Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

4 large eggs
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup shredded zucchini (I used one green, one yellow)

Combine the wet ingredients with a hand mixer until well combined.

1/3 cup coconut flour
1/4 cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
sprinkle sea salt
1/2 cup enjoy life chocolate chips

Add dry ingredients into wet and mix well with hand mixer.  Finally, fold in chocolate chips and place evenly into 12 muffin tins.  Bake at 350 for 22 minutes then let cool for 10+ minutes.  Enjoy!

Banana Bread/Muffins Two Ways!

The other day I felt like baking and had a bunch of over ripe bananas so here we go!  One is a more basic, gluten and refined-sugar free banana bread and the other is a double chocolate banana bread.

Banana Bread/Muffins with Chocolate Chips:

3 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup raw honey (pure maple syrup could work or a version of sugar)
1/3 cup unsweet applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
3 Tbsp avocado oil
2 cups flour blend (I used 1 cup brown rice flour and 1 cup ground gluten-free oats finely ground)
2 Tbsp ground chia seeds
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup enjoy life chocolate chips

1.  Mash bananas with masher or in a mixer.  Add vanilla, eggs, oil, applesauce/honey and combine well.
2.  Mix all dry ingredients together and add the the wet mixture until well combined.
3.  Stir in chocolate chips last and spoon into loaf pan or muffin tin.
4.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Double Chocolate Banana Bread:

3 very ripe bananas

1/2 cup unsweet applesauce

1/2 cup raw honey or maple syrup (I did a mixture of the two)

1 tsp vanilla

1 large egg

1 cup flour blend (I did 1/2 cup rice flour and 1/2 cup ground oat flour)

2 Tbsp ground chia seed

1/3 cup raw cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

sprinkle sea salt

2/3 cup enjoy life chocolate chips

1.  Mash bananas and add wet ingredients (applesauce, sweetener, vanilla, egg)

2.  Add dry ingredients and combine well.

3.  Fold in the chocolate chips (saving a handful for decoration on the top)

4.  Put mix in a baking pan and sprinkle chocolate  chips on top.  

5.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until knife comes out (almost) clean.

Enjoy!

Homemade Lara Bars

Enjoying the new Ninja and had to try these with the processing attachments.  You could really add/omit anything here using basic mixture of 1/2 cup pitted dates/raisins and 1 cup dry nuts/seeds/granola/oats, 1 Tbsp water and any other add ins...here is what I used!

1/2 cup Medijol Dates, pitted
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup raw walnuts
1/3 cup 70% dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup raisins
1 Tbsp water (more or less to consistency)

Blend until the consistency you would like then mash into a parchment paper lines dish (mine is about 4 x 8 inches).  Later, I will cut and place in single serve baggies for easy snacks on the go!  Yum!

Afternoon Mocha Blast

We just got a new blender, The Ninja, and are enjoying "playing" with it.  Yesterday, we made a new smoothie for a treat!

1 frozen banana
2 shots espresso, cooled (or half cup of coffee would work)
1 cup chocolate almond milk or you could do plain almond/coconut milk and add cocoa powder/honey

Blend until smooth and enjoy!

Homemade Chewy Granola Bars

I found this recipe, tweaked it a bit and these are a delicious "treat" and easy to snack on at home or on the go!

1-3/4 cups Organic Oats (gluten-free if needed or I used an oats/quinoa blend)
1/2 cup Organic Coconut Sugar
3/4-1 cup Organic Brown Rice Flour (original recipe called for whole wheat flour)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp Vanilla
1/3 cup Raw Organic Honey
2 Tbsp. Melted coconut oil
1/4 cup Raw Sunflower Seeds
1/4 Cup Raw Pumpkin Seeds
1/4 cup enjoy life chocolate chips (optional)

Mix all ingredients together (I did the wet first), then press into a greased pan (mine was 8 x 11)-dough will be a bit crumbly but presses in well.  Bake at 325 for 25 minutes (pulling it out after 20 minutes to sprinkle the chocolate chips on the top so they do not fully melt-or you could drizzle melted chocolate on top afterwards).  Take out and let cool entirely before cutting into rectangles and place in snack size baggies (if they can last that long, my family devoured these)!

