Monday 24 September 2012

Paleo Parma Ham Wrapped Meatballs

Credit must got to fastpaleo.com where I found this recipe which I have adapted slightly for my own use.



Ingredients (Serves 4-6)

500g Lean Minced Beef
500g Lean Minced Pork
1 Egg
150g Spinach
2 cloves Garlic
1 teaspoon of Rock Salt
1 teaspoon of freshly Ground Black Pepper
A bunch of Spring Onions (approx 8)
2 Chopped Tomatos
1 desert spoon of Tomato Puree
6 large slices of Parma Ham

Directions

1) Place the meat in a bowl and add the chopped tomato, tomato puree, egg, salt and pepper
2) In a liquidiser, reduce the spinach, onions and garlic to a pulp and add to the meat
3) Work the meat and veg mix in with your hands until well mixed.
4) Shape the mix into 12 thick torpedo shapes
5) Cut the Parma Ham lengthways to give you 12 thin slices
6) Wrap each torpedo in a slice of parma ham
7) Place the torpedos onto a rack and cook for 45 minutes at 180 degrees

I heated some passata to serve as a sauce with mine along with brown rice (non-Paleo at the point you add rice of course) but you could equally serve them with roasted vegetables.

Sunday 23 September 2012

Chicken & Butternut Squash Curry

A Sunday roast without the potatoes always offers a pretty good healthy weekend option but I also like a nice curry on a Sunday afternoon, this protein rich meat and vegetable curry made from scratch really hits the spot and is exactly what I will be eating today!


Ingredients (serves 4-6)

1 Butternut Squash peeled and chopped evenly
4-6 Skinless Chicken Breasts cubed
1 Large Onion sliced
3 cloves Garlic crushed and minced
3 teaspoons of Curry Powder
3 teaspoons of Garam Massala
1 teaspoon of Turmeric
1 teaspoon of Ground Ginger
1 teaspoon of Cumin
1 teaspoon of Allspice
1 teaspoon of Cinamon
1 teaspoon of Ground Coriander
1 teaspoon of dried Chilli Flakes
Handful of chopped fresh Coriander
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon of Tomate Puree
2 desert spoons of Hemp or Coconut Oil

Directions

1. Heat half the oil in a large pan over a medium heat
2. Add the Onions and Garlic and fry gently until soft and translucent
3. Add the remaining oil and all the spice and toast gently for a minute or two - this is really important as it unlocks the flavour in the spices
4. Now add the chicken and stir in until the meat has a good spice covering
5. Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato puree. At this point take the tomato tin and half fill it with water and add this to pan.
6. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer for approx 20 minutes
7. After 20 minutes add the cubed Squash and cook for a futher 10-15 minutes until the squash softens but remains firm enough to maintain its shape.
8. Finally mix in the fresh coriander before serving.



Sunday 16 September 2012

Huevos Rancheros

A real power breakfast packed with slow burn carbs, protein and metabolism firing spice!


Ingredients

2 x Free Range Eggs
200g Chopped Tomatoes - tinned are fine, fire roasted even better.
200g Cooked Black Beans
A fresh Chipotle Chilli or 2 tablespoons of Chipotle Chilli Sauce.
1/2 Red Onion
2 teaspoons of Hemp Oil

 

Directions

1. Heat half the oil in a pan
2. Add the red onion and fry gently to soften
3. Add the tomatoes, beans and the chilli and leave to simmer for around 5 minutes
4. Gently fry the eggs in the remaining oil
5. Serve with a little extra chilli sauce if you have any remaining

Wednesday 5 September 2012

Moroccan Beef Stew & Cous Cous

This healthy aromatic stew will fill your house with the aromas of the Middle East while the Cous Cous and Chick peas provide a fantastic source of complex low GI carbohydrates.

Ingredients

100g Pine Nuts
400g Cous Cous
4 teaspoons of dried Coriander Leaf
3 teaspoons of Cumin
1 teaspoon of Cinamon
1.5 unwaxed Lemons
2 teaspoons of turmeric
800g lean cubed casserole Beef
1 x 400g tin chick peas drained
1  x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 brown onion sliced
1 red onion chopped
2 Chicken Stock Cubes
1 Beef Stock Cube
250g chopped dried apricots
1 cup Kalamata Olives

Directions

1. Mix the following ingredients into either a slow cooker or an oven-proof dish:
  • Cubed Beef (no need to pre-brown)
  • Tin Tomatoes
  • Chick Peas
  • 2 teaspoons of Coriander Leaf
  • 2 teaspoons of Cumin
  • 1 teaspoon of Cinamon
  • 1 unwaxed lemon cut into quarters - this is for flavouring only so try and avoid eating it in the finished stew, alternatively you can use a preserved lemon if you can get hold of one which is more palatable
  • Sliced brown onion
  • Half the chopped apricots
  • Kalamata Olives
  • Beef Stock Cube
2. Slow cook the stew for about 8 hours in a slow cooker or until the beef begins to flake, alternatively stew on a low heat (around 160 degrees) in the over for 3-4 hours.

3.  Toast the pine nuts gently in a dry frying pan until lightly browned and set to one side

4. Around ten minutes before serving, mix the following ingredients in a saucepan:
  • Cous Cous
  •  Around 400ml of boiling water - the water should be around 1.5 times the volume of Cous Cous
  • Remaining turmeric, coriander leaf and cumin
  • Chicken Stock Cubes
  • Red Onion
  • Remaining apricots
5. Bring the Cous Cous mix to the boil on the stove and simmer until all the water has evaporated (around 3-4 minutes)

6. Remove the Cous Cous from the heat and cover for 5 minutes

7. Add the toasted pine nuts to the Cous Cous mix and fluff with a fork

8. Serve a bed of Cous Cous with the Stew spooned over the top.


Monday 3 September 2012

Sweet Peanut Smoothie

This is a great start to the day, particularly for the muscle conscious guys out there who are looking to build those biceps with a high protein diet at the same time as losing fat.


Ingredients

1 Frozen Banana Peeled
1 tablespoon of all natural unsweetened Peanut Butter
2 x 28g scoops of low carb Strawberry Whey Protein ( I personally use Impact Diet Whey from myprotein.com)
20 Blueberries
4 Strawberries
200ml Skimmed or Almond/Rice Milk

Directions

Liquidise all the ingredients and enjoy




Chilli, Mango and Crab Salad

This is a lovely healthy fresh tasting salad with Caribbean influences.



Ingredients (Serves 2)

- 1 large ripe Mango peeled and cut into slices or chunks
- 1 Red Chilli, finely chopped, leave the seeds in for extra heat
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 small 170gram can of White Crab Meat (Fresh meat is even better if you can get hold of it)
- 1/2 cup chopped cucumber.
- 2 Spring Onions, sliced

Directions


- Combine half of the chilli with half of lime juice and leave to enthuse
- Mix the remaining chilli, lime juice, spring onions, crab meat, salt and pepper
- Combine the Mango with the Cucumber
- Serve the mango mix and the crab mix side by side on a plate
- Drizzle the lime and chilli mix over the mango/cucumber mix
- Serve