Salmon, Spinach and Red Lentil Burgers

Salmon is an excellent lean protein and a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids.  Add in some spinach for additional nutrients, red lentils for filling/binding, and you have got a healthy creation that can be used in sandwiches, on salads or just devoured directly.

• 2  pounds salmon
• 1  cup raw cashews
• 0.25 cup fresh parsley
• 2  cups loosely packed heirloom spinach
• 2  eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp  Ginger powder
• 1  cup  cooked red lentils
• 1  pinch  salt and pepper to taste
• 3  tbsp  Olive oil, divided in 3 parts

Cook lentils.  Soak cashews for 15-30 minutes.  Rough chop the salmon filet.  Process 1/4 of salmon in food processor with all seasoning until paste like.  Lightly steam spinach, wring out all liquid. 
Then process cashews in food processor to rough meal consistency.  In a large bowl, mix together the remaining salmon, salmon paste, processed cashews and spinach.  Form in to ten patties.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Get pan hot over medium heat, add 1 tbsp oil, and cook three minutes per side.  Repeat for remaining burgers.

Paleo Dino-Muffin Recipe

I recently read a blog that stated people following the Paleo diet should not be baking anything.  This isn't how our ancestors ate.

To that guy, I say welcome to the 21st century.  Our ancestors also didn't have supplements, yet the Paleo community pushes these hard.  All that matters is that people eat more healthy.

With that in mind, I set out to create a balanced, easily portable, healthy Paleo-style snack item.  The biggest challenge was creating some sort of baked good that didn't include any flour or grain.  Think about portable snacks from around the world - empanadas, sandwiches, wraps, gyros, etc.  Common theme - some sort of wheat/corn based wrapper. 

The solution - Almond Meal.  Combine that with some coconut flour for sweetness, and some starch from Potato flour and you have a basic Paleo friendly base for baked goods.

I went with the kitchen sink approach.  The Dino-Muffins included the following ingredients.

• 4 eggs
• 2 bananas
• 1 cup melted coconut oil
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 4 tbsp Honey
• 0.5 Cup cranberries
• 0.5 Cup chopped onion
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 sprigs Rosemary, just leaves
• 1 tbsp organic grass fed butter
• 12 ounces chicken breast
• 10 ounces beef liver
• 1 cup broccoli
• 0.5 cup carrots
• 0.5  cup parsnips
• 0.25 cup rainbow chard
• 1  lime, juiced
  
• 1  lemon, juiced
• 0.75 cup coconut flour
• 0.5 tsp baking powder
• 0.5 tsp baking soda
• 2 cup almond flour
• 1 tbsp hemp seeds
• 0.25 Potato Starch
• 0.5 cup shredded coconut

 This was a momentous effort.  I already had cooked chicken and beef liver, which I shredded in the food processor.

I then cooked the onions and garlic in butter with rosemary, salt and pepper. 

Next was steaming.  First the carrots and parsnips, then the broccoli, and finally the rainbow chard.  Just a minimal steam to soften the veggies since they would cook again in the muffins.

Two hours later and after almost killing the food processor, all prep was done.  Combined all non-flour ingredients, then sifted together almond meal, coconut flour, potato starch and baking soda/powder.  Combined everything together.   It was then time to "pour" the batter into muffin tins.  But the mixture was more like stuffing, which I had to loosely pack into the liners.  Definitely would need to add more liquids next time.  Topped with either Hemp Seeds or Sunflower Seeds. 

Into the preheated oven at 350 degrees for ~25 minutes.

The result - pretty damn tasty.  They didn't rise much, would need to up the baking soda/powder next time, but overall came out very filling and a nice balance of sweet and savory between the meat filling and cranberry / citrus juice mixture.

The nutritional profile for these Dino-Muffins:

Cal          Fat       Sat Fat      Carbs  Sugar  Protein

240.3    16.7        9.9           16.1      6.7       10.2

Not a bad ratio for a muffins loaded with quality protein and veggies.  Fat content seems high, but it is mostly healthy fats from the coconut oil and almond meal.

