Paleo Basil Fried “Rice” {Recipe}

March 13, 2013 · By · 14 Comments

Paleo Basil Fried "Rice" Recipe

We are a little bit in love with cauliflower rice in our house right now. It is quick, easy, and cheap to make in large quantities, and easy to re-heat in a pan, which makes it a big winner because we don’t have a microwave. We aren’t against microwaves or anything, we just… never got around to getting one. I am always tempted to come home from Target with the Hello Kitty microwave, though. I mean, it’s pink!

Anyway…

I also am loving cauliflower fried “rice” right now because, like my Southwestern Chicken Soup recipe, it is another meal where you basically just add whatever the heck you need to get rid of in your veggie drawer. So take this recipe as a starting ground, and then add whatever the heck else you want. I’ve also found that this recipe is a great vehicle for all those weird old half-empty bags of frozen veggie medleys that you bought once and used for one night before remembering why you never buy frozen veggies. You know who you are.

Paleo Basil Fried “Rice”
Time to prepare: 25 minutes
Makes 4-6 meal-sized servings

Ingredients:

  • 1 large-but-not-enormous head of cauliflower
  • Coconut oil or butter for cooking
  • Gluten-free soy sauce or coconut aminos
  • Fish sauce (make sure the one you buy has no added sugar or weird chemicals)
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger, chopped into oblivion
  • 4 tablespoons dried basil, or 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
  • 4 eggs (optional)
  • Any veggies you want to use, but we use:
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 3 large carrots, diced
  • 3 large stalks of celery, sliced
  • 1 small head of broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 small jalapeño, diced
  • Lime juice, to garnish

Directions:

To prepare the cauliflower “rice”:

  1. Chop the cauliflower into small pieces, including the stems.
  2. Add the chopped pieces to a food processor, and pulse until the cauliflower has reached a coarse, rice-like size.
  3. If you do not have a food processor, you can achieve similar results by using a cheese grater. If you use this method, you do not have to chop the cauliflower first.
  4. Heat your butter or coconut oil in a warm pan
  5. Add the cauliflower “rice” to the pan, stirring to disperse the butter/coconut oil
  6. Add a few tablespoons of water to the pan, and put a lid on it for 7-10 minutes, stirring frequently.
  7. Once the cauliflower “rice” has started to soften, remove from heat.

In another pan:

  1. Heat your butter or coconut oil over medium heat.
  2. Add the broccoli pieces to the pan, cover, and let cook for 5-7 minutes, until the broccoli has started to soften.
  3. Add the carrots and cook until they have started to soften, another 3-5 minutes.
  4. Add the ginger, onion, jalapeño, and celery–at this point you might need to add a little more butter/oil too.
  5. Turn the heat to high and sautée the veggies until they begin to brown (4-5 minutes), stirring frequently.

Finally…

  1. Turn the heat back on the cauliflower rice, and add the veggies to the cauliflower, mixing them in.
  2. Add the basil. Stir to combine.
  3. If you are adding eggs, scramble them in a separate pan as the cauliflower is re-heating.
  4. Add the soy sauce/coconut aminos and fish sauce and stir. I usually use about 3 tablespoons of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of fish sauce. You can always add more later for flavor but you don’t want too much liquid going in at this stage otherwise it could become soupy.
  5. Once everything is heated up, add the eggs and stir to combine.

That’s it! You’re done! Stand back and appreciate the incredible amount of food you have just created. Serve with a generous spritz of lime juice over the top, and some hot sauce if you’re feeling spicy.

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Roasted Chicken with Paleo Rosemary Mushroom Cream Sauce

November 14, 2012 · By · 4 Comments

When Brandon and I met, we were both living in Moab, UT–which, in case you are unfamiliar, is in the middle of a desert and one of the hottest parts of the country. It was the middle of summer and consistently climbed into the triple digits, meaning that for the first several times we hung out, we primarily drank 3/2 PBR (Yay for Utah!) and ate my staple meal from that summer: cubes of cucumber and slices of tomato tossed with chilled quinoa and Annie’s Goddess dressing. It was delicious (and exceptionally cheap, which was helpful since I was making $200/month and sharing a room with another raft guide and a squirrel named Kyle), but not exactly an act of culinary genius.

Luckily, a few weeks after we met, the monsoon season hit and brought with it a fairly reliable schedule of afternoon rainstorms. It was on one such afternoon, as the temperature dropped from 95 to 65 and brown, milky water poured over the red cliffs behind the house where Brandon lived, that he first made for me his (now) famous rosemary mushroom cream sauce. We ate it served over chunks of roasted potatoes, and I thought to myself, “Hey, this guy might be worth keepin around for a while!” Awww.

