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Paleo Diet Recipe Primal Panang Beef Curry grass fed-min

Recipe: Panang Beef Curry

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Traditionally made with beef, the flavours in Panang Curry draw comparisons with Thai Red curry. The secret to the perfect Panang is frying the meat in the thick paste, as opposed to boiling it. This creates delightfully vibrant flavours and tender meat, without having excess sauce to deal with.

A word of warning, this curry is hot! If you prefer less hear, lower the amount of chilli and increase the amount of tomato puree. Why would you want to do that though!?

Panang Beef Curry Ingredients:

For the paste:

  • 5 red birds eye chillies, deseeded and chopped
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 2 shallots
  • 3cm fresh galangal, chopped
  • 2 tsp shrimp paste
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • Juice ½ lime
  • 1 1/2 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 1/2 tbsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp turmeric

For the curry:

  • 400g beef fillet, sliced
  • 1 x 400ml can coconut milk
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • Juice ½ lime
  • Large handful fresh coriander, to serve.

Panang Beef Curry How To:

Make the paste by combining all ingredients in a food processor, and blitzing to a puree.

Heat a large pan to a high heat with a little olive oil. Sear the beef strips for 1 minute each side, so they are just browned but still pink in the middle. Set aside.

Lower the heat in the pan to medium. Open the coconut milk, and take 1 tbsp of the thickest ‘cream’ part from the top. Add to the pan – it should begin to sizzle right away.

Stir in the curry paste to the coconut cream. Simmer for 4 – 5 minutes to release the flavours, stirring well to ensure it doesn’t burn. Keep adding a little extra coconut milk at a time if it looks to dry.

Return the beef to the pan, tossing it well to coat in the thick sauce. Add a little more coconut milk so there is a little excess liquid in the pan. Add the fish sauce, then simmer for another 2 – 3 minutes. Serve over rice with a squeeze of lime and plenty of fresh coriander.

Paleo Diet Recipe Primal Panang Beef Curry grass fed-min

Top ten paleo diet foods list-min

The Top Ten Paleo Diet Foods

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What do you think are the top ten Paleo foods, and why? Here is my list…

Paleo-Diet-Recipe-Primal-The-Top-Ten-Foods-10-min

1. Grass fed beef

Good quality grass-fed beef is a great source of protein, omega 3 and many other nutrients. It’s also extremely versatile; grill it, barbeque it, make it into jerky or grind it into mince beef to use in lots of different meals –using the leftover bones to make a nourishing bone broth.

2. Pastured Chicken

Pastured chicken is delicious as the centre of a roast dinner – and the leftovers make beautiful chicken stock. A great protein source, left over chicken is great to snack on, or turn into curries and soup.

3. Bacon

What list of Paleo foods is complete without bacon? You can even use the remaining fat to cook with.

4. Coconut Oil

As well as being a great oil to cook pretty much anything in, this saturated fat is great on it’s own by the spoonful! Coconut oil is also believed to be a great help with dementia and can even be used on your skin.

5. Avocado

Avocado is a perfect fat source and goes with almost anything. You can even cook it, or use it to make a dessert!

6. Eggs

Not only are eggs a great protein source, they are great for making paleo egg fried rice, filling for breakfast – and easy to hardboil in advance to keep peeled in the fridge as a ready snack.

7. Berries

Berries are relatively low in fructose and a great source of antioxidants.

8. Kale

Kale is a true superfood, as it is packed with magnesium, calcium, vitamins A, C and K, lutein, iron and antioxidants. You can even turn it into kale chips!

9. Onions

Onions are a sulphur rich vegetable (which Dr. Terry Walhs considers important enough to eat three cupful’s worth a day) – and just so incredibly versatile. Whether you’re making a stew – or even an omelette, onions will be a great addition.

10. Tomatoes

Tomatoes are a great base for lots of meals – such as beanless chilli – as they lend themselves so readily to sauce.

Do you agree with my list? What would be on your top ten list of Paleo foods?

Paleo Diet Primal Recipe Spiced Beef Kofte with a Pomegranate Glaze-min

Recipe: Spiced Beef Kofte with a Pomegranate Glaze

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Beef Kofte is delicious when oven baked but even better on a barbeque, eat these outside on a warm summer’s evening and you’ll feel almost Mediterranean. Delicious with a fresh salad made with rocket, figs and cherry tomatoes.

