Gingerdoodle Cookies

I love Snickerdoodle and Gingersnap cookies, and one of the hardest things to give up on a Paleo diet is sweets. This recipe is an awesome way to kick a sweet tooth, while tasting like the perfect combination of both my favorite treats. These cookies are on the chewy side, and do not harden.

Ingedients:
1 ½ cup Blanched Almond Flour
1 tsp Coconut Flour
1 Egg
¼ cup Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
¼ cup Blackstrap Molasses
1 tsp Vanilla extract
½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
¼ tsp Ground Ginger
¼ tsp Ground Nutmeg
¼ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Baking Soda


Roll in:
1 Tbsp Granulated Sugar or Sucanat
1 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon

Directions:

1.    Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt coconut oil on low power in the microwave or in saucepan on low heat.
2.    Combine almond flour, coconut flour, egg, molasses, vanilla, coconut oil and spices in a medium bowl.  Stir well to combine.
3.    Add baking soda and stir well to incorporate.
4.    Chill dough in fridge at least 30 minutes prior to rolling. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350F.
5.    Combine sugar and extra cinnamon and place on a small plate or shallow dish.  Remove cookie dough from fridge and roll tablespoonfuls into 1-inch balls.  Roll cookie dough balls in cinnamon and sugar mixture to coat completely and place on cookie sheet.  Flattening cookie is optional, however I give it a light tap.
6.    Bake for 8-12 minutes depending on your over. Check each minute.  Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for a couple of minutes before moving to a wire cooling rack.  Enjoy!

Paleo Ice Cream (Guilt Free)

This recipe was introduced to me by a friend, and with a little tweaking, we now have the ultimate frozen treat. This is a great way to use up your ripe bananas.

Ingredients:

2 frozen bananas sliced
2 Tablespoons Almond butter (I use creamy)
1-2 Tablespoons mini chocolate chips ( I use Enjoy Life mini chips, they are soy, gluten, and dairy free)
Sprinkle of Celtic Salt
-Add a splash of almond milk or water if mixture doesn't blend completely

Directions:

In a small food processor ( blender does not work as well), mix all ingredients together except for chocolate chips. Blend until smooth. Add chocolate chips, and mix. Serve immediately for frozen yogurt like consistency, of freeze for a more scoop-able ice cream consistency.

* For non-Paleo followers, peanut butter is a fine substitute for this recipe.

Pan Seared Asian Steak Rolls

I stumbled across this recipe on Pinterest, and just had to share it. I love finding new ways to cook healthier Asian dishes, and this recipe is perfect for a family dinner, or a fun dish to make for a night of entertaining guests.

Ingredients:
8 ounces flank steak (4 inch x 6 inch piece) or 8 thin sliced sirloin (found at Publix)

Marinade:
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon grapeseed1 oil
freshly ground pepper

Sauce:
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
¼ cup canned chicken broth

Filling:
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 carrot, cut into 2 inch matchsticks
½ red bell pepper, cut into 2 inch matchsticks
2 ribs celery, sliced thin on diagonal
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
12 chives, cut into 3 inches long
4 ounces enoki mushrooms (optional)
2 teaspoons grapeseed oil
2 teaspoons butter
¼ teaspoon sesame seeds

Directions:
Freeze steak for 30 minutes until partially frozen. Slice steak against the grain, on the diagonal, into 8 equally thin pieces. Use a meat mallet to pound each piece of meat to 1/8 inch thick. If using thin sliced sirloin, skip this step.

Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl and add meat slices. Let stand 15 minutes to 2 hours.
In a separate bowl, combine sauce ingredients.
To prepare filling, heat a wok or skillet over high heat. When hot, add grapeseed oil, swirling to coat the sides. Add garlic and ginger and fry for 20 seconds. Add carrot, bell pepper, celery and stir fry for 1 minute. Add soy sauce, sesame oil and stir. Transfer to bowl and let cool.
To make the beef rolls, lay beef slices out with short side facing you. Equally divide chives, enoki mushrooms and vegetable mixture among the pieces of meat. Roll the beef up, over the filling and secure with toothpick.
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the grapeseed oil and butter, swirling to coat bottom. When hot, add beef rolls, seam side down, not touching and pan fry for 1 minute, turn roll. Add sauce to the pan. Cover and simmer over medium heat until beef is just cooked through, 1-2 minutes. Remove toothpick, sprinkle with sesame seeds to serve.
Yields 4 servings

* I served this dish with sliced cucumbers marinated in seasoned rice vinegar, and would be delicious served over cauliflower rice.

