Red Velvet Chocolate Beet Cake

06. February 2013 · 6 comments · Categories: Breakfast, Dessert, Recipe · Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

My garden produced quite a few beets this year…not as many as a couple years ago, but a decent amount all the same. Although I like beets, the rest of the family aren’t fans. Rather than making beets just for myself, I decided to put them into something everyone would enjoy. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to make red velvet chocolate beet cake. Beets…Red Velvet…same thing, right?

First I had to cook and puree my beets. This a very simple process. I trimmed my beets, cutting off all but about 1/2 inch of the stem. I put the beets in a microwave safe dish with high sides, covered them with water and cooked in the microwave for about 25 minutes in 5 minute intervals poking them every 5 minutes to see if they were soft. When they were cooked and cooled I trimmed the remaining stem then put them into the blender with about a cup of cooking water. (add more water if your blender needs  more) Voila, beet puree!

This cake is Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Paleo and Primal. I made my cake into cupcakes so they would be easily snack-able and pack-able by my kids, but you could make it into a full sized cake. I may look for some cream cheese icing to put on them, too. That would just put them over the top. Enjoy!

 

Red Velvet Chocolate Beet Cake

4 Eggs

1 C dried plums (aka prunes)

2 T vanilla

2 C beet puree

1 T cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3 T cocoa powder

3 C almond flour

1/2 C maple syrup

1 C dark chocolate chips

 

Preheat oven to 350F. In the blender mix dried plums, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla, beet puree, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt until well blended. In a separate bowl mix almond flour and cocoa powder then mix in the beet mixture from blender. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon 1 T of batter into lined mini muffin tins or 1/4 C batter into lined regular sized muffin tins. Bake mini muffins for about 15 minutes or until set; Regular sized muffins take about 20-25 minutes to bake. This made 18 regular sized muffins and 12 mini ones.

Paleo Bread Round-up

31. January 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Breads, Great Link!, Recipe · Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Which grain-based food do you think most people miss when starting a Paleo lifestyle? I missed cereal more than anything else, but apparently the majority of people miss BREAD! I can see why. Sandwiches are the usual lunch food for a lot of folks, small and large alike. Bread is the starter at a lot of restaurants and who doesn’t love toast for breakfast? So, do you have to go bread-free when you start eating Paleo? Most certainly not! When just beginning to eat Paleo foods, you may want to recreate some of your grain-based comfort foods to make the transition easier.

Many of the grain free bread recipes I found use almond flour as the base, but I did find a few that were nut free. Also, you can substitute sunflower seed flour for almond flour cup for cup, but keep in mind that sunflower seeds will turn green when mixed with baking soda…tastes the same, but the bread will have a greenish color.

When making recreations of grain based foods you may want to keep in mind the words of the Paleo Mom “I think recipes like this are great for kids, athletes, and very healthy individuals who can handle more carbohydrates (like those in tapioca and arrowroot flours) and have no reason to steer clear of almonds (which have a high omega-6 and phytic acid content). Think of this as a special treat rather than a staple.”

Nut based breads

Northwest Cavegirl’s yeast-free Sandwich bread – almond and coconut flour

Elana’s yeast-free bread with almond and coconut flour

Paleo Mom’s Almond flour yeast bread

Urban Poser’s Sourdough bread

Urban Poser’s Flatbread with cashew cheese

Health extremist’s Almond and coconut flour bread – yeast free

Almond Flour Paleo Bread Recipe

Coconut flour based bread

Real Sustenance’s Grain, egg, yeast and nut free flat bread

Paleo Mom’s Grain and nut free yeast bread

 

Paleo Swedish Cream Cookie

22. December 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Dessert · Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Are you ready for this? It’s another Christmas cookie recipe! Or I suppose you could make this yummy cookie anytime of the year, whenever it suits your fancy. The cookie part of this recipe is a pretty basic cracker/cookie wafer. You could even spread it with something savory and serve it as an appetizer at a dinner party. The possibilities are endless! Enjoy!

 

Swedish Cream Wafer Cookies

Cookie

1 C Almond Flour/Meal

1 C tapioca Flour

1/2 C Cream off the top of a can of coconut milk

1/2 C Coconut oil

Filling

1 C dark Chocolate chips

1/2 C coconut oil

1 T maple syrup

 

Mix Flours, Coconut Cream and 1/2 C Coconut oil together in a bowl. Turn dough out onto parchment and form into a log that’s about 1-2  inch diameter. Cover in the parchment and put in freezer for about 1/2 hour.

