Paleo Nut-Free Muffin Recipes

 Okay guys, I want to share a couple of muffin recipes with you. My son's school has a very strict nut policy now due to severe allergies, and most of my baking involved almond butter or flour. I've baked with coconut flour before, but it's so dry and dense, you choke trying to get it down. These muffins are so moist, and they freeze well. I make a couple of batches, freeze them, and pull them out when our stash starts to run low. They eat them for breakfast and snacks. Really, they are just two variations of one recipe, but they are really good, and really easy. Make a batch, and tell me what you think of them.

By the way, these muffins are fairly cheap to make IF you know where to get a good price on coconut flour and oil. Don't spend $10 a pound, please. I go to BJ's and get Organic coconut flour, 2.25 pounds for $5.99. They also have organic coconut oil, 1.125 quart for about $10. I've heard other people say they order it online, but I don't have the patience for all that.

Chocolate Cinnamon Raisin Muffins

1/2 cup coconut flour
2 Tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
A pinch of salt
1 cup of applesauce
1/4 cup coconut oil
5 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons honey or real maple syrup
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup of dark chocolate chips (optional)

 I used a whisk attachment on my blender. If your applesauce and eggs are very cold, they will make the coconut oil harden. You can warm them slightly before mixing, but don't completely melt the coconut oil or the muffins will be soggy.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients together (I like to add my chocolate chips on top, but you can mix them in if you like). Grease your muffin liners with a little coconut oil. Scoop batter into cups, top with chocolate chips, and bake for 15 minutes. Makes about 1 dozen.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

1/2 cup coconut flour
3 Tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
A pinch of salt
1 cup of applesauce
1/4 cup coconut oil
5 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons honey or real maple syrup
1 cup diced apples

 I used a whisk attachment on my blender. If your applesauce and eggs are very cold, they will make the coconut oil harden. You can warm them slightly before mixing, but don't completely melt the coconut oil or the muffins will be soggy.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. Grease your muffin liners with a little coconut oil. Scoop batter into cups, and bake for 15 minutes. Makes about 1 dozen.

Chicken Alfredo...with Cheese

     I am ashamed. I've had four people tell me that I've been slack with my blog. Hey, I think I've apologized at the beginning of nearly every post because, well, it had been weeks since my last...okay I get the point. I am slack. In my defense, I didn't realize that people actually enjoyed reading my blog. So before you read on, and get completely hooked, here's a disclaimer: it might be weeks until I get around to writing another one.

     I want to tell you guys about what we had for dinner last night. Chicken Alfredo! I'm not kidding, and you can find the recipe here. A couple of things about it. My family does not like zucchini. And just last night, when Cory asked what we were having, he literally scrunched up his nose like a kid, and told me that cauliflower wasn't a suitable substitute for anything. But because he's so great, or maybe it's because he'd be a hypocrite in front of the kids if he didn't, he tried it. Let me just tell you that I've known from day one whether my cooking was any good or not. He will not sugar-coat it, or try to save my feelings because he doesn't want to get stuck eating something he dislikes and having to continuously lie about it. He said, "It's not as good as the real thing," (Duh) "but it's not half bad!" Everyone had at least two helpings.

     Another note about cauliflower. Cory and I agree that it can have a "fishy" taste, especially when pureed. Strict paleo dieters do not eat dairy, but seeing as how it's so delicious, we do. We added a more-than-generous amount of Parmesan cheese, and that got rid of that fishy taste. And something I just learned, Romano cheese is actually from sheep, and they are pretty much exclusively grass-fed, so it's a better choice than Parmesan. For the zucchini noodles, I didn't have a "noodler gadget", so I just grated it the longest pieces I could, and that worked just fine. So I definitely recommend this. As my dear friend Lisa B. would say, "Was I fooled into thinking I was eating Alfredo? No, but it was a good substitute." We've made a similar dish with spaghetti squash before, and it was too sweet, but the zucchini was just right.

