Category Archives: Food

Mango Pineapple Smoothie

Leave a reply

Mango, pineapple and coconut give this smoothie a delicious tropical flavor. Not to sweet, not tart.. it’s the perfect summer snack! There was so much smoothie, I made popsicles for the kids as well! 🙂

Blog mango smoothie

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup Greek Yogurt
  • 1 1/2 Cup Pineapple (I used frozen, but can also use fresh)
  • 1 Cup Mango (approximately one whole mango, if not using frozen)
  • 3/4 Cup Coconut Milk
  • 1 TBSP Chia Seeds

Directions

  • Blend all ingredients together and enjoy! 🙂

Thanks Athleta for the inspiration!

dit-elle-Esther

Paleo Coconut Almond Butter Mug Cakes with Banana Ice Cream

Leave a reply

Do you ever have a craving for cake, but don’t want to make/have to restrain yourself from eating an entire cake?  ME TOO! 🙂 Mug cakes are easy to make, SUPER easy to clean up from, and take a little over 5 minutes from start to finish-WIN!

I’d heard about mug cakes before, but had never really thought to try my hand at them until I saw Regina from Leelalicious  post this recipe.  Once I saw that you could make them relatively healthy, I was all in!  I’m already thinking of different variations I want to try next!

Blog Paleo Coconut Almond Mug Cake with Banana Ice Cream-Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons coconut flour
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons Almond Butter
  • 1-½ tablespoons melted coconut oil
  • 1-½ tablespoons raw honey
  • 1 tablespoon almond milk (or any milk you’d like)
  • ½ a vanilla bean (scrape out the inside, throw away the shell) or ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4-5 dollops of Medjul Date Caramel Sauce (omit if strictly Paleo)
  • Other topping ideas- chocolate chips, coconut flakes, or berries (dried or fresh)!

Directions

  • In a separate bowl whisk together coconut flour, and baking powder.
  • Add egg, almond butter, coconut oil, honey, almond milk and vanilla bean and blend until creamy.

Blog Paleo Coconut Almond Mug Cake with Banana Ice Cream-1Blog Paleo Coconut Almond Mug Cake with Banana Ice Cream-2Maya loved doing this part, but of course just wanted to eat the batter 😉  Yes, I know…raw egg batter = a no no, but I did it as a kid all the time and turned out just fine! Blog Paleo Coconut Almond Mug Cake with Banana Ice Cream-3Instead of pouring the batter into one large mug, I greased up two ramicans to make two little cakes! Blog Paleo Coconut Almond Mug Cake with Banana Ice Cream-4 Blog Paleo Coconut Almond Mug Cake with Banana Ice Cream-5 Microwave for 2 minutes (depending on your microwave) and you magically have cake!!Blog Paleo Coconut Almond Mug Cake with Banana Ice Cream-6 Blog Paleo Coconut Almond Mug Cake with Banana Ice Cream-7 It turned out surprisingly moist, but I wanted to add a little something to it.  You could do a healthy frosting, but I added some banana ice cream to go along with it.  Only added 2-3 minutes to the process and was SO GOOD!

Take 2 frozen bananas (cut in 3rds before you freeze), add 1/3 cup almond milk or enough to get a creamy consistency.  Blend in Cuisinart or high speed blender for a minute or two.Blog Paleo Coconut Almond Mug Cake with Banana Ice Cream-8Enjoy!!dit-elle-Lauren

Chia Seed Pudding Cups

5 Replies

Chia Seed Pudding Cups are super easy to make and a tasty and healthy paleo snack! You mix chia seeds into a cup of coconut milk, add some flavor and toppings, refrigerate for a few hours and voila! 🙂 No baking, no cooking, no fuss!

Blog chia pudding series-7 Blog chia pudding series-6   Blog chia pudding series-3 Blog chia pudding series-2 Blog chia pudding series-1

Ingredients (1 serving)

  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1 Tbsp chia seeds
  • Flavor/topping of choice (pick one or make up your own combo!) 🙂
    • 1/2 tsp almond essence + chopped almonds
    • 1/4 tsp ground cardamom or cardamom seeds (open the pod)
    • 1/2 tsp vanilla essence + fresh berries (I used red currants)
    • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon + cinnamon sticks

Directions

  • Mix the coconut milk, chia seeds and flavor well
  • Pour into serving cup
  • Cover and refrigerate for a few hours or up to a couple of days
  • Serve and enjoy

dit-elle-Esther

Medjul Date Caramel Sauce

1 Reply

I’ve seen/heard about people making caramel sauce out of dates, and have been wanting to try it out.  I finally did last week, and YUM!!  No refined sugar, just a few ingredients, and super easy.  Pretty much a win in my book!  Oh, and it’s yummy!Blog Caramel Medjul Date Sauce-3Ingredients

  • 8-10 Medjul Dates (pitted)
  • 1/4-1/3 cup Almond Mild (or milk of your choice) Amount depends on the consistency you want and how many dates you used.
  •  1/2 a vanilla bean (inside scraped out).  Could also use pure vanilla extract
  • A few grinds of sea salt

Directions

Place all ingredients in a high speed blender or Cuisinart and blend until creamy.  You’ll need to scrape the sides a few times.  I started out in a Vitamix, but I don’t think I was making enough so it didn’t blend well.  I dumped everything in my Cuisinart and it turned out great!

Maya loved helping me pit all the dates, and of course hitting the pulse button 😉Blog Caramel Medjul Date Sauce-Blog Caramel Medjul Date Sauce-2Blog Caramel Medjul Date Sauce-4You can dip apples in this, spread on toast, or put over ice cream (or banana ice cream!), or put dollops into a cake (THAT is coming on Wednesday-so good!!!)

