Tag Archives: glutenfree

Paleo Banana Bread…my Paleo Mom’s latest inspired recipe!

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mothers new banana bread

Mother loves to tinker in the kitchen. She has never met a recipe she has not changed! We giggle about it all the time. So on the weekends, she is usually out at her farm and not close to an organic store, so she makes due with what she remembered to take with her. This is of course a driver in some of the changes, like the one posted here today!

She loves her paleo breads! Usually she’s a muffin girl, but this time she made a loaf…and I imagine the kitchen smelled divine!

She sent me the original recipe which she found from Nourished and Nurtured ( http://www.nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com ) and then she sent me what she did to it, plus this little blurb…

“Because I am leaning toward almond flour and was out of it! I played with this recipe to try to get a bread like my favorite one with almond flour.
Turned out pretty nice and Papa (that’s my husband) really liked it!

-1/2 cup coconut oil (melted and cooled)
-1/2 cup raw honey
-3/4 teaspoon sea salt
-6 eggs
-2 teaspoons vanilla
-1 teaspoon almond extract
-3/4 cup coconut flour
-1 1/2 large bananas, mashed
-2 small zucchinis shredded and squeezed in a paper towel
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Preheat over to 350 degrees.
Prepare a standard loaf pan with coconut oil (or line with parchment paper).
In a small bowl combine the coconut oil and honey.
In a large bowl, whisk the salt, eggs, vanilla and almond. Add in the oil and honey mixture, whisk away.
Next, stir in the coconut flour until completely combined with no lumps. Stir in the mashed bananas, zuchinni, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.
Pour batter into the loaf pan and top with the “coconut streusel topping” below.

For topping:
-4 tablespoons shreeded coconut
-4 tablespoons palm sugar
-2 tablespoons grass fed butter
Crumble together with fingers like for streusel topping

Sprinkle topping evenly over the batter and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. (Keep checking with the “toothpick test” for doneness).

This makes a nice hearty loaf, serves 12.”

What Lies Beneath

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eggs and spfritterseggs and sp fritters 2

What lies beneath that glorious fried egg and bacon is a little something I call a spicy sweet potato fritter!
(I know, my second fritter post today..I suppose I had fritters on the brain all weekend!)

I love crispy potato anythings with eggs for breakfast, and was craving a hash brown, or something similar…

here is what happenned:

Spicy Sweet Potato Feta Fritters

In a bowl, mix together:
-1 small sweet potato, peeled and grated
-1/4 red bell pepper, grated, or thinly sliced and chopped
-1 or 2 thin slices of onion, chopped
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
3 Tbsps almond flour
1 tsp tapioca flour
1/2 of a beaten egg (break the egg in a little bowl, beat the egg with fork, pour about half into the recipe)
1/4 cup of crumbled feta cheese (optional)

drop batter into a hot skillett with melted butter and coconut oil mixed (about 1 T each) – drop and flatten batter…about half dollar size. Smaller gives you more crispy!
about 2-3 minutes, then flip and go another 2-3 minutes.

(I fried up an egg and bacon in the same skillet and plopped them on top of the fritters. So. dang. Good!)

enjoy!

Spicy spin on Chicken tortilla-less soup

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mex soup

Inspired yet again by one of the greats! Ms. Diane Sanfillipo, to me a nutritional guru when it comes to all things Paleo, author of Practical Paleo (my go to for everything knowledgeable and sensible about Paleo living) and also of the 21 Day Sugar Detox, which I find to be an incredible reset for everyone, shares her wealth of knowledge in simple terms, and then eases you into a delicious realm of paleo eating with her tried and true recipes, each one better than the next! I almost never change a note of her recipes, and when I do, traditionally it is just to amp up the flavors to my taste personally, nothing at all wrong in the master recipes.

In the 21DSD, she has a lovely, simple, Chicken Tortilla-Less Soup, which I have seen countless photos and raves about on IG ever since the book came out, but only got around to trying it out this weekend. This was one of those recipes that just got my own wheels spinning! Being a Texas Girl at heart, and having a love of all things Tex-Mex on my dinner table…I like my spicy foods SPICY!

So if you like a truly spicy mexican chicken soup, take a look at this little number which took off from Diane’s base recipe….I think you might like this! Just enough heat without being hot, a lovely meal or side anytime!

