Wok Seared Green Beans with Sesame Garlic Cantonese Sauce

So... are green beans paleo? You might be thinking, "Katy! You said that legumes aren't paleo!" Well, that may be true, but the thing is, green beans don't really count. They are more pod than actual bean. Have you ever split one open to see the actual bean? Tiny. Not only that, but Mark Sisson says they are ok, because basically they contain a fairly minimal amount of gut irritants, and minimal starch. Most other legumes you think of, like black beans, soy beans, peanuts, etc. contain high amounts of starch (which can raise blood sugar), high amounts of lectins, and high amounts of phytates.

You may be like, "Ok Katy, you lost me at 'lectins' and 'phytates.'"

Ok, well....

"Lectins are bad. They bind to insulin receptors, attack the stomach lining of insects, bind to human intestinal lining, and they seemingly cause leptin resistance. And leptin resistance predicts a “worsening of the features of the metabolic syndrome independently of obesity”. Fun stuff, huh?"
Read more: Mark's Daily Apple

"Phytates are a problem, too, because they make minerals bio-unavailable (so much for all those healthy vitamins and minerals we need from whole grains!), thus rendering null and void the last, remaining argument for cereal grain consumption."
Read more: Mark's Daily Apple

Lectins and Phytates are in both grains and legumes, which contribute to the reasons why they are not included in a paleo diet.

But back to green beans. They have minimal amounts of both of phytates and lectins, so unless green beans give you tummy troubles, there's no reason to avoid them.

When I used to live in Atlanta, there was an awesome restaurant called Doc Chey's Noodle House around the corner from me in Druid Hills. On their appetizer menu they have these green beans and they were hard to resist! I wasn't paleo then, and I had no idea that I was gluten intolerant. I notice now that on their menu, it says, "Allergen Information:Our menu includes items that contain one of the eight major allergens: dairy, egg, soy, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, & fish. While we do our best to inform guests of foods that contain a food allergen, we can’t guarantee that cross-contact with other allergens will not occur during preparation."

Hmm. Well that's good to know.

I was thinking about those green beans the other day, and I googled "recipe for Doc Chey's seared green beans with Cantonese sauce" and I found this recipe. It was a good start, and with a few tweaks and a few tests, I made a delicious version that is up to my own "real food" standards.

Wok Seared Green Beans

with Sesame Garlic Cantonese Sauce

Ingredients:

3/4 cup homemade stock (I used pork stock, but beef or chicken stock would work fine too)
 2  teaspoons Red Boat Fish sauce
 2  teaspoons coconut aminos **
 2  teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon arrowroot starch, dissolved in
2 tablespoons cold water
2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 pound fresh French green beans (haricot verts), washed, trimmed, and patted dry
4 cloves garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon Himalayan pink sea salt
pinch crushed red pepper
dry toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

**Coconut Aminos are a paleo substitute for Soy Sauce. If you aren't bothered by small amounts of soy sauce, you can use it here, but reduce it to only 1 teaspoon, and use organic tamari, which is soy sauce that is non-GMO and wheat/gluten free, and easily found at regular grocery stores.

Directions 

1. Wisk together the stock, fish sauce, coconut aminos and honey in a small bowl. Make a slurry with the arrowroot starch and cold water in another small bowl, whisk thoroughly to combine, then whisk into the sauce.
2. In a wok, or a very large sauté pan, heat the sesame oil over medium high heat for two minutes, then add the green beans and stir fry until well seared, about 5-6 minutes. While stir-frying, resist the urge to turn constantly. When they first go into the wok, toss them around to coat them evenly with the sesame oil, then let them sit for 10 seconds at a time, then stir, then repeat until done. This helps them to get the wrinkled, seared black marks we are going for here.
3. After 5-6 minutes, add the garlic, salt, crushed red pepper and the sauce. Stir fry for another minute until the garlic is cooked and the sauce has thickened. Serve immediately, garnished with toasted sesame seeds.

Chorizo Chili, Plantain Chips and Garlic Lovers' Guacamole

Today's post is a triple threat! The weather can't really decide what it wants to do in Virginia Beach. Sunday before last it was sunny, 70 degrees, and we couldn't find a free parking space at our local park. Two days later, we had a snow day. What?!