Banana Pancakes Two Ways

Here are two delicious ways to make banana pancakes (quick and cheap too), one is grain-free and the other is simply gluten free but both are healthy and tasty (and filling)!

Paleo Pancakes:
2 ripe bananas
3 eggs
1/2 tsp Vanilla
2 Tbsp coconut flour
1 Tbsp chia seed
1 tsp cinnamon
coconut oil (for cooking in hot skillet)

1.  Using an electric mixer, mash the bananas and mix in the eggs.  Combine until frothy.
2.  Add in remaining ingredients and mix until well combined.
3.  Let batter sit for 5-10 minutes then cook (you need to cook extra on side one so they flip nicely).  Serve hot with pure maple syrup (or raw honey as my daughter and husband prefer)!

Gluten-Free Rice Flour Pancakes:
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp Vanilla
1 Tbsp melted coconut oil
1/2 Cup Coconut/Almond Milk
1 egg (two if you prefer pancakes a bit fluffier)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cardamom
1 tsp cinnamon
sprinkle sea salt
1 cup Organic Brown Rice Flour (cheap at all stores)

1.  Using electric mixer, mash the bananas and combine wet ingredients until smooth.
2.  Add dry ingredients then mix well again until batter is smooth.
3.  Add in berries, chocolate chips, nut butter or prepare plain.
4.  Use more coconut oil to cook 3-5 minutes each side.
Serve hot with pure maple syrup or raw honey!

These were both tasty!  The coconut flour version was tougher to flip and a bit more cumbly and did not store batter well for leftovers, but the rice flour blend was like a "normal" pancake and great left over as well!

21 Day Paleo Challenge

My husband and I decided to follow up a rough eating month (January holds both our daughters birthdays, plus we had guests visit and several big Football celebrations) with a 30 day Paleo Challenge.  We are trying to make it a positive change, so not being extremely legalistic, just no grains, no refined sugar (we will allow small bit of honey or maple syrup to sweeten but try not to do much), and no desserts (even healthy ones, haha).  I am typically a person who will work out 6 days/week but then enjoys some treats throughout the week but I am going to try to continue my workouts but skip those treats for a month!  So, I plan to blog the journey and keep updating this post every few days with what we ate each day plus what my workout was.  Keep in mind, we are very busy so some of the meals might seem a bit 'repetitive' but here we go!  PS-our daughters (3 and 6) will eat mostly paleo as well but I will let them eat occasional brown rice pasta (they both dislike spaghetti squash that I love), crackers/pretzels, or a treat if they earn something special but overall they will also participate!

Day 1:

Bfast-Smoothie
Lunch-Grilled chicken with side salad made with mixed greens, tomatoes, carrots, and cucumbers (balsamic/olive oil dressing)
Dinner-Stuffed Peppers and Squash and Mushrooms
Snacks-Carrots, Apple, Cucumber slices
Workout-3.5 mile run with puppy

Day 2:

Bfast-Protein Shake
Lunch-Sliced Chicken roll ups (chicken with lettuce and avocado rolled up), carrot sticks
Dinner-Roasted Chicken, Coconut Flour Biscuits, Green Beans, Sauteed Carrots with basil
Snacks-Carrots, Apple with peanut butter, Organic Fruit Strip, Homemade latte with coconut milk, espresso and a touch of raw honey
Workout-5.5 mile run with jog stroller while my older daughter biked

*using the roasted chicken to make chicken stock for soup this weekend

Day 3:

Bfast-Scrambled Eggs, diced avocado
Lunch-Chicken Salad with cucumbers, carrots, and mixed greens topped with avocado dressing (using leftover chicken from roasting last night)
Dinner-Chicken Basil Curry, Roasted Mixed Potatoes and Carrots (the curry was a new try from another healthy site-I might make again and tweak a few things but overall tasty)
Snacks-Organic Fruit Strip
Workout-T25 Speed 1.0