Try it like this:

In a large soup pot with a wide bottom, Saute the following:
-1 onion, diced
-2 carrots, diced
-1 red bell pepper, diced
-2 celery stalks, diced
-2 roasted poblanos, peeled, diced (Blacken pepper directly over gas flame, cool and peel. or you can roast in the oven)
-6 cloves of chopped garlic
saute for 7-10 minutes, letting the veggies soften, but not brown.

To the pot, add:
-1 1/2 Tbsp Ground Cumin
-2 tsp coriander
-1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
-1/2 tsp garlic powder
-Salt and Pepper to taste
-1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes for heat
continue to saute and mix together.

Add to the pot:
6-7 oz tomato paste, stir in
32 oz of bone broth
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 handful chopped fresh cilantro
Squeeze in the juice of one lime
drop in 2 chicken breasts, shredded (guilty. I buy an organic rotisserie chicken and use the meat from that…really tasty)

Check the level of saltiness and heat and let the soup simmer 15-20 mins to allow flavors to develop.

When you serve it, top the soup with diced avocado and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

This soup is hearty and so flavorful!
Hope you enjoy it!

Spicy Veggie Fritter Bites

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veggie fritter bits

Well it was a busy weekend and recipes were concocted! I always hesitate to claim any of them as my own, as they always seem to start with someone else’s base idea, but I figure if I tweak it enough and make it so delicious I feel I have to share it, I will claim it! (and always try to give credit to the original)…

So there was a post on facebook for Baked Squash and Carrot frittes by CavegirlCuisine. And it certainly looked good enough for me to print and give it a whirl….but I started brainstorming as I was mixing this up and came up with a delightful spicy fritter that only lasted a few minutes in my house! These are good, and I already have more ideas for them, will show as options here.

Here we go!

Spicy Veggie Fritter-Bites

Mix together the following:
-2 large eggs, beaten
-2 Tbsp melted Kerrygold Butter
-1 cup of grated yellow squash (or zuchini)…squeeze out extra moisture
-1 cup grated carrots
-2 Tbsp diced onions (about 2 slices, diced)
-4 cloves chopped garlic
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp cracked pepper
-1 tsp sriracha (or 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper or 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper, all for heat)
-small handful of italian parsely, chopped
-1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (OPTIONAL)
other options: crumbled cooked bacon, finely diced red bell pepper

Add in 1/4 cup of coconut flour and mix well.

(I think this would also be very good with a spoonful or two of pecan flour)

Fill greased or parchment lined mini muffin pan and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until golden on top.

Great way to get your veggies in!
You could certainly leave out the heat if you have picky eaters, these are tasty, great on the go, and dissappear fast!

Let me know how you like them!

Lemon Lime Gummies

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citrus gummies

Treats. Sweets. Good to eats.
Looking for something new for the palate and have been seeing alot of paleo folks playing with gelatin, which on it’s own is very good for you, your gut, your joints, etc. Seeing as I really cannot get into the bone broth thing (although I have really enjoyed the process of making it!) I look to grassfed organic gelatin to add to foods to help me with the things my body really needs.

I read through alot of recipes and tried quite a few. This is my best stab at “gummies” so far! These are very tart/sour/tangy…but kind of addicting!
This weekend we are going to give some other flavors a try….but this is what I have so far:

In a saucepan over a medium to low flame, combine 1/4 c. water with 5 Tbsps of gelatin powder.
Quickly add:
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup raw honey (or other like Agave or maple syrup)
Mix it thoroughly with a whisk or spoon and poor into a shallow pyrex dish…I used a 9×9…you can also use candy molds for shapes!
Place in the refrigerator to cool completely and slice or cut out shapes!
They keep in the fridge for weeks, and are so refreshing!

We also did a few batches with Kombucha in the liquids…in place of the water….with other fruit juices, and this was very nice too!

Raw Veggies with a Sweet Tang

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raw veg

Friday night my daughter and I spent doing all things water polo. Her team was dominating! So we got the late start on the games for Saturday. These tournaments last all day and you always end up eating someplace you probably shouldnt! So I though i would throw together something that would travel easy…and be healthy! Plus a few of her teammates are always starving and like healthy foods if you bring them!

A few months ago I had a few bites of a raw broccoli salad that, although I typically do not care for the little raw trees, tasted great! Because of a creamy little dressing with a sweet tang to it! I decided Saturday that would be my inspiration.

