Caramel Apple Coconut Macaroons (Grain/Dairy/Refined Sugar Free, Vegan)

Caramel Apple Coconut Macaroons

Egg/Dairy/Gluten/Grain/Cane Sugar Free Primal/Paleo





Ingredients:





1/4 cup maple syrup or honey

1/4 cup coconut milk

1 1/2 cups finely shredded coconut (I use "Let's Do Coconut")

1/2 cup super fine blanched almond flour (for best results use THESE brands)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup Bare Fruit Crunchy

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Vietnamese Inspired Chicken & Cabbage Salad (Paleo)

Once upon a time...long long ago, a little American girl packed up with her family and moved to Southeast Asia. As you might imagine this was quite an adventure! It was filled with new smells, tastes, sounds, colors and many more things the girl had never experienced before.






The open markets in Asia remind me of the farmers markets here, only on steroids. They're bustling

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Spiced Pumpkin Chiffon Cups w/ Vanilla Maple Whipped Cream(Egg/Nut/Dairy/Refined Sugar Free)

There's a special place in my heart reserved for fall. I think that's true of most people as well, but even more than just a general fondness for fall, I'm specifically in love with the change......


It's not just the cool weather and moody skies that I love; it's feeling those unexpected shocks of cool air that cut through the last steamy remnants of summer. It's suddenly noticing that

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Shepherd’s Pie made with 10 Hour Slow-Cooked Lamb Shank

Shepherd’s Pie made with 10 Hour Slow-Cooked Lamb Shank

This has to be the best Shepherd’s Pie I have tasted; it is definitely worth every minute of the cooking time required.  Comfort food at its best!

Serves 4

Prep time:  20 minutes

Cooking time:  1 hour 15 minutes (plus cooking lamb shanks for 10 hours)

Ingredients

For the lamb shanks:

2 tbsp olive oil

2 large lamb shanks

1 onion, peeled & quartered

2 garlic cloves, peeled & crushed

2 celery sticks, chopped

2 sprigs of rosemary

1 bay leaf

500ml water

For the pie:

2 tbsp olive oil

2 large onions, peeled & chopped

2 large carrots, diced

1 celery stalk, finely sliced

150g mushrooms, sliced

Sea salt & freshly ground pepper

25g butter

2 tbsp plain flour

300ml lamb stock from the shanks

150g frozen peas

150ml red wine

900g floury potatoes, peeled

100g butter, plus extra for cooking

100ml milk

Method

1.  The night before, preheat the oven to 130°C/110°C Fan/Gas mark ½/250°F.

2.  In a large frying pan heat the olive oil and add the shanks.  Brown them quickly all over, turning for a few minutes then remove.

3.  Place the shanks into a casserole pot with the onion, garlic, celery, rosemary, thyme, bay leaf and cover with water.  Put in the oven overnight for 10 hours or until falling off the bone.

4.  The next day, remove the shanks to cool, strain the liquid (you will use this later) and set aside, dispose of the contents of the sieve.  When the shanks are cool remove the soft meat and dice.

5.  In a large frying pan add the olive oil and gently fry the onions, carrots and celery for 7 minutes until softened.  Now add the mushrooms, season well and fry for a further 2-3 minutes.

6.  Add the butter and allow it to melt and sprinkle over the flour, and stir through for 1 minute.  Reduce the heat and gradually stir in the stock and peas, continuing to stir.  Once the sauce has started to thicken slowly stir through the red wine and chopped lamb.  Gently simmer for 5 minutes and season well.  Transfer the mixture to an ovenproof baking dish.

7.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/350°F/Gas mark 4.

8.  Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender.  When cooked drain and mash with a potato ricer or masher.  Add the milk, butter and season well and mix through until there are no lumps.  Top the baking dish with the mashed potato and speckle with some butter.  Bake the pie in the oven for 45-55 minutes, or until it is golden.

