On this edition of quick and easy meals for the days you don’t feel like cooking or are on-the-go, I present you…wait for it…Trader Joe’s Ready Made Grilled Chicken Strips, one nuked plantain and half an avocado, all in one lovely red bowl.
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On this edition of quick and easy meals for the days you don’t feel like cooking or are on-the-go, I present you…wait for it…Trader Joe’s Ready Made Grilled Chicken Strips, one nuked plantain and half an avocado, all in one lovely red bowl.

Ok, not to toot my own paleo horn, but this ground beef for some reason came out freakin’ mouth watering amazing. I totally winged the seasonings. At this point in my culinary life, I know very well what seasonings I like and which ones go together well. To sum up the seasonings I used (amounts are undisclosed because I didn’t measure at all): ground cumin (of course), paprika, cayenne pepper, pepper, ground red chili pepper. And of course I made it all in coco oil. After the ground beef, I made the spinach (with minced garlic) in the leftover oil and seasonings and baked the plantain.
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Ok, not to toot my own paleo horn, but this ground beef for some reason came out freakin’ mouth watering amazing.

I totally winged the seasonings. At this point in my culinary life, I know very well what seasonings I like and which ones go together well. To sum up the seasonings I used (amounts are undisclosed because I didn’t measure at all): ground cumin (of course), paprika, cayenne pepper, pepper, ground red chili pepper. And of course I made it all in coco oil.

After the ground beef, I made the spinach (with minced garlic) in the leftover oil and seasonings and baked the plantain.

Clearly I forgot to photograph my lunch nom, buuuut it was jamaican jerk chicken, baked plantains and small serving of quinoa (which is actually a fruit not a grain - still carby though so in small doses only).
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Clearly I forgot to photograph my lunch nom, buuuut it was jamaican jerk chicken, baked plantains and small serving of quinoa (which is actually a fruit not a grain - still carby though so in small doses only).

A sad (yet delicious) kind of dinner from last night. It’s pretty tragic when you’re off work late, and in order to not eat too late at home, you stop by Whole Foods and put together a meal of quarter rotisserie chicken, baked plantains and a cucumber/tomato/red onion salad with lemon juice and pepper, and eat it in the car drive home.
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A sad (yet delicious) kind of dinner from last night.

It’s pretty tragic when you’re off work late, and in order to not eat too late at home, you stop by Whole Foods and put together a meal of quarter rotisserie chicken, baked plantains and a cucumber/tomato/red onion salad with lemon juice and pepper, and eat it in the car drive home.

Breakfast for dinner never really gets old! Couple cage free egg omelet with spinach and a side of half a baked plantain. Yeaaah buddy.
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Breakfast for dinner never really gets old!

Couple cage free egg omelet with spinach and a side of half a baked plantain. Yeaaah buddy.

Oh? You’re gonna WOD-block me, life? You know how much this angers me. Some ground beef and half baked plantain to make me feel better? Okay…you are forgiven…for now.
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Oh? You’re gonna WOD-block me, life? You know how much this angers me. Some ground beef and half baked plantain to make me feel better? Okay…you are forgiven…for now.

Neat nuked plantain next to a beastly half rotisserie and a tomato and spinach with balsamic vinegar salad. Not too shabby I must say.
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Neat nuked plantain next to a beastly half rotisserie and a tomato and spinach with balsamic vinegar salad. Not too shabby I must say.

Lunch Nom at Farmers Market I know I’ve posted this combo before but it’s just so tasty that I wanted to share it again! Fresh fish ceviche, couple grilled plantains and some extra pico de gallo with a fresh made cantaloupe juice!
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Lunch Nom at Farmers Market

I know I’ve posted this combo before but it’s just so tasty that I wanted to share it again! Fresh fish ceviche, couple grilled plantains and some extra pico de gallo with a fresh made cantaloupe juice!

