A recipe from the classic PaleOMG blog. I've had this one saved to try for a while now, but I keep forgetting to buy plantains ahead of time so that they have time to brown. If you want to make this recipe next week then go to the store today and buy some plantains! Also, the recipe calls for marinating the chicken for 24 hours, so be mindful of that too if you choose to make this. It's never fun when you print off a recipe and start preparing everything just to find out in the directions that the meat was supposed to be marinating for a day. Anyways, this meal was absolutely amazing! The coconut rice did not have an overpowering coconut taste to me, but I also only used 3 Tbsp of unsweetened coconut flakes and a light coconut milk. I only made a few other changes to the ingredient servings and I indicated those in parenthesis below. The original recipe also has a recipe for making Tomatillo Coconut Guacamole to pair with this meal if you want to check that out (link below). I did not opt for that this time. The last note I have is to make sure you keep an eye on the plantains while in the sauté pan, so they do not burn. My first batch may or may not have been burned a little. Hope you enjoy this one!

Baked Jerk Chicken with Coconut Rice & Cinnamon Sweet Plantains
Ingredients:

• 1½ pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I used closer to 2lbs)

Marinade:

• ¼ white onion, roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 2 jalapeños (remove seeds for less spice)
• 3 tablespoons coconut aminos
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon allspice
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• couple pinches of salt

Coconut Rice:

• 1 head cauliflower, stem removed, roughly chopped (I used two 1lb frozen bags)
• ⅓ cup canned coconut milk
• ¼ cup Unsweetended Shredded Coconut (I used 3 Tbsp instead)
• 1 tablespoon Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil
• 1 teaspoon raw honey
• pinch of salt

Cinnamon Sweet Plantains:

• ½ cup coconut oil or ghee
• 3 ripe (brown) plantains, peeled and sliced at an angle into 1 inch slices (I just used 2 plantains)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• healthy pinch of salt

For garnishing:

• green onions, sliced
• lime wedges

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients for the marinade in a blender and puree until smooth. Pour marinade into a bowl, add chicken and coat then place in the fridge for 24+ hours.
2. Before cooking the chicken make the coconut rice and keep under low heat to keep warm. (See instructions for rice below.)
3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Add chicken to a cast iron skillet and pour the marinade on top. Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160-165 degrees or until juices run clear. Let rest for a couple minutes before slicing.
4. While the chicken cooks, place coconut oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat. You need enough fat to cover the plantains about halfway. Once the oil is hot (water sizzles on top when added), sprinkle the plantains with cinnamon and a bit of salt and cook for about 2 minutes per side, until golden brown on both side. You may need to cook them in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
5. Serve dish of coconut rice, sliced chicken, plantains, guacamole and garnish with lime and green onions.

Coconut Rice Directions:

1. First add your chopped cauliflower to your food processor with the shredding attachment to "rice" the cauliflower.
2. Pull a large pot, place over medium heat, and add a tablespoon of coconut oil then add your cauliflower. Add a pinch of salt, then cover to help steam, mixing occasionally.
3. Then add your other ingredients for your coconut rice and cover to cook down. Stir occasionally to make sure it doesn't burn!
4. Let the rice cook for about 5-8 minutes until coconut milk has evaporated and you have sticky rice.

Original recipe found here

An odd combination for a meal, but I still really enjoyed this one! I found the caramelized onion sweet potato recipe first and just tried finding a one-pan quick protein recipe to pair with it. I typically cook 5lbs of sweet potato each week, so from experience I thought it was best to split the sweet potatoes onto two different baking sheets so that all of the diced potatoes were lying flat on the plan. Flipping the potatoes every 20 minutes is a must to evenly roast them and make sure they don't burn! I increased my oven to 400 degrees, flipped every 15-20 minutes on both pans, and after an hour they were done. Note that 5lbs of sweet potatoes typically gets me about 7oz of cooked sweet potato across six meals. If you don't need that many sweet potatoes or carbs, split the recipe in half. Anyways, while the sweet potatoes were roasting I quickly made the chicken lettuce wraps. I doubled the ground chicken, but left the rest of the ingredients the same and thought it still turned out plenty flavorful. Also, I drained my chicken some when it was done because there was a lot of excess liquid. I loved how both of these recipes turned out and thought the meal was delicious! Both recipes are extremely simple, have very few ingredients, and are definitely worth trying out. 

