Category: Paleo

Healthy Banana and Chocolate Swirl Almond Flour Muffins (Gluten-Free)

Published on by Alissa9 Comments

Recently, my husband has gone not only gluten-free, but grain-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free. That’s a lot of ‘free’ in my house. But he has never felt better. The ‘diet’ (for lack of better terms) is called Paleo, referring to our paleolithic ancestors…also known as the Caveman Diet.  He eats anything his ancestors would have hunted or gathered, such as meat, vegetables, nuts, and fruit. It is based on the concept that our bodies have not evolved to digest the products that modern man and modern agriculture has developed (corn syrup, wheat, processed food, milk products, etc).

A good gluten-free substitute in baking is almond flour!  Even if you gluten and wheat lovers will dig this! Using almond flour instead of wheat flour will make your muffins lighter and give your muffins more protein, providing you sustained energy throughout the day. You can make your own almond flour by taking raw almonds and processing them in a food processor for a few minutes until a light and fluffy flour occurs. Be careful, if you process for too long, you will get almond butter…which is delicious, but will not help you when baking up these delicious muffins. I bought my almond flour in the bulk section of Whole Foods.

I slightly adapted these muffins from a recipe from Honest Fare, using honey instead of processed sugar.  They are AWESOME as a dessert, breakfast, or a snack. Love! They are light and fluffy too! I ate one this morning with a tablespoon of almond butter…mmmmmm.

When mixing up the batter, if you want to do the chocolate swirl, divide the batter into two bowls. Mix 2 teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa powder into one of the bowls. Layer the banana muffin mix and then dollop the chocolate muffin mix on top, alternating layers until the muffin mixtures are gone.

I topped my muffins with sliced bananas that caramelize when baked.

Healthy Banana and Chocolate Swirl Almond Flour Muffins (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free, Grain-Free) adapted from Honest Fare

Makes: 12 muffins

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cup of almond flour (or about 9 oz of raw almonds processed into a flour)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon of ground flax meal
  • 3 bananas (save half of one to use as slices on top of the muffins)
  • 2 heaping teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 300 F. Grease 12 muffin tins or place muffin liners. Set aside.
  2. Mix almond flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.
  3. In a food processor or mixer, mix eggs, honey, 2 1/2 bananas, and flax meal on medium-high for 5 minutes, or until mixture is pale and very fluffily.
  4. Pour banana batter over almond flour and mix until just combined.
  5. Separate 1 cup of batter into a separate bowl. Add cocoa to the separated batter.
  6. Place a large spoonful of banana batter into muffin liners. Top with a spoonful of cocoa-banana muffin batter. Pour the remaining original banana batter on top of the cocoa batter. Top the muffins with thinly sliced bananas and slivered almonds, if you want.
  7. Bake muffins for 30 to 35 minutes (or until tops are browned and a skewer comes out clean when placed in the center of the muffin).
  8. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.

Tuna Salad

Published on by Alissa4 Comments

It has been a very busy week. I went back home to Oklahoma for five days to visit my family. It was a wonderful visit but has left me tired and unable to post this weeks recipe from the Food Matters Project, Cassoulet with Lots of  Veggies, chosen by Keely Marie. Don’t forget to check out the other food bloggers versions here.  I will return next monday with another great FMP recipe.

Instead I present you with an easy tuna salad recipe that I made for a quick lunch since I had nothing else in my cabinets except for a can of tuna and some random salad fixins in the fridge. This is fresh and a great lunch packed with protein. Don’t bother weighing yourself down with processed breads which will only leave you feeling tired in the afternoon.

