Roasted Turnips/Cauliflower (w/ Bacon Fat!) and MC Yogi

Veggies + bacon = win.

Oven Roasted Turnips and Cauliflower
This is a go-to dish for me. Veggies just taste better roasted sometimes. Don't get me wrong; I love raw veggies. I also love slow-cooked veggies. Pan fried veggies. Blended veggies. Dehydrated veggies. My mom must be proud if she reads this. I love my veggies.

Ingredients
As many turnips as you wish, cubed into 1 inch squares (give or take)
Cauliflower, sliced up into somewhat smaller pieces (or not...how's that for specific instructions? sorry.)
Salt
Pepper
Bacon drippings (cold - it just makes it easier to work with)

Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
2. Slice up your veggies.

Turnips and ol' faithful (my cutting board)

3. Put everything in a large bowl, add your bacon drippings, salt, and pepper.

Turnips and cauliflower all nice and sliced up + BACON dripping ;). Love it.

4. Using your hands, get everything nice and covered evenly. Really get in there and have some fun with it ;).
5. Using parchment paper or foil (or nothing), put your veggies spread out on a large cookie sheet.

I was lazy. Straight on the tray they went. It smelled like bacon.

6. Bake 'em for 20-25 minutes or so stirring them once at around 10-12 minutes. Watch them closely near the end so they don't burn.
7. Mmmm....bacon + veggies =). (Yes, mmmm is a step.)

The end result. O' yeah.

Right now I have a four layer dehydration session going. My first Kiwi dehydration, more bananas with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a dash of coconut palm sugar (why not!), and some soaked cashews on top. I'll make a post on all of that as soon as they're done so I can get some good end result shots. I also bought some grass fed, aged sharp cheddar today. Very gray area. I'll have a whole post on that too. Lastly (but not least!) I'll be making some paleo carrot cake with paleo frosting soon. Stay tuned!

Suggestions? Twitter (@SimplePaleoCook)? Email (simplepaleocook@gmail.com)?

Perry, The Simple Paleo Cook

Cinnamon Carrot Chips

Cinnamon Carrot Chips

Ingredients:
As many carrots as you want. I used about 10 or so medium/large organic carrots.
Coconut Oil
(Optional) Cinnamon
(Optional) Nutmeg
(Optional) Salt

Instructions:
1. The cut. There are several ways to cut your chips, and all of them will result in a slightly different end product. I used my Cusinart w/ its slicing blade and made very thin chips. Next time I think I'll make some strips and some rounds that are a little bit thicker. Not too thick, maybe 1/8 - 1/4 inch tops.

My initial set-up.

2. The seasoning. Cinnamon to the rescue! I've been using cinnamon on...almost everything recently. For this step I used a couple tablespoons of coconut oil, a liberal sprinkling of cinnamon, and about 1 tablespoon of salt. Season to your liking and try to coat every chip with your mix.

3. Dehydrating. Let the learning begin. I though I would use parchment paper to help clean-up and help chips from not falling though. In hindsight, bad move. The paper blocked the central heat column until I poked holes to let the air circulate. It also didn't allow for the trays to snap together right, thus letting heat out where it shouldn't be going out. Oops. You cook you learn. So next time (and this time for you!) just set the chips gently right on the racks. If you want to try to use parchment paper, make sure you cut it to fit perfectly, not blocking any heat vents or connecting parts. This whole step can take anywhere from 6 to 12 hours depending on your cut size. Start checking every hour or two until they are dried to your liking.

My oops. Too much paper, too many chips, and a blocked central heating column. Eep! Did I do that? Yep, I (embarrassingly) did. I learned. They still came out ok in the end.

4. Enjoy! I enjoyed my experience and my carrot chips. As imperfect as the whole thing was. I stored them at room temperature in a sealed mason jar.

Carrot chips!

Thanks for reading! I'm glad I survived my bike journey this morning and am still able to write, cook, share my journey through being a paleo yogi ;), and always be learning.

With love and a smile on my face, rock on paleo adventurers! Until next episode...

Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Let me know! 

@SimplePaleoCook on Twitter 

Cinnamon and Nutmeg Banana Chips

Cinnamon and Nutmeg Banana Chips
My only concern with these chips is that I only made one tray of them. I could eat these little round bits of banana goodness all day (the carbs!).

Ingredients:
-Organic Bananas (I used three large ones, next time I think I'll use at least 12.)
-Cinnamon
-Nutmeg
-(Optional) Lemon Juice (or other acidic juice)
-(Optional) Salt

Instructions:
1. Slice up your bananas. There are a couple ways to do this. You can cut them into rounds of varying thickness. The thinner the round, the crispier the chip. The thicker the round, the more leathery the chip. I wouldn't go much thicker than a quarter of an inch. The other way, which I also used on one banana, is to stick your finger right in the center of the top or bottom of the banana. It magically (seriously, try it) separates into three natural sections. Just make sure you have clean fingers =).
2. Toss your sliced 'nanners in a large bowl and toss with as much cinnamon and nutmeg as you so desire. I just did a light sprinkle of both to cover the top layer of the bowl (lightly). It came out just about perfect. Note: To avoid discoloration you can use a little bit of lemon juice. I didn't because I didn't have any lemon (or other acidic) juice on hand. I also didn't use any salt, but you could do that as well. Personal preference.

