paleo Archives - Page 3 of 22 - A Calculated Whisk

32 Paleo Comfort Food Recipes for Winter

December 11, 2017 By Becky 26 Comments

This collection of paleo comfort food recipes will keep you warm and nourished all winter long!

Looking for more delicious paleo recipes? Check out my roundups of Whole30 Instant Pot recipes and Whole30 sheet pan dinners.

Raise your hand if you could use some comfort food right about now! Between the cold weather and the seemingly incessant parade of Christmas treats, I’ve been craving healthy, hearty, hot dinners. In case you have been, too, I put together this collection of my very best and favorite paleo comfort food recipes.

Between all the cookies and the shopping and whatever else you’re up to, I hope you can find time to share some of these dishes with your family (or just make them for yourself!). Many of these recipes are great to make ahead and/or Whole30 compliant, so I’ve noted details like that below. Which one will you try first?

Here’s to a healthy and happy holiday season filled with plenty of satisfying meals!

Instant Pot Meatballs

November 28, 2017 By Becky 29 Comments

These Instant Pot meatballs are so easy and quick to make–no stove or oven required–and are the ideal paleo & Whole30 comfort food.

How was your Thanksgiving?? Mine was pretty good. I made an apple galette first thing in the morning and we left for Atlanta around 11 to go to a big family Thanksgiving at Ben’s cousin’s house. Amazingly enough, traffic from Chattanooga to the ATL was very light, and we made it in under two hours. I managed to eat only a relatively appropriate amount of dessert and even brought some galette back home, which made a perfect Black Friday breakfast.

6 Ways to Top Roasted Sweet Potatoes

November 22, 2017 By Becky 22 Comments

This post is sponsored by the North Carolina SweetPotato Commission.

With these six ways to top roasted sweet potatoes, everyone will be sure to find something they love. Pick one or two to make for dinner or go all out and try all six!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! I’m here today to tell you about a delicious meal idea that, while not necessarily meant for Turkey Day itself, is certainly perfect for any busy night (or day or even morning) of the year when you need some fast and healthy grub.

Bok Choy Salad with Apple and Persimmon

November 14, 2017 By Becky 6 Comments

This vegan and paleo bok choy salad with apple and persimmon is healthy enough for a detox but beautiful and tasty enough for your Thanksgiving table!

Is anyone else in need of something delicious and fresh, but still kind of festive? I’ve got you covered with this bok choy salad with apple and persimmon. Amidst all the pie and stuffing and mashed potatoes and even a few early cookies, I am fairly sure that we all could use something like this.

If you’re surprised that bok choy can be eaten raw in a salad, you are not alone. I just learned this recently myself. A couple weeks before our wedding I decided to do Alisa Vitti’s four-day detox, and this bok choy salad is based on a very simple one that she shares as part of the cleanse. I was initially quite suspicious that a combination of raw bok choy, onion, and apple could ever taste good, but since I get bok choy all the time in my CSA and it cooks down to almost nothing in a stir fry, I decided to give the salad a try.

Hubbard Squash Soup with Pistachio Gremolata

October 9, 2017 By Becky 20 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This easy hubbard squash soup with pistachio gremolata will quickly become a favorite in your fall weeknight rotation. The slightly sweet soup and punchy gremolata complement each other perfectly.

It’s October (how?!?), and it’s time for squash soup. Posting squash soup has become an inadvertent fall tradition here at A Calculated Whisk, beginning with butternut squash soup with fried garlic and chili oil in October 2014. The tradition continued with 2015’s parsnip and pumpkin soup and last year’s butternut squash and potato soup (with bacon and pomegranate on top!).

Autumn 2017’s squash soup feature is this hubbard squash soup with pistachio gremolata. I invented it on a whim when I got sick a few days after my wedding and have not been able to stop eating it since. The soup is rich and delicious on its own, but worlds better with a few dollops of pistachio gremolata swirled in.

I originally made this soup with a red kuri squash from my CSA–the one pictured in the top right of this photo. Since then, I’ve had trouble getting my hands on another red kuri, so I turned to buttercup squash (pictured above), which is another member of the hubbard squash family. I have a slight preference for red kuri squash and am constantly on the lookout for it, but either will work (and other orange-fleshed winter squashes like butternut will probably work, too).