9.  Serve on warmed plates, enjoy!

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Gluten-Free, Grain-Free Blueberry Coffee Cake

Over the weekend we attended one of our yearly family reunions. Even in this day and age of constantly new technology, our families still get together for several different reunions every year. And as with any family holiday or event... you really go for the food. Yes?

I've been "paleo-ish" for about 7-8 weeks now, so I really wanted to make a few dishes that I could definitely eat and that would hopefully appeal to others as well. While we really need some fresh groceries, I did have a fairly well stocked pantry so I made a "paleo" blueberry coffee cake - the FIRST baked good I've made in the past few months and I also was able to find enough ingredients in the fridge to create an "anti-pasta" platter!

I have to admit I really enjoyed creating both dishes. There's just something lovely about creating foods from scratch and I really enjoyed baking the coffee cake, something I haven't done in ages.

The anti-pasta platter was fun to put together as well. It was incredibly easy and turned out very pretty by the time I was finished. My friend Pamela over at "Aseafish Out of Water" often creates dishes like this, so I was thinking of her when I put together that platter of meats, cheese, and olives.

The coffee cake is adapted from one I found on "Paleo on Main." I changed a few ingredients and added blueberries, simply because I had a bunch in the freezer. I LOVED how this coffee cake turned out. I don't know if it's because I haven't had baked goods in so long, or because I've reduced my sugar intake so much, but it tasted incredibly sweet, even though it was only sweetened with a small amount of honey and the natural sugars from the blueberries. Definitely a win!

Gluten-Free, Grain-Free Blueberry Coffee Cake
adapted by Carrie Forbes from a recipe shared by: Paleo on Main
free of gluten, grains, dairy, white sugar, and soy
printer-friendly recipe

Cake Batter Ingredients:
2 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 cup arrowroot starch
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
2 large eggs
1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
1 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries

Streusel Topping Ingredients:
2-3 tablespoons coconut palm sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup crushed pecans or walnuts
3 tablespoons butter or coconut oil, optional for dotting on top

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8x8 baking dish with coconut oil or butter and set aside. In a large bowl whisk together almond flour, arrowroot starch, baking soda, sea salt, and ground cinnamon. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add in the coconut milk, eggs, honey, and vanilla extract. Stir to combine into a thick batter. Fold in the blueberries. Pour into the greased baking dishes. Spread evenly throughout the pan. In a small bowl whisk together the coconut palm sugar, cinnamon, and pecans. Sprinkle over the casserole and dot the top of the casserole with butter or coconut oil if desired. Bake for 35-45 minutes until a toothpick or knife inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean the crust is golden brown. Allow to cook  REST/COOL for 15-20 minutes before slicing and serving.

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Roast Rib of Beef with Horseradish Breadcrumbs & Yorkshire Puddings

Roast Rib of Beef with Horseradish Breadcrumbs & Yorkshire Puddings

This is the ultimate Sunday roast, perfect for any occasion.  Delicious!

Serves 6

Prep time:  25 minutes

Cooking time:  1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the roast rib of beef:

1.5kg beef rib, on the bone

Olive oil

2 onions, peeled & quartered

2 carrots, peeled & quartered

2 celery sticks, quartered

A few sprigs of thyme

1 bay leaf

4 cloves of garlic

100g horseradish cream

100g breadcrumbs

100g shallots, peeled & finely chopped

Large bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped

For the Yorkshire puddings:

140g plain flour

4 eggs, beaten

200ml milk

Sunflower oil, for cooking

For the gravy:

300ml red wine

300ml beef stock

Preparation method

1.  Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/425°F/Gas mark 7.

2.  Rub the beef all over with oil and season.  Place in a large roasting tin and roast for 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven and reduce the heat to 160°C/140°C fan/320°F/Gas mark 3.

3.  Add the onions, carrots, celery, thyme, bay leaf and garlic to the tray and cook for a further 50 minutes (15 minutes per 450g).

