Paleo, Italian, Summer Salad

The kids might be back to school and the Sunday evening, sandwich making ritual may have begun but I for one REFUSE to believe summer is over! To make myself feel more summery I decided to experiment with some summer flavours recently and invented my Paleo, Italian Summer Salad.

This is light, tasty, fills you up and takes just minutes to prepare. Even my 'Salads don't fill me up, can I have Chips too?' husband approved of it and said he really enjoyed it. (Spot his chips in the pictures below!)  Here's how you can make it too.

Ingredients:

Chicken/Turkey/Beef (meat optional as always!)

Good Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Squeeze of lemon juice

Rock Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Freshly chopped Basil, Rosemary, Thyme (I grow these 3 easily and cheaply on my windowsill) 

Sliced fresh mozzarella (comes in a bag of fluid)

Organic vegetables of choice. Here I used:

Rocket

Cherry tomatoes

Yellow and Orange Peppers

Cucumber 

Mustard and Balsamic optional.

Method:

Time allowing, chop your meat and leave it marinade in a few dashes of olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, basil, rosemary, thyme. Thoroughly coat all the meat and allow to rest for as long as you have! If you don't have time to marinade just quickly toss the meat in the ingredients and move onto the next step.

Chop all your veggies and arrange as you feel fit on your plate.

On a low, gentle heat in a cermanic pan, cook the meat including oil, herbs and seasoning until fully cooked. 

Slice mozzarella into strips or chunks.

Arrange chicken and mozarella to the side of veggies or on top.

Using any excess juice left in the pan add some balsamic vinegar and a spoon of honey mustard to make a lovely dressing served on the side or drizzled over the top.

Enjoy as is or serve with crinkled oven chips for your husband!

The best thing about this recipe is it's quick and easy to make double portions. I usually make enough for 3 and keep some of everything to the side so I can take it for my lunch the next day. This massively cuts down on waste, time and effort and ensures you have a healthy meal ready to go for the next day.

Prep Time:

5 minutes, more if you marinade

Cook time:

15 minutes or as long as the meat is safely cooked

Dietary Information:
Gluten Free

Wheat free

Sugar Free 

Paleo 

High in protein

Vegetarian - leaving out the meat. Add nuts or more cheese instead.

Olive Oil is full of good fats, Omega 3s and excellent for hair, skin and nails.

Rosemary boosts immunity, increases circulation, aids digestion, is an excellent anti-inflammatory - great for asthmatics - and increases concentration. 

Basil helps clear skin, alleviates stress and worry and boost your mood.

Thyme is a natural disinfectant helping to fight bugs and bad bacteria in the body, lowers blood pressure and helps with coughing.

Enjoy this light, refreshing and satisfying salad anytime of day. And stay strong Jeanies! Summer is NOT over!

Chocolate Pancakes

I'm a big fan of pancakes. They are quick and easy to make, fill you up with slow releasing energy and taste so good too. I have these as a healthy treat. Maybe on a weekend for breakfast where you have time to sit and savour them with the morning papers or even a good book.

Check out my other recipes here for Paleo Pancakes and here for Oat Pancakes.

Ingredients:
100g of oats
1 large free range egg
250ml of water or milk
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 tablespoons of Chia seeds
1 tablespoon of Honey
2 teaspoons of 100% Cocoa Powder e.g. Bournville or Green and Blacks Organic

1 teaspoon of Coconut oil for cooking

Optional: replace some of the oats for the same quantity of Protein Powder.

Method:
Blitz the oats in a blender (or handheld) until they form a coarse powder.
Beat the egg, honey and milk/water together and fold in the oats until they are well mixed. 

Add in Chia seeds and 100% Coco and mix well.

I did all this in my hand held blender in the one jug which saves on wash up!

Fry in a ceramic pan in Olive Oil or Coconut Oil on a medium heat and flip once the underside is cooked.

Enjoy with a variety of healthy toppings!

Prep Time:
Less than 5 minutes!

Dietary Information:
Wheat free

Sugar Free (option to also leave out honey)
Can be made gluten free using gluten free oats
Good fats
Vegetarian
Oats are proven to lower cholesterol, be a good source of energy and high in fibre.
Eggs are full of protein, high in vitamins and minerals and great for your hair, skin and nails.

Chia seeds are full of protein, antioxidants and make you fell full for longer.

Cinnamon helps to lower your blood sugar and burn fat more effectively. 

100% Pure Cocoa Powder is packed with anti-oxidants and helps lower LDL cholesterol (the bad kind).

Storage Instructions:

These can be made in advance and when cool stored in a sealed container or frozen. These are a handy, high energy snack that can be enjoyed on the go with no mess or sticky fingers!

Serving Suggestions:
Enjoy sweet or savoury with your favourite healthy toppings such as:
Melted dark chocolate
Butter and lemon
Coconut cream
Fresh fruits
Cinnamon and raisins with a drizzle of honey
The world is your oyster. Get creative!

Can you eat clean and be Vegetarian?

I recently had an enquiry from a lady who is Vegetarian and was struggling to eat foods that are not heavy, starchy and processed. It's a common complaint and one I've been thinking about for a while.

Here is my reply below. As always feel free to ask me any questions, I'm more than happy to respond!

Hi Ruth, Yes I totally agree lots of veggie food is heavy and starchy and often people think they are being healthy just by virtue of being vegetarian. But a life of pizza and pasta is not very healthy! Saying that other vegetarians are some of the healthiest people I know. Here are some ideas to still eat clean...without the meat!

- Bulk things up with seeds and nuts. Not too many just add them to each dish for extra fuel, nutrients and omega 3s. Walnuts are the best nut and Chia Seeds the best seed. See my post on them here. I add them to pretty much everything, my husband even has them on his ice-cream! Link here

- Try sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes. Click here for a recipe for sweet potato wedges and here is a list of their benefits.

