Paleo Shepherd's Pie

My husband comes from a Scottish family and have a ton of pride for his heritage. When you think of Scottish or Irish meals I guarantee that shepherd's pie will come to mind. It's the perfect meal to throw a ton of vegetables in with a ground protein. You can be traditional and use ground lamb or beef with the root vegetables or you can use whatever veggies you have on hand and lighten the dish up with ground turkey or chicken.

Paleo shepherd's pie uses mashed sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes. You can skip the potatoes all together if you wish as well. You can use Worcestershire sauce or BBQ sauce that is gluten-free and/or sugar free...it might be difficult to find, but it's out there.



You Will Need:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 cup onion, finely diced
• 1/2 cup celery, finely diced
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1 tsp Worcestershire or BBQ sauce
• Salt and Pepper
• EVOO
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

I a large frying pan, heat a little olive oil over medium heat. Saute carrots, onions, and celery. Cook until the onions are translucent.

Add the ground beef, garlic, and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Cook until beef is done.

Add the broth and BBQ or Worcestershire and cook for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the sweet potato chunks into a pot of boiling water and cook until fork-tender. Mash and add salt and pepper and/or butter to taste.

Mix all ingredients into a 6x8 oven proof dish and top with the mashed sweet potatoes.

Bake for 30 minutes. Broil on high for 5 minutes. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Bacon, Zucchini, Red Pepper, and Spinach Frittata

I really does seem like breakfast is my favorite meal...I guess you can say that.  I usually have some quiet time in the morning to make a nice breakfast and I always start eating right in the morning...and then it sometimes goes downhill from there.

Frittatas are easy and you can add any protein or vegetable that you like or have on hand.

For my frittata, I used:

• 6 eggs
• 1/2 onion
• 1/2 zucchini
• 1 small red pepper
• Handful of spinach
• 2 slices bacon, chopped
• salt and pepper

Cook the bacon in a large, oven proof skillet. Place on a pepper towel to drain. Save some of the bacon fat for the rest of the frying.

Saute the onion in the bacon fat for about 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and red pepper. Saute until the veggies are soft, about 5-10 more minutes. Add the spinach.

Scramble the eggs and season with salt and pepper.

Add to the skillet with the vegetables and sprinkle bacon pieces on top. Mix well.

Broil in the oven for 5-10 minutes, until eggs are set.

Paleo Fish Sticks

Move over Gordon's fish sticks, there's a new brand in town.

Are you looking for a new, healthier version of fish sticks for your kids (or yourself)??!!
Well, this paleo recipe is much lighter and better for the body.
Fish, itself, is so great for you and if you can get your kids to eat it then that's a plus.

My son is a semi-picky eater. It depends on the day and what mood he's in (but he's almost 3 so he's usually in a whiny mood...) In any event, my little man gobbled up his fish like it was candy!

This recipe is easy, but the frying can take awhile, so give yourself enough time to fry. Also, if you have a pan splatter cover, I would use that. My stove and counters were a mess by the time I was done cooking!

I baked some sweet potato fries to go along with the meal and a fresh salad with cherry tomatoes, carrots, and Braggs Sesame Ginger Dressing.

You can make a homemade tartar sauce to go with the fish sticks, but they honestly tasted great without anything.

This recipe serves 7. I only used 1 pound of cod, since there's only 2 1/2 of us that eat solids!



You Will Need:

1/2 cup almond flour
3/4 cup tapioca flour
1 cup full-fat unsweetened coconut milk
2 egg whites
1/2 cup water
Juice of 1 lemon
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
2 cups organic palm shortening
2 lbs cod, cut into strips

• Heat the shortening over medium heat in a saucepan.
• Cut the cod into small strips.

• Stir together the dry ingredients, then add in the remaining wet ingredients.

• Dip cod into the batter and stir to coat.
• Using tongs, place carefully into the oil.

