Mmm granola

I found a recipe for a raw granola, and the first time I made it, it did not turn out all that well. I have since decided to fashion my own granola recipe. It is yummy! You can really change it to suit your tastes. Use the dried fruit you like best, or add some extra honey if you want it sweet. Season with cinnamon or other spices to your hearts content. Have this in a bowl with some almond or coconut milk, or crumble it over some fresh fruit. Its so good and you won't miss the grains or sugar.

Paleo Granola

1 cup raisins
1/2-3/4 cup water
4 cups of nuts (mix it up, pecans, almonds, walnuts, cashews, macadamias and pistachios all work well)
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flake (if you don't like coconut, then feel free to skip this)
drizzle of honey
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla

Put raisins in bowl, add water. Allow to soak overnight or for at least 4-5 hours. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Put raisins and water in food processor and puree. Add nuts and coconut, pulse until reaches a course granola texture. Add honey, cinnamon, and vanilla. Pulse to combine. Spread thinly onto two parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake for 45-55 minutes. Turn off oven and allow granola to sit in warm oven until granola is just about crisp. It will continue to crisp as it cools. Remove from oven, cool and enjoy!

Paleo Greek hash

I decided to try and incorporate some new veggies into our repertoire. Today's choice was Kale. With this hash, I made the veggies really small, the reason for this is so my 3 year old and 2 year old will eat them without complaints. If they see vegetables in their original state then they will not eat them. I used my food processor quite a bit with this. If you aren't afraid of veggies (like my kids) then you can leave the veggies closer to bite size. This came out quite delicious and I will definitely be making it again.



Paleo Greek Hash

Olive oil
2 lbs ground beef (preferably grass fed)
1 onion, minced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup olives, minced (kalamatas work great, but use what you like)
1 1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
3/4 dried mint
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper (to taste)
3/4 lbs kale (shredded, or cut to desired size)
1 head cauliflower (boiled for 10 minutes, drained then riced)
1 cup olives (Kalamatas work great, but check out your local olive bar), sliced

In large skillet drizzle some olive oil over medium to medium high heat. Add ground beef and cook until almost brown. Add onions and garlic. Saute until brown. Add olives and seasoning. Stir to combine. Add kale, and cook until kale is wilted. Add the riced cauliflower and olives and stir to combine. Enjoy!

I am entering this recipe into a contest, to find out more, click on the link... http://stuffimakemyhusband.blogspot.com/2010/11/announcing-primal-food-blogging-event.html

Blueberry Almond Bread

Every week we have a play date. A bunch of Moms and preschools (about 95% boys) get together to let our little ones play and to let us relax and chat. This week, I was scrounging around trying to find something to make. I decided to make a fruit bread so that my friends could be further introduced to the paleo lifestyle. I like making things like this because it really starts the questions about why paleo. The ladies of the play group loved the bread and helped themselves to seconds (and some had thirds).

Blueberry Almond Bread

1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
5 eggs
1/4 cup almond oil
1/4 cup macadamia oil
2 tbsp agave
3 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp almond extract
1 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a loaf pan using coconut oil (or other fat of choice). Combine dry ingredients in small bowl. Blend together the wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Gently fold in blueberries and almonds. Pour into loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out dry. If the bread begins to over brown, then cover with foil. Cool for 10 minutes in pan, then cool on rack. Slice, serve and enjoy!

Pretty much paleo biscuits

Elana (from www.elanaspantry.com) posted a recipe recently for gluten free biscuits. I took her recipe and tweaked it a bit to make it more paleo friendly. I think may make these for Thanksgiving so that my boys can feel like they are enjoying bread just like their cousins. There is some baking soda in these, I am sure if you wanted you could sub a couple of beaten egg whites and get the same results, I just have not tried it that way.

