first step

Wild Salmon & Ratatouille

Erin Cameron-MurilloLeave a comment

Salmon

After embracing the Paleo lifestyle, one of the most difficult issues to tackle has been finding creative dinner dishes that are easy to prepare on a weeknight. One of my go-to creations has been a sausage ratatouille that is on the table in less than 20 minutes. It’s delicious, nutritious, and hearty (don’t fret – I’ll post that recipe, too). I also find myself struggling to get enough fish into our diet. As a chef, I know how delicious it can be, I’ve just never been a seafood fan. However, when you pair it with a delicious tomato-based sauce and fresh vegetables, it becomes a dish that pretty much anyone will enjoy.

For this recipe, you can use whatever fish you’d like. We happen to live in the Pacific Northwest, so when it’s salmon season, you can’t find a better filet. You can also leave the skin on, just be sure to get a hard sear on the fish to ensure it turns out crispy. There’s nothing worse than flabby fish skin! I like to use Mezzetta pasta sauces; they are a Californa-based company that makes a canned product that rivals even the homemade stuff. It’s completely Paleo and adds nearly all the flavor you’ll need in this quick and tasty dish.

Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 
2 T. avocado oil – divided
1 small onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 bunch kale, de-veined and chopped
1 – 25 oz. jar marinara sauce
4 – 4 oz. portions salmon, skin-off
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
Shaved parmesan, for garnish

Method:
 1. Add a tablespoon of avocado oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-high until shimmering.
2. Add the onion, bell pepper, and zucchini. Sauté until softened and starting to brown.
3. Add the marinara sauce to the pan and cook until heated through.
4. Add the kale and sauté until slightly wilted, about 2 minutes. Hold warm.
5. Make sure your fish portions are dried on both sides and that all pin-bones have been picked. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
6. Heat a non-stick skillet over high heat with the second tablespoon of avocado oil until shimmering.
7. Add the fish to the pan, skin-side down (or where the skin would have been if you have removed it).
8. Cook until nicely browned and then flip with a fish spatula. Continue cooking until medium-rare, or about 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
9. Place your ratatouille mixture in the center of your plate and garnish with a few halved tomatoes. Perch your fish on top of the ratatouille. Garnish with a sprinkling of shaved parmesan.

Paleo Tomato Soup

Erin Cameron-MurilloLeave a comment

Tomato Soup
This simple recipe for delicious Paleo Tomato Soup should be a staple in your collection. It utilizes canned tomatoes (which can really help stretch your budget) and a few other simple ingredients to produce a crowd-pleasing dish.

Feel free to adjust the seasonings to your personal preferences – including the varietals of olive oils, tomatoes and wine. I love San Marzano tomatoes, which can be found at most grocery stores. There may be some citric acid in the ingredient list (as a preservative), but that should be all you see. Be sure not to pick up a can that has sugar, herbs, or additional salt added. When you choose an olive oil, get a high quality brand that has a robust flavor – it will come through in the final product. Also, I like to use pinot noir for the wine in this recipe. It stands out against the acidity of the tomatoes and provides a great foundation.

Yield: about 7 cups
Ingredients: 
3 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
2 T. minced garlic
2 T. tomato paste
12 oz. red wine
2 – 28 oz. cans whole, peeled tomatoes
1 small bunch basil, chopped
1 t. paprika
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Method:
 1. Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat.
2. Add the onion and sauté with a wooden spoon until softened, about 4 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and tomato paste. Cook, stirring continuously, until you smell roasting garlic and the tomato paste has cooked down, about 2 minutes.
4. Add the red wine and reduce until it is a syrupy consistency, about 5 minutes.
5. Add both cans of tomatoes, the chopped basil, and paprika to the pot. Stir to combine.
6. At this point, you can use a potato masher to break up the tomatoes, or just use the end of your wooden spoon.
7. Continue cooking until the tomatoes are heated through, about 15 minutes.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste.
9. Remove from the heat and transfer to a blender. Blend until smooth.
10. Check again for seasoning and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Tips:
 1. You’ll probably need more salt than you think. It really brings out the nuances of the tomatoes, so don’t be afraid to keep adding it. For this recipe, I generally use at least 1 T, if not more, depending on the quality of the tomatoes.
2. If the soup is thicker than you’d like, thin it out with some chicken or vegetable stock. It will adjust the consistency without sacrificing flavor.
3. Always taste the dish before you store it. If you thin it out, it will need more seasoning.
4. This soup freezes really well. Portion it into FoodSaver bags, seal, and lay flat in your freezer. It will keep for up to 6 months.

