Paleo No-Bake Cookies

I was asked by our friend, Dustin, to make no-bake Paleo cookies. He bought some from a lady at a farmers market made that were grain free, dairy free and completely Paleo. The ingredients used in these cookies were listed on the bottom of the container. I tried a few of them and figured I could make them pretty decently. I really needed a food processor to get the cookies to be the same consistency as the ones form the farmers market. Sadly, I do not have a food processor which would make my life so much easier on so many different levels (hint hint husband).

On the weekend of our anniversary, my husband surprised me with a trip to Granville Ohio. We stayed at the Buxton Inn and spent the entire weekend exploring the area and enjoying one an others company. One of the things we really wanted to do was to go to the farmers market and buy some of these Paleo cookies. I spent quite some time talking with the lady selling the baked goods. She had quite the story to tell about her journey with the Paleo diet and how much weight she lost. It was a very inspiring story. Apparently she travels a lot going to various conferences where she speaks to people about the dieting journey she went through before becoming completely Paleo and how it has changed her life. Needless to say we bought several items from her including her no bake cookies.

I studied and ate a few of these cookies to get an idea about consistency and ingredient amounts.My husband was more then happy to assist me in making these cookies. Since I do not have a food processor I asked my husband to sharpen my knives to make it easier to chop the dates and nuts. based on the taste test from the farmers market cookies I was able to guess the quantities for the mix. This was my first attempt and next time I make them I will be tweaking the recipe again, and hopefully I will have a food processor.

All in all I think they came out very well. So, here's to you Dustin I hope you enjoy!

No Bake Paleo Cookies

2  Cups Dates
1  Cup Unsweetened  Coconut
1/2  cup Raw Cashews
1/2  cup Raw Walnuts
2  Tbs Pure Maple Syrup
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1  Tbs Organic Unsweetened Coco Powder

Start by chopping all of the ingredients as thin as you can or throw all of the ingredients into a food processor. Once all ingredients are combined use a large tablespoon to scoop the mixture into your hands and pack together and roll into balls. Place on cookie sheet and allow to settle.

Decadent Paleo Chocolate Cake

I know it has been several weeks since my last post, I apologize. A lot has happened in the past three weeks. I started a new job, was extremely sick and my husband stole me away for an anniversary trip. Needless to say this post is past due. 

Right before I became ill, Matthew and I hosted some friends over to our house for a Paleo dinner. We were also celebrating the retirement of one of our good friends. 

We have also just purchased a beautiful table for our morning room and I was dying to break it in, since Matthew and I treat the table as a work of art and don't use it on a regular basis. 

For this particular get together I decided to make a Paleo Chocolate cake. I made one before which reminded me more of a brownie then a chocolate cake. I want this one to have more of that moist cake texture and a sweeter chocolate flavor. 

I had a few difficulties with the cake. I could not find the right size spring form pan. Instead, I found small little spring board pans to make little individual cakes. They came out beautifully and everyone seemed to enjoy them. My favorite part was the middle layer of chocolate gnash, it took a little time to make but it was very delicious and I think it really put the cake on a whole other level. Next time I think I will double that part of the cake so there is more ganache in the middle layer. 

The whole evening was wonderful. It was full of great conversation, good food, and fabulous company. After dinner we settled in the living room for espresso drinks and games. We played a game I got for Christmas called "Heads Up". It was a very fun filled evening. 


Decadent Paleo Chocolate Layer Cake

Cake:

• 3 cups blanched almond flour

• ¼ cup coconut flour

• ¾ cup raw cacao powder

• ½ cup raw coconut palm sugar

• 2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ½ cup coconut oil, melted

• 1 cup coconut milk, full fat

• 3 large eggs, room temperature

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 tablespoons raw honey

Middle Layer Chocolate Ganache*:

• 1 can (13.5 ounces) full fat coconut milk

• 2 tablespoons raw honey

• 4 tablespoons raw cacao powder

• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Frosting:

• 6 tablespoons coconut milk, full fat

• ¾ cup dark chocolate chips
• 
  

Instructions
Cake:

1. preheat oven at 350°F

1. grease the bottom and sides of a 7-inch spring form pan with coconut oil and line the bottom with parchment paper

1. in a large bowl mix together the almond flour, coconut flour, raw cacao powder, raw coconut palm sugar, baking soda and salt

1. in a separate bowl whisk together the coconut oil, coconut milk, eggs, vanilla and honey

1. using a rubber spatula, gently mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients to form a batter. Do not over mix.

