Paleo Hot Chocolate

this could also be called:
Banana-Mint Hot Chocolate

Arnie and I have been experimenting with cutting back on sugar and grains, and we came up with this incredible hot chocolate recipe one night.  It's thicker and creamier than regular hot chocolate, thanks to the coconut milk, almond milk, and the pureed banana.  Between the understated sweetness, the hint of cool mint, and the richness of the chocolate and the coconut milk, this is pretty darn good.


Ingredients (serves 4)

2 very ripe bananas- they should have brown spots.
      (using un-ripe bananas results in a weird, chunky texture and no sweetness!)
2 oz cocoa mass, cocoa powder, or unsweetened baking chocolate
1/2 can coconut milk
3 c unsweetened almond milk (I used Blue Diamond brand, comes in a carton)
~4 drops mint extract

Instructions:
Heat the almond milk over medium-low, stirring.
Add the bananas, cut into pieces, and the chocolate.
Blend with an immersion blender.
Add coconut milk.
Ready when heated; stir in the mint extract and serve.

I am a fan of the subtle banana texture, but if this bothers you, you could probably blend the bananas really well beforehand in a standard blender or something.

Mango Guacamole

What to do with all the ripe mangos and avocados suddenly flooding the grocery store?
Mango Guacamole, of course.

Ingredients
3 ripe avocados
2 very ripe and juicy mangos (it's not nearly as good with mangos that are less ripe)
2-3 T chopped cilantro
juice from 1 large lime
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed
2-3 T red onion, finely chopped
salt to taste (plenty)

Instructions 
Combine avocado and mango in a bowl; mash with a potato masher.
Mix in with the rest of the ingredients and enjoy with tortilla chips, plantain chips, etc.

P.S. Anna made this bowl and it is the colors of an avocado; I love it! I will try to feature a better picture of it in a future post.

Almond/Pistachio-Crusted Chicken

I adapted this from here. The almond butter marinade helps the chicken retain flavor and juiciness, and the nuts add great flavor and texture.

Ingredients:
1.5 lb chicken tenders
1 lb chicken thighs
1/2 cup creamy almond butter
2 T soy sauce
2 T honey
1 T grated lemon rind
1 T fresh lemon juice
1/2 c roasted unsalted almonds
1/4 c roasted unsalted pistachios
1/2 c almond meal (ground almonds) (original recipe called for breadcrumbs)
2-3 cloves garlic
1 t salt
1/4 t ground red pepper

Instructions:

• Combine almond butter and next 4 ingredients in a bowl. Microwave a little to mix. This will be used to coat the chicken, so if it seems too thick, add just enough water (on the order of 1 tsp) to thin it.
• Put chicken pieces in a large ziplock bag with the sauce; make sure each piece is coated. Refrigerate for 30 min.
• Combine the nuts and garlic in a food processor; process until the nuts are the desired size for coating the chicken (maybe 1/4 cm diameter). (Don't process too much as you'll lose the nutty texture, but don't leave the pieces so big that they'll fall off.) Mix in the rest of the ingredients.
• Preheat oven to 375.  Line baking pans with aluminum foil and place lightly greased wire racks on top. 
• Dip chicken pieces in nut mixture and place on the wire racks.
• Bake until cooked through; 25-30 min.

P.S. Some delicious substitutions I've tried: extra-firm tofu in place of chicken, and toasted pecans, or of course peanuts, for the almonds and pistachios.

Cilantro Lemon Shrimp

A simple and tasty dinner, excluding the peeling and deveining of the shrimp (thanks, Jym!)

INGREDIENTS:
1.5 pounds shrimp, peeled & deveined
2 tsp brown sugar
2 T lemon juice
3 T cilantro, chopped
1 T balsamic
2 T whiskey hot sauce

HERE'S WHAT YOU DO:
Heat oil over high heat. Cook shrimp in oil until done. Turn heat down to low.

