Day 1

Hi all!

A few people asked me to share recipe ideas - and since I'm all about easy - I thought this might be a good platform to do so! 

First things first - I am terrible at recipes. I'm much more interested in creating interesting flavor combinations and hoping for the best than I am following a recipe perfectly. This is because I am lazy, and measuring things requires that I use more dishes, and therefor have to wash more dishes... For those of you who need perfect recipes, this may not be a useful source for you. Although, I do encourage you to get in the kitchen and try things! Make mistakes! Learn! Cooking is a skill like any other, it takes some practice, a lot of patience, but when it goes well you have a delicious meal as a reward.

OKAY! So here is what I'm thinking. As I go through the month I'll try and post recipe ideas, flavor combinations, etc. This will keep me accountable and force me to keep things interesting, and hopefully provide some inspiration for anyone who is struggling to come up with paleo meal ideas.

I will not provide perfect recipes on most occasions, so I encourage you to apply some of your own critical thought and to ask questions! Don't like a spice I'm using? Use less of it or sub it for something else! Or, just try it and maybe, just maybe, you'll like it! 

"CANDIED" SPICED NUTS:
egg white (roughly 1 egg white/2 cups of nuts)

2 cups raw nuts (hazelnuts, pecans, walnuts, and cashews are my favorites)

3tbsp honey

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper (trust me!) 

Whip your egg white until stiff peaks form when you remove the whisk from the bowl

Add spices and honey together - taste! It should be sweet and spicy! Adjust spices accordingly.

Gently mix in the nuts to the whipped egg white - you don't want the egg white to collapse

Gently add in the the honey/spice mix

Mix until evenly incorporated.

Spread them out on parchment paper and bake at 325 for roughly 20 min. After 20 min, remove and taste test - remember that the nuts coming out of the oven will be HOT and softer than they will be when they cool down. 

BREAKFAST DAY 1:

In a pan, heat up olive oil, add chopped kale + sliced mushrooms + curry powder (roughly 1/4 tsp/1 cup raw veggies), turmeric, cumin, salt, pepper - cover with a lid, cook until mushrooms are soft. Squeeze in some tomato paste (roughly 1 tsp/cup veggies) and mix. TASTE! (Not enough spices? Add more! Not enough salt? Add more! Too much spice? Toss in some more kale and cook for another minute!)

Set aside. Fry up a couple eggs, plate veggies, put eggs on top. Eat!

Tip: I always wash my veggies right before I toss them in the pan, the extra moisture on the leaves helps the veggies steam.

DINNER DAY 1:

Pureed tomato or canned diced, chili flakes, pressed garlic, fresh parsley. In a frying pan, add olive oil, cubed eggplant, and chopped onion. Cook until soft and browning (burning? add some water to steam it. need more oil? add it! Hate eggplant? Use zucchini, or just add zucchini!). Once soft, toss your eggplant in with your sauce, add some capers for punch. Pairs well with grilled chicken, sausage, or a nice white fish like sole. 

That's all! If you have questions, feel free to ask. If this is useful, great! If not, never look at it again! I will not be offended, promise.

Ari