Salads Archives - Paleo Spirit

Healthier Chick-fil-A Carrot Raisin Salad Recipe

10.10.2310.08.23 by Lea

Remember when Chick-fil-A served a Carrot Raisin Salad as a side option? If not, there are multiple possible reasons why, including that you may be too young! Carrot Raisin Salad was on the Chick-fil-A menu for almost 50 years but was dropped around 2013. My late grandparents (born in the 1910s) were fans and even … Read more

Paleo Creamed Spinach Cauliflower Rice Main Dish

07.17.1801.10.18 by Lea

This Paleo Creamed Spinach Cauliflower Rice recipe works really well for several different eating protocols. Because it is a paleo recipe, it is gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, legume-free, etc… but it also works well for 21 Day Sugar Detox because it contains no sugar or fruit. It’s also great if you are doing the Whole30, and … Read more

Marinated Kale Salad and A BIG Announcement

06.26.1801.03.15 by Lea

Happy New Year! I’m baaaaack.

After a long hiatus from posting here at Paleo Spirit, I’m back with my favorite kale salad of all time and a big announcement.

But before getting to all that I’d like to explain why I’ve been gone for SO long. This past year has been super busy. I was working full-time in a job that included a two-hour per day commute. That alone did not leave a lot of time for blog posting. Fortunately, I have switched to a new position that allows me to work from home much of the time which is great because I see a lot more of my boys these days and life, while still busy, is much less stressful. But the biggest reason I have not been posting is that for the past year I have been working on a cookbook!

“Sweet Paleo” will be out on March 2, 2015 (less than two months!) and it’s available now for pre-order. Based on the current orders and the value packed inside, the price is likely to go up prior to final printing. But if you order now you are guaranteed to lock in the current price even if the price goes up later.

Description of Sweet Paleo: Gluten-Free, Grain-Free Delights

Whether you are gluten-free, living the Paleo or Primal lifestyle, or simply love gourmet-quality food, in Sweet Paleo you will discover delectable breakfast and dessert recipes made with nutrient-dense ingredients. From simple creations like Chocolate Chip Cookies and Pancakes to sophisticated offerings such as dairy-free Crème Brûlée or a perfect grain- and dairy-free Tiramisu’, the wide range of sweet delights in this book is sure to satisfy your cravings no matter the occasion or your dietary requirements. Sweet Paleo, with more than 90 recipes accompanied by gorgeous, full-page, color photography, will guide you through the use of grain-free flours, dairy-free alternatives, and unrefined sweeteners so that you will soon be making these fabulous treats in your own kitchen.

Here’s what you will find inside:

Over 90 recipes – all free of gluten, grains, legumes and refined sugars
Most recipes are dairy-free or have dairy-free options
Plenty of egg-free and nut-free choices
Recipes high in protein and good fats
Mix-and-match options for dozens of possible combinations
Overview of Paleo basics
Grain-free cooking and baking guide
Detailed key ingredient descriptions
Substitutions, tips and tutorials
Full-page color photographs throughout

I will provide more details in my next post but hopefully that gives you an idea of what I’ve been up to.

In the meantime…..back to the Marinated Kale Salad

A March Snow and a Recipe: Seared Scallops with Strawberry Relish

07.19.1803.05.14 by Lea

Scallops with Strawberry Relish | PaleoSpirit

This is the year I finally learned to love winter.

In Texas the seasons are: almost summer, summer, still summer and Christmas. So my first winter spent in the northeast U.S., those many years ago, was a shock to my system mixed with wonder and joy at the novelty of the abundant snow. That year the winter weather lingered long into spring leaving me feeling, novelty or not, I might have made a mistake in venturing out of the familiarity and warmth of the south.

But subsequent winters were far milder. Sometimes, much to my surprise, I found myself disappointed there was not MORE snow. It was a creeping, unconscious adaptation to a climate with four distinct seasons – winter not the least among them.

This year the winter seems never-ending. The roads have potholes, the school vacation days are quickly disappearing from the calendar and the longing for spring grows stronger every day. But no amount of complaining will change the inevitable coming of winter snow. And this year I finally have learned to accept and embrace it. Shh, don’t tell anyone, but when others bemoan the next storm, I am quietly rooting on the snowfall.

In spite of the inevitable inconveniences of the season, there is strange comfort in the quiet, forced sequester at home while the snow envelopes the world around us. I look forward to the quiet drives around town drinking in the peaceful landscape blanketed in newly fallen snow. I relish visits to the neighboring cows who seem only mildly perturbed at the cold, strange white matter covering them and their home fields. Even the time sitting at my desk peering out at the peaceful falling of new snow is a time to appreciate, rather than curse, the essence of winter in all its glory.

The cleanup and annoyances that are all a part of the onslaught will come later. But for a while I resolve to be like a child in awe of the proverbial “winter wonderland.”

Taking in the world made new, camouflaged as a cloud.

So if you find yourself in the dead of winter lamenting the snow, take a moment to reflect. Because if you have even a hint of the mind of a poet, you might agree that newly fallen snow, covering the old, is not only beautiful but a sermon itself on the beauty of repentance.

Seared Scallops with Strawberry Relish

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Roasted Beet and Cucumber Salad with Yogurt Dressing

06.26.1808.02.12 by Lea

We planted some chiogga beets this year. Ordinarily I buy vegetable plant seedlings and transplant them into our raised garden beds. But because these are heirloom beets we ordered the seeds online and that meant planting them ourselves. So we’re kind of proud of these beets. It was fun for the boys to see what comes from a little seed they planted themselves. Here’s Nathaniel with a few of our crop.

