Why I buy canned tomatoes (and which brands to avoid) tinned-min

Why I buy canned tomatoes (and which brands to avoid)

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I buy almost all of my produce fresh, but one of the few things I buy canned (shock horror!) is tomatoes.

Before I go any further – BPA

Let’s talk about BPA (Bisphenol-A). One of the main reasons put forward as to why you shouldn't buy food like tomatoes in cans, is that there is a risk of BPA exposure. As tomatoes are acidic, there is a concern about chemicals leaching from the tin liners into the produce. Unfortunately, given the acidity of tomatoes, the main way to mitigate this risk would be to buy tomatoes in glass jars. It seems that no canned tomatoes are sold in BPA-free cans (though there is a problem with that too – as those types of cans may contain another risky chemical – BPS–Bisphenol S). Yet, I still buy canned tomatoes…

Canned tomatoes tinned BPA tomato paleo diet brands fresh-min

So why do I buy canned tomatoes?

Until I can harvest and preserve my own tomatoes (which is going to take a good few months), I’m going to be buying them canned.

I often find the fresh tomatoes sold don't seem to be quite in season, and have been picked far too early. Use them as they are, and the flavour is completely lacking. Take them home and ripen them – and I almost always miss that sweet spot of ripeness and end up with a rotten mess. Tinned tomatoes are canned at the perfect moment and are always full of flavour.

Also – have you seen how much fresh tomatoes cost? At the time of writing this fresh tomatoes are $9.98 a kilo (for those reading from the US, that’s $4.53 a pound). No, not organic tomatoes, just regular tomatoes. That’s about $1.10 to $1.40 for one single tomato. Over a dollar for on tomato. That’s a lot of money. I hate that money has to come into it, but spending $10 on a few tomatoes to make a simple sauce is just not in my budget. I’d rather spend that money on meat.

Canned tomatoes are also peeled, which is a great convenience.

I use tomatoes as the base of so many of my recipes, so it’s handy to always have lots on hand – another reason I like to buy canned.

Yes, the BPA risk is a concern, but given this isn't a significant part of my diet, this is a risk I feel justified in taking.

But what’s in the can?

What I am concerned with, is what is actually in the can. Have you seen some of the ingredients?

I just want tomatoes in my can of tomatoes. Too much to ask for? Fortunately, there are a few brands I've found that do just contain tomatoes…

My advice is to choose a brand that is just tomatoes (no seasoning or herbs – add your own) and check the ingredients carefully.

These are some of the ingredients in some popular brands I've found. Aside from Tomatoes, tomato juice and tomato puree, the brands I looked at also contained:

  • Firming Agent (509),
  • Acidity Regulator: Citric Acid (E330)
  • Calcium Chloride

Here are the brands to choose and avoid

I've highlighted the ones I would use in red. I'd rather give citric acid and the other additions a miss…

