Whole 30 Grape Leaves- Stuffed with Beef and Artichoke

Posted on July 13, 2015

Whenever I do a Whole 30, the “grab and go” options are the key to my success. One of my favorite grab and go options are stuffed grape leaves. These can be made ahead, and last throughout the week as a great addition to salads or kept as a good high protein snack throughout the day.

While I normally like to stuff my grape leaves with lamb, ground lamb isn’t always readily available or on sale. My husband and I did a big cost-co run a few weeks ago, and got some excellent organic ground beef that we had stored in the freezer. Since I am a bit “hamburgered” out from the recent 4th of July holiday, I wanted to use the beef for something different, and thought I’d try putting them in my grape leaves.

Non-paleo grape leaves are typically stuffed with rice, and occasionally meat. Obviously, I don’t use rice, but i do like to add something to lighten up the meat and add some nice acidity. This time, I thought I would do that by adding in some chopped up artichoke hearts, olives and capers. The artichokes not only add in some extra veggies, but are a great source of fiber as well as vitamin C and K. To keep this healthy, I used frozen artichoke hearts as opposed to canned ones, that typically come with all sorts of other “stuff” in it. The frozen artichoke hearts are far more affordable than the fresh, and involve a LOT less work to get them prepped.

The trickiest part of this dish is rolling the grape leaves. To do this, I pull a roll of the leaves from the jar and lay them out flat. Some of the leaves will be large enough to use on your own (slightly larger than your hand), but others may need to be laid out with a second leaf on top to create a secure surface. Once you have spooned the mixture on to the center of the leaf or leaves, roll it like a burrito, tucking in the ends. I have found the rolls are a bit more secure after having been refrigerated, but they can also be enjoyed immediately.

I am working on another recipe for grape leaves using lamb that I will publish soon, but in the meantime, enjoy this version!!

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Whole 30 Grape Leaves- Stuffed with Beef and Artichoke

Whole 30 Grape Leaves- Stuffed with Beef and Artichoke

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lb ground beef
  • 1/2 a large yellow onion
  • 4 oz frozen artichoke hearts (thawed and chopped)
  • 1/4 cup pitted Kalamata Olives (chopped)
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 2 tbsp capers
  • 1 tsp ghee
  • 1 jar grape leaves

Instructions

  1. Heat up the ghee in a pan over medium heat. When it has melted, and pan is coated, add in the onions and garlic, and cook until fragrant and onions are translucent (about 3-5 minutes). Add artichoke hearts, cumin and paprika to the mixture, and cook for another 2-3 minutes while stirring.
  2. Add the ground beef to the pan, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Continue cooking until meat has browned and has broken up. Add in the olives and capers and cook for 3 more minutes. Remove from heat and let cool (about 15 minutes).
  3. Lay out the grape leaves on a flat surface. If the leaf is too small, or does not have a lot of good surface area, you can double up. Spoon a small amount of the beef mixture onto the center of the grape leaves, and roll it up like a burrito. Repeat until all of the beef mixture has been used (will make about 3 dozen). Serve immediately, or refrigerate to enjoy later.

Notes

These are great to throw into salads, but I also like eating them alone and dipping them in paleo tartar sauce as a quick protein filled snack. Can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

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Whole 30 New England Clam Chowder

Posted on July 13, 2015

If you grew up in New England, you know the importance of a good clam chowder. There is nothing that says home to me like a nice hot bowl of this yummy goodness. Unfortunately, indulging in a good cup of “chowda” these days, would put me out of commission for the better part of a week.

A few weeks ago, my husband and I went away to a family wedding in Maine, and my craving for New England Clam Chowder reared it’s ugly head again. One evening, while looking almost too intently at the couple dining at the table next to us enjoy their cups of chowder, my husband challenged me to try and make a Paleo version. At first I thought he was crazy – there was no way I could replicate this without cream- but after thinking about it for a few minutes, I came up with an idea. After a few tweaks, I am finally ready to unveil the result.

Adapting a Classic

The biggest challenge to this chowder, was replacing the cream. In my “pre-paleo” days, one of my favorite tricks to replace cream in a soup, was to throw in a small skinned “creamer potato” into the broth and puree it. Obviously, white potato’s are a “no-no”, but parsnips and cauliflower…. now we were talking. The next thing I needed to address was the broth. Normally, I create my clam broth by steaming clams in white wine (trust me, this is amazing). While the wine does add an amazing richness to chowder, using water works just as well for rendering a good broth, as long as I added that richness of flavor in another way. I chose to do this by adding a nice thick-cut bacon to the chowder (because everything is better with bacon ) and chopped leeks.

The key to a really hearty and good chowder is the clams. I chose to use both little neck and cherry stone clams. Cherry stone clams are nice and meaty, and will give you a lot of good broth. Little neck clams are smaller, but also add a good texture. I rounded out the rest of the chowder with the usual suspects: carrots, celery, and (of course) sweet potato. In a perfect world, I would use purple sweet potato – but alas I couldn’t find any.

