Category Archives: Paleo

Balsamic Rosemary Beets

This is a wonderful paleo side dish any time of year. It calls for fresh rosemary but you could also use the dried herb. Beets are nutritious and delicious, especially when roasted and seasoned.

roasted beets with balsamic and rosemary blog

Ingredients

  • 4 medium beets, peeled and cubed
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 400.
  • In medium bowl, combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly
  • Transfer to glass baking dish and cover with aluminum foil
  • Bake for 45 minutes
  • Remove foil and bake uncovered, for another 10-20 minutes until beets are tender when pierced with a fork
  • Serve hot, warm or cool

Thank you Paleo Cooking from Elana’s Pantry which has many more excellent recipes!

dit-elle-Esther

Sage and Rosemary Turkey Breakfast Sausage

The sage give these a delicious “breakfast sausage” flavor. Excellent served with Parsley, Cilantro and Tarragon Pesto.

turkey breakfast sausage with sage blog (2)turkey breakfast sausage with sage blog (1)

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs ground turkey
  • 2 Tbsp minced fresh sage
  • 1 Tbsp minced fresh rosemary
  • 1 Tbsp honey
  • 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil or coconut oil

Directions

  • Combine turkey, sage, rosemary, honey, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly
  • Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, form the mixture into 8 patties
  • Heat oil in large skillet over medium low heat
  • Cook patties, turning them once and pressing down to flatten, approx. 5-8 mins per side or until golden and crispy (mine turned out more steamed then crispy, but were still good!)
  • Serve and enjoy!

Thanks for the inspiration Paleo Cooking from Elana’s Pantry.

dit-elle-Esther

Parsley, Cilantro and Tarragon Pesto

Summer is here (at least it feels like it with temperatures reaching 90 in Seattle this past weekend) and it’s a great time to grill food.

This is a unique and flavorful pesto made with parsley, cilantro and tarragon. Serve over Marinated Flank Steak or with Turkey Breakfast Patties (I will post a recipe for those on Thursday) or chicken. Enjoy! 🙂

salsa verde parsley cilantro paleo blog (2)salsa verde parsley cilantro paleo blog (1)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped (1 1/2 cups)
  • 1/2 bunch cilantro (3/4 cup)
  • 2 sprigs tarragon and more for garnish
  • 1 Tbsp lemon zest
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • pepper to taste

Directions

  • In a blender, puree parsley, cilantro, tarragon and olive oil until smooth.
  • Blend in lemon zest, salt and pepper
  • Serve or refrigerate in a glass jar for a few days

Thanks for the inspiration Paleo Cooking from Elana’s Pantry, originally called Salsa Verde!

dit-elle-Esther

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Coconut Topping

You know summer is just around the corner when rhubarb is ready for the picking! Love rhubarb? So do we! Check out the “Rhubarb Collection” of recipes below, in addition to my latest FAVORITE Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Coconut Topping ! 🙂

rhubarb strawberry paleo crisp blog (2)rhubarb strawberry paleo crisp blog (1)

Ingredients

Filling

  • 6 large stalks of rhubarb, cleaned and cut into 1/8″ slices (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 2 lbs fresh strawberries, hulled
  • 2 Tbsp arrowroot powder (this is a thickener)
  • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Topping

  • 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1/4 cup golden flax meal
  • 2 Tbsp coconut flour
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil or butter
  • 2 Tbsp honey

Directions

  • Oven to 350
  • For filling: place rhubarb and strawberries in a large bowl
  • In a small bowl, mix orange juice and arrowroot powder until dissolved and then toss thoroughly with fruit
  • For topping: pulse together shredded coconut, flax, coconut flour in food processor
  • Add oil or butter and honey and pulse until dough forms
  • Sprinkle topping over fruit
  • Cover dish with tinfoil and bake 30-40 minutes until bubbling.. remove tinfoil and bake an additional 10 minutes until topping is crispy and golden
  • Serve warm!

I love making paleo dishes and then adding something totally non-paleo like ice-cream. 🙂 This crisp is on the tarter side, so vanilla ice-cream or simply some coconut milk actually adds a delicious balance! Without the ice-cream, this dish is paleo, gluten-free, dairy free, soy free, vegetarian, vegan.. you get the picture. Enjoy however it works best for you! 🙂

Thank you for the recipes and inspiration Elana’s Pantry.

Enjoy!

dit-elle-Esther

Sweet Potato, Carrot, Onion Hash

Truth be told, these started out in my mind as pancakes (clearly that didn’t happen!).  I’m not really sure they are a “hash”, but I couldn’t think of a good name for them.  They reminded me of the consistency of polenta, but I didn’t want to confuse anyone any more than I already was haha.

