My Chocolate Dream Dream...

The nearest Whole Foods from where I live is over 17 miles away so sadly, I do not go there as often as I would like (which is probably a good thing for my wallet).

When I am able to make the trip I love walking up and down every aisle perusing the produce section and all the shelves of foodie goodies that I do not find at the usual grocery stores in my area.  Last weekend I was there, walking aimlessly and happily through the aisles when I came across these bags of dairy-free and gluten-free chocolate chips called Chocolate Dream.

I bought two bags immediately and popped one open as soon as I got into the car.  I put a few chips in my mouth and tasted the chocolatey gooeyness as the chips slowly melted.  They were delicious and I knew I had to make paleo chocolate chip cookies with these.  In fact, I made two batches and they tasted great!     

Tuna, Heirloom Tomato, Avocado and Black Olives

This is a picture of my lunch- a simple tuna, tomato, avocado and olive salad.  It was a super simple and super delicious dish that took me less than 5 minutes to assemble.


I'm not the first to say this but it is absolutely true- the fewer the ingredients, the better quality the ingredients ought to be.  For this dish, I used an heirloom tomato that was juicy and sweet, good quality canned tuna, and fresh lemon juice to bring it all together.

After I assembled my plate with the chopped tomatoes, avocado, tuna, and black olives, I sprinkled everything with freshly ground black pepper and squeezed lemon juice all over.

Savory Herb Lamb Patties with Pepper, Cilantro and Walnut Sauce

Lamb burgers are awesome and for some reason, I've been craving one for a while.  I finally had time today so I set out to make one worthy of a paleoodie paleo meal.  I made these lamb patties with lots of fresh herbs and spices, then topped it with a roasted red pepper, cilantro and walnut sauce.  For my meal tonight, I also added thick slices of heirloom tomato and ribbons of baked sweet potato.

Savory Herb Lamb Patties 

Serves 2

Ingredients

1/4 cup of finely chopped onion

1 Tbsp of finely chopped parsley

1 Tbsp of finely chopped cilantro

1 Tbsp of finely chopped jalapeno pepper

1 large clove of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp of paprika

1/2 tsp of cumin

1/2 tsp of coriander

1/4 tsp of black pepper

1/2 tsp of salt

zest of half of a lemon 

juice of half a lemon (approximately 1-2 Tbsp)

1lb of ground lamb

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

After making the delicious grain free chocolate chip cookies from PaleoPlan.com, I decided to tweak the recipe a bit and try to create a cookie that was more dense and chewy.  After some experimenting, I put together the recipe below.  If you used to love peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, this may be a good one for you!

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

*makes about 18-22 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup of chocolate chips

1/2 cup walnut oil

Dry Ingredients:

3 cups almond flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

Wet Ingredients

1/2 cup raw honey

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup of creamy, unsalted almond butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375℉.
2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. In a small mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, mix the wet ingredients well with a hand mixer or use a stand mixer.  
5. Add the dry ingredients slowly into the wet mixture and beat until well combined.
6. Stir in the walnut oil and blend.  
7. With a spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.
8. Drop spoonfuls of cookie dough onto prepared baking sheet, making sure the give the dough enough room the spread out during baking.
9. Bake for approximately 12-15 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on the baking sheets for another 3-4 minutes.
11. Remove cookies and cool completely on cooking racks.

Hint

Whenever I bake cookies, I always rotate the baking sheets and switch the racks they were on about half way through the cooking time.  This helps with even heat distribution.

Cajun Roasted Salmon with Pineapple Mango Salsa

Hopefully I won't offend anyone by saying this but  I think you can turn anything into a "salsa" if you have fresh limes, jalapeno peppers, onions and cilantro or parsley.  Add tomatoes and you have the classic pico de gallo.  Put in fruit and you have a fruit salsa.  Mix in other ingredients and it may not taste as good i.e. almonds, but I would still call it a salsa.  And who knows?  Maybe there are some out there who would enjoy a good almond salsa.


Fruit salsas are awesome to eat with fish but it wold also be great with shrimp, chicken, lamb, and steak.  The sky is the limit on the type of fruit and you should put in more of the fruit you like, add more onion if you like a bite, and more peppers if you like it muy caliente!


A fresh fruit salsa that is tangy, tart and sweet is great company for a well seasoned cajun style salmon.  Here's my version- enjoy!


Salmon
2 6-8 oz center cut salmon filets
2 Tbsps of Cajun seasoning*
1 lime for zesting


Salsa
1/3 cup of diced mangoes
1/3 cup of diced pineapples
1/2 a whole avocado diced
2 Tbsp finely minced shallots
1 Tbsp of finely minced jalapeno or serrano pepper (more as desired)
1/4 cup of fresh lime juice (1-2 limes)
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro or parsley
zest of one lime
salt and pepper to taste
 -papaya and kiwi would also be great and colorful additions

A Great Paleo Chocolate Chip Recipe

Last week I decided to make some chocolate chip cookies.  I found a recipe on www.paleoplan.com, a web site that I use quite a bit.  The recipe was simple and the cookies were amazing!  I followed the recipe exactly and I ended up with soft, fluffy, and light chocolate chip cookies.  They had a hint of coconut because from the coconut oil and just the perfect amount of sweetness from the honey and chocolate chips.

