Breakfast

  • Eggs scrambled with spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes, half an avocado
  • Or paleo banana/plantain pancakes with fruit
  • Fruit: half a punnet of blueberries

Lunch

  • Homemade chicken liver pâté on seed crackers topped with sliced tomatoes + salad or serve the pate on cucumber slices or with celery sticks
  • Or any soup of your choice + tomato & avocado salad + chicken/turkey/ham

Dinner

  • Starter: Green or tomato salad
  • Main: Seared tuna steak (or any other fish) served with pico de gallo and asparagus and celeriac chips
  • Pudding: Orange

Tomorrow’s meals – dinner tomorrow is a slow cooked lamb stew. If you have a slow cooker you could prepare tonight ready to go on in the morning, or prepare tomorrow morning if you know you will have time.

If cooking by the conventional method, it needs 2-3 hours cooking time. You could get the stew ready tonight and give it 1-2 hours cooking while you make tonight’s meal then keep in the fridge, and tomorrow you could give it another hours cooking before you eat.

Banana & Blueberry Pancakes – 5 minutes to prepare

Ingredients:

  • 1 banana
  • 2 eggs
  • Optional: 2 tbsp. of nut butter – almond, cashew etc.
  • 2 handfuls of blueberries
  • Clarified butter, coconut oil or coconut butter for cooking

Method:

  1. In a food processor blend the bananas, eggs and nut butter if using, until you have a smooth mixture. If you don’t have a food processor, thoroughly mash the banana in a bowl and then beat in the eggs until you have made a batter.
  2. Stir the blueberries into the mixture.
  3. In a small frying pan or pancake pan, heat some fat for cooking.
  4. Pour some of the batter into the pan and smooth out to make a thin pancake. Fry for a couple of minutes before flipping and cooking on the other side.
  5. Serve with additional fresh fruit and coconut yogurt or drizzled with a spoonful of almond or cashew nut butter.


Seed Crackers – 5-10 minutes to prepare, 20-30 minutes to cook

Should make at least 12 crackers 

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of pumpkin seeds – use any cup
  • 1 cup of sunflower seeds – use any cup
  • 1/4 cup of water (sometimes I add a little splash more) – use any cup
  • Herbs and spices to taste, anything from chili, mixed herbs, fresh rosemary, paprika, sea salt, pepper etc.

Method:

  1. Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees
  2. Place the pumpkin and sunflower seeds in a blender, process until you get a reasonably fine consistently.
  3. Blend in the flavours/herbs/spices you have chosen
  4. Slowly pour in the water
  5. Put the mixture onto a piece of grease proof paper, place another piece of grease proof paper on top, push down to flatten, and finish off with a rolling pin until mixture is about half a centimeter thick.
  6. Put the grease proof paper sheet of seeds onto an oven tray and place in the oven and cook for 20-30 mins, this really depends on your oven, and the more you make these the better they will turn out. Just make sure to keep checking. Very often I turn the oven off after about 30mins and let the residual heat of the oven finish the job.
  7. Store in an airtight container.

 

Quick Chicken Liver Pate – lasts 7 days in the fridge

HIGH NUTRIENT

Buy good-quality free-range chicken livers – we like Green Pasture Farms or Abel & Cole for chicken livers. Make sure the livers are very fresh, use them on the day you buy them if possible. Eat with seed crackers or on top of cucumber and celery slices.

Ingredients:

  • 500g very fresh chicken livers, washed and patted dry
  • 100g streaky (belly) bacon rashers, cut into small pieces
  • 100g clarified butter
  • 1 shallot, finely chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, crushed
  • 1 tbsp. of fresh thyme, picked
  • Brandy – a good glug! (Sherry would also work)
  • Sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • You will need some small ramekins to store the pate in

Method:

