No bake Paleo Cookies

While I don't have a super sweet tooth, I will say that one thing I miss when dieting is desserts. Only once in a while, but when that craving comes over me, watch out. I usually give in and send tt down the street to DQ for a blizzard {note: I always get a mini, but it's still 1000 calories I'm sure}

I came across a bunch of Paleo cookie recipes. I am dying to try the chocolate chip cookies, but also found these which ultimately came out a little more like a candy bar than a cookie. I'm ok with it. 

No Bake Paleo Cookies

Original recipe from: sweettreatsbyshayna.blogspot.com

ingredients

1 cup coconut flakes

1 cup dark chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pecans {I used walnuts}

1/2 cup almond butter

1/3 cup raw honey

1/3 cup olive oil {I actually ran out of olive oil...gasp...so I used coconut oil here}

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

instructions

1. Heat chocolate chips, oil, honey, and almond butter in a sauce pan on medium heat, stirring often. You will want to melt the chocolate chips until they are a smooth consistency.
2. Turn off the heat and add cinnamon, nuts and coconut. Be sure to coat everything in the chocolate.
3. Drop a spoonful on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until hardened.

notes

• Mine was super liquidy, even once I mixed the dry ingredients in. I'm wondering if this is partly due to using coconut oil in place of olive oil, but I don't see why that would happen. I don't bake- clearly, this is why. I mess up even no-bake cookies. Most of it ran together on the parchment paper, so I will cut it into pieces and eat as candy. Problem solved!

Cauliflower Rice

PALEO ALERT!

I've made this nifty side dish a few times now, and am excited to report that for me, it serves as a nice alternative to actual rice. I do love a good cauliflower, so I can't tell you in all honesty if it actually tastes like cauliflower if you don't season it with anything other than S+P- my guess is that it does a little. BUT it is literally an empty canvas for flavor combinations. S+P are a must, but you could do all sorts of things like:

... add cilantro and lime juice for a fresh take on Mexican "rice"

... go Indian and add turmeric and curry powder for a savory treat 

    {add cayenne to give it a kick}

... sesame oil, scallions and a little ginger would take you down an Asian path. 

    {and- if you threw in some tamari, it might just blow your mind}

... include sauteed veggies like mushrooms, onions or peppers to give it more bulk

... I'm seriously not kidding- you can do anything with this! 

And to make matters even better, it is super easy to make. Like, stupid easy. Are you even ready for this?

{Paleo} Cauliflower "Rice"

ingredients

1/2-1 whole head fresh cauliflower

Appx 1 Tbl oil {I used olive, but anything could be used here}

S+P to taste

Any other ingredients you'd like to jazz up your "rice"

What else do you need? A food processor, and nice large skillet - that's it.

instructions

1. Remove the stem from your cauliflower and roughly chop. It doesn't have to be small at all. 
2. Place chopped pieces of cauliflower into food processor, and pulse until it becomes the consistency of little rices.
3. Heat oil in skillet, and saute cauliflower until it turns slightly translucent, stirring often.

notes

• Yes, I made up the word "rices"
• That is all.

Pad Thai {Paleo}

I'm all about new Paleo recipes right now!! Bring 'em on. One of my oldest friends in life knows this about me and shared a recipe that she came up with for Pad Thai. If you know me {and she knows me} I love-love-LOVE Pad Thai. She instructed me that the basic premise for the recipe is a protein, veggies, egg, lime, and almond butter. Now having made it, I will agree that basically, if you work around that, the possibilities are pretty much endless. I am seriously in Pad Thai HEAVEN. I am forcing myself not to not eat the whole thing... and I totally can't wait to make this again. So, here goes:

Pad Thai {Paleo}

ingredients

A protein {chicken breast, shrimp, any ground meat will work... I used chicken thighs}

Cabbage sliced like noodles {or for the lazy, ie me: a bag of fresh coleslaw mix}