Here is the recipe that I used:  Paleo Plan Grain Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ah-Ma’s Paelo-fied Rice

My mom makes a very simple fried rice.  It was always a great way to use day old rice.  Luckily for me, and for the sake of this blog, she used minimal amounts of soy sauce so when I “paleo-fied” this recipe, the soy sauce omission did not make a major impact.  

Ingredients:
Protein
¾ cup of chopped ham
3 eggs, beaten

Vegetables
2 cups of cauliflower rice
½ cup of chopped carrots
1 scallion, sliced on the bias

Spices/Herbs/Seasoning
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. of minced garlic
1 tsp of sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Heat 1 tsp of coconut oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat.
2. Add ham and carrots and cook until carrots just begin to soften.  Remove from pan and set aside.
3. Add 1 tsp of coconut oil and add ginger and garlic.  Stir constantly so they do not burn.  About 1 minute.
4. Add cauliflower rice and stir to coat evenly.  

5. Move cauliflower to the outer edges of the pan to create space in the center.  Pour beaten eggs in the center.
6. As the eggs begin to cook, use a spatula to gently stir the eggs together, just like you are making soft scrambled eggs.

Orange Salmon with Avocado and Tomatoes

Serves: 2

Ingredients
Protein
2 6-8oz Salmon Filets

Vegetables/Fruit
3-4 large navel oranges
1 large avocado
1 cup of cherry or grape tomatoes
3 cups of fresh spinach

Sauces/Spices
3 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar
Salt and Pepper

Method:
1.  Zest one orange and sprinkle on the salmon.  Squeeze out the juice from the orange and also pour over the salmon.  If there is not enough juice, use the second orange.  I try to get at least ⅓ of a cup to ½ cup of juice for the marinade.  Sprinkle some pepper and salt if it’s your preference, and then set the salmon aside for at least 20 minutes.

2.  In a medium bowl, grate the zest of an orange.  Squeeze the juice from the same orange and then add the balsamic vinegar.  Whisk together with some salt and pepper to taste.

 

3.  Halve the tomatoes and cut the avocado into chunks.  Cut and slice another orange into wedge slices.  Put the avocado, tomatoes, and orange wedges into the bowl.

4.  Using a spoon, toss everything together well and set aside.

Paleo-ish?

There are actually varying degrees of the paleo diet, of.....paleo-ism?  Not sure if that’s a word coined in the paleo community yet but if not, I’ll take credit for it...along with “paleo-ish”, which is a word I’m starting to use more often to describe some of the recipes I’ve been thinking about.  :)


The strict paleo diet completely eliminates all grains, beans/legumes, processed foods, fermented foods, processed sugar, dairy, salt, alcohol and many other items.  The first few items make sense.  Eliminating grains, processed foods, etc., is an integral part of the diet but the rest may be too extreme for a good number of those who simply want to incorporate the paleo diet into their lives.


I want to support the hard-core with recipes and ideas that are paleo worthy and foodie in taste.  I absolutely hope that they find value and good recipes from my site, and if not, that they leave their opinions and feedback.  Having said that, I also want my blog to be fun and useful to the following:

•    those who are just starting to explore paleo,
•    those who want to incorporate some paleo dishes into the meal rotation,
•    those just looking for creative new dishes,
•    and those who adhere fully to the paleo diet but practice a more, dare I say, modern approach to cavemen to eating. 

The last group are people who may see the benefit of paleo, but also see that there may be health and/or taste benefits from things like tofu, honey, or vinegar, or even adding some salt.  The benefits are more than worth the supposed trade offs.   


Of course, I am not a paleo expert, anthropologist, nutritionist, or anything medical related.  I’m not asserting the paleo diet is the best diet for everyone, nor am I asserting that it is the healthiest.  I do, personally, believe it has many benefits, and so I’m actively seeking ways to maximize the benefits by creating recipes that you and I can use every day, or every other day, or however want.                   


For the hard core paleo community, I hope you do not take offense that my recipes may not all be 100% “kosher” so to speak, and that there will be some that are just “paleo-ish”.  For everyone else, please use my recipes as a way to add paleo healthy & tasty dishes into your meals and to reach what personal goals you may have in health and fitness.     

The Building Blocks, Part 1- Rice

In order for me to start embracing the paleo diet, I had to rethink the building blocks of my meals.  By blocks, I mean the idea that each meal should have some protein, some vegetables, some grains and of course, followed by something sweet! I’m Chinese and I grew up in a very traditional household.  This meant I ate rice....every day.  Rice was just always there.  I ate white rice, fried rice, brown rice, rice noodles, rice cakes, rice porridge, sticky rice...need I go on?


While my mom would make decisions on which meat to cook, or what kind of vegetables to buy- with rice, it was never in question.  Even on pizza night and KFC night, there was rice in the rice pot. Growing up, I did not know what a meal was without rice, or how to build a meal without it.  

