A Little Lighter

Sometimes in the winter you need a little freshness, something to wake up your taste buds from the heaviness of stews, meats and starches.

Lean Mean Paleo Greens kale and apple
1 pound flat-leaf kale (about 2 bunches) or a bag (trader joes has a great precut bag)
2 medium Granny Smith or Fuji apples, or 1 of each
1 tsp lemon juice 

Dressing:
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/8 tsp each garlic & onion powder
1 small shallot minced
 *bacon 

Candied Pecans: in a non stick skillet, cook for about 5 min on medium/low
1 cup pecans
3 tbsp maple (or coconut) sugar
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp butter
Pinch of sea salt

Place the vinegar, honey, mustard, poppy seeds, and salt in a large, nonreactive bowl, season with pepper, and whisk to combine. While whisking constantly, slowly add the oil until all of it is incorporated. Add the onion, stir to combine, and set aside.

Wash and dry the kale. Cut out and discard the tough stems. Arrange the leaves into stacks, slice crosswise into 1/4-inch ribbons. Core apples and cut into matchsticks and add to the bowl with the lemon and kale and toss. Toss to combine. When you're ready to serve, add pecans and bacon and drizzle with dressing. 

Bacon is an additional item you can add to this recipe. If you're strictly paleo, you've got to make sure the bacon is nitrate free. 



This next salad is probably one most people already make, but if by chance you've never had it, it's really a great one. It has so many variations and they are all really fresh and yummy. 

Broccoli Slaw
1 Bag of Broccoli Slaw
1/2 C Mayo
1 1/2 T Cider Vinegar
1 T Splenda/Sugar
1/4 C Golden Raisins
2-3 T Sunflower Seeds
1 Apple sliced  

Sprinkle sugar and vinegar over broccoli slaw, add apples, add raisins and sunflower seeds and mix well. 
Add your mayo and toss again. 

Here are some other alternatives:
pineapple, pecans, and shaved coconut
grapes, almonds 
cranberries, walnuts and blue cheese crumbles
*you can also add pine nuts, chopped tomato and feta (change the dressing to mayo, dijon, white wine vinegar


Rice pudding is so special. There is just something about it that warms your soul and makes everything in the world seem really small and unimportant. Here are three versions we really have enjoyed over the years. 


Choco Coco Chia Rice
1/4 C cooked white or brown rice
2 C almond or coconut milk
1/4 cup chia seeds
3 Tbsp cocoa + 2-3 squares of your favorite chocolate/shaved
1 Tbsp honey, you can also use agave
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt  


Put everything in a bowl except chocolate shavings and stir well.  Set in a fridge for 15 minutes. The chia will become saturated and thicken the rice mixture. You can serve with a little whipped cream or an extra splash of coconut/almond milk.

Raspberry Rice Pudding
3/4 cup uncooked short grain white rice
2 cups milk, divided (I used vanilla almond milk)
1/3 cup sugar/ splenda works great
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 egg
1/4 cup raspberries
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 orange zested

1/4 tsp cinnamon 

pinch of nutmeg

Bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil over high heat in a saucepan. Stir in your rice. Then, turn down the heat, cover the pan and let simmer for 20 minutes. 

While your rice is cooking, put your raspberries in a small bowl and mash them with a fork until they become juicy, leave some berries whole.

When the rice is done, put it in a clean saucepan with 1 1/2 cups milk, the sugar and salt. Cook this over medium heat, giving it a stir every once in awhile, until it thickens up and gets creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Crack your egg into a small bowl and beat it with the remaining 1/2 cup milk. Slowly stir this mixture into the rice.

Take off the stove and stir in your butter, vanilla, orange zest, and cinnamon and your pinch of nutmeg.

Top with your raspberries.

Recipe Here

Horchata Rice Pudding

2 1/2 cups rice milk/coconut milk

2 1/2 cups almond milk or whole milk

1 cup long grain rice

1 cinnamon stick/or 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla 

1/2 cup white sugar

In a large saucepan, combine the rice, white sugar, almond milk, coconut milk, cinnamon stick and nutmeg. Split the vanilla bean, scrape the seeds from the pod and add both to the milk mixture. Put the saucepan over low heat and simmer the rice until it turns very soft and achieves a thick, pudding-like consistency, about 30 to 40 minutes. Be careful not to bring the rice to a full boil. Remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla bean pod. Divide the mixture between 8 (7-ounce) ramekins and chill until cool.

Sprinkle some of the sugar over the top of each ramekin. Using a blowtorch, caramelize the pudding tops until they are golden brown. If you do not have a blowtorch, arrange the ramekins on a sheet pan and put under a broiler until the sugar has caramelized, about 1 to 2 minutes.