Tag Archives: Paleo

protein, recipe

Shepherd’s Pie with Cauliflower Mash Recipe

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My coworker made the most amazing sugar detox meal! I’m pretty excited to share this genius idea of hers.

Over the weekend, she went out to Cheesecake Factory and really wanted to try the shepherd’s pie, but decided to make her own healthy version at home. Here’s the result!

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This dish is so good, I could eat it every day! Thanks for letting me have some and for sharing the recipe:

1. For the cauliflower mash: steam cauliflower florets until tender. Mash them with 1/4 cup of cream and butter to taste. Add a bit of shredded mozzarella and one egg to get the mixture to bind. Season with a bit of garlic.

2. For the base: brown 1 lb of ground turkey in a pan. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano. In a separate pan, sauté shredded carrots, shredded green beans, shredded onions, and shredded tomatoes. All this shredding can be done in a food processor! Combine the turkey and veggies in a casserole dish.

3. Top the meat and veggie mixture with cauliflower mash and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Broil to get the cheese golden and bubbly for the final 2-3 minutes.

Can’t wait to make this! It’s so satisfying and you won’t even miss the potatoes.

recipe, snacks

Spiced Almonds

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Try these curry spiced almonds for a flavorful and satisfying snack.

I used Calcutta Heat Curry Seasoning, but you can try your own flavor combination. Next time I’ll try smoked paprika, Frank’s Red Hot, or cinnamon.

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1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Toss 2 cups of almonds with 1 egg white or 2 tbs olive oil in a mixing bowl. Add seasoning (about 2 tbs or to taste) and stir to coat.

3. Spread almonds in a single layer on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 10 mins, stir around, and bake for up to 10 mins more.

These can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Measure out 1/4 cup (or 28 grams) for a snack. Enjoy!

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breakfast, recipe

Is paleo bread any good? Breakfast sandwich

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Breakfast isn’t complete without some protein! Lately I’ve been really into breakfast sandwiches, so the thought of giving up bread for this sugar detox made me sad. I tried to think of what I could use as the base for my egg sandwiches. Eggplant and zucchini didn’t sound too good to me… But then I found THIS at Whole Foods over the weekend!

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Whaaaaat?? Bread made of coconut and almonds? With only 60 calories per slice, 5 g fiber, and 7 g protein? It sounded too good to be true. To be honest, I was nervous about how the taste and texture would be. The price tag ($10.99 for 16 slices) made this purchase a gamble.

Luckily, I’m not at all disappointed! This bread is soft, dense, and barely different in flavor from the sunflower bread I usually use.

Here’s how to make my 5 minute breakfast sandwich:

1. Place 1 slice of paleo bread topped with 1 slice pepper jack cheese in the toaster oven.

1. While the bread is toasting, scramble 1 egg or 1/4 cup egg whites in a nonstick pan. On the same pan, sizzle some turkey breast or ham until golden. You could add some spinach, tomato, or onions at this point, but I don’t like my breakfast sandwiches to taste too healthy ;)

3. Your bread should be done at about the same time as the egg and meat (and veggies). Take the bread out of the toaster and top the bubbly cheese with everything on the pan.

4. If you like things hot, add a few drops of hot sauce… Or sriracha. I was a little broken hearted to see that the second ingredient in sriracha is sugar.. So don’t use this if you’re strictly sugar detoxing :( Otherwise, sriracha is amazing on everything!

Enjoy this sandwich hot and gooey with my basic green juice on the side!

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protein shakes, recipe, vegetables

Green juice for beginners

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Ok, let’s get started with a ridiculously easy recipe. Even if you’re not doing a sugar detox, you may be curious about green smoothies and juices. They are probably the easiest way to pack some greens into your day! Here’s the most basic recipe for a rushed morning:

1. Cut a green apple into quarters.

2. Toss the apple, a handful of spinach, cup of water, splash of lemon juice, a d cup of ice into a blender.

3. Start on a low setting and quickly turn it to max speed. Blend for about 60 seconds or until the spinach and apple are completely liquefied and frothy.

This makes one MASSIVE green juice coming in at about 100 calories (depending on size of apple.) Enjoy!!

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food

21 Day Sugar Detox

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A few of my coworkers and I have decided to take a 21 day sugar detox challenge to crush intense cravings and start eating more cleanly.

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The manual is huge, but the whole thing is really pretty simple. I can eat lots of vegetables, animal and plant proteins (but nothing too processed), and full fat dairy (to prevent blood sugar spikes from low fat dairy). There are no sugars or sweeteners allowed, with the exception of one green apple or one green tipped banana per day. No fruit!?

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Believe me, I’m questioning this food list like crazy. For example, why can I have apples and bananas when other fruits, like raspberries, cranberries, and papaya are lower in sugar?? And why can I have almonds but not cashews or peanuts? I think if it was just me doing this challenge alone, I would tweak it a bit. For the sake of fairness to my coworkers, I’ll just stick to the list. It’s only 21 days after all!

I’ll be posting recipes and food prep tips- feel free to jump in with us on this challenge! I’m starting my morning with some unsweetened coffee and organic whole milk. Yuck! Hopefully my taste buds will adapt.

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recipe, treats

Chickpea chocolate chip cookies

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These are too good to keep to myself!

Ingredients:
-1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
-1/2 cup almond butter (or cashew butter)
-1/2 cup light brown sugar
-2 tsp vanilla extract
-1/4 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp baking powder
-1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Purée chickpeas in a blender (magic bullet) until smooth. Add all ingredients (except chocolate chips) and stir to thoroughly combine. **i used the blender to combine everything, but it gets very sticky and the blades struggle with it.
3. Drop cookie batter onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper by the spoonful. Stick some chocolate chips in ’em.
4. Bake for 15-20 mins until chocolate chips start to melt and the cookies are golden.
5. Allow to cool, then prepare to be amazed!

These are REALLY tasty! Try them, you won’t regret it!

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Recipe adapted from here

protein, recipe

Easy lunch

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Hello! It’s a very slow day at work, so I thought it would be nice to share my recipe for an easy, tasty lunch!

curried turkey patty
8oz lean ground turkey meat
1 tbs plain bread crumbs
1 tbs egg whites
1 tsp fresh cilantro
1 tsp Calcutta heat (or curry) seasoning
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp minced garlic

Mush all the ingredients together and form into two patties. Pan fry with high-heat canola oil spray, flipping after 3 mins. Cook until no longer pink inside.

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spinach salad

2 cups organic baby spinach
1/2 c sliced grape tomatoes
1/4 c sliced English cucumber
1/4 c sliced yellow bell pepper
1 tbs lite Italian dressing (I like Annie’s naturals)

Layer the sliced veggies in a glass tupperware and drizzle with dressing. Place the spinach on top. When you’re ready to eat, just shake it up!

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I hope you enjoy this tasty dish! It’s yummy with brown rice on the side and maybe even a bit of mustard.