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Sweet Potato

Eat The Rainbow Paleo Salad

August 17, 2016
Rainbow paleo salad with fork

Rainbow paleo salad with fork

I know what you’re thinking. Are you seriously going to write a recipe for a salad? Yes. I seriously am. Because I take my salads very seriously. And I really do not understand why they are so underrated as a meal. They’re either the obligatory side dish or a necessary evil in dieting hell.

WHY?

I think it’s because people are making them the wrong way.

What are you putting in your salads? Lettuce. Tomatoes. Cucumber. Ranch. Ugh. That is SO 10 years ago. Where's the color? Where's the variety? Where's the WHOLE REASON we eat salads? To give us one big dose of highly nutritious ingredients all at once. Duh!

Salads – done right – can be showstoppers. In one bite, you can have crunchy, creamy, crispy and kale-y goodness. You can bring ingredients together that normally never associate with each other – for one big party in a bowl. Mango and avocado. Kale and pomegranate. Almond butter and charred broccoli.

Saute a few carrot shreds in coconut oil, caramelize some onions in ghee, add some well-seasoned chicken, juicy ground beef or even a tin of tuna on top, and you’ve got yourself one of the best entrées on the menu, my friends. (Note: I do not mean combine all these ingredients together. That's just silly).

Becasue I am concerned for your relationship with this vital meal, today, I share with you…

The BEST salad I ever made.

No joke. Search this entire blog and I’ve never said that before because it’s a bold claim.

This baby is warm yet cool, crunchy and creamy, melts in your mouth, but with a refreshing finish. And best part, it’s SO full of nutrients. You know how I know why? Because it’s RAINBOW COLORED!

Random flashback moment:

Rainbow Brite flashback.

ANYWAYS.

Where was I? Colors, right. Different nutrients give different colors to the foods they are in. And get this. It's all on purpose. Mother nature planned it that way. GENIUS!

Plants can't get up and walk around, right? So the way they literally spread their seed is by attracting animals and organisms to them with their good looks and vibrant colors. Animal likes what he sees. Animal eats. Animal hops, crawls, runs, or flies away. Animal poops out seeds somewhere else. And tada! A whole new pretty plant. So it's in their favor to stand out and look attractive.

But wait! There's more.

In addition to the pigments looking good, they also can protect the plant from UV damage, enable photosynthesis, and even act as antioxidants for the plants. The better the protection they provide, the longer they live. We humans, in turn, cash in on these benefits when we eat the plants ourselves.

Which brings me back to this beautiful salad. Let's see what we got here…

Red Cabbage
The blue tint in red cabbage (anthocyanins) –> keeps your mind sharp.

Green Kale
The deep green in kale (indoles and isothiocyanates)–> increases the production of enzymes that clear toxins from the body.

Orange Carrots and Sweet Potatoes
The orange in carrots and sweet potatoes (beta carotene) –> keeps your bones strong, your eyes healthy and boosts your immune system.

Crimson in Beets
The dark crimson in beets (Betacyanins) –> works in conjunction with vitamin C and manganese to offer benefits for eye health and overall nerve tissue health in addition to functioning as anti-inflammatory compounds.

Boom.

Forget the weird, unpronouncable words. Just eat the colors! Eat all of them. Red, orange, yellow, green blue, purple. Look out for them at the grocery store. Try weird veggies just because they're colorful. ROYGBV it up!

They're not just good for you, they're just plain GOOD.

You ready for this? I thought so.

Rainbow paleo salad

Ingredients:

  • 2 Heirloom Carrots
  • 1 Small Sweet Potato
  • 1-2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
  • Bowlful of Kale
  • Red Cabbage, chopped
  • Hemp Seeds
  • 1 Tablespoon Beet Dip – See here for beet dip recipe.

