Cupcakes!

OK, yes, I'm lame, and I'm sharing recipes I've already shared. But, I figure if it's here on the blog, with good labels, it will be nice to be able to find it quickly one of these days.

Since I had left over frosting from cupcakes last week, we made a new batch tonight. We added sprinkles, candles and a rendition of Happy Birthday.

Elana's Pantry Paleo Chocolate Cupcakes

• ¼ cup coconut flour
• ¼ cup cacao powder
  
• ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
  
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  
• 4 large eggs
• ¼ cup coconut oil
  
• ⅓ cup honey
  

1. Pulse together dry ingredients in a food processor
   
2. Pulse in wet ingredients
3. Line a 12 cup muffin pan
   
    with paper liners
   
    and scoop ¼ cup into each
4. Bake at 350° for 15-18 minutes
5. Cool and serve

(I added some chocolate chips for some bite of pure chocolate in the cupcakes.)

Paleo Chocolate Frosting

2 avocados, peeled and pitted

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup honey

2 tablespoons of coconut oil (needs to be warmed for good mixing)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Blend avocados, cocoa powder, honey, coconut oil, vanilla, and salt together in the food processor until smooth. 

Favorite Paleo Snacks

I'm slightly addicted to cooking. I get the kitchen clean, look up and the clock and decide I have time to make one more Paleo treat. Kitchen becomes a mess, again, especially when I have helpers at my toes. And, I'm frantically cleaning up the last of the mess as the babysitter arrives, and I sprint off to work.

In the spirit of reducing my cooking/preparing workload, here are some of my favorite ready-made Paleo snacks. Most of them make it easier to keep the kids Paleo, as they rarely have the patience to wait. If I've pre-planned, they may have a better Paleo snack available, but these are great to have on hand in a pinch.

Lara Bars - most are Paleo, though watch for some containing peanuts (I've made these at home, too, and they are very good. Will post on that, maybe tomorrow)

Simple Truth Natural Exotic Root Vegetable Chils: These are Kroger's organic brand version of the Terra chips. They are just a delicious, and cost about $0.10 less per ounce. 

Stretch Island Fruit Leathers: These are mostly for the kids' lunch boxes. They are available at Kroger, but cheaper on Amazon in bulk. All fruit! 

Dried Sweet Baby Pineapple: My only other Paleo friend commented, "who needs candy?" when she tried these. Available at Trader Joe's. We are also big fans of the Just Mango slices at TJ's. 

Hope to post about some great homemade snacks soon! 

HOMEMADE CRISPY CARROT CHIPS

I wanted this:  crispy chips.

 But I got this:  roasted carrots.

I had carrots chips in the fridge which seemed like a good idea, but I guess they need to be very, very thin.  I'll try again by using my handy mandoline with whole carrots.   The link below shows the right result.


Here's the recipe from www.runningtothekitchen.com

Crispy baked carrot chips: 2 ways

Print

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

15 mins

A crispy, healthy vegetable chip.

Author: Gina Matsoukas

Serves: 2

Ingredients

Sweet carrot chips

• 1 carrot, sliced very thinly into rounds
• ½ tablespoon melted coconut oil
• pinch of kosher salt
• cinnamon (I used about ½ teaspoon for a “light” cinnamon taste)

Spicy carrot chips

• 2 carrots, shaved into peels using a vegetable peeler
• ½ tablespoon melted coconut oil
• pinch of kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon ground pepper
• ¼-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (depending on heat preference)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Combine carrots (either rounds or peels depending on which version you’re making) in a medium bowl with coconut oil & spices. Toss to combine.
3. Transfer to the baking sheet and arrange in a single layer.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes, watching carefully. Chips can go from crispy to burnt in as little as a minute since they are so thin.
5. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad

I got this recipe off of Food52, a non-Paleo food blog.   It looked like a great way to change up Brussels sprouts, but I had to alter it to make it Paleo. 

http://food52.com/recipes/7650-shaved-brussels-sprout-salad-with-red-onion-lemon-and-pecorino

The original recipe: 

Serves 6

• 1/2 small red onion
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cups Brussels sprouts (use larger sprouts if possible)
• 1/2 cup finely grated pecorino romano

1. Soak the onion slices in a small bowl of cold water for 15 to 20 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, honey, mustard and a pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil until the dressing is emulsified. Set aside.
3. Trim all of the Brussels sprouts, cutting off any bruised outer leaves and slicing off a good portion of the hard root end. Using a mandoline, shave the sprouts one at a time. When you're done, use your fingers to gently separate the leaves so that the shredded sprouts resemble a very fine slaw.
4. Put the sprouts in a serving bowl and toss gently with the onions (which you've now drained) and the dressing. Fold in the pecorino, taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve immediately, before it starts to wilt! 

 

I obviously took out the cheese, but I added bacon and some warm bacon grease.  I also thinly sliced each Brussels sprout on a mandoline.   You can buy it already sliced in a bag at Trader Joe's.    I recommend. 

When I try it again, which I will, I'll blanch the Brussels sprouts first.  Drop them into boiling water for one minute, then take them out and run cold water over them immediately.  I generally prefer raw food like that blanched.  Personal taste.   

Crappy picture, but tasty food. 

David later added cheese because he truly thought it would make it better.  It did nothing.   The sprouts are too strong for the cheese.  It's a waste of a cheat, if you're so inclined.