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One of many challenges of eating healthy whole foods is not being able to take advantage of the convenience of eating out or ordering in take-out foods.
While there have been some improvements in fast foods, like Chipotle’s and Panera Bread, other take-out foods are still known to be high in refined carbs, trans fat, hydrogenated oils, contain artificial flavors & colors, MSG, and other “mysterious” ingredients. Many of them are worse than packaged & processed foods but we wouldn’t know it since nutrition label is not readily available, if at all. So it’s best to stay away from take out foods.
When we were on the GAPS diet, we couldn’t eat out or order in take outs. It made my life so hectic and stressful, always planning and cooking. Eating was not fun sometimes and oh, how I wished I could just eat food that someone else prepared for a change. But we just couldn’t find foods that had the “allowed” ingredients in them – my reason for staying away from take out foods.
Another reason why it’s best to eat at home is to avoid possible foodborne illnesses. I can tell you from a personal experience how easy it is to get sick from eating out, even from reputable restaurants. It only takes one person who doesn’t prepare the food properly and spread the contamination. Of course, that could happen at home too but there is a higher chance that food borne illnesses will happen at restaurants more than at home.
But lately, I’ve been fantasizing about take out foods again since we’re mostly on Paleo and our diet is not was restricted as when we were on GAPS.
The only caveat is that I want to make take out foods at home so I can control the ingredients and quality. Is that like, “Stay In” food then? 😉
One of my favorite take out foods is the Burrito Bowl from Chipotle’s. And if the stock prices are any indication, I’m not the only one who loves Chipotle who takes great pride in serving the most sustainable ‘fast food with integrity‘ by using only non-GMO ingredients and humanely raised meats.
But even the bestest of best fast food take-out foods have limitations (I find Chipotle’s Burrito Bowl a little salty for my taste.)
So how do you satisfy your take-out food cravings without compromising your health?
Paleo Takeout Cookbook Review
Paleo Takeout: Restaurant favorites without the junk comes to the rescue! 
When I saw the title of the cookbook, I was immediately drawn to it because I really miss Chinese take-outs, pizza, Beef Teriyaki, Gyoza Dumplings, Pad Thai, Chicken Tikka Marsala, etc. I can prepare Korean meals so that was no big deal but I really miss others. So even if I had to cook, if I had the recipes for other quick, QUICK, take-out style recipes, I was game. And I was so glad that Russ Crandall had the same thought as I.
Russ Crandall’s Story
Russ Crandall has an amazing health recovery history. He had a stroke at age 24 (!!), discovered he had Takayasu’s Arteritis – the autoimmune disease that cause narrowing of pulmonary arteries – that kept him in the hospital for a month and a surgery to repair the narrowed arteries. When he found out Paleo style of eating might help him reduce inflammation – the most common cause of autoimmune (or any) disease – which in turn, will help his autoimmune disease, he went All In.
The result?
While he still has the autoimmune disease, it’s under control with the Paleo diet. He lost the weight that he gained from taking immunosuppressants and he feels stronger than ever. As result, he wanted to share his story and share Paleo recipes that helped him to regain his health so he wrote his first gluten-free and Paleo cookbook, The Ancestral Table and his latest Paleo Takeout: Restaurant favorites without the junk.
Paleo Takeout Cookbook Review
The book is well thought out with definitions of various diets, including Paleo, WAPF (Weston A. Price Foundation), Whole Foods, The Perfect Health Diet and JERF (Just Eat Real Food.) I like the fact that he’s more JERF than any one particular diet because that’s how I’d like to eat. Crandall is flexible with some of the ‘gray’ area foods, like rice and potato, like I am. He believes if it doesn’t bother your health, you should be able to add foods even if they are not Paleo friendly as long as they are real whole foods. I like that approach.
He has sections on; Essential Tools, Kitchen Gadgets, Essential Ingredients;(and where to buy them), Fats and Oils, and even explains Essential Techniques. He created a meal planning graph that tells you when to start which part of the dinner prep so you can cook the entire dinner under one hour! (pg. 23)
The book is divided into; Chinese, Japanese & Korean, Southeast Asia, and American Classics;recipes and sections on Sauces, Condiments, and Sides. It really is a comprehensive book on all types of take out meals. You can order your copy from Amazon here .
