Dinner – Paleo: Intensified (2024)

Gotta thank John and Suzanne Hernandez for inspiring this one!

The Ingredients:

• 1 steelhead fillet
• 1 lime
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• salt/pepper

Don’t have steelhead? Here’s how to get some:

1. Say to John Hernandez, “Hey, catch any steelhead lately?”
2. He replies, “Yeah. Bout to go catch some more tomorrow! I’ll bring you some!”
3. You say, “Sweet, that would be awesome! Thanks!”
4. The next day you find a bag of fish with your name on it in the fridge. BOOM! Magic. You see, John’s like Santa, but with fish.

The Process:

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Place the fillet skin-side down on a sheet of foil.
3. Season with salt/pepper.
4. Slice garlic thinly. Scatter slices over the top side of the fillet.
5. Slice the lime. Scatter slices over the top side of the fillet.
6. Fold up the foil to completely wrap the fish. Press firmly on the garlic/lime side to press everything into the fish.
7. Bake the fillet for 25 minutes at 425.
8. Have yourself one fantastic fish feast!

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs hamburger
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1/2 -1 green pepper, chopped
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 – 6 eggs
• 1 – 1&1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 can tomato paste
• salt (about 1 tsp per lb of meat or more if you like more salt)
• pepper (as much as you like pepper)
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• chili powder (as much as you like spicy foods)
• 1 can tomato sauce mixed with remaining 1/2 can of tomato paste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prep onion & peppers.
3. In a large bowl mix all ingredients except the sauce mixed with the remaining tomato paste.
4. Start with 4 eggs and one cup of almond flour, add additional eggs and flour until the loaf binds together well.
5. Form into a loaf with a crevice down the middle.
6. Place in a casserole or baking dish that allows for at least 1-2 inches of space around the loaf.
7. Bake until a meat thermometer inserted at a 45 degree angle (not touching the bottom of the pan) reads 145-155 degrees. Usually it takes 1&1/2 hours or so. If you cut the recipe in half, check the loaf after 1 hour.

Optional additional ingredients: mushrooms (sliced thin), green olives (halved), substitute some pork for the hamburger, red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper, jalapeno peppers (chopped)

Contributed by Mary

Meatball ingredients:

• 1 lb lean grass-fed ground beef
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup almond flour
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• dash of cinnamon
• dash of salt and pepper
• 1-2 tbsp coconut oil

The process:

1. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except the oil. Use your hands to mix it well then roll out meatballs. You can make them small or large. I prefer mini-meatballs, about an ounce per ball (16 in a pound).
2. In a large skillet heat coconut oil on medium-high heat. Once oil is very hot, put in the meatballs. Try not to move the balls. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then flip and cook for another 3-4 minutes. If you’ve made bigger balls you may need to cook longer or cover the meatballs during the cooking process.
3. Once both sides are browned and balls are cooked through, serve them up however you like! This can make a great main dish with spaghetti squash or wraps, or a great appetizer using tooth picks.

The Tahini sauce contains yogurt so it is not “Paleo.” However, many people make an exception for Greek Yogurt and some other dairy products. If you’re one of these Paleo+ people, you’ll enjoy this flavor-packed sauce and dip.

• 1 cup greek yogurt (plain, unsweetened, whole-milk greek yogurt is the best)
• 1 tbsp sesame tahini
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Simply mix the above ingredients and enjoy. A little goes a longgg way. I like it as a tasty addition to the meatballs. Brings back memories of delicious felafels and shawarmas I ate while traveling. You can play around with this basic tahini sauce, adding in your favorite herbs/spices to make it your own.

Ingredients:

Instructions:

Prepare through Step 2 and refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

This is a great alternative to mashed potatoes!

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• rosemary (optional)
• paprika (optional)

Process:

1. Chop cauliflower into small chunks (including stems) and place in a medium saucepan or dutch oven. Add crushed garlic cloves and chicken stock to the cauliflower and bring to a boil. You can also add rosemary here if you want.
2. Once it begins to boil, reduce heat to medium, cover, and let cook for about 20 minutes or until cauliflower is very tender and there’s no more excess liquid in the bottom of the pan.
3. If excess liquid remains yet cauliflower is extremely tender, drain off the extra liquid.
4. Put cauliflower into blender or food processor and blend until smooth. You can also mash the cauliflower by hand in a large bowl if you don’t have a blender/processor or would like a chunkier mash.
5. Season with salt/pepper and garnish with paprika, and voila. You’ve got a great alternative to mashed potatoes!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb grass-fed ground beef
• 1 lb hot ground pork or sausage
• 2 large egg plants, peeled
• 2 large or 4 medium zucchini
• 4-6 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 large can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 to 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• fresh basil
• fresh thyme
• salt & pepper to taste

Ingredients:

Pre heat oven to 350. Slice the egg plant (peeled) and zucchini in 3/8 inch (long) slices. Coat with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 20 minutes. An option is to slice sweet peppers and roast them with the egg plant and zucchini…yellow peppers add a bit of color.

