Apple Cider Donuts

We have a tradition at our house where the birthday person gets breakfast in bed.  The kids always choose to have a donut for breakfast.  Monday is Cooper's 11th birthday and, of course, he wants donuts!

Last year for Cooper's birthday we were only gluten-free.  It was easy to purchase gluten-free donuts in the frozen section at Mother's Market.  They were ok.  Coop was a good sport.  This year, being grain-free, I wondered if we were going to indulge and suffer with belly aches or do away with the traditional donut. 

Thank you Paleo Spirit for saving our tradition!  These Apple Cider Donuts are so good and the birthday boy gave 2 thumbs up to having them as his birthday breakfast.

Ingredients (makes 10-12 mini-donuts or about 9 regular donuts)

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 eggs (room temperature)
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil (liquid)
• 1/2 cup warm apple cider
• 2 tablespoons butter or coconut oil, melted – for coating cooked donuts

Cinnamon Sugar

• 1/2 cup granulated coconut sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon 

Instructions:

1. Preheat mini-donut maker or oven to 350˚F.
2. In a small bowl whisk together coconut flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
3. In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, oil, and honey.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined.
5. Add the warm apple cider to the bowl and mix until fully incorporated into the dough.
6. Scoop the donut batter into the pre-heated donut maker/pan.
7. Close the lid and cook for 2-3 minutes or place in the oven for 20 min.
8. Carefully remove cooked donuts from the pan.
9. Brush donuts with melted butter or coconut oil to cover both sides.
10. Toss donuts with the prepared cinnamon/coconut sugar mixture until coated.

They are best served warm.  I made mine a day ahead and they were still good but the cinnamon sugar was soaked into the donut which changed the texture.  No biggie.

BTW - I did not go out and buy a donut maker.  I bought a donut pan at Michaels for $10.  Works great!

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Bars

Photo: Nom Nom Paleo

Thanks to my friend, Nicole, for passing on this great recipe.  It is another big hit with the kids.  Cooper said it was the best thing he ever ate!

Sweet Potato Bars
From the book Sweet Potato Power by Ashley Tudor

1/2 cup yam puree
1/3 cup honey
2 eggs
1 cup almond flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves

1.  To make puree:  Heat oven to 400.  Place medium yam on baking sheet and bake for 1 hour or until easily pierced with a fork.  Cool, scoop out flesh from skin.  Discard skin.  Puree flesh in food processor.  (Mash can be made days ahead and frozen or refrigerated until ready to use.)

2.  For bars: Heat oven to 350.  In a food processor, combine puree, honey, and eggs.  Pulse for 2 minutes.  Add dry flour and seasonings.  Pulse for a full minute.

3.  Pour batter into a greased, 8 inch square baking dish.  Bake for 30-35 minutes. Serve

Carrot Fries & Meatloaf

Check out Paleo On A Budget's great recipe for these carrot fries.  Mine took about 40 minutes to bake, though.

Serve along side this easy meatloaf recipe.

Ingredients:

1 lb grass-fed ground beef
1 shredded carrot
1 shredded zucchini
1 egg
salt
garlic powder
paprika

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350˚F.  Mix all ingredients together with your hands until well combined.  Put into a loaf pan or small cake pan.  Bake for 50-60 min.

UPDATE: If you like crispy fries, these may not work.  You'll end up burning more than crisping.  Also, as my good friend, Amy pointed out, make a bunch because these tasty morsels shrink.

Coconut Waffles

My husband is known for making waffles. We love waffles. We were eating waffles 2-3 times a week. Then, we went grain-free and it was "good bye, waffles". We've tried recipes here and there. They are not the same but still we press on. Here's a pretty good one adapted from PaleOMG. 

Almond Flour Coconut Waffles
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 5 mins
Total time: 10 mins
Makes 3 waffles 

Ingredients
2 eggs, whisked

1/4 cup canned coconut milk

1.5 cup almond flour/meal
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1 tablespoon coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon raw honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

Instructions
1. Plug in waffle iron.
2. Whisk eggs in a medium-large bowl.
3. Add coconut milk and whisk with eggs.
4. Add almond flour and mix together.
5. Add shredded coconut, coconut flour, baking soda and mix together.
6. Add honey, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon. Mix together, thoroughly.
7. Pour into waffle iron and cook according to iron instructions, about 4 minutes.

