RECIPE: Almond Crusted Chicken

Chicken is a favorite source of protein around here. When I went grocery shopping the other day I picked up a couple of pounds of fresh organic chicken tenders. It's cold and rainy here in Northern California this weekend, and "comfort" food seemed to be in order. It's fun finding Paleo recipes that fill the "Comfort Food" void for this Southern girl! How does Almond Crusted Chicken,  Roasted Acorn Squash and a Tomato and Blue Salad sound? Sounds great to me!

Almond Crusted Chicken Tenders
INGREDIENTS:
10 chicken tenders
1 large egg
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup chopped raw almonds
sea salt
fresh ground pepper

 DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Wash and dry the chicken.
3. Crack an egg into a bowl and whisk until blended. Put almond meal and chopped raw almonds into another bowl.

 4. Coat each piece of chicken with egg.

 5. Then coat chicken (with egg) with almond flour mixture.

 6. Place chicken in greased pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

7. Bake for 20 minutes.

I'll be posting the recipe for the acorn squash next!

RECIPE: Almond Energy Smoothie

Even though it was rather cold today I still wanted a smoothie. We're out of spinach, so I decided to try something similar but different. I found this recipe for an Almond Energy Smoothie a while back, so today was the day to give it a try.

Easy Energy Almond Shake
Serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups almond milk, vanilla flavor
2 large frozen bananas, ripe (room temperature bananas will do, but increase the ice to 1 cup. I did.)
2 Tbsp almond butter
1/2 cup ice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
garnish: roasted almonds

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place all ingredients in a high power blender. Blend on high until smooth and thick.

2. Pour into glasses and garnish with roasted almonds.

RECIPE: Lemon Bars

One of Conrad's most favorite treats is lemon bars. My mother has always made exceptional bars, but in her elder years she just isn't able to make them as often ... Be sides that fact that we live 2400 miles apart! So, I was looking around on the Internet (Primal Women In The Kitchen) and came across some Paleo Lemon Bars. Well, you guessed it ... I HAD to give them a try! They taste fantastic! Tart and fresh, sweet and nutty! 

INGREDIENTS:

Filling:

6 whole Eggs
1/2 cup Honey
1 cup Lemon juice (about 8 lemons)
1/2 cup Coconut oil

Crust:

1 cup raw Almonds
1 cup raw Pecans
1/4 cup Honey
1/2 cup melted Coconut oil
2 Eggs

DIRECTIONS:

Filling:

1. Whisk eggs, honey, and lemon juice together in a medium sized sauce pan.
2. Heat on medium/high and add coconut oil. Stir until the coconut oil has melted.
3. Continue stirring until the mixture thickens and bubbles.
4. Remove from heat and place in a bowl in the refrigerator to cool and thicken further.

Crust:

1. Place almonds and pecans in a food processor or blender until finely chopped, do not puree. They should be in tiny pieces but not as fine as almond flour.
2. Mix the nuts with the remaining ingredients until they are well combined.
3. Spread over the bottom of a well greased 8 x 12 pan. I used olive oil spray.

4. Heat oven to 400* and bake for 15-18 minutes. The crust will be done when you can insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean.

5. Cool crust completely before layering the filling over the top. Return to the refrigerator until ready to serve.

RECIPE: "Almond Joy" Smoothie

Sometimes I just miss the "treats" of childhood, and Almond Joy candy bars were always a favorite. We just got back from a wonderful walk in the Northern California sunshine, and out of the blue I started craving an Almond Joy! I thought for a minute and decided I could made something that would satisfy that craving ad still make it Paleo ... An Almond Joy smoothie!

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup coconut milk
1 banana
1 tablespoon almond butter
2 tablespoons raw almonds
2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut
2 tablespoons carob chips
6-8 ice cubes

DIRECTIONS:
1. Pour milk into a blender, then add bananas, ice, and remaining ingredients.

2. Blend until smooth and creamy.

3. Pour. Serve. Enjoy!

RECIPE: Banana Nut Bread

Banana nut bread is one of my all-time favorites. I decided to go out on a limb and try to create some Paleo banana nut bread muffins this morning. They turned out very well! I'll definitely be making these again!

INGREDIENTS:
3 ripe bananas (peeled and mashed)
2 eggs
1 cup almond butter
1 teaspoon vanilla*
1 tablespoon honey*
1 cup almond flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
(*Please note vanilla and honey are not pictured below. I added them after tasting the batter.)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Using a blender, food processor or immersion blender mix all wet ingredients - eggs, bananas, almond butter, vanilla and honey.
3. In a large bowl mix dry ingredients with a spoon - almond flour, baking soda and baking powder. Stir with a spoon to mix soda and powder in with the almond flour.
4. Add dry and wet ingredients together and mix well.
5. Fold in walnuts or what ever nuts you want to use.
6. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan or into muffing cups.
(Not sure why, but the color is off in the photo. They really aren't green!)

7. Bake 35 - 40 minutes for a loaf, or 25 minutes for muffins. Be sure to monitor them close to time as not to burn or under-bake them All ovens are different. The center of the bread should be firm.

RECIPE: Rosemary Olive Oil Bread

I found this recipe while surfing the web a few days ago and would have tried it earlier but we didn't have any fresh parmesan. I went to Trader Joe's yesterday and fixed that problem! I found this recipe on: Life's A Plate and had to give it a try.
INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 cup almond butter
• 3 Tbsp olive oil (use good quality for taste)
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 3 large eggs
• 1 Tbsp agave or honey
• 1/4 cup arrowroot powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 1-1.5 Tbsp freshly finely chopped rosemary (I opened a fresh jar of Trader Joe's Rosemary as I didn't have any fresh.)

