blueberry lemon paleo pancakes

If you're looking for a really delicious pancake recipe, you'll love these! They're amazing! The recipe is from Kristen's blog, Change of Pace. She does a fabulous job of sharing what the paleo lifestyle is all about. It's basically clean eating but a tad more strict. She has a ton of paleo-friendly recipes on her site, you can check them out here. The way the warm, fresh blueberries burst in your mouth when you're eating these pancakes is perfection. Enjoy!

In a small bowl, mash up 1/4 of a banana. Add 1 egg, 1 egg white, 1/4 cup of almond flour, 1/2 tsp of lemon juice, and 1/4 tsp of lemon zest. Mix well. Stir in 1/4 of fresh blueberries. Melt a teaspoon of coconut oil in a pan over medium heat. Pour in your pancake batter to make 3 small pancakes. Let cook for 4-5 minutes and then flip once the bottom is golden brown. Be careful not to flip them until they're ready. Let cook for a few more minutes on the other side.

Top with butter and eat!

Blueberry Lemon Paleo Pancakes

Recipe and instructions via Change of Pace

Ingredients: 

1/4 cup mashed banana

1 egg

1 egg white

1/4 cup almond flour

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon zest

1/4 cup fresh blueberries

Butter for the top*

Directions:

Make sure your banana is mashed really well in a bowl. Whisk in your egg, egg whites, almond flour, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Stir in your blueberries. Melt a teaspoon of coconut oil in a pan on medium-low heat. Pour in the pancake batter to form three small pancakes. I've tried several times to make one big pancake but those blueberries won't let me. It always falls apart. Let the pancakes cook for about five minutes on one side. You don't want to try to turn them too soon or they will fall apart. Low and slow is the key. You may have to peek and see if they are ready to flip. When they look golden brown flip them over and let the other side cook for about two minutes.

*Grass fed butter if you want it to be truly paleo. 

{lighter} chicken cajun pasta

You're going to love this pasta! It has all of the flavor of a typical Cajun pasta dish without all of the calories. Like Gina said, the key to lightening up this type of dish is to add a bunch of bright colored veggies so that you get a lot of bulk for minimal calories. I made a batch of it for my lunches at work this week--it makes 5 servings so I portioned each one into tupperware and am ready to go! Next time I'm going to try it with shrimp, I think that will taste just as fabulous!

 

{Lighter} Chicken Cajun Pasta

Recipe/ingredients/directios via SkinnyTaste 

Ingredients: 

8 ounces uncooked linguine
1 pound chicken breast strips
1-2 tsp Cajun seasoning (or to taste)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 red onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 cup fat free low sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup skim milk
1 tbsp flour
3 tbsp light cream cheese
fresh cracked pepper
2 scallions, chopped
salt to taste
Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Prep all your vegetables. In a small blender make a slurry by combining milk, flour and cream cheese. Set aside. Season chicken generously with Cajun seasoning, garlic powder and salt.

2. Prepare pasta in salted water according to package directions.

3. Heat a large heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; spray with cooking spray and add half of the chicken. Sauté 5 to 6 minutes or until done, set aside on a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken. Set aside.

4. Add olive oil to the skillet and reduce to medium; add bell peppers, onions, and garlic to skillet, sauté 3-4 minutes. 

5. Add mushrooms and tomatoes and sauté 3-4 more minutes or until vegetables are tender. Season with 1/4 tsp salt, garlic powder and fresh cracked pepper to taste.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low; add chicken broth and pour in slurry stirring about 2 minutes.
7. Return chicken to skillet; adjust salt and Cajun seasoning to taste, cook another minute or two until hot, then add linguine; toss well to coat. Top with chopped scallions. 

summer shrimp salad {src}

It's that time of the month - Secret Recipe Club reveal day! This month I got the blog, So Tasty, So Yummy, and oh my word was it hard to pick just one thing to make! Her blog is seriously mouth watering. I wanted to make everything! I eventually decided on the Summer Shrimp Salad because I wanted to make something light and refreshing. We loved it! The flavors were incredible. I can't wait to make it again. 

Summer Shrimp Salad 

Recipe via So Tasty, So Yummy

Ingredients: 

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 to 2 teaspoons sugar

¼ cup olive oil
6 slices bacon
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
½ teaspoon paprika
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
1 avocado, chopped
½ cucumber, chopped
1/2 cup of corn

Directions:
1. Whisk together the lemon juice, lime juice and sugar. Whisk in the olive oil in a steady stream. Add more sugar if needed, salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
2. In a large sauté pan, cook the bacon. Drain the bacon over paper towels and crumble. Toss the shrimp with the paprika. Spoon all but one tablespoon of the bacon fat from the sauté pan. Sauté the shrimp until cooked through, approximately 5 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, toss the lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, cucumber, corn and bacon. Toss the lemon dressing with the salad. Plate and top each salad with one quarter of the shrimp. Serve. 

twice baked turkey stuffed sweet potatoes

I've been loving all of the paleo recipes that I've been making lately. These baked sweet potatoes are no exception - they're seriously good! The recipe calls for "yellow" sweet potatoes but I couldn't find any so I used regular sweet potatoes and they worked perfectly.

