Paleoats

 

1-cup coconut milk

1-cup water

1 cup uncooked quinoa

2 TBLSP butter

Directions

Pour coconut milk and water into a medium saucepan. Bring to a light boil. Add quinoa, cover and cook about 15 minutes or until all the liquid has been soaked up.

Pour into bowl, top with anything you like: Honey, berries, nuts, cinnamon, and more milk.

 

Other ways to make and serve:

  This could also be made into a rice pudding by just adding a bit more (1/2 c) coconut/almond milk, 2 tsp vanilla, cinnamon and raisins to taste. I would cook 5 minutes more and then serve. to make vegetarian/vegan leave out the butter and honey and sweeten with monk fruit or coconut sugar.

Paleo Spaghetti and meatballs!

• Meatballs:
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion, peeled and grated
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 TBLSP chopped fresh basil (1/2 TBLSP dried)
• 2 TBLSP chopped fresh Oregano (1/2 TBLSP dried)
• 1 tsp red pepper flake
• 1/2 C diced apples or cooked quinoa
• 1 egg, wisked
• 1/4 C milk
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Pasta:
• 1 large spaghetti squash
• 2 cups cold water
• Salt and olive oil
• Sauce:
• 1 14 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 TBLSP honey
• Same amount of fresh herbs (dried) as meatballs
• 1 tsp red pepper flake
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 C chopped/sliced mushrooms
• 4 oz can sliced black olives
• ½ zucchini squash sliced
• 1 small bell pepper, chopped
• 1 TBSLP olive oil

Directions

1. Meatballs: Dump All ingredients for meatballs into mixing bowl. Mix by hand until all ingredients are throughout meat mixture. Heat 1 TBLSP oil in a pan. Wet hands with water and begin forming meatballs about the size of a golf ball (or smaller), trying to keep them all the same size. Place in heated skillet and cook on all sides until brown. Cook meatballs in two batches so as not to overcrowd your pan. Keep warm on stove top until sauce is done.
2. Squash: Carefully cut squash in half. Scoop out seeds. Place cut side down in 2-3 inches of water in a pot. Turn on high and put on lid. Cook for 20 minutes or until knife inserted into skin comes out easily. Drain and shred with a fork.
3. While waiting for squash to cook begin making sauce by putting 2 more TBLSPs olive oil into a sauté skillet. Toss in onions, pepper flake and garlic. Cook until translucent. Add rest of the chopped veggies, and cook three to five minutes. Add tomato, herbs and season. Add meatballs, and simmer on low stirring every once in a while. Cook for 20-30 minutes.
4. Serve with "pasta", dishing out 4-6 meatballs onto each plate. Serves 4-6.

Footnotes

• This recipe can be made vegetarian by not making meatballs and just the sauce with all the veggies and serving over the cooked squash.

Spicy Pineapple Shrimp Packet

1 LB medium shrimp (whatever your preference as far as cleaning, shells, veins, etc)
1 C chopped pineapple
1 C chopped bell pepper
1 tsp minced ginger
1 TBLSP minced garlic
2 TBLSP Sechwan Sauce or Siracha
1/2 C onion, chopped
2 TBLSP coconut oil
salt and pepper to taste

Make a foil square big enough to hold all the ingredients. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Clean shrimp, shell shrimp if needed or as desired. Mix all  ingredients in bowl and pour over foil square. Seal and place on sheet pan. Cook in oven for 20-25 minutes or until shrimp are done (red/pink and curled). Serve over quinoa.

Nori and Carrot Chips

So, I am four days and counting to the new Paleo lifestyle and already have had one handful of Doritos and a slice of bread slathered in Nutella. The cutting of the sugar and the carbs is going to be a struggle, and I have been scouring the internet for snack food craving relief. I found two things today that I am hoping will satisfy my need to crunch and munch, something besides nuts and seeds...so, I am giving Nori and carrot chips a whirl.

I found recipes for both and of course gave my own spin on them. Please give these a try and hopefully you will find, just as I have, that savory can take the place of sweet.

Nori (seaweed) chips

Take your Nori (make sure it is pure seaweed, no soy) and cut into smaller squares or triangles. I just used kitchen shears and snip, snip, snip. Spread them out onto a sheet pan. Make sure it is an even layer. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. I sprayed the nori with olive oil spray lightly and then sprinkled with sesame seed and sea salt. Bake the Nori for 15 minutes. Cool, place in a resealable bag and enjoy!

Carrot Chips.

These were trickier. I used large carrots and cut them into rounds, as thin as possible. By hand was harder because when I baked, some of the rounds were still too thick and didn't crisp up. I would actually recommend using a food processor or a mandolin slicer that you can adjust. These chips need to be THIN. If you don't have either, just use a veggie peeler and cut long strips. I think this works better because it keeps the carrot the same size, unlike rounds which get smaller or larger as you make your way thru the root vegetable. Anyway, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Put carrot ribbons on a sheet pan, again, as with the Nori, in an even layer. Sprinkle with coconut oil/olive oil, cumin, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and curry powder. Mix with clean hands until everything is coated. Bake for 15 minutes, watching closely as to not burn the carrots. Let cool, place in bag or storage container and enjoy.

Bittersweet Chocolate Paleo Snack

2 bars bittersweet chocolate, melted over a double boiler
1 TBLSP honey
1 TBLSP coconut oil

1/4 C Each:
Raisins,
Dried Cranberries
Almonds
Cashews
Pecans
walnuts

2TBLSP shredded coconut
2 TBLSP pumpkin seeds

Put all ingredients into melted chocolate, honey and coconut oil, stir until coated. Pour out onto wax paper on a cookie sheet. Spread out into even layer. Place in fridge or freezer and chill until chocolate has hardened. Break apart into pieces. Enjoy as a snack between meals or a dessert after dinner.