Breaking Down Breakfast Time

Answering the big questions..

Is it really 𝘵𝘩𝘦 most important meal of the day?
What does a healthy brekkie look like?
What other factors are there at brekkie time other than just the foods we eat?
Breakfast ideas for fussy and restricted eaters?

and more in this blog!

---

𝗜𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘆 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗸𝗸𝗶𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴?

That’s a controversial question in the health realm for sure! Some say it is, some say it’s good to skip it and continue the fast from throughout the night into later in the day.

In all of my years learning about and living the Primal way I’ve definitely come to the understanding that breakfast is an important time to eat, for most of us, if not all of us.

Let’s look at why brekkie is an important meal, thanks to the wisdom of Mark Sisson of Mark’s Daily Apple…

“Breakfast is When You Break Your Fast

Historically, breakfast was a term used to describe your first meal of the day, no matter when that meal took place. Sometime around the 15th century, it became synonymous with the meal you consume shortly after waking up. And now, thanks to the hundreds of thousands of people thriving with intermittent fasting, breakfast is returning to its first-meal-of-your-day roots.

Simply put, breakfast is how you break your fast.

Whether you have a planned eating window or your fast is just the hours that you’re asleep, the meal that answers the day’s first call of hunger is arguably the most important.

Let me repeat that: your first hunger of the day is the most important.

It’s your body’s first polite request for you to deliver substantial, supportive, and sustainable fuel to your body.

Benefits may include:

• Your cravings disappear
• You’re not thinking about food 24/7
• You have more sustained energy
• You stop snacking all day
• You sleep better at night
• You’re not spiralling into guilt or shame because you binged once the sun went down”

I 100% feel my best when I’m eating a good meal in the morning. Not necessarily right away, or as my first ‘activity’ but definitely eating brekkie is my jam. Pun intended, cos, I love puns! Brekkie helps fuel my brain for funnier puns too.. haha

---

𝗢𝗸, 𝘀𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻?

Basically, what most of the world eats most mornings. Grain-based cereals, toast, sausages full of flours and other fake stuff, crappy bacon, tinned baked beans, acai bowls, fruit and greens smoothies, green juices, just a coffee, pastries, muesli bars, protein bars, regular pancakes and waffles, syrups, jam, vegemite, margarine… the list continues but I think that covers most of the standard breakfast options.

If you’re still not convinced that cereal, toast etc do not play a role in a healthy lifestyle (for kids or adults, anyone at any age) refer to our blog all about GRAINS for all the info to get educated.

Why aren’t liquids like smoothies and green juices a good idea? A main reason is that our digestion starts in the mouth when we CHEW our food. Drinking a meal isn’t good for the gut. Another reason is that greens, fruits etc are highly inflammatory and end up causing more problems than positives to our health.

Why aren’t bars healthy? They’re full of junk! Simple!

High fruit brekkies aren’t good for us, if there’s way more sugar than protein and fat.

A high carb meal first up is going to make us hungry again and have an energy drop within a few hours.

---

𝗜𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗼𝘅 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 ‘𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗯𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝘆’ 𝗮𝗱𝘀

𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗸𝗸𝗶𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲…

Animal based. Honest to goodness. Eating meat, animal fat, gelatin/collagen, bone broth and eggs makes the basis of a nourishing start to the day. Animal protein and fat provides long-lasting energy, a high level of essential nutrients that are bio-available (meaning the human body knows how to process them properly and efficiently), and extremely low in (if any) anti-nutrients.

Meat muffins, leftovers from dinner, slow cooked meat, cold roasted meats, eggs done a kazillion different ways, meat waffles, mince patties, good quality bacon, bone broth, collagen/gelatin, cheeses (dairy and not) cooking in and adding beef fat, lard, ghee, butter… there are so many ways to have a nourishing and enjoyable animal-based brekkie meal.

Adding in a few other healthy low-inflammatory options like avocado, mushrooms, some veggies, and low-sugar fruits (e.g. berries) are great too. Even whole fruit jelly can be a great addition to breakfast meals.

Then the sometimes ingredients like coconut yoghurt, coconut cream/milk, honey or pure maple syrup, fruits, paleo flours turned into breads, cereals, waffles, pancakes etc.

It’s really not hard to switch from standard crappy options over to nutritious alternatives. It takes some effort, planning and time initially, a transition period, then getting used to it so it becomes the ‘norm’. We did it over a decade ago. And if Clint, who said “𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥” can do it, anyone can!

---

𝗔 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗸𝗸𝗶𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱!

It’s so sad that most of the world thinks a healthy breakfast consists of standard cereals such as cornflakes, sugary kids cereals, mueslis etc, wheat and grain-filled gluten-free toast, spreads, icky green drinks, fruit bowls and smoothies, conventional coffee (non organic) with regular highly processed milks (skim being the worst)…

When the actual healthy options are based on animal foods, low inflammatory whole foods and essential minerals. And a good start to the day is about so much more than just the foods we eat! How much outdoor time we get matters too. Sunrise (or as close to) light directly on our skin and in our eyes, our feet touching the earth, breathing in fresh air, moving our bodies.. it’s all super important on a regular basis.

Let’s start thinking about breakfast time in a more holistic and all-rounder approach. Instead of sitting around a table or in front of the TV eating junk and not doing anything else.

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙊𝙉𝙀 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙥 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙠𝙠𝙞𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚?

---

What we do + eat at breakfast time

#1: Consume Sole on an empty stomach (mineral salt drenched water in a glass of water to remineralise the body)

#2: Outdoor time barefoot, moving, getting fresh air.

#3: Early sunshine directly in the eyes and on the skin.

#4: Eating a nourishing animal-based brekkie meal.

That’s what we do most days of the week to turn our get-up-and-go hormones kicking in, to fuel us, and to keep us full and productive all morning.

---

Recipe + meal ideas

A simple mince meat pattie with eggs is an easy one, add avocado or mushroom, some low sugar friends or whole fruit jelly, or bone broth, and you have an insanely healthy fuel source to start the day. We sometimes make and ghee-daise which is so creamy and delicious, and for leaner meat we add raw beef suet packed full of bio-available nutrients.

For other ideas check out our website.

