Category: Paleo Diet

Here’s another easy and tasty paleo meal ~ Chicken Fillets with Vegetables.

I should tell you upfront that I purposefully did not cook my vegetables all the way through as I wanted them to be crisp when bitten into.  Feel free to cook them first before adding them to the chicken if you prefer them well cooked.

What I like about this recipe is the ginger, Braggs liquid aminos and garlic taste.  It leaves a burst of flavor in your mouth.

But before you start prepping anything, you need to marinate your chicken once it’s cut up in bite sized pieces.  It’s a simple thing really ~ cut then add the chicken pieces to a bowl, sprinkle it with the liquid aminos, salt and pepper then set it aside for at least 20 minutes.

While the chicken is marinading, prep your vegetables and spices.  (The small glob of yellow is the grated ginger …)

Once the chicken is ready, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet set on medium then add the minced ginger and garlic.

Allow this to simmer for a minute or so before adding another tablespoon of olive oil then the chicken.

Next, and this is important, you need to make sure the chicken is cooked almost all the way through so toss it around ~ turning each piece to make sure it’s not going to be raw.  Raw is NOT good. The chicken below is only halfway cooked.

Next add your vegetables ~ broccoli and carrots ~ and stir.  When the chicken is thoroughly cooked, add a handful of cashews, stir and then …

Enjoy!

Here’s the recipe ~

Chicken Fillets with Vegetables ~ Paleo

Not too long ago I received an advertisement in the mail for a subscription for two magazines for $10 for a whole year.

I don’t normally jump on offers like this but after mulling it over I decided, why not?  It’s cheap and it will give me a chance to check out the magazines which I don’t normally purchase.

One of the magazines is Better Homes and Garden and recently they had a recipe for Greek Stuffed Meatballs that are made in a crockpot.  Well, I am normally prepared.  Really, I am.  But on this day I was a little lazy and didn’t read all of the instructions until a couple hours before I needed to make the meatballs.  So ~ I had to improvise as I would have to bake them instead of “crockpotting” them.  (Is that a word?)

The other change I made in the recipe was to paleo-ize it which was quite simple ~ I merely changed out the bread crumbs for almond meal and it worked great!

I’ve seen this exact same recipe on other internet sites so I’m not sure who the original owner is but here is it for you to check out with my changes.  I must say, they turned out fantastic!  I even put them on my “favorites” list.

First, let’s talk about cheese.  I used Kerrygold sweet cheddar (which has just a touch of sweetness) for this recipe.

You can use any cheese you like although you want to be able to cut it in cubes (large or small).

Keep in mind that these cubes will go in the middle of your meatball.  I made large meatballs so sometimes I used two small pieces in a ball.

At first the recipe felt like it might have too many olives.  Is that even possible?  Well, you really don’t taste the olives as much as you would think because they are diced so don’t be afraid of that.

The mixture with the egg, almond meal, olives, parsley, garlic, salt & pepper will look like this.

And after you add the lamb and the beef it will look like this.

Now, it’s really a personal preference, but I like to use my hands to mix everything together and form it into balls.  If you decide to do this, please make sure your hands are really clean.  No use spreading any more germs in this already germ filled world.

I picked up enough of the meat mixture to put it in the palm of my hand, flatten it then add a piece or two of the cheese in it.  Then I covered the cheese with the meat mixture.

I had prepared a casserole dish for the meatballs by putting a couple tablespoons or so of tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish.

Then I added the meatballs to the dish.  You really don’t need to oil the dish as the meatballs let out enough grease on their own but I like to have the meatballs covered in sauce ~ both bottom and top.

And then ~ whala!

Next you spread the rest of your tomato sauce over the top of the meatballs, put aluminum foil over the casserole dish and plop it in the oven.

They will come out looking like this … not too pretty but that’s because of the grease that comes out of the meatballs.  You can pretty it up once it’s on the plate, eh?

Okay then ~ ready to see the recipe?  Enjoy!

Paleo Baked Greek Stuffed Meatballs

For additional paleo recipes, click here.

I knew I wanted to have chicken today but wasn’t sure exactly what to have with it.

