Paleo Pancakes for Valentines Day

This year for Valentines Day I wanted to do something very special for Matthew. My sweet husband is always asking me if he can have breakfast in bed. I am constantly telling him "No" and to "Get his butt out of bed and eat at the table like a normal person". However, for certain special occasions I see fit for granting his greatest wish of being served breakfast in bed. Valentines day seemed like the perfect opportunity.

I got up early on Valentines Day to prepare the lovely breakfast I was going to make for my husband and serve him in bed just as he wished. I was making Paleo Pancakes, fruit salad and coffee. I have made Paleo Pancakes in the past and I was not in love with the amount of banana. I found a recipe where you can make the dry mix which can serve as a pancake base or a muffin base. Then you add the wet ingredients when you are ready to make a batch of muffins or pancakes. These pancakes turned out so well it was like eating normal pancakes again.

I prepared a lovely breakfast try to bring up to serve my husband in bed and as I am about to walk up the stairs he comes down. I had to smile because I believe he came down to please me and I was going to bring him breakfast in bed to please him. There is a lot of mutual respect I think i this relationship. He very much appreciated the gesture and enjoyed his breakfast immensely.

I hope you all enjoy!

Paleo Pancake and Muffin Mix

Ingredients:

3 1/4 cups coconut flour

3 1/4 cups arrow root or tapioca flour 

2 1/4 cups almond or cashew flour

2 tablespoons baking soda

Mix all of the ingredients together and store in sealed storage container.

Pancake Batter:

5 large eggs

1 2/3 cups Pancake Mix

1 cup unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk

2 tablespoons melted ghee or coconut oil, plus more for greasing the pan

2 tablespoons raw honey

For Serving:

Warm pure maple syrup

1. Place the batter ingredients in blender until smooth.

2. Heat a skillet or griddle over low to medium heat. These pancakes need to cook over lower heat than traditional pancakes, so make sure not to let the burner get to hot. Grease the pan with coconut oil, then pour four small pancakes, each about 3 inches in diameter. Quickly spread each pancake with the back of a spoon so that they are about 4 inches wide. Cook until browned on the first side, about 90 seconds, then flip and cook until nicely browned on the other side. 

3. Repeat with remaining batter, greasing the pan again before making each batch. 

4. Serve the pancakes with the warm maple syrup. 

Paleo Banana and Blueberry Muffins

This recipe was given to me by a friend. The original recipe had 1/4 cup chocolate chips instead of blueberries. I wanted to try it with blueberries because I love blueberries!! I made both and they are both wonderful. In the picture is featuring both kinds of muffins.

Matthew says, "These muffins are delicious baby!" 

Thank you Matthew for that insightful comment. 

Fresh blueberries are better then frozen in this recipe because the frozen blueberries come out a little wet in this recipe. The flavors are really good, these were very easy to make and I will defiantly make them again and maybe even try different fruits like cranberries.  

Banana Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2/ tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil melted
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 ripe mashed bananas 
• 1/2 cup blueberries

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Mix dry ingredients well in large bowl.

Mix the eggs and beat the rest of the wet ingredients. 

Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix well. 

Fold in blueberries with rubber spatula. 

Pour into cupcake tins and bake for 20 minutes. 

Yield 12 muffins

Why Making Paleo Cheese was a Mistake

After this weekend I truly believe it is a complete myth to think cheese can be made from nuts or vegetables. My husband and I decided it would be fun to try and make "Paleo Cheese". I found a few recipes online that had some great reviews and people seemed to like a lot! These posts made exclamations such as, "Amazing substitute!", "Just like eating the real thing", and "This is my new favorite snack". I was willing to try.

Matthew and I went to Whole Foods to pick up a few ingredients we would need for these special "cheeses". A few of these ingredients were sesame tahini, and nutritional yeast flakes. We were curious to get started. The cheese was easy enough to prepare and even smelled decent. However, after we let the cheese sit over night we decided to try it the following afternoon. I have never tasted anything so terrible in my entire life. Matthew and I hated the gummy texture and the overwhelming amount of spices in the "cheddar cheese".

I wish I had a picture to show the looks on our faces after we tried this major disaster, but I do not. I am glad we tried to make cheese because it made us realize why we don't eat fake cheese. This post is serving more as a warning then anything else. If you want to try these recipes be my guest let me know if you have success while doing it. My opinion is, if you are on the Paleo Diet and you are craving cheese you have two options. One, suck it up and don't eat it, or two, you can just not be on the paleo diet if you need cheese that bad and for heavens sake eat the real stuff!


"Zucchini Cheese"

Ingredients:

• 2 cups zucchini, peeled and cut up into small cubes
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 TBSP coconut oil, melted
• 4 TBSP gelatin (I use the brand Great Lakes / red)
• 2 TSP lemon juice
• 2/3 TSP of salt or more to taste
• 2 TBSP nutritional yeast (optional)
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions:

1. Steam the zucchini for 5 minutes, until tender.
2. Drain the zucchini.
3. In a Vitamix or high speed blender, blend the zucchini with water, coconut oil, lemon juice, and salt for 30 seconds or until smooth.
4. Add the gelatin and the nutritional yeast. Blend for another 15 seconds.
5. Pour the mixture in a bowl, add the parsley and mix well with a spoon.
6. Pour the preparation in a foil loaf pan and refrigerate until set (at least 4 hours) 

"Cheddar Cheese"

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ c water
• 2 Tbs Unflavored Gelatin*
• ½ c Raw Cashews
• ¼ c Nutritional Yeast Flakes
• 3 Tbs Fresh Lemon Juice
• 2 Tbs Sesame Tahini
• 3 tsp smoked paprika
• 3 tsp onion powder
• 1 ½ tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp cayenne
• ¼ tsp dry mustard

Instructions:

1. Using palm or coconut oil, generously grease a 1-quart glass or ceramic bowl or casserole dish, set aside.
2. In small sauce pan, bring gelatin and water to boil for 1 minute. Quickly move this and all other ingredients to blender and allow to blend at highest setting until mix is completely smooth.
3. Pour sauce into prepared bowl, refrigerate uncovered for 3 hours. Cover and chill overnight. Store in refrigerator for up to 10 days.
4. Slice, shred, cube, serve.
5. Makes approximately 2 cups.

Paleo Brownie Bites

I love these!!! So far I have not been a fan of using dates. They are very sticky and gummy feeling. I just don't like them. However, I am determined to make an easy dessert that doesn't taste like it's a healthy treat. Mission accomplished! I sent my test subjects out to work with my husband and received the thumbs up from everyone. Most importantly, I give this recipe my own thumbs up. This is important because I am extremely critical of my own baking and cooking in general. I typically will not let anyone try anything I cook unless it receives my stamp of approval. I have had to be more lenient on this because my husband likes pretty much anything I cook and wants to share with his friends. So now I use his friends as test dummies, sorry guys. 

Let me know how you like them!

1. Paleo Brownie Bites
2. 
   

1. Ingredients

1. 1 1/2 cups walnuts

1. Pinch of salt

1. 1 cup pitted dates

1. 1 tsp vanilla

1. 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

    Instructions

1. 1. Add walnuts and salt to a blender or food processor, I recommend the food processor if you have one. Mix until the walnuts are finely ground. 

1. 2. Add the dates, vanilla, and cocoa powder to the blender. Mix well until everything is combined. With the blender still running, add a couple drops of water at a time to make the mixture stick together. 

1. 3. Using a spatula, transfer the mixture into a bowl. Using your hands, form small round balls, rolling in your palm. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week