While the veges are roasting prepare the sauce. Brown the hamburger and sausage together. Remove excess fat. Add the carrots, onion, pepper and garlic to the meat. Saute until the onions and peppers are tender. Add the tomato paste and tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add the basil and thyme to taste. You can use italian seasoning instead of the fresh spices. The sauce should be thick, so simmer to reduce until it reaches the desired consistency. It usually takes 20-30 minutes to finish the sauce.

In a large casserole pan coat the bottom with the sauce. Layer the egg plant, sauce and zucchini in the pan. Repeat. If desired, add a small amount (no more than 2-3 tablespoons) of crumbled goat cheese, sprinkled on the middle and top layers, to add a little zip. Finish with a layer of sauce.

Bake in the oven on 350 for 30 minutes.

Serves 10-12

Ingredients:

• 1 large purple onion
• 3 stalks celery
• 2 large carrots
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 3 large sweet potatoes
• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chick thighs or breasts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1-2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 1 can coconut milk

Instructions:

Chop onion, celery and carrots and set aside. Chop the yellow pepper and cube the sweet potatoes and set aside. To prepare the chicken you can leave the thighs whole or if using chicken breasts cut into thigh size pieces. You can also choose to cut the chicken into 2 inch cubes.

Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Cook chicken for 3 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and keep warm.

Saute the onions, celery and carrots in the olive oil for 5-7 minutes. You may need to add a bit more olive oil. Add the yellow pepper and sweet potatoes and saute for 3 more minutes.

Stir in the curry powder, salt and pepper. Stir in the chicken broth and chicken, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 10 minutes.

Stir in the coconut milk, simmer until the sweet potatoes reach the desired consistency, no more than 5-10 minutes.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1cup leeks chopped
• 2cups cubed butternut squash
• 1/2 red bell pepper chopped
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper chopped
• 1 cup cilantro
• 10 slices of bacon cut into pieces
• 2 whole chicken breasts cubed

Instructions:

1. Fry bacon until crisp. Remove from stove.
2. Cook cubed chicken in leftover bacon fat.
3. Throw everything into your crockpot and cook on low 6-8 hours.
4. Yum!!

Note: My good friend Cindy (who does not eat Paleo) invited me to dinner. Cindy read all about Paleo on the web knowing that is how I eat, and she came up with this recipe. I am addicted!! 🙂 Contributed by Dawn Fisher

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound 93%-lean ground turkey
• 1 medium zucchini, shredded or chopped finely
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1/3 cup chia seeds (or the Hemp Hearts from Costco!)
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Feel free to add mushrooms or other veggies are good additions too!

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Generously spray a nonstick muffin pan with olive oil cooking spray.
2. Gently mix turkey, zucchini, onion, bell pepper, egg, vinegar, mustard, other veggies, pepper
and salt in a large bowl, preferably with your hands, without overworking. Equally divide the mixture
among the muffin cups.
3. Bake until the meatloaves are cooked through or an instant-read thermometer inserted into the
center registers 165 degrees F, about 25 minutes. Let the loaves stand in the pan for 5 minutes
before serving.

Makes 6 servings, 2 loaves each.

Contributed by Stina

Ingredients:

• 2 acorn squash
• 1 pound specialty sausage (or ground turkey or beef)
• 1 zucchini – diced
• 1/2 onion – diced
• 1/2 cup carrots – diced
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper – diced
• 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
• Other optional veggies: spinach, cauliflower, mushrooms, etc.
• 1 clove garlic – crushed
• 1/2 tsp salt/pepper
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• Olive oil
• 2 slices nitrate free bacon – cut into small pieces
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• Other optional spices – to taste – depending on the type of meat (apple sausage might use nutmeg and cinnamon instead of the cumin and chili, or italian sausage might use oregano, basil, and rosemary)

Instructions:

1. Cook bacon in pan until it gets lightly crispy.
2. Add all veggies except for tomatoes, garlic, and spices and saute until crisp done.
3. Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds and gunk. Brush with olive oil and dust with salt and pepper. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake Squash for 15 minutes cut side up.
4. Mix bacon/ veggie mixture with remaining ingredients (including bacon grease!) in a large bowl and scoop into acorn squash.
5. Bake for 45 minutes covered with aluminum foil.
6. Remove aluminum foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Based onhttp://paleowod.wordpress.com/2011/11/13/paleo-stuffed-acorn-squash/