Will make again, but given the amount of work, back to chicken breast and steamed veggies for now.

Beef Liver - It's Not as Bad as you Think!

The Paleo diet is constructed around the idea that we should eat the same way our ancestors did.  Scavenge around for nuts, fruits and seeds, and eat lean meats from wild game and fish.  Seems logical. 

The proponents of the Paleo diet believe that carbohydrates, especially processed carbs, are the major reason for obesity and numerous health related problems in modern diets. 

They argue that it is only in the last ten thousand years, since the widespread adoption of agricultural practices, that humans began consuming high amounts of carbs in the form of grain and legumes; wheat, barley, oats, beans, etc. 

But our ancestors didn't necessarily eat filet mignon and boneless skinless chicken breast.  When they did catch/find the occasional wild game, they would consume the whole animal, especially the offal parts; ie liver, kidney, heart and brain.

I have had liver a few times, never really caring for the taste or texture.  But in expanding my mind, and meat options, I thought I would give beef liver a try.

Whole Foods, the mega-chain I openly despise, has been receiving more and more of my hard earned dollars.  It is four blocks from my house, and some of their products are hard to find at other stores, even for a comparable price.  I needed more organic medjool dates, and stopped to browse the meat section.

On display were organic, 100% grass fed beef livers.  Ahh, the good stuff, grass fed beef.  Once you try, you will not go back to corn-fed, antibiotic treated traditional beef.  The flavor and nutritional profile of grass fed beef is vastly superior. 

Quick Google search for recipes and I got busy in the kitchen.

If you marinate the beef in milk, it will slightly reduce the strong liver taste.  30 minutes in some almond milk, and then in to the skillet with organic salted butter, onion and garlic.

About 6-8 minutes per side depending on the thickness, cooked over medium heat.

Most recipes recommend cooking the onions, then removing, then cooking the meat and adding the onion back.  I just left it in because I was tired and it was late.  This resulted in some burnt onions, but I was just after the meat.  I need the beef liver for an upcoming creation..

The result was pretty tasty.  Nice texture, not too pasty.  But it sure stunk up the apartment!

Beef liver is high in cholesterol, but does provide an awesome assortment of vitamins and minerals.  Eaten on occasion, a great addition to a high protein Paleo style diet.

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, No Processed Suagr Red Velvet Cupcake

It was a bold endeavor; create a cupcake using no flour product of any kind, no processed sugar, no butter or dairy of any sort.  Basically omit the essence of what a cupcake is. 

Not just a challenge to create any cupcake, but a Red Velvet Cupcake.  Known for being super rich, utilizing a cream cheese frosting.  How do you make cream cheese frosting with no dairy?! 

The Cake:
After crawling around the web, I found a cupcake recipe using garbanzo beans.  Seemed crazy, but I thought what the hell.  The batter was runny and I thought I was doomed for failure.  The darkened during baking, and actually came out with a decent texture.

The Frosting:
The frosting proved even more challenging, but again Google came to the rescue.  How about a cream cheese frosting made from Cashews?  At this point I began questioning my sanity.  But what the hell, started soaking some cashews.

The result was interesting.... But ultimately unsuccessful.  I would definitely use more Agave nectar next time, as the cupcake was not sweet enough.

The Cashew based cream cheese frosting needs... A lot, not even sure where to start.  But alas, will return to this challenge again until it comes out right.

Healthy Chocolate Fudge

With two attempts, this healthy dessert keeps getting better.  Incredibly easy, you just need a few ingredients and a food processor.

• 1 cup organic cacao powder (preferably organic, definitely non-alkaline extraction)
• 1 cup raw, virgin, organic coconut oil (available at Trader Joes for $6)
• 2-3 Tbsp Raw Organic Honey / Raw Organic Agave Nectar  (could sub stevia, since no baking, not sure amount)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup Nuts (your choice, almonds and walnuts are always good)

Heat some water in a saucepan.  Put the coconut oil in a heat safe bowl, and set in sauce pan just until about half of the coconut oil has turned into a liquid state.  You don't want to heat this really, just bring it up to 78 degrees or so to change the solid to liquid state.  Set aside.

