Aussie splice icy poles

Another recipe that I made ages ago but I've missed it on the blog and since I struggle to actually find the recipe online I decided I should put it on here so I can easily find it next time. The recipe is from I quit sugar

Ingredients
makes about 12 icy poles

Green layer
½ avocado
1 cup/240 ml spinach
1 banana
1 cup/240 ml coconut water

Yellow layer
400 ml coconut cream
240 ml diced frozen mango

Blend all ingredients to the green layer in a blender until smooth. Pour the mixture in moulds to about half way and put them in the freezer for about maybe an hour. It should be set enough so that it doesn't mix with the next layer but not set enough so that you can't get the stick into the moulds once done (if you're using the same kind of icy pole moulds that I used).
Blend all the ingredients for the yellow layer until smooth and pour it on top of the green layer. Freeze for another couple of hours until the icy poles are frozen.

Pizza buns

I've made this recipe once before but I didn't get a chance then to put it on the blog. Second time around they're just as tasty and I was surprised (once again) about how easy they actually are to make. The recipe is from undervarttak.se.

Ingredients
makes about 12 buns

For the dough
300 ml almond flour
5 tbsp psyllium husk
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
3 egg whites
250 ml boiling water

Toppings (you can obviously alternate this with whatever you fancy)
300 ml crushed tomatoes or passata
125 g bacon
1 bunch of basil
1 egg
oregano

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees.
Combine all the dry ingredients for the dough in a large bowl. Separate the eggs and pour the egg whites into the bowl. Whisk together with an electric whisk. Add the water slowly and be mindful not to add too much water so the dough gets runny (depending on how big your eggs are you might not need to add all of the water). Mix together until it forms a dough. Kneed it to a big lump and put it on a sheet of baking paper. Put another sheet of baking paper on top and use a rolling pin to make a rectangle which is a few millimeters thick.
Pull away the top layer of baking paper and you can now add your tomatoes. I added some cheese on top of the tomatoes but if you want to make it completely Paleo, just leave that out. Sprinkle some oregano on top. Cut the bacon to smaller pieces and sprinkle these on top. Add the basil leaves and then roll the dough lengthwise to form a roll. Cut the roll in about 2 cm thick pieces and put them on a greased muffin tray. Whisk the egg and brush the buns before putting them in the oven for about 45 minutes. Now you have a delicious treat to bring to picnics or to the beach.

Zucchini and sun-dried tomato muffins

With a toddler going to daycare once a week, I'm trying to find recipes of good snacks to put in his lunch box for the day. I found this really nice recipe from Eatdrinkpaleo of savory muffins.

Ingredients

makes 6

1½ cup (360 ml) grated zucchini (about 2 small ones)

6 sun-dried tomatoes (not the ones in oil)

1 medium garlic clove

½ cup (120 ml) pumpkin seeds

2 eggs

2 heaped tbsp linseed meal

1/4 cup (60 ml) tapioca flour

½ tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 175 °C and grease a muffin tray with a little coconut oil.

By using your hands try to squeeze the grated zucchini to remove as much of the juice as possible. Add it to a mixing bowl.

Put the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and pumpkin seeds to a food processor. Process until ground and incorporated. Transfer to the bowl with the grated zucchini.

Add eggs, linseed meal, tapioca, onion powder, salt and baking powder to the mix and combine together very well.

Divide the mixture evenly between the muffin casings and place in the middle of the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool completely before removing from the tray. 

Paleo muesli

Being pregnant makes you hungry, that's something pretty certain. And I'm especially hungry when I wake up in the morning and I don't always feel like eggs so I decided that muesli would be a good and easy thing to just grab in the morning together with some fruit and almond milk. I found this recipe on Paleo Cupboard. I didn't want it that sweet so I only used half the amount of honey. I think it might've turned out a bit crunchier if I used all the honey but I'm very happy with the result.