4.  In a bowl mix together the horseradish, breadcrumbs, shallots and parsley.  Remove the beef from the oven 20 minutes before the end, spread the horseradish breadcrumbs over the beef and place back in the oven for the final 20 minutes.

5.  Meanwhile prepare the Yorkshire puddings, preheat the oven to 230°C/210°C fan/450°F/Gas mark 8.

6.  Drizzle a little sunflower oil into each hole of a 12-hole Yorkshire pudding tin.  Place in the oven until it is sizzling hot.

7.  To make the batter place the flour in a bowl and mix through the eggs until fully combined.  Now gradually whisk through the milk until there are no lumps.  Season with salt and pepper and pour evenly into each hole.  Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes until puffed up and browned.  Make sure not to open up the oven half way through.

5.  When the meat is ready, set aside to rest whilst you make the gravy. 

6.  To make the gravy, add the wine and stock to the roasting tin.  Bring to the boil then gently simmer for 10 minutes and sieve into a pan.  Skim off any excess fat and reduce.

7.  Serve the rib of beef with the Yorkshire puddings & gravy and seasonal vegetables of your choice.

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I finally GET it!

I've flirted with the idea of going fully "paleo" for several years. I actually tried it for a while back in 2011 and continued off and on for the past 2 years... until about 6-8 months ago when I was ANYTHING but paleo. Bring on the gluten-free oreos!

Now I've mentioned before how much I don't really like labels. I'm not saying I want to be "paleo" to have a certain online reputation or to pretend I am the be-all, end-all of all things food knowledge. I'm not. Far from it.

See the thing is, I was feeling terrible. Tired ALL the time. Sugar swings EVERY. SINGLE. afternoon. Cheetos and diet Dr. Pepper were a daily part of my food intake... and I was even nearly falling asleep on the way home from work in the evenings.  And that was not cool. Not cool at all. It was embarrassing and I just felt terrible. Again, ALL the time. And I finally had had enough. I was honestly scared that I might get into an accident on the way home just from the constant sugar swings.

It took me years to get to that point. Do you still want to go to McDonald's? No judgement here! I went for years and years, even just for the gluten-free eggs & sausage. But apparently after years & years of abusing my body through food... it had had enough.

My Dad needed heart transplant surgery. My grandmother was a long-time diabetic. I really didn't want to make either of those health issues part of my future and I was just exhausted from feeling bad ALL the time.

So with the help of my husband's cousin Sabrina, I decided to try paleo again. Sabrina talked about the great success she had had over the past few months and her soaring energy levels and I wanted that. I want to feel good. On a daily basis, without tons of caffeine or sugar swings in the afternoon.

I was finally ready to say goodbye to my beloved "Cheetos."  My body felt bad enough that I didn't want them anymore. You don't have to be there yet. It took me a LONG time. And that's kind of the beauty of this whole journey. I know how hard it is to let go of those foods. No judgement here.

Today marks being 1 month completely paleo. It's actually closer to 6 weeks, but a month since I've been tracking my weight and my stats just to see how paleo has helped me. And it has tremendously. My energy levels are incredible. I finally feel GOOD most of the time, most days. I've lost quite a few inches in my waist, arms, and thighs. My clothes fit much better. But I'm still learning things. I'm still learning what foods work best for my body and what foods don't.

Right now, as much as I love baking, I'm not baking much at all. I want to hold off on the "paleo" baked goods until I'm at a healthy weight and mindset. Baked goods are an 'overeating" trigger food for me. And right now, I feel better about my health than I have in years. I feel like I'm finally ready to make healthy eating a life choice, not just a "few months" choice, or a "transitional" choice... but lifelong.

I'm no longer angry that I can't eat whatever foods I want too. I came to the point where I'm more interested in my health than in what I cannot have. It took years, I MEAN YEARS, for me to get to that point in my life. But I'm here. And I'm ready. I'm ready for a healthy and happy future that works for my body.

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