Process cacao powder and nuts.  Add coconut oil.  Try not to over-blend or separation may occur.  Taste, add honey until sweet enough. 

Spread into a parchment lined loaf pan.  Chill for 30-60 minutes in the freezer.  Cut into ~24 pieces, individually wrap, and store in fridge.  Coconut oil based products should not be stored at room temp, they will melt. 

This provides a tasty and convenient way to consume healthy fat.  Coconut oil is a special medium chain fat with amazing health benefits.

Nutrition Info:
Calories - 115
Fat - 10.7
Sat. Fat - 9.2
Carbs - 4.2
Sugar - 2.1
Protein 1.1

Home Made Protein Bars

This was my first attempt at a home made protein bar.  The results were interesting...

Since I started eating more Paleo, the oatmeal and cereal will be replaced by quinoa and lentils. 

In addition, the next protein bar will feature organic cacao powder instead of chocolate chips.

Still trying to find a replacement/substitute for textured vegetable protein (aka processed soy) that you find in so many commercial protein bars. 

Some combination of super foods (chia seeds, quinoa, cacao powder, berries) along with protein powder and possibly egg whites for the next incarnation. 

2 cups oatmeal

2 cups Kashi cereal

12 scoops whey protein

1/2 cup almond butter

1/2 cup honey

1 banana

1 cup almond / coconut milk

1/2 cup apple sauce

1 cup cranberry

1 cup almond slivers

1/2 cup walnuts

1.5 cup chocolate chips

1 cup flax meal

1 cup water

Nutrition Information:

Calories    Fat       Carbs  Sugar  Protein

255.4        12.2      21.5     6.1       15.4

Vegan, Raw Brownies

As a seasoned baker, I have created some amazing desserts, with copious amounts of sugar, oil and eggs.  As I try to introduce more raw foods into my diet, and avoid all processed sugar, baking becomes a challenging endeavor.  Thanks to Cheeky for the recipe, which is recreated below with some minor modifications.

• 1/2 Cup Slivered Almonds
• 8 Organic Medjool Dates
• 3 Tbsp Raw, Organic Agave Nectar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp Almond Butter

 Prep dates; remove seeds and roughly chop.

Process almonds in Food Processor to create almond meal-like consistency.

Add Medjool dates and cocoa poweder, process until well incorporated.  
Add liquid ingredients and pulse until "dough" starts to clump together and move around the food processor together.  Do not over process.
Spread into parchment lined loaf pan. 
Freeze for one hour, cut into appropriate sized pieces.  Store in fridge.  Yields ~16 squares.

I can't say it compares to a Ghirardelli box mix, but it aint half bad.  =)  Rough nutrient analysis:

• 100 calories
• 4 grams fat
• 13 grams carbs
• 1.25 grams protein

Fruit and Oatmeal Scrambles

Banana Oatmeal Scramble

Once a week or so I break down and enjoy some good old fashioned grain-based carbohydrates lol.  Ashley at Edible Perspective provided the inspiration for this recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 Banana, ripe
• 1 Tbsp Organic Raw Almond Butter
• 3 Tbsp Organic Rolled Oats 
• 2 Tbsp Organic Milk alternative (Soy, Almond
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Dash of raw honey
• 1/4 tsp Cinnamon 
• 1 tsp slivered almonds
• 1 tsp organic butter for greasing the skillet

1. Mix all ingredients except butter together in a bowl, using a fork to mash the banana.  Should look like lumpy pancake mixture.
2. Melt butter in pan over medium heat, medium-low if using high quality stainless steel cookware.  Pour batter in, spreading out to roughly 1/3 inch thick.
3. Cook for ~3 minutes, looking for nice brown bottom but not burnt.  Flip, and cook for another 3 minutes.

Once you have this, you will never go back to regular boring water/milk based oatmeal.  You can use any fruit or nut combination you like.  It will all be delicious.