    I've been doing a little research on dairy. Some of the really hard-core Paleo dieters don't eat dairy because our ancestors didn't eat it 2 million years ago, and since it wasn't part of the original diet, it must be harmful. I don't believe the world is 2 million years old, so the only reason I would choose to eliminate it was if I actually thought it was harmful. And there are a lot of people with milk allergies. We did cut it out of our diets for the first month, and paid attention when we added it back in. The main thing I noticed was that eating cheese on top of everything made it more delicious. But I will say this, we have been told for the past 30 years that low-fat diets are healthy diets. So everyone pushes low-fat cheese, milk, and everything else. Studies actually show that diets with full fat (healthy fats, mind you. That Big Mac doesn't count.) are beneficial, and actually help you loose weight. Research for yourself, and see what you think.

Paleo Lunchboxes

     I've been so bad about blogging, but the truth is we messed up so many times this summer, I was too ashamed. I came to realize something. I made excuses saying to myself that it was summertime, the rules weren't as strict. So what if we have rice, potatoes, corn and gluten-free pizza! Sure, make that two scoops of ice cream. I kept thinking that we need to get back to paleo, and after the summer it would be easier. But then I realized I have to make lunches every day, and I have to provide alternatives when they have class parties, and it's going to be a lot of work.  It's always going to be easy to make excuses to cheat a little.

     Staying true to a healthy eating plan isn't easy in this time of wrapped-to-go, preservative-laden convenience meals and snacks. But to be completely honest, my stomach is all confused and irregular, and adding some of that junk back in has made me feel very sluggish and yucky. And there were a couple of times that I consumed gluten (I do have an allergy to it) and was down right sick. For like, days.

     School starts back this week. Teachers are known for bribing rewarding their kids for good behavior with candy. So am I "that" mom that doesn't let her kids have anything good? Do I make my poor kids sit and watch everyone else eat candy? Or do I give in and let them have candy? Honestly, I don't think a little treat here and there is going to really do any damage. But on the other hand, I'm trying to detox, and stay detoxed from all the junk. So how do I remedy this? I find better alternatives. Annie's organic fruit snacks, for instance, is free of high-fructose corn syrup, synthetic colors and flavors and preservatives. Much better than Skittles ingredients. Now I just have to bribe convince their teachers to go through all that trouble to give them separate treats.

     Now, I need to confess how much I hate packing lunches. I would rather scrub my shower with a toothbrush than pack lunches. And now Ryland is starting kindergarten, so I have to pack double the lunches. And they can't eat from the cafeteria, so I have to pack it everyday. And I can't make a sandwich. So this year is going to be like 6 times the fun of last year's lunch packing extravaganzas. What in the world am I going to pack these kids? We rarely have leftovers. We used to waste them, so I got in the habit of making just enough, and now I can't seem to break that habit. I have done some research and made a list of lunches. And this year, when things go on sale, I'm going to stock up and do some bulk cooking in freezer, lunch-sized meals. Today, I made 1561 meatballs.

Three different kinds of meatballs pictured here. 

And one more because Chase wanted me to show off his artistic photography skills.

I chose to make a huge batch of meatballs because there are endless possibilities. Any combination of meats, veggies, spices, and sometimes cheese, and you have a new flavor! So here are the three recipes I used. 

Asian Meatballs from Nom Nom Paleo. Looking at her recipes, they sound a little strange sometimes, but they have been amazing! And just FYI, do not spend an entire afternoon making up meatballs, and then not have time to shower before you go to your kids open house at school, only to smell like fish sauce, which kind of smells like B.O., by the way. And everyone was all like "Oh Anna! It's been an entire 3 months since I last saw you. How have I survived? Here, let me hug all over you!" But the meatballs were really good, probably our favorite recipe that we tried. Just stinky. Really stinky. 

Sun-Dried Tomato and Feta Meatballs These were actually pretty disappointing. They have potential, but not nearly enough spice. Add more salt and maybe a little something else, and they could have been much better.

And then I winged the last recipe. They tasted like chicken sausages.
Turkey Veggie and Herb Meatballs

1 LB ground turkey              1/2 cup shredded squash                 handful of kale

2 cloves garlic                      1 shallot                                         fresh basil

fresh sage                            fresh rosemary                               1 egg

1/4 cup coconut flour            salt and pepper

I put the shallot, squash, garlic, kale and fresh herbs into a processor until finely diced, shredded, or whatever you want to call it. If you don't have a processor, you can dice it up. Then I added everything together, mixed well, and rolled into balls, and baked on 375 for about 20 minutes, rotating pan half way through cooking time.

