Happy Dance Paleo Zucchini Brownies

S'mores, glorious s'mores...how I loved you.  How I will miss roasting marshmallows to golden perfection and then smashing them between Hershey lined graham crackers.  But I just.cannot.do.the.sugar...the last time I ate a marshmallow I felt SO sick.  I was feeling a bit sad at the prospect of sitting around the fire pit this weekend without a treat.  I thought of roasting a banana...perhaps a skewer of pineapple...but then I came across this recipe on Pinterest and thought I'd give it a try.  Perhaps it would satisfy that chocolate craving.  

So, I haven't had the best experience with paleo brownies in the past.  Coconut flour tends to make them dry and hard to choke down...and well, constipating.  I tried one recipe with all almond butter and it ended up tasting like I'd squished stale tootsie rolls into a pan and called it a brownie.  So gross!  This new recipe, however, made me do a happy dance!  They are so good!  Cake like, chocolatey, moist...you'd never know there was zucchini in them but I think it gives a tender structure that is missing in flourless baking.  

I made one change from the original recipe.  I only had 3/4 cup of almond butter so I added a heaping Tablespoon of coconut oil.  I think I'll continue to do that - it may have added to the tenderness!  Also, I used dark chocolate chips (Ghiradelli 60%) but you could use dairy free chocolate chips if needed. 

Moist & Delicious Paleo Zucchini Brownies

Author: Love of Family & Home

Recipe type: dessert, paleo

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  35 mins

Total time:  45 mins

Serves: 16

 

Ingredients

• 1½ cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup almond butter  (or 3/4 cup plus 1 heaping T coconut oil - organic, unrefined)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup organic honey
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp all spice
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 2 Tbsp cocoa powder

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Pour mixture into a greased 9x9 baking dish.
4. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
   

Pots de Creme

Getting a Pots de Creme from the Whole Foods bakery was always a favorite treat for me.  This paleo version is so darned good I don't even miss the cream and sugar from the traditional recipe.  You can really vary the sweetness level of this recipe depending on the type of chocolate and percent cocoa that you use.  I've used unsweetened dark chocolate, 65% cocoa, and 70% cocoa.  I think the 70% is my favorite level of sweetness, but if you want zero refined sugar then choose an unsweetened dark chocolate.  I don't keep espresso powder in my pantry so I just finely grind a few coffee beans and then put the mixture through a strainer before pouring it into serving dishes.  This is also good topped with a little dab of coconut cream.

Paleo Pots de Creme by Eat, Cook, Paleo

EASY DARK CHOCOLATE POTS DE CREME

 

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Serves: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
• 4 ounces chopped unsweetened chocolate
• ¾ cup coconut milk
• 1 pint raspberries

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add all ingredients, except coconut milk and raspberries, to Vitamix in order listed and blend until smooth.
2. Heat coconut milk until very hot (do not boil).
3. With blender running on low, slowly and carefully pour hot coconut milk into blender. Blend until chocolate is completely melted, and mixture is smooth and thick.
4. Pour into serving cups and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. Top with raspberries and serve.

Lemon Curd: Heavenly Yumminess in a Jar

Oh my stars, this stuff is good!  I won't take credit for the recipe.  That belongs to "The Nourishing Gourmet".   I could keep a jar of this in the fridge all the time.  It could take the place of yogurt at breakfast...add some fruit and nuts and instant parfait!

I used Meyer lemons, but those aren't always available here, next time I'll try it with plain ole lemons and see if anything changes.

Meyer Lemon Curd by the Nourishing Gourmet

3 eggs
1 T lemon zest (used 2 lemons)
1/4 to 1/3 cup raw honey
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 T of coconut oil, butter or ghee  (I used salted butter)

1.  In a medium stainless steel or enameled saucepan, whisk together the eggs, zest and honey until light colored.

2.  Add the lemon juice and stir and then add the fat (coconut oil or butter) breaking it into pieces for even melting.

3.  Cook, whisking constantly, over medium heat, until butter or oil is melted.  Continue to cook and whisk until the mixture thickens and a few bubbles start to pop at the surface.

4.  Remove from heat and scrape into a fine sieve set over a bowl.  Strain the curd, gently stirring through the sieve.  Pour into a glass jar with tight fitting lid.  I used a jar with a plastic lid - I wasn't sure if a metal lid would be reactive with the acid or not.

5.  Refrigerate for several hours to thicken.  Will keep about a week in the fridge...if you don't eat it all the first day.   Can't wait to find more recipes to use this in!

