Skinny Orange Chicken

Robyn Stone 

at Add a Pinch 

has some great paleo recipes!

 

Print

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

Orange Chicken makes a favorite Chinese dish. Get this lightened up Skinny Orange Chicken recipe which is Paleo-friendly, gluten-free, and grain-free, but definitely not free of flavor!

Author: Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• ¼ cup chicken stock
• 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• ¼ cup fresh orange juice
• 3 tablespoons coconut aminos
• 1½ teaspoons Sriracha sauce
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds for garnish, optional
• Broccoli recipe

Instructions

1. Melt coconut oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Add in chicken pieces and cook until cooked through and browned, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.
2. While chicken is cooking, stir together chicken stock, honey or maple syrup, garlic, orange zest, orange juice, coconut aminos, Sriracha sauce, ginger and red pepper flakes. Pour into heated skillet once chicken has been removed and reduce to low heat. Cook, stirring often, until sauce has been reduced and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and pour over chicken.
3. To serve, spoon chicken over a bed of broccoli and then spoon on additional sauce. Top with sesame seeds, if desired.

Notes

If not concerned with making this recipe Paleo-friendly, use the following substitutions:
For 1 tablespoon coconut oil, use butter or olive oil or a combination of the two
For ¼ cup coconut aminos, use ¼ soy sauce

If your sauce does not thicken as desired, you may add the following to assist in the thickening:
Mix 1 - 2 teaspoons of tapioca flour or arrowroot powder, if Paleo OR cornstarch, if non-Paleo, with the same amount of water to form a paste. Stir into the sauce well to thicken.

Paleo Jalapeño Chicken Burgers

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds ground chicken
• 1 1/4 cups white onion, diced
• 1/2 cups fresh cilantro, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeño pepper, diced
• 2 teaspoon dried cumin
• 2 teaspoon dried paprika
• 2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• guacamole

Directions:

Using clean hands, mix together ground chicken, onion, cilanntro, garlic, jalapeno, ground cumin, paprika, and red pepper flakes in a large bowl. Divide mixture and form into 8 patties. Grill over medium-high heat until burger is cooked through.  Flip when bottom side of burger no longer sticks to the grill grates. Top with guacamole if desired.

Freezing Directions:

Using clean hands, mix together ground chicken, onion, cilanntro, garlic, jalapeno, ground cumin, paprika, and red pepper flakes in a large bowl. Divide mixture and form into 8 patties. Alternate patties with squares of parchment/wax paper. Place in a freezer bag, label and freeze. To serve: Thaw. Grill over medium-high heat until burger is cooked through. Flip when bottom side of burger no longer sticks to the grill grates. Top with guacamole if desired.

Servings: 8

Author/Source:

Christine @ onceamonthmeals.com (adapted from What’s Gabby Cooking)

Paleo Cauliflower Pizza

Recipe by Jerry James Stone – May 18, 2014

Pizza for breakfast or breakfast for dinner, either way, these gluten-free cauliflower crust pizzas are the perfect start (or finish) to any day.

Ingredients

• 2 Pounds Cauliflower
• 3 Eggs
• ¼ Cup Parmesan, shredded
• ¼ Teaspoon Salt
• ¼ Teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
• ¼ Teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped
• 1/8 Teaspoon fresh marjoram, chopped
• ¾ Cup Mozzarella, shredded
• ¼ Cup Pizza Sauce

1. For these cauliflower crust pizzas, you’ll need about 2 pounds of fresh cauliflower. You can use all white or the more colorful cauliflower.

2. Cut off the florets and pulse them in a food processor until finely chopped.  You need about 3C chopped cauliflower.

3. In a large skillet, cook the chopped cauliflower over a medium-low heat until tender. This will take about 5 minutes. Remember, you’re still have to bake it so don’t over cook it!

4. Transfer the cooked cauliflower to a cheesecloth-lined bowl and let it cool slightly. Then wring out as much water from the cauliflower as you possibly can by twisting the cheese cloth tighter and tighter. This will affect the texture of your “pizza” crust so it is very important. If you don’t get enough of the water out, then that means soggy pizza.

