Paleo Cake Pops

These are so good that a friend who tried them said "You lie! Those cake pops can't be paleo...they taste way too good. Gonna need the recipe for those."  You know it's a good friend when they can compliment you AND accuse you of being a liar at the same time.  But that friend is right, the cake pops I made ARE so good that you'll forget that they won't cause an inflammatory response in your body or cause you to ruin your ketosis.  Unless you're allergic to coconut, in which case I ask how you can possibly be paleo since almost everything I make has a form of coconut in it.

For the base of the cake pops I used the Coconut Chocolate Cake recipe found at civilized caveman cooking creations. I then followed the Cake Pop instructions found at Chewing the Fat with Paleo Brat. For the Chocolate, I used ENJOY LIFE vegan chocolate chips.  

Coconut Chocolate Cake by Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 Cup Almond Flour
• 1 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips or Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
• 1/2 Cup Coconut Milk
• 1/2 Cup Shredded Coconut
• 1/2 cup Slivered Almonds
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
• 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
• Coconut Oil for Grease

Process:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 Degrees
2. Melt your chocolate and coconut milk in a small sauce pan over low heat
3. Once the chocolate is melted, transfer to a mixing bowl or your stand mixer
4. Add in your eggs and mix well
5. Now add in your almond flour, shredded coconut, salt, and baking powder and mix well
6. Grease an 8×8 baking dish with coconut oil
7. Transfer your batter to your baking dish and sprinkle with your slivered almonds and some coconut if you would like
8. Bake in the oven for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick in the center of the cake comes out clean

How to make Cake Pops from Chew the Fat with Paleo Brat

Ingredients

• 1 chocolate and/or coconut cake, recipes follow
• 6 bars dark chocolate, I use Trader Joe's Organic Super Dark Chocolate it is 73% cacao and does NOT contain soy lecithin. 
• Bamboo skewers, sharp ends trimmed off and cut the skewers in half
• Chopped almonds
• Chopped pecans
• Unsweetened shredded coconut

Instructions

1. Pull chunks off of the cake and roll into 1"-2" balls.  You may need to just eat the edges of the cakes because they may be too dry to hold the shape of the balls :) Place the balls onto a cookie sheet and freeze for at least 15 minutes.   In a double boiler, melt the chocolate over medium heat.  Take one skewer and dip it into the chocolate, about 1/2" down on the stick.  Immediately put a ball on the skewer.
2. Dip the ball into the melted chocolate, coating it completely (but not leaving it in the hot chocolate too long because it WILL fall off).  Gently tap the skewer on the side of the pan to allow the excess chocolate to drizzle back into the pan.
3. Roll the cake pop into your desired topping.
4. Allow the cake pop to cool, and enjoy! 

Flaxseed crackers

Crunchy.  Salty.  Dippable.  I totally miss chips when I'm paleo.  Actually, what I miss is dipping chips into things.  Salsa, guacamole, french onion dip . . . And it seems like where theres a holiday party, there are dips.  Some are totally paleo friendly, like baba ganoush, and go great with crudités (aka carrots and celery).  But salsa on carrots is lame.  You NEED something thin and salty to transport that cilantro-y goodness to your mouth.  That's where Flaxseed Crackers come in.

I first had flaxseed crackers at a dessert spot in San Diego called Extraordinary Desserts.  The Little Italy location has a savory menu as well and a well rounded Gluten Free and Dairy free menu.  Usually if an item is both gluten free AND dairy free, it's pretty close to being paleo.  I ordered the flaxseed crackers and the basil-walnut pesto.  They were mind blowing good.  I came home determined to recreate them.  Luckily I had purchased the Caveman Feast Cooking e-book, by George of Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations fame.  The walnut-basil pesto recipe in that book is IDENTICAL to the one at the restaurant.  I'd give you that recipe, but honestly, I think you should also purchase that cookbook.  The NY Marinade in it is COMPLETELY worth the cost of the book, as well as all the other wonderful recipes in it.