When the weather is warm, it makes me crave avocados. When the weather is cold, I want a big bowl of chili. And let's face it - I always want something crunchy and salty. This post satisfies all of those cravings to a "T."

I make chili a lot, and it always follows this method, but the meat in the chili changes based on what I have thawed on hand. This week, it was pastured pork chorizo that I picked up at a farmers market in Greensboro, NC one weekend while traveling. The type of chorizo I used was uncooked, bulk chorizo, but you could use any kind of ground meat, like grassfed ground beef, ground pork, bulk sausage, or ground chicken or turkey for something a little leaner. I wish I knew someone who hunted because I would LOVE to try this with venison!

I know that most chili recipes have some beans, maybe some corn, and they are possibly thickened with cornmeal, or masa, but my version has tons of veggies instead of those other - non-paleo ingredients. Instead of being thickened with cornmeal, mine reduces for a long time on a slow simmer, accomplishing both a thick and hearty chili, and a deeply developed flavor. Chili is so flavorful, that you don't miss the beans or corn at all.

|Paleo Chorizo & Veggie Chili|

Ingredients

1 pound of ground chorizo (or ground meat of choice)
3 cups of diced carrots
1 gigantic red onion (or two small) diced
2 green peppers, diced
2 cups of mushrooms, diced
1 28 oz. can of Organic Fire Roasted Tomatoes (I used THIS brand)
3 oz organic tomato paste
4 cups of homemade bone broth/stock (or use the best quality store bought you can find, with no added sugars or MSG)
1 1/2 Tbsp Ancho Chili Powder
1 1/2 Tbsp Mexican Hot Chili Powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground roasted cumin
1 tsp fresh minced garlic
dash of cinnamon
1 Tbsp dried oregano
Salt  to taste

Directions

1. In a large dutch oven or stock pot, brown the chorizo until cooked through.
2. Add in the vegetables and season with a big pinch of salt and pepper, and cook until the vegetables have softened a bit - about 15 minutes.
3. Add in the tomato products, stock and seasonings and stir to combine well.
4. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low and simmer for 3-4 hours, uncovered. Don't skip this step or you will regret it! A good chili needs a long time to simmer to let the spices truly develop and to let all the vegetables to cook to the right doneness (especially the carrots). This step is also crucial for the chili to thicken, since we aren't using any masa.
5. Serve with my guacamole and plantain chips (see below!)



I used to love chili loaded with sour cream and cheddar cheese, with some corn chips on the side for crunch. Now I fill my cravings for something creamy and crunchy with a BIG dollop of guacamole and either plantain chips or pork rinds. When me and my husband first "went paleo" and decided to give up dairy for a good long while, we put guacamole and avocados on everything to satisfy our "creamy" cravings. When people say that dairy is the one thing they are unsure if they can give up, I tell them about that tip.

I was going to run out to the store to get some of my favorite garlicky plantain chips from the Hispanic market near me, but my husband reminded me that they have vegetable oils in the ingredient list. They aren't a terrible choice, because the label says that it is non-GMO vegetable oil, which is better than some, but still not really paleo. Trader Joe's also has a version that is made with sunflower oil, which is less offensive, but I decided to try my hand at making my own. I first tried a version I found that tossed the thinly sliced green plantains in coconut oil, but I wasn't crazy about the results.

Today I tried my own version that uses a little more oil, but produces an AMAZING chip! When my husband tried them, he said, "Oh girl - you messed up..... you are going to HAVE to make these for me all the time!" (His funny way of saying I hit it out of the park.)