Spiced Beef Kofte Ingredients:

For the Beef Kofte:

  • 350g lean steak mince (ground beef)
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • ½ an onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, crushed 
  • 1tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp sumac
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
  • 1 small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 12 mini bamboo skewers

For the Pomegranate glaze:

  • Juice and seeds of half a pomegranate
  • 2 tbsp runny honey
  • 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • Juice of half a lemon

Spiced Beef Kofte How To:

If cooking in the oven, preheat to 180C / 350F / Gas Mark 5.

In a large bowl, mix together all of the kofte ingredients, and form into about 12 mini sausage shaped portions. Place on a roasting dish for 10 – 12 minutes, until cooked through, or throw on the bbq for around 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the pomegranate juice, molasses, honey and lemon in a saucepan. Simmer gently for 5 minutes, stirring often.

Remove the kofte from the heat and leave to cool slightly before piercing with bamboo skewers.

Combine the juice mixture with the pomegranate seeds, then pour oven the kofte. Serve at once.

Paleo Diet Primal Recipe Spiced Beef Kofte with a Pomegranate Glaze-min

Szechuan Pepper and Lime Beef Stir Fry with Steamed Pak Choi paleo diet recipe lunch dinner-min

Recipe: Szechuan Pepper and Lime Beef Stir Fry with Steamed Pak Choi

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Szechuan pepper has to one of the most fun ingredients to cook with. Nicknamed ‘the tongue numbing flower pepper,’ this pepper is delightfully floral and leaves a distinct tingle in the mouth. It is also known to enhance certain taste receptors, often making the foods around it taste slightly sweeter! It works great with other spices like star anise, or in this case, Chinese 5 spice.

Szechuan Stir Fry Ingredients:

  • 500g lean beef strips
  • 1 red capsicum (bell pepper), deseeded and chopped into strips
  • 1 zucchini (courgette), thinly sliced
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 2 tsp freshly ground Szechuan pepper
  • 1 tsp Chinese 5 spice
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 400g pak choi
  • Juice of 1 lime

Stir Fry How To:

1)     Heat a little oil in a frying pan to a medium heat. Brown the onions, then add the zucchini and red capsicum and stir fry for a minute or so until softened. Set aside.

2)     In a bowl, combine the Szechuan pepper, 5 spice and ginger with the crushed garlic and lime juice to make a marinade. Toss over the beef, coating well.

3)     Raise the heat of the pan to high. Throw in the beef and stir fry for a couple of minutes – ideally, it will be cooked medium when served.

4)     While the beef is cooking, wash the pak choi and separate the leaves. Lightly steam over some boiling water for 2 – 3 minutes.

5)     Return the vegetables to the pan, add the lime juice, and fry for another minute or so (longer if you like your beef more well done). Remove from the pan, and serve with the steamed pak choi

What are your favourite stir fry ingredients?

Szechuan Pepper and Lime Beef Stir Fry with Steamed Pak Choi paleo diet recipe lunch dinner-min

paleo gravy recipe onion beef stock primal bisto homemade how to-min

Recipe: Paleo Gravy (Beef and Onion)

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Gravy is a great addition to almost any meat based meal. I used to (I'm ashamed to say) “make” gravy using Bisto gravy granules and water, without any thought about the ingredients. Well, now I follow a Paleo Diet, and care greatly about what I eat, I'm quite horrified by the ingredients!

Bisto Gravy Granules, Ingredients (original flavour):

Potato Starch, Maltodextrin, Vegetable Oil, Salt, Colour (E150c), Wheat Flour, Sugar, Flavourings, Flavour Enhancers (E621, E635), Emulsifier (E322) (contains Soya), Herb and Spice Extracts, Onion Extract

Gravy, after all, is supposed to be a sauce made from the juices of meat and vegetables and it is so simple to make.

Gravy doesn't need to be full of the flour, arrowroot or corn starch that many non-paleo recipes call for.

At the base of a good gravy, is stock – another reason it’s good to make a huge batch and freeze small portions!

Gravy Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons of butter (or coconut oil or tallow)
  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  • 300ml (10 fl oz) beef stock (freshly made, or defrosted)
  • 1 teaspoon French mustard
  • Fresh rosemary & thyme
  • Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Gravy How To:

In a medium pan, melt the butter and over a medium heat, fry the onions.

