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Sharing a family heirloom-recipe from my Greek heritage: Fish Baked with Tomatoes.  The secret: juices from the tomatoes naturally moisten the fish while baking!

Baked Greek Fish with Cabbage Salad & Avocado

Stella's Fish Baked with Tomatoes

The sun is shining here in California and I literally just had the best salad of my life!  Calamari, arugula, olives, grapefruit–what a combination!  I’ll share the recipe below…

Calamari Salad

A perfect dish showcasing the methodology behind the Paleo-Mediterranean Diet!  Although I generally make my own ground lamb patties, this time I used Atkins Ranch California Style Lamb Patties.  The sweet potatoes, goat cheese and chives give the dish a crossover between Greek & French cuisines (minus the butters and starches).  Super easy to make–enjoy the recipe!

Paleo-Mediterranean Lamb Burger

Nothing tastes better than a warm, gluten-free brownie with ice-cold coconut milk.  I’ve tried so many different brownie mixes, as well as perfecting my own combination of gluten free additions.  Finally, I found the perfect combination: cocoa, peanut butter, sea salt and blueberries.  Enjoy my recipe!

Stella's Gluten Free Brownies

 
 Stella’s Organic, Gluten Free Brownies

Incredibly delicious, sweet and savory! 

Oh Provence, how I love thee! Each time I visit your beautiful countryside, I’m always inspired. Lavender abounds in this area making use for body care products and my favorite spices Herbes de Provence. Dean & Deluca carries one of my favorite blends– you can find the link here.

There’s always that “wow factor” when incorporating lavender in anything chicken.  Enjoy my ‘Lavender Roasted Chicken’ recipe below!

Stella’s Lavender Roasted Chicken

Stella's French Herbes de Provence

 

1. 1 Whole Organic Chicken
2. 1 Cup Dry White Wine
3. 1 Tablespoon Butter
4. 3 Tablespoons Herbes de Provence
5. (Optional) 2 Tablespoons Fresh Lavender
6. 1 Garlic Clove Crushed
7. 2 Shallots Chopped Thin
8. Fingerling Potatoes

 

1. Dress the chicken by rubbing crushed garlic around the flesh & gently glaze with olive oil. Place in a roasting dish (Le Crueset is my favorite). Add the spices into a bowel with the butter, embedding the spices into the butter. Gently stuff the chicken with the butter mixture and around the exterior. I like to add fresh thyme and lavender inside the bird as well. Add the potatoes and shallots around the chicken, mixing 1 cup of white wine. Finally, spice with a generous amount of sea salt and pepper.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 1 hour(s) 15 minute(s)

Diet tags: Reduced carbohydrate, High protein, Gluten free

Number of servings (yield): 6

Culinary tradition: Irish

5 :  ★★★★★ 1 review(s)

P.S., my favorite chickens to purchase are those that are pasture raised and air chilled, like Mary’s California Bronze Chicken

Mary's California Bronze Pasture Raized Chicken

Nothing could be better than smokey-flavored, roasted root vegetables in the Fall.  Or how about the perfectly roasted turkey breast?  Run to your nearest Trader Joe’s and pick up their South African Smoke in the spice section–I’m addicted!

Favorite uses for South African Smoke:

• Baked sweet potato spiced with SAS and topped with Ghee

• Roasted turkey breast

• White fish and SAS

For those of you looking to add a new dimension to your nutrition, root vegetables should not be overlooked. They are a great alternative for those avoiding bread, rice, and other empty carbs. Including them in your diet can definitely help to break the monotony as well as bring a tasty, nutritious, and inexpensive item to the dinner table. They can also be stored for relatively long periods of time. Root vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, turnips, radishes, beets, sweet potatoes, and onions can provide nutrients such as beta carotene, B vitamins, vitamin C, complex carbs, minerals, and dietary fiber. And as an added benefit, they do not contain the so-called “cereal grasses” such as wheat, corn, and rice, so they are low-allergenic. Roasting root vegetables is a great way to cook them since it brings out much flavor while minimizing nutrient loss.

List of root vegetables

Here is a list of some of the more popular root vegetables that can be found at local grocery markets:

-beets

-rutabaga

-turnips

-carrots

-daikons

-yams

-radishes

-ginger

-turmeric

-potatoes

-sweet potatoes

-taro

-ginseng

-garlic, onion, shallot, etc

Simple Root vegetables recipe: : Roasted Beets and Parsnips with Herbs de Provence

How do you bake sweet potatoes?

Sweet potatoes are one of the more popular root vegetables. Recipes for sweet potato fries can be found all over the web, but here’s a simple recipe that will provide a quick and healthy alternative to ordinary French fries or baked potatoes:

ingredients

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 medium sweet potato

directions

1.     Remove skin from the sweet potatoes and cut into medium-sized wedges (like the size of steak fries) and place in a bowl.

2.     Add the olive oil, garlic powder, paprika, and sea salt

3.     Toss the fries to coat evenly.

4.     Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

5.     Spread fries out over a baking pan and bake for 20-30 minutes until tender and brown.

Yours in Health,

Stella Metsovas B.S., CCN

Staff Writer: Clement Tran

W8less Nutrition

Orange County / Los Angeles