Orcwarrior's favorite healthy and/or paleo recipes

[orcwarrior]

Hey, all!  Wanted to share some of my favorite go-to recipes as I get inspired.  These are things I often cook in bulk so I've got a quick something to heat-up when I get home late and would be vulnerable to temptation.

 

This one is my favorite healthy soup.  One batch is about 1250 calories and makes about 11-12 cups, depending how much extra water you add - about 110 calories/cup.  I usually double it.  And the red pepper makes it nice and spicy.

 

Lentil & Sausage Soup

 

1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1/2 lb of ground sausage (original recipe called for 4 large links of sweet Italian sausage, casings removed)
1 medium onion, diced
2 celery stalks, sliced or diced (or a colored bell pepper, diced)
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into half-moons or diced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
Season salt
A pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 cup brown lentils, sorted and rinsed
2 bay leaves
2 14-oz cans diced tomatoes
6 cups chicken or turkey broth, or water/broth mix
Freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 cups shredded or thinly ribboned lettuce or kale leaves

 

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil (enough to coat bottom of pot) in a large pot on medium heat. When hot, add the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon until it starts to brown, about five minutes. Add the onion, celery, carrots, garlic cloves, a pinch of salt, and if you like your soup spicy, a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Cook with the sausage until the vegetables soften a bit, another 5 minutes. Add the lentils, bay leaves, tomatoes, broth, and season salt and black pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook until the lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. (It might be necessary to add more water if the soup gets too thick; I usually add 1-1.5 cups)

 

When the lentils are cooked, add the lettuce and cook until the leaves are tender, just a few minutes more. Discard the bay leaves.

[orcwarrior]

My easiest crockpot recipe ever - I make this at least every other week.

 

Put 1 whole chicken and 1/2 cup marinade/dressing (I use herb & garlic) in the crockpot, sprinkle with season salt & garlic powder.

 

Or use TWO chickens in 6-quart crockpot with 3/4 cup marinade. 

 

Cook for 6 hours on low if you have a timer, but you can throw it in before work and leave it on low all day if you need to - it develops lots of fluid and won't burn.

[orcwarrior]

One of my favorites - I usually make a triple or quad recipe and freeze half in quart bags - then I can thaw them later and have several bowls of soup for a day or so.

 

Lentil Soup with Ham, Tomatoes, and Cilantro

 

2 tsp. olive oil

1 onion, chopped small

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tbsp dried cilantro (optional, or can use extra fresh cilantro)
1 ¼ cup dry lentils

1 ½ cup diced ham (I use turkey ham)
1 can (14 oz.) petite dice tomatoes
7-8 cups chicken stock (I used my homemade chicken stock)
1 packet Goya Ham flavored concentrate (optional, this can be hard to find but it's often sold near Mexican foods. If you have ham rinds you can cook them with the soup and remove instead of using this.)
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

 

Sauté onion in olive oil until starts to soften.  Add ground cumin and sauté about 2 more minutes.  Then add lentils, canned tomatoes and juice, chicken stock, and Goya Ham Flavor Concentrate or ham rinds (if using).  Simmer soup at low heat for about 30 minutes, until lentils are soft and flavors seem well blended. Turn off heat and stir in chopped cilantro.

[orcwarrior]

Just made this for first time today - was so good I had to post it.  Tasty comfort food, very healthy (whole pot is 1400 calories) and filling.  The only thing I noticed was that it was better sprinkled with season salt - I'll probably add a tsp or two of that next time before cooking. 

 

Lazy Cabbage Rolls

 

Serves 6 (sized for 6-qt slow cooker)

 

1   pound lean ground turkey

2   cups chopped onion

½  cup diced green pepper

2   cloves garlic, crushed and chopped fine

½  tsp thyme

½  tsp oregano

¼  tsp each of salt and pepper

1   small head of green cabbage, chopped

1   15 oz can diced tomatoes

1   8 oz can diced tomatoes

1   15 oz can tomato sauce

 

Brown the ground turkey in a pam coated skillet. Lightly coat the slow cooker with pam and place all ingredients into the slow cooker. Mix thoroughly.  (Edit: Depending how big your slow cooker is, it may be easier to mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and then dump them in.)  Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. Serve warm.

 

I thought this would be grown-up food for my wife and I, but my kids wolfed it down, too.  Good stuff!

[bigm141414]

FYI: Lentils are not paleo since they are a legume. Just sayin...  

[orcwarrior]

FYI: Lentils are not paleo since they are a legume. Just sayin...

Dude, you're right - should modify the title.

 

[edited 7/31]  Bigm, thanks for the editing tip.