DIRECTIONS:

• Beat the almond butter and the olive oil together.
• Add in eggs and agave.
• In a separate bowl, mix together the almond flour, arrowroot, salt, baking soda and Parmesan cheese.
• Add dry ingredients to wet.
• Fold in rosemary.
• Pour into loaf pan that has been coated with olive oil and dusted with a bit of almond flour.
• Bake approximately 45 minutes at 325 or until toothpick test is clean.

Ready for the oven ...

 Fresh out of the oven ...

 Sliced and ready to eat!

 Can you smell the rosemary?

Tomorrow night we'll probably be having smoked turkey and home made Paleo mayonnaise on this bread!

**Note** Conrad likes this bread so much he gave it his official seal of endorsement! 

RECIPE: VERY Healthy Smoothie!

Okay, I must admit, when I first saw the recipe for this smoothie I really had my doubts. It just looked too weird to be good, but I decided to try it anyway. It's a smoothie made with SPINACH! Talk about odd, but healthy! I am drinking one as I type this and I have a feeling this will be very habit forming!

INGREDIENTS:

1 frozen sliced banana (I used a fresh banana and 6 ice cubes)

1 Tablespoon Almond butter (The recipe called for peanut butter, but to make it Paleo I used almond butter.)

1/2 cup 0% Vanilla Chobani Greek yogurt (I omitted this because I didn't have any, but my smoothie is VERY tasty without it!)

1 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze (or other kind of milk)

4 cups baby spinach (or more, or less)

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

RECIPE: Savory Almond Meal and Honey Muffins

Happy New Year, everyone! May 2012 be filled with happiness, good health, love, and good fortune for all! We're having an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day here in Northern California! So pretty, in fact, it's a shame to be inside! So, I will make this brief so I can get outside, play and enjoy the sunshine! After all, aren't play and sunshine important to being healthy? I sure think so!

This morning I was craving muffins so I decided to make some! My kitchen is currently well stocked with nuts, berries, seeds, honey, and agave, so I'll be trying new recipes using some of these ingredients this week. 
SAVORY ALMOND MEAL & HONEY MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups almond meal*
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup olive oil
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tablespoon raw honey
*Let me begin by saying I searched high and low for Almond flour and was pleasantly surprised to find Trader Joe's had "Just Almond Meal" and at a wonderfully low price of $3.99 per pound! I just love that store! If you don't have one in your area, here's a link to their website:  Trader Joe's

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Arrange 9 silicone muffin cups on a baking sheet.
3. In a medium sized bowl, combine almond meal, sea salt, and baking soda. Mix well.
4. In another bowl, combine eggs, olive oil, and honey. Beat with a spoon until well mixed.
5. Add egg mixture to almond meal mixture, stirring until combined.
6. Spoon batter evenly in the muffin cups.
7. Bake for roughly 20 minutes (depending on your oven) until a toothpick inserted in the center muffin comes out clean.
8. Serve warm. Great at room temperature, too!
Before baking:

After baking:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

***UPDATE***
March 6, 2012. I made these again this morning. We just had to know if they are really as good as we remembered. The answer is: YES!!! Heck, they might even be better than we remembered, although Conrad said they are the best muffins he has ever eaten. Here are some photos from this batch ...
Before baking ...

 After baking ... 

 Ready to be eaten!

 Going ... Going ... Gone! (They don't last long!)

RECIPE: Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Since it's the time of year for Pumpkin pie, I decided to transform my mother's      recipe to fit my more Paleo-friendly lifestyle would be my first challenge. 

The original recipe my mother has always used is as follows:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 (15 ounce) can of organic pumpkin purée
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 unbanked 9 inch (4 cup volume) deep-dish pie shell

What is okay: 
Sea salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, eggs, and pumpkin purée.

What must be replaced:
Sugar, evaporated milk and pie crust.

My Revised Version:
3/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spices
2 tablespoons almond flour
3 large eggs
1 (15 ounce) can of organic pumpkin purée
1 1/2 cups vanilla almond milk

Crust:
2 cups finely ground pecans
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spices

9 inch (4 cup volume) deep-dish pie pan

My mother is 80+ years old and is pretty set in her ways. She didn't want me to 
tamper with a recipe that's tried and true, but if I was going to spend hours in 
the kitchen preparing the family dinner I was certainly going to make my 
favorite dessert with foods I eat. Mom wanted a traditional flour pie crust, but 
she always eats the filling and leaves the crust anyway, so why should she 
really mind? Besides, one of her favorite desserts is a dish I make that has a 
nut crust. To me, this is a match made in heaven ... Or in my kitchen! 

The Paleo Pumpkin Pie turned out perfectly and there were NO leftovers!            Everyone raved over how good it was, so I just smiled and thanked them for their 
compliments. I will make another one and include photos later.

RECIPE: Paleo Almond Cranberry Cookies

Since Christmas is right around the corner I thought it would be a good time to post a new recipe I found online. I love almonds. I love walnuts. I love cranberries. And, I love honey, so this recipe seemed to be right up my alley. I made them the other day and I was correct ... I LOVE them! They are little energy bombs and are great for any time of the day. Try them out and see for yourself!
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups almond flour
¼ cup ghee or butter (melted)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1/4 cup cranberries (whole or chopped)
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon almond butter (optional)
1/2 cup walnuts (chopped)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Mix all ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.
2. Roll dough in plastic wrap.
3. Refrigerate 1 hour.
4. Slice.
5. Cook on parchment covered cookie sheet about 10 - 12 minutes until light brown.
325 degrees
Makes 36 cookies