Perfect Paleo Roast

I think the perfect paleo meal has to be a good old Sunday Roast!

I usually do this with chicken, but as its Christmas we thought we would treat ourselves to a pork joint. Now I won't pretend it was as lean as it could have been, but like I said, it's that time of year, we are allowed to cut ourselves a bit of slack!

Ingredients
Pork roasting joint
Parsnips
Beetroots
Carrots
Onions
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

1) Peel the beetroots and cut them in half. Peel the carrots and cut into big thick strips and do the same with the parsnips (I tend not to peel these). Peel the onions and cut into quarters.
2) Place the pork in the oven on its highest setting for the first 15 mins, then turn down to about 220 degrees for the remaining cooking time.
3) When the meat has 1 hour to go, add the vegetables to the same pan with a little olive oil if necessary and season with salt and pepper.

That is it! It's so easy. Cooking the mean and vegetables together not only makes the veg taste great, but saves on washing up too! You can follow this recipe substituting the pork for any other meat - chicken is a personal favourite! Perfect to beat the Sunday evening blues on these cold, snowy winter days.

Mushroom madness!

Firstly, I have been so awful at blogging recently...I have been creating some delicious meals and not sharing them with you! But this is it, I'm back and and here to stay!

So, apart from my butternut squash addiction, which I continue to battle, but it just keeps tempting me in...mashed, roasted, chipped, you name it, I love it!

Anyway, now, I just can't stop stuffing mushrooms!

Here is one of my faves!

Ingredients
Big field mushrooms
Onion
Garlic
Red pepper
Carrots
1 tin of tomatoes
Turkey mince
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Fresh parsley

1) Fry the onion and garlic in olive oil until brown and season with salt and pepper.
2) Add the turkey mince cook until brown.
3) Add the diced red pepper and carrots and salt, pepper and parsley and cook until soft.
4) Add the tin of tomatoes and a few table spoons of water then simmer with the lid off until it reduces and the sauce thickens.
5) Grill the mushroom for about 2-3 minutes on each side, then stuff with the mince and grill for a final 2-3 mins.

Now I do have some photos but I must apologise for the terrible photography skills but you will get the idea!

New Pre-packaged Paleo goods on sale in the UK NOW!

I am very excited to announce that I have finally found some paleo friendly snacks on sale in my student union!

They are made by a British company called Nakd - check out their website - www.eatnakd.com - and the good news is if you love their snacks enough you get an discount for bulk buys!

They come in Pecan Pie flavour, Ginger Bread, Cocoa Orange and Cashew Cookie!

The ingredients are just raw dates and raw nuts and spices!

Enjoy!

Braised Red Cabbage with Apple and Raisins

This is a really easy side dish which helps make those paleo meals a bit more interesting!

Ingredients -
1 red cabbage
1 large cooking apple
1 handful of raisins
Walnut oil
Nutmeg

1) Shred the cabbage, but leave it thick enough so it's a bit crunchy.
2) Heat walnut oil in a wok then add cabbage and apple and raisins and cook until still crunchy.
3) Season with salt and pepper and a bit of nutmeg for some spice!

Butternut squash and spinach mash

I just can't get enough of butternut squashes! This is such an easy recipe and, even if I do say so myself, just so good!

Ingredients
1 butternut squash
1/2 bag spinach
Coconut milk

1) Peel the squash and cut it into chunks then place in water and boil until tender
2) At the very last minute add some spinach to the pan, but only about 1 min, then drain.
3) season with salt and pepper then add some coconut milk - as much or as little as you like - then mash! Don't worry about mashing it too smoothly cause it's nicer with a bit of texture anyway!

Enjoy!

Bolognese with Courgette 'Tagliatelle'

This is a great recipe idea that I got from www.everydaypaleo.com which is a brilliantly inspiring blog! The bolognese is my own version, but I can't take credit for much else!
This is something I had never thought of doing with courgettes but it works so nicely and really gives you that feeling of getting your pasta with your sauce!

