Boo Bites (Paleo / GAPS Diet Halloween Treats)

Boo!

These little guys came to me in a moment of inspiration. I was already mixing up a batch of coconut manna and honey, with a pinch of sea salt. My copy of the GAPS book suggests that patients with blood sugar regulation issues might benefit from taking a combo of coconut oil and honey between meals, and I think that in my youngest daughter's case, having this combo around every other day or so has helped to keep her calories up and her blood sugar from crashing.

I was mixing the stuff up when I thought to myself how like playdough its consistency was. All of a sudden I knew what I could do; I rolled the "dough" into little balls, flattened the balls, and then pinched out little wispy ghost feet. Two miniature allergen-friendly chocolate chips for eyes and a raisin for a mouth going, "OoooOooooo!" and my Boo Bites were born. My 5 year old gets a huge kick out of these and likes to make ghost noises when she is talking about them. While I think they would be cute in lunches, they do require a certain amount of cold, so it would have to be in a lunchbox containing an ice pack, or one kept in the fridge.

This is a great, safe kitchen project for kids to help! The ghosts don't have to look perfect, and the decoration of the eyes and mouths will definitely keep your little ones busy.

While GAPS keeps sugar absolutely out of the diet (and thus mini chocolate chips with sugar are a no-go), you could easily cut a raisin into two smaller pieces for the eyes, making the treat consist of coconut manna, honey, sea salt, raisins, and if desired, GAPS-legal vanilla. Presto! Totally GAPS compliant. Another option for the eyes could be a couple of unsweetened cacao nibs.

Boo Bites
Makes 6

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup coconut manna, slightly warm and soft*
• 3-4 tablespoons honey (adjust to your sweetness preference, buy locally or find a good quality one online)
• Pinch sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (Rodelle is one gluten free, junk free option)
• Raisins, for decoration
• Mini chocolate chips, appropriate to your dietary needs (I like the allergen-free Enjoy Life chips)
• A tray or dish lined with parchment paper or wax paper, the right size to fit into your freezer

*One way to soften your coconut manna is to put about 1" of hot water in a larger bowl, and then place a smaller bowl containing the coconut manna into the larger bowl, double-boiler style. After about 10 minutes the coconut manna should be nicely malleable. Remember that coconut manna consistency varies from brand to brand and even jar to jar - you are going for a play-doh style consistency, so if it seems too runny, add more manna. Not runny enough? A little more honey, or even a little added coconut oil.

Directions

Stir together all ingredients except for the raisins and chocolate chips. See above notes on consistency; once you have achieved a nice doughy consistency, roll a chunk of mix into the size of a large marble. Flatten the ball, and then use your fingertips to "pinch out" some ghost feet. Place the ghost on the parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the coconut "dough" until all the ghosts are made. Decorate the ghosts with the chocolate chips for eyes and the raisins for mouths. Place the dish into the freezer to allow them to set. Serve chilled.

 

This post is participating in Stacy and Matt's annual Paleo Parents Halloween Recipe Roundup.

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Coasting Off the Rails

 

After about 8 weeks of being very strict paleo for my Crossfit box's nutrition challenge, today was my final weigh-in and body fat assessment. I'll post more on how things went for the challenge when I get the final numbers from our challenge coordinator.

There's an odd, slightly terrifying freedom in coming home from that weigh-in knowing that suddenly you have a bit of free license. I imagine that anybody that has completed a Whole 30 knows what I'm talking about! I briefly considered my options, including foods I've missed, like chocolate. But ultimately, I've made so much progress that I didn't want to cannonball into a post-dinner evening of digestive upset or stoked cravings, so I decided to relax just a bit with a well-earned special treat.

So, this is how I gently eased off the wagon. Pork ribs from our local naturally raised bulk pork purchase. I made a barbecue sauce that had many arguably paleo ingredients (hot sauce, mustard, honey, coconut oil, garlic powder, onion powder, an errant clementine), but also a little organic molasses (gasp!) and organic palm sugar (eek!). Truly, though, the net amount of carbs from those two ingredients involved in a serving of ribs was negligible.

My other concession for tonight's dinner? A cool glass of German Spaetlese (late season white wine). A longtime inexpensive favorite of my unsophisticated palate!

How are you relaxing and unwinding this weekend? Did you let your hair down for a special treat?


~

Gluten Free Grain Free Soul Cakes

This post is also a part of Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.

