Silly me thought I could make a thick fluffy pancake but honestly the coconut flour batter doesn’t cook well when layed out thick, hence the recipes name, Coconut Flour Crepes. The ones I made were still great, I did add more milk as I got into the groove of what a thin crepe should look like (the batter should kind of spread out in the pan by itself with just a tilt of the pan.) The thinner they are the better the texture and they don’t break as easily. But the awesome thing is that I was full for a long time after eating them…not a I-ate-way-too-many-pancakes-full but just a long-lasting satisfaction. I will make these again.

Although the taste of the fig spread didn’t come through in these muffins, they were a bit more moist then the other muffins were. Maybe not as evenly moist but definitely more moist. The goat cheese in the middle was a fun little treat when eating it and was a surprisingly yummy texture and taste against the course and nutty almond meal.

Sammy didn’t like the Fig & Goat Cheese Paleo muffins so I had to slave away in the kitchen grinding up whole, raw almonds into a flour so I could make him a blueberry variety. The sounds of enjoyment that he emitted as he ate one fresh from the oven made it all worth it. I’m glad to have found a hearty grain-free snack that satisfies everyone in the family.

If you have already read my previous recipe entries then you know I am on a Paleo meal challenge right now for 3 weeks. I have been eating this way for over a week now and am feeling great now that the first 3 days are over. I have already had to tighten my belt another notch and that makes me happy. I know kebabs seem like ordinary food but this is just an idea and proof that everyday Paleo eating is simple.

I found some grassfed top sirloin on sale for $4.99. I freeze it partially before cutting into chunks because it makes it easier to cut since the meat is firmer. Since we are on a budget we went with the staple organic vegetables that we can get at Trader Joe’s for not too much money. Along with the marinated top sirloin we also added zucchini, green pepper, onions and garlic to the skewers. We grilled them to perfection and ate them with a salad. In the morning we cut up the leftovers and ate them with eggs. So good.

I don’t have a specific marinade that I use. Sometimes I ‘cheat’ and use a bottled Soyaki which has sugar in it. Other times I make my own but I’m not the type to measure out ingredients. Usually a bit of lemon juice, oil, tamari, and salt & pepper will do the trick but here are a couple of links to Paleo marinade recipes;

Everday Paleo

Teriyaki Marinade (uses soy; maybe sub tamari??)

Another tip: soak your skewers so they don’t burn up on the grill.

Eggplant is a great vegetable when you cook it right. I tend to believe that people who don’ t like eggplant really haven’t experienced it being cooked in the right fashion. This purple garden gem is like a sponge that soaks up the flavors and liquid of whatever it is cooked in. And depending on the thickness of the cut it may need to cook for quite some time in order to get a texture that is nice to swallow. The skin of an eggplant can be rather tough and leathery so if the slices are not super-thin peeling the skin with a handheld peeler is a good option. If you are unsure about removing it I would suggest to remove it.

For this Paleo meal idea I cooked a couple of chicken breasts in a pan with garlic, chicken broth, garlic, dried oregano, rosemary, salt and pepper. I cooked them for at least an hour until they were fork tender. I sliced the eggplant into thin slices and coated a pan with oil. While the eggplant cooks I spoon broth from the cooked chicken in to the pan. You may need to have extra broth on hand depending on how much eggplant there is to be cooked (I only used one eggplant and 1 – 1 1/2 cups of broth was enough for me).

Once this is all done I just topped the eggplant with some tender chunks of chicken. My husband is not a huge fan of eggplant will eat it just the same so for him I spoon marinara over the eggplant before adding the chicken.

What you need:

1 eggplant
2 chicken breasts
Olive oil & dry herbs
Garlic

What you need for this Paleo dish is about 30 minutes and these ingredients:

1 large bunch of Swiss Chard
1 pound Sweet Italian Sausage
1 package organic mushrooms
8 garlic cloves
Olive oil

Remove the stems from the chard. Most likely the leaves will become two-halves. If they didn’t after you removed the stems then go ahead and make them be. Take a small chunk (about the size of a golf ball, maybe a little bigger) of uncooked sausage and pat it down so that it sort of fits the width of the chard leaf. Then roll it up! Super easy. I like to place the sausage on the back side of the leaves because they roll easier. Place all of you rolls on a steamer basket and steam them for about 20 minutes or until firm. Sprinkle with salt and serve.

To make the mushrooms I just slice the garlic cloves into hearty slices and saute them first until tender then I add the mushrooms and cook until desired tenderness.

(Special note: Most of our foods are organic even though I don’t specify because you are going to eat what you buy anyway. Me naming something as organic is most likely not going to prompt you to go organic but I did note the mushrooms as organic because it really is important to eat organic mushrooms since they are like little sponges that absorb toxins.)

