Tag Archives: Paleo

Real Pumpkin Spice Creamer Cups

Real Pumpkin Spice Beverage Flavor Drop-Ins

Real Pumpkin Spice Creamer Drop-In Cups

One of the best Fall traditions is pumpkins! There has been a lot in the media lately about some of the pumpkin spice beverages out there and the less than healthy ingredients they contain, even though the are deliciously addictive. I have a figure friendly, healthy, real food solution to a pumpkin spice beverage craving that will leave you feeling great with no sugar crashes or slumps.

These individual Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamers are only 65 calories, contain all natural ingredients, including real pumpkin, and are frozen individually for convenience and freshness. The recipe makes twelve. They have a true, delicious pumpkin spice flavor, are dairy free, and sweetened with just 1/2 teaspoon of honey per serving. If you like yours sweeter, you can add more. You also get 15% of your RDA of vitamin A from the real pumpkin each beverage contains along with beneficial spices. You can use these all-in-one flavor drop-ins creamers for coffee, lattes, tea or steamers.

Real Pumpkin Spice Matcha Latte

Real Pumpkin Spice Individual Portion Creamer

Recipe Ingredients:

Real Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer Cups

1 1/2 Cups Canned Pumpkin (this one is organic and SCD Diet legal)

1 1/2 Cups of Full Fat Coconut Milk, room temperature (this is my favorite and SCD Diet Legal)

3 Tablespoons of Pure Vanilla Extract

2 Tablespoons Clear Honey, warmed in the microwave more or less to taste (you can substitute Maple Syrup)

1 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon

1 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Ginger

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Allspice

1/4 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

1/8 Teaspoon Ground Cloves

Line a muffin pan with good quality natural unbleached muffin papers. They have a non-stick coating on the inside for easy removal. Add your pumpkin to a medium mixing bowl. Whisk the warmed honey into the pumpkin. I like mine just slightly sweetened. You can add more or less honey depending on your taste. Whisk in the room temperature coconut milk and vanilla extract. Finally, whisk in all your spices. Using a level Muffin size scoop or a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop 1/4 cup of the pumpkin beverage drop-ins mixture into each muffin cup. Level by tapping the bottom of the pan on the counter top to flatten and place the pan in the freezer until they are frozen solid. After they are frozen, remove them from the muffin pan and store in a gallon zip bag in the freezer. When you need a pumpkin spice beverage, take one serving from the freezer and add it to your coffee, latte, tea or steamer. It is good to have the beverage slightly hotter than normal because the pumpkin spice drop-in is frozen. I like to put everything in a shaker and shake it up then pour it into a mug, but you could also use a whisk in your mug. This is the shaker I use (It is Awesome to get a frothy beverage!)

I hope you are enjoying Fall and pumpkin season!!! I look forward to having one of these every day!

Eat Your Nutrients!

Brazilian Cranberry Fig Bites

I love little energy bites when I am on the go, in a hurry, or after an afternoon workout. The pace seems to always pick up when the school year starts doesn’t it? Summer has been relaxed and more laid back with the schedules, but now we are watching the clock more and checking our daily calenders. Am I the only one?

These little bites are a delicious, healthy snack that is portable. The brazil nuts add selenium which good quantities of vitamins, anti-oxidants and minerals, and figs are full of nutrients and fiber, and just taste wonderful! The tart dried cranberries are lower in sugar than other dried fruits and give the bites a sweet tangy burst of flavor. (use dried cranberries sweetened with apple juice.)

You can make these in your oven or a food dehydrator. They are easy and a delicious, healthy addition to your snack rotation that might save you time and your sanity when you are on the run.

Brazilian Cranberry Fig Bites

Ingredients:

12 Dried Figs (soaked in hot water 30 minutes)

1 Cup Raw Pecans

1 Cup Raw Brazil Nuts

1/2 Cup Unsweetened Coconut

1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries

1/4 Cup Clear Honey

1/4 Teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt

1 Teaspoon Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

Directions: Soak your figs submerged in very hot water for 30 minutes to soften. Add them to a food processor with the pecans, brazil nuts and coconut and pulse until they are a fine consistency. Add remaining ingredients to the food processor and pulse again until it is combined and a sticky consistency that holds together. Scoop into tablespoon sized mounds. (I used a tablespoon cookie scoop, but you could also use a spoon) and roll into balls, then flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Place on your dehydrator trays or on a parchment lined cookie sheet if you are baking.

Dehydrate for 18 hours at 105º degrees or bake in your oven at 250º degrees for 45 minutes.

I like to individually package them in twos so we can grab them and go.

Enjoy these! They are so good and good for you!

Brazilian Cranberry Fig Bites

Eat Your Nutrients!