Looking in the refrigerator, I noticed some leftover cauliflower from last week’s meal along with broccoli and mushrooms.  Hmmm … I thought.  That’s a nice combination.

Taking the veggies out of the refrigerator, I rinsed them with cold water and cut them up into bite sized pieces.

The now defrosted bone-in skin-on chicken thighs sat waiting to be prepared.

I wanted this paleo Baked Chicken with Broccoli & Cauliflower recipe to be simple and easy so I decided to use only a few items to prepare it:  white pepper, onion powder, salt and toasted sesame seeds.  I tossed a little of each over the chicken thighs.

To give this meal a little flavor, I used toasted sesame oil to toss the veggies in ~ just enough to make them glisten.

I added the prepared chicken to a greased casserole dish then arranged the veggies around it.

One thing I noticed while preparing the chicken is that one of the pieces was a lot smaller than the other three.  That’s important because it means they will bake differently, i.e., the small one will be very well done.  Oh well, I won’t worry about it.

I used the convection baking setting on my oven to bake this casserole.  If you decide to make this recipe and use the regular baking setting, just know that it will take a little longer so you’ll have to check on it periodically  (I usually poke a chopstick in the chicken to see if blood comes out ~ no blood means it’s ready.)

Alright then, enough of my chatting here.  Ready to see this recipe?

Paleo Baked Chicken with Broccoli & Cauliflower

Enjoy!

For additional paleo recipes, click here.

Finally!  An easy paleo roasted cauliflower recipe. Just can’t get much easier than this folks.

I have not been a fan of cauliflower (are you?) but when roasted, it actually tastes pretty good.

I headed out early this morning to pick up my full head of cauliflower at the grocery store. And what a beautiful Minnesota morning it was.

Next, to prep for dinner. I took my head of cauliflower and, with a large knife, cut it into small pieces.  Although, once you start cutting into it, the cauliflower starts coming apart and you can use your hands to separate it easily. I then threw it in a mesh basket that I have hanging over my sink and sprayed it with cold water to clean it.  I let it drip dry for a few minutes.

Next I placed my fairly dry cauliflower in a large bowl, sprinkled it with olive oil and pepper then salt and tossed it all together.  You don’t want too much olive oil but you want enough that the cauliflower glistens (looks a little shiny).

Next you’ll be spreading the cauliflower out on a cookie sheet ~ no need to oil it as the oil that you added to the cauliflower will suffice.

Then you’ll be roasting it.  I used my convection oven but this can be roasted in a regular oven so no worries there.  In the convection oven it took 13 minutes and I took the cauliflower out at the 7 minute mark and tossed them about.  In a regular oven, you would roast it for 20 minutes and toss it at the 10 minute mark ~ but I would check your oven as some of them heat hotter than others.

I served the cauliflower with my Indian Chicken with Gravy recipe (although I substituted skinless chicken thighs for the skinless legs) and a Tahini Sauce that I found over at the Minimalist Baker site.  It all came out pretty pretty good.

Ready to see the recipe?

Easy Roasted Cauliflower

Enjoy!

For additional paleo recipes, click here.

The spring rolls I’ll be presenting can be considered a paleo “cheat”  to some people as they use rice paper.  The inside of the spring roll can have a variety of ingredients added to them so it’s a versatile recipe.

There are a lot of strict paleo-ites who would not eat rice at all as they have no nutritional value.  Instead, the rice adds empty calories to your diet so if you’re trying to lose weight, rice should not be in your diet.

For my ingredients, I used lettuce, carrots, cucumber, scallions and cilantro.  Pretty simple, no?

Our local grocery store had rice paper which surprised me but I was glad I didn’t have to search all over town for it.  They had two different kinds and I purchased the Banh Trang Rice Paper.

The springs rolls I have eaten at restaurants have a peanut sauce either inside the roll or else it’s served with an outside peanut dip.  I decided to use cashew butter instead (paleo-ites don’t eat peanuts).  What I did was take a couple of large tablespoons of cashew butter then I added a little bit of water to liquify it so I can pour it on top of the veggies in the spring rolls.

