Paleo Easter Treats: Recipe Round-Up

Source: Angie's Suburban Oasis

Happy Good Friday to all!

Sunday is Easter and many of you will be spending time with your friends and family celebrating the holiday. Some traditions may include coloring Easter eggs, conducting Easter egg hunts, making chocolate bunnies and indulging in other spring-related treats. I've rounded up a list of Paleo treats you could make for the special day.

1. Carrot Cake Pancakes by Multiply Delicious
2. Carrot Cake Cookie Bars by Real Sustenance
3. Paleo Creme Eggs by The Paleo Mom
4. Healthy Easter Basket Ideas by Robb Wolf
5. Lemon Curd Bars by The Nourishing Gourmet
6. Carrot Cake Muffins by Livin Paleo
7. Chocolate Almond Butter Bunnies and Eggs by Healthy. Happy. Life. (recipe calls for peanut butter, but use almond butter or Sunbutter to make it Paleo)
8. Lemon Cookie Tarts by Healthful Pursuit
9. Healthy Cadbury Creme Eggs by Chocolate Covered Katie
10. Carrot Cake Milkshake by Chocolate Covered Katie

If treats aren't really your cup of tea, here are some great resources on how to color your eggs naturally, without the use of food dyes. 

1. What's Cooking America
2. Better Homes & Garden
3. Vegetable Gardener

Growing up, we always had Easter egg hunts. My parents did an incredible job hiding the eggs. They would hide green eggs in the plants around the house, pink eggs against pink furniture and so on. They usually put a combination of candy and money inside the eggs. My brothers and I took the hunt very seriously. We did this up until I was 16 or 17 (and my brothers are older than me). 

My husband and I don't have any kids, so the Easter egg hunt won't be on our agenda. However, the carrot cake pancakes and lemon cookie tarts both sound amazing though. I may have to indulge a bit on Sunday and try out those recipes. Sunday is the the last day before I get serious about getting lean. While some will be ending their Lenten sacrifices, I will just be starting my purification period. 

What will you be doing for Easter? Do you have a special meal planned? I would love to hear about how you celebrate the holiday. 

Hoppy Easter and enjoy your weekend! 

Paleo Tuna Salad

I've been making tuna salad for ages. This is just a basic recipe that I came up with. I love the combination of flavors and colors along with the crunch from the veggies. We ate ours atop mixed greens and also added diced avocado (not shown in any of the pictures). The avocado really shined with the tuna. I've been making this version for a while, but never really documented the ingredients or measurements. Something else that's great about tuna salad is that it can easily be adjusted depending on how many people you're feeding. Just add extra cans of tuna, veggies and a tad more mayo and Dijon to coat it all. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Paleo Tuna Salad 
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

• 3 - 5 oz. cans wild-caught tuna
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 3 carrots, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used Lemonaise), but homemade would be awesome
• 1 - 1 1/2 T. Dijon mustard
• Sea salt and pepper, if desired

Directions:

1. Drain cans of tuna, pour into a bowl and flake with a fork. 
2. Chop your veggies and add to the tuna. 
3. Add mayonnaise and Dijon mustard. 
4. Stir everything together until combined. 
5. Taste for seasonings. Mine didn't need any as the Lemonaise and Dijon added plenty of flavor.
6. Serve on mixed greens, on Paleo bread, in a Pure Wrap or in a lettuce/Chard/Collard Green leaf. Top with avocado. 

My husband's coworker called the salad (topped with avocado) a masterpiece. My mom said the salad was so colorful. Here's the best compliment: my husband was originally going to eat pizza and salad for lunch that his work was providing. After eating dinner, he decided he wanted leftover tuna salad for lunch. He chose my tuna salad over free pizza! That was really sweet. 

This takes so little time, but is packed with flavor. Enjoy! 

Paleo Chicken Noodle Soup

I could probably count the number of times I've eaten chicken noodle soup in my entire life on my two hands. It wasn't a staple dish in our house growing up. My mom occasionally made chicken broth or chicken soup when one of us kids were sick. Other than that, I honestly can't remember eating it much. 

This recipe was a spontaneous creation. I was walking through Vitamin Cottage (which I often do during my lunch hour). I was just wandering the aisles, looking at every product on the shelf. You never know what you may discover. I ended up in the refrigerated section and noticed the Kelp Noodles. I've seen other recipes using them, but have been hesitant to try them. As I put a couple packages into my hand cart, I immediately thought of the homemade chicken broth and chicken in my fridge. I could make chicken noodle soup! Yum! It's a basic recipe. I didn't add much seasoning to the soup, since I had cooked the chicken in the crockpot with plenty of seasoning and made the chicken broth from the leftover cooking liquids, bones and veggies). You could definitely add more seasoning, if you have plain cooked chicken. I also think minced garlic and/or ginger would also taste great. After making this soup, I plan on creating some other recipes around kelp noodles. They're actually quite tasty and add a really great dimension to the soup. 

Easy Paleo Chicken Noodle Soup 

Serves: 4

Rating: 9.5 clubs

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade

4 carrots, peeled and diced

4 celery stalks, diced

1 onion, diced

2-3 cups diced/shredded chicken (I made a whole chicken in the crock pot)

1 12 oz. package of kelp noodles (see note below)

1 t. poultry seasoning

1 t. garlic powder

Sea salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Heat the chicken broth to a boil over medium high heat in a large sauce pan. Add in veggies. Lower the heat to medium and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until veggies are soft/tender. Add in the cooked chicken and seasonings. After following the directions on the kelp noodle package, add them to your soup. Stir everything together and allow noodles to heat through (about a minute). Ladle into bowls and serve immediately.

Note: Kelp noodles can be found in the refrigerated sections at Whole Foods, Vitamin Cottage and many other specialty/health food stores around the country. I buy Sea Tangle brand. 

This is a pretty light soup, but great for a cold winter's day. It could be served with a side salad, Paleo crackers, or Paleo biscuits (I make them with coconut oil instead of butter). 

Questions: What are your favorite soups? Do you prefer broth-based or creamy soups? I grew up loving creamy soups. I still like creamy soups, because they're comforting and hearty. I really like my Chicken minestrone soup (yet to be written) and Creamy Tomato Soup with Spinach and Grass-fed Ground Beef.