Camarones A La Diabla
I am a shrimp fanatic and this is my favorite recipe on the blog to date! I always order camarones a la diabla at my favorite Mexican restaurant then instantly regret it after I’m filled with grease and sodium…I’d much rather get all of the taste combined with the ability to control what goes into my dish and therefore my body. I love the garlic, butter and spice combination in this dish but beware of the habanero and feel free to leave it out if you have a spice aversion!
Whether grass-fed butter is paleo or not is slightly controversial but the benefits of grass-fed butter far outweigh any perceived “rule breaking” in my book. Not only is grass-fed butter rich in nutrients like vitamins A, E and K2, it is also a source of butyric acid and conjugated linoleic acid which actually may prevent weight gain or even cause modest fat loss (not to mention it’s absolutely delicious)! Win, win win. Use as much or as little as you’d like with this recipe – the more you use, the richer!
Try these camarones with my paleo tortillas! Enjoy!
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 guajillo chiles
- 4 chiles de arbol
- 1 habanero pepper (with all or half of the seeds removed based on spice tolerance)
- 1 roma tomato
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp grass-fed butter
- Peel & devein shrimp then marinate with a small amount of minced garlic and a sprinkle of salt then set aside.
- Toast the guajillo and arbol chiles in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant.
- Add water until chiles are submerged and simmer for a few minutes until softened.
- Remove stems and seeds from guajillo peppers.
- Place guajillo & arbol chilese in a processor with chopped tomato, habanero, garlic, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper and pulse until smooth.
- Melt butter in a large skillet and add the sauce mixture then bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
- Add shrimp to the skillet and cook for 60 seconds. Turn and cook for an additional 60 seconds, simmering until shrimp reaches desired firmness.
Chocolate Glazed Paleo Donuts
These are hands down my favorite donuts in the entire world. Unlike the sugar headaches I inevitably get from “regular” donuts, I can devour these suckers guiltlessly with the only consequence being a big ol’ protein boost. If you don’t already have a donut pan, it is definitely worth the investment for a future filled with these fluffy chocolate-y treats. The trick to making these donuts is to be patient to make sure they cool at each step before glazing and after glazing – pop them in the fridge to speed the process up! Enjoy these donuts for breakfast, with a cup of steaming coffee or for a mid-afternoon snack!
- 1 ¼ cup almond flour
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 3 tbsp pure maple syrup, grade B
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ¾ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 2 eggs, separated
- ¾ cup dark chocolate
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 6-mold donut pan with coconut oil.
- Combine almond flour and baking soda in large bowl.
- Combine maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract, coconut oil and egg yolks (set aside the egg whites) in a separate medium bowl.
- Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and set aside.
- Whisk the egg whites together until firm peaks form then fold egg whites into the batter.
- Distribute the batter evenly between the 6 molds.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly golden then allow the donuts to cool.
- Microwave the dark chocolate and the coconut oil together in a glass bowl for 15 seconds at a time until melted, stirring in between.
- Use a knife to “frost” each donut then chill in the refrigerator until the glaze hardens.
Easy Peasy Crock Pot Chuck Roast
Another one of my crock pot favorites! This meat comes out so tender that you won’t even need a knife to eat it…and it’s done by the time you get home for dinner with only minutes of prep. If you’re a veggie lover, throw in baby carrots, onions, celery and potatoes into the mix for a complete meal! If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can roast the meat in the oven at 325 degrees F for about 2 to 3 hours until the meat is tender. Chuck (the type of cut) is rather tough having come from the shoulder and neck area which means a long, slow cooking time is preferable to make it deliciously tender.
- 1 2 pound boneless chuck roast
- ½ tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup beef broth
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- Make the rub for the roast by combining paprika, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and black pepper.
- Evenly pat the rub on all sides of the roast.
- Brown the roast on both sides in a skillet on medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Mix together beef broth, balsamic vinegar and minced garlic in a small bowl.
- Place roast in the crock pot and add broth mixture.
- Cover and cook for 8 hours on low (or 4 hours on high).
