Paleo breakfast cookies....

{paleo/vegan/low sugar}

Nice lil' treat for the week. Original recipe found here.

Of course I had to improvise because I'd rather use ingredients that we have then run to the store to buy something else, even though we have two grocery stores on both ends of our street that are probably less than a mile away. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups gluten-free rolled oats

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1 tablespoon golden flaxmeal

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup dried blueberries

1 very ripe banana

1 cup apple sauce

1/4 cup coconut oil, warm enough to be liquid

1 tablespoon agave nectar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

The original recipe called for pecans, which I excluded all together because we didn't have any left in our pantry. Also, I used one banana instead of three, mixing in some apple sauce instead.

Really didn't know how this experiment would turn out. Sometimes you just have to go with it, right?

Directions: Preheat oven to 350°. Combine oats, coconut, flaxmeal, salt, and blueberries. Stir in banana, apple sauce, oil, agave nectar and vanilla until well combined.

Roll spoonful of mixture onto baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Continue with remaining mixture.

Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until fragrant and golden. Cool on pan.

Coconut pancakes....

 {paleo/ gluten-free/ dairy-free}

Yummy weekend treat! 

I'm not 100% gluten-free, but I'm still experimenting with cooking gluten-free. My body just feels better without the gluten. I seem to have more energy and less allergy issues, and who doesn't want that. 

The original recipe is from She Wears Many Hats but I substituted gluten free flour for all purpose flour and instead of buttermilk I upped the amount of coconut milk.

Think they would also be delicious with coconut flour!

My "green" smoothie...

For the past couple of weeks, I have been making this "green" smoothie almost every morning. It definitely doesn't taste "green" and is my way to sneak in some good-for-me ingredients that I wouldn't get in my every day diet, like spinach, coconut oil, and chia seeds. 

I am a huge fan of coconut oil because it is anti-microbial, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial, but not a huge fan of the taste. When mixing it into a smoothie, I can't taste it at all! 

 And, in case you aren't familiar with chia seeds, I include them for more fiber, protein, and omega 3's. 1 tablespoon has 6 grams of fiber, 3 grams of protein, and 2.9 grams of omega 3's. 

Below are all of the ingredients I use.....

{ingredients}

Coconut milk- about 1 cup

Organic frozen berries- about 1 cup

Banana- 1

Coconut oil- about 1 teaspoon

Chia seeds- about 1 tablespoon

Organic local honey- few drops

Cinnamon- about 1 teaspoon

Spinach- about 2 cups

These are approximate proportions. Sometimes I will use kale instead of Spinach, but I find the spinach blends better. I don't like a chunky smoothie.

Look at all that green! Also, in case you are curious I use a Kitchen Aid blender. I like Kitchen Aid products, but you could use any blender as long as it can puree or liquefy, unless you like a chunky smoothie.

See, not green at all.

{paleo/non-dairy}

And, you could easily use almond milk, soy milk, or regular milk, but as I've said before, dairy and I don't get along, and coconut milk is my go to non-dairy option. 

Cilantro lime quinoa salad....

{paleo/vegan/gluten-free}

Another simple dish that you can easily make your own! I made this last week and munched on it for a few meals. I modified a recipe that I found from Yoga Journal over here. 

Ingredients:

organic quinoa {gf}- 1 cup

cilantro- a bunch 

tomatoes- 8 cherry toms, diced

cucumbers- half of a small, diced

avocado- 1

lime- juice from half

olive oil- 1/4 cup

garlic- 1 clove, minced

jalepeno peppers- 1/4 cup, minced

Directions:

Cook quinoa according to instructions. I used Trader Joe's organic and gluten-free quinoa. It took about 15 mins. As the quinoa is cooking, chop and prepare your ingredients. Again, you could easily use whatever you have, whatever you have a taste for, etc. 

Mix the cilantro and veggies with quinoa. Then, I actually mixed the olive oil, lime juice, and garlic to make a dressing. Toss and ready to go!

Total prep and cook time was about 20 minutes. 

I cooked 1 cup of quinoa, which serves 2-3, in my opinion.

Winter chopped salad..

{paleo/vegan/gluten-free}

Original recipe found over here at key ingredient. You can easily make this your own adding whatever ingredients you would like. 

My version included the following:

chopped romaine

white cabbage

pears

apples

cranberries

For the dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red vinegar

1/2 tablespoon honey {local is even better!}

splash of balsamic vinegar

I'm really getting into making my own dressings these days since most commercial and restaurant prepared dressings contain gluten, since it is a thickening agent, not to mention other additives. The honey in this dressing served as a thickener and helped to bring out the natural sweetness of the fruit! 

Kale Pesto Pasta

A perfect winter recipe packed with nutrients thanks to our superfood friend kale! I loosely used the pesto recipe from the book Practical Paleo but also modified and improvised. 

Ingredients:

2 big handfuls of kale

1/2 cup of cashews

1/2 cup oil olive

1 clove of garlic

juice from half a lemon

salt & pepper to taste

corn pasta {I use Trader Joe's pasta}--gluten-free

Cook the pasta according to package instructions. While pasta is cooking, put all other ingredients in a food processor and grind until finely chopped. Mix pesto with warm pasta and serve. 

It's that simple. 

Another quick recipe. Only took 10-15 minutes!

Also, for those who are non-Paleo, you could add parmesan to the pesto and/or use pasta of choice.

White bean & kale stew....

I wish I could say that I made this stew on a chilly winter day, but the truth is that its warm here again. Seriously? #freakyweather

This recipe is from whole living mag, which can be found here. For some reason I thought this stew may turn out to be rather bland. It was everything but. Very delicious. Super easy {took less than 20 mins. total} and packed with nutrients! 

The recipe makes 3-4 servings, so I plan to be munching on this for a few meals this week!

Also, on a side note, did you know that kale actually offers more calcium than milk? Apparently, the calcium in kale is more absorbable by the body. Who knew?