Ingredients
240 ml raw almonds
120 ml raw cashews
120 ml raw walnuts
60 ml raw pepitas/pumpkin seeds
60 ml raw sunflower seeds
60 ml unsweetened coconut flakes
60 ml coconut oil
120 ml honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
raisins/sultanas

Preheat the oven to 135 degrees Celsius. Place the almonds, cashews, walnuts and coconut flakes in a food processor and pulse a few times to break into smaller chunks. Put in a medium sized bowl together with the seeds.
Heat up the coconut oil, honey and vanilla extract in a pot on low heat  until completely combined. Add this to the seeds, nuts and coconut flakes and stir to coat.
Spread the muesli mixture evenly on a baking tray lined with baking paper and cook for about 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring once or twice. Remove from heat, add the raisins and sprinkle with salt and mix around a bit. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes or until hardened. Then break apart and keep in a jar with a tight lid.

Soft and gooey chocolate brownie

I've been trying to find recipes of food, snacks and sweets that are good to freeze so that when the baby comes we can always just go to the freezer because we probably won't have the energy or time to cook every night and we don't want to get take-out all the time. So I'm trying to prepare as much as possible while I'm not working. I found this recipe on paleogrubs.com and it's a super easy recipe with not that many ingredients and it's pretty much like a normal chocolate cake/brownie.

Ingredients
makes about 10 brownies/1 round cake
240 ml almond butter
80 ml maple syrup
1 egg
2 tbsp melted ghee
1 tsp vanilla
80 ml cocoa powder
½ tsp baking soda

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. In a large bowl, whisk together the almond butter, maple syrup, egg, ghee and vanilla. Stir in the cocoa powder and baking soda gently.
Pour the batter into a 22 cm baking pan (I used a round one).
Bake for 20-23 minutes, until the brownie is done, but still soft in the middle.
Let cool and enjoy by itself or with some berries and cream.

Cinnamon sugar cookies

I've looked at this recipe for a while now and been wanting to make them but didn't get around to it. I decided today was a good day to do some baking so I went ahead and made them. They really are delicious and super simple to make.

Ingredients
makes about 25 cookies
480 ml almond flour
120 ml coconut flour
120 ml coconut sugar (plus about 60 ml for rolling in)
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
7 tbsp grass-fed butter, melted
60 ml maple syrup
1 egg, whisked
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line an oven tray with baking paper.
Combine almond flour, coconut flour, coconut sugar (120 ml), cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
Combine butter, maple syrup, egg, and vanilla extract in a another large mixing bowl.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to wet, mixing until they are all well combined.
Roll the dough into balls about 2,5 cm in diameter.
Roll each ball in the additional 60 ml coconut sugar to lightly cover.
Place on tray and press down lightly to flatten a little. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 12-14 minutes, there should to be a soft center.

Banana bread with chia seeds

Got in the mood to bake something easy and delicious yesterday and found this recipe. It turned out that I had all the ingredients at home so I decided to start baking. It turned out extremely well.

Ingredients
makes 1 loaf/serves 12
400 g ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
6 eggs
4-6 fresh pitted dates (depending on size)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
60 ml coconut oil
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
120 ml coconut flour
60 ml chia seed
2 tbsp protein powder - optional

Preheat your oven to 150 degrees Celsius.
Combine banana, dates, oil, cinnamon, vanilla, eggs and baking powder in a food processor and blend until creamy and combined. Add the coconut flour and chia seeds and mix through.
Rest for about 10 minutes to allow the chia seeds and coconut flour to expand.
Lightly oil one loaf tin and line with baking paper.
Add the batter to the tin. Decorate with some shredded coconut and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Bake for about 50-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre will come out dry.

Soft and chewy spice cookies with molasses

I think Paleomg has some of the best dessert and treat recipes out there. This is the second time I try one of her cookie recipe and they turned out great.

