Faux Ice Cream!

I saw this recipe for Strawberry Banana “Soft Serve” and have been dying to try it. It just so happened that I had strawberries and bananas so I threw some (not literally) in the ninja (blender) and made some. I added unsweetened coconut because I love it! It really was just like soft serve ice cream! I sat on my couch during the kids naptime and ate my “ice cream” while reading a John Grisham book…..it was awesome and a RARE TREAT!

No pic because I had to eat it before the kids woke up! No sharing here! 

Paleo Frozen Berry Crumble

This cake was inspired by a cake I spotted on Pinterest. I saw it and immediately though, “I could totally make a Paleo version of that!” And guess what? VICTORY! It turned out amazing! 

FROZEN BERRY CRUMBLE
Ingredients
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup melted butter
2 egg whites
2 teaspoons of honey (or more dependant upon your desired level of sweetness.)
2 cans of coconut milk (chilled in the fridge for at least 2 hours)
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 teaspoons of vanilla
Juice squeezed from 1/2 a lemon
2 cups sliced fresh berries, crushed/smashed 
2 cups of blueberries

Instructions
Preheat oven to 325° F.
Combine 1 teaspoon of honey, coconut flour, almond meal and melted butter and spread in 9×13 pan. Bake at 325°F for 20 minutes. Stir a couple of times. Cool
Once cooled, evenly press 2/3 of the mixture in the 9×13 pan to create a deep dish crust.
Beat egg whites and 1 teaspoon of honey until stiff.
Open both cans of coconut milk removing the white cream with a spoon. Scoop the coconut cream into a bowl. 
Add your vanilla and cinnamon to the coconut cream. With a hand mixer, whip the mixture until creamy.
Gently combine, beaten egg whites, whipped coconut cream, lemon juice, and berries. Spread mixture over crust.
Sprinkle remaining crust/crumb mixture on top.
Refridgerate for 3-6 hours.
Cut in squares to serve. Garnish with additional strawberries if desired.

ENJOY!!!

Oven Roasted Apples and Sweet Potatoes!

YUM!

Oven Roasted Apples and Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

2 medium apples
1 large sweet potato
2T coconut oil
Cinnamon to taste

1. Peel and core apple. Next, chop apple into small squares.
2. Wash sweet potato and chop it into square chunks.
3. Place on foil covered pan and drizzle with coconut oil.
4. Sprinkle with as much (or as little) cinnamon as your heart desires!
5. Roast in 425° oven for about 15 min or until apples and sweet potatoes are tender and slightly browned.
6. EAT!

Frozen Banana Bites!

I saw these on Pinterest and immediately wanted to make them. Clayton told me to reduce the making of treats to every two weeks….oops. I’ll start that tomorrow….maybe….probably not.

I just winged the recipe and they turned out great!

Ingredients

2 Bananas
1 Dark Chocolate Bar (I used an 86% dark chocolate bar.)
2T of Natural Peanut Butter (Would be great with Almond Butter.)
Sprinkles (Found these in the cabinet, leftover from a bday.)
Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
Crushed Nuts
Any other topping you can think of

1. Melt chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring frequently.
2. Mix in nut butter.
3. Dip sliced bananas in chocloate/nut butter mixture. 
4. Place covered bananas on cookie sheet covered in parchment paper.
5. Sprinkle with toppings.
6. Place pan in freezer until chocolate coating is set (5-10 minutes)
7. Enjoy!

Happy eating!

Lent! And A Recipe, of course!

Although I am not Catholic,I gave decided to participate in Lent this year. At first I couldn’t decide what to give up. I’ve already given up pop, (un-natural) sugars, proceeded foods, wheat…..all those things not included in a Paleo diet. I thought about giving up coffee but I am pretty sure coffee makes the pop thing bearable. I only eat honey (or other natural sweeteners), fruit and dark chocolate occasionally. So…….I decided to give up my time.

I was inspired by another blogger to spend at least 15 minutes participating in physical activity a day with my kids. I know 15 minutes doesn’t sound like much. I’m going to shoot for 30 but kept my goal at 15. So far I have pulled them them in the wagon through puddles, jumped on the trampoline, played tag and been on a walk. Each time we play I hear them say things like, “This is so fun!”, “We should definitely do this again!” and always a ton of laughter. I know there will be days when it is the last thing I want to do. On those days I am going to jump in head first and stick with it until I am having fun. I know my attitude will change because my kids laughter, enthusiasm and joy is contagious!

Now for the recipe. It’s good thing I didn’t give up chocolate cause this recipe is delicioso (Thanks for the Spanish lesson, Dora!)

Nut Butter Truffles

The change I made was to reduce the honey to 1/4 of a cup. I really think you could even leave it out completely!   

Here is my horrible picture, Enjoy!

BREAD!

I did it! I made a Paleo bread! It is soooo good! The kids had some with peanut butter on it I know pb isn’t Paleo . Eventually we are going to make the switch to almond butter…someday.
I ate it with butter slathered all over it. The next thing I want to try is using it to make garlic bread!