• After 2-3 minutes, flip over and cook another 2-3 minutes until golden.
• Remove and place on a paper towel covered plate.
• Repeat with the remaining fish.

Breakfast Pizza

Let me start off by saying that this recipe does not look the most appetizing...but I don't think I've tasted a better homemade pizza in a long time.

The dough will be very gooey, almost like a paste, but it will keep it's form and cook to perfection.

This pizza is made with tapioca flour which is easily digestible and provides good carbs to keep you full and happy!

This recipe called for pesto, which I used a homemade pesto that a customer gave my husband at an appointment, it was delicious!! You can use pesto or marinara and top with the protein of your choice. I topped my pizza with prosciutto after it was done baking!


Pizza Crust:

• 1 cup tapioca flour
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbs EVOO
• 1 Tbs water
• Add any spices, but if using pesto it's unnecessary

Preheat oven to 375 degrees/

Combine all ingredients until a wet dough forms.

Spread out evenly and thinly on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet.

Top With:

• Pesto
• Slices of Tomato
• 2 Eggs
• Cheese (if not dairy-free)

Bake for 15 minutes.

Add meat topping and enjoy this healthy, satisfying meal!!

Egg Roll in a Bowl

I've mentioned a couple of times about my Chinese food obsession, so when I find an amazing recipe that almost makes me never want to eat greasy Chinese food again I am super excited!!

This recipe really does taste like an egg roll (minus the roll and the deep frying)!

There a ton of healthy ingredients and it's a quick, easy, and flavorful meal. I added chicken to my meal, but next time I definitely want to try shrimp with it!

You Will Need:
1 small head of cabbage, chopped into slices
1 large carrot, cut into slices (I ended up using 2 carrots)
1 Tbs coconut oil
1/3 cup coconut aminos
1 Tbs sesame oil
2 scallions, diced

Directions:

• Melt the coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add the cabbage. Stir fry for about 10 minutes, until cabbage starts to soften.

• Add the carrots and cook for 5 minutes more.

• Add the coconut aminos and sesame oil. Saute until cabbage and carrots are soft and liquid is absorbed.

• Add in the scallions and any protein of your choice.

Banana Grain-Free Waffles

I've made every type of waffle that you could imagine.
Blueberry. Chocolate. Banana. AP Flour. Whole Wheat Flour. The list goes on and on.

My son eats waffles almost every morning and I have to admit that I buy them at the store for the most part. I do buy organic though!

When I do make waffles from scratch, he gobbles them. I was honestly shocked at home much he liked this recipe. I think he ate 3 waffles that day!

I have the most amazing waffle maker. I've had it for at least 7 years, maybe longer and it's still works like it's brand new. While it doesn't make the hard, crispy waffles that you get from the frozen boxes, they are light and fluffy and taste great. It's non-stick and I never have had a waffle get stuck!

So, back to the waffles. They are grain-free, super easy, delicious, toddler-approved!

• 6 Tbs coconut flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
• 2 Tbs ghee or coconut oil, melted
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1 tsp vanilla

Sift together coconut flour, baking soda, and salt into a small bowl. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together 4 eggs until nice and foamy.

Add the coconut milk, coconut oil, mashed banana, and vanilla. Mix again until well incorporated.

Add the dry to the wet and continue to mix until you have a nice, thick batter.

Let the batter sit for a couple of minutes while you heat the waffle maker.

Spoon 1/4 cup batter onto the waffle maker and cook until golden brown.

I served my waffles with some farm fresh bacon and a drizzle of organic 100% maple syrup.

Breakfast Casserole

This recipe is the perfect to make on the weekend to have for a quick breakfast during the week. I'm also thinking about making it for brunch during the holidays!

Casseroles are so easy to throw together and they're usually a crowd-pleaser.

You can change up the proteins or add cheese if you are not dairy-free.

I used sausage links that my Dad made and I had coconut milk on hand so I used that instead of almond milk. I also only used green peppers and added mushrooms to the recipe!


