Strawberry Banana Spinach Smoothie

Spring is in the air, or should be at least. All the updates on Fb from around the country keep telling me that it is. People are grilling, and drinking fruit smoothies as the weather gets warmer. Portland has yet to warm up. The only signs of spring are the birds, and the slow bloom of our cherry blossom trees, and tulips. Of course it is still cold, and we are prepared for the cooler weather and rain until early July, which then we will join the rest of the country in summer weather, and the joys of warm summer grilling parties next to the pool. 

When my friend posted a similar recipe, "Green Monster Spinach Smoothie" that she made, it only reminded how much I loved the warmer weather, and sipping on smoothies. Immediately, I sliced and froze my bananas. This recipe is packed full of nutrients, and could serve as a meal. I tweaked a few ingredients, to make it more Paleo friendly, and added strawberries, and a hint of cocoa. 

Every ingredient in this recipe, is a power food, and good for you. It was a great afternoon treat for my girls too. All three, drank it up and have been begging for more. Perhaps, breakfast tomorrow will be served with an egg, and this tasty treat!

Ingredients:

• 1 sliced frozen banana
• 1 cup of sliced Strawberries
• 1 tablespoon of Almond Butter
• 1/2 cup of Plain 0% Greek Yogurt
• 1 cup of Coconut milk, unsweetened
• 5 cups of baby spinach
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1/2 tablespoon of 100% pure Maple Syrup
• 1 heaping spoon of Cocoa Powder

Directions:
In a blender combine all ingredients, and puree until desired consistency.


Serve and Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Cinnamon Everything Cookies

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Once upon a time, when we used to eat grains, and thought we were being healthy, Wild Oats Market, had a cookie, called the Everything Cookie! My husband would devour these cookies. Inhaling the cookies, would be a better description of how he would go through them. In the past I have made versions of these cookies with almond flour. My almond flour cookies are amazing, but we have since quit making them, because it was hard for me to digest (thanks to belly issues). I have been dreaming of another alternative to making cookies, that would not require almond flour, or other gluten free flours. 


That was until the other day, when I accidentally blotched, made Health Bent's Paleo Sweet Potato Pancakes.  By not paying attention to exact measurements, and then trying to fix my failure, we eventually evolved the pancakes into even worse pancakes, that I tried to salvage into making muffins. Delicious success, that left me wondering, could I make these into a cookie?


Days later, after scouring the Internet for sweet potato cookies, or bread, or muffins, we found nothing. So back to Health Bent, and previous knowledge of cookie recipes, and voila, probably one of the most healthiest, yummiest, cookies ever made to date!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups potatoes ( about 3 small/medium)
• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 to a 1 full cup shredded coconut flakes
• 2 tablespoons coconut milk 
• 1/2 cup of Kettle almond butter ( this is important, different brands will give different consistency)
• 5 eggs
• 2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 tsp salt salt 

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Directions:

Peel sweet potatoes and chop. Boil in pot until you can puncture with a fork and it is soft. This  will take around 15 to 20 minutes. Once the sweet potato is cooked thoroughly, transfer to a bowl, immediately add coconut flour, cinnamon, honey, and maple syrup, butter, baking soda, baking powder,  and almond butter. Set aside and let cool for about 15 minutes. For faster results cover and cool in the refrigerator. 

While cooling add eggs, coconut milk, vanilla extract, salt in a separate bowl. Gently whisk until all ingredients are mixed. 


Once sweet potatoes are cooled combine egg and milk mixture mix on high. Add your choice of chocolate chips, raisins, and coconut flakes.


If you are making cookies then on parchment paper, spoon out batter by the tablespoon, and bake for about 15 to 25 minutes in a preheated oven 350.


Bread will take longer. I would advise breaking the batter up into two loaves, as not to make it too thick. Time estimated is around 30 minutes, or until middle runs clear when poked with a tooth pick. 


Serve and Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Pumpkin Bread!

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Hollandaise Sauce

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The rule of thumb for Hollandaise sauce, is one egg yolk per serving. Seeing that I made six servings for my Eggs Benedict recipe, I have decided to use 6 yolks. We reserved the whites for another recipe. This would be a perfect opportunity to make a meringue pie, or macaroon cookies. 


This was my first time to make Hollandaise sauce, and Eggs Benedict. It turned out successful, except that I made the sauce before the eggs were done, and my sauce hardened a little, because it sat on the side for a few minutes. With out thinking I threw some of the sauce in a bowl and put in the microwave to liquify my sauce… :-) Needless to say that was a fail, and a scrambled my Hollandaise sauce after all. So lesson learned, don't let your Hollandaise sauce sit to set, and don't microwave…


Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of juice of a lemon
• 3/4 cup of  Clarified Organic Kerrygold  Butter
• 6 egg yolks
• Pinch of Cayenne, and paprika
• 1 teaspoon of salt

Directions:

In a skillet boil water. In a stainless steel bowl, add egg yolks and lemon juice. Hold steel bowl over boiling water, but carefully do not let the bowl touch the water. Rigorously whisk, yolk sauce will thicken, whisk as fast as possible so eggs will not get over heated and scramble. Once yolks are looking like a thick sauce, add clarified butter. Slowly, and in segments. Whisking rapidly, until all butter is added. Add salt and spices. Drizzle neatly over Eggs Benedict.  

