Category: Paleo

Paleo 30-Day Meal Plan


I can’t believe this day is finally here! Somebody pinch me! I’ve been working on my Paleo meal plan every free minute for the past 2 months. My family has been having elaborate 3 course Whole30 dinners for the past few weeks, and I couldn’t be more excited to finally introduce my 30 day meal plan!

Almond curry stuffed sweet potatoes, dinner, Day 18

If you haven’t been following my Whole30 diet journey on Facebook and Instagram, read this blog post for a quick summary of how I’ve been changing my life with the Paleo diet. I could have never imagined how energetic, healthy and happy I would feel eating a sugar-free, dairy-free, soy-free, legume-free and grain-free diet.

Cabbage and sausage egg roll, breakfast, Day 19

One thing my Whole30 was not – boring! I truly believe that the best way to diet is to eat well. Eating flavorful, satisfying meals curbs cravings and doesn’t make you feel deprived! I believe in this so strongly that I decided to chronicle all of my Paleo recipes in a meal plan and make it available for anyone interested in taking control of their eating habits and living a healthier life.

Cauliflower fried rice, lunch, Day 23

My 30 Day Meal Plan includes 50 pages of more than 100 recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Recipes like my Smoky Braised Chicken & Collards, Pad Thai, Sweet Potato Chili, Cucumber Sushi Rolls, and Nut-Crusted Shnitzel will make you feel like you’re eating anything but “diet” food! I’ve also included basic building block recipes like 5-minute ketchup, homemade mayonnaise, zoodles (zucchini noodles) and cauliflower rice that you’ll be using again and again.

Chicken nuggets with 5-minute ketchup, dinner, Day 29

The menu also includes a section of holiday and weekend recipes, for those wishing to entertain guests. Bonus appetizer, soup and dessert recipes like tropical guacamole, asparagus with mustard vinaigrette, spaghetti squash soup and strawberries with coconut whipped cream will help you round out your meal.

Broccoli quiche, breakfast, Day 7

As if that’s not enough, I’ve also included a handy calendar that you can print out and post on your fridge. It lists the breakfast, lunch and dinner for each day. A Table of Contents will help you find your daily menu easily.

Moroccan fish, lunch, Day 13

Also included in the Paleo ebook are pantry and fridge staples, helpful tools, resources and tips to help guide you through the 30-Day meal plan.

Asian turkey burger with sauteed cabbage, avocado and Thai almond butter sauce, dinner, Day30

One of the things I tried to incorporate into the meal plan was utilizing leftovers. Nobody wants to sit in the kitchen all day, so meal planning is essential! On several days, I have you set aside some leftovers which are repurposed in another way the next day. Less waste and less work, who doesn’t love that?!

Fajitas with homemade spice mix over cauliflower rice with fried egg, dinner, Day 4

One of the other great features of the Paleo cookbook is that I created the meal plan so that each day’s menu is featured on it’s own page. This way, you can print out the page on it’s own, hang it on your fridge and not have to run to your computer to follow the recipes.

Chicken tortilla-less soup, dinner, Day 23

Now that I’ve whet your appetite with these amazing dishes, I know what you’re thinking….”How do I get my hands on this ebook?!” Well, that’s the easy part!

Inside-out coconut chicken burger , dinner, Day 26

To purchase the ebook, simply click on the “pay now” button below to pay for it via paypal. When I receive your payment, I will email you the ebook. You can print it out, staple it, glue it together – whatever you wish. You just can’t share it :) I spent hours upon hours of hard work preparing this book for sale. I ask that you do not reproduce it in any form (email, photocopy, or sharing the recipes on your own blog). If you love the ebook as much as I do, plug away! Show your love via social media with hashtag #paleoebook, and don’t forget to tag @busyinbrooklyn!

Apple crisp “cereal”, breakfast, Day 12

Order your Paleo 30-Day Meal Plan today! You’ll receive: -50 pages of over 100 recipes -Pantry and Fridge/Freezer Staples -Building Block Recipes -Holiday or Weekend Meal Ideas -30-Day Meal Plan -30 Day Calendar -Dieting Tips

Butternut squash pie, lunch, Day 6

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For more of what’s in the ebook, and for a chance to win  a copy, visit this post! For FAQ’s, check this out!

I would love to hear about the recipes you are making and enjoying! Please post a comment and share! And of course, if you have any questions at all about the ebook, please don’t hesitate to contact me at busyinbrooklyn@gmail.com!

Spaghetti Squash Shakshuka

If you’ve been following me on Facebook or Instagram, you probably know that I’ve been doing the Whole30 diet. Ever since I had baby #4 back in October, shedding the pregnancy pounds has not been easy. My go-to weightloss plan has always been The South Beach Diet, but it just wasn’t working for me this time around. I guess as we get older, our bodies change and what may have worked for us in our twenties, just doesn’t cut it during the big 3-0.

I had been seeing the Whole30 plastered all over Instagram and I was curious to see if it would work for me. My friend Melinda of Kitchen-Tested was raving about the diet, and after pushing it off for some time, I finally took the plunge! I chronicled my Whole30 diet via social media, sharing my meals for everyone to see. It held me accountable and made me feel like I had to stick to the program, or else I had a lot of people to answer to!

