Recipe The Paleo Diet Seafood Fish Chowder-min

Recipe: Paleo Seafood Chowder

Seafood and fish are so nutritious and packed with Omega 3. Chowder is great as a meal on it’s own, or as a starter in a small serving size. With fish and seafood, it’s especially important to use really good quality ingredients. Rather than farmed fish, try to get wild/ line caught fish. Or perhaps it’s time to go fishing?!

This is my version of seafood chowder, but it’s so easy to adapt and I would recommend basing it around whatever fish and seafood you have locally, that it of the best quality you can find.

Seafood Chowder Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 white onion, diced
  • Approx 16 rashers of bacon (thinly sliced)
  • 1 leek, diced
  • 1 small sweet potato, diced into chunks
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • ½ litre (1 pint) of stock (I used my homemade chicken stock, but vegetable or fish stock would work well)
  • ½ litre (1 pint) of coconut milk
  • Your choice of fish; I used:
  • 150g (5 oz) barramundi
  • 100g (3.5 oz) salmon
  • 150g (5 oz) smoked haddock
  • 150g (5 oz) fresh prawns
  • 15 clams
  • 15 muscles
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 1 lemon

How To:

In a pan, melt the coconut oil and sauté the onions until they become translucent. Add in the bacon and stir until it cooks thoroughly.

Add in the leek and garlic and keep stirring.

Pour in the stock and add the sweet potatoes, thyme and bay leaf, cooking for about 40 – 50 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are soft. Remove the bay leaf and thyme, then, add in the coconut milk, chopped fish and seafood and cook for another 5-10 minutes.

Season to taste, add a squeeze of fresh lemon and top with the parsley. Serve immediately.

What do you make with seafood? Which fish and seafood have you found it is easiest to obtain un-farmed?

Recipe The Paleo Diet Seafood Fish Chowder-min

Recipe-The-Paleo-Diet-Pate-Offal-Liver-Duck-Chicken-Kangaroo-min

Recipe: Paleo Chicken Liver Pâté

In keeping with my new years resolution to eat more offal, Pâté seems to be a great place to start.

You can make Pâté with lots of different meats, but my favourite is chicken liver Pâté.

With offal, I'm always very careful to make sure the meat is really high quality – organic, pasture raised is ideal.

Pâté Ingredients

  • 200g (6oz) chicken livers
  • 150g (5oz) butter, diced (or use the same volume of tallow, bacon fat or coconut oil)
  • 1 clove garlic, finely minced
  • 2 small brown shallots or 1/4 onion, finely diced
  • ¼ tsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 1tbsp brandy (optional)
  • 1/4tsp grated nutmeg
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pâté How To:

Remove any unsightly pieces from the liver, such as any green or black spots, or any tough stringy pieces. Rinse the livers, then dry using kitchen paper.

Melt a spoonful of the butter in a pan over a medium heat, before adding the garlic and shallots. Cook for 4 or 5 minutes, until the shallots start to soften and turn translucent.

Add in the chicken livers and thyme and continue to cook for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring constantly. When the livers have browned on the outside, but are still pink on the inside, it’s time to add in the brandy.

After a few seconds, add in the remaining butter and the nutmeg and stir into the ingredients for a couple of minutes.

Take the pan off the heat, then use a blender or food processor to puree the contents of the pan, until it reaches a smooth paste.

Season to taste, before spooning into a bowl or jar. Chill in the fridge for at least two or three hours before serving.

Liver Pâté is great as a snack, or served with raw veggies like celery, carrots and cucumber. If you have an leftovers, it should keep for about a week in the fridge.

Have you tried making Pâté yet? Which other types of Pâté do you enjoy?

Recipe-The-Paleo-Diet-Pate-Offal-Liver-Duck-Chicken-Kangaroo-min

Moroccan Pork & Dressing paleo lunch recipe-min

Paleo Lunch Recipe: Moroccan Pork & Dressing

Further to her guest post yesterday, Stormy Sweitzer, owner of Maoomba, the Real Food for Active Lives blog, and author of Paleo Power Lunch: Easy, Filling & Delicious Workday Meal Strategies, has very kindly shared one of the recipes from her book.

This is the lunch that started it all. In the dead of winter, wanting something colorful to go with a leftover pork chop, I threw it together with a handful of berries, seeds, and avocado. It’s earthy, but light. Add a handful of raw mushrooms for more vegetables.

Moroccan Pork & Dressing
Recipe type: Dinner
Cuisine: Moroccan
Ingredients
Pork
  • 2 cups spinach
  • 3 ounces pan-fried pork loin chop, sliced
  • ½ avocado, cut into chunks
  • ½ cup fresh blackberries
  • 2 Tbsp raw pepitas
Dressing
  • ⅓ cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 1 green onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 1 tsp dry mustard powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • Black pepper to taste
  • ½ cup avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp chives, chopped
Instructions
Pork
  1. Layer all ingredients in a lunch-sized food storage container.
  2. Pack 3 Tbsp Creamy Lemon Chive Dressing in a separate container.
  3. Paleo Diet Lunch Recipe
Dressing
  1. Combine all ingredients in a blender, except oil and chives.
  2. Slowly drizzle in the oil while the blender is going.
  3. Stir in chives when done.

WANT ME TO EMAIL YOU THIS RECIPE?

