Looking for recipes? On this page we have resources to help you find great recipes:
- A list of our food posts (also accessible via our Pinterest page)
- A list of bloggers who post Perfect Health Diet compatible recipes
- Recipes left by our readers in the comments to this page and (soon) on our forum
Our Food Posts
- PHD Baby Food, August 31, 2015
- Chilled Avocado Soup, July 6, 2014
- Coconut Fish Pie, April 14, 2013
- Leg of Lamb with Cinnamon-Thyme-Fennel Rub, April 7, 2013
- Shou-Ching’s Mom’s Kimchi, March 21, 2013
- Okonomiyaki (Japanese pizza-style pancake), March 3, 2013
- Garlic Shrimp, February 12, 2013
- Hilary Finch Hutler: Four Beef Variations, Jan 29, 2013
- Pan-Seared Scallops, Jan 20, 2013
- Muffins, Jan 6, 2013
- Caesar Salad, Apr 29, 2012
- Roast Beef, Beets, and Potatoes, Apr 8, 2012
- Food for a Fast, Mar 8, 2012
- Tom Kha Shrimp and Scallop (Thai Soup), Feb 19, 2012
- Chopped Liver Paté, Feb 11, 2012
- Ris a la Mande, Feb 5, 2012
- Bengali Fish Curry (Machher Jhal), 2: The Recipe, Dec 27, 2011
- Chicken, Shrimp, and Egg Salad, Dec 15, 2011
- Pork Spare Ribs, Dec 6, 2011
- Fermented Mixed Vegetables, Nov 27, 2011
- Meatballs, Oct 30, 2011
- Bi Bim Bap, Oct 16, 2011
- Mussels in Thai Curry Sauce, Oct 9, 2011
- Bone Broth Revisited; and Pumpkin Soup, Oct 3, 2011
- Onion Rings, Sep 25, 2011
- Chicken Wings, Sep 19, 2011
- Sarah Atshan’s Lovely Food, Sep 11, 2011
- Hamburgers, Sep 4, 2011
- Gnocchi, Aug 28, 2011
- Chocolate Chip Cookies, Jul 24, 2011
- French Fried Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes, Jul 17, 2011
- Beef Tallow, Jul 10, 2011
- Homemade Kimchi, Jun 26, 2011
- Dumpling Rolls, Jun 5, 2011
- Crème Brûlée, May 29, 2011
- Chicken Tikka Masala, May 22, 2011
- Kimchi, May 15, 2011
- Happy Mother’s Day! with Hot Chocolate, May 8, 2011
- Rack of Lamb, May 1, 2011
- Seafood Paella, Apr 17, 2011
- Pacific Sweet and Sour Salmon, Apr 10, 2011
- Creamy Steamed Egg Soup, Apr 3, 2011
- Pesto, Mar 27, 2011
- Steak Diane (Ribeye with Cream Sauce), Mar 20, 2011
- Clam Chowder, Mar 13, 2011
- Coconut Bark, Mar 6, 2011
- Pho (Vietnamese Noodle Soup), Feb 27, 2011
- Ice Cream, Feb 20, 2011
- Dong Po’s Pork, Feb 13, 2011
- Cranky Grouch’s Spaghetti, Feb 6, 2011
- About Green Tea, Jan 30, 2011
- Herb-Encrusted Salmon Cakes with Lemon Juice, Jan 23, 2011
- Dieter’s Dessert: Taro Coconut Cream Soup, Jan 16, 2011
- Homemade Seasoned Seaweed, Jan 9, 2011
- Ox Feet Broth, Miso Soup, and Other Soups, Jan 2, 2011
- Pumpkin Mousse (from erp), December 27, 2010
- Rice Noodle Lasagna, December 19, 2010
- Cambridge Fried Rice, December 12, 2010
- Neo-Agutak: “Eskimo Ice Cream”, December 5, 2010
- Pão de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Puffs), November 21, 2010
- Cooking with Rice, I: Chicken Soup, November 18, 2010
You can also find pictures with links to our recipes at our Pinterest board.
