Paleo Almond Dog Bites

My guilty pleasure was always a good corn dog. Since finding out I have Celiac back in 2010, I haven't had one of those delicious ultra-processed babies. I made these out of Almond and Coconut flour for the Super Bowl, and was very impressed!

Recipe adapted from: http://glutenfreefix.com/corn-dog-bites/3126/

Ingredients:
1/4 cup melted butter
3 eggs
2 T honey
1/4 cup almond flour
2 T coconut flour
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
4 hot dogs cut into fourths
mini muffin pan

Preheat oven to 325. Mix the butter, eggs and honey. Add in and mix the flours, baking soda, and salt. Mix well, then pour into the mini muffin pan, filling each tin half-way. Press in hot dog pieces. Bake for about 15 minutes. Perfect!

Paleo Poppers

You know those delicious grilled Jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon? Well these are incredibly similar, only I used avocado instead of cream cheese and broiled them since it's freezing outside. Be careful when you handle them, because I apparently picked up the world's hottest jalapenos and my hands were pretty numb for a couple days... ouch!

Ingredients:
8 Jalapenos, halved and seeded
8 slices of bacon, cut in halves
2 avocados, meat scraped out

Stuff each jalapeno with avocado and wrap with a half of a slice of bacon. Place the stuffed peppers into a 8x13 casserole dish or directly onto the grill. If using the oven, bake at 400 for 10 minutes then broil on high for about 5 minutes or until bacon is crispy. Serve and enjoy!

Vegan Black Bean and Microgreen wrap

This was the most delicious lunch I have ever thrown together in my life. Well, make that the most delicious, easiest lunch I've ever thrown together. You don't even need the wrap, but I'm trying to get some calories into my life so that's why I ate it this way. You have got to try this!

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
pinch garlic powder
black pepper
pinch cumin
salt
cayenne
1/2 jalapeño, chopped
1/2 cup vegetable broth
pinch chili powder
rice (brown is the best option)
microgreens
I used gluten free Fiesta Wraps made with sorghum flour
cilantro would be a great addition

Sautee the beans and the rest of the ingredients before rice is listed for about 8 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. On a wrap, layer the rice, then beans, then microgreens and fold. So perfect!

Roasting Seaweed

I've posted a while back about how great of a snack seaweed is. I love it with a bit of rice. In some households, kids eat chicken fingers all day. Well in mine growing up, my brother and I were all over seaweed and rice. I guess we both still are! You can buy little packets of it in the store, but it's incredibly expensive, especially when it takes all of 5 minutes to do in your own kitchen and it tastes so much more fresh.

This is all you need:
A package of seaweed... as much of it as you like.
A brush for food
sea salt
sesame oil
large pan... my mom just used her stove top

Lay out each piece of seaweed, paint on thin coat of sesame oil, then sprinkle with the amount of salt to your preference. I love salt so I throw it on very generously. You may want to hold back and just sprinkle a very light amount. With the pan heated on high, use your fingers or a tong to lay a piece of seaweed in there for about 3 seconds (until it starts to crinkle a little) then flip for a couple of seconds and continue until all seaweed is done. You can chop it into fourths, which is what I prefer since I like a mouth full of seaweed, or into sixths which is what is normal. Serve it alone or with a teaspoon of rice per piece of seaweed for a light lunch or snack.

muffins to flex for! ~banana quinoa muffins

These muffins are absolutely phenomenal! I got the recipe straight off the back of a Shiloh Farms bag of Quinoa Flakes. Quinoa is packed with protein, so it makes a great protein snack or dessert.

Ingredients:
2 mashed ripe bananas
2 T grapeseed oil
1 egg
1/2 cup almond coconut milk or milk
2/3 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup rice flour
1/2 cup shiloh quinoa flakes
1/3 cup organic cane sugar
1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine bananas with wet ingredients, mix well. Mix dry ingredients in another bowl. Combine mixtures until combined but not too much. Spoon batter evenly into approximately 12 muffin liners. Bake for about 16 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

I was at Barnes and Nobles today, where I could not stop staring at the blueberry muffins and I just had to go home and add blueberries to this recipe. Oh man did it do the job!

angeled eggs over tuna

I did a recipe overhaul on my usual deviled egg recipe, and these were delicious! This version is packed with even more protein, since I threw in a can of tuna. I also removed the vegannaise so these are now Paleo.

