Tag Archives: protein

Paleo Lemon Bars

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When life gives you.. lemons? Paleo lemon bars (pure deliciousness) to the rescue! These are a perfect cool summer dessert. Crowd pleasers and a great protein rich, not too sweet, not too tart dessert.

These did not last very long in my house.. just a warning, they are super yummy! 🙂

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Crust

  • 1/2 cup almond flour (or sesame flour if allergic to nuts)
  • 1/2 cup tapioca flour
  • 3 Tbsp raw honey
  • 2 Tbsp ghee or coconut oil (warmed if solid)
  • Zest of 1/2 lemon

Filling

  • 5 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp tapioca flour
  • 1/2 cup raw honey (warmed if solid)

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • Mix almond flour, tapioca flour, raw honey and lemon zest in a food processor until a crumbly dough forms
  • Press into the bottom of an 8×8 glass baking dish
  • Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes
  • To make filling, whisk eggs in a medium mixing bowl.
  • In a separate bowl whisk the lemon juice and tapioca flour until fully combined.
  • Whisk lemon mixture and eggs together, being careful to not over-whisk
  • Whisk in the raw honey
  • Pour filling over crust
  • Place in oven and let bake for ~25 minutes or until just set (firm on outside, a little wiggly in center)
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool, refrigerate until set, about 4 hours

Thanks for the inspiration http://www.paleocupboard.com/lemon-bars.html

dit-elle-Esther

Easy Herb and Parmesan Baked Salmon

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This is a super easy way to prepare salmon! Brush with a little olive oil, fresh herbs, some cheese and bake! Even my kids loved it (to my surprise, because they have not been fans of fish lately) – win win! 🙂

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Ingredients

  • 1lb slab of salmon
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • Some sprigs of fresh herbs (I used thyme and oregano), torn
  • Handful of parmesan cheese (omit if strict paleo)

Directions

  • Oil baking dish
  • Add salmon and brush lightly with oil
  • Sprinkle fresh herbs on salmon
  • Top with cheese
  • Bake @ 350 for 25-28 minutes

dit-elle-Esther

Paleo Cinnamon Coffee Cake

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Paleo coffee cake? This is gluten and grain free and made with high protein almond meal. It turned out fluffy and perfect and the kids loved it as well. I am working on a version with apples that I will post later. 🙂

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blog dogwood flowers blog

The flowers shown are from my Dogwood tree. Not edible, but they are a gorgeous rosy pink.

 

Ingredients

Cake

  • 2 ½ cups blanched almond flour
  • ÂĽ teaspoon celtic sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ÂĽ cup coconut oil
  • ½ cup honey or maple syrup
  • 3 large eggs

Topping

  • ÂĽ cup coconut oil, melted
  • ÂĽ cup coconut sugar (or maple syrup again works great)
  • 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
  • ½ cup sliced almonds (optional)

Directions

  1. Grease a 9-inch round baking dish with coconut oil and dust with almond flour
  2. In a food processor , combine almond flour, salt, and baking soda
  3. Pulse in coconut oil, honey, and eggs
  4. Spread the batter into prepared baking dish
  5. To make topping, combine coconut oil, coconut sugar, cinnamon, and sliced almonds in a bowl
  6. Brush topping over cake batter
  7. Bake at 350° for 25 to 35 minutes
  8. Cool and serve

Thanks and inspired by Elana’s Pantry

dit-elle-Esther

Lemon Pudding Parfait

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Lemon Pudding Parfait anyone? Protein rich and paleo! Top with some chilled whipped cream for some not so paleo but oh so delicious goodness!

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Ingredients

  • 12 egg yolks
  • ÂĽ cup agave nectar or honey
  • pinch celtic sea salt
  • ÂĽ cup lemon juice
  • ½ cup heavy cream or use a can of whipped cream to top the pudding – this will give a little extra sweetener (if you so desire) and is a little time saver! You could also drizzle with some coconut milk for a great dairy free option.

