Recipe paleo Potato free Aloo Gobi indian side dish-min

Recipe: Potato free Aloo Gobi

What’s your favourite part of Aloo Gobi? Is it the blend of warming, aromatic spices? Perhaps the crispness of the cauliflower? Whatever it is, I’d guess it’s certainly not the potatoes. Whether you’re avoiding potatoes because they’re a nightshade, or you just don’t care for the insulin spike, you won’t miss them in this adapted Aloo Gobi. Double the cauliflower just means double the goodness – enjoy! Another example of a dish where white potatoes just really aren't necessary!

Recipe: Potato free Aloo Gobi
 
Author: 
Recipe type: Sides
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Ingredients
  • 1 large cauliflower, roughly chopped
  • 1 tsp coconut oil
  • 1 red onion, finely sliced
  • 1 tsp black mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp nigella seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • Handful cashew nuts, chopped
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • 3 red chillies, deseeded and chopped
  • ½ cup full fat coconut milk
  • Large handful of Coriander
Instructions
  1. Bring some water in a large saucepan to a boil. Submerge the cauliflower and cook for about two minutes, until slightly softened. Drain and set to one side.
  2. Heat the coconut oil in a large, heavy based pan (I use cast iron). Add the sliced onion, mustard seeds, nigella seeds and cumin seeds, and toss together for two or three minutes.
  3. Add the cauliflower to the pan, along with the cashew nuts, and cook for a further couple of minutes until they are both golden. Toss in the turmeric and chilli.
  4. Add the coconut milk to the pan. Continue to stir the contents for 5 minutes or so, until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the cauliflower. Serve immediately, garnished with fresh coriander.

What's your favourite Indian dish? Have you tried making a paleo version. Many Indian dishes are naturally paleo – and even tend to use Ghee as the fat of choice – perfect!

Recipe paleo Potato free Aloo Gobi indian side dish-min

Spicy Tilapia Fishcakes with a Crispy Coconut Coating paleo recipe dinner lunch-min

Recipe: Spicy Tilapia Fishcakes with a Crispy Coconut Coating

Have you tried Tilapia? I’ll admit, I don’t have good memories of fishcakes. Growing up, when someone said fishcake I would think of a soggy, batter coated starch ball with a slightly past its best fishy flavour. After eating clean for so long, I can’t imagine ever going near one of those again, but I thought it would be a great idea to recreate them into something much more appetising.

I was thrilled with how these turned out; the tilapia is mild flavoured and works extremely well with the sweet potato and chilli. The coating turns crispy and golden rather than soggy, whilst the inside remains fluffy. Try them – this is what fish cakes should taste like!

Recipe: Spicy Tilapia Fishcakes with a Crispy Coconut Coating
 
Author: 
Recipe type: Dinner
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Ingredients
  • 500g tilapia fillets
  • Half can coconut milk
  • 500g sweet potatoes, diced
  • Zest 1 lime
  • 2 red chilli peppers, deseeded and finely chopped
  • Chunk fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
  • 4 spring onions, finely chopped
  • Sea salt and black pepper
  • 2 large eggs
  • 50g ground almonds
  • 50g desiccated coconut
  • 1 tbsp coconut flour
  • Coconut oil
Instructions
  1. Submerge the tilapia fillets in a saucepan with the coconut milk and just enough additional water to cover them. Bring to the boil, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes so that the fish is just cooked.
  2. Steam the sweet potatoes for 7 or 8 minutes, until soft. Mash in a bowl, before stirring in the chilli, ginger and spring onions. Add the fish and the coconut milk, before mashing again and seasoning to taste.
  3. Beat the two eggs together in a shallow dish. In a separate bowl, combine the ground almonds, desiccated coconut and coconut flour. You should now have three dishes arranged side by side – the mashed fishcake contents, the beaten eggs, and the coating.
  4. Roll the fishcake mixture into balls in your palm. One by one, coat lightly with the beaten egg, before rolling them in the almond and coconut mixture. Set aside.
  5. When ready to cook, heat a little coconut oil in a large, heavy based pan. Carefully place the fishcakes into the pan, and cook for 3 or 4 minutes each side until crisp and golden.