Dressing Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:

  1. Shred one carrot; chop the other carrot. Set aside.
  2. Shred the sweet potato using a vegetable peeler. Don't kill yourself trying to shred the whole thing up. Just get as far down as is comfortable and use the rest of the potato to chop up and saute later if you'd like.
  3. Heat coconut oil on pan and toss sweet potato shreds on. Saute until slightly crispy – 5 minutes-ish. Remove from pan to a side plate.
  4. Add more coconut oil to the pan and toss on carrot shreds. Saute until slightly crispy – 3 minutes-ish. Add shreds to sweet potato plate.
  5. Chop up kale so that it’s in nice bite-sized pieces. Put in salad bowl.
  6. Mix in red cabbage and chopped carrots.
  7. Top with sweet potato and carrot shreds.
  8. Scoop beet dip on top. Note, it's not TOTALLY necessary if you don't have the time to make it, but I highly recommend it. It's kind of what sends this salad over the edge. Might I suggest, too, that you just use sliced cooked beets as an addition if you don't want to make the dip.
  9. Sprinkle with hemp seeds.

Paleo Beet Dip with a lemon wedge

 

Much Love,

http://www.healthystacey.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/HealthyStaceySignature.jpg

P.S. Make it easy on yourself and Pin this baby!

 Eat The Rainbow Salad Pin

Rainbow paleo salad
Eat The Rainbow Paleo Salad
Print Recipe
Rainbow paleo salad
Eat The Rainbow Paleo Salad
Print Recipe
Ingredients
ACV Dressing
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Shred one carrot; chop the other carrot.
  2. Shred the sweet potato using a vegetable peeler. Don't kill yourself trying to shred the whole thing up. Just get as far down as is comfortable and use the rest of the potato to chop up and saute later if you'd like.
  3. Heat coconut oil on pan and toss sweet potato shreds on. Saute until slightly crispy – 5 minutes-ish. Remove from pan to a side plate.
  4. Add more coconut oil to the pan and toss on carrot shreds. Saute until slightly crispy – 3 minutes-ish. Add shreds to sweet potato plate.
  5. Chop up kale so that it’s in nice bite-sized pieces. Put in salad bowl.
  6. Mix in red cabbage and chopped carrots.
  7. Top with sweet potato and carrot shreds.
  8. Scoop beet dip on top. Note, it's not TOTALLY necessary if you don't have the time to make it, but I highly recommend it. It's kind of what sends this salad over the edge. Might I suggest, too, that you just use sliced cooked beets as an addition if you don't want to make the dip.
  9. Sprinkle with hemp seeds.
  10. Pour ACV dressing on top and aggressively mix it all together.
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Sweet Potato Paleo Muffin Recipe

August 18, 2015

Sweet Potato Paleo Muffins

I don’t own a measuring spoon.

In the beginning it wasn't intentional. I had misplaced the ones that I did own. But weird as it sounds, I found this freedom from measurement liberating. With all the other things I obsess and perfect over in my life, cooking should be the one thing I can do without rules. Everything I need, I can get from my silverware or the pinch of my fingers.

When I first taught myself to cook, I followed recipes as if it was the word of God. I could not begin the process until I had spent at least an hour looking for the perfect recipe. And then I might change my mind 10 more times. And then, if I was missing one ingredient, I'd change my mind 10 more.

Paleo Sweet Potato Muffins

But as I got more comfortable, I realized how much more freeing it was to close out of the recipe on my phone, drop the measuring spoon, and just eyeball it.

This is all well and good for cooking. But they tell me (you know, the imaginary kitchen police) that this approach can’t be done for baking.

Baking requires formulas. Baking requires science. And baking most definitely requires measuring spoons.

Umm, respectfully, I say, F that.

I baked the meanest muffins this weekend (mean as in AWESOME), and I totally ignored the rules. Yes, I did consult a few recipes first (to get inspired), but then I just went for it.

I realize that it may take awhile for newbie cooks to get to this point. Obviously for me it took years of trial and error and obsessing. Which is why, before I dive into the recipe, I wanted to share with you a post that I did awhile back that helped me understand why formulas are used in baking – cookies specifically. If I could understand that, then I could be creative within the parameters of the rules. I highly recommend reading it it if you would like to come up with your own recipes:

Healthy Stacey Cookie Creation Guide

HealthyStaceyCookieCreation

Now, this time around, I didn't make cookies. I made muffins. But the process wasn't much different than cookies. (I'm sure many bakers would disagree with me)….