Paleo Cookbook Recipes
I tried many of the recipes and I’m going to share these two but you really need to try all of them. The directions are simple and easy to follow. He also has little bits of information on ingredients and cooking methods for some of them. Very helpful hints.
A note about Crandall’s Korean recipes. They were a little different from how I cook but still, there weren’t too different from mine. He has Kimchi, Bulgogi, Kalbi, and some side dishes that you can make Bibimbap with (no picture in the book though), so, he represented basic Korean foods pretty well.
Hope you like these recipes but seriously, you really need the book to make all the other classic take out favorites.
Gyoza Bites
Gyoza Bites are the meat fillings of Gyoza Dumplings. These little bite sized balls were delicious and I’ll be making batches to freeze them for my daughter in college so she can add them to bone broth. I decided not to use Crandall’s dipping sauce because I was too lazy to go to the store to buy some of the ingredients I didn’t have. I usually dip dumplings in Tamari and Vinegar with some hot pepper sauce, like Sriracha or just hot pepper flakes and they work just fine. But if you want to try his dipping sauce, you’ll have to get it from his book. Is sounded like a real deal.
- 1 lb ground pork
- ½ inch ginger, peeled and grated or
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tapioca starch
- 1 tbsp mirin (I skipped this)
- 1 tsp tamari
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp white pepper (crucial!!)
- To Add Later
- 1 cup finely chopped green cabbage
- 1 green onion, finely chopped (I used chives)
- 2 tbsp expeller-pressed coconut oil, divided (I used Avocado oil instead since traditionally, there is no coconut flavor in Gyoza)
- Combine the ingredients before the cabbage in a food processor and pulse until tacky and well mixed. Transfer to a mixing bowl and mix together with the cabbage and green onion using your hands. Form into 20 to 25 small balls using wet hands.
- Heat 1 tbsp of the coconut oil (or Avocado Oil) in a skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering, about 1 minute.
- Add half of the balls and pan-fry until cooked through, rotating often, about 5 minutes.
- Transfer to a plate.
- Add the remaining 1 tbsp of oil and the remaining balls and pan-fry until cooked through, then serve immediately.
Burrito Bowl Date Night
Second recipe I loved was Burrito Bowl Date Night…because, you know, it’s a Burrito Bowl and it’s Chipotle’s specialty! The only twist to Crandall’s recipe was using optional Cauliflower Rice, which I tried for the first time and it was a big hit!
- Marinade for the Chicken:
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp chipotle chili powder
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- juice of ½ lime (1 tbsp)
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 2 to 3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- Pico de Gallo (Makes 2 Cups):
- 1 large ripe tomato, seeds removed, diced
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ small onion, diced
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- juice of ½ lime (1 tbsp)
- Cilantro Rice:
- 2 cups Basic Steamed Rice or Cauliflower Rice (Both in his book)
- 2 tsp avocado oil
- juice of ½ lime (1 tbsp)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- For Serving:
- 1 head romaine lettuce, shredded
- 1 batch No-Fuss Guac (your recipe or his recipe in the book)
- sour cream (optional but I skipped)
- cheese (optional but I skipped)
- Tabasco or other hot sauce
- Place the garlic, olive oil, chipotle chili powder, vinegar, lime juice, salt, pepper, paprika, and oregano in a blender and blend until smooth. Combine with the chicken in a resealable plastic bag; marinade for at least 30 minutes, overnight preferred. (For this step, I used Taco Seasoning from Naturally Free and it cut down on a lot of time!)
- Make the Pico de Gallo: salt the diced tomato; leave in a colander to drain for 20 minutes. Combine the drained tomatoes with the remaining ingredients and set aside.
- Grill the chicken over direct medium-high heat until it reaches an internal temperature of 155 degrees, about 10 minutes, flipping half wa through. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes, then chop it into bite-sized chunks.
- Make the Cilantro Rice: Place the cooked rice in a big bowl. Mix in the oil. Add the lime and lemon juices and sal, stirring together. Finally, stir in the cilantro. Taste and add more salt of lime juice if needed.
- Serve the burrito bowls any way you see fit. I don't like to layer them but put rice first, then add lettuce strips, chicken, pico, and guac next to each other first, like pictured above.
- Enjoy!