Whatever it ended up being still tasted really good, so it all worked out in the end 😉

I like that the carrots and onions add some additional nutrients/health benefits, and the eggs add a little protein!Blog Whole30 Paleo Sweet Potato Carrot Onion Mash-1 Blog Whole30 Paleo Sweet Potato Carrot Onion Mash-2What you need… (would feed 4-6 people)

  • One Large Sweet Potato
  • 1 medium onion
  • Handful of baby carrots (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1/2 Teaspoon crushed garlic
  • 2 eggs
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil (or oil of your choosing)

What to do…

Blog Whole30 Paleo Sweet Potato Carrot Onion Mash-3

  • Chop up  your sweet potato, onion, and carrots, and toss them into a Cuisinart.  Pulse until all finely diced.  Maya LOVES this part, and it’s an easy way to get your child involved in the  process 🙂
  • Whisk eggs and garlic together and add into the Cuisinart.  Pulsing a few more times, and scraping down the edges to blend.
  • Salt and pepper to taste.
  • In a large frying pan, heat oil until nice and hot.
  • Pour mixture into pan (I had to do it in two batches).  Wait until it gets nice and brown before flipping.  I loved the crispy parts in there!
  • Honestly, I made 4 little pancakes the first batch and attempted to keep them in tact.  They fell apart, so I just mixed them together in the end…Blog Whole30 Paleo Sweet Potato Carrot Onion Mash-4I served it with fish and a variation of my staple Mango Avocado Salad, and it was yummy!  I think it would be amazing with a fried egg and avocado too for brunch!  Really, the possibilities are endless 😉

Enjoy!dit-elle-Lauren

Roasted Garlic

Roasted Garlic is one of the easiest and elegant baked dishes! Slice top of garlic bulb, drizzle with some coconut oil, olive oil, or butter, bake in a hot oven for about an hour and voila. Perfectly tender garlic! The garlic will be soft and smooth so that you can spread it on toast or eat with veggies, add it to pasta, salad, or anything where you want some roasted garlic flavor. Enjoy!

roasted garlic blog (3)roasted garlic blog (2)roasted garlic blog (1)

Ingredients

  • One bulb of garlic, top sliced off (crosswise and you’ll slice some of the garlic cloves as well)
  • Oil or butter

Directions

  • Put oil or butter on garlic half, put top back on and bake for around one hour in a 400* hot oven
  • Serve hot or let cool and wrap in plastic or tinfoil and refrigerate

dit-elle-Esther

Sweet Potato, Guacamole, Chicken Sausage, Soft Boiled Egg…Breakfast for dinner?

I know I’m not the only person that loves breakfast for dinner!  And, I also know that it’s kind of a repeat for me, but…it’s easy and DELICIOUS!  Who wouldn’t want that?!

I literally came up with this meal 30 minutes before I was supposed to make it, and it took me approximately 30 minutes to make.  Admittedly, because I ran inside while Maya was playing with our neighbors.  I turned on the oven, peeled and chopped the sweet potatoes, seasoned them, and turned on the pot for the eggs, in…less than 5 minutes.  Then…we played for a few more minutes.

THANK GOD FOR LITTLE DISTRACTIONS, NO?!!!

And, precooked chicken sausages are a godsend in our household.  I freeze them for later, and soak them in a warm water bath right before I need them!

Diced up for a pasta meal, or sliced in half for this!  SO easy, delicious, and healthy!

Blog Sweet Potato Guacamole Chicken Sausage Soft Boiled Egg Whole30 Paleo Gluten Free-1 Blog Sweet Potato Guacamole Chicken Sausage Soft Boiled Egg Whole30 Paleo Gluten Free-2 What you need…

  • One sweet potato (for 2-4 people)
  • Olive Oil
  • Sea salt
  • 3 Pre Cooked Chicken sausage (Depending on the amount of people you want to feed!  I did one per adult, and half for Maya) I love Aidell’s, but there are so many good ones!
  • Avocado (or pre-made guacamole-yes, I cheated on this one!)
  • Eggs (2 for me and the Huz, one for Maya)

What to do…

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • Cut sweet potato in 1/2 inch slices
  • Lightly coat in olive oil (or oil of your choosing), and salt and pepper to taste
  • Start a pot of boiling water.  For me, it’s a LOT easier to soft boil eggs for more than two people.  If you want a runny egg and there’s more than 2, it’s way too much for me to manage on top of everything else!!!
  • Bake the sweet potatos in the oven for 20-25 minutes, flipping over half way through.
  • At the half way mark add chicken sausages that are cute in half.
  •  In that time, remove the eggs from the boiling water.  7 minutes = runny yolk, 8 minutes, less, so…I remove ours at 7, and then turn the heat off for Maya’s while ours then run under a cool water bath.
  • Once the sweet potatoes are crispy on the outside, take them and the chicken sausages out.
  • Layer everything and enjoy!dit-elle-Lauren

 

