PaleYo

Author - Dee

Allison’s Cherry and Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream

It’s Wednesday…we are half way through the week.  For this feat, I decided I would gift you with this awesome recipe from my friend Allison.  She has a blog called, “My Stills and Spills: Adventures Inside and Outside the Kitchen.”  She is an incredible cook and photographer, hence, her posts are about her stills and spills.  So clever.  Go check it out.  Her recipes are all GLUTEN FREE, too!

So she lives in California with her husband, and the other day they went cherry picking.  We were talking about her adventures and what she could do with the cherries…I suggested ice cream (because when am I NOT thinking about ice cream)….she liked the idea and was in!

This is what she came up with…Cherry and Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream.  Go read it and make it happen…read her other posts, too!

Thank you, Allison, for this awesome recipe!  (photo credit: Allison)

“Why not go out on a limb?  That’s where the fruit is.”

Sore is the New Black

Yesterday I participated in the HARDEST workout I have ever done…in my life!  It was called Strike Zone, and it was insane.  I would consider myself pretty fit, but this class was ridiculously hard!  It was awesome, I feel great (and extremely sore), but it was great.  I ate a banana before bed and I think it helped with my soreness a bit.

Here’s your breakfast!

Italian Scramble

  • ½ tsp. coconut oil
  • 1 ½ C. kale
  • ½ C. cherry tomatoes
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp. balsamic vinaigrette
  • ¼ avocado

Melt coconut oil in small pan. Add kale, 3 TBSP water, pinch of salt, and the cherry tomatoes. Stir to coat, then put the lid on. Let it cook 3-4 minutes, stirring once or twice. Take a spatula, and press the tomatoes. Scramble 2 eggs in a bowl, and pour over veggies. Stir it up, and cook to your liking. Plate and drizzle with balsamic vinegar and serve with avocado on the side.

Then for dinner…

Bacon-Wrapped Barbecue Chicken

  • 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 C. barbecue sauce (I recommend Googling a recipe – find one to your liking)
  • 1 package of bacon

Marinate the chicken in the barbecue sauce for 8 hours or overnight. Before grilling, wrap each piece of chicken with two slices of bacon, securing with toothpicks.  Place chicken on grill and cook for about 10 minutes on each side, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Simple. Delicious.

“If you don’t get hurt, you’re not working hard enough.”

Have No Fear, Ketchup is Here

So you love ketchup, but now that you’re paleo…ketchup is no more?  Not true!  You can make your own paleo version of ketchup.  You can make it spicy, too!  As a ketchup lover myself, I wasn’t sure anything would replace it….until now.  Here’s how you make some ketchup.

Ketchup is Back

  • 1 can tomato paste
  • 2 TBSP vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp dry mustard
  • 1/3 C. water
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/8 tsp ground allspice
  • 1/4 jalapeno, finely chopped (optional)

Blend jalapeño, water, and vinegar, put aside.  Add remaining ingredients to a bowl and mix well.  Then add the blended ingredients and fold in.  Refrigerate overnight.

There you have it!  Ketchup.

“Always have an extra bottle of ketchup on the shelf.”

 

That’s a Spicy Meatball

Made some meatballs for dinner…because, who doesn’t love meatballs!?

That’s a Spicy Meatball

For the meatballs

  • 2 lbs. grass fed ground beef
  • 1/2 onion
  • 3 medium dried chipotle chilies, seeds out
  • 2 large garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 TBSP EVOO
  • 1 tsp of sea salt
  • 3 TBSP ghee

For the sauce

  • ½ onion
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2 medium dried chipotle chilies, seeds out
  • ½ tsp coriander
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 can diced tomatoes or tomato puree
  • ½ tsp sea salt

If using dried chipotle chilies, place in hot water for at least an hour before using to rehydrate.

