Category Archives: Food

Paleo Banana Coconut Ice Cream Pies

I’ve been seeing so many pictures of Nana Ice Cream on Instagram, and have been dying to try my own version. Funny thing…I’m not really a big fan of bananas haha. So, I added a few other things into the mix to see how it turned out. OMG, it was so creamy and delicious!!! One of my favorite desserts (crazy, I know!) is just a plain soft serve ice cream cone. I am TOTALLY doing that with this recipe later!!

I’ve also been itching to make a crust out of almonds and dates, so….I figured why not make them both…TOGETHER! You’d think you were eating a decadent dessert, yet not! Now, with all the almonds and dates, it’s not necessarily low calorie/low fat, but it’s all good for you, so toss the guilt aside, and ENJOY!So the crust on these…OMG. I am a die hard LOVER of graham cracker crust. Like, I double it every time I make a cheesecake or other recipe that calls for it :} This was pretty darn close and so much better for you! Totally converting!Ingredients (makes 8 little pies, or could make one 9 inch pie)

Ice Cream

6 frozen bananas
1/3 Cup Almonds
1 Can low fat Coconut Milk
2 Medjul Dates (pitted)

Crust

12 Medjul Dates (pitted)
1 1/3 Cup Almonds
2 1/2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil

Directions

In a food processor pulse the ingredients for the crust until it starts to clump together. I took 1/3 of a cup and put it in the bottom of each little glass bowl (could use ramicans or place most of it all in a 9 inch pie dish). I kept a little left over to sprinkle over the top of the pies.
I a blender, mix all the Ice Cream ingredients until smooth and creamy. I spooned 1/2 cup into the little bowls, and then sprinkled the leftover crust mix.
This really is best served right away, but you can freeze them and then let them sit out for about 15-20 minutes before serving.
I topped with shaved unsweetened coconut and fresh blueberries. Really, the possibilities are endless on how you can vary this! And…I WILL!

ENJOY!!

Nutritional Facts (I entered all the ingredients into Calorie Count)

Per Individual Pie

Serves 8 // Calories per Individual Pie- 351 // Total Fat- 17g // Saturated Fat- 7g // Total Carbohydrates-55.8g // Dietary Fiber-7.3 // Sugars- 33.1g // Protein- 5.8g

Summer Fruit & Coconut Milk Popsicles

1 Reply

It’s summer! And nothing says summer like sweet refreshing popsicles! This is a GREAT kitchen project to involve kids in – Ava LOVES to help make these. I chop the fruit, she adds it to the cup and pours the coconut milk in. Together we use the blender to mix it all up and then we fill the popsicle forms. And it is SO exciting to take them out of the freezer later. So easy, fun and these make a great summer snack.

Ingredients

Note that quantities will depend on how many popsicles you are making – this batch made 8 for us. Also – you can throw in whatever fruit or berries you have. Strawberries make a beautiful pink color, blueberries will turn everything purple. Enjoy! 🙂
1 peach or nectarine
1 orange
1 large slice of cantaloupe
2/3 cup coconut milk

Directions

Peel, chop and blend everything till smooth
Pour in your popsicle molds
Freeze and serve

Lemon Granita

2 Replies

Well, it’s pushing 90 in Seattle this week which really is not bad given the damp chilly weather we had this winter. OK, 90 does start to feel a little hot, but that’s when you make awesome Lemon Granita! 🙂

Ingredients

1 cup water
1 cup sugar (or 2/3 cups honey)
2 to 3 teaspoons chopped fresh basil, mint, lemon balm or rosemary (optional)
1 1/4 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest

Preparation

Combine water and sugar in a saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.
Remove from heat and stir in optional fresh herbs. Cool to room temperature; strain.
Stir together herbed simple syrup, lemon juice and zest. Transfer to a non-reactive baking dish and freeze for 30 minutes. Thoroughly scrape the entire pan with a fork, breaking up ice crystals. Repeat this freezing and scraping process every 30 minutes, until granita is firm but not frozen solid, 2 to 4 hours.
Spoon into small glasses and serve.