Once the onions have turned golden, add the stock to the pan and reduce the heat to allow the stock and onions to simmer. You can also substitute some of the stock for some red wine here, to give the gravy an extra depth.

Once the volume has reduced by approximately half and it has thickened up, add in the mustard, rosemary & thyme and season to taste. Stir well for a couple of minutes.

How do you make gravy? I’d love to hear your tips and favourite recipes. Let me know, in the comments below!

paleo gravy recipe onion beef stock primal bisto homemade how to-min

Paleo pizza recipe grain-free

Paleo Pizza

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I had some grain loving friends coming round for dinner at short notice, so I wanted to make something that didn't look Paleo at first glance – and also used things I already had.  Pizza seemed like a good choice, as it seems like such a non-Paleo food!  Of course, my pizza used almond meal instead of flour and good quality grass fed meat.

This was the first time I've tried a Paleo pizza and I'll probably experiment with the crust a little next time, perhaps adding coconut flour.  I'm wondering if I could even make it on sliced eggplant and do away with a traditional base altogether?

Paleo Pizza
Recipe type: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Print
Ingredients
For the base:
  • 300g Almond meal
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 tablespoons of coconut oil
  • 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, oregano, basil & salt
For the sauce:
  • Tin organic diced tomatoes
  • Tin tomato paste
  • 1 crushed garlic clove
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
For the topping:
  • Onion
  • Capsicum
  • Mushrooms
  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Beef
  • Kangaroo Steak
  • Coconut Oil
Instructions
  1. I preheated the over to 180 degrees.
  2. I put the crust ingredients in a bowl and mixed them together with a wooden spoon until a ball emerged.
  3. I then greased a baking tray with coconut oil and pressed out the dough trying to cover as much of the tray as possible, whilst keeping the dough relatively even.
  4. I put the base in the oven for 15 minutes until it started to turn crispy.
  5. I put the sauce ingredients in a pan and simmered for about 15 minutes. I then used my blender to achieve a "sauce" consistency
  6. I sliced, then browned the meat in a pan of coconut oil before setting it aside.
  7. I then fried the vegetables in coconut oil for a few minutes.
  8. Once everything was ready I spread the sauce on the crust and added to meat and vegetables.
  9. It was then returned to the oven for another 20 minutes, cut and served!

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It was very well received – as demonstrated by no leftovers – and prompted lots of questions about paleo!  It's nice to make things like this that show how broad paleo food can be.  A nice occasional treat!

Have you tried a paleo pizza?  I'd love to hear how you made yours?
Paleo pizza recipe grain-free

Recipe Cinnamon Sweet Potato Beef Hash-min

Cinnamon Sweet Potato Beef Hash

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I didn't have much spare time last night and an almost empty fridge, so I had to get a bit creative in the kitchen to make my Paleo dinner.

I had half a packet of organic beef mince, a few veggies and lots of herbs; this is what I put together in under 30 minutes.  This would work with whichever vegetables you have, I was just limited by a very overdue shopping trip.

Cinnamon Sweet Potato Beef Hash
Recipe type: Dinner
Print
Ingredients
  • 200g Organic Beef Mince
  • Tablespoon coconut oil (I'm using Melrose organic unrefined coconut oil at the moment)
  • Quarter of a sweet potato, grated
  • Half a zucchini, grated
  • 3 mushrooms, grated
  • Half a red onion, diced
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1 capsicum, diced
  • 1 small tin organic tomato paste (the brand I use has no added ingredients, other than tomatoes)
  • I used 1 teaspoon of each garlic powder, onion powder, cinnamon (I love cinnamon and have been using it in everything lately!) & salt (I'm using pink Himalayan salt at the moment), oregano and thyme
Instructions
  1. I diced the onion and sautéed it in the coconut oil.
  2. I then grated the sweet potato and added it to the onions.
  3. After a few minutes on the heat, I added the mince.
  4. Once the meat was thoroughly browned, I added the remaining vegetables, the tomato paste, the herbs and seasoning.
  5. I continued to cook for about ten minutes, whilst stirring frequently.
  6. With everything minced, grated or diced, it all cooked very quickly; perfect for a busy evening like last night!
  7. I just wish I'd made extra for lunch leftovers...