Adding offal is a very good idea and a great way to hide the flavour is in patties! Meat Muffins is a brilliant (and popular) time saving breakfast idea, Meat Waffles are different, there are healthy swap recipes for sometimes-meals like pancakes, there’s a couple of cereal options.. a few things to hopefully inspire you to create nourishing breakfast meals for you and the fam 😋

---

I hope this information and our perspectives and experiences help you and your family on your journey to better health + more happiness!

Aimee

Primal Health Coach for Women

Visit our website: Primal Influence 

Follow us on socials: Facebook + Instagram + TikTok

Disclaimer:

This disclaimer governs your use of Under the Primal Influence Blog. By using this website, you accept this disclaimer in full. If you disagree with any part of this disclaimer, do not use Under the Primal Influence Blog or any affiliated websites, properties, or companies. We reserve the right to modify these terms at any time. You should therefore check back periodically for changes. By using this website after we post any changes, you agree to accept those changes, whether or not you have reviewed them.

All information and resources found on Under the Primal Influence Blog are based on the opinions of the author unless otherwise noted. All information is intended to motivate readers to make their own nutrition and health decisions after consulting with their health care provider. I am not a doctor, lawyer, psychiatrist, therapist, or your mother, and I don’t play one on the internet.

The author of this site encourages you to consult a doctor before making any health changes, especially any changes related to a specific diagnosis or condition. No information on this site should be relied upon to determine diet, make a medical diagnosis, or determine treatment for a medical condition. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice.

NO information on this site should be used to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease or condition.

None of the posts and articles on Under the Primal Influence Blog may be re-printed without express written permission of the author. Primal Influence will respond to written requests to re-print parts of posts and excerpts/quotes (10% or less) may be reprinted with attribution as long as all links are left intact.

Recipe: Sugar-Free Pumpkin Spice Choc Chip Biscuits (Paleo + nut-free)

Clint and I are going through periods of low and no-sugar eating at the moment because we need to for our health. He’s doing 30 days straight of no sugar and I’m 5 days on / 2 days off -ish.

It’s going really well for both of us; we’re each noticing improvements to our health, we’re feeling better, and we’re getting used to some of the swap foods we’ve been eating.

I went live on our Facebook page last week giving my tips for no and low sugar eating, because we’ve been through this quite a few times and can definitely give some advice on how to be successful with it. Watch the video HERE.

Yesterday I felt like baking so I had an idea of a biscuit I wanted to try.  I know pumpkin puree is a great natural sweetener and binder so I decided to try Pumpkin Spice Choc Chip Biscuits and was very pleased with the result!

They turned out nice and fluffy, quite moist and surprisingly moreish. The only negative… they’re best eaten warm. Not when they’ve completely cooled down as they then become a bit dry and definitely not as tasty. So if you wait until they’ve come out of the oven and have cooled just enough to still be warm inside, or you heat them up gently if they have cooled completely, then they are delicious! And warm biccies are so much more enjoyable in the cooler months, so it’s not a bad thing overall!

Here is the recipe for you…

 

PUMPKIN SPICE CHOC CHIP BISCUITS

(makes 8 large)

 

You’ll need:

1 egg

2.5 tbsp ghee

1 tsp pure vanilla

2 tbsp cacao nibs (as the ‘choc chips’. They don’t taste overly ‘chocolatey’ and don’t melt but give awesome crunch!)

2 tsp cinnamon powder

1 tsp nutmeg powder

1 tsp ginger powder

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp each of bicarb soda and baking powder (look for gluten-free and aluminium-free)

3 tbsp organic green banana flour (buy some HERE)

1 tbsp arrowroot flour

6 tbsp pumpkin puree (Jap is usually the sweetest)

Pinch of pink salt

 

To do:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celcius
2. Make pumpkin puree by peeling and dicing pumpkin then boiling until soft. Strain to remove water, then mash with a fork until no lumps or chunks remain. Let it cool slightly before adding to the other ingredients
3. Whisk egg and ghee in a bowl
4. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly
5. Use a spoon to dollop about 8 spoonfuls worth of mixture onto baking paper on a flat oven tray
6. Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 mins or until the surface of the biscuits show golden brown colour
7. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool down just enough to handle and eat safely then serve

TIPS

• If you’re after more sweetness and aren’t on a low/no sugar eating plan, add raw honey or Grade B maple syrup to the mixture, and/or some chopped fresh Medjool dates. Yum!
• Add more or less of the spices depending on your personal taste
• Instead of boiling the pumpkin pieces, roast them instead on a medium heat until cooked through but without dark brown edges. This will add more sweetness and flavour
• For denser biscuits, leave out the bicarb soda, baking powder and apple cider vinegar. These ingredients help the mixture rise when baking and creates a fluffy texture, so without them the biccies will be flatter and more dense which some people may prefer

 

That’s it, really easy!

If you’d like ALL of my healthy green banana flour recipes grab my e-books HERE.

 

Happy cooking!

Aimee xx

Food + Cooking Coach @ Primal Influence

 

 

Recipe: Easy Chicken Coconut Curry (Paleo + dairy-free)

A great way to enjoy warming, comforting, hearty and healthy meals in the cooler months is to take advantage of energy-efficient and easy-to-use kitchen appliances like slow cookers!

 

One of my favourite dishes to make in my slow cooker is my Chicken Coconut Curry. It’s so easy to make, it’s really versatile, and it’s a great dish for those who don’t enjoy rich and spicy curries. I’ve actually given taste testers of my recipe to people who don’t normally eat curry and they’ve loved it!