Back in the day, it was a Catholic tradition for soulers to come calling to households, offering to say prayers for the dead in honor of All Saints' Day - and their reward came in the form of small round cakes, called soul cakes, which were often baked with raisins, currants, or other dried fruits, frequently with the shape of a cross as a way of signifying that the cakes were a kind of alms. It was an Ur-trick-or-treating.

I identify as a mixed-bag flavor of Protestant, but that doesn't stop me from loving the idea of baking up some commemorative tea cakes around Halloween and All Saints' Day, which we could enjoy while reflecting on the lives of those loved ones we'd lost in the last year.

These paleo-fied soul cakes have a hearty coconut flour shortbread, and a bittersweet chocolate base with cranberries, cacao nibs, and sliced almonds. A single cake is very rich. I chose bittersweet chocolate to signify the bittersweetness that comes with remembering loved ones gone - but you could chose a sweeter chocolate depending on the tastes of your crowd.

I have a palate that appreciates rich but not sweet desserts - thus I enjoy that the shortbread itself is not super sweet, but is still offset by the sweeter trail mixy chocolate base. You could sweeten the shortbread additionally to taste with palm sugar, honey, or maple syrup to taste if you prefer sweeter treats. These would go very well with a cup or raw milk, or coffee, or tea.

The basic coconut flour shortbread is adapted from Eat the Cookie's version.

Grain Free Gluten Free Soul Cakes
Makes 12-18 cakes, depending on thickness

Ingredients (shortbread):
1 3/4 cups sifted coconut flour (If you don't have a sifter you can gently spoon/shake the flour into the measuring cup)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup room temperature butter (for dairy-free you could sub coconut oil here, making a total of 3/4 c. coconut oil)
1/4 cup soft coconut oil
1/2 cup palm sugar (or other natural sweetener of choice; add more if you'd like your cakes sweeter)
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 tablespoon cacao nibs

Note: You can adapt this with whatever trail mixy-items of dried fruit and nuts that you happen to have around.

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Using a spray olive oil (or softened butter or coconut oil), lightly grease silicone baking cups. (I used round silicone muffin cups, like the ones available here, and also the Wilton pumpkin / leaf silicone cups, available here.)

Combine the flour, the salt, and the baking soda thoroughly in one small bowl - if necessary, use your fingertips to crush any clumps of coconut flour. In a separate larger bowl, cream the butter, coconut oil, and palm sugar together - and then mix in the eggs one at a time, followed by the apple cider vinegar and the vanilla extract. Add the dry flour mix to the wet mix and combine thoroughly.

Press the dough into the greased silicone cups at desired thickness. Press a few slivers of almond and cacao nibs into the dough. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Once you pull the cups out of the oven, warm:

1 tbsp. butter (you could sub coconut oil)
1 tbps. heavy cream (you could sub coconut cream concentrate)
1 standard size bag bittersweet chocolate chips (go for quality)

...for 2 minutes and half power in the microwave. (You can also melt everything in a double boiler, though that may take a while longer.) Mix the ingredients with a spoon until the chocolate melts into a smooth ganache, and spread the chocolate over the shortbread in the silicone cups. Press some dried cranberries into the ganache.

Allow the shortbread and chocolate to cool.

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Gently push the silicone cups from the bottom to release the shortbreads from the cups. Put the shortbreads chocolate/cranberry-side down on a clean paper towel or wax paper.

If desired, use the melted bittersweet chocolate to also decorate the tops of the cakes. One of my little tricks for drawing in melted chocolate is to use a sanitized medicine dropper - I find it affords a lot more fine motor control than would a traditional frosting decor bag and screw-on tip.

Here, I drew a cross shape in the chocolate and added cranberries on the top of the round cakes. For the pumpkin and leaf cakes I traced the lines.

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This Weekend, Throw Yourself a Primal / Paleo Gluten Free Grain Free Oktoberfest aka "Mocktoberfest"

Now that Oktoberfest has officially kicked off in Munich (as of last weekend, through October 3), might I suggest checking out my "Mocktoberfest" recipes for German potato salad and gluten free grain free Schnitzel? Cuddle those bad boys up next to some gluten free beer and you'll be in the mood for festivities in no time. :)

~

Planning Way Ahead for Fun Paleo, Primal, and Crossfit Christmas Gift Ideas

I know; you're thinking, C'mon, Family Grok, it's not even the end of August. Well, in the 4.5 years since I've become a parent, I've found that planning ahead for Christmas is critical if I'm to make it through the holiday season with my sanity (mostly) intact.