Blog Caramel Medjul Date Sauce-6Blog Caramel Medjul Date Sauce-5Enjoy!dit-elle-Lauren

 

Coconut Rice Pudding with Mango

2 Replies

This is great as a chilled summer dessert! Creamy rice pudding, sweetened naturally by milk and cinnamon, topped with chopped mango – a delicious balance of tart and sweet. The dish draws on Indian and Scandinavian flavors, where both cardamom, cinnamon and rice are staple ingredients in a variety of dishes.

Blog coconut rice mango-2 Blog coconut rice mango-1

Ingredients

  • 6 cups whole milk (or coconut milk if you prefer)
  • 1/3 cup uncooked basmati rice
  • 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
  • 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon + more for garnish
  • 2 cups chopped peeled mango (about 2 large mangos)

Directions

  • Combine whole milk and rice in large saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
  • Reduce heat and gently boil for 40 minutes or until mixture thickens
  • Stir in coconut milk, cardamom and cinnamon and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly
  • Spoon~1/2 cup servings into dessert bowls (makes 8 servings)
  • Top with chopped mango and a sprinkle of cinnamon

dit-elle-Esther

Mango Avocado Chicken Salad

Leave a reply

Ok, ok.  Just when you think I’ve posted enough mango avocado salad recipes…here’s another one haha.  I just can’t help myself.  The combination is just so good!!  Maya chowed it down, and asked for 2nds!

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it right? 😉 Blog Paleo Mango Avocado Chicken Salad-2Blog Paleo Mango Avocado Chicken Salad-4 Blog Paleo Mango Avocado Chicken Salad-3Ingredients

  • 2 Cups diced chicken (I used left over rotisserie chicken, but you could grill up a few breasts seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper)
  • 1 ripe mango diced
  • 1/2 cup diced tomatos
  • 1 avocado diced
  • 1 1/2 cups diced peppers (I used red, orange, and yellow)
  • 1/4 Cup diced red onion (I omitted this, because Maya is weird about onions, but I think it would be a great addition!)
  • Dressing of choice.  I cheated and used a pre-made poppyseed dressing, but you could use either of these paleo friendly recipes Esther has posted.  Mango dressing here or Creamy Lemon Garlic Dressing here.  Or the Avocado Dressing I posted here.
  • Serve over a bed of butter lettuce.  Arugula or spinach would be great too!

Enjoy!dit-elle-Lauren

Cherry Garcia Smoothie

2 Replies

I was inspired by Lauren’s recent Healthy Cherry Garcia recipe and decided to make a super easy smoothie version. You really can’t go wrong with frozen cherries, chocolate and coconut milk or other milk base.

Blog cherry garcia smoothie-2 Blog cherry garcia smoothie-1

Ingredients

  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup frozen cherries
  • 1/2 oz or large chunk of chocolate
  • 1 Tbsp chocolate icecream or 1 tsp other sweetener like agave

Directions

  • Blend all ingredients together until smooth
  • Top with some chopped chocolate or chocolate covered almonds

dit-elle-Esther

Costco’s Garlic Pepper Pacific Cod with Mango and Avocado Salsa

2 Replies

I seriously could eat this salsa on everything!  And…when mangos are in season, we do haha.

I cheated and used Costco’s already marinated cod.  Didn’t feel guilty about it at all, because it’s so yummy!  You could easily grill up any kind of fish with a little oil of choice, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste!Blog Whole 30 Costco Garlic Cod with Paleo Mango Avocado Salsa-1Ingredients (for Salsa)

  • 2 Mangos cut into 1/2 inch cubes.
  • 1 1/2 medium avocados
  • 20 Cherry tomatoes diced
  • 1/4 cup Walla Walla sweet onions diced
  • Juice from 1/2 a lime
  • 5 leaves of fresh Basil diced
  • Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
  • As many filets as you need.

Directions

  • Cut everything up and toss in a bowl!
  • Or….if you are short on time, toss everything into a Cuisinart and pulse a few times.
  • Bake fish according to directions and top with salsa.   EASY PEASEY!!Blog Whole 30 Costco Garlic Cod with Paleo Mango Avocado Salsa-2 Blog Whole 30 Costco Garlic Cod with Paleo Mango Avocado Salsa-3

Enjoy!dit-elle-Lauren

Parsley Walnut Pesto

2 Replies

A great summer pesto when parsley is in season – use to pair with salmon, poultry, or mix into pasta or rice!

Blog parsley walnut pesto

Ingredients

  • 3 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil (or more if desired for consistency)
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • salt
  • ground black pepper
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped

Directions

  • Combine all ingredients in food processor – process until smooth.
  • Yields about 12 tablespoons

dit-elle-Esther

Insalata di Arance (Orange Salad)

2 Replies

I would never have thought of these ingredients being perfectly complimentary and surprisingly delightful! Sweet tangy oranges, the subtle flavor of fennel, salty olives, a handful of parsley.. so good!

Blog orange fennel salad-2 Blog orange fennel salad-1

Ingredients

  • 4 oranges, peeled, sliced in bite size pieces
  • 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • Dried red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 handful kalamata olives (or pitted black olives)
  • 1 handful fresh parsley, finely chopped

Directions

  • Mix together oil, lemon juice, cumin, paprika, red pepper flakes and salt.
  • Toss with oranges, fennel, onions.
  • Sprinkle with olives and chopped parsley.
  • Serve and enjoy or make ahead of time and let marinade overnight

Thanks PCC Natural Markets for the inspiration. I modified the recipe slightly from the original here.

dit-elle-Esther