Paleo Pastelón ... aka Puerto Rican Lasagna

Puerto Ricans are resourceful. And "proud" may be an understatement, for most of us at least. The Italians have lasagna? How 'bout we try to make our own with these delicious bananas we have laying around the island, si? Mom made this growing up. Who knows if I do it the same way...nothing ever seems to be as good as mom's. But here we go!

yea yea, it isn't the most attractive dish, I know ;) We're good lookin'
enough, our food doesn't need to look amazing too!

2 fairly ripe plantains, sliced lengthwise
1 lb ground beef (grass fed, preferably)
1 small sweet onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 small can fire roasted tomatoes (or tomato sauce...depending on if you like tomato chunks)
Handful of raisins
1/4 cup red wine
2 Tbsp capers, with juice
6-8 green olives with pimento, sliced, with juice
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
3 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 325F
2. Coat heated skillet (medium to medium high) with olive oil, add onion and peppers. Sauté until onions are translucent. Add garlic and oregano and sauté for another 1 minute.
3. Add ground beef to skillet and brown.
4. As beef is nearly browned, add raisins, capers, olives, tomatoes, and red wine. Stir and allow liquid to significantly reduce.
5. As liquid is reducing, heat another skillet (medium), and lightly spray with coconut/olive oil. Lay plantain slices and allow to cook 2-3 minutes per side, until lightly browned.
6. Lightly grease 8x8 baking pan. Layer plantain slices on the bottom of pan, then fill with meat mixture. Add another layer of plantain over meat.
7. Beat eggs with a little coconut milk (1 Tbsp or so), and pour over meat and plantain. Let settle for 3-5 minutes.
8. Place in oven and bake 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let (almost) completely cool before slicing.

If you don't mind it falling apart a bit, feel free to cut before it cools. But, let me tell ya, it might go all over the place if the eggs haven't cooled enough to hold it together.

Totally paleo, great carb/protein ratio, and is fabulous the next day, day after, etc until it is gone! Delicioso.

Amped Up Butternut

So, we all love some butternut squash soup. What happens when this Paleo chick gets a little bacon crazy with her butternut? The most simple, delicious, butternut squash soup that has ever graced your palate enters reality. Here goes nothin'

1 Butternut Squash, roasted (cut lengthwise, remove seeds, spray with coconut oil, salt/pepper, roast face down)
1 Cup chicken broth
1 Onion
1/2 Red Pepper, roasted
4 Cloves garlic, roasted (keep in skin, toss in the oven for 5 minutes or so, then peel)
3 Slices Black Forest Bacon (I got this stuff at Whole Foods. Use whatever bacon tickles your pickle)
1 Tbsp curry powder

1. While Squash, pepper, and garlic are all busy roasting, rough chop your onion and bacon and sautee in a large saucepan until brown.
2. After squash cools, scoop squash out of skin and add to your onion and bacon mixture. Peel your roasted garlic, and add that in the saucepan along with the roasted red pepper. Add chicken broth (or stock, your choice) and curry powder, simmer for 10-15 minutes, so the squash can absorb some of the other fixins.
3. Once liquid is slightly reduced in your saucepan, transfer everything to your Vitamix (or Ninja, whatever blender works best for you), and let 'er rip! From here, it is really up to you re: the texture you prefer of soups. I like mine not quite pureed, so I don't get to out of control while running the Vitamix.

4. Optional: cook up an additional slice of bacon, cool/drain, and break apart as garnish on your bowls of heaven!

Battle: Paleo Pizza...volume 1

I should preface this post by stating that this is likely the first installation of many future paleo pizza battles. This was initially inspired by my buddy and fellow fitness/foodie freak, LAQ (http://laqfitness.com) who posted her recipe for Paleo BBQ Chicken Pizza. Mind you, paleo pizza is no new phenomenon. "Meatza" is definitely well-known within the paleo community...and is known to satisfy our primal cravings for a round object we can cut wedges out of and eat with our hands. Her post, however, lit a little inspiration fire within me to have yet another throw-down. I decided that yes, I would not only make (my variation, of course...why can't I just stick with the recipe? I'll never know) her version, but also have a little fun with a cauliflower crust as well. Why not, right? What else would I rather be doing on a rainy Friday evening?

