Category Archives: Food

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Toasted Cheese

Root veggies are in season with an abundance to select from already. You can use sweet potatoes, yams or garnet yams for this recipe. You are dairy free? No problem. Bake them the same way as described below and omit cheese. They are super delicious either way! 🙂

Ingredients

4 small sweet potatoes, halved lengthwise
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and black pepper
3 oz Fontina cheese, grated (3/4 cup) – I could not find this in my local grocery store and used Comte cheese instead.. you can’t really go wrong with any cheese though, so use your favorite cheese or just Parmesan works great!
1 1/2 oz. Parmesan, grated (1/3 cup)

Directions

Heat oven to 425*
Rub potatoes with oil and season with salt and pepper
Bake, cut side down, on a baking sheet or glass pan until golden brown and tender, ~20 minutes (fork inserts very easily)
Turn over to broil
Combine cheeses and sprinkle on potatoes cut-side up
Broil until cheese is melted and golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes
Serve warm

Pumkin Protein Balls with Coconut // Paleo

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Tis the season, no? I’ve been seeing Pumpkin Balls pop up here and there, and I decided to try my own.

I will say that these fall into the category of totally yummy, but…healthy 😉 I want to make the distinction, because I do love myself a decadent dessert!! This is not that. However, Maya chowed them down, and I love that I can make her things that she things are a total treat that are still healthy!

They are nut free, gluten free, and dairy free. So, once again…safe to take to preschool or daycare! Ingredients (Makes 12)

1/2 cup coconut flour
2 cups Organic Pumpkin Puree (got mine at Trader Joe’s)
2 Tablespoons Pure Maple Syrup
1/2 cup Sunflower Butter (can use any nut butter if you aren’t worried about allergies)
1/8 teaspoon pumpkin spice
2 Tablespoons each of coconut sugar and unsweetened coconut to roll the balls in (optional, but I liked the little added sweetness and texture :))

What to do

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a bowl, using a high powered mixer or Cuisinart.
Scoop out 1 Tablespoon amounts of the dough, and roll in your palm to form a ball.
Roll it around in the coconut sugar and coconut and set in the refridgerator to cool for at least an hour. You can eat them right away, but they are much better once they’ve firmed up!

And, because sharing is caring… We brought a few over to my parents house. Maya was a little excited 🙂

ENJOY!

Eggs and Bacon Tart

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No gluten, no grains, no dairy.. just a pure protein power breakfast tart. Served with some sautéed veggies and fresh fruit and you’ll have a great meal!

Ingredients

1 lb organic bacon
1 cup thinly diced scallions, leaks or onion
8 large eggs
salt and pepper to taste
Fresh chives for garnish

Directions

Oven to 350*
Cook bacon in skillet until browned, ~5 minutes
Remove and cool and then mince or finely chop
Pour off and discard fat from skillet
Return bacon with onions or scallions and saute for a few minutes
Beat eggs, pepper and salt
Put bacon/onion mixture in a round glass pan (8″ or 9″ works well) and pour egg mixture on it
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until firm
Let cool a bit and garnish with fresh chives

Creamy Feta Dip and Veggies

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The thing that makes this Feta Dip unique is the cumin spice. It is creamy and fresh and delicious and wonderful paired with fresh veggies!

Mom tip of the day: I left some stems and leaves on the carrots and asked my kids if they wanted “bunny carrots”? They were so intrigued they ate the carrots up (don’t eat the leaves or stems!). Funny how something slightly out of the ordinary is so interesting! 🙂

Ingredients

3/4 cup buttermilk or Greek Yogurt
6 oz Feta, crumbled (about 1 1/4 cup)
3/4 tsp cumin (optionally for richer flavor – heated in a small skillet until just fragrant)
2 tsps. fresh lime juice
Pepper, to taste
Olive oil
Radicchio leaves, carrots, cucumber or other favorite veggies

Directions

Combine buttermilk, 1/2 cup of the Feta, cumin and pepper in a food processor and process until smooth
Add remaining feta and pule a few times to combine
Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days
Before serving, stir in lime juice and serve the dip drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkle of black pepper
Serve with fresh cut veggies

Paleo Banana Mini Muffins with Vanilla Coconut Milk Whipped Cream Frosting

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Ok, so I promised myself that I would let Maya pick what kind of birthday cake she wanted this year vs making something healthy that I wanted her to have.

Well….she changed her mind about 7 times on what kind of cake/cupcakes she wanted and on the day of, we were totally over booked. SO…at around 7pm on the night of her birthday I started throwing a bunch of stuff together, and…this is what we got 😉

Thankfully, Maya loves just about anything, so she was happy.