You've got your wet ingredients, your dry ingredients and your main ingredient – what creates the flavor. You mix them up seperately, then you mix them together. Then add in any finishing touches (i.e. a chocolate chip or a dried berry).

I knew I wanted something sweet. But not too sweet; something I could eat for breakfast, but also dessert. I had oodles of sweet potatoes that needed to be used before they went bad. And I wanted to use ingredients that boost the nutrition factor up a few notches.

And thus, Sweet Potato Paleo Muffins were born! Complete with nutrient-packed sweet potatoes, anti-inflammatory turmeric and healthy-fat coconut oil. Naturally sweetened with dates and a bit of maple syrup. And, best of all, the perfect dense/moist texture with just enough sweet to satisfy that nagging tooth.

Below is the recipe.

I realize the irony here that I’m writing a post about not following a recipe by giving you a recipe. But what I want you to do is feel inspired by the possibility that you don’t have to follow it to a T. You can be a little loose, and have a lot more fun.

So follow it. Don’t follow it. But whatever you do, don’t overthink it. Just test the batter as you go, add more good-tasting things if it’s not tasting good enough (your batter is a pretty heavy indicator of your final product), use common sense, and enjoy the process.

Sweet Potato Muffins Recipe

Sweet Potato Paleo Muffins

Ingredients:

  • 6 pasture-raised eggs
  • 1/2 cup butter, clarified butter/ghee, or coconut oil, melted – I like this one
  • 1 teaspoon pure star anise extract (because that’s what I had – feel free to use vanilla extract)
  • 1 cup of dates
  • ¼ cup of maple syrup
  • 3 cups shredded sweet potatoes
  • ¼ cup coconut flour
  • ¼ cup arrowroot flour
  • pinch of sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 
  • optional: 1/4 cup of some fun mix-in – dried cranberries, dried cherries, chocolate chiiiips!

 

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Put your cup of dates in a glass of water. You will let them soak for about the amount of time it will take you to do the next steps before you need to add in your dates (10 minutes or so).
  3. Prep your counter ahead of time with the following: 1 dry bowl (bowl for dry ingredients), 1 wet bowl (just guess what this one’s for), a muffin tin or muffin liners spread with coconut oil or butter so the batter doesn’t stick, snd a food processor.
  4. Pulverize the sweet potatoes in a food processor with a shredder. It took me about 10 sweet potatoes, but I was using the organic Trader Joe’s sweet potatoes which are unusually small. Unload them to a seperate bowl (you'll be needing the food processor for the dates).
  5. Mix together the dry ingredients: coconut flour, arrowroot flour, sea salt, baking soda, turmeric and cinnamon.
  6. Whisk eggs in wet bowl.
  7. Time to take care of your dates! Drain half the water out of the glass of dates. Throw them in your food processor (no reason to rinse out the sweet potatoes mess; it’s all going the same place). Pulse until it’s a smooth liquid.
  8. Add in melted butter/oil, anise (or vanilla) extract, maple syrup and date syrup.
  9. Mix dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
  10. Fold in shredded sweet potatoes.
  11. Add in raisins, cranberries, chocolate chips – whatever floats your boat!
  12. Spoon the batter into your muffin tins or your muffin liners.
  13. Pop in oven for 25 minutes. Take out, check them with a toothpick to see if it comes out clean. Most likely, you’ll need 5-10 more minutes. But I’d rather you be safe than sorry.
  14. Once done, put on an upside down plate (or a cooling rack if you’re fancy like that). Do your darndest to wait until it cools off to eat one.

 

Much Love,

HealthyStaceySignature

Like what you read today? Think somebody else would like to learn how to create their own cookie recipe or make a mean sweet potato muffin? See those cute little social shapes underneath this post? They're for sharing! Click one to post to Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, or comment right here on the blog. I would love to hear from you.

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Cooking Without Thinking + Sweet Potato Carrot Soup Recipe

June 3, 2015

I made the most perfect meal last week. It was rich and creamy, a little sweet, a little savory. So robust, each sip hit every single craving spot – from tongue to tummy.

But my favorite part about this dish is that I made it with absolutely no recipe.