20 Minute Perfect Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground chicken (I doubled this)
• 1 cup fresh mushrooms chopped (you can use red peppers and water chestnuts too)
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1-2 tablespoons grated ginger
• ½ cup coconut aminos (about) 
• A little bunch of green onions chopped
• Sesame oil or olive oil
• Salt
• 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup (100% pure, raw) 
• Romaine or Boston Lettuce

Directions:​

1. Cook ground chicken in a large skillet with a little sesame oil (you can use olive oil too) until well browned. Break the ground chicken with a wooden spoon. I cooked it at medium heat for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the chopped onion, grated ginger, garlic cloves, green onions, and chopped mushrooms (or peppers/water chestnuts if using).
3. Cook for another 5 minutes, approximately. Then add the coconut aminos. I used about ½ of a cup. Depending on how much sauce you want, start adding it little by little. Add a little maple syrup or honey and a pinch of salt and taste it. Add more coconut aminos (or soy sauce), or honey/salt if needed. It really depends on your taste.
4. Cover the skillet and let it cook for about 5 more minutes in medium heat.
5. Wash your lettuce leaves and start making your lettuce wraps. You can also serve them separately and make your own as you eat them.
6. Your Chicken Lettuce Wraps are ready!

Original recipe found here


Caramelized Onion Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:

• ½ cup organic olive oil or coconut oil
• 2 large fresh organic yellow onions, fine chopped
• 4 large fresh organic garlic cloves, fine chopped
• 2 fresh whole organic bay leaves
• 5 pounds of organic sweet potatoes, wash well, remove blemishes DO NOT PEEL and medium diced
• 1 tsp. fresh ground pink salt
• 6 large fresh organic green onions, fine chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a sauce pan on medium heat, add your oil, onions, garlic and bay leaves. While stirring often cook your onion mixture until it is a dark golden brown. 
3. Remove from the heat and allow to set for 15 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and discard. 
4. Completely drain your onions/oil in a metal mesh strainer, reserve BOTH the oil and onions. 
5. In a large bowl, mix your diced sweet potatoes, flavored oil, caramelized onions and sea salt. On an ungreased metal baking sheet, evenly spread out your potatoes and tightly cover with tin foil. Using a spatula, flip the potatoes about every 20 minutes to evenly cook all sides. 
6. After about 1 ½ hours, test a potato with a fork, it should go in easily and slide off clean. At this point uncover and continue to roast, flipping every 15 minutes until medium golden brown. Remove from oven, place in a large mixing bowl, toss with the chopped green onion and serve. 

Original recipe found here

I spotted this mason jar of happiness while looking around for paleo breakfast options, so I had to try it right away! I am the type of person that can eat the same breakfast everyday, so I don't post many breakfast options on the blog. However, the more I work with other people, the more I realize most people are not like me and they also don't enjoy eating eggs or oats every morning. This Monkey Salad is a great option to mix up your breakfast routine and it can also be prepped ahead of time if you need something on-the-go. I do want to point out that it is high in carbs with all of the fruit (about 47 grams), so if you want to lower the carbs I'd recommend only using half a banana (making it about 32 grams of carbs). I also recommend having additional protein with this if you are having it for breakfast. If you are a person who puts protein powder in their coffee, then that is a great option to pair with this. I personally ate this as an after workout snack and it was seriously a treat! I have a feeling I'll be making this one a lot this summer.

Monkey Salad
Ingredients:

• 1 sliced banana
• 1/4 cup blueberries
• 1/4 cup raw cashews
• 1 tablespoon almond butter
• Sprinkle of cinnamon 
• Coconut flakes (optional)

Directions:

1. Slice the banana and add to a wide mouth mason jar or bowl.
2. Add in cashews and blueberries, gently toss.
3. Add almond butter to the top and sprinkle cinnamon.
4. You can also add coconut flakes.
5. Enjoy!