 

It’s Autumn here in South East QLD right now so it’s cooling down and feeling like the right time to start making hearty soups, stews and curries. So here’s my Chicken Coconut Curry recipe for you to use and enjoy…

 

CHICKEN COCONUT CURRY

 

You’ll need:

4 organic chicken thighs or 2 breasts, chopped
1 tin Ayam coconut milk
1 large brown onion, chopped
2 carrots, cubed
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp ginger (or more if you like), minced
2 fresh organic tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp organic curry powder
2 tsp turmeric powder
Himalayan salt, pepper to taste
Good cooking fat (ghee, coconut oil, olive oil, animal fat etc.)
Piece of fresh lemongrass
Up to 1 cup bone broth and/or water
Optional: Chili if you like heat, paprika, coriander leaves for flavour and garnish, other herbs and spices of choice, spinach leaves, celery

To do:

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan on low, add onions and allow to cook gently
2. Add garlic and chicken and slowly increase the temp but watching onion and garlic don’t burn
3. Add carrot to the saucepan along with the spices, lemongrass, any other herbs, salt, pepper, tomato, broth/water and coconut milk to the saucepan and reduce heat to a gentle simmer
4. Once all ingredients are cooked through, the carrot is soft and the liquid has reduced slightly, remove the piece of lemongrass
5. Serve by spooning the curry mixture over a flattened heap of cauliflower or white rice on a plate. Garnish with coriander leaves

Easy!

 

Enjoy 🙂

Aimee

Food + Cooking Coach – Primal Influence

Recipe: Carrot Spice Muffins with Lemon Icing (paleo + nut-free)

I’m so excited to be launching my TWO green banana flour recipe e-books in October that I’m giving you guys a taste test with this recipe!

Yesterday I whipped up a batch of Carrot Spice Muffins with Lemon Icing and they were so delicious. Clint enjoyed one after work and because they’re full of nutrients, they’re very filling so he could only fit one in. That’s amazing, Clint usually eats a lot!

So it’s good to know that they go a long way, which is handy when you’re spending a bit more cash on the ingredients, compared to conventional baking ingredients.

As with most of my recipes, this one is free from nuts as well as the usual inflammatory suspects like gluten, grains and dairy. But it’s not missing flavour, the most important element! I love that by using quality ingredients, just real food, and utilising herbs and spices, dishes can be full of flavour without compromising on health.

I won’t waffle on anymore, here’s the recipe for you…

CARROT SPICE MUFFINS WITH LEMON ICING

You’ll need:

Muffins:

1/2 cup green banana flour (buy some here)

1/4 cup coconut flour (buy some here)

1 tsp pure vanilla (paste, powder, bean)

1 tsp combination baking powder and bicarb soda (look for brands free from aluminium, gluten and rice)

1 tsp organic nutmeg

2 tsp organic cinnamon powder

2 tsp organic ginger powder

1 cup firmly packed grated organic carrot

2 tbsp raw honey

4 tbsp coconut oil (liquified)

2 pastured eggs

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

 

(FYI: organic herbs and spices make a huge difference when it comes to adding flavour!)

Icing:

(I recommend you purchase a stick blender for making the icing, or use a small bullet blender, but anything larger will make it difficult to achieve the desired consistency because the creamed coconut is so firm)

1 tbsp raw honey

3 tbsp creamed coconut (buy some here)

2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

 

To do:

1. Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees Celsius and grease a muffin tray with a little coconut oil
2. Sift the flours and powders into a mixing bowl to remove lumps (important for the banana flour)
3. Add remaining muffin dry ingredients and stir
4. In a separate bowl add the wet ingredients and whisk then pour into other bowl and stir until the mixture is well combined
5. Spoon into the muffin tray, to the top of each section (that’s a decent serving size, but you can make them smaller or larger if you wish)
6. Bake in the oven for 20-30 mins, depending on your oven, until edges are brown and a skewer inserted in the middle to the bottom of one muffin comes out relatively dry
7. Turn onto a cooling rack and allow to cool down almost completely (a tad warm is fine)
8. For the icing add the creamed coconut, honey and lemon juice to the stick blender jug and use your stick blender on high speed to mix it thoroughly. Lift the stick blender up and down constantly and stop sometimes to scrap edges and to ensure all of the mixture is combined well. When it’s free from lumps it’s ready
9. Spread the icing on the cooled muffins, or use a piping tool to make a fancier appearance and texture
10. Then serve and gobble down! These muffins are best served fresh and with a slight warmness. If you do refrigerate these just take them out and let them sit on the bench for 30min – 1 hour before serving so they’re not too cold and firm. Enjoy!

Optional extras: if you do want to add nuts to this for crunch then walnuts and pecans would be nice. Also some natural organic sultanas/raisins would be a tasty and sweet addition.

Remember you can add more or less spices and honey depending on your taste, this recipe is not strict!

Note: the ingredient purchase links above are affiliate links, we only affiliate with products and companies we 100% trust and believe in.

Please let me know what you think 🙂

For a stack more green banana flour recipes pre-order the world’s first e-books using this amazing ingredient HERE !!

Cooking with Green Banana Flour

Cooking with Green Banana Flour

 

Aimee x

 

5 Things I’m Grateful For Today:

1. Using green banana flour to create really healthy and yummy dishes
2. The sun shining on this gorgeous Spring day
3. It’s the weekend tomorrow!
4. The country music song playing right now and Spotify
5. My little container garden doing really well right now

 

 

Recipe: Paleo Turkish Delight

Have you switched over to Paleo or generally cleaner eating and are missing certain ‘junk’ foods you used to eat regularly? Say, some particular chocolate bars? I sometimes do.

One of my old favourites was the Fry’s Turkish Delight! Or really good, authentic Turkish Delight pieces I’d find occasionally at cafe’s and foodie festivals/markets coated in sugar powder. <drool>

And would you agree a lot of Paleo/healthy swaps just don’t taste as good as the original version? I find it a lot; with breads and cakes, candy, all types of foods – often the taste or texture is off slightly, or even no where near. It’s not the end of the world of course, but it would be nice to get closer to the original version of some fave foods and memories.

Well.. I’m happy to announce my healthier version of Turkish Delight certainly comes very close to the Fry’s version I used to enjoy so much! Yay!

I’m giving you my recipe so you too can enjoy this yumminess, with both the way of coating it in chocolate (Paleo, or close to it, depending on what chocolate you use) like the Fry’s product, or in arrowroot (definitely Paleo) to replace the powdered sugar. Let me know what you think!