OrangeSoupInPot

On the train ride home from work, I had this mad craving for something soothing and comforting. I knew there wasn’t much in my refrigerator but leftover bone broth and a few odds and ends.

As soon as I walked in my apartment and opened the refrigerator door, it became clear: I would make soup.

It didn’t matter that it was May 26th and nice enough outside for light jackets and open-toed shoes. After a stressful day in freezing cold air-conditioned office, the very best thing for me would be soup.

And the ingredients to that soup would not come from a Pin, a cookbook or a blog. It would simply be determined by my cravings. I start to pull out leftovers from the shelves and scrape the bottom of the produce drawer…

Carrots. Sweet potatoes. Pumpkin. Turmeric.  

IMG_3576

Everything was turning up orange. The color of comfort in my book. Reminds me of fall candles, the summer sun and warm ooey gooeyness.

I got to work. I turned on Boys II Men (don't judge). And I didn't think too much.

I roasted the carrots so they could match the texture of the already roasted soft sweet potatoes. I found half an onion, chopped it up, and sautéed it in ghee on the bottom of my big silver soup pot. I sliced and diced up my turmeric root, tossed it in with the onions, and not soon after added the broth. As soon as the carrots were starting to soften, I swept them in the bowl too, along with their orange sweet potato counterpart.

Stir the pot. Set to simmer. And a look through the spice cabinet for any last minute additions. Paprika for smoke, cayenne for spice. A little hot red to add to the orange. And last but not least, a dash of salt and a few grinds of pepper.

And for the big finish. I removed the pan from the burner. Sat it on an upside-down plate. And waited impatiently for it to cool. As good as it would be just as it was. I knew nothing could beat the taste of blending every ingredient together to create one big, complex, hearty soup.

IMG_3578

So as soon as I deemed it ready, I carefully poured it in my food processor and pulverized it till the colors turned one bright sunset-orange. The end result? The just-enough-spice, more-than-enough layers of smooth and creamy, richest, fullest soup I have ever, ever had.

Now I’m not naïve enough to think that this soup was an “It’s so easy” dish. I hate when people tell me that and it’s so obviously time-consuming or complicated. And I don't say this to toot my own horn and declare my awesomenss in the kitchen. It was just that, in the midst of all this slicing and dicing, sautéing and roasting, I realized that this effortless cooking dance was only the result of years of practice. A culmination of reading recipe after recipe, Googling, pinning, researching, watching, asking, and prepping my kitchen with “odds and ends” that I’m guessing most people don’t have (turmeric root, anyone? Anyone?).

This soup never would have been easy or enjoyable for me to make 3 years, 2 years or even 1 year ago. But I’ll be damned if I didn’t revel in every single moment of it on that sunny, nice-enough-outside 26th of May.

Because that’s the day, I realized I can really cook. 

Wherever you are in your cooking journey, I beg you to try your version of my comfort soup. Drop the recipe book, put down your Pinterest and just cook. You never know. You just might surprise yourself.

Orange Comfort Soup

IMG_3582

I give you this recipe as a jumping off point. But I strongly encourage you to replace the ingredients with whatever you have in your refrigerator and suit it to your own tastes. That's the beauty of soup. Chop it up, roast it up, toss it in, pulverize it and cross your fingers. Yes, it could be complete crap. Or it could be delicious… 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 Carrots
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 already roasted sweet potato
  • Turmeric root
  • 1 tablespoon pureed pumpkin
  • 3 cups of bone broth
  • 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
  • Ghee
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • pinch of cayenne
  • Salt & Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Dice up carrots into approximately 1 inch pieces.
  3. Drizzle or roll in coconut oil.
  4. Roast for 20 minutes.
  5. Note: If you're sweet potatoes aren't already roasted, you'll want to do start them first because they will take the longest (approximately 45 minutes).
  6. Saute chopped onion in ghee for approximately 5 minutes, or until the onions just begin to become translucent.
  7. Toss in sliced turmeric and saute another 1-2 minutes.
  8. Pour in bone broth and stir.
  9. Add roasted sweet potatoes, roasted carrots, paprika, cayenne and salt and pepper.
  10. Let it simmer for 5-10 mintues.
  11. Remove from heat and let cool.
  12. Pour soup into a food processor and pulverize until smooth and creamy.
  13. Enjoy every spoonful because you deserve it.

