Massaged Kale Salad

Massaging Kale? Is she kidding? Nope, not kidding. Kale is a great veggie and is all the rage these days, BUT it can be hard for some to digest when eaten raw. It’s a very dense leafy green and massaging it can help break it down (aka pre-digestion) which makes it easier to digest. You can use about a tablespoon of olive oil and just get in there with your hands and massage away!     

Massaged Kale Salad

cleaneatingwithkatie
Kale is all the rage these days but for some people, when eaten raw it can cause digestive distress. When massaged with some extra virgin olive oil, it can help to make the kale more digestible. This salad is a like a taste of spring in every bite because combines many spring veggies.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Course Main Course, Salad
Cuisine American
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

Salad Ingredients

  • 8 hard-boiled eggs pasture-raised
  • 2 large beets boiled, peeled, & sliced
  • 1 bunch kale destemmed & coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup sprouted quinoa cooked
  • 6 carrots sliced into strips using a veggie peeler
  • cup pine nuts
  • 1 sumo citrus peeled & segmented
  • ¼ cup broccoli sprouts

Salad Dressing Ingredients

  • 2 lemons juiced
  • 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp garlic sea salt
  • 1 tsp lemon pepper

Instructions
 

  • Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large bowl with the chopped kale. Massage oil into the kale leaves until well coated.
  • Add the quinoa and toss. Then add the beet slices and carrot strips. Toss again.
  • Plate out a serving of the kale, quinoa, beet, and carrot mixture. 
  • Top with two sliced hard-boiled eggs, 3-4 segments of sumo citrus, sprouts, and some pine nuts. 
  • Add dressing ingredients into a small glass jar and shake. 
  • Drizzle dressing over the salad and enjoy!

Notes

  • I prefer to use sprouted grains whenever possible. I usually buy TruRoots, and I can find it at Sprouts, Whole Foods, and Costco. I enjoy buying Love Beets when I don't have the time to boil and peel my own. I can also find these at Costco, Whole Foods, and Sprouts. You can change out any of these ingredients and keep this salad fresh and evolving with the seasons. I chose these items because they are in season in mid spring.
Keyword gluten-free, kale salad, salad, seasonal salad

Chilaquiles

My first taste of chilaquiles was in Cabo San Lucas in 2016. I know, I’ve been living under a rock. Since then I’ve had them a few additional times and it’s heaven every time. There’s one big problem with restaurant chilaquiles: they’re using chips fried in vegetable oils. I don’t 100% avoid vegetable oils, but I avoid them about 95% of the time. Not sure why I avoid vegetable oils, read more here.

How do Chilaquiles fit into a seasonal eating model? Cilantro, radishes, and onions are all in season right now. Plus, I made these for Cinco de Mayo!

Chilaquiles

cleaneatingwithkatie
Chilaquiles just might be the perfect food. There is a nice balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fat, plenty of vegetables and they are packed with flavor! If you haven't made them, you will not regret making them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!
Cook Time 50 minutes
Course Breakfast, Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

Chilaquiles Sauce

  • 7 oz organic tomato paste
  • 12 oz chicken bone broth
  • 4 tsp ancho pepper adobo sauce
  • 2 tbsp taco seasoning
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • fresh ground pepper

