Don't be an Organics Snob

So I've recently had a realization that we'd been sacrificing our family's nutrition for the sake of avoiding pesticides. I try to eat organic as much as possible, but I need to realize that we don't have access to good quality organic produce year-round. It's sad... It's unfortunate... But it's reality. So, we need to stop trying so hard to buy organic. It's better to be buying a variety of in season non-organic produce then to eat organic bananas and apples everyday. It's also more paleo to be varying or foods more then trying to stay organic. Sigh... Oh, how I wish we had year round access to a variety of organic foods. Just like I wish we had access to 100% grass fed beef and dairy and pastured pork and poultry. Maybe one day...

Paleo Waffles (Coconut Flour)

Paleo Waffle Recipe

Ingredients:
(Makes 3 waffles)

• 4 eggs, separated and at room temperature
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 tbsp coconut fat, melted
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp maple syrup (or honey)
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Whip the egg yolks until light and fluffy.

Beat the coconut milk, coconut fat, maple syrup and vanilla into the egg yolks.

Combine the dry ingredients into a separate bowl making sure there are no more lumps in the coconut flour.

Beat the dry ingredients into the wet until the mixture thickens.

Clean the beaters then whip the egg whites until stiff peaks.

Fold the egg whites into the batter, then cook in a waffle iron until golden brown.


Review:

I modified this recipe for pancakes to make waffles. The modifications were increasing the fat and sugar, and separating the eggs and folding the egg whites into the batter to make a lighter batter. Since I was converting a pancake recipe to a waffle recipe, I wasn't sure how many waffles this would produce. It only made 3 waffles, so next time I will double the recipe and freeze any leftovers. Hopefully they freeze up well.

Taste-wise this recipe was awesome! I wouldn't change anything. The only problem was they weren't crispy enough on the outside. They were definitely fluffy enough on the inside though. They were so floppy that I had a lot of trouble getting them out of the waffle maker (hence the picture of it still in the waffle maker!) By the time I got them out, they had ripped in half or in quarters. Still yummy to eat, but not the greatest presentation.

I've been trying to research what would make the waffle crispier, and apparently more fat is supposed to do the trick. Some people have said that waffles should have more eggs. Somewhere else it said that the batter should be runnier to have a crispier waffle. Many people talked about cooking temperature, but having made many traditional waffles, I know that my temperature setting is not the issue, it's the recipe.

So, next time I will try increasing the fat (some have said 6 tbsp of oil!) I may also add another egg or two. The batter was really thick, so it would be nice if it was thinner. I doubt that adding more coconut milk would make it crispier, so I'm going to try other things first. I wonder if more sugar (maple syrup) would crisp it up at all too.

Crispy or not, these waffles were amazing and it will be lots of yummy fun to try and perfect the recipe since the 'rejects' are really yummy!

Almond Milk / Paleo Hot Cocolate

So if chocolate can be considered paleo, then so can this hot chocolate. First I make some fresh almond milk. I make my own because I haven't found a brand that I'm satisfied with. They all seem to have way too many ingredients. Mine has just almonds and filtered water. That's it.

Sprouted Almond milk:

1 cup raw almonds (with skins)
3-4 cups water
1 nut milk bag (makes life so much easier!)

Soak the almonds for 12-24 hours, changing the water at least a couple of times. If you're not going to have a chance to make the milk at the end of the soaking time, just drain the almonds and store them covered in the fridge for up to a couple of days.

After soaking, rinse and drain the almonds and put them in the blender with 3-4 cups of water. Filtered water is best so it doesn't taste chlorine-y, but it will do if you don't have filtered water. The amount of water you use depends on how concentrated you like your almond milk, how good your blender is and how long you blend for. You're better to air on the side of more concentrated because you can always add more water at the end if you want.

I blend for as long as I have the patience. Then pour into a nut milk bag and let it drain into a container for a whole before squeezing the rest of the milk out by hand. Once you've squeezed as much milk as you can out of the bag, you can store the almond milk in the fridge. Ours is always used up by about 3 days, so I'm not sure how long it keeps.

I also keep the almond remains by spreading them out on a cookie sheet and putting them in the oven on warm for a few hours. Apparently you can use them as a replacement for almond flour in recipes. I'm not convinced, so I'll believe it when I see it!

Hot chocolate:

Melt 1-2 tbsp of dark chocolate in the bottom of a mug. Be sure to use REAL chocolate as many chocolate brands contain wax and won't mix in the same way as real chocolate. I use Callebaut. It contains soy lechtin, which I'm not thrilled about, but its the best tasting easily accessible source of real chocolate for me, so it's a compromise.