This afternoon, almost 2 and 1/2 years later, I started wondering what we were going to make for dinner–specifically, what kind of sauce I wanted to make. Because I’ve realized that most paleo meals are pretty much exactly the same, except for one variable: what it’s covered with. And then I remembered the rosemary mushroom sauce. Nostalgia to the rescue!

This recipe was really very easy to modify and make paleo-friendly; the only real difference is that we used coconut milk instead of half and half. We served the sauce over roasted chicken thighs, but it would be just as delicious used as gravy over potatoes or with some lemony fish.


 

For the chicken:

Ingredients:

  • 4 chicken thighs, I prefer bone-in and skin-on but boneless and skinless is fine, too
  • 2-3 tablespoons Coconut oil, melted (or olive oil if you aren’t feeling too strict)
  • Garlic powder
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375
  2. Put about 1 tablespoon of coconut oil into a glass baking dish, and then place the thighs into the dish
  3. Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
  4. Drizzle the remaining coconut oil on top of the thighs
  5. Turn the thighs over, and season the backs. Leave them upside-down and place the dish into the oven.
  6. Cook for 15 minutes (it may take a little longer if you’re using boneless/skinless), then use tongs to flip the thighs in the dish
  7. Cook for an addition 5-7 minutes, then turn the oven to broil for an additional 2-3 minutes to brown the skins

For the sauce:

Ingredients:

  • ~4 cups white mushrooms, stems removed, diced
  • 2-3 shallots, diced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 2-3 tablespoons ghee or butter
  • 1-2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
  • Garlic powder
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Instructions:

  1. In a heavy-bottom pan (cast iron is ideal), melt the ghee and add the shallots and garlic. The shallots and garlic should be simmering in the ghee, not just browning in the pan, so if you need to add a little more ghee, don’t be shy.
  2. Once the shallots are translucent, add the mushrooms. At first it may seem like a lot of mushrooms, but trust me, they will cook down a surprising amount.
  3. Once the mushrooms have cooked down just a little, add the rosemary
  4. Allow to cook for 2-3 more minutes, stirring frequently, then add the coconut milk–first adding the fatty part from the top of the can, if available. You may not need the entire can (we used about 3/4 of it), and it’s better to err on the side of slightly less liquid. You can always go back and add more later.
  5. Mix the mushrooms and other ingredients in with the milk, and bring to a simmer.
  6. Season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste.
  7. Allow to simmer for 7-10 minutes, stirring frequently.
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A Glimpse into Whole30 Eating

November 7, 2012 · By · 2 Comments

We are already 10 days into Whole30 and time is flying by, so I wanted to give you guys an idea of what it is we’ve been eating for the past week and a half, and share a few super simple recipes.

Dinner:

I am aware that the day does not start with dinner so it goes against the status quo for me to start this list here. But almost all of the other food we eat revolves around what our leftovers are, which makes dinner the most important meal of the day.

We have been showing the crock pot a fair amount of love with an elk stew and a pot roast. These are awesome because crock pot meals yield guaranteed leftovers. We’ve made Paleo Pad Thai three times, and most of our other meals have either been ground bison or wild boar (what can I say, our local supermarket happens to have a really bizarre and awesome selection of ground meat… they also carry antelope and ostrich!) or baked fish (see recipe below!) with steamed or stir-fried veggies.

Brandon also usually eats a salad, but to be honest I am not a big fan of salads, so I usually skip that component (plus it’s super hard to find Whole30-friendly salad dressing and I am not a big fan of straight balsamic vinegar).

Breakfast:

Almost always eggs. Sometimes plain, usually mixed with whatever leftovers are in the most dire state. For example: Eggs mixed with wilted kale (wilted as in sad and old, not the as in the fancy word for sautéed) and leftover fish is a favorite, as is eggs on top of smooshy tomatoes and covered with brownish guacamole. It’s pretty much a food photographer’s dream over here, people.

If I am short on time in the morning I will just grab 2 or 3 apples and a banana and eat them throughout the morning, smothered in almond butter.

Lunch: 

Almost always leftovers. But I have included a recipe below for a quick alternative to leftovers that is Whole30 friendly!

Snacks:

Lots of apples with almond butter, lots of straight almond butter, and lots of cashews. Brandon likes carrots with almond butter, which I think is gross, but whatever. We have also used tomato slices covered in guacamole, and last week when I was having a particularly strong craving for chips and guac, I made up a big batch of bacon and scooped guacamole up with that. And it was delicious.

Drinks:

So much water. I have one of those little CO2 thingies that turns regular water into sparkling water, and it has been great when I’m craving something a little different. I’ve also been drinking a lot of tea.

And now, onto the recipes!

