A Plethora of Recipes!!!

It's been a busy past month, so I have a bunch of recipes to get caught up on!  Successfully completing the Whole30 was a great experience, but I am still sticking with paleo for the most part.  Our first weekend after completing the Whole30 Dan took me on a weekend skiing getaway for my birthday.  The inn we stayed at was excellent and cozy and the innkeeper made fresh breakfast each morning (gluten free for me!).  The innkeeper also left a bottle of champagne and a couple chocolate covered strawberries in the room when we first arrived.  And to top off how nice this place was they had complimentary wine, port, and beer (we did take advantage of some of the wine and port at least).  This weekend I was clearly not concerned about being 100% paleo, which is how I want my diet to be.  I'll eat paleo the majority of the time because my body feels better eating this way, but if I want some wine or sushi or another gluten free treat from time to time I won't think twice about having a cheat meal every once in a while. :)

Now to the recipes!  
#1: Dan and I tried out some paleo bread the other day which actually came out like real bread!!  It tastes great and stores really well in the fridge as well.

Paleo Bread
Adapted from Elana's Pantry

Ingredients

1.5 cups almond flour
2 Tablespoons coconut flour
1/4 cup flaxmeal
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1.5 teaspoons baking soda
5 eggs
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350°F.

2) Place almond flour, coconut flour, flaxmeal, salt and baking soda into a food processor and pulse until mixed.

3) Add in the eggs, oil, honey, and vinegar and pulse until all your ingredients are well-combined.

4) Pour batter into a greased 7.5 X 3.5 loaf pan (Different sizes will work as well, but try and stay around the 8 X 4 range).

5) Bake for 30-34 minutes or until the top begins to brown and your bread passes the toothpick test! (When you insert a toothpick into the loaf, it should come out clean).

6) Allow to cool before removing from the loaf pan.


#2: This pad thai was AWESOME!!!  The sauce is amazing, but it is pretty rich and filling so you might need less than you think.  It's definitely flavorful enough that a little goes a long way.  Also, make sure that you use the coconut milk for the sauce!!! I sampled it before adding the coconut milk and was concerned it tasted too much like vinegar, but after adding the coconut milk the sauce was perfect!  I always used canned coconut milk because it tastes much more like coconut and doesn't have the additives that the cartons do.

Pad Thai


Ingredients

Sunshine Sauce
2 Tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 Tablespoon coconut aminos
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (I used less because I don't like ginger!)
1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar
1/4 cup almond butter (or other nut butter of choice)
1/4 cup coconut milk

Pad Thai
1 batch Sunshine Sauce
1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 cup snap peas, thinly sliced
2 cups cooked spaghetti squash
6-8 ounces cooked chicken, cut into bite sized pieces (I used chicken breast, but you could use chicken thighs as well)
Coconut oil

Directions

Sunshine Sauce
1) Place all ingredients except the coconut milk into a food processor and process until well blended.

2) Add the coconut milk to the food processor and blend until smooth.

3) Pour mixture into a small saucepan and heat over medium-low while you prepare the ingredients for the pad thai (If it starts to boil, reduce heat to low -This is just to warm the sauce up).

Pad Thai
1) Heat coconut oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.

2) Add your onions to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, until softened.

3) Add your snap peas to the pan and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

4) Add the spaghetti squash and cooked chicken to the pan and mix well.

5) Add the sunshine sauce and continue to stir-fry for an additional 1-2 minutes until everything is well-blended and hot.

*Note: Any vegetables could work with the recipe, but personally I thought the snap peas were perfect.  To make it a more authentic pad thai and can cook up 2 scrambled eggs to mix in as well!


#3: These just may be some of the best Paleo pancakes we have made yet!  The addition of lemon juice gave them a great fresh flavor.  You could really make these with any fruit as well - I'd suggest trying blueberries or raspberries if you wanted something different from blackberries!

Blackberry Lemon Pancakes
Adapted from The Urban Poser
Yield: ~20 silver dollar size pancakes


Ingredients

1.5 cups almond flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
5 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon honey
1/4 cup blackberries, broken into pieces

Directions

1) In a medium bowl, add your sifted almond flour, baking soda, and salt.

2) Add the broken blackberry pieces to the bowl and mix until they are gently coated with the flour mixture.

3) In 2 different bowls, separate the egg whites from the yolks.

4) In your bowl of egg yolks, add the lemon juice and honey and whisk until well-mixed.

5) Add the yolk mixture to your almond mixture and stir until well-combined.

6) Beat your egg whites until a soft peak forms (This is definitely easiest with egg beaters, but a whisk will work as well if you don't have eggbeaters - Just think of it as a mini workout for the day!)

7) Gently fold the egg whites into the pancake mixture until well combined.

8) Pre-heat your pan or skillet over medium heat with coconut oil or olive oil.

9) For silver dollar sized pancakes, add about 2-3 Tablespoons of batter per pancake to the pan.  To make larger pancakes, simply add more batter per pancake!

10) Due to variations in stove temperatures and pans, flip the pancakes when they start to bubble and the edges have started to form.


#4: This date syrup is great if you're looking for a little sweetness to add to something.  I mixed this in with 2 frozen bananas to create a Paleo "ice cream" (Delicious!) and I also mixed it with some cooked strawberries for a pancake syrup to top the blackberry lemon pancakes with! (Again, delicious!)

Vanilla-Cinnamon Date Syrup
Adapted from A Shiny Day


Ingredients

10-12 large medjool dates, pits removed
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
A few shakes of cinnamon (this can be adjusted to taste)

Directions

1) Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.


#5: This was my first try cooking tuna, but the citrus marinate went very well with the fish!

Citrus Marinated Tuna Steaks
Adapted from The Sprouted Life

Ingredients

2 wild caught tuna steaks
Juice from 1 orange
Juice from 1 lemon (or lime)
1/4 cup coconut aminos
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1) In a bowl, mix together all ingredients except the tuna steaks.

2) Place tuna steaks in a glass dish and pour the marinate over top, ensuring the each tuna steak is soaked in the marinade.

3) Allow the tuna to marinate for 30-45 minutes.

4) Heat coconut oil in a saute pan over medium heat.

5) Remove the tuna steaks from the marinade and place in your heated pan.  Cook for several minutes on each side, until desired doneness is reached.  The cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of your steaks.


#6: This is my own recipe for a Paleo version of hummus!  It was inspired by a cilantro jalapeno hummus I had tried at Panera earlier in the day (not Paleo) from their Hidden menu.  Which, if you haven't heard about, go check it out here!  I think it's a great idea, and basically all the options are Paleo!  However, the hummus bowl was not very filling, so if you're starving be warned that you will still be hungry!

Paleo Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus 


Ingredients

1/2 cup cashews, soaked in water for 3-4 hours
Juice from 1/2 lemon
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
1 Tablespoon tahini (If you want to make your own, simply add 1 cup of sesame seeds and 1/4 cup olive oil to a food processor and blend until smooth - This will make extra, so adjust amounts if desired)
1/2 jalapeno, chopped
1/2 cup cauliflower, steamed


Directions

1) After soaking your cashews and steaming your cauliflower (and preparing your own tahini if you choose not to use store-bought!) simply place all ingredients into your food processor and blend until smooth!

*Serve this with any kind of vegetable, or some homemade sweet potato chips!  Even though there is already cauliflower in the hummus, this was my favorite vegetable to dip in it.

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