Ingredients

  • 4 eggs pasture-raised
  • 1 lb pasture-raised ground turkey or ground meat of choice
  • 1 tbsp taco seasoning
  • 1 bunch radishes cut into half moons
  • 2 spring onions thinly sliced
  • 2 avocados halved and thinly sliced
  • 8 oz sour cream
  • 8 oz cotija cheese crumbled
  • 3 tbsp cooking fat ghee, butter, bacon fat, etc.
  • 2 bags Siete Grain-Free tortilla chips
  • 1 lime quartered
  • sea salt to taste
  • fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Add the broth and tomato paste to a large sauté pan at low-medium heat (the larger the pan the better). Mix together with a whisk. Add the ancho pepper adobo sauce, taco seasoning, sea salt, and pepper. Mix again. Allow the moisture to evaporate and thicken the sauce a little. Be sure to stir the sauce so that it doesn't stick to the pan and burn. The consistency should be similar to that of enchilada sauce. (Too thick? Add more broth. Too thin? Cook a little longer, continuing to mix with the whisk.) Set aside.
  • In large skillet, add 1 tbsp. of cooking fat. Melt  over medium-heigh heat. Add ground meat and use a spatula to break up the meat and cook through. Add the taco and fajita blend while the meat is still raw to increase the flavor. Continue cooking until the meat is cooked through. Set meat aside in a medium bowl. 
  • Add remaining cooking fat to the skillet of medium-high heat. Once fat is hot, crack the eggs in the pan one at a time. Keep each separate from each other for ease of cooking and serving. Cook until whites are cooked through and yolk is at desired consistency. 
  • Depending on the size of the pan you used for the sauce, you may need to coat the tortilla chips in the chilaquiles sauce in two batches. Turn the chilaquiles sauce pan back on to low and add Siete Grain Free Tortilla Chips. Slowly mix to coat each chip. Chips should be soggy but still hold their shape. 
  • On each plate layer ¼ of chilaquiles chips. ¼ of the ground turkey, ½ an avocado, 1 fried egg, and onions, radishes, cilantro, sour cream, and cojita cheese to taste. Add a squeeze of lime and serve.
Keyword chilaquiles, fried egg

Bell Pepper Tuna Salad Boats

I love a good tuna salad. Reminds me of being a kid, but it’s also just easy and delicious. Perfect for quick meals or hot summer days because there’s no need to heat the oven! I like this served in a bell pepper, but you could also serve it in half an avocado, on a salad, with crackers, or in a sandwich. The options are endless!

I opt for safer tuna options like Safe Catch Foods or Wild Planet Foods or Vital Choice whenever I buy tuna. It does cost more, but I believe my health (and the health of the planet) is my greatest wealth.

Bell Pepper Tuna Salad Boats

cleaneatingwithkatie
I love a good tuna salad. Reminds me of being a kid, but it’s also just easy and delicious. Perfect for quick meals or hot summer days because there’s no need to heat the oven!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 6 people

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cans tuna
  • 4 celery stalks halved and diced
  • ½ onion diced
  • 1 med. avocado
  • 2 bell peppers stem removed, cut into thirds to create boats
  • 4 tbsp Primal Kitchen Mayo
  • 2 tbsp yellow mustard
  • 1 lemon juiced
  • 1 tsp garlic sea salt Simply Organic is my favorite
  • 1 tsp lemon pepper Simply Organic is my favorite
  • cilantro optional garnish
  • flake salt optional garnish

Instructions
 

  • Add all of the ingredients except bell pepper, avocado, cilantro, and flake salt to a medium bowl and mix well. 
  • Fold the avocado into the tuna salad mixture and mix just enough to combine.
  • Serve tuna salad in bell pepper boats and garnish with cilantro and coarse salt.
Keyword bell pepper tuna salad boats, gluten-free, grain-free, paleo, tuna salad

Late-Summer Stuffed Squash

There is a recipe for stuffed bell peppers that I have been using quite often lately, but when I can find Globe squash, basil, carrots, and tomatoes in season, it seems like perfect timing to use globe squash instead of bell peppers. If you have bell peppers on hand, use those instead.

Late-Summer Stuffed Squash

cleaneatingwithkatie
This recipe is a perfect melding of late summer food flavors — all in one dish. It's one of those dishes that looks real fancy, but isn't. Serve this when you want to impress your book club or in-laws ;-).
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 6 people

Ingredients
  

Ingredients

  • 12 globe squash choose larger ones for stuffing
  • 3 lbs fresh tomatoes, stemmed and diced or 24oz canned diced tomatoes
  • 1 med yellow onion diced
  • 3 med carrots diced
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 small bunch of basil
  • 2 lbs pasture raised ground pork or other ground meat of choice

Spice Blend

  • t tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp fresh ground pepper
  • ½ tsp oregano
  • ½ tsp dried thyme
  • ½ tsp dried parsley
  • ½ tsp granulated garlic
  • ½ tsp granulated onion
  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions
 

