Caveman Cuisine

Seafood Dishes

New Orleans is known for many things:  Mardi Gras, The Saints, New Orleans Jazz and a nightlife that never ends.  But when I think of really great food, there is nothing better than New Orleans seafood.  Although it's possible, it is somewhat difficult to indulge in the foods that are served in local restaurants while living Paleo.  Frankly, I find it's cheaper and less of a hassle for both myself and my waiter/waitress to cook at home.  I'm also the one cooking it, so I know what is going into my body.  I try to eat some sort of fish at least twice a week as well as my daily dose of fish oil pills.  Here are a few of my recipes.  Give them a try and let me know what you think.

Fish and Chips

(Serves 2 people)

2 6oz servings of salmon (wild not farm raised)

1 large sweet potato peeled and sliced

1/4 cup chopped walnuts or almonds

2 sprigs of fresh thyme

Olive Oil cooking spray

Season to taste with garlic and sea salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Spray a 6x9 baking dish with olive oil cooking spray and place the salmon side by side.  Season with garlic and sea salt to taste.  Cover the top of the salmon with the crushed walnuts.  Place a sprig of thyme on each piece of salmon and place in the oven for 35 minutes.

On a cookie tray (also sprayed with cooking spray), place slices of sweet potato in a single layer.  Spray the top of the potatoes with cooking spray and season to taste.  I used dried Italian seasoning and sea salt.  Place in the oven when the salmon has only 20 minutes remaining.  I like to set a timer so I don't forget and burn everything.

Meat Dishes

I've loved meatloaf for as long as I can remember.  My mom would make it when I was growing up and I couldn't wait to belly-up to the table and scarf it down.  The problem with my mom's traditional meatloaf is that she would pack it full of things like cheese and breadcrumbs and saturate the top of it with ketchup.  I've since modified my mom's old recipe to fit my new lifestyle.  This allows me to enjoy one of my favorite dishes without feeling guilty and bloated.  Below is the recipe for what I call "Mom's Caveman Meatloaf".  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  I paired it with a side of mashed cauliflower.

  

Mom's Caveman Meatloaf

(Serves 4 people)

2 lbs ground turkey, beef, or pork

1 cup fresh chopped spinach

1/2 cup chopped broccoli

1/2 cup chopped cauliflower

1/2 onion chopped
1/2 bell pepper chopped (green, red, orange, yellow)

2 stalks celery chopped

4 cloves of garlic chopped or minced

1 tsp tarragon

1 tsp sage

1 tsp oregano

1 8oz can organic tomato paste

Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix well.  I find using your hands is the easiest and most amusing way of doing this.  Once the ingredients are thoroughly combined place the meat into a baking dish and cook for 45 minutes or until the juices run clear.  Remove from the oven and serve.

Honey Mustard Pork Chops with Roasted Cauliflower

(serves 4 to 8 people)

8 6oz pork chops

1 tbs raw honey

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 tbs table mustard

season with sea salt and ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375. In a bowl mix the raw honey, table mustard and olive oil. Place the pork chops in two large baking dishes and spread the honey mustard mixtue over the top with a brush. Set pork chops off to the side for now.

1 head of cauliflower chopped into small florets

1 purple onion chopped
8 strips of bacon diced

2 sweet peppers chopped

6 cloves of garlic cut in half

sea salt and ground pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Spread the cauliflower evenly on a baking pan and place in the oven along with the pork chops for 30 minutes. Keep an eye on the cauliflower at around 20 minutes to make sure it doesn't burn. Remove from oven when cauliflower is tender. The pork chops should be ready at about the same time.

This dish is bursting with flavor. If you love bacon, this is the dish for you. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as me and my family. Feel free to submit your own recipes. I would love the new

ideas.

Paleo Stuffed Acorn Squash

(Serves 8 people)

4 medium sized acorn squash

2 lbs of ground turkey

3 stalks of celery chopped

3 sweet peppers chopped

6 strips of bacon diced

1/2 purple onion chopped

1/2 green bell pepper chopped

6 cloves of garlic cut in half

1 8oz can of organic tomato paste

sea salt and ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400.  Cut the acorn squash in half and clean out the seeds.  Spray the tops of the squash with olive oil cooking spray and season with sea salt and ground pepper then place them face down on the baking pan.  Place the squash in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until squash is tender.

While the squash it baking, combine all other ingredients into a saucepan and cook on medium heat until meat is fully cooked and veggies are soft.  Turn heat to low and let simmer until squash is ready.  Scoop meat mixture into the squash and place back in the oven on 375 for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and serve.

This dish is delicious!  I've only just discovered the wonderful variety of squash out there to choose from.  This one will go down as one of my favorites.  It was fun to cook with something that I had never used before and the results were outstanding.  Each stuffed squash is plenty of food for one person.  We had the leftovers the next night and froze the other four for later.

Meat For the Week (Bacon and Sage Chicken)

(Serves 2 people for 4 days)

8 5oz chicken breasts

8 fresh sage leaves

8 strips of bacon

olive oil cooking spray

Place chicken into two baking dishes.  Spray both the baking dishes and the top of the chicken with olive oil cooking spray.  Season with sea salt and ground pepper to taste and place a fresh sage leaf on each piece of chicken.  Wrap each piece of chicken with a strip of bacon and place in the oven at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.

This is a great on-the-go dish to make.  It's high in protein and very delicious.  Eight pieces will feed two people for 2 to 4 days.  Great for lunch at work. and will last in the refrigerater for about 5 days.

Italian Dishes

Living with an Italian can get a little crazy.  In fact, at times it's down right insane.  They're loud and opinionated and very set in their ways.  When I told my partner that we were going Paleo, the first thing out of his mouth was, "I'm not giving up bread or pasta!"  At that point it was up to me to change his mind.  I searched the web and found quite a few recipes for speghetti and meat sauce using speghetti squash as pasta.  I told Chris that I had found a solution to the pasta predicament (BTW, my partner's name is Chris also).  When I told him I was using squash as a substitute he was more than a little skeptical.  Not giving him a choice in the matter, I cooked it up and he loved it.  SCORE!

Caveman Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

(Serves 4 people)

2 medium speghetti squash

2 lbs lean ground turkey

1 onion chopped

1 sweet bell pepper chopped

4 cloves garlic minced

3 ripe tomatoes chopped

4 stalks of celery chopped

2 8oz cans of organic tomato paste

season with sea salt and Italian herbs to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut speghetti squash in half long ways.  Using a spoon, clean out the seeds and dispose of them.  Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the two halves of the squash and season with sea salt and Italian herbs.  Let squash sit for a few minutes so that the oil can soak in and flip them face down on a baking sheet.  Place in the oven and cook for 40 minutes.

I like to begin my sauce at this time by cooking the meat and chopping the veggies. Once the meat is cooked, toss the veggies and tomato paste into the saucepan and season to taste.  Let the sauce cook until the squash has finished baking.

Once the squash is done, let it cool and then scrape out the inside using a fork.  The squash will resemble angel hair pasta.  Place the squash on a plate and top with the meat and devour.