I froze the meatballs on a pan after cooking them so they wouldn't stick together. Once frozen, I tossed them all into a freezer bag so I could take out 3 or 4 at a time for lunches. I just plan to pack them and refrigerate them overnight, and have the teachers warm them up for them. Boom, main course for several days worth of lunches.

Let's Catch Up

     So I had a friend ask me how the clean eating is going. Clean eating is great! Blogging, not so much. I'm only a little bit ashamed to say I haven't been doing much researching for my blog. Give me a break, it's Summer, and I have more important things to do...like tan and be lazy.

     Honestly though, I feel really good! I have never felt so normal in my life! We've been eating clean for almost 2 1/2 months now. As long as I can remember, I've had frequent headaches and constant stomach trouble, and all that has gone away. I wouldn't say I wake up every morning and feel like running a marathon, but I don't constantly feel bad or sluggish anymore. The weight loss is a little bit slow, but that's no surprise considering I've discovered how to make amazing cookies, muffins, and cake...and make something almost every night. Yes, I use wholesome ingredients, and stick to our paleo diet. It was supposed to be a once a week thing, but that didn't last long. But still, even with eating all that, we're consistently losing weight. Eating this way required a little more effort in cooking, only because you don't have the prepared convenience meals, but I don't feel like I missing out on anything. And I don't think Cory does either, and that's saying something.

     I'm still learning as I go. Even after being gluten-free for a year, I'm discovering that I wasn't completely gluten-free. It's hidden in everything! I think the thing that got me the most was vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is okay, but a lot of products have white grain vinegar, which is made from wheat and other grains. But on the label it just says vinegar. So now I just avoid it unless it specifically says apple cider, or gluten-free. Check your salsa, ketchup, mustard, and other condiment labels.

     The first month we did this, our grocery bill was $1000. The second month, it was probably about $800-900. This month I've budgeted $500 for groceries, and I think I can make it happen. First of all, I'm learning where I can get the same products I use at cheaper places. Unfortunately, coupons aren't much help to me because most of them are for things we don't buy. But I found that BJ's has a decent selection of organic produce. Oh, and Spices. They have a good deal on organic spices. Like $4 for these gargantuan bottles.

I'm pretty sure we're set on spices for the rest of our lives. As a matter of fact, when I was purchasing them, an elderly gentleman asked if I had kids. When I told him yes, he said, "Good, cause when you die, you'll be passing those spices on to them."

    Every month or two, Earth Fare has a good sale on organic, grass-fed ground beef. It's $4/LB, and there's a 5 lb limit. So you better believe I'm in there every day buying 5 lbs of beef. Cory and I went in there after church on Sunday, acted like we didn't know each other, and each got 5 lbs. Now my freezer is stocked up! We also got chicken breasts for $3/lb.

     I promise to do some more research for you guys. I just wanted to give you an update, so you wouldn't think I died on this diet since you hadn't heard from me in forever.
   

Fats

     So I've been researching fats lately, and oh my goodness, it will make you dizzy. Everyone has a different opinion about what fats are good for you and what fats are bad for you. It's confusing and frustrating. Do it. Google "What fats are good for you" and see how many sites completely contradict each other. So, here's what I'm learning, and my opinion on the matter.

     First of all, what is the difference in all these fats? Saturated animals fats are basically fat from meats and dairy. It's God-given, stable, and well utilized in the brain, heart, and every cell in your body. They are typically solid at room temperature. We've been told for decades that these fats are bad for you because they raise the risk of heart disease. But now experts are starting to question that. There have been studies and conclusions that there really isn't a link between the consumption of saturated fats and artery-clogging cholesterol. You can check that out here. Despite the evidence claiming that saturated fats are bad for you is crumbling, they are pushing their claims even harder. Glad to know you're looking out for us, food industry. People who go with low-fat diets usually eat more carbs, making heart disease and diabetes sky rocket. You can read my post about that here. And when they take out fats, which make things taste better, they have to add something in to make it edible, so in goes the sugars and preservatives.