Check out the link for LAQ's recipe. My modification was making it a "personal" pizza...and, because of not wanting to get a whole pound of ground chicken...I got 96/4 ground beef (1/4 lb). Pros: hearty, flavor was good. Cons: maybe I didn't use enough egg (tried to do about 1/2 an egg for the 1/4lb of meat), so it wasn't staying circular as I moved it around.

crust vs crust

cauli crust pre-consumption

open up!

Cauliflower crust:
1 cup raw cauliflower
2 cloves garlic
1 egg
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp tomato sauce (whatever you're going to top your pizza with)
1 tsp almond meal
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp sea salt
dash of cayenne pepper or red chili flakes

Heat oven to 400 degrees. boil cauliflower and garlic until just tender. drain excess water, place in vitamix. Add egg, cheese, spices, and almond meal and blend until everything is integrated. spread mixture evenly on parchment lined baking sheet. Place on center rack and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until evenly brown and crispy.
Top with your fave toppings. I used mushrooms, roasted peppers, carmelized onion, kalamata olives, bacon, roasted kumato, and goat cheese. Toss back in the oven for about 5 minutes, remove, and enjoy!

As I'm writing this...I'm already looking at other crust ideas. Talk about paleo ADD. Geez. Can't. Get. Enough! :) I don't have an official verdict. Meatza is fabulous and filling...but cauli crust did me right re: feeling like I was eating (very thin crust) pizza. Post-wod....just have both!

Well Hello, Artichoke

Confession. I had never done anything with a fresh artichoke for nearly 30 years of life. Whaaaat? How could this have happened? Well, my theory is that mom must not have liked artichokes, because I'm not sure I even knew what an artichoke was until I started seeing them in salads and on restaurant menus as an adult (I use that term loosely). Thanks to the 2 for $5 sale at whole foods last week...artichoke experimentation began. 3 artichokes, 3 different preps. One hungry CrossFitter.

At about 60 calories a pop, and actually a decent bit of protein considering its a vegetable...these puppies are a win. After pinteresting away for a while, and considering my typical flavor combos...here's what I came up with:
3 - white wine/garlic/lemon

1 - garlic/lemon

2 - balsamic/feta

3 - white wine/garlic/lemon

Cooking method:
Crank the oven up to 400-425 degrees. Cut the top part off, and pull apart leaves to create space so you can shove flavorful goodness in every nook and cranny (thanks to Thomas' English Muffins for that phrase) you can find. Wrap it up in foil, place on baking sheet, and roast for about 40-50 minutes. When you remove from the oven, give it another few minutes wrapped before unleashing the beast.

Results:
One conclusion that I easily made is that wrapping in foil while roasting is a must. Trial #2, although it looks gorgeous...was quite dry, therefore less meaty than #1 and #3. Lesson learned.
Artichoke hearts from fresh artichokes are SOOOO much tastier than anything canned or jarred. So good. Worth it.

Re: flavors. Based on my 3 tests, I'd go with #3, then #1, then #2. I'm wondering what other cheese might work well though. Parm? Goat cheese? I know there are loads of recipes for artichoke dips that are mostly cheese with a bit of artichoke. Regardless, I've got many years ahead to find millions of different ways to make artichokes delicious. Go try some!

Welcome to Grillin' Season! Grilled Zucchini and Sweet Potato "salad"

...props to Megan Mattson, one of my kickass clients...for providing me this recipe! Megan is in the process of getting herself back-in-business, fitness-wise, so she can challenge her brothers to the Mattson vs. Mattson vs. Mattson tennis match of the millennium! Me being me, I (of course) had to make mini revisions before finalizing idea creation:

option #1: no zucchini

Option #2...what happens when there are zucchini
in the fridge calling your name :) 

Grilled Sweet Potato "Salad"

2.5 pounds sweet potatoes
2 Zucchini, cut lengthwise

1/8 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 scallion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped (as per taste preference)

Boil the sweet potatoes for 15 to 30 minutes in salted water and rinse under cold water to cool. Peel potatoes and cut crosswise into ½in. thick slices...

