Tag: gluten-free

Paleo Thai Spaghetti & Meatballs

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This paleo version of spaghetti and meatballs brings the classic flavors of Thailand to your plate in a relatively quick to throw together dinner that’s both hearty and tasty.

gluten-free, paleo


Paleo Thai Spaghetti & Meatballs

For the spaghetti

1 spaghetti squash

For the meatballs

1 lb. ground chicken
1/2 bunch chopped scallions
1/2 inch grated ginger
2 clove grated garlic
1/2 grated shallot
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds
1 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 1 Tbsp. warm water
1 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 Tbsp. coconut aminos

For the sauce

2 Tbsp. sunflower seed butter
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. lime juice
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
2 Tbsp. coconut aminos
1/2 inch grated ginger
1 clove grated garlic
1/2 grated shallot
1 Tbsp. sesame seeds

First, halve your spaghetti squash (lengthwise for shorter noodles; widthwise for longer), scoop out the seeds and stringy guts, poke a couple holes per side, add cut-side down to a dish with a little water standing in it and cover tightly with saran wrap. Microwave on high 30 minutes or until tender. Uncover (carefully!) and let cool. Shred with a fork when cooled to make the noodles.

While the spaghetti is going, make the meatballs.

Combine all meatball ingredients in a large bowl and knead to combine.

Heat a Tablespoon or two of your favorite fat (I used coconut oil) over medium-high heat in a large pan.

Take the meatball meat, form into one-inch meatballs (as well as you can – my mix was a little wet and sticky so my meatballs were more like formed splats than round balls but were still tasty), and saute until browned and cooked through.

Set aside on a paper towel and cook batches until you are out of meat mixture.

While your last batch is going, make your sauce by whisking all sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.

To serve, toss the spaghetti with the sauce and portion, topping with meatballs.

Serves 2 for dinner with enough meatballs left over for lunch

Springy Honey + Olive Salad

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This crowd-pleaser is perfect for an early Spring potluck when you’re stuck between that ‘Yay! Winter citrus!’ and ‘All I want are fresh greens’ stage of life. This salad has enough going on that it will impress your foodie friends, is user-friendly enough that you *should* be able to convince everyone to be on board with olives, and can be tweaked just a bit to satisfy your vegan friends.

Gluten-free, vegetarian, primal 


Springy Honey + Olive Salad

4 – 6 cups cut kale
1/2 head red radicchio, chopped
Zest + flesh (supremed and chopped) of 1 sumo or other orangey/grapefruity citrus
1/3 cup nice olives, chopped
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans
Juice 1/2 lemon
2 Tbsp whole grain mustard
2 tsp honey
1/2 cup olive oil
Kosher salt & black pepper

Add the kale to a large bowl. Zest the citrus on top. Chop the radicchio and add.

Toss to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk the lemon juice, olive oil, honey, mustard, salt & pepper. 

Pour the dressing over the greens and massage by hand to work the dressing into the leaves.

Chop the olives and add. Toast the pecans, chop and add. Supreme the citrus, chop and add. Crumble the goat cheese and add. 

Toss gently to combine.

Serves a crowd 

Overnight Faux-Rina 

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One of my favorite winter breakfasts as a kid was forina, aka Uncle Ben’s Cream of Wheat. I loved mine with a dash of chocolate.

This, surprisingly, tastes a bunch like forina – it has a nice hearty texture, a really light sweetness, and feels stick-to-your-ribs. I’m willing to bet it’s even great warm and with a little cacao.

Gluten-free, Paleo, Keto, vegetarian & vegan with substitutions


Overnight Faux-Rina 

1/4 c. chia seeds
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
10 drops stevia
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. sunflower seed butter (no sugar FTW!)
1 c. almond milk
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp. flaxseed meal
1 scoop protein powder (I use beef collagen) 

Combine all ingredients in a mason jar or blender. Shake or blend. Let sit in the fridge overnight.

Serves 1 – 2 depending upon how starving you are 

One Pan Chinese Style Chicken

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This is another quick and easy one sheet pan meal that you can throw in the oven and eat over multiple nights for dinner.

Gluten-free, Paleo, Keto


One Pan Chinese Style Chicken

1 lb. chicken thighs
2 big handfuls green beans
1 red bell pepper
4 Tbsp. sesame oil
4 Tbsp. tamari or coconut aminos
2 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. onion powder
1 Tbsp. ground ginger
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
Sesame seeds

Combine all the wet ingredients and spices in a large bowl or ziploc. 

Chop the chicken into bite size pieces and add to the marinade. Let sit 4 – 8 hours.

When it’s time to cook, heat your oven to 375F. Chop the pepper and green beans into bite sized pieces. Add to a baking sheet with the chicken. Toss to coat in the marinade.

Bake 25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through, checking about halfway through and stirring. 

Top with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and serve.

Serves 4

Thai Inspired Pork Bowl

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This dinner is quick to throw together and makes a bunch – perfect for batch cooking.

Gluten-free, Paleo, Keto


Thai Inspired Pork Bowl

1 lb. ground pork
1 red bell pepper
15oz. bag riced broccoli or cauliflower
2 cloves garlic
1 onion
4 Tbsp. sesame oil, divided
2 Tbsp. no sugar added sunflower butter
4 Tbsp. tamari or coconut aminos
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 egg per serving (optional)

Heat 2 Tbsp. sesame oil in a work or your largest pan over high heat. Add the pork and stir fry until just browning. 

While the pork is browning, thinly slice the onion and chop the garlic and pepper. Add to the pan with the riced broccoli and cook, stirring frequently, until the pepper and broccoli has softened and the onion is cooked through.