Also, even though my extended family isn't primal, I still enjoy creating nourishing treats for them - or giving them gifts oriented toward an active naturally-grounded lifestyle. The paleo-leaning gifts that I'd usually like to give often require either a significant chunk of time to create, or a significant amount of money to buy a quality product - so planning ahead is even more crucial.

Here's why I start the Christmas ideas so early on my mental back burner:

• I can brainstorm - collect a whole host of different projects and products on my growing Pinterest board, and from there I can figure out which ones work for any particular recipient in terms of their preferences, my budget, and my available time.
  
  
• I can map out my resources time-wise. One project this year that will be part of my Christmas gifts - see AndreAnna's homemade vanilla tutorial on the board - may take up to 8 weeks to steep - 8 weeks before Christmas is October 30 - so I basically have a couple of months now to track down all of my supplies.
  
  
• I can map out resources money-wise. If I have some ideas about what I'd like to get or create for folks, then I can be on the lookout over the next few months in terms of savings. One example is for barefoot shoes - they are normally very pricey at retail, but odds are good that if I keep an eye out I could manage to snag a discount of 20% or more off of barefoot shoes before Christmas is here.
  
  Or say that I'd like to make a homemade plyo box for boxjumps; I could be on the lookout for some free or deeply discounted materials for that box on Craigslist, or I could find a home improvement store coupon in the interrim.
  
  Additionally, keeping my Pinterest gift idea board populated with a wide range of gifts that have varying costs (down to pennies for, say, some homemade fruit leather) means that I have the flexibility to scale gifts according to budget and what I've managed to save coupon-wise or freebie-wise, as well.
  
  
• I can get most of my gifts finished and wrapped before December is here, leaving time for other important things. Taking the long road to Christmas gift prep now means that I have more time in December to focus on other things: spending time with my family and friends, trying some new special occasion recipes for holiday gatherings, and focusing on why we as a family celebrate the birth of Christ.

Have you started to percolate some Christmas 2011 gift ideas? What possibilities are you dreaming up? Have you started a Pinterest board or other resource to keep track of them? Link up your ideas!

Menu Plan

Yesterday morning: Sliced mango and leftover chicken,
whole milk on the side.

Wow, we made it through March! It was a very rainy March for us - and it's still rainy today, hence the playlist.

I was shocked at how much money we saved on groceries last month with my husband being the primary grocery shopper -- enough to have him involved in grocery shopping a lot more often from here on out.

Also? My preschooler is more or less geared now toward the idea of whole foods for breakfast; I can't remember the last time that she asked about breakfast cereal, and I consider that a milestone of some sort.

Here's what's on the menu this week:

Monday:

Leftover beef brisket soup, absolutely
loaded with leeks and mushrooms.

Breakfast - Hot tea for me, bananas and leftover chicken with mango for my girls
Lunch - Liverwurst, smoky autumn beef brisket soup using leftover beef roast
Dinner - Flank steaks on the grill - it's grillin' weather, baby, YEA! :)

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Hot tea for me, milk and fruit for my girls (I meant to get some protein in for them, too, but the morning got ahead of me!)
Lunch - Leftover beef brisket soup, Dubliner cheese
Dinner - Chebe Pizza!*

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Onion and cheese omelette
Lunch - Fasting for me, probably
Dinner - Chuck steaks under the broiler, baked Brussels sprouts with butter

Thursday:
Breakfast - Frozen blueberries, warmed with cinnamon, served with cottage cheese
Lunch - Lamb shoulder simmered in tamari and butter
Dinner - Salmon filets, coconut oil veggie stir fry

Friday:
Breakfast - Whole milk yoghurt with liquid whole leaf stevia and vanilla extract
Lunch - We're visiting with a friend and her daughter! She's providing the chicken for grillin', I'm supplying a loaded salad and maybe some Green & Black's as a special treat :)
Dinner - Bacon and eggs

Tonight's Chebe crust pizza, which I made using the
very simple and low-carb Victoria tomato basil sauce.
It is, quite simply, delicious.
I would be proud to serve it to company.

*Look away if you are dogmatic -- I saw Chebe Bread Pizza Crust Mix as somebody had mixed and baked it up on another paleo blog (it's tapioca flour based, very short ingredient list, came highly rated). Drumroll...this means that yes, our household will have the occasional pizza night! (I haven't been contacted by Chebe with any review requests; I discovered and bought Chebe of my own initiative, and am glad that I did!) I did some Googling, and discovered that Chebe also sells frozen pizza crusts with the same ingredients as the dry mix ... but unfortunately the wet ingredients added in the frozen crust include (ick! so bad for you) canola oil.

