Dairy Free

Lettuce Wrap Tacos

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(Gluten Free, Dairy Free | Paleo-Friendly) Let’s be clear. This recipe should be titled something more like ‘A light guide to throwing yummy things in lettuce leaves,’ but that’s just too long (and not that alluring). I really love tacos -so substituting tortillas with lettuce leaves when I can’t find proper corn tortillas (or other gluten-free tortillas) is a great shout that also happens to be low-carb. Winning all around!

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp coconut oil (or butter)
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, mashed and minced
  • 3 peppers (I used red and orange)
  • Whatever else is in your fridge- there are no rules here! (I had leftover roast chicken and sweet potatoes from my Rosemary Date Chicken recipe so I threw those in –it was awesome).
  • 1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
  • 2 tsp ground cumin, or to taste
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
  • 1 head of lettuce
  • Salsa, coriander (cilantro) and diced avocado to top lettuce wraps

Directions

  1. Heat coconut oil in skillet until melted.
  2. Sauté onion in skillet for 2 minutes; then add garlic.
  3. Add peppers and sauté for 2-3 minutes until they reach desired tenderness.
  4. Add cooked chicken and sweet potato until warm (or add whatever else you have to bulk up the wrap mix –like black beans).
  5. Season with salt, cumin and cayenne pepper.
  6. Cut off lettuce leaf and open. Put a few tablespoons of skillet mix into lettuce leaf and top with salsa, coriander (cilantro) and diced avocado.

Tip: I prefer just a simple head of lettuce to use for the wraps, since it has the most surface area, but I’ve been known to use romaine lettuce if that’s what I have around as well. Don’t have a green big enough to act as a wrap? Just throw the ingredients atop some kale/spinach/whatever you have about and make into a salad. The ideas are endless so go crazy! I mean, look how YUM it is for being so simple!?

Lettuce Wraps

Rosemary Date Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

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(Gluten Free, Dairy Free | Paleo and Whole30-Friendly) Finding simple, tasty and healthy meals is a must –especially during the workweek! Many years ago when I was trying out the Paleo lifestyle for the first time, I found an amazing slow cooker chicken recipe. It was so good it became a ‘go-to’ recipe when friends came over for dinner during the week, and I was low on time. But, one day I woke up, and my beloved recipe link went missing on the internet! Nightmare! Luckily, I had made it so many times; the recipe was written on my heart (too dramatic?) -so I can share it with you today! You’re welcome.

Ingredients

  •  2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 4-6 sweet potatoes (depending on size of potatoes and slow cooker)
  • 1 whole (organic) chicken with skin on
  • 10 whole dates
  • 60 ml (¼ cup) water
  • 60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil
  • 4-5 sprigs of fresh rosemary, mashed and ground for more flavour
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • Black pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Spread coconut oil in bottom of slow cooker.
  2. Chop sweet potatoes into chunks and lay them on the bottom of slow cooker (make sure you don’t put too many sweet potatoes on the bottom –you want to be able to put chicken on layer of sweet potatoes and still put the slow cooker lid on).
  3. Lay chicken on top of sweet potatoes in slow cooker.
  4. Put dates and water in bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes to soften dates.
  5. Mash dates with fork. Add olive oil, fresh rosemary, and salt/pepper. Mash mixture together until it’s a type of paste.
  6. Put half of date and rosemary paste under skin of chicken. Rub the second half of chicken onto outer part of chicken. It should look something like this: Rosemary Date Chicken Prep
  7. Cover slow cooker and cook chicken on low for 4-8 hours. (When I used a 4 lb chicken, it took about 6 hours. The time will depend on the size of the chicken and your slow cooker.)

Tip: This also makes for a delicious, modern Sunday roast! Oh, and the leftovers are awesome in a salad for lunch the next day.

Quinoa & Roasted Vegetable Salad with Brazil Nut Pesto

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(Gluten Free, Meat Free, Dairy Free | Paleo-Friendly) I’m just going to say it. This recipe is awesome. I mean, of course I think this about all the recipes I put up, but this one is extra yummy! What I love about it is that you can literally throw all your week’s leftover veggies into this dish and come out with something really tasty. Also, it gets extra bonus points for being delicious hot or cold –AKA packed lunch anyone?!

Ingredients for Roasted Vegetable Salad

  • Roughly chop any vegetables you like- the more colours, the better! I used the suggestions from Hemsley Hemsley:
  • 4 large carrots, roughly chopped
  • 1 large red pepper, roughly chopped
  • 2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes or 4 large tomatoes, halved
  • 1 large onion (red is best for colour), roughly chopped
  • 3 large beetroots, well scrubbed and chopped into small chunks or little wedges –as they take the longest to cook
  • 1 tbsp ghee or coconut oil
  • A handful of fresh herbs such as thyme, rosemary or 2 tbsp mixed dried herbs
  • Fresh leaves, such as rocket (arugula), lambs lettuce and watercress, to serve (I used rocket (arugula) and spinach)

Ingredients for Quinoa

  • 250 ml water or vegetable stock
  • 250g (2 cups) quinoa

Ingredients for Brazil Nut Pesto

  • 12 Brazil nuts
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 3 large handfuls of fresh basil (stalks and all if you’re using a strong blender)
  • 300 ml extra virgin olive oil (I tend to use closer to 200ml olive to make it a bit thicker, since 300ml is a lot!)
  • 4 tbsp lemon juice or 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C (390F).
  2. Lay the roughly chopped vegetables in a single layer on a large roasting tray, sprinkle with salt and pepper and add your dollops of ghee or coconut oil. Scatter the herbs over this mixture.
  3. Roast for 30-40 minutes or until the veg is tender (pierce with a knife to check). Halfway through the roasting time, use a wooden spatula to turn the veggies.
  4. Meanwhile, make the pesto. Blitz everything together in a food processor or with a blender (the more nuts you add, the thicker and creamier your pesto will be, but if you want it thinner, add more oil and lemon juice). Alternatively, grab a sharp knife and finely chop the garlic, basil and nuts, then whisk with the olive oil and lemon juice. Season to taste.
  5. For the quinoa, follow these steps:
    • Using a fine mesh strainer, drain and rinse the quinoa until the water is clear and without foam.
    • Bring the 250ml water or vegetable stock to a medium-high heat.
    • Add the quinoa and stir once. Continue to cook on a medium simmer until tender –about 12 minutes.
    • Take off the heat and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.
  6. Combine the quinoa and roasted veg in a big serving bowl, toss in your pesto (or just sprinkle on top at end) and the fresh salad leaves.

Tip: Store any leftover pesto in your fridge and top random goodies throughout the week with it to jazz them up! This pesto is basically delicious on everything, but I really like it on my eggs.

Let’s just re-live the tastiness one more time with this picture…mmmmm.

Quinoa Roasted Vegetable Salad with Brazil Nut Pesto

Source | Hemsley Hemsley, ‘The Art of Eating Well’