But I agree - I nailed it, if I do say so myself. They go great with this super garlicky version of guacamole. My husband seriously can't get enough garlic. Eat in self defense!

|Oven Fried Plantain Chips|

Ingredients

2 green plantains
5 Tbsp Avocado Oil
Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder to taste

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375.
2. Cut off the ends of the plantains, and score them lengthways through the thick skin.
3. Use your thumb to peel off the skin. If there are any parts that you can't get off completely, you can use a vegetable peeler to get those last bits off and make the outside smooth.
4. Slice the plantains as thin as possible into coins using either a sharp knife or a mandoline.
5. You will need two half-sheet pans (cookie sheets) for the whole batch. Pour 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil on each sheet tray and make sure the oil coats the pans evenly.
6. Lay out the plantain coins out in a single layer on the oiled pans, then using a silicone basing brush, brush the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil on the top of the coins. (There should now be a total of 2 1/2 tablespoons of avocado oil on each pan.)
7. Bake for 12 minutes, then flip all of the plantain coins. Some may be trying to stick to the pan, so I suggest using a metal spatula.
8. Bake another 12- 15 minutes until the plantain chips have started to brown, and look like the photograph above.
9. Drain the chips on paper towels after they are baked, and sprinkle immediately with a good pinch of salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Garlic Lovers' Guacamole

Ingredients

Flesh of 2 ripe avocados
5 cloves of garlic, grated (I use a microplane zester for this because it gets the garlic really fine)
juice of half a lime
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Mash all ingredients together in a bowl with a fork to your desired consistency. Some like it chunky, some like it creamy - its up to you!


I hope you guys like these three recipes, and I think they go well together, but if you were to pick just one to try, I would suggest trying the Oven Fried Plantains! If you are missing something crunchy on your paleo diet, these are the perfect snack.

Date and Chorizo Broccoli Salad

In the Galvin house, we can't get enough broccoli salad. Whenever I make it, we gobble it up with every meal until its gone. It's truly a race to the end of the bowl. It's become one of our favorite things for breakfast actually.

Broccoli salad is especially popular in the south where I grew up. Usually, its fresh broccoli florets combined with onion, bacon bits, raisins, maybe some nuts and tossed together in a sweet and tangy mayonnaise based recipe, with sugar and vinegar.

This is a fairly simple recipe to "paleo-ize" with higher quality ingredients, and I have found that it is really flexible to change up so it never gets boring.

The other day my husband was begging me to make more (even though we had just ate a batch the day before) and I said, "I can't because I don't have any more bacon or raisins." He responded, "I know we have some sort of pork you can use and we have dates. Make me some more!" Even though he was being insistent, he had a point! It doesn't matter what kind of pork it is, broccoli salad just needs SOME sort of pork. I had a couple links of hard chorizo in my fridge, so I came up with this new version, and it is AMAZING. I add the dates to the dressing itself and let them hang out together for a while. The dates sweeten the dressing without having to add any granulated sugar or sweetener of any kind.

For the dressing:

Ingredients

1 cup of Paleo Mayo (this recipe is my favorite)
1 tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 - 1 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper (I like a LOT, but its up to you)
1 teaspoon of organic granulated garlic


For the Salad:
3 cups of fresh broccoli florets
1/2 a small red onion, finely diced
1/2 a cup of hard chorizo, small diced *
1/3 cup of pitted medjool dates, finely diced

Instructions:

1. First make the dressing by simply whisking all ingredients in a large bowl.
2. To the dressing, add the diced red onions and dates and refrigerate mixture while you cook the chorizo in the next step.
3. Brown the chorizo in a small sauté pan over medium high heat. Hard chorizo is already cooked, but when you brown it, some of the fat releases from the sausage and the chorizo gets a little crispy like bacon bits. This should only take 3-5 minutes. Set the pan aside to cool for another five minutes.
4. Remove the bowl with the dressing from the fridge and add the broccoli florets. Don't mix yet.
5. Pour the browned chorizo bits AND any fat in the pan over the broccoli florets.
6. Now fold all of the ingredients together to incorporate. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then check for seasonings to see if you need a bit more salt or pepper. If the mixture seems too dry, add a few tablespoons more of mayo and mix again.

*There are lots of types of hard chorizo, but I have found good quality hard chorizo at Whole Foods and other similar stores. Above I have also linked to an organic variety, but it is more of a specialty artisan brand. While completely delicious, it's not strictly paleo - just FYI. If you cannot find hard chorizo, you can also use loose crumbled chorizo, but just make sure to thoroughly cook it in the sauté pan. It will take just a little longer than I specified above.