Paleo Sweet Potato Thai Noodle Stir Fry



There are three types of food that I could eat every day, all day, for the rest of my life.  Sushi, Indian and Thai (not in any order of preference).  I absolutely love ethnic food, and by ethnic I don't mean your local Americanized Chinese Delivery - ewe gross.  I think LIFE is all about experiences.  From my perspective, we are here for such a short period of time in our physical bodies; so why not taste, smell, see, hear and feel everything you possibly can that the universe has to offer?

What's next on my to-do-list of LIFE is to visit Thailand even if I must go this journey alone.  I really want to spend some time there learning their cuisine, culture, and spiritual practices.  I also want to embark on a silent retreat while there.  Yes, that means absolutely no iPhone, iPad, iPods, laptops or even verbal communication of any sorts at all.  A true experience to connect with yourself and your inner voice.  At one point in my life I would never imagine actually wanting to or even better yet, craving this experience.  I'm just crawling out of my skin to begin that journey. 

After a few glasses of wine one girls night and on the night of my first introduction to zucchini noodles, I made an online purchase.  A few days later my Paderno World Cuisine Spiral Slicer showed up at my doorstep.  At first I thought oh great more things to clutter my house when all I want to do is simplify it.  Little did I know, that this contraption would be one of my most favorite creative kitchen tools.  I've since been putting it to hard to work on zucchini and now the wondrous sweet potato/aka the yam in all it's glory.  When I came home from two back to back week long business trips, I really didn't have much fresh produce in my house and had yet to venture to the grocery store, but wanted to eat lunch.  All I had was a sweet potato/yam, an onion and a few eggs.  I was hungry as heck and thought to myself, "man this sweet potato will take forever to bake".  Then I got the idea, "if I spiralize it, it will cook quickly."  So I did just that.  Lunch became a quick cooked sweet potato noodle, onion and scrambled egg master piece that instantly brought my creativity to Thai food!  I usually stay away from the noodle dishes at Thai restaurants since I'm mostly a clean eater and get the steamed brown rice options instead.... Suddenly my new favorite recipe spawned from my brain and I was anxious to try it out with one of my closest friends during her visit last weekend.  It was everything I envisioned.     

Here it is and this will be making a regular appearance in my house when I get the itch for a Thai experience. 

Paleo Sweet Potato Thai Noodle Stir Fry

Thai Chili Sauce

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 shallots finely chopped (can use an onion)
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
3 tablespoons cayenne pepper (more or less based on your heat preference, but the sweet potato really offsets the heat.
3 tablespoons fish sauce (basically anchovy water)
3 tablespoons raw honey
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar (could use tamarind paste, but it's hard to find)
Juice squeezed from 1/2 a lemon or lime
2 tablespoons water
 
Sauté onions and garlic in coconut oil till brown, but be careful not to burn the garlic (I always get the onions going first and then add garlic in about halfway through).  Then let cool a bit.  Blend sautéed onion and garlic w/ remaining ingredients in a food processor. Return the mixture to the sauté pan and heat through till a little bubbly. Store this in glass jar in the fridge until you're ready to use. (can make ahead and store for a few days).

Sweet Potato Thai Noodle Stir fry

1 sweet potato/yam spiralized into noodles
2 organic chicken breast cubed
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 yellow onion chopped
2 cups broccoli florets chopped
1/2 cup raw cashews

Prepared Thai chili sauce (from above)

Sauté the sweet potato/yam noodles in coconut oil in until softened to your desired texture.  Add in a tablespoon of the prepared Thai chili sauce to flavor.  

In a separate sauté pan, sauté chicken in coconut oil, then add onions and sauté till soft and translucent, then add in the broccoli and the remaining prepared Thai chili sauce and sauté broccoli till it turns a bright green. Add cashews, mix well and top this mixture on the sweet potato noodles.  Enjoy with fancy chopsticks for a true mindful eating experience.

(note, I intended to use some diced red bell pepper in here, but actually forgot about them.  Truthfully the dish was so delicious w/out them, they were not missed at all).

 

Disclaimer: I'm not a professional photographer, nor is my day job editing.  Combine that, my selective ADD, and my impatience.  The end result may just mean there are grammatical mistakes.  Don't judge.  Just enjoy.

 

Mediterranean Olive & Spinach Turkey Meatloaf

I’m a sucker for meatloaf.  It’s one of those comfort foods that I just grew up with.  My Mom used to make what we called “cheesy loaf”.  As if her meatloaf that I grew up on as a kid wasn’t already good enough, when I was in college she started tucking big chunks of cheese in the center of it before baking it.  Could you guess what my favorite kind of cheesy loaf was?  Pepper jack of course! I’m obsessed with spicy foods.  My college friend Kristy used to beg my mom to make her cheesy loaf all the time.  It was super delicious.

