Asparagus Basil Salad

This super healthy Asparagus Basil Salad is a not just nutritious, it's a treat for the palate. Trust me, it's delectable, especially right now using wonderfully ripe vegetables at peak season. I found this recipe in Sunset Magazine. Actually, I didn't find it, our family friend Mrs. Rose found it and made it for Mr. Rose's 75th birthday, a fabulous little gathering that the boys and I attended when we were in Davis, California visiting my folks a couple of weeks ago.

For those of you that commented on my last post, The Gluten Free Diet, about family and friends that don't understand, accommodate or respect your dietary restrictions (or eating plan, as I prefer to say) Mrs. Rose made tons of gluten free food for us! And so, a yummy dinner was enjoyed by all.

However, IMHO, it really is up to us to maintain our boundaries and not eat food that makes us feel awful, just to spare someone else's feelings. I would rather hurt their feelings than hurt my body; has anybody else been in a situation like that?

In any event, here's a yummy salad that pretty much anyone can enjoy. If you don't do nightshades, it's still delicious without the tomatoes!

Asparagus Basil Saladprinter friendly
1 lb asparagus, trimmed and halved
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 ripe avocado, cut into cubes
1 cup sliced basil leaves
¼ cup olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon pepper

1.Steam asparagus for 5-7 minutes until fork tender
2.Place asparagus, tomatoes, avocado and basil in a large bowl
3.Stir in olive oil, lemon juice and mustard
4.Sprinkle with salt and pepper
5.Serve
I actually made a huge batch of this last weekend and ate it for breakfast and then had the rest for dinner with Turkey Burgers from my book, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.

I am LOVING Mark Sisson's book The Primal Blueprint, the guy is a genius. And I am waiting for his next book to come out, which is the called, The Primal Blueprint Cookbook. If you haven't had a chance to look at Mark's site, marksdailyapple.com, head on over there and check it out. It is primal galore.

Chicken and Vegetable 'Lo Mein

Growing up one of my favorite dinners to have was Chinese food. It was usually a special occasion that we ordered Chinese, so it wasn't an indulgence that I had often. Bill is another lover of Chinese food, but his mom would frequently cook home made Chinese dinners for their family, so of course what he ate was a little healthier than ordering greasy Chinese from a restaurant. These days I cant stomach the idea of Chinese food, it's right up there with drive through and pizza, yuck.
Although heavy sauces and vegetable oil fried Chinese food is not something that Bill and I are interested in, we do however enjoy a fresh home made stir fry, with mouth watering Asian flavors.

Every once in a blue moon Bill creates a masterpiece in the kitchen, just kidding! Yes, more often than not I'm the head chef, but the recipe is never complete without agreement on both parts. For this particular recipe, Bill took the lead, and created a delicious Asian stir fry using sesame oil and coconut aminos. The flavors were outstanding! The added shredded cabbage gives the facade of noodles being in the dish, but enhances the texture beautifully with subtle crunch.

Ingredients:
Chicken or beef
1/4 cup almonds, chopped
1/2 cup water chestnuts
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1/2 cup shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and cut in half
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1 tablespoon minced Ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups broccoli
2 cups shredded cabbage
Toasted sesame oil
Coconut aminos
Sesame seeds to garnish
Process:
Clean all vegetables and trim fat from meat (if applicable).
Cut broccoli, chicken and mushrooms into bite sized pieces.
Thinly slice 2 cups of cabbage (about half the head of cabbage).
Chop almonds, green onion, celery; mince garlic and ginger.
Heat wok over high heat.
Add sesame oil, swirl to coat bottom of wok, then add meat.
Cook meat for 3-4 minutes, until mostly cooked.
Add in broccoli, water chestnuts, celery and shiitake mushrooms; cook for 2 minutes
Add in almonds, cabbage, ginger, green onion and garlic. Add a splash of coconut aminos (2-4 tbsp). Cook 2-3 minutes, until cabbage softens a little.
Remove from heat, garnish with sesame seeds, and enjoy!

Stuffed Bell Pepper

Back when Balanced Bites was an organic meal delivery business, stuffed peppers were among the favorite dishes ordered by my clients. At that point in time, I was mixing a few different ingredients into them but I keep it pretty simple when I'm cooking at home for myself.

The inspiration and motivation to make stuffed peppers came about when I was strolling the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market this past Saturday and spotted a big yellow bell pepper that looked just perfect for this destiny. I knew I had a pound of grass-fed ground beef defrosted at home so it was excellent timing for me to whip up some stuffed peppers. The whole thing is quite simple, really... it's just a matter of pre-cooking the pepper halves a bit if you like and then making a tasty mixture that you'll like to put on the inside, and voila - stuffed peppers. I can't say I make them exactly the same every single time since I usually just go with whatever I have on-hand, but here's what I did this time.



Italian Style Stuffed Bell Peppers


Ingredients

2 bell peppers
(I used yellow but any color is fine)
1 Tbsp bacon grease or coconut oil
1/2 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped
4 small tomatoes, diced
(or use 1/2c canned diced tomatoes)
1 lb grass-fed ground beef
(or lean conventional ground beef / ground turkey)
6 Fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
2c Baby spinach, finely chopped
sea salt - to taste
black pepper - to taste
hot sauce - optional, as garnish
extra basil leaves garnish


Preparation

Preheat your oven to 375.