Spicy Tilapia Fishcakes with a Crispy Coconut Coating paleo recipe dinner lunch-min

Bajan Mahi Mahi with Caramelised Cinnamon Plantains paleo recipe dinner fish-min

Recipe: Bajan Mahi Mahi with Caramelised Cinnamon Plantains

When available, mahi mahi is one of my favourite types of fish to eat. It’s really meaty, and full of flavour so requires little attention if you’re in a rush. That being said, this traditional Bajan style seasoning takes it to another level. Try and allow at least a couple of hours marinating time for the seasoning to really penetrate the fish. It pairs beautifully with the natural sweetness of the plantains; buy them really ripe to achieve the sweet, sticky sensation you are looking for.

 Mahi Mahi Ingredients:

  • 2 generous sized Mahi Mahi steaks
  • 4 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 2 tsps dried thyme
  • 1 tsp dried marjoram
  • 1 tsp dried parsley
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp coconut oil x 2
  • 2 large, very ripe plantains (almost black all over)
  • 1 onion, finely sliced
  • 1 tsp coconut oil
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp coconut sugar (optional)

 Mahi Mahi How To:

1)    In a mortar and pestle, crush the spring onions, garlic and chilli together to make a paste. Add the vinegar and herbs and stir together, before rubbing all over the Mahi Mahi. Leave in a Ziploc bag to marinate for at least 2 hours.

2)    When ready to cook, heat 1 tsp of coconut oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Chop the plantains in slices approximately 3cm thick, and add to the pan with the onion. Sauté gently, stirring every once in a while, for 10 minutes until golden brown. Coat in the cinnamon, nutmeg and coconut sugar (if using) and continue to cook for another 5 minutes or so until browned and sticky.

3)    Meanwhile, heat the other teaspoon of coconut oil in a separate pan. When it reaches a high enough temperature, drop in the Mahi Mahi steaks. Depending on the thickness, pan fry for 2 / 3 minutes either side – so that they are cooked through but still succulent in the middle. Serve next to the caramelised plantains.

Bajan Mahi Mahi with Caramelised Cinnamon Plantains paleo recipe dinner fish-min

paleo recipe Curried Parsnip, Apple and Ginger Soup-min

Recipe: Curried Parsnip, Apple and Ginger Soup

This soup is such a welcome change from the norm. The fragrant curry spices work perfectly with the parsnips, and the sweetness of the apple adds a whole different dimension. The texture is very different too thanks to the grated apple. Try serving topped with some toasted flaked almonds – delicious!

Recipe: Curried Parsnip, Apple and Ginger Soup
 
Author: 
Recipe type: Soups
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 large white onion, diced
  • Thumb sized piece fresh ginger, crushed
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 tbsp coriander
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 8 cardomom pods, crushed
  • 4 curry leaves
  • 1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half
  • 750g parsnips, cores removed, diced
  • 1 litre vegetable stock
  • 2 apples (I used Gala)
Instructions
  1. Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan or a small stock pot. Add the onion and cook on a low heat for about 5 minutes until soft. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for another 2 or 3 minutes.
  2. Add the spices to the saucepan and stir frequently, taking care to make sure that they do not burn. Cook for about a minute or so, before adding the parsnips and the stock. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for around 40 minutes.
  3. Remove the soup from the heat. Remove the cinnamon stick and curry leaves, then blitz in your blender. Return to the heat.
  4. Grate the apples and add to the saucepan. Wait until the soup begins to simmer again before serving.

Do you often make soup? Which is your favourite paleo friendly soup? I quite often make a big batch of soup, freeze it and take it to work to reheat (I hate using microwaves, but figure this is a better option than relying on a very un-paleo food court!)

paleo recipe Curried Parsnip, Apple and Ginger Soup-min

Ask the Paleosphere is dairy paleo milk cheese lacto paleo-min

Ask the Paleosphere – Dairy

It’s all very well reading the Paleo theory about why we should and shouldn't consume certain foods, but what I find most valuable is finding out how people actually eat – and how different foods affect them.

With over 79,000 followers on the Paleo Network’s Facebook page, it’s become a great place to ask questions. A lot of the questions I've been asking seem to resonate with a lot of people, so I thought it would be useful to share some of the questions here.

Ask the Paleosphere is dairy paleo milk cheese lacto paleo-min

 

Dairy seems to be a source of a lot of controversy in the Paleo-sphere. Whenever I post about dairy, I get equally large numbers of people condemning me for mentioning it, as I do people who comment that they enjoy it regularly in their diet. I don’t agree with taking a dogmatic approach to “Paleo” – surely it’s more important to learn how you tolerate things like dairy and eat accordingly?

So when I asked my Facebook followers for their thoughts on dairy – what did they say?

