Tag Archives: paleo

Crockpot Veggie Pasta and Turkey Meat Sauce

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I’ve been on a total crockpot kick lately.  That seems to happen every winter, and before the urge kicks in, I always think…

“Why don’t I use my crock pot more??!!”

Then, I do, and I think…

“Why don’t I use my crock pot more??!!”!!!

Every post I do on my crockpot meals, I wax poetic on the fabulousness of it, but then the spring and summer roll around and I forget about it.  I’m determined to make things all year round!  It’s SO easy, and the smell walking into your home after not being home all day/or even if you ARE home all day…YUM!!!

And I don’t know about where you live, but here in Seattle…spring has NOT sprung, and warm yummy dinners still sound amazing!

So, I decided to try spaghetti and meat sauce.  Total classic.  Total crowd pleaser when you have kids.  Pretty cheap too!  And…it can be healthy and easy!

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Ingredients (feeds 4 with leftovers)

  • 2 lbs ground turkey. I like to make it heavy on the protein!
  • 1 Can of pasta sauce.  I used a 32 oz jar (check labels if you are on Whole30)
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed ginger
  • 1/2 Teaspoon crushed garlic
  • 1 Medium to Large Onion
  • 1/2 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning.
  • 1/2 a box of Pasta (again, I go light on this end and used veggie pasta.  You could use gluten free OR 2 cups zoodles or sweet potato noodles etc if you are Whole30!)

Directions

  • Place Diced Onion, Crushed Ginger, and Crushed Garlic, Ground Turkey (Yes, I put mine in mostly frozen because…no time to dethaw, and it still worked out great!), Jar of Pasta sauce and Italian seasonings in the crockpot, and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 5.
  • When you are about 10-15 minutes out, you can add the pasta or zoodles etc and they will cook to being tender.  I think they’d be mushy if you added them in at the beginning, but let me know if you try!  I even added them after the cook time when it was in “warm” mode, and it worked!

Enjoy!dit-elle-Lauren

Grilled Orange Chicken with Onions and Quinoa

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Last week I posted a recipe for a easy, refreshing, delicious Clementine Goat Cheese Salad.  I mentioned in that post, that I made this dish to go with it, and here it is!

I rarely use recipes (ironic, no?!), but one thing I love doing, is repeating flavors in the different dishes of the meal.  I used the same flavors in the chicken, the quinoa, and also the salad.  It cuts down on needing a bunch of different ingredients, and makes everything go so well together!

blog-orange-onion-chicken-and-quinioa-1This tastes great on it’s own, but even better when paired with the salad… blog-orange-onion-chicken-and-quinioa-2

What You Need… (feeds 4)

  • 4  Chicken Breasts
  • 1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 Tsp Minced Garlic
  • 1 Sprig of Rosemary or 1 Tablespoon
  • 1 Medium sized Orange
  • 1 medium sized onion
  • 1 Cup uncooked Quinoa (Omit or sub out with cauliflower rice for Paleo/Whole 30 option)
  • Sea Salt and Pepper to taste.

What You Do…

  • Pour Olive Oil, Garlic, Rosemary, and juice from half the orange, into a small bowl and stir.
  • Take 2/3rds of the liquid and pour over chicken breasts in a large bowl or zip lock bag.  Slice the other half of the orange and place inside bag/in bowl.  Salt and Pepper to taste.  Let that all marinate for 30+ minutes.  If you want to do this in the morning and let it marinate in the refrigerator all day…even better!
  • Slice Onion in 1/2 inch slices and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.
  • Light your grill to medium heat and let it get hot.
  • Take quinoa and either place in a rice cooker (what I did) and add left over 1/3rd mixture from above and cook.  It’s usually done in 20 minutes.
  • Or, if you don’t have a rice cooker, cook on stove top with 2 cups water plus added 1/3rd left over mixture.  Bring to a boil.  Lower heat and let it cook covered for another 15 minutes.  Let it sit for another 5 minutes covered but with the heat turned off.  Fluff it up.
  • While Quinoa is cooking place chicken, onions, and orange slices on the grill.  Cook on each side for 7-8 minutes (depending on breast size).
  • Layer quinoa in a serving dish (I drizzled a little of the salad dressing over the top, but you could just drizzle with a little olive oil), then top with chicken, onions, and oranges.

