Paleo – Page 2

Grapefruit Avocado Salad

June 22, 2016 by The Sunny Side Up Recipes Leave a Comment

Now that summer is finally here (!) and the days are heating up, I thought it was the perfect time to try out some light, refreshing citrus salad recipes.

While it might seem like a strange combination, avocado and grapefruit are one of my favorite pairings. The creaminess of the avocado contrasts with the brightness of the grapefruit flavors, which add just the right amount of tang to make this salad different and interesting.

I hope you enjoy, and happy summer!

Grapefruit Avocado Salad

Save Print

Ingredients

1 head butter lettuce
2 grapefruits,peels and segmented
1 avocado, sliced
¼ cup fennel, thinly sliced
2 tbs mint, finely chopped
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tbs lemon juice
1 shallot, finely diced
Salt and peper to taste

Instructions

Segment grapefruit in to pieces by carefully peeling off skin (be sure to remove the white segment) and segment into slices. Slice avocado and set aside.
Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, shallot, and salt and pepper. Set aside.
Lightly toss all ingredients together in a large bowl and serve immediately.

Gluten Free Banana Bread

June 1, 2016 by The Sunny Side Up Recipes Leave a Comment

This is the best banana bread I have ever had and I’m so excited to share it with you! The recipe comes from one of my all-time favorite bloggers, Ambitious Kitchen, who has a knack for making the most delightful baked goods using healthier ingredients.

Here’s what I love about Monique’s version:

Gluten free: The recipe uses coconut flour instead of regular flour. Coconut has a nuttier taste that adds much more flavor and has about 6 grams of fiber for every two tablespoons. Coconut flour is also about twice as absorbent, so you only need about half a cup for the entire recipe.

Sugar free: There is NO added sugar in the entire recipe! For sweetness, this recipe uses mashed banana and almond butter and you really can’t taste the difference.

No butter or oil: The result is that it’s a bit more dense and cakey, but so much more flavorful! Just a few natural ingredients can go such a long way.

Pear Ginger Smoothie

April 22, 2016 by The Sunny Side Up Recipes Leave a Comment

It’s finally SPRING! In celebration of the warmer weather, I’m posting a new favorite–pear ginger spinach smoothies. They’re so light and refreshing, and the ginger and greens make it a great detox drink and immunity boost. Throw all the ingredients in a blender and enjoy!

Pear Ginger Smoothie

Save Print

Ingredients

1 pear, sliced
2 cups fresh spinach
2 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
½ cup water
½ banana
2 tbs chia seeds
1 tbs lemon juice

Instructions

Toss all ingredients into a blender, blend, and enjoy! I also add ice, honey for sweetness, or water to adjust the thickness as needed.

Green Matcha Latte

March 22, 2016 by The Sunny Side Up Recipes Leave a Comment

I gave up coffee for Lent (one week left!) and since then have been drinking green tea almost nonstop. To mix it up a little, I started making these matcha green tea lattes, which I usually order at Starbucks for a treat but often find them to be too sweet. I decided to try making my own recipe at home and I love them so much that I think I might just stick with them instead of coffee from now on even after Lent is over.

Matcha lattes still have that same warm, comforting feel of a cup of coffee or a regular latte and offer a slight caffeine boost to increase focus and energy. Better yet, matcha is packed with antioxidants. amino acids, and chlorophyll, which is where it gets its light green color. Unlike traditional green tea, matcha preparation involves covering the tea plants with shade cloths before they’re harvested to increase chlorophyll production, at which point the matcha tea leaves are ground into a fine powder (“matcha” literally means powdered tea). As a result, the powder is much more potent than drinking tea water and its nutrients can be more readily processed by the body. I make mine in the morning with almond milk and a touch of honey and it’s a wonderful way to start the day!