Sliced bananas tossed with cinnamon and nutmeg.

3. Lay your chips on an (optionally) lightly greased dehydrator tray. The banana chips will stick to the tray a little bit. I didn't grease my tray and didn't have a problem. Next time I might put a tiny bit of coconut oil on a paper towel and lightly rub it around the dehydrator tray before I put the bananas on it. I don't want to start a fire or anything with the oil, but honestly don't think a light coating will hurt anything.

Ready to dehydrate.

4. Let 'em dehydrate for several hours. Somewhere between 6-12 hours or so. Some articles even mentioned 24 hours. I would possibly let them go overnight for about 8 hours with a free day coming up so you can stay home and check on them every hour or two after that. I kept "testing" pieces to see how they were coming along. Mmmm....testing.... ;).
5. Once you think they're done, let them cool fully and then transfer them to an air-tight container. I used a little mason jar. According to eatbydate.com they should last un-refrigerated for about 2 months. They will never last that long, I assure you. Try not eating these things. It's almost as bad as a full jar of honey. Which, oh dear goodness, is a serious test of moderation for me.

More please. I mixed these with some soaked/dehydrated almonds and walnuts as a work snack today. Didn't last long ;).

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Bacon, Spinach, Brocolli, and Avocado Frittata with an Oven Baked Acorn Squash

Oven Baked Acorn Squash

I love acorn squash. It's a little nutty, very squashy, warm, and easy to prepare in several ways. This morning I had a little time so I went with an oven baked route-to-acorn-goodness. Squashes of all kinds are a great thing to have under your paleo belt. They are a great source of alpha-carotene and beta-carotene among other things. You'll want to spring to get organic squash if possible.

Ingredients:

Acorn Squash

Coconut/Olive Oil

(Optional) Cinnamon

(Optional) Grass Fed Butter

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds.

3. Add a little bit (1 Tbsp or so) of oil to the inside of the squash and oil it up ;).

Oiled and ready to bake.

4. Bake for about 45 minutes - 1 hour and 15 minutes depending on the size of the squash.

5. (Optional) I like to sprinkle some cinnamon and/or butter on my squashes after they come out of the oven.

While the squash is cooking you can throw together some frittatas!

Bacon, Spinach, Brocolli, and Avocado Frittatas

Frittatas are an excellent vehicle for eggs and other veggies you may have in your fridge. I decided to add spinach, brocolli, avocado, and of course, bacon. Everything is better with bacon. Feel free to switch up the ingredients and the baking vessels; The eggs are mandatory though.

Ingredients:

12 Eggs

2 Slices Cooked Bacon

1 Head Broccoli

1/2 or 1 Full Avocado

Large handful Baby Spinach

Salt/pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Prep. all your filling/extra ingredients. In my case this entailed chopping up the broccoli, avocado, spinach, and cooked bacon into little pieces. I threw my cooked bacon in the freezer for about 20 minutes to make slicing it easier.

2. Whip up a whole lot of eggs. I used a dozen. This part, along with all of the quantities, depends on what your going to cook your frittata in. I was using my mini-loaf pans. I figured about 4 eggs per pan seemed right and thus ended up cooking 12 eggs.

Prepped and ready to go.

3. Add your ingredients to your eggs and mix well. Don't forget to add your spices.

4. Grease the pans/tins. I used some coconut oil. Pour the mix into your pans/muffin tins/other vehicle for frittata-goodness ;). Leave a little room on top for the eggs to expand.

Ready to bake eggy goodness.

5. Bake at 425 degrees for about 10-20 minutes. The size of your cooking vessel will affect the cooking time. You want your eggs to start to puff up but not to burn. I'm good at burning things so after 10 minutes I kept adding 3 minutes to the timer and watching my frittatas like a hawk.

Watching like a hawk. These are just about done. Feel free to pull one out and do a fork/taste test =).

6. Enjoy!

Breakfast of champions =). Time for a full day of work and yoga.

-Perry (The Simple Paleo Cook) | @SimplePaleoCook on Twitter | Email/FB simplepaleocook@gmail.com

Honey-Sage Paleo Beef Jerky

Some things I learned about making jerky:
-You really do want your meat to be almost frozen/fat free. Mine wasn't quite cold enough and it made cutting it rather annoying. It also had little fat pockets that were hard to cut out.