     What about vegetable fats? The problem with those is that most of them are GMO. They refine them, bleach them, and take out the natural smell. Then what are you left with? A very processed oil that is not good for you. These oils are soybean oil, corn oil, safflower oil, canola oil, etcetera. These oils cannot be extracted by naturally separating or pressing, so they have to chemically separate them. Learn more about the process of making vegetable oils here.

     Then there are tans fats, or partially hydrogenated oils. They are toxic to the body. But they prolong the shelf life of foods like breads, cookies, and crackers, and are easy and cheap, which equals increased profit. So once again, here is your food corporations looking out for your best interest. Basically they take the vegetable oils and add hydrogen to make them solid at room temperature. They are trying to ban them because they are so bad for you. Though the ban hasn't gone through, companies are required to label their products as having trans fat in them. However, they've found a loop hole. Companies can put 0 grams trans fat on the labels as long as there's less than .5 grams per serving.

     We were told tropical oils, like coconut oil, were bad for us, but we now know that there are so many healthy benefits to using coconut oil. When choosing oils and fats, make sure you are using a reputable, organic company. Some companies are making fake oils, and marketing it as something else. When you buy oils such as coconut or olive oil, make sure you get organic, extra-virgin, cold-pressed. Basically, they press these fruits to extract the oils, and the first press is always the purest.

     So when it comes to fats, stick to saturated animal fats, (bacon grease is one of our favorites) coconut oil, olive oil, grass-fed butter or ghee, and avocado oil, and avoid vegetable oils such as canola, sunflower, safflower, corn, peanut and soybean.

Essential Oils

     Oh, hey guys! Remember me, the person who hasn't blogged since summer break started? So I've been busy playing with legos, setting up sprinklers to play in, working in my garden, and grocery shopping. The boys have slowed down their eating a little, so hopefully they're coming out of the growth spurt. Seriously, last month's grocery bill was outrageous! We are really trying hard to find ways to cut that. And sometimes that means I go to 10 different grocery stores 37 times a week to get what's on sale. But we're working on stocking up our freezer with organic meats when they go on sale. And Cory is even thinking about going hunting with my dad's friend this fall.
 
      In attempt to clean up our health in other ways, for the past few months, I've been using and testing out Young Living's Essential oils. I actually discovered them back in February when I did a sale for my clothing shop, For Beautiful Baby, which is out fundraiser for our adoption. I had a terrible cold, and was coughing my lungs out. Like, coughing until I was gagging. My table was placed next to a table with Young Living representatives. They started suggesting I try some of their oils. Let me just tell you, I put some on, and within 5 minutes, my cough went away, and that night I slept so good! So I ordered a kit. I've been trying them for several different things because I know it's hard to believe that you can rub some "snake oils" (as Cory called them) on yourself, and they really work.

      Some things I've tried and it has worked amazing! Some made a difference, but it didn't completely fix it, and some made little or no difference. Panaway gets rid on my tension headaches within minutes. RC gets rid of a cough. Cory has a touch of insomnia, and he uses Valor to help him relax and fall asleep. My sister has been using Digize for stomach issues, and even gave some to a co-worker, who fell in love with it, and wants some of her own. I made a pain cream, and it definitely helps with muscle aches. And Cory had two moles removed, and I've been putting lavender and frankincense on his cuts, and in just two days, the difference is huge! Lavender works really well on cuts, scrapes, and burns. I would much rather use an oil for things than take medicine. I also have a book where I can look up hundreds of things, and see what oils might work for them. You might find an oil that works great for you on one ailment, but not work as well for someone else. Everyone is different and it's a lot of trial and error to find out what works for you, but after using them for a few months, I can tell you with certainty that they work, and I'm a believer. So, lo and behold, here is my medicine cabinet make-over.

     In other news, you should be proud of me. We ate zucchini fresh out of our garden this week. I was starting to get discouraged because my mom was talking about things starting to come in in their garden, and my garden was just...sitting there. But when I went out to put some nice, organic fertilizer on it, I saw two big 'ole zucchinis, and I picked those things and sauteed them for dinner. And they were the best I've ever had. I also have two little tomatoes growing. I have tons of flowers on my plants, but so far, that's the only veggies growing. Most of my plants are in my planter garden on the deck, and I'll be honest, they aren't growing very fast. I have cucumbers in my raised bed and in a pot, and the ones in the beds are 20 times bigger and flowering, and they were planted at the same time.