Biscuits

2.5 cups almond flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 eggs
1 tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 350. Combine dry ingredients in small bowl. Beat wet ingredients in big bowl until well combined. Add dry ingredients and stir until well combined. Roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment until about 1.5 inches thick. Use a cookie cutter, biscuit cutter or glass to cut biscuits. Place on parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake for 15 minutes. Enjoy!

A Mediterranean feast

Tonight we made one of my hubby's favorite types of foods, Mediterranean! We always used to do grilled chicken lettuce wraps filled with homemade hummus and tabbouleh. Now we tried a different take on it. We used some recipes from www.health-bent.com, and modified them a little to our tastes and to what we had on hand. My kids loved it because they got to have meat on a stick, hubby loved it because he got to eat his favorite flavors and I loved it because it was veggie loaded and delicious! Something I didn't think of, but feel free to take the meat off of the stick and enjoy in a tasty lettuce wrap with the dipping sauce and salad. I am sure it would be amazing!

Meat on a stick (aka. meat kabobs)

2 lbs ground beef (grass fed preferable)
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp dry parsley
1.5 tsp cinnamon
1.5 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
pepper to taste

Soak bamboo skewers for 30 minutes or more. Heat grill to Medium-High. Mix beef and seasoning in large bowl. Form meat into large hot dog or sausage like shapes around skewers. Grill until brown throughout. Enjoy!

Veggie Baba Ganoush

5-6 summer squash
7-10 cloves garlic, with skin on still
olive oil
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
2 tbsp tahini (sesame paste, can also use sesame seeds or sesame oil)
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Remove steams and halve summer squash. Place on sheet to roast, drizzle with olive oil. Place garlic on sheet of foil, drizzle with olive oil and wrap up in foil. Place the squash and garlic in the oven for 45-50 minutes. Remove and allow to cool until garlic can be touched with bare hands. Place the squash, garlic, olive oil, juice, tahini, salt and pepper in food processor. Blend until pretty smooth. Serve along side the beef kabobs for a delicious dipping sauce.

Tafooleh salad

1 english cucumber, diced
1 pint grape/cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 sweet onion (vidalia), minced
4 lemons, zested and juiced
handful of fresh mint leaves, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and allow to sit in the fridge for about an hour or two before serving.

One of the best meatloaves ever!!

Most meatloaf recipes are ok, many are dry and bleh. There were a few back when I ate dairy and other fattening horrible for me items that I made that were beyond decadent. However, not in the least bit nutritious. I stumbled upon a fantastic recipe at www.everydaypaleo.com This women (and Mom) posts some awesome recipes. I wanted to share this one with everyone as it is truly delicious!

Paleo Meatloaf (everydaypaleo.com)

1 onion, minced
1 cup almond flour
2 eggs
1 small can tomato paste
1/2 tbsp sea salt
2 tbsp dried basil
1 tsp marjoram
2 lbs ground beef (preferably grass fed)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together onion, eggs, tomato paste, almond flour, and seasoning. Add ground beef and mix by hand. Form into loaf (can use loaf pan, or just a regular pan. Make sure its deep enough to catch the grease and drippings). Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until completely cooked and no longer pink.

Paleo pirate pork

So the name of the dish was the first thing that intrigued me. My boys love pirates. I decided to make it for them because the flavors also sounded like something my goobers would eat. Its a mildly sweet slightly sour dish. (adapted this from a recipe on Allrecipes.com)

Paleo Pirate Pork Chops

4 pork chops (thick cut)
Coconut oil
15 oz can pineapple chunks (be sure its just pineapple and its juice)
1.5 tbsp honey
1.5 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 cup paleo ketchup (see recipe below a few)
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp raisins

Heat large skillet over medium high heat. Add enough coconut oil to lightly grease the pan. Place pork chops in pan, cook on each side for 3 minutes. Add the juice from the pineapple (save pineapple for later), honey, maple syrup, ketchup, and seasonings. Stir to combine. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes. Add raisins and pineapple, stir to combine. Continue to cook until pineapple is warmed. Serve and enjoy!