I know, that's totally mean of me to rave about the pesto and not share the recipe.  But I WILL share the flaxseed cracker recipe with you.  And then you can go purchase the cookbook OR ask Santa to bring it to you.


Raw Savory Flaxseed Crackers 

Don't mind the Target Receipt.  Hey,
It's the holidays, I shop a lot now

from Cooking with Trader Joe's

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups whole raw flaxseed (not a TJ's item)
• 3 cups water
• 3 Roma tomatoes (or 1 cup of heirloom tomatoes if it’s summertime and your TJ's carries them!)
• ¼ cup fresh basil or 2 tsp dried basil
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. Soak the flaxseed in the water for 30 minutes (at which point it will have become completely gelatinous.).
• 2. While the flaxseed is soaking, place the tomatoes, basil, garlic and salt in a blender and puree. When the flaxseed is ready, add the contents of the bowl and the olive oil to the blender and give a few short bursts to combine everything.
• 3. Take 2 cookie sheets and cover with foil. Spray or rub olive oil on the cookie sheets—do not skip this step or your crackers will permanently adhere to the foil.
• (note: I use the Reynolds NON-STICK wrap and NO oil is needed.  That stuff is AMAZING!)
• 4. Drop half the mixture onto the foil on each cookie sheets. Wet your hand and then spread the mixture as flat and thin as you can, rewetting your hand as needed to make spreading the sticky mixture easier.
• 5. Place the cookie sheets in the oven at 170 degrees. In about 2 hours, the top of the cracker will have dried out. You should be able to loosen the edges of the flax crackers and flip the entire sheet and replace on the cookie sheet backside up. (If you can't peel the crackers off the foil, don't sweat it. Just leave it as is, or try again in another hour.) Turn the oven down to 150 degrees and leave it for about 8 hours. 
• (Note:  My oven is OLD.  It doesn't go lower than 200 degrees.  Upon experimentation I found that 200 degrees for 2 hours was enough to completely dehydrate the flaxseed.  I check it around the 1 hour mark and flip it.  If its still too wet, I leave it in for an extra half hour before flipping it)
• By then, the crackers should be completely dehydrated and stiff. Cool completely, remove from foil, break into smaller pieces, and store in a plastic bag. It should be fine for a couple of weeks. Serve with dips, tapenades, cheeses, or just by itself.

Trial Run for a A Paleo Thanksgiving

Looks like Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year, my little family will be traveling to join the big family to celebrate.  I'll admit that the idea of a road trip combined with a holiday centered around stuffing yourself with "once a year" foods has me anxious.  It is difficult to be Paleo on the Road.  I'm trying to be optimistic, afterall it'll be GREAT fodder for the blog.  I'm also determined to work on some family favorites, to alter them to be paleo and still be acceptable to my non-paleo family.

My new toy

On Monday, since I couldn't really walk due to the fact that I'd run a half marathon the day before, I cooked.  Almost all day.  It's what you do when you have a day off due to a National Holiday but can't really walk without grimacing.  So I did a trial run for Thanksgiving.  I made a 10lb turkey in my new 18qt Electric Roaster, tried the Paleo Stuffing from Julian Bakery, and just because I found the ingredients at my local Sprouts I made Caveman Cooking Creation's Almond Coconut Chocolate Drops.

roasted breast side down

The turkey came out SO great!  You can find the recipe at CookingCaveman.com.  The only changes I made were to mix my olive oil and herbs together to make a wet rub.  I'm a bit infatuated with wet rubs for poultry.  I'm just never convinced that herbs sprinkled on top of olive oil or butter will STAY long enough to infuse the meat with flavor.

fail

The stuffing was good, but not great.  I burnt my first attempt at making bread crumbs from the Julian Bakery's Paleo breads.  The second attempt was a success, but when making the stuffing I should have been less afraid to add MORE broth when asked.  The taste was GREAT, especially for my first meat based stuffing recipe, although the breadcrumbs were dry.  That recipe can be found at the blog for the Julian Bakery.