Sunflower Pumpkin Seed Crackers

Sometimes I just gotta have something crunchy! Crackers are especially nice, because I like something to go with the crunch, if I am not eating them plain for a quick crunch fix. You can dress up a cracker with toppings. I personally like to pile them with meat and veggies or eat them with a salad. Some of the benefits of pumpkin seeds are healthy fat, magnesium, zinc, tryptophan, and studies also show they aid in hair growth. Sunflower seeds contain many beneficial vitamins as well, including B vitamins and vitamin E.

This recipe for crackers is free of all major allergens, no nuts, dairy, soy, gluten, grain, and they are easy and fast.

Sunflower Pumpkin Seed Crackers

You will need a high speed blender or food processor to grind the nuts into flour, two parchment lined cooking sheets, and a rolling pin if you want them thin.

Ingredients:

3/4 Cup Sunflower Seeds (I bought sprouted ones, but optional)

3/4 Cup Pumpkin Seeds (optional sprouted)

1 Pastured Egg or 1 Flax Egg, See Here for good directions on How to Make One

2 Tablespoons Tahini

2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil, melted or Olive Oil

2 Teaspoons Lime Juice

1/2 Teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt

Directions: Pulse the seeds in a blender or food processor until you have a very fine flour consistency. Transfer the ground seeds to a bowl. and add the salt. Next Whisk egg and incorporate it into the nut flour mixture. Melt the coconut oil and tahini in the microwave together for ten seconds then whisk to incorporate, whisk in the lemon juice to the coconut oil mixture. Add the liquid ingredients to the nut flour, egg mixture and stir vigorously until a ball forms and the ingredients are thoroughly blended.

Divide dough in half, form into balls and place on two separate pieces of parchment paper. Top each sheet with another piece of parchment paper to roll them thin and keep the dough from sticking to your rolling pin. Roll or pat each cracker round out until 1/4 inch thick. Take off the top parchment paper and bake in the oven 325º degrees for 15 minutes until golden brown. After they cool, break into pieces. Store cooled in an airtight container.

Eat Your Nutrients!

Italian Bacon Popovers

The air is starting to cool here in preparation for Fall, and that makes me crave popovers! According to James Beard, although they resemble Yorkshire Pudding, they are purely an American creation. I have a lot of English heritage, and grew up eating recipes my Grandmother made from what she called “the old country” (England). So here is a version of a popover that I find to be Fall Comfort Food in my humble opinion. It is a little American, with an Italian Flair and a bit of English whimsy, but mostly they are plain delish! I added some good quality parmigiano reggiano, which is SCD Legal, but if you don’t tolerate dairy, they are equally delicious without it. They are so, so good hot from the oven! They are fun to eat, and I used leftover popovers to pack sandwiches for my daughters lunches the next day. Just split them and fill them for a mini sandwich. So, enjoy a little Fall comfort food and make some popovers!

Italian Bacon Popovers

You can use a popover pan like this, but a muffin pan works just fine! It makes a dozen puffy popovers!

Oven Ready Popovers

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil or Ghee, Melted

1/2 Cup Cooked, Sugar Free is Bacon (4 slices) cooked and chopped

8 Large Pastured Eggs

1 Cup Full Fat Coconut Milk

1/2 Cup shredded Parmigiano Reggiano, optional Omit for Dairy Free

1/4 Cup Coconut Flour

1/4 Cup Scallions, green tops only, sliced

1 Teaspoon Italian Seasoning

1 Teaspoon Pink Himalayan Salt

1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper

Preheat your oven 400º degrees. Place a half teaspoon of melted coconut oil or ghee in each popover or muffin pan cup and brush it up the sides. Crack eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk together with the coconut milk, whisk in the coconut flour and keep whisking briskly until no lumps, stir in the remaining ingredients, then fill each popover or muffin cup 2/3 full with batter. Don’t overfill, leave room for them to pop up! Your batter will look like this.

Italian Bacon Popover Batter

Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake 30 – 35 minutes keeping an eye on them until they are golden brown. Don’t be tempted to open the oven door. Think Souffle! When they are done, remove them from the oven and take them out of the pan while still hot and cool. Eat them warm, or they make a very nice mini-sandwich!

Italian Bacon Popover

Italian Romenesko Fennel Salad

What is Romenesko? It is a gorgeous member of the Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussel Sprout family. It does look like an alien cousin to Broccoli! I love fun vegetables, don’t you?

It is bright grass green and very pretty. I love the texture of it, which is similar to cauliflower. So I thought, why not incorporate it in a salad cooked? Here is a veggie packed salad with Italian flair.

Italian Romenesko Fennel Salad with Italian Vinaigrette

Italian Romenesko and Fennel Salad with Italian Vinaigrette

Ingredients for Salad:

1 Head of Organic Iceburg Lettuce or Two Heads of Organic Romaine

One Head of Organic Romenesko

1 Large Fennel

1 Large Organic Tomato

1 small can of Black Olives (I use Field Day 3.8 oz.)

