Enchiladas (sorta)

I gleaned this recipe from Juli over at paleOMG, one of my most favorite Paleo blogging sites. Now, I know you're supposed to have an enchilada saucy thing to put in the top once you've layered them but mine kind of ends up in the mince mixture anyway, so they're a little different to Juli'ss. I don't have the tool she used to slice her sweet potato so I just used a vege peeler, quite disastrously so it seems. Actually they turned out ok but I will be re trying them and altering this recipe somewhat next time I make them. Now, this recipe uses quite a bit of oil but it's coconut oil so we're ok!

Ok, so, that's not a very good picture but it was one of those days where I didn't think to take a picture again after I had placed them all very gorgeously on the plate surrounded with lovingly prepared home grown vegetables which in my house don't exist, hence you get this pic and not the other one.

You make the filling and the casing at the same time so I'd suggest reading the method fully before you get started :)

Ingredients


Filling

500g free range grass fed beef mince
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 cups Paleo beef stock
2 bay leaves
1tbsp sweet hungarian pakrika
1tbsp ground cumin
4 fresh tomatos or 1 4oog tin of tomatoes
1tbsp coconut oil


Casing


1/2 cup extra coconut oil 

1 large sweet potato


Method.

Heat coconut oil in pan. Peel onion and garlic, chop finely and add to coconut oil. Stir for about 3 minutes or until onion starts to soften.

Add mince and cook on med-high heat until mince is browned.

Sprinkle sweet Hungarian paprika over mince and stir in thoroughly with a wooden spoon. The mixture will seem very dry.

Add about a quarter cup of beef stock. Stir until mixture thickens a little. Add another quarter cup of beef stock and while still on high heat stir until stock blends well within mince.

In the mean time heat remaining oil in a separate pan.

Peel sweet potato and discard outer peel.

Lay sweet potato flat. Using peeler, press firmly on the side of the sweet potato to slice down one length. The aim is to create thin strips of sweet potato that can be used as the enchilada casing.

Once oil is heated, shallow fry the strips of sweet potato. They will literally take about 30 seconds each side. You do not want them to get crispy as you will need to use them as a wrap.

Remove the potato slices and place them on some absorbent paper towel to soak up the extra oil. You'll need about 8 good slices for each enchilada. So, depending on how many you're making will determine how many slices you need. The recipe makes about 4 decent sized ones.

Sprinkle the cumin over the mince and stir in well. Add tomatoes and remaining cup of beef stock. Allow mixture to simmer and thicken for about ten minutes then remove from heat.

Lay strips of potato on top of each other but only just overlapping so they form a kind of fan. Spoon desired about of mince into centre of potato.

Fold sides of potato over mince to wrap them up and serve with salad or veges.

(Almost) Paleo Chocolate Mousse

This recipe is a work in progress. I went to a nutrition seminar recently at my gym, Livestrong Primal Fitness, and one of the benefits was scoring this really cool recipe for a Paleo chocolate mousse. However, the recipe used cacao powder which I currently do not have. Someone at the seminar asked if it would be ok to substitute the cacao powder for 85% Organic Fair Trade dark chocolate and the general consensus was yes. So, off I trot to get me some 85% Organic Fair Trade dark chocolate and when I find said chocolate I am somewhat overjoyed but a little dismayed as it does contain a fair bit of sugar, much much less than mass produced commercial chocolate (13g per 100g as opposed to about 56g per 100g) and it is organic sugar but I think I'll try with the cacao powder when I get some and stick with that. I altered the contents a little from the original recipe but I tend to do that!

Excuse the greasy picture but I didn't think to photograph this until I had already used it and my hands were oily from breaking it apart.

So, there's really nothing wrong with calling this a paleo recipe but it sits just on the boarder of being too sugar laden, although some would say that about my Paleo Cookies too because they include organic honey. So, you choose, Paleo enough or not?

Anyway, it's delicious so until that Cacao Powder arrives it will have to do. So, here it is!