Paleo Chocolate Coconut Creme

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Chocolate Coconut Creme

A piece of fruit is a great option for a sweet Paleo snack, but sometimes a cup of berries just isn’t going to cut it. Add a bowl of chocolate into the mix and we’re moving in the right direction. This Paleo take on classic chocolate fondue hits the spot and satisfies those annoying sweet cravings. It’s foundation is coconut milk, so it’s dairy-free and sweetened with honey. Kids love it and they can choose a variety of dippers – strawberries, bananas, or even Paleo chocolate chip cookies (a revelation stumbled upon by my husband).

If you want to make a batch for a party, you can reserve half of the cooked creme and omit the cocoa powder for a strictly vanilla coconut version. A duo of dips always seems more complicated, but it’s really just a matter of leaving out an ingredient!

Yield: 16 oz.
Ingredients
 2 cans coconut milk (14 oz. each)
1/2 c. honey
1 oz. cocoa powder
2 T. vanilla

Method
 1. Combine coconut milk and honey in a medium sized heavy-bottom saucepan.
2. Bring to a full boil, then reduce heat to low.
3. Stirring occasionally, cook 40-60 minutes, or until it has reduced by nearly half and is the consistency of thick cream.
4. Whisk in cocoa and vanilla, stirring to combine.
5. Taste and add honey if it isn’t to your desired sweetness.

Paleo Raspberry Lemonade Gummies

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Paleo Gummies
The benefits of gelatin are preached throughout the Paleo community. It boasts some fantastic health properties and is a great source of protein. It’s also the ingredient responsible for setting Jell-O, giving marshmallows their iconic texture, and the ever-popular gummy bear. Of course, none of these are standard in the Paleo lifestyle. The good news is that you can make most of these treats Paleo-friendly.

Gelatin
A great way to get some extra protein in your diet and reap the benefits of the amino acids found in gelatin is with these delicious little gummies. They taste just like a pop of raspberry lemonade and are a handy treat to have around when the sugar-cravings start to hit. These aren’t overly sweet and rely heavily on the natural sugars found in the fruit you use. Honey is included in the list of ingredients, but it can be adjusted based on the sweetness of your berries.

Nearly any fruit can be substituted for the raspberries, just be sure to keep the liquid volume the same in order for the gelatin to properly set. Frozen berries are a good option as they are picked at the peak of ripeness, flash frozen, and are generally less expensive than fresh produce. Just be sure to choose the product that doesn’t have any added sugar.

To make fun shapes, you can use any silicone mold. I love these tiny little heart molds from Amazon. They are the unique ones pictured here and are the perfect size to showcase these gummies. Alternatively, you can pour the mixture into a sheet pan lined with plastic wrap and cut out squares or other shapes.

Yield: 60 gummies (1/2 ounce each)
Ingredients
 10 oz. package frozen raspberries
15 oz. lemon juice
1/2 c. powdered gelatin
1/2 c. honey

Method
 1. Line your silicone molds on a sheet pan that will fit in your refrigerator. Or, just make sure there is room in your fridge to place them individually.
2. Combine the raspberries and lemon juice in a blender. Blend until the mixture is completely smooth.
3. Reserve 1 cup of the liquid in a large bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the liquid in the bowl and allow it to bloom for 5 minutes.
4. While the gelatin is softening, pour the remaining liquid mixture into a medium-sized saucepan. Add the honey.
5. Heat on medium-high until the honey has dissolved and the liquid is simmering.
6. Remove from heat, add the gelatin liquid mixture and whisk thoroughly. Be sure to dissolve all of the gelatin.
7. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve to remove all of the seeds and any gelatin that has clumped together.
8. Portion evenly into your desired molds.
9. Refrigerate at least 2 hours to allow to set completely.
10. Store in an airtight container and enjoy!