TURKISH DELIGHT

For the actual lolly you’ll need:

2 cups pomegranite juice (try to find one that’s organic or at least pure with nothing added)

2 tsbp rose water (check Asian stores and health food stores for this)

Raw honey to sweeten (quantity is up to you, with there being pomegranite juice in this recipe you may find you don’t wish to include honey at all)

4 tbsp pure grass-fed beef gelatin powder (grab some here)

The method:

1. Pour pomegranite juice into a saucepan on the stove withOUT turning the heat on
2. Gently sprinkle the gelatin powder over the surface of the juice, evenly
3. Let it sit for a couple of minutes so the gelatin granules absorb the liquid and soften, or “bloom”
4. Once softened turn the stove on to medium-high heat and use a whisk to stir until granules of gelatin have completely dissolved
5. Turn the heat off but while the liquid is still hot add honey if you’re using it, and rose water then stir to combine
6. Pour into a square or rectangle container, oven tray etc, something that’s flat and doesn’t have grooves or funny edges, so you can later on cut the set slice into squares or cubes. Or transfer liquid to a jug then pour into moulds. I used a long oven bread tin for mine which is non-stick and has flat sides and bottom, making it perfect for this type of recipe
7. Set in the fridge for a few hours until the mixture feels firm to touch
8. Gently remove from the mould/tray/container by pressing around the entire edge with your finger to seperate from the side of the container then turn upside down, hold close to your kitchen bench or chopping board then you should see the ‘jelly slice’ start to come out of the container. Watch it closely and guide it out as needed so it doesn’t break
9. Use a flat blade knife to cut to size (even-sized squares for example)

Now you have a basic Paleo Turkish Delight! Have a taste, do you get that nice, familar hit of rose water? It’s so good!

 

Here’s how you can create either a choc coated or powder coated version… 

Chocolate Coated

You’ll need:

1 block plain paleo/primal/healthy-as-possible chocolate (I used the new Coles brand 70% dark chocolate because it’s dairy and soy-free) melted

OR

Make your own chocolate using cacao butter, organic cocoa powder, raw honey to sweeten, pure vanilla and melted coconut oil

Method:

1. Let the chocolate mixture cool in a large container (large enough to get your hand into easily with some room to move around) but not to the point it’s becoming lumpy or re-setting then gently place Turkish Delight piece into the container to coat thinly with chocolate
2. Place each piece onto a sheet of baking paper that’s on a chilled board or flat plate of some kind that’s been in the fridge or freezer. This will help the underside of each piece set quicker and prevent you losing more chocolate coating than necessary on the baking paper!
3. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge (if it lasts that long!!)

This version may not be technically “Paleo” depending on the chocolate you use. Cane sugar isn’t classed as Paleo but I personally don’t mind consuming it occassionally. I’d rather use a chocolate that had coconut sugar though.

 

Powder Coated

You’ll need:

1/2 – 3/4 cup arrowroot powder

Optional: 1 tsp pure vanilla powder

Method:

1. Sprinkle half the arrowoot on a board or late plate
2. Gently place each piece of Turkish Delight on the board/plate then turn over. Use your fingers held out together and flat to pat each side to remove excess arrowroot leaving you with an even coating on each side. I find if you don’t try to pat the excess away and you coat each surface the taste overpowers the actual gummy; a thin layer on the top and bottom seems to be plenty
3. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge but keep in mind the moisture may absorb into the arrowroot, reducing it’s powdery-ness.

Now you have a version of Turkish Delight similar to that found in cafes and at markets with that classic and famililar powder coating!

You can probably store either in a container in the pantry, but keep in mind there is BEEF in there, it may not last long outside of the fridge before going ‘off’.

I hope you enjoy whichever version you make! Let me know how you go and what you think!

Oh and before I go, my message is never “you should eat strict Paleo all the time” because I certainly don’t! I believe we each need to find a happy balance with what we eat and how we live. So if you feel like having the ‘junk’ version of Turkish Delight.. then do it! Own it and enjoy it.

However, for those times you feel like a healthy option then now you have one 🙂

That’s all the wisdom I have for you for today..!

Aimee x

 

5 Things I’m Grateful for Today:

1. gelatin and how it helps me heal
2. getting sun today for over 30mins
3. a good catchup with Chris this morning
4. Eric Church songs
5. Spotting whales yesterday

Farm Tour Fun + Recipe for Paleo Mexican Pulled Beef Tacos

We had another amazingly fun Sunshine Coast Paleo Lifestyle Meetup Group event a couple of weeks ago when we held a Farm Tour & Picnic meetup with lovely local grass-feed cattle farmers Sue and Mark Menkens on their beautiful Bellthorpe property!

Maleny Black Angus Beef was the perfect spot for an enjoyable day out for both kids and adults alike. When we arrived we piled into the utes, some of us in the trays, some in the cabs, and off we went in convoy around the 600 acre farm.

Seeing cattle, being raced by a couple, dams, rolling green hills, trees, birds..

  

.. what a start to the day!

We crossed a creek or too, stalled up a steep hill (the kids sure enjoyed that bit!) and ended up at a feeding area in one of the main paddocks where Farmer Mark treated the cattle to bucket loads of sweet molasses!

The kids enjoyed getting up close with the cattle with some experiencing this close proximity with farm animals for the very first time.

Clint received a few odd looks and giggles when people noticed his farm footwear were his two bare feet! He was careful not to stand in any cow pats lying around. And I just missed a fresh one, only wearing my minimalist Earth Runner sandals, that was pretty lucky!

After that long stop off we piled back in the utes and headed back toward the farm house, doing a full loop of the property and making another quick stop in a different paddock to give some other cattle a feed of molasses so they didn’t miss out on the day’s special treat.

I made a little friend who enjoyed sitting in my lap in the tray and holding my hand while chatting about the farm and cattle!

 

The shaded grassy area between the house and the large fig tree was a terrific spot for our picnic lunch.

Rugs were placed down, food was shared around and everyone chatted and relaxed as the afternoon went by.

Even the Farmers enjoyed the rare chance to have a break from work and enjoy the time-out! They were back to moving cattle as soon as we left, but that’s a farmer’s life I guess.

Clint, of course, went exploring and attempted to climb the fig tree. Then he kept himself and the kids entertained playing games such as Tiggy and Wrestling on the lawn. The parents were happy about that!

I served my Mexican Pulled Beef Tacos, using blade supplied by Sue and Mark, which were a massive hit! Mark cooked up some of their delicious steak for us on the BBQ which was just amazingly good.