Original recipe found here

Have you checked the frozen aisle at your grocery store lately? Mine finally sells cauliflower rice! It also has frozen blueberries, which after a week in Florida I discovered how amazing this snack was. Anyways, this meal turned out absolutely delicious! I made the cauliflower rice first and distributed it into six meal containers. I then made the chicken dish and it was done in under 30 minutes. I did not add the optional arrowroot starch and thought the sauce still turned out just fine. I boiled everything down a little bit to thicken the sauce up, but not for long. This was a one-pot, super easy and simple, and tasty meal that is definitely worth trying!

Coconut Lime Chicken
Ingredients:

• 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts, about 1 1/2 - 2 pounds
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1/2 cup red onion it came out to 1/2 onion for me, chopped
• 1 whole red chili chopped, optional
• 1 cup organic chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons lime juice about 1 large lime
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
• 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk from a can or coconut cream
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot starch for paleo/whole 30 or corn starch mixed into 1 tablespoons water, optional

Directions:

1. Place the chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic cling wrap and pound them down to make them even in thickness. This will help the chicken cook evenly and make for more tender chicken. Sprinkle each side of the chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Melt the coconut oil in a large skillet over a medium high heat on the stove. Add the chicken breasts and cook each side for 5-7 minutes or until browned on each side. Remove the chicken from a skillet and set aside on a plate. The chicken doesn't need to be fully cooked yet because you'll be returning it to the heat shortly.
3. Add the chopped onion to the same skillet and sauté for a few minutes to soften. Add the chili pepper if you're using it. Sauté another couple of minutes. Add the chicken stock, lime juice, cilantro and chili flakes. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce down to a simmer. Let simmer for about 5 minutes to let reduce down. Add the coconut milk and bring to simmer again for another 5 minutes. Add the starch and water at this time if you're using it. You may need to raise the heat slightly higher to bring this to a boil to activate the starch. Once the sauce thickens reduce it back down to a simmer.
4. Add the chicken back to the skillet, cover and let cook for another 5-10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked all the way through.
5. Serve with rice or cauliflower rice with the sauce spooned over the top.
6. Add an extra sprinkling of cilantro & chilies and enjoy!

Original recipe found here

Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower (I used two bags of frozen cauliflowerrice)
• 1 lime
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 handful chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. (If making own cauliflower rice) Remove the leaves from the cauliflower, and cut the head in half. Remove the cauliflower from the core so you only have the florets. Place half the cauliflower into the processor and process until only small pieces remain. Remove from the processor and place into a pan. Process the remaining cauliflower repeating the steps.
2. Mince the garlic and add to the cauliflower in the pan. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. When cauliflower is slightly toasted, and garlic cooked, remove from heat.
3. Toss with cilantro and juice from the whole lime.

Original recipe found here

With Easter this past weekend I decided it was best to pick one crock pot recipe to make. I chose this recipe because there was little maintenance involved; I could have the chicken cooking during Easter dinner and I could bake the sweet potatoes while I did Easter dishes. Now I haven't made my own BBQ sauce in a while, so I was a little nervous, but the chicken turned out really tasty. Although the sauce is tomato based, I thought it still tasted very much like a smoky BBQ sauce. I also conveniently made the Roasted Brussels, Apples, & Bacon as a side for Easter dinner. That was a pretty simple side to throw together and paired perfectly with the BBQ chicken stuffed sweet potato. This is a typical meal I would go for when I don't have much time to spend in the kitchen or don't feel like spending all day doing meal prep. If you ever need to mix up your standard meal prep, this is an extremely simple and perfect recipe to try!

Smoky Paleo Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken
Ingredients:

• 1 and ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 6 oz can organic tomato paste
• ⅓ cup water
• ¼ cup Coconut aminos
• 1 and ½ Tbsp pure maple syrup (I used honey instead)
• 1 and ½ Tbsp brown mustard (I use Woodstock Organic Dijon Mustard, found at local grocery store)
• 1 Tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ⅛-1/4 tsp chipotle powder (or adjust for spice preference)

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients except for the chicken
2. Place chicken breasts in the slow cooker and cover with all the sauce. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours until chicken can be pulled apart/shredded with a fork.
3. To serve, take two forks and shred all the chicken, mixing with the sauce. Serve over baked sweet potatoes (you can pre-bake them the night before and then simply reheat when it's time to eat) or veggies/potatoes of your choice. Enjoy! Leftovers can be stored covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or frozen if you want to keep longer.

