BirtHday CarrOt CakE

In honor of me getting older but still looking & acting like a 12 year old at heart : ) I made myself a Gluten Free Carrot Cake. I am not calling it paleo because the cream cheese icing is sooooo not paleo. Everything else about it is paleo! Also I want to announce that Maru gave me a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing ORANGE Kitchenaid : )!!!!!!!!!!! So I baked my first cake in my new kitchenaid mixer! Because I used a smaller cake pan I had some extra batter leftover so I baked 4 cupcakes also which means these could work as cupcakes as well : )

(Adapted from food lovers, make it paleo book), I added 1/4tsp ground nutmeg, 1/2tsp orange zest, 1/2tsp ground ginger....
CAKE
Ingredients:
5 large carrots, peeled & shredded (it came out to be about 2 1/2 c)
1 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 cup coconut flour, sifted
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
Date mixture (recipe to follow, but you will need 10 medjool dates, water, & maple syrup.)
10 eggs ( I know it is a lot but coconut flour needs a lot of wet ingredients!!!)
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract (your not going to believe this but I accidently forgot to add this!!!)
1 cup melted virgin coconut oil
1/2 tsp orange zest
Cream cheese frosting (recipe to follow, but you will need cream cheese, maple syrup, vanilla extract, & grated ginger)
Chopped raw walnuts for garnish

Process:

1. Peel and shred carrots (I used a medium sized grater because I like the carrot pieces on the larger side.
2. Place carrots in a large ziplock bag. Pour maple syrup over carrots and let marinade in fridge for 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
4. In a small mixing bowl, add sifted coconut flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, &baking soda
5. Make Date Mixture:

Ingredients:

10 medjool dates, pitted (I took the pit out myself)

4 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp pure maple syrup

Process:

1. Place pitted dates in a microwave safe bowl, and poor 3 Tbsp of water over dates
2. Heat in microwave for 30 seconds and mash with a fork
3. Add one more Tbsp water, microwave for another 30 seconds
4. Mash again
5. Add 1 Tbsp of maple syrup
6. Continue to mash until the mixture has an even consistency

Recipe continued....

1. In a large mixing bowl or kitchen mixer : ) blend date mixture, coconut oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and orange zest.
2. Add dry ingredients to went and blend
3. Remove carrots from the fridge, and drain the excess maple syrup from the carrots using a colander
4. Stir grated carrots into cake batter
5. Grease two 9 inch cake pans with coconut oil (I used a smaller pan)
6. Pour batter into pans (If you want you can line pans with parchment paper for easy removal)
7. Bake for 35-45 minutes depending on oven (I had to bake mine for 45). Test center with a toothpick, if the pick comes out clean the cake is finished
8. Remove cakes from oven and cool
9. Frost cake with cream cheese frosting, garnish sides with walnuts, and serve

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

16 oz full-fat cream cheese

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 Tbsp ginger grated, (I only used 1Tbsp because I was nervous that the ginger would take over)

Process:

1. Bring cream chees to room temperature
2. Blend cream cheese, maple sryup, vanilla, and ginger with hand mixer or kitchen mixer : )
3. Use right away or refrigerate

ENJOY : )

RoseMary GaRlic BreAd

This is the bread I made to pair with the chili. It was very simple to make. I adapted the recipe from elana's pantry website. I used her regular bread recipe and then added the rosemary, garlic, and oregano. I also decided to use almond meal instead of blanched almond flour because 1. it is cheaper : ) and 2. I wanted a hearty feel to the bread. Paleo Bread = Success!

Paleo Bread with Rosemary and Garlic

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups almond meal
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• ¼ cup golden flaxseed meal
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• 5 eggs
• ¼ cup coconut oil (I would be interested in trying olive oil instead for the flavor.)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ~3-4 Tbsp dried rosemary (fresh could work as well)
• ~2-3 tsp crushed garlic (I got min from trader joe's)
• ~2 Tbsp dreid oregano 

Process:

1. Place almond flour, coconut flour, flax, salt and baking soda whisk together
2. Add in eggs, oil, honey and vinegar
3. Add in herbs and garlic
4. Mix well (I just mixed by hand)
5. Pour batter into a greased 7.5"x3.5" (I am not actually sure what size pan I used)
6. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes
7. Cool and serve

ENJOY : )

PaLeo ChiLi

So it doesn't rain very often in california, but last week it did. I am so that person that doesn't leave the house when it is raining... I guess in that sense I act like a true californian, the world stops turning at first site of rain : ) Anyways so I decided to make a big pot of chili and some rosemary garlic bread to go along with it. Both turned out nicely, actually it fed me all week ; ) I changed the original recipe slightly by using chorizo instead of italian pork sausage and omitted the celery. I have made it both ways and they both were very good!

(Adapted from everydaypaleo.com)

PaLeo ChiLi

Ingredients:

2 lbs grassfed ground beef

1 lb pork chorizo

6 carrots diced

1 white onion

6 cloves of crushed garlic

4 Tbsp olive oil

1 16 oz can of diced tomatoes with juice

16 oz chicken broth

2 pinches of sea salt

2 Tbsp dried oregano

2 Tbsp dried basil

1 Tbsp cumin

3-4 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper (more if you like it spicy) (Also if using the chorizo, it has its own spicy aspect going on.)

Process:

Saute veggies in olive oil for about a minute and add meat and brown.  Season the meat mixture with all the spices.  Add the tomatoes and chicken broth and simmer for 35 minutes.  Taste and add more seasoning if desired. 

So easy!!! I heart chili... If you want to do it crock pot style you can just brown the meat before placing in the crockpot!! As always..

ENJOY : )

Lasagna, Butternut Squash Style

Hey Everyone!!! So I got this great recipe idea from the PCF Nutrition blog! Butternut Squash Lasagna, I kind of followed the recipe but subbed in different stuff according to what I had on hand! So if you want to try the original recipe just check it out on the PCF blog, I have the link on the side. My version turned out great and I can't wait to make and eat it again!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef, sausage or turkey (I used ground turkey)

1 red onion

3 cloves garlic
14.5 oz Diced & Fire Roasted tomatoes with green chiles (Organic from TJ's)


Couple Handfuls of sundried tomatoes + some for sprinkling in each layer

1/4 c olive oil


few leaves of fresh basil


1 small butternut squash 

Process:

1.Preheat oven 400ºF. 

2. In a pan saute the onion & garlic, then crumble the turkey and brown it. 

3. Cut the top and ends of the squash off and peel it. Split it into 1/4′s then cut into 1/2 inch slices. (these will be your lasagna noodle layer.)

4. Make the sauce by pureeing the diced tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, olive oil and basil in a blender or food processor. Make sure you taste the sauce and adjust if needed : )


5. Using an oven safe baking dish, put down enough sauce to lightly cover the bottom of the dish. (This keeps the squash from sticking to the pan.) Next add the squash, trying not to overlap the pieces, then spoon on the turkey mixture, followed by the sauce, sprinkle some sundried tomatoes on the sauce. Repeat until all your ingredients are used up…trying to reserve enough sauce to cover the top of the lasagna. (I sprinkled some sundried tomato on top and they burned so don't place the sun dried tomato on the top for the last layer.)


6. Bake for 45 minutes. You’re looking for a bubbly pan with a crispy, browned top. Right out of the oven, the lasagna may by liquidy, let it set for a good half hour before cutting into it, as it will solidify.


~Finishing touch Chiffonade Basil leaves on top!

ENJOY : )