  • Add the olive oil to a large sauté pan and heat over medium. Add the onions, garlic, and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and stir frequently. The goal is to reduce the liquid, so continue cooking over medium heat.
  • Add the carrots and the salt, pepper, and spice blend. Cook for about 20 minutes, continuing to stir the mixture to prevent burning.
  • Add the ground meat and break apart with a spatula and continue to cook until the meat is cooked through. Turn down the heat. 
  • Chiffonade 10-12 leaves of basil, set aside. Add the basil to the meat and veggie mixture before spooning into squash. 
  • While the meat is cooking, slice the stems off of the squash. Use a spoon to score a circle about 1 cm from the edge. I suggest using a cookie dough scooper (basically a small ice cream scoop) to scoop out the innards of each squash, being careful to keep the outter flesh intact.
  • Set the squash in a 9 x 13 in baking dish.
  • Spoon the meat and veggie mixture into the squash and overfill. 
  • Bake for 30 minutes or until a knife easily pierces the squash. Top with a sprig of basil and serve. 
Keyword gluten-free, grain-free, late summer stuffed squash, paleo, stuffed squash, summer squash

Low-FODMAP Chili

What’s a FODMAP? It’s not a fad diet or something that everyone needs to try. I recently began working with a Gastroenterologist on solving some digestion problems, specifically SIBO, or small intestine bacterial overgrowth. Part of this process means going on a low-FODMAP diet for about 5 weeks. 

FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides Disaccharides Monosaccharides And Polyols. These types of carbohydrates that are not absorbed properly in the gut, which for some, can trigger symptoms like bloating, gas, & abdominal discomfort. 

I am having to navigate restaurants and cooking while doing the low-FODMAP diet and I decided that I really wanted chili, but that means no onions, garlic, & celery, which are staples in my chili. It took some creativity, but I think I created quite a winner.

Low-FODMAP chili

cleaneatingwithkatie
While working on healing my SIBO, I needed to try a low-FODMAP diet, which meant removing some staples from my typical chili recipe (onions, garlic, & celery). Regardless of whether or not you are low-FODMAP, this chili recipe is tasty and will be a nice addition to your recipe repertoire.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Course Main Course, Soup
Cuisine American
Servings 6 people

Ingredients
  

Chili Ingredients

  • 7 oz organic tomato paste
  • 18 oz diced organic tomatoes
  • 1 cup bone broth
  • 2 lbs grass-fed ground beef ground meat of any type will do
  • 4 large carrots diced
  • 1 yellow bell pepper diced
  • 4-5 kale leaves destemmed and coarsely chopped
  • 2 serrano peppers thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp cilantro, chiffonade
  • 1 tbsp grass-fed butter
  • 6 yukon gold potatoes, baked optional

Spice Blend

  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp fresh ground pepper
  • ½ tsp coriander
  • ½ tsp cayenne pepper
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder

Instructions
 

  • Add butter to a large soup pot and melt. Then add carrots and bell pepper and sauté over medium high. 
  • Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, one of the serrano peppers, and broth to mixture and stir well. Add spice blend, stir again. 
  • Add in the ground meat, crumbling it in as you add it.
  • Stir everything together and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for about 35 minutes. Add the kales leaves and about half of the chopped cilantro into the soup pot about 15 minutes before it's done cooking. 
  • If desired, serve on top of a baked potato and garnish with cilantro and remaining sliced serrano peppers. If not using a baked potato, serve in a bowl and add garnishes.
Keyword chili, gluten-free, grain-free, low-FODMAP chili, paleo chili

Guam Chicken

For grilling season, I have the perfect easy and crowd-pleasing recipe. This recipe was introduced to me by my step-sister years ago when we took a family vacation to Yellowstone. She calls it Guam chicken because they made it while living in Guam. I’ve made a couple of changes to paleo-ify the recipe. 

Paleo Guam Chicken

cleaneatingwithkatie
This recipe was introduced to me by my step-sister who lived in Guam for several years. I've made tweaks to it to paleo-ify it. It's such an easy recipe and you won't be disappointed.
Cook Time 25 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Guamanian
Servings 6 people

Equipment

  • Grill or grill pan (for indoor grilling)

Ingredients
  

  • 2-3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs pasture-raised
  • cup  coconut aminos
  • 3 limes, juiced
  • 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 in. piece ginger, grated

Instructions
 

  • Add all ingredients except chicken to a large container for marinating and stir to combine. Add chicken thighs and marinate at least 6 hours, but preferably overnight.
  • Remove chicken from the marinade and place on the grill. Cook until internal chicken temperature is 165° F. Serve with grilled vegetables and enjoy!
Keyword chicken, grilled chicken, paleo guam chicken