Sauté the onion in 2 tsp ghee for, until translucent. Use half of the onion in the meatball mix and use the rest for the sauce.  While onion is cooking, get the other ingredients ready for the meatballs.  Chop the chipotle chilies, removing the seeds.  Combine ground beef with half of the cooked onion, garlic, chilies, paprika, cumin, coriander, salt and EVOO.  Combine with your hands.  Preheat ghee in the large frying pan until sizzling hot.  Roll the mix into small balls and cook for 3 minutes on each side, until well browned.  Add the rest of the cooked onion, garlic, two chopped chilies and sauce spices to the pan with the meatballs.  Stir, then add the diced tomatoes/tomato puree.  Cook for 10-12 minutes uncovered, stir occasionally.  Enjoy!

Serve over spaghetti squash or gluten free pasta (if you’re not paleo).

“The beauty of life does not depend on how happy you are, but how happy others can be because of you.”

Best Chocolate Almond Milkshake EVER!

This is what I made for breakfast today!  I was pleasantly surprised at how good it tasted.

Chocolate Almond Milkshake

  • 1 C. almond milk
  • ½ avocado
  • 1 TBSP cocoa powder
  • 4 large, soft dates (make sure you take the pits out)
  • dash cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 TBSP almond butter
  • pinch sea salt
  • ice cubes

Blend everything together until smooth and creamy.  This recipe is my gift to you, friends.  Enjoy!

“Life is good.  Chocolate makes it even gooder.”

Sirloin Steak Rolls

I’ve been making meals that I never made before, and I’m pretty good at it.  I may have missed my calling in life — but it’s never too late.  🙂

Last night for dinner…

Sirloin Steak Rolls

  • 2 sirloin steaks
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2 C. brussel sprouts, bottoms trimmed off and quartered
  • ½ fennel bulb, cut into thick slices
  • 1 tsp EVOO

For the Filling:

  • 3 slices bacon
  • ½ fennel bulb
  • 1/2 C. brussel sprouts, bottoms trimmed off and halved
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp each of dried rosemary, sage and oregano

Preheat oven to 375.  Add all filling ingredients to a food processor, blend until it becomes a thick paste.  Use meat tenderizer to flatten steaks to about ½ inch thick.  Spread half of the filling on each steak.  Roll steaks up.  If you need to, toothpicks will hold it together.  Place sirloin rolls in a roasting pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Toss Brussels sprouts and fennel slices in a large bowl with EVOO, salt and pepper, then spread brussels sprouts and fennel slices around sirloin rolls in the pan.  Roast for 35-40 minutes, until steak is cooked to desired level and vegetables begin to brown.  Let steak rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

This was different, but it was pretty good.

“Don’t start your day with the broken pieces of yesterday.  Every morning we wake up is the first day of the rest of your life.”

Chicken Parmesan

Another jam packed weekend in the books.

Last night I made some chicken parm.  This is something that you can make for non-paleo people, and they’d have no idea.  Nothing is really different, except you use almond flour to bread the chicken.

Chicken Parmesan

  • 4 chicken breasts
  • ¾ C almond flour
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 1 egg beaten

TOMATO SAUCE:

  • 1 TBSP EVOO
  • ¼ tsp oregano
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 24 oz. tomato sauce
  • 1/2 TBSP sea salt (add more to taste)

TOPPING: (optional)

  • 1 cup grated mozzarella

Preheat the oven to 425F.

For the sauce:  Heat the olive oil, garlic, and oregano in a pan. Sauté a few seconds until fragrant, then add the tomato sauce and salt.  Simmer for 15 minutes.

In a separate bowl, mix together the almond flour and sea salt.  In another bowl, beat the egg.  Preheat a skillet.  Dip the chicken cutlets one by one into the egg mixture, and then dredge them in the almond flour mixture.  Add a small amount of olive oil to the pan and fry cutlets until golden brown on each side.  Place the pan fried cutlets on baking sheet.  Place some mozzarella cheese (optional) over the top of each cutlet, and bake for about 7 minutes until cheese melts.  Serve immediately with tomato sauce.  You can make gluten free pasta (as a little treat), or spaghetti squash with it.