Definitely some leftovers going with my husband
and daughter in their lunches tomorrow.

But now that I know that the tapioca flour crust won't "die" while waiting in a freezer, I hold out some hope that I could make the dry mix (as I did tonight) fresh at home with Kerrygold, but then press it flat and and add some toppings, and finally freeze it for when unexpected dinner company drops in, or those nights when we arrive at home after some long trip with nothing in our fridge, or in case of nausea/illness/recovery when something simple and fast is needed. Hmmm, maybe that is a case where a vacuum sealing appliance comes in handy -- as it did for Joyful Abode when she cracked open some frozen vaccum sealed twice baked potato skins that she had made with her postpartum recovery time in mind.

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Primal / Paleo Oktoberfest / "Mocktoberfest" - Gluten-Free Schnitzel with German Potato Salad



Come to Mama.


At last, I tackled "Mocktoberfest". Being partly of German extraction - and having lived in Germany for a time, sometimes I just need a good Schnitzel. Schnitten is the German verb for to cut, so you can bread and fry cutlets of just about any meat. Popular choices are beef (especially veal), chicken, and pork. The problem? Breaded Schnitzeln are ... uh ... breaded. Hence my adaptation for those living primally who need to hearken back to the Mutterland every so often.

Today we cuddled ours up next to some German Potato Salad (recipe below) and some canned red Sauerkraut. (If you are looking for a homemade red Sauerkraut recipe, check out AndreAnna's crockpot red cabbage recipe - looks delish!)

German Potato Salad

Ingredients
3 lb. potatoes, peeled and diced into 1" cubes
1/2 cup mayonnaise (you can make your own if you're up for it)
1/2 c. crumbled bacon or bacon pieces
1/2 c. finely diced white onion (this is optional; I left it out today since my husband and his side of the family can't tolerate them)
1/2 c. melted butter (I used Kerrygold)
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp. garlic powder
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
To a boiling pot of salted water, add the cubed potato. Boil for 15 minutes, then remove from heat and use a slotted spoon to spoon the potato cubes into a medium bowl. Whisk together remaining ingredients into a dressing, then pour over warm potato cubes. Allow potato salad to sit for about an hour so that flavors can meld before serving.

Chicken Schnitzel with Creamy White Wine Reduction

Ingredients:
6 chicken breasts, pounded very thin (1/2" or less)
Salt and pepper
1 cup sifted coconut flour
1 cup sifted coconut flour mixed with 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
4 eggs
4 tablespoons fresh parsley
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. nutmeg
4 tablespoons milk or cream
1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 lb. Kerrygold butter

Directions:
Salt and pepper the chicken breasts, then dip in sifted coconut flour evenly to coat. Mix eggs, parsley, cheese, nutmeg, milk, and mustard thoroughly in a medium-sized bowl, then add 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper and 1/2 tsp. salt and mix again. In a large shallow bowl spread out the coconut flour/unsweetened coconut mix. Dip each floured chicken breast into the egg mix and then dip both sides to coat in the coconut flour/unsweetened coconut mix.

In a large pan, melt 4 tbsp. butter on medium heat. Add breaded chicken breasts to the pan, turning after 3 or 4 minutes. Continue turning breasts every few minutes until all sides are golden brown and chicken is cooked through. (In my case, this was side A 3 minutes, side B 3 minutes, side A 3 minutes, side B 3 minutes.) Keep adding butter to the pan a little at a time while cooking in order to prevent burning; the chicken breasts will soak up a lot of the butter while in the pan.

Creamy White Wine Reduction

After chicken breasts are all cooked, add 1/2 c. cream or milk to the pan, with 2 tbsp. butter and 2 tbsp. white wine of choice. Use a spatula to scrape brown leftover schnitzel bits off of the bottom of the pan and keep stirring to combine while sauce reduces. Once desired thickness is reached, drizzle over plated Schnitzel.



Optional but fun addition: gluten-free beer. :)



Tahini Dressing, and Lamb Kebabs with Yoghurt Sauce and Lambrusco

On our vacation, my sister-in-law (a nonpaleo/nonprimal) kindly sought a meal that I could also consume with relish...or more like...consume with taragon greek yoghurt. :) She made these honey-lime lamb kebabs, which were so tasty, especially with a little Lambrusco - bought by my parents at Trader Joe's - served on the side. (If I make the kebabs in the future, I'll probably cut the honey by half or more to make it less carby.) Our offering was a kale salad (still using our friends' kale!) with tahini dressing and cucumbers and tomatoes.

