Paleo Diet – Page 28 – Simply Norma

New Orleans – Part 1

Recently we went on a cruise to Mexico and Honduras and afterwards spent a day/night in New Orleans, Louisiana.

This was my first time visiting New Orleans and I have to say I was a little apprehensive about whether I would like it. Â We knew it would be busy since our arrival was one week before the 2014 Superbowl.

We were able to disembark the ship early since we didn’t need help with suitcases and we weren’t heading to the airport. After disembarkment, we took a cab to the Holiday Inn which is in the French Quarter.Â We had arranged to stay here for one night so that we’d be able to walk around easily.

Holiday Inn, Chateau Lemoyne, French Quarter, Louisiana

Although we arrived at the hotel early, they allowed us to check in and did not charge us extra. That was really really nice! Our room was very large, clean and quiet.

Holiday Inn - French Quarter — Holiday Inn – French Quarter, Louisiana

Holiday Inn, Hotel Toiletries, French Quarter, Louisiana

The hotel has a swimming pool but we did not make use of it since our time here was short.

Swimming Pool, Holiday Inn, French Quarter, Louisiana

After dropping off our suitcases in the room, we headed back to the lobby and asked the concierge if he could recommend a place where we could have breakfast. The concierge was absolutely wonderful! He was very informative about where we could eat and about the area in general.

So, off we went to the Cafe Fleur de Lis RestaurantÂ for breakfast.

We had a very pleasant (and large) breakfast here and the food was delicious! I had the buttermilk pancakes which were oh-so-moist. They were served with real maple syrup.

My husband had eggs benedict (although I can’t seem to find them on the online menu).

My son had a spinach feta wrap. Both the food and the service were really good.

After breakfast we started walking around the French Quarter and noticed interesting architecture.

Later on we saw people riding on a horse drawn carriage — I assumed they must have been on a tour.

Horse Drawn Carriage, New Orleans, Louisiana

There are quite a few pictures for me to share so I’ll let you look through them without too much comment.

We walked into this church called the St Louis Cathedral and they were having church services so I wasn’t able to get any photos of the inside.

St Louise Cathedral, New Orleans, Louisiana

St Louis Cathedral, French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana

St Louis Cathedral, New Orleans, Louisiana

Jackson Park, New Orleans, Louisiana — Jackson Square, New Orleans, Louisiana

CBS Sign, Superbowl, Jackson Park — CBS Sign, Superbowl 2013, Jackson Square

Mississippi River, New Orleans, Louisiana

French Quarter Tourist, New Orleans, Louisiana

See the building behind the fountain with the blue doors? Local artists sell some of their art here. One of the ones I met personally and whose art I thought was absolutely unbelievable was Â named Wanda Wiggins. She buys local and African fabric and makes contemporary African art with them. Beautiful! Click hereÂ to go to her website.

St Mary's — St Mary’s Church, New Orleans, Louisiana

St Mary's Italian Church, New Orleans, Louisiana — St Mary’s Church, New Orleans, Louisiana

We did quite a bit of walking and I, as usual, had my camera in hand so I could snap photos of people, buildings or things that I found interesting.

Later in the afternoon, we came across a famous restaurant called the Cafe du Monde. Â Have you heard of it? I was told that if I go to the French Quarter I neededÂ to “experience” their beignets which areÂ square pieces of dough that are fried and covered with powdered sugar. They are very delicate, are oh so sweet (not good for a person eating paleo) and are served in threes which was perfect for us.

Cafe du Monde Sign, New Orleans, Louisiana

Cafe du Monde Menu, New Orleans, Louisiana

Beignet at Cafe du Monde — Beignets at Cafe du Monde, New Orleans, Louisiana

Well, there are more pictures that I took but I’ve decided to include them in a separate post so this one doesn’t become too lengthy.

Click below to go to the Part 2 of New Orleans.

New Orleans – Part 2

Paleo French Toast

Awhile back, we made some paleo banana bread that turned out very good and was quite moist.

When my son suggested that I make french toast with it, I was doubtful that it would 1) hold together like “regular” bread and 2) tastes good. Â I was wrong.

I sliced the banana bread a little thicker than I normally would then dipped it in my french toast batter which consisted of:

2 eggs
3 tablespoons almond milk
Pinch of Salt
Cinnamon (as much or as little as you like)

It came out tasting quite nice served with fresh melon and turkey bacon.

I guess it’s not too late to teach an older person new recipes.

Chicken Puttanesca with Asparagus

Tender grilled chicken breasts with Italian seasonings make for a scrumptious Chicken Puttanesca. The recipe includes kalamata olives which I enjoy.

The chicken puttanesca was served with asparagus which we’ve been having a lot more of lately. Â I never used to like asparagus but my palette is changing and I’m starting to enjoy it. The asparagus was served with an almond and sun-dried tomato sauce. (Not sure if you notice in the picture, but I had added some of the sauce over the chicken also …) Â Yum!

I never used to make enough food to have leftovers because they always seemed to not get eaten. But, I am appreciating that when my son cooks, he makes enough so that we can have leftovers for breakfast and/or lunch. It does save both time and money that way, doesn’t it?

Anyway — another great Paleo meal!

Lemon Dill Salmon with Asparagus

A paleo diet requires variety — at least for me. Having salmon is a real treat especially when it’s paired with tender asparagus. Yum!

The originalÂ Lemon Dill Salmon recipe was paired with cauliflower rice and kale but I much prefer the simplicity of having Roasted AsparagusÂ instead.

I find that the simpler the meals, the better my taste buds understand what it is they’re eating. And we all know that we want to satisfy our taste buds, right?