Halve the bell peppers and place them in a roasting dish face-down for about 10-15 minutes. Note: You can skip this step if you want to keep the peppers more firm/raw when you eat them.



FYI: The Paleo Diet
Cookbook is now
available for pre-order.
While the peppers are pre-cooking, you'll cook the stuffing on the stove-top. Use a large sautee pan or a large pot. I'd recommend not using cast iron for this recipe since we're cooking tomatoes and the acid of the tomatoes will react with the cast iron.


Place your bacon grease or coconut oil in the pan and then cook the onions over medium-high heat until they're slightly browned on the edges and appear cooked through (translucent). You may season them with salt and pepper to taste.

Next add the tomatoes and garlic and allow the ingredients to simmer together for a couple of minutes. Then add the ground beef or turkey, breaking it up and allowing it to cook through completely. If you have grass-fed beef, you may leave it a bit pink.

Once the meat is cooked, taste the mixture to check for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Then add the chopped basil and spinach and mix them in just allowing them to wilt.


Mark Sisson's cookbook
seems to be quite popular
if you're looking for recipes.
Remove the peppers from the oven when they're just a bit softened, then flip them over and spoon in your stuffing mixture. If you would like to eat them at this point, you can go right ahead. Otherwise, place them back into the oven for around 15-20 minutes to allow the flavors to meld even more. I like to make a bunch of these ahead and either freeze them or just refrigerate them to heat up in my toaster oven later.


I also like to sprinkle a few dashes of hot sauce over the top and garnish them with basil leaves, just for visual appeal.

Depending on the size of your peppers, this will make approximately 4 pepper halves and will be around 4oz of protein in each one. One or two of these is a complete meal depending on how much you eat.

Seafood “Who Needs Rice” Jambalaya

Here is a great soup recipe that has become Carlos and I's "go to" food. I could literally eat this every day of the week.

Seafood “Who Needs Rice” Jambalaya

1 lb wild Alaskan cod fillets (or other wild caught fish of your choice)

1 16 ounce bag of frozen already cooked shrimp (thawed and drained)

2 cups chicken broth

1 green bell pepper cut into strips

1 orange bell pepper cut into strips

1 red bell pepper cut into strips

4-5 carrots cut into strips

a pinch or two of sea salt

1 tbsp chili powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper

4 cloves of minced fresh garlic

1/4 cup organic butter or ghee

a lot or a little Tapatio hot sauce

Make sure your fish and shrimp are thawed and drained. I like to pat the fish and shrimp dry with a paper towel, it will have a better texture after cooking if you do this. Cut the fish into bite size pieces. Melt butter in a large soup pot and saute carrots for about 4 minutes. Add the bell peppers and garlic and saute for another 3-4 minutes. Add all the spices and the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Throw in the fish and simmer until the fish begins to flake and then add the shrimp and stir just until the shrimp are warm. Dowse with Tapatio and stir. If you are using fresh shrimp throw in with the fish and cook for about the same amount of time together. Serve in bowls immediately. Add more hot sauce of desired.

Enjoy

Sweet Potato, Bacon, and Egg Salad

So tasty for breakfast or lunch! Try and eat directly after preparing as the bacon and sweet potatoes will be fresh.
I make this times 4 and it eat when I need a quick something. Yum!

Ingredients
2/3 cup diced sweet potato 
2 eggs 
2 rashes of bacon, diced using meat only 
1tbs oil 
4tbs dill, finely chopped 
2tbs mayonnaise 
2tbs lemon juice 
Instructions
Boil eggs in water until cooked. Peel and dice. 
Boil sweet potato for 4-5 minutes 
Heat over skillet medium-high. Add olive oil and bacon and cook until slightly crunchy.
In a small bowl, mix dill, mayonnaise and lemon juice. 
Place eggs, sweet potato, bacon and mayonnaise sauce into a medium size serving bowl and combine well.

If you aren’t a dill fan it tastes great with thyme. 
Recipe is from www.paleoplan.com
They have a lot of great recipies.

Grilled Flank Steak with Pineapple Salsa

Grilled Flank Steak with Pineapple Salsa

Here is a quick and easy dinner that you can make right on the grill.

Ingredients

1 lb flank steak, preferably grassfed

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp chipotle powder

4 slices of pineapple or pineapple rings

1 1/4 C chopped red bell peppers

1/2 C chopped red onion

1/4 C chopped cilantro

2 Tbsp lime juice

Instructions

Prepare the grill. (you can broil this in a pan as well)

mix oil and chipotle powder in a small dish.

Brush onto both sides of the steak, then grill for around 5 minutes on one side. (or 3 minutes under the broiler)

Flip and continue to grill for around 3 minutes more. (or about 2 minutes under the broiler)

Remove to a plate and cover for 10 minutes.

Grill the pineapple rings for 2-3 minutes per side.

Cute the pineapple into small chunks and place in a bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients.

Slice the steak thinly, serve with the salsa.

