While soy is to be avoided on the Paleo diet, when it’s fermented and its protein/lectins are broken down by the beneficial bacteria doing the fermentation, it becomes an acceptable ingredient. Tamari (wheat-free) soy sauce for example is used by many Paleo dieters, while natto (fermented soy beans), and soy-based unpasteurized miso paste are all considered very good for our health. Tofu on the other hand is very processed, and it still carries loads of agglutinin (SBA), so it’s not an acceptable food in the Paleo-sphere.

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to find these ingredients in all countries, especially the unpasteurized miso paste. Most miso pastes are pasteurized, so their cultures are dead, making miso itself useless. In my local Japanese food store I only found one product that was unpasteurized, and many more than weren’t. Also, make sure that your miso does not contain grains/barley.

This miso soup is very easy to make, and very healthy because it includes various bone minerals, the miso live culture, and iodine & other rare minerals found only on sea-vegetables (φύκια). My husband usually dislikes miso soup in sushi restaurants, but he loved this one (he asked for a refill, rare for him).

Ingredients (for 2, 5 gr of carbs each)
* 2 heaping tspoons of unpasteurized soy-based miso paste
* 1.5 cups of water
* 1 cup of bone marrow broth
* 2 tbspoons of dried sea vegetables (I used this 6-variety pack)
* 4 oyster mushrooms, chopped
* Green part of 1 green onion, chopped

Method
1. Place the dried sea vegetables in warm water, and let them stand for 10 minutes. Then rinse them well.
2. In a saucepan add the bone broth and water, under medium heat. Using a tea cup, submerge it to the warm liquid and remove about 1/3 cup of it. Set aside the cup.
3. Add the sea vegetables and mushrooms in the saucepan and bring into a boil for about 3-5 minutes. Remove from fire.
4. Add the miso paste into the warm-ish water in the tea cup and try to liquify the paste using a teaspoon. It’s important for the water in the cup to not be very hot, or the active culture will die.
5. When the soup in the saucepan has cooled down a bit (warm, not hot), add the chopped green onion, and the now-liquid miso paste. Mix well, serve immediately, possibly with some sashimi!

JBQ had a food request today, and since he doesn’t often makes such requests, I knew I had to satisfy his cravings. He requested a vegetable soup, and so I modified Alton Brown’s popular soup recipe to make it more Paleo-friendly. JBQ said he absolutely loved the soup and that it felt fresh and tasty, although I believe that anything that gets cooked with bone marrow broth becomes tasty. Just like with duck fat…

Ingredients (for 4, 10 gr of carbs per portion)
* 1 tspoon coconut oil
* 1 tspoon pastured butter
* 1 leek, chopped
* 1 garlic clove, minced
* 1 Thai chili pepper
* 1 carrot, chopped
* 1 turnip, chopped
* 3 button mushrooms, chopped thinly
* 1/3 cup frozen green beans, cut in 2″ pieces
* 1 small zucchini, chopped (optional)
* 2 green leaves, chopped (either kale, collards, turnip, swiss chard, or a small bunch of spinach or bok choy)
* 2 ripe tomatoes, peeled & chopped
* 2 cups beef bone marrow broth
* 1 TBspoon of fresh parsley, minced
* Salt & pepper to taste

Method
1. In a big cooking pot, under low heat, add the coconut oil and butter. When hot, add the cleaned & chopped leek and minced garlic. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then turn the heat to medium.
2. Add the Thai chili pepper, carrot, turnip, mushrooms, green beans, the optional zucchini, and the green leaves. Stir occasionally, and cook until most of their juices have evaporated.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes, stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Then add the bone broth, and 1 cup of water. Cook for about an 45 minutes in medium heat, or until the liquid has been reduced to the amount you find satisfactory for a soup.
4. A few minutes before it’s done cooking, add the parsley, salt, and freshly cracked pepper. Serve hot.

This is the Paleo version of Bolognese, using spaghetti squash. We had this last night for dinner and it was really good. Personally I prefer it over real pasta.