 

Preheat oven to 375F.

 

When dough is hardened, slice 1/2 inch cookies from the log placing them about 2-3 inches apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

 

Bake for about 10 minutes then turn cookies over and bake for another 10 minutes. Let Cookies cool then make frosting.

 

Mix 1/2 C Coconut oil, maple syrup and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high in 30 second increments stirring frequently until everything is melted and smooth. Place bowl in freezer for about 1/2 hour until chocolate starts to firm up. Using a hand mixer, mix frosting until it’s fluffed up and doubled in volume. Spread or pipe frosting onto cookies and place another cookie on top to make a sandwich.

 

 

Paleo 7 Layer Bars/Magic Cookie Bars

21. December 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Dessert · Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Paleo Christmas cookie kitchen is in full swing around my house this week! I’m on a mission to make paleo versions of some of our Facebook Fans’ favorite Christmas cookies. One of the challenges extended to me was to make a paleo 7 layer bar (AKA Magic Cookie Bar). This one turned out to be one of the easier ones to replicate as the cookie doesn’t have much of a “cookie” quality to it. The bottom layer is the closest thing to a cookie and is mostly a crust for the whole bar; each of the other layers are just ingredients of choice with a milky binder pored over the whole thing. I believe my version turned out wonderfully like the original!

Paleo Magic Cookie/7 Layer Bars
2 C almond or coconut milk (full fat)
1/4 C maple syrup
1 t vanilla
1 C almond meal or flour
1/2 C coconut oil
1 C dark chocolate chips
1 cup shredded coconut -divided
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans, but walnuts or other nuts would work as well)

Preheat the oven to 375°F
Simmer milk with maple syrup and vanilla over medium heat until the volume is reduced by half.

Mix almond meal with coconut oil to form crust. Pat the crust mixture down evenly in a 9 x 9 pan over parchment paper “handles” to pull out the bars when they are finished. I didn’t do this and wish I had!

Layer 3/4 of the chocolate chips, 1/2 of the coconut and all the nuts.

Slowly pour milk mixture over the top.

Layer extra coconut over the top and sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips.

Bake 30 minutes, cool on stovetop then refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Cut into small bites. Makes 24 to 36 bites. And they are so rich a bite is really all you need! :)

Paleo/Primal Gingerbread Men

17. December 2012 · 1 comment · Categories: Dessert · Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

 

It’s Christmas cookie time! Who doesn’t love Gingerbread Men? I mean, come on, Gingy was your favorite Shrek character, right? Of Course!

Well, Gingerbread Men have been sadly lacking from my diet for the last couple of years. So I set about making a gingerbread recipe that fits the Paleo Lifestyle and still tastes like what you want a gingerbread man to taste like. As an added bonus, this recipe is nut-free and fairly allergen friendly; so you will feel ok putting one of these little gems in your child’s lunch box or even bringing some for the whole class.

(Alternatively, if you’re looking for a moister cookie and can tolerate nuts, substitute the Coconut flour and Coconut oil with 3 1/2 C Almond flour plus 1/4 C coconut oil.)

 

Coconut Flour Gingerbread Men
1 1/4 C+ Coconut Flour
1 C Coconut Oil
3 Eggs
1/2 C molasses
1/4 C maple syrup
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a bowl combine 1 1/4 C coconut flour with 1 C melted coconut oil. Let this sit for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, in another bowl mix all remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add coconut flour/oil mixture to other ingredient mixture and mix to combine. Dough should be getting somewhat stiff at this point.

Put parchment paper (about as big as a cookie sheet) on a flat surface, sprinkle with coconut flour then turn out dough onto parchment. Sprinkle top of dough with coconut flour then place another piece of parchment on top of dough. Using a rolling pin or your hand flatten dough between parchment. Roll out until dough is about 1/4 inch thick. Place dough into freezer or fridge on a cookie sheet until it has hardened up a bit.

Once dough is more solid, remove top parchment and press cookie cutters into dough. Using a scraper, remove dough from around cut out shapes. Re-roll extra dough to keep making more cookies.

Leave cut-outs on parchment on cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes until cookies are mostly firm. Let cool then decorate as desired. Cookies are a little fragile when they are warm. So let them cool down before handling.

My kids added jelly beans to theirs, I added frosting decorations. Give the Food Lover’s Primal Palate Cinnamon Frosting a try for your decorator frosting!

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