Tuna Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients 

  • 1 can of dolphin-free, water-packed, low sodium tuna (6 oz)
  • 2 tablespoons of greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup diced red bell peppers, divided
  • 1/4 cup diced celery
  • 1 green onion, white and green parts
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • fresh black pepper to taste
  • 4 cups of fresh spinach, rinsed and drained
  • diced veggies (carrot, tomato, cucumber, etc)
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped
  • sunflower seeds

Instructions

  1. Mix tuna, greek yogurt, 1/4 cup bell pepper, celery, onion, lemon juice in a medium bowl. Add black pepper to taste.  Set aside or in the refridgerator until you are ready to assemble the salads.
  2. In two bowls, arrange the spinach, remaining 1/4 cup diced bell pepper, and other vegetables that you have on hand. Divide the tuna mixture and place half of it in each bowl on top of the spinach salad.
  3. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of olive oil on each salad. Sprinkle with fresh parsley or cilantro. Top with about 1 teaspoon of sunflower seeds on each salad.
  4. Chow down!

Coq au Vin with Vegetables

Published on by Alissa4 Comments

It’s Monday and another edition of the Food Matters Project.  I’m a little late in my post, but it has been hard to get behind the stove and cook when it is soooo gorgeous outside. We had nearly six days of straight drab and dreary rain and then the sun popped out this weekend in full spring fashion.  It was grill action time!

Unfortunately, that means I put off my Vegetables au Vin with Coq recipe from the FMP. It was chosen by Evi + Sam of the Fifth Floor Kitchen blog. It is the chicken and veggie version of Julia Child’s Beef Bourginogn, my ALL TIME FAVORITE INDULGENCE DISH. Although I love love love that dish, it takes a friggen lifetime to make.

Mark Bittman’s Vegetables au Vin with Coq takes a fraction of that time, clocking in at 40 minutes to an hour. In his recipe, he uses eggplants, mushrooms, onions, and green beans along with chicken and braised in a red wine sauce. I love recipes that allow me to drink while I cook.

My version uses a whole organic farm raised chicken ($2.50 to $3.50 per pound) which is cheaper than buying organic chicken breasts ($6 to $7 per pound). Use a good pair of kitchen shears to cut the bird up into 4 pieces (breasts and thighs). Save the wings, neck, back, and other parts to use in making homemade chicken stock by throwing those parts in a crockpot, filling with water, adding some carrots or celery for extra flave, and turning on low to cook overnight. Bam…homemade stock.

Instead of eggplant, I stuck with carrots, celery, mushroom, onions, green beans, and spring peas. Because green beans and spring peas do not take long to cook, I add them at the very end so that they aren’t mushy. Use a fruity wine, such as Pinot Noir.

Coq a Vin with Vegetables (adapted from Mark Bittman’s Food Matters Cookbook)

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoon of olive oil
  • 1 whole chicken, cut into 4 pieces
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 lb baby bella mushrooms, roughly chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 2 medium carrots, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 cups chicken stock (preferable homemade)
  • 2 cups fruity red wine (such as pinot noir)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
  • 2 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon sweet cream organic butter
  • 1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
  • 1 lb frozen green beans
  • 1 cup of frozen green peas

Instructions

  1. In a Dutch oven or large pot, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, turning and rotating as necessary. Once all sides are browned, remove the chicken from the pan.
  2. Add the rest of the olive oil, onions, carrots, celery, and mushrooms. Cook the vegetables for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they being to turn brown. Stir in the garlic and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes.
  3. Add the stock, wine, bay leaves, and herbs. At this time, return the chicken to the pot. Bring the liquid to a boil, then lower the temperature and allow it to cook for about 20 minutes. The chicken should be cooked through at this point, if not, cook for another 5-10 minutes.
  4. Remove the chicken from the pan and add butter to the liquid. Allow it to cook until it is reduced by half, and becomes saucy and thick. Add the green beans and peas. Cook for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in pepper, or any additional salt. Remove the bay leaves.
  5. If you’re making this dish ahead, refrigerate it at this point. If you’ll be eating it soon (or when you’re reheating), then add the chicken back into the pot and allow to warm up for about 5 minutes. Garnish the dish with parsley when serving.