]]>With only four ingredients, this simple gluten free dessert recipe will wow your Passover or Easter guests. These primal macaroons are made of coconut, egg whites, honey and salt, making them an optimal Paleo cookie recipe. They’ll be devoured within minutes!
Rather than shredded coconut, I used flaked coconut as I wanted to try something different, and I thought it would look pretty and brown nicely.
This is the second time I’ve posted this recipe for Green Eggs from Elana’s Pantry, but with St. Patrick’s Day being tomorrow, it could be a fun way to get your green on with the kids. It’s one one of those things that will make them stare in horror, but after they’ve tasted it, they will surely be delighted. It’s also a great way to get the kids to enjoy something as healthy as kale — as any parent knows, that’s not always an easy task.
On a much more serious note about St. Patrick’s Day and the history of the Irish people, I’ve learned some fascinating things about the potato famine and the subsequent migration to North America and beyond. Read this article from the Zinn Education Project via the Huffington Post, it’s so different than anything that I had ever known before — but not surprising.
]]>When the boys were little we used to have green eggs for breakfast everyday. They grew out of that phase a while ago and now I think this Green Eggs recipe is perfect for St. Patrick’s day.
Now when I make these, I serve them with chicken breakfast links and my Dark Rye Bread (as shown above). Green eggs are a colorful, fun, super healthy, hearty way to get in green veggies at the start of your day. You can also make these yummy gluten free, dairy free eggs with spinach…
I’m always looking for new ways to serve chicken — ways that won’t get my kids up in arms about trying something new. This recipe for Baked Mustard Lime Chicken from Elana’s Pantry might just do the trick. Simple ingredients (important for all kids meals) make this a great way to keep them eating healthy. Throw in some of Elana’s Paleo Dirty Rice as a side and you’ll have your kids happy with what they’re eating, but you’ll be even happier knowing what they’re eating is actually healthy. To use a really tired cliché, that’s a win-win situation.
]]>This recipe for chicken breast is full of flavorful lime and cilantro, and when you bake it (rather than grilling) the flavors have a chance to entirely infuse the dish. Thanks for this excellent suggestion Ana!
I don’t know if your children will like this easy chicken dish; I can tell you that mine gobble it up every time I make it. If you’re looking for healthy recipes for dinner, look no further, this chicken is it.
]]>Soup is good food. Especially healthy soup made with a mere five ingredients.
This quick and easy Roasted Cauliflower soup recipe is one that I found in a recent issue of Bon Appetit. Except their recipe had butter and heavy cream; I’ve de-Paula Deened this recipe so that it is the pure delicious essence of a vegetable without all kinds of unnecessary other ingredients and flavors…
If you like macaroons, you’re going to love these Coconut Bars from Elana’s Pantry. With a great list of ingredients, they won’t be quite as guilt-inducing as other desserts. If you want to add a little more guilt to the recipe, try Elana’s suggestion of drizzling them with dark chocolate. Either way, if you’re as much a fan of coconut as I am, you’ll love this recipe.
“These rich and moist coconut bars are made of not one, but three different forms of scrumptiously healthy coconut, including shredded coconut, coconut oil and coconut milk in their ingredients list.
I have Shirley at Gluten Free Easily to thank for this recipe as it is based upon her famous gluten free Crustless Coconut Pie. I’m a big fan of Shirley’s crustless pie recipes. They’re perfect when I’m looking for a quick and easy, yet simply tasty, gluten free dessert.
I find that this this coconut bar recipe tastes a bit like a macaroon bar. If you want to jazz up your coconut bars and get really decadent, try drizzling them with dark chocolate…”
]]>As my kids will attest, I’m a never ending nag when it comes to how much sugar they consume. Needless to say, I’m not always successful at controlling what they eat as they have access to sweets from many different sources (think friends and school). So, when I come across treats like this from Elana’s Pantry, I get happy. The sugar content comes naturally from dates, there’s an ample amount of protein from the nuts, what more could a parent ask for?
One thing I like to do with these in refrigerate them — it gives them a really nice firm texture (think refrigerated Snickers bar). Also, in terms of ingredients, I’ve played around with these a lot and added things like coconut, changed the nuts around, and even added lemon zest (obviously not with the peanut butter flavor) and they have all been absolutely amazing. This really is the perfect guilt-free treat for the kids and you don’t have to beat yourself up over it. As always, thank you Elana.
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“If you’re in a pinch for time, I have something just for you. Here’s a quick and easy gluten free cookie recipe that requires no baking. I really like making no bake (think no hassle) cookies during the hectic holidays. This one works equally well for Christmas and Hanukkah parties –and is a wonderfully healthy snack throughout the year.
For those of you who aren’t entirely in the mood for Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls and are looking for a chocolate covered peanut butter ball, be sure to see Nut Butter Cups recipe — it’s a delicious no bake, healthier candy recipe that is quite the crowd-pleaser. My husband and children devour them.
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While I doubt I’ve been missed much, I have to apologize for not posting much in the last month or two. I have just a few too many projects going on in my life and unfortunately, this one took a back seat. But, like I always say, being busy is better than being bored.
I have just over 40 posts in various states of readiness that I need to start posting — many of them are seasonal recipes that are oh so appropriate for Autumn. Being that it’s less than a week before Thanksgiving here in the U.S., I thought this would be a great time to post some fantastic grain-free and sugar-free recipes from the one and only Elana. She’s come up with 10 recipes that will literally make you wonder how you ate any other way before. This is my kind of Thanksgiving menu:
- Rosemary Crackers with Fig Tapenade
- Kale with Cranberries
- Chestnuts with Brussel Sprouts
- Mashed Cauliflower with Herb Gravy
- Squash Pie
- Raw Cranberry Sauce
- Cranberry Apple Stuffing
- Balsamic Roasted Turkey
- Paleo Pumpkin Bread
Anyhow, I promise to be a little more present in the weeks to come and will be back to my usual posting schedule. While this won’t be the last post before Thanksgiving, here’s to a very Happy Thanksgiving!
