Baking Soda

Double Chocolate Blender Muffins

January 30, 2018
Course

Beware. These Double Chocolate Blender Muffins are addicting! Partly, because they couldn’t be easier to make! They’re basically a brownie in a little muffin form and come together so quickly! You don’t even need a blender if you’ve got some muscles handy! They’re filled with good-for-you ingredients, have no refined sugars, dairy, or gluten! They’re treat you can feel good about eating! …As long as you don’t eat the whole batch in one day! 😉 They’re pretty tasty though…so I wouldn’t blame you!

These are made with plantains. They look like a large banana. Unripe plantains are green. They’re very firm and starchy. Cooking with them is a lot like cooking with potatoes. They can be a pain to peel, so if you aren’t familiar. Youtube it! There are a bunch of videos that easily explain how to do it! That’s how I learned!

When a plantain is ripe, it becomes a bit sweeter and less starchy. These are the ones used for this recipe. However, they are not as soft as a ripe banana. Therefore, blending them up makes things easier. If you don’t have a blender handy, just mash them up until there are no clumps left. They’ll still turn out delicious!

Print Recipe
 Double Chocolate Blender Muffins
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15-18 minutes
Servings
muffins
Ingredients
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15-18 minutes
Servings
muffins
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. To a blender, add all of the ingredients, except for the chocolate chips.
  3. Blend until smooth.
  4. Add in chocolate chips and pulse - just to combine.
  5. To a cupcake pan, add about 1/4-1/3 cup of batter (depending on choice/size of pan) to each opening.
  6. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the center of the muffins are done. Test the inside with a toothpick - if it comes out clean after inserting in the center, it's done!
Recipe Notes

*I tried this without the baking soda and my husband still loved them! They're more dense, moist, and brownie-like. Either way, you can't go wrong!

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Single-Serve Blueberry Muffin (Dairy, Gluten, & Grain Free)

January 19, 2018
Course

This recipe is perfect when you just want one muffin to yourself! …Or when you don’t want to practice self control by not eating a whole batch of some baked goods! You can bake it all in one little crock for a muffin sized helping, or divide it into 3 cupcake tins – whichever you have on hand!

It’s super moist and has just the right amount of sweetness for breakfast!



Print Recipe
 Single-Serve Blueberry Muffin (Dairy, Gluten, & Grain Free)
Course Breakfast
Cook Time 35 minutes
Servings
large muffin
Ingredients
Course Breakfast
Cook Time 35 minutes
Servings
large muffin
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients, except for the blueberries. You'll want to gently fold those in last.
  3. Once all of the ingredients are combined, add the batter to a small oven-safe crock, muffin pan, or a cupcake pan (this batch makes 3 standard sized cupcakes).
  4. If using one baking dish or muffin pan, bake for about 30-35 minutes or until the center is done. This may vary depending on the thickness of the muffin. If using cupcake liners, bake for 18 minutes.
  5. ENJOY!
Recipe Notes

*If subbing coconut oil, make sure to combine all of the ingredients very well before adding the milk and egg. Those colder ingredients will prevent the batter from mixing properly.

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Tahini Chocolate Chip Blondies

January 10, 2018
Course

These are my version of a chocolate chip and peanut butter blondie/cookie bar. Who can say no to CHOCOLATE AND PEANUT BUTTER!?!? My household sure can’t. Even the dogs are crowding around me when I mix up a batch of these. Then again….I can’t recall a time that my dogs AREN’T crowding around me in the kitchen. They’re beagles. It kind of comes with the breed. Gotta love my fur babes. <3

To begin with, if you haven’t ever tried tahini, give it a shot, please! It’s easier on digestion than peanut butter, and a lot more versatile in your cabinet! If you aren’t familiar with it, it’s ground up sesame seeds – THAT’S IT! (That’s all it should be, anyways. CHECK YOUR LABELS!) AND it’s superrrr delish!! It has more of a roasted flavor than peanut butter and makes super yummy dressings too! You can find tons of cooking uses for it! You just have to have an open mind. 🙂



My favorite way to use it…is in baking! It gives things a yummy PB flavor without any of the possible overly-processed, toxin-filled legumes that don’t mix well with my husband’s gut. It’s much preferred in my house!

Enough about tahini and all of the other not-really-important blabbering from me…here’s the recipe!

 

Print Recipe
 Tahini Chocolate Chip Blondies
Course Dessert
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings
thick blondies
Ingredients
Course Dessert
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings
thick blondies
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a bowl, combine tahini, honey, sugar, melted butter/ghee, vanilla, apple cider vinegar, and eggs.
  3. In a separate bowl, combine almond flour, coconut flour, maca powder, salt, baking soda and collagen peptides.
  4. Add your dry flour mixture to your wet mixture and combine. If you really don't feel like dirty-ing up another bowl...don't! Feel free to add all of your dry ingredients to the wet mixture without combing them separately. Just make sure you mix them together VERY WELL and aren't leaving clumps of flour throughout the batter.
  5. Pour the batter into a baking pan (I used an 8X8) and bake for 23-25 minutes until the center is done.
Recipe Notes

*  Browning your butter is optional - but highly recommended! It gives it more of a rich, nutty flavor. When it comes to baking cookies, I almost always brown the butter! It's super simple to do. In a saucepan over medium-heat, melt your butter. It will begin to foam after a few minutes. Cook it for another 3 minutes or so, until the foam is almost gone and the liquid underneath is a caramel color. you should see little brown bits at the bottom - those are dairy solids. If you strain those out, you're left with clarified butter, also known as GHEE! You can use them or toss them out! I like to cook my ghee until it's a deep caramel. Whatever your preference, it'll be tasty!

