Paleo Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie

After a long summer hiatus I am back with new recipes!   The weather is starting to feel cool here in Central Ontario and we are craving comfort food.  This recipe turned out to be super tasty and just right on a rainy Monday night.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1cup sliced button mushrooms
• Splash of red wine (optional)
• 1cup diced tomatoes 
• 1cup yellow zucchini
• 1lb of extra lean ground beef
• 2 gluten free hot Italian sausages, casings removed
• 2 Tbsp of gluten free maple bacon BBQ sauce
• Salt and Pepper (to taste)
• 2 sweet potatoes cubed (about four cups)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk.
• Pinch of brown sugar and cinnamon

While prepping your vegetables put your sweet potatoes in pot, cover with water, salt the water (about a half tsp of sea salt) and bring to a boil. Let the potatoes simmer until fork tender and drain. In a large sauce pot heat olive oil on medium high heat. Once oil is heated but not smoking add garlic and mushrooms, sautée briefly and add in a splash of wine. Cook mushrooms for a couple minutes until the wine is cooked off. Add in the rest of your diced vegetables, ground beef and sausage. Stir until meat is cooked through.  Add BBQ sauce, and salt and pepper to taste.  Mash potatoes with almond milk and salt and pepper to taste.  In a square casserole dish layer meat filling and cover evenly with potatoes. Sprinkle a light dusting of brown sugar and cinnamon on top. Put under broiler until potatoes start to brown slightly. Tada! Dinner is ready!

 

 

 

The 21 Day Sugar Detox Cookbook Review

I just purchased The 21 Day Sugar Detox written by Diane Sanfillipo, BS, NC.  Click on the picture above to check out the website.     I did not buy this for the actual meal plan or program, I bought it for the over 100 recipes that are “100% gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free and Paleo-friendly”.  In the book there are several levels of the detox diet.  The book is fairly comprehensive and contains a self quiz to help you choose which level you should be on.  There are modified diets for pregnant and nursing mothers, people who need more carbohydrates, pescetarians and my personal point of focus, people with autoimmune disorders. 

All of the recipes are color coded with symbols to let you know if the recipe you are reading is appropriate for you. Each recipe also has highlighted words in the margin letting you know if a recipe contains nuts, eggs, or nightshades.  I love that I can just flip around looking for the symbol that is right for us.  The book is full of really nice pictures.  I can’t stand cookbooks without pictures!  If I can’t see what I am going to be making I am typically not that interested.  It is kind of like doing a jigsaw puzzle without the lid.  The recipes look great and are simple. There are lots of recipes for condiments too, which I really like. She even has spice mix recipes.  The first recipe that I tried in this book was for my son.  Who has complained loudly “Awwww why do WE have to be the organic family?  When can I get my treats back?”  I decided on the “Sunbutter Brownies”.  All they contained were green tipped bananas, sunbutter, which I replaced with almond butter, eggs, cocoa powder, vanilla and sea salt.  Did they turn out like ooey gooey morsels of chocolaty heaven?  LORD NO. Were they palatable?  Certainly.  These will be perfect as an on the go protein packed breakfast for myself.  My son on the other hand asked if he could spit his bite out.  Here is a picture of them from the book and what they looked like when I made them.  If you wanted them more treat like I would suggest using brown specked bananas and a little bit of honey but there goes your sugar detox! Would I recommend buying this book if you are trying to adhere to the Wahls Protocal?  Yes. The main dishes look delicious and easy to make and there are all kinds of tips and tricks that come in handy as well.

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