Ingredients

Bolognese -
1 onion
Garlic
Lean beef mince
3 rashers smoky bacon
Mushrooms
1 red pepper diced
2 sticks celery diced
2 carrots grated
Beef stock cube
1-2 tins of tomatoes
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

1) heat some olive oil in a pan - not too much as the beef will provide you with some fat later - just enough to cook the garlic and onion. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 min to release its flavour and then fry the onion until soft.
2) add the beef mince and bacon and beef stock cube and fry until brown.
3) now add the celery, carrots, pepper and mushrooms and season with salt and pepper and cook for about 4-5 mins until soft.
4) Now add the tomatoes and a little bit of water - fill the empty tomato can about 1/4 way with water and add to the sauce. Now simmer with the lid off for about 30 mins until the sauce has reduced and thickened. I often add a bit of honey - just a teaspoon - to get rid of the metallic taste the tomatoes can sometimes leave and also a bit of Worcester sauce just goes so well with this too.


Courgette Tagliatelle

Ingredients
1 courgette per person!

1) Slice the courgettes as thinly as possible using a mandolin slicer or a peeler (which is a bit harder!)
2) Place the courgettes in boiling water for about 3 mins.
3) Drain and serve!

Parmesan Crackers

This is a recipe I got from Mark Sissons 'The Primal Blue Print Cookbook' - it does have dairy in it so it is not strictly paleo but it is still grain free. They taste just like cheese straws - delicious!

Ingredients

2 cups ground almonds

1 teaspoon baking soda

1-2 tablespoons of dried oregano

1 cup finely grated parmesan

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons water  
Rock salt


1) Mix all the ingredients together until it forms a slightly sticky dough - adding a bit more water or oil if necessary.
2) Roll out on a piece of parchment paper until quite thin, sprinkle with rock salt and bake at 200 degrees celsius for about 15 mins until golden brown.
3) Leave to cool before cutting - this is important because if they are too hot it will just crumble into bits.

Carrot, apple and cashew soup

This is a delicious soup that was made for me by a vegan friend - it sounds a little strange but it just works so well!

Ingredients
1 medium sized cooking apple
5 carrots
1 onion
2 pints vegetable stock
1/4 cup cashew nuts
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

1) Peel and cut the carrots, onion and apple up into chunks - you will be blending everything up so it doesn't really matter how you do this.
2) Cook the carrots, onion and apple in olive oil on a low heat until soft - about 5 minutes should do - and season with salt and pepper.
3) Add the stock and cashew nuts and simmer with the lid on for about 30 mins.
4) Blend the whole mixture in a food processor or with a hand blender.

The cashews give this soup a delicious creamy taste - in a totally paleo friendly way!

Cinnamon Bananas

This is delicious as a pudding, for breakfast or even just as a snack - and so delicious! I used this amount for breakfast for myself but it is very simple so just play around with it. It works best with very ripe bananas so it is also a good way of using up the last of your bananas.

Ingredients
2 bananas (best when very ripe)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon raisins
Olive oil (I used this because it was all I had but i think coconut or walnut oil might be nicer)

1) Cut the bananas up into thick slices.
2) Heat the olive oil in a pan then add the bananas and cinnamon and fry for about 4-5 mins until warm, soft and a little browned.
3) Sprinkle with raisins and serve!

Sorry there is no photo - but it is very simple so I'm sure you can imagine what it looks like!

Salt and Pepper Roasties

This side dish could be made with any root vegetables - I chose parsnips and carrots (as they were on offer!) but it would also be nice with beetroot and butter nut squash too.

Ingredients
Parsnips
Carrots
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

1) Cut the parsnips and carrots into nice bite size pieces - not too small but small enough that they will get nice and crispy!
2) Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and a generous helping of pepper.
3) Roast for 30 to 40 minutes until nice and brown.

