paleo recipe Griddled Asparagus with Pine Nuts-min

Recipe: Griddled Asparagus with Pine Nuts

An easy and effective way to make awesome asparagus! This is a great side dish with any dinner. It's easy to over cook – but take care because well cooked asparagus makes such a difference!

Ingredients:

  • 500g asparagus spears
  • A handful of fresh parsley
  • A handful of fresh tarragon
  • A handful of pine nuts
  • Olive oil
  • Sea Salt
  • Black Pepper

Asparagus How To:

1)     Sear the asparagus on a griddle at a medium low heat. You don’t need any oil, as this way they will crisp up far more.

2)     While these are cooking, finely chop the herbs, and mix together with 2tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.

3)     Remove the asparagus from the heat when it is suitably chargrilled, normally after 7 – 8 minutes. Drizzle with the herb oil, then scatter the pine nuts.

I’d love to hear how you cook and prepare your veggies.

paleo recipe Griddled Asparagus with Pine Nuts-min

Paleo Network Recipe Indian Scrambled Eggs Breakfast-min

Recipe: Indian Scrambled Eggs

A little bit more of a challenge to rustle up in the morning, so try these scrambled eggs on a day where you’re not in a rush to be anywhere or see anyone. The rewards will be more than worth it.

Indian Scrambled Eggs Ingredients:

  • 6 eggs, beaten
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, crushed
  • 1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
  • ½ tsp tumeric
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 4 cherry tomatoes, finely chopped
  • A handful of spinach leaves, finely chopped
  • Small bunch of fresh coriander
  • Olive oil
  • Sea Salt

Indian Scrambled Eggs How To:

Heat a frying pan with a little olive oil to a medium heat. Saute the onion with a little sea salt until golden brown

Add the garlic, chilli and spices and fry for another couple of minutes.

Add the tomatoes and spinach, then pour in the eggs, turning down the heat slightly. Stir well, and continue to cook until the eggs are done to your liking. Garnish with a little fresh coriander, serve and enjoy.

Paleo Network Recipe Indian Scrambled Eggs Breakfast-min

PrimalCon

PrimalCon 2013

I’m just back from a fantastic Paleo trip to America (Jetlag is most definitely not Paleo). A couple of weeks after PaleoFX in Austin, Texas, I made my way to Oxnard, California, for my third year at Mark Sisson’s PrimalCon weekend. Unlike the Ancestral Health Symposium, or PaleoFX, PrimalCon is a hands on practical weekend. As well as hearing about all things Paleo – the focus is on doing.

PrimalCon Oxnard CA 2013

With relatively small numbers of attendees – and lots of different presenters, there’s a chance to meet and speak to everyone. There are lots of regulars, who attend each year, but it was also great to meet so many new faces – as well as some others from Australia and the UK!

With Kelly Starrett and the Gokhale family, there were several session on posture, mobility – and the correct way to stand and move to avoid injury. Whilst these sessions were completely different, it was interesting that their methods and ideas are completely complimentary – hardly surprising as they’re based on how we’re supposed to move.

Another highlight of PrimalCon for me was finally meeting Sarah Fragoso of Everyday Paleo – who really is every bit as lovely and knowledgeable in real life as she is on her podcast!

Chef Rachel Albert gave another fantastic cooking demonstration. It’s amazing how many simple tips I pick up each year, despite being a regular in the kitchen myself!

I also loved William Vives Kettlebell session and as usual, learnt lots of new techniques that I can’t wait to practice at my Crossfit box. There were a few other fitness sessions too, such as barefoot running and sprinting techniques – and I especially loved the Olympic Lifting session – I can’t wait to master that!

As always, the food was absolutely fantastic. A local Paleo food truck (so jealous we don’t have those in Sydney!) provided a lot of the catering, and there was such a huge variety of grass fed meats, burgers, salads, veggies, nut butter – and an amazing coconut bark! It’s so nice to be able to dive into all of the food on offer, without even having to ask what is in the meatball sauce. You just know it’s 100% Paleo!

What would you most enjoy about an event like PrimalCon? The people, food or particular activities?