Ingredients (for 4, 15 gr of carbs per portion)
* 1 lb (450gr) beef or veal minced meat
* 1 small spaghetti squash
* 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1 TBspoon chopped parsley
* 1 clove of garlic, minced
* 4 button mushrooms, chopped
* 1 TBspoon coconut oil
* 2 TBspoons olive oil
* 1/3 bell pepper, chopped
* 1 cup of bone marrow broth, or water
* Salt & pepper to taste

Execution
1. Preheat oven at 400 F (200 C). On a cookie sheet lay some parchment paper. Cut the spaghetti squash in two length-wise with a sharp knife. Using a spoon remove all the seeds found in the squash, and discard them. Using your finger, apply the olive oil everywhere on the inside of the two pieces of squash. Place face-down on the cookie sheet, poke some holes using the knife (so the squash can “breathe”), and bake for 30-40 minutes, until soft.
2. In the meantime, prepare the bolognese meat sauce. In a cooking pan, under medium heat, cook the chopped onion with the coconut oil for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the minced meat, and cook for another 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the garlic, mushrooms, parsley, bell pepper, salt & pepper. Cook for 4-5 minutes, continuing to stirring occasionally.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes, and bone broth or water. Stir, and cover. When all the liquid has evaporated and the sauce is thick, it’s ready.
6. After the spaghetti squash is still warm but not too hot to handle, use a fork to “scratch” in it, and remove the spaghetti threads from it. Discard the hard skin. Serve topped with the meat sauce and optionally, grated parmesan.

These breakfast muffins are the latest craze in the Paleo community. Reddit’s r/Paleo is full of pictures lately with people experimenting with these! The idea is that you can make muffins ahead of time, refrigerate them, and then you microwave some of them for a few seconds in the morning, for breakfast.

Ingredients (makes 12, 3 gr of carbs each)
* 6 eggs
* 4 slices of bacon, or 2 sausage links
* 1 TBspoon Parmesan or 1/4 cup coconut milk (optional)
* 2 green onions
* 1 tspoon butter
* Salt & pepper to taste
* 3/4 cup (overall) of broccoli, bell peppers, mushrooms, spinach, zucchini… Use whatever fast-cooking veggie you need to get rid of from your fridge

Execution
1. In a big bowl whisk well the eggs, with the optional Parmesan or coconut milk. Then sprinkle salt & pepper to your taste.
2. Either in a food processor, or with a sharp knife, cut the bacon (or sausage links), green onions and vegetables in small pieces. Preheat oven at 350 F (180 C).
3. Place the chopped ingredients in a frying pan and fry in medium heat for 5-8 minutes (until the bacon is done), while stirring often.
4. Take the butter in your fingers and grease well the muffin holders in the tray.
5. Pour the fried ingredients in the egg bowl and mix well. Then, using a ladle, pour the mixture into the muffin holders.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the holders immediately and let cool. Then refrigerate for up to 3-4 days, and each morning microwave for 15 to 30 secs (depending on the microwave unit) the quantity you need for breakfast.

Today was my JBQ‘s birthday, so I made him a Paleo birthday cake (recipe, I substituted maple syrup with honey). It was the first such cake I had since I went Paleo, and the first one I ever made. I usually cook food pretty well, but I’m not great with desserts. This one turned out good, although we think the cake dough needed more honey.

Happy Birthday sweetie!

Last night I also made some almond-flax crackers. My JBQ, as a real French-man, he loves his cheese, so as we’re gluten-free in this house now, I’m making Paleo cheese crackers once a week. I added sesame seeds, finely chopped thyme & sage, oregano, and 1 TBspoon of olive oil to the base recipe. These came out great!

We had this Paleo-friendly salad for lunch today. JBQ said that he hadn’t had this dish for many years (he used to have it in France), so I decided to try it out as our main dish (we had thinly-sliced smoked duck breast as an appetizer). It all came out really good.

Ingredients (for 2, 10gr of carbs per person)
* 10-12 large shrimp
* 1/2 of a cucumber
* 1/2 of a pomelo or a whole grapefruit
* 2-3 TBspoons of fresh chopped basil
* 2 heaping TBspoons of mayonnaise
* 1-2 TBspoons of lime or lemon juice (optional)
* Freshly cracked black pepper
* Salt to taste