Day 4:

Bfast-Smoothie
Lunch-Salad Bar from Whole Foods (read ingredients)
Dinner-Spaghetti Squash with meat sauce (sugar free) and eggplant lasagna for my hubby
Snacks-1/2 apple, Homemade latte with coconut milk
Workout-T25 Cardio

Day 5:

Bfast-Smoothie
Lunch-Grilled Chicken Sausages, roasted mixed veggies
Dinner-Homemade Grilled Chicken (Chipotle style) Salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, carrots and homemade chipotle vinaigrette and topped with diced avocado
Snacks-1 piece sliced turkey wrapping lettuce, homemade latte with coconut milk
Workout-T25 Upper Body Circuit

Day 6:

Bfast-Smoothie, rest of family had scrambled eggs
Lunch-Grilled chicken with steamed broccoli, with a side salad (olive oil/vinegar dressing)-ate out and just read ingredients and specified order
Dinner-Leftover spaghetti squash with meat sauce from day 4
Snacks-Organic Fruit Strip, ½ apple
Workout-day off

Day 7:

Bfast-Smoothie, rest of family had eggs
Lunch-Beef Little Smokies with non-sugar made BBQ sauce, Kale Salad (added cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and red peppers)
 Dinner-Zucchini Boat Enchiladas, with homemade guacamole
Snacks-Apple with peanut butter
Workout-T25 Speed 2.0

Day 8:

Bfast-Shake
Lunch-Turkey Roll Ups, Cherry tomatoes, Sugar Snap Pea Pods
Dinner-Tacos with lettuce for shells
Snacks-Hard boiled egg, organic fruit strip
Workout-T25 Rip’t Circuit

Day 9:

Bfast-Smoothie
Lunch-Salad with Grilled Chicken, tomatoes, and cucumbers
Dinner-Fajitas (with chicken, onions, red peppers, and mushrooms) served with Romaine lettuce shells
Snacks-Apple with peanut butter
Workout-T25 Ab Intervals

Day 10:

Bfast-Smoothie
Lunch-Grilled chicken sausages, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes on side
Dinner-Bunless burger with sautéed mushrooms, lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers
Snacks-Hard Boiled Egg
Workout-T25 Upper Body

Day 11:

Bfast-Smoothie, my family all had eggs
Lunch-Grilled chicken salad
Dinner-Taco Salads with tomatoes, mixed greens, olives, and homemade guacamole
Snacks-Cheat Alert:  I cheated and bought some Organic Corn Chips and had Chips/Guac
Workout-3 Mile Run

Day 12:

Bfast-Hard boiled egg with strawberries
Lunch-Leftover taco salad
Dinner-Banana Coconut flour pancakes with chicken breakfast sausage (Heart shaped pancakes)
Snacks-Homemade coconut milk latte
Workout-T25 Core Cardio

They are not allowing me to add/edit this post but I will keep trying.  Until them, check out the new recipes!

Coconut Flour Cheddar Biscuits

Okay, so they are not Red Lobster quality but they were tasty and filling!

1/4 coconut oil or butter, melted (I think butter is better for this one)
1/3 coconut flour
4 organic eggs
Sea Salt
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Baking Powder
1/3 cup shredded organic raw cheese

1.  Combine Eggs, melted oil, sea salt, onion and garlic in a bowl and whisk together well.
2.  Add in the coconut flour and baking powder and whisk until combined and not lumpy.
3.  Fold in the cheese until combined.
4.  Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes (makes about 8 biscuits).

I served these with chicken and veggies for dinner but they might be good with eggs for breakfast!  Also, you could skip the spices and sweeten with raw honey for a sweeter biscuit.

Teriyaki Spring Rolls

I am not much of a photographer, nor am I neat and clean about my cooking but they sure tasted great!  My husband and I loved them, my daughters did not enjoy the rice wrapper and just liked the teriyaki meat/veggies mixture plain!