Paleo Diet Recipe Vegan Vegetarian Primal Vegetable Bake-min

Recipe: Vegetable Bake with Tomato & Basil Sauce (Vegan & Vegetarian)

I wanted to share with you one of the recipes from my new Vegan and Vegetarian Paleo recipe ebook. Whilst Vegetarian and Paleo might not seem to naturally go together, by avoiding grains – and making sure you get some good legume-free protein into your diet, it is possible to follow a Vegetarian Paleo diet.

My Paleo Vegetarian and Vegan recipe book shows how to transition into Paleo and is packed with recipes for grain, legume and dairy free recipes. Recipes demonstrate good Paleo protein sources and there are also plenty of Vegan options (i.e. no eggs or dairy). For those looking for a gradual transition into full Paleo, the book also details how to properly prepare grains and legumes, for those who aren't ready to give them up on day one.

If you're interested in the recipe ebook, you can find it here.

This recipe is a vegetable bake, full of flavours. Whether you're vegetarian or not, this makes a great Paleo dinner!

 Vegetable Bake Ingredients:

(Serves 4)

  • 1 large eggplant (about 500 g or 1lb), trimmed & sliced in 1 cm thick rounds
  • 2 large zucchini (about 500 g or 1lb), sliced lengthways in ½ cm thick strips
  • olive oil, to brush
  • 2 red capsicum (bell pepper)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 onions, halved & sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 x 400g (or 1lb) tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1 cup basil leaves, torn
  • ½ cup pitted black olives
  • ½ cup semi-sundried tomatoes in olive oil*
  • handful baby basil leaves, to serve
  • sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

 * If you can’t find them in 100 % olive oil reconstitute sundried tomatoes in olive oil (to cover) with a clove or 2 of smashed garlic and a sprig of oregano.

The Paleo Primal Diet Vegetarian Vegan Recipe Ebook

Vegetable Bake How To:

Preheat oven 180ºC (350ºF) and put the racks in the top and bottom thirds. Prepare 2 slide trays with baking paper and arrange the eggplant on one and the zucchini on the other in a single layer. Brush liberally with olive oil, season, add the capsicums to the tray and bake for 30 minutes. Remove. Place the capsicums (bell peppers) in a plastic bag and tie shut. Sweat for at least 20 minutes before roughly peeling them (the skin will slip off easily), tearing into quarters and discarding the seeds and stalk.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onions and sauté, covered, for 10 minutes, or until they’re very soft. Remove the lid, add the garlic and stir for a minute then add the tomatoes and basil with some seasoning. Cover, adjust the heat to keep the tomatoes at a steady simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the olives.

Grease a 20 cm2 (8 inches) dish. Arrange the eggplant in one even layer over the base (you can squish them a bit) then spread a quarter of a cup of the tomato sauce over the top. Next, arrange the capsicum (bell pepper) in a single layer, then the zucchini. Spread the remaining tomato sauce over this then arrange the semi-sundried tomatoes on top. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes then uncover and bake for a further 15 minutes. Allow to sit for 15 minutes out of the oven in a warm place.

Serve warm, garnished with baby basil leaves and accompanied by a green salad.

Paleo Diet Recipe Vegan Vegetarian Primal Vegetable Bake-min

Havana Roast Pork paleo dinner lunch recipe-min

Recipe: Havana Roast Pork

One of the tastiest roast pork dishes I know, this recipe makes a wonderful centre piece when entertaining guests. It does require a little more attention than a normal pork joint, but I can guarantee it is more than worth the effort.

As always, especially with Pork, make sure you use the best quality you can find. Ideally you want to use pasture fed Pork, your butcher should be able to help you. If not, perhaps it's time to find a new butcher…

Ingredients (Serves 8):

  • 1.5 – 2kg of high quality pork shoulder
  • 1 tbsp cumin seeds
  • ½ tbsp black peppercorns
  • 6 cloves, whole
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • 1 tbsp dried thyme
  • 6 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 tbsp raw honey
  • Juice of 1 orange
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

Roast Pork How To:

1)     Heat a pan to a medium heat. Add the cumin and peppercorns and toast for 2 minutes, taking great care not to burn. In a mortar and pestle, crush the spices with the cloves, oregano, thyme and a little sea salt, then add the crushed garlic to form a paste.

