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.  

Paleo Product Reviews: I try, so you don't have to!

Robb Wolf recently posted about the Seven Shades of Paleo on his blog.  You can read more in depth about this humorous, yet true, categorizing of Paleo Diet followers through the link.  The categories are as follows: The Militant Paleo, The Autoimmune Paleo, The Low-Carb Paleo, The Lacto-Paleo, The 80/20 Paleo, The Vegetarian Paleo, and The "I decide" Paleo.  That last one cracks me up.  

The Militant Paleo group  "...hunt their own meat, gather berries, climb trees to harvest nuts, and make dinner outside over the fire pit...".  That's just crazy, in my opinion.  That's darn right IMPOSSIBLE in modern times.  I'm a busy mom of two, and dedicated to having time to blog as well.  That means that sometimes I want easy solutions for Paleo problems.  That's where Paleo-Friendly Pre-packaged food comes in.  I already covered some of my favorite snacks in my post about Paleo To Go.  Now that I'm firmly entrenched in this eating lifestyle though, I'm starting to reach out for foods that supplement my expanding paleo culinary skills.  Recently I've tried several products and services that I thought I'd share with you.

House Foods Shirataki Noodles -  These noodles are a WIN!  Low carb and made from the Konjac plant, sometimes known as a japanese yam.  These are completely paleo safe and a good alternative for those who miss "real" noodles.  I reccomend Dry-frying them (no oils in a non-stick pan) to rid them of their slimy texture.  They'd be great in paleo stir-fry and paleo pho recipes.  I used them to make Paleo Spaghetti.               

Fitzee Foods - This is a San Diego based pre-packaged meal company that labels their products as "ideal Meals to fit your lifestyle".  The idea is great.  Pre-packaged, pre-portioned meals for those people who are too busy or cannot cook for themselves.  They list "Paleo Friendly" meals on their website.  I was very excited to try them and purchased all the available meals from their "Paleo Friendly" freezer.  This experience is a DRAW for me.  I got the meals home only to find that their meals are "Paleo Inspired" and that they use some lentils and red potatoes in a few of their "Paleo" meals.  I'm not a MILITANT paleo, but I don't think you should label something paleo if it's NOT paleo.  On the plus side, the experience of buying the food was easy and quick.  Like shopping at a REALLY healthy 7-11.  They are located in Point Loma, which is a hike for me, but they do have pickup locations all over San Diego. And they allowed me to exchange the meals I couldn't eat for ones that I could.   I've now eaten the Grilled Steak with Chimichurri Sauce and the  JKing’s Chicken Cacciatore.  The Steak was way better than I expected.  The sauce was tasty and the steak and brussels sprouts held up well to storage.  The chicken cacciatore was disappointing   very little chicken, and the sauce was very thin and runny.  Pros: the food was tasty, the ability to have pre-made paleo meals without cooking for an hour, good customer service  Cons: not completely paleo friendly, and a bit pricey.  As a stay-at-home mom and an amateur chef, I usually have the time to cook for myself.  

Julian Bakery Paleo Breads - WIN!  These breads are made with Purified Water, Blanched Almond or coconut Flour, Egg Whites, Psyllium, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Baking Soda.  If you were expecting a fluffy, airy bread, you'll be disappointed   But the chewy, light texture reminds me of bagels and they're sturdy enough for sandwiches.  No crumbling!  Both breads are delicious and I totally recommend them!  $7.99 for a loaf.  I cannot wait to put together some recipe using these breads.  

Is there a paleo product that you're REALLY curious about?  Let me know about it!  I'll test it and review it so you don't have to!

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