Paleo Power Lunch- Vegan?

      I can't say I'd ever go 100% Paleo as I don't eat meat and the diet would be rather restrictive. However, I really like this diet's avoidance of wheat gluten, and dairy and generally sticking to natural unprocessed foods. So, I just checked out this great cookbook. It provides a lot of help for planning out your meals for the week and also includes simple and nutritious no-cook recipes. I love un-cooking. I don't post nearly enough uncooked recipes. The only thing I did to make up for the lack of meat, which of course is not normally a lack of food for me but without grains, beans or potatoes (which are excluded from the paleo diet) to fill me up, the recipes can seem a bit sparse for a vegetarian so I made a recipe for "nut meat" (see below for recipe). It's raw, contains no gluten or grain and can be seasoned in any way to match the flavor of whatever dish you add it to.  I also recommend cauliflower blenderized to replace the egg. Maybe you could add flax seeds or cashew or sunflower seed butter or milk for more protein. I didn't try it so if you do, let me know how it worked out.

    I would definitely recommend this cookbook to anyone. If it seems to restrictive for a lifestyle change, it would easily make a great short-term detox diet or a quick plateau- busting diet for weight loss that will give you great energy. If you're vegan or vegetarian, include my nut meat as a substitute for the meat or you can just add extra nuts, seeds, or mushrooms to your meals to keep you from feeling really hungry.

Click here to get the Paleo Power Lunch Cookbook.

And, for anyone who's ever wanted to try gluten-free, soy-free*, dairy-free and egg-free meat alternative, here's my nut meat recipe. I think it needs a new name. Any suggestions?

Nut Meat
1 C raw walnuts
1 C raw white mushrooms sliced- or if you like the taste, dried shitake mushrooms have more of a meat-y texture
1 clove of garlic minced
2 tomatoes
1/4 C Bragg Liquid Aminos*
1/4-1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp sea salt or himalayan crystal salt
1/2 tsp raw agave

In blender, mix the tomatoes, liquid aminos, salt, agave onion powder and garlic. Add a little water if needed to blend thoroughly. Pour into a container with the walnuts and mushrooms and allow to marinate overnight. When ready to prepare "meat," drain the excess liquid from the mushrooms and walnuts then place in food processor and grind to a ground beef consistency.

For mexican taco inspired "meat" season with:
1 T chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp oregano

For italian flavor season add:
sun-dried tomatoes, basil, oregano, and black pepper

*Liquid aminos contain some soy, can substitute an extra 1/4-1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 C water

Nachos for a heart-attack-free super bowl party!

I don't really have much interest in the super bowl besides the commercials and maybe the half-time show, but I love good food and entertaining! If I were having a super bowl party, this is what I would serve. You won't have to worry about heart attacks with this recipe. My sisters and I opted to go to Trader Joe's for a quick meal rather than Chipotle the other day and that is where this recipe was born. We needed it to be quick and with three of us it took less than 10 minutes to throw everything together. So unless you have 3 pairs of hands working in It was so good I had to share. This recipe features vegan nacho cheese, vegan sour cream, refried beans, beef-less taco meat, guacamole, salsa and fajita style peppers and onions.

Mmm Fajita Nachos

Vegan Fajita-Style Nachos

You will need:

2 tubs of non-dairy [cream cheese] spread

1 can Trader Joe's salsa style refried beans

1 pepper (red or green)

1/2 red onion

1 bag blue corn chips

1 package Avocados Number One Guacamole- or if you have time to make any other guacamole recipe, that's fine

1 tub of Trader Joes Serrano Salsa Fresca- or other Salsa you enjoy

1 tsp Trader Joes Red Jalapeno Sauce- if you don't have TJ's maybe you can sub Tapatio or Texas Pete or whatever other hot sauce you enjoy

1 package TJ's Beef-less Grounds

olive oil

1 Tbs lemon juice 

1 tsp chili pepper

1/2 tsp paprika 

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp salt

Start by slicing the peppers and onions first then place the onions in a pan with some olive oil on low-medium heat. While the onions are cooking down, start the taco "meat." 

In a bowl mix the chili pepper, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder and salt in with your Beef-less Grounds. Once thoroughly mixed, pour olive oil into a pan add your "meat" and brown until desired temp is reached.

 While you're cooking the meat or once you're done, it should be time to add the sliced pepper to the onions that have been cooking. Add more oil if necessary. 

Next make the nacho cheese. Take one container of non-dairy spread and dump it into a small saucepan. Add 1/2 C water and 1tsp Jalapeno sauce along with a dash of salt and a dash of garlic. Stir over low heat until your nacho cheese reaches desired consistency. 

Now put the refried beans in a bowl with 1/4 cup water and heat in the microwave on high about 2 minutes. Stir well once you take it out of the microwave. By now our peppers and onions should be cooked so don't forget to remove them from heat.

Then make the sour cream. In a bowl mix the other tub of sour cream with about 2 Tbs of water and 1 Tbs of lemon juice and it's ready to serve. If it still feels too thick you can add a little more water.

Place everything in serving bowls and let your guests put together their nachos however they like. If you're taking food to a party and that's too inconvenient, you can layer it in a large bowl in this order: beans, meat, nacho cheese, peppers and onion, guacamole, salsa, sour cream. Or, try my 7 Layer Dip if you prefer. 

Happy Super Bowl!!