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Recipe Cinnamon Sweet Potato Beef Hash-min

The Great Aussie Meat Pie paleo diet primal recipe pastry grain-free gluten free-min

The Great Aussie Meat Pie – Paleo Style

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Australians love their meat pies, apparently 260 million a year are eaten here.  For a county with a population of just over 21 million, that’s a lot of pies!

A meat pie just wouldn’t be the same without some sort of pastry.  So I thought it was time to give the Paleo treatment to the Aussie Meat Pie.

The Great Aussie Meat Pie – Paleo Style
Recipe type: Beef
Cuisine: Australian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Print
Ingredients
  • For the Crust:
  • the_great_paleo_aussie_meat_pie-min
  • 400g Almond Meal
  • 4 Eggs (free range, organic, obviously)
  • 1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil
  • Pinch of salt, onion powder, garlic powder & any other herbs you fancy
  • For the Filling:
  • 500g minced beef (I always try to get grass fed)
  • Approx 500ml Beef Stock (I made this a few weeks ago with lots of bones, and froze lots of batches)
  • 1 red onion (only because I’d run out of brown onions), diced
  • Half a sweet potato, diced
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 4 mushrooms
  • Pinch of garlic powder, salt, oregano & any other herbs you select
Instructions
  1. Mix the crust ingredients together to form a big ball of dough
  2. Roll the "pastry" out and form into paper cupcake cases, reserving about a third of the dough mixture for the lids. You should be able to make about eight individual pie cases, more if you roll it out a bit thinner.
  3. the_great_paleo_aussie_meat_pie_filling_the_cases-min
  4. Cook these for ten minutes at 200 until they became hard, but not golden.
  5. Ssauté the onion in a spoonful of coconut oil, and add the minced beef after a couple of minutes. Once browned off, add the sweet potatoes and carrots and let that cook for a few minutes.
  6. Add the stock, mushrooms, seasoning and herbs and let it simmer for 15 minutes or so, until it had a good “pie” consistency.
  7. Take the filling off the heat and spooned it into the pie cases.
  8. Once filled to the top, roll out the remaining dough and cut it into lid shapes to match the cases.
  9. Put lids on all of the pies, forming a seal around the edges.
  10. Return the pies to the oven for another ten minutes, until they started to turn golden.
  11. the_great_paleo_aussie_meat_pie_finished-min

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I then took the meat pies along to a picnic in the sunshine this afternoon.  I didn't even need to tell my non-paleo friends I hadn't used conventional ingredients – they got fantastic reviews, despite having only good ingredients!

Have you given the Paleo treatment to any Australian or New Zealand dishes?

The Great Aussie Meat Pie paleo diet primal recipe pastry grain-free gluten free-min

Grass fed beef in Australia and New Zealand-min

Grass Fed Beef In Australia & New Zealand?

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I was talking to an Australian Doctor at the Ancestral Health Symposium about finding grass fed meat in Australia. He was explaining to me that Australian meat is almost all grass fed, unlike America where grass fed meat is a lot harder to come by.

Grass fed beef has a far better omega 6:omega 3 ratio and far more vitamins & minerals than grain fed beef.

Since I got back I've been trying to find out if more about beef quality and availability. Until I make friends with a farmer, if I could be certain I was buying grass fed meat, I’d be very happy!

It seems that grass fed beef is dependent on the season; meaning springtime meat is more grain than grass fed.

On their website Coles state: –

Coles source both grass and grain fed cattle depending on seasonal quality. When rains are good, cattle are fed on grass. Being high in beta carotene, this is transferred to the meat and is why the fat is cream in colour. During drier times, grass is substituted with grain feed, and the fat has a whiter appearance. We offer both grass and grain fed cattle depending on the seasonal conditions to source the best quality available.

Woolworths doesn't go into much detail on their site, so I wrote to them, and have just received this reply: –

Woolworths has a number of different types of beef on offer. Our Riverine and standard Woolworths beef range are from grain fed animals, our market value and Macro branded beef come from grass fed animals. We are currently in the process of working on new labels and stickers which will help customers to be able to identify the difference between our beef range. You will notice these changes over the coming months.

So, whilst I’ll always strive to source my meat from a farmers market, or a good local butcher, it’s nice to know at a pinch there are some reasonable options in the supermarkets. If their new labelling enables me to see exactly what type of meat I'm eating, then that will be even better.

Where do you get your meat from? If you've found a good source of grass fed meat in Australia or New Zealand, share it in the comments.

Grass fed beef in Australia and New Zealand-min