Ingredients:
12 eggs, boiled
1 can tuna
2 T spicy mustard
2 T horseradish
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
black pepper
salt
red pepper
2 T olive oil
1 diced jalapeno

Cut the eggs in half and spoon out the yolks into a large bowl. Mix all of the rest of the ingredients in with the yolks until well blended. Spoon the mixture into the egg whites, which should be overflowing with goodness once you are finished. Enjoy your healthy, delicious, perfect snack!

paleo nut crunchy treats

I DID IT! Alright, so not these didn't stick together in their perfect little squares like rice crispy treats do with all that marshmallow holding them together. But these are so incredibly yummy and a great snack. They are nothing but protein (with a little bit of chocolate...) and so delicious. I love rice crispy treats, but wanted to make a Paleo version that I could snack on and not feel guilty. Great success!

Ingredients:
6 cups raw nuts, chopped (I used walnuts and cashews)
dash of sea salt
2/3 cup almond butter
2/3 cup honey
1 T vanilla
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Toss all of the chopped nuts into a large bowl, then mix in a dash of salt. In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir in the rest of the ingredients until everything is melted and well blended. Remove pan from heat and stir the mixture into the nuts. I put on a glove and mixed everything together by hand to make sure everything was combined. Pour it all into a casserole dish a press down. Allow to cool, then cut when ready to eat.

spicy wings over paleo, just in time for football!

Everyone should know by now what a wing fanatic I am. Wings are my go-to meal... even for a romantic dinner with Jake the day before he leaves for deployment. True story. I'm not sure why people think they are so bad for you. I especially like when someone tells me how unhealthy chicken wings are, as they grab a bowl of ice cream and a diet soda. Yep. Anyway, there is something about the way the meat cooks with the skin (fat) and the bone that makes it so sweet and juicy. I love my wings marinated and grilled, but we don't have a grill here at the beach house. I am about a few meals away from breaking down and buying the portable grill Jake and I have been wanting for a while now. Until then, baking and broiling will work. These wings were so absolutely delicious, I just can not describe how amazed I was at the full flavor. I didn't even use any vinegar/sugar/chemical-laden sauces. SOOO YUM!

Ingredients:
1 package wings, wing tips removed
1 T sesame oil
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp grapeseed oil (or olive oil)
3 T liquid aminos
1 T honey
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 T crushed red pepper
1 jalapeno, chopped
5 cloves of garlic
2 T cayenne pepper

Blend everything (but the wings) together in either a blender or processor, until everything is pureed and combined. Throw everything in a ziploc bag or a tupperware container with the wings. Allow to marinate overnight, and shake it all up when you get the chance. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the wings side by side on a slitted pan over a baking pan after greasing the slitted pan. Bake for 50 minutes, turning the wings over halfway through. Turn on the broiler at the end, then broil the wings 5 minutes per side to get it crispy. Or if you have a grill, just throw them all on a grill for about 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Warning: these wings are extremely deceptive when it comes to heat. They burned my mouth and I am a spice fanatic. I would only use 1/2 of the jalapeno and 1/2 of the cayenne as well as 1/2 the vinegar if you can not tolerate spice very well.

baked sweet potato aka my favorite Paleo snack!

I have been snacking on weird food since I was a baby. I believe my first snack other than my mother's milk was dried squid... basically squid jerky. Yeah, that's how hardcore beast I am. Now I can't even think about eating squid without gagging because of squid overload. Next I guess I moved onto yummy sweet potatoes, which are much more the "norm" I'd say. Sweet potatoes are yummy and it doesn't get any easier. Well, you could always reach for a bag of chips. Oooooh your chips are "whole grain"... well then, aren't you the healthiest person in the world. Not. Go several days without grain and see how different your body feels. You'll be amazed. But I digress. I just wanted to share how easy it is to snack on something other than junk.

Ingredients:
sweet potato

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Poke many holes into the sweet potato then wrap it in foil, shiny side in. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until soft. Yummy!

paleo eggplant dip

I know, I know. This stuff looks gross. My dad even said it looks like cat food. I'm not going to lie, it certainly does. However, this is so delicious, and PERFECT for football season in place of all those corn chips, pita breads, and cheese dips. I got the original version of this recipe from my friend Jen, and it was delicious! To fit it into my Paleo challenge, I substituted the beans for eggplant and added a tiny bit of extra ingredients. After one bite, my dad won't stop eating it... and he's a pretty tough food critic, unlike the oh-so-forgiving Jake I'm used to cooking for. So try it out!

Ingredients:
4 garlic cloves, peeled
4 T fresh lemon juice
2 heaping T sesame tahine
2 tsp ground cumin
pinch salt
1 medium eggplant, cut into large chunks
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
pinch crushed red pepper
pinch ground red pepper
1 T grapeseed oil (or olive oil...)
sliced veggies of choice for dipping

It's as easy as this. Throw everything into a blender then serve. Yeah that's right, what more can you ask?

apple {pie} brie

Once upon a time, there was a wonderful restaurant downtown Norfolk called the Winehouse. This was 3 years ago to be exact, when Jake and I had first started dating. He doesn't know this, but this was actually my first real date at a nice restaurant, with a bottle of wine... you know, all the trimmings. We ordered the baked brie as an appetizer. The brie was baked in puffed pastry and folded in with cherries, apples, and sweet wine. It was absolutely amazing. My parents had a block of brie they wanted eaten, as well as some apples... and you know I will make sure something gets eaten! Food can not be wasted! So this is what I came up with, and is much lighter than if it had been baked inside of buttered bread.

Ingredients:
1 block of brie, rinds cut off
1 medium green apple, sliced
1 T butter, melted
1 T cinnamon
1 T honey

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Cut the brie in half, and set the top half aside. In a small bowl, mix the butter, cinnamon, and honey together and set aside. Place half of the apple slices on top of the brie. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon butter mixture atop the apples. Place the top half of the brie on top of the apples. Repeat with the remaining apple slices and cinnamon butter mixture. Bake on an oven-safe surface for 15 minutes or until cheese bubbles. I suggest adding chopped walnuts and cranberries to the sliced apples before baking if you happen to have them in your kitchen! Serve with GF crackers.

tomato tomato...guacamole edamole!

Jake LOVES avocados like he loves shrimp, and that is a lot. He asked me the other day to make him some guacamole as his parting gift. So the loving wife I am, went off to the store to get some avocados, but they were $1.79 for a single avocado! Yeah, I love my husband, but I'm not a dumb shopper. I wasn't about to pay 12 bucks for the avocados to make guac. Instead, I experimented with the edamame I already had in the freezer, which you can get for a $1.50 per bag in your freezer section. Oh yeah, here's to experimenting! Great success! I used the same basic recipe my sister-in-law Christy uses to make her avocado dip, because it's the best version of guac I've ever had. Yay for family that cooks!

Ingredients:
1 lb. cooked edamame, drained
1 T water
1 T white wine vinegar
1/2 lemon, sqeezed
2 T green onion, chopped
4 cloves minced garlic
1 diced tomato
1 1/2 T olive oil
pinch of salt
pinch of crushed red pepper
1 jalapeno, chopped
handful of chopped cilantro

Puree the edamame in a food processor or blender with 1 T water. It doesn't have to be smooth, there can be chunks. Stir together all wet ingredients, then add with the edamame in a medium bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir. I served these with carrots and celery, but you can use corn chips or whatever you prefer. You can also eat this leftover as a protein-packed snack between meals for the next few days!

paleo chocolate chip cookies- soooo healthy, SO delicious!

From meatnveggies

After having these paleo cookies, made without any flour but blanched almond flour, which is simply finely ground almonds, I don't think I'll ever have to eat another "normal" cookies. These cookies hit the spot!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups blanched, finely ground almond flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup warm coconut or grapeseed oil
1/2 cup agave nectar or honey
1 T vanilla extract
1/2 cup coarsely chopped dark chocolate

In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, and baking soda. In a medium bowl, blend coconut oil, honey or agave, and vanilla. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until combined. Fold in the chocolate, then refrigerate the dough for about 20 minutes. While in fridge, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper (these cookies are SUPER sticky so do this). Drop 1 T of dough at a time onto the prepared sheets and press down with the palm of your hand to flatten each cookies and leave 2 inches between each cookie. Bake for 7-10 minutes until slightly golden, and allow to cool for 20 minutes before moving cookies. Enjoy!!