Green Matcha Latte

Save Print

Prep time

4 mins

Cook time

2 mins

Total time

6 mins

Serves: 1

Ingredients

¼ cup hot water
¾ cup vanilla almond milk
2 teaspoons matcha tea powder
1 tablespoon honey (or as much as desired)

Instructions

In a mug or a medium bowl, add the matcha tea powder and honey to a small amount of hot water and whisk until fully dissolved.
Heat almond milk add in matcha solution, and pour into a mug. Serve hot and enjoy!

Detox Salad

March 15, 2016 by The Sunny Side Up Recipes Leave a Comment

Winter always seems to mean eating heavier foods–stews, pastas, you name it–and every now and then I find myself looking for something fresh to balance things out. This salad is super light and always makes me feel rejuvenated and energized during those cold winter months. I love how the citrusy vinaigrette dresses up the greens and how the avocado and pine nuts add such great texture. This is definitely one that you’ll want to keep through spring–I make a big batch at the start of every week and can’t get enough of it. Enjoy!

P.S. For added flavor and a more spring-friendly recipe, consider toasting the pine nuts and adding citrus, such as fresh grapefruit, or adding extra basil to the vinaigrette.

Detox Salad

Save Print

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

20 mins

Ingredients

1 bunch asparagus
4 cups arugula
⅓ cup pine nuts
¼ cup basil, chopped
1 avocado, cubed
1 tbs olive oil
Juice of one orange
Juice of one lemon
1 tsp raw honey
3 tbs. good olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Rinse asparagus into 1-inch pieces and sautee in olive oil for 5 minutes or until bright green. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a large bowl, lightly toss arugula, asparagus, avocado, pine nuts, and basil.
In a small bowl, whisk together orange juice, lemon juice, olive oil, honey, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour over salad in small increments (I often end up with more dressing than I need), toss, and serve.

My Cold Cure-All: Ginger Lemon Tea

February 29, 2016 by The Sunny Side Up Recipes Leave a Comment

Recently I’ve been battling a stubborn cold and there has been one consistent lifesaver: ginger lemon tea. While any kind of tea is helpful for a sore throat, this tea benefits from the ginger–a natural antioxidant–and lemon, which adds a vitamin C boost to power up your immune system. The combination makes for a powerful antioxidant drink that helps to naturally eliminate nausea, inflammation, and other ailements, making it a natural antibiotic. Make it for yourself as you recover from a flu or cold, or as a morning pick me up in place of coffee.

*Tip: To make it less spicy, add less ginger and more honey and lemon. Where possible, use unprocessed (raw) local honey.

Ginger Lemon Tea

Save Print

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

10 mins

Serves: 1

Ingredients

1 cup water
1-inch piece ginger root (or more, to taste), peeled and roughly chopped
½ lemon
1 tablespoon honey, or to taste

Instructions

In a small pot over medium heat, bring the water to a boil. Add finely chopped ginger and lemon juice. Let simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. Add honey to bottom of your mug/glass and slowly pour water mixture in. Stir and serve hot.
**Tip: To make it less spicy, add less ginger and more honey and lemon.

Image provided by: Grafvision Photography

Vinaigrettes 101

December 15, 2015 by The Sunny Side Up Recipes Leave a Comment

In the spirit of being back in California next week, I thought I would quickly share my favorite salad and vinaigrette recipe—I have this same salad almost every day for lunch when I’m home, and this dressing is so good that it never gets old!

Have you ever noticed that some dressings look totally normal, but when they sit out you just get a huge pool of oil on top? The first unspoken rule with dressings—and this has taken me many failed attempts to learn—is to blend in everything but the olive oil together, slowly stirring in the oil so that the dressing fully emulsifies (ie, the oil and vinegar are sufficiently mixed). In other words, mix and shake isn’t going to cut it here.

My recipe below is a quick creamy vinaigrette that you can easily make ahead for the week. Feel free to change the recipe depending on your taste, but as a general rule of thumb, a vinaigrette base is typically 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar.

Once the dressing is ready, my basic salad is just a few simple ingredients: mixed greens, cucumber, vine-ripe tomatoes, lemon herb chicken, and lots of avocado. I also love adding homemade croutons for a little crunch (simply toss stale/leftover bread pieces in olive oil and oregano and toast them on a cookie sheet under the broiler until golden brown, about 5 minutes).

