Posts Tagged ‘High Protein’

Sage and Garlic Stuffed Pumpkin

Posted 4 Jan, 2011 in Main Course [ 1 Comment ]

Sometimes you need a break to recharge and recalibrate. I’ve been on hiatus from this website as I’ve just been mad busy. Really, Christmas and New Years comes around once a year and they are only two days out of the year. But the lead up to it is always so long and so hectic, it’s like the world is going to end.

My work and personal life has been pretty full with parties, meetings and lunches. For New Years, I went to Raglan for 4 days with a group of friends. I even jumped off the Raglan footbridge straight into the water. So much fun. I’m back at work tomorrow but well rested and ready for new challenges.

Now onto the food. I have been cooking and making lots of food. I just haven’t been blogging about it. I can’t say that I have been very strict with the Paleo diet but I have no regrets. For the most part, I have been sticking to the basics of meat and veggies. This recipe for Sage and Garlic Stuffed Pumpkin is super easy to make and also super filling. The pumpkin goes all gooey inside as it cooks with the meat.

Print This Recipe Print This Recipe

Sage and Garlic stuffed Pumpkin

1 buttercup pumpkin
400 grams beef mince
8 sage leaves finely chopped
2 cloves garlic crushed
1/2 white onion chopped
1 tbs butter
salt and pepper

  1. Preheat oven to 175°C
  2. Cut the top of the pumpkin using a knife.
  3. Scoop out the seeds and the inside.
  4. In a separate bowl, mix the mince meat, sage, garlic and onion.
  5. Season with salt and pepper.
  6. Stuff the pumpkin with the meat mixture.
  7. Take the butter and rub around the outside and the top of the pumpkin.
  8. Bake in the oven for 1 hour.
  9. Remove and drain the juices from the mince.
  10. Continue baking in the oven for another 1/2 an hour until done.

Serves 4.

Beef and Bacon Pies

Posted 14 Nov, 2010 in Main Course [ 5 Comments ]

I feel best on a diet of meat and vegetables. Over the last few months, my diet has been more coffee, alcohol, baked almond flour goods, and then meat and vegetables. With the holidays fast approaching, I really need to watch my diet or I know I will be completely burned out by Christmas.

The first step to this is that I stopped drinking coffee. I decided to do so because I was replacing breakfast with flat whites which is good for getting a kick start in the mornings, but not very good for my sleep. Since I stopped drinking coffee, I have been able to get a full 8-9 hours of sleep and I’m waking up without my alarm. This is even on the weekdays when I need to be up around 6:30AM. I feel a hundred times better and I’ve been so much more productive at work. It’s actually pretty amazing to feel so well rested.

So I’m now focusing on cutting every other crap from my diet except meat and vegetables. It will surely prove to be a challenge with the festive season just around the corner but still worth a go. I found this recipe in an old Dish magazine that I found when I was cleaning out my bookshelf. This recipe makes 12 half-cup sized portions which are great to have as breakfast on the go or with a large salad for lunch. Given that I have a crazy schedule during the week, having conveniently ready made foods is the best way for me to stick to a meat and vegetables diet.

Print This Recipe Print This Recipe

Beef and Bacon Pies

Recipe adapted from Dish magazine

6 slices of middle bacon
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup parsley chopped
1 egg
750 grams beef mince
1 tbs curry paste (I used tandoori)
salt and pepper

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
  2. Cut the bacon into halves so that you have 12 pieces.
  3. Line the muffin tins with the bacon.
  4. Cook the onion, garlic, and grated carrot in a skillet with butter until everything is cooked.
  5. Add in the tomato paste and stir through. Take this mixture off heat and cool.
  6. In another bowl, mix the beef, egg, parsley, curry paste. Season with salt and pepper.
  7. Add the onion carrot mixture to the beef mixture. Mix well with hands.
  8. Divide this mixture evenly in the bacon lined muffin tins.
  9. Bake in oven for 40 minutes or until the juices run clear.
  10. Remove from the muffin tins and flip onto a baking tray lined with baking paper so that the bacon side is shown on top. The pies should be easy to remove due to the juices from the beef mince.
  11. Put under the grill for a further 5 minutes so that the bacon gets crisp.

Makes 12 pieces.

Turkey Pot Pie with Almond Flour Crust

Posted 7 Jul, 2010 in Main Course, Recipes [ No Comments ]

I’m definitely a carnivore but I won’t touch chicken. It’s not that I dislike the taste of it. It’s just that I had food poisoning twice from chicken. After two such incidents, I just can’t bear to eat chicken. To my surprise, I found some turkey at the local grocery store. It’s not like America here where turkey meat is widely available. I think this is the first time that I saw turkey at the grocery store in New Zealand.

I decided to make Turkey Pot Pie which is essentially a variation of the classic- Chicken Pot Pie. But I wanted to make a dairy-free and low-carb version of the classic. I made just 2 pies here but you can easily double the recipe to serve 4. It was pretty easy to make and the almond flour crust is so good that you won’t miss the carbohydrate laden pastry. This was a perfectly low-carb, high-protein dinner for a cold Winter’s night.

This recipe is part of Real Food Wednesdays.

Print This Recipe Print This Recipe

Turkey Pot Pie with Almond Flour Crust

For the Filling

2 rashers of bacon, thinly sliced
1 onion chopped
1/2 tbs ghee
200 grams turkey thigh fillets, cut into chunks
1 carrot cut into cubes
1 cup button mushrooms sliced thinly
chicken stock (just enough to cover the turkey mixture)
2 tbs arrowroot (or cornflour)

  1. In a large pan with lid, melt the ghee and sautee the bacon and onion over medium heat.
  2. Add in the turkey thigh pieces, carrots, and mushrooms until cooked through.
  3. Add in just enough chicken stock to cover the turkey mixture.
  4. Make slurry with the arrowroot powder and a little bit of cold water.
  5. Add the slurry into the stock and turkey mixture.
  6. Lower heat and cook until the stock thickens.
  7. Remove from heat and distribute evenly to 2 remekins or small bowls.

For the Crust (recipe adjusted from this website)

1 1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/4 cup water

  1. Preheat oven to 175°C.
  2. Mix all dry ingredients together.
  3. Mix the egg and the water in a separate bowl.
  4. Combine the dry and the wet ingredients together.
  5. Spread the dough evenly on the ramekins filled with the turkey mixture.
  6. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the crust is golden.

Makes 2 generous servings.

« Older Entries