Posts Tagged: paleo lunches
Dairy Free: Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Just so we’re clear, this is a Paleo soup recipe, but obviously the sandwiches aren’t. If you’re new here, you might not know that I try and alternate between a plant-based and Paleo diet. The rest of my family don’t have the same health issues as I do so essentially they can indulge in what I do not! Meals like these make that kind of diverse food prep easy. It’s just grilled cheese yo. Perhaps a little bit fancy, but no big whoop. If you want to get into making big batches of bone broth to use in many an Autumn and Winter recipe, here’s my recipe!
- Soup (double batch if you please)
- 2 tbsp. ghee, coconut oil, or
grassfed butter - 2 tbsp. REAL maple syrup (amber if you have it!)
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
- 8 c. bone broth (or 3½ quart sized tetra packs of veggie or meat based stock)
- 10 cups 1-inch pieces peeled butternut squash (about 3½ lbs.)*
- 2 tsp. minced fresh thyme
- 2 tsp. minced fresh sage
- 2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 (heaping) tsp. ground ginger
- 1 c. cashew cream (soak ¼ cup of cashews in hot water for about 20 min., drain rinse and blend, adding
in more water until cream-like consistency is obtained) - BONUS! Apple, Crispy Sage + Gruyere Sandwiches (for 4)
- 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
- 8: ¼-inch-thick Italian loaf bread slices (or bread of choice)
- 8 slices Gruyere cheese
- 2 peeled and thinly sliced honey crisp apples
- 5 or 6 baked sage leaves per sandwich
- Soup:
- Bake cubed butternut squash tossed in 1 tbsp. of oil or butter and the maple, in a preheated oven of 350 F for about 25/35 minutes (depending on the heat of your oven), turning cubes midway.
- Melt the other tbsp. of oil or butter in large dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, ginger, garlic and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add broth, all squash and herbs; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer a few minutes.
- Working in batches, puree soup in double batches. Return soup to same pot. Stir in the cashew cream and bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper.
- Sandwiches:
- Preheat panini press. Butter BOTH sides of each bread slice. Arrange bread, buttered side down across a large expanse of counter to create an assembly line.
Top half of the bread slices with one slice of cheese, then apples, topping with another slice of cheese. Place other pieces of bread slices to complete the sandwich prep and grill until golden, about 2 minutes. Remove from press and let sit for 30-60 seconds before slicing. - Ladle soup into bowls and serve those delectable sandwiches with those who can eat bread and cheese without a care in the world!
Curried Sweet Potato, Kale and Mango Stew
A versatile dish, this can be made vegan or vegetarian. You can add chicken or leave it out as I have done. Curry is a soul-food. It sticks to your ribs, warms your tummy and can be made to your own heat preference. Our kids like it with yogurt (tames the spice a bit). Do you have your kids eating curry yet? Try our this version! The mangos and a natural sweetness to the more savoury elements of this dish.
I used to purchase pre-made curry powder (because easy), but I’ve gotten into the habit of making from-scratch pastes each time I give curry a whirl as the depth of flavour is incomparable once you’ve gone there. I’ve tried to simplify the process as much as possible from some of the more conventional/traditional curry adventures, it doesn’t always have to be a huge time commitment! Enjoy!
- 2 large yellow cooking onions, chopped
- 8 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 4 tbsp fresh ginger, roughly chopped
- 4 tbsp ghee (or grassfed butter or coconut oil)
- 3 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tsp fennel seed
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tsp cayenne
- 1½ tsp garam masala
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 400g can chopped/diced tomatoes (or diced fresh plum tomatoes)
- 1 250ml can of full-fat coconut milk
- 1 cup veggie broth
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander
- 3 sweet potatoes, cubed (about 1 lb worth)
- 1 lb carrots, cubed
- 2 mangos, cubed
- 1tsp. pink himalyan sea salt
- 1 tsp fresh ground pepper
- Fresh minced kale to garnish (I like to sprinkle at least ½ cup's worth per serving)
- ***Optional: 1 can of garbanzo beans, ½ lb of baby potatoes and 2 cups of frozen peas
- Saute the chopped onions in ½ of your ghee/oil with the garlic cloves (whole) until translucent. Transfer to a small food processor, adding in the ginger, cumin, fennel, cinnamon, chili, cayenne, garam masala and turmeric, with 1 tbsp ghee/oil (of the remaining 2) with 2 tablespoons of water - process to a slack paste.
- Heat the last of the ghee/oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Scoop the paste out of the blender/processor into the pot. Swirl everything around for about 30 secs until the spices release a fragrant aroma.
- Tip in the tomatoes, broth, coconut milk and carrots. (You can add the garbanzo beans and baby potatoes if you've chosen to add these). Continue cooking on a medium-low heat for about 25 mins without a lid until the liquid begins to reduce and darken.
- Add in the sweet potatoes and mango and simmer for another 40 mins without a lid until the carrots are nicely stewed and the sweet potatoes are fall-apart tender. The masala should be thickened now – you might need to add an extra ladleful of broth or water if the curry needs it. Sprinkle with chopped coriander and stir.
- Serve with minced kale and cashew yogurt or regular yogurt and sprouted brown rice for the non-paleo eaters at your table!
Paleo Wrap Option: Swiss Chard BLT
This of for those of you who like healthy tasting things. I’m not trying to sell this style of eating to those who have no desire or respect for it. Kind of maxed out with that right now. So. If you’ve clicked here, it’s becasue this looks damn tasty to you.
So first, I’d like to smugly congratulate you on having a developed palette. For being a human that is deeply connected to respecting the vessels that are but two which we are given in this life: your body. Your mind.
Plus … these include bacon. Those succulent strips of pure heaven make anything taste good so even if this image has you turning up towards the sky, g’won and give this a try. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll like it.
Oh, and I said I wasn’t going to to try and appeal to you over there crinkling you nose …
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