While the potatoes are boiling, whisk together the oil, salt and cumin in a small bowl. Brush oil mixture on both sides of the potato and zucchini slices. Whisk lime juice into remaining oil mixture.

Grill (I used my grillpan! LOVE IT!) potato and zucchini slices to desired doneness (is doneness a word? I can spell it...so I guess so) :) . Transfer to a platter and sprinkle with scallion and cilantro. Drizzle with lime juice mixture and serve!

one fish, two fish, white fish, new fish

"I'm about to be a pain in the ass"... was the prefacing warning I provided Eddie, my fish monger @ the P Street Whole Foods (apparently the highest volume Whole Foods in the company)...on a Saturday afternoon. I can't help it. When I have an interesting idea...I need action! I don't want to just sit around and wait for another time to research whitefish. Luckily, my fish guy is awesome, and got my eight 2-ounce portions of every single whitefish they had in the case. Here's the lineup:

Black Cod
Pacific Cod
Chilean Sea Bass
Tilapia
Trout
Monkfish
Swordfish
Catfish

The mission: learn taste/texture contrast between all of them, with minimal variables involved. Lightly seasoned with s&p, grilled on the grill pan in as natural a state as possible. So, with the assistance of my harp-playing buddy Nadia, the games began.

official setup

grill pans are awesome

My notes are as follows:
Catfish - not very fishy, flaky, thin, dry
Pacific Cod - flaky, fairly dry, not fishy
Black cod - very thick flakes, buttery/oily
Monkfish - dense, not flaky, rather sponge-like, moist (although not oily)
Trout - very flaky, thin, dry but meaty
Tilapia - fairly flaky, but moist. Medium flakes. light fishy flavor
Swordfish - steaklike. good flavor, absorbs salt well (assuming it'll absorb anything quite well). thick
Chilean Sea Bass - Large flakes, buttery, mild flavor

Memorable quotes from Nadia: "I want to make a salad with trout. Something like a chicken salad." "I'll save my opinion on monkfish for later."

Sure, this experience was certainly not to determine a "wishfish winner," but this a competitive society. :) Swordfish took the cake by far. Chilean Sea Bass is way overrated, and trout somewhat underrated. Monkfish won't be found on any future plate of Nadia's, but I may experiment with that ugly duck if I happen to feel frisky.

Recommendations on what to analyze next?

Sweet Potato Hummus Showdown

Confession. I totally fell in love with Soupergirl's sweet potato hummus (For those of you local to DC...she has a store somewhere by the Takoma metro stop, but I catch her at the DuPont farmer's market every Sunday). Silly her, though....for placing an ingredient list on her containers :) People like me will definitely try to duplicate....and one-up :) Here it goes:

roasted sweet potato
tahini
garlic
onion
sweet paprika
olive oil
lemon juice
salt & pepper

Of course, there are plenty of variables here. How much of each? Is the garlic roasted or raw? What about the onions? What kind of sweet potato (which the overall flavor is hiiiiighly dependent on. If the sweet potato isn't very sweet, there's a huge flavor difference, taking you from a sweet-ish dip to fairly savory). And...what does she use to mix everything? Assuming not a Vitamix, as hers has a fair amount of texture to it. Whenever I run mine through the Vitamix, smooth and silky becomes the default.

soupergirl (left), me (right)

Results? Try it yourself. Experiment. I had about an even split on "whose is better?" amongst friends (in a blind taste test, of course :) Want yours a little sweeter? Maybe a dash of cinnamon and a touch of honey? More savory? Load up on the garlic. Even toss in some chickpeas if you want a more "authentic" hummus. Or...you can get really wild and crazy and give Japanese sweet potato a whirl. Check this out:

Beware with the Japanese sweet potato, though. It tends to get rather gummy in hummus form. My next attempt at this will either include more olive oil, or some chickpeas, to smooth out the texture. It was fabulously creamy mashed potatoes while still warm after roasting, but when cooling off...insanely gummy (although still delish!)

choc-o-licious paleo brownies. say whaaaaat?