Pesto Shrimp
Pesto, pesto, pesto…pesto everything! Nothing beats the taste of FRESH homemade pesto and I can’t believe how easy it is to make. It’s not a bad idea to make a big batch of it and keep it in the fridge or freezer to add a dollop of it to anything you’re cooking and instantly pesto-fy it! My absolute favorite – make your classic morning breakfast scramble then add a few teaspoons of fresh pesto and your boring breakfast is now a treat! This pesto shrimp dish is a surefire appetizer pleaser…non-paleo eaters can serve on crostinis (for paleo eaters a toothpick should suffice)!
- ½ cup pine nuts
- 3 tbp garlic, chopped (around 9 cloves)
- 5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 ½ cup olive oil
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan (or Jane’s Healthy Kitchen’s Vegan Parmesan Cheese)
- 2 pounds of jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Place the pine nuts and garlic in a food processor and process for 10-15 second.
- Add the basil leaves, salt and black pepper and pulse.
- Slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl and process until smooth.
- Add the parmesan cheese and process for an additional minute.
- Set aside pesto sauce in the fridge or freezer for later use.
- To make the shrimp, toss 6 tablespoon of pesto sauce to coat the shrimp (or enough to fully cover to your liking).
- Let the shrimp it at room temperature and marinate for 30 minutes.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and sautee chopped garlic for 1 minute.
- Pour the shrimp in and cook, stirring frequently, until shrimp is bright pink and opaque (approximately 5 minutes).
- Mix in desired amount of pesto to coat shrimp to your liking and serve!
Crock Pot Pork
This first post of the year comes to you complements of my brand new gold MacBook! Santa was nice to me, I sure am a lucky girl. This year I’m thankful for all of the exciting events coming up in my life, all my travels…and for the invention of the CROCK POT! Yes, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – thank god for the creation of this one stop shop for a gourmet dinner with absolutely no effort whatsoever (besides pushing the “on” button). Season the meat before you go to work in the morning and dinner is ready by the time you get home! Pork is always a great alternative to the typical chicken that I’m used to serving almost every night. Tender, juicy and flavorful, you can top this pork with my paleo barbecue sauce or enjoy it as is!
- 3-4 lb pork shoulder
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- ½ tsp liquid smoke
- Season both sides of the pork shoulder with salt and black pepper.
- In a small bowl, mix together paprika, chili powder, garlic powder and cumin.
- Massage the seasoning into both sides of the pork until fully coated.
- Place pork into crock pot and sprinkle a layer of garlic on top.
- Combine liquid smoke with chicken broth and pour over the pork.
- Cook on low for 5-6 hours and serve!
Bacon Wrapped Honey Dijon Chicken Breasts
I am on a serious Dijon mustard kick. It’s so low in calories but it ads so much zest to every bite…mix a little honey with it and you get that perfect sweet ‘n salty explosion for your taste buds. I think everyone can agree that you can wrap anything in bacon and it will be delicious. For that reason alone (and so many more), you’ll love this golden sweet tangy chicken wrapped in smoky thick bacon. The flavor of the bacon seeps into the chicken as it cooks. Amazing, right?
- 2 chicken breasts
- 6 slices of thick cut bacon
- 3 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 3 tbsp honey
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp paprika
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Season chicken breasts with salt, black pepper, garlic powder and paprika.
- Mix together Dijon mustard and honey in a small bowl.
- Coat each chicken breast with honey mustard mixture.
- Wrap slices of raw bacon around each chicken breast until entire breast is covered (approximately 3 slices for each breasts depending on size).
- Apply another layer of honey mustard mixture on top of bacon covered chicken breasts.
- Line an 8 x 13 baking pan with tinfoil and coat with olive oil spray to prevent chicken breasts from sticking.
- Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Dijon Almond Crusted Tilapia
I wanted to make a healthy and delicious recipe last night but fish can sometimes taste too light and unsatisfying! Not to fear, this recipe has the perfect blend of saltiness and sweetness…all topped with a golden almond crunch. My favorite thing about cooking fish is that you can throw it in a baking dish, pop it in the oven and it’s cooked by the time you finish cleaning your prep dishes. You can use this recipe with pretty much any fish, I just prefer the mildness of tilapia. Enjoy!