15-Minute Baked Tilapia

Ingredients:
4 tilapia fillets
1/2 fresh jalapeño, diced (optional)
Juice of 1 lime
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375
  2. Place the tilapia in a cast iron skillet or shallow baking dish and sprinkle the diced jalapeños over the top. Season generously with garlic powder, salt, and papper–Tilapia is not super flavorful on its own, so you don’t want to skimp on the spices. Finish with the lime juice (I love lime juice so I used more like 2 limes-worth).
  3. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the fish easily flakes apart when pulled at with a fork.

Veggie & Lox Egg Towers
 

Ingredients:
4 thick tomato slices
~1 large handful of spinach
2 shallots, sliced
4 slices of lox (smoked salmon)
4 eggs
~1 cup guacamole or 1/2 avocado
Ghee or coconut oil

Directions:

  1. Melt a small spoonful of ghee or coconut oil in a small pan, and add the shallots until they are slightly translucent.
  2. Add the spinach and cook until it is bright green and slightly wilted, approx. 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
  3. Melt another small spoonful of ghee or coconut oil in the same pan and fry the eggs to your desired degree of doneness.
  4. Arrange the slices of tomato face-up on a plate, and scoop an equal amount of sauteed spinach onto each one.
  5. Add a slice of lox on top of the spinach, and add the egg on top of the lox.
  6. Top with guacamole or a slice of avocado.

Rainbow Lunch Sushi

This is the non-paleo version of this lunch, using a whole wheat tortilla and goat cheese instead of lunch meat–also this version uses corn and soybeans instead of broccoli. But you get the idea.

Ingredients:
2-4 sheets of seaweed paper
4-8 slices of nitrate-free lunch meat
1 red pepper, diced
2 carrots, shredded
1 small head of raw broccoli, broken into tiny pieces
A few handfuls of grapes, sliced in half (slicing is optional–it’s a pain but it makes it harder for the grapes to roll out of the wrap)

Directions:

  1. If you have a microwave, place the seaweed paper in the microwave on top of a damp paper towel, and put another damp paper towel on top. Microwave for 5-7 seconds–this will just help soften the seaweed a little bit. If you don’t have a microwave (I don’t), it’s not a big deal.
  2. Lay one piece of seaweed paper down flat and lay 2 pieces of lunch meat on top.
  3. Add the red pepper, carrots, broccoli, and grapes, quantities dependent on how many wraps you need to make and how full you want them. This is where it’s time to get artsy–you can either mix them all together and scoop it onto the lunch meat, or you can line each ingredient up and make a rainbow (this is what I do, hence the name).
  4. Roll it all together and voila! You can slice it up like sushi if you want to, or just eat it like a little seaweed taquito.

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Paleo Pad Thai Review

October 31, 2012 · By · 2 Comments

Well, it’s Day 4 of the Whole30, and I have already made some pretty awesome headway in the realm of Coming-Up-With-New-Stuff-to-Eat. It’s a conundrum because as I have talked about 7 billion times, Brandon is always hungry, yet he doesn’t really like to eat meat more than two or three times a week. Because of that, he decided to keep white potatoes in his diet, even though they aren’t technically “on” for Whole30, and that is helping. But it also means that I have had to get pretty creative to come up with things that aren’t just roasted meat + stir fried vegetable, which is pretty much my paleo go-to. Luckily (well not lucky for her), my boss has been stranded in NYC all week, so I’ve been working from home, which means I’ve had a little extra time to experiment!

My first inclination was to try to come up with a bunch of new recipes to share with you guys, and that will happen to some degree, but let’s be honest, there are already hundreds of amazing paleo recipes out there. So instead, I am going to try to focus more on reviewing said recipes and talking about whether or not they are actually as good as the recipe websites they come from obviously make them out to be.

First up: Paleo Pad Thai from Health-Bent.com

Ratings:
Lived up to the hype: 10
Easy to follow instructions: 10
Ease of finding ingredients (or a reasonable substitute): 9
Strict paleo friendly (or easily adaptable): Yes
From grocery bag to table in: 20 minutes
Serves: 2
Allergens: Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free, Egg Free, Meat Free, Contains Nuts

Overall Rating: 9.5

Not gonna lie, I had my worries about this one because I’ve heard that zucchini noodles can be really watery and weird, but we had two pretty heavy meat-eating days so this seemed like a great chance to try to lighten things up a bit. I do not own a mandoline but I do have a large peeler, so I used that instead and it worked great. I will say that if you are even a slight perfectionist, it will probably take you twice as long to slice the zucchini “noodles” than any other part of this recipe will, because c’mon, it’s important for them to all look the same!

The recipe calls for fish sauce and chili garlic sauce, but I had a hard time finding a no-sugar-added version of either of those at the store. I’m sure they exist, just apparently not at the little supermarket near my house! So instead, I substituted liquid aminos for the fish sauce and used a tablespoon of Frank’s Red Hot mixed with about 1/2 tablespoon of garlic powder instead of chili garlic sauce. I also added a little water to make sure there would be enough liquid, and ended up adding a little bit of extra apple cider vinegar as well.