Out of 218 people who left a comment, I counted 48% of people avoid dairy – and 52% of people do consume it. However, in almost all cases those who consume dairy seem to do so with quite limited constraints.

Limiting dairy

Of those who eat dairy, almost everyone said that they do so “in moderation”, with most people only eating a certain type of dairy, and avoiding others. Some of the responses included:

  • Fermented
  • Only cheese
  • Fermented
  • Yoghurt only
  • Raw & organic
  • Kerrygold butter only
  • Fermented full fat only
  • Butter & cheese minimal
  • Can’t do milk but eat cheese
  • I use cheese as a condiment on occasion
  • Only sour cream, aged cheese and buttah
  • Only raw dairy from grass-fed Jersey cattle
  • I can never give up fine cheese and ice cream!
  • Yes but only pure grass fed! Bio dynamic etc!
  • Only a bit in my Coffee, and only goat's milk
  • I love my cheese so allow a little as a treat and kefir
  • Butter and a very limited amount of special cheeses
  • Only organic butter and a tiny smidge of occasional cheese
  • Grassfed always – raw and local when possible. One serving a day.
  • I'll only ever have a tiny bit of white cheese that hasn't been processed a lot.

Why avoid it?

It seems that most of the people who avoid dairy, do so being aware that their bodies do not tolerate it well. Here are some of the reasons people gave as to why they don’t consume dairy:

  • No, it makes me sick
  • Cannot handle the casein.
  • My tummy doesn't tolerate it
  • Gives me pimples but I love it.
  • Gives me bloating & bad skin.
  • I break out with eczema and asthma.
  • It gives me Brain fog and belly aches!
  • My heart says yay, but my tummy says nay
  • Hot flashes stopped when dairy was eliminated!
  • My body does not like and it causes inflammation
  • Never did work well with me – since childhood.
  • I may love dairy, but it definitely sets off my auto immune disorders.
  • I dream of cheese  but unfortunately the casein protein in it burns my GI tract
  • In very small amounts. It causes acne for me. I'm 40 and just figured this out!
  • Yay for me but nay for my 20 months old. Makes him as constipated as anything.
  • Allowed it to creep back in last year, felt crap and body composition/weight plateued.
  • Quitting dairy is the only thing that cured my skin condition I've had since childhood (keratosis pilarus)
  • I've learned the hard way after a dose of post surgery pancreatitis. It's extremely alarming that people would suffer like I have at their own hand.
  • I didn't worry about my normal no-dairy or no-grain for about ten days over Christmas and now my forehead and chin have lots of pimples. Yuck!

Alternatives?

Quite a few people commented on alternatives that they use instead of dairy, with the most common being:

  • Almond milk
  • Coconut milk/ cream
  • Coconut Yoghurt
  • Hazlenut milk
  • And, er, Soy (I think this person maybe didn't realise they were on a Paleo page?)

It’s not dairy…

There were also quite a few comments from people who only have almond milk, or eggs – and others pointing out that eggs aren't dairy – and that almonds don’t have udders…

I’d love to hear your perspective on dairy. Do you consume it – and why? Please share in the comments below. Also, if you have a question that you’d like a broader perspective on, please let me know and I’ll post it on Facebook.

Recipe paleo herbal Cardamom, Black Pepper and Coconut Milk Tea-min

Recipe: Cardamom, Black Pepper and Coconut Milk Tea

I'm a big fan of herbal tea, and one of my favourite blends is Chai. This is a twist on the classic that is slightly sweeter and creamier thanks to the coconut milk. It still retains all the spiced, warming goodness of standard chai though, so brew up a cup for everyone and unwind for the evening. If, like me, you're a former chai latte fan, but no longer consuming dairy, this could be exactly the alternative you've been searching for. If only my local coffee shop could put this on the menu…

Recipe: Cardamom, Black Pepper and Coconut Milk Tea
 
Author: 
Recipe type: Drinks
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Ingredients
  • 100ml full fat coconut milk
  • 8 cardamom pods, crushed
  • 1 tbsp black peppercorns
  • Pinch nutmeg
  • 1 tsp raw honey
  • 3 cloves
  • 1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half
Instructions
  1. Add the coconut milk to a saucepan with the cardamom, black pepper, nutmeg and honey. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 5 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, boil your kettle and pour 750ml hot water into a teapot over the cloves and cinnamon. Leave to infuse for a couple of minutes - or until it reaches your desired strength.
  3. Strain the tea into four cups, and pour in the milk. Taste, and adjust the sweetness if necessary.