Quick Tahini Dressing

Dresses one large salad

Ingredients

1/3 c. sesame tahini

1/3 c. tamari (wheat-free soy sauce)

1/3 c. apple cider vinegar

1/3 c. balsamic vinegar

Olive oil, to desired consistency

Directions

Blend all ingredients except olive oil in a mini food processor. Add olive oil slowly, until desired consistency is achieved.

Kitchen Wishing

My kitchen is a pretty standard operation. I have some duplicates of a couple of appliances due to gifts, but all in all, nothing fancy. I don't even have one of those KitchenAid mixer stands with the dough hook attachment that some folks seemed to think were part and parcel of a newlywed registry. All that said, I'm starting to get a mental list going of some items I'd like to add to my primal kitchen. (No word yet on what I'm going to do with my massive, pretty much now retired rice cooker.)

• A preseasoned enameled cast iron skillet
• A preseasoned cast iron dutch oven
• An ice cream maker - because I want to make my own sugar-free/sweetener-free ice cream with organic heavy cream and real-food additions (fresh strawberries, etc.). Nothing in my supermarket comes even remotely close.

Of course the prices on the cast iron are astronomically high, but reportedly they are heirloom quality - lasting well beyond 20-30 years or more.

Movie Theater Snacks

This week my girls and I met up with a dear friend and her 3-year-old son - both of whom we don't get to see entirely enough! We went to see a free showing of a kids' movie at a local theater. Of course, I immediately realized that this would involve sitting in a sea of candy, popcorn, sugary soda, etc. Not wanting to be a complete Scrooge and force my daughter so sit through all that munching with nothing of her own, I strategized in advance and came with a bag of trail mix in my diaper bag. (As if there was a remote possibility of movie theater concessions having Primal snacks!) In it was:

• Almonds
• Walnuts
• Cacao Nibs
• Freeze-dried bananas (Brothers brand)
• Dried organic apples (Just Tomatos brand)
• Dried organic raspberries (Just Tomatos brand)

I know that Mark Sisson says to watch out for the sugar content of dried fruits, so this was truly what I'd consider to be a "special outing" snack. Besides, it was just too addictively good for me to make often. :)

Fourth Treats

Happy Fourth of July!

We had many treats (click pic above to enlarge) when my inlaws and my folks joined us for lunch. Slightly carbier than my normal fare, but part and parcel of indulging with family around on a holiday. Since my folks are on a low-fat low-calorie diet, and my in-laws are Weight Watchers, I tried to make sure that not everything was drenched in butter or coconut oil.

Among our treats:

Grilled Skewered Shrimp - Courtesy of my parents and inlaws
This one's easy: For each 3 lbs. of fresh shrimp, melt 2 sticks of butter (organic if you can). Add a dash of garlic powder, a couple of cranks of fresh black pepper, and a small drizzle of honey (yes, honey, because it's a special occasion!). Skewer shrimp, and grill over a piece of foil, turning constantly, until butter mix blackens just a bit. Serve immediately.

Tossed "Big-Ass" Salad
Ours had cherry tomatoes, kumatos, mushrooms, pitted Kalamata olives, avocado, olive oil, a bit of shredded mozzarella, and balsamic vinegar.

Mexican Veggies with Creamy Cumin-Tomato Sauce
Blend a few cloves of garlic, one white onion, and two tomatoes in a mini-chopper. Melt some butter or chicken fat in the bottom of a skillet, and add the chopped tomato mix to this to simmer. Then add: 2 tomatoes, cubed, 1 box mushrooms, quartered, and two yellow squash. Add 1 tablespoon of cumin. Simmer 1 hour or more. Just before serving, add 3/4 cup heavy organic cream, and stir through.

Sauteed Peppers and Onions with Ginger, Lime Juice, Coconut Oil
Blend 1"x1" chunk fresh ginger, 4 cloves of garlic, and the juice from one lime. Melt 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a skillet on medium-high, and add the chopped mix to this. Toss in 3 bell peppers and one onion, sliced, and sautee for 5 minutes.

Fruit Salad - Courtesy of my inlaws
Cut up a bunch of fruit. Eat. :)

Fried Plantains
Slice three plantains into long french-fry-type slivers. Fry in butter at medium-high heat until golden brown and just darker around the edges.

I later added the fried plantains to the creamy Mexican veggies for a leftovers meal. YUM. I will be replicating in an official capacity.