Posts Tagged: vegetarian meals

Choose Your Own [Adventure]: Paleo Meatza or Shepherd’s Pie!

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Have I just done something blasphemous? I’ve certainly broken a cardinal rule of some sort. I truly don’t mean to offend! Some of you may know of the connudrum our family faces with having to slash our meat intake becasue my husband has gout (which means more legumes and grains/wheat which are not the greatest for my underactive thyroid or in being pre-diabetic.)

Then there’s the whole other can of worms that I opened up in watching Cowspiracy, (all about Animal Agriculture and the enormous, devastating affect it has on the planet) the other night. Suffice to say, I’m confident that the universe is telling our little family to eat less meat when we can. So sometimes we go vegetarian, sometimes we eat local, free-from meat and eggs. We’ve successfully squandered down to very little dairy and will be switching to almond milk 100% for a test run. I’m researching viable plant-based vegetarian meat replacement options that aren’t going to wreak havoc on my digestive system and aren’t highly processed with tons of crap added into them. I’ve been told “good luck with that.” Anyways, the world’s all a big mess and we’re just doing what we can, what’s right for our family. I think? Yea, watch that documentary. If you dare.

So if you’re a vegetarian and you’re not totally offended by my pairing of paleo versatility with this recipe – enjoy. Play around with it, mix things up.

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Choose Your Own [Adventure]: Paleo Meatza or Shepherd's Pie!
Recipe type: Paleo or Vegetarian
Cuisine: Oh The Humanity!
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 10
 
What You'll Need
  • BASE:
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 2 cups sun-dried tomatoes
  • 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped (big chunks fine, it's just going into a food processor or blender
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1 cup fresh basil (pressed down, loose leaves)
  • ¼ cup fresh oregano
  • 4 tbsp. hot water or veggie or bone broth
  • 3 pounds organic grass fed ground bison or beef *or* 3 pounds vegetarian ground round
  • TOPPINGS:
  • 8 spears of dino kale, washed and shredded
  • 1½ cups of grass fed sheeps' feta *or* 1 cup shredded Daiya cheese alternative combined with 1 cup nutritional yeast
  • ½ teaspoon pink Himalayan sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 large head of cauliflower, trimmed, chopped and steamed until very soft
  • 2 large (or 3 or 4 small) sweet potatoes, peeled chopped and steamed until very soft
How You Do
  1. Blend onion, garlic, sundried tomatoes, carrot, basil, oregano and broth (or water), till a chunky paste is formed. (Use a food processor or standing blender with a tamper.) Set aside.
  2. Combine paste and ground bison or beef (or ground round) and mix with your hand to combine.
  3. Brown in a cast iron pan, only takes a few minutes
  4. Place steamed cauliflower, sweet potato, pink salt and ground pepp in food processor and puree until smooth
  5. Shuffle meat (or non-meat, HA!) mixture into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish (I use a glass Pyrex one)
  6. Layer shredded kale on top
  7. Layer cheese or cheese alternative and nutritional yeast on top
  8. Scoop and smooth out mashed cauliflower and sweet potato over beef mixture, sprinkle with the smoked paprika
  9. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes
  10. Serve!

 

Curried Sweet Potato, Kale and Mango Stew

title image A versatile dish, this can be made vegan or vegetarian. You can add chicken or leave it out as I have done. Curry is a soul-food. It sticks to your ribs, warms your tummy and can be made to your own heat preference. Our kids like it with yogurt (tames the spice a bit). Do you have your kids eating curry yet? Try our this version! The mangos and a natural sweetness to the more savoury elements of this dish.

I used to purchase pre-made curry powder (because easy), but I’ve gotten into the habit of making from-scratch pastes each time I give curry a whirl as the depth of flavour is incomparable once you’ve gone there. I’ve tried to simplify the process as much as possible from some of the more conventional/traditional curry adventures, it doesn’t always have to be a huge time commitment! Enjoy!

Curried Sweet Potato, Kale and Mango Stew
Recipe type: Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 12
 
What You'll Need
  • 2 large yellow cooking onions, chopped
  • 8 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • 4 tbsp fresh ginger, roughly chopped
  • 4 tbsp ghee (or grassfed butter or coconut oil)
  • 3 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 tsp fennel seed
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • 1 tsp cayenne
  • 1½ tsp garam masala
  • 2 tsp turmeric
  • 400g can chopped/diced tomatoes (or diced fresh plum tomatoes)
  • 1 250ml can of full-fat coconut milk
  • 1 cup veggie broth
  • 2 tbsp chopped coriander
  • 3 sweet potatoes, cubed (about 1 lb worth)
  • 1 lb carrots, cubed
  • 2 mangos, cubed
  • 1tsp. pink himalyan sea salt
  • 1 tsp fresh ground pepper
  • Fresh minced kale to garnish (I like to sprinkle at least ½ cup's worth per serving)
  • ***Optional: 1 can of garbanzo beans, ½ lb of baby potatoes and 2 cups of frozen peas
How You Do
  1. Saute the chopped onions in ½ of your ghee/oil with the garlic cloves (whole) until translucent. Transfer to a small food processor, adding in the ginger, cumin, fennel, cinnamon, chili, cayenne, garam masala and turmeric, with 1 tbsp ghee/oil (of the remaining 2) with 2 tablespoons of water - process to a slack paste.
  2. Heat the last of the ghee/oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Scoop the paste out of the blender/processor into the pot. Swirl everything around for about 30 secs until the spices release a fragrant aroma.
  3. Tip in the tomatoes, broth, coconut milk and carrots. (You can add the garbanzo beans and baby potatoes if you've chosen to add these). Continue cooking on a medium-low heat for about 25 mins without a lid until the liquid begins to reduce and darken.
  4. Add in the sweet potatoes and mango and simmer for another 40 mins without a lid until the carrots are nicely stewed and the sweet potatoes are fall-apart tender. The masala should be thickened now – you might need to add an extra ladleful of broth or water if the curry needs it. Sprinkle with chopped coriander and stir.
  5. Serve with minced kale and cashew yogurt or regular yogurt and sprouted brown rice for the non-paleo eaters at your table!

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Eat Some Healthy Soup Okay?

Because it’s that time of year. Fresh off the cookie, chocolate, decadent, savory / sweet train. Aka: the holidays. As you may know, I am a firm subscriber to the mantra of moderation. Which means that when it’s the holidays? One indulges in (not vacuums up – but it happens), the treats. The fat-laden savoury goodness that is the celebratory, feast and entertainment cuisine of the season. G’won, go for it. I did. That and fatty mc-fatterson Bailey’s too.

Which all went directly to my….

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