Pumpkin Pie Energy Balls

 Ingredients

2 tablespoons paleo flour (I use Bob's Red Mill Paleo Flour, coconut flour or almond flour would also work)

1 tablespoon vanilla protein powder

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 cup cashew butter 

1 tablespoon maple syrup (or honey)

2 tablespoons pumpkin puree

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine flour, protein powder and pumpkin pie spice.

In a separate bowl, microwave cashew butter, syrup, and pumpkin puree for 30 seconds - 1 minute until it's easy to mix the ingredients together.

Pour the cashew butter mix into the dry ingredient mix and stir to combine. Freeze the dough for about 10 minutes so it hardens enough to handle.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the dough into about 20 balls and arrange on the baking sheet. Refrigerate until fully chilled, then store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients

6 cups rolled oats (not instant)

2 cups light brown sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon powdered ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup slivered almonds, toasted in the oven for 5 minutes

¾ cup chopped dried apricots

2 sticks unsalted butter, melted over low heat

4 eggs

2 cups milk

For the topping

¾ cup rolled oats

¾ cup brown sugar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 degrees for a glass pan). Use a pan spray to coat the pan, or grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch-by-13-inch-by-2 inch pan with 1 to 2 tablespoons of butter, then dust with flour, and set aside.

2. Mix together oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, spices, almonds, and apricots in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.

3. In a separate bowl, combine melted butter, eggs and milk and beat lightly.

4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.

5. Pour batter into prepared pan.

6. In a small bowl, stir together oats and brown sugar for topping and sprinkle evenly over the top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the oatmeal is set in the middle and is a dark golden brown on top.

7. Remove to a cooling rack and let stand for 3 minutes before serving.

8. Cut into 12 equal pieces. Garnish with fruit, if desired. It may be served with warmed milk, if desired.

Wonton meatballs (from Nom Nom Paleo)

Ingredients

• ¼ ounce dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes
• ½ pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 pound ground pork 
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• ¼ cup cilantro, minced
• 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
• ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal brand kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon fish sauce
• ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
• ¼ teaspoon sesame oil
• Ghee or cooking fat of choice 
• 1 scallion, sliced on the bias (optional garnish)
• Sriracha (optional)

Instructions 

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F, and squeeze the water out of the shiitake mushrooms. Cut off the hard stems, and finely mince them.
2. Finely chop the shrimp until you’ve got a chunky paste.
3. Place the shrimp in a large bowl and add the pork, mushrooms, scallions, cilantro, coconut aminos, salt, fish sauce, white pepper, and sesame oil.
4. Use your hands to squeeze and mix the meatball mixture until a sticky and tacky mass is formed.
5. Heat up a small frying pan over medium heat and add a little cooking fat. When the pan is hot, form a little patty and cook it in the pan. Taste it and see if the seasoning is right. Adjust with additional salt if needed. (Not cooking yet? You can store the meatball mixture in the fridge for up to 12 hours.)
6. Form the mixture into 1½-inch balls. I like to scoop the balls out with a #20 disher, which holds 3 tablespoons. Roll the mixture into round balls and arrange on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. You should end up with about a dozen balls.
7. Bake the meatballs in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.
8. If you wanna make a bunch Wonton Sliders instead, smush the balls into ½-inch patties and fry in a greased pan over medium heat, about 2 minutes on each side. Serve immediately with a squeeze of sriracha!

Sweet potato chicken poppers

Ingredients

1 lb ground chicken
2 cups raw (not cooked) sweet potato, grated
2 tbsp coconut oil + 1 tsp for greasing the baking sheet
2 tbsp coconut flour
2 sprigs green onion, chopped fine
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 F and lightly grease a lined baking sheet with coconut oil
Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and thoroughly combine
Begin rolling the mixture into small poppers about one inch in diameter (you'll have about 20-22 poppers) and place them on the cooking sheet
Place in the oven for 25-28 minutes, flipping half way through
Crisp further in a pan or place under the broiler if desired for 1-2 minutes to crisp further
Remove from the oven when thoroughly cooked through
Allow to cool and serve with your favorite sauce

Pretzels-wonder if the kids would eat them......