Lunch Nom at Mom’s Had been a while since I had a juicy steak! Doesn’t hurt that it went along with some baked zucchini’s topped with Parmesan, baked plantains and diced tomato with cilantro.
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Lunch Nom at Mom’s

Had been a while since I had a juicy steak! Doesn’t hurt that it went along with some baked zucchini’s topped with Parmesan, baked plantains and diced tomato with cilantro.

Lunch Nom at Mom’s Today she provided random left overs because she says she needs to go grocery shopping….all this was still yummy though! A sausage and onion omelet (she has a special way of making her omelets which is delicious), few baked plantain bits, baked zucchini and tomato slices!
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Lunch Nom at Mom’s

Today she provided random left overs because she says she needs to go grocery shopping….all this was still yummy though! A sausage and onion omelet (she has a special way of making her omelets which is delicious), few baked plantain bits, baked zucchini and tomato slices!

Lunch Nom at Mom’s Here we have pan-grilled boneless chicken thighs, baked plantain and baked zucchini slices topped with a bit of Parmesan cheese and a dessert of watermelon! Yum! I love my mom.
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Lunch Nom at Mom’s

Here we have pan-grilled boneless chicken thighs, baked plantain and baked zucchini slices topped with a bit of Parmesan cheese and a dessert of watermelon! Yum!

I love my mom.

Farmers Market Nom Mmmm today hit the spot for sure! Ventured to the farmers market on this Tuesday as I usually do and the Seafood stand finally had ceviche! I LOVE that it’s all so fresh because I can see the old lady in the back cutting everything fresh. And yummy plantains, can’t go wrong. I am a satisfied girl.
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Farmers Market Nom

Mmmm today hit the spot for sure! Ventured to the farmers market on this Tuesday as I usually do and the Seafood stand finally had ceviche! I LOVE that it’s all so fresh because I can see the old lady in the back cutting everything fresh. And yummy plantains, can’t go wrong. I am a satisfied girl.

Butter Chicken with Baked Plantains For this recipe, I followed Everyday Paleo’s Better Butter Chicken recipe but I was missing coriander and cardamom, so perhaps mine would have been as light as her picture and perhaps taste a bit different. I also added a couple different spices to my version! What you need: Boneless chicken (I used breast, but you can use thighs if you want also) tomato paste coconut milk organic ghee diced red onion minced garlic ground ginger chili powder fenugreek powder cumin powder sea salt What you do: I used my Trader Joe’s Chicken breast that are pre-cooked and I just warmed it up (to make my life easier) and set it aside. In a pan or soup pot, heat up some ghee in medium heat then add the diced red onion until it becomes translucent. Turn your heat down to low and to the onion and oil mixture, add the crushed garlic, ground cumin, fenugreek powder, ground ginger and chili powder and stir well to make a paste.  Add the tomato paste to the onions and spices and stir, this mixture will be very thick.  Turn your heat back up to medium and add the coconut milk and salt.  Use a whisk to blend the tomato paste spice mixture and coconut milk together into a thick sauce.  Bring the sauce to a simmer and add the chicken.  Return the sauce and chicken to a simmer, turn down to medium low, cover and cook for approximately 15 minutes – make sure you stir occasionally during the cooking process. After the chicken is cooked (in my case, it was already cooked so I used less time), add the ghee and mix into the sauce until melted. I served mine with sliced avocado and baked plantain slices. Verdict? Very yummy! But I will be honest and say that it tastes similar to the Ground Turkey Chili I have made before but a bit creamier? I think if I had the two spices that I was missing it would have tasted a bit different, but it was still tasty nonetheless! __________________________ Sorry for the crappy photo….iPhone 3GS quality and didn’t feel like messing with it hehe.
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Butter Chicken with Baked Plantains

For this recipe, I followed Everyday Paleo’s Better Butter Chicken recipe but I was missing coriander and cardamom, so perhaps mine would have been as light as her picture and perhaps taste a bit different. I also added a couple different spices to my version!