Serve and enjoy!

Click Here for Eggs Benedict

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Eggs Benedict

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Primitive Foodie, is going Irish for a month. Paleo Irish that is. For fun, we are connecting back to our ancestral roots, and cooking with foods that our grandparents would have cooked with. Growing up with a grandfather that was Irish, the cuisine and culture was ingrained in me as a "wee little one".  At my grandparents house, the meals were Irish, the Gaelic was spoken, and the heritage strong. It has been a long time since I have connected with that, and since I have gone Paleo, I avoided most of the dishes, due to the starches. Ireland cooking, however does not have to include a lot of starches. You can be paleo and enjoy foods from around the world and this is what we hope to prove by this experiment. Not to limit ourselves, and be creative as possible in our lives.  WE will be creating dishes that incorporate a lot of the Irish food, while staying focused on healthy eating. On our list, there will be a lot of Breakfast items, as that is one of my favorite meals to cook! 

Ingredients:

• 6 slices of Canadian Bacon, or BACON!!
• 6 Duchess potatoes
• 6 eggs
• 2 teaspoons of white vinegar 
• Hollandaise Sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon of parsley

Directions:

In a skillet brown bacon, slightly. Set aside for later. Fill a skillet half way with water, and add vinegar. Heat to a boiling. Carefully, break eggs one by one into skillet of water. Simmer eggs for 4 minutes on low, while carefully stirring the water around the eggs, paying close attention not to break the yolks. 

Remove eggs, carefully, from skillet with a slotted ladle spoon. 

Assemble, Duchess potato, top with bacon, Eggs benedict, and Hollandaise sauce. 

My Hollandaise Sauce 

Serve and enjoy! 

To make this even more of an Irish dish add Cod!

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Carrot Macadamia Coconut Honey Raw Balls

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Recently I saw a photo posted from Foodie and the Family for Carrot Cake  Bites, courtesy of Daily Bites.


The recipe and photo inspired me to make a special treat for my kids and husband! We have been very cautious as what nuts we use, and have been favoring Macadamia nuts these days due to the omega 6:3 ratio. Macadamia nuts also contains all essential amino acids, and contains healthy fibers. Overall they are best for us!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of Macadamia nuts
• 1/3 cup of Unsweetened Coconut shredded
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup of Honey, depends on desire of sweetness
• One carrot shredded, about 1/3 of a cup.
• 10 dates pitted, and soaked in water for 5 minutes to soften
• 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil
• 2 tablespoon of Coconut to roll balls in

Directions:


In a blender process Macadamia Nuts, and then simply individually add each item. Roll into tiny balls and then on a plate roll spread enough shredded coconut and roll to coat!


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Simple Bacon in a hurry

I love bacon. Fried bacon is delicious, but sometimes I don't have the time, and I get sick of dishes, and cleaning up the splattered messes of grease. Not to mention I really don't use bacon fat that much, so we are running out of containers to store our grease. So here is my bacon solution, which to me is new, but to most probably an old idea… Bake your bacon. You can pre-bake all your bacon for the week! It is less greasy, more crisp, easier to cut for salads, or omelets. Perfect for those weeks when you are in a hurry, and dont' have time to fry and clean all the mess that bacon grease leaves behind!

How to bake your bacon…

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

• You will need a large baking sheet, lined with foil on top.
• Place as much bacon as you can fit. If your baking sheet is flat, make sure to fold up the edges on all sides, so the bacon grease doesn't drip down onto the bottom of your oven.
• Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until bacon looks brown, but not to crisp
• Let cool, and place between paper towels to soak up excessive grease, if you wish..

Serve and enjoy!!!!

Asian Pear Spaghetti Squash Pomegranate Salad

    
            
What is that expression.. iimitation is the sincerest of flattery.
These last two post, seem to be inspired by my latest trip to Colorado. Once again, Denver has it right, with the fine dining, and gluten free alternatives, Root Down is an amazing restaurant, with an awesome menu. My recipe here is inspired by a dish that I ate, while at Root Down.   With some simple tweaks, by omitting the Star Anise Vinaigrette sauce because it had rice and making my own little vinaigrette, and using an aged Cheddar I was wanting to create a dish that would satisfy my craving until I can get back for a visit! 


I felt slightly hesitant that my family wouldn't love this dish as much as I did. My husband who does not like Spaghetti squash loves this dish, and had seconds, and will be taking some to work tomorrow. It turned out amazing, even though we were unable to make it precisely the same.


Ingredients


1 Spaghetti Squash
2 Asian Pears (sliced)
4 Tablespoons of Pomegranate
1 cup of Candy Walnuts (paleo Recipe here)
3/4 cup of sliced mushrooms
2 garlic cloves
2 Chicken Breast (if desired, but not needed)
Kosher Salt
Pepper
4 tablespoons of Olive oil 
1 tablespoon of butter
4 cups of Arugula


Dressing
1/2 cup of olive oil
2 tablespoons of Balsamic vinaigrette
1/4 tsp of pink Himalayan salt 
Dash of pepper
2 teaspoons of lemon juice ( fresh squeezed)
Dash of granulated garlic


Pre- heat oven for 425 degrees, and roast Spaghetti Squash 45 minutes to an hour. If you are new to roasting Spaghetti Squash I have a standard recipe here. This is great time to salt and pepper your chicken and bake it covered for 30 minutes or until done. 


