Monthly Archives: May 2010

Grill It Up – Salmon Two Ways….

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I’m so grateful for the warm weather that has finally arrived here in Chico, CA.  We sat outside last night to eat our awesome salmon dinner and maybe it was my glass of wine that did it, but I was in a happy yet contemplative mood.  While all the craziness in this world often lingers on the periphery of our day to day lives, it’s important to sit back and realize that when it boils right down to it –  life can’t get much better then grilled salmon, red wine, crazy kids, and good health!   My wish to all of you on this memorial day is just that – a day of good food, friends, family and health.  Most importantly - a heartfelt thank you, quiet remembrance, and humble admiration to those who protect our freedom and to those who gave their lives for us so that we may have the ability to enjoy the simple things…. 

Here’s a couple of grilled salmon recipes that are incredibly good.  We served the salmon with vegetable kabobs that were seasoned just with olive oil and black pepper.  We also grilled up some fat burgers – just because… There was a little bit of left over salmon that we ate with our eggs this morning – which was also scrumptious. 

Spice It Up Salmon

2 wild caught salmon fillets

2 pinches of sea salt

ground black pepper to taste

1 tbsp fresh thyme

1/4 tsp ginger

2 pinches of cayenne pepper

2 pinches of cumin

olive oil – enough to make a paste

Heat your grill – we set our gas grill on medium.  In a small bowl crush the garlic cloves, add the remaining spices, and add enough olive oil to make a paste – a couple tablespoons typically.  Place the salmon fillets skin down on a large sheet of tin foil.  Fold the sides up on the tin foil to make a tin foil “tray.” Rub the spice mixture on top of the salmon fillets and place the tin foil tray on the bottom rack of your grill.  Cover the salmon loosely with more tin foil and close your grill.  This is where you have to be careful because all grills cook differently, and all salmon fillets are different.  We cooked ours for about ten minutes and the salmon was warm all the way through but still a bit pink in the middle, super moist and flaky, just perfect… 

Garlic Dill Salmon

2 salmon fillets

5 cloves garlic

Olive oil – enough to coat the salmon

dried dill, and ground black pepper to taste

the juice from 1 lemon

Coat the salmon fillets with olive oil and rub the tops of the fillets with the crushed garlic.  Sprinkle on plenty of dried dill and black pepper, and squeeze on the juice from one lemon. Follow the same cooking directions for the Spice It Up Salmon – using the tin foil tray method.

For the vegetable kabobs, we cut the veggies pretty thick and we grilled them for about 15 minutes, turning often.

Enjoy!

 

Eating Paleo Gives You Wings

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It’s pretty simple, really, I promise…  No matter what your sport might be, eating clean will give you that extra umph to make it through.  On game day come prepared.  The night before you should prepare your sweet potatoes, wash your strawberries, make a giant chicken salad, buy some lunch meat, and pack plenty of water.  Eat and rest well, work out smart, and get your wings… 

Check out my husband flying – the pic of him standing up on top of the weights was his final standing verticle leap at 59 inches.  He also maxed that day on his standing press at 200 lbs.  This event was the Summer Strength Challenge at Level 10 Crossfit in Oroville –  an awesome group of folks who put on a fabulous event.  Huge shout out also to our girl Jenny L. who recently started training with us again at Norcal Strength and Conditioning who beat out all the other amazing female athletes for 1st place!!  I was happy just to be there an watch!

Three Recipes For That Snack Attack!!

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I really like corn chips.  Give me some corn chips AND guacamole and I will love you forever.  The problem is, I don’t feel so great after gorging out on corn chips and although I could eat them every day, we all know that’s not the best idea.  So, when I am getting that snack attack for some chips and guacamole, I will instead substitute the chips for plantains fried in coconut oil.  Plantains are amazing.  Depending on the level of ripeness they can be slightly sweet and a bit tangy, almost like a green banana – and when they are black and bruised looking, they fry up crispy on the outside, with a creamy subtle sweetness on the inside.  Dive these chips into some smashed avocados and welcome to snack attack heaven!!!  Other snack attack recipes included in this post are Spicy Shrimp Tacos and Sweet Potato Fries.

Plantain Chips and Guacamole

3 ripe plantains (they are ripe when they look really beat up, black, and nasty)

1/4 cup coconut oil

4 avocados

juice from 1/2 a lime

garlic powder and black pepper to taste

Leave the peel on the plantain and cut off the ends.  Still with the peel on slice the plantain as thin as possible lengthwise.  Leaving the peel on while slicing will help prevent smashing the plantain.  After the plantain is sliced, carefully remove the peel and place the sliced plantains into a skillet of hot coconut oil. Fry for about 2 minutes on each side, using tongs to flip, and being careful not to burn.  Mash the avocados with the lime juice, garlic powder, and black pepper and serve with the plantain chips.

Shrimp Tacos

1 bag of frozen already cooked tail removed shrimp – thawed and drained

1 cup cherry tomatoes halved

1 green bell pepper sliced

1/2 red onion sliced

1 tbsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

3 garlic cloves smashed or minced

3 tbsp coconut oil

1/2 a jar of salsa verde (I prefer Trader Joe’s brand)

1 head of iceberg lettuce leaves for taco shells

Cut the thawed shrimp in half and set aside.  In a skillet, heat the coconut oil over medium heat and saute the onions, garlic and bell peppers until tender, add the cherry tomatoes and saute for about 1 minute.  Add the shrimp, the spices, and the salsa, mix well and cook just until the shrimp are warm.  Serve in the lettuce leaves with sliced avocados and shredded purple cabbage.