Mix remaining ingredients, season with salt & pepper. Pour over shrimp, stir to coat.

Serve over rice.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

I made an artichoke dip around Christmas, that was super healthy. The recipe came from the 101 cookbooks blog, (which I highly recommend checking out, if you haven't already). She replaces the mayonnaise and sour cream with tofu and greek yogurt. I like that the recipe was so healthy, but I wanted to work in some cream cheese, and, in the 101 recipe you puree the artichokes, and I wanted some nice big pieces or artichoke heart. So last weekend when I came across a recipe for artichoke dip with spinach and cream cheese, I decided it was time to try a new recipe, by combining the two.

INGREDIENTS:
4 oz. tofu
5-oz. neufchatel cheese
2/3 C greek yogurt
1/3 C parmesan, shredded + some for top
1/3 C sharp cheddar, shredded
3 garlic cloves, minced
5 C spinach
3 shallots, minced
2 cans artichoke hearts, drained & chopped

HERE'S WHAT YOU DO:
Food process the tofu and cream cheese.

Saute the shallots, garlic over medium heat in a little oil. Stir in spinach, keep over heat until it wilts. Drain liquid from this mixture well. 

Combine tofu & cream cheese, spinach mix, artichokes, cheeses, and yogurt. Spoon into baking dish and top with parm. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes, then broil to brown.

Apple cheddar ham omelet

 

 This omelet was loosely inspired by a Spanish omelet, but I didn't have potatoes, so I used apples instead, and added some ham and cheese and fresh basil.  The sweetness of the apples with the saltiness of the ham and sharp cheddar are a delicious combo.

Ingredients

1 large onion, diced

~3 T olive oil

8 eggs

2 small apples, chopped or sliced thin (I used fuji; a little sweetness is good)

chopped fresh basil (3-4 T)

some chopped ham, as much as you want in there

1 c shredded sharp white cheddar

S + P to taste

Heat the oil in a large cast iron skillet (12") (you might want to scale down the ingredients if using a smaller one). saute the onions for ~3 minutes on medium heat. Add the apples, and saute both until lightly browned. 

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl, and mix in the cheese, ham, half the basil, S + P, apples and onions.

[Preheat oven to 350]

Make sure the skillet is heated to medium heat (with some oil or a little bacon grease if you have it), then pour the egg mixture in and immediately turn the heat to low; cook for five minutes. 

Move it to the oven and bake until set and lightly browned; ~10 min.

If it looks like it's set but not browned, broil to finish for a minute or two.

Garnish with basil and serve hot.

Sunday Morning Omelets!

Sauteed mushrooms and red pepper, cheddar cheese, leftover sausage from last night. I did the prep work, Jym made the omelets---Yum!

Polenta with Sausage and Peppers

This dinner idea came from this blog post, but I didn't have all the necessary ingredients and I was feeling lazy, so I just through it together, and didn't really follow along with the recipe.
This was my first time making polenta, and I think it would've benefited from a little more time in the pot-- it was not as firm as I would've liked. I plan on getting some better cornmeal (grainier) for next time, too.
The meal was tasty, but I accidentally got some super spicy sausage from the butcher shop, and while the spiciness was a nice contrast to the sweetness of the onions, it was just a little too much for me.

RECIPE:

Polenta---boil 6 cups water with 1 t salt, Add 2 Cups cornmeal; lower heat to medium and cook, stirring often approx. 30 minutes. Stir in 2T butter. Preheat oven to 350, spoon polenta into well-greased baking dish, top with parm and bake 15 minutes.

Sausage---cook sausage over med heat until cooked through. Stir in 1/4 Cup white wine and 1.5 cans diced tomatoes (undrained). Let this simmer for 20 minutes.

Peppers/onions---slice and saute over med-high heat in 1 T oil for about 5 minutes, I wanted them cooked but still crisp.

TO SERVE: Spoon polenta onto plate, then sausage mixture, top with peppers & onions.