I grew up eating plantain. Pretty much ate it once or twice a week. My family is from Guatemala, in Central America, and plantain is a staple there. So, I know how yummy and delicious they are. As an adult, though, I never tried cooking them myself. Part of the reason was I really didn’t know how to buy them.

You see, in order to cook them the way I grew up eating they have to be pretty ripe (top picture). I would see them at the grocery store and not really know if they are ready to eat or not. So I just didn’t buy them.

Then when we started the Paleo diet and I was missing my carbs, I remembered plantain. I looked up on pinterest how to cook them and buy them. I not only found a ton of yummy recipes, but I also discovered that you can eat them when they are green too (bottom picture). There are different kinds of recipes using green plantain but the most common is called Tostones. Tostones are fried green plantain used like chips.

Both Tostones and Fried Plantain start the same.

1. Slice off the ends of the plantain.
2. Using a sharp knife you cut the seams of the plantain. You can’t peel them like you peel a regular banana. Once you cut the seams, you peel them off slowly along the seam.
3. Then you slice them. You can do circles or ovals (like in picture)
4. Put some oil in a pan. I use coconut oil. My mom uses vegetable oil.
5. Fry them on both sides. This is the last step for Maduros (ripe bananas). They are sweet to eat. You can sprinkle sugar and sour cream (non Paleo) and eat them. I just eat them plain.
6. For tostones, you take it further. Once they are out of the pan. You take a flat glass or something like that and mash them. They will look like this:
7. Then you re-fry them until they are crispy.
8. Add salt at this point or even before step 6.

I have made tortillas with plantain and pancakes. Next we are planning to try making sandwiches with them. I am adding a couple of links to interesting recipes.

Plantain-Two Ways basically the same post as this one but she has some cool pics.

Plantain and Steak Sandwich-this one we are going to try next.

Nachos- two different versions: here and here.

Ligia

I’ve never been a big fan or cranberries, but when my sweet tooth is craving something and I can’t have cookies or danishes, I turn to what I can have. Luckily, I found this great Paleo apple crisp recipe that has gotten me through the last month. It is so yummy.

I found this recipe here.

4 apples, peeled, cored and sliced (probably the hardest part)
1/2 cup dried unsweetened cranberries
2T honey
2T orange juice
1t. cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg (I don’t have so I didn’t add it)

For the crumble:
1 cup almond flour (I use Trader Joe’s almond meal)
1/3 c. pecans, finely chopped
3T coconut oil, melted
2T honey
1t. cinnamon
pinch of salt.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together the apples, cranberries, honey, orange juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Place the mixture into a pie dish.

Using the same bowl, mix together the ingredients for the crumble until combined. Spoon the crumble over the apple mixture Bake for 30-35 minutes, until bubbly and golden brown. Let cool slightly before serving.

I pretty much ate the whole thing (not in one sitting). I divided up into portions and put some in the freezer and the rest in the fridge so I can enjoy throughout the week.

I have a lot more yummy Paleo recipes to share so stay tuned!

Ligia