Teriyaki Sauce:
1/4 cup Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1 clove garlic, diced
1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, chopped
1/4 cup raw honey (more or less to sweetness)

Blend together in a blender until well combined.  Then use as a sauce or marinade.

Spring Rolls:
Spring Roll Wrappers (I found these are whole foods, ingredients were eggs and rice and water)
1/4 head lettuce, finely shredded
1 medium carrot, shredded
2-3 chicken breasts, grilled or baked with teriyaki marinade for flavor then diced

Combine all ingredients and add extra sauce to you liking.  Then, follow spring roll wrap instructions (mine said to place until water for 10-20 seconds then place on a towel and fill with ingredients).  I filled the spring rolls and wrapped them tightly.  Mine ended up making 6 and we wished for more so maybe double this for a larger family or a more filling meal!  Next time, I may add some different veggies/herbs (I am thinking pea pods, cilantro, tomatoes even).

Slow Cooker Applesauce

I have never tried making my own applesauce, so decided to give it a try!

8 medium apples (I used a mixture of granny smith and pink lady)
1/3 cup water
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick
1 Tbsp raw honey

Slow cook on high for 4 hours, them mash or blend.  Refrigerate leftovers!

Zucchini Bread

So, many of you saw that was doing Whole 30, well, I had to give it up for a few reasons but I have still been doing mostly paleo when I can so grain-free and refined sugar-free.  This Zucchini bread was moist and tasty!

1.5 cups almond flour/meal (I get mine for only $3.99/bag at trader joes)
1.5 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1-2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup grated zucchini
3 eggs
1/3 cup unsweet applesauce (the original recipe called for one mashed, ripe banana but I was out so I tried this and it was great)
3-4 Tbsp. raw honey
1 Tbsp.melted coconut oil (I am sure olive oil or butter would work as well)

1.  Mix together all wet ingredients using a hand mixer until frothy and well mixed.
2.  Add in dry ingredients and blend until well combined (my batter was fairly thin).
3.  Pour into loaf pan (I did 3 mini-loaves this this and added good life chocolate chips to one loaf for a treat).
4.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.  Enjoy!

Coconut Almond Pancakes

I am on day 4 and needing a "treat" so I made these pancakes and topped them with blended berries that I warmed up!  They were tasty, and my family had them with chocolate chips and loved them!

2 eggs, room temp
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp coconut water
1/8 cup coconut flour
2 Tbsp chia seeds
1/8 cup almond flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
coconut oil (for frying)

1.  Whip eggs with an electric mixer until frothy, add the rest of wet ingredients and combine well with hand mixer.
2.  Combine all dry ingredients and add to the wet, using the electric mixer until thoroughly mixed (batter is thin)
3.  Using a cast iron pan, make small pancakes-I used a 1/8 cup scoop and made several smallish pancakes.
4.  For the berries, I simply blended a berry blend then simmered over med-low heat until warmed!

Nut Butter Blondies

I have found a few recipes for these and tried them but this was the best creation ever!  They were super gooey, so if you like things more cakey then add 1 egg (or maybe even just one egg white) but I like them gooey!

1/4 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup raw maple syrup
1/4 cup almond or peanut butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup almond flour
2 Tbsp. ground MILA chia
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/3 cup chocolate chips (I used good life vegan, organic chocolate chips)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8 x 8 pan.
2.  Combine wet ingredients with a hand mixer.
3.  Add in dry ingredients and mix well until smooth.
4.  Stir in chocolate chips with a spatula (or nuts if you prefer)
5.  Bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.  Allow them to set up a bit, but they will stay gooey!  Enjoy!

No Bake Cookies

I found a new site with some awesome recipes call the unrefinedkitchen.com and found these on there but modified them a bit.  So tasty and no bake!