Thanks and inspired by the PCC Granita de Limone recipe!

Healthy Carrot Cake Cupcakes // Gluten Free

6 Replies

What makes Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins even better? FROSTING!! 🙂 I didn’t have any cream cheese on hand, so I thought I’d try something with goat cheese. I love getting creative with what’s on hand! I left the room for a minute. When I came back, Maya had taken a bite out of every carrot and was working her way through this one 🙂I’m reposting the recipe for the muffins turned cupcakes 🙂

Ingredients (makes 12)

Muffins

4-5 small organic carrots (about a cup)
1/2 Cup unsweetened applesauce
6 Medjul Dates (pitted)
2 Eggs
1/8th teaspoon Cinnamon
1/8th teaspoon salt
1/8th teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8th teaspoon grated fresh ginger (I cheat and use this)
2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
2 Tablespoons Pure Organic Honey
1 Cup Cooked Quinoa
1/4 Cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Frosting

3 oz goat cheese (I get the little individual 1 oz packs from Trader Joe’s)
2 6 oz containers of Non Fat Greek Yogurt
1 Tablespoon Pure Organic Honey

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350
Peel and break in half the carrots and pulse in a Cuisinart til shredded.
Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse til blended.
Scoop 1/4 of a cup of the mixture into muffin tins
Sprinkle shredded coconut on top
Bake for 50-55 minutes.
Place a big dollop of frosting on and ENJOY!
These are really moist. I’m not sure why. They don’t do well if you seal them up in a container, so just refrigerate what doesn’t get gobbled up immediately, and they will not dry out.

Nutritional Facts (I entered all the ingredients into Calorie Count)

Cupcakes

Serves 12 // Calories per frosted cupcake- 160 // Total Fat- 5.9g // Saturated Fat- 3.9g // Cholestererol- 35mg // Sodium- 178mg // Total Carbohydrates-18.7g // Dietary Fiber-1.5 // Sugars- 12.6g // Protein- 8g

Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins

5 Replies

I’ll admit…these were my 2nd attempt. I’ve been wanting to make a carrot cake version of the Banana Muffins I made, and my first attempt were just a liiiiiittle too healthy tasting haha. Maya gobbled them up, but that’s not really saying much 😉 So…I made them a little bit sweeter, and loved them! There’s still no refined sugar, so they are much healthier than the standard carrot cake. They are super moist, not heavy like other carrot cakes, and delicious!

Ingredients (makes 12 muffins)

4-5 small organic carrots (about a cup)
1/2 Cup unsweetened applesauce
6 Medjul Dates (pitted)
2 Eggs
1/8th teaspoon Cinnamon
1/8th teaspoon salt
1/8th teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8th teaspoon grated fresh ginger (I cheat and use this)
2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
2 Tablespoons Pure Organic Honey
1 Cup Cooked Quinoa
1/4 Cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350
Peel and break in half the carrots and pulse in a Cuisinart til shredded.
Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse til blended.
Scoop 1/4 of a cup of the mixture into muffin tins
Sprinkle shredded coconut on top
Bake for 50-55 minutes.
These are really moist. I’m not sure why. They don’t do well if you seal them up in a container, so just leave them out and they will not dry out. Enjoy!

Nutritional Facts (I entered all the ingredients into Calorie Count)

Serves 12 // Calories per muffin- 98 // Total Fat- 3.4g // Saturated Fat- 2.2g // Cholestererol- 27mg // Sodium- 146mg // Potassium- 198mg // Total Carbohydrates-15.1g // Dietary Fiber-1.5 // Sugars- 9g // Protein- 2.2g

Greek Salad with Roasted Chicken

1 Reply

Love greens, veggies and chicken! This is really a variation on the classic Greek Salad but adding chicken makes it a wonderful meal in and of itself! And paleo!