Execution
1. Boil your shrimp in some boiling water for a few minutes. When done, put them in a colander and let lots of cold water run through them. Remove their shell and their vein on the back of their body. If you are using fresh, de-shelled and already-cooked shrimp, omit this step.
2. Place the citrus on a steady surface and hold it from the top. Using a big knife cut the outer part of your citrus fruit from top to bottom, all around it (it’s ok if a bit of the fruit goes to waste using this method). Then cut it in the middle (height-wise), and remove the skin from each segment. Place the main fruit (without any skin) on a big salad bowl, in chunks.
3. Peel the cucumber, cut it in two length-wise, and then two more times (so you get 4 long segments). Run the knife through each of these segments to remove some of the seeds (you can eat these while you’re preparing the salad…). Slice the cucumber segments in 1/3″ slices.
4. Add the cooled shrimp in the salad bowl, the cucumber, and the chopped basil. Crack some black pepper, and add some salt. Taste a small bit of the citrus fruit. If the fruit is bitter, then you don’t need to add the lime juice. But if your fruit is rather sweet, then squeeze some lime or lemon juice (1 or 2 TBspoons depending on the sweetness of the main citrus).
5. Add the mayo (home-made is best, but if you must buy it, strive to find a full-fat one without additives that is made with real eggs and olive oil), and carefully mix everything well using a spoon. Add more mayo if required. Serve immediately and enjoy!

If there’s one recipe that will make you love kohlrabi (γογγύλι), it’s this one. Who needs white potatoes when you have such sweet and soft kohlrabi? Personally, I absolutely loved this Paleo dish! Its secret is in the bone broth.

Ingredients (for 3-4)
* 1 lb (450 gr) duck or chicken gizzards
* 1/3 stick of butter or duck fat
* 1 Tbspoon of coconut oil
* 2 cups of bone broth
* 3 medium kohlrabi bulbs
* 1 medium carrot
* 1 pinch of thyme or oregano
* 1 Tbspoon of lemon juice
* Salt & pepper to taste

Execution
1. Wash the gizzards with lots of water. Cut them in smaller pieces. Place them in a deep cooking pot, along the butter and coconut oil. Stir a few times, and brown them for a few minutes under medium heat.
2. Add the bone broth, salt & pepper, and simmer in low heat for about an hour or so.
3. Peel the kohlrabi, wash it, and cut it in 1-inch pieces. Wash the carrot, cut it in half length-wise, and then slice it.
4. Add them in the cooking pot, sprinkle the thyme/oregano, and stir. If at this point more liquid is required, add some water. Cook for 30 minutes in low heat.
5. When the liquid has evaporated, you’re left with a somewhat thick sauce, and the kohlrabi is soft, the dish is ready. Turn off the heat, add the lemon juice, stir. Serve hot.

I made this Paleo-modified shepherd’s pie dish (aka cottage pie) for our Sunday lunch, and my husband remarked about how good it was. Here’s how I made it:

Ingredients (for 4)
* 1 lb (450 gr) sheep or beef minced meat
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 2 Tbspoons chopped parsley
* 1 clove of garlic, chopped
* 1 small carrot, diced
* 3 medium roma tomatoes, skinned, diced
* 1 cup of bone broth
* 1 large-ish head of cauliflower (preferably the yellow kind)
* 1 Tbspoon of butter
* 2 Tbspoons of coconut milk
* 1 Tbspoon of coconut or olive oil
* 3-4 slices of provolone cheese (optional)
* 1/3 cup of frozen green peas (optional)
* Salt & pepper

Execution
1. Cut the cauliflower in smaller florets, wash it, and boil it for 15 minutes in hot boiling water. Strain it, set aside.
2. While the cauliflower is cooking, warm out the coconut oil in a cooking pan under medium heat, and then add the chopped onion. After the onion has browned a bit, add the minced meat, and keep stirring with a wooden spoon until the meat has started brown itself too.
3. Add the chopped parsley & garlic, diced carrot & tomatoes, salt and pepper, stir well. If you allow green peas in your diet, add them now too (some consider them Paleo, others don’t). Then add the bone broth, and continue cooking until all the liquid has evaporated. Pre-heat the oven to 400 F (200 C).
4. Put the cauliflower in a food processor, add the butter & coconut milk, and some pepper. Blend until smooth.
5. Use a 10″ diagonal, deep baking dish, and spread the minced meat mixture on it, leveling it well using the wooden spoon. Wash the wooden spoon, and use it again to evenly spread the cauliflower mash on top of the meat.
6. Spread the provolone cheese slices on top of the cauliflower (optional), and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until it has started to brown. Eat warm. Dish freezes well too.

