Monday, April 28, 2014

Paleo Ranch Dressing



Having my family give up some of their favorite condiments when we went Paleo was not an easy sacrifice at first.  But when I read the ingredients (corn syrup, soybean oil, canola oil, preservatives, sugar, etc.) on the bottle of some of dressings in our refrigerator I knew we had to make a change. I scoured the internet for Paleo replacements.  Once you have a few Paleo dressing recipes under your belt you find that preparing them takes very little time.  And I feel better about giving them the Paleo versions when I think of what is in a lot of popular dressings and condiments.

Ingredients

1 C Paleo Mayonnaise
1/3 C full fat coconut milk
2 Tbl lemon juice
2 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp dried chives
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried dill
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed

Directions
Stir the ingredients together in a bowl until smooth.  Pour into a reusable dressing bottle or container with a lid.  Store in the refrigerator to thicken before serving.  This dressing will keep for a week in the refrigerator.

This recipe will fill a dressing bottle and works well for my family of 5 for the week.  Feel free to cut the recipe in half if you have a smaller household.  Also a great dip for crudite.

Recipe adapted from "Nom Nom Paleo Food for Humans" cookbook, by Michelle Tam & Henry Fong

Monday, April 21, 2014

Sweet Potato Salad

The weather is beautiful these days.  Which means BBQ and potlucks!  Here is a perfect side dish for you to share.  This recipe makes enough for you to share with a large group.  Feel free to cut it in half for a smaller crowd.



SWEET POTATO SALAD

Ingredients

3 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, roasted, peeled, and cubed

8 eggs, hard boiled and chopped

5 celery ribs, thinly sliced

1/3 Cup red onion, minced

2-3 tsp dried dill

1/3 - 1/2 Cup Paleo mayonnaise, (I use this recipe).

1/4 - 1/2 tsp coarse ground black pepper

3/4 - 1 tsp sea salt


Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Wash and dry your sweet potatoes and set them on a sheet pan.  Roast in oven for approx. 35 minutes.  The size of your sweet potatoes will determine if you need to add some time or take it down a little.  Make sure your sweet potato is had a little softness too it when you press on it.  You definitely don't want it mushy.  A little give when you press on it.  Once it is cooked, removed from the oven and cool.

2.  Once cooled, peel and cube your sweet potatoes.  Add to a large mixing bowl.

3.  Once your eggs are cooled, chop and add them to sweet potatoes.

4.  Add celery, onion, dill, mayo, salt and pepper.  Mix gently to combine.

5.  Refrigerate until you are ready to serve.  Will keep in the fridge for approx 3-4 days but don't be surprised if it is gone before then.


Wednesday, April 2, 2014

GREEN JUICE!!!!!

Are you consuming enough carbs?

Green Juice is a great way to make sure you are taking in enough carbs and it is super simple to make. It is also a great way to get your kids to "eat" their veggies!

You don't need a fancy juicer or blender to do this either!

I went out and bought a Black and Decker blender on sale for around $20.

If you have never done this before and are used to drinking sweet smoothies you may have to do some trial and error to figure out what you like.

The ingredients in the Green Juice I made in the image were:

1cup of Spinach
1cup of Kale
A tiny bit of Parsley
1 Basil Leaf
1/2 a Green Apple
Some Diced Pineapple and a little Pineapple Juice
1/2 Banana
1/2 an Avocado
A tiny bit of Ginger
1/2 Squeezed Lemon
Some crushed ice and a little water

You want to layer the ingredients, lightest on the bottom, heaviest on the top. This way it will help push everything down when blending.  

I have never used a juicer, but I have heard they are more messy and waste a lot of the food. With the blender you use skin and all, and don't waste anything.

These would be super easy to Zone as well. If you would like me to Zone one please comment!

*You cannot taste the Spinach or Kale. The Avocado gives it a more smoothie type consistency. You can use coconut water, milk, almond milk in place of the water.