolved and the liquid is thick.
6. Pour the filling ingredients into a greased pie plate.
7. Lay the pie crust over the filling and crimp the edges so the filling is trapped inside.
8. Using a knife, make a few slits in the crust.
9. Place the pie plate in the oven and bake for approximately 10-15 minutes making sure to check that the pie crust doesn’t burn.

To make the pie crust, click here for the recipe.

Original chicken pot pie filling — click here.

Enjoy!

This is a really easy meal to make, Paleo Beef Taco Salad — for lunch or dinner, your pick.

Here are the sets of ingredients you’ll be needing …

And the spices …

To make the avocado dressing, you’ll be needing the following …

Next you’ll be cutting up the vegetables that you’ll be using as toppings.

The avocado dressing is quite creamy … and green. Green tastes delicious!

Lastly — this is what your Beef Taco Salad with Avocado Dressing will look like.

Thanks to Paleo Grubs for sharing this recipe online. Head over there if you need more directions.