health food shoppe's sweet potato salad

dressing:

1 cup plain unsweetened yogurt

2 tablespoons cilantro (chopped)

1 tablespoon fresh lime with zest

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

salad:

2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 cup chopped pecans

directions:

For the dressing, combine all ingredients in a bowl. For the salad, peel and cube potatoes.  Roast in the oven at 425 degrees for 40 to 45 min. In a separate bowl, combine celery, pecans, cooled potatoes and dressing. 

s.s. chicken club - avocado boats

ingredients:

1 lb. boneless skinless free range chicken breast - cooked and cubed

2 avocados

5 strips of nitrate and nitrite-free bacon - cooked crispy and chopped

A few slices of red onion - diced

8 grape tomatoes - halved (You can use any kind of tomatoes - This is just what I had in the house) 

4 Tbs. of mayonnaise

1 Tbs of minced garlic 

salt and pepper

directions: 

Cook the chicken in any manner you desire. I cut the chicken breasts into tender size pieces and pan-seared them in butter. It made for a slightly crispy outside and an extremely juicy inside. Let cool and cut into cubes

Scoop out all 4 avocado halves. You will use three of them to make the guacamole and the other one - Cut into pieces to go into the chicken club salad. 

In a large mixing bowl combine the chicken, bacon, tomato, red onions, avocado, mayo and salt and pepper. Stir until completely mixed

****For the guacamole**** I mashed up the remaining 3 avocado halves, 1 Tbs Minced garlic, a pinch of cayenne pepper, 1 Tsp minced onion flakes, kosher salt, pepper, lemon juice, and 1 Tbs of salsa. These are not included in the ingredient list above. If you mash up the avocados with some garlic and lemon or lime juice and salt, it will still taste really great under the chicken club salad.

Divide the guacamole among the 4 avocado shells, top each one with a heaping mound of the chicken salad.

focaccia-style flax bread

ingredients:

2 cups flax seed meal

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1-2 Tablespoons natural sweetener (honey, agave, etc.)

5 beaten eggs

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup oil

directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare pan (a 10X15 pan with sides works best) with oiled parchment paper or a silicone mat.

Mix dry ingredients well -- a whisk works well.

Add wet to dry, and combine well. Make sure there aren't obvious strings of egg white hanging out in the batter.

Let batter set for 2 to 3 minutes to thicken up some (leave it too long and it gets past the point where it's easy to spread.) 

Pour batter onto pan. Because it's going to tend to mound in the middle, you'll get a more even thickness if you spread it away from the center somewhat, in roughly a rectangle an inch or two from the sides of the pan (you can go all the way to the edge, but it will be thinner). 

Bake for about 20 minutes, until it springs back when you touch the top and/or is visibly browning even more than flax already is. 

Cool and cut into whatever size slices you want. You don't need a sharp knife; I usually just cut it with a spatula.

paleo pizza

crust:

2 cups almond meal

2 eggs

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 1/2 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped

toppings:

1 pound mild grass-fed Italian pork sausage

2 crookneck yellow squash, diced

3 green onions, chopped

1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

2 small tomatoes, diced

1/2 cup jarred roasted red peppers, diced

1/2 cup sliced black olives

1 cup organic, gluten-free marinara sauce

directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Using a spoon, mix all crust ingredients together until it becomes very thick. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball.

Lightly grease a pizza pan or a cookie sheet with extra-virgin olive oil.  Place the ball of dough in the center of your cookie sheet or pizza pan and using your hands, push and pat the dough down into the shape of a circle, making the dough as thin as possible.  Your pizza will about 12 inches across.

Bake just the crust in your preheated oven for 20 minutes. While the crust is cooking, prepare your toppings. Brown the sausage in a large skillet and chop all veggies.  

After the crust is done, remove from the oven and evenly spread the marinara sauce over the crust.

Add the sausage and all remaining toppings evenly over the sauce and bake again for additional 25-30 minutes.

Get creative and use whatever toppings you might like-I also suggest trying chicken, artichoke hearts, and broccoli!

Adapted from Everyday Paleo from Sarah Fragoso

hasta la vista pasta lasagna

ingredients:

1 lb grass-fed ground beef

1 lb mild grass-fed Italian sausage (can use chicken sausage also)

1 red onion diced

4 cloves crushed garlic

2 tbsp dried oregano

2 tbsp dried basil or 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 Tbl. black pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

1 – 14 1/2 ounce can of diced tomatoes drained

1 small can of tomato paste

1 cup organic black olives sliced

6 zucchinis thinly sliced with a mandolin slicer.

directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large soup pot saute onions and garlic in the olive oil for about 3 minutes.  Add ground beef and sausage and brown.  Season meat mixture with all dry ingredients and add drained diced tomatoes and tomato paste and mix well.  In a big lasagna baking dish place a layer of sliced zucchini and then ladle on a thick layer of the meat mixture and top with the sliced black olives. 

Top meat and olive layer with another layer of sliced zucchini and top with a final layer of the remaining meat mixture.  Cover tightly with aluminum foil and back at 350 for 30 min.  Let sit for 10 min before slicing and serving.

Adapted from Everyday Paleo by Sarah Fragoso