Weekly Menu.

To keep us on track for healthy eating, I like to plan a weekly menu with some extra things thrown in for breakfast-on-the-go and snacks. This menu is completely Paleo, so if you’re into eating clean, welcome!

Here’s last week’s menu (recipes are below):

Monday: Bison burgers (no bun, though; use lettuce leaves if you need a “bun”); sweet potato fries (baked in the oven)

Tuesday: Missy’s Fried Chicken; sugar snap peas sauteed in olive oil with roasted garlic cloves

Wednesday: Shiela’s Coconut Lime Fish; fresh salad with spinach, arugula, slivered almonds, and walnuts

Thursday: Paleo Enchiladas; guac and Terra Chips

Friday: Jambalaya

Saturday: Moroccan Chicken

 

Missy‘s Fried Chicken

My friend, Shondra, made these for a Paleo Potluck she hosted a few weeks ago, and I fell in love (she just told me today that this is really Missy’s recipe – they’re both CrossFitters at our gym). My boys really enjoy them – they call them Paleo Chicken Nuggets. My only variation is that Shondra fries her chicken in lard, but I used coconut oil instead. It gives them just a hint of Caribbean-ness and makes me dream of summer dinners outside.

Take chicken thighs and dredge them in an equal mixture of almond meal (or flour) and arrowroot flour, plus spices of your choice (I used dried oregano, a roasted garlic blend I found at a specialty food store, black pepper, and a little sea salt). I threw everything in a large Ziploc bag to coat evenly.

Heat your coconut in a large skillet, and cook on medium to medium-high, about 5 minutes each side. Be warned: almond meal and/or flour can burn easily, so err toward medium on your heat level and watch closely. I set off my smoke alarms twice last week – but the boys loved helping me wave dish towels under them until they stopped. Hmmm. A workout + dinner. Bonus.

That’s it. You can let the chicken rest on a paper towel post frying, but I didn’t find it necessary with the coconut oil.

Shiela’s Coconut Lime Fish

Shiela is a Aussie cooking genius; she actually worked under a chef for about a year (maybe longer?) and loves cooking and coming up with new dishes. She’s posted quite a few recipes on the Conviction CrossFit Group page on Facebook and I’m hurrying as quickly as possible to try them all. This one was super yummy. On the 5yo’s yummy scale, it was about an 8 (he’s extremely picky and really doesn’t enjoy trying new things, but he did it), and on the 2yo’s yummy scale was a no-go. He’s an incredibly diverse eater, but so far he hasn’t enjoyed eating fish or seafood of any kind.

Take white fish (I used tilapia fillets) and dip it in egg that has been beaten. Depending on how many fish you are cooking, do equal parts of coconut flour, almond flour (1 fish about 2 tbs each), some raw unsweetened coconut, and some grated lime rind.

Heat pan on medium and melt a bit of coconut oil. Cook fish on both sides until cooked and lightly brown (approx 4-5 min on each side). Squeeze lime juice on top when done.

*Serve with a mixed salad. She used baby spinach, arugula, a small amount of raw cheese, a couple of olives, almonds, roasted garlic cloves, a bit of coconut, and fresh squeezed lime juice.

Here’s a picture of my leftovers for lunch the day after with a similar salad tossed with strawberries and walnuts. Really quite yummy. And P.S.: I’m not a food photographer, so please keep that in mind. Ha.

 

Paleo Enchiladas

I pulled this recipe from the The Primal Blueprint Cookbook (more of his amazing recipes are here), and due to copyright stuff I won’t put it here. You’ll have to buy the cookbook yourself, but I will tell you that he uses crepes made with eggs and cream to make the “tortillas” and you roast your own tomatoes for the enchilada sauce. They were pretty good, and yes, the boys liked them (although my picky eater liked them so-so; but the 2yo couldn’t get enough).

Please use Terra chips instead of potato or tortilla chips. They’re surprisingly delicious and are made with root vegetables instead of potatoes or corn. We love them and our ornery boys L.O.V.E. them even more.

 

Jambalaya

Another recipe from the The Primal Blueprint Cookbook – please pick it up. This recipe is truly delicious and filling. He uses grated cauliflower as “rice,” which I haven’t been able to do yet (I have an aversion to some veggies – just keeping it real, here – but I’m branching out!). It has andouille sausage and shrimp in it, and while neither of our boys will eat the shrimp, they licked the rest of their bowls clean. Literally. As in, pick the bowl up like you would a cereal bowl to drink the milk left in the bottom of the bowl.

 

Moroccan Chicken

Again, from the The Primal Blueprint Cookbook. This recipe was just “ok,” to be honest. We found a bit too heavy on the lemon flavor and quite like a stew. If you’re making this, I would suggest more chicken, a little less lemon, and simply treat it as a stew. I don’t know that I’ll make this one again, but everyone has very different tastes! Try for yourself and let me know what you think.

 

To fill in as snacks, sweets, and quick breakfasts, I made the following:

  • Truffles (um…DELICIOUS): from the The Primal Blueprint Cookbook
  • Pumpkin Muffins: recipe to come next week. What. I have to leave you a bit of a teaser in order to cyber-see you again!
  • Egg Muffins: like quiches-to-go. And again, next week!
  • Sweet Potato Hash: you got it. Next week.

 

Happy cooking! And speaking of next week, there will be chili, pork shoulder, spaghetti, and pizza on the menu; you won’t want to miss it!

Comments

comments