Paleo Mermaid: June 2013

Sunday, June 30, 2013

RECIPE: Paleo Snickerdoodles

I've been doing darned good for quite a while eating extremely low carb while following my Paleo Lifestyle plan, but today ... Today I craved something warm, chewy and a little sweet. I remember seeing a recipe I pinned on Pinterest ... Paleo Snickerdoodles. I tracked it back to where it was originally pinned from ... Urbanposer. I had to make a couple of minor adjustments, and they are DELICIOUS!! I was afraid Conrad and I would eat them all before they ever cooled down! Yes, they are THAT GOOD!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups Almond Meal (The recipe calls for blanched, fine ground almond flour)

1/4 t. Sea Salt (Slightly less, actually)

1/4 t. Baking Soda

5 tablespoons Coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup Organic honey

1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

For Coating:

2 tablespoons Palm Sugar (The recipe suggested Raw Coconut Crystals)

2 tablespoons Ground Cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.

2. Mix all the dry ingredients, then mix in the wet ingredients.

3. Using a spoon, take 1″ round balls of dough and roll them in coating.

4. Place on a prepared baking sheet, and flatten. I used my fingers, but you could use the bottom of a cup. (I used a Silpat for even baking and no sticking.)

5. Bake at 350 Degrees for 11 minutes. (The recipe suggested 8-9 minutes, but mine weren't quite done enough at 9 minutes. Must have been the almond meal that made the difference.) Allow to cool on pan, they will firm up to the perfect texture when cooled.

For more information about Palm Sugar please click HERE.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

RECIPE: Almond and Rosemary Crusted Chicken

I bought some chicken breasts the other day and I really needed to use them, plus I was at a loss as to what to fix for dinner, so I got creative ... I love rosemary, I love almond, and I love chicken, so it seemed a natural fit to make something using all three.

Ingredients:

1 egg, beaten

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon dried rosemary

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup almond meal

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Instructions:

Beat egg in a shallow bowl. Set aside.
Place almond meal on a plate.
Heat olive oil in pan, coating pan with oil, then sprinkle with salt, pepper and rosemary.
Dip chicken in egg mixture, then pat moistened chicken in nut flour.
Coat chicken with flour on both sides. For thicker coating, repeat above procedure.
Sprinkle chicken breasts with more salt, pepper and rosemary. Cover.
Cook until lightly golden brown, then turn and repeat. Unfortunately, I didn't time it, but I'm guessing roughly 5 minutes per side. Cut into the center of one breast to make sure they're done. (No pink!)

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Kayaking - Lake Natoma - June 27, 2013

Today we went kayaking. We meet at Sacramento State Aquatics Center to rent kayaks once a month. We go to different parts of the lake each time to explore. We were told there were baby turtles in a cove across the lake, so we headed straight over there this morning. This is what we saw ...

Friday, June 21, 2013

Hiking - Caples Lake to Emigrant Lake - June 21, 2013

Here we go again! This time we drove to a destination south of Lake Tahoe and hiked along Caples Lake, through the wooded mountains while climbing almost 1,000 feet to our destination of Emigrant Lake ... Then after lunch we hiked back down. We had a rather interesting experience with the group we joined for this hike, but everything worked out just fine. Both lakes are absolutely gorgeous ... The trails are beautiful and well marked, for the most part, and the weather was gorgeous. We could have done with a wee bit less wind towards the end of the hike, but it just help us stay ... Refreshed. Here are some of the images I captured to help us remember our day.