Okay, so it’s a little late to be planning your Paleo 4th of July party foods, but if you’ve been wracking your brain trying to come up with some tasty ideas, look no further! There are quite a few options for you, from simple to involved; just pick a few and your party will be sure to be a hit for both Paleo and non-Paleo eaters alike.
Smoked Shrimp
Shrimp is a great main dish or appetizer. It’s good for eating alone, with dip, tossed in garlic butter, or in a salad. This method smokes the shrimp, giving them a delicious flavor. The trick is to not overcook them. They will be completely done in 20 minutes or less; start checking at 10 minutes and every minute or so until they are just done.
You can smoke them either peeled or unpeeled. People love peel-and-eat shrimp, especially if you have a nice sauce or garlic butter to dip them in after. Choose your desired method and go with it! Toss them in a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper before you put them on the smoker or wood grill.
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Egg and Sweet Potato Salad
If you have an immersion blender, it’s super easy to make your own mayonnaise. If you’ve never tried it, go do it, now! It will make your life amazing. We promise. If you’d rather not learn right now, that’s fine. You can use whatever mayo you normally use.
For those who know how to make the mayo, this one will have an avocado oil base, along with lemon juice, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper, and dried parsley, thyme, and basil. Use 2/3 cup of the oil, one whole egg, one teaspoon each lemon juice and Dijon mustard, half a teaspoon each of the dried herbs, and salt and pepper to taste. Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature, of course.
After that, all you need to do is dice and bake your sweet potato in coconut oil until they are soft, boil two eggs, and let everything cool. Mix all that together with one-quarter of a chopped onion and serve it in a nice bowl. Away you go!
Red, White, and Blue Strawberries
For a delicious –and patriotic – dessert idea, you can stuff some strawberries and have your guests “oohing” and “aaahing.” This dish is only for those who do dairy.
Take about 25 fresh strawberries, 25 fresh blueberries, 8 oz of mascarpone cheese (you can also do a labneh, super thick plain greek yogurt, or homemade cream cheese for this), three tablespoons of the sweetener of your choice (we like coconut sugar), and one teaspoon of vanilla.
Wash the fruit and let it dry. Cut the bottom off each strawberry so they will stand upright on a plate, and then scoop out the top portion to create a small divot to fill. Use either a paring knife or a melon baller.
Use a mixer to beat the cheese, sugar, and vanilla until the mixture is light and fluffy. Spoon it all into a piping bag. If you don’t have one, use a plastic sandwich or snack bag and cut one of the corners off. Squeeze a small amount of the cheese mixture into each strawberry and top each one off with a blueberry.
Fourth of July Watermelon Stars
This dessert idea is super easy and super fun! All you need is a watermelon and star-shaped cookie cutters. Use one size cutter or a couple in different sizes for variety.
Take a watermelon and slice it into one-inch thick rounds. Use the cutter to cut out as many stars as you can get from each slice. From the fruit that’s left, you can cut up into small pieces and use it in a fruit salad – don’t waste it!
You can simply lay the watermelon stars out on a blue and white plate, or push them onto a skewer with some blueberries for a delicious fruit kebab.
Tomato and Cucumber Salad
This dish is super easy to make, is delicious served on a hot day, and is great for outdoor eating. The main ingredients are fresh, in-season and local tomatoes, cucumbers, and fresh herbs. It has a simple red wine vinegar and oil dressing, so you can make it in just a few minutes.
Make sure the cucumbers and onions sit in the vinegar for a few minutes to add a nice kick.
Thinly slice half a purple onion, peel and slice two cucumbers (the seedless ones are best), and put the onion and cucumber in a large bowl and coat with two tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Let this sit while you get the rest of the ingredients ready. Next, cut four large tomatoes into wedges, and chop two tablespoons of fresh basil. For the remainder of the dressing, you’ll need one-quarter of a cup of a good quality olive oil, and some freshly ground black pepper and sea salt.
Add all the remaining ingredients to the bowl with the vinegar, cucumber, and onions, and toss to coat.
Paleo BBQ Sauce
If you plan to cook any meat for the 4th, then you’re definitely going to need a tasty Paleo BBQ sauce. It’s hard to find a good one; most people are extremely picky when it comes to sauces. If you’re willing to try new variations, give this one a go. You can alter the amounts of the seasonings so that it’s just perfect for you.
You’ll need a large can of tomato sauce (16 ounces), one cup of water, half a cup of apple cider vinegar (raw if you can get it), about five tablespoons of honey, half a teaspoon each of black pepper, ground mustard, and onion powder, one tablespoon of lemon juice, and one teaspoon of paprika.
Put all the ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan and cook over medium-high heat. Bring it to a boil while stirring, then reduce the heat to simmer and let it cook down for an hour.
Use it all up within a week.
Sweet Potato Sliders
A BBQ just isn’t a BBQ without meat. This slider recipe uses grilled or baked sweet potato slices as the “bun” and ground beef seasoned with chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, garlic powder, cilantro, and salt and pepper.
Before you grill the sweet potato slices, season them with some olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. If you bake them, broil them for a couple minutes on each side to make them crispier.
Happy 4th of July! And please make sure to let us know what other types of 4th of July and summer paleo treats that you’ve been conjuring up in the comments section below!
(Related:Â The Paleo Thanksgiving Survival Guide) [author_bio name=”yes” avatar=”yes”]
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