Enjoy!!

dit-elle-Lauren

Broccoli Salad with Bacon and Red Onions

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This is a great raw broccoli salad recipe!

broccoli-bacon-red-onion-salad

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 lbs broccoli
  • 10 strips crisp bacon
  • 1 large red onion
  • 1/3 c raisins
  • 2 Tbsp vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 c toasted sunflower seeds

Directions

  • Cut broccoli and stems into bit sized pieces
  • Fry bacon until crisp and set aside. Crumble.
  • In large bowl, combine broccoli, onion, raisins and bacon
  • Add vinegar pepper and sunflower seeds and toss well to combine

The original recipe which I got from my Grandma, included a 1/4 cup sugar (most recipes from the 50’s era seem to have a lot of sugar :)). I omitted all sugar to make this a paleo salad, and it tasted great!

Enjoy! 🙂

dit-elle-Esther

Clementine Goat Cheese Salad

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Every night I try and make a big salad to go with dinner.  I like to throw in a lot of good veggies and or fruits to pack in the nutrients and vitamins in one yummy bowl.

Lately, I’ve been making my own dressing too.  I keep it pretty simple, but throw in fun things that compliment what’s in the salad every once in a while.

All in all it takes only a few minutes to throw this together, and it tastes light and delicious, yet packs in the flavor!

Next week I’ll post the Orange Chicken with Grilled Onions and Quinoa that I made to go along with this.  It all went so well together-YUM!

Blog Clementine Goat Cheese Salad-1 Blog Clementine Goat Cheese Salad2(I’ll be honest, I don’t measure, so the below are approximates to feed 3-4 people)

Dressing

  •  2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Juice from one crushed clementine
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Pure Maple Syrup
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Drizzle all over the salad with Trader Joe’s Balsamic Glaze

Salad

  • One large handful of greens per person that you want to feed
  • 1-2 clementines quartered and sliced in half
  • 1 oz goat cheese crumbled (omit for Paleo or Whole 30 option)
  • Additional toppings that I frequently use (crushed almonds, or walnuts, pumpkin seeds, or hemp seeds)

Enjoy!dit-elle-Lauren

Balsamic Strawberries

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I discovered strawberries with balsamic recently – wow – yum! Strawberry goodness with a pop from the vinegar and pepper. Try it!

balsamic strawberries blog

Ingredients

  • 2 cups strawberries, rinsed and sliced
  • 1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp Sugar (optional, omit for paleo version)
  • Pepper to taste
  • Mint for garnish

Directions

  • Combine all ingredients and let marinade for at least an hour or up to four
  • Enjoy!

dit-elle-Esther

Zucchini Mini Pizzas

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zucchini mini pizzas blog (2)zucchini mini pizzas blog (1)

Ingredients

  • Zucchini, sliced 1/2″ thick
  • Tomato or meat sauce
  • Cheese
  • Fresh or dried spices like basil, oregano, thyme
  • Any other favorite pizza toppings

Directions

  • Heat oven to 35o*
  • Set zucchini slices on parchment paper on a baking sheet
  • Top with sauce, spices and cheese
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and toasty
  • Cool a bit and enjoy!