Pitaya Peach Smoothie

September 21, 2017 By Becky 16 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This pitaya peach smoothie has quickly become my go-to power breakfast because it’s easy, healthy, gorgeous, and delicious. What more can you ask for in the morning?

Thank you to Rodelle for providing products for use in this post!

Big news: Ben and I are married! We started dating almost six years ago, before the idea of starting a food blog had even crossed my mind, got engaged almost three years ago, and tied the knot on Saturday. I’m so happy and in a way amazed that we are finally married, mostly because we’re not the best at planning big events. However, we somehow pulled it off (with a huge amount of help from our families and especially my mother, who put together all the little decorative elements and details into something better than I’d ever imagined) and are so thrilled to be husband and wife. Also, Ben’s sister and her husband threw us an outdoor rehearsal dinner that was so fun I worried the wedding itself couldn’t top it, complete with a gorgeously decorated tent in their driveway and a late-night fire pit. I could go on and on about our wedding weekend, but should probably save it for a separate post since I also have lots to say about these smoothies. If you’re interested, though, here are a couple of photos from our first look shot by my dear friend, bridesmaid, and photographer extraordinaire Lindsey Lowe.

So, smoothie time! I have been making smoothies all spring and summer long, and this pitaya peach smoothie is my very favorite. I shot a cookbook written by someone else this summer (more details coming!) for the first time, and had 60 photos due just over two weeks before my wedding date. As if photographing a cookbook and planning a wedding wasn’t enough, I also continued to work 30 hours a week as a speech therapist and took on several other freelance projects. To say I didn’t have time to cook breakfast would be an understatement. This is such an easy breakfast, especially if you use an immersion blender like I do–you can make your smoothie in a big jar and drink it from there, too!

Pinchos de Pollo from Latin American Paleo Cooking + Giveaway

September 5, 2017 By Becky 17 Comments

These pinchos de pollo (Puerto Rican chicken skewers) from Latin American Paleo Cooking are a snap to make, packed with flavor, and super healthy.

So, hi! I’m back from what I think was my longest blogging hiatus ever, and I have really missed you. I have a post coming up soon with details on what I’ve been up to in case you’re interested (spoiler alert: planning our wedding and lots of freelance work!). From now on I’ll be sharing recipes more regularly again, and am really excited to get back in the game with this amazing and super simple recipe from Amanda Torres’ new cookbook, Latin American Paleo Cooking. Amanda is the brilliant recipe developer and writer behind the blog The Curious Coconut, and she wrote the cookbook with her mother in law, Milagros Torres, who grew up in Puerto Rico and has been cooking since she was ten.

The book is full of tempting recipes for family dinners, party food, quick and easy meals, sides, cooking essentials like sauces, and desserts from many different Latin American countries. Since I’m trying to slim down for my wedding (it’s in less than two weeks!), I have not even looked at the dessert chapter. However, I’ve been poring over everything else and have a huge list of what I want to make. Empanadas are at the very top of my list (and the top of the cover of the book–don’t they look amazing?)!

Bolognese Stuffed Zucchini with Pesto

June 14, 2017 By Becky 36 Comments

This post is sponsored by Uncle Steve’s Italian Specialties.

These bolognese stuffed zucchini with pesto are a satisfying and summery Whole30 meal made with organic tomato basil sauce, ground beef, and plenty of fresh pesto on top.

How is summer treating you so far? Here in Chattanooga it’s been nice and hot (just the way I like it!) and we’ve been getting in a lot of swimming. I’ve also been working on my tan while doing my farm share work, and loving the first rounds of summer produce showing up, like zucchini, basil, and even a few tomatoes.

I used my early squash to make these bolognese stuffed zucchini with pesto, which combine seasonal vegetables and a few pantry staples to make an easy but hearty paleo dinner.

And no, I’m not suggesting you make a true bolognese sauce that needs to simmer away for hours in this heat. This is a bit of a cheater’s bolognese, because we’re letting Uncle Steve’s do the hard work for us. Their organic tomato basil sauce is so flavorful that all we have to do is brown the ground beef with a little onion, and stir in the sauce. The resulting filling will fool all your lucky dinner companions into thinking you worked all day to handcraft an authentic Italian sauce.