The Result

While this isn’t exactly like the classic – it does hit the spot. I don’t miss the cream at all – and if anything, the flavor of the clams is able to come through even more without it. The other great benefit to this version of chowder, is that it is much lighter – and thus can be enjoyed on the hottest of summer days as well as on a nice fall evening. You can bet this is making it into the regular rotation at my house!

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Whole 30 New England Clam Chowder

Whole 30 New England Clam Chowder

A lighter, dairy and carb free version of the New England classic.

Ingredients

  • 2 dozen Cherry Stone Clams
  • 2 dozen Little Neck Clams
  • 2 cups of water
  • 2 Leeks, thinly sliced (only use the light portion of the leek, discard the dark green tops)
  • 6 slices thick cut smoked bacon (cut into squares)
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
  • 3 stalks of celery, diced
  • 2 medium parsnips, peeled and diced
  • 1 cup cauliflower florets
  • 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced into small bite-sized cubes
  • 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 2 tsp hot sauce (optional)
  • 2 dozen Cherry Stone Clams
  • 2 dozen Little Neck Clams
  • 2 cups of water
  • 2 Leeks, thinly sliced (only use the light portion of the leek, discard the dark green tops)
  • 6 slices thick cut smoked bacon (cut into squares)
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
  • 3 stalks of celery, diced
  • 2 medium parsnips, peeled and diced
  • 1 cup cauliflower florets
  • 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced into small bite-sized cubes
  • 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 2 tsp hot sauce (optional)

Instructions

  1. Clean your clams. Make sure you have washed them and removed all of the sand that may still be on the shells. Place the clams and 2 cups of water in a large soup pot or dutch oven. Cover and turn heat on high.
  2. Cook for 7 minutes, and remove the top. Take any of the clams that have opened out and set aside in a bowl. Let broth continue to cook for another 5 minutes until all of the clams are open. Set aside all of the open clams to cool, discarding any that did not open.
  3. Strain the clam broth through a cloth coffee filter (or coffee filter in a mesh strainer) into a medium stock pot. Add parsnips and cauliflower to the clam broth, cover and simmer over medium/ low heat.
  4. In the large stock pot that you used to render the broth, place the bacon over a medium heat. Cook bacon until browned (careful not to burn), and remove from the stock pot. Set aside the bacon pieces. Keep about 3 tbsp of the bacon fat in the pot, and add the leeks, cooking for 2-3 minutes over medium heat (until fragrant). Add in the sweet potato, carrots, celery and fresh thyme (removing the stalks). Cover and cook, stirring occasionally so that nothing burns, for about another 5 minutes, and then turn the heat to a low simmer.
  5. The parsnips and cauliflower should be fork tender by now simmering in the clam broth. Using an immersion blender, puree the parsnips and clams until completely smooth. Once you have a creamy broth base, add all of that to the pot with the carrots, potatoes and celery. Stir well and cover again, keeping over the low heat.
  6. Remove the clams from their shells. For the larger Cherry Stone clams, chop these up into bite sized pieces. Some of these clams may need to be cleaned - so I typically keep a bowl of cold water to wash them in while doing this. The smaller little neck clams do not need to be chopped up. Add the clams to the chowder, followed by adding the bacon and pepper to taste. If you want to add hot sauce, add this now.
  7. Let the chowder continue to simmer while covered for another 5 minutes, and then serve.

Notes

This can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. I used regular sweet potatoes, but purple ones would be an excellent choice if they are available. This recipe does not call for salt as both the clams and the bacon are very salty, however if you find it needs it, add salt.

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Paleo Frozen Yogurt

Posted on June 8, 2015

Move over Pinkberry – there is a new frozen treat in town!

I think most of us associate the warmer months with cold desserts of some sort. As kids, almost every summer was filled with frozen Popsicle, or trips to Dairy Queen as a special treat and a quick way to cool off. Personally, there is nothing I like more than frozen yogurt. There is something about the tangy, creamy and cool treat that is just heaven. Unfortunately, in spite of the fresh fruit I have piled on top of my frozen indulgence, it isn’t very good for me. Loaded with dairy and sugar, it is a headache and a stomach ache waiting to happen. Whenever I Google recipes for “paleo ice cream” or “paleo frozen yogurt” – all I come up with are recipes that use some form of coconut. Not SUPER helpful if you are allergic or sensitive to coconut.

A few weeks ago I had made the avocado chocolate mousse that kept popping up on Pinterest, and it got me thinking. Could I possibly make a frozen yogurt out of avocado? I wanted to recreate something tart and creamy, so I didin’t want it overly sweet. After a few experiments, I think I hit a home run.

The final product is avocado, frozen berries, maple syrup, vanilla and (optional) probiotic powder. What is great is that you can eat this immediately for a frozen yogurt, or put it in the freezer for an ice-cream. I even put this in a mason jar with berries and brought it to work for breakfast one day – and it was AMAZING! 

