Nutmegger

This new Paleo diet that I’ve been on for 4 weeks has been great – but I’m not going to lie that I miss some staples from my previous diet. Especially things like brown rice, quinoa, millet, and all these other grains that I had previously eaten every day.

Enter “faux” rice.

I’ve been hearing about cauliflower as a substitute for rice for a while now, but I’ve just never attempted to make it. Until the other night.

Honestly this dish kicked my craving for chinese food and was so so good! And not at all as scary a feat as I originally anticipated

Cauliflower + Chicken Fried Rice (inspired by Deliciously Organic)

• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1 T tamari sauce (I didn’t have this on hand so I just used balsamic vinegar. If you aren’t following paleo – regular soy sauce would work)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 head cauliflower
• 1 cup peas
• 2 carrots (cubed)
• 3 T coconut oil
• 4 T tamari sauce
• 2 eggs
• 4 green onions

1. Marinate chicken in tamari sauce and garlic for 30 minutes
2. Cut cauliflower into bite size pieces, place in food processor and pulse for 15 – 20 seconds (should look like the consistency of rice)
3. Place rice in a side bowl
4. Put peas and carrots in a saucepan, covered with water and boil for until tender (8 – 10 minutes). Drain
5. Head skillet over medium heat with 1 T coconut oil. Cook chicken and break up with wooden spoon. When done, move to a side dish and drain pan.
6. In same pan, add 2 T coconut oil. Add cauliflower and tamari and let it soak up (about 2 minutes).
7. Make a well in the center of the pan and crack in 2 eggs. Scramble until pretty well cooked and then mix in cauliflower. Add in peas, carrots, chicken, and green onions.

When is the last time you’ve had Chinese food?

I remember getting it all.the.time in high school (nights when my mom was at book club and dad was in charge of dinner, movie nights with friends, cheap date nights…) but since then, I rarely ever order Chinese food.

So when I stumbled upon this recipe for Paleo Beef & Broccoli, my initial instinct was no way. What kind of spices, sauces, tools would I need to make this anyway!? But then fond memories of ordering Beef & Broccoli with brown rice and egg roles, followed up with a witty fortune cookie where something always referred to having good (or bad) luck “in bed” came flooding into my head and I just had to check out the recipe.

What? It was super simple and I had all of the ingredients on hand, minus the steak and a few vegetables. Done deal.

I’ve been wanting to experiment with cooking steak at home since I’ve started on this Paleo path, and since I typically don’t cook meat at home, this was definitely an adventure. I ordered 1 lb of grassfed lean sirloin steak on Sunday and proceeded to call my mom to figure out how long it could stay in the fridge until it should be frozen.

This turned into another call last night when I opened up the package and noticed that it had turned a little bit gray-ish color on the outside….cooking with meat honestly does make me nervous but the package said “sell by 10/12″ so I think I should be okay…if I die in the next 48 hours, I purchased this from Whole Foods in Philadelphia (you’ll know the culprit).

Does anyone have any tips for making steak at home? What is kind of the rule of thumb for refrigerating / defrosting / etc? 

Paleo Beef + Broccoli

• 2 Tbs coconut oil
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 lb grassfed sirloin steak, cut into very thin strips
• juice from 1 lemon
• 1 Tbs flax meal
• 2 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 cups broccoli, cut into flowerets
• 2 green onion, thinly sliced

Anytime I think of spaghetti squash, I always just assume it’s going to substitute as spaghetti, and therefore, I’ll make spaghetti and meatballs with tomato sauce.  But as I’ve been experimenting with new paleo recipes, I’ve come across a whole slew of creative things to do with this versatile ingredient!

Today, I went super green.

I read an article today about the red cape vs green cape theory. Let’s say you could be a super hero and you can design your own costume. If you choose a red cape, then you will have the super ability to fight danger/crime. If you choose a green cape, then you will have the superhero powers to foster good deeds, love, and harmony. Which would you choose?

I found I was of the mindset that helping to build more good in the world, will ultimately help to decrease the bad. In other words, I’d been flying around wearing one bright green cape.

Perhaps that influenced my dinner to some level as well. I’m feeling like I definitely helped to build some additional love and harmony in my kitchen with this dish!

Chicken “Pasta” with Avocado/Spinach Sauce (adapted from PaleoOMG)

• 1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise, seeds removed
• 2 avocados, pits removed
• 6 cups of fresh spinach
• 1lb chicken, diced
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, stems removed
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• juice of 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon thyme
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cut spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise, and remove the excess seeds and strings (save these to roast later!)
3. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil and salt on the halves, place face down and cook for 30 minutes. When they’re done, the strings will be able to peel out easily.
4. While your spaghetti squash cooks, place a tablespoon of coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
5. Add two minced garlic cloves to your hot pan and then toss in your spinach. Let your spinach wilt down, then add it to your food processor.

1. In the same pan, add your diced chicken to cook through.
2. Then add 1/2 tablespoon of thyme, garlic powder, and a bit of salt and pepper to the pan and mix well.
3. While your chicken cooks down, add 2 avocados to your food processor along with your lemon, fresh basil, 1/2 tablespoon of thyme, and garlic powder and a bit of salt and pepper, to taste. Add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and blend until smooth.
4. Once spaghetti squash is done, wait until cooled and then peel out threads.
5. When chicken is done, add together and mix up!