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Recipe: spicy almond lamb

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Another great barbecue idea, this can be prepared the day before. The longer the lamb has to marinate, the better the flavour.

Recipe: spicy almond lamb
Recipe type: Lamb & Goat
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
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Ingredients
  • ⅓ cup of extra virgin olive oil
  • juice of one lemon
  • handful fresh mint, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon almond meal
  • 1 tablespoon lemongrass, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon coriander
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 6 lamb steaks
Instructions
  1. Mix the marinade ingredients well in a bowl until thoroughly combined.
  2. Add the lamb and coat thoroughly.
  3. Cover, and store in the fridge for 4 hours - or overnight if possible for better flavour
  4. Barbecue the lamb and brush with the marinade.
  5. Cook until tender, but cooked through.
  6. Serve and enjoy!

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This is great served with a salad and some other barbecue favourites like paleo sausages and homemade burgers

 

Recipe: Paleo Chicken Schnitzel

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Chicken Schnitzel is pretty much the national dish of Australia (perhaps after pie?), which is funny, because if you ask for chicken schnitzel in the UK people think you’ve come straight from the 1970’s.

The only problem with chicken schnitzel is the ingredients. This is what’s in a fairly standard one I saw in the supermarket:

Chicken (52%), Water, Buckwheat Flour, Wheat Flour, Thickener (1404, 415, 1442), Salt, Dehydrated Vegetables (Onion, Garlic), Herbs (Parsley, Rosemary, Thyme, Sage), Spices (Pepper), Wheat Gluten, Yeast, Egg Albumen, Sugar, Colours (150a, 100, 160c, 160b), Dextrose (Tapioca, Maize), Mineral Salts (450, 500), Canola Oil, Cottonseed Oil, Soy Protein, Thickener (1404), Yeast, Vinegar, Iodised Salt, Soy Flour, Emulsifiers (411, 481, 472E), Vitamin (Thiamin, Folate), Vegetable Gum (412), Hydrolysed Vegetable Protein, Wheat Cereal, Flavour Enhancer (635)

Quite alarming when the chicken element in your chicken is barely 50%, don’t you think? Also “chicken” doesn’t really tell you too much, I think we can assume if it doesn’t say free-range, it’s almost certainly not the type of chicken I’d choose to buy. So you know what this means? Yes – it means a paleo chicken schnitzel recipe is called for!

Recipe: Paleo Chicken Schnitzel
Recipe type: Poultry
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
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Ingredients
  • 2 free-range chicken breasts
  • 1 cup tapioca flour
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 cup almond meal
  • ½ cup coconut flour
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • ¾ teaspoon paprika
  • ¼ tsp ground coriander
  • ¼ tsp ground cumin
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 230C (450F) if you’re going to oven bake rather than fry
  2. Slice the chicken in half width-ways, creating two thin pieces and pound with a rolling pin (or, if you have a better equipped kitchen than me, a meat tenderiser) until it’s super thin. If you don’t want raw chicken flying around your kitchen, you can wrap it in gladwrap/ cling film for this step. You can keep whole and have proper schnitzels, or slice into strips like I did.
  3. Put the Tapioca flour (or you can use arrowroot flour if you don’t have tapioca) in a bowl, and the egg in a separate bowl. Tip – fill up the Tapioca bowl as you use it to avoid waste.
  4. In another bowl, mic together the almond meal, coconut flour, seasoning and herbs/ spices. I tend to do this in small batches too, to avoid being left with an eggy mess of excess crumb mixture I’ll have to throw away.
  5. Now for the fun part. Dip the chicken pieces in each bowl, turn by turn: start with the tapioca layer, then the egg layer and end with the crumb mixture. Maybe it’s just me, but I find this turns into a huge mess, so small batches of the dry bowls will help here.
  6. You now have a choice and whilst most people will choose to fry, I find I get far better results oven baking. The crumb is evenly golden with the inside cooked but tender. But give both a try and see what works for you.
  7. If you’re oven baking, arrange on a baking tray and cook for about 20 minutes. I always cut into the chicken in a couple of the thickest places to ensure there are no pink bits left. If you’re going to fry about 8-10 minutes in a hot pan in some coconut oil should do the trick – just make sure you turn them a couple of times.

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Do you have a gluten-free paleo version of this recipe that you use? I'd love to hear your secret ingredients!

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
http://paleo.com.au/recipe-sweet-potato-chocolate-chip-muffins/

Recipe: Sweet Potato and Chocolate Chip Muffins

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I find myself wanting to eat baked goods like muffins, cookies and cakes very rarely now I’m Paleo. There’s always an abundance of ‘real food’ like meats, veggies, eggs, fruit and nuts sitting in my fridge, and nine times out of ten I will always go for something from this list rather than starting a batch of Paleo brownies or cupcakes. There are times, however, when the aspiring chef within you wants to make a sweet treat for the whole family; but its often a battle finding a recipe that is full of goodness.

These sweet potato muffins are one of the exceptions to the rule. They pack in a ton of goodness from the nutrient dense eggs, coconut flour, flaxseed and the sweet potatoes themselves. The sweet potato and cinnamon combination is divine, and the chocolate chips add an extra bit of indulgence. Give them a try – you won’t be disappointed!

 Makes 8

Sweet Potato and Chocolate Chip Muffins Ingredients:

  •  1.5 cups roasted sweet potato, mashed and left to cool
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/3rd cup raw, organic honey
  • 2 heaped tbsp. ground flaxseed
  • ½ cup coconut flour
  • 100g dark chocolate chips (at least 70%) or a 100g bar of dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
  • 1 tbsp gluten free baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 tsp cinnamon

 Sweet Potato and Chocolate Chip Muffins How To:

1)            Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F. Line an 8 hole muffin tray with paper or silicon cases.

