Paleo Korean Inspired Stir Fry

Posted on March 3, 2014 by livingfullywithout

I recently had the awesome experience of a restaurant completely catering to my dietary needs. My company hosts a lot of lunches there and the hospitality manager worked with the chef to create a dish specifically for me. It was pretty significant as it’s a Korean-American fusion restaurant that makes its bread and butter with foods I can’t eat. They made an awesome ground turkey stir fry and talked with me about what they put in it. I think I’ve been able to replicate it almost to a tee. They didn’t add coconut aminos but I couldn’t resist. We’ve eaten it about 5 times over the last month as it takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish and tastes awesome. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon Toasted Sesame Oil (plus 1 Tablespoon for saute)

3 Tablespoons Coconut Aminos

2 Teaspoons honey

1 Teaspoon salt

1 Teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 Teaspoon ground onion

1/2 Teaspoon Chili Pepper Flakes

1 Clove Minced Garlic

1/2 lb Ground Turkey

1.5 cup chopped carrots

1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion

1 cup finely chopped mushrooms (I like Cremini)

1 cup spinach or kale

Directions:

1.) Combine the first seven ingredients in a blender and blend until sauce forms, minus 1 Tablespoon of Sesame Oil. Heat 1 Tablespoon Sesame oil in large pan over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for about 2 minutes.

2.) Add ground turkey to garlic and brown on both sides. Drain any access liquid and add carrots and onions. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until carrots soften and onions are translucent.

3.) Add mushrooms and add sauce. Cook for another 3 minutes and add spinach. Cook for another 2 minutes or until the greens are wilted.

Enjoy!

A Paleo Baby Shower

Posted on October 4, 2013 by livingfullywithout

My sister is having a baby girl in November! She is the first grand-baby in the Morris household and we are all over the moon! In honor of our lovely, literary Amy, my mom and I decided to throw baby girl a children’s book themed shower. When I talked with Amy about it, she told me that she wanted me to be able to eat everything at the shower. And thus, a Paleo Children’s Book Baby Shower was born.

We used this theme and template from Martha Stewart. Ex-con or not, she is still about as picture perfect as they come! I wanted the food to be pink and dreamy, whimsical and playful. I spent weeks going through websites and books, picking out the best recipes. Three weeks before, I bought Danielle Walker’s amazing new cook book and my menu suddenly flew together.

Amy’s Paleo Shower:

Strawberry Shortcake Meringue Cupcakes

Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownies (in Danielle’s book)

Watermelon Arugula and Feta Salad

Almond Thyme Crackers and Baked Brie (from Roost Blog)

Black Mission Fig Jam (in Danielle’s book)

Lemony Apple Carrot Bombs (from The Urban Poser)

It was so beautiful. Friends and family from all over Minnesota came to celebrate our new life! Our Grandma came with a cozy sleeper and Mary Poppins themed gift. My younger sister flew in from Chicago and surprised my mom and sister! The mother of the family Amy nannied for as a teenager came with a book from France that Amy had bought for them as a nanny. Stories of love and encouragement were paired with the most delicious grain-free, sugar-free spread this side of the St. Croix.

Needless to say, we can’t wait for little girl Williams to appear on the scene in November! And when she does, she is going to have so many fun new books to greet her and hopefully, a taste for Paleo cooking!

Thai Red Curry

Posted on May 20, 2013 by livingfullywithout

Without a lot of fuss, pomp, or circumstance, I have recently passed a large milestone in my personal history. As of May 1st, I have been 1 year on the Specific Carbohydrates Diet. I can’t believe it has been a full year. I have been flare free now for nine months. As short as it is, that is a victory for me. In June, I start decreasing my medication intake to see if my body is ready to start relying fully on the diet. For now, I am just so grateful to be well. On May 2nd, I took my company’s annual wellness assessment. For the first time in three years when asked “How would you rate your physical health?” I answered “Very Good”.

This recipe is for your traditional Thai Red Curry. I was inspired by memories of nights in Chicago eating at Cozy Noodles, an eclectic Thai Restaurant on the north side. I am elated at how it has evolved and turned out. Creamy and sweet, with subtle heat and a plethora of vegetables. I started out with a recipe from Eat Live Run but adapted it to fit the SCD diet. The original recipe includes sweet potatoes, sugar and fish sauce. I left out the sweet potatoes and fish sauce and substituted 1 TBS of honey for the sugar. It was great! We like to serve it over cauli-rice but it makes a nice soup as well. I made the Thai curry paste from scratch and have included the recipe. Enjoy!

Thai Curry Paste

Ingredients:

1 shallot, chopped
2 stalks lemongrass, minced
1 and 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
4 cloves garlic
1 thumb-size piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
2 Tbsp. tomato puree
1 tsp. ground cumin
3/4 tsp. ground coriander
1 TBS honey
1+1/2 to 2 Tbsp. chili powder
3 Tbsp. thick coconut milk, or just enough to keep the blades turning
2 Tbsp. fresh-squeezed lime juice
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 TBS peanut oil

Directions:

Put everything into the food processor and pulse until you have a paste consistency. If you are like me and have a rather feeble processor, you may have to migrate to the blender to get the consistency you want. Add coconut milk if the consistency is too thick.
Now you are free to use it in your curry! It makes about 9 TBS (enough for three curries). I like to bag it up and put it in the freezer for further use.

Paleo Chocolate Crepes Cake with Coconut Whipped Cream

Posted on April 1, 2013 by livingfullywithout

Today I awoke to a beautiful spring day. The sun was shining through the cracks in my curtains and the temperature of my apartment didn’t make me want to curl up under the covers and go back to sleep. It was fitting that this is the first day that feels like spring because it’s the day we celebrate new life through the resurrection and it’s the day I celebrate being alive! Praise the Lord for these 26 years and for regaining a great deal of my health through eating SCD/Paleo for 11 months now.

To celebrate, I decided to make a special cake. A crepes cake. A stack of thin, sweet, crepes layered with chocolate frosting. I started with the recipe I use for savory crepes and added more honey.

Almond Flour Crepes:

1 cup almond flour
10 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons honey

I used coconut oil and a 10 inch skillet. I mixed all the ingredients together. I made sure the oil was really hot before pouring 1/4 cup batter into pan and cooked it for about 2 minutes on each side. It made 10 crepes.

Next, I whipped up some chocolate frosting using the recipe I use for my chocolate cupcakes.

Chocolate Frosting:

1/2 cup 100% cacao bar
⅓ cup coconut oil
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a small saucepan over very low heat, melt chocolate, honey and coconut oil
Stir in vanilla extract
Place frosting in refrigerator for 15-30 minutes to thicken
Remove from refrigerator and whip frosting until thick and fluffy
Spread over crepes and stack them one on top of each other

Lastly, I cut up about 1 cup of strawberries to decorate the cake!

When I got ready to serve it, I used Danielle, from Against All Grain‘s recipe for coconut whipped cream. The only thing I did differently was use Aroy-D coconut milk because I am still off of Guar Gum.

The result was pretty incredible. I shared it with our friend’s Griff and Brittani and we were all enthralled with the fluffy whipped cream contrasted against the firm french pastry taste of the cake. And it photographed so pretty! So pretty in fact that I tilted it too far down and dumped it on the floor! Luckily I am the birthday girl so no one got after me. 🙂

Eaten on hand-painted plates from the amazing Lauren Wilgus at The Handmaden, what a treat! Happy Birthday to me!