Because the tacos were so well received I thought I’d share the recipe with you!

Here it is, enjoy 🙂

 

MEXICAN PULLED BEEF TACOS

BEEF:

1.5kg grass-fed beef blade
2 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 large brown onion, fine diced
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp Himalayan salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup bone broth*

– Place the beef in a slow cooker along with all other                                                                         ingredients
– Turn dial to Low and leave on all day or overnight
– It’s helpful to occasionally turn the meat around and spoon the liquid over the top to ensure the   whole cut of meat is flavoured well and cooked evenly
– The meat is cooked properly when you can easily pull some away using a fork. When it’s  reached this point remove the meat using tongs, place on a plate and use two forks to pull meat away into small, short strips
– The liquid in the slow cooker can be reduced to become a sauce by simmering it for about  10-15 mins in a saucepan on the stove on low heat. Pour the sauce over the pulled meat to store in a  container in the fridge or before serving.

SOFT SHELL TACOS:

1 pastured egg
4 tbsp pure coconut milk (Ayam is our preference)
3 tbsp filtered/spring water
3 tbsp arrowroot flour
3 tbsp green banana flour (available from the Products page on our website)
Himalayan salt to taste
Oil/cooking fat to fry in (you won’t need a lot)

– In a small bowl or container mix the arrowroot and water together until no lumps remain
– In a stick blender cup or a tall, thin container/jug add the arrowroot and water mixture along with all other ingredients and blend on high until well combined. Alternatively, use a regular blender
– Heat a non-stick pan on the stove to a medium temperature, add a smidge of oil/fat if needed then pour batter on the pan to form circles about 12-15cm in diameter (or more if you want larger tacos). Don’t move the pan around or you’ll end up with crepes.
– When the surface bubbles a little use a spatula to flip over and cook through (about 30 sec each side is all that’s needed). Place them on a plate when cooked then add a small amount of the beef and other fillings to each, hold underneath in one hand and eat like you would a regular taco!
– Filling suggestions: shredded lettuce, diced avocado, thinly sliced carrot

I hope you enjoy it!

And we hope all of our meetup group members who came to the farm tour had a really nice day out.

We know some did, with this wonderful feedback we received on Facebook afterwards…

“Thank you Mark, Sue and Jesse for hosting us and thanks Aimee and Clint for organising it! Loved the scenery, the cattle and the conversations.” -Gypsy

“Thanks for a great day guys, the kids had a ball and were raving about it all the way home!” -Leanne

“It was great to have you all come and visit us on the weekend and to see you all having such a good time while you were here. We will have to do it again some time soon!!” -Farmers Mark, Sue and Jesse

If you’d like to contact Mark and Sue about purchasing their fantastic grass-fed beef products visit their website here

We really enjoy being able to connect consumers to quality local food producers, we’re really passionate about helping people find new sources of food to benefit themselves and their families, and helping support local farmers and producers doing good things.

If you know of a paleo-friendly food producer (or are one) in the Sunshine Coast region we should consider visiting for a meetup please contact us to let us know!

See you at the next meetup!

Aimee x

Recipe: Paleo Fish n Chips with Lime Aioli

Last night after another awesome Primal Fitness Class we popped into Woolies to grab something for dinner (yes we still shop at big bad chain supermarkets.. we sometimes need to – don’t judge!) and I had the idea to make fish n chips. Partly because we love making crispy chips out of different veggies (very rarely potato, bit too inflammatory for us unfortunately) plus there were a few choices of wild-caught seafood on special at the Deli. Yay!

So we grabbed some beautiful flathead fillets (50% off, why not?!), a parsnip and a white-fleshed sweet potato to go with the orange sweet potato we had at home.

I’d been wanting to try using green banana flour (only my favourite ingredient in the world!) with fish to fry to see how it went… so I did!

It turned out brilliantly and alongside crispy baked veggie chips and a serve of lime aioli… dinner was sorted and pretty darn enjoyable (if I do say so myself <wink>!).

Here’s the recipe for you guys to make and enjoy it for yourselves!

 

PALEO FISH N CHIPS WITH LIME AIOLI

You’ll need:

500g fresh wild-caught flathead fillets

1/4 cup green banana flour (Natural Evolution available here)

About 1/2 cup healthy oil/fat to fry and bake with (I used olive oil as it was on hand, but you can use ghee, coconut oil, rendered animal fat etc)

Juice of 1 small lime

Wedges of lime to garnish

1 cup organic cold-pressed olive oil (Coles organic variety is the nicest we’ve found so far for making aioli/mayo)

1 pastured egg

About 1 tbsp roast garlic puree or garlic powder (more or less depending on your taste)

Veggies for chips (I used a combo of parsnip, purple skin/white flesh sweet potato and orange sweet potato as they all crisp up pretty well) – use a mandolin or julienne slicer to cut evenly

Himalayan salt to taste

Tip: use a flat-based fry pan so the oil/fat covers evenly

 

To do:

1. For the chips: Pre-heat oven to 180.
2. Cut up the veggies to about 5cm long and only 1-2 mm thick then place them flat and close together on an oven tray lined with baking paper and a thin layer of oil/fat. You may need 2 oven trays depending on how many slices of veggies you have
3. Use your fingers or a cooking brush to spread a thin layer of oil/fat over the top surface of each veggie to ensure each piece has a nice coating
4. Sprinkle salt over the top then place in the oven. Keep an eye on them because your oven may not cook evenly and some chips may cook or burn before others, so place your timer on to remind you to check every 2 or so minutes. Shuffle chips around as you need so they cook evenly. Keep in mind… white-flesh sweet potato hardens before it looks like it’s crispy! So check doneness by tasting a piece for yourself!
5. Once chips are cooked to your liking place them on paper towel to absorb excess fat then place onto plates or serving dish.
6. Alternatively you could fry the chips in a large pan on the stove.
7. For the fish: heat a non-stick fry pan on medium-high temp with oil/fat you’re using to fry in, ensuring there’s an even layer of a few millimeters for the fish to sit in. Keep some oil/fat aside for the cut the fillets to a smaller size if they’re quite large and came in a fork-shape when you bought them, then coat in banana flour and some salt. I don’t use egg mixture to coat first as I like just a thin layer of flour so the flavour doesn’t overpower the fish
8. Place the fish in gently to avoid fat splashing on you and let one side brown slightly before turning over carefully with tongs to let the other side brown. If you notice the first piece of fish breaking as you try to move it that means it’s cooked through so try to keep the other fillets on the first side for less time than that one 🙂
9. Place browned fish pieces onto a plate with paper towel to absorb excess fat then place on a plate or serving dish
10. For the aioli: in a stick blender cup add the lime juice, the egg, a pinch of salt and the garlic then blitz on high for a couple of seconds to completely emulsify
11. Ask someone to hold onto it for you or somehow secure it to your bench then with one hand holding the stick blender on high inside the cup, use your other hand to pour in the cup of olive oil
12. Move the stick blender up and down a few times to get all the oil blended properly. It shouldn’t take long to have a thick and slightly green looking mixture
13. Alternatively, if using a regular blender follow all steps except turn the speed to LOW and pour in the oil VERY SLOWLY to prevent the mixture from splitting
14. Spoon into a serving bowl or place dollops onto plates alongside the fish and chips. Garnish with lime wedges and serve
15. Remaining aioli can last in the fridge in a sealed jar or container for a week or more

