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

 

 

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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

 

 

Fun on the farm and learning about Biodynamics

We held another Farm Tour Meetup at Eumundi Beef a couple of weeks ago, and as always, Farmer Susan gave an incredibly detailed description of how she runs her small and sustainable grass-fed Angus/Murray cattle property using Biodynamics principles, even including her background (she wasn’t born into farming, she was actually a Biochemist  before she transitioned into farm life!) and also what her goals for the future are.

She won’t be focusing solely on producing quality beef, she’s branching into heritage chicken meat, chicken and goose eggs,  tallow soap and more! She sure is a busy lady, she’s also very knowledgeable, passionate, interesting and generous with her time.

We appreciate her allowing our Sunshine Coast Paleo Lifestyle Meetup Group members explore her property and bug her with lots of questions about her methods.

When we’d had a thorough tour of the farm which included patting a bull, spying a cute calf wandering off and staying close to mum, holding chickens, seeing geese and ducks, getting lots of fresh air and sunshine.. we sat down to enjoy a picnic and chatted about what we’d just experienced.

So many people, including us, were really interested in the whole Biodynamics philosophy and how it really seems to be the ultimate in achieving health for the planet, the animals and us humans as consumers of meat and produce. It sounds a lot more in-depth and rewarding than even Permaculture, which we know is really popular here on the Sunshine Coast, with courses being held regularly. Biodynamics though is less talked about but more farmers are finding out about it and starting to implement the methods.

Basically, the main benefit of Biodynamically-raised plants is that the nutrients from the soil end up in the cells of the plants, rather than just in the water part of the plants, which is sadly the result of many common ‘clean’ practices such as Aquaponics and even Organic farming. When the nutrients are held in the cells of the plants the plants are far more nutrient-dense, last longer, and are utilised more efficiently and effectively by the animals and humans consuming them.

Interesting or what?!

Farmer Susan talked a lot about the processes in which she went through to vastly improve her soil quality over the 5 years since she began farming the land, the different layers of soil, all the important and pesky types of grasses, paddock rotation, how to raise happy and healthy cattle, why she chose the cross-breed of Angus / Murray, how to identify a healthy patch of ground, beneficial bugs and bacteria and so much more.

It really was a chance to learn new things and be inspired to take positive steps in our own lives with our own gardening practices and with what produce we purchase. Looking for Biodynamically-produced food is really the healthiest.

The day wasn’t all about learning though, we did eventually sit down for a picnic, scoffed down some amazingly delicious paleo delights, had great conversations and lots of laughs.

We enjoyed some Turkish Delight, raw vegan cakes, char grilled flavoursome chicken, nuts, and more. It sure was a feast!

Thank you so much to all our members who came along for a day out on the farm! We hope you enjoyed yourselves and learnt a lot, we certainly did!

And of course a huge thank you to Farmer Susan for hosting us and sharing so much information and time with us all, we love you!

To keep up with all our farm tour and other paleo lifestyle meetups and events, be sure to register for our newsletters here.

To find out more about Eumundi Beef head to the website.

Clint & Aimee

5 Things We’re Grateful For:

1. Really fun and interesting farm tour  meetups
2. Spending time with lovely people at our meetups
3. There being so many quality food producers on the Sunshine Coast
4. Paleo Turkish Delight (lol)
5. Sunny days spent outdoors

 

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

Recipe: Paleo Meatballs & Veggies with Noodles 2-Ways

I don’t always consume nightshades because I have a bit of sensitivity to them, so I often enjoy creating variety with meals totally leaving out tomato, chilli, garlic, paprika.. basically all the good stuff lol and finding flavour without those common flavour options.

As most of you know, I also like to create meals that are quick, easy and super healthy. Sometimes my creative moments actually work out well and the other night was one of those occasions when I created a new meat and veg dish that got double thumbs up from Clint, woo! AND it made 4 meals worth in one go, bonus!