I whipped up this salad Saturday morning and took a bucket of it to the games, where the girls devoured it! It was really good! So yesterday I did it again, and have been munching on it breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Here’s the scoop:

Chop up your favorite raw veggies to smallish bites and pile into a bowl. I used:
1 carrot, sliced into coins
3 broccoli crowns, small chop
1 head of cauliflower, small chop
a handful of radishes, sliced
3 inches of Daikon, sliced into little sticks
2 slices of red onion, diced small

then I threw in a little fruit, optional of course:
handful of grapes
handful of blueberries

I think some dried cranberries or raisins would be nice here!

I broke up a handful of fresh pecans as well.

Mix up a quick dressing of:
1/3 cup of homemade mayo
2 Tbsp light raspberry balsalmic vinegar (any light vinegar will work)
1 tsp raw organic honey
a small pinch of salt
Whisk away!

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss, toss, toss. Let it mingle a while, the flavors just keep getting better….toss every once in a while. You can put it in a container with a lid and just give it a shake from time to time….keep it chilled.

This morning I had it for breakfast with bacon crumbled over the top!raw bowl

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pasta

I just had to share this….such a beautiful sight, a bowl of steaming hot pasta! NO no…not paleo you say? Well, it is.
If you have never run across a company called “Cappellos Gluten Free” you need to look them up. Grain free, gluten free pasta made with almond flour…it keeps in the freezer, and cooks in 45 seconds flat! delicious! They also have other little indulgences at Cappellos like Paleo slice and bake cookies….yep. you heard that right.

So I cooked my pasta and topped it with a lovely sugar free marinara I found at Whole Foods…and gave it a quick grate of parmesan (indulge me!).

Such a lovely lunch! I just had to share it! And check out the site for the pasta at http://www.cappellosglutenfree.com , you won’t be dissappointed!

Thai Chicken Meatballs

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Last night we made Thai Chicken Meatballs and broccoli, which turned out mighty good!
I admit, this recipe was not mine originally. I found it in a favorite book, Primal Cravings, that I have a love/hate relationship with. I think the writers of this book have some fantastic ideas! Great flavor profiles! Super ideas! But I truly do not believe they tested half of these recipes, or if they did, they wrote a few of them up, well, wrong. I have made MANY things from the book, and once I have tweaked and fixed a few things, they are really great recipes! So I will say this is their base recipe, with some tweaking so you don’t throw the book out the window, which I almost did more than once.

Here is what should happen:

Put all of the following into a large mixing bowl:
2 pounds ground chicken (we decided last night beef would work here too)
2 Tbsp coconut flour
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp Peach Jam (all fruit, no sugar added)
2 Tbsp Spicy Chile Sauce (as clean as you can find it!)
2 cloves of Garlic, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp of salt ( or more, to your liking)
Cayenne pepper if you like it spicier….I used about 1/4 tsp
*2 Tbsp water mixed with 1/2 tsp cream of tartar and 1/4 tsp baking soda

Mix with your hands and form golf ball size meatballs. Plece meatballs evenly spaced on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. (Do not use a silpat. This turns into a mess.)

Bake these in the oven at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until and instant read thermometer reads 165+ degrees. They should be browned on the outside and on the bottoms.

While meatballs are browning in the oven, in a small sauce pan bring the following to a simmer and turn off:
1/2 cup of peach jam (from above)
1/4 cup of chile suace, or more to your liking
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 minced garlic cloves
2 Tbsp water
salt to taste
whisk until blended, heat to a simmer.

When the meatballs are ready, place them in a bowl and pour peach chile sauce over them and toss gently….you are ready to dig in!
We just steamed some broccoli with lemon and salt to serve with them! These are great the next day for leftovers as well, if any are left!

And now a word from my Mother!

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fritatta

My mother sent me a pic of her breakfast last weekend…she does this from time to time…and it always looks amazing so I post it on instagram and everyone loves it and it gets way more likes than anything of mine, whatever! She is paleo, she will not let me tell her age, but I am 43, and she gets discounted movie tickets! So that is all I have to say about that except how cool is it that she GETS it! She is holistic, organic, natural and paleo!

And because everyone on IG wanted to know, here is her recipe for the fritatta above, and her guest post….so, mother….you are on the internet now! you famous!