For me, salmon is king. (Hey, I just made a funny joke … I wonder if I’m the only one who got it?) hehehe

Paleo Homemade “Lara” Bars

My husband brought me a Lara BarÂ as a snack from the store and I wasn’t very impressed with it. Perhaps it was the particular kind but it felt dense and heavy on my tongue.

My son, on the other hand, made paleo “Lara” bars at home and these tasted delicious. They are meant to be eaten as a snack in between meals or even as a dessert and can contain pineapple, apples, cherries, etc. And they are healthy!

Either way — homemade ones seem (to me) to taste a lot better than the store bought ones. So if you’re looking for a really good paleo snack — make a homemade “Lara” bar!

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Pumpkin Chicken Chili with Cornbread

I would never have thought to put pumpkin and chili in the same recipe — not in my wildest dreams.

This pumpkin chicken chili was actually good although it was quite thick and, although the recipe didn’t call for it, we included squash with the ingredients. I think next time I would water it down just a tad. Otherwise, good chili!

When I was asked what I wanted to have with the chili I automatically said cornbread although I knew that we were keeping corn out of our paleo diet for right now. My son did find a recipe for “corn” bread though that actually tasted very good and was quite moist! I was surprised how much I liked it.

It doesn’t look much like cornbread though, does it? That’s okay. The important thing is that it tasted good, right?

Pumpkin Chicken Chili with Paleo Cornbread

This meal is great on a cold winter night which is just what we’re having.

Paleo Strawberry & Apple Crumble

Here’s a paleo dessert that you can sink your teeth into — a strawberry and apple crumble. It does taste a little different than the blueberry crumble I used to make in my sugar laden days, but this tastes great nonetheless. The crumble (top) uses macadamia nuts, coconut flour and a few other ingredients. (I love coconut so have not been having problems eating recipes that contain the flour.)

Paleo Apple & Strawberry Crumble Dessert

It really is yummy!

One thing I have found on the paleo diet I’m on though is that I don’t really have a need for dessert after dinner as I get full enough on the meal. So — although I have always liked desserts, I don’t seem to eat them as much as I used to.

That’s a good thing, right? Even if the desserts are healthy!

Pepper Steak with Egg Foo Young-ish

Winters and crockpots are always a good combination so we recently bought a new crockpot to allow our meals to slowly simmer.

This pepper steak was good and I have been eating it for breakfast as leftovers for a couple of days now. It is unusual to have steak for breakfast instead of cereal or toast but unusual does not mean bad. It’s quite filling actually.

The recipe calls for bean sprouts but we did not use them.

The pepper steak was served with steamed broccoli and egg foo young-ish. Quite a funny name for a fritter-like pancake, no?

We included most of the recipe ingredients except for the ham so if you try this recipe, adjust the recipe to your tastes. That’s what cooking is all about — tasting and adjusting.

Paleo Granola

I am not a big fan of granola but my son is always coming up with different things we can have for our meals — including breakfast — so it was not unusual that paleo granola came into the picture as I recently threw out our Honey Nut Cheerios and other cereal that has been sitting in our pantry for awhile.

I had this granola with warmed Almond Milk. For some reason, I haven’t been able to drink Almond Milk cold. Is that unusual?

It tasted okay. The nuts in it were a little too large for me so I probably should have cut them up into smaller pieces. I’m not sure if that would have made a difference for me though as I’ve never been a big granola fan.

Overall, it is a good diversion from having eggs in the morning.

If you try it, let me know if you like it AND if you made any changes to the recipe. Thanks!

Visiting Friends and Eating Paleo

I recently took a trip to Seattle to check in on a friend who has started on hospice for the second time in a year. She looks healthy but did not remember me when she first saw me. Her dementia is getting worse and she is pretty much bed bound now.

She sits in her bed and “counts” her blanket as if she’s measuring it. Over and over again — she counts, one, two, three, four, five, one, two, three, four, five. This is not unusual to me as she was an avid hand quilter for many years and subconsciously she must be remembering those days.

While in Seattle, I also visited other friends. Most of them knew I have been trialling a Paleo Diet so they attempted to accommodate me the best they could. One couple in particular really went above and beyond the call of duty.

They made seasoned beef-filled green peppers with roasted eggplants, veggies and lemon dressing. The green peppers were absolutely delicious!

The roasted eggplants with veggies and lemon dressing was also good but a bit “juicy.” I’m including the “recipe” below but keep in mind that my friend doesn’t use a recipe and this is all from the top of her head. (Good luck if you try it!)

This is ? — Roasted Eggplants with Veggies and Lemon Dressing

Dessert was baked apples. Yum!

Since I had gone to visit my friends with another friend, they brought out a beautiful dessert torte. Oh! This was so tempting to me but I declined a few times and made it out of Seattle without one bite of this torte.

I had a great time in Seattle even though my reasons for going weren’t for “fun and relaxation.” It’s rare when I get to really relax because of visiting most of the people I know there.

Below is the recipe for the Roasted Eggplant …

Ingredients

2 eggplants roasted, then remove the skin and mash the pulp (make sure you poke a few holes in each eggplant so they don’t burst open)
Mash the pulp in a food processor on “pulse”
1/2 – 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
3-4 green onions chopped
2 T chopped fresh mint
1 medium tomato chopped (save some for decoration)

Dressing

1-2 garlic cloves crushed to a pulp
juice of 1 lemon
salt to taste
1/4 C olive oil

Instructions

Mix most of the above together then taste to adjust for how much salt and lemon you want
Decorate with the saved chopped tomatoes
Note: Â This dish tastes better if left to marinate a little in the refrigerator

Hope you enjoy it!