Roasted Butternut Squash, Carrot, and Ginger Soup

Roasted Butternut Squash, Carrot, and Ginger Soup

adapted from With Style and Grace

Ingredients 

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 1 lb carrots, peeled (last night I used a mixture of parsnips & carrots, yummy)
• 1 yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375˚ F.
• To prepare baking sheet, cover with foil and drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil; set aside.
• Cut butternut squash in half; remove seeds and place cut side down on prepared baking sheet.
• Add the carrots alongside.
• Bake until squash and carrots are tender and nicely browned, about 45 minutes. 
• Remove from the oven and until cool enough to handle, peel the skin off the butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise and then into cubes. Dice carrots.
• In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook for about 5 minutes until translucent. 
• Add ginger and garlic and cook for one minute. 
• Add squash, carrots, broth, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium-high, bringing to a boil.
• Reduce to low and simmer, uncovered for about 30 minutes.
• Remove from heat and let cool slightly before you puree.
• In batches, transfer soup to blender and puree. Or use an immersion blender.
• Add more salt + pepper, to taste.
• Serve immediately or store in refrigerator in an airtight container.

Makes 6 servings

Paleo? Bulletproof? Yes!

I like to say I eat Paleo because it's easier for me to explain.  My husband says the way we eat is really closer to Bulletproof.  The difference? The "Bulletproof diet is carefully designed to avoid a bunch of common food toxins."

Dave Asprey, The Bulletproof Executive, developed the diet by starting from scratch and thinking, "What are the optimal things to eat whether cavemen ate them or astronauts ate them?” For Dave it didn't matter.  He asked what foods bring about the best health and the best lifelong longevity and that's where he started.  It turns out that what he built with "the Bulletproof diet over the years was very close to Paleo but the role of mycotoxins and a few other toxins isn't accounted for in Paleo."

The Bulletproof diet consists of foods which naturally have the least occurring toxins and then uses cooking techniques that introduce less toxins.  At the end of the day, it is an anti-inflammatory diet that has about six or seven other ways it works that are different than, but complimentary to Paleo.

Check out both ways to health and see if one or a combo of both will work for you.  It has changed my life.

Bulletproof Executive

The Paleo Diet

both quotes above are from Dave Asprey, Podcast 15 "A Non-Bulletproof View On Artificial Sweetners" with James Krieger

Spaghetti Squash alla Carbonara

This recipe, from Paleo Parents, is my VERY favorite spaghetti squash dish.  I could make it every night and as I'm typing this I'm wondering why it has been so long since I've made it.  Everyone in my family loved it, especially since it has bacon in it.

Ingredients
1 medium spaghetti squash
12 oz bacon
1 Tbsp coconut flour
1/2 C coconut milk
6 eggs
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning (or herbs de provence)
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 heaping Tbsp coconut oil or butter

Instructions

1. Cut the spaghetti squash in half, scoop out the seeds, place open side down on a plate and microwave for 10 minutes (alternatively, bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees)
2. While the squash is cooking, fry up the strips of bacon (whole) in a pan over medium heat. Use one you can also scramble eggs in, we like a cast iron skillet
3. When the bacon is finished cooking and crispy, remove from the pan and set-aside bacon
4. Over medium heat, whisk in the coconut flour to the bacon grease and let cook for a few minutes
5. While the flour cooks, combine eggs, coconut milk, seasoning, parsley, salt and garlic powder in a bowl until all yolks are fully incorporated
6. Pour eggs into pan, stirring frequently, and cook in bacon fat until still wet but cooked through (about 3 minutes)
7. Slice bacon into 1/4 inch strips, add to serving bowl and top with egg mixture
8. Scrape out spaghetti squash “noodles” with a fork and and add to serving bowl, top with oil or butter
9. Slowly start to incorporate oil/butter into spaghetti squash; once melted, stir to combine all ingredients

Delish!