Optional: Red/Green Peppers, Sliced onions, Mushrooms, Garlic

Sesame oil

1/2 tsp of "Chinese 5 spice" {can also use nutmeg and cinnamon}

Salt + Pepper

Juice of half of a lime

2 eggs

1 heaping tsp of almond butter

1 Tbl water

Finish with: red pepper flakes and sesame seeds

instructions

1. Saute protein and vegg in "just enough" sesame oil 
2. Season with 5spice and S+P
3. Once veggies and chicken are cooked and seasoned, finish with the juice of half a lime
4. Crack eggs in and lightly scramble
5. Mix almond butter with a little water to thin it out to a sauce, then add into pan and mix well
6. Finish with red pepper flakes{adds heat!} and sesame seeds 

notes

• So, I don't have Chinese 5 spice in my repoirtoire, and I used cinn/nutmeg- that being said, the flavor was slightly off. It was a little too sweet-spicy. Aka, cinnamonny. Or nutmeggy. Or something. Either way, because I fully intend to make this again, I fully intend on visiting Penzey's to get myself some 5 spice. 
• I used about 3/4 of the bag of Cole Slaw mix - it worked perfectly fine, I wouldn't bother actually slicing cabbage.
• For veggies, I cut up 1 red bell pepper, 1 green pepper, 1 small yellow onion, probably a half cup of baby bellas, and threw in a little minced garlic. 
• Because I used chicken thighs, I baked them separately {425 for 25-30 mins} I put a little sesame oil on them, S+P and a dash of red pepper flakes. Skin didn't really crisp up, which I was bummed about, but I wasn't planning on eating it anyways so it didn't matter. Next time I will probably try shrimps. Mmm. 

Shepard's Pie {Paleo}

Ok slight change in plans after the grocery store adventure. Wanted nothing to do with going to a second grocery store for fish, so Sunday shifted to Shepard's Pie. And thank goodness it did. You would NEVER guess that this dish was paleo/good for you/not packed with processed junk. Get ready for your mouth to literally start watering as you read the recipe. 

And for dessert? I finished it off with coconut chocolate chia seed pudding. Stop it. Nope, I can't. It's kinda scary how delicious paleo food can be... You know you're jealous. 

Shepard's Pie {Paleo}

Recipe originated from: www.eat-yourself-skinny.com 

ingredients

1 lb grass fed ground beef

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, chopped

1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped

1/2 cup frozen corn

1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary, divided

1 Tbsp chopped fresh sage, divided

1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme, divided

1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp organic vegetable stock {like Nature's Promise}

1 Tbsp potato starch {I couldn't find it, so I actually used regular flour- this makes the dish not paleo}

1/2 head cauliflower, chopped

1 egg

Salt and pepper, to taste

instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large skillet, brown ground beef. Add onion, garlic, carrots and mushrooms and cook until soft, about 3 minutes.
3. Add a 1/2 cup of chicken stock, potato starch and corn and bring mixture to a light boil, mixing often.
4. Turn off heat and add half of your fresh herbs (you'll use the other half in the cauliflower mash) along with salt and pepper. Set aside.
5. Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a rolling boil. Cook cauliflower for about 7 to 10 minutes, until soft. Drain.
6. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, 2 tablespoons of chicken stock (or more if needed) and the cooked cauliflower. Using a potato masher or whisk, mash cauliflower until smooth and add reserved herbs and a good pinch of salt. {you can also use a food processor or blender here - that's what I did}
7. Evenly divide the meat mixture into ramekins until almost full. Using a spatula, spread cauliflower mixture over top until meat is completely covered.
8. Place ramekins on a baking sheet and cook in the oven for 10 minutes then switch your oven to broil and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes.
9. Allow a few minutes to cool and enjoy!

notes

• Had I not burnt the tops of my little pretties, there would have been pics of these babies. I had my broiler on "normal" {I have low, normal, high} and left in for 8 minutes and it was entirely too long, obviously. Next time I will go to low and probably watch after 5 minutes.
• I will 100% be making Cauliflower Mash again in place of mashed potatoes. The cauliflower mixed with vegetable stock and an egg, baked in the oven, literally almost tastes like potatoes. I am looking forward to experimenting with that!
• I intend to go to Whole Foods this week to hopefully procure potato starch. Again with the "we didn't want to go to multiple stores" today, I didn't bother. I figured it was only 1 Tbl of flour, so it's not the end of the world.. but using that changed the paleo nature of this recipe. Boo.