Oh and yes, I am well aware that the picture looks like a big bowl of poo ;-}

Ingredients
1 large or 1 and a half med avocados
l large or 1 and a half med bananas
3tbsp coconut cream
1 80g block 85% Organic Fair Trade chocolate.

Method


Scoop flesh from avocados and place into large mixing bowl. Chop banana and add to bowl.

 Blend using a stick blender. If your avocado is a little under ripe you'll need to blend it a little more thoroughly.

Add coconut milk and blend in 

Break chocolate into smaller pieces and melt slowly in the microwave. My bog standard microwave used 3 x 60sec on 50% power and it was perfectly melted. Add to mixture.

Blend chocolate in thoroughly using stick blender. Once mixture has fully combined transfer to serving bowl and refrigerate.

It's a super easy recipe that took me about five minutes to make. Serves about 4.

Paleo Cookies.

My friends I think we have a winner! These cookies are something I conjured up in a moment of sugar craving madness and I am proud to say they are, in my very biased opinion, delicious. I thought of making something like this when I was cooking the Apple Crumble because it struck me that the base could be used for something much more awesome, and so the humble Paleo Cookie was born. They are extremely easy to make but given I'm not an actual chef nor baker I haven't figured out how to keep them crunchy past the first day. They still taste great the next day but they're much softer. These cookies are best off cooked in a low temp for a longer time. That will allow them to cook without burning them. I find that almond flour is very prone to burning at high temperatures so I try to cook on a lower temp for longer which usually woks.

If you have any cooking tips as to how to keep them crunchy, please fire off a message so I can learn!

Ingredients


Two free range egg whites
3/4 cup coconut flour
3/4 cup almond meal
1/2 cup organic honey
half cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup melted coconut oil (melted)

Method


Pre heat oven to about 120. Line baking tray with oven proof baking paper


In a large bowl whisk egg whites until soft peaks form and they become stiffened. I use a hand held blender.

Gently fold in coconut flour until the mixture looks a little like biscuit crumbs

Mix in the almond meal. Pour in the honey and melted coconut oil. Here's where you have to get your hands messy. The honey won't really want to bind with the other ingredients but adding the oil and using your hands to mix it will help it all come together. I found that using a wooden spoon just didn't do the job so, hands it is.

Add the slivered almonds and mix together thoroughly.

In the end the mixture will be quite oily but maliable and a little crumbly. You might need to mess around and add a little more of the coconut flour or almond meal if you think it's really going to fail. To be honest half of the pictures for this recipe were deleted by my three year old so I'm going by memory here!!

Once it is all mixed in, scoop out a tablespoon of mixture at a time, mound it into a ball them place on a tray lined with baking paper and flatten into a biscuit shape.

Cook for around 25 minutes but keep checking that they are not starting to burn around the edges. If they are, lower the heat and increase the cooking time a little. My first batch came out perfect so I haven't altered the recipe but your oven temperature will vary to mine so keep an eye on them!

This recipe made about 24 cookies. As I mentioned they were lovely and crunchy the first day however by the next day they were a little soft. Still delicious though. My three year old devoured them! 

Enjoy :)

Coconut Oil. Yes (gasp!), coconut oil.

Recently my blog was linked via a friends facebook account. My friend is an absolute inspiration, having gone from being about 70kg overweight to one of the fittest cross fit peeps I know. She's into healthy eating and is always on the lookout for new things to try,  plus she'd seen me banging on about Paleo for ages now and wanted to see what it was all about. . She came to Paleo Rustic and liked what she saw, so she linked my blog up to her facebook page.  All good, until someone saw mention of coconut oil and pretty much recoiled in horror. Others also wrote that coconut oil being a saturated fat was not good for anyone and that I must have gotten it all wrong. I hadn't, but I can't blame them for thinking so.