You could even add some spices - maybe cumin or even something like cinnamon might give it a nice kick.

Ginger leeks

Sorry I don't have any photos for this recipe but it doesn't really look like much other than leeks...but trust me, these are like no other leeks you have ever tasted!

Ingredients
1-2 leeks per person
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Soy sauce
Sesame oil

1) heat some sesame oil in a large frying pan or wok.
2) Ass sliced leeks and soy sauce and ginger and fry until as tender as you like!

Really simple, but a really nice accompaniment, especially for fish!

Cauliflower Couscous!

So after experimenting with cauliflower 'rice' I decided it actually tasted a lot more like couscous...which led me to this recipe!

This is the first inventive paleo recipe I have actually put into practise since getting back to uni..my house mates were quite disgusted at the thought of a blended cauliflower and told me to just stick some rice on but I must say they were all plesantly surprised...you never know, we could be the first fully paleo student household by the end of the year!

Ingredients
1 cauliflower
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 onion
1 courgette
1 fresh chili 
2 chicken breasts
Garlic - I prefer to use Gourmet Garden garlic, ready pressed, in a tube, saves time and smelly hands!
salt and pepper to season
Olives

1) Cut the courgette, peppers and half the onion up into roastable chunks! Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper and maybe some dried herbs too and pop in the oven for about 30 mins.
2) Dice the other half of the onion and the chili, removing the seeds first, and cut the chicken into chunks.
3) Fry the onion and garlic and chili in a pan for a few minutes in oil with salt and pepper to season.
4) Now add the chicken and more salt and pepper if needed.
5) Cut the cauliflower up into big chunks then place in a food processor and process until a powdery texture - a bit like couscous.
6) When the chicken is almost cooked through add the cauliflower and cook for about 3-5 mins until all heated through. At the last minute stir in the roasted veg.
7) Serve with some olives on top!

Chocolate Orange Bars

This is a recipe I found on www.crossfittameside.com - I forwarded it to my Mum before I tried it and when I visited her at the weekend she had made a batch and I cannot describe how amazing they are! Chocolate orange eat your heart out! They are totally paleo friendly...but you won't believe it!

Ingredients

200g Dates
200g Cashew Nuts
50g Sultanas
20g Cocoa Powder (Green & Blacks Organic Cocoa Powder is nice)
Zest of 1 orange

1) Whizz up the cashew nuts in a food processor until finely chopped.
2) Add all the other ingredients and whizz again until they are all blended and sticking together.
3) Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and roll using a rolling pin or just your hands until flat then cut into bars.

This is Mum's effort, not mine, so might have to take back what I said about her cooking skills earlier..!

Squash chips

Here is an easy recipe which is a great alternative to chips!

These are home grown squashes which we had loads of so it was good to find something that we wanted to eat lots of. I'm not entirely sure what variety of squash they were  - they looked like butternut squashes but weren't quite as sweet - but this would work really well with butternut squash and maybe some cumin seeds too!

Ingredients

1 squash
Olive oil
Schwartz minced garlic - this is another great Schwartz spice - it is basically just dried garlic but works really well with this
Salt and Pepper

1) Peel the squash and cut it into chips - thin or chunky depending how you like them!
2) Drizzle with olive oil and then season with salt, pepper and minced garlic
3) Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes till nice and crispy!

Not the best picture in the world! These would be great with a nice homemade paleo friendly mayo!

Turkey Aubergine Bake

This was a bit of a mishmash of things that were left in the fridge - but it worked out very nicely indeed! I probably would have done this with chicken but it was actually really nice with turkey and it stayed much more tender than chicken ever seems to do with this much cooking!