Paleo Snacking

Erin Cameron-MurilloLeave a comment

Well, it’s officially that time of year. Everyone is making a resolution to trim down, get to the gym, and shed those holiday pounds. It happens every January and it seems that by the end of February, everyone has given up. It’s a vicious cycle that we’ve all been a part of at one time or another. The first month of the year is so invigorating; we feel like we have a unique opportunity to start fresh, try something new, and really succeed. Unfortunately, we generally fall short when our busy schedules, lack of self-control, and general laziness takes over.

What makes you fall off the wagon? There are so many opportunities for us to “cheat” every day. When the 2 o’clock cravings start kicking in, it’s pretty easy to stroll through the break room, grab a handful of mini chocolate chip cookies, and pretend it never happened.

The best way to combat this situation? Have an arsenal of snacks at your disposal that are filling, nutrient dense, and taste fantastic. If you have a healthier option available, you are more likely to make a better choice. Over the next few days, I’ll be posting loads of fantastic snack ideas that are simple, delicious, and most importantly, are great alternatives to the processed junk we often end up consuming. But before we get to the recipes, I’ve come up with a list of basic snack choices that require no preparation. Stock your pantry with these staples and you’ll be well on your way to a healthier 2015!

Paleo Snacks

Here’s a link to the Paleo Snacks list as a .PDF. It’s great to print out and put front and center on your refrigerator – that way you’ll have a go-to when you want something quick.

The Purge

Erin Cameron-Murillo2 Comments

A lot of people wonder about what they should do as the first step to adopting a paleo lifestyle. For us, it was plain and simple: get rid of anything and everything that we shouldn’t be eating. That doesn’t mean throw out the loaf of bread in the bread box, but keep that stash of Oreos in the back of the pantry. Honesty is the only thing that is going to make this change a success. If you have temptations close at hand, the chances of you indulging grow exponentially. Do yourself and those in need a favor: grab some boxes and donate it all.

When I began this task, I didn’t realize how eye-opening the undertaking would be in terms of our current eating habits. I thought I would throw out a few perishable items, box up some canned goods to take to the local food bank, and then I’d spend some time at Whole Foods restocking a few proteins and vegetables.

Instead, my refrigerator ended up looking like this:

Step One: get rid of anything that you shouldn't be eating. Easy? No. Necessary? Definitely.
Step One: get rid of anything that you shouldn’t be eating. Easy? No. Necessary? Definitely.

The only products in my fridge worth keeping were eggs, raw garlic, and a half-eaten bone that Molly (our little beagle) had devoured the night before. Were our eating habits really that bad? Coming to terms with the dangerous choices we continually made was difficult. It isn’t easy to admit that even though you know something is turning your intestines inside out, or adding fat to your waistline, or even increasing your already high risk of diabetes and heart disease, you decide to put it into your body anyway. What kind of rational, educated, well-meaning person does this? We did. We have done it our entire lives, under the guise that it wasn’t really that harmful, or that we’d start eating healthier tomorrow. Tomorrow never came, until that day.

The Purge wasn’t easy, but it was necessary. Our lack of self-control was part of the reason we are in our current state. When hunger strikes and you go to the pantry to grab a snack, it’s pretty difficult to put back a sleeve of Thin Mints if they aren’t there.

We did go to Whole Foods that day, and we did restock a few proteins and vegetables. But we also made sure that we had good snack choices (nuts, baby carrots, celery and almond butter, as well as a few others) available so that when the urge hit to inhale a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, there were better options available. It was empowering to stock our shelves with foods that I knew were starting us on the path to better health – I was taking the first step in truly taking care of my family. Would we miss pumpkin spice lattes? Yes. Would I crave the satisfaction that it seemed only Jif peanut butter could give? Of course. But at that moment, I knew that no corn syrup-filled, starch heavy, anti-nutrient food would beat the pure feeling of happiness in knowing that we were taking control of our future and making the right choices to ensure our success.