To avoid making the salad overly soggy, put a small amount of dressing into the bottom of your bowl, then mix and serve.

Vinaigrettes 101

Save Print

Recipe type: French Vinaigrette Recipe

Ingredients

½ cup olive oil
4 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine the mustard, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper.
Very slowly pour in the olive oil, whisking all ingredients together until the dressing is fully emulsified.

Chilled Spanish White Gazpacho

July 10, 2015 by The Sunny Side Up Recipes Leave a Comment

Last weekend I had the pleasure of going back to California for the Fourth of July and tried this incredible Spanish white gazpacho from Flour Bakery in Boston. If you’d tried gazpacho before, you’ve probably had the red tomato-based kind, but this “white” one is far less acidic and is a wonderful fresh summer treat or palate cleanser for a dinner party. It’s made with a base of almonds and tangy green grapes (which is what makes it “Spanish”), so it’s incredibly light and refreshing! Bonus–is also pretty low in calories as well.

To make your own batch, you’ll need seedless green grapes, blanched almonds (regular okay too), garlic, cilantro, and cucumbers with sherry vinegar and lime juice for an extra kick. I like to add extra grapes and cucumber to sweeten the deal, with mint for extra freshness. Combine in a high speed blender, let chill for an hour, and then serve to your heart’s content!

Pro Tip: Use English cucumbers rather than regular ones. You’ll usually find them in grocery stores wrapped in plastic, because they have less wax on their exterior. They’re extra crisp and have smaller seeds, making them perfect for a gazpacho or summer soup.

Rosemary Swordfish with Garlic Sauteed Tomatoes

July 2, 2015 by The Sunny Side Up Recipes Leave a Comment

I rarely eat red meat, but I find that this dish is so satisfying and filling that it takes away any cravings I might have for a really hearty steak or burger. This swordfish recipe is always a family favorite, and I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Always start with the freshest fish and make sure that it arrived in the store that day. Swordfish has a lot of natural moisture, but for measure I like to add just a teaspoon of olive oil to make sure that it doesn’t dry out.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, then sprinkle with fresh rosemary, lemon juice, and minced garlic, and place in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown on the edge.

While the swordfish is cooking, mince 2-3 cloves of garlic in olive oil until golden brown. Add cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered into smaller pieces, and sprinkle with rosemary. Cook for 5 minutes or until softened. I usually use half the tomatoes for garnish, and mix the second half in with green beans that have been boiled for 6 minutes and blanched for a quick side dish.

When your swordfish is ready, it should look something like this–very moist, with a soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture.

Top with tomatoes and rosemary for garnish and enjoy!

Zucchini Ribbon Salad

June 15, 2015 by The Sunny Side Up Recipes Leave a Comment

A few years back we went on a trip to Florence and stumbled upon an incredible hole-in-the-wall, family owned restaurant that was so good that we went back for all the other nights of the trip. Since we’ve returned back to the States I’ve tried creating a handful of the recipes but this is by far our family favorite. As my mom says, once you have this you’ll never go back to “plain lettuce salads” ever again. With a few simple, high-quality ingredients you really can make an unforgettable dish.

Zucchini Ribbon Salad

Save Print

Ingredients

2 large zucchini
1 block fresh parmigiano reggiano (not pictured)
2 tbs olive oil
⅓ cup basil
⅓ cup pine nuts
Juice of ½ lemon
Sprinkle of salt and pepper
Note: Edible flowers added for garnish

Instructions

Using a vegetable peeler, peel zucchini into thick ribbons by applying pressure as you peel in a downwards motion.
Once your zucchini is peeled, gently toss in lemon juice and olive oil. Sprinkle pine nuts, basil, and salt and pepper and toss in as well. Top with shaved parmesan (tip: use the thickest setting on your cheese grater for the most authentic look)

…