Steak and Carmelized Peach Salad

Anyone else in total peach mode lately? Peaches are perfect right now and the new carmelized peach salad at California Pizza Kitchen inspired me to play around with peaches for dinner tonight. I threw together a bunch of my favorite ingredients and came up with a FANTASTIC summer salad. I would put this up to CPK any day of the week.

Steak and Carmelized Peach Salad

3/4 pound beef stir fry meat (I bought presliced bottom round steak from Walmart - Skirt steak or any type of lean steak sliced thin)

2 peaches
bag of spinach

handful of pecans

1/4 cup of feta cheese, goat cheese, or no cheese for the paleo purists

handful of dried cherries

1/2 avacado sliced

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

optional seasoning - smokehouse maple grillmates seasoning

cut peaches in half, remove pit and place cut side down on cooking sheet and roast at 400 degrees for 15 min. Pour 1/2 the oil in a pan and saute the steak until cooked through (I seasoned meat with smokehouse maple and salt) . Remove from heat. cut steak in bite sized pieces, and add the rest of the oil and balsamic vinegar. Pour meat and warm dressing into bowl with spinach, cheese, nuts, cherries, avacado. Remove peaches from oven and cut in chunks and toss in salad. I did use a little extra balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing (Panera brand).

Eggplant Sliders

I have been experimenting with some new vegetables lately, and keep coming back to eggplant. This purple skinned vegi is a great source of antioxidants as well as a good source of fiber,B6, folate, magnesium, and niacin. The menu for the family tonight was cheeseburger sliders, corn on the cob, and fruit salad. I opted for breaded eggplant rounds as a paleo sub for the hamburger bun and they were a hit with my husband and myself. I would definitely make these again to eat by themselves or as a bun substitute for burgers, chicken, or any grilled meat. Hope you take the time to try it.
Eggplant Rounds
1 eggplant cut in 1/2 inch slices
Egg
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup almond flour
1 tsp oregano
1tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic herb seasoning

Preheat oven to 400 and spray pan with Pam. Mix egg and oil in one bowl and all dry ingredients in another bowl. Dip eggplant slices in egg mix and then dredge through almond flour mix. Place in single layer on pan and cook for 40 min turning half way through. This is great with garlic aoli mustard as a dipping sauce or with a burger and your favorite burger fixings.

High Protein Banana Bread

Back from a week of vacation and god bless my husband, back to a clean house! Only thing amiss was the bunch of overly ripe bananas sitting on the counter, which was screaming "banana bread" as I was scrounging around for breakfast this morning. If you follow this blog you have learned a couple things about me. I love my BSN Lean Dessert Protein powder, and while I love the paleo principles, I tweak a little to make the diet liveable, with things like Greek yogurt (dairy but so high in protein and low in fat I can totally justify it) and honey (a girl needs a little sweet). So, here is my high protein banana bread I created this morning. Turned out delish and it's packed full of protein! Gave it to the kids for breakfast and they loved it!

High Protein Banana Bread

3 ripe bananas mashed
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 egg
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
Stir all ingredients together

1 cup almond flour
2 scoops whipped vanilla BSN Lean Dessert protein powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Stir together and mix into wet ingredients
Pour in 8X8 square pan sprayed with Pam and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until set.
(I covered with foil half way through so it didnt brown too much) Slice and serve

Summer heat is weighing heavily on all of us, and visions of cool treats are definitely swimming around in my head as we knock out crazy wods in our unairconditioned crossfit gym. A couple of tasty treats you may want to pack in the freezer and throw in your gym bag for a quick post workout treat are frozen grapes or a frozen banana. I am experimenting with a frozen chocolate yogurt banana treat that I will get back to you on. Dig out some of the smoothie recipes on this site as well. Experiment with different fruits (peaches are great right now) - and let me know what your favorite concoctions are!

Ok, moving on - had a great conversation with Ariel at the gym today and she is slowly sliding into paleo but is looking for some seasoning options to spice things up. I was telling her about my new favorite spice - McCormicks Gill Mates Smokehouse Maple. I am using it on all of the pork I grill, as well as butternut squash. Just the right amount of tang and sweet to really bring out the flavor. This would also be excellent on chicken or salmon.

SmokeHouse Maple Butternut Squash

1 butternut squash peeled and cubed (or a bag already peeled and cubed - you can get at Trader Joe's or Walmart)
Pam Olive Oil Spray
McCormick's Smokehouse Maple Seasoning

Spray a baking stone or pan with Pam and spread out a single layer of cubed butternut squash. Spray again on top with olive oil spray. Season with Smokehouse maple seasoning to taste and roast in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20-30 min. Easy and a great side dish with any grilled meat.

Chicken Cherry Salad

Before I start today's dinner I wanted to report back that the Swordfish turned out great! The pistachio crust was very easy and tasty, and I think it would go well with chicken, pork, or steak. Ok, on to Chicken and Cherry Salad. Hallelujah, bing cherries are in season and happen to be one of my favorite fruits. Besides being tasty, they are super healthy with plenty of antioxidents and are supposed to help reduce inflammation - a common affliction with us active crossfitters.

If you follow this blog, you will quickly figure out that this is a variation of one of my favorite standbys - coleslaw salad. Never the less, here is a fresh twist that is super delicious. Hope you enjoy.

Chicken Cherry Salad
Ingredients:
1-2 cups shredded cabbage (bagged coleslaw in the bagged lettuce section)
chicken breast cooked and chopped (I use a breast from a rotisserie chicken)
10-15 bing cherries pits removed and chopped
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese (optional)
Boathouse Blue Cheese Vinagrette Dressing

Toss all ingredients together and devour.

Pistachio Encrusted Swordfish Steaks

I am almost embarrassed to update my blog since I have been on such a long haitus! Well, after a week in Mexico I am anxious to put the chips and margaritas behind me and hunker down for some healthy eating. Spending a week by the sea has awakened my seafood yearnings so today is Pistachio Encrusted Swordfish Steaks.

Pistachio Encrusted Swordfish Steaks

Ingredients:

6 swordfish steaks

1 cup veg. broth

Crust:

8oz dry roasted pistachios

1/3 cup cilantro - hand chopped

2 tbpn olive oil

salt and pepper

Pulse pistachios 20 sec to make a breadcrumb consistency. Mix in bowl with chopped cilantro, oil, and salt and pepper. Set aside

Preheat oven to 400. Salt and pepper both sides of steaks and place on foil lined tray. Spread crust on top of steaks and pour veg. broth at bottom of pan (steam from broth keeps the fish moist). Bake in oven for 8 min and then broil under high heat for another minute or two to brown the top.

I plan on squeezing a little lemon juice on top and serving with sauteed spinach and papaya chunks. I will report back tomorrow with a new recipe and let you know how the swordfish turned out.

Engagement Chicken

Ideas for yummy paleo meals have not been flowing lately, so I have really been keeping my eyes and ears open for recipes that can be adapted to paleo. While watching the Today show this morning they aired a segment on "Engagement Chicken" which sounds super easy and really tasty. While the premise of this recipe is that it is so good it will get your man to propose, I am willing to settle for a man and children that don't roll their eyes and pretend to gag when I put the meal on the table. This one looks beautiful, and with the right sides you can please anyone with this dish! http://www.glamour.com/magazine/2006/07/engagement-chicken