The Paleo Mocktail and February Clean up

Beverages, ,
Paleo Mocktail
Paleo Mocktail

The new thing for me this February is doing a 2 week reset (actually it is really five weeks, but you really eat strictly 2 weeks).  I signed up for Chris Kresser’s 14four program, and am now into to my second week of rebooting and resetting.  The program addresses the four big factors of life: Diet, Stress, Exercise and Sleep. I did a bit of indulging over the holidays,  as we can all tend to do, so I am taking this time to focus on my health inside and out.

Not that I booze it up every night, but I’ve been known to enjoy the cocktail hour every now and then.  Sometimes you just need to tweak reality a little, to fool your brain into thinking it is NOT getting deprived.  So in the evenings right about cocktail hour, my girls and I have been concocting the mocktail.  We drink them in fancy wineglasses, and I have to say I don’t miss the alcohol…… (dark chocolate is another story).

I really recommend a reset it feels really good! It is fun to try some new recipes and to focus on the other important areas of our lives we tend to dismiss .  I can’t speak well enough of Chris Kresser and his work, he is a functional medicine practitioner in California, and he is spot on in my book with his approach to wellness and healing.  Check him out HERE you’ll be glad you did!

Not that the mocktail really warrants a recipe, but here is our take on it!!

Mocktail

1 Tbl. Freshly squeezed Lemon or Lime Juice

1 TBL. Sour Cherry juice Concentrate

Sparkling Water

  1. Pour the Lemon or Lime and Cherry Concentrate into a fancy wineglass
  2. Add Sparkling Water and Stir
  3. Enjoy this refreshing Beverage
  4. Make any combo you’d like with fresh juices and some ginger or herbs as well!
  5. Serves 1

 

Paleo Pancakes For Valentines Day

Breakfast, , , ,
Photo by Lynn Donaldson
Photo by Lynn Donaldson
Photo by Lynn Donaldson
Photo by Lynn Donaldson

Happy belated Valentine’s Day!  I don’t feel too bad for the tardy post as I think we should celebrate love (and chocolate) everyday!!

I got to go to my daughter’s class last Friday, and cook a Valentine’s breakfast for her and her classmates.  Of course,  I highly suggested doing a grain free pancake, and was met with eagerness from her teacher and Lynn (my co-cook and friend and the photographer who took these awesome photos).

On a side note Lynn has a BEAUTIFUL blog featuring all things Montana with a heavy emphasis on food,  you NEED to check it out HERE.  She is a very talented photo-journalist as you will plainly see when you go to her blog!!

Okay if I haven’t lost you to Lynn’s blog, onto the paleo pancakes.  I love these as they are so easy and fast to make and taste delicious.  I watched as the kids threw away their plates and 90% of them were empty,  I think they enjoyed the pancakes!

Paleo Pancakes or Banana Plantain Pancakes

1 Medium sized Green Plantain Peeled and cut into chunks

 or use 2 Bananas if you don’t have a green plantain*

1 Medium Sized Banana

*(the green Plantain with its starch gives these pancakes more substance and makes them less delicate to work with)

2 Eggs (if you like a dense pancake) 3 Eggs (if you like them a little fluffier)

1 TBL Vanilla

2 TBL Coconut Oil or Butter

1/4 Tsp Salt

1/4 Tsp Baking Soda

  1. Throw all the ingredients into a high speed blender or food processor and mix until smooth. If the batter seems thick add another egg this will depend on the size of your banana and plantain. 
  2. Heat up a skillet to med-high and add your preferred fat ie. butter, ghee, coconut oil
  3. Pour the batter onto the skillet in the desired pancake size.
  4. Make sure to let the pancakes cook well on the first side (don’t flip until you see some bubbles), especially if they are all banana, as they will be a bit delicate to flip.
  5. When done plate them and serve with maple syrup, fruit syrup or whipped cream or all three!  Serves- 2 hungry adults- makes about 8 normal sized cakes

Paleo Pasta or OOdles of Zoodles

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Paleo Pasta or Zoodles
Paleo Pasta or Zoodles

UPDATE:  I have fixed all the links in my previous posts so you can now get to them!!

Being someone who doesn’t eat grains and wheat or wheat based products anymore, I sometimes get nostalgic for pasta type dishes.  I have found the answer,  it’s really nothing new or earthshaking, but I have been eating them a lot of late and thought I’d share them with you.

You guessed it Zoodles or noodles made from zucchini.  I purchased a vegetable spiralizer like this ONE and am very pleased with the results.  I can make a fresh healthy “pasta” dish in minutes.  These noodles don’t weigh you down like real pasta, and are fun to make and eat.  Not only can you use zucchini, you can use yellow summer squash, carrots, beets, cucumbers etc…. think of all the colorful combinations!!!