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Cinnamon Apple French Toast Bake with Maple Icing

December 31, 2017
Course

I’m not usually a sweets-for-breakfast person…I almost always go for the biscuits and sausage gravy or meaty omelets. I do, however, enjoy a bite or two of pancakes along with those. I have a problem with wanting a bite of everything on the menu … every time – every meal. I just can’t help it!


Sometimes, a bunch of maple-y goodness sounds like the perfect way to start my day! Filled with sweet caramelized apples and tons of cinnamon, this french toast bake does not disappoint! It’s super moist consistency and eggy-french toast taste is sure to be the perfect, cozy and comforting breakfast any day of the year, but is particularly wonderful when it’s FREEZING – like it is in the Midwest right now!

This bake isn’t heavy on the carbs either … which is ALWAYS a plus when eating something bread-like and sweet! It only has about 10-15 carbs per serving, depending on if you top it with icing or not. Either way, it’s delicious and won’t make you regret eating it!



Print Recipe
 Cinnamon Apple French Toast Bake with Maple Icing
Course Breakfast
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
Optional Maple icing:
Course Breakfast
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
Optional Maple icing:
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a cast iron skillet over medium high heat, sauté apples, ghee, honey, cinnamon (I used a full 2 tsp - use less depending on preference), nutmeg, and 1 tablespoon of avocado oil for about 3 minutes or until apples have soften and remove from heat.
  3. In a bowl, combine remaining ingredients (reserve the coconut butter and 2 tbsp of maple syrup for the drizzle) to create the batter.
  4. Pour batter over apples and sprinkle with a bit more cinnamon.
  5. Bake for 20 minutes or until it's cooked through in the middle.
For the icing:
  1. In a saucepan, melt coconut butter and maple syrup just until they combine. If it's too thick, feel free to add a bit more maple syrup to make it easier to drizzle.
  2. Drizzle over your warm french toast bake and DIG IN!
Recipe Notes

I feel like this bake only gets better with time. Everything with fruit and spices just gets more flavorful as it sits...so you may want to make plenty to have the next day too!

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Cake Batter Cheesecake with Sugar Cookie Crust (Dairy, Gluten, and Grain free)

December 27, 2017
Course

Is there much to be said after I mentioned cheesecake? Personally, I’ve never met one that I don’t like. The cashews add a nutty flavor that only brings out the cake-battery-ness (yes, that’s a word – at least, in my dictionary) even more! This version of a cheesecake is completely diary-free (there’s a vegan option too!), so it tastes a bit different from your normal cream cheese based one, but it’s not lacking in the flavor department! If desired, you can omit the sprinkles – they just make it so dang purrrrtty. I couldn’t resist. Unless you can find sugar and grain free ones, the sprinkles are NOT paleo. Life’s all about balance!

This dessert would be perfect to make for a party or to introduce something paleo to your friends! It’s a sure hit with kiddos too – who can pass up sprinkles or something with cake batter in it’s name?!

You won’t miss the dairy at all with this creamy dessert! This cheesecake is one you won’t feel guilty about havings seconds…or thirds!

Print Recipe
 Cake Batter Cheesecake with Sugar Cookie Crust (Dairy, Gluten, and Grain free)
Course Dessert
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Passive Time 2 hours of chilling
Servings
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Crust
Cake Batter cheesecake filling
Course Dessert
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Passive Time 2 hours of chilling
Servings
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Crust
Cake Batter cheesecake filling
Instructions
For the cookie crust:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar together.
  2. In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry crust ingredients.
  3. Beat the egg white separately until stiff peaks form.
  4. To the butter and sugar mixture, add the remaining wet ingredients for the crust, except the egg white.
  5. Once everything is combined, gently fold in the egg white.
  6. Form crust into a shallow pie or tart pan and bake for 15 min until golden brown.
  7. Set aside to cool.
For the filling:
  1. To a high powdered blender*: combine all of the filling ingredients. (start with 1/2 tsp of almond extract - you can always add more later!) The cashews should be very soft from soaking. This is key to a quick creamy consistency. *I use a Vitamix 5300.
  2. Blend everything for 3-5 minutes or until the mixture has become lighter in color and very creamy. You shouldn't feel any grit from the cashews. If you do, add a bit more coconut milk and blend for another minute or so.
  3. Once the desired consistency is reached*, pour mixture into your cooled sugar cookie crust. *if desired, you can add sprinkles to the mixture at this point.
  4. Freeze cheesecake for 2-3 hours or overnight before serving. Enjoy!
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