Paleo Banana Bread

Paleo Banana Bread

I whipped this up today when I got home from work- I had a bushel of over-ripped bananas that were asking to become delicious bread!

I had some leftover mixed nuts (almonds, pecans and walnuts) for store bought oatmeals (that I did not eat, mind you!)

This bread was very moist and delicious! a good way to start the weekend!






Paleo Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 3 ripe bananas mashed
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup coconut milk (I used Coconut Dream brand unsweetened- but any alternative milk will do!)
• 2 cups almond flour
• 1 cup coconut flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• dash of salt
• 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
• 1 tblsp honey
• approx 1/3 cup of mixed nuts (your preference)

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350f
• mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add melted coconut oil to mixture and lightly mix (adding to dry will prevent the hot oil from scrabbling the eggs!)
• In a separate bowl: mash bananas. Add eggs and whisk in vanilla, coconut milk and honey.
• fold in half of the mixed nuts
• grease a loaf pan with coconut oil and add batter
• sprinkle rest of nut mixture
• bake at 350f for 45 min or until fully cooked

Paleo Pancakes- oh my!

 Paleo Pancakes

I've tried out a few renditions of paleo pancakes over the years- including almond flour, coconut flour concoctions which seemed to have many ingredients. Sometimes, they would turn out wonderfully- sometimes they flipped- then flopped.

I played around with ingredients and it didn't get very far- especially in the morning.

Instead I found a simplistic approach from a friend:
1 egg + 1 mashed up banana = pancake.
Glorious.

Except mine fell apart. It tastes like banana scrabbie eggs.

HOWEVER: do not fret! All we needed to do was modify it a touch- it certainly has less ingredients than the almond flour pancakes AND they flipped perfectly! YES!

Paleo Pancakes

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 mashed up banana
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• handful of fresh blueberries (if you only have frozen- do not despair! I made a sauce to top it off)

Optional Blueberry Topping

• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 tsp honey
• dash of cinnamon

Mix together and warm either in microwave or over low heat on stove. 

Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict with lemon dill aioli Paleo

Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict

Let me start off by apologizing to you about my use of camera phones. It's bad, really bad. BUT- I promise next time to take an actual picture of this before I eat it all :)

Avocado, poached egg, paleo mayo with smoked salmon and dill? delish!

Very simple way to use up leftover smoked salmon and get your omegas!!!

This, my friends is easy. Don't have a poacher? no problem- use a small pot or a deep sauce pan with water. Boil the water, turn down to medium and crack your egg in that H20- easy peesy.


Ingredients

• 3 slices smoked salmon
• dash o' dill
• 1 avocado sliced
• 1 free run egg
• 1 tsp paleo mayo
• squirt of lemon

Preparation

Poach egg. Slice avocado and place a layer on plate. Layer smoked salmon. In a bowl, mix paleo mayo with some dill and lemon juice. Place poached egg on top of salmon and drizzle with aioli. YUM!

 

Chicken Curry Lettuce Wraps Paleo

Chicken Curry Lettuce Wraps!

I've seen a few paleo wraps out on the interwebs- but so many either take a lot of eggs to make (Which remind me of crepes instead) or fall apart easily. You know what I love? the crunchy lettuce wrap. Cheaper, made o' veggie lettuce wrap. Can't go wrong!

Here is a recipe I put together for a quick wrap fix :)
(the side is cucumber salad- another recipe to follow).

Chicken (with ginger, turmeric, coconut milk curry) 'hash brown' sweet potatoes, carrots and dilled cucumbers wrapped in lettuce wraps with cucumber salad :)




Ingredients

• leftover chicken breast
• 1/2 can coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 clove garlic minced
• leftover hash browned sweet potatoes
• carrots sliced into thin strips
• cucumbers sliced
• 1 head iceberg lettuce (take off as many leaves as needed)

Preparation

Mix the hash browns and coconut milk together in a skillet over medium heat. Add ginger, turmeric and garlic. Stir until warmed. Turn off skillet and place lettuce leaves on a work surface. Put in cold leftover chicken and veggies, spoon in some of hash brown mixture. Wrap and serve!

Paleo Sushi!

Paleo Sushi!

Packed lunch for work! Who says you can't have sushi? :)




Sushi happens to be one of my favourite things- being grain free make Kimbo a sad, sad lady- until now!

I had some leftover cauliflower 'rice' from a curry I made the night before: time to take out those nori wraps from when I could eat sushi!

The filling is smoked salmon, avocado, carrot, cucumbers and dill with cauliflower 'rice' :) next time- perhaps more cauliflower? i was using leftovers from last nights curry dish and thus had only a little to 'test' this out! delish!


