Sesame Tomato Avocado Salad

This is an amazingly simple and delicious Asian style dish.  We saw this on a Japanese cooking show years ago and it was pared with a Japanese curry dish which we have also modified to be Paleo

• PREP5 mins
• CHILL20 mins
• READY IN25 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 tomato
• 1 avocado
• 1 tbps. sesame oil
• 1 tbps. sesame seeds
• 1 tbps. rice vinegar

Directions:

1. Mix sesame oil, sesame seeds, rice vinegar together and set aside. 
2. Cut tomato in 1/2 inch slices and avocado 1/2 inch slices place on large plate 
3. Drizzle tomato and avocado with sesame oil mix and refrigerate  for 20-30 mins.

NOTE: Sesame seeds and sesame oil are avoided by some in the paleo community.  While they have some negatives in terms of omega-6 concentration and mild anti-inflammatory properties they also have decent nutrient density.  We recommend using these items in moderation and we try to keep our dishes with sesame to once a week.

Garlic Mashed Cauliflower

Going paleo has meant dropping some of my life long comfort foods. Mashed potatoes is a big one of those.  I love me some mashed potatoes and gravy. Mashed cauliflower is not quite mashed potatoes but it is pretty darn close.  The flavor is a bit different and the consistency thinner than the originals (at least our attempts).  We may try some things to thicken them up potentially with coconut flour and/or less steam time.  We'll let you know if it works out. The results at the dinner table were pretty good.  One out of four of us do not like them at all and considering it is my son, the pickiest in our crew, I think they will grow on him.  Not being a big cauliflower fan I expected I would have to choke them down but I actually love these and always polish off the left overs.  Of course if you eat dairy I am sure some cheese on top of these would send them to some new stratospheric level.  Cauliflower is one of those super veggies that has a pretty decent amount of a broad array of essential nutrients, so this recipe may just be they way to work them into your meal plan.

• PREP5 mins
• COOK15 mins
• READY IN20 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 Head of cauliflower
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 tsp. and a pinch or two of fresh ground nutmeg
• 2 tbsp. grass-fed butter (We use Kerrygold)
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Cut the head of cauliflower into 1" pieces 
2. Coarsely chop the cloves of garlic 
3. Place the cauliflower and garlic into the steamer and cook for 10 mins. 
4. Dump contents of the steamer, butter, 1/4 tsp. of nutmeg, salt, and pepper into a food processor.
5. Pulse until smooth
6. Serve warm with a pinch of nutmeg sprinkled on top.