  • Annalisa Diced Tomatoes: 100% Certified Italian Tomatoes.
  • Annalisa: Peeled Tomatoes: Peeled tomatoes, tomato juice.
  • Ardmona Whole Tomatoes No Added Salt: Tomatoes (57% Min), Tomato Juice, Firming Agent (509), Food Acid (Citric Acid).
  • Bella Terra Organic Italian Whole Peeled Tomatoes: Selected Organic Italian Tomatoes In Organic Tomato Puree, Organic Basil
  • Capriccio Diced Italian Tomatoes: Diced Tomatoes (60%), Tomato Juice, Acidity Regulator: Citric Acid (E330)
  • Capriccio: Whole Peeled Tomatoes:   400g Tomatoes (60%), Tomato Juice, Acidity Regulator: (Citric Acid).
  • Cento Petite Diced Tomatoes: Fresh Red Ripe Tomatoes, Tomato Juice, Salt, Calcium Chloride, Naturally Derived Citric Acid
  • Cento San Marzano Peeled Tomatoes: San Marzano Plum Peeled Tomatoes, San Marzano Puree, Basil Leaf, Naturally Derived Citric Acid, Salt
  • Cirio Chopped Tomatoes: Chopped Tomatoes 65%, Tomato Paste, Salt, Acidity Regulator: Citric Acid
  • Coles Diced Tomatoes: Tomatoes (60%), Tomato Juice, Food Acid (Citric Acid)
  • Coles Organic Diced Tomatoes: Organic Tomatoes (60%) ,Organic Tomato Juice (40%)
  • Coles Smart Buy Whole Peeled Tomatoes: Whole Peeled Tomatoes (60%),Tomato Juice,Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid)
  • Cook Italian Peeled Plum Tomatoes: Italian Tomatoes (65%), Concentrated Italian Tomato Juice, Acidity Regulator: Citric Acid
  • Dell'Alpe Crushed Tomatoes: Tomatoes, Tomato Puree, Salt, Calcium Chloride, and Citric Acid.
  • Heinz Chopped Tomatoes: Tomatoes (65%), Tomato Juice (35%), Acidity Regulator – Citric Acid
  • La Valle Italian Peeled Tomatoes: Peeled Tomatoes, Tomato Puree, Basil Leaf, Salt, Citric Acid.
  • Muir Glen Canned Diced Tomatoes: Organic Tomatoes And Tomato Juice, Naturally Derived Citric Acid And Calcium Chloride.
  • Mutti Baby Roma Tomatoes: Date Tomatoes, Tomato Juice.
  • Napolina Chopped Tomatoes: Chopped Tomatoes (70%), Tomato Juice, Citric Acid
  • Parioli Chopped Tomatoes : Chopped Tomatoes (65%), Concentrated Tomato Juice, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid)
  • Pomi Sauces Chopped Tomatoes: Tomatoes
  • Racconto Whole Peeled Tomatoes: Tomatoes, Tomato Juice, Salt, Calcium Chloride and Citric Acid.
  • Woolworths Homebrand Tomatoes Diced: Diced Tomatoes (65%), Tomato Juice, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid).
  • Woolworths Select Tomatoes Diced: Australian Diced Tomatoes (52%), Tomato Puree, Firming Agent (509), Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid).

Do you use canned tomatoes – or is the BPA risk a concern for you? Which is your go to brand? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Recipe paleo ranch dressing sauce dip-min

Recipe: Paleo Ranch Dressing

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A ranch dressing is great to go with crudités of raw vegetables like carrots, cucumber and broccoli. Unfortunately ranch dressing is usually not paleo thanks to all of the dairy, as it's typically made with buttermilk – or sometimes yoghurt or sour cream. The other problem is the shop bought stuff. Yuck! Have you seen the ingredients?

Recipe paleo ranch dressing sauce dip-min

This is the list of ingredients in the popular Paul Newman brand of ranch dressing:

Soyabean Oil, Water, Vinegar, Buttermilk Powder, Whey Powder, (Milk), Garlic (2.0%), Salt, Egg Yolk, Cane Sugar, Onion Powder, Food Acid (Lactic), Lemon Juice (0.1%), Natural Flavour (Vegetable Gum [ Acacia]), Parsley, Vegetable Gum (Xanthan), Spice.

Soybean oil, sugar and all of those “additions”, no thanks. So best to make your own, don't you think?

Recipe: Paleo Ranch Dressing
 
Author: 
Recipe type: Sauces & Condiments
Prep time: 
Total time: 
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Another great paleo friendly sauce to have up your sleeve!
Ingredients
  • 250ml (1 cup) paleo mayonnaise
  • 250ml (1 cup) coconut milk
  • Half a lemon, juiced
  • 1 clove minced garlic
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • Pinch of paprika
  • Sea salt and fresh pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill (or half this quantity dried)
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley (or half this quantity dried)
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives (or half this quantity dried)
Instructions
  1. Mix together the mayo, coconut milk and squeeze in the juice from the lemon
  2. Add in the garlic and dried ingredients thoroughly
  3. Mix in the fresh herbs
  4. Try with raw vegetables, or served with chicken wings.
Go vegetarian - eating meat is bad for the planet-min

Go vegetarian – eating meat is bad for the planet

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I received an interesting comment on one of my blog posts the other day that I thought I’d share here.