Paleo Pasta or Zoodles

2 smaller sized zucchini (or yellow squash or a combo)

1 TBL Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

  1. Heat a skillet on the stove to medium hot.
  2. Pour in Olive Oil
  3. Add the Zoodles and toss
  4. Salt and Pepper to Taste
  5. Add Marinara, Pesto, Alfredo, Fresh Olive Oil, chicken, meatballs, clams, shrimp etc. you get the idea.  Enjoy!

 

Homemade Barbecue Sauce or The Headcheese That Never Was

Condiments
Homemade Barbecue Sauce
Homemade Barbecue Sauce

So my new thing for January was to make  head cheese, definitely something I have never tried before and out of my comfort zone.

I purchased a piglet last summer and paid monthly for the farm to raise it, (pastured on non-GMO  Montana raised grains and fresh raw milk).  When it was time to butcher it, I got to choose my cuts, and as I am trying to be a nose to tail eater, I had them include the head.

Head cheese actually has nothing to do with cheese.  You basically boil the whole head,  pick  the meat off of it, reduce the broth, and pour it over the layered meat to make a pig head meat Jello, YUM right?  Check out the recipes for head cheese HERE and HERE.

Well I boiled the head, much to the complaining of my family and I picked the meat off, but as I pondered the head cheese, I realized I would be the only person eating it.  One can only eat so much head cheese.

The meat is actually quite tasty, so I decided to make some barbecue sauce and go a pulled pork route instead.  I continued to reduce the broth and made a homemade bouillon that I can use in sauces and soups.  I followed the recipe HERE for homemade bouillon.

So even if I didn’t actually make and eat the  head cheese, I did take the steps to do it and learned a few things along the way.  Here’s to trying new things!!!!

 

Homemade barbecue Sauce (a KLee original)

1 Can of organic tomato sauce ( I use Miur Glen)

1 Cup Water

1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar (I use Braggs)

3 TBL Blackstrap Molasses

2 TBL Honey

1 TBL Dijon Mustard

2 tsp. Liquid smoke (optional)

1/2 TBL Onion Powder

1/2 tsp. Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1-2 Pureed Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce (just depends on how spicy you want it)

  1. Place all ingredients into a non reactive sauce pan. mix well and bring to a boil
  2. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce is reduced by about 1/3 (so it is thick enough to stick to the back of a spoon).
  3. Adjust your seasonings to taste
  4.  Store in a glass container in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

Good For You Gelatin Gummies

Desserts, Uncategorized,

 

Gelatin Gummies
Gelatin Gummies

Today I am posting a recipe for gelatin gummies.  I don’t know about you, but real gummies I find to be very frustrating to chew.  They are so bouncy and resistant that I lose interest in chewing them after a while.  Like a piece of tough steak, I just want to move on already and digest the thing!  Not to mention they are not very good for the teeth or body.

These gummies are more like thick jello with really good flavor, health benefits, and just the right amount of bounce.

A good source of gelatin from grass fed pastured animals yields many health benefits for you.  I use this BRAND,  the red can is the kind that sets up and gels, the green can does not gel and is good to add to drinks or soups.

Grass Fed Gelatin
Grass Fed Gelatin

Read HERE and HERE about the benefits and uses of gelatin.  Good for skin (think collagen), joints, gut, weight loss, cellulite, hormones to name a few.  And it’s just plain fun.  Be sure to use a good brand of gelatin for maximum health benefits!

 

This recipe is a template that you can add different flavors to.  It is an adaptation from several recipes I found on the internet, it is by no means a KLee original.

Gelatin Gummies

1 1/2 cups of pure Fruit Juice (tart cherry, pomegranate, blueberry, whatever your fancy, just not pineapple it prevents the gelatin from setting up)

or

3/4 cup citrus juice and 3/4 cup fruit juice

4 TBL of Gelatin

1-3 TBL Raw Honey or Maple Syrup

  1. Sprinkle the gelatin on 3/4 cup of the cold juice.
  2. Heat 3/4 cup of the juice to boiling.
  3. Add the boiling hot juice to the gelatin and stir in the sweetener of your choice.  This is purely your preference.  Don’t go crazy on the sweet stuff!!
  4. The fun part is you can add all sorts of additional things.  One recipe I found HERE used elderberry syrup and raw honey for cold flu season.   Another HERE used turmeric and fresh grated ginger for additional health benefits.  Add fruit, spices or Herbs, get creative you can’t mess up !!!!
  5. Once it is well mixed pour into a baking dish or loaf pan or into molds.
  6. Let set up in the Refrigerator for 30 minutes or so. I poured some into a loaf pan and made blocks. I also poured some into a glass baking dish and cut them out with a small cookie cutter for the kiddies.
  7. Enjoy!