You Will Need:

• 2 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 pound Italian sausage 
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 8 eggs
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• salt and pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook and crumble sausage. Drain excess grease and set aside.

Cube sweet potatoes into bite sized pieces and cook in oil in a large skillet until soft, about 15 minutes.

Add sausage and peppers to the sweet potato mixture.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. 

In a 9x13 baking dish, add sausage mixture and pour the egg mixture over top and combine.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until eggs are cooked.

Sweet Potato Sloppy Joes

I was about to post another breakfast recipe and then decided to post a dinner for a change!

This meal was so filling! I was only able to eat half of sweet potato without getting full.

You'll need to pre-cook the sweet potatoes, I did mine in the microwave.

As I've said before, my husband isn't the biggest fan of the sweet potatoes, but he gobbled up the filling like nobody's business. You can absolutely use ground turkey or chicken in place of the beef.

I did change the recipe a little bit...I'm not a spice-lover so I only used a sprinkle of the chili powder and I didn't have a red pepper or celery on hand so I nixed them and it still tasted great!

• 4 pre-baked sweet potatoes or yams
• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1/2 onion, chopped small
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped small
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped small
• 1/4 cup celery, chopped small
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1 Tbs chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 Tbs coconut sugar or honey
• 14oz can diced tomatoes
• 6oz tomato paste

Saute the onions, garlic, and celery together in a skillet until the onions are tender.

Add and brown the ground beef. Add the spices, coconut sugar, and bell peppers to the skillet.

Pour in the can of tomatoes with the liquid and add the tomato paste.

Simmer on low for about 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cut sweet potatoes in half and scoop out a portion to form a little bowl. Fill with the sloppy joe mixture and enjoy!

Antipasto

I come from an Italian family and have had many antipasto salads in my life. I had planned to make this salad a different day than I actually made it. It was a long day and by the time I got home I was too tired to make a huge meal.

This is the perfect quick, healthy, filling meal to throw together any weeknight or weekend.

You can add any combination of meats that you like and if you're not paleo or dairy-free, cheese is a great addition. Same as the meat, you can add any vegetables that you like.

I used Bragg Ginger & Sesame Dressing, but Italian or a little vinegar and oil would taste great as well.

You Will Need:
1 large head of lettuce or 2 heart romaine, chopped
4 oz prosciutto, chopped
4 oz salami
1/2 cup artichoke hearts, chopped
1/2 cup olives (black or green or a mixture)
1/2 cup sweet peppers
5 grape tomatoes
Dressing

• Combine all ingredients and drizzle with dressing.

See, Simple! 

Enjoy!

Breakfast Stuffed Peppers

It seems like I've been posting a ton of breakfast recipes lately.

As I take my journey to lose the baby weight and better myself so I can be the best mom for my kids, I find that I do really well with eating breakfast and then as the day goes on I struggle.

Since I'm home all day there are so many temptations. Honestly, the hardest part for me is when I leave the ho use. I usually slack on my water intake and then I'm so hungry and/or tired by the time I get back that I don't feel like cooking.

Anyway...back to breakfast. The most important meal of the day!!

These breakfast stuffed peppers are a great way to get your vegetables early in the day. They're filling, healthy, and nutritious. Add a side of protein and some fruit and you will be full until lunchtime!

***I re-made this recipe recently and it turned out 100% better! I took better photos and added my own flair by stuffing the bottom of the peppers with leftover Zesty Meatloaf (see more recent blog post for that recipe!)***

You Will Need:

• 4 bell peppers
• Spinach, chopped
• 4 eggs
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking dish with foil.

Cut the tops off of each pepper and remove the seeds.

Place peppers into the dish and bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop enough spinach to fill the bottom of the peppers.

Remove peppers from the oven and stuff with the spinach.

Crack an egg on the top and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the egg whites are set and not transparent.