Paleo

We have been very busy in the kitchen and making sure the boys are having fun! Zeki is trying out gymnastics, piano, and martial arts to see if any of them spark his interest. His occupational therapist thinks they will help him work on his fine motor, balance, and continue to integrate his senses.
We have made a kitchen change as well, no gluten, no casein, no dairy, no soy, no preservatives, no dyes, no artificial anything. It was a pretty easy change as we eat mostly this way except for the gluten and casein. It has been a lot of fun as there are some fantastic ways of cooking that we are learning. The boys are doing really well and enjoying something new in the kitchen. It has it challenges but we are learning.
We are not following Paleo but I have used many of the recipes and they are wonderful! Our new best friend is Coconut!! Coconut oil, coconut sugar, coconut flour, coconut keifer, and the list goes on!! I love sweets so it adds that to each dish. I wanted to share some of our favorites so far.

We celebrated mothers day early and this was my mothers day treat and the boys enjoyed it with mommy!

Prosciutto Perfection

3 oz prosciutto, diced

4 already cooked chicken breasts, diced

2 leeks, trimmed and diced

1 bunch kale, diced

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Black pepper and garlic powder to taste

3 parsnips

Peel the parsnips and cut into chunks.  Place in your pressure cooker with a cup of water, bring to pressure and cook for 7 minutes.  If you do not have a pressure cooker, hurry up and get one; or you can steam the cut up parsnips for 10-15 minutes. While the parsnips are cooking, dice your meat and veggies.  Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet and add the diced leeks.  Cook until the leeks start to brown, add the diced prosciutto and cook for another 4-5 minutes.  Add the kale and saute until the kale is wilted.  Add the chicken, balsamic vinegar, garlic powder and black pepper.  Saute for another 3-4 minutes.   Remove the parsnips from the pressure cooker and mash.  Serve the stir fry over the mashed parsnips.

Sweet Potato and Egg Salad

2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small 1/2″ pieces

2 tablespoons coconut oil

5 hardboiled eggs, peeled and diced

1 cup leftover diced ham

2 tablespoons diced chives

2 tablespoons home made mayo

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

1. In a large skillet, heat the coconut oil over medium heat.  Once the oil is hot, add the cut up sweet potatoes and saute until the the potatoes are browned and fork tender.  Remove from heat and set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl add the diced eggs, ham, and chives.

3.  Add the cooked sweet potatoes, mayo, salt and pepper and mix well.

http://everydaypaleo.com/

Paleo Mayo

Secret for better tasting mayo, do not use extra virgin olive oil but instead use a light tasting olive oil, or a mild tasting oil such as walnut oil.  Also, try using a hand held mixer instead of a blender if you blender gets hot quickly which can mess up the emulsification process.

2 eggs

2 cups light tasting olive oil or walnut oil

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper

In a blender, add the eggs, vinegar, and mustard and blend together well – leave the blender running and slowly slowly slowly drop by drop or very slow drizzle add the oil.  BE PATIENT!!  Do not dump all the oil in quickly and give up!!  When the mixture begins to emulsify or thicken, only then can you be a bit faster about pouring in the olive oil but still take your time.  Turn the blender off once all the olive oil is in and the mayonnaise is thickened to your desired consistency.  Add the salt and cayenne pepper and mix well or blend again for another few seconds.

Now for the fun part – variations!!!  Always wait until after your mayonnaise is thick before you add seasoning but here is when you can get creative.  Add dried of fresh dill, fresh basil, or cilantro, garlic and onion, hot sauce, or even curry powder to make your own spreads, sauces and dips for just about everything as mentioned earlier in the post. Now, watch my video to see the fun twist that I put on our homemade mayonnaise!

http://everydaypaleo.com/

Seafood “Enchiladas”

1 medium onion, minced

2 tablespoons coconut oil or grass fed butter or ghee

2 cups tomato puree (make your own using 4 large tomatoes pureed in a food processor)

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 pound seafood of choice such as wild caught cod, shrimp, or crab (or other protein like shredded chicken or ground beef)

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Saute the onions in the coconut oil or butter until limp.

3. Add the tomato puree, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano and salt.  Mix well and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often.

4. Pour the sauce into a food processor and process until smooth.

5. Cover the bottom of a glass baking dish with the seafood.  Pour the enchilada sauce over the seafood, cover tightly with aluminum foil and back for 10-12 minutes or until the seafood is cooked.

6. Serve with sliced avocados, lime wedges, and cilantro.

*If using the coconut wraps, cook your meat prior to filling the wraps, stuff the wraps, roll, place in a baking dish, cover with the sauce and heat in  the oven for another 10-15 minutes or until warmed through and the sauce is bubbling.  

Enjoy!!

all recipes taken from http://everydaypaleo.com/