TL;DR: Growing soybeans to feed cows is far too energy efficient, therefore we should eat less meat (or better still no meat).

Go vegetarian - eating meat is bad for the planet-min

Here’s the comment in full…

Hi there Suz

I have enjoyed looking through your site – so first I’d like to say thanks and well done, it looks great.

I’ve been following the paleo diet ‘craze’ for some time now – and I don’t by any means intend to undermine it by calling it a craze. Paleo appears to me to take advantage of fresh, natural ingredients from the earth which is highly commendable from a health perspective. Let’s be honest though, it is ‘crazy’ how many people are talking about the diet.

I follow a similar diet to this – although I mostly choose not to eat meat. The only time I generally eat meat is when I go out for dinner, and the only vegetarian item on the menu is ‘mushroom risotto’ (seems to be the most common offender) or some other dish that has chosen to substitute all its protein value for not so complex carbohydrates. Then, I make sure that I choose something that has been what I call ‘consciously produced’ and if possible locally sourced.

The reason I don’t cook meat at home, is because eating meat is so energy intensive for the earth. If you think about it, if we grow 1,000 sqm of soybeans (which we need to constantly water and fertilise) to feed 200 cows (also need water) to feed 100 people we have reduced our ability to feed about 900 people. Now I know that I will be criticised for the kinds of numbers I chose to illustrate this point, but really the numbers I just made up and probably are in a magnitude far greater and far sadder than I’ve attempted to illustrate. You get the point though.

The point is, that we should be taking responsibility for the imbalance of resources available to feed people in this world – and encouraging people to eat LESS meat not MORE. Especially in a country such as Australia where our weather patterns are so variable (an argument for climate change – something for another time) that in some places we have drought and in others we have torrents of floodwater destroying farmland.

Whilst I sympathise with people looking for an alternative way of life, one which provides them with lasting health, fitness, comfort and satisfaction, shouldn’t we find it simple to then realise that people in countries not as ‘lucky’ as ours wish for the same too? NO matter who you are, we all have one single thing in common – the desire to be happy. In fact even happiness is above the requirement for food and water in the hierarchy of needs, and most of the earth’s population don’t even have that.

Anyway, I’d like you to think about perhaps posting some recipes without meat – and helping people to see that the premise of Paleo, which is taking advantage of having access to clean, natural ingredients given to us by our Earth should mean that we take more responsibility in looking after the entity that provides them. Go meat free a couple of days a week, I promise it won’t kill you

Where to start?

Firstly, I would highly recommend everyone reads the “The Vegetarian Myth” by Lierre Keith.

Vegetarian Myth Paleo diet

This book was written to address the popular thought that eating meat is bad for the planet and our health; whereas eating vegetarianism is thought to be the best move.

Before modern grain agriculture, animals grazed on the land, and returned nutrient rich manure that could work its way back into the soil. Land was rotated allowing nutrient rich food to be grown from it.

Now grains and legumes are grow intensively, leading no room for animals to graze naturally. Soil is completely depleted of its nutrients and animals aren't able to take part in this vital circle thanks to widespread intensive grain agriculture.

This is why I completely disagree with the commentator, and actively seek out naturally reared, grass-fed meat – and think more people should to.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the Vegetarian myth, and the comment I received.

 

 

Cooking paleo recipes with almond flour almond meal

Cooking paleo recipes with almond flour

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If you've done much paleo cooking you'll have noticed lots of recipes call for almond flour or almond meal. With flour a no-no, almond flour is a great alternative.

Cooking paleo recipes with almond flour almond meal

What's the difference between almond meal and almond flour?

Simple – almond meal is darker in colour because it is made with almonds with their skins on. Almond flour is made with blanched almonds.