PHD-Compatible Food Bloggers
Some great food bloggers post PHD-compatible recipes. Our favorites include:
- Sarah Atshan’s Nutrients, You Fools!.
- Hilary Finch Hutler’s TummyRumblr.
- Russ Crandall’s The Domestic Man.
- Josephine and Henry Svendblad’s Nutty Kitchen.
- Francesca, “The Italian Paleo,” at Francesca Eats.
- Louise Yang & Jeremy Herndon, Ancestral Chef.
- Paul Halliday, Living in the Ice Age.
- Gary, 10 Minute Meal.
- Patty & Ron Strilaeff’s Chowstalker has a Perfect Health Diet category: PHD on Chowstalker.
Also, those who follow my personal Facebook page know that Sarah Atshan frequently tags me with pictures of the very lovely PHD food that helped her lose 120 pounds. Visit Sarah’s Facebook page to check out her food.
via this link:
Many recipes over at our site http://nuttykitchen.com. For Kathy here is a link to a delicious and simple Liver recipe: http://nuttykitchen.com/2010/04/26/live-r-for-life/
Kathy – It is Wellshire Farms All Natural Pork Liverwurst
All natural product free of preservatives, nitrates, nitrties or antibiotics.
I think it is Perfect Health friendly. If not, let me know!
Thanks Paul!! – LOVE THE BOOK
Thanks Henry! You and Josephine have a great site. Never hesitate to put links here to your posts, they’re always welcome!
Thanks Erich! Yes, liverwurst is great (if you’re into that sort of thing!). I think it’s usually the sugar-curing that’s the problem with the processed foods, smoke-curing could be problematic, maybe preservatives or low-quality ingredients; but the higher-quality uncured meats are great.
Hi all.
I just came across this thread and wanted to share Primal Eats: http://primaleats.com
It is a recipe sharing website for the paleo/primal community. You can follow your favorite chefs (like twitter), and it’s dead simple to share a recipe. I’d love for you to check out the existing recipes, and some of your own, and spread the world.
Keep up the great work!
-Chris
Hi Chris, Thanks for sharing. It’s a great idea but you’d get a lot more contributors if we could just submit the URL for a blog post and your site picked up the recipe automatically.
Thanks Erich! I have seen the Wellshire brand but didn’t know they had liverwurst.
Chris: I have definitely bookmarked Primaleats!
Julia Child’s original Mastering the Art of French Cooking is also filled with wonderful recipes featuring full-fat dairy and fresh meats, that are, or can be easily adapted to, Perfect Health eating. I just stay away from the pastries (sigh)
I have a recipe for crackers that is simple and gluten free. (Also good for pate!)
Check me out at Edible if you get a chance–I’m always looking for good recipes, and sometimes I remember to post them!
🙂
Tapioca pudding
Get real tapioca pearls. I get Bob’s Red Mill Tapioca Pearls, http://tinyurl.com/3alx3br. Also required is coconut milk and coconut flakes.
Ingredients
2 cups water
3 tablespoons tapioca pearls
3/4 cup coconut milk
4 tablespoons coconut flakes
Bring water to a boil. Stir in tapioca pearls. Cook on low heat for 17 minutes. Add coconut milk. Bring to a low boil and cook another 5 minutes. Add coconut flakes. Cook 3 more minutes. Cool, then chill in the refrigerator for 2 or more hours. Serve in cups with berries.
My problem is inverse! I still haven’t found a NOT palatable liver recipe!