You’re done and you now have a pretty healthy version of an old favourite takeaway dish! Enjoy 🙂

 

Aimee x

 

5 Things I’m Grateful For:

1. all the yum foods I create and eat
2. the 30 min of sunshine I had today to boost my immune system
3. seeing mum this weekend for her birthday
4. our event on Saturday for kids and adults, it’s going to be so fun!
5. The Food Network on SBS.. lol

Recipe: Chocolate Orange Biscuits

Last night I was in the mood for making some recipe ideas for my green banana flour ebook, but unfortunately I’d run out of eggs and since all the recipes I wanted to attempt needed eggs… I was kind of bummed (cue sad violin music). I really felt like cooking something, so I decided to throw together a few things and ended up making a really yummy batch of choc orange biccies! And with so few ingredients… that’s a huge win in my books!!

I really felt like cooking something, so I decided to throw together a few things and ended up making a really yummy batch of choc orange biccies! And with so few ingredients… that’s a huge win in my books!!

I didn’t use eggs, I didn’t use nuts, and what I did use was really basic stuff, so it’s a no-brainer I share this new recipe with you all!

 

CHOCOLATE ORANGE BISCUITS

You’ll need:

2 tbsp chia seed meal (chia seeds ground down well in a good blender)

2 tbsp arrowroot flour

1/4 cup organic desiccated coconut

2 tbsp coconut oil (liquified)

2 tbsp pure organic cocoa powder

1/4 cup pure coconut milk (I use Ayam)

2 tbsp honey

Fresh orange zest, or dehydrated orange peel, or orange essential oil – to your liking

Optional: 2-3 tsp cacao nibs for crunch

Note: this made 10 small biscuits, double quantities to make larger batch

Do this:

1. Pre-heat oven to 170 degrees Celcius and line a baking tray with baking paper
2. Add all ingredients (apart from cacao nibs) to the blender or food processor and blitz until well combined and there are no lumps left. I used my blender because I had pieces of dehydrated orange skin I wanted to break down and I wanted the desiccated coconut and chia meal to break down as much as possible. You could just add all ingredients to a bowl to mix together with a spoon, if not using dried out orange skin pieces, the result may not be the same but it’s up to you. The blender took very little time and did a good job, so I suggest using one for this.
3. If including cacao nibs add them into the mixture now and stir through so they stay whole and crunchy
4. Use a teaspoon to place big dollops of the gooey chocolate mixture onto the baking tray, about a tablespoon’s worth of batter for each biscuit
5. You can keep them quite close together, about 2cm apart as the mixture will only spread a little while cooking. To ensure they stay fluffy don’t press down the mixture with the back of your spoon, just dollop it onto the paper, maybe tidy up the edges a little so they’re all neat and round, then bake them as is
6. Place in the oven and bake for around 10-15 mins
7. They really don’t take long to cook and actually cool down quickly because they’re not dense at all. They’ll be ready to munch on in no time!

These are great for school lunchboxes and after-school play dates because there’s no nuts present. Yet they’re so soft and moist.. wow!

Keep in mind though that some people with digestion issues can find arrowroot and chia meal heavy on the gut, but what I like about this recipe is it uses so little of each of those ingredients and they go such a long way that if you or your little one only has a couple of these they’re pretty filling because of the good fats, and there’s little chance of then being left bloated. But always listen to your body, the same ingredients for one person (paleo or not) don’t necessarily work well for the next.

Enjoy 🙂

Aimee x

 5 Things I’m Grateful for Today:

1. Creating these yummy biccies last night!
2. The sun out today
3. Playing outdoors
4. Chocolate
5. Holding fun cooking demo’s and all the great people I meet through them

Recipe: a Paleo dairy-free and nut-free cheese alternative

There are stacks of dairy-free ‘cheese’ recipes online and in books now. Some taste good and some taste nothing like cheese of course. Some are easy to make, some are really hard work.  Plus, most are made using nuts and not everyone can tolerate nuts well. Like me!

Most of my recipes are derived from a desire to create Paleo-friendly nut-free dishes for those who are allergic, don’t feel good eating many nuts, or just want nut-free alternatives. Especially important for school lunchboxes!

Last year I was introduced to an amazing dairy-free nut-free melting cheese recipe thanks to the legendary Aussie Paleo Chef (as known on Facebook, but just ‘Dan’ to us!) which goes brilliantly in Paleo burgers, in lasagne and on my chicken parmie recipe (in my soon-to-come Banana Flour e-book!!) and one of my fave recipes to teach people at private cooking workshops, always crediting back to the man himself of course!

If you’d like to grab his melting cheese recipe just download the Paleo Kitchen Creations e-book and enjoy the deliciousness!

So since learning that recipe, using it a lot and loving it.. I wanted to create a cheese that didn’t work only melted and could be spread onto crackers like regular animal milk-based cheese. One day I got creative in the kitchen and came up with a winner, using similar ingredients to Dan’s recipe, but slightly different. Of course though, me being me and not always organised in the kitchen, I didn’t write down the recipe as I went and couldn’t then remember the ingredients or method afterwards therefore I couldn’t replicate it so I could give it to you guys! Oh believe me, I tried! And failed… many times.

