Cucumber and Avocado Salad with Purple Basil

A few months ago my mom helped me plant a little herb garden in a simple medium sized pot. She has quite the green thumb, and I have yet to inherit it, so I decided I wanted to learn. We went to Whole Foods and bought organic herbs and organic dirt, and a short while later I had my own little farm on my patio. I bought organic rosemary, lemon thyme, green basil, and purple basil. Thyme is probably my favorite to cook with flavor wise, but I LOVE the color of the purple basil. It tastes pretty much the same as green basil, but is is so much more visually pleasing. I know I mention a lot that we eat with our eyes first, and I think it is especially important to make vegetables look pretty and appealing so that we enjoy eating them more often.

As a side note, I have to admit that I don't have patience for people who claim,"I don't eat anything green. It's gross." Oh really? Green is gross? You mean, the color that symbolizes new life, calm, and peace? You don't want to eat that? Rolling my eyes at you. Be an adult and eat your vegetables. I promise they can be delicious. How can they be delicious? Add some fat! Add some healthy fat. Please don't tell me that you still think that fat makes you fat. It doesn't. In fact, you NEED healthy fats to help you absorb all the good stuff that you get from veggies. Ok, I'll stop ranting, and just give you a recipe that is the perfect example of vegetables that taste fresh and great, with some wonderful healthy sources of fat.

Cucumber and Avocado Salad with Organic Purple Basil
Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

1 organic cucumber, diced
1 avocado, diced
2 tablespoons of small diced red onions
juice of half a lemon
1 tablespoon of high quality, organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tablespoon of chopped organic purple basil (green will do fine if you can't find purple!)
1 teaspoon of sea salt
20 grinds of fresh pepper
1/2 a teaspoon of organic garlic granules

Directions:

*Ok, it's this simple: mix everything together in a bowl. You can let all the flavors marry in the fridge for 30 minutes if you'd like, but honestly I usually just eat this right away.

I hope you guys enjoy this quick and easy side dish as much as I do, and I encourage you to grow some of your own herbs. You just need enough space for a medium sized pot, a decent amount of sunlight, and enough patience to try to remember to water it. If I can grow these on my tiny balcony, anybody can!

Sautéed Flounder over Quick Avocado Broccoli Slaw with Cinnamon Spiced Almonds

I love Trader Joe's. Who doesn't? Haters, that's who. I don't have time for haters. I also love Costco. They both help a Paleo Sista out, and I'll take it. Yes, I love to go to the farmer's market and buy locally sourced food, but I am still a young person on a budget, and so I balance out some of the more expensive things I buy with some smart, inexpensive Paleo choices. I fully believe that we vote with our dollars more than on any ballot, so when I find a good product, I buy it not only to eat, but also to send a message that THIS is the kind of food I'm interested in buying rather than cereal and franken-snack-food.

This meal takes advantage of a few good buys at Costco and Trader Joe's. The organic broccoli slaw and slivered almonds are from TJ's, and the flounder is from Costco. The flounder is wild caught, and frozen in individual filets, making it really easy to take a couple out of the freezer to thaw a few hours before you plan to cook them. They are small portions, so you can have one for a light lunch, or two for a nice size dinner. A 3 pound bag will only cost you about $11, and there are at least 20 filets in the bag. I love that TJ's has a large selection of ready-to-use veggies, many of which are organic.

Pan Fried Flounder
Serves 2 for lunch

Ingredients:

2 defrosted flounder filets
Large pinch of sea salt
fresh ground pepper
large pinch of organic granulated garlic
large pinch of organic paparika
1 tablespoon of duck fat, or other healthy fat of choice (lard, coconut oil, or ghee would be fine)

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix together the sea salt, pepper, garlic and paprika. Pat the fish dry with a paper towel, and season with the mix.
2. Heat the duck fat in a cast iron pan over medium high heat.
3. Pan fry the flounder for 2-3 minutes on each side, browning nicely on each side.
4. Remove from the pan and place on paper towels to drain off excess fat, then serve over broccoli slaw.

Broccoli Slaw
Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/3 bag of Trader Joe's Organic Broccoli Slaw (about a large handful per person)
1/4 cup diced organic red bell pepper
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onions
1/4 cup raw Trader Joe's slivered almonds
pinch of cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
large spoonful of my Avocado Vinaigrette

Directions:

1. First toast the slivered almonds in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Once you see the almonds start to brown, add a pinch of sea salt and a pinch of cinnamon, and continue stirring while the almonds finish toasting. Set asside on a plate to cool while you assemble the rest of the slaw.
2. Mix together the vegetables and the large spoonful of Avocado Vinaigrette. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper. Add in most of the toasted almonds, reserving a few for garnish.