In order to prepare the rice paper, you need to have a bowl of water that’s either cold or warm that you will put the rice paper in (so it has to have a wide bottom).

The rice paper is very thin.  I put it in my cold water for a couple of seconds then took it out and put it on a plate in preparation to fill it with the veggies.

The picture below appears that I was a bit chintzy with my vegetables.  I added more after I took the picture though.  (Don’t be so judgmental ~ laughing)

After the rice paper is filled with your veggies and sauce, you simply fold it from the bottom to the middle then fold the sides over and finally fold the top over it.  I’m not a pro at it yet but what I did worked for me.

I decided to have a light supper and served these with baked chicken wings.  Yum!!!!

Here’s the recipe for you to view and/or print out.  I know you’ll enjoy them.

Paleo Fresh Spring Rolls

For more paleo recipes, click here.

Having a couple of salmon fillets in the fridge, I was looking for a new recipe and came across this one by Giada De Laurentiis.  You know who she is, right?  In case you don’t, she’s a famous Italian born American chef.

I haven’t tried too many of her recipes but decided to try this one.  However, I didn’t bake my salmon in foil as she hers.  Call me a rebel, again.  At my age (no, I’m not 100 yet) I’m entitled to a little freedom. Actually, we’re all entitled to a little freedom but in the case of recipes we need to make sure we give credit to those who have “gone before us.”   So, make sure you click on the link above if you want to know how to bake the salmon in foil.  Capiche?

Overall, I’d call this an easy recipe.

You start with two salmon fillets ~

Next you’ll be making a mixture with tomatoes (canned or fresh), sliced onions and herbs.

Once the mixture is made, you’ll be layering it over the unbaked salmon.

Then you’ll be baking it for approximately 20 minutes or until the salmon is clear looking on the inside.

Ready to see the recipe?

Paleo Baked Salmon With Tomatoes

I served this salmon with sliced baked potatoes and steamed broccoli.

For additional paleo recipes, click here.

It feels like it’s been a long time since I’ve posted a new recipe.  Spring and summer arrived and I have two young men working with me on our acre so I’ve been been trying to work alongside them when they’re here.

After dinner, exhaustion sets in.  I’m not a spring chicken anymore and this yard work takes a toll on this body.  Bleh.

Come early July most of the yard work will be completed so I’ll have more time to focus on less physically strenuous things.

However, here’s a new recipe for you.  (clap, clap, clap)

I wanted to call this paleo recipe Sweet Potato Salad.  Then I thought, no, let’s call it Egg Salad.

Considering all my options, I decided to combine the two and let both the potatoes and the eggs get their credit ~ Paleo Sweet Potato & Egg Salad.  Whew!  Such hard decisions we have to make.

Making this was a no-brainer as I needed something to go with my baked chicken wings and potato salads are always good with chicken wings.

I first hard boiled 6 eggs.  Do you have a special set time you use to hard boil  your eggs?  I use 7 minutes exactly.  And that’s from when the water starts to boil.

Next I had to find some white sweet potatoes and I was fortunate that I had two in the cupboard.  They looked a little … well, I wasn’t sure they were alive.  (haha)  They looked sad but they worked.

I peeled these potatoes making sure I cut off any parts that looked “too sad” to use.

Then I cut them into small bite-sized pieces.

Next I boiled them until they were firm but tender.  Hmmm … are you confused about what that means?  I used to be but not anymore.  Really all you’re looking for is boiling them until they are a tad soft (yet cooked).  You don’t want them to fall apart in your recipe.

I used a pot that was a little too big for the amount of potatoes I had so I made sure I didn’t use too much water ~ just enough to cover the potatoes.

Next I decided to use some carrots in my salad ~ just to be different.  I took a half carrot, peeled it, sliced it thinly then cut it into 1 inch or so pieces.

Then you’re basically putting everything together once you have the prep work done.

One last note though ~ I use a homemade mayonnaise recipe (click here) but I substitute olive oil instead of the canola oil.

Ready to see the recipe?

Sweet Potato & Egg Salad

For additional paleo recipes, click here.