I’d almost given up but decided recently to have another crack.. and whad’ya know.. success!

I’ve finally created a spreadable cheese alternative recipe! I’ll be honest though, it doesn’t taste like real cheese, no cheese substitutes do. But, it’s a really healthy alternative and something interesting to include at dinner parties, as a snack, whenever you’d usually use cheese really.

Since it isn’t cheese and doesn’t taste exactly like cheese, let’s not call it “cheese”. Because that’s a fib after all! Instead, how ’bout we call it.. Cheezy Paleo Spread as it does have a likeness to cheese but it’s not the same as it, and that’s kinda cheezy I think! 😉

Ingredients you’ll need:

1/2 cup organic desiccated coconut

1/2 cup arrowroot flour

1 tbsp grass-fed pure beef gelatin powder (grab some via our affiliate link here)

2 tbsp spring/filtered water

1/2-1 tsp turmeric powder – depending on how yellow you want your cheez

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp Niulife creamed coconut (not coconut cream/milk, but dried coconut processed to become ‘creamy’)

Himalayan salt to taste

 

Kitchen bits you’ll need:

Good blender (high speed, bullet, or glass with decent power)

Whisk

Measuring spoons and cups

Round or square/rectangle container lined with baking paper or plastic wrap. Plastic wrap will probably allow for creases to appear around the edges of the cheez but that’s not necessarily a bad thing!

 

Steps to follow:

1. In a small saucepan add 1 tbsp water and gently sprinkle gelatin powder evenly over the surface. Do not turn the stove on until the gelatin powder has absorbed some of the water and has ‘bloomed’.
2. Turn heat to medium and whisk the liquid so all gelatin granules have dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside
3. Add to the blender add all remaining ingredients then drizzle the gelatin water on top
4. Place the lid on the blender and blitz on high to break down the desiccated coconut and combine everything well. You can blitz until you reach a very smooth consistency or stop before it reaches that if you prefer the texture of some of the coconut remaining
5. As you’re blending feel free to add a smidge more water (as in 1 tsp at a time) in case the mixture is too thick and isn’t combining properly. This can depend on your blender. Basically, you’re after a well combined and thick mixture with no lumps of creamed coconut or arrowroot remaining
6. Once it’s to your liking use a silicon spatula or food processor scraper (food processor scrapers seem to work perfectly for getting around all the grooves in blenders!) to remove the mixture and transfer to the lined container
7. Gently tap the base of the container on a steady surface like a chopping board to help the mixture spread to the corners and settle evenly
8. Place in the fridge for a couple of hours to set
9. When it’s time to serve, take it out of the fridge, grab the plastic or paper to remove it all from the container then remove the paper/plastic so you’re left with a big chunk of yellow cheez
10. Serve on a platter with crackers spread out around, or cut to smaller sizes if you wish. Keep in mind on a really hot day outside the cheez may melt because of the coconut oil and gelatin but it will take a while to melt completely. Use a butter knife to spread onto crackers or slide carrot sticks into it. Easy!
11. Store in the fridge in an air-tight container or wrapped in plastic. It contains gelatin which is an animal product so it will spoil after a few days as with any animal product. The apple cider vinegar will help preserve it to an extent but if the smell or colour changes please discard it.

Enjoy!

The recipe for the Rosemary Crackers (in the image) will be in my Banana Flour e-book, so be sure to keep an eye out for that.. launching in February 2016, yay!

I hope you enjoy creating and eating this recipe, please do let me know what you think!

 

Here are some answers to some questions I may get after sharing this recipe:

• Why not use nutritional yeast? I have experimented with it many times and every time it leaves my stomach very bloated and gassy the next day. From what I’ve read about it, it’s so processed and unnatural in its useable state that it easily messes with digestion. And don’t we mostly go Paleo to improve gut health?! Feel free to use it if you can tolerate it well but remember it could have inflammatory effects. It would replace turmeric for the yellow effect but turmeric is so healthy!
• Why use gelatin? Pure gelatin is so healing (so it’s actually good for digestion!) and helps create the texture of this cheez
• Could I use other types of dried coconut? Yes but the larger the pieces the longer they’ll take to break down enough in the blender.

Let me know if you have any questions to add!

Thanks,

Aimee xx

 

5 Things I’m Grateful For:

1. Our long weekend away in NSW going to a family wedding, seeing new places and staying with amazing friends
2. The sun out today so I can get some Vitamin D!
3. Healthy recipe creating
4. All Dan’s wonderful advice and inspiration
5. You guys reading our blogs!

Our bug adventures – Part 1

That’s not a typo, it is actually meant to read “Our bug adventures”, not “Our big adventures”.. did you get a bit confused there for a second?!

If you read the blog post we did about our 2015 Paleo Camping Retreat you’ll know we’re open to eating bugs, because one of our awesome sponsors Primal Collective gave us tubs of roasted crickets! They actually just taste like savoury popcorn, serious! And as we’ve discovered recently catching and cooking up some bugs ourselves.. there’s not a great deal of flavour. Generally speaking anyway. It’s more the mindset and the look of them that’s hard to get your head around. But once you get past that and free yourself of the ick-factor so many people naturally have at first, it’s really quite a positive experience!

Humans have been eating bugs since humans first walked the earth. Insects are just another rung on the food chain ladder. But these days, with the modern conveniences we’re used to such as shops selling pre-cut pieces of attractive-looking muscle meats.. we are really out of touch with what our food originally looked like, where it comes from and how it lived before it served the purpose of feeding another form of life. I.e. Us!

The fact humans do naturally eat bugs for survival and fuel seems to have been forgotten.

So because this is such a unique thing in the eyes of most, Clint and I thought we’d write about our bug hunting and eating adventures in the hopes of inspiring others to get on the insect train!

Our friend Dan the Aussie Paleo Chef has been eating bugs for a while. He often sends us photos of scorpions and other insects he finds in the bush near him in Canberra and then cooks up at home in coconut oil and other typical paleo flavourings. He’s really inspired us, we’d wanted to do this ourselves for a long time but were always a bit nervous about the safety of it. There’s so little information on the internet about which bugs are safe to eat, we just didn’t want to eat something that ended up being poisonous. Of course!