Serves 4

Simple, Perfect Paleo Chili

This chili was a huge hit at my house! I couldn’t stop eating it! It’s really easy, but give yourself an hour or so to let it simmer and the flavor develop!

2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 pounds ground beef or turkey or chicken (or any combo)
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1-2 jalapenos, diced (optional)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 48-ounce can crushed tomatoes (you can also use tomato sauce or diced tomatoes)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper

1. Heat oil in a dutch oven or other large pot over high heat

2. Add the onion and bell pepper and saute until starting to brown. Add the garlic and saute for about 1 min. being careful to not let it burn.

3. Add the meat and cook until brown. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Drain off some of the excess fat.

5. Pour in the tomatoes and stir.

6. Add the spices and a little more salt and pepper.

7. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 45 min. to 1 hour, stirring occasionally. If it becomes too dry, add water a little at a time until you get your desired consistency.

8. Adjust seasonings and serve…hoping to have leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

P.S. I served this over oven roasted spagetti squash. Yum! Yum

Green Chili Turkey Burgers with Guacamole in Lettuce Wraps

Here is a fantastic dinner that is really easy and the whole family will love. It is originally from the Primal Blueprint Cookbook and I took it and adapted it from Elanaspantry.com

Green Chili Turkey Burgers with Guacamole in Lettuce Wraps

2 medium-large fresh peppers, diced or 2 (4 oz.) cans diced green chiles
2 pounds ground turkey, (separated into equal parts or 2/3 to 1/3 if you have picky kids)
1 cup cilantro, finely chopped (optional)
½ cup onion, finely chopped
3 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon celtic sea salt

1. In a medium sized bowl mix diced chiles with turkey,most of the cilantro (if using), 1/3 cup of the onion, cumin, chili powder and salt
2. In another mixing bowl, mix the other 1/3 of the turkey, the rest of the onion, a little cilantro and a couple pinches of salt. (this one is for the kids because mine wouldn’t touch the first one)
3. Form into burgers and grill
4. Serve with guacamole and lettuce wraps
5. For the kids, I put some cheese on top and served them on their favorite sandwich bread (with crusts cut off). They scarfed!!

Guacamole

1/3 onion, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
2 ripe avocados, peeled, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp. celtic sea salt

In a small bowl, mix all ingredients together and serve with turkey burgers.

Stuffed Squash

Check out this recipe on the Crossfit LA website. It looks and sounds delicious. I’m going to try it this week!  -Stacy


What you'll need:
4 sweet dumpling squash
1 package ground beef- about a pound
1 onion chopped
1/4 c chopped dried cranberries
1/3 c chopped dried apricots
1/4 c chopped pecans
1 t thyme
1 t oregano
salt, pepper and olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Chop tops of squashes and scoop out seeds, place in baking dish and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil- place tops next to squash while baking
Bake in oven for 20 minutes 
While squash is baking saute onions for a few minutes and add ground beef, apricots, cranberries, pecans and seasoning. Do not fully cook mixture.
Remove squash from oven, stuff with ground beef mixture and put back in the oven ( you could pre-cook squash a day ahead, just need to cook a little longer to fully heat it when stuffed.)
Bake in oven for another 15-20 minutes(this depend on the size of your sweet dumpling squash) tops should be slightly browned and toasty, you will have a little extra meat depending on the size of your squash! save for another or stuff something else!

Done!

Crockpot Chicken

What you will need:

A Crock pot

1 lb chicken thighs

1 carton of chicken broth (I get mine at Trader Joe’s- the organic, gluten free broth)

1 head of cauliflower (In season at the moment- so check out the farmers market)

1 yellow or sweet onion

1 tbsp of rosemary (can always add more)

2 tsp of thyme leaves (can always add more)

Salt to taste

Cut up the cauliflower and place half into the crock pot. Lay the chicken thighs on top and season with the rosemary, thyme, and salt. Add the chopped onion and the rest of the cauliflower. Pour the carton of chicken broth over it all, and then set on low for 8 hrs. Enjoy!

Shepherd's Pie

This Shepherd’s Pie recipe is borrowed from Mark’s Daily Apple. Thanks Carlos for telling us about it!












Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower
2 tablespoons butter
1-3 tablespoons cream (optional)
salt & pepper taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup frozen organic peas & carrots, thawed
3/4 cup frozen organic green beans, thawed
1 pound ground grass-fed beef or bison
1 tablespoon coconut flour or almond flour
3/4 cup beef stock or broth
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried
2 tablespoons butter
Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Break the cauliflower into chunky pieces and steam until just tender.

Put in the food processor with 2 tablespoons butter and process until smooth. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Optional: Add cream 1 tablespoon at a time until smooth but still fairly thick. Set aside.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and sauté several minutes until soft. Add beef and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring to break up the meat so it browns evenly. Add peas, carrots and green beans and cook another five minutes.

Stir in the coconut flour. Add broth and herbs and reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from skillet and put into a 9-inch pie pan. Spread the cauliflower over the top.

Scatter 2 tablespoons of butter cut into small pieces on top of the cauliflower. Bake 30-35 minutes.