Paleo Fried Seafood Platter

I have been enjoying more seafood since the weather has warmed up, and I must admit, the thought of fish and chips on a hot Sunday afternoon has a fond childhood memory in me….

BUT I hate the heavy, gluggy feeling in my belly after it. All the gluten, egg, and oil is so hard to digest! Plus the oil that are used in takeaway shops is usually very unhealthy – industrial seed oils. More on that later.

This recipe is Paleo and Autoimmune friendly and a great party or weekend treat meal.

Bon appetite!

Egg Alternative #1

This is the easiest egg alternative if you don’t have a chickpea intolerance.

Aquafaba 3 tbsp = 1 egg

Aquafaba is the liquid from a can of chickpeas.

Egg Alternative #2

Flaxseed egg

3 tbsp water + 1 tbsp ground flax seeds = 1 egg

This works in recipes in which eggs are used for binding and emulsifying. Grind the flax seeds, and use three tablespoons of water and one tablespoon of ground flax seeds for one egg. Let the mixture chill in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.

Chips

Slice up 3 sweet potato to your preferred shape. Serves 2.

1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C.
2. Spread the chips out in a single layer on two large baking trays. Do not crowd the chips onto one tray.
3. Spray with coconut oil and season with sea salt.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until crispy and brown on one side. Turn over and cook for another 20 minutes, or until they are all crispy on the outside and tender inside. Cooking time will vary depending on how thick you cut your chips.

Fried Seafood Platter

Ingredients

• 500g green prawn peeled, deveined, butterflied.
• 2 cod fillets cut into thirds
• 250g raw calamari tubes sliced into rounds
• 1 cup flour – Choose 1: Coconut, Tigernut, White Rice, or Millet. 
• 2 ‘eggs’
• 1/4 cup Nutpods Original creamer
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• salt and pepper to taste 
• avocado oil for frying

Method

• In a large bowl, mix together your choice of egg replacement (or use egg if you have no intolerance) with a little salt and pepper
• In another large bowl, add your flour of choice, onion powder, garlic powder, salt & pepper. Mix and set aside.
• In a cast-iron skillet, add enough avocado to coat the bottom. Set to medium heat.
• Starting with cod, add all the cod into the egg mixture and mix well. Then add all the cod into the flour and coat. Fry the cod for a few minutes on each side. Place them on a plate lined with a paper towel.
• Do the same for the shrimp and then the calamari. Shrimp just cook for 40 seconds per side and calamari for about 1 minute per side.
• Serve with Sweet Potato Chips, and lemon slices.
• Enjoy!

Industrial Seed Oils – Beware

The general process used to create industrial seed oils is highly processed, chemical laden, and the end result is a public health concern. The oils extracted from soybeans, corn, cottonseed, safflower seeds, and rapeseeds must be refined, bleached, and deodorised before they are suitable for human consumption.

1. Seeds are gathered from the soy, corn, cotton, safflower, and rapeseed plants.
2. The seeds are heated to high temperatures; which causes the unsaturated fatty acids in the seeds to oxidise, creating byproducts that are harmful to human and animal health.
3. The seeds are then processed with a petroleum-based solvent, such as hexane, to maximize the amount of oil extracted from them.
4. Next, industrial seed oil manufacturers use chemicals to deodorise the oils because they have a very unpleasant odour. The deodorisation process produces trans fats, which are harmful to human health.
5. Finally, more chemicals are added to improve the color of the oil.

Opt for healthy oils

Traditional fats such as olive oil, coconut oil, butter, ghee, and lard are healthy fats, full of essential vitamins, and are a stable lipid meaning they don’t oxidise easily.

The best oils for frying need a high smoke point – my favourite choices are (Always buy organic, extra virgin, cold pressed oils.); 

Avocado Oil – Unrefined avocado oil has a smoke point of around 250°C. You can heat it to much higher temperatures than extra virgin olive oil before it starts to smoke. In fact, avocado oil can sustain higher temps than most popular cooking fats.

Coconut Oil – Coconut oil contains 90 percent saturated fat, which makes it very heat stable. Always buy organic, extra virgin, cold pressed oils.

Ghee – ghee is not Paleo,  but is usually a safe option even for dairy-sensitive people because all milk constituents are removed in its creation. It is also good for frying and has a lovely caramel taste.

Lard and Tallow.  Lard is mostly composed of monounsaturated fat, the type of fat in olive oil that has been promoted as “heart healthy” by the conventional medical community for decades! Lard is the fat rendered from pigs, is high in saturated fat and is a good substitute for butter in recipes if you can’t tolerate dairy.

Tallow is fat rendered from meat other than pork, such as beef. It has a high smoke point that makes it great for high-heat cooking.

Always choose free range lard or tallow, not only is it more ethical, it contains vitamin D.

Need help figuring out the right diet for YOU?