Parsnips And Happy 2015!!!!

Savory,
Parsnips
Parsnips

Happy New Year!  So exciting and grateful to face yet another glorious year of endless possibilities.  My resolution this year is to try something new each month, big or small from food to travel to books to sports or a class perhaps.

I recently tried ice climbing and was so surprised how invigorating it was to try something new and totally out of my comfort zone.  I was also surprised at how much I liked it.

So that will be my barometer if it is out of my zone, comfort or otherwise I will try it.  I’ll let you know what it is each month.

On to parsnips they may be new to you or not, but often they get overlooked at the grocery store.  Parsnips are a wonderful taproot vegetable that are very versatile.  For the full skinny on the parsnip read HERE.

Full of vitamins minerals and fiber they are a nice alternative to potatoes.  You can fry, roast, mash, puree or eat them raw.  I have been using them mashed lately as they go well with all types of protein from salmon to roast pork.  Martha Stewart has 21 different recipes for parsnips HERE.  Shake it up a little this winter and eat some parsnips.

 

Mashed Parsnips

3 Parsnips (good sized) peeled and chopped into 2 inch sections

1/4 cup Butter

Splash of cream

Salt and Pepper to taste

Boil the parsnips until they are soft.  Add the Butter and cream salt and pepper and mash using a hand mixer, a fork or an immersion blender until they are smooth and creamy!  The amounts above are an estimate add more butter or cream if needed.

 

Homemade Paleo Mayonnaise

Condiments,

Paleo Mayonaise

Growing up with ten siblings I have been called a lot of things, but one name that does ring true is Condiment Queen (and of course my self given title of Miss Beautiful Princess). 

I find things like burgers and sandwiches to be mere vehicles for mayonnaise, one of my very favorite condiments. I love it so much I bring it with me to friend’s houses or I make it at their house if the meal calls for it.

When I started the Paleo/whole food journey, I realized all the store bought mayo contained vegetable aka seed oil,s and that my friends is no good for you. So I decided not to give up the mayo, but to make my own.  It is sooo easy and delicious.

If you change only one thing in your diet, make an oil/fat change.  Read more about how bad things like canola, vegetable and other seed oils are HERE and HERE.  Your body will thank you for it.  LONG LIVE GOOD FAT!

Homemade Paleo Mayonnaise

2 Egg Yolks

2 TBL.  Apple cider vinegar (I use Braggs)

1/4 tsp.  Dry Mustard or 1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp. Honey

Pinch of Salt and Pepper

1 Cup (approximately)  Avocado Oil or Olive Oil

  • Place your egg yolks, vinegar, mustard, honey, salt and pepper into a blender.
  • Turn the blender on low and take the little top off (you know the one that lets you add things without getting totally splattered).
  •   Slowly drizzle the oil into the yolk mixture the stream is like a pencil point thickness it may be messy at first but be patient the oil will slowly emulsify into the yolks and the blender will stop spinning and just make a sucking sound as the mayo sets up.
  •   This is where the amount of oil will vary depending on how big your yolks were and the type of blender you use.  I just pour out of the bottle without measuring as it is very obvious when the mayo is done.  It will be thick and no longer mix in the oil.
  • Store in a glass container and refrigerate mine will usually last a week or longer.
  • You can flavor your Mayonnnaise with herbs or garlic and use lemon juice instead of vinegar for tasty variations.

Plantain Pizza Crust

Savory, ,
Plantain Pizza Crust
Plantain Pizza Crust

I can not take credit for this easy super delicious thin and crunchy crust.  I found it HERE on a website called Simple & Merry!

I love pizza and have spent the past few years trying to find a delicious gluten- free and grain-free crust.  I have tried them all from zucchini to cauliflower to almond flour and this one hits the spot!  It is quick, easy and requires 4 simple ingredients.

The runner up crust, which is a bit more involved, but includes the yeasty flavor of a real pizza crust is at the Zen Belly Blog HERE. Check it out!

I just made this plantain crust for a very skeptical non gluten-free friend and she was very pleased with the results, so I dare you to try it!

I will give you the Simple & Merry recipe with my adapted version of cooking instructions! Check out her recipe as well!

 

Plantain Pizza Crust

4 Cups Chopped GREEN Plantains  2-4 plantains depending on their size * 

1/3 Cup Olive Oil (make sure it is real olive oil)

1/4 -1/2 Cup Water

1 tsp.  Salt

 

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.  To make a real crunchy thin crust use a pizza stone set on the bottom rack of your oven.  Place the stone in the oven as it is preheating.  If you don’t have a stone still bake your crust on the bottom rack on a cookie sheet.

