Paleo People

Highly suggest these folks for people on the go! Great paleo friendly snacks that you can take anywhere!

Plantain Chips

Once you go paleo, you quickly realize that you are still allowed to have yummy salsa's and delicious guacamole.... But you will also quickly realize that your options for transporting these things to your mouth are limited! Well here's some help for that! Plantain chips are super easy and delicious! Here's all the ingredients you need...

1 Green Plantain

Sea Salt

Coconut Oil

Cayenne Pepper (optional!)

First thing you'll need to do is cut your plantain up. Taking the skin off is a bit tricky, but once you get the first piece off, the rest should come off fairly easily as well. I recently purchased a mandolin and it is PERFECT for cutting these up. I use the thinnest setting. Cuts them up SO much quicker than with a knife (and more consistent as well!).

Next, heat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Put your coconut oil on there and spread it around the pan. Make sure the pan is hot before you put the plantains on there. When you are putting the plantains on the pan, make sure they are not overlapping. They get pretty sticky and won't un-attach from each other on their own... leaving you with not fully cooked parts (but they will taste great regardless!). They should fry on one side for about 4 minutes, or until they start to brown. Watch them closely after a couple minutes to make sure they don't burn!

Now, flip them to the other side. Again, carefully so as to not let them overlap (or at least try your best :) ). Should fry on this side for about 3-4 minutes also.

One plantain usually makes 2 or 3 panfuls (or 2 and a half usually in my case). After your done with the first load, put them on a paper towel lined plate and put some sea salt on them. Toss around a bit. Next batch! Repeat the sea salt application. You can also add some cayenne pepper at this time as well if you like spicy! Just a smidge though... Too much might be overwhelming!

These go wonderfully with guacamole (My sister will post her recipe later today! Absolutely delicioussss!).

Forgive my picture.... Taken with my iPhone last month sometime. Wasn't planning on posting it online! ha! Guacamole pictured as well (and wine.... was the perfect snack!).

Meatballs!

Yummy paleo meatballs! :) I combined a couple different recipes and landed somewhere in the middle. They were delicious!

1.5 lbs Lean Ground Beef

1 lb Pork Sausage

2 handfuls Fresh Spinach (approximately)

1 handful Fresh Basil

5-6 Garlic Cloves

2 stalks Celery

1 handful Baby Carrots

1/2 cup Almond Meal

3 Eggs

1 tbsp. Oregeno

1 tbsp. Garlic Powder

1 tbsp. Onion Powder

1 tbsp. Parsley

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Ground Pepper

1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper (optional)

First thing you should do is add the Basil, Spinach, Carrots, Celery and Garlic together in a food processor (you can add a small amount of either grapeseed oil, almond oil, avacado oil, etc. if you feel like it's needed). Pulse until finely chopped. Add this to all the other ingredients and mix all together.

Preheat the over to 350 before you start forming meatballs. Meatballs should be about golfball size. Place into greased pyrex pan and bake for about 30 minutes. I ended up baking mine for 35 minutes because they were a bit larger than golfballs!

I also made a great sauce if you'd like that too! Here goes:

3 cans Diced Tomatoes - No Salt Added

1 large can Tomato Paste (or 2 small cans)

1 small can Mushrooms

6 Garlic Cloves (give or take)

1/2 Yellow Onion

2 handfuls Spinach

1/4 cup White Wine (I used a Riesling)

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Oregano

1 tsp. Onion Powder

1 tsp. Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp. Black Pepper

1/2 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

1/2 tsp. Fennel Seeds (Optional)

1 tbsp. Agave Nectar

Start by heating a large pot to medium heat. Put some oil in there to make sure it doesn't burn (I used grapeseed oil). While the pot is heating up, put the onion and garlic cloves into a food processor; blend until finely chopped. Add that to the pot once it's heated up. Try to keep a close eye on it so the garlic doesn't burn. While those are starting to cook, add all your canned tomatoes (including the paste), mushrooms and spinach into the food processor and blend until fine. Use the extra water in the tomato cans as well; don't drain them prior! Before adding to the pot, make sure the onions and garlic have cooked a bit. Add the white wine and let simmer for about a minute. Add the tomato mixture along with all the other ingredients. Cook at medium heat for about 20-30 minutes (make sure you have the cover on!), then put on low heat and let simmer. The longer it simmers, the thicker the sauce will be. I was able to let mine simmer for about 3-4 hours today!

Final product.... :D

Beef Jerky

Yesterday I made beef jerky. I have made it quite a few times in the past but only recently feel like I've "perfected" it! It's great because you can generally use just whatever you have on hand.

Anyway, here's a vague description of the recipe I used yesterday (I didn't measure anything, but I assume these were close to what I used!) :)

2 lbs Flank Steak

1/4 cup Liquid Smoke

1/4 cup Coconut Aminos (or soy-free "soy sauce")

1 tbsp. Amber Agave Nectar (or Pure Maple Syrup)

1 tsp. Onion Powder

1 tsp. Garlic Powder (you can use fresh/chopped garlic as well, or in addition to)

1/2 tsp. Salt (more or less depending on preferences)

1/4 tsp. Smoked Paprika

1/4 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes (optional - give or take for spiciness!)

(any other spices your heart desires can be added as well!)

First step is cutting up the flank steak. If you have a meat tenderizer, you can pound it thinner. I've been just cutting the flank steak as-is; I like the thick pieces! Cut into thin slices AGAINST the grain (I made that mistake only once!). Try to cut the fat off; it's not bad to keep it on if you'll be eating it within 48 hours of making it (after all, fat is good for you!), otherwise it will make the meat go rancid quicker than you'd like.

Next step is to put the meat into an airtight container and add all the ingredients listed. Shake it up REAL good so it gets all over the pieces! You will then want to have the meat marinate in the fridge for a minimum of about 8 hours... the longer the better, up to 24 hours is great. Each time you go in the fridge, try to shake it up a bit to make sure all the meat is getting coated.

After your steak is done marinating, it's time to dehydrate! Before putting on the dehydrator, you'll want to dry off the meat. You waste a lot of paper towels, but it gets the job done. Just take the pieces out one at a time and wring them dry with a paper towel (using a new one once one gets too soaked). Once you've got your meat all lined up on the trays, set your dehydrator to 160 (or whatever your dehydrator may specify). Depending on how thick or thin you cut your pieces, the drying process should take about 6-9 hours. Some pieces may be done before others if they weren't all consistent. The jerky is done when it's flexible; it shouldn't break in half but should kind of "fray." The jerky should be room temperature when it's checked, but I usually check when it's still warm. Trying a piece is always a good way too! It shouldn't be very pink in the middle!

One thing I may add is that while it's in the dehydrator, if the meat wasn't dried off enough after marinating, you may need to pat the pieces down with a paper towel so get any excess liquid off of it.

This can also be done in an oven, though I've never done it that way. I believe you just put it directly on the rack, on the top rack (and the next one too if you have that much) at about 175-200 degrees for about 6-8 hours, watching and checking regularly.

Enjoy!!