Plate the slaw on the bottom of a pretty plate, and top with the cooked flounder filet. Garnish with a few toasted almonds, and dig in!

This lunch should only take you about 15 minutes to throw together if you have the dressing already made. The avocado vinaigrette keeps for about a week in the fridge in a glass mason jar and is great as a dipping sauce or a dressing for salads. I know it will be a staple in my house for a while!

Paleo Cuban Salad with Avocado Vinaigrette

I love it when a Paleo plan comes together. Last week, before we moved to Virginia Beach, we took a day trip to Roanoke to wrap up some last minute errands, and we stopped to have lunch at a Cuban restaurant downtown. We've been there before, and we usually order the crispy pork with Mojo sauce, green and sweet plantains, and the house Cuban salad with avocado vinaigrette. Before the Paleo Police come arrest me, let me say that we know that this meal is not completely Paleo. There is probably sugar in the Mojo sauce, the pork is not pastured, and the plantains are probably fried in canola oil. When we are eating out, we make the best choices we can while still enjoying ourselves and living in the moment. So #saveithaters. We have never claimed, nor will we ever claim to be Paleo perfectionists. At least we didn't order the black beans and rice. I used to love those! Oh well...

One reason I think it is ok to eat out on occasion is because you can draw inspiration from the meals you experience, and take the ideas home and turn them into completely Paleo meals that can be enjoyed guilt-free on a regular basis. I knew that I could easily recreate the crispy pork using the Citrus Carnitas recipe from the Well Fed Paleo cookbook, and also that I could use the Cuban Spiced Plantain from Beyond Bacon (which, by the way, is available now on Amazon and in stores!!). I was so excited to be able to make the carnitas with Polyface Pastured Pork! I can't believe that I have access to a store that is the exclusive retail establishment that sells their meat 6 days a week, 10 minutes from my new home.#blessed So all I had left to do was assemble a salad similar to the one I had and create my own recipe for an Avocado Vinaigrette. The salad we were served was plated in a deconstructed style, like a Cuban version of a Cobb Salad, and I encourage you to serve it this way, so that your guests can enjoy the beautiful presentation and also choose what ingredients they would like to have on their plate. Although I don't get it, not everyone likes onions or avocados, and plating it this way allows them the flexibility to get what they like without seeming rude for picking things out of a mixed salad. I also highly suggest you prepare these three dishes together, because they make a fantastic Paleo Cuban Feast!

Citrus Carnitas from Well Fed Cookbook

Cuban Spiced Plantains from Beyond Bacon Cookbook

Avocado Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

Flesh of 1 ripe hass avocado
1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Juice from 1 lemon
Juice from 1 lime
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
1/3 cup of purified water
1/2 teaspoon of granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Blend all ingredients in a mini-food processor or blender. If the dressing is too thick, you can add a bit more water. Make sure to taste to check for seasonings and adjust to your preference.


Deconstructed Cuban Salad

Ingredients:

1/2 a bag of organic Arugula ( I bought mine at Trader Joe's)
1 small organic heirloom yellow tomato, sliced
1 small organic heirloom red tomato, sliced
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup of sliced green olives
1/2 a sliced avocado
1/2 a diced mango

Directions:
 1. Lay a bed of arugula on your serving platter.
2. Arrange your ingredients in sections, like you would a cobb salad. Make sure to fan the avocado, and also to layer the tomatoes alternating colors for the best visual effect. We eat with our eyes first, after all!
3. Season the salad with fresh ground pepper and sea salt.
4. Serve with Avocado Vinaigrette 
 
I loved the weird, but completely wonderful combination of the fatty avocado, sweet mango, briny green olives, sharp red onions and savory tomatoes with the creamy and tart vinaigrette. I probably wouldn't have come up with that combination on my own (mangoes and green olives - what?!?!) , but that doesn't mean I can't improve upon the idea with superior, high quality ingredients that I trust. I encourage you to not be so much of a Paleo perfectionist that you avoid restaurants completely. You might miss out on some great ideas that you can "paleo-ize" and incorporate into your regular routine. Date night out is also good for the soul on occasion -- just try to keep it to way less than the average, and you will enjoy it all the more. :)

Also, I highly suggest both books mentioned in this post, and they are recommended in my "What the heck is Paleo anyway?" post. Well Fed is from the talented Melissa Joulwan from the blog "The Clothes Make the Girl," and Beyond Bacon in from Matt and Stacy from the awesome site, Paleo Parents. Melissa has another cookbook coming out, Well Fed 2, and I can't wait! It's available for pre-order now on Amazon. These two bloggers have extensive, free recipe indexes on their websites, so go check them out!

I hope you guys enjoy your Paleo Cuban Feast!