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1/2 tsp. Himalayan Pink Salt

1/4 tsp. Black Pepper

1 tsp. fresh Lemon Juice

Directions:

Finely shave your fennel after cleaning and cutting off top and clean and separate your Romenesko pieces. In a heavy skillet add olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add shaved fennel and romenesko and saute covered for ten minutes until just becoming tender. Remove lid, add a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice and continue to saute until starting to brown and any liquid has evaporated, about 5 to 10 more minutes.

Meanwhile place your lettuce, sliced tomato and black olives in a salad bowl.

While the Fennel Romenesko mixture cools, make your salad dressing.

Italian Vinaigrette:

Ingredients:

1/4 Cup Good Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons Garlic Infused Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar (check it is zero carbs, so not added sugar)

1 Teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt

1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper

1 Teaspoon Organic Italian Herbs

Combine all the ingredients and Shake it Up to emulsify.

Italian Vinaigrette

Add the Fennel and Romenesko to your salad and toss with the dressing. Serve! We had this for dinner with broiled fish. It is a light and satisfying meal.

Cinnamon Date Thumbprint Cookies

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend! The kids are all back in school now, so our routines are changing. We made this delicious cookie this weekend that I wanted to share with you. Thumbprints are such a fun cookie to eat and make. I especially enjoy making them with my children because the process is very hands on and fun.

Here is a delicious version of a thumbprint cookie that has just the right amount of cinnamon and a date filled center.

Also, don’t forget to enter the giveaway! It is posted under Products I Love. The giveaway ends Monday, September 8th, and is a very modern Cooler that is eco-friendly, light and functions so much better than the cheap styrofoam ones. It is hosted by Rafflecopter, so just click on the link on the giveaway page, and it will take you there to enter.

So, here is the new cookie recipe! It makes 18 cookies.

Cinnamon Date Thumbprint Cookies

Preheat your oven 350º degrees F.

Ingredients:

For Cookie:

1 1/2 Cups Blanched Superfine Almond Flour

6 Tablespoons Coconut Flour

1 Tablespoon Grass Fed Gelatin

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

1/4 Teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt

1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

1/2 Cup Coconut Oil

1/4 Cup Clear Honey

1 Tablespoon SCD Legal Vanilla Extract

In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl cream your coconut oil, honey and vanilla extract. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until incorporated thoroughly. Scoop tablespoon sized cookies onto two parchment lined baking sheets two inches apart and make a thumbprint in the center. I used a tablespoon cookie scoop.

Filling:

4 Medjool Dates, Pits Removed

2 Tablespoons Hot Water

2 Tablespoon Finely Shredded Unsweetened Coconut

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1 tsp. Fresh Lemon Juice

Pinch of Himalayan Pink Salt

Puree the filling ingredients together until smooth. I used my small Ninja chopper for this, but anything that will puree fairly small amounts will work fine. Scoop a teaspoon of filling for each cookie and place it in the thumbprint.

Bake 20 minutes, then cool. I hope you enjoy these cookies like we do! Also, remember the great giveaway! I use my cooler all the time!

Raw Blueberry Energy Bars

Raw Blueberry Energy Bars

It can be hard to find snack food that is prepackaged and clean. What I mean by clean is free of dairy, soy, gluten, added sugar, corn and other allergens. I miss the days when I was out and could just grab a bar of some kind that sounded good when I needed something quick. I don’t leave the house anymore without some kind of emergency snack. Here is my recipe for Blueberry Energy Bars that are really delicious! They are sweetened with dates. The ingredients are all nutritious and will give you energy. I make these in my food dehydrator.

Blueberry Energy Bars

You will need a food processor and a food dehydrator for this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Raw Walnuts

1 Cup Raw Almonds

6 Medjool Dates (pitted)

1/2 Cup Finely Shredded Unsweetened Coconut

1/3 Cup Dried Blueberries

1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract (Pure SCD Legal)

1/4 Teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt

In a food processor, place the dates, walnuts and almonds and pulse until finely chopped. Add in the coconut, vanilla extract and salt. When it is all incorporated and starting to stick together (so you can form bars) add the blueberries and pulse a few times until they are incorporated. You want them to stay pretty much whole. On a teflon lined or parchment lined dehydrator tray, form the mixture into a dozen bars. Dehydrate for 22 hours at 105° degrees. Let cool, then individually wrap the bars.

You have a portable, delicious snack to take with you!

Raw Blueberry Energy Bars

Toasted Hazelnut-Vanilla Nut Milk & Lattes

Toasted Hazelnut Vanilla Nut Milk.jpg

Are you a hazelnut lover? I have this new recipe for Toasted Hazelnut-Vanilla Nut Milk that I adore with my cold brew iced coffee and matcha green tea. Nut milks are nutritious and easily made at home without the fillers and gums that can be difficult for your digestive system.