Brandon walked in the door right as I was finishing up, so I barely even had time to taste it before putting it to the real test: The Very Hungry Boyfriend. It smelled AMAZING but I was still skeptical about how the zucchini “noodles” were going to turn out. Luckily, my worries were quickly invalidated because the zucchini turned out perfectly, kind of like an al dente pasta, and the sauce was SO good. I am already scheming about what else I can use it with this week! Any suggestions?

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Paleo Biscuits and Gravy

October 3, 2012 · By · 3 Comments

I’m not even going to pretend that this doesn’t look like dog food. But trust me, it was freakin delicious.

When I called my grandma (aka Nana) at 7:30 this morning, I think she thought there was some sort of major emergency going on. I don’t call her very often, and definitely not first thing in the morning. She sounded relieved when I told her I was calling to ask for her expert advice on making sausage gravy. And I am not exaggerating when I say expert. Just like every grandma, Nana has a few select dishes that she makes better than anyone else on earth. Chicken and dumplings, fried chicken, peach cobbler, pumpkin pie… but I think my very favorite would have to be Biscuits ‘n Gravy.

My grandparents have spent their lives in Kansas, Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas, so it might not surprise you that the 4 main ingredients in the recipe she gave me are whole milk, white flour, sausage, and sausage grease. Because I did not want to start my day off in a coma (some days, sure, but not today), I modified the ingredients. I was a little worried that I would be punished by the Comfort Food Gods for compromising the integrity of Nana’s recipe… But oh man it was amazing. It still kinda put me in a little bit of a coma. But it was a delicious, gluten-free, dairy-free coma. Thanks, Nana!

Nana’s (Paleo) Biscuits and Gravy
Print
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 3-4
Ingredients
Biscuits:

  • 2½ cups almond flour
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ⅛ tsp baking powder
  • 3 tbsp melted coconut oil
  • 1 tbsp honey)
  • 3 tbsp almond milk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
Gravy:

  • 1 pound ground chorizo sausage
  • ¼ cup coconut flour
  • 1-2 cans coconut milk
  • Salt
  • Pepper
Instructions
For the biscuits:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together melted coconut oil and honey until smooth.
  4. Add the almond milk and eggs to the coconut oil and honey mixture.
  5. Using a spoon, stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Combine thoroughly but don’t over-stir (a few chunks are OK)!
  6. Scoop a large spoonful of batter into your hands and roll into a ball about the size of a golfball. Then place the dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet and gently flatten using the palm of your hand.
  7. Bake about 15 minutes, until golden brown on top and a toothpick or knife inserted in middle comes out clean.
For the Gravy:

  1. Brown the sausage in a large saucepan or skillet over high heat.
  2. Reduce the heat to medium and slowly add the flour, stirring until all of the grease is soaked up.
  3. Allow to cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Add the salt, pepper, and coconut milk (1 can for thick gravy, 2 cans for soupier gravy) and stir the mixture well.
  5. Cook until the mixture begins to bubble.
  6. Remove from heat, allow to cool and thicken for 3-5 minutes.
  7. Serve over the biscuits.
Notes
We used chicken chorizo sausage but added about 4 spoonfuls of bacon grease from our can-o-grease we keep on top of the stove. The grease is crucial.

 

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12 Favorite Paleo Recipes

September 9, 2012 · By · 3 Comments


I have finally come to the realization that making up original and interesting Paleo recipes from scratch is a lot harder than it sounds. Since meat + vegetable = paleo, I am not regularly inspired to get super creative about it. This limits my ability to share exciting recipes with you guys, because I feel like I shouldn’t be sharing recipes on my blog that are not my own creations.

So today I am going to share with you the links for my (in no particular order) 12 favorite Paleo recipes! Click the photos to be taken to the recipes.

1. Butternut Squash + Bison Shepherd’s Pie from Healthful Pursuit

2. Blueberry Pumpkin Pie Protein Smoothie from PaleOMG

3. Sweet Potato Hash from Amazing Paleo

4. Coconut Shrimp (ok I did actually make this one up)

5. Double Chocolate Energy Bites from PaleOMG

6. Venison Sausage from Cavewoman Cafe

7. Fried Green Tomatoes made with Almond Flour from Jan’s Sushi Bar

8. Zucchini Pesto Roll-Ups from PaleOMG

9. Moroccan Spiced Spaghetti Squash from Smitten Kitchen

10. Stir Fried Kale + Bacon from Nom Nom Paleo

 

11. Paleo Morning Glory Muffins from Carrots n Cake

12. Paleo Granola from Paleo Table

I’m sure a lot of you do your weekly grocery shopping on Sunday evenings like we do, so hopefully this will give you some new ideas for the week’s menu! And I’d love to know: What great Paleo recipes have I been missing out on?

 

 

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