Saturated fats have a bad rap in the diet world because we've been lead to believe they are the reason we're all overweight and dropping like flies from heart attacks and strokes. Not the case. However, as it states in my blog title I'm not a scientist nor a nutritionist so I'm not going to pretend I am qualified enough to tell you why coconut oil is one of the most beneficial things you can eat, and why it's not going to cause you to meet your maker any time soon.

I'll leave that up to those who really know their stuff and who have the expertise to explain it in a way you'll understand. Please, take time to read because it is the most interesting and eye opening subject and just may change the way you look at fats all together.

I give you....

Mark Sisson From Marks Daily Apple. A website I subscribe to and read pretty much every day. Mark has a daily email that keeps you informed, up to date and motivated. He's a great writer and speaker and is very well respected in the Paleo realm (as is everyone else I'm going to link)

Sean Croxton From Underground Wellness. I first got into UW when my nephew started speaking to me about the problems sugar creates in our diet. Since then I have been a huge fan of Sean and UW. Sean recently hosted a Paleo Summit which I subscribed to. The information I gleaned from it was astonishing.

Robb Wolf Robb has a stack of info on the benefits of coconut oil and Paleo eating on his blog. His book 'The Paleo Solution' was the first book I ever read about Paleo diets and it's what hurtled me into the world of Paleo eating. Robb's website is fantastic. Look at it, get lost in it and then buy the book :)

Ok, so there's three. I have many many more but I think that if you get through those three  and really seriously read them, you'll have more than enough information to understand why coconut oil is extremely beneficial to your body.

I get my coconut oil from Loving Earth

Apple Crumble

This recipe was inspired by an plum tart made by my fellow Paleo enthusiast, Paulette. I did buy some plums but they were anything but fresh. That'll teach me to shop in supermarkets! Still, I wanted to make something so I took Paulette's recipe and turned it into an apple crumble. Now, this recipe turned out amazingly well for my first time at trying it but there was still room for improvement. I'd probably blind bake the pastry at a lower temp and for a little longer so the edges didn't burn. But it was still a hit with everyone even though it was a little crisp around the edges. It looks a little fiddly but if you've got a spare hour, definitely treat yourself. I got the shredded coconut from a health food store. I couldn't find any in supermarkets that wasn't laced with sugar and preservatives. The RO just means, 'raw organic'. It saves me typing it three times. The pastry in this recipe held together really well, so much so that I'm thinking of altering it a little to make some biscuits. Careful though, it is extremely filling so dish yourself up a small piece first and go back for seconds if there's still room ;)

Ingredients

Pastry

1 cup coconut flour
1 cup almond meal
1/2 cup shredded coconut (non sugared)
2 egg whites
1tsp cinnamon
1tbsp raw organic honey (RO)
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

Filling

6 medium apples (peeled, cored and chopped)
1tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2tbsp RO honey
1 cup water

Crumble

2tbsp almond meal
4tbsp shredded coconut (non sweetened)
1tbsp RO honey


Method

Whisk egg whites until soft peaks form

Slowly sift in coconut flour and add almond meal.

Stir in shredded coconut and cinnamon. Mixture should be moist but crumbly

Add melted oil and honey. Mix together thoroughly (the honey will be a bit tricky) until a dough forms. The mixture will still be crumbly but will hold together if pressed.

Put mixture into a small baking dish and press firmly into shape. Make sure the corners aren't too thick.

Blind bake on a low temp (I did 130 but it probably should have been about 100-110) for around 20 minutes. Mine got a little burned but it didn't alter the flavour. It really wasn't as bad as it looked in the picture.

While pastry is baking. Put apples and water in a pan and cook covered on high heat for around 15 minutes.

Remove lid and cook for a further 10  or so minutes, until water evaporates. Add honey, cinnamon and nutmeg and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Remove apples from heat and spread evenly over pastry. To make crumble combine coconut, almond meal and honey. Rub together with fingers until all ingredients are combined. Sprinkle evenly over apples.

Cook uncovered in oven on around 150 for about 15 minutes. Serve with coconut cream!!