Ingredients
makes about 18 cookies
2 eggs, whisked
240 ml almond butter
60 ml molasses
120 ml coconut sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
60 ml coconut flour
2 tbsp tapioca flour/arrowroot starch
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Mix eggs, almond butter and molasses in a large bowl.
In a medium sized bowl mix together coconut sugar, cinnamon, ginger, coconut flour, tapioca, baking soda and salt. Pour half of the dry mixture into the wet mixture and mix well. Then add the rest and mix until completely combined.
Line an oven tray with baking paper and scoop about tablespoon sized cookie dough drops on to the baking sheet. This should make about 18 cookies so you may need to use 2 oven trays.
Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until cookies are firm on the top.

Chocolate peppermint balls

This recipe is originally from The Merrymaker sisters and they have it labelled as a Christmas recipe. I agree that it is a bit Christmasy but considering I'm a huge fan of mint I decided to give them a try even though we're only in April now. The original recipe is without the chocolate coating but I decided to make it slightly fancier and coat them in some dark chocolate. If you want a 100% Paleo recipe you will have to skip that step. Also, you will need kitchen scales for this recipe.

Ingredients
makes about 15 (depending on the size of the balls)
200 g pitted dates (soaked in boiling water for at least 10 minutes)
200 g desiccated coconut
30 g raw cacao powder
50 g coconut oil
½ tsp peppermint extract (or 4-6 drops pure peppermint oil)
100 g dark chocolate (70% or over)

Soak and drain your dates.
Mix coconut oil and cacao in a food processor until fully combined. Add the dates, coconut and peppermint extract and mix together until you have a smooth paste. Roll to balls, the size that you want them to be. Put them on a tray lined with baking paper and place in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Melt the chocolate in a water bath and roll the balls in the melted chocolate until completely covered with chocolate. Put them back on the tray and once all are covered (or there's no chocolate left) put them back in the fridge until completely cool.
Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 10 days.

Paleo jam filled cupcakes

This recipe is one of the best in a long time. So easy to make (especially if you have the jam already made) and they are super tasty. The recipe is once again from paleomg.com

Ingredients
makes about 10
2 medium bananas, mashed
180 ml nut butter (I used brazil, cashew and almond butter)
60 ml honey
3 medium eggs, whisked
1 tsp vanilla extract
60 ml coconut flour
¼ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
about 80 ml homemade raspberry blueberry jam (or other jam of choice)

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.
Mash the bananas in a large bowl. Add the nut butter, honey, eggs and vanilla extract and mix together.
Then add coconut flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and a pinch of salt and mix well.
Grease and line a muffin pan, scoop a large spoonful of the muffin mixture into 9 cups, filling the cups about half way. Then use a small spoonful (a bit over 1 teaspoon) of the jam and put in the middle of each cup. Put the rest of the batter to cover each jam filled cup.
Place in the middle of the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before eating.

Peppermint chocolate sticks

As previous post stated I've been trying to get more into the Christmas spirit and by baking things that reminds me of Christmas from when I was little I think I can achieve this. Yesterday I decided to make some delicious chocolate and mint sticks. Recipe taken from livinghealthywithchocolate.com

Ingredients
makes about 15 sticks
6 tbsp melted coconut oil
4 tbsp cocoa powder
4 tbsp almond butter
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp peppermint extract
pinch of salt
60 ml shredded coconut
60 ml pecans or walnuts

Stir together coconut oil, cocoa powder, almond butter, honey, vanilla, peppermint extract and salt in a large bowl. Heat up the mixture slowly over a pot of boiling water for about 5-10 minutes until mixture is completely combined.
Chop the pecans coarsely in a food processor. Add the nuts and coconut to the chocolate mixture and stir together. Pour into an ovenproof dish about 20 x 15 cm lined with baking paper.
Put it in the freezer and freeze until the chocolate has set. Cut into sticks. Store in an airtight container in the freezer.

