Paleo Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte

I've been a in a pumpkin spice kind of mood lately so here is the 1st of the pumpkin spice recipes that I have been concocting. I have also been drinking wayyyy too much coffee. I seem to have an addictive personality. The downside to coffee is that I get a little jittery and anxious when I drink it everyday.
Trader Joe's has a chai tea that is caffeine free, so this is what I used. It's called Spiced Rooibos Ruby Red Chai Tea If you're not concerned about caffeine you can use coffee instead, or regular chai tea.

Ingredients:

8oz water
2 Chai tea bags
2 tbs pureed pumpkin (I used a canned version from Costco that is BPA free. Fresh works as well, but make sure to squeeze out the excess water.)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (this is easy to create yourself with nutmeg, ground cloves, ginger and cinnamon)
2 tbs heavy cream or full fat coconut milk (refrigerate the coconut milk and skim the thicker liquid off the top)

 Directions Heat your water and soak the tea bags in a large mug or cup. I like to place the tea bags in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. You want a strong tea, but not so strong that it becomes bitter. Add the other ingredients and use an immersion blender to mix. You can us a traditional blender if you don't have an immersion. Blend for at least 2 minutes. Blending the cream/coconut milk will cause the drink to thicken. Enjoy!

Windmill Punch

Last Christmas, my niece was thrilled to drink "Windmill Punch" My dad came up with this clever name to make water sound special. He tossed in a few strawberries to make it legit. When I was visiting my sister in Iowa, we decided to make our own version.

Ingredients:
1/2 gallon of water
1 small cucumber slice
5 strawberries cut
1 lemon sliced

Combine all ingredients and soak in the fridge for 4 hours. The longer it soaks, the more infused the water will become!

Nutrition Notes: This is a great drink to kick soda cravings. You could try mixing it with club soda if you are missing the carbonation!

Piña Colada

After making all that coconut milk, I had the brilliant idea to make a pina colada!! IT turned out delicious. Here are the ingredients:

 

1 shot of rum

1-2 cups coconut milk depending on how strong you like your drinks ;)

5 ice cubes

 

Add everything to the blender and pulse until smooth! It goes great with a piece of dark chocolate.

All Things Coconut

When looking through budgeting tips, I found that its cost-effective to make your own almond milk, meal, butter etc....I never thought I could apply this to coconut! Coconut flour is pricey and I was pitying myself for not having a store that sells it here. But guess what! I made my own! And a delicious by product from it was sweet coconut milk. I also realized that I could make coconut butter. Here's how its done ;)

Printable Recipe

Coconut Flour & Milk

Soak 1 cup of dried coconut flakes (unsweetened!) in 4 cups of water for at least 4 hours. You can soak longer if you like. Give the flakes a spin in the blender after they soak. Strain through a nut milk bag keeping the liquid. The liquid is the delicious coconut milk! Keep the coconut milk in a container in the fridge. The pulp that is left in the nut milk bag is your coconut flour. Spread the coconut flour on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for an hour at 200F. When its finished baking, put it into the food processor and spin until it is a fine powder. That's it!

Coconut Butter
For this you will need shredded coconut, not the desiccated kind used above^^. You can find this in the bulk aisle of whole foods, central market, etc. Process the shredded coconut in a blender or food processor until it forms into a butter! Voila!

Nutrition Notes: The benefits of coconuts are endless! They have vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. They are great for immune health due to their antimicrobial properties. Consuming coconut products can help with various skin conditions, give you fuller hair, and improve bone health! They only thing to worry about with coconut overconsumption is the carbohydrates, and that's only if you are concerned with weight loss.

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. 

Juicy Juice

Juicing is quite the rage at the moment. It has always been trendy among dieters. For some reason the idea of drinking food is always paired with weight loss. This does not make sense in any shape or form!! I decided to test out the juicing fad when I spent the weekend with my momma. It did not work out for me. I was hungry within in an hour, my sugar cravings were through the roof, and I ended up taking in more sugary carbs, and calories in general. I also felt sooo guilty tossing out the pulp (fiber!). I do understand the good side of juicing. Some people claim it detoxifies your body, but eating healthy real foods will rid your body of inflammation just as well if not better. It seems to be easier for your body to absorb the nutrients from juiced foods quickly without having to go through the digestive process, but what happens when you skip the digestive process? You gain weight. Especially if you are insulin resistant and carb sensitive (ME!!!). Your body is doing less work for more nutrients, and it is likely going to store those bad boys. Juicing isn't "bad" for you, but if weight loss is your goal, I do not recommend it. It is better to eat the foods in their whole form. You will be more satisfied and you'll burn calories in the digestion process. Now if you're just into juicing for the occasional treat go for it! Everyone is different so if juicing works for you let me know! I'd love to hear your side of the story.