[CourtnieMarie]

Lazy Cabbage Rolls

 

Definitely going to try this - been meaning to make cabbage rolls but seems to daunting to actually make the rolls haha!

[orcwarrior]

Hope you like it - I do and it's pretty easy.  The only thing I've found is it helps to have a big bowl to mix it up in and then dump it in the crockpot.  The first time I tried it I dumped it all in the crockpot and tried to stir it up there, and it was too full. 

 

Guess that would have been good to put in the recipe, huh? 

[CourtnieMarie]

Hope you like it - I do and it's pretty easy.  The only thing I've found is it helps to have a big bowl to mix it up in and then dump it in the crockpot.  The first time I tried it I dumped it all in the crockpot and tried to stir it up there, and it was too full. 

 

Guess that would have been good to put in the recipe, huh? 

No problem! My father actually got me the crockpot I have and he always goes a little overboard with those types of things so my crockpot is really large - haha! Can't complain though since I've cooked many a turkey and chicken in there.

[orcwarrior]

Here's a healthy snack you can make if you need to satisfy a carb craving in a healthy way.  Made these for the first time the other day, and they were pretty easy.  My daughter got most of them....

 

Sweet Potato Fries

 

Peel sweet potatoes (optional - some people like them better with peels on).  About 3 sweet potatoes will fill up a small baking sheet.

Cut into 1/2" square strips of desired length. 

Drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with choice of spices (I used season salt, cumin, pepper, and garlic powder)

Bake at 450 for 10-12 min, flip, 8 more min. 

Eat heartily.

[orcwarrior]

This is more carb-intensive than some of the other recipes, with moderate protein.  Healthy way to carboload.  Filling and tasty.

 

Turkey Sausage & Bean Stew

 

1 lb ground turkey sausage, browned (can also use link sausage and throw in uncooked, will cook in crockpot

1 can (16 oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (15.5 oz) great northern beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (16 oz) corn, drained; or 1 1/2 cups frozen or cut off the cob

1 1/2 cups salsa

1 large green pepper, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1-2 cups water (enough to fill cooker at least halfway)

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp ground cumin

 

Stir all ingredients together in crockpot (above makes about 13 cups before cooking down, so need 4-qt or larger crockpot.) 

Cover and cook 5-6 hours or until meat is tender.  Stir before serving.

 

Above using 2 cups water makes approx. 11 cups of stew after cooking.

 

Total 2775 cals,  151 g protein, 108 g fat, 307 g carbs

1 cup stew is 250 cals, 14 g protein, 10 g fat, 28 g carbs

[CourtnieMarie]

This is more carb-intensive than some of the other recipes, with moderate protein.  Healthy way to carboload.  Filling and tasty.

 

Turkey Sausage & Bean Stew

 

 

Yum. Salsa, eh? Do you use the jarred salsa or the tubs of fresh salsa in the produce section? Or you could make your own, I suppose!

[orcwarrior]

I just open a jar - for me favorite recipes tend to be quick and easy. But fresh or homemade salsa would definitely add to it!  

[CourtnieMarie]

Definitely going to try this - been meaning to make cabbage rolls but seems to daunting to actually make the rolls haha!

 

Made this overnight last night! Very good

[orcwarrior]

Glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know - gratifying!

[DKoutbound]

mmmmm......cabbbbbaaaaagggggeeee roooolllllllssss.  Good stuff man! Thanks for sharing.

[orcwarrior]

Just got this recipe from CourtnieMarie (above) and made it last night.  Superb!!!!

 

Spicy Turkey Soup with Yogurt, Chickpeas, and Mint

Yield: Serves 4-6.

 

INGREDIENTS

1 cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup rice

4-5 cups turkey stock (or chicken stock)

2-3 cups cooked leftover turkey meat, dark or light, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 cup full-fat plain yogurt

1 large egg yolk

2 Tbsp flour

1 15-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)

2 teaspoons sweet paprika (can also use smoked paprika for a smokey added touch)

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)

3 Tbsp finely chopped mint

Lemon wedges, for serving

 

METHOD

1 Bring water, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and rice to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat to a low simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes.

2 In a medium saucepan, add the turkey stock and bring to a simmer, remove from heat. (You are just trying to warm up the stock in this step.)

3 Whisk together the yogurt, egg yolk, and flour in a large pot. Slowly add the heated stock, whisking after each small addition to incorporate. Heat to a simmer. Add the chickpeas, cooked turkey, and cooked rice. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4 Melt the butter on medium heat in a small skillet. Stir in the garlic, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Cook for a couple minutes, until fragrant, then remove from heat.  Note:  this is pretty spicy – I made it with just 1 tsp of chili powder instead of the paprika and cayenne pepper, and added some season salt, and I loved it.