I prefer cooking with a more finely ground almond flour/ meal as I find it a lot lighter. Another thing to bear in mind, is that if you're substituting conventional flour for almond flour, you'll need to watch the temperatures – you'll probably need them a lot lower.

Make your own

You can make your own almond flour by blanching almonds and grinding them -but be careful not to over grind, or you'll end up with almond butter. To get really good results (like shop bought almond flour), you'll need a grain/ nut mill, like this. If that's too much like hard work, you can buy your almond flour or meal ready to use. Remember – buy in bulk to save money – the small packs are really expensive.

paleo recipes almond meal flour discount promo code iherb

Substituting flour for almond flour

Unfortunately it's not as simple as substituting one cup of white or wholemeal flour for one cup of almond flour. Almond flours lack the starch and gluten SAD flour has, which may mean you need to consider adding some sort of binding ingredient like eggs. You may also find a 1-1 substitution makes your recipe turn out too dense.

Storing almond flour

As this is an oil based flour, you need to make sure it doesn't turn rancid (if it does,throw it away). I store mine in the freezer, but if you keep yours in a cool dark place it should be ok for several months. Another reason to buy in bulk.

Here are some of my paleo recipes to try, which use almond flour:

Paleo Diet Primal Recipe Double Almond and Black Cherry Slices Paleo diet recipe Cinnamon and molasses flax cookies Paleo Dinner Recipe Spicy Tilapia Fishcakes Crispy Coconut Coating
Paleo Diet Primal Recipe Paleo Lemon Cookie Cupcakes Paleo network pizza recipe almond cauliflower crust Paleo Diet Recipe Ginger Bread Men Man Cookies Biscuits
Crispy Spiced Chicken Thighs Paleo Diet Recipe Primal Raw Chocolate Caramel Torte Recipe Chilli Cumin meatballs mango pomegranate salsa paleo diet
Are doughnuts healthier than fruit juice paleo network-min

Are doughnuts healthier than fruit juice?

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I had breakfast with some friends at the weekend, and seeing some cranberry juice on the table, thought I’d try some instead of my usual tea. Now cranberries are pretty sweet on their own – but this juice was so sickly sweet, I thought my teeth were going to fall out. I looked at the ingredients (should have done that first) and saw:

Ingredients: Water, Cranberry Juice from Concentrate (25%), Sugar, Vitamin C, Flavourings

Yep, sugar and flavourings added to an already sweet and flavourful drink! And why add vitamin C to a juice made from the very fruit that contains vitamin C?

How much sugar? In a 500ml bottle a total of 53.5 grams (nearly 2 oz) of sugar. There are 4 grams of sugar in a teaspoon, meaning this one little bottle contained almost 14 teaspoons of sugar! 14!

Are doughnuts healthier than fruit juice paleo network-min

For comparison an original glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut (surely everyone would agree this is most definitely not a health food) contains 10g of sugar. In fact, the most sugary Krispy Kreme doughnut I could find (Butterscotch Fudge) contains 53g of sugar – marginally less than the bottle of cranberry juice. Yet we all see doughnuts as a bad food – and amazingly many people still push fruit juices as a health food.

The sugar pushers seem to try to get around the ridiculous sugar contents, by giving nutritional information based on a 100ml serve. But how many people have you seen with a 500ml bottle divide it into five servings? None, because almost everyone absent-mindedly finishes the bottle. And how many people get a calculator out at the breakfast table?

PS these are the ingredients for the Krispy Kreme doughnut, that contains the same amount of sugar as the fruit juice (recognise many of these?!):

Doughnut: Wheat Flour, Dextrose, Vegetable Oil (Palm Oil,  Sunflower Oil), Water, Sugar, Wheat Gluten, Egg Yolks, Yeast, Skimmed Milk, Salt, Emulsififers (E471), Preservative (E282), Stabiliser (E466), Flavourings.
Kreme Filling: Sugar, Vegetable Oil, Vegetable Shortening (Vegetable Oils, Emulsifier (E471)), Water, Ground Coffee Beans, Dried Glucose Syrup, Salt, Emulsifiers (E471, E435, E322, E477, E475), Flavouring.
Icing: Sugar, Water, Vegetable Oil, Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder (32%), Dried Glucose Syrup, Emulsifiers (E322, E471), Salt, Flavouring
Caramel Flavour Fudge: Sugar, Full Cream Sweetened Condensed Milk, Fondant (Sugar, Glucose, Water), Glucose, Vegetable Oil, Butter Oil, Natural Flavour.