Turkey Tomato Sauce

This sauce was made on a whim, so my seasonings were not measured from the start. I find that seasoning this sauce can be eyeballed as long as the combination of spices are used. I like my sauce spicier, so I add more chili flakes, and I love the taste of fennel, so I add extra seeds. I taste and add seasonings as I go, so feel free to tweak this recipe to your own personal palate.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey ( I use darker meat)
-Season turkey meat with salt and pepper, 1 tsp. dried basil 1 tsp. dried oregano, sprinkle of red chili flakes, and 2 tsp. fennel seeds. Mix seasoning into raw turkey meat.
1 onion chopped (not too small)
8 oz. white mushrooms sliced
2 garlic cloves crushed
1  29 oz. can tomato sauce ( I use Hunt's brand)
1  14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with celery, peppers, and onion ( any brand is fine)
Celtic salt
Ground pepper
Red chili flaked
Fennel seeds
Dried oregano
Dried basil
Olive oil

Directions:

In a large sauce pot heat 1-2 Tb. olive oil on medium /high heat, and saute onions until almost transparent. Season with salt. Add crushed garlic to onions, and then add seasoned turkey meat to onions, and keep breaking up until turkey is 90% cooked through..While the onions and turkey meat are browning, in a separate pan, brown mushrooms and season lightly with salt and pepper. Add mushrooms to turkey and onions. Pour in can of tomato sauce, and can of diced tomatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste, 1 1/2 Tb. dried basil, 1/2 Tb. dried oregano, 2-3 tsp. fennel, hot chili flakes for added spiciness (optional). Stir, cover and cook on medium/low heat. Occasionally stir, so sauce does not burn. This sauce does not need to cook long. I let it simmer for the amount of time it takes to cook brown rice pasta which is around 15-17 minutes. This sauce,however, can be left on low simmer until ready to use.

* This sauce is delicious over any type of pasta, but being gluten free, I choose to eat over brown rice pasta, or spaghetti squash. This sauce is also extra tasty over baked veggies.

Paleo Pancakes

 Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut flour
3/4 tsp. Stevia powder ( or  1 Tbl. Coconut sugar.)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. Celtic salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cap full of vanilla extract
6 eggs or ( 4 eggs and 2/3  cup egg whites)
1/4-1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk ( I like my pancakes thinner, so I start with 1/4 cup and keep adding until I have a thinner consistency) 

Directions:
Heat a pan on medium with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin coconut oil (or butter/ghee).Whisk your eggs and (and whites), and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Add your dry ingredients. Combine well and add milk as needed. Add your batter to the pan 1/4 cup at a time. Cook until bubbles form well on the top (about 2-3 minutes) and then flip when sturdy. Fry for another 1-2 minutes and then plate. Add more coconut oil between batches as needed. Yield 16 small pancakes. Top as desired, however I love mine with bananas, fresh strawberries, and organic maple syrup.

Coconut Macaroons

This recipe is courtesy of Paleo Desserts by Jane Barthelemy

Ingredients:

1/2 cup medium to thick unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/2 cups Just Like Sugar Table Top natural chicory root sweetener (not baking)
1/4 teaspoon unprocessed salt
(Celtic salt)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
3 1/2 cups medium-shredded unsweetened coconut flakes
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees/ Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper
2. By hand in a large mixing bowl, or in and style blender, food processor, or mixer, mix well the coconut milk, sweetener, salt, vanilla, egg white, 1/2 cup of the coconut flakes, and almond extract (if using). If mixed electronically, pour into a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the remaining 3 cups of coconut flakes and stir well by hand.
4. Chill the dough in the dame bowl for 10 minutes. This allows the coconut to soak up the sweetness, and make the cookies crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.
5. With a teaspoon and your fingers, drop mounds of batter spaced 1 inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Press each mound a bit so it stays intact. the cookies can be anywhere from 1 to 2 inches in diameter, and slightly irregular and shaggy.
6. Bake for 16-20 minutes, turning the pans after 10 minutes, so all sides are evenly toasted and golden brown. When they are a beautiful golden brown, remove from the over and transfer to a rack and cool.

Makes 30 large or 60 small macaroons

Variation: Chocolate-Dipped Macaroons

Ingredient:
1/3 cup Just Like Sugar Table Top natural chicory sweetener (not baking)
2 1/2 tablespoons boiling filtered water
1 tablespoon melted coconut oil 9 place jar in lukewarm water to melt)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons pure cacao powder

Directions:
1. Let macaroons cool
2. In a heat proof small bowl, use a whisk or spoon to mix the sweetnener, boiling water, coconut oil, and vanilla. Mix until smooth and the sweetener is dissolved.
3. Add cacao powder and mix until smooth. The mixture should be quite thick so it sticks to the cookies.
4. When the macaroons have cooled, dip them upside down into the chocolate coating so the top third of the cookie is covered. Let any excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.
5. Place the coated cookies on a serving plate. The chocolate will harden at room temperature in 15 minutes, or sooner in the refrigerator. 

Sea bass with Coconut Milk and Lime

Ingredients:

2-4 (2oz) pieces of Sea bass
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated on microplane
3/4 cup coconut milk
1-2 teaspoons fish sauce (use more or less for your liking)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lime juiced
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
Veggies: Bok Choy, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts

Directions:

Season both sides of fish with salt and pepper. Sear in olive oil on both sides ( just until light brown). While fish is searing,  heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in another saute pan and lightly brown garlic and add ginger. Add coconut milk, salt and pepper to taste, fish sauce, lime, and cilantro. Bring sauce to a boil. Add seared fish and reduce to a simmer. If fish is thicker continually  pour sauce over the top, or flip half way through the cooking time. Fish should take 3-4 minutes depending on thickness. Fish will spring back when touched if fish is done cooking.

Steam cauliflower, bok choy, and Brussels sprouts. Garnish fish and veggies with sauce. I add a a slice of lime to use for extra flavor.