One of my biggest rules of dieting is to eat well. If I munch on salad greens every day, I feel deprived, miserable and hungry! On the other hand, when I take the time out to prepare a satisfying meal, I feel full and I don’t end up with cravings. Three meals a day becomes more than enough and I don’t feel the need to snack in between.


And so, each day, I challenged myself to come up with exciting recipes and dishes. Omelettes certainly became boring over time, so I turned to one of my favorite dishes – shakshuka. I prepared jalapeno shakshuka, marinara shakshuka and even meat shakshuka! But I really hit the jackpot with this incredible spaghetti squash shakshuka. The strands of spaghetti squash coated in runny egg yolk is so spectacular, you feel like you’re eating something so indulgent – and you are!

Dishes like these carried me through the Whole30 without a single mistep. I originally went on the diet to lose weight, but I never imagined the amazing after-effects that 30 days without sugar, dairy, carbs, legumes or alcohol would bring. Yes, I lost 8 lbs, but even better than that was that my sugar-cravings all but disappeared and I never feel the need to snack anymore. I eat when I’m hungry – and I eat well, but that is all! I feel so in control of my eating habits, and I don’t crave that added drizzle of honey or the teaspoon of sugar that I once did. In fact, just a few days after I completed my Whole30, I spent Shavuot with friends where I was surrounded by dairy delicacies and delicious dishes of all kinds. When I tried to eat a salad that had a sweet salad dressing, I was so overwhelmed by it’s cloying nature that I literally could not swallow it. There is no question that the Whole30 changed my taste towards food and my attitude as well. I much prefer savory to sweet now, in fact I plan to continue following the Whole30 diet until I lose another 20 lbs. After that, I will transition to a Paleo diet (the Whole30 is based on it, it just has more restrictions).

One of the other great outcomes of the Whole30 diet, is something I could have never imagined. When I began posting photos of all of the delicious meals I was preparing, the requests for recipes poured in. At first, I shared the recipes under the photos, but after a few days I realized, why don’t I just compile a 30-day meal plan? And so, without much ado, my Paleo ebook was born! Writing a cookbook has seemed so far away for the longest time – and a real, physical, turn-the-page kind of cookbook might be. But this ebook has allowed me to share over 100 recipes without nearly as much work as a hardcover book would be. I am still working on the last bit of edits and recipe testing, but the ebook should be available within the next 2 weeks! Stay tuned for more details in my upcoming posts and look out for the #Paleoebook hashtag via social media. I think I smell a giveaway.

Spaghetti Squash Shakshuka

1 leek (white and pale green part only)
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
1 bag baby spinach
1/2 spaghetti squash (how to roast spaghetti squash)
splash of vegetable stock (about a 1/4 cup)
salt and pepper, to taste
5 eggs
fresh parsley, for garnish
Feta cheese, optional

Method:

Saute leek and garlic in olive oil until softened. Add baby spinach and continue to saute until wilted. Add spaghetti squash and vegetable stock and season with salt and pepper. Make wells in the squash and crack eggs in each well. Cook until eggs are set (it helps to cover the pot). Sprinkle with parsley and feta, if desired.

 

Related Recipes:

baked portobello shakshuka
quick and easy marinara shakshuka

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Zucchini Fries (Gluten Free)

We’re closing in on our series of pesto recipes with these crunchy gluten free zucchini fries! I love using zucchini because they are so low in calories and totally guilt free. To keep them diet friendly and gluten free, I used a chopped nut coating instead of breadcrumbs, and garbanzo bean flour instead of all purpose flour. But what really makes these zucchini fries different is the pesto. I could have went with eggwash to “glue” the crunchy nut coating onto the zucchini sticks, but with extra pesto in the fridge, I decided to give it a try. The results were so flavorful, I can’t imagine making it any other way!

There’s just something about fries that makes eating any vegetable fun, am I right? Good old russet potato fries used to be the only fries  on the brain but sweet potato fries have made it up there too. Personally, I’m a big fan of butternut squash fries,  and just recently, parsnips fries have topped my list of favorites as well. I must blog about those soon.

If you’re dieting and craving some crunch, these oven-fried zucchini fries are sure to hit the spot. Feel free to adapt the recipe to your specific diet! To make them dairy-free, just omit the parmesan and use more nuts instead. I like to use the same nuts as the ones in the pesto (I used Marcona almonds here), but you can experiement with pecans and walnuts too.

Zucchini Fries

2 zucchini, cut into sticks
1/4 cup flour (I used garbanzo flour)
1/2 cup pesto
2-4 tbsp olive oil
2/3 cup chopped nuts
1/3 cup grated parmesan
marinara sauce, for serving

Method:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix the pesto with olive oil to thin it out. Add additional olive oil, if needed, depending on the thickness of the pesto.

Set up a dredging station with bowls of flour, pesto and ground nuts mixed with parmesan.

Dip the zucchini in flour, shake off excess and dip into pesto. Press the zucchini sticks into ground nuts/parmesan. Place on a greased cookie sheet and spray with oil (I use a Misto olive oil sprayer but you can use cooking spray). Bake for 15-20 minutes until browned and crispy.