These are good right out
of the bag!

For "dessert", I made the Caveman Cooking Creations' Almond Coconut Chocolate Drops.  I had stumbled upon the ENJOY LIFE vegan chocolate chips that this recipe needs at my local Sprouts. They were on sale 2 for $7!  So I snagged a bag and then giddily bought almond butter, knowing that this recipe was about to happen.  These definitely benefit from a SOLID almond butter.  Mine was room temperature and a bit runny.  So when I tried shaping the balls they flattened out to more of a disk.  That did NOT stop me form enjoying them immensely.  SO good!  And easy!

I'll be doing another trial run of Thanksgiving dishes this weekend.  Up next is a paleo version of Southern-style green beans and cranberry relish!

When life hands you a neck bone,
make broth!

My Favorite Paleo Recipes: Bacon Crock Pot Roast

Lots of women impulse buy things like shoes or purses.  I tend to linger at the butcher counter, which inevitabley means I buy meat that I have no plans for.  Which means I then have to scour the internet looking for the perfect recipe.  Luckily one of my first "go-to" websites is Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations.  Not only does he create amazing recipes, he's funny as well.
From Twitter:

21hCivilized Caveman ‏@CookingCaveman

I just changed my own life. I fried avocado in bacon fat and then ate it with hot sauce. OMFG

My most recent impulse buy was a Beef Chuck Roast that was 50% off and just looked so pretty I had to have it.  I decided to use it in CCCC's Bacon Crockpot Roast recipe, which was a GREAT idea.  I'd never stuffed garlic and bacon into a large slab of meat before, and it turned out to be surprisingly entertaining.  And nothing beats putting in a large slab of meat into the crockpot, knowing that by 5p you're going to be digging into it.  This is a perfect Football Sunday recipe, in my opinion.

BACON CROCK POT ROAST

Servings: 5
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 7-10 Hours

Ingredients:

Pot Roast served with
Sliced tomatoes and steamed broccoli

• 3lb Chuck Roast
• 1 White Onion, sliced
• 3-4 Slices of bacon cut into 1 inch pieces
• 6 Garlic cloves halved
• 2 Tsp Sea Salt
• 1/4 olive oil
• 1 Tbsp Smoky Paprika
• 1/4 Cup Chopped Parsley
• 1 Tsp Oregano
• 1 Tsp Thyme
• 1 Tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar 

Process:

1. Using a thin knife create about 12 holes deep into the meet about 1/2 inch wide, you need to be able to fit some garlic and bacon in the hole
2. Now place bacon and garlic in each hole
3. In a small mixing bowl, mix your Sea salt, paprika, parsley, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, EVOO, and red wine vinegar and mix well
4. Rub your spice mixture all over both sides of your roast
5. Line the bottom of your crock pot with your sliced onions and whatever left over pieces of bacon you have
6. Place your roast on top and cook on Low for 7-10 hours.  Remember chuck roasts are tougher cuts of meat so the longer it cooks the better

My Favorite Paleo recipes: Apple - Dijon Burgers

Two events collided this weekend to point me in the direction of the BEST BURGER RECIPE EVER.  Yes, I realize I shouted that.  If you were here in person you would have actually heard my enthusiasm for this burger recipe.  Event #1: On saturday I picked up my order from Golden Share Foods.  It's "Southern California's largest LOCAL food cooperative".  While the meats are not technically paleo since they aren't grass fed beef and free range chicken, it is REALLY REALLY cost effective and it alleviates me from having to search the ads for meat sales for about 2 weeks out of every month.  I totally recommend using this program.  Event #2: I took the kids Apple Picking while Hubby was trying to survive the Run For Your Lives, a zombie infested 5k obstacle course.  So the kids and I picked probably 10 pounds of apples and you can only eat SO many before you're bribing the children to "eat just one more, for mommy?"  I needed to find recipes to cook them in.  And lo and behold there was the Apple Dijon Burger recipe from Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations.  These burger patties are a bit crumbly, best eaten with a fork rather than in an unstable lettuce "bun".  But they are SO good.  The apples, onion and dijon mustard give them almost an asian flavor which I just adore.  I made these on Saturday, and lucky for the hubby, I'm making them AGAIN tonight because I love them that much.  