 

Paleo school lunches dinners UK healthy government free-min

Paleo school lunches – dream on!

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I'm recently back from the UK, where a lot of my friends have young children. I was interested to learn about a new rule in the England, where children aged between four and seven (reception, year one and year two) are now all eligible for a free school lunch.

Paleo school lunches dinners UK healthy government free-min

The idea behind this, is a great one. I gather a significant number of young children were sent to school with a lunch box of processed junk. The same children aren’t likely to go home to a good meal either. By giving all children a hot school dinner, at least we can be certain they are getting at least one good meal a day.

There has been a lot of research on the issue, which has shown children getting a regular “healthy” meal concentrate better and perform better academically.

Whilst packed lunches are still allowed, obviously for financial and social reasons, children taking that option are likely to be in the minority.

Free School Lunches Dinners Policy UK

It all sounds great

Well yes, it does all sound like a great idea. Until one of my friends showed me the kinds of food on the “healthy” school dinner menus. Of course (and how could I have expected it to be any different) the offerings are based on conventional wisdom and the good old food pyramid.

That’s right, make sure children get their six (SIX!) daily serves of grains (especially wholegrains) – and watch out for those bad saturated fats!

Here are some of the meal plans for the free school lunches:

Paleo-Free-UK-School-Dinner-Lunches-Healthy-Menu-Plans

So whilst there’s a balance of lots of different types of food – aren’t they carb heavy? With options like pizza AND potatoes, pasta bake AND garlic bread and even Macaroni cheese and bread – there seems to be quite a lack protein and fat.

What’s the answer?

Clearly nothing is going to change until the government see sense on the food pyramid. And when almost all of the school children will be eating the free school dinners, I’m sure it would be very difficult to go against the flow and insist your child takes in a homemade packed lunch.

If you’ve got children, I’d love to know what their school lunch policy is and what you do about it. Please share in the comments, below.

In case you couldn't read the photo, here are the main course school lunch options in full:

• Loaded vegetable pizza with new potatoes and garden peas
• Lentil pasta layer with mixed vegetables
• Spaghetti Bolognese with sweetcorn
• Sweet potato & cheddar cheese whirls with country style potatoes & broccoli florets
• Roast chicken with gravy, stuffing, roast potatoes and spring cabbage
• Quorn fillet with roast potatoes and carrots
• Tempura fish goujons with crispy herb and baked beans
• Cheese and potato pie with green beans
• Cumberland sausages with gravy mashed potatoes and sweetcorn
• Roasted vegetable filled Yorkshire pudding with mashed potato and baked tomatoes
• Mediterranean vegetable pasta bake with garlic bread and vegetable medley
• Jacket potato filled with Boston beans and broccoli florets
• Savoury pork pies with crispy herb potatoes and baked beans
• Frittata with crispy herb potatoes and vegetable medley
• British roast beef with gravy, roast potatoes and cauliflower
• Vegetable crumble with roast potatoes and green beans
• Salmon fish fingers with lemon mayonnaise, potato wedges and garden peas
• Cheese ploughmans with carrot and orange salad
• Chicken fajita wrap with potato salad and mixed salad
• Quorn sausage and tomato roll with potato salad and sweetcorn salsa
• Quorn balls in tomato sauce with spaghetti and garden peas
• Cheese and onion pasty with mashed potatoes, homemade tomato sauce and roasted summer vegetables
• Reggae Reggae chicken with cous cous and sweetcorn
• Margherita pizza with coleslaw
• Roast pork with gravy, apple sauce, roast potatoes and cabbage
• Country bake with roast potatoes and carrots
• Chilli beef with rice and mixed vegetables
• Macaroni cheese with herby bread and broccoli
• Baked fish with country style potatoes and garden peas
• Vegetarian stack with country style potatoes and green beans

Easy beef jerky recipe dried Biltong recipe paleo network-min

Recipe: Quick & easy beef jerky

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Beef jerky is one of my favourite snacks. It's really filling, full of good fats and protein and easy to store. That is if you make your own. The shop bought stuff can have some nasty added ingredients.

