Paleo Pad Thai Sauce (tastes great on Kale!!)

You know one thing I miss from our days of eating processed foods?

Condiments!  I love sauces and dips and dressings and there are literally almost no “clean” condiment options out there.  I have found a few gems, but for the most part have just done without.

But this week, I was making some coconut chicken tenders (a favorite around here!  Just follow my recipe for coconut shrimp but use sliced chicken breast instead of shrimp!!), and was feeling a Thai vibe.  I also had some kale that I really needed to prepare while it was fresh–as my mom would say, the kale “needed to be eaten”.  I, myself, wasn’t feeling overly enthusiastic about the kale, so I thought I would try to liven it up with some dressing.  In keeping with a Thai theme, I tried my hand at making a Pad Thai-type of sauce, and to my delight, my family gobbled up every last bit of the kale!!

First I tore the kale into pieces, discarding the stems.  I heated up coconut oil in a skillet and then sauteed the kale in the oil, just until it started to soften up.  I removed it from the heat and stirred in about half of the sauce–just enough to coat the kale.  It was delicious!

Paleo Pad Thai Sauce

1/4 cup almond butter

1 TBSP rice vinegar

1 TBSP coconut aminos

2 tsp honey

1/2 tsp minced ginger

1/2 tsp minced garlic

zest of 1 lime

a few dashes of salt

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and let sit for a few minutes for the flavors to meld.  Store unused portion in the refrigerator.  Use within a week.

This sauce is really awesome–you could use it to make Pad Thai with spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles.  I may even try to make Pad Thai with the cauli-rice!  You could thin it out a bit with a few teaspoons of water and use it as a salad dressing.  It makes a great dip for the aforementioned coconut chicken tenders.  And I just drizzled it over an avocado and sprinkled with sesame seeds for a delicious afternoon snack!

The only question is–what will you do with it?

 

Breakfast Pizzas (Paleo, Primal, SCD)

When making a dietary shift that involves ditching gluten or grains, breakfast can sometimes be the biggest obstacle.  Especially if you have kids!  The most common items that kids eat for breakfast are typically carb-heavy things like waffles, pancakes, cereal, granola, muffins, or bagels.  Sometimes omelets seems like “adult” fare.  I know that I never had an omelet growing up!

Recently, I was making myself an omelet and I got the idea for this breakfast.  To me, it’s prettier than an omelet, and more kid-friendly.  It’s certainly nothing ground-breaking, but it might be a way to get a paleo/primal foot in the door at breakfast with your kid.

For the boys, I kept it simple with ingredients that I knew they liked.  Eggs, Canadian bacon, and cheddar cheese.  Next time I will probably try adding veggies to theirs.

Get your pan warmed up and use ghee, butter, or coconut oil to grease the pan.  I keep the pan on a low-medium setting the entire time so that the eggs will cook through without burning on the bottom.

Scramble 2 eggs and pour them into the pan.

Once the eggs begin to firm up around the edges, you can start putting toppings on your “pizza”.  Like I said, for the boys I went simple with Canadian bacon and cheddar.  I let it cook until the eggs were cooked through and the toppings were melted nicely.

The pizza transferred easily to a plate, and the boys got a kick out of having “pizza” for breakfast.

For mine, I just scavenged through the veggies in our fridge.  I went with mushrooms (which I sauteed before adding on top of the eggs) and spinach.  I only used 1 egg for mine, and it still worked out very well!  I also added cheddar cheese to mine, and topped it with salsa and homemade yogurt.

The topping possibilities are endless and can be very specific for your child.  You could also use the toppings to make a design or a happy face in the pizza.  Or if your kids or old enough, let them “decorate” their own pizza!

  Some topping ideas are:  onions, spinach, kale, bell peppers, olives, tomatoes, sausage, bacon, ham, prosciutto, cheese, broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms, scallions, salsa, or fresh herbs.

Of course, I may be biased, but I think my pizza was the most delicious…..