2)            In a bowl, combine the sweet potato mash with the coconut oil, eggs, almond milk and honey. Whisk together until smooth.

3)            In a separate bowl, combine the flaxseed, coconut flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon, before folding into the wet ingredients to make a batter. Stir in the chocolate chips.

4)            Pour the muffin batter into the cases, filling to about 2/3rds of the way up. Bake on the top shelf of your oven for approximately 30 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Sweet Potato and Chocolate Chip Muffins recipe paleo sweet treat dessets cake-min

Paleo Diet Recipe Primal Raw Chocolate Caramel Torte dessert sweet treat pudding cake 680 min

Recipe: Raw Chocolate Caramel Torte

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Delightfully decadent chocolate cream, layered on top of rich caramel and a crisp, buttery biscuit base in a beautiful torte. Sound like the kind of thing you can only eat in your wildest, non-paleo dreams? Think again! The power of almonds, avocado, cacao and coconut make this treat as good for your body as it is for your soul.

I used maple syrup as my sweetener in this recipe, but I’m sure raw honey will work just as well!

Raw Chocolate Caramel Torte Ingredients:

For the base:

  • 1 cup ground almonds
  • 1 cup unsweetened, finely shredded coconut
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 2 medjool dates, pitted
  • 1 tbsp raw honey / maple syrup

For the caramel:

  • 50g almond butter
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 4 medjool dates
  • 2 tbsp raw honey / maple syrup
  • A dash of almond milk
  • A little vanilla extract and sea salt (optional)

For the chocolate:

  • 1 avocado, skinned and pitted
  • ¼ cup raw cacao powder
  • ¼ cup raw honey / maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 handful cacao nibs (optional)

Raw Chocolate Caramel Torte How To:

Line a 6 inch round cake tin with some baking parchment.

To make the base, combine the ground almonds with the coconut in the food processor. Add the coconut oil, dates and maple syrup, and whizz together until combined. Press the mixture into the cake tin, and put straight into the freezer for 10 minutes to set.

Meanwhile, make the caramel by combining almond butter, coconut oil, dates, honey, vanilla and sea salt. Whizz together in the food processor until a smooth, thick paste is formed. Gradually add a little dash of almond milk to thin down to your desired caramel consistency (I used about 2tbsp). Spread evenly over the biscuit base, then return to the freezer for another 10 minutes.

Make the chocolate topping by combining all ingredients in the food processor. Smooth evenly over the caramel, top with cacao nibs if using, then leave to set in the fridge for an hour (if you can wait that long!)

Paleo Diet Recipe Primal Raw Chocolate Caramel Torte dessert sweet treat pudding cake 680 min

Paleo Diet Primal Recipe Double Almond and Black Cherry Slices-min

Recipe: Double Almond and Black Cherry Slices

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This recipe really is one of those ‘I can’t believe its Paleo’ moments. Perfect for a special occasion, or occasional treat! The abundance of almonds creates a delightfully buttery flavour, and is just heavenly when combined with the black cherry. Go on, see how many of your non-paleo friends you can convert with these slices!




Double Almond and Black Cherry Slices Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ cups ground almonds
  • 1 tbsp coconut flour
  • ½ cup flaxseed
  • ½ cup almond butter
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tbsp raw honey
  • 2 tbsp high grade maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 200g sugar free black cherry jam (I like the St Dalfour brand, but if you can’t find any it’s easy to make your own!)
  • Coconut flour to dust with (optional)

Double Almond and Black Cherry Slices How To:

Preheat the oven to 350F / 180C / Gas Mark 5. Line an 8 inch square pan with some baking parchment.

In a large bowl, combine the ground almonds, coconut flour, flaxseed and baking soda. In a separate bowl, whisk together the honey, maple syrup and coconut oil. Blend in the almond butter a little at a time to make a thick, buttery paste.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and rub together with your hands to form a dough. Set aside around a ¼ of the mixture.

Press the remaining dough into the baking tin. Smooth it out with a spatula, then poke a few times with a fork all over. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes.

Remove the tin from the oven. Spread the jam over the base, smooth out, then crumble the remaining dough all over the top. Finish with a few flaked almonds if you wish.

Return to oven and bake for another 10 – 12 minutes. When the top is lovely and golden, the slices will be ready.

Set aside to cool for around half an hour before you cut into squares! You can dust with coconut flour to serve.

Paleo Diet Primal Recipe Double Almond and Black Cherry Slices-min

Paleo green smoothie recipe juice diet-min

Recipe: Green Smoothie

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Now we’re coming into summer, it’s a great time to enjoy an ice cold Paleo Smoothie. Instead of relying on fruit, it’s far better to make green smoothies using vegetables.

Almond butter and coconut milk are great ways to add in some good fat.

Paleo green smoothie recipe juice diet-min

Recipe: Green Smoothie
Recipe type: Drinks
Prep time: 
Total time: 
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A delicious way of getting some sneaky green goodness into your diet
Ingredients
  • 1 frozen banana
  • 8 frozen strawberries
  • 30g (2 tablespoons) almond butter
  • 250ml (1 cup) coconut milk
  • 250g (2 cups) spinach
Instructions
  1. Freeze a (peeled) banana and some strawberries overnight in the freezer.
  2. Put the bananas, strawberries, almond butter and coconut milk in the blender.
  3. Fill the rest of the blender with spinach (kale would also work well, if you can get hold of it!)
  4. Blend, and enjoy!

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Do you often make smoothies? What are your favourite ingredients? Share in the comments below.

Sausage, Red Wine & Almond Casserole paleo diet recipe-min

Sausage, Red Wine & Almond Casserole Recipe

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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.

Sausage, Red Wine & Almond Casserole paleo diet recipe-min