I made this dish for my family two times last week, and I kid you not, both times my husband exclaimed “This is a really good meal!”

I was actually very surprised, because usually he refers to this kind of meal as “frou frou food.” But he ate every last bite. I even overheard him talking to his Pa on the phone, telling him “this mango stuff is freakin good!”
So there you have it. Paleo Blackened Swai with Mango Salsa. Cowboy approved.

Blackened Seasoning
Ingredients:

• 1 TB salt
• 1 TB paprika
• 1 TB cayenne pepper
• 1 TB chili powder
• 1 TB onion powder
• 1 TB garlic powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp coconut sugar
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Keep this mixture of spices handy for fish, chicken, or whatever your heart desires to “blacken”.

Blackened Swai
Ingredients:

• 4 Swai Fillets
• 2 TB coconut oil
• Blackened Seasoning

Directions:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
• Season fish as desired with blackened seasoning
• Add fish to pan and cook about 5-7 minutes each side, depending on thickness, until fish is no longer translucent in the center.

Serve over white rice, or riced cauliflower, and top with Mango Salsa.

Mango Salsa
Ingredients:

• 1 mango, peeled and diced
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1/4 red or orange bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1/4 C cilantro, chopped
• Juice of one lime

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Chill until ready to serve.

I mentioned previously in my Creamed Spinach Stuffed Chicken post that I have a hard time getting my husband to eat his spinach. Here is yet another delicious solution. Spinach Pesto! Everyone in their right mind loves pasta. This pesto sauce is so simple, and packed with flavor!
I served it over Paleo Pasta, along with a simply seasoned broiled chicken breast. (Just salt, pepper, and grated parmesan cheese, broiled at 350 for 25 minutes.)

Spinach Pesto
Ingredients:

• 4 C raw spinach
• 1/2 C pine nuts
• 1 C olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper, to taste ( about 1/8 tsp each)
• 1 C grated parmesan cheese
• Splash of lemon juice

Directions:

• Combine spinach, pine nuts, and garlic and pulse until finely chopped.
• Add oil and lemon and process until smooth.
• Season with salt and pepper and pulse.
• Gently stir in cheese and serve immediately.

 On one of my cheat days, before I realized that cheat days are intended for those of you who do NOT suffer from an auto-immune disease, I decided to make a trip to Arby’s for some of their spectacular jalapeno poppers. The only kind of poppers I will put my gut at risk for are the kind filled with cream cheese. I’m not sure why these spicy little critters have such a hold on me, but I will almost always cheat for a cream cheese popper. Don’t judge.

Arby’s serves their Jalapeno Poppers with a Bronco Berry dipping sauce. Ironically, there are no berries anywhere in the list of ingredients. There is, however, plenty of sugar, corn syrup, and food coloring. Regardless of how terrible for my tummy those poppers were, I could not stop dreaming about them. Seriously. Drooling day and night for some of those things. So I took matters into my own hands. And I came up with a recipe even more satisfying than the treats I splurged on. Completely Paleo. Well, completely Lacto-Paleo, I should say. I even recreated the Bronco Berry dipping sauce. No artificial coloring, and made with real berries! You’re welcome.

Great. Now I’m drooling for some of this chicken.

Jalapeno Popper Chicken
Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, butterflied
• 1 egg, whisked
• 1 C crushed pork rinds
• 1 tsp creole seasoning
• 1 Jalapeno, halved, seeds removed
• 4 oz cream cheese 
• olive oil (just enough to cover the bottom of the pan)
• (toothpicks)

Directions:

• Fill each jalapeno half with 2 oz of cream cheese
• Place jalapenos in the creases of each chicken breast, fold over and secure with 2 toothpicks
• Coat chicken in egg
• Mix seasoning with pork rinds, and coat chicken.
• Heat oil to med-high.
• Cook about 6 minutes each side, depending on thickness. 

(Juices run clear and chicken is opaque/no longer pink when done.)

Bronco Berry Dipping Sauce
Ingredients:

• 3/4 C + 2 TB water
• **1/2 C “Just Like Sugar”**
• 3 TB honey
• 2 tsp tapioca starch
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 C raspberries, crushed and strained
• Dash cayenne pepper
• Dash onion powder
• Dash garlic
• Dash paprika
• (for extra kick, add 1 tsp minced jalapenos)

Directions:

• In a small sauce pan, whisk together 3/4 C water and 1/2 C “Just Like Sugar”
• Bring to medium heat and stir until dissolved.
• Add honey, raspberries, and seasoning. continue to stir.
• In a separate bowl, stir tapioca starch into 2 TB water.
• Whisk tapioca mixture into sauce pan
• Increase heat to med-high and bring to a boil, stirring.
• Boil 1-2 minutes, until slightly thickened. (it will thicken more once cooled)
• Remove from heat and set 10 minutes.

**What is Just Like Sugar?? I am so glad you asked. Just Like Sugar is my absolute favorite sugar alternative. Completely natural, it gets its sweetness from chicory root, vitamin C, and orange peel!  Those are the only ingredients you will find in a bag of this white, powdery sweetener. No sugar, no carbs, no gluten. And to top it off, chicory root is healing to the gut! For this recipe, and any other recipe I share using Just Like Sugar, I use the green “tabletop” bag.**

I always appreciate it when my husband comes grocery shopping with me. Its just no fun without him. I love to watch him with my daughter, playing with the twist ties, and waving at the “kitties” in the lobster tank. I was extra thankful he came with me on this week’s shopping trip, because he stopped at the fish counter and asked me to make him my Teriyaki Salmon. It is seriously a huge accomplishment when my (non-paleo) husband requests one of my (paleo) recipes.
I also picked up some asparagus, which is one of my favorite veggies. I think it pairs nicely with fish. This Lemony Caper Sauce makes it extra tasty!

Teriyaki Salmon
Ingredients:

• 2 salmon fillets
• 2 TB coconut aminos
• 2 TB honey
• garlic powder
• salt & pepper
• 2 TB olive oil

Directions:

• Season fillets with salt and pepper, and just a dash of garlic powder.
• Rub fillets with coconut aminos, and honey. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Heat oil in lg pan on medium-high. Add fillets.
• Cook about 3 minutes (depending on the thickness of your fillet), and flip. (You can see the flesh turn from a vibrant, bright pink, to a dull pinkish-white. Once it has cooked half way up, flip.) Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook about 6 more minutes, until cooked all the way through.

Roasted Asparagus
Ingredients:

• 1 bundle of asparagus
• 1 TB olive or coconut oil
• salt and pepper

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 500
• Cut 1-2 inches from the bottom of asparagus spears.
• Arrange in a single layer on a foil lined baking sheet.
• Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper
• Cook for 10 minutes, tossing half way through.

Lemony Caper Sauce
Ingredients:

• 2 TB butter, or coconut oil, softened
• 1 TB capers
• 1TB homemade yogurt, or sour cream (sub coconut cream for dairy-free)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp chives

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Serve over cooked asparagus.