Ingredients

• Nori/seaweed wrappers (I used 3- as many as you need!)
•  Cauliflower 'rice' see recipe here
• 1 avocado
• 1 carrot washed and sliced very thinly in stick form
• 1 cucumber sliced thinly etc
• a few slices of leftover smoked salmon
• spritz of lemon and a dash of dill (for garnishing the smoked salmon)

Preparation 

Using a sushi roller (or a piece of saran wrap if you are in a pinch!) place nori wrapper on roller. Place some of each ingredient on the wrapper, and start rollin'! (I will post a link to how to wrap sushi if you need it)

Breakfast Skillet SCD/Paleo!
(sorry about the camera picture being blurry- promise it does not do the recipe justice! I promise to take a better one next time- and there will be a next time for this delicious recipe!)

This was a recipe I created trying to use some leftovers.

Italian sausages, sweet potato, zucchini, coconut curry and topped with a few eggs made this a huge success! go leftovers!

I used a cast iron pan- could also be done in the oven perhaps?

 Let me know what you think!


Breakfast Skillet SCD/Paleo

Skillet

• Italian sausage sliced (find grain free/sugar free local meat)
• 1 sweet potato (hashbrown sized cubes)
• 1 zucchini (cubed)
• 1 tblsp leeks (sliced finely- or use green onions!)
• 3 free run eggs (for the top!)

 Sauce

• 1/2 can of coconut milk (shake well!)
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp tumeric
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 squirt dijon mustard
•  oregano, salt and pepper to garnish

  In cast iron skillet, saute leeks and italian sausage on medium heat until browned. Add sweet potato hash browns and zucchini. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Add coconut milk, tumeric, dijon mustard, ginger and garlic. Cook until hashbrowns are tender stirring often. Crack 3 eggs on top of mixture and reduce heat if necessary. Cook until eggs are to your liking (hard or runny yokes). Garnish with salt, pepper and oregano. Serve and enjoy! 

Living with UC in Social Gatherings

I grew up with many allergies- I'm talking about having a list of things I COULD eat, not what I couldn't. Nothing was worse than when I finally got it down to only having a few allergies to worry about (peanuts, crab and raw egg) I was told: "Hey guess what? now you can't have grains, starches or sugars!"
I know that eating out while on SCD can be difficult- going to BBQs or social gatherings without being prepared with a snack pack in your purse can make even the most faithful SCDer lean in the wrong direction (and believe me, you may pay for it later!)

For me, I have a hard time saying "NO" without feeling like I'm imposing or being rude. Sure, close friends and family will know about your allergies/dietary needs- but at a work/social event where you don't know them too well, it can get unnerving telling your story to every person trying to feed you. You never want to seem rude and picky while asking: "Sorry- what's in that?"

So- with that being said- it is best to prepare for these situations:

1) Always have a water bottle.I love my glass water bottle- this should be on everyone's going out list- but very important for allergy/SCDers. I take it with me everywhere and at group functions you will have less awkward conversations about why you are not having any of the wine or punch. (or worse yet- someone keeps handing you some!) Drinks can be the worst because we forget that there can be grains (beer) starches and sugars (coolers, punch, juice etc) because it isn't food. Water is always the safest and best option.

2) Bring a trail mix or snack in your purse/bag.
I don't know how many times I've been at an impromtu party/social event staring at the food in envious dismay. Sometimes you just sit by the food so you can live vicariously through the snackers around you. This can be dangerous- the "One little bite can't hurt me" fairy pops into your mind and poof! there you go cheating again!

Stop that fairy before its too late! bring a snack or better yet (at a dinner function) your own plate. Look for vegetable/fruit trays if you have to munch- be careful with fruit in case it is covered in sugars without your knowledge (fruit salads, etc.)

3) Inform Others
This is the hardest part for me. I always tell myself (incorrectly) that it's rude or imposing to bother your host about your allergies. Nobody wants someone to go out of their way to scramble in their kitchen for something you can eat. If you know this person (family, friend, co-worker) before the event- let them know about your diet. This doesn't mean they have to change the whole menu or even make anything specially for you: This gesture will be greatly appreciated and will stop unnecessary confusion during the social gathering. If a host knows you are bringing your own food or actual medical reasons, they will not be insulted you did not try their grandmother's pudding recipe (I can not speak for gramma though!)

If you do not know the host personally (ie: your mate's boss/co-worker etc.) Ask for them to speak to the host on your behalf. If you cannot discuss this with them prior to the function, you are going to have to politely tell them about your allergies/diet.

4) Don't be ashamed of your diet
This is the number one thing!

You are feeling healthier, livelier and eating healthy delicious foods- just because you may have to discuss your diet with others doesn't have to be a negative thing- in fact, they may know someone who would benefit from this diet! (including themselves!) Think about when you first learnt about SCD- how wonderful would it be to spread the word to others to help them? so walk tall and stand proud of your diet!