Baked Lamb Casserole

This is one of my all time favorite recipes. I started making it in the slow cooker, back when I was not a paleo enthusiast. I tweaked the recipe just a little to make it paleo friendly, and now we eat it all the time! It's absolutely delicious, because the flavours of the lamb and beef infuse to give it a really rich meaty aroma and flavour. It can be done in the slow cooker but these days I just do it in the oven because I'm time poor. This recipe feeds about four adults. We have it for dinner and then lunch the next day.

Ingredients


8 lamb loin chops (free range animal)
4 celery stalks
4 carrots
1 med sweet potato
1 salad (Red) onion
3 cloves garlic
2 sprigs rosemary
3 tomatoes
1tsp coconut oil
2 cups beef stock
1/2 tsp Celtic Sea Salt




Method


The initial stages of this recipe don't need to be followed if you're cooking it in the slow cooker.

 Heat oil in a fry pan. Chop celery, carrot, sweet potato and onion and saute for about 4 minutes on medium eat. Chop and add tomatoes. Break fronds off rosemary (I just slide my hands down it, against the growth grain and they all come off) and stir into mixture.

Cook for a further 5 or so minutes and add the beef stock and sea salt. Let simmer for around five minutes.

That there is what the beef stock looks like before it is heated. Once it warms it liquifies. The gelatenous look is all of that wonderful bone stock! For those who didn't know, jelly (or jello for our American friends) is made from animal bones, and much like this stock, it's jelly when cool and liquid when heated.

Back to the recipe...

Once the vegetables have stoftened, transfer mix to a large oven proof dish.

That's not a ghost hovering over the photo, it's the steam coming up and blocking my iphones lense.

Place lamb chops over the top of the mix and cook covered  in oven for around 20 minutes.

Remove dish from oven, turn, chops over and cook uncovered for a further 20 minutes.

Ok, yeah, that looks like I've ruined it, but it's supposed to look like that I promise!!

Honestly, it's delicious!! Enjoy :)

Scrambled eggs and vegetables

One of the main questions I'm asked when I tell people  I don't eat cereal, bread, pasta, rice etc, is "What do you eat for breakfast then? Just eggs?!" Now, whilst I do eat a fair few eggs (free range only please!) I also eat a lot of vegetables, for breakfast! Yes, vegetables for breakfast, and they're delicious. Why people think veges have to be a night time only thing is beyond me. It's not like your body is going to freak out and not know what to do because all of a sudden there's a pile of veges hitting your intestines at 8am. Believe me, your intestines are going to thank you for swapping your cereal box for a meal of fresh veges.

So, here's a recipe that pleases all. Scrambled eggs and veges. You can add pretty much any vegetable you like to this. I use everything. Well, maybe not brussle sprouts because they'd just be wrong! But anything else is fair game when it comes to breakfast. Now, these pictures don't have the full compliment of vegetables in them, but given it's a scrambled mess it doesn't look much different anyway.

Ingredients

3 free range eggs
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 cups chopped veges
(broccoli, cauliflower, Mushrooms,
onions, spring onions, spinach leaves
capsicum, asparagus)
1tbsp coconut oil
pinch Celtic Sea salt
tsp curry powder*
1slc free range bacon (optional)

Method

Heat oil in frypan, throw in all veges, bacon and cook for a few minutes. In a separate bowl whisk eggs and coconut milk, add sea salt, curry powder and whisk until blended. Throw egg mix in with vegetablesand stir slowly with an egg flip. Toss lightly until cooked through. Plate up and enjoy! Serves 2 :)

*The store bought curry powder may contain traces of cereal and some varieties include ground rice. I'm not ceoliac so not too fussed but do check the lable before adding it. It's pretty tasty without the curry powder so no harm done if you can't find a fully Paleo curry powder.

