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!

Blueberry Paleo Pancakes

These are inspired by Sarah Fragoso from Everyday Paleo. Her recipe is awesome, so try it too!

Ingredients

3/4 cup raw almonds ground in the food processor to a fine meal (I'm going to experiment with soaked almonds for my next recipe)

2-3 eggs (I use 3 but I think you could get by with 2)

1/2 tsp baking soda

Pinch of salt

1/2 tbs pumpkin pie spice 

1 cup frozen blueberries defrosted and rinsed (you can put these in a strainer and run them under water to thaw and rinse.)

2 bananas 

After you process the almonds to a fine meal add the baking soda and other dry ingredients. In a separate bowl mix the bananas and eggs. Add in the dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Finally add the blueberries and stir gently. Grease a skillet with bacon fat (coconut oil, butter or ghee all work great but I love the bacony taste the bacon grease adds). Scoop 1/4 cup of the batter onto the hot skillet. Cook 3-4 minutes on each side. Serve plain or with maple syrup! We enjoy these after a tough crossfit workout or as a Sunday treat!

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. 

Paleo Fudge

It's officially been over a month since I posted last! Where has the time gone?! So much has happened in this month. E said goodbye to his truck and is searching for a new car, he also signed up for Ironman Texas in May. I will be spending the next 7-8 months trying to feed his amped up metabolism.

We went down to Baton Rouge for alumni weekend and a gluten fest...I'm still paying for that one. 

I made a trip to Houston for the BFFs bachelorette party and wedding shower and this weekend we're off to her wedding!

We also officially joined the Crossfit gym in town and have been working our tails off. 

I promise to be better in all ways this month. I'm committing to a Whole30 and a 21day sugar detox to try to get my sugar cravings under control while participating in a local fitness challenge.

Anyway no one reads this for my life updates so here's a sweet treat recipe for paleo fudge. Fudge is one of E's favorite sweets and he gave this a thumbs up. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup raw cashews

1 tbs cacao powder

2-3 tbs coconut oil

1tbs honey or maple syrup (you can substitute a few drops of liquid stevia for a low carb/sugar free version)

Blend all the ingredients in a food processor and press into a dish lined with parchment paper. Chill for about an hour. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. 

Note my Ninja in the picture...we are extremely disappointed by his abilities and will be attempting to return him this weekend.