5. Combine the cauliflower, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon thyme, 1/4 teaspoon oregano, 1/8 teaspoon marjoram, 1/4 cup mozzarella, and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese in a large mixing bowl. Beat one egg and add it to the mix, combining all ingredients with your hands, forming the dough into two separate balls.

6. Place each dough ball on a piece of parchment paper and form into a thin circle. Lay another piece of parchment over the top and roll them even thinner. You should be able to get two 6-inch pizzas from this recipe.

7. Bake the pizza crusts at 400 degrees F in a preheated oven for about 15 minutes. You can tell their ready when the mozzarella cheese begins to bubble up from the crust and turn a golden brown.

8. Remove from the oven and cover each one with about 2 tablespoons of pizza sauce. Then top them with 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese, or more if you like. This is about the minimum you’ll need but I know everybody has their personal ratio for sauce and cheesiness when it comes to pizza.

9. Place your toppings on the pizza being sure to create a well for the egg. I even dig a hole into some of the sauce and cheese because these eggs like to move while cooking! You don’t want it to slide off. Really, any toppings will do but I used chopped kale and minced garlic on one pizza, sliced cherry tomatoes and fresh basil on another, and red onion, black pepper and thyme. You can do whatever you want which is what makes pizza amazing. By the way, I find these little breakfast treats are a perfect way to use up leftovers.

10. Crack an egg into each pizza well, and then transfer the pizzas (still on the parchment paper) to a baking sheet or pizza stone and bake them for 15 minutes, until the whites are set.

Enjoy!

Recipe by Jerry James Stone 

Paleo Zucchini Fritters

Ingredients for Paleo Zucchini Fritters:

• 5 medium zucchini, shredded (about 4 cups)
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
• Coconut oil or ghee for cooking

 Directions for Paleo Zucchini Fritters:

1. Shred the zucchini using a box grater or a food processor fitted with a shredding blade. Put the shredded zucchini in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the salt and toss well. Walk away for 10 minutes.
2. Now it’s time to squeeze all the moisture out of the zucchini (nobody likes soggy fritters). Note: if you’re really salt sensitive, you may want to rinse the zucchini with water, then squeeze it out. Scoop up a generous handful of the zucchini and squeeze the living daylights out of them into a sink or bowl. You want them dry. Place in a different bowl.
3. Add the coconut flour, egg and pepper. Stir to combine.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Melt a large spoonful of ghee or coconut oil in the pan. Pack a 1/4 cup measuring cup with the zucchini mixture, pressing it down inside the cup. Turn the cup out onto the pan and flatten the zucchini until you get a patty. You can also use a disher or just eyeball it. I fit about 4 – 5 in a large skillet at one time.
5. Cook each side for 3 – 5 minutes or until nicely browned. Repeat until you‘ve used up all the zucchini mixture. Be sure to add more ghee or coconut oil to the pan each time you start a new batch.
6. Cool on a cooling rack so they don’t get soggy.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Which Diet Should You Choose?

Paleo. Low Carb. Intermittent Fasting. Weight Watchers. Jenny Craig. NutriSystem. DASH. Mediterranean. Ornish. So many diet plans to choose from...how do we pick the best one for us? 

As simple as it sounds, I think the best advice is this: pick a diet plan that you can stick with. Anything too extreme and you're likely to revert back to your old diet pretty quickly. 

Maybe all diet plans feel too extreme. Then try changing only ONE dietary habit at a time. Perhaps you're struggling in several areas such as poor snacking choices, skipping meals, not getting enough protein, too many liquid calories, eating portions which are too large or not eating enough vegetables. Take one habit and exchange it for a good habit. For example, if you're struggling to eat enough vegetables exchange your usual lunch for a salad every day. Or commit to eating vegetables with every meal. It may take a few weeks or it may take a few months but over time you'll find that it gets easier and easier and the norm for your life. And you'll start seeing positive changes in your body. When you're ready, tackle another habit.

Whatever method you choose, whether it be complete overhaul by following a particular diet plan or changing one habit at a time, seeing results takes time. Nothing is a quick fix. Be patient with yourself. Stick with it and the positive changes WILL come.