What you need:

  • Boneless chicken (I used breast, but you can use thighs if you want also)
  • tomato paste
  • coconut milk
  • organic ghee
  • diced red onion
  • minced garlic
  • ground ginger
  • chili powder
  • fenugreek powder
  • cumin powder
  • sea salt

What you do:

I used my Trader Joe’s Chicken breast that are pre-cooked and I just warmed it up (to make my life easier) and set it aside. In a pan or soup pot, heat up some ghee in medium heat then add the diced red onion until it becomes translucent. Turn your heat down to low and to the onion and oil mixture, add the crushed garlic, ground cumin, fenugreek powder, ground ginger and chili powder and stir well to make a paste.  Add the tomato paste to the onions and spices and stir, this mixture will be very thick.  Turn your heat back up to medium and add the coconut milk and salt.  Use a whisk to blend the tomato paste spice mixture and coconut milk together into a thick sauce.  Bring the sauce to a simmer and add the chicken.  Return the sauce and chicken to a simmer, turn down to medium low, cover and cook for approximately 15 minutes – make sure you stir occasionally during the cooking process. After the chicken is cooked (in my case, it was already cooked so I used less time), add the ghee and mix into the sauce until melted. I served mine with sliced avocado and baked plantain slices.

Verdict? Very yummy! But I will be honest and say that it tastes similar to the Ground Turkey Chili I have made before but a bit creamier? I think if I had the two spices that I was missing it would have tasted a bit different, but it was still tasty nonetheless!

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Sorry for the crappy photo….iPhone 3GS quality and didn’t feel like messing with it hehe.
Lunch Non at Mom’s Today my mum gave me bisteck (flat steak - the kind used in lomo saltado) sauteed with tomatoes and onions, a baked plantain and a cucumber, tomato, spinach and cilantro salad.
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Lunch Non at Mom’s

Today my mum gave me bisteck (flat steak - the kind used in lomo saltado) sauteed with tomatoes and onions, a baked plantain and a cucumber, tomato, spinach and cilantro salad.

TJ’s Pork Al Pastor, Mango & Almond Salad and Platanos Con Queso

Last night I made him dinner again and it was a hit again, also *phew*!!! Prior to making dinner I was visiting a coworker who’s fiancee just had their baby, therefore, I didn’t want to come home and rush to make something too elaborate! So the following is what I came up with.

What you need:

  • Trader Joe’s Pork Al Pastor
  • Ghee/EVOO/Coconut Oil (take your pick - I used ghee)
  • Ripe Mango
  • Raw Slivered Almonds
  • Organic Spinach
  • Balsamic Vinegar
  • Agave Nectar
  • EVOO
  • Ripe Plantains

What you do:

Well, I’m going to go in the order that I went, which ended up being pretty efficient. First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, peel the ripe plantains (very ripe means the plantain skin is fairly dark brown/nearly black), melt a bit of ghee (you can use butter if you need to), and brush it all over the plantains. Place the plantains on baking sheet over foil in the oven for 20-30 minutes one side, flip them and put for another 15-20 minutes. These took longest of whole meal which is why I put them in first.

I wish I would have taken a picture of how I cut my mango, but basically I diced the mango bits and with the raw slivered almonds (which I bought from Trader Joe’s) spread over a bed of spinach. I also made my own dressing in which I combined Balsamic Vinegar, Agave Nectar, and Olive Oil.

Then onto the easiest part of the dinner: Trader Joe’s Pork Al Pastor. Just follow the simple directions in the back (I used a pan, not the microwave). Heat a bit of ghee in a pan, place the meat, I added bit of ground cumin, garlic salt, and onion powder, and little bit of water.

Then once everything is done, take out your plantains while still hot, make a sliver over the top of each plantain, and add mozzarella cheese in the slivers and allow to melt and serve your dish right away, which mine looked like this:

Verdict? He (and I) loved it! Definitely will have to be a repeat! And no, I was not shady and didn’t pretend I made the al pastor from scratch, I told him about Trader Joe’s selling it but he was still impressed overall with everything. It was my first time making that salad, experimenting with the dressing, and first time making plantains in that way as well! Yay for kitchen wins!