Coconut Flour Cupcakes - Lavender/Lemon

In searching for a coconut flour muffin/cupcake recipe, I noticed that most of them had a very similar ingredient list that included 6 eggs.  While I'm all for the protein and structure that eggs provide, I found the results to be almost too "eggy"  and after a short time, the muffins began to "sweat" like an egg white meringue does.   One cupcake recipe also called for 6 T of coconut oil and several reviews stated that the cupcakes came out "oily".  I decided to take a chance and cut back a bit on the eggs and the oil.  The result was a pretty decent cupcake if I do say so myself.  They aren't going to rise and get a domed top like a gluten based cupcake will, but the "crumb and texture" of the cake itself is 4-H worthy I think.  The addition of some of my favorite cupcake flavors, lemon and lavender, worked really well with the coconut and honey!

Coconut Flour Cupcakes - Lavender/Lemon
Yields 8 - 10 cupcakes

1/2 cup coconut flour (fluff it up in the bag, measure by scoop and sweep, sift into bowl)
5 eggs at room temperature
6 T. raw honey
5 T. coconut oil or butter (I used melted coconut oil)
2 T. coconut milk at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp organic dried lavender flowers
1 tsp lemon zest (I used Meyer lemons)
1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and put liners into muffin pan.  (I used these although parchment liners work well too.)

Mix coconut flour and eggs until smooth (I used a hand mixer).  Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Pour into prepared liners, about 3/4 full.  I ended up with 10 cupcakes.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in cupcake comes out clean.


I frosted these with a Paleo Lemon Mousse from Empowered Sustenance the basis of which is an amazing Lemon Curd.  I think the Lemon Curd  alone would make a great cupcake topping too.


(A Fitting Note about Coconut Flour and Poop: After testing a few recipes and also making a batch of my favorite coconut flour based Banana Nut Muffins, I have discovered an unpleasant consequence...coconut flour in high quantities is extremely constipating to me.  I will probably have to limit these muffins and treats to one per week for now...sadness.)

Strawberry "Cheesecake" Tarts (aka Cashew Cheesecake Fake Out)

These yummy tarts were my first try at substituting soaked cashews for cream cheese in a cheesecake style recipe.  My version is adapted from this recipe at Vegan Family Recipes.  I used ramekins instead of tart pans and lime juice and zest in place of the mint leaves and lemon juice and honey instead of maple syrup...I'm just a honey kinda girl.  Remember to plan ahead on this recipe in order to give plenty of soaking time for the cashews.

Strawberry Cheesecake Tarts
(gluten free, dairy free, paleo, vegan)

Crust:
3 Medjool dates (take the pits out...learned this the hard way)
1/2 cup walnut halves
Pinch of salt

Pulse in food processor until a sticky ball forms.  Press into the bottom of 4 ramekins.  Put in freezer to set while you prepare the filling.

Filling:
8 strawberries (washed and hulled)
1/2 cup soaked raw cashews (cashews soaked in water for at least 4 hours)
3/4 cup coconut cream*
2 T. raw honey
1 tsp lime zest
2 tsp lime juice

Pulse all filling ingredients in food processor or blender until smooth.  Pour into prepared crusts and chill for at least 2 hours until filling is firm.

I think these would also be good frozen as the filling has such a "dairy" like consistency.  Will try that next time as well as substituting other berries.

*Use canned coconut cream or scoop the cream from the top of a full fat coconut milk that has been refrigerated for a few hours.

"Find what feels good..."

About mid-January I found a 30 Days of Yoga challenge on YouTube. Yoga with Adriene features the sweetest girl from Austin, TX.  She reminds me of my college roommate, Patrice, in our younger days!  Super encouraging and funny - doing her yoga videos is a lot of fun.  And guess what?  I made it through all 30 videos.  Not in 30 consecutive days because sometimes "life" and then there was a nasty little fall on the ice that held me back for a week.  But I was proud of myself for actually doing yoga 30 times...and within a couple months not a couple years!
Adriene's mantra is "find what feels good".  She tells her viewers to put some movement in their yoga postures, to make it more organic and to listen to what your body is needing...what areas might need an extra stretch or maybe a little less.  Her approach to yoga is my current approach to food...finding what feels good.