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“A completely Paleo Thanksgiving menu –all gluten free, grain free and sugar free, including many delicious superfoods. Ten recipes for appetizers, salad, dinner, dessert and more.
For decades my father has said “eat the rainbow,” and Thanksgiving is the perfect time to do just that. Each year, we have a variety of gorgeous, colorful dishes on the table, from the green of kale and brussel sprouts, to the orange of Pumpkin Pie (page 70 of The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook), to the bright red of cranberry dishes –so many deliciously prepared superfoods! Thanksgiving doesn’t have to be a time of gorging/deprivation; it can be a time of grazing and enjoying…”
]]>This is one of those recipes that can make you rethink your diet and realize that it’s really not that hard to eat healthy. As most of you know by now, I’m not only an advocate of a gluten-free diet, but a grain-free diet as well. At first glance, a grain-free diet seems daunting and leaves you with a “what in the world am I going to eat” feeling. Let me tell you, there is no shortage of good great awe-inspiring food when eating this way. Whether it’s in the form of pasta made from zucchini or kelp, pizza crust made from cauliflower, or in this case rice made from cauliflower, the possibilities are endless. Some recent books (reviews coming soon) that cover recipes in this category are Make it Paleo by Bill Staley and Hayley Mason, Paleo Comfort Foods: Homestyle Cooking… by Julie Sullivan Mayfield, as well as Everyday Paleo by Sarah Fragoso — all of these are fantastic resources for those looking for grain-free recipes. The list of blogs on this topic is growing faster than I can possibly keep up with and I’ve been really pleased with the fact that Elana of Elana’s Pantry has been moving in this direction as well. She’s been promoting recipes using both almond and coconut flour for several years now, but it seems that she’s taken this theme a step further lately and has been creating some fabulous recipes — several of which I’ve tried and all have been fantastic.
This recipe for Paleo Dirty Rice is a Cajun inspired dish that was absolutely amazing when I made it. The mix of garlic, onions, celery, peppers, and quite a few other spices… made this as flavorful as it is nutritious. The wonderful thing (for me) is that there isn’t a noticeable cauliflower taste to any of it — you get the benefits of the cauliflower with the sensation of eating rice, it’s almost too good to be true.
]]>For those avoiding starchy high carb foods such as white rice, cauliflower rice is a wonderful alternative that is highly nutritious.
When I posted my recipe for Cauliflower Rice a year ago, I received numerous requests for various flavored varieties of that dish. So when I opened one of my new favorite books, Paleo Comfort Foods and saw that they had a recipe for Dirty Rice, I knew I’d have to make my own version.
Do you like your rice dirty? According to Wikipedia, “Dirty rice is a traditional Cajun dish made from white rice cooked with small pieces of chicken liver or giblets, which give it a dark (“dirty”) color and a mild but distinctive flavor.” I turned my Dirty Rice into a vegetarian Paleo side dish, by leaving out the giblets, which while quite nutritious are not my favorite thing. My rice gets its dirty color from an abundance of antioxidant rich spices.
Even my children like Cajun dirty rice. In fact, we had this for dinner last Friday with the boys and 4 of their friends. I served my Dirty Rice with the Turkey Loaf recipe from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook, and when all was said and done, not a drop of either remained…
Almond flour and coconut flour are my go to gluten-free/grain-free flours of choice for so many reasons. Whether it’s pancakes, muffins, cookies, or even bread, using a nut flour (obviously not a good choice if you have issues with nuts) will give you some great results — best of all, they are so much better for you than any grain could ever be. I’ve tried a lot of different recipes, but I’m looking forward to trying this new one from Elana from Elana’s Pantry because as everyone knows, everything she does is great.
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“This gluten free bread recipe is somewhat similar to my Bread 2.0 recipe. However, this bread does not contain arrowroot and agave so it is a much more Paleo/primal friendly bread recipe. I’ve also added coconut oil and switched around the amounts of other ingredients.
I like this healthy bread recipe. For now. In a few months I’ll probably get bored of it and decide I want to come up with something different, better. Then I’ll start tinkering again. Presently though, I’m really enjoying this gluten free bread and I hope you do too.
Special thanks to Amanda who left a comment on my Bread 2.0 recipe that inspired me to get to work on something even tastier and more nutritious…”
]]>Yes, it’s a dessert and yes it’s sweet. But, this Gluten-Free Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake from Elana’s Pantry is about as good as it can get in terms of using healthy ingredients. Almond flour and coconut flour make it grain-free and if you’re not a fan of agave nectar, you could probably use honey in its place. Recipes like this making eating dessert much less of a guilty pleasure.
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“One summer evening as I baked countless batches of gluten free cookies, my older son popped into the kitchen. Determined to join me in my culinary adventures, he decided to make gluten free strawberry shortcake from scratch (as in using no cookbook or recipe). The twist? He’s a chocolate lover, so he made Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake.
As you may know, Jewish mothers tend to think of their sons as geniuses, and I am no exception. I love that my 12 year old boy could whip up a recipe from scratch with no help whatsoever. I think that the boys have learned this skill (my 11 year specializes in omelets and pancakes), from hanging out with me while I cook.
My favorite thing about cooking is making mistakes. As a perfectionist, I find this very freeing. Strangely, my son created this cute little recipe on his first try. I have taught the boys to measure and write down all of the ingredients they use when cooking. This way, if they like something and it turns out well, they can make it again. Or I can make it and share it with you all…”
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