Don’t like pesto? dip the zucchini in eggs seasoned with salt and pepper insead.

VARIATION: To make these nondairy, replace the parmesan with additional chopped nuts.

NOTE: for crisper fries, you can bake them on a rack set of a baking sheet.

Related Recipes:

zucchini parmesan chips
pesto pinwheels

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Pesto Baked Salmon

Of all the recipe requests I receive, it seems like salmon is that one dish that people get bored of rather quickly – me included. I’ve had my fill of honey mustard salmon, I’d rather not look at another piece of teriyaki salmon, and I’m all magic-salmoned-out. The good news is, I’ve got an endless variety of salmon ideas, so I can always pick something from under my chef’s hat (figuratively speaking, of course).

Truth be told, I’m really not the biggest fish person altogether. I won’t touch tilapia (bottom feeders freak me out), I don’t like sole, and I usually stay away from gefilte (is that even considered fish?). I tend to lean towards salmon, flounder, red snapper or seabass, when available. I’ve always wanted to try different types of fish, but they’re not readily available where I live. I’ve had whole bronzino in restaurants and halibut at my mom’s (she loves it!), but I’ve never tried grouper or mahimahi. Arctic Char is one of the best pieces of fish I’ve ever tried – I would love to find a place that carries it!

I’ve always wanted to bake my own whole fish stuffed with lemon and herbs – better yet, catch and fillet it myself. It’s just another one of those things on my bucket list – and I hope to do it one day. I’ve heard that the taste of freshly caught fish doesn’t compare to what we buy at the fishmonger. I can just imagine it smelling of the ocean istead of, well, fish. Don’t you just hate it when you open up a package and a fishy stench just hits you like a fishing rod!?

Back to the salmon – since it’s one of the few types of fish that I eat, I’m always coming up with new ways to eat it. This pesto-smothered-recipe came to me when I was on the South Beach diet and I needed to stay away from sweet sauces and sugar. For added crunch (without the panko carbs), I grind up some nuts (whichever nuts are in the pesto) and sprinkle it over the top. It adds great texture to the salmon!

Pesto Baked Salmon

salmon fillets
your favorite homemade or store-bought pesto
roughly chopped nuts (I like to use the same nuts that are in the pesto, to complement it)
grated parmesan cheese, optional
olive oil
lemon slices, for serving

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse the salmon and pat dry. Spread pesto over the salmon slices and sprinkle with chopped nuts and parmesan (if using). Drizzle olive oil over the fish and bake for 15-20 minutes, until salmon is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.

PAREVE VARIATION: to make this dish nondairy – use a pareve pesto and omit parmesan cheese.

Related recipes:

spinach, walnut and cheddar pesto
marcona almond & basil pesto
salmon pasta salad
salmon cakes with yogurt sauce

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Marcona Almond Pesto

You gotta love the way our bodies work. We are born with more than 10,000 taste buds that are housed inside papillae — those bumps you see at the back of your tongue. Inside those buds are tons of taste cells that detect what you’re eating and send that information to your brain. As we age, our taste buds become less sensitive, so the foods that we once found unappealing, don’t send as many strong signals to our brains. That’s why, as we get older, our palates change and we discover a newfound love for foods we may have hated during our childhood.

Over the last few years, I’ve taken a “leap of food” and dived right into the foods that I used to stay away from. I discovered a taste for fresh ginger, creamy mayonaisse, artichokes, and pesto. Of course there are still foods that I won’t touch with a 10-foot-pole like liver (or any offal), cilantro, fennel, and pattypan squash, but I’m coming around.

Once I really began to appreciate pesto, I went all out with different flavor combinations. I’ve tried spinach, walnut & cheddar, garlic scape, parsley pistachio (hope to blog that one soon!) and of course the classic basil & pine nut. But marcona almond pesto is by far my favorite. If you’ve never heard of Marcona almonds, they are native to Spain and are rounder and more plump than traditional California almonds that we’re used to. Their higher fat content gives them an unsurpassed taste and texture. In pesto, they add an amazing butteriness that is unmatched by any ingredient.

With the holiday of Shavuos coming up in a few weeks, I’ll be making the most of dairy recipes! Stay tuned for fun ways to use pesto as well as other fabulous milky creations!

Marcona Almond Pesto

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
½ cup marcona almonds
½ cup grated Natural & Kosher parmesan
2 garlic cloves, peeled
juice of 1/2 lemon (about 2 tbsp)
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/2-3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Place everything besides the olive oil in a food processor or blender and blend until roughly chopped. While the machine is running, slowly add the olive oil until the mixture turns into a creamy spread. Add more olive oil if you plan to use it as a sauce, and less olive oil if you plan to use it as a dip/spread.

TIP: Marcona almonds can be found at gourmet markets, including Costco (their Kirkland almonds can also be found on Amazon). If you can’t source them, you can use blanched toasted almonds instead.


This post was sponsored by Natural & Kosher Cheese. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Google+, or via their Blog

Related Recipes:

spinach, walnut & cheddar pesto
pesto pinwheels
pesto & goat cheese crostini

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