Over my time being Paleo, I feel that I've attempted countless Paleo brownie recipes. Most have a ton of coconut flour, and end up dense, with your mouth crying for a glass of anything to help wash it down. While searching for a gluten free, nut free, dairy free recipe to bake for an uber generous client couple of mine, I came across this gem. Of course, my freestyle behind couldn't just follow the recipe. I had to add in my flavor (and actually kept the improv to a minimum this time). Check it out:
(original recipe: http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2012/04/fudge-tastic-brownies-vegan-gluten-free-grain-free-nut-free/)

• ½ cup mashed frozen banana 
• 1 cup sunflower butter (I made my own via tossing a load of sunflower seeds into the Vitamix and lettin 'er rip!)
• 2 tbsp ground chia seeds, mixed with 3 tablespoons water to form a paste
• 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp stevia powder
• 1 Tbsp Tahini
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup cacao powder
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp baking soda 
• ¼ cup chocolate (or carob) chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease an 8×8 baking dish with coconut oil. 
2. In a food processor, combine bananas, sunflower butter and chia seed mix. Process until smooth.
3. Add in coconut oil, honey, stevia, tahini, and vanilla. Again, process until smooth before adding cacao, salt and baking soda. Batter will be really thick, but it is all good! Add in chocolate chips. 
4. Transfer batter into a well greased 8×8 inch Pyrex baking dish and sprinkle with additional chocolate chips.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. 

This stuff is GOOD! It has a slight sunflower taste, but overall the texture and flavor are FAB! :) Enjoy!

Frozen Sweet Potato Coconut Cashew Cranberry Quenelles!

Who knew that by posting a photo of frozen mashed sweet potato balls from Trader Joe's would create such a buzz?!? Apparently the photo made them look like much more than just mashed sweet potato...which, of course, created much dialogue between my fitness compadre, Leslie Ann (laqfitness.com) re: fun, frozen sweet potato dessert balls! So...as promised, I let some creative juices flow and ta-da: Frozen Sweet Potato Coconut Cashew Cranberry Quenelles! Whaaaaaat?

Okay...these don't involve rocket science whatsoever...Trader Joe's Frozen Mashed Sweet Potatoes...I took about 6-7 of the balls, defrosted in the microwave in about 1:30. Here's the fun part: Add whatever the heck you want! :) I did shredded coconut, maple roasted cashews (bulk section @ the P Street whole foods), dried cranberries...and dusted with maple sugar (also from my place of worship: aka Trader Joes). Ball them, get fancy with spoons and make Quenelles, make a sheet cake for all I care...HAVE FUN with it and enjoy!! :)

Paleo Picadillo

...Puerto Rican (okay, maybe it actually originated in Cuba...but whatever) beefy goodness. And for you anti-moo folks...just sub ground whatever for the beef :)

Please note that most Puerto Ricans are known for cooking "a ojo"...aka "a little of this, handful of that, etc. So I'm attempting to put pseudo-quantities here. But part of the soul of the meal is somewhat improving based on what YOU like! So have at it!

1 lb. lean ground beef (I use 93/7 typically)
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 medium sweet onion, diced
3-4 cloves of garlic, freshly chopped
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 heaping Tbsp capers
1/5 tsp caper juice
10-12 green olives (with pimento preferably), sliced
1-2 Tbsp raisins
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil to sauté onion/pepper

Start by sautéing your pepper and onion over medium-high heat in a large skillet, with a bit of olive oil. Add garlic about halfway through (to prevent the garlic from burning). Meanwhile, add your oregano, cumin, salt and pepper to your ground beef, and mix together. When the onions and peppers are turning slightly brown, add your meat mixture, and break up the meat as it is cooking. While it is still a little red, add the tomato sauce, capers (and juice), olives, and raisins. Reduce heat and let simmer until some of the sauce has evaporated off (15 minutes or so). ENJOY!

I dig this because of the flavor combinations...the hint of sweet via the raisins are a great contrast to the smoky cumin and robust beef. So, so good! The non-paleo version would add a bit of diced potato...but quite honestly, this stuff is amazing without the added carb :)