Tag: main dishes

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 

Dairy-Free Creamy Keto Chicken Casserole

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This low carb and dairy-free take on a comforting casserole was creamy, delicious, and lasted great for a weeks’ worth of lunches.
gluten-free, keto, dairy-free, paleo


Dairy-Free Creamy Keto Chicken Casserole

1.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs
15 oz. bag frozen broccoli
2 c. frozen spinach
1/2 package sugar-free bacon
This dairy-free cauliflower cheese

Crisp your bacon and drain. Crumble and set aside.

Cube your chicken and set aside.

Defrost your veggies and set aside.

Preheat your oven to 400 F.

In a large casserole dish, combine the chicken, spinach, broccoli and bacon. Stir to combine. Top with the cauliflower cheese.

Bake at 400 for 35 minutes or until the top begins to brown and the sides are bubbly.

Serves 5 – 6 for lunch

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

Spanish Chicken & Chorizo

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This quick and easy one sheet pan meal is keto-friendly, paleo, and takes minutes to throw together. Plus: one sheet pan! Which you can cover with foil! For no dishes!

gluten-free, paleo, keto


Spanish Chicken & Chorizo

2 lb chicken thighs (I prefer boneless skinless for this recipe)
1 lb. Spanish style chorizo
1 onion
2 medium red bell peppers
2 Tbsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. onion powder
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. dried oregano
Juice and zest of 1 orange
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. oil of choice (I used coconut)
1/4 c. bone broth or stock (I used chicken but veggie would be great here too)
Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 425 F and prep your baking sheet or dish.

Chop your chicken into bite-sized pieces and add to the prepared pan.

Slice your chorizo into bite-sized chunks and add to the pan with the chicken.

Slice your onion into thin half-moons and chop your peppers. Add to the pan.

Melt your butter and oil – add the spices + zest + stock and stir. Pour over the chicken mixture.

Juice the orange over the chicken mixture and toss well to coat.

Season with salt & pepper.

Bake 20 minutes, stir, and bake an additional 20 – 25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Serves 4 – 6 for dinners, depending on what you serve it with – I’ve served with roasted okra like in the picture, roasted broccoli, and cauliflower mash and all three were delicious

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

Japanese Ketchup Rice – Paleoified

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I saw this recipe on one of my favorite YouTube channels – Texan in Tokyo (rip) and couldn’t wait to try it myself. Ketchup on scrambled eggs is the only way I would eat them when I was a kid – and I still love it.

This is delicious and made the perfect “single lady” dinner.

gluten-free, paleo, keto


Paleo Japanese Ketchup Rice 

2 – 3 ounces leftover poultry (I used turkey)
1/2 cup cauliflower rice
1/2 small carrot, diced
3 Tbsp. ketchup (I used Sir Kensington because that was what I had)
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. coconut aminos
1/4 white onion, diced
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 Tbsp. fat of choice (I used bacon fat)

In a small to medium pan over medium-high heat, add the fat of choice and cauliflower rice. Add the meat. Dice the carrot and onion and add. Sautee until the carrots start to soften and the onion is translucent. Add 1 Tbsp. coconut aminos and stir. Let cook another minute or so. Add 2 Tbsp. ketchup. Let cook another minute or so.

Scramble the eggs with the second Tablespoon coconut aminos. Push all the rice to one side of the pan and add the butter to the clean side. Once the butter is melted, add the eggs. Let set up a bit and drag your spoon through to break up. Let settle into a sort of half omelette.

To serve, it would be really awesome to kind of flop the omelette over the rice and serve pretty drizzled with ketchup.

Mine looks like dog food. Tasty, tasty dog food.

Serves 1

Keto Holiday Leftovers Hash

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One of my favorite things about a nice big holiday meal is the leftovers. I love taking little bits of this and that and creating either a buffet plate, a hugely messy sandwich, or a one-skillet meal from what’s there.

This year, since we’ve been experimenting with keto – I thought I’d whip up a low carb version of one of my very favorite dishes — hash. Seriously, I could eat hash every day (and have – that was my #1 bachelorette food).

gluten-free, paleo, keto


Keto Holiday Leftovers Hash

Leftover holiday meat (I used 2 ounces turkey in mine, and 3 ounces turkey in my DH’s)
1 cup steamed cauliflower bits (make these about half-inch size)
1/2 cup leftover broiled green beans
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 – 2 slices leftover bacon per person
1 – 2 eggs per person
2 Tbsp. fat of choice (I used bacon drippings)
Palm full chopped fresh rosemary + sage
Salt & pepper
Crushed red pepper flakes

First, get your cauliflower going. You want to crumble about half a head cauliflower into roughly half-inch sized pieces. These are going to serve as your “potatoes” so you want a little heft to them (but not so much it’s like chawing down on a hunk of naked cauliflower).

Place in a pot, put an inch or so water in, turn the burner to high, and add a few liberal pinches salt. Boil, covered, 5 – 8 minutes or until soft. Drain.

Heat the fat of choice in your largest pan. Add the cauliflower. Chop the green beans roughly and add. Hit with a big pinch salt and a few grinds pepper.

While the veggies are cooking, start your eggs in a small pan on low heat. Add the butter, wait until it melts, then gently cook your eggs until your desired yolks have been met (I like over medium). Remove to a plate when done (save the butter!).

When the eggs are done, add your meat (turkey) to the pan and sautee until warmed and maybe even crispy.

Mince the herbs and add to the veggie skillet. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Add half the veggies + your portion of meat + your eggs to a bowl and top with red pepper flakes. Repeat for the other bowl.

Serves 2

Keto Peanut Butter Smoothie

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This low-carb smoothie is delicious — not too sweet, it has my greens, and is nice and thick. Just want I want for breakfast!

gluten-free, paleo, keto


Keto Peanut Butter Smoothie

1 haas avocado
2 cups cashew or almond milk (be sure to buy the unsweetened original kind!)
2 Tbsp. MCT oil
1 scoop collagen (I use a grass-fed beef collagen powder)
4 Tbsp. sun butter or peanut butter (I use Skippy Natural because that’s what I could find with the lowest amount of sugar/net carbs at my store)
1 Tbsp. cacao powder (check your label for sugar content)
8 drops stevia (I used vanilla flavored)
2 c. baby spinach
1 inch ginger, peeled
2 Tbsp. chia seeds

Blend all ingredients in a high-powered blender until smooth.

Serves 2

Per serving: 562 calories, 9.9 grams net carbs, 16.2 grams protein, 47.3 grams fat

Simple Tuna & Grape Lunch

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I had forgotten how quick, inexpensive and versatile a simple can of tuna was until I found myself without a good lunch protein and with zero desire to leave the house. Cue pantry staples FTW.

Gluten-free, Paleo


Simple Tuna & Grape Lunch

1 4-oz can Tuna
1 stalk celery
1/2 cup grapes, sliced
1/5 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup avocado oil mayo
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1-2 Tbsp fermented hot sauce
Big pinch Kosher salt
Few cracks black pepper
Plantain chips or something else for scooping

Combine in a small bowl.

Serves 2 for lunch