Winter Fruit Compote
from What A Girl Eats
1 pound of dried plums
1 pound of dried apricots
1 can of pineapple chunks, packed in juice, drained
2 small cans of mandarin oranges
1 can tart cherries, drained
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Mix together in a small bowl:
zest and juice of one orange
1/3 cup sherry
1/4 cup Grand Mariner or orange liqueur
1/3 cup of honey
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup chopped nuts
http://whatagirleats.com/winter-fruit-compote/
Roasted Eggplant Salad
-2 cups pumpkin, cubed
-2 eggplants
-2 zucchinis
-1 spanish onion, sliced finely
-1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
-2 cups baby spinach leaves
Dressing
-Juice 1 lemon
-3 tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil
-1 garlic clove, minced
-Salt and pepper to taste
http://www.vegiehead.com/vegan-paleo-recipes.html
Gluten, Grain, and Garbage-Free Chick-fil-A Nuggets
from The Domestic Man
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup dill pickle juice
1 egg, mixed
2 tbsp buttermilk or cream
1/4 cup tapioca starch (potato or arrowroot starch okay)
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp each salt and black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 dash ground cayenne pepper
1/2 cup lard or coconut oil for frying
http://thedomesticman.com/2012/12/27/gluten-grain-and-garbage-free-chick-fil-a-nuggets/
Cilantro Pecan Chicken
2 chicken legs and 2 chicken thighs, preferably from chickens raised on pasture
1 bunch cilantro leaves, stems removed
1 cup crisp pecans*
3 cloves garlic
8 tablespoons butter, preferably from cows raised on pasture
¼ cup onions, diced
1 teaspoon unrefined sea salt
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cayenne
¼ cup white wine
¼ cup crème fraiche
http://www.holisticsquid.com/cilantro-pecan-chicken/
2 c Hazlenut Meal
1 t Baking Soda
1 c Pecans, ground in a food processor
1/2 c Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
1/2 c Ground Flax
1 t Cinnamon
2 Eggs
1 t Vanilla
1/2 c Coconut Oil
1/2 c Coconut Butter
http://tgipaleo.com/2013/01/12/walnut-coconut-cookies-sugar-free/
Overeating, poor memory formation, learning disorders, depression – all have been linked in recent research to the over-consumption of sugar. And these linkages point to a problem that is only beginning to be better understood: what our chronic intake of added sugar is doing to our brains.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the average American consumes 156 pounds of added sugar per year. That’s five grocery store shelves loaded with 30 or so one pound bags of sugar each. If you find that hard to believe, that’s probably because sugar is so ubiquitous in our diets that most of us have no idea how much we’re consuming. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) puts the amount at 27.5 teaspoons of sugar a day per capita, which translates to 440 calories – nearly one quarter of a typical 2000 calorie a day diet.
The key word in all of the stats is “added.” While a healthy diet would contain a significant amount of naturally occurring sugar (in fruits and grains, for example), the problem is that we’re chronically consuming much more added sugar in processed foods. That’s an important clarification because our brains need sugar every day to function. Brain cells require two times the energy needed by all the other cells in the body; roughly 10% of our total daily energy requirements. This energy is derived from glucose (blood sugar), the gasoline of our brains. Sugar is not the brain’s enemy — added sugar is.
Research indicates that a diet high in added sugar reduces the production of a brain chemical known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Without BDNF, our brains can’t form new memories and we can’t learn (or remember) much of anything. Levels of BDNF are particularly low in people with an impaired glucose metabolism–diabetics and pre-diabetics–and as the amount of BDNF decreases, sugar metabolism worsens.
Continue Reading @ Forbes.com