Ingredients

Turkey breast
1 onion diced
1 red pepper diced
1 green pepper diced
2 cloves of garlic
1 tin tomatoes
1 large aubergine
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to season
1 teaspoon of paprika
Black olives

1) Slice the aubergine into circles, season with salt and pepper and add a bit of oil and bake for about 10 minutes to soften them up.
2) Heat the olive oil in a pan then crush the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds to release the flavour but not enough to brown it.
3) Add the onion and cook till soft.
4) Now add the peppers and add salt and pepper and paprika. Cook for a few more minutes until soft.
5) Add the turkey and cook for about 1 min until it is white but not cooked all the way through. This way the turkey will be more tender.
6) Add the tin tomatoes and black olives, bring to the boil then simmer with the lid off until the sauce has reduced and is a bit thicker.
7) Line a shallow oven proof dish with the aubergines then top with the sauce and bake for about 10-15 minutes.

Roasted Pilau Cauliflower

I have recently discovered a great Schwartz seasoning - Pilau Rice seasoning.

With the Thai Red Beef Curry what I did was roasted some cauliflower using this and it was delicious - unfortunately no photos of the end results as it was far too delicious and we were far too keen to tuck in - but give it a go yourselves!

Roasted Pilau Cauliflower

1 cauliflower
Sesame Oil
Schwartz Pilau Rice Seasoning

1) Cut the cauliflower up into good size pieces
2) Boil or steam for about 3-4 mins until tender but not too soft.
3) Place on a baking tray and sprinkle with pilau seasoning and sesame oil to stop it burning too much.
4) bake for about 15-20 mins until nice and brown.

I think this would also work really well as a seasoning for cauliflower rice - a really easy recipe to make and a great substitute for rice - personally I think it takes a bit more like couscous but either way it's great for making you feel like you're getting a bit of carbs..but in a healthy way!

Cauliflower Rice

1 Cauliflower
Olive oil
Schwartz Pilau Rice seasoning

1) Cut the head of the cauliflower up into chunks then place in a food processor until very small.
2) Not fry the cauliflower for a few minutes in oil, adding the pilau rice seasoning until warm but still a bit crunchy.

Thai Beef and Mango Curry

This is a recipe which I developed from Nigella Lawson's Red Prawn and Mango curry recipe...in fact the only thing the two recipes really have in common now is that they are thai curries with mango...but credit where credit is due!

Ingredients -

Sesame oil

Thai red curry paste (I'm quite proud to say I made my own using a delia recipe - it's a bit of a faff to make but it makes a lot and you can freeze it for future use..and it was delicious!)
Beef - any cut your desire!
Tinned bamboo shoots
1 tin coconut milk
250 ml chicken stock
1 mango diced


1) Heat two tablespoons of red thai curry paste in sesame oil for about 1 min to let all the flavours out.

2) Add your beef and cook for about 1 min until all the beef is coated in the paste.

3) Now add the stock, bamboo shoots and coconut milk and bring to the boil then simmer on a low heat with the lid off for about 20 mins until the curry becomes thicker.

4) If your mango is nice and ripe add it at the very end and bring the curry back up to the boil for about 1 minute. If it is not so ripe then add it with the bamboo shoots, stock and coconut milk.

This recipe is really delicious and very easy and the best bit is you can substitute or add any ingredients you like! The orginal recipe was lovely too and definitely worth checking out.

I would recommend serving this with cauliflower rice or pilau roasted cauliflower - recipes for those to follow!

The beginning...

I am a bit of a new comer to this Paleo thing but nonetheless I am already hooked! 

Inspired by a girl at my gym who was looking fantastic she let me into her little secret...at first I thought it sounded far too difficult - not to mention boring - but my Mum and I eventually talked each other into it and I haven't looked back since!

After only a few weeks I have begun to develop a small but deliciously formed repertoire of paleo friendly recipes developed from other paleo bloggers, my old favourite meals with paleo twists and other simply from what is left in the fridge.

As I am now heading back to Uni and leaving my domestically challenged mother to fend for herself I'm hoping to encourage her from a far...and keep up my motivation for making delicious paleo meals with my paleo buddy not so close at hand!