Original recipe found here


Paleo Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon & Apples
Ingredients:

• 1 lb Brussels sprouts, washed, tops removed and cut in half
• 2 tsp olive oil + sea salt to taste (for roasting)
• 1 medium pink lady apple {or other tart/sweet crisp apple}
• 4-6 slices nitrate free, sugar free bacon (for Whole30)
• 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• Additional salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. For this recipe you will roast your Brussels sprouts while cooking the bacon and apples in a skillet on the stove top.
2. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Make sure the Brussels sprouts halves are uniform in size, if not, cut the larger pieces to ensure even cooking. Toss them with the 2 tsp olive oil + salt and spread out on a parchment lined baking sheet. Roast them in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, until they're browning and fork tender.
3. Core the apple and chop into ½-1 inch cubes, set aside.
4. Heat a medium heavy skillet over med-hi heat and cut your bacon into one inch pieces.
5. Add the bacon to the skillet and cook, stirring until about ¾ of the way done (according to your own preference). At this point, add the apples and chopped rosemary and continue to cook and stir until the apples have softened and the bacon is fully cooked, adjusting the heat to avoid excessive browning if necessary. Remove from heat.
6. Once Brussels sprouts are done, add them to the skillet and toss to combine all the flavors. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper, if desire, and serve hot! This can be served as a side dish or with fried eggs for breakfast. Enjoy!

​Original recipe found here

I LOVE this crockpot chicken recipe! I went back through my blog to see when I last posted this one and it has been way too long, so I am bringing it back! Also because I had a crossfit competition this past weekend and I always make this meal for those because I don't mind eating the meal cold and it is super easy to prep the day before. Anyways, make sure to check out the ingredient label on the jam you choose and don't get one with added sugar. This meal and recipe is truly one of my favorites! I recommend anyone and everyone to give this one a try!

Paleo Berry Glazed Crockpot Chicken
Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts (I double this)

Glaze:

• 1/4 cup + 1/2 tbls honey
• 1/3 cup coconut aminos
• 1 tbls olive oil
• 2 tbls blackberry-blueberry jam (I use Whole Foods' Blackberry Fruit Spread)
• 1 tsp almond butter
• 1/2 tsp cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup sweet onion, diced
• 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
• sesame seeds, topping (I never use this)

Directions:

1. In a bowl mix all glaze ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Turn crockpot to low and place chicken in bottom.
3. Pour sauce ingredients over chicken and cook for 4 hours.
4. Remove chicken from crockpot.
5. Pour sauce into small sauce pot over medium heat.
6. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes until sauce reduces.
7. While the sauce is cooking, shred chicken with two forks.
8. Toss chicken with sauce and serve with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

​
My Homemade Sweet Potato Fries
(Basically just roasted sweet potatoes)
Ingredients:

• 4-6 Sweet Potatoes (Depending on how much you want to make. 5 medium sized sweet potatoes usually gets me 6 oz of sweet potato fries for 6 meals. I think my idea of medium sized is bigger than most though.)
• Olive oil spray
• Sea salt (I actually use Garlic Sea Salt on everything I cook)
• Optional: Cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Skin and cut the sweet potatoes into whatever shape you want. I either do fries, wedges or circles.
3. Spray baking pan with olive oil. Lay down sweet potato fries flat (please do not just dump a pile on the pan).
4. I fill my Misto with olive oil and lightly spray the fries, then add some sea salt (sometimes cinnamon too).
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Take out of the oven and move them around or flip them over. Bake for another 15-20 minutes.
6. Keep an eye on them, if they are thin bake for less time, and vice versa. Key is to move them around or flip them over half way through baking them. I usually make mine thicker, so I bake them for at least a total of 40 minutes. 

Remember the other week when I posted that delicious Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Spaghetti Squash and raved about how the buffalo chicken would be my new go-to chicken recipe when I needed something quick or for travel? Well, the time has already come! I didn't have any time to meal prep on Sunday and I am leaving for vacation on Tuesday, so I decided buffalo chicken it is! Yes, I plan to travel with it. I am a big fan of the "Fail to plan, plan to fail" motto. My friend recommended this meal prep cooler to me and it is absolutely perfect for traveling with your food (even on the airplane). Anyways though, like last week, I bought Tessemae’s Mild Buffalo Sauce from my local Whole Foods to use for the buffalo chicken. I was also inspired by my favorite Power Supply meal that I had last week, Buffalo Chicken w/ Cumin Carrot Salad, that I paired my buffalo chicken with an attempted recreation of their cumin carrot salad. I tried to estimate the amounts of ingredients I used to make that and listed it below. 

