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.