2)     Transfer the spice mixture to a small bowl, and stir in the citrus juices, honey and the olive oil. With a sharp knife, pierce the pork all over then place into a large resealable plastic bag. Pour over the marinade and shake well, ensuring all the meat is well coated, then leave in the refrigerator overnight.

3)     When ready to cook, heat the oven to 200C / 400F / gas mark 6. Put the pork in a roasting dish, keeping the marinade to one side, then cook for half an hour.

4)     Lower the oven temperature to 160C / 325F / gas mark 3. Baste the pork, then cover with foil, and roast for another 2  – 2 and a half hours until cooked through. Be sure to keep basting the meat in the juices from the dish whenever you can to maximise the flavour.

5)     Transfer the meat to a carving board and cover with foil, leaving to stand for 10 minutes. Pour any leftover juices into a saucepan, and skim the fat off the top. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Carve the pork, and serve with the reduced juices. Works great with sweet potatoes or cauliflower rice!

Do you often make a roast? I'd love to hear how you make yours in the comments below!

Havana Roast Pork paleo dinner lunch recipe-min

Paleo snack recipe ebook cookbook

The Paleo Snack Recipe Book

My post of Paleo Snack Ideas has been so popular, that I've created a new recipe ebook on Paleo snacks.

As well as lots of simple snack ideas that work well on a Paleo diet, the recipe book contains almost 80 pages of recipes. These recipes are for simple snacks that you can make and take to work, serve to children, travel with, eat after dinner, drink or use to help you on your weight loss journey. There's a snack recipe for every taste and situation! By popular demand I've also include a chapter on grab and go Paleo snack recipes.

The Paleo Primal Diet Snack Recipe eBook
As well as clear, easy to follow recipes, the book also features beautiful photos of most of the recipes to inspire you! The book also includes an introduction into the Paleo diet and the place of snacks on this plan.
Paleo Snack deas inside Pages book min

These are some of the recipes and photographs featured in the Paleo Snack recipe ebook

The book is currently on sale for $17 and can be purchased by credit card, debit card or paypal. It comes with a 30 day guarantee and instant download. I'm also currently offering further discounts if you buy two or three of my recipe ebooks together! My recipe ebooks are currently available in digital format – I will update this page as soon as the print versions are available.

I'd love to hear your feedback on the ebook!

Buy Two or more Paleo Recipe Ebooks and Save

The book is $17, but I offer big discounts if you buy more than one of my recipe books in one transaction – you can find the bulk prices here.

Paleofx conference seminar event expo paleo fx-min

PaleoFX

Last weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Austin, Texas to attend the second PaleoFX conference. Three days of talks and panels on all things Paleo – surrounded by like minded people! It was good to see a few other people had also travelled to the event from outside the US.

It was especially great to see Jimmy Moore and Nora Gedgaudas, who have both been out to Australia for seminar series in the last year or two. I also got to meet Robb Wolf, Sean Croxton, Abel James and so many others.

PaleoFX 2013

Having attended the Ancestral Health Symposium, I was interested to see how this event would differ. As well as lectures, PaleoFX had a lot of panels, where a group of “Paleo experts” sat on stage and answered a wealth of questions on a particular topic. As with the Ancestral Health Symposium, up to three talks occurred simultaneously, so it wasn't possible to listen to everyone. Fortunately they are releasing videos, so it will be possible to catch up on what I missed!

The highlight for me was meeting Dr Terry Wahls and listening to her lecture. I also enjoyed Dr Cate Shanahan, who I first heard on the Paleo Summit.

PaleoFX 2013

On the ground floor was a big exhibition set up, with stalls selling all manor of Paleo products. Books I've not been able to get in Australia, jerky, kombucha, fitness products, supplements, vitamins, Paleo snacks – everything you could possibly want.

With such a big Paleo community of our own here in Australia and New Zealand, we’re really excited about the next seminar series we have in the pipeline. I’d love to hear who you would like us to invite to speak in Australia and New Zealand – and what you would like them to speak about? And which cities should the series travel to, each state capital? Please please share your thoughts in the comments below, or send me an email.

 

Recipe paleo ginger bread men gingerbread man no flour grain free gluten free-min

Recipe: Paleo Gingerbread Men

Whilst I generally avoid anything sweet, sometimes it's good to have a recipe for a more natural version of a sweet treat up your sleeve – and it doesn't get much better than ginger biscuits.