I hope your cooking charm is inspired to create new ideas and thanks for tuning in for today’s Paleo meal.

Just to clarify, my diet is not 100% Paleo but it’s as close as I want to get to it but most of our recipes and meal ideas will be dairy- and grain-free and pretty darn close to being paleo recipes ideas. If you have any questions or suggestions about our meals please share.

Tonight I made chicken breast stuffed with pesto and baked it in the oven. I cut the chicken breasts open lenghtwise opening up a large pocket for the pesto. Be careful not to cut all the way through and avoid cutting all the way to the ends. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and any other garlicky herby mixes you have.

Next I heated a cast iron pan on high heat with it just barely covered in olive oil and stood the chicken breasts up on the backside of the cut. They had to rest against each other to do this. The idea was to brown two of the sides rapidly so it would have a richer flavor. Once the edge was browned I flipped them to the seasoned top and finished browning it (this part should take no more than 2-3 minutes). I did not brown the cut side or the bottom.

Now, turn the heat off and while holding the chicken breast with tongs, stuff them generously with pesto (here is my homemade dairy-free pesto recipe) and then lay them flat in the pan with the un-browned side down, cover and place into 375 degree oven. Cook about 20 minutes or until done.

The carrots are easy and sort of cheap rendition of something that sounds and maybe even looks fancy. In a lightly oiled pan add some carrots and cook on high heat so they get browned quickly without cooking a lot (about 3 min.) then lower heat and allow the pan to cool down a bit then add about 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. The quality of your vinegar is going to make a difference but I used an inexpensive balsamic but because I let it reduce on a low heat it took the sharpness out of the vinegar and gave it a smooth, sweet taste and a pretty color.

Steamed brocolli is so plain and usually I sometimes just season it with salt but tonight the drippings in the pan from the pesto chicken looked so yummy so I drizzled some of the oil and crumbs over the broccoli and made the taste a little more colorful without any work.

The ingredients are so simple I can hardly even take credit for this:

2 chicken breasts
6 tablespoons pesto sauce
salt & pepper
other dry herbs that sound good like rosemary, oregano….
1/2 to 1 pound of carrots
1/2 to 1 pound brocolli

That’s it! Enjoy.

1-2 pounds of Italian Zucchini
4-6 cups meat sauce

I begin my meat sauce by dicing onions and cooking them until soft. Then I add a pound of grass-fed ground beef, cook it through and add salt, pepper and oregano. Next I add tomato sauce either from a can or out of the freezer from pureed tomatoes grown in our garden. I prefer my sauces on the meatier side so typically 2 cans or about 20 ounces of tomato sauce does it for me. Then I add a bit more salt, pepper, garlic and oregano to taste. If I have other fresh herbs on hand like basil and parsley I definitely add those in as well so just use what you have…it’s hard to mess up a red sauce.

To prepare the zucchini you will want to cut them in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Then lay them flat side down and cut them into thing strips. Saute the strips in a bit of olive oil until they are tender but not mushy. Sprinkle with salt & pepper before topping with meat sauce.

Simple dish with a big taste and I have a couple of different versions coming soon.

This recipe is so quick and simple and requires few ingredients. It’s worth giving a try even if you are one of the most skeptical critics of grain-free baking. I doubled the original (adapted) recipe but erred on the lighter side of the measurements for cranberries and honey because these muffins do host quite a sweet flavor. Adding the orange zest put them over the top. I have also had success substituting thawed/drained berries.

5 cups almond meal
6 eggs
1/3 – 1/2 cup honey
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tb. vanilla extract
1/2 -1 cup dried cranberries
zest from 1/2 an orange

Measure the almond meal into a bowl and add baking powder, stir. Beat eggs and vanilla extract together. Add to almond meal and stir. Next stir in honey, cranberries and orange zest.

Divide into greased muffin tray and cook for 30 -35 minutes at 300 degrees.

Next time I make these I will be trying a fig and goat cheese variation. I plan to make a version that omits even more honey and replace it with oil…I’m curious how that will turn out. If you get to it first let us know how it turns out. 7

1 bunch of basil (about 3-4 leafy stems
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup pine nuts or walnuts
4 large cloves of garlic, peeled

First place the dry herbs into a food processor and pulse until chopped finely. Next add the nuts and garlic and pulse again until you get a coarse mixture.  Now add the olive oil and pulse it until you get the consistency you like. I like mine a hearty texture rather than a puree and I think that it works better for things like stuffing chicken when left coarse.

Roasted Chickpeas

2 cans Organic Garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tb. Olive oil
1 Tb. Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain the cans of chickpeas or the water from fresh ones and toss them in the olive oil and sea salt. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking pan for even cooking. Spread the chick peas out in one layer and cook for about 45 minutes. There is no need to turn the chick peas. Store in a glass jar.