Paleo Orange Chicken

This is from Health Bent Paleo Recipes. It's a little bit spicy and a little bit sweet, very flavorful. Next time I would double the size of the recipe.

Ingredients:

·         1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cut into bite size pieces)

·         3 T coconut oil

·         juice and zest of 2 oranges

·         1 t fresh ginger

·         3 T coconut aminos

·         1 t chili garlic sauce or sriracha

·         3 green onions, chopped

In a medium size sauce pot, add the orange juice, zest, ginger, coconut aminos and chili garlic sauce or sriracha. Set over medium heat and let simmer to reduce and thicken while the chicken cooks. In a saute pan, heat 3 T of coconut oil over medium high heat. Add the chopped chicken thighs and cook until a nice brown crust has developed on the chicken pieces, about 6 minutes. Add the chicken to the sauce pot and stir to coat with the orange sauce. Serve topped with sliced green onions. 

Protein Noodle White Lasagna

Ingredients:
3/4 cup minced shallots
8 TBS butter
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
6 TBS cream cheese
3/4 cup chicken stock
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt
1/4 pound grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 cup), divided
6 cups freshly shredded mozzarella cheese
1 pound deli shaved chicken breast or ham
OPTIONAL: artichokes, capers, mushrooms

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Cook shallots in butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 4 minutes. Add nutmeg, then slowly whisk in cream cheese and stock. Bring to a boil, whisking, then simmer, stirring occasionally, just until sauce lightly coats back of spoon, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and cool to warm, stirring occasionally. Stir in eggs, sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Spread about 1 1/4 cups sauce over bottom of an 11- by 8-inch baking dish. Cover with a layer of shaved chicken (for the "noodles"), then additional fillings such as artichokes, mushrooms, or capers if desired. Then top with 2 cup shredded mozzarella. Repeat layering 3 more times, then top with remaining sauce and remaining 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Bake, uncovered, until browned, 45 to 55 minutes. Makes 12 servings.

I used mushrooms and artichokes this time. Sarah liked it as you can see, but the boys picked the veggies out. So next time I will chop the veggies up smaller so they are less recognizable.

Thanks to Maria for this recipe!

http://mariahealth.blogspot.com/

Green Chicken Soup

This soup is full of healthy veggies and pretty tasty too. 

Ingredients:

3          Large chicken boneless/skinless breasts with fat trimmed (31oz)

2          Large cans of fat free chicken broth, low sodium (49.5 oz per can)

1          Bunch of Broccolini chopped (8oz)

3          Baby Bok Choys chopped (9oz total)

4          Small zucchini chopped (10oz total)

4          Large celery stalks chopped (9oz total)

5          Medium garlic cloves chopped

½         Bunch green onions chopped (1oz)

3          Large Carrots chopped (11oz total)

1          TBSP Dill Weed chopped

½         Bunch fresh parsley chopped

6oz      Frozen green peas

6oz      Fresh green beans chopped

Instructions:

In a large pot, combine all ingredients, except the peas and green beans. Keep the chicken breasts whole (you’ll shred them later). Boil for about 30 minutes. Once the chicken breasts are completely cooked, remove them to cool (pull them apart a little bit . . they’ll cool faster).

Meanwhile, put the vegetables and broth through a blender. (When doing this, it is a good idea to carefully pulse them in a blender with a towel around the blender lid and hold the lid firmly, as sometimes pressure can build with hot liquids in the blender. ) Then transfer the blended soup back into the large pot.

When the whole chicken breasts have cooled a bit, pull them apart by hand and shred them. They should be a little stringy when in shredded form, with no large chunks. Add the shredded chicken back into the pot.  Chop-up the green beans fairly small, and add into the pot along with the frozen peas.  Cook for about 10 more minutes, add salt & pepper to taste and enjoy! This recipe is 57 cals. per cup.

And, she likes it!

Paleo Pals Pancakes

This is Sarah cooking from her first cookbook. It was a birthday present from her friend Soraya at school.

Paleo Pals Pancakes

Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas
1/3 cup coconut flour
6 eggs
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions:
1. Smash bananas
2. Add remaining ingredients and whisk together until well blended
3. Grease a large skillet with coconut oil over medium heat. Scoop about 1/4 cup of the mix per pancake onto the hot griddle and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side. Makes about 10 pancakes.

These got a thumbs up from Sarah!

Chocolate chip cookies (low carb, gluten free)

1 1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup coconut oil or butter
1 cup Just Like Sugar
1/2 cup erythritol
OPTION: add 1 egg (for cake-like cookie)
1 tsp sea salt
2 chocolate bars, chopped (I use Dante Confections dark chocolate made with Stevia)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. In a medium bowl, cream the butter, Just Like Sugar, and erythritol (add in egg if using). Cream for a few minutes until very fluffy. In a separate bowl mix together the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add in the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth. Add in chocolate. Roll 2 TBS of dough into a ball in your hands (for uniform shape) onto a cookie sheet, then press down to they are about ¾ of an inch thick. Place cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake in preheated oven for 17-20 minutes or until golden around the edges. Cool completely on the baking sheet before removing. Makes 24 cookies.

Each cookie:

150 calories

4 g carb

6 g fiber

2 g protein

15 grams fat

These were a big hit with the kids!

Gila's Fennel or Cauliflower

Gila’s Cauliflower or Fennel

Ingredients:

·         1 head cauliflower or 2 large bulbs fennel

·         2 tablespoons olive oil

·         Juice of 1 lemon

·         1 tsp Better Than Bouillon

·         1/8 teaspoon salt

·         ¼ teaspoon tumeric

·         1/8 teaspoon pepper

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients in bowl. Microwave 15 minutes, stirring twice.

Primal Cheese Scones

Cheese Muffins (Gluten Free, Primal)

1 1/4 C almond meal

1/4 C coconut flour

1/4 t salt

1/2 t baking soda

2 Eggs

3 T Coconut Oil melted

1.5 C shredded Cheese (I used Cheddar, but other kinds would be nice, too)

Mix flours, salt and baking soda in a bowl. Add eggs and oil and mix well. Fold in cheese then put 1/4 cup of batter in each muffin tin. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick. Let muffins rest for 15 minutes before eating. Makes about 10 muffins.

I added 3 packs of Truvia to the recipe and they came out tasting like yummy scones.

Each muffin has:

200 calories

9 grams of protein

2 grams of carbs