The idea of running a restaurant has been in my mind for years and years. Of course, these days these thoughts surround the Paleo diet and its foods. There is only a single Paleo restaurant in the whole world so far (in Germany), while at the same time the Bay Area is full of Paleo dieters. There’s definitely some business opportunity here…

Well, these are the dishes I’d feature in that imaginary Paleo restaurant, trying to cater primarily to Paleo & Primal diets, and secondarily to gluten-free, Atkins, SCD, or other low-carb or ketogenic diets. All foods would be cooked with virgin coconut oil, olive oil when indicated, while the sea salt used would have added iodine in it. Local plant produce, pastured meat, wild-caught fish would be used. All dairy is optional, lactose-free, and mostly goat-based (except grass-fed butter, and lactose-free sour cream which would be cow-based). Wherever sweetening is required, raw & unfiltered local honey is used.

Appetizers
- A grass-fed beef marrow bone, served hot with salted radishes
- Garlic & herb-roasted chicken wings
- Kale chips (oven roasted with olive oil, salt)
- Guacamole, served with endive leaves
- Mixed greens salad with bacon, apple, walnuts, olive oil vinaigrette
- Three separate tapenade: Olive, eggplant, and red pepper, served with almond-flax crackers
- Home-made honey/tamari-cured beef jerky
- Chicken liver pate with almond-flax crackers
- Fried minty meatballs, served with green olives

Main Courses
- Greek Moussaka (lasagna-style) dish (optionally topped w/ cheese)
- Zucchini-based carbonara/alfredo “pasta” with eggs, cream, and your choice of bacon, chicken, or shellfish
- Fried white fish with boiled amaranth greens and lemon, olive oil
- Beef meat or beef tongue in multi-veggie stew, cooked in beef bone broth
- Shepherd’s lamb pie with sweet potato and cauliflower mash (optionally topped w/ cheese) (choice of side dish)
- Herb-roasted game (duck, goose, rabbit, turkey, ostrich, deer pieces) (choice of side dish)
- Grilled pork ribs and half a heart, roasted (choice of side dish)
- Tuna or salmon steaks, grilled or fried (choice of side dish)
- Meat & veggie loaf, with home-made ketchup (choice of side dish)
- Beef steak, grilled (choice of side dish)
- Beef liver, grilled (choice of side dish)
- Kokoretsi (all parts of goat’s offal, including lungs, spleen, intestines) (choice of side dish)
- Patsas (goat or sheep tripe avgolemono soup)

Sides
- Cauliflower-based colcannon
- Steamed broccoli & fried mushrooms
- Roasted squash with honey & apple cider vinegar-caramelized onions
- Celeriac, kohlrabi, cabbage and carrot coleslaw in home-made olive-oil mayo
- Root chips mix: sweet potatoes, beets, turnips, rutabaga, carrots, parsnips, sunchokes, fried in beef tallow, with herbs. Served with home-made ketchup, or Dijon mustard.
- Home-made live sauerkraut
- Sea vegetables medley
- Mache, purslane, cress, with avocado, tomato and cucumber slices in French vinaigrette
- Crust-free Greek spinach pie with spinach, beet greens, Swiss chard, leeks, turnip greens, etc.
- Soup of the day (various)

Desserts
- Almond/coconut flour and honey cookies (plain, nuts, chocolate)
- Almond/coconut flour with honey, fruits, cream-frosted muffins (for birthdays)
- Home-made SCD probiotic lactose-free goat yoghurt, served with nuts & seeds, berries, and live local honey
- Coconut milk “breakfast bowl“, served with nuts & seeds, berries, and live local honey
- Coconut and berries ice cream
- Paleo waffles, served with berries, and honey-based syrup
- Home-made chocolate bar with nuts, lightly sweetened with honey, coconut flakes
- Fruit salad of the season
- Fruit of the season sorbet (sweetened with live, local honey)

Drinks
- Coconut milk, with optional honey
- Fruit smoothie of the season
- Kombucha green tea (decaf available)
- Herbal tea (chamomile, or Greek Mountain Tea)
- Sugar-free (dry), local wines
- Evian mineral water