- 2 or 3 fillets of tilapia (approximately 1 pound)
- 1/3 cup raw almonds
- ¼ cup Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp honey
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- Salt and black pepper
- Olive oil
- Chopped cilantro to garnish
- 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (optional)
- ¼ tsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and slightly grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.
- Place almonds in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
- Mix in paprika and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine Dijon mustard with honey and mix.
- Rinse and pat the tilapia fillets dry.
- Sprinkle each side with garlic powder, salt and black pepper.
- Coat the bottom side of each fillet with mustard mixture.
- Sprinkle almond mix on top of mustard and press into the fish with fingers.
- Place each fillet into the baking dish with the coated side down.
- Repeat mustard coating and almond topping on the remaining top side of the fillet.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
- Combine and mix the Dijon mustard, honey, Worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, and dried thyme together in a small bowl to make the Dijon sauce and set aside.
- Top with Dijon sauce & fresh cilantro and serve
Chronic Caveman Meatloaf
This paleo meatloaf recipe has no flour, is packed with amazing flavor and is oh so satisfying on a cold and rainy day. I love making this because I can throw in all of the veggies in my fridge and create a brand new masterpiece with my leftovers. Some prefer to bake the meatloaf in a bread pan…I prefer to form it into a loaf on a baking pan so that the edges can crisp and form a little crust. Slather the sauce onto that meaty goodness and enjoy!
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup almond flour
- ¼ cup red pepper, diced
- ¼ cup yellow onion, diced
- 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp dried basil
- ½ tsp thyme
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp ground celery seed
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- ¾ cup tomato sauce
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried basil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine ground beef, ground pork, tomato sauce, egg, almond flour, basil, salt, black pepper, dried basil, paprika, dried thyme, ground celery seed and garlic in a large mixing bowl.
- Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and sauté onions and red pepper until onions are translucent.
- Add onions and red pepper to the rest of the ingredients and mix well with your hands.
- Form into a loaf on a greased 8.5 x 11 baking dish and bake for 45-60 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes.
- Simmer all of the ingredients for the sauce in a small saucepan until it is slightly bubbly then brush on the surface of the meatloaf once the meatloaf has cooled.
- Slice the meatloaf, top with additional fresh chopped basil and serve!
Panda’s Paleo Bread
I love eating paleo…but I also love eating my bread! Eating caveman doesn’t necessarily mean eating you can’t have that satisfying grainy fluffy dough. I don’t remember the last time I had a slice of white processed Wonder Bread but I do remember that it doesn’t even taste good to me anymore. I love the taste and the texture of this paleo bread. You can toast a slice of it in the morning with some almond butter or even make a toasted paleo sandwich with it!
- 1 ¾ cups blanched almond flour
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- 1/3 cup flaxseed meal
- 1 tsp flaxseed seeds
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ cup arrowroot powder
- 6 tbsp coconut oil
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place almond flour, coconut flour, flaxseed meal, flaxseeds, salt, baking soda and arrowroot powder in a food processor and pulse the ingredients together.
- Add in coconut oil, eggs, apple cider vinegar and honey and continue to pulse.
- Pour mixture into a greased non-stick loaf pan (or line pan with parchment paper).
- Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
- Cool and enjoy!
Perfect Paleo Pancakes
This is a piggyback post off of my Perfect Paleo Waffles with Coconut Whipped Cream recipe. Breakfast is fun and delicious again! You’ll love the taste of these pancakes. Try throwing 1 cup of almond butter or 1 cup of blueberries into the batter and top with the fruit of your choice.
- 5 eggs
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp honey
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, coconut flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, almond milk, apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, honey, and vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix thoroughly.
- Add about a tablespoon of coconut oil to a pre-heated skillet over medium heat.
- Lade in the batter to make 2-3 inch pancakes.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes or until they begin to bubble then flip them over and cook for another 2 minutes.
About Me
Hi, I'm the paleo panda! Join me on my journey for better and greater in eating, traveling and living. This is a collection of my life’s “musts”.