Update: A friend asked me about juicing tonight and I had a revelation! I think that juicing is a great way to kick start a real food diet or and changes from processed food to all natural food. It gives your digestive system a break and helps it transition from junk food to healthy fruits, veggies, and proteins. 

Here is a juice I did find a use for! I made this as a pre-workout drink to boost my electrolyte stores and give me a minuscule (lemons and limes are not high in fructose) jolt of quick energy from the fructose in the fruit. It was tangy and E said it made his whole mouth explode (you know that tingling feeling you get when you eat something sour). Also did you know you can use a blender and a nut milk bag to make juice! No need to invest in a juicer.

Mean Green Kool-Aid (E named this)
Ingredients:
1/2  lemon peeled
1/2 lime peeled
1 small cucumber
1 broccoli stalk
1/2 cup almond milk
*This is not a sweet drink. If you are dying for something sweet throw in half an orange, but remember that it is packed with fructose.

If you have a juicer add everything to the juicer and you're good to go. If not add everything to your blender and blend until its nice and chopped up. (You can juice the lime and lemon instead of peeling them if you'd like). Strain through a nut milk bag. Save the pulp for another recipe or discard. Did I mention I hate throwing things away?!

This website has a whole list of juice pulp recipe ideas. This is the one I can't wait to try!

P.S. Juicing is so not Paleo. Cavemen didn't own juicers ;)

Almond Milk

Almond milk is my dairy free milk of choice! It's great in smoothies, to make chocolate milk from, or to just drink plain. I was unhappy with the ingredients in the  store bought almond milk, so I searched for a recipe to make my own. After some research I came up with what I thought was the perfect ratio of milk and water. Here it is!

Printable Recipe

Needs:

Jug for storage

Strainer, almond milk bag or dish towel

Blender

Large bowl

Raw Almonds(not roasted or salted)
Filtered Water

Directions:

Soak the almonds overnight in enough water to cover the almonds. Make sure to use a sealed container. After the almonds have soaked discard the water and rinse the almonds. There are anti-nutrients in almonds that have been removed from the almonds and leached into the water after the soaking process. In a blender mix 2 cups of almonds and 4 cups water. You can play with the ratio to cater to your taste. This is what I like best. Blend until smooth! Pour the milk through a fine strainer, catching the milk in a large bowl. If it is still grainy you may want to strain again through a smaller strainer. If using a nut milk bag or a dish towel, lay the towel over a bowl and pour the milk through. Squeeze to extract all the milk. Save the almond pulp for my yummy almond pulp granola recipe or dry it in the oven at 250F for an hour and use it as almond meal! Store the almond milk in the fridge in a sealed container.

Nutrition notes:

Soaking the almonds overnight removes the enzyme inhibitor that can be detrimental to health. Soaked almonds are "healthier" than raw almonds. Almond milk will not have the same health benefits as almonds because the pulp(high in fiber) has been removed. This is a low calorie drink so enjoy!

Paleo Margarita

The Paleo community calls these NorCal margaritas. I believe Robb Wolf invented the recipe. They are low carb and tasty without any added sugar.

Printable Recipe

What you need:

1 cup club soda

1-2 shots of tequila (this makes or breaks it so buy your favorite)

The juice from half a lime

Ice

Pour all the ingredients over ice. Stir and serve! You can garnish with lime, add other fruit, or mint would be yummy!

Nutrition notes: Alcohol has zero nutritional value, but is ok when consumed in moderation. (Who didn't know that already?) Club Soda is simply bubbly water so drink all you want! Limes are a great way to get Vitamin C, and antioxidants. They also aid in digestion. 

Watermelon Margaritas

We visited Eric's Grandpa this weekend, and I wanted to make him a treat. I saw the idea for watermelon margaritas on Pinterest, where else?! The pin didn't have a recipe, so I did some research and came up with my own. It took us awhile to find a store that sold alcohol, and E got a little grumpy along the way...the margarita was the perfect cure.

Ingredients for 1 margarita:
1 cup of watermelon
1-2 shots of tequila, we like Jose Cuervo Gold around these parts
1/2 lime
1/2 cup Club Soda

How to:
Blend the tequila and watermelon. We used an immersion blender because that was all Grandpa had on hand. If you want to make a large batch feel free to use a large blender and double or quadruple the recipe! Pour the puree into a glass of ice and scoop off the foam at the top. Squeeze half a lime into the glass and drop the lime in. Pour in the Club Soda and give it a good stir. If you're feeling fancy you can salt your glass before serving. These are great for a summer night on the porch.

We drank our margaritas with grilled chicken, a tossed salad, and roasted squash and zucchini.

Health notes: Of course alcohol is not particularly healthy, but like most things it is ok in moderation. If you are looking to lose weight, avoid alcohol until you meet your goal and then only use it in moderation. This recipe does not have any added sugar making it the perfect alternative to a pre-made margarita mix!

Enjoy!