These reheat really well too so make enough for leftovers!

Twice Baked Turkey Stuffed Sweet Potatoes 
Recipe via Change of Pace via PaleOMG

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
2 large sweet potatoes
¼ cup hot sauce
1 tablespoon fat (I used coconut oil)
1 yellow onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
2. Cut your sweet potatoes in half, lengthwise and put them face down on a cookie sheet. Put in the oven to cook for about 25-30 minutes depending how thick they are. You will know when they are done if they are easy to push on, on the skin side. If you pull them out early and the inside doesn’t come out easily with a spoon, you’ll need to cook them a bit longer.
3. While your sweet potatoes cook, put out a pot or skillet over medium-high heat. Add a bit of fat to the hot pan then add your garlic and onions to start cooking down. Once the onions are translucent, add the ground turkey and use a large spoon to break it up to help cook it a bit quicker. When the turkey is half way done cooking, add the spices. Let the turkey cook until no longer pink or until completely cooked through, take off heat.
4. Take your sweet potatoes out of the oven and use a large spoon to scoop out the insides. Be careful to not go totally to the skin or it may tear and be pointless to add meat to. Put the insides of the sweet potatoes directly into your pan of turkey and mix thoroughly to combine. Scoop out the new mixture and put into your sweet potato skins. You can go as high as you want. Put the loaded sweet potatoes back on the cookie sheet, face up, and back into the oven. Cook for 3-5 more minutes just to meld the flavors together and harden the top a bit. Serve warm.

Grilled Chicken & Couscous

SkinnyMeg shared this meal on her Instagram a few weeks ago and I finally remembered to pick up some couscous at the grocery store so that I could make it. I've never had couscous before and I wasn't even sure we'd like it but we did! I got the roasted garlic & olive oil flavor and it was SO good - after I added the grilled chicken and steamed broccoli, it sort of tasted like my favorite chicken at Panda Express only without the crazy high calories. If you're looking for an easy and healthy weeknight meal, definitely give this one a try!

To make this meal, cook all three ingredients {grilled chicken breast strips, steamed broccoli, and couscous}. Mix together and eat!

{1 serving - 347 calories: 1 cup couscous, 3 oz. chicken, 1/2 cup steamed broccoli}

Bangin' Grilled Shrimp Skewers

Pretty sure this could also be called: The Best Shrimp EVER. It's low in calories and so flavorful. The sauce is a perfect balance of spicy and sweet.

 

If you've ever had Bonefish's Bang Bang shrimp, you'll be surprised by how much this version tastes like the real deal. Of course, nothing beats fried shrimp but this comes pretty close. Hope you love it!

Bangin' Grilled Shrimp Skewers 

Recipe via Skinnytaste

Ingredients: 

2 1/2 tbsp light mayonnaise
2 tbsp scallions, chopped fine
1 1/2 tbsp thai sweet chili sauce
1/2 tsp sriracha

For the shrimp:
40 large (12.8 oz) raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
pepper
oil spray

Directions:
1. Combine the mayo, scallions, sweet chili sauce and sriracha sauce in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Soak wooden skewers in water at least 20 minutes (or use metal ones to avoid this step). Season shrimp lightly pepper. Place 5 shrimp on 8 skewers (Or 10 shrimp on 4 skewers like we did.)

3. Heat a clean, lightly oiled grill to medium heat, when the grill is hot add the shrimp, careful not to burn the skewers. Grill on both sides for about 6-8 minutes total cooking time or until the shrimp is opaque and cooked through.

4.  Set shrimp aside on a platter and quickly brush sauce onto the shrimp; serve immediately.

Baked Chicken Parmesan

This is one of our favorite meals and I figured it was time for a re-post and a new photo! It's such an easy, healthy meal and is quick enough to throw together after a day at work. When I first started making this chicken parm (original post here), I always used a Pyrex dish and the chicken never came out as "crispy" as it does in Gina's photos. It always looked like boring, baked chicken. So one day as I was getting ready to make it, I noticed that she says to use a baking sheet rather than a baking dish. I tried it that way and will never make it in a baking dish again, baking sheet all the way. Serve it over penne pasta or spaghetti squash and you're good to go. Hope you love it as much as we do!

Baked Chicken Parmesan 

Recipe via Skinnytaste 

Serves: 8, serving size: 1 piece, 6 points+ 

Ingredients:

4 (8 oz.) chicken breast halves, sliced in half
3/4 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese (I used sliced mozzarella for this because I already had it in the fridge)
1 cup marinara
cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a large baking sheet lightly with spray.
2. Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese in a bowl. Melt the butter in another bowl. Lightly brush the butter onto the chicken, then dip into breadcrumb mixture.  Place on baking sheet and repeat with the remaining chicken.
3. Lightly spray a little more cooking oil on top and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Turn chicken over, bake another 5 minutes. Remove from oven, spoon sauce over chicken and top with shredded cheese. Bake 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted.