Dangerously Yummy Paleo Pumpkin Apple Muffins

…try saying that 3x fast. LOL. They really are dangerous though…

Paleo Pumpkin Apple Muffins

4 eggs
2 1/4 cups almond meal
1 large apple (or 2 small apples) peeled and finely chopped
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp honey
1 heaping Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 large handful chopped walnuts
optional: 1/4 tsp ground cloves

Pre-heat oven to 350.  Whisk eggs in large mixing bowl. Add all other ingredients except chopped walnuts and mix by hand.  The batter will not be super thick, but more like a cake batter.  Using a bit more coconut oil or olive oil, grease a muffin tin.  Fill the tins about 3/4 of the way full.  Sprinkle chopped walnuts on top of each muffin. Bake on middle rack for about 20 minutes. You will know they are done when you can insert a toothpick into the middle of a muffin and it comes out clean.  Serve warm out of the oven. Word of caution, they tend to stick to the sides of the tin, so be careful taking them out – a lightly oiled plastic knife works fairly well. Another note of caution – these muffins are so good you might just eat them all at once…. :-)

Mmmm Paleo-licious!

So Becca decided that she wanted to try eating strict paleo as of December 1st (today) and stick with it until Christmas. Me being the amazing girlfriend I am haha – and considering how much easier it is to share food and because I know I should eat paleo – I decided to jump back on the paleo wagon with her. Of course, this means I need to dig deep inside myself and find the will power to pass by the countless bags of delectable looking christmas chocolates in the grocery store aisles, resist the urge to drink eggnog by the carton (and spike it with baileys lol), and even fore-go my daily advent calendar chocolates – which, by the way, we’ve decided we’re both going to eat all 25 chocolates on Christmas day :-) Will it be worth it? I think so. I’ve done paleo before and I noticed an improvement in my overall well-being, and with how low my energy levels have been and how much my joints have been bothering me lately, I could use a little health boost. So in honor of starting fresh, I’m posting a couple “Paleo-licious” recipes – try them, you’ll like them!

BBQ Pork Ribs

We just had these for dinner tonight – yummmy!! We were craving “bad” food and the BBQ sauce on these babies hit the spot. The secret? Organicville’s agave nectar sweetened BBQ sauce, which can be found in Hannaford’s health food section or at the Co-op. Organicville makes other sauces too, but check the ingredients, the BBQ sauce checks out fine, but the teriyaki sauce, sadly, doesn’t make the cut :-( Another note of caution – ribs can be an iffy paleo meat because they can be very fatty, so when you get your ribs, make sure they’re as lean as you can get them.

Organicville Original BBQ Sauce

For this we got a nice lean 4.5 lb rack of pork spare ribs, which we had to cut in half to fit into two baking dishes. Crank your oven up to 350 degrees, brush a coat of sauce on the ribs, and throw them in the oven, preferably on the middle or lower rack. Let them cook for about 1 hour, then take them out and brush another coat of sauce on. Let them cook for another 30-45 minutes until the meat is tender and white all the way through (no pink). Grab a handful of napkins and dig in!

 

Fudge Babies!!

1 cup walnuts
1 and 1/3 cups pitted dates
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I sometimes add an extra teaspoon)
3-4 tablespoons cocoa powder depending on how chocolatey you want the balls to be

Throw all the ingredients into a food processor, bullet, ninja etc, and blend. Then roll the dough into bite-size balls of yumminess! You can also form them into brownie-like bars, but once they’re formed into whatever shape you desire, they’re ready to eat! Refrigerate them to keep. I actually like to let them set in the fridge for a bit before I eat them :-)

Paleo Crepes!!

The other morning we discovered how to make paleo crepes – best breakfast ever! And the recipe is surprisingly simple, the only tricky part is flipping the crepes without breaking them – it gets easier with practice!

Ingredients:
- 3 eggs
- ¼ cup coconut or almond milk
- ¼ cup almond flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract

If you have a griddle the flat surface is fantastic for making these, otherwise use a large frying pan or skillet. Preheat your cooking surface. I didn’t use any oil or cooking spray because our griddle is non-stick, but if you’re worried about sticking, use a small amount of olive or walnut oil. You will also need a utensil to spread/smooth the crepe batter and a utensil or two to flip it. The flat side of an egg spatula or the back side of a large spoon will work as a smoother, and the egg spatula will work for flipping, but unless you have a very large spatula, you’ll prob need some other flat-ish utensil to help with this step. Be creative! (If you’re gonna make these a lot, they make special crepe spatulas you can get)

Whisk ingredients together until mostly smooth, the batter may be slightly lumpy but that’s ok. Pour batter into your pan, use an amount about the size of a CD. Take your smoothing implement of choice and using a circular pattern, smooth/spread the batter into a nice circle, in the process also thinning it so that it is more crepe thickness as opposed to pancake thickness. Just keep in mind, if you make it too thin, it will be harder to flip over. Depending on how hot your pan is, the underside should start to brown in 3-5 minutes. At this point, go around the edges of the crepe with your spatula making sure it is separated from the pan, then very carefully flip the crepe over. I had to use a second flipping utensil to help flip my crepes. Another 3-5 minutes and your crepe should be done! Fill with your choice of yummy paleo filling and enjoy!

Some filling recipes:

“Apple Pie” Filling

- 1 whole apple of a softer/sweeter variety
(pink lady, fuji, gala)
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon (or to taste)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp agave nectar (or to taste – can also use honey)

Finely chop apple either by hand or in blender, depending on how big or small you’d like your apple chunks (or slices if you so desire). Mix apple chunks with cinnamon, vanilla and agave nectar. In microwave safe bowl heat about 2 minutes or until apple chunks are soft. Scoop filling into crepe, fold crepe, eat crepe, be happy!

If you’ve ever had either SoDelicious Coconut Milk ice cream or Coconut Bliss ice cream, their vanilla is actually paleo and goes amazingly with this filling – it’s just like apple pie!!

“Thanksgiving Dinner” Filling

- 1 can (5 oz) chicken or turkey meat
OR shredded or chopped chicken/turkey, leftover meat from a roasted bird would work great!
- 1 very generous handful dried or fresh cranberries
- Apple butter

With crepe laid flat, spread apple butter on crepe, as much as you like! I found thicker was better otherwise you couldn’t taste it past the chicken and cranberries. If you’re using canned chicken/turkey, make sure you rinse it well to rid of the salty taste it gets from being in the can. Mix your chicken/turkey shreds/chunks in a bowl with the cranberries then warm in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. Put your nice warm filling in the crepe right on top of that delicious apple butter, fold and eat!
If you want to be daring, sprinkle a little cinnamon on top of the crepe, yummy….