Ginger bread cookies

It's Christmas season and I'm definitely missing Sweden. There are so many differences between Australia and Sweden around this time of year. Firstly it's of course the weather; it's very hard to get into the right Christmas mood when it's over 20 degrees and sunny outside. So I sort of miss the darkness and the cold but it's only for this time of year when that's the case. Also, the food is a lot different. I miss my Swedish Christmas treats. Luckily I have been able to find some Paleo versions of these Swedish treats. This one I found on recept.nu

Ingredients
makes about 25 cookies
200 ml almond flour
100 g butter
50 ml stevia
2 ml ground cloves
2 ml ground cardamon
2 ml cinnamon
1 tbsp psyllium husk
75 ml coconut flour
2 egg whites

Make the dough about a day before and let it sit in the fridge overnight.
Melt the butter together with the stevia and spices. Add in the almond flour and psyllium husk. Let it sit for about 30 minutes to expand. Whisk the egg whites hard and carefully fold it into the rest of the dough. Add the coconut flour and mix to a firm dough. Shape into a roll and cover with cling wrap.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
Flatten the dough by using a rolling pin and use cookie shapes to make cookies.
Put them on an oven try with baking paper and bake in the oven for about 8-10 minutes.

Carrot protein slices

I've made this recipe once before but I never put it up on the blog because the result wasn't that good. This time it turned out so much better. I love these! Perfect as a snack. The recipe is from paleomg.com. I used a slightly bigger dish than the recipe so I got 12 slices but they were much thinner and therefore I only cooked them in the oven for about 25 minutes. I also excluded the raisins because I'm not a huge fan.

Ingredients
makes about 8 slices
2 large carrots, finely shredded
160 ml almond butter
2 eggs
3 tbsp honey
35 grams of whey protein powder (vanilla flavoured or unflavoured)
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla powder (exclude this if you're using vanilla protein powder)
½ tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
120 ml raisins (optional)

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.
Shred the carrots as thin as possible. Add them to a large bowl. Add in the almond butter and eggs and mix well. Then add honey, protein powder, cinnamon, vanilla, baking powder and salt and mix well again. If using raisins, fold them in now. Grease a 20 x 20 cm large baking dish with a bit of coconut oil, pour the cake batter in the dish and place in the oven for about 25-35 minutes (depending on thickness). The top of the cake should have a nice crust to it.
Take it out and let it cool slightly before slicing it up.

Paleo bread rolls

This is once again a recipe from undervarttak.blogspot.se. I just love their website. Since I'm Swedish it's a perfect place for me to find traditional Swedish things made Paleo. I'm gonna try some day soon to make their ginger bread cookies so that I won't miss Sweden too much over Christmas. Today however, I decided to make these sort of bread rolls which turned out alright. I wish they would've been a bit fluffier but I guess I'll have to work on that.

Ingredients
makes 6
300 ml almond flour
50 ml sunflower seeds
50 ml crushed linseed
1-2 tsp bread spices (I used caraway seeds, fennel seeds and cumin)
2 eggs
50 ml coconut milk
poppy seeds for decoration
coconut oil for the muffins tins

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees Celsius.
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Whisk together the eggs and the coconut milk and pour this over the dry ingredients. Mix it all together to a soft and quite runny dough.
Grease six muffin tins with some coconut oil and fill them with the dough. Even them out with a wet spoon. Sprinkle on some poppy seeds on each roll. Bake in the oven for about 10-15 minutes.

Cashew butter cookies

These cookies looked so simple to make and seemed very tasty as well. Luckily they actually were as well. I found the recipe on kristensraw.com. Unfortunately mine didn't turn out quite as nice as hers though because for some reason I didn't pay attention when putting them on the sheet. I thought they would float out a bit more once the dough got warm in the oven. It doesn't really matter though, they still taste delicious.

Ingredients
makes 10 cookies
1 egg, room temperature
240 ml cashew butter
60 ml xylitol (or other sweetener)
½ tsp vanilla powder
2 pinches of salt
10 squares of Green & Blacks Dark Chocolate 85% Cocoa

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Line an oven tray with baking paper.
Beat all the ingredients except for the chocolate together with an electric hand mixer until completely combined. Use a tablespoon and scoop the cookie dough on to the baking tray.
Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes.
Let the cookies cool a little bit then push one square of the chocolate on the top of each cookie.