I'd love to know what you drink during a typical (working?) day? Do you stick to water, or mix it up with some different types of teas and coffee?

So many people tell me that they really struggle with giving up soda when they make the transition to paleo. One thing that seems to help is making sure you have some good herbal teas to hand to help you get over the diet coke addiction! Another thing that I've seen recommended is soda water (or sparkling water) with some fresh lime.

Recipe paleo herbal Cardamom, Black Pepper and Coconut Milk Tea-min

The thyroid summit online paleo diet primal event-min

The Thyroid Summit

The more I've been looking into my own health (which all started with my inability to lose weight), the more thyroid issues seem to be involved. The standard tests show everything is “normal”, which clearly isn't the case. Which is why it’s great timing that the Thyroid Summit is about to start.





The Thyroid Summit is going to be more educational and more informative than any health event in the past decade. It’s fun, it’s life-changing and better yet, it’s ONLINE and FREE from 2nd to 9th June 2014*.
Thyroid summit 300 square-min

America’s Pharmacist Suzy Cohen and Dr. David Brownstein created The Thyroid Summit because they both had personal experiences with undiagnosed thyroid illness. The frustration of chronic illness and the lack of proper testing and treatment leaves people sick and tired for many years. They want to stop the madness and help people, so they’re on this mission to spread the word of good health! It’s a great feeling to pay it forward, and you can help!

 WHY ATTEND?

The Thyroid Summit brings together more than 30 of the world’s leading authorities on thyroid wellness. You don’t have to fly anywhere. You don’t have to wait in long lines. You don’t have to watch from the back of a room. You don’t have to spend another dime to hear what the experts have to say. It’s all free!

  • Why conventional medicine has failed most thyroid patients
  • What are the best lab tests to order
  • Which blood test you don’t need
  • Why you’re always the coldest one in the room
  • What are the best ranges for certain blood tests (because your lab “normals” are not ideal)

It doesn't stop there! You’ll get the most up-to-date information about:

  • Which natural remedies work for Graves’ disease, Hashimoto’s, hypothyroidism, and cancer
  • The connection between thyroid hormones and pregnancy, PMS and post-partum depression
  • How to finally lose those last few pounds or more!
  • What supplements can make your hair and nails grow faster
  • How to relieve anxiety, depression and other emotional problems related to low thyroid
  • And much more!

Sounds amazing, right?

Thyroid summit fb cover rectangle-min

Here are a few of the incredible presenters:

David Brownstein, MD
Holistic Options for Thyroid Disease and Cancer

Suzy Cohen, RPh
Thyroid Healthy: Lose Weight, Look Beautiful and Live the Life You Imagine

Jacob Teitelbaum, MD
Shine Program: 5 Simple Steps to Overcome Fatigue and Thyroid Disorders

Kent Holtorf, MD
Don’t Fall Through the Cracks: Safely and Effectively Treat Your Thyroid Condition

Hyla Cass, MD
A Holistic Psychiatrist’s Approach to Thyroid Disorders

Jean Dodds, DVM
Our Pets: Could Your Dog or Cat Have Thyroid Disease?

Greg Emerson, MD
Stress, Anxiety, Anger and the Relationship to Thyroid Hormone

Jonathan Wright, MD
How to Optimize Thyroid Function

Ben Lynch, ND
Folic Acid, Methylation and the Connection to Low Thyroid

Aristo Vojdani, PhD, MSc, MT
The Most Important Lab Tests You Should Take and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

With over 30 additional presenters sharing their wealth of knowledge. This invaluable (and FREE) resource is intended for men and women everywhere!

Better yet, if you register today, you’ll have access to the following FREE GIFT as soon as you register!
Mike Adams, Health Ranger from NaturalNews.com, is bold enough to tell the world the truth about “Everyday Pollutants that Poison Your Thyroid,” and what you can do to protect yourself.

  • The impact of radiation from Fukushima on your thyroid
  • Strange fibers and fragments in your food that make you sick
  • The dangers of vaccinating your child and the flu vaccine
  • How fluoride is hidden in your medicine, food, water and thyroid gland

Come listen to The Thyroid Summit ONLINE for FREE and be inspired from 2nd to 9th June, 2014

I’ll see you at the Summit!

*Note a different 4/ 5 presentations are shown each day, each available for 24 hours only – so I highly recommend you work out which ones you're most interested in (see the schedule here) to make sure you don't miss them!