Spicy Cinnamon Roasted Almonds (Paleo)

Yesterday, I got to meet and answer questions for the next group of college students heading out to India. I can’t believe its coming up on a year since I’ve gone!

I am so insanely jealous of them! But, I got to hear updates on one of the schools we helped out in and heard that they now have running water, which is awesome!

Anyway, the questions from yesterday naturally led to conversation on food. Which reminded me of how I lived on roasted almonds for several days (See here for info). And then I realized that I never posted that recipe for said nuts. So here you go!

Spicy Cinnamon Roasted Almonds (Paleo)

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup raw almonds

1/2 tbsp avocado oil

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp cayenne

pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine almonds and oil in a bowl, and then add in the rest of the ingredients. Spread onto a pan and bake in the oven for 12 minutes. Hear that sizzling in? It means DON’T PLACE DIRECTLY IN MOUTH! (You learn from experience 😉 )  

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Caramelized Broccoli, Onions, and Walnuts (Paleo)

I first made this recipe back in the summer, when my laptop was being repaired. Because of this, I had to jot everything down on a piece of paper.

Which I then lost thanks to the chaotic wind whirl known as school.

Luckily, I was moving some textbooks around today and found this recipe under one of my seminar books.

Yay! A little piece of summer still lives on!

Caramelized Broccoli, Onions, and Walnuts (Paleo)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp avocado oil

1 small red onion, chopped

5 cups broccoli florets

1/2 cup walnuts

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

Heat avocado oil in a skillet over medium-low heat and add in onions and broccoli. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the broccoli begins to caramelize, stirring occasionally. Add in walnuts and cook for 5 minutes. Add in balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper and cook for another 10 minutes. Take off heat, transfer to serving dish, and stir in olive oil. Serve.

Greek-Inspired Stuffed Eggplant (Paleo)

This week, I am paying homage to one of my favorite types of food- Greek!

I’m so obsessed with all the fresh veggies, nuts, olive oil, and herbs that go into all this mediterranean yumminess! And so grateful for the mini Greek café that has opened near me 🙂

A fan of the “stuffed” appearance, I fit all my love into eggplant shells. But the real “hidden gem” is adding nuts into the meat filling (adds a surprise crunch!).   

Greek-Inspired Stuffed Eggplant (Paleo)

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant, cut in half longways

Avocado oil

1 lb grass-fed, organic, ground beef

1 purple onion, chopped

1 tbsp dried parsley

1/2 tbsp dried dill

1/2 tbsp dried oregano

salt and pepper

1 green bell pepper, diced 

1 large tomato, diced

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Olive oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. With a spoon, scape out the insides of eggplant shell, leaving a thin layer of “meat” attached. Chop scooped-out eggplant and set aside. Rub inside and outside of eggplant shell with avocado oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place eggplant skin-side-up on a greased baking pan. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, begin to brown meat in a deep skillet. As meat browns, add in onion, parsley, dill, oregano, salt, and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Add in chopped eggplant and bell pepper and cook for 10 minutes. Then, add in tomato and walnuts and cook for another 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Once eggplant shells are finished, carefully flip over and spoon in beef filling. Top with parsley and a drizzle of olive oil before serving.

Note: This recipe makes a LOT more filling than will fill the eggplant. Try using extra filling in stuffed peppers, cabbage rolls, or simply by eating with a spoon 🙂

Waldorf Salad

Back forever ago (we’re talking Easter here), I went out for dinner and tried this “salad.” I put quotation marks because the fact that there was no leafy greens threw me off and made me think that it was just another side dish. But oh my goodness, it was good. Since I had no clue what it was at the time, I went home and searched for this apple-nut-raisin creation and eureka! I found what is known as the waldorf salad. And what do you know, the lettuce is optional. Since my mom hates raisins, I used a variation that includes grapes instead. For the longest time, this has been on my to-make list and I finally got around to make it tonight.

Waldorf Salad     

Ingredients: 

2 apples, cubed

1 cup grapes, sliced  (or raisins)

1/4 cup celery, chopped

1/2 cup walnuts

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp plain yogurt

1 tbsp mayo

1 tsp parsley

Optional: lettuce

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and spoon over lettuce (if desired) and dig in!