  1. Melt 75g clarified butter on a very gentle heat and put to one side. This is for sealing the pate at the end.
  2. Gently heat the remaining 25g clarified butter in a frying pan until foaming. Add the chicken livers and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, so that their centres are still slightly pink. Remove the livers and drain them well on paper towel, but leave the clarified butter in the pan.
  3. Add the bacon to the pan and cook through, but do not allow to crisp. Add the onion and garlic, and cook for a further three minutes. Remove using a slotted spoon and transfer to a food processor.
  4. Increase the heat and add a good glug of brandy to the pan. If using a gas stove, tip the pan to flame the alcohol. De-glaze the pan with the brandy and add the liquid to the food processor.
  5. Add the chicken livers and thyme to the food processor and pulse the mixture until smooth. Check for seasoning. Transfer to a serving dish or tureen, or into small ramekins for individual portions.
  6. Carefully pour the clarified butter from the small saucepan over the top of the pâté. Transfer to the refrigerator.
  7. Once set, the pâté can be served. But for best results chill for at least 4 hours. Once it has cooled for 4 hours in the fridge, you can freeze the pate. Defrost completely in the fridge before eating and then eat within 3-4 days.

 

Alternative Chicken Liver Pate – this recipe is dairy-free

Liver and other organ meats are an excellent source of vitamins A, B, D & E and folates but they have fallen out of fashion and people are not always sure how to cook them. A simple pate is a good starting point.

When buying liver, buy from a good, organic source and look for livers that are really fresh – they should be dark pink and shiny and feel firm – avoid any that are brown or grey or feel shapeless.

To prepare liver, using a knife or kitchen scissors, trim off and discard any blood vessels, membranes, fat or sinew. Don’t worry if you find any green bits on your livers – this is just bile. Remove it and discard.

Makes 4 Ramekins

Ingredients:

  • ½ apple, cored and peeled
  • ½ small white onion
  • 100g duck fat
  • 200g very fresh chicken livers
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbsp. fresh thyme, leaves picked
  • 1 tsp. sea salt
  • ½ tsp. ground white pepper
  • Optional: ½ tsp. allspice and 1-2 tbsp. Cognac

 Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to fan 130/Gas Mark 2.
  2. Trim the livers to remove any fat or sinew. Finely chop the apple and the onion.
  3. Put the duck fat in to a small pan over a medium heat and allow to melt. Add the apple and onion (and cognac if you are using) and cook until softened.
  4. Add the duck fat, apple and onion to a food processor.
  5. Add all the other ingredients and blend until completely smooth. Strain through a sieve to remove any lumps.
  6. Stand the 5 ramekins inside a deep baking tray and pour the pate mixture evenly into the ramekins.
  7. Pour freshly boiled water into the tray (around the outside of the ramekins) until the water is halfway up the sides.
  8. Carefully place the tray in the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes, until the pate is cooked through and the surface feels springy to touch . If you have a kitchen thermometer, the pate is cooked when it reaches 65-70*c in the centre.

 

Abel and Cole also sell chicken liver pate that is additive free.

 

Seared Tuna Steak served with Pico de Gallo

Ingredients:

  • Fresh tuna steaks of any other fillets of fish
  • Asparagus or any other seasonal green vegetable – green beans, tenderstem broccoli etc.

For Pico de Gallo:

  • 4 x tomatoes
  • 1 red/white onion
  • Fresh coriander
  • Salt & pepper
  • Lemon/lime juice

Method:

  1. Prepare the pico de gallo by finely dicing the onion, tomatoes and coriander. Mix together with the juice of a lemon or lime and some salt and pepper, you can also add a little balsamic or red wine vinegar.
  2. For the tuna and asparagus (or other green vegetable such as green beans or tenderstem broccoli) make sure you have a very hot griddle pan, then season both fish and vegetables with some olive oil, salt and pepper.
  3. Sear the tuna for about 90 seconds on each side and then reduce the heat so the inside cooks to your liking.
  4. The asparagus needs about 5-7mins in the grill pan. If you prefer you can boil or steam your asparagus.
  5. Serve the fish with the sauce spooned over. You could also add some celeriac chips or any other starchy root veg, or some avocado slices or green salad leaves.

 

Celeriac Chips

Ingredients

  • 1 celeriac, peeled
  • Olive oil (or animal fat such as goose fat, duck fat or beef dripping)
  • Fresh lemon Juice
  • Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 220C/200C fan
  2. Peel a celeriac and cut into 1cm thick slices then cut the slices into evenly sized chips, halve them if long. Arrange the chips in a large roasting dish and drizzle over some olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Roast for 50-60 minutes, stirring the chips every 15-20 minutes by loosening them with a spatula.