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.
As I wrote about yesterday, I'm currently trying to avoid tomatoes and undertake a low-salicylate Paleo diet. I usually use a lot of tomatoes in my cooking, as they are a great base for sauces and meals. My favourite dishes, ragu, bolognese and chilli all use lots of tomatoes, so I've been experimenting to find an alternative.
Since tomatoes are a nightshade, this recipe will be helpful to those avoiding nightshades too. I've also just realized that tomatoes have quadrupled in price in the last few months – so this is also good for the budget!
I used carrots and beetroot to make the “tomato” sauce, which I then used exactly as I would a real tomato sauce with the rest of the ingredients in this bolognese. I'm not that keen on beetroot on it’s own but in this dish with all of the other flavours, it was a great addition.
If you avoid salicylates or just don't tollerate tomatoes very well, this tomato-free bolognese recipe will meet your needs for a tomato based sauce - but without the tomatoes! It tastes great, and LOOKS very tomatoey!
Ingredients
Carrots (I used about 9)
Beetroot (I used 4)
Leek, diced
3 diced onions
Parsnip
7 mushrooms, sliced
Pork mince (500g)
Beef mince (500g)
Coconut oil
Coconut aminos
Garlic powder
Oregano
Cinnamon
Cayenne pepper
Ground chilli
Salt & Pepper
Instructions
I peeled and roughly chopped the carrots, beetroot & parsnip and added them to a large pan of boiling water
Meanwhile, in another pan I sautéed the onions in some coconut oil until they turned translucent
Next, I added the mince and a splash of coconut aminos
Once the meat had all browned, I added the leek, mushrooms and a small amount of each of the herbs and spices (I don’t use very much, but adjust according to how hot you like it – and how little you like beetroot!)
I allowed the meat mixture to simmer on a low heat, stirring regularly, and adding water from the carrot & beetroot pan as it dried out
Once the carrots and beetroot's started to soften, I turned the heat off and puréed in the blender
With the tomato-free “tomato sauce” ready, I added it to the meat pan and allowed it to simmer for a few minutes before serving
3.5.3208
If you have any suggestions for alternatives to tomatoes, please share in the comments below…
Kombucha is a fermented tea drink that is full of good bacteria – so great for your digestive system. It's really easy to make too…
Ingredients: –
• 3 litres of distilled water
• 125g Sugar
• 4 tea bags (try Pekoe, Oolong, Black or Green)
• Kombucha mushroom (also known as a Scoby) – buy this dehydrated or find a friend who can give you some!
Kombucha Method: –
1. If your Scoby is dehydrated, rehydrate it (this may take some time)
2. Boil water and reduce to a simmer; add sugar and tea bags.
3. Steep the tea for a few minutes, remove the tea bags and leave the tea to cool to room temperature
4. Add to Scoby and cover the container (but make sure it isn't air tight)
5. Leave the mixture for five days to a month somewhere warm (not in direct sunight)
6. It's up to you when it's ready to drink! Either test for a pH of 2.6 – 4.0 with testing strips, or try it! The longer it brews for, the lower the sugar content.
7. You can use the film that has developed on top of the liquid to cultivate a new Scoby.
Have you tried Kombucha? I'd love to hear what you think of it – and if you make it in the same way I do?
After a barbecue at the weekend I had some left over cooked sausages that I wanted to make use of. There was also some red wine left over, so I came up with a recipe for a sausage almond & red wine casserole. I used ingredients I already had in the kitchen, so I am sure lots of tweaks could be made.
It made quite a few portions, so I was able to freeze quite a lot, to use for future meals.
Ingredients:
Barbequed Paleo Sausages
2 Red Onions
2 Brown Onions
1 clove garlic
1kg tomatoes
Tomato puree
2 handfuls of raw almonds
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 glass red wine
Chicken stock
Coconut Oil
Salt & Pepper
Method:
I diced the onions and browned them in a pan of coconut oil.
I added the crushed garlic, then the chopped tomatoes, tomato purée and the stock. I let the mixture simmer for a few minutes whilst I chopped up the almonds.
I added the almonds and wine to the pan, and allowed it to continue simmering for a few minutes, before adding the cut up sausages.
I seasoned and added in the rosemary.
Once the sausages were thoroughly heated I served up the casserole and left the extra to cool ready for freezing.
I enjoyed the casserole on it’s own, but it would also have gone very well with some cauliflower rice.
I've been trying out lots and lots of new ideas for Paleo Breakfast Recipes (more on that soon!) and was particularly pleased with Sunday's creation. I could eat eggs every day, but I know a lot of people get fed up with eggs – and believe it or not bacon, so this Recipe is something different.
For more breakfast recipes, check out my brand new Paleo Breakfast Recipe Book – I hope you love it as much as I do!
With just three “main” ingredients, it couldn't be much easier to make either.
Ingredients: –
Two large Portabella mushrooms
Two large tomatoes (as close in size to the mushrooms as possible)
Salmon (I used two pieces from the fishmongers, about 500g)
Coconut Oil
Salt (I used Celtic seat salt)
Fresh Lime
Paprika
Method: –
• I preheated the oven to 200C (400F) whilst I washed the tomatoes and mushrooms.
