Paleo Faux-tato Salad

I cannot take credit for this recipe whatsoever, but holy sh*t it is fantastic!  If you are a paleo peep like myself you must try this out for your next shindig or BBQ.  Super easy, you can throw this together in just minutes.  If you miss traditional white potato salad, then please give this a try.

Thanks to the fabulous CupcakesOMG for coming up with this gem!

That is all folks- just a friendly PSA to make this shizz as Labor Day weekend approaches.  You won't be disappointed!

Paleo Broccoli Cucumber Salad

No photo.  Boo!  Bad GFG.  I made this quick salad for a friend's bbq- not really expecting too much of it.  Quite honestly, I used what I had in the house, which was just a handful of ingredients, but it turned out awesome!  This is a super easy and yummy salad for a cook out or bbq, or just a side for any old dinner.  I saw all kinds of recipes with cucumber and broccoli but most called for nuts, dried fruit, or cheese, and I wanted to make something I could eat, just in case there wasn't anything else I could have at the bbq.  I think that is such an important tip for staying grain/dairy/sugar/nut free when going to social events.  Bring something that you can eat so if there is absolutely nothing else, you know you have one thing to eat!

Broccoli Cucumber Salad
1 (organic) hot house cucumber
1 bag of broccoli, or a medium sized head of broccoli, NOT FROZEN
half a yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup mayo, homemade or your fave brand
1.5 T Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar
Salt and pepper

Cut your broccoli into bite sized pieces and then toss in your chopped cucumber and chopped onion.  Add mayo, ACV, salt and pepper and refrigerate for a few hours.  I would recommend at least three or four.

Brussel Sprout Chips

This summer we have enjoyed our fair share of kale chips.  Kale chips with salt and pepper, kale chips with vinegar and parmesan, kale chips with nooch, kale chips with sesame seeds… lots of kale chips.

Kinda over the kale chips for the moment.  So on to the next big thing in faux chips!  Brussel Sprout chips are all the rage on the interwebs right now.  And luckily, even S likes these bad boys.

Buy yourself a big bag and start peeling those leaves off!  Cut off the ends and save the hearts for steaming later.

Once you peel off all the leaves, toss in a big bowl with 2 tbsp of EVOO and a hefty sprinkling of sea salt.  Bake at 350 until the leaves are starting to turn crisp and brown.  This will take different times depending on your oven so watch them closely!

I have yet to find a veggie that doesn't get better roasted.  These are darn good though, and make a yummy salty snack.

Enjoy!

Quick High Protein Toddler Meal

Do you read The Paleo Mom?  It's a neat blog written by, of course, a paleo mom.  It's interesting in that it has a very scientific slant to it as the blogger is a former scientific researcher, which I particularly like.  Rather than lots of anecdotal musings, she has lots of bonafide research to back up her claims. Quite refreshing in the paleoverse.  I recommend you check out her blog if you have the inclination!

If you are a regular reader of my blog you know I have a toddler!  She is my pride and joy and light of my life, and I absolutely can't get enough of her.  I love every single thing about her and cherish every second I am with her.  However, just like any child, meal times can be rough.  That's why I enjoy coming up with so many healthy, protein-packed muffin recipes that I know she'll enjoy and eat happily over and over.  But one can not subsist on muffins alone.  And the girl is not quite as fond of veggies as she once was, so sometimes you have to resort to covert measures to get in a healthy dose of the green goodies.

Case in point- the paleo mom's great suggestion for making Green Eggs.  Check out her post and give it a whirl!  I did today, and am happy with the results.  Here is what I did:

Green Eggs
3 eggs
2/3 cup raw greens (I used some leftover salad greens, but spinach, kale, or even some dark leafy lettuces would work)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp pepper

In a blender, toss your greens and eggs and salt and pepper and blend until you have a consistent green mixture.  Pour into a hot, greased frying pan and cook for 4 minutes or so on one side before flipping.  This will feed 2-3 people.  Depending on what greens you use, your eggs will have a distinct flavor.  Spinach is probably going to be the most agreeable, but in the spirit of using what I have, I thought, what the hell, I'll use some salad greens.  Topped with some guac, it was an easy and super nutritious meal for mommy and S.  Just make sure your pan is well-oiled for optimal flipping!