The nuts are plentiful in mono-unsaturated fatty acids and also essential fatty acid. Also, nutritionally, they contain Folate, B-Complex Vitamins, Copper, Magnesium, and Iron. They make delicious milk!

You can make the milk with raw hazelnuts, but toasting them boosts the flavor profile and makes the milk even more delicious. There is just three ingredients to make the milk. You do need a high speed blender and a nut milk bag. The nut milk bag is very inexpensive and handy to have around.

Homemade Nut Milk Tools. High Speed Blender & Nut Milk Bag

Ingredients:

4 Ounces Hazelnuts (Toasted & Skins Removed)

2 Tablespoons Pure Vanilla Extract (SCD Legal)

6 Cups of Filtered Water

1 Pinch Himalayan Pink Salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F.

On a parchment lined cookie sheet toast hazelnuts in one layer in middle of oven 10 to 15 minutes, or until lightly colored and skins are blistered. Using a lint free kitchen towel, wrap the nuts hot from the oven and let them steam 1 minute. Briskly rub nuts in the towel to remove loose skins (don’t worry about skins that don’t come off) and cool completely.

Place the nuts, vanilla, water and salt in your high speed blender and blend for three minutes. Pour into the nut milk bag and drain the liquid squeezing gently at the end to extract all the liquid. Pour into a pitcher or storage container and refrigerate. It stays fresh for about a week, if it lasts that long.

Makes 6 cups

Here are some of the ways I love to use it. You can also use it as you would any milk in your recipes and baking where you want a hazelnut flavor.

Make a Matcha Green Tea Latte!

Directions: Whisk 1 teaspoons of Matcha Green Tea into 1/4 Cup of hot water. Stir in 1 cup of Toasted Hazelnut-Vanilla Nut Milk and pour over ice. It is so refreshing!

Iced Hazelnut Matcha Green Tea Latte

Use it in Coffee for a delicious Hazelnut Flavor without the Syrups. Iced or hot! Here I made iced coffee with a cold brew coffee, ice and toasted vanilla hazelnut milk. You can choose to add honey if you like your beverages sweet.

Toasted Hazelnut Milk Iced Coffee

Eat Your Nutrients!

Asian Pork Ribs

Oh my gosh, who doesn’t love succulent ribs! I made these last night for my family, and they were tender, juicy and flavorful! You can get them marinating the day before you make them. They are cooked in the oven low and slow, so are perfect for a weekend dinner. I served them with golden beets and Chinese eggplant.

Asian Pork Ribs

Ingredients:

3 to 3 1/2 pound rack of pork ribs

Marinade:

1/3 cup chopped fresh ginger

1/4 cup garlic infused olive oil (the brand I use)

3 Tablespoons Clear Honey

2 Teaspoons Pink Himalayan Salt

1 Tablespoon Black Pepper

3 Kaffir Lime Leaves (optional, provides a mild citrus flavor)

3 Tablespoons Coconut Aminos

1 Tablespoon Jarred Anchovy Fillets

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

Asian Pork Ribs with Golden Beets, Chinese Eggplant and Salad

Directions: Blend together in a high speed blender all the ingredients for the marinade. Place the ribs on a foil lined, rimmed cookie sheet, and coat thoroughly with the marinade on both sides. Cover with wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight. When ready to cook, remove from refrigerator and heat your broiler on high. Broil both sides of the ribs until browned and starting to caramelize. About 5 minutes a side. Remove from the oven, and set your oven on 250°. Cover the top of the ribs with foil and tightly seal. Bake in oven 4 to 4 1/2 hours until ribs are very tender.

Asian Pork Ribs

Eat Your Nutrients!

Lavender Sugar Cookies

There are so many ways to use lavender in cooking. Here I have used it in a “sugar” cookie. It is sweetened with SCD Legal honey and uses almond flour. I have rolled and cut them out. You could also make the recipe by scooping the cookies if you are short on time. They will be softer that way instead of crunchy as a rolled cut out cookie.

Lavender Sugar Cookie

Preheat Oven 350°. Place parchment paper on two cookie sheets.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 Cups Superfine Almond Flour

1/4 Cup Organic Palm Shortening, Melted

2 Tablespoons Honey

1 Teaspoon Dried Culinary Grade Lavender Buds, minced or placed in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle

1 Teaspoon Lemon Zest

1 1/2 Teaspoons SCD Legal Vanilla Extract

Pinch of Himalayan Pink Salt

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix together the wet ingredients and add to the bowl of dry ingredients stirring with a fork until a ball forms. Place the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll to about 1/4″ thickness. Refrigerate on a cookie sheet for fifteen minutes, then cut out using a cookie cutter and place on your parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes until starting to brown around the edges.

Makes approximately 12 cookies depending on the size of your cutter.