Enter your details and check your email!

For more Paleo lunch recipes and strategies, check out the Paleo Power Lunch book.
Moroccan Pork & Dressing paleo lunch recipe-min

Paleo iodine wraps nori-min

Paleo Iodine Wraps

Since my new supply of himalayan salt arrived with a big warning on the outside “this does not contain iodine”, I've been craving salty foods.  I'm sure this is psychosomatic, but it has lead to quite a lot of reading about iodine deficiency in the last week.

Himalayan-Salt-Iodine-paleo iodine wraps-min

It does appear to be quite possible to become deficient in iodine when eliminating regular iodised salt and conventionally raised animal products.  Apparently they started adding iodine to salt many years ago – and to animal feed, as many people were deficient in the mineral.  Iodine plays a crucial role in thyroid function and is an essential mineral.  I had quite extensive blood work a couple of months ago but for some reason, despite my thyroid function being tested, iodine levels were not part of the tests.  I will get my levels checked out, but in the meantime, I need to make sure I get enough iodine, be it from my diet, or supplements.  Kelp Supplements seem to be quite popular, so perhaps they will be a good choice?

Wild caught fish is a good source of iodine, but I don't incorporate this in my diet regularly – this is probably something I need to change.  Seaweed is supposed to be an excellent source of iodine, so to that end, I created “Paleo Iodine Wraps” for dinner this evening, using Nori sheets.

The wraps were going to contain beef, but I actually found some fresh turkey today – and it was on sale, so I had to buy it (I've got no idea why it's so hard to find turkey in Australia – it's got such a fantastic nutritional profile!).  As you might have noticed I'm quite keen on putting fruit in with savoury dishes, so thought I'd experiment with some apricot to go with the turkey and seaweed flavours.  I'm really enjoying coconut aminos at the moment, so I used it to marinate the turkey and beef in.

Paleo-Iodine-Wraps-Ingredients-1024x1024-min

Ingredients

Fresh Turkey
Thinly Sliced Beef
Onion
Capsicum (bell pepper)
Zucchini
Mushrooms
Tomato
Lettuce
Avocado
Nori Sheets
Coconut Oil
Coconut Aminos
Coriander (Cilanto)
Himalayan Sea Salt
 

Method

I cut the turkey and beef into thin strips and let them marinate in the coconut aminos for a few minutes, whilst I prepared the rest of the ingredients.

I cut the onion, capsicum, zucchini, mushrooms and apricots into strips and then stir fried the meat in the coconut aminos and a spoonful of coconut oil.

Once the meat browned off I set it aside, and stir fried the vegetables and apricots in the same oil.  I added the salt and some coriander to this and kept the vegetables on the heat for a few minutes.

Whilst the vegetables finished cooking, I cut the lettuce, tomatoes and avocados into strips, since these did not require cooking.

Paleo-Iodine-Wraps-Making-1024x1024-min

When the vegetables were ready, I assembled all of the ingredients on one edge of the nori sheets, and rolled them until they resembled (paleo!) sushi rolls.

I was pleased with this impromptu dinner and will add it to my list of good foods to make for on the go!  I think these would store fine in the fridge overnight, so would be another good option for work lunches – or even as a grab and go breakfast.  I really liked the contrast of the seaweed taste with the sweetness of the apricot.  I think next time I'll use fish instead of turkey and beef to full embrace a sea theme for this dish – and to get in a bit more iodine!

Paleo-Iodine-Wraps-1024x1024-min

I've not checked yet, but hopefully if I incorporate Nori a few times a week, I won't have to worry about iodine deficiency.

I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts on Iodine intake and deficiency, is this something you actively address in your diet?

Paleo iodine wraps nori-min

Paleo Vitamin A Soup Recipe-min

Vitamin A Soup Recipe

Well, actually, it’s Butternut Squash, Carrot and Sweet Potato soup – but these three are loaded with Vitamin A and Beta-carotene as well as many other vitamins and minerals.

I love soup – even though it’s summer here in Australia at the moment, I still eat it regularly.  I find it really filling as a meal on its own and easy to make in advance.  This is something I make in the largest pot I have and separate out into lots of individual portions, before freezing.  I make lots of different soups, but this one is my favourite as it’s sweet and has a great texture.

Vitamin A Soup Recipe
Recipe type: Soups
Ingredients
  • 1 Butternut Squash
  • 6 Carrots
  • 1 Small Sweet Potato
  • 2 Small Onions
  • Chicken Stock
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • Nutmeg
  • Corriander
  • Salt & Pepper
Instructions
  1. I slice the onion and sauté it in the coconut oil in a large pot. Once it’s ready I add the chicken stock (this is something I make up in advance and take out of the freezer to defrost).
  2. I roughly cut all the vegetables into chunks before adding them to the pot. I then turn the heat down to a simmer and allow the vegetables to cook for 30 minutes or so, adding the seasoning. I add the nutmeg and coriander at the end and turn off the heat.
  3. I don’t drain the pot, but instead transfer it all into my blender (in several batches) and blend it until it reaches a nice constituency. Once it’s all blended I separate it into individual portions and freeze.

WANT ME TO EMAIL YOU THIS RECIPE?

Enter your details and check your email!

Paleo Vitamin A Soup Recipe-min