 

I want to hear from you guys! Have you seen yourselves grow in the kitchen? Or at least had that moment where everything came together perfectly? Does anybody else feel liberated by going recipe-less? Comment below!

I Guarantee You’ve Never Made THIS For Breakfast

May 6, 2015

ShreddedZuchinniI can't tell you how many times people have asked me – what do you eat for breakfast when you're Gluten-Free and Paleo? 

My answer? Hardboiled eggs that I stuff in a baggie before I leave the house, or my favorite homemade smoothie (or both if I'm really hungry). I'm not saying it's easy. But it's really not that hard.

What is hard is how to get creative with it. Because, let’s face it, hardboiled eggs can get rather dull day in and day out. I've stretched my creativity a little in this post – Unique Ideas for a Gluten-Free Breakfast. 

But I've got something for you today that may blow your mind. Allow me to introduce you to my* latest invention:

The Veggie Pancake.

HealthyStacey_VeggiePancake1

The veggie pancake is a mix of eggs, shredded veggies and tasty spices. A combination you most likely have never considered before. But when you do, you'll wonder what you've been doing all these years with eggs and starchy veggies in the refrigerator together – without ever introducing the two. The result of the combination is one easy-to-bag-and-go pancake of delicious nutritiousness.

The recipe I will give you can – and should be – played with. I’m pretty confident that any starchy veggie that can be shredded will work for this pancake (think carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, zucchinis, squash, eggplant).

Veggie Pancake Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 3 Eggs
  • 2 Tablespoons Coconut Flour
  • Seasonings**
  • Salt & Pepper
  • 2 Zucchinis
  • 2 Squash
  • 1 Sweet Potato
  • Onions, chopped
  • Ghee or Coconut Oil

**Seasonings: 
I kept this vague on purpose because I think it’s fun to explore different seasonings. I like mine spicy so I added dashes of cayenne pepper, paprika, onion powder and garlic powder. If you wanted it more herby, go for seasonings like oregano, sage and lemon pepper. Don't feel too tied to the recipe. The spice-abilities are endless. Yes. I just said spice-abilities. 

HealthyStacey_pancakes

Directions:

  1. Shred your veggies (in this case, Zucchini, Squash and Sweet Potato). I used my handy dandy spiralizer, but a box shredder or a food processor with a fitted blade would work too.
  2. Sprinkle them with salt and leave for 10 minutes (this draws out the water).
  3. With your bare hands – or with cheesecloth – squeeze the heck out of your shredded veggies.
    Note: Steps 2 and 3 are in order to avoid the dreaded soggy pancake. But if you’re feeling lazy (totally acceptable), skip this step.
  4. Chop onions and sauté them on a skillet until they become soft and translucent.
  5. Crack your eggs into a large mixing bowl.
  6. Whisk together with coconut flour and seasonings.
  7. Add the shredded veggies and sautéed onions.
  8. Heat about a tablespoon of coconut oil or ghee on medium high.
  9. Scoop lumps of your “batter” onto the sauté pan (I did three at a time).
  10. Press down with spatula to form flattened pancakes (you want them as flat as possible so that the egg will cook on the inside – you do not want gooey eggy insides).
  11. Turn down to medium as you let them cook for another 3-5 minutes, or until they are slightly browned.
  12. Try turning over with spatula (if they fall apart, they are not cooked enough).
  13. Flip over and cook for another 3 minutes or so.
  14. Serve on a platter with a side of bacon for breakfast, or stuff in a Ziploc bag to take to the office with you as a snack.

HealthyStacey_VeggiePancake2Go

*Note: I cannot take full credit for this idea, as it was inspired by the wonderful recipes in Diane Sanfillippo’s book, “Practical Paleo.”

Okay. Your turn party people. What do you do for breakfast? Would you even consider this recipe? Or is it a bit too weird for you? Do you have any weird/unique breakfast recipes? Choose your pick of the cute icons below – Facebook, Twitter, or the fun little message bubble – and share what you think. Can't wait to hear from you.