While Spaghetti Squash is roasting, roast your sliced pears for 10 to15 minutes. Sprinkle one tablespoon of olive oil or grape seed oil on top, to keep moist.

Start Candied Walnuts. 

Saute diced garlic, and sliced mushrooms in one tablespoon of butter for ten minutes. 


Once Spaghetti squash is roasted, and soft. Take your fork along the inside of the squash, and shave out the squash. 

Layer, the squash on the bottom adding all the other ingredients as you desire them. Add cheese if you chose, we used Kerrygold Dubliner cheese, Toss and serve!

Powerful Antioxidants, and adds so much color to this dish!

CocaoCoco-nut Raw Balls

I had the pleasure of taking a trip to Boulder Co, recently and visited a little coffee shop called the Unseen Bean. To my surprise they had candy, caramels made out of coconut, and little Raw balls made by Simply Dara. I picked out my choice of candies and one Raw Ball, to take home and share with my husband, which never made it home because I indulged myself on my plane trip back home.

Skip forward to Sunday, I knew that I wanted to make these balls, and all I had was the ingredients but not the measurements of the the recipe. So off to whole foods we went. This recipe is my first try and pretty good, but it is really rich. My husband insist it is a winner, but I am wondering if it may be too sweet, and will revisit and revise this recipe and add a little less agave.

You can flavor this differently, and next time I am thinking of using a Cherry extract to just for fun.
The time it took me was only ten minutes, and the balls were done, and better yet there was no cooking time. The girls were able to snack on it immediately, with no fears of food poisoning from raw eggs.
And all around these Balls were a great winters treat, with no guilt.

Ingredients

• 1 cup walnuts 
• 1 cup slivered blanched almonds
• 1 cup dried dates, separately
• 1/2 cup cocoa nibs blended
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder (1 tbls cocoa)
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 agave
• 1/2 Cup of Coconut flakes

(Note this recipe is very sweet, so at first I would add less Agave, and if desired add more to until you get to the 1/3 cup.)

Place 1 cup of walnuts in the food processor and use setting on the blender "chop". Add almonds, Cocoa Nibs, and then place the dry ingredient's in a medium to large bowl. Add one cup of dates to the food processor, and puree, until it is almost a paste. Add to the bowl and all wet ingredients, and stir well, until the mixture is all mixed well. 


Next step is a little messy because dough will be sticky, but roll into balls. On a plate, or flat surface spread out Coconut flakes. Roll the balls in flakes, until covered on all sides. 


Serve and indulge, and enjoy!!! Remember these are very rich, and you will only need just a little!

Halibut Tomato Zucchini Roast

A brief apology for my two month absence. Summer has flown by so fast and I have been chasing three active girls around, losing track of all time. We have still been trying to follow close to our Paleo diet, but I have found myself slacking and consuming more sugars from fruits and chocolates than I would like to admit.

In an attempt to get our eating back on the right track, I am trying to focus more on fresh seasonal produce, which is not hard when you live in Oregon. This time of year fresh produce is abundant and inexpensive.

Courtesy of Rachel Coward

 When they said Eat the Rainbow, I am sure those researchers must have been thinking of the typical Oregonian Diet. Tomatoes are also a excellent source of antioxidants that can protect your skin against UV's , and is a great anti-aging vegetable.

Halibut Tomato Zucchini Roast

• 1/3 Cup of Olive Oil + 1 tbsp of Olive oil
• 2 (10) ounces of heirloom Sweet tomatoes
• 1 cup of Mushrooms
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 juice of lemon
• 1 Zucchini
• 1 Pound of Halibut
• 1 tsp red pepper
• dash of Kosher salt
• dash of black pepper 
• 1 tsp. peppercorn
• 4 ounces of goat cheese
• Fresh torn spinach leaves about 7

Pre- Heat oven to 350

Steps

1. Slice Tomatoes lengthwise in halves
2. Slice mushrooms 
3. Slice garlic cloves lengthwise
4. Pour 1/3 c. of olive oil in a dutch oven
5. Place halibut in and rub olive oil on fillet
6. Sprinkle red pepper on and peppercorn
7. Squeeze lemon about half
8. Pour remaining ingredients, tomatoes, garlic, zucchini
9. Sprinkle with salt and pepper
10. Squeeze remaining lemon
11. Line a deep platter with Fresh torn spinach leaves

Bake @ 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Or until fully cooked but still tender. Stir in Goat Cheese. Serve and enjoy!!! 

Halibut, olive oil, and garlic

Slice Tomatoes and Mushrooms lengthwise in halves

Spicin it up

Fresh Seasonal Zucchini, and tomatoes

Bake 350

Opt for fresh organic spices!

creating a recipe!

Slice and stir in, I used 4 ounces

And Eat