INGREDIENTS
½ cup of water
½ cup of butter or Oiive oil or Ghee
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
½ cup of tapioca flour
½ teaspoon of baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup of coconut flour
1 large egg
Glaze
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon of coarse salt

INSTRUCTIONS
In a small pan melt over medium heat, add the water, butter, salt, and vinegar and bring to a boil.
Remove the pan from the heat and place on your counter top.
Add in the tapioca flour and stir for 2 minutes until you get a wet paste.
Add in the baking soda and powder and stir while the mixture foams - roughly 3 seconds.
Next add in the coconut flour and egg and mix well until you get a dough.
Place the dough on a piece of parchment paper and knead for 30 seconds to 1 minute. If you are having issues getting it to combine, you can try putting it into a food processor or Blendtec/Vitamix to get it to form a dough.
Pinch of a 1" - 2" piece of dough and roll into a ½" round by 6" - 7" log.
Twist into a pretzel shape and place on a piece of parchment on a baking sheet and brush with butter.
Sprinkle coarse salt on the surface and bake at 350 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes.

INGREDIENTS
Paleo Soft Pretzel Recipe
5 Applegate Farms Organic Grass Fed Hot Dogs

INSTRUCTIONS
Make the Paleo Soft Pretzel recipe and instead of rolling the dough into pretzel shapes wrap around the hot dog as shown.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35 - 40 minutes

Bacon wrapped avocado-what could go wrong????

INGREDIENTS
4-6 slices good quality bacon (gluten, nitrate & nitrite, and sugar free)
1 avocado
Chili powder
 
PREPARATION
Preheat your oven to 425 F.
Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
Cut the avocado into equal slices.
Wrap each avocado slice with bacon, (1 slice of bacon should should be good for 1 or 2 avocado slices.)
Sprinkle some chili powder over the bacon-wrapped slices, and line them up on the baking sheet.
Place in the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

Sweet potato hummus

INGREDIENTS
4 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
¼ cup tahini (see below)
¼ cup lime juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Tahini:
1 cup sesame seeds
2 tbsp olive oil
Assorted vegetables for dipping, sliced (i.e. cucumbers, radish, carrots, bell pepper)

PREPARATION
To cook the sweet potatoes, peel them and cut the flesh into large chunks. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add in the sweet potato chunks.
Let it simmer for about 7 to 10 minutes, until the flesh is very tender when pricked with a fork.
Drain, place the cooked sweet potato in a bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher. Place in the refrigerator to cool.
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Spread the sesame seeds on a shallow baking tray and roast, shaking frequently, until fragrant (about 8 minutes).
To prepare the tahini, combine the roasted sesame seeds with the olive oil in a food processor and process until the mixture turns into a smooth paste (about 5 minutes).
In a large bowl, combine the mashed sweet potatoes, tahini, lime juice, garlic, cumin, and cayenne (if using).
Mix everything well and season to taste.
Serve in a bowl alongside vegetables for dipping.

Zucchini chips

Ingredients:

• One Zucchini
• Paleo friendly cooking spray
• Salt & Pepper

1. Slice your Zucchini as thin as possible. I just use a food processor. It is faster and more consistent with the slicing.
2. Pre-heat your oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Spray your baking sheet with your paleo friendly cooking spray.
4. Lay out all the chips and spray cooking sprat lightly on the chips.
5. Bake for about 45 minutes to an hour, or until they get to the right level of crispiness for you.
6. Eat within two to three hours.

Sunday dinner

I made some sweet potato hummus last night, so Ben and I went to Global Market and got some taro root to make chips.  Still the best......

Sam grilled hamburgers for dinner.  I cooked some bacon and cut up an avocado.  We had them with okra coated with coconut flour and cooking in avocado oil

Whole30, Day 6

Day 6-Sunday. My usual major cooking today. We had run out of no-oat oatmeal in the morning, so I made a new batch-30 eggs, the most I have ever made. I made a huge bowl for Sam and then aliquoted some for me to take to work

I made a batch of sweet potato hummus, this stuff is amazing. I made taro chips to eat with it. It's pretty much what I ate for dinner

Sam was going to grill burgers for dinner, but we had so much food already that I told him it wasn't really necessary. He said he would rather have meatballs anyway, so I made a batch for him. They are not my favourite, but I had made plenty of other things that I could eat instead

I made this chili for me to eat for lunch this week. Sam doesn't like it, I think it's because it has hot sauce in it

Maggie had asked me to make her a chicken clafouti. It's a mach better thing for her to eat for breakfast than chocolate cereal

Sweet potato hummus

Ingredients
1 Large Sweet Potato
Juice of 1 Lemon
1/4 c Tahini
2 Cloves Garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions
Bake and peel your sweet potato in foil at 425 for 90 minutes.
Once it’s done baking, allow to cool slightly and the skin should slide right off.
Toss in a food processor with the remaining ingredients.
Pulse until very smooth.