Dressing

1 tsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tsps. tahini (sesame-seed paste)
1 tsp minced garlic (fresh or bottled)
salt & pepper, to taste

Salad

1 lb chicken breast, roasted & cubed
8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup peeled chopped English cucumber
1 cup chopped tomatoes (grape tomatoes halved work well)
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese (minus the cheese for dairy free and paleo)

Paleo Warm Peach Salad with Apple Cider Dressing

4 Replies

I used the dressing from the Warm Butternut Squash Salad recipe, and basically just threw some perfectly ripe peaches in there instead of the butternut squash. It was easy and delicious!

Ingredients

1-2 Ripe Peaches (depending on their size and how many people you need to feed)
Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste
3/4 C Pure no sugar added Apple Cider
2 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Diced Shallots or I’ve also used 1/3 C diced red onion
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4-5 cups (or really, you choose depending on how many mouths you have to feed!) of spinach or arugula. I personally LOVE arugula, but our boys don’t. When I make this for friends, it’s arugula. When I make it for the family-spinach. It wilts down a little when you pour the warm dressing over it, so put in more than you think you need.

Directions

Combine cider, vinegar, onions/or shallots, and a little salt and pepper in a small sauce pan. Bring that to a boil and stir for about 6-7 minutes so that it reduces. Take off heat and whisk in mustard. (original recipe calls for adding a 1/2 a cup of olive oil now, but I forgot to do that once. It tasted fine, so I’ve left it out ever since :)) You choose!
Place salad greens in a large bowl. Toss in peaches and dressing. Pepper to taste.
You can also toss in nuts of your choice and sprinkle with a cheese of your choosing.

Baked Orange Rosemary Chicken with Sweet Potatos // Paleo and Whole30

2 Replies

Ok, so….I may or may not have forgotten to write the recipe down after I made this, but it really was so easy that I’m fairly certain this is it haha. :}

The Huz introduced me to bone in chicken. I mean, I’d had it before, but I think I thought it was harder or not as good-what was I thinking?? When you cook things with the bone in, they are so much moister and more delicious!! I personally don’t eat the skin, but I was told it pretty darn tasty too! AND…because it’s so moist and delicious all on it’s own, you really don’t have to do much to it-WIN!Ingredients

4 bone in chicken breasts
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
1 Tsp garlic
6 clementines or mandarin oranges
1 medium sized onion
2 sweet potatoes (there is some debate on whether sweet potatoes are “paleo”, but since some websites say they are, I’m going with them 🙂 )
4 sprigs of rosemary
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste.

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Peel and cube the sweet potatoes. ( I asked the Huz to get them, and he came back with the “white” ones. I always get confused on what the orange ones are (yams), and I do believe it’s different depending on what part of the country you live in… Anywho, the ones in the picture look like regular potatoes, but they are sweet 😉 )
Dice the onion
Melt the coconut oil
Peel 3 of the oranges, and squeeze the juice from them into the melted oil
Add garlic to the above liquid
Toss the potatoes and onions in the above liquid.
Place the chicken breasts in a 9×13 baking pan and spread potatoes and onions around them, letting them get coated with the oil/garlic/orange juice liquid.
Grind a little salt and pepper over the entire dish-I don’t use much.
Peel the last 3 oranges and place pieces as well as the rosemary sprigs around the dish.
Bake uncovered for an hour, or until potatoes and chicken are fully cooked (time will vary depending on the size of the breasts you get).

Enjoy!!

Category Archives: Food

Paleo Banana Coconut Ice Cream Pies

Summer Fruit & Coconut Milk Popsicles

Lemon Granita

Healthy Carrot Cake Cupcakes // Gluten Free

Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins

Greek Salad with Roasted Chicken

Paleo Warm Peach Salad with Apple Cider Dressing

Baked Orange Rosemary Chicken with Sweet Potatos // Paleo and Whole30

Blueberry Paleo Muffins

Tunisian Pesto

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