I love these so much, not only because they are so healthy, but they are PACKED with protein. You can eat one of these as an easy and delicious snack/dessert and you just helped yourself to a homemade protein bar. Enjoy sparingly, because they are still calorie dense, but the calories are GOOD calories! Also, once you open a pack of almond flour, make sure to put it into a sealed container and refrigerate.

yummy honey nuts!

I love honey roasted nuts and all those fancy nuts you can buy at the local markets. Not only are they tasty, they make for an incredible snack! However, I really wanted to make a batch of my own with less sugar and more of the nuts I believe to be healthier. I tried to make a batch before this successful one, and almost decided you just can't have your cake and eat it too. But then again, I thought, I've always had my cake and ate it too, so why not this time? My second shot was a great success! :) Use whatever nuts you prefer.

Ingredients:
1 cup raw walnuts
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup raw pecans
1 cup raw peanuts
1 egg white
1 T honey
2 T brown sugar
2.5 T stevia in the raw
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk egg white until thick and foamy, then add the nuts and honey and stir until evenly combined. In small bowl, stir together brown sugar, stevia, cinnamon and salt, and pour into the nuts and stir until evenly coated. Spread the nuts into even layer on the baking sheet and bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Let nuts cool and place into air-tight container.

oatmeal, how convenient!

Oatmeal is awesome. I mean sure, it's not a bowl of ice cream, nor is it that lovely huge chocolate chip oatmeal cookie. However, it is instead a very nutritious bowl of goodness. It's full of Omega 3s which are great for lowering cortisol levels which make many blood type A people gain weight so easily, as well as good for anyone to increase their heart health and even mood in many cases. Oatmeal is also full of fiber which, when paired with protein, is the perfect diet. Grains are apparently good for you... which I don't believe, but I will believe that brown rice and oatmeal are the only grains that you can truly benefit from. Both will fill your stomach and keep you fuller for a longer period of time than the other grains which really don't do much of anything for you.

I will admit that I have always hated oatmeal. I have tried for about 5 years now to like the mushy stuff. I finally came up with a recipe earlier this year, the dark chocolate molasses, that I actually enjoyed. Much to my excitement, my life changed when I walked into the grocery store the other day. There was a whole section of little convenient boxes of oatmeal made by Better Oats. There was a large selection of oatmeal packets such as Raw, Oatfit which only contain 100 calories per packet, Organic, Protein-rich, and more. The flavors were apple cinnamon, maple and brown sugar, plain, dark chocolate, cinnamon roll (my personal favorite), and several others. Of course, I grabbed several boxes even before trying them (because anytime I only buy one of anything to "try it" I go back the next time and everything is all sold out). I tried them all and loved them all. My favorite part about these packets are that each box contains 5 single serving packets. I tear off the top of the packet, pour the oatmeal out into a medium sized cup, fill the packet with water, dump the water into the cup of oatmeal, and microwave for 90 seconds. In 90 seconds, you have a wonderful meal to keep you going while at work or wherever you are. As you know, I must have 6-8 small meals a day, and this is one of them. 

More information can be found at http://www.betteroats.com/ . Nowhere on the box does it say "gluten free" and they are processed at a facility that processes wheat, so you may not want to try these. However, I have tried most of them and have not had any kind of reaction, and I am incredibly sensitive. I did find on the site that a few of the "raw" variety contain barley so I would stay clear of those. Yay for oatmeal!!

home-made granola "bars"

I have this friend, Sam, who is probably one of the most talented athletes I've ever known. Well, he came up with a recipe for his "energy bars" and they were so delicious I had to make them. I simply changed them from white chocolate to dark chocolate and changed up the nuts and seeds and cereal in order to fit my preferences a little more. These are so healthy. I have so many people ask me what the healthiest protein bar is or the healthiest energy bar or granola bar. My answer? None you can find in the store. Sure, there might be some healthy boutique bars at health food stores, but all the ones I've tried I've had to spit out and rinse my mouth out with whatever I had on hand to get the terrible taste out of my mouth. These on the other hand, are all-natural, natural protein, yumminess, and they're so easy!