Adapted from a gluten free recipe I found online, I've replaced rice flour with a mixture of arrowroot and ground almonds to make these wonderfully moreish cookies. I've also cut out the sugar and replaced with unrefined molasses. The butter is optional – if you don’t do dairy, you can replace it with coconut oil.

Ingredients:

  • 50g butter
  • 55g arrowroot
  • 55g ground almonds
  • 2 tbsp molasses
  • 1 tbsp raw honey
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
  • 1 teaspoon ginger

How To Make Ginger Biscuits:

1)     Preheat an oven to 180C / 350F / gas mark 4

2)     In a saucepan, melt the butter with the molasses and honey.

3)     Mix the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add the mix from the saucepan a little bit at a time, stirring well.

4)     Roll the mixture into biscuits, or use a gingerbread man cookie cutter (or whatever shape you prefer). Cover a baking tray with parchment, and lay the biscuits out side by side.

5)     Bake for 10 – 12 minutes, or until golden brown

6)     You can use nuts or seeds to decorate your gingerbread men.

Do you often do “Paleo Baking”, or is it something you avoid all together? And if you do bake, what do you make?

Recipe paleo ginger bread men gingerbread man no flour grain free gluten free-min

The Paleo Diet Offal Liver Kidney Heart organ meat-min

Offal & The Paleo Diet

Offal is the organs found in animals and includes the liver, hearts, brains and kidneys and these foods are not commonly consumed, which is the reason why they can be found at really low costs. Offal is not processed, so you know exactly what you are getting, which is not the case with many other foods. If you were to eat non-Paleo processed meat, like sausage rolls or chicken nuggets for example, you would usually be eating bones and other parts of animals which offer no nutritional benefits whatsoever.

As part of the Paleo diet, offal is encouraged as it is packed full of nutrients. The most nutritious is the liver, which is a good source of Vitamin A and the brain, which is rich in Omega 3. Offal also contains a lot of protein and iron, which is not only good for the functioning of your organs but is also good for making your appearance clearer and healthier.

The reason why the Paleo diet encourages the consumption of these organs is that they can offer a wide range of benefits to our health, including improving the immune system and staving off a whole host of illnesses which can result in someone with a poor diet. The point of the diet is to maximise the benefits of the foods we are eating, so even if they don’t seem like the kind of foods you would like, it is well worth giving them a try.

The Paleo Diet Offal Liver Kidney Heart organ meat-min

Offal is known as a super-food and although many of us wouldn't usually choose to eat these foods, the number of people buying these has increased in recent years. We are becoming a lot more educated in what foods are beneficial to our bodies and even though offal may not be the most tantalising of choices, the potential benefits make them an important choice as part of our daily diets.

If you are following the Paleo diet, it is important to include offal as it will make a substantial difference in how you look and feel. If the thought of eating these kinds of foods makes you feel a little queasy, there are many ways you can incorporate them into your meal, without even tasting them. You will be surprised at how quickly they become part of your daily routine and these super-foods will set you up for the rest of your life.

We all love a good curry and you can easily make this using offal without really having to taste them. You can add plenty of flavours to your curry which will disguise the texture, if this is off putting to you. If you are on a tight budget, offal is the ideal food to add to your diet, without stretching your budget but ensuring you enjoy the health benefits.

You may even wish to add your offal to a tasty stew or soup and by introducing plenty of other ingredients; you won’t really know the difference from your usual meals. You may even find that after time you start to enjoy the taste of offal on its own. If you have children and want them to enjoy the benefits of the Paleo diet, you should try and add offal to their meals, as it will help to improve their immune system and they will get used to the taste from a young age.

The most nutritious is the liver, so if you choose only one as part of your diet, this should be it. It shouldn't take long to start noticing the health benefits of offal as part of your Paleo diet and you will also find improvements in the appearance of your hair and skin.

With offal, it is even more important than usual to ensure the meat is of the very best quality, ideally organic and grass-fed or pasture raised.

The best animals to consume your offal from are goat, sheep, buffalo and horse and you should be able to pick these up from your local butchers.

Do you use Offal in your cooking? What are your favourite types – and recipes? Share below!