Banana or Orange Bread
85g (3 oz) butter at room temperature
60g (2.1 oz) brown sugar or honey
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
130g (4.6oz) rice flower
60g (2.1 oz) potato starch
35g (1.2 oz) tapioca starch
40g (1.4 oz) coconut flour
2 teaspoon gluten free yeast
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cardamon seeds grinded
10 brazilnuts minced
1/2 cup raisin
4 mashed bananas or 2 pelled and chopped oranges
Pre-heat oven to 180ºC (350ºF). In a medium bowl, mix all dry ingredients, except sugar. Grease a bread pan. Mix butter with sugar, until creamy. Add eggs and mix. Mix some tablespoons of the dry ingredients. Add mashed bananas or chopped oranges. Add raisins and brazilnuts, mix well. Add and mix the rest of dry ingredients. Put the dough in the greased pan. Bake for around 40-50 minutes or until golden brown.
For just general cooking methods, I cook everything I eat in the following manner:
-Heat a pan over medium with a little fat in it
-Add vegetables to the pan when the fat is evenly spread
-Cook for a few minutes, covered
-Add meat and cover again, cooking again for a few minutes
-Empty pan onto plate with cooked rice on it
Literally everything I have cooked in this fashion has tasted amazing, and the rice soaks up the juice amazingly well. The meat doesn’t get any char to it, which I think I remember reading was a potential problem. I’m sure this isn’t new to anyone, but I thought I’d put it out there since it’s so simple, quick, and delicious.
One of my “cheats” is a type of Chinese Fried Rice that goes by a number of names: Young Chow, Ten Ingredient, House Special, depending on the restaurant. It’s not the greasy brown stuff, it has a bit of a white sauce with a hint of some spice (maybe ginger but I’m thinking something else). I would love to be able to make this at home so that I’m not at the mercy of restaurant bad fats and such. Does anyone know what goes into the sauce/seasoning of this dish? Many thanks!
Hi CarbSane,
Here’s our version of fried rice: http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?p=1407. We’ve also included a professional Chinese chef’s video of Yang Zhou Fried Rice. She used oyster sauce.
Best, Paul
Inspired by your accolades for the cranberry, I threw together a skillet dish this morning:
cooked pastured (pork) bratwurst slices, diced cooked sweet potato, cranberries, and diced fennel. Did a quick saute in coconut oil, topped with fried egg yolks.
Yum…My new breakfast. Thanks for the inspiration. I think I’ll throw in some chard tomorrow.
Very healthy Suzan! Sounds great!
I thought I would contribute a breakfast idea. Our kids love this one and eat a few bowls in the morning before school.
Breakfast Soup
(Curried Beef with coconut milk)
Heat 1-1/2 lb grass-fed ground beef in a pot
Add:
2 chopped onions
several cloves of garlic (minced)
a knob of ginger (minced)
squash (pumpkin, zucchini, buttercup, butternut etc.) cut into small cubes
sweet potato cut into small cubes
Spices to taste:
3-4 Tbsp curry powder
cinnamon
cumin
coriander
turmeric
cloves or allspice
Patak’s Madras curry paste
salt and pepper
cayenne
Add water or left-over beef broth to just cover and simmer until vegetables are soft.
Add one can of coconut milk (guar gum and preservative-free)
I do all the chopping the night before so that it can be made quickly. I find buttercup squash to be too sweet, so I add diced white potato instead of the sweet potato.
Hi Paul,
I could only accidentally cook rice suitably, until I saw a Japanese chef demonstrate on ‘Emiril Live’ how he cooks rice perfectly.
Now it comes out great every time. Here’s the method he uses:
1.5 cups white rice (he used polished, I usually use just regular long grain)
1.75 cups plus 1 tablespoon water
In a container that can be covered, place the rice and plenty of water.
Cover and shake or swirl.
Pour off water and repeat 2 or 3 times until water does not become cloudy.
After the final rinse, strain the water from the rice, then add the cooking water listed above.
Place rice/water in heavy bottomed 1/5 or 2 quart saucepan (deeper than wide) with tight fitting lid.
Allow the rice to soak for 1/2 hour in summer and 1 hour in winter. (Because of our temperature controlled homes, I default to 1/2 hour)
Place saucepan over high heat, covered, and cook until you see steam escape.
Immediately turn off heat (if electric cooking surface, remove from burner).
Wait 7 minutes.