In a separate bowl, whisk the sunbutter, tamari, lime juice, fish sauce and remaining sesame oil. 

Add the sauce to the pan of pork & veggies and stir well to combine. Let cook an additional 2 – 3 minutes to let the flavors marry.

Top each serving with a fried egg seasoned with a sprinkle of tamari and fish sauce if desired.

Serves 4 – 6

Low Carb Japanese Peanut Butter Beef

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Another gem inspired by my Japanese food YouTube obsession. Delicious, delicious obsession.

I’ve made this version low carb. The original recipe used oyster sauce in place of hoisin (I happened to have hoisin on hand – Chinese, I know) and udon in place of spaghetti squash.

I also turned around and had this for dinner a second night in a row – with added roasted brussels sprouts – and it was magical.

gluten-free, keto, paleo-ish


Low Carb Japanese Peanut Butter Beef

150g ground beef
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1 Tbsp. peanut butter (check your label!)
1 tsp. hoisin or oyster sauce (check your label!)
1 Tbsp. sake or rice wine
1 Tbsp. coconut aminos or tamari
1/2 cup cooked spaghetti squash

Heat a medium pan over medium heat. Add the ground beef and cook until just browned. Add the liquids, peanut butter and hoisin/oyster sauce and stir quickly to combine completely. Add the spaghetti squash and scallions and stir well to combine.

Serves 1 for dinner

Instant Keto No-atmeal

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I got the idea for this quick breakfast from Reddit. Go, Reddit.

I’m not a huge fan of regular oatmeal unless I’m starving to death and *need* something that is going to sit in my stomach like a rock for hours. This is not quite that, but it’s filling.

gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan with substitutions, paleo with substitutions, keto


Instant Keto No-atmeal

2 Tbsp. unsweetened shredded coconut flakes
2 Tbsp. flaxseed meal
2 Tbsp. chia seeds
2 dashes cinnamon
1 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce or 1/4 cup blackberries
2 Tbsp. heavy cream or non-dairy substitute
Pinch salt
1/2 cup boiling water.

Combine the coconut, flax and chia seeds in a bowl. Add the boiling water, stir well and let sit 5 or so minutes until the chia seeds have bloomed. Stir in your add-ins and enjoy.

Serves 1 for breakfast

Estimated: 467 calories, 36 grams fat, 6 grams net carbs, 13 grams protein

Sesame Brussels (keto)

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This is a delicious little side dish to serve with pretty much everything – you could turn it into a stir-fry by adding some chicken or beef cubes (or some ground meat), it would go well alongside a burger patty, fish would be good – as would steak. This goes with everything.

gluten-free, vegetarian, paleo, keto, Whole30


Sesame Brussels

2 c. shredded brussels sprouts
2 Tbsp. unsalted grass fed butter
4 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds
2 Tbsp. fish sauce (Red Boat is W30 compliant)
1 Tbsp. coconut aminos (also W30 compliant)
Pinch red pepper flakes
Pinch salt
Black pepper

In your largest skillet, heat the butter and sesame oil over medium-high. Add the garlic and fry until browned.

Add the brussels sprouts, fish sauce & coconut aminos and stir to combine.

Add the sesame seeds, red pepper flakes, salt & pepper to taste and keep stir-frying until the brussels are wilted and turning brown in spots.

Serves 2

Nutrition: 273.5 calories, 7.58 grams net carbs, 4.5 grams protein, 24 grams fat

Cauliflower Rice Pilaf (keto)

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This side dish is decadent and delicious. It makes a fantastic accompaniment to a lighter protein like a nice piece of fish or some simple baked chicken.

gluten-free, vegetarian, paleo (watch your oils), keto, Whole30 (watch your oils)


Cauliflower Rice Pilaf

1 head cauliflower
4 Tbsp + 2 Tbsp. unsalted grass fed butter
2 Tbsp. fat of choice (I used olive oil)
1 shallot
4 cloves garlic
16 ounces bone broth (I used chicken)
1/2 cup almonds
Salt & pepper
Hand full parsley (optional)

Chop the almonds and dry toast in your biggest pan over medium-high heat. Remove and set aside.

While the almonds are toasting, chop the garlic and shallot.

Add 4 Tbsp. of the butter + the fat to the pan, reduce the heat to medium, and melt. Add the shallot & garlic when melted and cook until translucent.

While the aromatics are working, rice your cauliflower.

Add the cauliflower to the pan when done, along with 2 big pinches salt and some pepper. Add the bone broth and stir. Cook until all the liquid has been absorbed.

To serve, finish with the rest of the butter, the almonds and a hand full of chopped parsley if desired.

Serves 6

Nutrition: 259.33 calories, 7.11 grams net carbs, 4.60 grams protein, 21.46 grams fat

Japanese Sesame Greens

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This quick and easy side dish makes a great light dinner with a little protein. Inspired by a recipe made on one of my favorite YouTube channels: Texan In Tokyo (RIP).

gluten-free, paleo, whole30, keto, vegetarian, vegan


Japanese Sesame Greens

1 bunch bok choy (about 1 cup chopped)
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
3 Tbsp. sesame seeds
1 Tbsp. coconut aminos
2 drops stevia

In a medium pan, heat the sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add the bok choy and cook, stirring frequently, until softened.

Meanwhile, bash the sesame all to hell in a mortar & pestle until it resembles sand.

When the sesame is done, add the coconut aminos & stevia and stir to combine. Let cook a minute or so. Add the bashed sesame seeds, stir to combine, and pull off the heat.

Serves 1 as a side dish

Nutritional Breakout: 430 calories, 7 grams net carbs, 8 grams protein, 40 grams fat