This week in our Guest Blogger Series, we welcome Nicole from California Paleo Kitchens. Nicole offers a service so helpful to new Paleo families….a kitchen makeover! We’re excited that she is sharing some of her Paleo Pantry Staples with us, and highly suggest you check YOUR pantry. Are you stocked for a successful Paleo lifestyle? Read on and find out!
♥♥♥
Any successful Paleo/clean eating regimen starts in your own kitchen. Getting your kitchen into shape to pave the way for a successful eating and cooking regimen is the premise behind my business, California Paleo Kitchens. {ed note: click on the items below to be taken to the Paleo Parents suggested brands}
♥♥♥
Coconut Aminos
This low glycemic sauce made from the sap of coconut trees can be used in place of soy in marinades and stir frys. Honestly, I’ve had non-Paleo eaters tell me they can’t tell the difference at all! I also sneak a bottle of this in my purse when we go out for sushi, and use it to dip my sashimi into. Yum!
Ghee
Ghee is gold – delicious, pure butter fat gold. I use it to make sauces, create roux for stews, fry my eggs, roast veggies and drizzle on top of meat. Ghee can also be used in desserts and Paleo baking. May I suggest sauteeing a diced apple in a bit of ghee, cinnamon and pumpkin spice? Perfect Autumn dessert. Ghee-licious and versatile!
Garlic
Beyond using it in your cooking garlic can be used to remove splinters, treat psoriasis, athlete’s foot and hair loss. Crushed garlic is most versatile, and should be refrigerated after opening.
- For splinters, add a small amount over the affected area and top with a bandage.
- To treat psoriasis, create a salve with olive oil and garlic and apply to the affected area.
- For athlete’s foot or other fungal infections, mix warm water with crushed garlic and soak the affected area.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Is there anything apple cider vinegar can’t do? The raw fermented vinegar is a prebiotic, which I drink in diluted water before meals to add digestion and detoxify. It’s also makes a delicious salad dressing, and boosts the nutrients in your bone broth by leaching more minerals from the bones. Outside the kitchen, it can be used as a toner for acne prone/oily skin. If you have a smush faced pup (we have a Frenchie) – you can use a mix of apple cider vinegar and water on a cloth to wipe out their face folds to prevent irritation and yeast overgrowth.
Coconut Oil
It’s more popular than ever as people are catching on to the benefits of its fat and its high smoke point. Coconut oil is great for high heat sauteeing veggies and stir-fry’s. It’s also amazing for skin and hair. Applying it to your skin actually makes it less oily over time. For your hair, using it weekly as a mask will improve your scalp health and make your hair shinier and stronger. Coconut oil has a million other household uses, one of the most useful being that it can act as toothpaste when mixed with baking soda.
Raw Organic Honey
Raw organic honey has antiseptic and moisturizing properties. In the kitchen, I use it in teas and with apple cider vinegar in both warm drinks and dressings/sauces while cooking. It’s other uses include skin care as a mask, wound dressing, burn soothing and relieving seasonal allergies. If you suffer from allergies, try finding some local raw honey at your farmers’ market. The bees making the honey will have internalized your local allergens and pollen, making it more effective for your specific allergens.
Baking Soda
Toothpaste, cleaning agent, bee/jellyfish sting reliever, exfoliating scrub, leavening agent – is there anything you can’t use baking soda for?I consider it the most important ingredient in my Plantain Pumpkin Spice Pancakes giving them their rise and fluffy texture. I also use it as a mask with lemon juice to brighten and exfoliate skin once a week. To relieve bee or jellyfish stings, make a paste with water and apply it directly – it soothes the stinging almost immediately. At about $2, it’s such a cheap Paleo multitasker!
Pumpkin
Forget Fall, keep pumpkin on hand year round! Pumpkin’s amazing nutritional profile makes it a versatile cooking choice, and it happens to be very easy on your digestive system. It’s an ideal choice for stews and curries when you’re under the weather or have other stomach issues like constipation. I’ve also given it to our pup on several occasions when she’s had stomach issues and after her spay surgery. We don’t feed her rice or other grains, and my vet agreed that pumpkin was a great healthy grain free option for our Paleo pup!
Canned Olives
Olives can be a healthy snack, drink garnish, diced as a topping or added to a dish for texture and saltiness if you find yourself out of sea salt. As a snack they’re full of healthy fats and can be somewhat portable making them an amazing snack option for Paleo eaters.
Cashews
The meaty flesh of cashews along with their fat content makes them a kitchen dynamo. They can be soaked and blended for “ice cream” and “hummus” and even turned into a ricotta cheese replacement in lasagna type dishes. They’re great as a snack raw too but my favorite is to have them toasted in some coconut oil along with some pineapple, cauliflower rice, coconut aminos and sesame seeds for Thai style “pineapple fried rice”.
♥♥♥
When Nicole’s dear friend Mary was diagnosed as a Celiac years ago, they both set out on a healthy eating journey which led Nicole to Paleo. After coaching several of her family and friends through Paleo transitions and ripping apart a few kitchens with her patented Paleo Kitchen Makeover technique, Nicole launched California Paleo Kitchens in early 2013 to make Paleo eating easy and accessible to all. CPK offers coaching, grocery delivery, kitchen makeovers and cooking lessons to Paleo newbies and vets alike. Learn more her website, Facebook page, and hear what her clients have to say via Yelp. Nicole lives in Laguna Beach with her Frenchie Bunny and boyfriend Justin who designs mobile apps. She loves the beach, attempting to surf, dogs and of course, eating!
Website: California Paleo Kitchens
Facebook: Facebook – California Paleo Kitchens