My food journey and paleo path might not look the same as yours - or the paleo experts out there. But that's the joy in finding what feels good...individuality!  Here are some "findings" from recent experiments with what foods feel good and which ones don't for me:

1.  Almond flour...not a good one for me.  Makes my mouth feel weird and numb..not sure if there might be naturally occurring xylitol in it (which I am allergic too).  Eating almonds doesn't seem to bother me so this is a mystery.  For paleo baking, coconut flour "feels" much better in my body.  For pancakes, Pamela's mix works well and while it has a bit of almond meal, I don't get a reaction. It isn't "paleo" because rice is a grain but I seem to do okay with rice in moderation PLUS the whole family will eat the pancakes so I don't have to make two separate recipes!
 
2.  Dairy...sadly it's gonna have to go.  I grew up getting raw milk straight out of the tank at the dairy with an inch of cream on the top.  So good.  And we can eat a serious amount of cheese in my house.  I am finding some aged cheese and butter "feel" okay.  But milk and ice cream...no bueno...lots of stomach "issues" and ice cream sends me into waves of hot flashes.  I think it's the dairy and sugar together.  I am getting used to coconut milk - it has taken awhile.  I've tried Starbuck's Sumatra coconut milk in an iced caramel macchiato and it is pretty good...although I feel like I'm getting way too much sugar.  Might just switch to a splash of it in an iced coffee!  At home, this is the one I like best so far vs. the aseptically packaged or carton kinds.  (I find those have a lot of additives and not a great flavor).  I also like coconut ice cream although not all brands are created equal.   Luna and Larry's is my favorite.

3.  Alkalizing Cukes:  If I eat something that doesn't agree or creates inflammation and swelling, I begin to crave cucumbers!  I find that cucumbers have an almost diuretic effect.  I eat them in a salad or float several slices in a glass of water along with lemon.   Here is one of my favorite ways to eat them:

Cucumber/Tomato Salad
1 cup thinly sliced English cucumber (peel on or off - personal preference)
1 cup of halved cherry or grape tomatoes (or slices of regular or heirloom tomatoes if in season)
1/4 of a sweet onion (thinly sliced)
2 T apple cider vinegar
1 t honey
Salt and pepper to taste

Place veggies in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.  Mix vinegar and honey together and pour over veggies.  Toss to combine and let the salad set for at least 20 min at room temp or longer in the fridge so flavors can marry.   (Serves 2)

Why Start a Paleo Blog?

The past two years have been an on again, off again dabble into the world of Paleo.  Stocking my pantry with coconut oil and  almond flour, swearing off gluten and dairy...only to start eating it again once I felt better.  Gagging down eggs for breakfast when I really wanted a big sugary blueberry muffin...ugh!
I have never been tested for food allergies...I have never had a super severe reaction to any foods...I just know what is happening in my body at this age (nearly 50) is weird.  I know that when I stop eating grains my joint pain and plantar fasciitis go away.  I know that when I eat dairy based ice cream before I go to bed, I am in for a night of Mount Vesuvius level hot flashes!  And then an incident happened a couple weeks ago that finally convinced me to stop dabbling and take this diet thing a bit more seriously:
I went to lunch at a nearby Chinese restaurant.  I never wanted to be "that girl"  (think Meg Ryan in "When Harry Met Sally" - the dressing on the side, the pie warmed but only if there was strawberry ice cream)...the girl with the high maintenance, complicated order.  So I ordered Sesame Chicken which is usually what we get for family take out.  After lunch I felt so fatigued it was a struggle driving my afternoon carpool.  I came home and took a nap only to wake up to swelling.  My hands and feet and thighs felt tight and puffy...so gross!  Was it MSG? Gluten? Sugar?  I have no idea but it took several days to feel right again.
I began one more time to search out paleo recipes and ingredient swaps...locating them from various websites, facebook and Pinterest.   Since I grew up in the era of paper cookbooks and folders with recipes clipped from magazines and newpapers, I find I am very disorganized in my digital recipe keeping.  Some recipes go to Pinterest, some I like on facebook, some I take screen shots of and then have to scroll through hundreds of photos to find them.  It is maddening!  That is why I am starting this blog...to keep track of, as well as make notes about, the various recipes I try.  In other words, to get my Paleo Poop in a Group!  Hopefully by cataloging them here, I will make my life easier. Cooking and shopping and documenting what's yummy and what's not!

Oh, and as for the name...why would I use the word "poop" in a blog title?  My poor mother will be mortified!  This is just a little saying I use with my kids all the time.  When asking if they have everything they need for school or an outing...or if their rooms or the house is getting particularly unorganized...I will say "we need to get our poop in a group".  And since my paleo recipes and thoughts are pretty much all over the place right now...this blog is gonna help me "get it in a group"!