Baking the Paleo Way

Okay - now, some people might say that the love of a good cupcake is probably a symptom of bad eating habits or emotional eating or who knows what and perhaps they are right. On the other hand, perhaps it is just the fact that sometimes you want something sweet and terrible for you because, damn it, they just taste good. Since beginning this Paleo journey, we have basically banned baked goods or dessert or anything sweeten with processed sugars out of our house. It hasn't been overly difficult, because if its not in front of me, I don't eat it. I might think about it but I have been great with my whole willpower and such. That doesn't mean there are not paleo friendly desserts. My favourite so far has been a Faux Chocolate Mousse made with avocados, banana and some cocoa powder. My second favourite (and my husband's new weakness) has been homemade raw chocolate. Oh my word, melt in the mouth goodness. I will share that one in a bit. Today I want to talk about baked goods. Rich, creamy, frothy frostings heaped on top of light and fluffy cakes. I miss it, good god, I really do. However, my ass and thighs and belly definitely do NOT miss it. Wasn't that the point of eating cleaner? to see some of this baby weight (which is just fat now) go away? and it has...slowly....the pounds have been reducing on the scale, but going backwards and indulging my sweet tooth would definitely set me back and I don't want to go there.

My first experience with Paleo baked goods was a treat made by my friend who introduced me to Paleo and while it was ok, it was a lot of nuts and slightly too bland (sorry, my love). My second foray into baked goods was a breakfast muffin. Sure, it sounded delicious - Lemon Blueberry Muffins, and heck, the photo looked yummy but when it come out of the oven, it didn't look quite so yummy and when I bit into it, well, let's just say that was no muffin. It was more like an eggy mess with lemon and blueberries. I ate most of them over time but I was forcing myself out of sheer guilt and shame at the thought of the waste of throwing them all away. That was about three weeks ago. So I tried again and though it looked NOTHING like what inspired it, my goodness, does it ever taste yummy!!! Delicious!!!

Lemon Pound Cake


1 cup Almond Flour - Sifted
1 1/2 cup Coconut Flour - sifted
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup honey, melted
2/3 cup coconut oil, melted
4 large eggs
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened full-fat coconut milk
2 tablespoons pure lemon extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Glaze

2 tbs lemon juice
1/2 tbs lemon zest
1 tbs pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoons raw honey



Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
2. Prepare a 9×9 baking pan by coating the interior lightly with coconut oil.
3. Cut parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan and place it over the coconut oil.
4. Sift dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir with a whisk to combine.
5. Place oil and honey in the bowl of a food processor and process for 2 minutes.
6. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition.
7. Add coconut milk, lemon extract, and lemon zest, and continue to process until well combined.
8. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients and thoroughly combine using a wooden spoon until fully combined - it will look thick and gloopy.
9. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test
10. Let cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes
11. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely

Glaze

1. While cake is in the oven, add vanilla extract, lemon juice, zest, and honey to a pan and heat over medium heat. Bring to a simmer.
2. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Using a fork, poke several holes in the top of the cake
4. Pour glaze over the cake, using a spatula to evenly distribute over the entire cake. Let the cake cool. 
5. Serve immediately or cover and store in the refrigerator.

zb 

Let's Begin the Paleo...

Hello out there,

I have been away, having babies and raising babies and basically attempting to find my groove in this wild ride called parenthood and marriage. In case you were unaware, both are difficult (but wonderful) jobs that require all of my time and energy and there is very little left over for me. So my evenings have been spent sipping wine and reading the couple of pages of whatever book I have on the go. My one true outlet has been my cooking. Lately, my husband and I have been dabbling in this new eating fad known as Paleo - basically, eating like a caveman, if cavemen had access to the entire world of fruits and veggies and meat. Throw in a few extras; nuts and herbs and spices while removing all dairy, legumes, and gluten and you can imagine the difficulty that has arisen from being strictly Paleo while taking care of a two year old and a 6 month old. Overall, I have been pretty good and I am pretty sure, after a few run ins with full servings of dairy, that many of my digestive issues of the past can be linked to said dairy. This makes taking that out of my diet much easier (anything to avoid pain, really) but I do miss my pastas and the ease of bagels. However, the great thing about Paleo is the flavours. The dinners we have been making have been rich in flavours and absolutely delicious, though the recipes are often very time consuming and have many steps. Fortunately, they also result in leftovers for lunches which means an easy meal the next day. I am going to attempt to share some of the meals I have made as well as the meals I will make as I go.

I wanted to share the yummy paleo version of one of my favourite thai dishes, the Tom Yam Nam Kho soup. When I was pregnant and still working, I craved this creamy, tangy soup that smelled exotic and comforting. It was usually served with chicken at the Thai restaurant I would get it from but it is best made with prawns or shrimp. As I had pretty much all the ingredients plus some frozen shrimp, I decided to give this a try.  


Paleo Thai Soup 

Ingredients:

• 4 cups Chicken Broth.
• 3 1/2 cup Coconut Milk.
• Package of Champignon mushrooms, sliced.
• 14 oz Pre-cooked Shrimp tails, peeled.
• 3 Lemongrass stalks.
• 3 tbsp minced Ginger.
• Finely grated zest from 3 Limes (next time, I will put these into a processor, turning them into a fine powder)
• Juice from 2 Lime.
• 2 tbsp Fish Sauce.
• 4 Garlic cloves, minced.
• 5 Green Onions, chopped.
• 1 bunch fresh Basil, roughly chopped.
• 3-4 Thai Chili, de-seeded and finely sliced (depending on size, the thai chilis we get here are teeny tiny)
• 2 tbsp Coconut Oil.

Directions: 

In a large pot, heat up the coconut oil.
Crush or cut open the lemongrass stalks and let fry in the coconut oil for 5 minutes - keep the temp. low as it will burn quickly.
Throw in the lime zest then pour in the chicken stock.
Add 1 tbsp fish sauce, the minced ginger, the minced garlic, and bring to a gentle boil.
Let simmer for 10 minutes, then add the coconut milk and remove the lemongrass stalks.
Add the sliced mushrooms and green onions, cook for 1-2 mins.
Stir in the other 1 tbsp fish sauce and the lime juice.
Add the shrimps, remove the pot from the heat and let stand for a some 5 minutes before serving.
Serve in bowls, top with the sliced chili and chopped basil, to taste.