This bread doesn’t rise and wouldn’t be good for making huge sandwiches but it gets the job done!

“Better Than Bread” Bread

6 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
1 TBS honey
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup coconut flour

Mix together and press down into a loaf pan. Bake for 35-40 min or until slightly browned.

Weekly Meal Plan 2/20-2/26

I was able to find some great deals on fruit and veggies this week! Each week I check all the local store ads, then I make a list of items on sale. I make sure to include the item name, price and where it is on sale.  Finally, I take my list to Was-Mart and I PRICE MATCH! I love Wal-Mart’s price matching policy!! It allows me to score some amazing deals without having to drive all over Kingdom Come!

Okay, I am going to TRY to post my weekly meal plan each week. If you want a recipe just leave a comment! I am only going to list our dinners here. Also, we do eat potatoes on workout days. The kids usually have fruit for dessert.

Monday 2/20- Lazy Busy Mama’s Chops, Hot Crash Potatoes and oven roasted carrots

Tuesday 2/21- Sticky Chicken and World’s Best Braised Cabbage

Wednesday- 2/22-Pepperocini Pork topped with sauteed onions, mushrooms and peppers

Thursday 2/23- Lasagna with zucchini “noodles” and salad

Friday 2/24-Baked Ham, Southern Collard Greens and sweet potato fries

Saturday 2/25- Paleo Biscuits and Gravy

Sunday 2/26- leftovers! Yay, no cooking!

Berry Swirl Cake

Maisie turned 3! I went back and forth on what to do about a cake. Should I order one or make one? Gluten free or regular? So many choices! In the end I decided to go with gluten free. I just couldn’t  justify making something for my kids that could make them sick. I tried a gluten free baking mix and it was GROSS! I scoured the internet and came across one that looked good. I whipped up a test version and everyone gobbled it down! Owen begged me to make one for his birthday, which is 7 months away. I wanted something that would taste good to the non-paleo eaters at the party. I think I succeeded! Clayton said it was good and I know he wouldn’t lie to me! Cael and Owen said it was awesome and the birthday girl slowed down enough to get a few bites. I thought it was good. It has a lot of almond flour so I probably would only make it occasionally. The non-paleo eaters said it was really good, hopefully they weren’t lying just to spare my feelings!

The first time I made it I used strawberries and the second time I used blueberries. 

http://cleaneatsinthezoo.com/index/2012/02/07/vanilla-raspberry-swirl-cake/

Enjoy!

Cheesy Baked Tomatoes

Ok all you tomato lovers out there, this recipe is for you! 4 out of the 6 of us love tomatoes so this was a big hit! I can’t wait until the summer when you can get big, red, juicy tomatoes at the farmer’s market! Also, this will be the second year in a row we have had a garden. I guess I should say Clayton has a garden. I was pregnant last year and wanted nothing to do with the garden. Lets just say my motherly instincts did not extend to the plot of weeds growing in the backyard. Please do not ask my husband if I am a pleasant pregnant person, he will surely not tell the truth……

This recipe is inspired by a pic I pinned on pinterest. Of course I didn’t actually use the original recipe because…..ummmmm….because I never do. This drives Clayton crazy because I can never make the same thing twice, hence this blog to keep track of recipes!

Ingredients
tomatoes cut into 1/2 inch slices
Shredded cheese- any kind you want! I used Parmesan and a mixed Italian blend.
chopped fresh basil or dried basil
chopped fresh oregano or dried oregano
Salt
pepper 

Instructions
Preheat oven to 450° F.
Place tomatoes on a baking sheet.
Top with cheese, sprinkle with basil, salt and pepper. Drizzle each tomato with butter.
Bake until the tomatoes are tender and cheese is browned, about 10-15 min.

I forgot to get a pic when they were done. But they were beautiful, for a tomato. 

My pics aren’t loading….will try later.

Best Chicken Ever aka Roasted Buttermilk Chicken aka YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS!

This chicken was really good! Even the kids loved it! It’s pretty simple too.

Ingredients
3 lbs of bone-in chicken (I used 10 chicken leg quarters and tripled the recipe.)
2 cups buttermilk
2 cloves garlic, bruised and skins removed
1 tablespoon crushed peppercorns
1 tablespoon of sea salt or 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
1/2 stick of butter

Directions
Place the chicken in a large freezer bag, and add the buttermilk.
Add the bruised garlic cloves to the bag with the crushed peppercorns and salt.
Sprinkle in the ground cumin and finally add the maple syrup, and then squish everything in the freezer bag around to mix the marinade and coat the chicken.
Leave the buttermilk marinated chicken in the fridge ideally overnight or out of the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Take the chicken pieces out of the bag shaking off the excess marinade, and then arrange them in a roasting tin lined with foil. Lightly sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper and cumin.
Drizzle butter over chicken and then roast in the oven for about 40-50 minutes, or until brown, even scorched in parts, and juicily cooked through.

So there ya go. Now go get some chicken and get cookin!