Turn heat on high and count to 10. Turn off heat.
Rice will be perfect.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings, depending on side dishes
Prep Time: 5 minutes active, 30-60 minutes inactive
Cook Time: 7 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Quick rice pudding-ish dessert, or breakfast. Sorry, I usually don’t measure anything.
Cooked Rice
Cranberries
1 or 2 eggs, beaten
Coconut milk
Cinnamon
Splash of heavy cream
Sprinkling of coconut sugar or other sweetener.
Vanilla Extract
Mix everything together. Place in a buttered ramekin. Bake at 350 until done!!
My mom always bought calves liver (veal liver) so that is what I get. It has a milder flavor than beef liver. I like to cook it in red palm oil and butter over a low heat and just until firm and still pink. I usually sprinkle herbs on top, sometimes just thyme. Drizzle the oil from the pan over the liver to serve.
@Paul Thanks for the feedback. I’ll look into implementing the feature you suggested.
@Kathy Thanks 🙂
@Gary I’ve been looking to make something just like what you describe.
http://www.health-bent.com
this is a paleo recipe site from my wife and I. i hope this is of use.
Brandon:
Thanks for the link. Lots of good recipes there, and I especially like the suggestions for stocking a paleo kitchen. Definitely bookmark-worthy.
By the way, FoodforLife has a gluten-free english muffin that is made with “safe” starches (tapioca, rice and potato) and no oils. Toasted it made a perfect vehicle for liverwurst with onion. Should work just as well for lox and cream cheese. I am officially happy.
@Brandon – Great looking recipes! Can’t wait to try those tots. You guys wouldn’t be interested in sharing any recipes on PrimalEats, would you?
Somebody asked for a liver receipy to mask somewhat the taste. My advice would be ‘Fegato alla Veneziana’.
You need:
Veal liver
dry white wine
onion
potato starch
butter oil
butter
pepper
salt
– Powder the salted veal cuts all around with the potato starch sparingly and fry it in the butter oil until golden
– take the veal out and put the small cuted onion cubes in the pan, heat them for half a minute
– now add the white wine and let reduce it for 5 minutes, add salt and pepper to taste
– put the liver back in the sauce to warm it up again for another 5 minutes
– switch of heat and when it stops cooking imediately add some butter to make the sauce more creamy
– eat with a side of mashed poatoes or cooked rice
Sorry, no quantities. As an italian I cook by feeling 😉
” Place rice/water in heavy bottomed 1/5 or 2 quart saucepan (deeper than wide) with ”
oops – should have read “1.5 or 2 quart saucepan”
I finished the book a few days ago, and I believe it’s the best “paleo” introduction available. The first question I have, is about recipes. What do you, Paul and Shou-Ching, and others, cook up for your busy workday schedules? I’m a physician, and I work 10-12 hour days with little time for elaborate cooking. Looking for some hints on how to put tubers, fatty meat and vegetables together into fast, palatable meals during the week. Thanks all!
Hi Robert,
Yes, it’s hard to combine good eating with busy work schedules.
When the kids were here we had to cook every day and it was hard. Now we cook a lot on weekends and cook only briefly mid-week.
Most of our recipes can be cooked in 20 minutes or less, usually less. Longer ones we make on weekends and eat through the week. For instance, we do a soup or stew every weekend, which gets eaten through the week at the beginning of most meals, maybe with variations (seaweed added, or spices).
We might cook up ribeye steaks on the weekend, keeping leftovers which can be eaten as is or cut up for stir fries durign the week — just put diced steak with vegetables, oil (maybe egg yolks too), and spices in a pan for a few minutes, serve over rice or boiled potatoes.
We’ll look to do more “quick and easy” cooking recipes in the coming months!
Banana Pancakes
=============
One banana – mashed
Nut butter
Add an egg and whisk
Add some almond meal (if you wanted but not really necessary)
Add cinnamon / nutmeg (if you wanted)
Put in pancake maker.