Unfortunately in the paleo world, rice cannot exist so the question is - do I give up all those dishes that I love or do I just eat stir fry and other Asian dishes without any nice, fluffy rice to counterbalance all those savory flavors?  Of course, rice is just one of the things I would have to rethink.  Paleo also says no to pasta, bread and many, many beloved desserts. How can this be?!?! These foods are such a big part of many cultures- rice in Asia and the Middle East, pasta and bread in Europe...naan, tortillas, pita...where does food exist without these simple and satisfying accompaniments?


Luckily, in my exploration of the paleo world, I’ve learned that I can still have many great dishes as long as I just alter the building blocks of my meals.  I read that cauliflower could be a great replacement for rice so I began to think of other things that could also be a rice substitute.  Perhaps chopped up white button mushrooms.  Just like cauliflower, they can be chopped to resemble rice, and they also have a simple taste and texture that can usually absorb the flavors of other seasonings easily.  It could potentially act as nice balance to rich sauces...just like rice would.


The Building Blocks Part 1 is about my journey to make some of my favorite rice dishes paleo.  First, I started with the basic cauliflower rice, then I moved on to “paleo-fying” my mom’s simple and delicious fried rice, and then a seafood mixta paella.  Hope you enjoy the recipes!

Cauliflower Rice

Ingredients:
1 large head of cauliflower will yield about 5-6 cups of “rice”

Tip:  The color should be a nice, clean white or have an evenly cream colored crown.  It should feel heavy in your had and the leaves around it should looks green and fresh.

Store in your fridge.  If you notice some edges begin to brown in your fridge, you can trip that off and the rest should still be good to go.

Method:

1. Chop the cauliflower into coarse chunks (1-2 inches)
2. Wash and dry thoroughly
3. Place chunks into a food processor and chop until it’s the consistency you want.
4. Voila!  You have cauliflower rice!

Variations:

• You can use this to replace rice in many dishes, like my mom’s fried rice or paella.  If you sautee it lightly in some coconut oil, you can also season it in a variety of ways to accompany different dishes.  Examples:
• Keep it naked and enjoy with your favorite Asian stir-fry
• Throw in some paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, oregano, black pepper, light bit of salt to make a nice side dish for some spicy meats.
• Add a combo of cumin, tumeric, black pepper, cayenne, ground ginger, coriander (or a curry powder) to the rice and accompany a Thai or Indian curry.  
• Grill some bell peppers, onions, and celery, add cauliflower rice, top with fajita seasoning (homemade or store bought) and serve as a bed to grilled flank steak or chicken.  
• The possibilities are endless!

Notes:

My mom always had rice around the house.  You can too with cauliflower rice around the house too!!  Once chopped up, you can store in an airtight container or ziplock bag for 4-5 days, in the fridge. 

Paleoodie's Seafood Paella Mixta

I love paella for its simple, yet rich flavors.  For me, a great paella maintains the distinct flavor of each ingredient, and also blends these ingredients into a unique dish that is cohesive...and absolutely delicious.  The chicken & sausage taste meaty, the seafood fresh and light, and the tomatoes, garlic, herbs perfectly permeated in every bite.

The tricky part of this dish is that the protein is traditionally cooked alongside the rice, for almost 20-30 minutes.  Since I am using cauliflower, there is no need to cook it for such a long time and I don’t want the it get too soggy.  You’ll see in my recipe that the chicken will actually finish cooking in the oven.  This also means a lot less liquid should be used since the cauliflower won’t absorb it like rice would.  This causes a bit of a issue because there needs to be enough liquid to steam and cook the seafood.

After tinkering with some different combinations, here is my paleo version of a seafood paella mixta:

A Foodie's Journey Through the Paleo Prehistoric World

It's PALEO!  And I'm going to help you make it taste good...real good.  Why?  Because food should taste good- otherwise, why bother.  The premise of paleo, the "caveman" diet, is to go back (waaaaaay back) to our primitive roots and to eat more natural, unprocessed foods that our bodies should be able to process more effectively.  These are also the days when man and woman ate what they killed and what grew naturally from the earth.  Well that's all fine and dandy but humans did naturally evolve and invented fire, the stove, the microwave, and an amazing assortment of cooking utensils. Why not take advantage of all we have to create foods that meet the primitive digestive needs and the refined, modern foodie taste buds?

Am I a foodie?  A true, hardcore foodie?  I have no idea.  That term both annoys and appeals to me.  There is a certain pretentiousness that comes from self proclaimed foodies.  Whether they are chasing down the latest trendy food truck, or waiting eagerly for French Laundry to call back with a last minute cancellation, foodies often seem to use their food experiences to make a social statement.


Having said that, yes, I have chased down the latest trendy food truck, and I have eaten at the French Laundry (well, ate most of my meal at least...long story that will have to wait for another blog).  And yes, I’ve always liked to eat good food whether it's a greasy burger with the good ol’American orangey cheese, mayo and all the fixin’s, or whether it's an overpriced, oversized "burger" concoction that includes artisan brioche buns, foie gras schmear, Roquefort bleu cheese, beefsteak tomatoes, 100% organic grass-fed bison meat, all with a side of duck fat fries.