    So it's been about 5 weeks since we changed our diet lifestyle. It's starting to become second nature to us.  It's always so overwhelming at first, because you can't eat a lot of the things that you used to eat, and you have no idea what you can eat, or how to fix the things you can eat so that there's a lot of flavor and variety. But I promise, give it a little time, and you wont even miss what you can't have. Chase and Ryland have pretty much stopped complaining about "the diet". It was hard at first, especially being around people that were eating cookies. But lately, I've discovered muffins, and we've made several of those recipes. I make them in mini cupcake pans, and reduce the cooking time to about 15 minutes. The mini pans make about 36 two-bite snacks. Our two favorite recipes so far are from PaleOMG.com, and they're  Banana Nut Chocolate Chip Muffins and Apple Fritters, which were more like apple cinnamon muffins, and they were so amazing! So there you go. Try those two recipes, and see what you won't be missing out on.

    As far as what we've been eating for dinner...I can't even remember. I think I've focused more on desserts and snacks that we can have. We did make Chicken Bacon Alfredo. I used to make homemade chicken alfredo, a favorite recipe I got from a friend, and this tasted a lot like it. The main difference was the fact that the spaghetti squash made it sweeter. But it's always nice to find a recipe that's a good alternative for a favorite dish. I also broke down and made pancakes. If you know us, you know before this diet, we used to have pancakes at least twice a month for dinner. I seriously don't know how we would have survived without this recipe blog.
   

3 Weeks and Going Strong

     So guess what happened the other day. I picked up Chase early from school on Wednesday, and I told him to stick his lunchbox in the fridge for the nexy day. I am so sick of packing lunches! Anyways, the next day he calls me from school and says he only has 3 pieces of broccoli in his lunch box, and he wanted me to bring him some lunch. Now, Ryland has been known to go through Chase's lunch box after school and devour anything remaining, IF there's anything left. So my first thought was that it had been raided, and I just never checked it before sending it. But Ryland denied it. Come to find out, Chase had literally eaten his entire lunch for snack, minus three pieces of broccoli, and then called to tell me to bring more. Have you ever met such a little pig? And he's skinny as a rail, not an ounce of fat on him. But at least he's still gaining weight every week. Here's my little ham at his End-of-2nd-Grade-Party!

     Speaking of weight, we had our third week weigh-in yesterday. Chase gained about 4 ounces, and Ryland lost 2 ounces. I lost 2 ounces, (woohoo) and Cory lost 2 pounds. His total weight loss so far is 10 pounds! I can't wait to start an exercise routine. I'm hoping to get the whole family on something in the next week or so. I just haven't been able to find 4 matching leotards yet.

     It's been a lot of fun cooking and trying new dishes. I'm so glad to have found some of these paleo blogs. I'm thinking about coming up with a few of my own recipes. My problem is I get stuck using the same types of ingredients. Here's what we've had the past few days. (All from Paleomg.com)

Chicken Enchilada Bake I really liked this dish! I thought it was awesome, and we'll add it to the keeper pile.

Creamy Dill Salmon This one was really good too. Only problem is that it was super fishy leftover. I paired it with a beautiful salad with olive oil, salt, and pepper

This one I didn't use a recipe for--or rather, I should say Cory didn't. Look at how handsome he is at the stove!

I found some organic free-range pork at a farmer's market, and we seasoned it with smoked paprika (that stuff is amazing) and salt and pepper. Cory sauteed the green beans with onions and garlic, and I sliced up a big, fat, juicy watermelon. YUM!

Pizza Spaghetti Pie  This was really good too! I swear, it almost tasted like there was cheese on top.

And this is mine and Ryland's favorite lunch. Sauteed bacon and sweet potatoes with cinnamon!

     We haven't noticed a ton of overall changes yet. Like I previously mentioned, Chase's stomach problems have gone away. I think his skin seems to be getting better too (he has these bumpy patches, possibly eczema?) I have a little more energy. Ryland is always hungry. But most importantly, Cory has been cooking. That's pretty amazing.