But a few weeks ago a new friend of ours saw an article we shared on Facebook by Stirring Change on eating dehydrated ants and indicated she was keen to try this herself. So we asked if she’d like to come on a bug hunt with us and she jumped at the chance!

We picked a day and a location and off we went into the bush to catch us some bugs! Our friend Sarah and her son had a list of edible insects they’d found online and Clint and I were pretty well read on the bugs in the area that would be safe to consume. We took some gloves, plastic containers and headed down the main track of a local parkland, turning over logs, sifting through leaf litter and basically looking in all the places we figured bugs would be.

We must admit, it was a pretty slow process! There weren’t as many rocks and logs as we’d hoped, but over the course of an hour or two we ended up a few keepers…

That big sucker is actually a giant centipede! Plus there’s a witchitty grub-type thing, a bush cockroach and a beetle.

This little guy is a regular centipede. Not to be confused with millipedes which we read are not safe to eat. To tell the difference, centipedes only have one leg per body segment, whereas millipedes have more.

“But don’t centipedes contain poison?” I hear you say? They do indeed but we’d read that cooking the bugs cooks out this poison, making them totally safe to eat!

Only 4 bugs (the beetle didn’t seem worth it so we didn’t include him) and 4 people to share around to.. hmmm. Sarah ended up letting us take them home to eat. I think she was still too nervous to cook them up herself! We didn’t mind!

She had wanted to score a haul of ants to take home to dehydrate, but when we started trying to catch some ants at the beginning of our trek we soon realised they are pretty hard to get! They’re really quick, so when you manage to get one or more in a container, you have others trying to get out at the same time. We figured we’d need to design our own ant-catcher contraption, or go home and Google for some ideas. So that’ll be for another bug hunting expedition!

Clint and I took these few bugs home and fried them in just coconut oil and salt. The centipedes and roach turned out perfectly; nice and crispy. The grub, however, wasn’t so nice, but we found out later from our friend The Free-ranging Chef that we needed to cook it slightly differently so we’ll definitely keep that in mind for next time.

Yes, there’ll be a next time! We’re already planning the next Bug Hunt! Cos, well, you could say … we’ve caught the bug for it..! haha sorry, couldn’t resist!

Next week we’re planning to try catching ants with a homemade trap (cos they are fast little buggers and tricky to catch!) to dehydrate. Plus more general insects so we can keep experimenting and hopefully enjoy a bigger feed!

So as well as the actual bug hunting, we also eat farmed bugs. The roasted crickets are great, but recently we also found out about cricket FLOUR! Or “powder” to be exact, because of the texture roasted crickets become when broken down.

Our new friends from Bugsy Bros in Brisbane sell packets of cricket powder and kindly gave us some to play around with. I’ve been cooking with it and really like it!

I even used it in a recipe I gave at my last Sunny Coast cooking demo… Mini Banana Muffins… and the tasters when down a treat! They’re a great addition for kids and adults lunchboxes because they’re small but filling and nourishing. That extra protein helps you stay fuller longer, and the exclusion of nuts, and even coconut flour, means there’s less chance of bloating and feeling ‘heavy’ after eating, unlike many paleo muffin recipes.

Would you like the recipe for the muffins so you can easily test out the cricket powder without it being a really strong and overpowering taste experience? And also to hide it from the kids? Here it is!

MINI BANANA MUFFINS

You’ll need these:

1 cup Natural Evolution banana flour (found here)

3 tbsp Bugsy Bros cricket powder (grab some here)

3 large organic bananas (brown spots are best!)

1-2 tsp each of pure vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg

Honey to sweeten (1 tbsp. – 1 cup.. It’s up to you!)

1/2 tsp each of bicarb (aluminium-free), baking powder (gluten and rice-free) and Himalayan salt

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 pastured eggs

3 tbsp. coconut oil or ghee

Do this:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celcius
2. Place all ingredients in a food processor (or leave out bananas if you want chunky muffins. Add them in at the very end and blitz for a second or two) and mix well
3. Grease some mini muffin trays/moulds with coconut oil or ghee, then spoon mixture into trays/moulds and place on a baking tray in the oven
4. Bake for 15-20 mins or until golden brown on top

Tip: place slices of  banana on top before baking to make them prettier!

Ideas: swap banana for pumpkin or sweet potato (to help bind and moisten but with less sugar), add dates for extra sweetness, add whole blueberries, turn into savoury muffins with grated veggies and savoury spices/herbs… there are so many ways to change this recipe to suit your health needs and tastes!

These muffins are nutrient-dense so a few are very filling and great for school and work lunchboxes. They are nut-free which is great for schools or when having kids’ friends over who have allergies. They can be made coconut-free by using ghee or olive oil instead of coconut oil (the cricket powder is high in protein so it’s a perfect swap).

Storage Tip: Double the quantity, make large batches and store in bags or containers in the freezer to thaw and use when needed! For use within a few days store in an air-tight container out of the fridge.

So there you have it.. you’re up to date with our recent bug adventures and even scored a healthy and yummy recipe you can use insects in!

We hope this inspires you to step outside your comfort zone and try bugs if you haven’t before. Life’s so much more interesting and fun when we walk outside of those boring comfort zones and try new experiences 🙂

Please let us know how you go with bug hunting and/or eating, we’d love to hear from you!

Stay tuned for Part 2 🙂

Aimee (and Clint!)

 

PLEASE NOTE THAT MANY INSECTS ARE CLASSED AS CRUSTACEANS DUE TO THEIR SHELLS SO ALWAYS BE MINDFUL OF WHAT YOU CONSUME IN REGARDS TO ALLERGIES

5 Things We’re Grateful for Today:

1. Trying cool new foods like bugs and cricket powder
2. The rain on the garden today
3. Clint having a good birthday yesterday and loving his gifts
4. Special friends who bring joy to our lives
5. Natural movement and play

DISCLAIMER: All content provided on this Under the Primal Influence blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site.

The owner of undertheprimalinfluence.wordpress.com will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.