Inspired by http://www.howsweeteats.com/2016/07/mini-zucchini-pizzas-3-ways/

dit-elle-Esther

Blackberry Vanilla Coconut Pops

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Ready for some more blackberry inspiration? Try these Blackberry Vanilla Coconut Pops. Low sugar and kid approved! Not just for the kids, these are a cool treat for anyone on a summer day.

blackberry coconut paleo popcicles blog

Ingredients

  • 2 cups blackberries
  • 2 Tbsp honey, divided (or more if needed)
  • 1 tsp vanilla, divided
  • 1 can full fat coconut milk
  • 1 Tbsp water

Directions

  • In a saucepan over medium-low heat, combine blackberries, 1 Tbsp water, 1 heaping Tbsp honey. Simmer, stirring gently, 3 to 5 minutes. Mash berries with a spatula as they cook. Remove from heat and add 1/2 tsp vanilla.
  • Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing with spatula to extract all liquid. Discard solids, and set liquids aside to cool.
  • In another saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the coconut milk with another 1 heaping Tbsp honey. Simmer, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes or until thoroughly blended. Remove from heat, stir in 1/2 tsp vanilla, and set aside to cool.
  • Fill pop molds 2/3 full with coconut mixture and then pour in blackberry mixture until mold is full. Insert sticks and freeze.
  • Enjoy! 🙂

dit-elle-Esther

Princess Pink Drink (or Red Currant Flavored Water)

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Red Currents are a lovely berry and I planted a bush for the kids to graze on a few years ago. It’s a berry that grew in abundance in Norway where I grew up (read more about red currants in last years blog post) and I have fond memories of snacking on picking berries that were warming in the sun. To me, they taste like summer in Norway.

Ava loves little cooking projects and making drink concoctions. She loves feeding them to test bunnies like her Grandma. Here, Ava and I turned sparkling water into a ‘festive and pink’ party drink. No sugar, no other additives.. simply mash berries and strain juice. Discard solids. Mix with sparkling water and top with some berries as garnish! Voila! Berry water for the princess party!

red currant festive water for blog (3)red currant festive water for blog (2)red currant festive water for blog (1)

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup of red currants and a small handful for garnish
  • Sparkling water
  • Ice

Directions

  • Mash berries in strainer
  • Discard solids and save the juice
  • In a large glass pitcher with ice and sparkling water, add berry juice
  • Stir and garnish each glass with some fresh berries
  • Pinkalicious would approve!

dit-elle-Esther

Blackberry Season

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It’s blackberry season in Seattle! The season can be pretty long depending on weather. A bunch can have flowers, little green berries, ripening red berries and juicy sweet blackberries all at once! 🙂

Blackberries are known for their fiber and nutrients (like vitamin C and K) and antioxidant properties.. and of course, their tastiness! They are a great berry for pies, cobblers, crisps, shakes, cordial and other drinks.

We have a lot of recipes with blackberries on this blog, simply type in the keyword on our homepage! Because blackberries tend to grow wherever the vines reach, it’s a great activity for big and small.. berries are often found at or near ground level. Pick, eat, enjoy! And I’ll be posting more recipes as the summer goes on! 🙂

Blackberries july 2016 for blog (1)Blackberries july 2016 for blog (3)Blackberries july 2016 for blog (2)

Enjoy blackberry season! 🙂

dit-elle-Esther

Watermelon Mint Infused Water

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I’ve been wanting to try more infused waters lately.  In my mind, they are a lot of work, but really…they aren’t!

I carved up a watermelon for the 4th of July, and we had some pieces left over in the fridge that I didn’t think were going to get eaten.  SO…I poured some of the left over juice and a few pieces of watermelon with some mint into a few water bottles.

I mean to let them sit for a day, but… “LIFE”

Two days later, I tried them, and YUM!!!Blog Watermelon Mint Infused Water-1 Blog Watermelon Mint Infused Water-2 Blog Watermelon Mint Infused Water-3Maya wasn’t as sure.  She was more consumed with getting the watermelon out of the bottom haha 🙂 Blog Watermelon Mint Infused Water-4What you need…

  • 2 cups of Watermelon (depending on how much water you want to infuse!)
  • 1/4 Cup Watermelon juice (I made this after I had cut a watermelon a few days earlier and there was juice at the bottom of the dish.  You could also muddle a few pieces if you are doing this all at once.)
  • 5-6 sprigs of mind torn into pieces

What you do…

  • Put water, watermelon, watermelon juice, and mint into (individual water glasses or a giant water container).
  • Let it sit overnight….or two 🙂  Then…

Enjoy!dit-elle-Lauren