Paleo Pancakes

These are awesome and just the thing when you really need something sweet or a dessert, and there's nothing Paleo in the house!! Now, the ingredients here are just a guess so you'll have to phaff about with it a bit to get it right. There are heaps of variations you can make so add any fruit you like. Remember though, they're quite dense and very moist. They don't have the same texture as regular flour pancake but they won't upset your blood sugars either ;) They do take longer to cook than regular pancakes, and you might find that they burn easily, just lower the heat and cook more slowly if this happens. Here's a pic of a larger one/

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 cups almond meal
2 free range eggs
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 mashed banana (or half cup blue berries)
1tbsp coconut oil
1tsp baking powder

Optional

1tbsp slivered almonds
2tbsp extra coconut milk
1tbsp manuka honey.

Method

Whisk eggs together and add almond meal. Stir through mashed banana and coconut milk. If it's too thick or too runny adjust the almond meal/coconut milk ratio. Sprinkle in the baking powder and stir through thoroughly. If you're not a fan of banana just leave it out.

 In a non stick frying pan heat a little of the coconut oil. Poor or spoon some dollops of the mixture in the size you want. They're quite thick so you might need to use a spoon to disperse and flatten the mixture a little. Make sure you leave room to flip them! Cook on a low-medium heat until the top of the mixture appears to be turning solid. Flip, and cook for a further 4 or so minutes.

They're delicious like this, or you could add the optional ingredients for a more indulgent dessert ;)

Roast Chicken with three nut stuffing

Unfortunately I don't have a picture for this one but it was indeed a sexy bird when it was done! Next time I cook it I'll take pics :)

Roast chicken with three nut stuffing

Ingredients: Stuffing

1.5 cups almond meal
½ cup crushed walnuts
½ cup pine nuts
4-5 fresh sage leaves
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
1 egg
¼ cup chicken stock
2 slices free range bacon
½ cup dried cranberries
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp celtic sea salt
1tbs extra coconut oil

Method: For this recipe I used a 2kg free range chicken. Giblets were already removed.

Rinse chicken cavity in water, drain and pat dry. Heat coconut oil in fry pan. Chop onion, peel and crush garlic. Toss into coconut oil. Chop bacon and add to pan. Cook on med-high heat until bacon is almost cooked. Add walnuts and pine nuts. Cook until pinenuts start to brown. Remove from heat. Don’t let the nuts burn!


 In a mixing bowl add almond meal and egg. Mix together with wooden spoon. Add chicken stock. Add chopped sage leaves, cranberries, salt and combine. Add pan ingredients and mix. It may take a while for it to all come together however you can use your hands to help the ingredients to combine.  Roll it into a ball and stuff it into chicken cavity.

Place chicken into roasting dish. Secure cavity with string or toothpicks. Cover chicken in coconut oil (you can do this by melting the oil and drizzling it over the chicken or just get your hands into it and play pink belly chicken whilst slapping the coconut oil all over it). Turn chicken breast side down and cook for approximately 40 minutes. Remove chicken from oven and turn over, breast side up. Pour roasting juices over chicken and cook for a further 20 minutes. Remove again and pour roasting juices over chicken. Cook for a further 20 minutes and remove. Check that chicken is cooked and cover with foil. Let stand for 10-15 minutes. Serve.

Celtic Sea Salt

Celtic Sea Salt is a fundamental element in all of my Paleo cooking. I don't really understand why it makes food taste so much better, but it probably has something to do with the fact that it still holds all 84 of its natural elements, whereas refined table salt holds only 2, sodium and chloride. Science has proven we need most of these minerals in our day to day lives, and most probably we also need the other half too. Celtic Sea Salt has many health giving properties, including helping to regulate our fluid levels. Quite the opposite of processed table salt!

It is essential that if you're cooking these recipes, you try them with Celtic sea salt, or any other naturally harvested, non refined salt. I get mine from a health food store however I do believe a lot of supermarkets also stock it. I don't find it to taste as salty as table salt however Husband of win does. He seems to use much less than me but with table salt we'd use about the same.

Here's a good read about the benefits of Celtic sea salt.