Honey/Sage Paleo Beef Jerky
Ingredients:
-Hunk of grass-fed beefy goodness (I used a London Broil). Try to get something as lean as possible.
-2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
-2 Tbsp Coconut Aminos (I had to go to Whole Foods for this one.)
-2 Tbsp Raw Unfiltered Honey
-2 Tbsp Water
-1 Tsp Sage
-1 Tsp Sea Salt
-1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
-1/2 Tsp Fresh Ground Black pepper

The jerky set-up. Let's get some jerky action going!

Instructions:
1. Put the meat in the freezer for 30min-1hr or so. You don't want it rock solid, but you want it colder than what I used (note the ack, fml note above). It will seriously help your cutting efforts. If you're anything like me you always want to be simplifying the process and making it as easy as possible. Freeze the meat =).
2. Cut the meat into little jerky slices. In my case, I got several little jerky bits as well. I'm new at this! I've heard people talking about butchers (if asked nicely) being willing to slice your meat for you! Seriously, this sounds like a great option. Now to find a good butcher...and not be broke ;).

Mmmm...animal protein...

3. Whip up the marinade using all the ingredients except the beef. Then put your nicely (kinda nicely in my case) sliced meat into the bath-o-flavor and let it chill in the fridge for an hour (one hour). I covered mine.

Meat taking a flavor bath. Love it (although the smell kinda gets me...vinegar...ick).

4. After the short hour flavor-bath lay your meat out on a dehydrator without any pieces overlapping. It will want to dehydrate/cook for about 3-5 hours. At the three hour mark start tasting it to see how it's doing =).

Strips laid out to dehydrate and jerkify.

5. Store your delicious jerky in the fridge. I put a paper towel at the bottom of my container to help control moisture.

Jerky! Yay!

-Perry, The Simple Paleo Cook

Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Let me know!

Twitter: @SimplePaleoCook | Email/FB: simplepaleocook@gmail.com

Paleo Blueberry Pancakes with Maple Syrup

Delicious, Paleo, Blueberry Pancakes =)

Paleo Blueberry Pancakes with Maple Syrup

Ingredients:

2 Bananas

3 Eggs

3 Tablespoons Coconut Flour

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1 Cup Blueberries

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1 Pinch Salt

Some Coconut Oil/Grass Fed Butter to grease the skillet

Some Maple Syrup to taste

My set-up. Ready to blueberry pancake it up!

Instructions:

1. Puree the bananas in a food processor.

Bananas. 

The same bananas ;).

2. Add the eggs to the mix and blend/process some more.

Mmm...eggs.

The mix after step 2, with eggs and bananas.

3. Add the vanilla extract, cinnamon, salt, and coconut flour. Mix one last time.

I was so hungry I almost wanted to eat the batter. Which, after this step, is good to go.

4. Set up your cooking station. Mine involved a skillet heated to medium heat, a plate placed in the oven set to warm (a nifty trick I always use when making pancakes), and a tablespoon to measure out my pancakes.

The set up ready to get cookin'.

Soon to be piled high with blueberry pancakes =). They won't last long.

5. I experimented with putting small amounts of coconut oil on the skillet before dropping about 3 tablespoons of batter per pancake. As soon as I saw a bubble, or sometimes even a little bit sooner, I would load up the pancake with blueberries and shortly afterwards flip it. Cooking pancakes is an art...I'm not always that great at it; Nonetheless they always come out delicious.

Crap. This is what happened when I tried to cook three at once. Oops ;).

3 tablespoons of batter.

Ready for blueberries (see that tiny bubble on the left?).

So...much...goodness!

6. Add maple syrup and enjoy!

Ready for maple syrup. This plate lasted me about 5 minutes. If that.

Update: I made another batch of pancakes this morning, this time using Almond Flour. It was just as delicious as before. I did end up adding an additional tablespoon or two of the Almond Flour to thicken them up a little bit. Here are some pictures =).

Almond Flour this time around.

The first almond flour pancake. A little heavy on the butter and I did end up adding a tad more almond flour to my mix to thicken them up. That said, this pancake was still scrumptious.

I did two at once! Leveling up =).

The end result of the Almond Flour Blueberry Pancakes. Yum!

I want to hear from you with any Comments/Questions/Suggestions! Feel free to comment here, on twitter @SimplePaleoCook, on Facebook (simplepaleocook@gmail.com), or by email. Whatever works!

With love and blueberries,

Perry, The Simple Paleo Cook

Cauliflower "rice"

Cauliflower "rice"

Just in case you didn't know, this is a Cauliflower. I actually didn't know it had those green stalks underneath it (embarrassing).

The paleo diet doesn't include rice. Turning a Cauliflower into Cauliflower "rice" is easy and delicious. Here's how.