These ingredients are from a packet of Jack Link's Original Beef Jerky:

Beef, water, Sugar, Soy Sauce (Water, Wheat, Soy Beans, Salt), Salt, Corn syrup Solids, Flavourings, Hydrolyzed Corn Gluten, Dextrose, Flavour Enhancer: (Monosodium Glutamate), Antioxidant:(Sodium Erythorbate), Preservative: (Sodium Nitrite), Smoke Flavour.

Yeah, that's not even remotely paleo. So make your own! Whilst it's a lot easier to make in a dehydrator (this is mine), you can also give it a try in your oven.

Recipe: Quick & easy beef jerky
 
Author: 
Recipe type: Snacks
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
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These are great to keep on hand for a quick healthy paleo snack - they'll keep for ages too!
Ingredients
  • Grass-fed beef (try sirloin or flank steak)
  • Coconut aminos
  • Sea Salt
  • Olive Oil
  • Cinnamon
  • Chilli
  • Paprika
  • Ground Pepper
  • Garlic powder
Instructions
  1. You want to slice the meat really thin for best results - to achieve this wrap the beef and put it in the freezer for a couple of hours.
  2. Once the meat is not quite solid, remove it from the freezer and using a sharp knife (and a lot of care!) slice into thin slices. It's important to make the slices as consistent as possible so they will all require the same drying time.
  3. Put the meat in a ziplock bag and add in the aminos, salt and olive oil. Seal the bag and allow the mixture to coat all of the meat. Put the bag in the fridge and allow the meat to marinate overnight.
  4. Remove the strips from the bag and dust with the cinnamon, chilli, paprika, pepper and garlic.
  5. Space the strips out evenly on the shelves in your dehydrator. Keep checking, but your jerky should be dry in 2 to 4 hours.
  6. If you don't have a dehydrator, heat your oven to 70° C (165° F). You'll need to put the strips on a wire rack, with an oven tray underneath to catch the drips. Expect oven dehydration to take two or three hours.
  7. Which ever method you choose, make sure the meat is cooked all the way through and fully dry before removing it.
  8. Store in an airtight container - and enjoy!

Easy beef jerky recipe dried Biltong recipe paleo network-min

Cajun Spice Marinade paleo recipe-min

Recipe: Cajun Spice Marinade

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There's nothing like a simple marinade to spice up an otherwise simple steak or fish dinner.

This is a really easy marinade to put together; make it up in advance and store in in a jar in the fridge so it's ready to use.

Cajun Spice Marinade paleo recipe-min

Recipe: Cajun Spice Marinade
 
Author: 
Recipe type: Sauces & Condiments
Prep time: 
Total time: 
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This spice marinade will spice up whichever meat you rub it on!
Ingredients
  • 2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
  • 2 tsp Paprika
  • 1 tsp Oregano
  • 3 tsp Onion Powder
  • 1 tsp Ground black pepper
  • 1 Garlic clove, minced
  • Sea salt (I use pink Himalayan)
Instructions
  1. It couldn't get simpler than this! pound the ingredients with a pestle and mortar until it becomes powdery and evenly distributed.
  2. Rub the mixture over the meat or fish and allow it to marinate for 2 - 3 hours if you can (but if you're in a hurry, 30 minutes will just about do it!)

 

12 reasons you should eat more kale paleo diet healthy

12 reasons you should eat more kale

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I'm trying to get a lot more vegetables in my diet – particularly those of the green variety. Kale is my current favourite, it tastes a lot better than it looks and is densely packed with nutrition! Kale is a cruciferous vegetable – and in the Brassica family, but it packs far more of a nutritional punch than its other family members; cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage. Here are 12 reasons you should get more in your diet!