Directions

  • Place egg yolks, agave, and salt in a medium sauce pan
  • While heating over very low flame, whip with a hand blender for 6-8 minutes, then whip in lemon juice
  • Chill for a half an hour
  • If pudding separates, whip with hand blender for 1-2 minutes, until fluffy again
  • Whip cream in a separate bowl
  • Serve in small glasses, alternating layers of pudding and whipped cream
  • Garnish with berries

Serves 4

Thanks Elana’s Pantry! http://elanaspantry.com/lemon-pudding-parfait/

dit-elle-Esther

Easter Egg Science Project

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In preparation for Easter this weekend we did an Easter Egg science project! We used bright c

olored fruits and vegetables to dye hardboiled eggs. We tried onion skins, turmeric, blueberries, red cabbage and beets. Ava and Anders dipped and turned the eggs to make sure they were covered with liquid. They also decided when to take the eggs out or keep them in the dye if we thought they needed some more time! It was an awesome DIY kid project.. just make lots of hard boiled eggs because there were definitely some smashed eggs! 🙂

Ava showed up to the party in her usual preferred attire.. swimsuit. This girl is ready for summer.

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Ingredients

  • Hardboiled eggs
  • Onion skins
  • Turmeric, you can use the fresh root or dried ground powder
  • Beets
  • Blueberries
  • Red cabbage
  • White vinegar

Directions

  • I’m sure there’s more of a science behind this and there are a ton of resources online for naturally dyed Easter eggs, but for us this was more of an art than science.. here’s what we did.
  • I boiled some beets and saved the liquid – pretty pink!
  • Microwaved frozen blueberries with some water and mashed them with a fork – gorgeous robin egg blue
  • Boiled onion skins (just peel off the outer dry golden layer of skin) – golden yellow color
  • Boiled some grated fresh turmeric root – this yielded a beautiful orange
  • Boiled some red cabbage and saved the liquid – this was the faintest color – didn’t do much for our dyeing project.
  • We put each of the dyes on bowls and stirred in a tablespoon of vinegar
  • Then we submerged boiled eggs in the liquid and let it soak for between 2-10 minutes
  • We watched the eggs turning color and made observations on what the colors were.
  • Voila! Beautiful Easter eggs

dit-elle-Esther

Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil Cream Sauce

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Sound amazing? Look amazing? It is. Chicken is baked in a sun-dried and basil cream sauce.. wow!

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Ingredients

  • 4 chicken breasts
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more, to taste (optional)
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/3 cup julienned sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/4 cup basil leaves, chiffonade

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Melt butter in the skillet on medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant but not brown, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, heavy cream, sun dried tomatoes, Parmesan, thyme, oregano and basil.
  • Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes.
  • Place chicken into baking dish. Cover with sauce and place in hot oven.
  • Bake for about 45 minutes, or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 175 degrees F.
  • Serve chicken immediately, garnished with basil, if desired.

Thanks DamnDelicious.net for the inspiration. I modified the recipe quite a bit to make it quicker to make. But wow, that was still amazing!

dit-elle-Esther

Tossed Salad & Scrambled Eggs

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Need a quick go-to meal that includes protein and veggies? My quick fix meal is tossed salad and scrambled eggs (yes, I’m a fan of Frasier..:-)). You can add all sorts of veggies, cheeses, or leftover cooked meats for a delicious quick meal!

Here’s a my super fast recipe for scrambled eggs. Basically you put some oil in the pan and add whatever raw veggies/meats you wish, cooking for a few minutes, then crack the eggs directly into the pan stirring occasionally until no longer runny. Add cheese at the end, and mix it in by fluffing a bit with fork and serve!