Ingredients:

-Organic Cauliflower

-2 tablespoons Coconut Oil

-1/3 cup water ;)

-Salt and pepper

Tools:

-Food processor of some kind, I used my Cuisinart. I love my Cuisinart.

Instructions:

1. Cut off the base of the Cauliflower and separate the florets (fancy word for the white things).

2. Break out your food processor (and in my case the shredding disc for it).

Shredding tool and stuff to be shredded =)

3. Shred up your Cauliflower into little rice sized pieces.

I had to clean out the Cuisinart mid-way. It was getting full and the Cauliflower was sticking to the sides.

4. Add the Coconut Oil to a pan, turn the heat up to medium (for me this means 5 on my electric range, right smack in the middle).

5. Let the Coconut Oil heat up a little bit, then add your Cauliflower "rice".

6. Wait a couple seconds and then evenly sprinkle the water around the pan (on top of the cauliflower).

7. Cover and let cook for 6 minutes or so.

Covered and cooking. I had second thoughts about using my cast-iron for this because of the water...hmmm...I'll have to do some more research there. I don't want rust.

8. Uncover, start stirring every 30 seconds or so for 8 minutes. Go ahead and spice it up during this phase. During this process I tasted the dish a couple times. I actually envisioned Gordon Ramsey coming into my kitchen and starting to swear at me with a British accent. Seriously, if I learned anything from watching all of his cooking shows, taste your food. A lot.

Stir it up, flip it, flop it, mix it =)!

9. Enjoy! Yes, this is a step...it's important! Smile. You just cooked something delicious, nifty, and healthy.

The end result - Cauliflower "rice".

It went wonderfully with some fruit (the last of the frozen stuff in my freezer), some chicken (check out my post on lemon-rosemary-garlic chicken), and the tiny pile of frozen butternut squash also lying in my freezer (now my freezer is...empty. Eep!).

Dehydrator Apple Chips, Nut Soaking, and a Spaghetti Squash

I'm beyond excited...my brand new food dehydrator came from Amazon today. It cost a whopping $38.72 with tax. Love it (link to the dehydrator on Amazon). I'm so excited to see how this thing changes the way I eat. I feel like I just got a new sword in some RPG and I really want to go out and smash some goblins with it. Although in this case its something more along the lines of I really want to make jerky, fruit leathers, healthier nuts, kale chips...the list goes on. Tonight I'm starting small, simple, and sweet. Some Apple Chips with Cinnamon.

Apple Chips with Cinnamon (Dehydrator)

Ingredients:

-Organic Apples (I used two because that's what I had in my fridge.)

-Cinnamon (Optional -- I love cinnamon and it pairs beautifully with apples.)

You will be Apple Chips soon! Yes, yes you will! =).

Instructions:

1. Slice your apples into approx. 1/8in slices. Envision the apple chips =).

Slice 'em up.

2. Dust with some cinnamon. I feel a bit too fancy saying "dust". I gave the cinnamon shaker a soft tap with my free hand while moving it around the apples.

Cinnamon!

3. Load up your (in my case brand new, freshly washed) dehydrator.

First ever thing in my food dehydrator. Let's do this! Sooooo excited!

4. Turn it on (I would give you a specific temperature...but mine has two settings: On or off. Live simple.)

5. I'm letting mine run overnight. Approximately 5 hours. Probably not quite long enough but I *really* wanted to get something going in my new (health inducing, awesome) toy!

I'll update this post with the results asap.

Soaked and Dehydrated Almonds

Why?? Why would you put your delicious almonds in a jar filled with water and soak them? I've been doing some homework on my nuts and seeds. As it turns out, in a nut-shell... ;), nuts can be not-that-great for you. Certain types more than others. They have high levels of phytic acid and high levels of polyunsaturated fats. Both of these things can be really nasty. 

According to PaleoLeap.com, "Phytic acid is a strategy employed to prevent the nut or seed from sprouting before the ideal conditions are present. Phytic acid on our digestive system has the property of binding to minerals like calcium, iron and magnesium and preventing them from being absorbed. This also means that you won’t necessarily get high amounts of a mineral even if you eat a nut high in that mineral."

Soaking your nuts can help! Moderation helps as well. I'm just not quite ready to totally give up on nuts, and I want to use my new food dehydrator more =).

Just add some salt (about 1 tablespoon) to a jar filled with almonds and let it soak for 8-24 hours. Then dry it somehow. Oven on super low, door cracked; Food dehydrator; Sun. I'm going to use my food dehydrator for 12-24 hours of drying. I might even add some honey =). For now, I just got 'em soaking.

1 Tablespoon of Salt

Soaking some Almonds.

I did promise a Spaghetti Squash. It didn't fit in my crock pot. Doh! I'm trying anyway...it *almost* fits. Here goes nothing.

Go go Spaghetti Squash!

Comments? Questions? Suggestions? I want to hear from you!

-Perry (The Simple Paleo Cook)