Once it's all melted stir in a small amount of almond milk (about 1 tbsp). Stir with a spoon until smooth. Add another tablespoons of almond milk and stir until smooth. Make sure it stays warm, so if it gets too cool, warm it up again in the microwave.

Be very careful not to overheat the almond milk! It curdles really quickly! Way quicker then milk! It's still safe to drink, but not very pleasant.

Keep adding a little bit of almond milk at a time. You can start adding larger amounts once you can see that it's mixing in easily. Heat it up until it's hot enough for you to enjoy. Taste it, if it's not sweet enough for you you can add a drizzle of maple syrup or honey. I add a little maple syrup. I've also tried it with a little vanilla too, but I think I prefer it without.

Gluten-free, Nut-free, Chocolate Chip Cookies

Although these cookies aren't technically paleo (because of the sugar and butter), but I've never had digestive issues after eating butter, so we do eat butter occasionally. We also have a neighbour who has a nut allergy, so when Madison is playing with the neighbourhood kids, it's nice to be able to offer them some cookies that are nut free, but that we can eat/keep in our house without giving me digestive troubles.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or using a hand mixer, cream the butter. Add the sugar and continue mixing until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly. The mixture may look a bit curdled, but don't worry, it's fine.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the coconut flour, salt and baking soda; be sure to break up any clumps of coconut flour. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, and continue beating on low until the mixture thickens. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Roll about a tablespoonfuls onto the cookie sheet, and press flat. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until they begin to turn golden.

Paleo Pancakes (coconut flour)

So I've tried many, many paleo pancake recipes, and to be honest, they weren't that great. They were edible and I did make them, but it was always a bit disappointing. They didn't hold together well and they were grainy. But I had always made almond flour pancakes. I'm not sure why I was nervous about trying coconut flour pancakes... but I was. Until now! I made these pancakes this morning and they were by far the best paleo pancakes I've ever made! They held together like a normal pancake, they had the texture of a normal pancake! They weren't overly heavy and they puffed up like a normal pancake! Usually the almond flour pancakes didn't seem to puff up very much. Also, because they were nut-based, I found them really filling, but to the point that I was uncomfortable after eating them. My system doesn't seem to handle large amounts of nuts well, and it's not great to eat too many nuts because of the high omega 6's. But coconut fats are really good for you and the flour has lots of fibre!

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp maple syrup (or honey)
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• Coconut oil for the frying pan

Directions:

Beat the eggs until fluffy, then beat in the coconut milk and vanilla. 

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, making sure there are no lumps in the coconut flour (sift if necessary). Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and beat until it thickens. It made about 10 small pancakes for us.

This recipe also got a big thumbs up from Brad who just shouted "Great pancakes! These are the best ones so far!"

The only changes I made to the recipe was to use maple syrup instead of honey, and I added 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. I love cinnamon and I always add it to my pancakes. If you don't like cinnamon, then just leave it out.

In the future I'd like to try making this a "buttermilk" pancake... not sure yet how to accomplish that with coconut milk. I also foresee a waffle recipe coming out of this recipe!

Other sources of this recipe:
Nourishing Days - The original recipe, this is who developed the recipe
PaleoSpirit - This one has a nutritional breakdown of the differences between the coconut flour and wheat flour
Paleo Pancakes - This is where I came across the recipe

Paleo Chocolate Mousse (dairy free)

Here is a really yummy paleo chocolate mousse recipe. It's actually quite easy too!  And people who aren't paleo (probably) won't be able to tell the difference. I've adapted the recipe from here.

Ingredients:
1 can coconut milk (1 cup coconut cream)
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup egg whites (2 egg whites)

Directions:
Allow the coconut cream to rise to the top (some people need to leave the can in the fridge). Mine works at room temperature, I just make sure not to shake the can. I usually get about 1 cup of coconut cream from a can.

Skim the coconut cream off the top with a spoon, you should have about 1 cup. If not, you may need to adjust the recipe to compensate.

Whip the coconut cream until it is light and fluffy.

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave. Be careful not to overheat. It's best to heat until there's still some unmelted chocolate, then let it sit to melt the rest.

Both the coconut cream and chocolate should be close to room temperature. You don't want the coconut cream so cold that it causes the chocolate to solidify prematurely, and you don't want the chocolate to be too hot that it melts the coconut fat in the coconut cream. Pour the chocolate into the whipped coconut cream and whip until it gets even more fluffy.

Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks. Make sure the beaters are clean or you'll have trouble whipping the egg whites. Fold the egg whites into the mixture until combined.

Pour the mixture into single serving sized dishes. I used martini glasses. You could also use ramekins.

Note on food safety: This recipe contains raw egg whites. Egg whites could contain salmonella or e. coli bacteria and are a risk for food poisoning. I'm currently pregnant so I only use 'carton' egg whites that have been pasteurized and are safe to consume raw.

Paleo Cupcakes

So I tried making these cupcakes and I think they turned out pretty well. I used to do a lot of traditional baking pre-paleo, so I have pretty high standards for my baking. First of all I have to say that this was, by far, the easiest and fastest cupcake recipe I've ever made. But taste and texture it is inferior to a traditional chocolate cupcake. It wasn't sweet enough and the texture was a bit tough. Now, we certainly didn't have any trouble polishing them off! I'm going to try and make them again with some adjustments. I'll try adding a sweetener, maybe some maple syrup or honey, and I may try separating the eggs and beating the egg whites, then folding them into the final batter. This may make a little bit more of a cake-like structure. The icing was awesome though! I've made mousse before with the coconut 'cream' and chocolate and I absolutely LOVE the way it works out. I'll have to post a recipe for that once I make it again so I have some pictures!

Gluten-Free Coconut Cookies

We often have all the neighbourhood kids playing in our backyard and sometimes they ask for cookies or treats. But one of the kids has a nut allergy so I wanted to try and make a paleo-ish, nut free cookie. I was debating between this coconut cookie recipe and the paleo nut-free not-sugar cookies.

I decided on the coconut cookies. I substituted the sugar for coconut palm sugar, which is brown, so the cookies are darker then the picture from the website. I also tried two different variations. One I tried the exact recipe without the shredded coconut and added chocolate chips. I'm not a huge fan of macaroons, but it would be great to have a gluten-free, nut-free chocolate chip recipe.

They turned out great! I also tried the regular recipe with chocolate chips. They were definitely a favourite over the chocolate-chip-free cookies. Who wouldn't prefer a cookie with chocolate chips anyway? Everything's better with chocolate!  As you can see from the pictures, they don't flatten out at all, so you want to form them into the exact shape you want. The second batch I put in the oven I formed into balls and flattened to look more like traditional cookies.

  

These were really good! The favourites were the ones without the coconut flakes though, so I will have to try a whole batch of those!

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Hummus

So I decided to finally try and make some "paleo-ish" hummus. It has tahini, which I guess some people wouldn't consider to be paleo, but I think in small amounts, it's not too big of a deal.  I looked up some recipes and didn't find anything that I liked exactly as it was, so I made my own by just adding a little of each ingredient until I was happy with the flavour.  Here is the final recipe:

1 small head of cauliflower

3 tbsp lemon juice

3 tbsp tahini

6 cloves roasted garlic

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

dash of parsley flakes and paprika

So I thought it was pretty good. Madison loves dips of any form, so she was instantly sold. Brad was so-so on it. He said he could taste the cauliflower, and he doesn't normally like cauliflower, so it didn't 'quite' hide the taste enough for him. But he did say that he could get used to it. He also brought up how yummy my 'normal' hummus is! lol! Maybe I'll have to try getting him used to half-and-half chick peas and cauliflower and slowly add more cauliflower.

Flourless Peanut butter cookies (not paleo)

So my step-sister introduced me to the "Kraft" peanut butter cookie, which is a flourless peanut butter cookie recipe. It's surprisingly good for being such a simple recipe.
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
So naturally I had to see if it worked with natural peanut butter instead of Kraft. And sure enough it does! I've also tried replacing the refined sugar with coconut palm sugar and it works exactly the same and personally I like the taste better that way.

My attempt at blogging... again

So, I've decided to try and maintain a blog again... I think in the past when I've tried blogging I've tried to make a specific topic, but I haven't been able to stick to it. So, now I've decided to start a random blog about whatever comes to my mind. The subjects will range anywhere from recipes to diapers to politics to gardening or whatever I'm thinking about at the time. I was prompted to start blogging today because I was feeding Madison some breakfast (apple slices with almond butter) and she asked if it was dessert because she was enjoying it so much! I've been thinking a lot about meal planning, so I think I'll do a post about that next.