Chicken Stock

Chicken stock recipe (slow cooker)

Ingredients: Note. I used a mixture of raw and cooked chicken bones for this. Only because we had just had a roast chicken for dinner and I thought its bones would make better use as stock fodder, than garbage bin fodder. Really, you can throw in any herbs you want. I just have a thing for bay leaves and thyme :) The stock will be darker and more solid than store bought stock but that's a good thing. It means all the nutrients have been contained in it.

1 cooked chicken carcass (throw in any non used bits)
1kg raw chicken pieces (I just used necks but wings/backs are good)
3 large carrots
4 stalks celery
two onions
4-5 garlic cloves
½ cup spring onions, chopped
4 bay leaves
3-4 sprigs Thyme
4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1tbsp celtic sea salt

Method

Roughly chop all vegetables and place into slow cooker. Peel and crush garlic cloves and add with chopped onions and spring onion. Add chicken carcass and pieces. Place bay leaves and thyme on top. Add vinegar and celtic sea salt. Cover with cold water and cook on low setting for 10-12 hours. I cook it over night. Strain into heat proof dish and cool immediately. The bulk will have small chicken bones so will not be edible. You could blend it and give it to a lucky cat. Once cooled, place into separate containers and freeze. Makes about 2.2 litres.

Slow Cooked Beef Casserole

Recipe beef casserole (slow cooker)

OK, that's not a pretty picture but believe me, it tasted like awesomeville. 

Ingredients: please note, these are very rough estimates. I probably put more mushrooms and sweet potato in. If it looks like it doesn’t have enough once it’s all in the slow cooker, just throw a few more of your favourites in.

1kg round steak
800ml paleo beef stock
4 med carrots
4-5 stalks celery
3-4 Bay leaves
4-5 Thyme sprigs
1/2 cup continental parsley
1lge onion
4 garlic
4 fresh chopped tomatoes
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 cups diced sweet potato
2tbs apple cider vinegar
1tbs Celtic sea salt

Method

Pour stock into slow cooker and turn on to low setting. Chop all vegetables. Cube steak into bite sized pieces. Peel and crush garlic. Place vegetables, meat and garlic into slow cooker. Place bay leaves, parsley and thyme on top. Add vinegar and sea salt. Cook on low covered for 8 hours (I put it on early in the morning). Increase to high and cook uncovered for a further two hours. Stir every few minutes as this releases the steam and helps the liquid to reduce. Remove the Bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Serve. 

This recipe makes about 4 litres. Enough to feed a bloody big family or a few smaller ones.

Slow Cooked Beef Stock

All of my recipes are made using my own stock. There's just no point in cooking something Paleo, and using a store bought stock that is full of wheat, soy and preservatives. Plus, it just doesn't taste as good. So if you cook something using a recipe from this blog, and it tastes like hot crapola do not come whining to me if you didn't use a good quality paleo stock. If on the other hand you did use a good quality Paleo stock and the recipe still tastes like crap in a pan? I'm simply a much better cook than you ;) (Joke...maybe. No really)

Ingredients:Note, this is made for a large 6ltr slow cooker. You may need to increase orreduce the portions depending on the size of the cooker you’re using.

2kg beef soup bones (grass fed animal if you can)
4 large carrots
Top half of a full celery bunch, including leaves
2 onions
6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1tbs Celtic sea salt
4 large bay leaves
5-6 sprigs thyme

Method

Wash chop/dice all vegetables. Place into slow cooker. Placebeef bones on top. Add bay leaves, thyme, vinegar and salt. Cover with coldwater. Cook on low setting covered for 10-12 hours. I put it on in the eveningand turn it off in the morning. Strain through a sieve. Pour into heat proofcontainer and cool immediately. Transfer into individual containers and freeze.The stock will seem very gelatinous and somewhat fatty. This is good! You caneat the bulk however most of the nutrients are now in the stock.

Stock can be kept in the fridge for about 5 days. Personally I don't use anything over three days however that's because I'm fussy and nothing more.