Guest Post from Mother:

I understand there are some who are
wanting to make the Sunday morning frittata.
This is a meal that fits many occasions. An easy breakfast/brunch
Or try for dinner on a busy day. Aren’t they all?

Most time consuming thing is grating the sweet potato. “What?” you say.
Yes sweet potato!
Recipe coming up and it is very healthy!
I have a little farm where I grow some of my own vegetables and herbs.
Love that and of course we do it organically !
So here is the frittata using veggies and herbs
a la my farm garden.

Sunday Morning Frittata with Chorizo
the oven does alot of the work for you…..and fast!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1/2 -1 lb. chorizo sausage uncooked ( I used veal chorizo)

1 small sweet potato, scrubbed and shredded (about1 cup)

1/2 large yellow bell pepper sliced

1/4 cup of yellow or white onion

8 large pasture raised organic eggs

1 tsp. coconut milk

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 roma tomatoes sliced, (even 9 or 10 small grape tomatoes sliced is fine)

Garnish: avocado slices and fresh chopped herb of your choice, cilantro, sage, basil

the marriage:

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Heat the oil in an oven safe skillet over medium heat.

Add the sausage, sweet potato, yellow pepper, and onion and sauté apx. 5 min.

(I browned the sausage first, and added the rest for a sauté of 5 min.)

Beat the eggs with the coconut milk and salt, then pour into the skillet and cook for 2 minutes

Just pour evenly, no stirring or turning…….just easy

Arrange the tomato slices in a circular pattern on top of the eggs. (I added1 cup chopped spinach first)

Place the frittata in the oven and bake for 12 minutes.

Serve with the avocado and sprinkle with the torn herb

**I would add some “smashed garlic with sea salt”, we tend to thrive on alot of garlic!

And if you like hot peppers, I would do either of the next suggestions for a little “tickle” for your taste buds.

Just chop one hot pepper, could be cayenne, our personal favorite that we grow, or jalapeño or a small Tai pepper. I seed them mostly and chop finely with sea salt.

Add 8-10 sliced grape tomatoes. Toss some of this on each slice of the Frittata.

Or do all of the above except sauté with 1 teaspoon grass fed butter or oil in a small skillet for a minute and then add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of full fat coconut milk or unsweetened almond milk and stir till thickened slightly. You can add some(grass fed) grated cheddar to this or just spoon it as is over… anything really. Just delicious!

Oh! Don’t ever breathe over a skillet with hot peppers cooking or you will choke a bit and or sneeze, depending on your particular physical make up. Experience is our teacher, right?

I think it took me longer to write out the recipe for you than it did to make it.

So, hope you try this, it will work for any “busy girl for a paleo world”.

A Fast Scramble in the mornings

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fast scramble

Ok so first, clearly I am obsessed with blueberries right now. I eat them like a sugar junkie on jelly beans. The are so juicy and sweet right now, I almost cannot stand it! Cheap they are not, but mighty tasty and really good for you, so I splurge!
Blueberries are showing up along my breakfast, as a snack and trailing through my salads. I just cannot get enough right now!

This morning was a blur in my house as usual. The daily scramble to get yourself dressed and ready for work along with a few household items (washer, dryer) dogs and cat fed and watered and let out…always leaves me barrelling out the door in a rush no matter what time I get up! I kind of like it, but I don’t like running late, and that does happen.

Thankfully there are alot of quick ways to throw breakfast together….I usually pack mine and eat it at my desk when I can breathe a little!

A red pepper was calling my name from the fridge, and bacon was not.

So here is the super fast and easy scramble I threw together (and ate along with my BLUEBERRIES!!!):

I put a bit of Kerrygold butter in a small skillett to melt over medium heat. Quick chopped about a fourth of a RED PEPPER…tossed it in the pan.
While that is cooking, crack two eggs into a bowl and chop about a teaspoon of fresh PARSLEY – add that to the egg.
Beat the egg with a fork with a dash of salt and pepper.
Pour into the skillet and start moving the eggs and peppers around as it scrambles.
THATS IT!

You can give a quick sprinkle of grated Kerrygold Cheese over the eggs if you like, or dice some tomatoes or avocado over the top….but today it went as is into the container….

You can do this!
So easy, so fast….so good!