1/3 cup raw honey
2 Tbsp raw cocoa
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup (or more) peanut or almond butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
3.5 Tbsp. hemp seed
3 Tbsp. MILA chia seeds

1.  Place honey, cocoa, and coconut oil in a saucepan over medium to high heat.
2.  Bring to a boil for about 30 seconds and remove from heat.
3.  Immediately add the nut butter and stir in (we buy fresh ground nut butters so the heat helps them blend).
4.  Pour into a larger bowl and add vanilla, coconut flakes, hemp, and chia and stir until completely combined.
5.  Roll into cookie sized balls-we scooped a small amount into muffin liners to make them portable.  Place in refrigerator or freezer until it's time to eat.  We like ours frozen or at least cool but you could eat them at room temperature also!

I just hope they last a few days!  Yum!

Grain-Free Chocolate Cupcakes

I got this recipe idea from elanaspantry.com.  She is awesome and I have gotten many great ideas from this site!  I made these for a Halloween party treat and everyone loved them!

Cupcakes:
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
4 organic eggs
1/4 cup melted coconut oil (butter should work too)
1/3 cup raw honey (I would guess maple syrup would be yummy too)

Whisk together ingredients in order until completely combined.  Fill each muffin liner with about 1/4 cup batter (mine made 11 cupcakes and I used Halloween themed liners).  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes.

Frosting:
1 cup dark chocolate chips (I used 70%)
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Melt chocolate and coconut oil over low heat in a small saucepan.  Stir in vanilla extract.  Place frosting in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes to thicken.  Remove from refrigerator and whip frosting with a hand mixer until thick and fluffy.  Frost over cupcakes and enjoy!  Mine were very gooey so I refrigerated them until the party!  But, the kids especially thought that gooey was awesome!

Stuffed Mushrooms

I forgot to take a picture, but these were super yummy!  I made them tonight with some other appetizer-type foods (bbq meatballs, mexican layer dip) for Monday Night Football!  They were light and tasty!

Large Mushrooms (I made a dozen of them or so)
1 small carrot, shredded
1/2 cup spinach, diced
1/4 sweet onion
2 cloves garlic
Seasoning of choice (I used italian seasoning mix and sea salt)
coconut oil
Organic Parmesan, shredded
2 Tbsp. bread crumbs (I used ezekial bread broken up, just a bit)
Raw, Organic Cheddar (optional)

1.  Remove stems from mushrooms and dice.  Saute' diced mushroom stems, shredded carrots, onions, and garlic in the coconut oil for 4-5 minutes.
2.  Add Diced spinach and saute' until soft and cooked through.
3.  Remove from heat and mix well with Parmesan, seasonings, and bread crumbs.
4.  Use a small spoon to stuff each mushroom cap with mixture.
(Top with organic, raw cheddar if using)
5.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until soft and cheese is melted!

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

 I was very skeptical of this, I kept finding recipes for different cauliflower crusts and waited a while to experiment-I thought there was no way it could be tasty.  I was wrong!  It was good, and better yet it left me wanting more (instead of the usual regret after eating typical pizza).  My only regret was that I did not have very much cauliflower and only made a small pizza...so be warned, I would double this recipe for a typical family because I wanted lots more!  Search cauliflower pizza crust if you need to see more pics!

1/2 head cauliflower (1 cup)-grated/food processed very tiny
1/4 cup organic parmesan shredded cheese
1/4 cup organic, raw cheddar cheese shredded
2 Tbsp. Almond Flour
1 Tbsp. MILA chia seed (helps hold the dough together)
1 organic egg
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 T fresh basil, diced
1 tsp. italian seasoning
1 T olive oil (for brushing on top)

1.  Combine ingredients in a bowl-will be crumbly.
2.  Spread (with your hands) on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet.
3.  Pre-bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes or until edges are browning.
4.  Add your favorite toppings-I added Eden Organic Pizza Sauce (no sugar), sauteed mushrooms, diced chicken sausages, and raw, organic jack cheese.
5.  Broil for 5-7 minutes or until done!