Place all ingredients in a food processor or a high powered blender.  Start with 1/4 cup of water and add more in small increments until the plantains blend into a smooth paste.

On a cookie sheet or pizza peel add a piece of parchment paper and oil it with some olive oil.  Spread the plantain paste thinly on the oiled parchment to your desired size.

When the oven is preheated slide the parchment off of the cookie sheet or peel onto the pizza stone and prebake the crust until the edges start to brown.

Take the prebaked crust out and add what ever toppings your little heart desires.  Now slide the pizza crust off the parchment directly onto the stone and bake just long enough for your cheese to melt and the toppings to warm up, watching so the crust does not burn.

Slide the pizza off the stone onto your cookie sheet or peel and let cool enough to devour.

This crust tastes best warm and fresh from the oven, but isn’t so bad reheated in a toaster oven the next day.

* It is important that you use green plantains because they are have more starch and less sweetness than a ripened or ripening plantain.

 

Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

Uncategorized, ,
Homemade Hot Chocolate
Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

So I was all ready to take a picture of some of my homemade hot chocolate outside in the fresh new fallen snow, but alas, before I could get around to it,  all luscious 12 inches melted overnight!!  Crazy weather my friends,  skiing out my door one day and walking in mud puddles the next!!!

That’s why we must seize every moment or before we know it,  it melts away!!

This is an easy storable hot chocolate mix with just a few ingredients.  My girls, who happen to be my biggest food critics, love this mix.  I hardly ever use sugar a.k.a. white death, but I figure the kids will burn the sugar right off as they are trying to keep warm in the up and coming frigid months, which we happen to have a lot of in Montana!

Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

3/4 Cup Chopped Chocolate, bittersweet, semisweet, milk whatever your fancy, (milk chocolate will make it sweeter)

2/3 Cup Good Quality Cocoa Powder

3/4 Cup Organic Powdered Sugar

1 Cup Dry Coconut milk or Regular Dry milk (or omit this if you plan on using milk instead of water as your liquid)

1 Pinch of salt

Directions:

Place the chocolate into a food processor and blend until it is a fine grainy texture.

Add the rest of the ingredients and blend some more until it makes a nice fine powder.

Brew up some hot water or milk of your choice and add a tablespoon or two of the mix and stir…..stir some more so the chocolate melts and Enjoy!

Store in an airtight container !

Primal Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart or Tartlets or Cupcakes

Desserts, , ,
Primal Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart
Primal Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart or Tartlets or Cupcakes

So I have a bit of a problem,  when I experiment with these baked goods recipes, even if they turn out bad, I feel it is my duty to eat them because it is not in my DNA or my environmental programming to waste food.

Thinking back to the root of this problem, I remember as a young kid I would be sitting in front of a plate of food not wanting to eat it,  my mom would say, “Eat your food people are starving in China”.  So okay, I thought,  if I eat this food it will help those starving people, but how?  If I eat it and get fat and plump, how will that help the starving people??  Or if I eat it get fat and plump maybe the starving people can eat me??

Anyway I now know,  it was meant as,  be thankful you have food because other people (especially in China) don’t.  I do love food and am grateful everyday for the bounty that sits on my table and passes my lips. So with thankfulness and gratitude for all the blessings in my life (especially good food), I give you a pumpkin cheesecake tart.   And yes I have said some version of “Eat your food people are starving” to my kids, usually with a little more explanation, but I wonder if they get it!!  I have faith they will sooner or later.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart or Tartlets or Cupcakes

You can make this as a 9 inch tart, as small tartlets or as cupcakes.  This recipe was adopted from Elana’s Pantry Gluten-Free Cupcakes Cookbook check it out HERE

Crust:

8-12 Medjool Dates pitted (depends on how sweet your tooth is !)

1/1/2 Cups Pecans

1&1/2 TBL Coconut Oil or butter

Place the ingredients in a food processor and blend until a fine crumb forms.  Press into a 9 inch tart pan or mini tart pans or cupcake liners in a muffin tin.  (For the 9 inch tart pre-bake the crust until it is slightly golden about 8 minutes at 350 degrees)

Filling:

1 Cup Goat Cheese

1 Cup Pumpkin (preferably from one you roasted, canned works fine too)

1 TBL Vanilla

1/4 Cup Maple Syrup

3 Eggs

2 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice ( I use a blend I make up from this RECIPE tasty recipe too)

Put all the ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth.  Pour into the crust and bake at 350 degrees until the center is set.  Let cool and serve with whipped cream or coconut whipped cream. Enjoy!  These freeze very well too!!!