Blog tossed salad eggs

Ingredients

  • Eggs
  • Oil for cooking
  • Veggies (my favorites include chopped asparagus, fresh spinach, artichoke hearts and sundried tomatoes)
  • Cheese (my favorite is goat, but try cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan or pepper jack or others)
  • Fresh herbs, spices, salt & pepper (to taste)
  • Cooked meats (bacon, chopped ham, etc)

Directions

  • Heat oil and saute herbs and veggies (onion until it’s translucent and garlic until fragrant if using either) for a few minutes
  • Crack eggs directly into pan and stir occasionally until eggs are no longer runny
  • Add cheese and salt/pepper to taste
  • Serve with tossed salad (salad greens + oil + balsamic vinaigrette)

Enjoy! 🙂

dit-elle-Esther

Smoked Salmon Dip

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This is a classic Smoked Salmon Dip with a hint of lemon juice and chopped dill – delicious as an appetizer, great dish to bring to a party, and it can be dressed up or down. Serve with cut vegetables, crackers, or toasted baguette!

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Ingredients

  • 8oz cream cheese
  • 2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 4 oz smoked salmon, chopped and divided
  • Dill springs (for garnish)
  • Serve with fresh cut vegetables, crackers or toasted bread

Directions

  • Combine first three ingredients in a food processor
  • Add half of the salmon and process until smooth
  • Fold in remaining half of salmon
  • Garnish with dill sprigs
  • Yields 12 servings

Super mom tip: This dip makes very well ahead of time. Simply cover and refrigerate a day in advance.

dit-elle-Esther

 

Sweet Potato, Sausage and Kale Soup

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It’s been rainy and damp this past week, so this soup seemed like a great dish – the sweetness of the sausage and sweet potatoes balance out the kale in a delicious way. Hot steamy bowl anyone? This recipe makes a large batch and freezes very well!

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Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 4 cups chopped onion (about 2 large)
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
  • 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 lb sweet turkey or chicken Italian sausage
  • 8 c. coarsely chopped peeled sweet potatoes (~2 lbs)
  • 5 c. water
  • 4 c. chicken broth
  • 1 bunch kale, rinsed and chopped
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • Salt / pepper to taste

Directions

  • Heat oil in large pot, add onion and sautĂ© for 5 minutes
  • Add garlic, salt & pepper (if desired) and sautĂ© for a minute
  • Remove casings from sausage and add sausage to pan
  • Cook 5 minutes or until sausage is lightly browned, stirring to crumble
  • Add potato, water and broth and bring to a boil
  • Reduce heat and simmer for ~8 minutes
  • Gradually add kale, cook another 10 minutes or until tender
  • Season with salt/pepper as needed
  • Makes 10 servings

dit-elle-Esther

Shakshuka

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What’s Shakshuka? That’s what I wondered too when I saw this recipe. Apparently it’s a popular dish in Tunisia and Israel – a thick sauce made of onions, peppers and tomatoes simmered with spices. Then you poach eggs directly on top of the sauce and serve. Yum!

Blog shakshuka

The recipe below makes 12 servings – a lot! You can easily cut it in half, or the sauce freezes very well!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 2 large yellow onions, diced
  • 10 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 tablespoons paprika
  • 1 tablespoon turmeric
  • 2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 3/4 teaspoon cayenne or harissa (optional)
  • 6 red or yellow bell peppers, seeded and diced
  • 2 (28-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, with juice
  • 1 quart low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1 tsp salt or to taste

Toppings

  • Eggs (optional)
  • Avocado (optional)
  • Feta cheese (optional)
  • Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Directions

  • In a large, deep saucepan over medium-high heat, warm olive oil. Add onions, and stir for several minutes, cooking until translucent and pale gold, about 10 minutes. Lower the heat to medium-low, add garlic and cook for several more minutes, being careful not to brown the garlic. Stir in spices, cayenne or harissa and bell peppers. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Add tomatoes with their juice and broth, stirring gently to blend. Simmer uncovered for 30 to 60 minutes, until liquids have reduced to a thick sauce. Taste and add salt as desired.
  • Warm the sauce to medium and poach one egg per person directly in the sauce.

To store: Divide equally between 3 large freezer tubs. Label with the name and date. Use within 6 months.

Thanks for the inspiration PCC Natural Markets.

dit-elle-Esther