No-Bake Chocolate Candy Bites

I've been trying to cut back on my fructose intake lately. That means limiting my fruit consumption and cutting back on sweeteners including honey and maple syrup. I have a terrible sweet tooth as you have heard, and I am trying hard to rein it in!! My momma makes these delicious paleo chocolates, so I thought I'd put a few spins on them to make them sweetener free/fructose free. I will list the honey-sweetened version as well for those of you with room to splurge!

Printable Recipe

Base Ingredients:
1/2 cup freshly ground almond butter (I'm assuming other nut butters would work well, so feel free to give it a try! Remember peanuts are a legume and have inflammatory properties.)
1/4 cup coconut oil (make sure to use a coconut tasting oil, unrefined or virgin; I use Tropical Traditions Brand)
1/4 cup cacao powder (cocoa powder works as well, but I suggest transitioning to cacao powder)

Choose your sweetener:
None (best option for fat loss and gut health)
1/2-1 tsp Stevia (promotes good gut health, but there is limited research on long term effects)
1/8-1/4 cup of Honey (high in fructose, promotes Candida overgrowth in the gut, should be used sparingly and only as a treat!)
1/8-1/4 cup Maple Syrup (same as honey, but vegan)

Add-ins:
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp mint extract
Whole almonds or other nuts like pecans

Combine your base ingredients in a bowl. Stir until well mixed. Choose your sweetener and add it in. (This recipe fills a 12 count mini muffin tray, so I made 3 different versions, one row of each.)  Add any extras you want except the whole almonds. Using spoon, transfer the mix to a mini muffin tray, ice cub tray, or a silicone candy mold(this is the best option). If using whole almonds, press them into the center of each candy piece. Place in the freezer for at least 1 hour. The candies should be solid, you can remove them from the pan and store them in a baggie in the freezer, or you can cover them. These melt quickly!

Health Notes: The raw cacao powder and coconut oil in these babies do great things for your health! I can't even begin to list all the health benefits of coconut oil. A good serving size is 1-2 Bites. Remember that consuming large amounts of almonds(nuts in general) or almond products can lead to weight gain.When using Stevia, only use pure Stevia. Most groceries only sell the processed kind which have added ingredients...yikes! I buy mine from an herb lady in town. It is ground Stevia leaf, so the only ingredients are leaves! Whole Foods has decent brands and offers a liquid version. Always, always, always check the label!

EZ Eats: Dirty "Rice"

I've had dirty rice a few times in the past, but nothing compares to how yummy this turned out! I love when my experiments are successful!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 head of a large cauliflower, 3-4 cups riced
1/2 bell pepper (green is traditional for dirty rice, but I used orange)
2 large mushrooms
1 fresh jalepeno
1/2lb ground sausage (make sure to choose a nitrate free brand without fillers or added sugar, pastured pork is best)
1tbs tarragon (tarragon has a strong flavor, if you are not a fan you can use parsley instead, I loved the taste the tarragon added)
1tsp of salt to taste
1tbs garlic minced or powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp ground lemon peel, lemon zest or lemon pepper seasoning.
1/2 tsp pepper
1-2 tbs butter for the pan

Here's a sneak peak at our Cajun theme night meal! E won the wishbone break :(

Rice your cauliflower and set aside. Finely dice the bell pepper, mushrooms, and jalepeno. In a skillet with 1-2 tbs butter, cook your veggies and the sausage until cooked through. Add in your cauliflower and mix well. Add all of your seasonings and cook 5 minutes longer. Serve alone or as a side dish! This makes 2-4 servings.

Nutrition Notes: This is the perfect meal. It has a healthy meat source (leave out for a vegetarian option also making it un-"dirty"), health carbs that are mainly fiber, and yummy vegetables! Mushrooms are a great source of Vitamin D, peppers are high in Vitamin A and capsaicin which helps promote fullness. Tarragon is also a great source of antioxidants and vitamins. Cauliflower is packed with Vitamin C. No need to worry about serving size with this meal! Eat until you are full without worrying about calorie intake.

Paleo Poppers

I adore jalepeño poppers!! I could eat them by the dozen. Bacon, cheese, jalepeños...doesn't get much better than that. Dairy isn't a part of my life right now but bacon and jalepeños sure are! So this is what I came up with as an alternative.

Ingredients

5 jalepeños 

5-10 strips of bacon (you can cut these in half or use the whole piece. I'm a whole piece kinda girl.)

1/2 half avocado

Cut the jalepeños in half and remove the seeds. Slice the avocado to fit one piece inside each jalepeño half. Wrap the avocado filled jalepeño in bacon and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 400 for 20-30 minutes or until bacon is crispy!

Salmon Cakes

These were super easy to make and incredibly tasty! The recipe is adapted from cosideritjoybaking.com I follow her on Instagram and she has awesome recipes!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients: 

12-14 oz of canned salmon (remove any bones)

1/4 cup almond meal

1 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tbs butter for the pan 

1 egg

Directions:

Butter a large skillet. The more room the better for making the salmon cakes. In a mixing bowl stir all the ingredients together (minus the butter of course) until well combined. Using a spoon drop a ball of the salmon mix into the skillet. Use the spoon to flatten and shape into round cakes. Cook for 3-5 minutes on one side at medium heat until its easy to slide a spatula under the cake (you'll have to loosen it from the pan a bit). Flip to the other side and cook another 3 minutes. The salmon cake should be a golden color. Put on a plate in the microwave or oven to keep warm until all the cakes are cooked. We served ours up with a side of broccoli slaw, garlic butter mushrooms and tomatoes. We also made paleo mayo to drizzle on top. 