Give it a try, and let me know what you think!

**Full disclosure, I adapted this from the chocolate pudding recipe a friend gave me. She doesn’t remember what website she found it on originally – but if we figure it out, partial credit goes to them for the inspiration!

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Paleo Frozen Yogurt (Coconut Free)

Paleo Frozen Yogurt (Coconut Free)

Dairy free, tree nut free frozen treat! Great source of protein.

Ingredients

  • 1 ripe avocado
  • 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
  • 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1.5 cup frozen berries (I used strawberries)
  • *1/8 Tsp (optional)

Instructions

  1. Blend all ingredients in a until smooth. Serve immediately.

Notes

I have made this with frozen strawberries, as well as a 1/2 strawberry, 1/2 peach mixture. The fruit choice is up to you, just make sure that it is frozen. Probiotic powder is optional. I used about 1/8 Tsp. Feel free to leave out if you are averse to the flavor - it will make no difference to the recipe.

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Pesto Crusted Rack of Lamb

Posted on June 1, 2015

In our home, the star of every meal is the protein. This could be why Whole 30 and Paleo have worked so well for us. However, even your favorite proteins can get a bit old if you cook them frequently, so it is important to try and mix it up by adding in seasonal herbs, and mixing up the flavor profiles.

Recently, we hit a “lamb rut”. Rack of lamb has always been one of my favorite things in the world to eat (I think it goes back to childhood, where it was one of the only meals acceptable to eat with your hands). It is also incredibly easy to cook. We will typically have rack of lamb 2-3 times a month (providing we can find it at a reasonable price). Since lamb is such a rich and gamey meat, it normally doesn’t need a lot of frills or dressing up. Typically I throw on salt, pepper, fresh rosemary, a little olive oil, and call it a day. This week though, I wanted to mix it up a bit. I had some fresh basil in the fridge that needed to get used before it went bad. If lamb and mint go together, why wouldn’t lamb and basil?

Dressing it Up

I’ve made paleo pesto before, and it has always turned out very well. Obviously, we are allergic to nuts, so I substituted in . Hemp seeds have a great “nutty” flavor (or so I have been told) and are also loaded with other health benefits. They are loaded with Omega 3, Omega 6, vitamin E and protein. Next, I replaced the cheese with nutritional yeast. Since nutritional yeast can add a bit of a strong flavor, I recommend starting with a tablespoon or two, and moving up to the full 1/4 cup in the recipe depending on your taste.

Once I blended the hemp,, garlic, shallots, olive oil and basil together, I set aside half of the mixture to be served with the meal. The remaining half is used in the cooking. Start with 1/2 of the pesto that you reserved for cooking, and spread it on the meatiest parts of the lamb. Then, place the lamb (fat side down) in a cool or room temperature pan, and place over a medium flame.

Cooking the Perfect Rack

IMG_1001The key to cooking the perfect rack of lamb, is searing down the fat first in an oven safe pan, and then throwing it in a hot oven to finish. When you go to sear on the stove top – you MUST start with a cold or room temperature pan, and have the lamb already resting (fat side down) when you put the flame on. As the pan slowly heats up, it will melt the fat away. If you put the lamb into an already hot pan, it will sear the outside of the fat, and prevent it from reducing down.

Using tongs, make sure to press down the lamb so that the fat around the bonesIMG_1002 gets crisp too. Cook the lamb like this on a medium – low flame for 8-10 minutes. You will see the fat rendering in the pan as the meat cooks. Once you have crisped up the outer layer of the rack, flip it so that the fat side is now up. Pour the remaining pesto onto the lamb, and place in an oven that has been preheated to 425 degrees.

Cook the lamb in the oven for another 10-15 minutes, or until it reaches between 155-160 degrees internal temperature. We like our meat a bit towards rare, so I will pull it out at about 155 and let it sit for a minute before slicing. If you don’t have a you should seriously consider getting one. They are invaluable!

Serving Notes

Once you have sliced the lamb, it is ready to serve. You can garnish with the pesto you set aside before serving, or let your guests self serve. The pesto is pretty garlicky, so I typically let everyone add it for themselves. The best part about this meal is that if you have any remaining pesto, it will keep in your fridge for up to one week. Use it on salmon, veggies, eggs or even spaghetti squash. The possibilities are endless!

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Paleo Pesto

Paleo Pesto

Use this as a topping or marinade on your favorite meat, fish, or veggies.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1.5 cups packed fresh basil
  • 3-4 fresh garlic cloves (minced)
  • 1 medium shallot, chopped
  • 1/4 cup
  • 1/4 cup
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a good blender, and puree until smooth.

Notes

Nutritional yeast can have quite a pungent taste. If you aren't accustomed to it, start by adding 1 tablespoon. If you like, continue adding until you add in the full 1/4 cup.

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