It's been awhile...Banana Cashew Flour Muffins

I noticed my last post was in May! So many things have happened since then. We accepted new jobs, I moved up to teaching middle school, we bought our first house, and moved 1,001 miles away from home to live near my middle sister. It's been a whirlwind!

My mother in law may be the only person who reads my blog so here's a recipe just for her. I had some bananas that were turning brown and with the cold weather, we aren't really into smoothies, so freezing them wasn't the best option. I decided to make banana muffins and since I'm trying to still detox from Halloween, I decided to go without honey or maple syrup.

Banana Muffins
2 1/4 cups cashew flour
2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tbs cinnamon
1/4 cup coconut oil
3 large overripe bananas

Mix all ingredients together and blend well to combine. Fill silicone lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 350* for 25min, or until brown. E requested his extra crispy (not sure that's the best way to describe muffins), so I baked mine for an extra 5 min.

Variation:
Add chocolate chips, walnuts,  or pecans.

Notes: I buy my cashew flour at Trader Joe's for about $5/lb. You can sub blanched almond flour, or make your own nut flour from scratch with a food processor. Just add the cashews and blend until fine and powdery. I have some issues with almonds, so we've switched over to cashew flour. It's a more gut friendly nut and I love the sweetness it adds to baked goods.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

6tbs butter or coconut oil

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tbs arrowroot powder

2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour

1 cup frozen organic blueberries, rinsed

Juice of 1/2 a lemon or 1/4 cup of lemon juice 

1/4 cup of local honey 

1/2 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 pastured eggs 

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except blueberries in a kitchenaid mixer. (You can use a large bowl and a hand beater if you don't have a kitchenaid mixer. I don't know how I would survive without mine!)

Once ingredients are well combined, add the blueberries and fold in with a spatula. Transfer to 12 silicon lined muffin tins and bake at 350 for 20-25 min until lightly browned. The fork test doesn't work well with almond flour so check to make sure the inside is cooked thoroughly. If you're short on arrowroot powder try 1tbs coconut flour. These are very filling so they serve about 8 normal people or 3 ironmen. 

Paleo Pumpkin Waffles

In celebration of my 21 Day Sugar Detox coming to an end, I wanted to whip up some pancakes for breakfast....E nixed that idea and requested waffles. Who am I to argue with that. I had a hard time finding a recipe that used ingredients I had on hand, so I created my own. I'm pretty proud of myself. Cooking recipes are easy to throw together, but things that actually have to hold a certain shape are a little tougher especially when your husband is a breakfast connoisseur. Here's the recipe...

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups almond flour
3 eggs
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup coconut milk or water would work also
1/2 cup pureed pumpkin (I used a mix of canned and fresh. Fresh has more water so you may be able to skip the 1/4 cup of coconut milk if you use fresh.)
1/2 tbs cinnamon
1/2 pumpkin pie spice

If you want to be fancy combine your dry ingredients first. If you're an entrepreneur (read as "lazy") just throw all the ingredients into your KitchenAid mixer and mix away! While the batter is mixing, heat your waffle iron and grease with 1/2 tbs of butter or coconut oil. Once the iron is hot, pour 1/3 cup of batter and cook until golden. Mine cooked very quickly today. Every waffle iron will be different so you're on your own for cooking time. Enjoy with your favorite toppings! If you skip the maple syrup, these would technically by 21dsd friendly!

October is my Favorite

I've decided to make October my fitness challenge month. I'm trying to do my version of a Whole30 combined with a 21 Day Sugar Detox.  I tend to rebel when I have too strict of guidelines with my food, so I'm using their rules and tweaking them slightly. October is also a big month for us because it's 5 days from my 1 year anniversary, and I cannot believe it has been a year!! I of course asked for cookbooks (its paper right) and workout gear as my gift. Until my cookbooks arrive, I've been trying out some online recipes.

Here's what I made this weekend:

I tried Balanced Bites Apple Streusel Egg Muffins but I didn't have many eggs so I used 6 eggs instead of her 9. I also spread mine out among 18 muffins so they'd last a little longer. These are sweetened by the apples, no honey or anything added!

I also tried her Carrot Pumpkin Spice muffins and they turned out amazing!! There is no sweetener of any kind in these other than the banana and carrots. She says to shred the carrots, but next time I'd make sure to pulse them in the food processor to make them finer.

and finally my own recipe for gummy snacks

Ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened fruit juice

2 tbs gelatin (I use the great lakes grass-fed version, the orange bottle is the solidifying kind. I wouldn't recommend any other brand if you're looking to improve your health.)

Combine ingredients in a saucepan on the stove and heat until well combined. Pour into a jello mold or a Pyrex dish and chill in the fridge. When solid, remove and cute into squares. Store in the fridge. Sometimes I dilute mine with 1/4 cup of aloe juice to make it less sweet and lower in sugar. E complained that it wasn't sweet enough, so the choice is up to you! I used a super fruit juice called MonaVie, but any unsweetened juice would do! I also like pomegranate juice. These make a great post workout snack. 