EZ Eats: Alone :(

I've been in Iowa for a few days and left E to fend by himself! I wondered if he'd survive...

Looks like he's doing fine without me! Maybe I'll make him cook dinner a few nights a week. I love the whole mango sitting on the side of the plate. 

Zucchini Noodles

I'm currently hanging out in Iowa with the middle sister. Her husband has grown an amazing farm with rows of veggies, fruits and herbs. It's zucchini season around here so we've been brainstorming recipes. We started out with zucchini lasagna of course! My sister whipped up a batch of zucchini chips to go with our portobello burgers and tonight we had zucchini noodles! I've seen tons of recipes for these using a spiralizer, but ain't nobody got time (or money) for that. With some more brainstorming and maybe some googling (equivalent to brainstorming these days?) we decided to use a lemon zester. It worked great!

Printable Recipe

Here's what we made, we call this Mongolian BBQ in my family. 

Ingredients:

2 zucchini

3 mushrooms chopped

1 cup kale or spinach

1-2 carrots chopped

2 tbs coconut oil

2 tbs braggs aminos, gluten free soy sauce, or coconut aminos

1 tbs garlic

In case you were wondering what a lemon zester might look like!

Directions:

To make the noodles drag the lemon zester down the side of the zucchini. You will get to a point where you can't zest anymore. We just cut up the rest of the zucchini and tossed it in with the other vegetables. In a pan cook everything except the noodles and kale until the carrots and mushrooms are soft. Add in the kale and cook until wilted. Add in your noodles and cook 5-10 more minutes. That's it! Super easy peasy! You can easily add grilled chicken, ground beef or cubed steak to this. My middle sister is vegetarian so we skipped the meat. I do suggest adding cashews or slivered almonds as a protein source because we were hungry later that night with the only protein coming from the braggs aminos! 

I'm excited to have a way to make noodles without buying a spiralizer!! I know E is going to love these noodles with marinara sauce as spaghetti. 

Carbnite Update

So this is the 3rd day since my carb overload on Saturday night. I am completely convinced that carb nite is NOT for me! Here's my list of reasons why:

1. My sugar cravings went through the roof on Sunday. 

2. I was exhausted (and still am) after. 

3. My stomach hurt so bad Saturday night I almost barfed. (Carb nite encourages eating anything you want and doesn't stick to the rules of Paleo. I chose to remain relatively Paleo and only had a tea with sugar, potato chips, and fries at a restaurant that were not Paleo. Everything else I ate was Paleo. I did not eat any gluten.)

4. Headaches!!

5. It's day 3 and my stomach is still out of whack! Of course I'm not positive that it is all from the carb fest, but I have not eaten anything out of my normal routine these past 3 days that would cause these symptoms.

6. I love sweets too much to stop eating them once I start. This did not go over well. 

So...my goal is to still keep my carb intake low and eat real unprocessed food. We stick to Paleo guidelines because I like the research and ideas that support Paleo. I'm going to take what I learned from carb nite and limit my sweet treats during the day. Carbs process differently at night. I also think this was a huge stepping stone in my battle against sugar (fructose from honey and natural sources, not just the white stuff). I'm one step closer to being in control of my sweet treat cravings!

If you have had success with carb nite, I would love to hear from you!

Pickles

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

3-4 Pickling cucumbers

2 cups water

1/2 cup vinegar

2tbs salt

1/4 tsp ginger, turmeric, dill weed

1/2 tsp dill seed, ground mustard, crushed red pepper

4 garlic cloves

1 bay leaf

Slice pickles and add them to a mason jar (20 oz. works).Add the bay leaf and garlic. Add the salt to the water and stir to dissolve. Add spices, then salt water and vinegar to the pickle jar. Place the lid on the jar and invert or shake well to mix up the spices. If you seal the jar you can store outside the fridge, if not store in the fridge for about a week, so the pickles can ferment.

Mango Avocado Salsa

1/2 a large avocado diced

1 mango diced

10 grape tomatoes halved

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp basil

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp salt

Pickled jalepeños diced to taste 

Cut up all your ingredients and then mix together gently in a bowl. This would be great with chips but we don't eat those around here so we just ate it with a fork! It was the perfect mix of sweet, spicy and savory!

Carbnite

I came across something called carbnite on Instagram and after some heavy research, I decided to try it. The basics of it are you limit carbs to 30g or less for 10 days then have a carb fest on the 10th night without stuffing yourself.  The theory is that your body should be running on fat supplies for those 10 days and then when you eat carbs, for 1 you are preserving your sanity and 2 you are able to burn the carbs quickly after being without them for a week. The idea is that   the calories in the carbs get stored as muscle instead of fat cells. Tonight was my first carbnite and I wanted to make sure I stayed mostly Paleo. (I may have had a few potato chips with salsa :)) i can see how this could work well for me because its easier for me to restrict carbs of I have a goal in mind. I'm also surprised by the fact that Im not dying to eat carbs on day 10. Anywho I've been wanting to grill fruit all summer and finally got around to it.

I used 2 whole peaches and 1/2 cup of whipping cream. Cut the peaches in half and throw out the pit. Place face down on a grill (my momma has this neat electric indoor grill that we used). Grill for 15 minutes. Watch closely as all grills vary. You want them to be soft and have dark grill lines. Remove from the grill and serve with fresh whipped cream! We sprinkled cinnamon on ours. This makes enough for 4 servings. 

What have you been grilling this summer?