Brownies

Monday we celebrated our God-granddaughter, Hero's, 7th birthday.  She's such a blessing.  In honor of her birthday she got to sleep over at Grammy & Grampy's and we celebrated with a special treat.  My friend Kindra posted this recipe on my fb wall and I've been dying to try it.  I'm so glad I made it.  This is probably my most favorite thing I've made since going paleo.  It is so delicious!

Happy Birthday, Hero!

Raw Brownies - adapted from the Rawtarian:

Ingredients:

1 cup almonds
1 cup dates
5 tablespoons raw cacao (cocoa) powder
4 tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes (or you can use shredded)
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:
 
1. Place almonds in your food processor and process until they become small and crumbly.
2. Add dates and process until the mixture sticks together and the dates are well processed.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and process until the mixture turns a dark chocolatey brown.
4. Scoop into a brownie pan or small cake pan and press down firmly using your clean hands.
5. Refrigerate* for a couple of hours.
6. Store in the refrigerator if it lasts that long!

*You don't have to refrigerate it, but it is much easier to slice when chilled. 

Green Bean Fries

Cooper asked today (like most days) if I would take him and Carly to Yogurtland.  Of course not.  I am striving to be a champion for my kids health.  One day they'll thank me.  The next question was, what is for snack?  Both of my kids turned their noses up when I told them it was green bean fries.

Here's my recipe adapted from Delighted Momma's recipe:

You'll need:

• Fresh green beans (even though I used leftover parboiled green beans from last night's dinner)
• Olive oil
• Salt and garlic powder to taste (omit garlic powder to make these FODMAPs free)

 Then:

• Preheat oven to 400º F
• In a large bowl toss all the ingredients together
• Bake on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet for about 30-35 minutes.  As they brown they'll get caramelized & crispy. 

And much to their surprise both kids loved them.  You will, too.  This snack will definitely hit the spot when you're craving salty & crunchy.  And you don't have to feel guilty about eating them all up!

Photo courtesy of Delighted Momma

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

I started attending a women's bible study with my god-daughter.  It's in the morning so the ladies attending take turns bringing breakfast for her table.  Well, now that we are such particular eaters, I really don't get to enjoy the breakfasts unless I bring them myself.  Today was my turn.

I tested these Apple Cinnamon Muffins (modified from always underfoot) on my kids, of course.  They loved them so I made them hoping the ladies at my table would, too.  I think they did.  Turns out I have a paleo friend at my table and two girls who are not eating dairy and were pleased to be able to partake in these yummy muffins.

photo: always underfoot

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Batter

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon stevia

4 eggs

1/3 cup canned coconut milk 

1/2 cup apple sauce

1 apple, cored, peeled and finely chopped

Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients.   Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients until well combined. Fold in finely chopped apple. Prepare muffin pan with liners and fill cups about 3/4 full.

Topping

2 apples, cored, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tablespoons cinnamon

2 tablespoons apple sauce

1 tablespoon maple syrup

In a separate bowl, combine apple cinnamon topping ingredients until apples are coated. Scoop mixture over top of muffins and gently poke the topping into the muffin batter. Bake at 350º for 20 – 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Makes 12 muffins.

Don't Give Up!

Sometimes we just need a reminder!

Baked Apple Chips

There are a few blogs I follow and check-in with often for new recipes and ideas.  Delighted Momma is one of them.  Have you checked out her blog yet?  Delighted Momma, Lindsey, is not only Paleo but a wife and mom and she shares a lot of her life with her readers.  I'm sharing with you her recipe for Baked Apple Chips.  I made them yesterday and they were so delicious.  Looks like Lindsey doesn't have an apple corer and neither do I.  So I cut my apples in half and then made thin slices until I got to the core.  The kids loved them and took them today in their lunches. You'll love them, too!

Coconut Banana Soup

This is a great, easy, and fast after school snack!  I blended together coconut milk, some cinnamon and a frozen banana.  I then poured it into ramekins and added frozen berries (blueberries for Cooper and raspberries for Carly).

I called it soup because it wasn't quite thick enough to be a smoothie or a shake or ice cream.

Carly asked why I didn't blend in the berries.  I thought the frozen berries would add texture.  I had in my mind from a Bulletproof Executive post that I would make frozen blueberries in coconut milk.  I just couldn't see my kids "eating" coconut milk with only berries added.  So I created something new.

Both kids loved it and agreed I can keep it on my list of after school snacks!  I'm always looking for new ideas for after school snacks.  If you have some paleo suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

UPDATE: I added frozen strawberries to the coconut milk, frozen bananas, and cinnamon and I skipped the berries on top.  Tastes like ice cream.  Cooper even had a friend over and he loved it!

Eating Out

Ever have those days when you are worn out and don't want to cook?  Do you find yourself stressed about where you can take your family to eat healthy, fits-your-lifestyle food?

Me, too!  There are very few places we can go.  Our friends from PaleoPlan.com have put together WeWantPaleo.com, a website where you can ask restaurants to serve paleo food.

We're slowly starting to see more restaurants understanding and embracing that people care about what they put in their bodies. You can see this with the slow increase in gluten-free options available at more and more restaurants. While it's a good start, it's not that hard to offer even just a few Paleo options, since most of them already have fresh and whole foods; dairy, grains and legumes are easily left out.

I'd love to have the same confidence eating in a restaurant I have when Brad or I cook at home but without the effort and clean up. When we do go to restaurants I'm not good at ordering specifically: "please sauté my vegetables in butter rather than canola oil" or "please exchange my potatoes for veggies".  If only you could order straight off the menu and know it would be great!

Update:

Here are some good options we've found for eating out:

Chipotle: Food With Integrity
Wahoo's: Wild Caught Fish
Freebird: Food Story
Panera: Hidden Menu

Do you have a favorite restaurant that already has some great paleo meals?  If so, I'd love for you to share with us!