Best of all, there are tons of variations for this.  Why not make orange eggs using orange and red peppers?  Or try broccoli and cauli instead of greens?  Experiment and enjoy!  Xoxo GFG

New Recipe (Finally) Mixed Veggie Muffins

So it's been awhile since I posted a new recipe- there kind of a lot of reasons for that, which I won't bore you with, but one of them being that it has been NINETY degrees much of this past week and while I love my oven more than words can say- that damn thing heats up my entire house.  And, to top it off, I am dead set against turning on the AC before June, so needless to say we are all sweltering and constantly moping around in sweaty, cranky, puddly messes.  I am evil, I know.  Evil and cheap.  Very cheap.

Anyways- on to the recipe.  Last night we were at First Friday's in the Crossroads- good times!  The First Friday of every month, but mainly May-Oct, all the art galleries downtown open up and serve wine, play live music, and it's generally a really f'ing good time!  Lately, there's been a food truck meet up too, which we decided to check out.  My man Bourdain would enjoy it.  And my little hippo also enjoyed it too (duh)  however, there were no veggies of course, and I found myself wishing I had brought along some kind of portable and delicious veggie for her that would be yummy and edible in 90 degree heat.  Thus, the mixed veggie muffin was born.

Mixed Veggie Muffin (Grain-Free, Gluten-Free)
1 bag of your preferred mixed frozen veggies (or in my case, 2 half eaten bags, plus a handful or two of frozen cauli)
2 eggs
1 cup chickpea flour/besan
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
11/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tbsp chia seeds

Thaw your veggies, then blend them until pretty smooth in a blender.  Don't skip this next step!  Drain them in sieve lined with a paper towel and get as much juice out as you can, or these muffins will never set up and be soggy/mushy.  Once you've gotten as much water out as you can, dump the veg back into the blender and add your eggs, chia, salt, pepper, and baking powder.  Blend a minute more until well incorporated, then add your chickpea flour.  Blend until combined.  You should have a nice spoonable batter.  Not so wet you can pour it out of the blender, but not dry either.  I used a large spoon to place drop into a lined muffin tin.  Baked at 350 for 35 minutes, until the tops were browned.  This made 10 veggie muffins for me, which will vary for you depending on how watery your veg, how big your eggs, etc.  These muffins will be a great portable veggie for S, and also a great snack for M in the mornings.  Gotta switch it up from egg muffins every now and then, you dig?

Hope you like them!  These would be even better with some cheese melted on top, or a little bit of pastured butter.  After all, there's no fat/oil in these, apart from yolks!  And there is no end to the variations you can create- asparagus/mushroom, zucchini/red pepper, broccoli/carrot, whatever!  Just be sure to get the excess water out and you'll be golden.

Mediterranean Salad- great for Passover side dish!

Once again, please excuse the photo- MKG actually took this for me as we were running out the door- typical that he left the plastic wrap on to take the pic!

Normally at passover you get a lot of verrrrrrrrrrrrrry cooked veggies that sometimes are not even discernible as veggies.  Which is all fine and good but you still need something fresh and alive to liven things up.  Well, I do anyways.  This is a dope side dish any time of year but I particularly liked it because it has mediterranean vibe which is fitting for the holiday.  This would be an awesome veggie dish for a barbecue though, or a potluck of any kind.  Yum!


Mediterranean Chopped Salad
1 green pepper, small dice
1 red pepper, small dice
1 orange pepper, small dice
1 yellow pepper, small dice
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1 english cucumber, small dice
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 block of feta- I used TJ's herb crumbled feta which saved a bit of time
1 cup of kalamata olives, chopped
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
S&P to taste
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsp EVOO
***would also be great with chickpeas, which would render it NOT kosher for passover

This recipe is delicious, colorful, and full of vitamins and anti-oxidants.  The chopping takes awhile, I'll admit.  But it's worth it, and once everything is chopped all you do is throw it in a large bowl and combine.  I'd suggest refrigerating it for at least an hour to let the flavors mingle.  This will probably be my new summer barbecue stand-by!  XoXoGFG