You can serve soup with a small amount of paprika butter sauce swirled on the surface. Sprinkle with chopped mint.  (Or you can just do what I do and stir it into the pot.)  Serve with lemon wedges. Squeeze lemon juice from the wedges onto the soup before eating.

[orcwarrior]

Meat Slop

 

This is a meat/cabbage casserole with other healthy ingredients as you decide.  I got this from CourtnieMarie, who got it from Caution (from the warriors – good guy who cooks all kinds of neat stuff).  I subbed in tomato sauce because I was out of tomato paste, and it still came out really good.  And very filling!!!

 

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs of ground meat of some form; lean beef works well, I usually use ground turkey.

1-2 heads of cabbage

1-2 cans of tomato paste

 

That is it; beyond that you can put whatever you want in there, such as….

Curry spices

Red onions and mushrooms

Sausage pieces

Pickles (added just to soften while simmering)

Beef cubes or other hunks of meat

A wide variety of vegetables, usually carrot slices or diced peppers

Additionally, 2 eggs or so can be cracked into the pot upon reheating on the stovetop. This, aside from eating eggs, increases the viscosity of the slop and makes it more palatable.

 

Almost every sauce works well with meat slop as well, and it seems to carry the flavors of sauce quite nicely.

 

Directions: 

Shred the cabbage into small pieces, put into large pot.

Then mix it with the tomato paste…

Aaaand then everything else you have on hand.

At this stage you can add spices to it or just head straight to cooking. Let it bubble a bit and then let it simmer until all the meat turns brown (20-30 minutes); keep on adding water so the slop does not burn at the bottom of the pot, but don’t add so much that it turns into a soup.

 

When you are done, it literally looks like a pot of meat

 

Nutritional information for the above batch with ground beef:

Nutritional information will vary depending on what you put in; especially in regards to the meat. With the amounts I used above, and using WolframAlpha as my guide:

 (Calories/Fat/Carb/Protein/Fiber):

Both cabbage heads (832/5/192/32/64)

Onion (44/0/10/1/2)

Mushrooms (60/1/9/9/3)

Tomato Paste (NoName brand) (509/0/108/24/24)

Lean (10%) ground beef; 1.389kg of it (2950/146/0/373/0)

Overall: (4395/151/219/439/93) Macronutrient Breakdown: Almost a perfect 40/40/20 Pro/Fat/Carb

Divided by 7 into my serving size yields 630kcal, 22 fat, 63 protein, 31 carbohydrate, 13 fiber

For those curious, I ran the numbers with all the above exactly the same but only using 454g (one pound) of lean ground turkey and came out with (2369/54/219/187/94) Overall and, if divided by seven, (340/8/31/27/13). A lower calorie albeit lower protein option.

 

Reheating and Reserving Meat Slop

Meat slop keeps fairly well in the fridge. Just let it cool a bit off the stove and place it in the fridge for the future. The water in the initial batch will absorb into the cabbage somewhat, and future batches will be less liquidy.

Stove top reheating is recommended since you can throw in other stuff, like eggs or sauces, while you reheat it. As mentioned before, the eggs increase viscosity of the slop upon reheating and make it thicker. Meat slop carries whatever sauce is added to it fairly well; my favorites here are BBQ (because its meat) and Soy Sauce.

 

Enjoy!!!

[CourtnieMarie]

Just got this recipe from CourtnieMarie (above) and made it last night.  Superb!!!!

 

 

Wasn't it surprisingly good?! I wish I had more leftover turkey to make a bigger batch! Not sure it would freeze well though...

 

Meat Slop

 

 

Glad you liked this!

 

I also made your lazy cabbage rolls for the second time last week. Yum!

[Peach]

Thank you for all these great recipes. Going to try many, but first spicy turkey soup since I picked up a post-Thanksgiving organic turkey for $0.79/pound! Curious about how the mint goes with the turkey? Sounds like a strange combination to me, but what do I know. Was thinking of adding a mint tea bag of two to cook with the soup. What do you think?

[CourtnieMarie]

Thank you for all these great recipes. Going to try many, but first spicy turkey soup since I picked up a post-Thanksgiving organic turkey for $0.79/pound! Curious about how the mint goes with the turkey? Sounds like a strange combination to me, but what do I know. Was thinking of adding a mint tea bag of two to cook with the soup. What do you think?

I actually left out the mint when I made this dish! I'll be curious to see what Orc thinks...