Heat some blueberries. Top the pancakes with the blueberries or any fruit and add some full-fat cream.
I have noticed that I am happy to eat only once or twice a day so on work days I like to bring salads (recipe below) for lunch. Bill your cooking tips are very handy for dinner options, thanks!
Quick & Easy Lunch Salad:
Prepare 1-2 days before:
* sauté diced chicken or fish (but beef or other meat would work) in butter and herbs
* make mayonnaise: 1 egg, 300mL extra virgin olive oil, juice of half a small lemon, dash of sea salt -> let it all reach room temperature and then use a hand-held blender and blend (slowly pulling up the blender) until its white and thick.
* steam green veggies: for example courgette, broccoli, fennel, asparagus, green beans
* soft boil 2 eggs and/or thaw some pre-boiled shrimp
In the morning I mix these together and bring it in tupperware to work:
2 handfuls mixed greens or thinly sliced lettuce
sliced steamed green veggies
sautéed chicken or fish and/or boiled eggs
optional: thawed shrimp (but I don’t think my coworkers appreciate the smell 😉
1-2 spoonfuls of mayonnaise
drizzle with lemon juice, sea salt & herbs
As far as beef liver goes, I’ve had problems making it palatable for my four-year-old (and spouse). I found that marinating for 24 hrs and breading it helps a lot.
http://praguestepchild.blogspot.com/2010/12/child-vs-liver-grudgematch.html
I used flour and semolina, since that’s all I had around but potato starch as Franco mentioned above or perhaps even almond flour would be more paleo. Compared to some of the crap (and, ehrm sometimes we) eat, I don’t consider a little breading a bad tradeoff for a superfood like beef liver my wife and kid would normally avoid.
Paleo Almond Joy: coconut oil at room temperature, cacao powder, almonds. My favorite dessert.
OT — Have you thought about making your book available in Kindle format (or some other ebook format)? Thanks.
Yes JP, I’ll be working on it over the holidays.
Excellent!
If you know how to make “Fauxtatoes” (a.k.a. pureed cauliflower as a replacement for mashed potatoes), you can also make a very satisfying cream of mushroom soup.
The Fauxtatoes first:
Place cauliflower florets into boiling salted water
Add a generous amount of heavy cream to the water as the florets are cooking
When the cauli-florets are fork-tender, remove them with a slotted spoon, draining most of the cooking liquid, and place in a bowl. Add a lot of butter, more salt if needed, pepper, and a touch of nutmeg. Mash well, or to desired consistency, using a hand-held masher or an immersion blender (which I use).
Now, what’s left is a pot full of creamy, brothy liquid. To this you add 1-2 bouillon cubes (I use Rapunzel vegetable bouillon with sea salt, or mushroom bouillon cube or powder).
In a skillet, melt 1-2 tbsp of butter (or ghee) and sautee 1/2 cup chopped onions, a clove or two of minced garlic, and a whole lot of your favorite mushrooms, sliced, diced, or whole if they’re small enough. When veggies are tender, add them to the former cauliflower boiling liquid. Heat through, adjust for seasoning, add more heavy cream if you like.
That’s it. Easy-peasy. And absolutely yummy on a snowy day.
Chris,
we’ve posted a few health-bent recipes on primaleats. we will try to get in the habit of it again.
Chris,
sorry, i lied. we’ve posted at http://www.eatprimal.net
i will look into primal eats. thanks.
Kathy,
thank you for looking. so glad you like the pantry post. you’ll never get too bored if you keep all that on hand. a few people said they thought it would be expensive up front but we don’t know it any other way.
I’ve got lots of yummy things over at my blog, here: http://simplesunshine.wordpress.com/recipe-index/
I just made an amazing batch of chocolate-coconut bark.