Spiced nuts #2

Found another recipe for spiced nuts on themerrymakersisters.com and it was really easy to make. Perfect in front of the movie or as a party snack.

Ingredients
240 ml raw almonds
240 ml raw cashews
240 ml raw macadamias
1 tbsp melted coconut oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
½ tsp ground chili
2 tsp paprika powder
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix around and make sure all the nuts get coated in the spices and oil. Transfer the nuts to the baking tray and roast in the oven for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them so they don't burn. Allow to cool before enjoying them.

Paleo focaccia

So I've been craving bread for a couple of days now and I finally decided to make some bread without flour and found a recipe on undervarttak.blogspot.se. The result was much better than I expected actually, I didn't think it was going to be so fluffy which is definitely a good thing. Definitely something I'll make again when I'm craving bread of some sort.

Ingredients
makes 1 large flat bread
400 ml almond flour
50 ml coconut flour
100 ml psyllium husk
1 tbsp baking powder
1½ tsp salt
6 eggs
300 ml water
50 ml olive oil + extra for decoration
Sea salt
Fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Whisk together the eggs, water and 50 ml olive oil in another bowl. Once mixed completely, pour this over the dry ingredients and mix together until it's a soft dough. Let it sit for about 5 minutes so it gets a bit thicker.
Grease an oven tray with olive oil (I used one sized 25 x 30 cm).
Add the dough to the tray and flatten it evenly. Press with your finger to make small holes in the bread. Drizzle some olive oil over, then sprinkle the fresh rosemary and sea salt over the top as well.
Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until it has a golden colour and the test needle comes out clean. Enjoy!

Paleo chocolate chip cookies

These cookies turned out great. Although I think I made them a bit too big so they didn't quite get that cookie crunch but the they're still delicious. The recipe was for 12 cookies but I only got 10 because I made them so big. The recipe is from The Food Lovers Kitchen.

Ingredients
makes 12 cookies
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla extract
175 ml semisweet chocolate chips (I used 85% chocolate and chopped it up)
60 ml coconut oil
60 ml cup maple syrup
1 egg
350 ml almond flour

Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients.
In another mixing bowl beat eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla extract with a hand mixer.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and beat with hand mixer until combined.
Melt the coconut oil and pour into the batter. Continue to blend until combined. Then stir in the chocolate chips. On an oven tray lined with baking paper, drop balls of cookie dough, about a tablespoon in size. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes. Let cool.

Kale chips

This is one of our new favourites. Really easy to make and tastes delicious. Once again I've got the recipe from eatdrinkpaleo.com.au

Ingredients
serves 2
10 kale leaves (on a stalk)
1½ tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp ground coriander seeds
2/3 tsp ground cumin powder

Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius.
Tear the leaves away from the stalks and cut into 2-3 cm pieces with scissors or tear with your hands.
Wash and pat dry with some paper towel.
Toss kale leaves with olive oil, spices & sea salt. Scatter in a large oven tray and bake for 15 minutes tossing them around every 5 minutes to prevent burning and to make sure they dry out and roast evenly on all sides.

Paleo waffles

Since it's a long weekend I decided to make something extra delicious for breakfast today other than the usual eggs and bacon. I got the recipe from Undervarttak.

Ingredients
makes 4-6 waffles
4 eggs
200 ml coconut milk
200 ml almond flour
1 1/3 tbsp psyllium
2 2/3 tbsp coconut oil
2 tsp baking powder
2 pinches salt

Start heating up the waffle iron. Whisk the eggs and coconut milk until fluffy. Melt the coconut oil and add to the egg mixture. In a separate bowl mix together the dry ingredients and whisk these into to the egg mixture.
Once the waffle iron is hot, brush it with some melted coconut oil and pour in enough mixture to cover the surface. Close the lid and cook until golden brown.
We served ours with some fresh fruit or berries, maple syrup and some shredded coconut.