For Breakfast:

Blueberry Carrot Parfaits

  • 2 large carrots, shredded
  • ⅔ C. almond butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 TBSP honey
  • 2 TBSP coconut flour
  • 1 TBSP cinnamon
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 can full fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight (important!)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 C. fresh blueberries
  • 1 TBSP maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place carrots in blender and blend well.  Put shredded carrots in bowl and add almond butter and eggs and mix well.  Then add honey, coconut flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and mix well.  Grease an 8×8 baking dish with coconut oil, pour batter into the dish and place in oven.  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top of the cake has a nice crust.   Let cool before cutting in bite sized cubes.  Add fresh blueberries to a pan with maple syrup.  Place on stove, stir frequently, mashing blueberries.  You want to cook it down so it thickens a bit.  Takes about 15 minutes.  Then scoop out the coconut cream that has hardened and risen to the top of the can.  Place coconut cream in a bowl and mix with fork, then add vanilla extract and honey. It turns into whipped cream.

Now layer the parfaits. Carrot cake, coconut milk whipped cream, blueberry sauce, then repeat.

“Monday is the perfect day to correct last week’s mistakes.”

 

Chicken Fajita Salad

Because who doesn’t love chicken fajitas!

Chicken Fajita Salad

  • 3 lbs. chicken breast, cut in thin strips
  • 2 bell peppers, cut into strips
  • 2 onions, sliced
  • 2 TBSP each oregano, cumin and coriander
  • chili powder, to taste (I use about a tsp)
  • 6 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 TBSP lime juice
  • 4 TBSP butter
  • butter lettuce, to serve
  • Toppings: diced tomatoes, sliced avocados, salsa, and anything else you can think of!

Combine the chicken, bell peppers, onions, spices, garlic and lime juice in a large ziplock bag and mix well. Melt butter in a pan and pour in the contents of the ziplock bag.  Cook until the chicken is done and the peppers are soft.  Put lettuce on a plate and pour chicken over top.  Top with diced tomatoes, avocados, salsa, etc.!  Add a little Frank’s Red Hot.  Enjoy!

“Think a little less, live a little more.”

Chocolate Breakfast Paleo Bars

This was fun, and easy.  There’s enough for a few days!

Chocolate Breakfast Paleo Bars

  • 2 C. of roasted almonds and cashews
  • 2 handfuls of shredded coconut
  • 1/2 C. raw cacao powder
  • 1/3 C. almond butter
  • 1/2 C. coconut oil
  • honey, to taste

Blend the almonds and cashews in a blender until finely chopped, but don’t over do it!  You don’t want it really chunky though.  Put the blended nuts into a bowl, and add the coconut and cocoa powder.  Stir well.  Melt the coconut oil and almond butter – you can use the microwave or stove – I’m a microwave girl.  Pour into the dry ingredients and use a spoon to mix everything.  Taste and add honey to your likeness.  I added about a TBSP.  Mix in well.  If it’s too wet, add almond flour.  If it’s too dry, add more coconut oil.  I used a container with a top (9×11), and lined with with parchment paper.  Pour the mixture in and press it down.  Place in fridge for at least 30 minutes before eating.  Cut into squares and enjoy!  You can eat it over the next few days!

I’m down 7 lbs. since sticking to this plan again!

“You don’t have to live forever, you just have to live.”

Avo-Stuffed Burger

Hopefully you have some Chicken and Dumplings leftover for lunch today.  It was hard to resist eating it all!  Here’s a head start on lunch…

Avo-stuffed Burger

  • 1 lb. grass fed ground beef
  • 2 avocados
  • 1 C sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil), chopped
  • Juice 1/2 lemon
  • 1 TBSP black pepper
  • 2 tsp sea salt

Put your ground beef in a large bowl and add black pepper and 1 tsp of sea salt.  Mix well with your hands, form THIN patties all the same size (they need to be thin because you use two of them to make one burger).  In another bowl mash the avocados and combine with sun dried tomatoes, lemon juice, and the remaining teaspoon of sea salt.  In half the burger patties, create a little pocket in the middle and place your avocado mixture in it, but leave enough room around the edge to seal it.  Take the other half of the burger patties, and place them on top, sealing the edges with your fingers.  You can grill or cook on a stove top.  Let the burgers sit for a few minutes before you eat them.

“Good things happen when you distance yourself from negative people.”