Sausage Crust Quiche

My oldest sis has a local coffee shop that serves a frittata that uses sausage as the crust. Isn't that ingenious!! I had to come up with a version of my own so I could share in the awesomeness. I'm calling it a quiche since it was cooked only in the oven and not the stove top.

Printable Recipe:
Ingredients:
8 eggs
1/2 lb sausage (leave out for a veggie version)
2 medium carrots
1 medium zucchini
1 bell pepper
2 tbs butter divided
1/4 cup black olives
2 large mushrooms
1 tsp salt
1 tbs minced garlic (I love garlic, you can use less)

Preheat your oven to 350F. Press the sausage into the bottom of a greased 9x9 pan. It will shrink, so make sure it is a thick layer. You can add more than 1/2lb if you'd like. Bake for 10 minutes. While the sausage is cooking, shred/chop your veggies and add to a bowl. I shredded the carrots and the zucchini, but you can finely dice them as well. This is about 2 cups of veggies so if you want to try different versions go for it! Break in your eggs and stir until well combined. Add your spices and stir to combine. When the sausage is done, pour the egg mixture over the sausage and top with the 2tbs of butter. Bake for another 40-45 minutes until the eggs are no longer liquidy. Remove and let cool. Slice into squares and serve! This is great left over! It is also a good way to serve multiple guests. This version made 4-5 servings.

Nutrition Notes: This is a great way to sneak veggies into your breakfast. Feel free to eat as much as you like. If you'd like a lower carb version, leave out the carrots. Eggs are a great source of healthy cholesterol and the veggies in this dish are loaded with vitamins. Make sure to buy nitrate free sausage from a responsible source. 

Coconut Flour Pancakes

I have been trying to perfect a perfect coconut flour pancake recipe for a couple months, and I think I've finally got it! Let me know what you think!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1/4 cup coconut flour
2 egg whites, 1 egg (I would like to try just 2 whole eggs next time)
3/4 cup almond milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder
Coconut oil or butter to grease pan

Melt the butter in a skillet and leave to heat up. Pancakes cook better in a well heated pan. Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl. Pour batter into the pan (about a 1/4 cup, but measuring is not important). Swirl the batter around in the pan so it spreads out, making a thinner pancake. Cook on one side until bubbles form and start to pop. Loosen from the pan and use a spatula to flip. If you're fancy you can flip it just using the pan (I'm practicing ;)). When the bottom is browned, 2-3 minutes, remove from pan and keep warm in the oven or microwave. Finish cooking the batter and serve with maple syrup or honey. Makes about 6 pancakes.

Health Notes: Everything in the pancakes is healthy. Be careful adding maple syrup and honey because both are pure sugar! If you have a clean protein powder, feel free to add it in. You may need to add more liquid to keep the consistency.

Bullet Proof Coffee

This coffee is uber popular in the Paleo community. I only stumbled upon it recently on Instagram. People are pretty vague about telling you what's in it, but I did some research and found its super easy to make! All you need is coffee, butter, and coconut oil.

Brew your coffee and then blend in 1tbs of grass-fed butter and 1 tbs coconut oil. This is an incredible energy boost! Caffeine combined with long lasting fat energy. Coconut oil has a whole resume of health benefits and grass-fed butter has a great healthy fat profile.

I should mention that ghee will work great instead of butter...sadly no one sells it in this small town. 

EZ Eats: Breakfast

E eats at work during the week, so I pre-make his breakfast the night before. He usually has scrambled eggs with either bacon or sausage. Sometimes when things are hurried I send him out the door with hard boiled eggs and fruit. Here is a simple recipe for the loaded scrambled eggs I make.

Ingredients: 

3 eggs

1/4 a red pepper chopped

1 small jalepeño chopped and seeds discarded

1 mushroom chopped

3 slices bacon or 1/4 of a roll of sausage 

1/4 cup of spinach or a handful will do. 

In a frying pan, I prefer a cast iron skillet, cook the sausage/bacon until no pink is showing along with the peppers and mushrooms. When the sausage/bacon is cooked through add in the spinach and cook until wilted. Lastly crack the eggs into the skillet and stir to scramble. Continue to stir to keep the eggs from sticking to the pan. Cook until the white of the egg is no longer liquidy. Serve with a side of fruit or avocado! 

Health Notes:

This is a meal high in protein which is the ideal breakfast. Protein wakes the brain up and keeps you feeling full until lunch. Traditional breakfasts are high in carbs (usually sugary carbs) which leave you hungry and craving sugar soon after eating. Adding in veggies helps boost the fiber and vitamin content making this a well rounded meal.