• I cut the stalks off the mushrooms – carefully – and set them aside (to add to a batch of Paleo Chilli; waste not want not)
• I then cut the mushrooms into two slices. Once I’d cut off the top and bottom, I cut the tomatoes into four slices each.
• I had intended to use a biscuit cutter, but I actually found it easier to use a large glass (similar in diameter to the mushrooms), to cut 8 rings out of the salmon.
• I arranged the mushrooms, tomatoes and salmon onto a baking tray and brushed with coconut oil, then topped with a little salt.
• I cooked for about ten minutes, then assembled the burgers, starting with the bottom slice of the mushroom, alternating the tomato and salmon – and ending with the mushroom top.
• I served with a squeeze of lime, a pinch of paprika (and some spinach leaves).
This was a really simple breakfast to make, but looked impressive and was very filling.
If you give it a try, I’d love to hear what you think of the Recipe, below! What do you think about fish for breakfast?
We've finally started to have a few sunny days – the perfect time to get the barbecue out and try out some Paleo Barbecue Recipes!
There were a few recipes I’d wanted to try in Mark Sisson’s cookbook, The Primal Blueprint Cookbook, which had been waiting for some sunshine. I amended the recipes according to which ingredients I could get – and what I already had in my kitchen.
I managed to get hold of some turkey (I don’t know why it’s not more popular in Australia?), an essential ingredient in the Turkey Kebabs I wanted to make. I also made Green Chili Burgers, based on a recipe in the book. Sadly mine were made with regular beef and not bison as the recipe suggests (another type of meat I've not seen in Australia).
Turkey Kebabs
Ingredients:
200g minced (ground) turkey
1 egg (I'm using omega 3 enriched eggs at the moment)
1 tablespoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon each of garlic powder, cumin, paprika & salt
¼ teaspoon of cinnamon & cayenne pepper
1 spoon of olive oil
Method:
It doesn't get much simpler! I simply added the ingredients (except the oil) to the food processor and blended until everything was well mixed in. I then formed the meat into kebabs on wooden skewers and coated with a little olive oil.
The kebabs were then barbecued until cooked thoroughly.
Burgers
Ingredients:
200g minced (ground) beef
1 teaspoon dried chilli
2 tablespoons coriander (cilantro)
Half a small finely diced onion
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon chilli powder & salt
2 eggs
Method:
I put everything except the eggs in the food processor and blended well. I then formed the meat into burger shapes and cooked thoroughly on the barbecue. Whilst the burgers were cooking I fried the eggs and served them on top of the burgers.
Along with the meat, I made a simple salad to complete the meal.
With it being this easy to make burgers and kebabs, I don’t know why anyone would buy them ready-made!
I've started to have smoothies some mornings when I'm in a particular rush, since they are so quick to make and can be packed with nutritionally dense Paleo foods. I'm also going to start making up a smoothie to take to the gym with me – that way I'll be able to have something in the post work-out window – I often miss this valuable time, in my return from the gym.
Today I tried a smoothie from Primal Toad's Toadally Primal Smoothies ebook, the “Clumsy Popeye”. I thought this one would be a good choice after an early morning gym session, as it is packed with antioxidants – and protein in the form of protein powder.
I put water, frozen blueberries, cashew butter, Chocolate Primal Fuel, spinach coconut milk & ice in my blender for a few minutes – and then served, with some shredded coconut on top. It doesn't get much easier than that! I thought the spinach taste might not be to my liking, but the main tastes were the chocolate, coconut and cashews – I really enjoyed it and will definitely be making this one again. There's a whole section on green smoothies, which I'm keen to try – it seems like a good way to get in lots of good nutrients.
Do you often have smoothies? Are they something you have as a meal, or as a post workout recovery drink?
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.
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.
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.
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!
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?
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.
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).
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.
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.
I had a big cooking session at the weekend and thought I’d use the leftover chicken I had to make some Chicken Stock. When I have the time to cook I like to make things like stock or bone broth, as I can freeze large amounts and use them as the basis for many dishes over the next two or three months. Stock forms the basis of so many meals, such as soups, sauces, stews and curries. I always separate the stock into small batches before I freeze so I can just defrost the amount I need.There seem to be a lot of different ways of making stock and bone broth. I like to keep mine as uncomplicated as possible as I’d rather add herbs and spices into the meal I use the stock for – not be limited by how I made the stock.
Out of interest, I had a look at the ingredients in the ready-made supermarket Chicken Stocks.
The shop-bought varieties have so many more ingredients than my home-made version. I can’t understand why sugar and flavours need to be added to stock, never mind “vegetable” fat, soy and colours (dare I ask what colour is it before they add the colouring?) I might be wrong, but I’d be surprised if the manufacturers went to the same lengths I do to get good quality free ranged chicken…
I much prefer making my own as it uses up leftovers that could otherwise be wasted – and as it pretty much looks after itself, it isn’t much effort to make at all.
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