1. It’s full of flavonoids (45 different types) which have many antioxidant & anti-inflammatory benefits.

2. It’s loaded with vitamin K which is crucial for proper blood clotting

3. It also gives a good dose of vitamins A and C – in fact far more vitamin C than an orange.

4. Lots of minerals are also found, such as copper, potassium, phosphorus and manganese

5. Calcium is also more abundant in kale than it is in milk (so those myths that paleo will leave you deficient in calcium are completely unfounded)

6. Kale is a great source of sulphur – and we all know we should be eating more sulphurous veggies….

12 reasons you should eat more kale paleo diet healthy

7. It's  high in iron, essential for a good immune system.

8. Generally kale is a fairly cheap veg, so it’s great to pack out meals on a budget

9. Green fingers? Kale is a relatively easy veg to grow – and the best thing is it’s always fresh!

10. With curly kale, red kale, baby kale  and even a purple kale – you can’t get bored of it!

11. Not that we care about calories, but kale is very low in calories

12. It’s also very low fat – but don’t worry, you can rectify this by cooking it in a generous amount of coconut oil!

How to eat it?

I often just stir fry some kale in coconut oil, but kale is also great in green smoothies – and if you haven’t tried kale chips yet, you’re missing out! If you’d usually eat spinach, try swapping it out for some kale in recipes. And if your family aren't keen on it, try steaming it, puréeing it and mixing it into dishes like stews and casseroles. They’ll never know!

Kale is also great raw in salads – and it goes really well mixed in with some scrambled eggs for a nutritious start to the day.

Are you a kale fan? How do you like yours – tell me you tips in the comments below!

Recipe paleo Slow Cooker Chicken Coconut Veggie Stew-min

Recipe: Slow Cooker Chicken Coconut Veggie Stew

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Despite having bought a far too small slow cooker (seriously, why make enough for one meal, when for the same effort you could have enough for several freezer meals?), I've recently been using my slow cooker a lot more. I love being able to put in a bit of effort in the morning, then coming home to smell a delicious dinner ready and waiting. I've found with this one it’s best to wait until right at the end of cooking to add in the coconut cream, but even so, it’s still next to no effort to have a nutritious dinner cook itself for you!

Serves 4 (but if your slow cooker is big enough make as much as you can and save the extras for later!)

Recipe: Slow Cooker Chicken Coconut Veggie Stew
 
Author: 
Recipe type: Dinner
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
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Ingredients
  • 3 organic free range chicken breasts, cut into strips
  • 2 parsnips, diced
  • 500g (1 lb) celeriac, peeled and diced
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 30ml (2 tablespoons) olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 30ml (2 tablespoons) minced fresh ginger
  • 15ml (1 tablespoon) curry paste*
  • 5ml (1 teaspoon) ground turmeric
  • 5ml (1 teaspoon) ground chilli
  • Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
  • 300ml (1/2 pint) chicken stock
  • 200ml (7 floz) coconut cream
  • Chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
Instructions
  1. Heat the oil in a pan and cook the chicken until brown and cooked through.
  2. Put the parsnips, celeriac and carrots in the slow cooker
  3. Meanwhile, add the onion, garlic and ginger to the pan, and cook for a further five minutes, stirring until they soften.
  4. Into the pan, stir in the paste, turmeric, chilli and seasoning.
  5. Add the stock to the pan, and bring it to the boil, stiring occasionally.
  6. Transfer the contents of the pan into the slow cooker, and with the lid on, cook on a low heat for 6-8 hours.
  7. In the last hour add in the coconut cream to add the creaminess to the dish
  8. Just before serving, add the coriander garnish.
  9. *This is so easy to make instead of buying – I’ll type up my recipe and link to it – watch this space!

Recipe paleo Slow Cooker Chicken Coconut Veggie Stew-min