Lemon Almond Biscotti

• 1 ¼ cups blanched almond flour
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ cup agave nectar or honey
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• ¼ cup toasted almonds, chopped

1. In a food processor combine almond flour, arrowroot powder, salt and baking soda
2. Pulse until ingredients are well combined
3. Pulse in agave nectar and lemon zest until the dough forms a ball
4. Remove dough from food processor and work in chopped almonds with your hands
5. Form dough into 2 logs on a parchment paper lined baking sheet
6. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes, then remove from oven and cool for 1 hour
7. Cut the logs into ½ inch slices on the diagonal with a very sharp knife
8. Spread slices out on a baking sheet and bake at 300° for 12-15 minutes
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool, set, and become crispy

Buffalo chicken egg muffins

• 3/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breast)
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• sea salt & black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup Wing Sauce
• 6 large eggs, whisked
• 2 Tbsp. green onions/scallions, sliced
• sea salt & black pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp. Wing Sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 425.
2. On a baking pan, arrange the chicken thighs and season with garlic, sea salt, and black pepper. Bake for 25 minutes or until cooked through.
3. Place the cooked chicken thighs into a large mixing bowl and shred with two forks. Pour the wing sauce over the chicken and toss to combine and set it aside.
4. In a small mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, wing sauce, green onion, sea salt, and black pepper.
5. Pour the egg mixture into muffin tins to fill them approximately halfway. Gently spoon about 2oz of the shredded chicken into each muffin cup so that it’s evenly distributed. Serve any extra chicken alongside the cooked muffins.
6. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the muffins rise and become golden brown around the edges

Mango Travel Treats

Macadamia nuts, 1 cup

Almonds, ½ cup

Dried mango, 1 cup

Dates, 8-10

Coconut flakes, dried and unsweetened, about 1/3 cup

1. Put nuts into food processor and grind.
2. Add mango and blend some more, until mango is in smaller chunks.
3. Add dates and blend until the whole mixture is sort of gooey and sticks together well.
4. Form into bite sized bars. 
5. Roll each bar in coconut to coat.

Butternut Squash fries

• 1 large butternut squash;
• ¼ cup of olive oil or coconut oil;
• 2-3 tsp. fresh dried herbs of your choice; (optional)
• Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste;

1. Preheat your oven to 425 F.
2. Cut the butternut squash in two and remove the seeds. Wash the middle and cut away the peel. Then cut the squash in wedges or sticks in your favorite size.
3. In a bowl, evenly coat the butternut squash fries with the oil and the spices.
4. On a baking plate, place the fries evenly on a single layer. You can place a piece of parchment paper between the cooking plate and the fries if you don’t want them to stick to the plate.
5. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Taro chips

I saw a recipe for Taro root chips the other week and I have been looking for it since then. I finally broke down and went to Global Market. I found it masquerading as malanga coco.  I peeled it and then cut it into slices with a mandoline.  They are almost too good looking to eat!!!!!

I sprayed a baking tin with olive oil, spread the taro chips out and sprayed them with oil.  I sprinkled some salt on them and baked at 400 for 10-20 mins.

They came out really well, much better than my attempt at sweet potato chips and I like the taste of the taro better too

Taro chips

• Taro root, peeled
• Coconut oil
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Thinly slice the peeled taro using a mandoline slicer.
3. Brush the slices lightly with coconut oil and sprinkle with salt and any other seasonings you are using.
4. Arrange the slices in a single layer on a greased baking tray and roast for 12 minutes. One taro root can make a lot of chips. Because of the single layer, it is necessary to use several baking sheets or work in batches, greasing pan again if necessary in between batches.
5. After 12 minutes, check to see if they are crispy all the way through and no longer soft in the center.
6. Remove to cool and sprinkle with salt.

Paleo bars

These are really good.  Sam said they are a great post-workout snack....

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Dates, pitted
• 1/2 Cup Raw Macadamia Nuts
• 1/2 Cup Dried Apples
• 1/4 Cup Raw Almonds
• 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil, melted
• 2 Tbsp Cinnamon

Process:

1. Place your dates, macadamia nuts, apples, and almonds in a food processor or really strong blender. I have a Ninja 1100 and it makes short work of this one
2. Pulse until your dates, macadamia nuts, and almonds are in small chunks and transfer to a mixing bowl
3. Add in all remaining ingredients. Using your hands mix well to ensure an even coating of everything
4. Once mixed, using parchment paper, flatten out your mixture to the size of bars your want or you can use individual ziploc bags and form them inside the bag
5. Place in refrigerator and let cool, then enjoy