1 cup coconut oil
1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
1 oz Ghirardelli unsweetened (100%) chocolat, roughly chopped
2 tbsp. Chirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tbsp. Bob’s Red Mill coconut flour
3 squirts of stevia liquid
a pinch of salt
In a saucepan, heat the coconut oil until liquefied. Add the chocolate and stir until melted. Remove saucepan from heat. Add the shredded coconut, cocoa powder, and coconut flour. Add Stevia and pinch of salt. Mix well. Line a cookie sheet or pan with parchment paper. Pour hot mixture onto parchment. Place in fridge until solid. Lift bark from parchment paper, breaking it into 1″ chunks. You can add almond pieces to get an “Almond Joy” effect.
For folks who like coconut cream, Tropical Traditions is having a buy one-get two free promo until January 2. I like Tropical Traditions because it comes in a glass jar rather than a plastic-coated can, avoiding the whole complication of plastic leaching, etc…
I have just tried out Maggie C´s chocolate-coconut bark and it turned out fantastic! It is sooo good, thank you! Probably going to be my favourite treat!
What do you think of the nutritional profile of Coconut sap crystals?
http://www.coconutsecret.com/Tappingthesap2.html
I’ve also used their Coconut Aminos in place of Tamari, and I’ve also used their coconut vinegar. Good stuff.
http://www.coconutsecret.com/products2.html
A question on “safe” starches. Buckwheat is not a cereal. I’ve read on other sites that it’s not paleo, simply because it is a starch. I haven’t been able to find other information regarding its possible toxicity. Is buckwheat a safe starch to be considered at the same level as potatoes, rice, or cassava?
While we’re at it, what are your thoughts about plantains. They are very much used in my country’s traditional cuisine, and I’d like to bring them back into my kitchen now that I’m going back to some amount of carbs. Thanks!
Hi Suzan,
I think coconut is safe, although the meat is not to my taste. Nutrient-wise, I like the high potassium content, but I wouldn’t over-do the coconut sap. I think a diversity of sources is likely to provide the best balance of nutrients.
Hi Debrah,
Buckwheat is clearly safer than most grains, but I am uncertain how safe. So for us it’s in an intermediate category — we don’t tell people to avoid it, but we don’t go so far as to positively declare it a “safe starch.”
We had some discussion about it in the comment thread to this post: http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?p=582.
Unfortunately, plant toxicity is not a well-studied field of research, so we are somewhat in the dark about a lot of foods. At some point I will dig through the literature and do a blog post on buckwheat. For now, I would say go ahead and eat it if you like it, but do it in moderation.
I think plantains are fine.
Thanks a lot! I’m after those buckwheat/buttermilk pancakes and a marvelous dish of liver with boiled plantain I used to make. I’m actually finding it hard to get up to 400cals from starches – it seems I can indulge as much as I want to (given my taste and eating habits) and still end up below that.
Your thoughts about starches have made healthy life very close to my old eating habits before going carb-free. A much happier healthy world for me!
I’m really enjoying the book.
Debrah,
Here’s a method/recipe for making sourdough buckwheat pancakes. The process involves some pre-soaking, but it helps to eliminate most of the phytic acid.
I’ve tried them and they’re delicious!
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2010/07/real-food-xi-sourdough-buckwheat-crepes.html
Sounds great! I will try it out – I love fermenting. Thanks
Non-Dairy Creamer
For those of you who need to stay away from dairy, but still want something in your morning coffee or with berries:
1 egg
1 can coconut milk
2 Tbsp coconut oil (warmed until it is melted)
~Optional – vanilla and or cinnamon
In a blender, add the raw egg and the can of coconut milk. Blend until fully mixed. With the blender running, slowly add the coconut oil. Add any flavors at the end and give it another whirl in the blender.
Transfer to a container and store in the fridge. Add a spoonful or two to your coffee. It is not a bad substitute.
I just bought a crock pot and am chomping at the bit to use it.
Any favorite meat recipes out there? Thanks!
Erich,
http://www.slowcookerrecipes.net.au/slowcooker-recipes.asp?id=15
Just replace “lean beef” with “fatty beef” and “vegetable oil” with “coconut oil” or “ghee” and you’re good to go!