Roasted Vegetables (Paleo)

Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes, sliced
2 zucchini, sliced
2 cups carrots, sliced
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking dish with tinfoil (for easy clean up). Layer the sweet potatoes, zucchini, and carrots in pan. Place small dabs of coconut oil on the top layer of the vegetables. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover pan with tinfoil (vegetables will retain their moisture). Bake for 40-55 minutes, until vegetables are tender and can be cut with a fork easily.

Personal Note
Again, one of the dishes I created to get me through this diet. You can switch up the vegetables to keep it varied, but as an easy dish to prepare weekly. Yams, onions, mushrooms, turnips, parsnips, and tomatoes are some examples.

Coconut Almond Chicken (Paleo)

Ingredients

8 tenderlion chicken pieces
2 eggs
1 cup almond flour
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon coconut oil (optional)

Directions

Place chicken in 1 gallon ziplock bag, add both eggs, and mix until the chicken is coated in egg. Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together the almond flour, coconut flakes, salt and pepper. Take each piece of chicken and cover with the almond coconut mixture until entirely coated.

Place on preheated George Foreman grill and cook until chicken is not longer pink in the middle. Use coconut oil on the grill if desired while cooking. The coconut should have a golden brown, toasty look.

Personal Note
This recipe was of my own creation, which is why its cut and dry on the directions. I used my George Foreman, but you could attempt to bake the chicken in the oven at 350 F for about 30-40 minutes. Cover with tinfoil if coconut browns too fast in the oven to prevent from burning.

Fried Apples with Bacon and Pecans (Paleo)

Ingredients

1 strip sugar-free nitrate free bacon
8 roasted, unsalted pecans halves, chopped
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 large, crisp apples, cored and sliced
1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice or cinnamon
zest from 1/4 lemon
generous pinch of salt

Directions

Fry bacon until crisp, crumble once cooled, and set aside. Wipe out bacon grease from pan, place back on the heat, and add pecans. Stir with wooden spoon until toasted, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from pan.

In same pan, heat the coconut oil over medium high heat. Add the apple slices and saute until the apples begin to soften, about 2-3 minutes. In a small bowl, mix apple pie spice, lemon zest, and salt with a fork, then add to the apples. Continue cooking until the apples are golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes.

Spoon into small dishes and sprinkle with bacon bits and chopped pecans.

Personal Note
I haven't tried this recipe yet, but it looks really good. Sweet, salty. Soft, cruchy. A savory dessert.

Chocolate Chili (Paleo)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 medium onions, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 pounds ground beef
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
2 tablespoons chili powder (or to taste)
2 tablespoons ground cumin (or to taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon salt
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1 can (14.5 ounces) fire roasted, chopped tomatoes
1 can (14.5 ounces beef broth
1 cup water

Directions

Heat a large, deep pot over medium-high heat, then add the coconut oil. When the oil is melted, add onions, stir with a wooden spoon and cook until they're translucent and tender, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and as soon as it's fragrant, about 30 seconds, crumble the ground meat into the pan with your hands, mixing with the wooden spoon to combine. Continue to cook the meat, stirring often, until it's no longer pink.

In a small bowl, crush the oregano between your palms to release its flavor, then add the chili powder, cumin, cocoa, allspice and salt. Combine with a fork, then add to the pot, stirring lie you mean it. Add tomato paste and stir until combined, about 2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes with their juice, beef broth, and water to the pot. Stir well. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat so the chili enjoys a gentle simmer. Simmer uncovered for at least 2 hours - Don't skimp on the simmer!

Personal Note
It's a very meaty chili and quite flavorful. I thought I would miss beans and cheese from my chili, but this made up for it. It does make a lot - about 6-8 generous servings!

Scotch Eggs (Paleo)

Ingredients

2 pounds ground pork or Italian sausage
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
1 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves
1 teaspoon dried chives
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 large eggs, hard boiled and peeled

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line baking dish with tinfoil or parchment paper for easy clean up.

Place all ingredients except the eggs into a dish and mix together. Divide the meat mixture into 8 equal servings, roll into balls, and flatten like a pancake. Wrap the meat around the hard boiled egg until it is covered completely. Place in baking dish.

Bake for 25 minutes at 375 F. Then increase oven temperature to 400 F and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until a golden brown and crisp on the outside.

Personal Note
I used Italian Sausage and eliminated all of the seasonings. Instead I used Italian Seasoning, Salt, Parsley, Black Pepper and Oregano.

Olive Oil Mayo (Paleo)

Ingredients

1 large egg
2 tablespoons lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar)
1/4 cup plus 1 cup light tasting olive oil (DO NOT USE EXTRA VIRGIN!!!!)
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard (or fresh dill, hot sauce, etc)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

In a blender or food processor: break the egg and add lemon juice. Put lid on appliance, and let the mixture sit for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours, allowing it to get to room temperature.

When the mixture has reached room temperature, add the mustard, salt and 1/4 cup olive oil to the egg/lemon mixture. Blend until mixed.

Next, you must SLOWLY DRIZZLE the remaining 1 cup of oil olive as you blend the mixture at a low speed. This should take you about 2-3 minutes to incorporate all of the olive oil, that's how slow you have to pour it. I used my blender and took the middle part of the lid out, covered the lid with saran wrap and cut a small hole to pour the olive oil through so that I didn't have stuff flying out of the top of my blender - the first time I tried this I had mayo everywhere - haha.

It will start to resemble normal looking mayo about the 2-3 minute mark. Store in a container in the fridge using the expiration date of the egg you used as your throw away date.

The mayo works great for tuna fish mixed with it and served on cucumber slices, or mixed with avocados and use veggies for dipping.

Personal Note
It's not Best Food Mayo... but when your diet is limited, it works and you get used to the taste eventually. And I cannot stress the importance of using light olive oil - extra virgin olive oil does not work and tastes awful! I threw my first batch out.

Cheese Biscuit

This is Red Lobster's Cheese Biscuit recipe done in a loaf pan.

3 cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
4 ounces cheddar cheese, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 1/4 cups milk
3/4 cup sour cream
3 Tablespoons of butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan with oil. In a bowl, whisk together the first 5 ingredients. Carefully stir in cheese cubes until covered in flour mixture, this will help prevent your cheese sinking to the bottom of your loaf of bread. In a different bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Fold the wet mixture into the flour and cheese mixture, stir until just combined, do not over stir. Spread the mixture into the loaf pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes and then remove from pan. Allow to cool for one hour before slicing and serving