Low Carb...NO CARB?

I'm always tweaking my diet and have, for the past couple weeks, mostly eating vegetables for my carbohydrates (little to no fruit) and been feeling great.

Until Sunday when I got that flu bug...so I thought I would reevaluate and go back to eating about 1-2 pieces of fruit a day. Grapefruits are super tasty this time of year as are oranges. Now with eating paleo I have to do a lot of chopping, prep and shopping if I am going to get enough carbs from veggies. But how much does one really need? Todays posting on Mark's Daily Apple was very timely so if you get a second and are curious about carb intake (like I am) take a look-see at the following link(s).

Tonight I made wild sea scallops on angel hair pasta, just kidding it was spaghetti squash but we pretended. The picture just didn't look right and the meal was very self explanatory so no more details to follow...just check out the links from Mark's Daily Apple on carb consumption

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/unrestricted-low-carb-diet-wins-hands-down/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/low-carb-diets-affect-short-term-memory/

Carrot, Leek, Turnip Sautee

Sandy, dirty leeks are such a pain but I feel like some sort of giant dealing with green onions when cutting them... so thats pretty cool ;)

I did find a easy way to clean them so if you are brave enough to try this recipe, clean your leeks like this:

1. cut the root off and the last 4-5 inches (down until the rough green turns into the lighter green on the stalk)
2. slice into 1/2 inch rings
3. spread all the inset pieces out like a telescope
4. dip and rustle around in a bowl of water until all pieces are washed in the bowl
5. let the sand/dirt settle to the bottom of the bowl
6. take out all the leek pieces and put them in a colander to rinse once more.

Ok, your leeks are ready for business.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

3 leeks, 1/2 inch rings

6 carrots 1/4 inch slices on the bias

2 turnips, cut into 1/2 inch wedges

3 shallots (minced)

2 TBS of coconut oil

1/2 tsp caraway seed

2 tsp parsley

2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp dry mustard

Create:

Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet for a couple minutes on medium

Throw all the veggies in and cook them covered for 1 minute add sea salt and pepper to taste

Cover and cook on medium low for 5 minutes stirring occasionally

Uncover and continue to cook for 25 minutes until veggies are softer--during this time add your spices (caraway is what is used in rye bread so if you don't like that taste beware)

Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 more mintues

"Creatively" Stuffed Peppers

OSTRICH.

Do I have your attention?

I went to Giant today to pick up a few things that we couldn't get at Costco on Sunday (garlic, eggs (they were out of the good ones), leeks, and cauliflower...) and I found myself digging in the meat section.

I found OSTRICH. So good for you and I love changing it up with meat choices.

So tonight I wanted to use some of the peppers we bought at Costco and my new ostrich meat.

Ingredients:

one head of organic cauliflower (giant grocery store)

8 oz ostrich (cut into tiny pieces) or just buy ground ostrich

3 TBS sundried tomatoes chopped really finely

1 TBS organic tomato paste

1 TBS lemon

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp cinnamon

10 olives ( i used green olives stuffed with garlic that I got from costco)

4 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup of pinenuts

Create:

In a mixing bowl mash all the ingredients except for the pinenuts, cauliflower and ostrich so that its like a sort of paste then use that paste to cook up the ostrich.

throw the pinenuts in a skillet and roast them on medium (they will start to smell kind of like popcorn but be careful they don't burn) set aside

then cut the leafy stem off then dig out the core a little bit and start breaking off the cauliflower into little pieces. With 1/4 cup of olive oil (i used the rest of our almond oil) and sea salt and pepper toss the cauliflower to get it lightly coated with the oil before putting it on a parchment lined cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. set aside.

Once you have the pinenuts toasted, the cauliflower roasted and the ostrich+tomato/olive paste sauteed you can chop up the pinenuts and cauliflower (I only used about 2/3 of the cauliflower actually) and throw it in with the meat mixture. This is the filling for your peppers.

Then cut the tops of your peppers off (like you would to carve a pumpkin and save the tops). Hollowed the peppers out (I used orange peppers). Stuff the peppers with the meat mixture and place in a crock pot on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 3 hours.

I think I got all the steps...Enjoy!

FIRST WEEK SUCCESS

Great, great job everyone! I know how hard it is to make this work with our busy schedules, limited $$$, and huge appetites (we won't mention anything about hurdles in the creativity department ;) )

Since we are embarking on Week Numero Dos, I wanted to post another primer on this crazy Paleo thing just to keep the motivation and stuff rolling along.

I have some people emailing me outside of this blog forum so, remember if you have a specific question don't be afraid to ask : paleomac@gmail.com

Ready for your Second Week on the path to a new healthy, quicker, happier you??!!

Chicken MacNuggets

Get it, MacNuggets? Ok, maybe a tad cheesy, or not cheesy bc this is paleo but a little silly. ok, i'll stop and get on with posting another convenient recipe for a hassle-free week of leftovers.

Ingredients:

(1.5 lbs?) 6 chicken breasts, sliced in half to make them thinner and then sliced again into strips

(2 cups?) enough almond meal to coat the chicken pieces. You my need more or less depending on the thickness of your "breading".

(2?) enough egg to dip your chicken in and have the almond meal stick.

spices: italian seasonings like parsley, thyme, basil, oregano, tarragon, etc.

garlic powder/onion powder

sea salt and pepper

optional variations:

1. hot sauce in the egg goop for a little bit of a kick

2. use homemade mayonnaise instead of plain old eggs for the pre almond dip. very tasty.

Create:

Preheat the oven to 375

Tin foil wrap your cookie sheets for easy clean up (and you may have leftovers and can reuse the tin foil when you freeze these suckers.

Smear coconut oil or olive oil on the tin foiled cookie sheets so that the chicken strip's almond coating won't get pulled off after they are done. The tin foil does need the "breading" you do!

Pat dry your chicken strips so that the egg/almond will stick the best

Mix almond meal with your seasonings

Dip chicken in egg (or now would be the time to dip in mayo if you are going that route) then almond meal (you can put the almond meal in a large ziploc bag and drop a bunch of the egg dipped strips in at one time to minimize on mess).

Line 'em up on the cookie sheets and bake for 12-15 minutes

We made about 8 chicken breasts for our five nieces and nephews over Thanksgiving (actually I had nothing to do with it!) and had to turn them away empty handed when they gobbled them all up! They were a hit and super easy.

**Dipping sauces** are not paleo but we can make them

Really miss ketchup?

Here is another one for mayo...

How about barbeque sauce?

Beware, Honey mustard, in extreme moderation!!

(substitute olive oil or some other oil for corn oil in the recipe link above

Enjoy!