Sweet Potato Spears

2 bags of sweet potato spears from Trader Joe’s or 2-3 sweet potatoes cut like french fries

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp paprika

1/2 tbsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cayenne

black pepper to taste

sprinkle of sea salt

1/4 – 1/2 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, whisk all spices together with the olive oil and then toss the sweet potato spears in the olive oil mixture until all the spears are coated.  Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and evenly spread the potato spears on the foil.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, turning the spears over half way through the cooking time. 

Enjoy!

Giant Stuffed Mushrooms

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I posted a stuffed mushroom recipe back in December but I will be the first to admit, that this one is soooo much tastier!  Although a bit more complicated then my previous recipe, it’s well worth the extra effort and overall, is still not that difficult to make.  My family had a blast making these stuffed shrooms and they were just fabulous. 

Giant Stuffed Mushrooms

4-6 BIG Portobello Mushrooms

1.5 lbs grass fed ground beef

1 lb spicy Italian pork sausage – casing removed

3 celery stalks diced

 ½ green bell pepper diced

1 red onion diced

Diced mushroom stems

1 tsp paprika

a few shakes to 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tbsp dried basil

1 tbsp tarragon

6 crushed garlic cloves

Pinch of sea salt

Black pepper to taste

1 omega 3 enriched egg

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup coconut flour (or I’m sure almond meal would work just fine too!)

Preheat oven to 400. Use a moist paper towel to gently clean the mushrooms, if you run mushrooms under the tap to clean them, they get a little soggy… Remove the stems and set them aside and carefully scoop out the feathery insides of the mushrooms with a spoon. Rub the outsides of the mushrooms with olive oil and place cap down in a large glass baking dish.  Dice the bell peppers, onions, celery stalks, and mushroom stems.   In a large soup pot brown the sausage and ground beef, add the bell peppers, onions, celery, and mushrooms and cook until the veggies are tender.  Move the meat/veggie  mixture to a food processor and add all the spices, the egg, olive oil and the coconut flour.  Process until the mixture is finely chopped but NOT mushy, it should be chopped fine but still chunky.  Scoop mixture into the mushroom caps – make them really full.  Spoon any remaining mixture around the mushrooms and cook your stuffed mushrooms in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until brown and bubbly.

I served these with steamed kale.  I seasoned the kale with lemon juice, olive oil, garlic powder, and freshly ground pepper.

Enjoy!

Quick Curry Soup!

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I made this soup in a pinch for lunch the other day when I was down to my last couple pounds of ground beef and a few cans of coconut milk.  Some of my favorite dishes evolve out of the meager offerings of what’s left in the fridge! 

Quick Curry Soup

1 yellow onion diced

3 zucchini squash halved and sliced

2 lbs grass fed ground beef

2 tsp crushed garlic or 6 minced garlic cloves

4 tbsp curry powder

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

2 cans coconut milk

2 tbsp coconut oil

Chopped cilantro

Saute the onions in the coconut oil until tender, add the ground beef and brown.  Add all the spices to the ground beef and onion mixture and stir well.  Pour in the coconut  milk and add the sliced zucchini.  Bring the soup to a simmer and let it cook for about 5 – 7 minutes or until the zucchini are tender but not too mushy.  Serve with a little chopped cilantro for garnish.

Enjoy!

Spice Rub Crock Pot Chicken

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I love, love, love my crock pot and came up with a new and insanely easy spice rub chicken recipe that I hope you all enjoy! 

Spice Rub Crock Pot Chicken

1 5-6 lb free range organic chicken - giblets removed, rinsed, and patted dry with paper towels

1 white onion sliced

1 tsp sea salt (optional)

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp cayenne

1 tsp white pepper

1 tsp poultry seasoning

1 tsp garlic powder

Cover the bottom of the crock pot with the sliced onions.  Mix all spices in a small bowl and then rub the spice mixture all over the whole chicken.  Place the spiced chicken on top of the onions in the crock pot, cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours (depending on your crock pot).  No need for any liquid, the chicken will cook in it’s own juices.  Make sure you spoon the onions and a little bit of the juices over the chicken when you serve it.  I served my chicken with our favorite brussel sprouts, steamed for 5 minutes and then sauteed with a little olive oil, dried dill, garlic powder, and pepper.

Enjoy!

Stuffed Avocados

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I love tuna salad but we do not eat a whole lot of canned tuna, hoping to avoid exposing my family to loads of unnecessary mercury.  A great substitute for canned tuna is of course wild caught canned salmon –  but I still love tuna salad….  So I did a little research and guess what – good ol’ Trader Joe’s carries canned tuna that happens to be at the very BOTTOM of the list of mercury found in tuna.  So today I stuffed some avocados with a yummy paleo tuna salad for a change from our usual canned salmon.  

Stuffed Avocados

3 -4 ripe avocados

4 cans of Trader Joe’s tuna packed in water

3 green onions

3 celery stalks

1 palm full of dried dill

1 tbsp garlic powder

fresh ground black pepper to taste

grape tomatoes halved

about 1 cup of Olive Oil Mayo- 1egg, 1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, pinch of sea salt, few shakes of cayenne pepper, 1 tsp yellow mustard, 1 cup olive oil

Cut avocados in half lengthwise and remove the stone – leave the peel on.  In a large mixing bowl mix together the tuna, celery,  onions, and spices. In a food processor process for 5 seconds the egg, vinegar, mustard, cayenne pepper, and sea salt.  For another 5 seconds of blending slowly add the olive oil until it makes mayo. 

Add the mayo mixture to the tuna, mix well, and scoop onto halved avocados and top with tomatoes.

Enjoy!