Recipe ideas for the 30 day challenge

[Jacki Apligian]

For those of you that do not know about Nicole's blog, I want to recommend it for some recipes to get you started with Paleo.  It is cavegirlkitchen.blogspot.com.  You MUST try the chicken and mushroom and chili recipes as you get started with Paleo!  Good luck and just remember......lots of veggies,lots o  meat and some fruits and some nuts are the best things to eat during this 30 days to lose weight.  Trust me, I have been there!!!!  If you need to complain, feel free corner me anytime :)

[Ryan Darney]

Made the chicken and mushrooms last night to eat for lunch and it is AWESOME!!  The chili is next.

[Nicole Lavarias]

Linda made copies of her paleo emealz and left some at the gym. It's a meal planning company and she subscribes to the paleo version. If you want copies of them weekly, let me know and I'll see that she brings them. They have some good recipes. Some are a tad complicated for my cooking style :) Also, I'm going to post our meal plan with links to recipes...once I get them on the blog. :)

[Ted Lavarias]

The Paleo chili is definitely one of my favorite recipes. I usually like to eat it with sweet potato chips, or cashews or sliced almonds just to have something crunchy with it. Nicole's Paleo stew is pretty awesome too! I don't think that's on her blog yet. I think it's got chicken broth, carrots, celery, onions, sweet potato, & beef chunks. Cook it in a crock pot for a few hours. I don't make it, so I'm just guessing... But that's really good & really easy to make too.

[Cat Teel]

Trying to figure out a way to get more vegetables in my diet.  My favorites are not paleo - corn, peas, green beans :(  I loved the Kale salad at the Xmas party, does anyone have any other suggestions?  Thanks!

[Brian Mac]

I thought I read that peas and green beans were ok. The rule of thumb on
beans is hard shell is a NO but soft shell is a YES

[Cat Teel]

Thanks Brian!  I did some research and found that although peas and green beans are legumes, they are allowed (in moderation) yay!

I found this on a paleo site:

One of the key differences in green beans and peas, as compared to other beans, is the fact that they can be eaten fresh, instead of dried. Legumes such as black beans and kidney beans are left on the vine until they are dried, which makes them more difficult to digest. Green beans and peas can also be eaten raw, which is another way they differ from other legumes, that makes them more in line with the paleo diet.

Green beans and peas are also much lower in carbohydrates and lectin than other beans, and the lectin that is found in green beans and peas has been shown to be less toxic than the lectin found in other beans. Lectins are proteins that bind to sugars and carbohydrates, and can lead to digestion problems.

[Ted Lavarias]

Green beans & peas are allowed by some people following the Paleo diet. If you want to be completely 100% strict, then they are still legumes & should not be consumed. But Mark Sisson allows them in his version of the Paleo diet, which he calls the "Primal" diet... Robb Wolf, author of The Paleo Solution, eats green beans, since the actual bean in them are so small that it's mostly the pod you're eating & not much bean, so they're safer than most legumes. I haven't heard much about peas though, since you're still eating the actual "bean" of the plant, & if you have a big bowl full of them, that can potentially be a lot lectins.

In my personal opinion (as a Paleo enthusiast, not an expert), I would eat green beans but would stay away from peas. Or if I was going to have peas, I would limit consumption to maybe once or twice per week. I would definitely not eat either of them everyday...

[Ryan Darney]

My wife made these yesterday and they were good:

Avocado Cilantro Deviled Eggs

http://4hourpeople.com/question/3976/avocado-cilantro-deviled-eggs

Ingredients:

6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled


1 ripe avocado


1/2 tsp lime juice


1 Tbsp finely minced red onion


1 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro


A few dashes of Tabasco sauce


A few grinds of pepper


1/2 tsp kosher salt



Directions:

Cut eggs in half lengthwise. Carefully scoop out the yolks and put into a medium bowl. Put egg halves onto a platter and put into the fridge.



With a fork, crumble up the egg yolks. Cut avocado in half and remove the pit. Scoop out the avocado flesh from both halves and add it to the egg yolks. With a spoon, mix well, until the yolks and avocado are creamy. Add lime juice and mix well. Add red onion, cilantro, Tabasco, pepper and salt. Mix well to combine.



Remove egg halves from the fridge. Using a small cookie scoop, scoop avocado yolk mixture into the egg halves. Garnish with a single cilantro leaf. Serve immediately, or before the avocado browns.


[Nicole Lavarias]

We are doing Garlic Chicken (was supposed to be with brown sugar and garlic but I used honey....and then changed up the whole recipe!) and kale salad! :) It would be great with a glass of wine, but alas...water it is! :/

[Brian Mac]

I'm doing Hooters tonight....NOT Paleo friendly

[Cat Teel]

Yummy hot cocoa:

I mug almond/coconut milk (I use the almond/coconut blend but you could use just almond or just coconut)

1 heaping teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons maple syrup

Heat mug of milk in microwave for 3 minutes.  Add cocoa powder and mix well.  Then add maple syrup to taste.  Yummy on this cold, rainy day!

[Cat Teel]

OMG I made this for dinner tonight and it was amazing!  You also get a serving of vegetables along with your salmon :)  It makes 4 servings but I just cut it in half to make 2.

Pistachio & Broccoli-Pesto Crusted Salmon

3/4 cup shelled pistachios

1 garlic clove

3/4 cup broccoli florets

1 cup fresh basil

2 tbs EVOO

1 tbs pine nuts

1 tsp water

dash of garlic salt/pepper seasoning

4 4oz salmon fillets

1. Pre-heat oven to 375. Line a baking dish with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.

2. Crush pistachios until roughly chopped and set aside.

3. In food processor or blender, add garlic, broccoli, basil, EVOO, water and pine nuts. Pulse until thick, chunky puree.

4. Place salmon fillets skin down in baking dish. Spoon puree on top of salmon fillets, spreading with spatula.  Sprinkle pistachios on top of puree. Dash each fillet with garlic salt/pepper seasoning.

5. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until salmon is just pink. 

6. Enjoy!  Super easy and quick to make.