I decided to make meatballs, a non-tomato sauce and have some noodles… and I created Meatballs and Veggies with Noodles 2-Ways – delicious, super healthy, really easy to make, a total win!

Here’s the basic recipe I created but feel free to play around with it and make it work best for you and your family 🙂

MEATBALLS & VEGGIES WITH NOODLES 2-WAYS

Makes 4 serves

You’ll need:

500g mince (I used turkey, you could use chicken, lamb, beef etc)

1 cup pumpkin, peeled and diced

1/2 cup bone broth (grab our free e-book here if you don’t already know about bone broth)

1 large brown onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 large carrots (peel if not organic), finely chopped

Fat/oil for cooking in (I use rendered grass-fed animal fat, ghee or coconut oil)

2-4 tsp each of cumin powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder

Himalayan salt, pepper to taste

1 large zucchini, ‘zoodled’ using a noodle machine of some kind, or just peeled into long narrow strips

Optional: 1 packet konjac ‘Spaghetti’ noodles (available from supermarkets and health food stores) (I used these because Clint’s not a fan of a lot of zoodles, and these have great texture, more like ‘real’ noodles)

 

Do this:

1. Make small balls with the mince, by rolling around even amounts into balls in your hands
2. Heat a large fry pan to medium temp and add the fat/oil, carrot and onion. Place the meatballs in then put the lid on and allow to cook through
3. In a medium saucepan of boiling water add the pumpkin and allow to book completely through so when you pierce a piece with a knife it easily cuts through. Strain the water and place pumpkin in a food processor or blender
4. Add the spices, salt, pepper and bone broth to the pumpkin mix and blitz until totally combined and there are no more chunks. It won’t take long to become a sauce
5. Pour the sauce into the frypan with the veggies and meatballs, carefully stir, place the lid back on and allow to cook for a couple of minutes
6. Place noodles on plate or in a bowl ready then when the frypan mixture is ready (the sauce should be a little thicker, the meatballs are cooked through, the carrot and onion are soft) spoon it on top of the noodles
7. Done! Easy!

This made 4 serves so Clint had lunch ready for work the next day, it’s fine to have cold, and I had my dinner sorted for the next night. Yay!

Kids will love this  because pumpkin gives sweetness, noodles and meatballs are fun and it’s a bright coloured dish!

It’s so healthy because it’s jam-packed full of nourishing veggies, a little bit of meat, the bone broth contains gelatin and essential minerals, the turmeric is anti-inflammatory and the fat in there balances it all out nicely.

You could add some coconut amino (with or without chilli and garlic in it) to the sauce to give it a flavour boost. You could use different noodles. You can add different herbs and spices. This recipe is so versatile!

Enjoy! Please let me know how you go and how this idea helps you in the kitchen!

Aimee x

 

5 Things I’m Grateful For Today:

1. a fun day cooking with a friend
2. a really fun Primal Fitness Class yesterday
3. the Daniel Vitalis sleep podcast I listened to while writing this
4. going for nice walks at sunrise
5. walking barefoot everywhere and how good it feels

 

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!

Recipe: Dreamy Creamy Triple Choc Chip Ice Blocks

It’s Summer, yay! And that, of course, means many hot days ahead, calling for cold food and drinks to cool us down.

So I have the perfect recipe for just that! And it’s a little decadent but super healthy at the same time… My Dreamy Creamy Triple Choc Chip Ice Blocks!

Sound good? Look good? Want to make them? Then here’s the recipe so you can do just that!

DREAMY CREAMY TRIPLE CHOC CHIP ICE BLOCKS

You’ll need these:

Ice blocks:

1.25 cups pure coconut milk

1/2 cup organic pure cocoa powder

1 cup organic banana, roughly chopped

1-2 tbsp raw honey

1 tbsp cacao nibs (plus extra for garnish)

Choc drizzle:

2 tbsp coconut oil

1 tbsp cacao butter

1 tbsp organic pure cocoa powder

1/2 tsp pure vanilla (powder, paste or beans)

2 tsp raw honey

(grab some of the ingredients for less than RRP in the Primal Pantry!)