1. pour batter into prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, approximately 45-50 minutes. If you feel you need to cook it longer, cover cake with aluminum foil to prevent burning the top and lower the heat to 325°F. Cook until toothpick comes out clean.

1. let cake cool completely then cut horizontally in the middle

1. spread the chocolate ganache over the bottom half of the cake and refrigerate for 30 minutes

1. top with other half of cake, then spread the chocolate frosting over the top and sides of the cake

1. sprinkle top with shaved dark chocolate if desired

Middle Layer Chocolate Ganache:

1. in a medium saucepan, bring the coconut milk and honey to a light boil

1. simmer on low heat for two hours, stirring occasionally. Do not cover the pan. You will know you cooked it long enough when the coconut milk is reduced to half and has a thicker consistency and darker color, similar to sweetened condensed milk.

1. mix in the raw cacao powder and vanilla extract and stir until all is combined and smooth

1. let it cool and refrigerate until cake is ready

Chocolate Frosting:

1. melt the chocolate chips in a bowl over simmering water (double boiler)

1. mix coconut milk with melted chocolate until all is combined and smooth

1. let cool for 5 minutes before icing the cake

*The middle layer chocolate ganache takes a long time to make. Please plan ahead and have this ready before you bake the cake.
If you make this cake with almond flour by Bob's Red Mill your cake may turn out oily, dense and it may sink in the middle. Be sure to use finely ground almond flour with the skin removed to get a light and fluffy consistency out of your cake. I suggest blanched almond flour by Honeyville. I am not affiliated with them. Their almond flour just works the best for baking.
Recipe serves about 10 people.

Paleo Breakfast Eggs

Before Matthew and I were on the Paleo diet I was getting up every morning to cook for him. I would usually switch it up every few days. One day would be oatmeal with fresh fruit or dried cranberries. Another day would be fried eggs with bacon or sausage and toast with strawberry jam. On special occasions I would make French Toast or pancakes. As you can see, most of our meals came with bread or wheat of some sort. When we decided to take the Paleo leap all of my regular breakfast ideas went out the window.

The first idea I came up with was a breakfast casserole. I made a huge tray of it and Matthew and I liked it for a few days but it got very old very quickly. I think we were both so used to fresh eggs every morning that the re-heated egg casserole was just not working for us. I decided after the casserole experiment to just make omelets everyday. Since we can't have cheese, these omelets consisted of meat and veggies only. These omelets made me very angry because without the cheese to hold the meat and veggies inside the omelet they all would just fall out and the whole thing just tasted dry! Then my wonderful husband admits to me that he really doesn't like omelets in general. Omelets are now off the menu and so are scrambled eggs, unless I'm in a hurry.

Needless to say I was getting very frustrated with my morning breakfast making routine. I finally came up with a super delicious breakfast Matthew and I both enjoy. I call it "Eggs ala Catherine".

I prep EVERYTHING!

Step 1: Dice one red bell pepper and place in storage container
Step 2: Dice one green bell pepper and place in storage container
Step 3: Dice one large red onion and place in storage container
Step 4: Cook breakfast meet of your choice and place in storage container

That's all of the prep work needed and it lasts about a week which is pretty perfect.

The only other ingredients needed are cherry tomatoes and eggs.

Here is how you make these perfectly easy Eggs Ala Catherine

Step 1: Heat small frying pan over low heat sprinkle in a little olive oil just to cover the bottom of the pan

Step 2: Once the pan is heated throw in onion, and peppers and let sautee.

Step 3: Add the meat and stir in to re-heat. At this point I usually throw in a pinch of sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Step 4: Dice the grape tomatoes and throw them in the pan.

Step 5: Almost immediately after crack two eggs over the meat and veggie mixture and cover.

Let the eggs cook slowly. I keep an eye on them and remove them from the pan once the eggs are cooked about over medium.

This is the end result!

 



Paleo Cranberry Orange Bread

As my husband and I are relaxing in our living room watching, "The Lion King: Simba's Pride" he turns to me and says that he wants dessert. I told him he is crazy and we don't have any desserts in the house. I peeled him an orange and told him to deal with not having cookies and cakes everyday. As we are enjoying these wonderful oranges, compliments of Matthews father, I remembered a recipe I saw for a Paleo Cranberry Orange Bread. Matthew was very excited about the idea of me baking a delicious bread. My poor husband is very committed to this life style change but he LOVES his carbs. I must do what I can to satisfy his carbohydrate cravings and his crazy sweet tooth, which is another thing we are not allowed to have.