Or you could make this stew and substitute the sausage for more veggies Spicy Sweet Potato Stew.

-Try these other salad recipes to have in the fridge ready to bulk up meals:

Red Cabbage Salad
Brocolli Salad

Eat lots of fresh soups and eat them with some Clean oat bread. Both recipes here:

Clean Oat Bread
Superfood Healing Soup

Spinach Pesto to add flavour to plain meals Link here

Snacks:

Bruschetta

Omelette

- Some clean desserts:

Coconut and Mango Drizzle Cake

Carrot Cakes (also good at breakfast)

Avocado Mousse

When travelling Click here for eating clean while travelling tips

Breakfasts options:

French Toast

Granola

Good for the Gut Breakfast
Pancakes (2 types)

Hummus is also a great add to the diet. I am just perfecting a recipe for roasted red pepper hummus which will be on the blog soon!

Hope they help!

Any more questions just let me know!

Jean

x

Coconut and Mango Drizzle Cake

I invented this recipe by accident and often they are the best ones! I went to make lemon drizzle cake and realised I had no lemons! I did however have a mango that was going off and so I decided to try and re-work the recipe.

This was met with delight by my husband who has a real penchant for mango and all exotic fruits.

It's a simple and quick recipe, Paleo, Gluten Free, Sugar Free and delicious. You dont have to be a baking genius either as if it doesn't look pretty you just cover it over with the drizzle!

This is such a summer dessert with tastes of the Caribbean, summer and sunshine. Perfect for entertaining outside or after a BBQ. It's moist and tasty and good for you too!

Ingredients:
110g Grass fed butter (Kerrygold or equivalent)
110g Honey (locally sourced and organic)
4 large free range organic Eggs
200g of dessicated Coconut
1 large ripe Mango

Method:
Peel and de core the mango setting half of the pulp and juice aside.
Mix all the other ingredients together in a large bowl, ensuring they are well blended.
Add in one half of the mango pulp. Try to avoid too much juice as it will make the mixture soggy.
Line a loaf tin (or what ever tin you have) with greaseproof paper.
Pour the cake mix into the tin and cook in the oven  at 170 deg C for 45 minutes.
Check after 25 minutes and if it is starting to burn cover with some tinfoil.

Allow the cake to fully cool.
Blend the other half of the mango until smooth. If you feel it is too runny (depending on the amount of juice) then add some grain free flour to thicken it, or chia seeds or if you aren't concerned with fat loss/nutrition then add some sugar/honey to sweeten and thicken.
Drizzle this mixture over the cake and serve!

Prep Time:
5-10 minutes

Cooking Time: 
30-45 minutes

Dietary Information:

Paleo

Gluten Free

Wheat Free

Sugar Free

Vegetarian

Full of good fats - coconut

Low in carbohydrate

Eggs are full of protein, high in vitamins and minerals and great for your hair, skin and nails.

Serving Suggestions:

This is fantastic served as it is, or with some whipped coconut cream or normal cream. Or if you are feeling naughty some ice cream!

Storage Instructions:

This kept in a covered container for 3-4 days but it may not last that long!

Red Cabbage and Apple Salad

Red Cabbage and Apple Salad

This salad is so tasty and cheap to make. It looks wonderful and is full of goodness. It can be made in minutes, no cooking involved and is even nicer on the 2^nd or 3^rd day after making. Check out the Dietary Information section below for all the amazing health benefits.

In the ingredients I've listed ½ a head of red cabbage. The other half will keep for weeks in the fridge in a sealed container so don’t throw it out! Alternatively you can just make double!

Ingredients:

Makes 4-6 servings

½ head of Organic Red Cabbage

1 Organic apple

1 heaped tablespoon of Wholegrain Mustard

1 heaped tablespoon of English mustard

4 tablespoons of Organic Apple Cider Vinegar.

Salt and pepper to taste

Drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil if desired

Additions: Chopped Walnuts are delicious in this salad. As are Raisins.

Method

After removing the stem and first outer leaves of the head of cabbage half, slice thinly with a well sharpened knife. Break up the pieces into a large salad bowl cutting in half if desired.

Chop the apple into quarters, remove the core and seeds and chop each quarter into chunks or slices. Adding these to the bowl.

Add both the types or mustard (if you only have one type double the quantities), Apple Cider Vinegar and drizzle of Olive Oil and mix all together.

Serve.

Prep Time

5 minutes

Equipment needed

Sharp knife, large bowl

Dietary Information

Gluten Free

Wheat Free

Paleo

Vegetarian and Vegan

Sugar Free

Contains good fats

Two of your 5 a day

Apple Cider Vinegar is antimicrobial, lowers blood sugar (take note diabetics!), aids fat loss and is good for the heart.

Red Cabbage is packed with flavonoids which are cancer fighting, Vitamin C and K and has lots of fibre and minerals.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away! 

Mustard is high in magnesium and selenium which help fight asthma and chest congestion, slows ageing, are anti-inflammatory (can even be rubbed onto joints!), stimulates hair growth and relieves constipation.  

Storage Instructions:

Keeps for over a week in a sealed container in the fridge. If you want to make it in advance you can leave out the apples (they can go brown) and add them in just before serving. I find the cabbage softens out after at least 12 hours and allows the vinegar to soak in. This makes it even nicer served on the second day.

Serving suggestions

I love to eat this salad with some freshly baked, honey glazed Ham. The mustard and honey go so well together.

It goes with lots of other meats too. It’s great for BBQs (roll on the summer!) and is a fantastic side dish to bring to a party.

Can be used to replace coleslaw as a lower fat, healthier option