Happy birthday girl, happy me! Muffins (which I called Cupcakes for Maya ;))

Ingredients (made 24 mini muffins)

3 very ripe bananas (I actually used some that I had frozen and then thawed)
1 1/2 Cups Coconut Flour
1/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon baking soda
4 large eggs
1/4 Cup melted coconut oil
1 Tablespoon Raw Honey
1 Teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce

What to do…Besides grab a birthday girl dressed in a tutu?? 😉

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Mix all the dry ingredients.
Mix all the wet ingredients
Add the dry ingredients to the wet. The mixture will be pretty dense. Scoop out enough batter to slightly overlflow each mini muffin tin. These don’t raise a whole lot, so you can overfill each 🙂
Bake for 10-12 minutes depending on your oven. Tops should be golden brown, but still a little soft to the touch.

Frosting/Whipped topping

Put a can of full fat Coconut Milk in the refrigerator over night. When you open it, it will have separated and the top half will all be hard.
Scoop that out and put into a bowl.

Add….

1 Tablespoon of honey.
1/8 Teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon of Pure Vanilla Extract

Mix with a blender and dollop on top of each muffin/cupcake. Refrigerate until you plan on eating them, as the topping will soften.

Enjoy!!

Figs

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It’s fig season! My little fig tree has been working hard all summer and I didn’t think the thirty or so little green ‘figlets’ would ripen until a few days ago when they started getting purple and were ready to pick! Yum, they are delicious! The kids enjoyed picking these from the tree just as much as eating them!

You may know figs from the dried fruit category, usually available in abundance during winter season. The fresh version are equally delicious, but not as sweet. Figs are a nutrient dense food and are rich in vitamins, potassium and are also a great source of fiber. Enjoy diced with yogurt, oatmeal, chia seed pudding, or simply as a piece of juicy and sweet fresh fruit.

If they don’t all get harvested and consumed, I will dip some in dark chocolate and post to the blog in a few weeks! 🙂

Want to learn more about figs? I found some interesting reading here and some fun recipes here.

Peach, Avocado, Tomato, and Basil Salad with Goat Cheese

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I try and make a really big salad with every dinner.

I love when I can put so many flavorful fruits, veggies, and herbs in there, that you don’t really need a fancy dressing. I drizzled a little bit of olive oil, honey, and a bit of sea salt and pepper on top of this, and it was good to go!

Ingredients

Large handful of mixed greens.
4-5 Large basil leaves shredded
1/2 Medium avocado diced
1 medium size peach
A handful of cherry tomatoes or about 1 cup of roma or heirloom tomatoes cut.
2 Tablespoons of goat cheese
Drizzle olive oil over the top and a little bit of raw honey.
Salt and pepper to taste

Enjoy 🙂

Tricolor Autumn Salad

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This is made with purple cabbage, romaine lettuce and carrots.. full of nutrients, all raw ingredients, crunchy and delicious! Toss with Tahini Dressing and enjoy.

Ingredients

1 small head purple cabbage (grated)
1 small head romaine lettuce (finely chopped)
1 cup grated carrots
1 batch Tahini dressing

Tahini Dressing (makes 1.5 cups or so)

1/2 cup roasted tahini
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt

Directions

In a large bowl, toss veggies
For dressing, puree ingredients until smooth
Toss salad with 1/2 cup or up to all dressing and serve

Source: Thanks Paleo Cooking from Elana’s Pantry

Jalapeno Poppers

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These are delicious! I mean how could they not be? Cheese filled jalapeno peppers wrapped in bacon and baked to crispy perfection! These must be a total crowd pleaser – an awesome app for any season! Enjoy. 🙂

Ingredients

12 jalapeno peppers, halved and seeds removed (keep a few seeds if you like spicy – as the seeds hold the heat!). And a note of caution – don’t touch your eyes while chopping. The oil from the seeds is very hot!
1 8oz block of cream cheese
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
6 strips of bacon, halved

Directions

Mix cream and cheddar cheeses
Fill jalapeno pepper half with cheese mixture and put on the other half
Wrap in bacon
Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until bacon is crispy (use broiler for a few minutes at end for extra crispiness if needed!)

Banana Ice Cream Sundays with Figs Almonds and Honey

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Need I say more haha?

I’ve been dying to make a dessert with figs! I’d love to say that it’s because of their flavor, but sadly…no, it’s because of how beautiful they are. YES, I’M THAT WEIRD!! But in my mind…if they look that beautiful, and they are THAT EXPENSIVE (!!!), they have to be delicious too, right??

Truthfully…I’m glad I got some (thank to my parents splitting the Costco batch with me!), but…you could easily just top this with any fruit that is in season and it would be just as yummy! They ARE pretty though, right??!Banana Ice Cream

Frozen Bananas (I cut mine into 1-2 inch pieces and then freeze) amount varies on how many servings you want. I used two, and it was enough to feed 3.
1/2 Cup Almond Milk (or any kind of milk)

Toppings

Figs
Almonds (diced)
Unsweetened Coconut
Drizzle of Raw Honey

What to do

I a blender, mix all the Ice Cream ingredients until smooth and creamy. It helps to let the frozen bananas sit out for about 5 minutes.
Scoop into little bowls and top with whatever you have on hand! Really, the possibilities are endless on how you can vary this! And…I DO! 🙂

And this is what happens when you try and take pictures of a dessert with a hungry toddler haha. ENJOY!!