Roasted Beets & Sweet Potatoes

June 5, 2017 By Becky 4 Comments

These roasted beets and sweet potatoes are a paleo and vegan-friendly side dish that goes well with almost anything.

I know–it’s June, and I’m suggesting cranking up the oven to roast some vegetables. It may not be the most summer-friendly cooking method, but to me it’s worth it. Beets just started appearing at local farmers markets and in my CSA box, and my favorite way to enjoy them is roasted alongside the last of fall’s sweet potatoes (or perhaps the first of summer’s crop!).

To make this dish extra colorful, I opted for a mix of orange and purple sweet potatoes and chioggia beets, which are striped inside and won’t stain your hands nearly as much as regular beets. The sweet potatoes end up tender inside and satisfyingly crispy along the edges.

The beets don’t crisp up, but their earthy, springy flavor is a great counterpoint to the sweet potatoes. A little thyme adds herbal freshness and savory notes, but can be omitted if you don’t have any on hand.

Strawberry Avocado Salad with Candied Pepitas

May 25, 2017 By Becky 30 Comments

This post is sponsored by Cavit.

This refreshing strawberry and avocado salad with candied pepitas is a perfect way to enjoy spring produce, perhaps alongside a glass of crisp pinot grigio.

Guess what? Yesterday was my birthday, and tomorrow is the very first National Pinot Grigio Day! With so much to celebrate, I decided a really fun salad was in order. This strawberry and avocado salad is loaded with sweet and salty candied pepitas, vibrant radishes, fresh romaine, and a cumin-lime dressing. I’ve been making various iterations of this salad for a few weeks now, and when I have them on hand I also like to add thinly sliced scallions and sugar snaps and a handful of fresh cilantro leaves.

This salad pairs incredibly well with Cavit‘s pinot grigio, which is light and refreshing with a hint of fruity flavors and only a tad bit of sweetness. It’s cold-fermented in cutting edge thermo-conditioned tanks, which make it taste extra fresh and springy. I recommend enjoying a glass of well-chilled pinot grigio on your porch or in your backyard alongside a big plate of this salad.

Eggs in Purgatory with Sausage and Kale

May 18, 2017 By Becky 30 Comments

This post is sponsored by Uncle Steve’s Italian Specialties.

Eggs in purgatory with sausage and kale is a hearty and delicious breakfast that’s Whole30 compliant and perfect if you like to start the day with a little heat.

How do you feel about a little spice in the morning? Personally, I’m a big fan. A spicy breakfast helps me wake up, kick starts my day, and makes me feel ready for anything. So as soon as I got my hands on a jar of Uncle Steve’s Organic Arabbiata, I started dreaming about pairing it with eggs for an Italian power breakfast.

I was so excited to discover Uncle Steve’s sauces because they’re made with organic Italian tomatoes and short list of other clean ingredients: organic onions, garlic, basil, and spices plus sea salt. There’s no sugar anywhere in sight! If you’ve ever done a Whole30, you know how frustrating it can be to peruse labels in the grocery store aisle and find that most prepared sauces and stocks have cane sugar or other off-plan ingredients. Uncle Steve’s sauces are all vegan, gluten free, and paleo with no added sugar, so there’s no need to worry.

Carnitas con huevo

April 24, 2017 By Becky 40 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Try carnitas con huevo–crispy slow-cooked pork with fried eggs–for a hearty and irresistible paleo breakfast. There’s avocado crema involved, too!

I’m sorry for the silence here last week! I hadn’t planned on taking a week off from sharing recipes, but suddenly Easter and several deadlines for freelance work and a few other things snuck up on me. I’m back, though, with one of my favorite breakfasts of all time: carnitas con huevo (slow-cooked, crispy pork with an egg on top) with avocado crema.

If you’ve by any chance been reading since I started this site in 2013, you may recognize this recipe as one I posted back then during my first attempt at a Whole30. It was long overdue for a reshoot, though. Just for fun, I’ve included one of the original photos below right before the recipe card. I’m constantly working on improving my food photography and styling, but looking back on photos from a few years ago makes me feel really good about how far I’ve come already.