Every year for Christmas I used to make tons of loaves of Cranberry Orange Bread. It is one of my favorite things to bake and eat and Matthew used to like it too. I found a few recipes that looked interesting and I will probably try a few more before I decide which one is my favorite. Tonight I am settling for a recipe I found online for which I made a few minor adjustments to fit the ingredients I have in my kitchen.

The Paleo bread was not one of my favorite. Matthew loved it and declared that he "misses stuff like this!" I know I can do better then this so I will continue to find a bread recipe which satisfies me and my bread loving husband.

Paleo Cranberry Orange Bread

Ingredients:

6 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/2 cup cranberries sliced in halves

Orange glaze:

coconut milk
vanilla
orange zest


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease loaf pan with coconut oil.

Wisk the liquid ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Sift in the coconut flour, sea salt, baking soda and orange zest.

Fold in the cranberries.

Pour into greased loaf pan and evenly spread the mixture in the pan.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and bounces back to a light touch. Allow to cool before slicing and enjoy!

Paleo Spaghetti

This evening I am making Paleo Spaghetti! This is one of my favorite dishes. It's jam packed full of delicious veggies and seasoned to absolute perfection. My husband loves this dish and he prefers the spaghetti squash to regular pasta. The key is to let the squash drain and then to bake it in the oven right before serving. I also seasoned it with some fresh pepper right before serving. Delicious!

 

Spaghetti Squash:

 

Prepare the squash

Cut the spaghetti squash in half (make sure to use a sharp knife). Remove the seeds and stringy center then place face down on a cooking sheet. You can add a little water to the bottom of the pan to make the squash more tender. I also like to add a few garlic cloves under the squash for added flavor. Let bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until the skin is tender.

When the squash is finished baking let it cool for a few minutes before shredding it with a for. Place the squash in a strainer and let the water gradually seep out. This might take some time. When it's finished the squash will have less of a watery texture.

Sauce

Ingredients:

- 1 lb Italian sausage
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 large Spanish onion
- 1 red and 1 green bell pepper
- 1 zucchini chopped
- 1 cup mushrooms
- 2 cans crushed tomatoes
- 1/4 cup fresh basil
- 1/4 cup fresh oregano
- 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
- extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt to taste

Brown the meat and add all of the veggies and seasoning. When veggies are tender add the crushed tomatoes. Let simmer until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

In the Beginning

Hello Blogger World!

This is my first blog post so bear with me. This blog will contain Paleo Diet approved recipes which are also great for people trying to maintain a gluten free diet or grain free diet in general. My husband and I decided to go Paleo about three months ago and we feel so much better for having switched. This diet is something we decided to do because we want to live a healthier life style. Therefore, I decided to share my findings and fabulous Paleo recipes with the world in an attempt to help others eat healthier. I love to cook and these recipes will be very simple and very clean and very tasty. Paleo to me does not mean bland and boring. Its a new challenging way to cook gourmet foods. 

Being Paleo means eating clean foods. My shopping list consists of meat vegetables and fruit. It is a very simple diet. The most important thing to remember is clean eating. No processed foods. The only difficult part of this diet is making sure you use your vegetables before they go bad. This is what I made last night for dinner. I made swordfish steaks and baked broccoli. My husband loved it and I looked like a hero because this was the easiest dinner ever!

Swordfish and Baked Broccoli 

Ingredients:

• 2-4 Swordfish Filets  

• 2-4 bunches fresh broccoli 

• Sea salt  

• 3-4 Garlic cloves 

• Fresh Ground Black Pepper 

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Preheat oven for 350 degrees  

Cut and rinse the broccoli then place on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper.  Chop the garlic and drizzle over broccoli. Place in oven for about 8-10 minutes.

While broccoli is baking heat cast iron skillet over medium low heat. Sprinkle pan with olive oil. Place swordfish fillet in pan and season with sea salt and fresh black pepper. Squeeze lemon juice over the top and cover fillets. Cook for about 6-8 minutes. I flip them after about 6 minutes and then take them off the pan about 2 minutes later.

The swordfish comes out very juicy and tender and the broccoli should be on the crunchy side. Enjoy!