We may have let them grow a little bigger than what is best for flavor. Smaller beets tend to be tastier.

Here’s what chiogga beets look like when you slice them. They are kind of mesmerizing if you stare too long.

Even though chiogga beets would have worked perfectly well in this roasted beet and cucumber salad, the ones I used this time were “regular” beets. Still delicious, still beautiful and nutritious – cancer-fighting, actually. I remember my aunt Norma making a beet and cucumber salad when I was a kid. I have no idea what was in it other than beets and cucumbers and some sort of creamy sauce. But I do remember it was really tasty so you might say this recipe is an homage to Aunt Norma!

The yogurt dressing in this version is close to a tzatziki sauce with garlic and mint. I just love the combination of cool cucumbers, sweet roasted beets with a garlicky yogurt sauce. It’s a perfect (primal) summer side dish.

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Garlic Scape and Kale Dressing

07.31.1807.08.12 by Lea

If I were a better gardener and lived a little farther (further?) south I MIGHT have grown these heirloom tomatoes myself.

But I’m not and I don’t and I didn’t.

So, instead, what we have here are heirlooms I found at a standard grocery store and Costco. But let’s not turn up our noses shall we? Look how gorgeous.

The whole time I was taking these photographs I was pondering what to do with the heirloom tomatoes. We needed a side dish to go with our roasted chicken dinner. Tomato, cucumber and avocado salads are always a big hit around our house so I thought that might be nice.

But these tomatoes seemed to cry out for something a little different.

After all, they are special…and beautiful and, well, heirloomy.

Then I remembered I was in possession of another, rather unique, ingredient.

Endive, Watercress and Radish Salad With Walnuts and Goat Cheese

06.26.1806.19.12 by Lea

When I was a kid I remember my father taking our family out to dinner at a “fancy” restaurant in Dallas for a special occasion. The nature of the special occasion eludes me all these many years later but, oddly enough, I still remember the salad. Perhaps that is one mark of a true food lover. We reckon everything in terms of what we were eating at the time. The memorable salad marking that particular experience was dominated by Belgian style endive. (Pronounced “on-deeve”*) It is a vegetable I had not encountered prior to that day and it struck me as very exotic. Even though endive is not a food I have eaten regularly over the years I still associate it with high-caliber restaurants and recipes.

Knowing my husband is a fan of the more bitter flavors, I decided to use endive to create a unique salad for him on Father’s Day. This salad combines crunchy, slightly bitter endive with refreshing watercress and spicy radishes. It’s topped with toasted walnuts and creamy goat cheese and dressed with an extra virgin olive oil and white balsamic vinaigrette. The sweetness of the white balsamic vinegar is a nice contrast to the bitter and spicy flavors of the vegetables.

Chicken Liver Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

06.26.1811.30.11 by Lea

For years I ate boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cutting off any extra fat with the precision of a skilled surgeon. Fat was the enemy, you see, and the idea of eating organ meats was just anathema. But those days are long gone now that I have been enlightened to the health benefits of eating more than just low fat cuts of animal flesh. Organ meats, including chicken livers, are really high in nutrition. Liver is full of vitamins A and B12, Folate, Pantothenic Acid (B5), iron and selenium – all things our bodies need to function well.*

In spite of this earth-shattering information, my husband, G, has threatened to become a vegan if I try to serve him chicken livers. Now THAT’S quite a threat! But if he were to allow himself to try this recipe for Chicken Liver Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette he would find there’s no need to go to the dark side. The inspiration came from my recent perusal of a Nigella Lawson cookbook. G seemed very interested in said cookbook but I dare say it was Nigella he fancied and not the chicken livers. Nigella’s recipe calls for maple syrup and sherry vinegar but she references a time when raspberry vinegar was all the rage for similar salade tiède on restaurant menus. Since I had some raspberry balsamic vinegar on hand I decided to give it a try and it turned out delicious.

Beet and Cabbage Slaw

07.30.1808.14.11 by Lea

The word coleslaw usually conjures up images of mayonnaise-laden cabbage and carrots. While I am not at all opposed to eating mayonnaise, the problem with the store-bought versions is they contain all sorts of funky ingredients. I make my own mayonnaise now and then but it does take a little more time. Not to mention, … Read more

Kale Salad with Warm Andouille Sausage Dressing

08.06.1808.08.11 by Lea

While the squash and zucchini plants have suffered some damage from the dreaded vine borers, the kale plants are still going strong. I used to say “I don’t DO kale” but have come around to the dark green side in a major way. The following recipe came to mind when I realized that one of the benefits of kale is its ability to stand up to heavier sauces in its raw state. Warm bacon dressing is used with spinach in part because it tastes good and also because spinach is more substantial than lettuce and can tolerate that type of dressing. Kale is even more hearty so I decided to try out a warm andouille sausage dressing that would match up well with the texture and taste of this particular green.

G and I have been getting very comfortable with the concept of eating “dinner for breakfast” so it no longer seems weird to us to have kale in the morning. This recipe also calls for fried eggs which is something easy to make in the morning and it really goes well with the salad. G doesn’t like the egg on top of the salad and just eats it separately. Personally, I think the egg on top is delicious and the egg yolk adds a nice creaminess to the dressing.

Kale Salad with Warm Andouille Sausage Dressing

Ingredients

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Description of Sweet Paleo: Gluten-Free, Grain-Free Delights

Seared Scallops with Strawberry Relish Read more

Kale Salad with Warm Andouille Sausage Dressing

Seared Scallops with Strawberry Relish

Read more