Ingredients:

2 eggs

2 bananas

1/2 cup honey

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 cup almonds slightly crushed

1/2 cup craisins

1/2 cup gluten free cereal, I used brown rice cereal

1 1/2 cup old fashioned oats

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

1/8 cup pine nuts or sunflower seeds

1/8 cup ground flax seeds

1/4 cup peanuts

1/4 cup walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix banana, egg, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until banana is pureed.

2. Mix in almonds, craisins, cereal, and all seeds and nuts.

3. Mix in oats and let the mixture soak into the oats for 5 minutes.

4. Fill in a cupcake sheet patting each down until level with the top.

5. Bake in oven at 325 degrees for 12 minutes.

Frosting:

3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

2 heaping tbsp peanut butter

1. Microwave chocolate and peanut butter in glass or porceline bowl for 90 seconds ( make sure to check it and stir it a couple times). Mix to make it smooth and melt.

2. Spread chocolate on top of bars while bars are cooling.

3. Let them cool for a few hours until chocolate is hard.

I like to keep these on hand, in the fridge at home or at work, so that I don't let my energy crash. These will stay good, tightly covered for about a week or a little more. Or, you can freeze them and take out however many you will eat for the next few days and keep those in the fridge so the rest don't go bad. Give these a try, I guarantee you will like them!! Healthiest granola bars you will ever eat!

peanut butter crispies

I LOVE peanut butter. I also love rice crispy treats. I found a recipe for these treats in a Woman's Day magazine, and just spruced them up a tad. Enjoy these because there is almost no sugar, being sweetened with molasses and honey, and they also have protein and fiber!

Ingredients:
1 11.5 oz box crispy brown rice cereal (I use Koala Crisp)
2/3 cup natural Peanut Butter- remember, no extra stuff, just peanuts in the ingredients!
2/3 cup honey
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup chocolate chips, melted

Combine the peanut butter, honey, vanilla and chocolate in a saucepan then add to the cereal and mix. Spread into a 13x9 pan or smaller. Cut and enjoy!

orange pineapple coconut smoothie (best homemade smoothie by far!!)

Jake and I loooove smoothies. They're quick and easy for your in-between meals to make sure you are taking in enough calories and protein, as well as fruit and veggie servings throughout your day. We are forever experimenting with our smoothies. None are ever bad, but none have ever turned out this amazing. I am super proud of myself for this one. There is a smoothie place in the mall that has this same smoothie and I have been trying to copy it for the longest time, because I can probably sit there and drink a gallon of it because it's just that delicious. Success! Here it is:

2/3 cup frozen pineapple

1 small mandarin orange

handful flaked coconut, or more depending on how much liquid you desire

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 large scoop vanilla soy protein powder

1 tsp raw cane sugar

Blend and fall in love!

coconut, chocolate chip banana bread

Recipe modified from http://chocolateandcarrots.com/2011/01/banana-chocolate-chip-coconut-flour-bread?ref=nf

I got this recipe for banana bread from my friend's website, and I loved it! The only reason I didn't use the coconut flour is because it's pretty expensive compared to the other alternative flours I already have on hand. In doing so, I just added another banana and decreased the amount of eggs to get the right consistency and flavor.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup gluten free all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 eggs
2 T honey
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 bananas, pureed
handful coconut flakes
handful dark chocolate chips
handful of chopped walnuts
raw cane sugar

Mix the dry ingredients together, and mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Blend the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and add in coconut, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Pour into a loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. As soon as you pull it from the oven, sprinkle the raw can sugar on top and allow to cool.

Breakfast of Champions, on the go (smoooothie!)

I like eggs for breakfast. But when I have to be at work super early and don't want to wake up at 3:30, I throw this stuff into a blender and have a wonderful smoothie for breakfast on the go. I blend frozen (or fresh) berries and sometimes pineapple or whatever I have on hand with either green tea or juice (without added sugar), agave, and for protein I use either fat free plain Greek yogurt or Spiru-tein Vanilla Soy Protein powder. You can also add psyillium husk or ground flax seeds for some extra fiber. Remember, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It doesn't have to be huge, just a small cup full of antioxidants with a little protein will do! Anything to get your metabolism jump-started and your brain awakened. Get moving!