Now do this:

Ice blocks:

1. Place all ingredients, apart from the cacao nibs, into a blender and blitz until you have a smooth consistency and there are no chunks of banana remaining
2. Stir in the cacao nibs
3. Pour mixture into ice block moulds (purchase from op shops, supermarkets, homewares stores etc)
4. Place in the fridge to set for a few hours

Choc drizzle:

1. Using the double boiler method melt the ingredients so there are no lumps of cacao butter remaining. The water can be simmering but doesn’t need to be at too high a temperature.
2. Once melted, remove from stove and allow mixture to cool down a little
3. Once the mixture has cooled down but is still runny, pour into zip-lock bag (cut the smallest of holes in one corner to make into a piping bag) or a proper piping bag
4. Place a large flat plate in the freezer
5. When the ice blocks have completely set remove them from their moulds and lie them down on the cold plate from the freezer (to prevent the ice blocks melting quickly) then grab the choc drizzle bag and pipe over the ice blocks however you like. Across-ways back and forth is easy and looks great. Sprinkle some cacao nibs over for garnish. The chocolate will set pretty quickly then you can serve the ice blocks!

Easy as that! I hope you enjoy these rich, creamy, chocolatey, healthy, delicious goodies over Summer 🙂

I sure enjoyed eating those 3 after I took photos! I had to.. they were melting, it was the hottest day we’d had in ages and it was a matter of life and mess! lol

To learn more paleo-friendly healthy, yummy, easy, affordable recipes feel free to contact me to organise a Private Paleo Cooking Workshop, or stay tuned on Primal E-News for upcoming cooking demo’s!

Aimee x

 

5 Things I’m Grateful For:

1. Yummy healthy Ice blocks on a hot Summer day!
2. Spending time out by a creek in the country yesterday and Clint catching 2 fish
3. Our talk at Nebo Organics tonight
4. New skills activity I learnt from Clint yesterday during our play session
5. The salt lamp in this office helping relax me as I work and study

 

Recipe: Smoky Hot BBQ Sauce

Thanks to Sunshine Coast Paleo Lifestyle Meetup Group member Andrea for sending us this winning recipe!

Andrea kindly gave us a batch a few months ago and we loved it. Clint was eating it with a spoon it was that good, so we thought it about time to give you guys the recipe so you too can make and enjoy this deliciousness!

Photo: unknown

SMOKEY HOT BBQ SAUCE

Yields approx. 2 cups

NF based on approx. 1/4 cup

 

What you’ll need:

1 onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can tomato paste

1.5 cups fresh organic crushed tomatoes

¼ cup pure date paste

½ cup unsweetened pure applesauce

1/4 cup organic balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar, or coconut vinegar

3 tbsp organic Dijon mustard

Juice of 1 lime

2 tbsp coconut amino’s

1 tbsp fish sauce (omit if can’t find paleo version)

2-3 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

¼ tsp ground cloves

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp smoked paprika

3-4 dried chipotle peppers, chopped

1 cup water

¼ tsp all natural liquid smoke (omit if can’t find paleo version and just add more paprika)

 

Now do this:

Add all the ingredients to your blender or food processor and process until completely reduced to a fine, liquid puree.

Transfer that puree to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, partly cover and simmer for 45 to 60 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the sauce is nice and thick and darker in color.

Kill the heat and let the sauce come down to room temperature.

If you want a really smooth BBQ sauce, pass it through a fine mesh sieve (you will have to help it through by swirling it around with a ladle), otherwise, just transfer it straight to an airtight container and refrigerate.

This BBQ sauce gets better after sitting in the fridge for a few days and it will keep for 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator.

 

Enjoy 🙂