If I’m going to put effort into making lunch, it had better be substantial. Nothing is worse than slicing, dicing, and chopping your way to lunch only to get hungry an hour after you’ve eaten. This Paleo spicy nori wraps recipe will leave you feeling satisfied.
Sure, you can buy sauerkraut at the store. But you’re probably going to miss out on the best benefits of eating it by doing so. This Paleo sauerkraut recipe is simple goodness!
This lovely Paleo chilled emerald soup recipe is a nice departure from run-of-the-mill warm soups. It’s great to eat any time of year.
What is Emerald Soup?
If you look up emerald soup, you might find yourself reading about a British TV series for children. For our purposes, it’s best to think of emerald soup as spinach soup.
As you can imagine, a soup comprised of spinach might sport a bright shade of green. Some call it emerald green.
Emerald soup is pretty universal and pretty flexible. Besides the spinach, pretty much anything goes.
It can be served hot or cold, and a plethora of ingredients are acceptable to throw in the pot.
These include potatoes, celery, carrot, dill, broccoli, tomatoes, olive oil, onion, lemon juice, leeks, butter, and milk.
You probably wouldn’t use all of that together, but those are some examples of what people include.
How I Made This Paleo
I wanted to be this soup to be a symphony of green, so I mainly stuck with ingredients of a particular color.
Avocado, cucumber, and cilantro leaves all made the cut. I added melon for sweetness and lemon juice for tradition, but you’re still going to get a very green soup.
The biggest thing I needed to avoid for Paleo was the dairy. While not every emerald soup recipe would contain dairy, some do, and I try to avoid that.
In addition to milk or butter, some people dollop sour cream on top of the soup for garnish. Our recipe gives you the option of garnishing with diced cucumber.
For added flavor, you can add tamari to taste.
Bowl of Nutrients
Spinach was a superfood before superfoods were even a thing. Even Popeye cartoons were touting its benefits.
The vitamin K levels in spinach are off the charts, but that’s not all. Spinach is also a good source of vitamin A, manganese, folate, magnesium, iron, copper, vitamin B6, vitamin E, vitamin B2, and the list goes on.
The only food label in a center aisle you’ll find like that is something that has been fortified. But Paleo is all about eating the real deal, and there are few better foods than spinach.
Be Mindful of Magnesium
Did you know that 75% of Americans are deficient in this essential mineral? That’s true whether you’re Paleo or not.
Unfortunately, your body absorbs a maximum of 40% of the magnesium you eat. So we’d all do well to make sure we’re getting plenty in our diet.
This Paleo chilled emerald soup recipe is a great way to top off your magnesium levels, but there are other foods you can eat too.
Check out this article about magnesium and why you might be deficient. You’ll learn the key benefits of magnesium and 8 magnesium-rich foods to include in your diet.
You don’t want to destroy all the hard work you’ve put into your diet and lifestyle. You really don’t.
On the other hand, you have a life. You need to hang out with friends and family. And who could possibly do that without having an alcoholic drink or 5?
I’m not going to sugar-coat the facts – alcohol isn’t really Paleo. And – more importantly – alcohol is not helping you reach whatever health goals you want to achieve. (Here’s an article on 7 huge reasons to ditch alcohol.)
But! There are ways to make alcohol less toxic, to keep your Paleo diet more intact, and…gasp…to reduce hangovers.
Paleo cooking does not have to be expensive and time consuming. This Paleo slow cooker garlic chicken recipe is that magic combo of simple and delicious.
This Paleo pressure cooker chicken curry recipe is a simple, savory masterpiece. You’ll appreciate this recipe, even more, when you find out how some people make it.
Perfect Under Pressure
I’ve been getting a lot of requests for pressure cooker recipes, and it’s not hard to understand why. In our busy world, there never seems to be enough time, and we’re all looking for shortcuts.
The pressure cooker offers a much, much better option than succumbing to the temptation of fast food or frozen meals. While you may be able to find options that aren’t completely horrible, you’re almost always better off making food yourself.
Chicken curry is a great candidate for the pressure cooker, so don’t feel like you’re somehow getting a lesser version of the dish just because of the method we’re using.
Oh yeah, and it’s Paleo to boot!
Not Your Average Chicken Curry
Normally I’d go into detail about how I changed up a particular recipe to bring it into the bounds of Paleo. But chicken curry is pretty darn Paleo without my help.
The only big change from most red curry recipes is that I left out the sugar. Most recipes don’t include a whole lot anyway, so you won’t feel deprived in any way.
It’s also quite a bit more conservative than some takes on curry. While chicken, beef, shrimp, pork, or duck are often made with curry, some people use less familiar fare, such as snake or frog.
I’m not about to suggest where you can source the best organic local snake, so I just stuck with chicken this time around.
If you would like to try alternate meat, however, feel free.
I love the taste of the chicken after it’s been pressure cooker fried in coconut oil. It really brings an added dimension of taste that makes this chicken curry extra special.
Pan toasting the almonds is another little step that adds a lot.
More Paleo Indian Food
If you’re like me, Indian food is a favorite. At the same time, you don’t want to turn a blind eye to the fact that your favorite Indian restaurant probably isn’t making things Paleo-style.
But you don’t have to compromise your diet to eat your favorite foods. You just have to find a better way to make them.
In a hot, dry skillet, toast the flaked almonds until golden brown. Remove the toasted almonds from the skillet and set aside.
Season both sides of the chicken pieces with salt.
Melt the coconut oil in a pressure cooker over high heat. Add the chicken thighs, skin-side down, to the pressure cooker and fry until golden and crispy. Remove the chicken thighs from the pressure cooker with a slotted spoon and set aside skin-side up.
If desired, remove any excess rendered fat from the pressure cooker. Add the Thai red curry paste and coconut milk to the pressure cooker and whisk to combine. Cook the curry mixture, whisking constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes until emulsified and slightly thick.
Place the chicken thighs, skin side up, in the pressure cooker and secure the lid. Cook for 14 to 15 minutes over moderate heat. Let the pressure cooker to release steam naturally before safely removing the lid.
Remove the chicken thighs from the pressure cooker with a slotted spoon and set aside to keep warm. Over high heat, reduce the remaining coconut curry sauce until completely thickened to your liking. If desired, season the sauce with additional salt.
Pour the curry sauce over the chicken thighs and then garnish with chopped fresh cilantro and toasted flaked almonds. Serve immediately.
Notes
All nutritional data are estimated and based on per serving amounts.
Tacos are a perennial family favorite in my house. We always set them up like a buffet so everyone can serve themselves. That means that my sister can skip the onions, my father can turn up the spice, I can sneak a double helping of sauce, and everyone is happy. For a long time, we only made beef tacos but after I was introduced to these Paleo Baja fish tacos, I don’t know why we waited so long to switch it up. I was worried that fish tacos would be hard to make but these come together so quickly and they would be right at home on the menu of your favorite Mexican restaurant!