Easter is a very special holiday for me. The most special. I'm a Christian, so Easter represents the cornerstone of my beliefs. I've worked hard to mark this special day every year, no matter where I found myself in life. I even celebrated one Easter in an enormous, run-down cathedral with rejoicing African dancers AND armed members of a military junta (the priest kicked them out of his church for carrying weapons in). This year will be no different. I mean, an AIP menu is a small challenge compared to the freedom to worship in the face of a military government, right?
Christian or not, Easter marks a new beginning with spring each year. That is also reason to celebrate. And then there is just the plain, old fun of decorating eggs, dressing up in pretty pastels, watching excited kids do an egg hunt, arranging beautiful baskets, & sharing a nice meal. Easter is just pretty. I am also going to be working on some creative candy & Easter basket fillers, which I hope to share on my Facebook page. As with my Thanksgiving and Christmas menus, I hope this holiday menu will be inspiring to you too:
Appetizers:
Caramelized Onion Sardine Dip with Crudite
Orange Rosemary Baked Olives
Sardines are fantastic for you. Give it a google. To make the olives AIP, skip the crushed red pepper.
Main Course:
Pan Seared Lamb Chops w/ Rosemary and Garlic
Honey Glazed Carrots
Sweet Potato Puffs
Bacon Wrapped Green Bean Bundles
Prosciutto and Melon Salad
I've never made lamb chops before, so wish me luck with that one. To make the sweet potato puffs AIP, skip the egg whites. I think I will be skipping the booze in the prosciutto and melon salad, but I'm not sure how I'll replace the flavor. Any thoughts?
Dessert:
Banana Brownie Cupcakes
Vanilla Roasted Pears
The cupcakes are a Paleo treat for my husband & daughter (alas, they do not meet AIP standards). My plan is to do some sort of cute Easter decorating of the cupcakes. I'll be substituting honey for the sugar in the vanilla roasted pear recipe.
(I am a happy recipe tester, but not much of a recipe creator, so a big
thanks to all the wonderful inventors behind these dishes!)
Happy Easter to everyone! If any readers decide to try one of these recipes, let me know what you thought.
Thank you for this! Looks delicious!! One question: I had asked Sarah Ballantyne about green beans and if they are AIP and she said that no, they are not AIP friendly. So, now I'm confused. Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteHi Jolaine! Thanks for reading! I'm glad you like the menu. So the deal w/ green beans & peas is that they are technically legumes, but some folks (like Mark Sisson & Rob Wolf) see them as benign. I absolutely trust Sarah's guidance, but have found it to be true for myself that eating green beans & peas occasionally causes me no problems. Depending on your situation, proceed w/ caution & reintro them w/ the typical rules (only 1 reintro item at a time, w/ 72 hrs in between).
DeleteThis menu looks delish! One thing....the vanilla pears recipe link appears to link back to the banana brownie cupcakes too. Just wanted to let ya know, as I'm not sure it's supposed to do that. :) Do you have a recipe link for the pears? They sound wonderful, and perfect for me as I can't really have many paleo baked good items.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up Becky! I was working fiercely this AM to get the menu post all put together & I messed up a few things. Thanks for letting me know about the pear link. I'm glad you like the menu.
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