Of course variety is the spice of life, so I stated playing around with variations of meatloaf and the meat types.  It’s such an easy basic recipe that you can alter/flavor with any veggies and spices to kick it up to flavor town and boost the nutritional value.  It never gets old and I love creating new versions with an ethnic flare.   

I’ve been hooked on fresh olives from the olive bar at the grocery store lately.  I find a way to put them into everything from my scrambled eggs, salads, and well now meatloaf.  So here it is… my Mediterranean influenced olive & spinach turkey meatloaf.  It’s what came together when I opened my fridge and saw what I had on hand.

 

Mediterranean Olive & Spinach Turkey Meatloaf

 

Ingredients:

1-lb organic ground turkey

1-red or green bell pepper diced (I used half a red and half a green because I like the colors and flavors)

1-yellow onion diced

1-teaspoon chopped garlic

2-tablespoons olive oil

2-slices whole grain bread (I use Ezekiel 4:9 Organic Sprouted Grain Whole Grain Bread)*

1-egg

¼ cup organic ketchup

½ cup pitted kalamata olives chopped

2-big handfuls of fresh baby spinach

Sea Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
Crushed Red Pepper to taste

 

*Processed in a food processer/blender to make into healthy breadcrumbs.

 

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees and prepare a baking sheet greased with a little olive oil.  (I use tin foil for easy clean-up).

 

Sautee diced bell peppers and onions in olive oil over medium heat until softened.  Season with S&P to taste.  Add in chopped garlic and fresh spinach when almost done and cook just until the spinach wilts.  Remove from the heat and let it cool a bit.   

 

In a large mixing bowl combine the sautéed onions, peppers and spinach with the chopped olives, egg, ketchup and breadcrumbs.  Mix well with a fork and then add the ground turkey and mix with a fork again to combine (don’t over mix as meatloaf can become tough).

 

Mold meatloaf onto the greased baking sheet.  I like making it into a big rectangle about 1.5 inches thick. 

 

Bake for about 45-minutes or until cooked through.  I like mine a little crispy on the outside.  Let it cool for a few minutes slice and enjoy.

I save the leftovers and either chop it up into big chunks to top a salad for lunch the next day (great cold too) or even use it in my scrambled eggs in the morning.  It’s my way of making one meal work its way into others easily and creatively.

 

Warning, I’m not a professional photographer nor is my day job editing.  Combine my selective ADD with my impatience and the result may just mean grammatical mistakes.  Don’t judge.  Just enjoy. 

Pop In Your Mouth Blueberry Paleo Cookies

A year ago I didn't know a thing about the Paleo Diet, but the word "Paleo" seemed to spew out of my crazy awesome CrossFit friend's mouths and show up all over my facebook news feed all the time.  "Is this paleo?"  "I made this paleo recipe."  "I only eat paleo." or  "I'm doing a paleo challenge."  Soon enough, I caught the CrossFit bug too and started to really understanding why CrossFitters are obsessed with Paleo.  The Paleo diet is, by no means, limited to just CrossFitters, and one person's way of eating doesn't always mean it's the right way of eating for another, but I get and understand, why eating Paleo is so important to people who are addicted to optimum health and fitness. Feel free to self educate yourself on The Paleo Diet, founded by Dr. Cordain if you so wish, but in short eat what the earth gave us and what our hunting and gathering ancestors ate.

They say people either love salty things or have a sweet tooth.  It's no surprise that I'm a sucker for sweets and fresh hot-out-of-the-oven baked goods, yes please!  My incredibly awesome friend Kimberly (and blogger at http://balancedbeanwellness.blogspot.com/), who I should say is also guilty of introducing me to CrossFit, therefore leading to my new addiction, gave me this Paleo Cookie recipe.  The recipe called for paleo chocolate chips, but she suggested dried blueberries as they tasted like "little blueberry muffins", and I kicked it up to ooey gooey goodness when all I had on hand was fresh blueberries.  I loved the way the blueberries add texture and juiciness to the cookies.  I immediately halved the batch because it's just me, and trust me, these wouldn't last two days within my reach.  I remember her telling me "They're paleo, but still a cookie."  Enjoy! These are amazing and I have trouble even getting them into the oven because even the batter is so delicious. 

Blueberry Paleo Cookies
Servings (approximately 1-dozen cookies)

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cup almond flour (I like Bob's Red Mill brand)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh blueberries*

* can substitute for a healthy chocolate chips (check the ingredients), or whatever you like really (ie dried cranberries, fresh sliced apples, raisins etc.)  

Instructions:
- Pre-heat oven to 375 deg F.
- Combine dry ingredients
- Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Combine dry and wet ingredients and mix well.
- Stir in fresh blueberries
- Drop onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or tinfoil for easy clean up
- Bake 13-15 minutes