Buffalo Chicken 
Ingredients:

• 2 lbs chicken breast, cooked and shredded 
• 2 rib celery, thinly sliced
• 3 green onions, white and green parts thinly sliced
• ½ cup diced red bell pepper
• ½ cup Tessemae’s Mild Buffalo Sauce

Directions:

1. Place a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tsp. avocado or coconut oil and swirl pan to coat with the oil.
2. Add chicken and ½ cup water. Once the water begins to simmer, reduce heat and cover. Cook chicken for 15-18 minutes or until cooked through.
3. Move chicken to a cutting board to cool slightly before shredding with two forks (or just throw in a food mixer and let that thing shred it for you!!!).
4. Place chicken, celery, onions, peppers and Buffalo sauce in a large bowl. Toss well to coat.

Original recipe found here

Carrot Slaw
Toss together:

• 1 lb of shredded carrots (use more or less to taste)
• ½ Red onion, sliced
• 6-8 Dates, sliced (use more or less to taste)
• 1-2 Tbsp Tessemae’s Mild Buffalo Sauce
• 1 tsp salt (or more to taste)
• 1 Tbsp Mustard
• 1 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar
• 1⁄4-½ tsp Cumin
• 1⁄4-½ tsp Coriander
• 1⁄4-½ tsp Turmeric

It was an extremely busy weekend for me, so I decided to go ahead and order lunches from Power Supply for the week and made this recipe for another meal. I tend to order Power Supply when I am out of town or just super busy and don't have time to meal prep.
I then only have to meal prep one more meal for the week and I do my best to pick the easiest recipe possible, like this Chicken, Broccoli, and Sweet Potato one sheet pan recipe! At first I thought it was this Sweet Potato Broccoli Chicken Bake recipe I've already tried, which was delicious and super easy too, but it is flavored slightly different then that one. For this recipe I used closer to 2 lbs of chicken, about 5 medium sweet potatoes, and raisins instead of dried cranberries. It is pretty hard to find dried cranberries that don't have added sugar, which is my only reasoning for that swap. Since I had a ton of sweet potatoes, I baked them separately and for about 40-45 minutes (tossing half way). This was a super simple, easy, and quick recipe to make that turned out delicious! If you don't have the dried thyme, sage, parsley, or rosemary, or just don't like one of those spices, then check out that link above for a similar recipe I made. This recipe is definitely one you should save for a time you need a quick meal!

Chicken, Broccoli, and Sweet Potato Sheet Pan Dinner
Ingredients:

• 20 oz sweet potatoes peeled and diced into 3/4-inch cubes (2 medium, about 3 cups)
• 4 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced into pieces (about 1 1/4-inches, keep them close to the same size so they all cook even)
• 4 cups small broccoli florets
• 1/2 of a medium red onion, diced into chunks
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 tsp of each dried thyme, sage, parsley and rosemary
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup pecans, whole or roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries (make sure to find ones with no sugar in the ingredients, or just use raisins - also without sugar added)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place sweet potatoes in a mound on a rimmed 18 by 13-inch baking sheet, pour 1 Tbsp over top and toss to evenly coat. Spread into an even layer and roast in preheated oven for 15 minutes (meanwhile chop and prep remaining ingredients).
2. Remove sweet potatoes from oven, add chicken pieces, broccoli florets, and red onion around sweet potatoes (just placing everything randomly). Sprinkle with garlic and drizzle everything with remaining 3 Tbsp olive oil (focusing mostly on the broccoli so it doesn't dry) and toss with a spatula to evenly coat.
3. Sprinkle evenly with thyme, sage, parsley, rosemary and nutmeg and about 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Toss again to evenly coat with seasonings and spread out evenly (try not to overlap chicken pieces).
4. Return to oven and roast about 16 - 20 minutes longer, tossing once halfway through, until chicken registers 165 degrees in center.
5. Toss in pecans and cranberries.

Original recipe found here