My slave labor, I mean, the kids had fun picking apples!

APPLE - DIJON BURGERS
serves 4 cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 Lb Grass-Fed Beef
• 1/2 Cup Shredded Apple
• 1/3 Cup Minced Red Onion
• 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
• 1 Tsp Black Pepper
• 1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
• 1 Egg

Process:

   

1. Place all the above ingredients except the egg in a mixing bowl and mix well.
2. Use your hand to form 4 even size burgers.
3. Have your grill on medium heat (350-400 Degrees F) and grill for approximately 5-6 minutes per side or until done to your liking.
4. Once you place your burgers on the grill, fry your egg in bacon fat on the stove and set aside.
5. You can now plate your burgers how you see fit.  I used romaine lettuce as a base. The Civilized Caveman suggests serving the burger with grilled onions, and topped with the fried Egg. I ate mine topped with guacamole and tomatoes.  
6. Enjoy

Nutritional Info: 381calories, 30.1g fat, 12.2 g sat fat, 96.4mg cholesterol, 458.4 mg sodium, 6.9g carbs, 1.6g fiber, 19g protein

My Favorite Paleo Recipes: Beasty BBQ Sauce by Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations

I am "recipe dependent" as a good friend once told me.  While I can combine flavors to make simple meals on my own or add ingredients to create variations on a dish, I lack the imagination needed to create a whole new flavor or dish.  But thanks to the Almighty Internet and wonderful people like George at Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations I have a WORLD of Paleo recipes at my fingertips.  Not all recipes turn out to my liking, but sometimes I stumble upon something SO good that it becomes a weekly staple.  The Beasty BBQ Sauce on CCCC is just such a recipe.

And in case you're wondering, we're having this on top of George's Beasty BBQ Babyback Ribs for dinner tonight.

Mise en Place 

Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations' Beasty BBQ Sauce

Makes 4 Cups

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 60 Minutes

Serving size*: 1/2 cup

Ingredients:

Finished and ready for my ribs

• 3 Tomatoes, Diced
• 1 White Onion, Diced
• 4 Cloves of garlic, Diced
• 1 6 Ounce can of Tomato Paste
• 1 Cup Beef Stock
• 2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
• 2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp Sweet Paprika
• 1 Tsp Sea Salt
• 1 Tsp Cayenne

Process:

1. Combine all ingredients above in a sauce pan and place on stove over medium heat stirring frequently
2. Once your sauce starts to boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 60 minutes
3. Once your sauce has simmered, turn off the heat and pour your sauce into a blender or food processor and run until you get a nice smooth sauce consistency
4. Return to the pan to keep warm or place on the food of your choice

The ONLY changes I made to his recipe were to use a hand blender to puree the sauce once it was done cooking.  I just dislike making MORE dishes to clean AND my food processor is TINY.  Like 3 cup tiny.  I also don't care to add pineapple to my sauce, as he suggests.  I found the sauce to be on the sweet side (with a WHOLE lot of spiciness as well!) without the added fruit and carbs.  I use this sauce on ribs, hamburgers, pulled pork and I love it enough to just dip celery sticks in it too! 

Nutritional info*: Calories 56.5  Fat 2.1g  Sat Fat 0.3g  Chol 0g  Sod 623.1  Carb 8.1g  Fiber 2.0g  Pro 2.1g

*All nutritional info was not provided in the original recipe.  I use the Recipe Calculator at Sparkpeople.com to calculate nutritional value.