Paleo Chop Suey

Nothing makes me more proud than making a whole new original recipe. I'm normally recipe dependent so when I create something from random ingredients that actual tastes good, I'm surprised.  This recipe for Paleo Chop Suey was inspired by a need for a side dish and I just didn't feel like having a salad.  I had chosen to keep the stems from three heads of broccoli and wanted to use them.  I peeled the coarse outer layer from the stems and sliced them into strips to make the basis of this dish.  I think this dish manges to get an "asian" flavor without the use of soy sauce or Coconut aminos.

PALEO CHOP SUEY
Serves 4 prep time 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1.5lbs chicken breast, sliced thin
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 broccoli stems, peeled and sliced
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup broth
• 3 celery stems, sliced

Directions

1. Heat Olive Oil on med-hi heat.
2. Cook chicken, stirring frequently for about 3-4 minute or until no longer pink
3. Add in garlic and onions, cook for 3 mins
4. Add broccoli stems, carrots, and salt & pepper, cook 3 minutes
5. Add in celery and broth, cook until broth had reduced (about 5-8 minutes)
6. Serve alone or on top of prepared shirataki noodles.  

NOODLES!!!!

Can a packaged product
make you happy? I say YES!

Like my enthusiastic title?  Really that's all I can think right now because I just ate noodles.  Real noodles.  Not spaghetti squash, not strips of vegetables.  REAL NOODLES.  And yes, my Paleo is still intact thanks to House Foods Shirataki noodles.  I grew up eating these in meals like sukiyaki and they were my favorite part of the meal, besides the tofu and cabbage and meat . . . and well sukiyaki has to be one of my favorite all time meals.  But besides with asian flavors and in pho (which I've never had but plan to have someday) what ELSE could I do with these noodles?  There aren't many paleo recipes out there using them.  A lot of people have issues with the fishy smell (which goes away upon rinsing and heating) and the texture.  They're closer to a rice noodle (think chicken long rice) than a wheat noodle.  They've got a gelatin-like texture that may turn people off.  BUT I think the act of twirling tomato sauced noodles around a fork may be enough to get people to try it.  So, I set about to making myself SPAGHETTI using shirataki noodles today.  And I succeeded.  And you all get to benefit from my experimentation.

I found my noodles in the refrigerator section of my SPROUTS market.  Any whole foods should carry it, and if not, asian markets are guaranteed to have them. Just make sure you don't buy the TOFU Shirataki.  Tofu is SOY, which is a legume, which is NOT paleo.  Also, for weight loss purposes, the yam-based shirataki has ZERO calories.  The Tofu ones do.  Shall I repeat that again?  ZERO CALORIES people and I am incredibly full from lunch.

Closest thing to REAL spaghetti 

Shirataki Spaghetti with Roasted Chicken
serves 1 cook time: 15 minutes

waiting for them to "crackle"

Ingredients

• 1 pkg House foods shirataki noodles 
• 2 oz roasted chicken
• 2 tsp bacon grease or olive oil
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 onion, diced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper

Directions:

mmmm sauce

1. Open and rinse the shirataki noodles.  You just want to get rid of most of the fishy smell.
2. Using a NONSTICK pan, dry fry (NO OIL) the noodles on medium heat for about 5 minutes.  They're not going to get crispy, but they won't be as clear or slimy.  They'll start to crackle when they're almost done.  Remove noodles to a plate.
3. Heat up oil/grease in your pan on medium heat.  Add onions, garlic and tomatoes and fry for about 5 minutes.  The onions and garlic should be soft.  
4. Add tomato paste and herbs, and fry for about 2 minutes.  
5. Add the chicken stock and heat for about 1 minute.
6. Add the noodles into the pan and mix well.  Plate and serve topped with the roasted chicken.  

Nutritional information:  190 calories, 3.8g fat, 0.9g sat fat, 57.3 mg cholesterol, 900mg sodium, 31.6g carbs, 13.6 g fiber, 18.8g protein

Paleo Recipe Makeover: Cider-glazed Chicken

You must be feeling pretty lucky that I've made over two recipes in a row.  Yeah, I'm giving like that.  Sometimes the well is dry and I don't come across ANY recipes that are paleo or can be made over for weeks.  It probably doesn't help that all my food searches have been for "grilled cheese".  But then the internet gods send me a sign that I need to stay Paleo (for my health, for my recovery, to improve my running) by sending me TWO recipes in my inbox.  The first was the Creamy Cauliflower Soup from yesterday.  The other was Cider-Glazed Chicken with Browned Butter-Pecan Rice.  I did not attempt to paleo-ize the rice, but the Chicken glaze was already mostly paleo.  I just simply made a substitution of bacon grease for the butter.  If you are primal, or lacto-paleo, you can totally leave the glaze as it is in the original recipe.

trying to do fancy plating

CIDER-GLAZED CHICKEN

serves 4  cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tsp bacon grease or coconut oil
• 1 pound chicken breast cutlets (about 4 cutlets) 
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup refrigerated apple cider 
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

simple ingredients 

Preparation

1. 1. Melt 1 teaspoon fat/oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. 
2. 2. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. 
3. 3. Add chicken to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan. 
4. 4. Add cider and mustard to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until syrupy. 
5. 5. Add chicken to pan, turning to coat. Serve while hot. 

nutritional information: 150 cals, 2.5g fat, 0.8g sat fat, 66.8mg chol, 542.3mg sodium, 3.7g carbs, 0.1g fiber, 26.2g protein

My Favorite Paleo Recipes: Chicken Cacciatore

It's a rainy day in San Diego, which means all of us are freaking out about traffic and accidents on the highways.  It also means that we're all pretending to that we live on the East Coast and sweaters and crockpots come out of storage.  I actually use my crockpot year round.  It's an essential piece of kitchen equipment for a busy mom who wants to have time for race training.

My bff in the kitchen

When I started Paleo my first food regret was all the italian I'd have to give up.  I'm a runner, we LOVE pasta!  So one of my FIRST paleo recipe I made was the Chicken Cacciatore that I found at Technically Paleo.  This blogger's first post was all about what's "Technically" paleo and a set of instructions on how to cook bacon.  I recommend a read because it's worth the giggle.

I'd normally serve cacciatore over noodles (and still do for the family), but now I'll serve it over julienned zucchini, onions and peppers or green beans.  I'll just eat it straight from a bowl making "mmmmmm" noises too.  This recipe gives me my italian food fix while allowing me to stay Paleo.


Chicken Cacciatore by Technically Paleo

cacciatore on green beans

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion
• 1 green bell pepper
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 8oz. package of sliced mushrooms
• 2 tbsp dried Italian herb blend
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 6oz. cans of tomato paste
• 1 14oz can of diced tomatoes

Instructions

1. Start by chopping the onion into large pieces. Remove the stem and seeds from the bell pepper and chop it into large pieces as well. The pieces should be about the size of your fingertip
2. Finely mince the garlic cloves.
3. Cut each chicken thigh in half, and remove any large pieces of fat or skin that may still be on the meat.
4. Add the chicken, onion, pepper, garlic, and mushrooms to the crock pot. Also sprinkle 2 tbsp of dried Italian herbs and 1 tsp of salt on top of the meat and vegetables.
5. In a medium sized bowl, combine the diced tomatoes (with their liquid) and the tomato paste. Stir them together so that they form a thick sauce.
6. Add the tomato sauce to the crock pot. Try to evenly distribute the sauce across the top of the chicken and vegetables.
7. Cook everything in the crock pot on low for about 8 hours. When it's done cooking, gently stir everything to even out the sauce.