The Alcivar Family Staple... and Venison.

Tom and I each eat salads like these once a day, sometimes twice.


The content always contains the basic paleo standards - veggies, proteins, and fats - and we try to use a variety of sources: greens, cabbage, peppers, carrots, celery, cukes, broccoli, zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, tomatoes, beets, radishes, artichokes, etc etc etc; chicken sausage, leftover Thanksgiving turkey, tuna, venison steak, hard boiled eggs, avocado, nuts, seeds, etc. Dressing can be as simple as canola oil, lemon juice, and pepper; or you can spice it up with any sort of herbs. Vinegar is higher in acid than lemon juice, but I sometimes throw in a shot of red wine or balsamic vinegar for different flavor. The salad is filling, it sustains, and it's just plain GOOD. When we have salads as a side dish, we tend to cut the ingredient list from 12-15 down to 4-6.

The salad prep can be time consuming if you do it daily, so we tend to have a "power cook" Sunday evening where we prep food for the week. It really makes things much easier during the week - you just grab and go.

Oh, and speaking of venison steak, we've acquired some venison from one of Tom's clients and from our brother in law. So we tested some out with venison steak and eggs this morning. YUM.

Paleo Spaghetti

So… Thanksgiving was FAR from being paleo and I’m ok with that. We had stuffing and mashed potatoes and homemade bread and cheese and casseroles with butter, cream, cheese, and bread crumbs. We had 4 different kinds of pies with whipped cream and ice cream. And there was booze. Ahh, manhattans – the drink to warm the cockles.

However, after a few days of leftovers, I was itching to get back to my “normal” eating routine, which still is a long way from feeling normal. I still get up in the morning wondering what to make for breakfast, when for so long I would each morning get up, walk to the oatmeal jar sitting on the counter, pour some in a bowl, add water, protein powder, and flax seed, heat it up, add honey, nuts and raisins and enjoy. But, I managed a few good egg dishes and last night for dinner I made Paleo Spaghetti, which is the recipe I want to share with you.

Have you ever had spaghetti squash? It is honestly a great substitute for pasta noodles. You just bake the squash and scrape out the flesh with a fork, and it comes out like spaghetti noodles:

It’s a little sweeter and crunchier than spaghetti, but it definitely curbs the pasta hankering.

And for the sauce, I just sautéed up a bunch of veggies, added some canned tomatoes, and voila. Paleo Spaghetti. I was left wanting a bit of meat with the meal; Italian sausage would have been a good addition, but this is definitely a good, easy, vegetarian/paleo dish.

PALEO SPAGHETTI

1 spaghetti squash

2 Tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, diced

2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced

Big bunch of kale

1 zucchini, diced

1 can stewed tomatoes, plus some tomato sauce/tomato paste depending on your thickness/quantity desires

Pepper, red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 400. Slice squash in half and scrape out seeds. Lay squash flat side up on a cookie sheet and cover with foil. Bake for 1 hour or until flesh is tender and easy to scrape out with fork.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook till fragrant. Add onion and mushrooms. Cook till juice is released from mushrooms and then evaporated. This will be awhile – mushrooms will shrink in size and start to brown. When they start to brown, add kale and zucchini and sauté until kale reduces in size. Add tomatoes, some sauce if handy, tomato paste (I use a few tablespoons of the stuff in a toothpaste-looking tube) and stir. Simmer until desired thickness, or until squash is done.

Scrape out squash into bowls (you may have to wait awhile for it to be cool enough to handle) and top with sauce.

...And in other news, the hubby has been sick with pneumonia since last Wednesday. He looks like a giant caterpillar, hunkered down in his sleeping bag all day. Poor Tom...

Paleo Recipe - Asian Tuna Salad in a Bell Pepper

So I am debating about starting another blog, documenting my adventures in Paleo Cooking. But with school, work, and everything else, I'm just going to add on to this blog for now.

Tom has decided to test out the Paleo Diet. For those of you who haven't heard about it, you can find more info here. We've always tried to eat healthy, but all of our diet changes up until now have been gradual and difficult to notice. This change was a big departure to our oatmeal, cheese-filled salads, and high-grain dinners. As many times as he told me I didn't have to follow his footsteps, it's awfully difficult for me to go on eating my normal diet when I keep hearing about the "benefits" of this Paleo Diet and I keep thinking that I'm "poisoning" my body with grains and dairy. ("Poison" is a huge exaggeration here... grains are just fine - the research on this subject is new and there are plenty of criticisms of the diet. But that's my mentality as my husband no longer eats the quinoa or rice I cook for him.)

So, I made my first foray into Paleo-world when I departed from my oatmeal one morning in favor of eggs, broccoli, chorizo and salsa. I started to think that maybe I could get into this. I need to have a creative outlet in the kitchen, and no grains or dairy definitely limits my options. But, a tasty batch of paleo pancakes - made with sweet potatoes and arrowroot powder - later and I'm thinking I should start documenting my wares. So, first up:

Asian Tuna Salad in a Bell Pepper

Note: I don't measure ingredients, so I'll do my best here to recall approximately how much I put in.

1 family size package of starkist tuna (not the cans, the softsided packages - no BPA!)
1 cup shredded purple cabbage
1 small carrot, julienned
3 green onions, chopped
1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice (or lime juice would probably be better - I didn't have any)
1-2 T. sesame oil
1 T. sesame paste (just throw a bunch of sesame seeds in a good blender, or buy Tahini)
2-3 T. cashew butter (just throw a bunch of cashews in a good blender for a long time. Add canola oil if too dry.)
Couple good shakes of cayenne
Little bit of salt

Mix all ingredients, cut the top off of a bell pepper - any color will do - and stuff pepper with tuna salad.

A perfectly satisfying grain/dairy free meal! Note that regular tuna salad is paleo as well, as long as the mayo doesn't have any added starch. Canola oil is the best to use in the mix.

If people are interested in reading more recipes, let me know. It will keep me motivated to keep posting.