Asparagus Pistachio Pesto

It’s asparagus season and we are seeing a lot of beautiful crisp fresh green stalks in stores locally. If you love asparagus, lemon, garlic, olive oil and pistachios, you will LOVE this! It is totally, amazingly, delicious. This recipe directs you to blanch the asparagus quickly and then process into pesto. Perfect spring or summer appetizer or side! Enjoy! 🙂

asparagus pistachio pesto (2)asparagus pistachio pesto (1)

Ingredients

  • 1 lb asparagus, tough ends removed
  • 2-3 cloves minced garlic
  • 1/2 cup pistachios
  • 1 lemon, juiced (2 to 3 Tbsps, I used Champagne Vinegar)
  • Salt, to taste
  • Freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • 3/4 cup olive oil

Directions

  • Blanch or steam asparagus until al dente and still a bold green
  • Refresh in cool water
  • Cut asparagus into 1-inch pieces
  • In food processor, pulse garlic, pistachios, lemon juice, salt and pepper a few times, then add asparagus
  • Pulse the processor to make sure mixture is not over mixed, while gradually adding olive oil
  • Process until desired consistency

Thanks PCC Natural Markets!

dit-elle-Esther

Ginger, Chicken Sausage, Spaghetti Squash, Egg Muffins | Paleo, Whole30

I have always loved the taste of ginger, but have been even more inspired to add it into things after reading Esther’s post on the health benefits of it.  I mainly just loved the taste haha.

I had made another variation of these muffins a few months ago (with spinach!), and have kept meaning to make them again.  They are a little time consuming, but it’s SO worth it to have these ready to eat in the morning!  OR…for a snack 🙂Blog Whole 30 Paleo Ginger Spaghetti Squash Chicken Sausage Egg Muffins-1 Blog Whole 30 Paleo Ginger Spaghetti Squash Chicken Sausage Egg Muffins-2

What you need… (12 Muffins)

  • 5 Large Eggs
  • 2 cups spaghetti squash, cooked with water squeezed out.
  • 6 precooked chicken sausages, chopped into bite size pieces (I used these)
  • 1 Teaspoon ginger
  • 1/2 Teaspoon crushed garlic
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil (or fat of choice)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

What to do…

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  • Squeeze out all the moisture from the spaghetti squash with a paper towel and evenly distribute into lined muffin tins (This is my 2nd time making these and I spent almost as much time scrubbing the tins both times, even though I greased them!!).  I had Maya push a paper towel into them to get even more moisture out.  She thought it was fun, and it helped pack them in there!
  • Bake for 10 minutes til the spaghetti squash gets slightly browned at the edges.
  • While that is baking…In a large frying pan, heat up your oil (or fat of choice) with the ginger and garlic, and cook diced onions until soft.  I let Maya stir these up.  🙂
  • While these are cooking you can dice up your chicken sausage.  Once the onions are soft, add in the chicken sausage for a few minutes to warm them up and release the juices.
  • After the spaghetti squash has cooked, reduce  your heat to 350.
  • Evenly distribute the onion/chicken sausage on top of the spaghetti squash in the muffin tins.
  • Whisk all the eggs, and add salt and pepper to taste.  Maya loves whisking eggs, and it was an easy way for her to help!
  • Pour over the sausage and onion mixture until you can see the egg.  Not quite covering the sausage.
  • Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until the eggs are all the way cooked through.
  • Store in an air tight container, and eat through out the week!

Here are some behind the scenes video from us making these.  I’m totally inept at Snapchat, but we are both having fun with it.  Find us at lkahan-ditelle 🙂

ENJOY!! 🙂dit-elle-Lauren

Bacon Avocado Chipotle Sweet Potato Burger

Bacon avocado chipotle sauce sweet potato burger with asparagus!? What? Yes! Because all of these flavors are awesome together and this is a fabulous paleo dinner!

When I first went strict gluten free years ago because of a severe allergy (and I avoid most grains and legumes for health reasons) I had no idea how I would “survive without bread”. I loved it and flour and gluten is in “everything”! Well, I’ve learned a lot about gluten free and paleo cooking over the years, was in part inspiration for this blog with Lauren, and this is just one example of how a burger can be totally delicious.. without the bun and with more veggies! Enjoy. 🙂

paleo bacon avocado sweetpotato burger blog (2)paleo bacon avocado sweetpotato burger blog (1)IMG_1546

Ingredients

  • Hamburgers (fried or grilled)
  • Bacon strips (cooked)
  • Sweet potato rounds (peel potatoes, slice in 1/2 rounds, bake on oiled baking pan for ~20 minutes
  • Avocado slices
  • Chipotle sauce (1/4 cup mayo + 1/2 tsp taco or chipotle spice whisked together and refrigerated until ready to use)
  • Fresh steamed or grilled asparagus

Directions

  • Stack items as desired, smother in the chipotle sauce and serve!
  • Enjoy with a chilled beverage, my favorite is pear or apple cider! 🙂

 

dit-elle-Esther