Customizable Paleo and SCD Candy Bars

Okay, first let’s address the elephant in the room.  There is nothing Paleo about candy bars.  There, I said it.

This is not a recipe that you want to make every day and eat it all for breakfast, and then brag to your friends that you are hard-core Paleo.  These are free of all grains and refined sugars (unless you opt to use the Enjoy Life chocolate chips), but let’s face it, that doesn’t mean you should make a meal out of chocolate and coconut.

However, sometimes you are stuck on a special diet.  It could be for weight loss or medical issues or even life-threatening allergies.  And doggone it, everybody wants and needs to indulge sometimes!!  This recipe is for those times.  These are decadent and rich and amazing, and the good news is that once you consider the amount of nutrient dense coconut they contain…..you could do a lot worse for an indulgence.

Another great thing about this recipe is how customizable it is.  It is kind of like the coconut version of my monster coo0kie.

Customizable Paleo Candy Bars (makes approximately 16 squares)

please skip to the end for a customizable SCD candy bar….

3/4 cup coconut cream concentrate, melted

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1 TBSP pure vanilla extract

2 TBSP honey

1/4 cup coconut chips (for topping)

Ingredients for 1 batch of homemade chocolate:

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup plus 1 TBSP cocoa powder

Mix your first 4 ingredients together (coconut cream concentrate, vanilla, honey and coconut oil), and pour into a glass 8×8 pan, lined with wax paper.

Then make your chocolate by melting the coconut oil and honey in a small sauce pan.  Whisk in cocoa powder and voila!  You have chocolate.  Now pour this chocolate on top of your coconut mixture.  I tried to blend it and make it pretty and swirly, but I was afraid if I overdid it, it would all just turn light brown.

Then sprinkle with coconut chips.

Place your dish into the refrigerator or freezer.  Leave for approximately 30 minutes- 1 hour or until it is solid.

Remove the wax paper from the dish:

and cut into squares!

Another variation of this would be to make the coconut layer exactly the same as listed above, but instead of making homemade chocolate, you could add 1/4 cup of Enjoy Life chocolate chips.  Then top with 1/4 cup coconut chips.  So yummy!!!  Store in the refrigerator!!

Customizable SCD Candy Bar (makes 16 squares)

3/4 cup coconut cream concentrate, melted

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1 TBSP. pure vanilla extract

3 TBSP. honey

1/4 cup coconut chips

(add any other nuts, seeds, or dried fruits that you think would be delicious–I plan to add dried cherries the next time I make the SCD version!!)

Mix your first 4 ingredients together (coconut cream concentrate, vanilla, honey and coconut oil), and pour into a glass 8×8 pan, lined with wax paper.  Then sprinkle the coconut chips on top.  Leave in the refrigerator or freezer for 30 minutes-1 hour or until solid.  Cut into squares.  Store in the refrigerator!

The question is…..which version will you make first?

Firsts

Today I made homemade mayonnaise–lemon dill mayonnaise to be exact.  I’d always heard it was easy, and now I  know that it is.

I also made pretzels.  Again, first time.  Last Friday, my oldest boy had a school friend who was celebrating a birthday.  This friend brought pretzels as a snack to share with the class, which reminded my son how awesome pretzels were.  I didn’t even think paleo pretzels were possible, but I found this recipe and gave it a shot and looky here:

They aren’t perfect by any means, but once I dehydrate them overnight, I think they will achieve crunchy perfection.  And then I think they will be quite amazing.

I also cut up a whole pineapple–a spiky, poky thing that has always intimidated me.  But whole pineapples were on sale for $0.99 at ALDI and I figured….well, now would be a great time to learn.  And it wasn’t hard at all.

Another first for today is kind of funny.  I garnished our dinner.  I’ve never done that before.  I’ve gotten accustomed to pretty food (so have my kids!) and I added a lemon slice to each plate tonight just because it made me feel happy.

I guess where I’m going with this post is that once you take those first timid steps and realize….hey, cutting up a pineapple is no different than cutting up a cantaloupe…..or when you make a new recipe and you nail it……or even when you think of a food combination that sounds tasty and it is….

for instance, this candy bar recipe–which is coming soon to the blog.

….you get confident and suddenly you’re doing something crazy like making pretzels or eating homemade yogurt out of wine glasses—just cause it’s pretty!!

And to think that when I married my husband 10 years ago, the only thing I knew how to make was meatloaf.

Things change and get strange with the movement of time.  It’s happening, right now, to you.–“Down with the Shine” The Avett Brothers

The Compost Post

Last week, I posted this picture on Instagram (my username there is consideritjoybaking)

with the caption, “do you compost?”.  I got a lot of feedback from people who want to compost or at least learn more about it , but don’t know exactly where to begin.  So I thought I’d give you my take on composting, complete with pictures.

I will start by telling you why I love it and why I will always compost.  We eat a ton of fruits and veggies and when we were putting that waste in the trash can, it tended to get stinky fast!  Which meant we took the garbage out a LOT!!  Now we have so much less waste going in the garbage and our trash can never stinks (any food scraps that are not compostable can go down the garbage disposal).  We only take out the trash when it is full, which is more like 2-3 times/week versus every day.  I didn’t realize what a difference it was until we went on vacation and every time I opened the trash can it was so stinky!!  Since we take the trash out much less frequently, we are also saving money on trash bags and putting less of them into landfills.  Win-win!

We started composting about 9 months ago, and my initial interest came about because I wanted to use the compost in a garden.  So we did a little research, talked to friends who composted and my handy husband put together a bin for us.  He used wood and chicken wire that we purchased, but I have friends who just built one using a wooden pallet that they found.  You can make yours as fancy or as simple as you like.  Here is a picture of ours up close–we made one with 2 bins, which I will explain.

The back of the bin backs up against our back fence (which is chain link, hence the trees growing into the bin.  I realize that this isn’t so pretty to look at, but here it is in the grand scheme of our back yard:

I would argue that the trampoline is more of an eyesore than the compost bin!

So why does it have 2 sections?  Well, we have an active side (the side that we add all of our food scraps, etc. to on a daily basis) and a side that is in the process of “cooking” to become fertilizer.  Because obviously your food scraps do not turn into fertilizer overnight.  They need time to decompose, etc.  As you can see, we have a piece of plywood in front of our “active” side.

This is simply because our dog has discovered that he has a penchant for melon rinds, and if we don’t keep him out of there, he will climb to the top of the compost pile, which is a very cute and messy canine version of King of the Mountain, and pull out every cantaloupe rind he can find.

You should probably choose a place for your compost bin that is a bit out of the way.  As the food decomposes, there will be lots of little fruit fly type bugs on top of the pile.  I haven’t noticed any other kind of bug problems, although when the pile gets going really well, you will probably find worms in it, and that is a good thing!  Contrary to popular belief, compost piles do not stink.  At all.  I don’t understand how the same food that stinks up a garbage can has absolutely no odor in a compost pile, but trust me when I say it doesn’t.  I have a very keen nose, and I love nothing more than turning my compost!

Every once in a while, you should go out to the pile and (using a pitchfork) literally turn the compost.  It gets these strange layers, like this for instance:

This is a scoop of stuff I picked up with my pitchfork.  As you can see, some of the stuff is dark, damp and decomposing and right next to that was a layer of completely dry leaves that haven’t’ decomposed at all.  It’s good to mix it all up.  And it is also good to keep the pile damp.  If it hasn’t rained in a while, I will spray the piles down with a hose.

So what can you put in your compost bin?

From the kitchen:  any fruit or veggie scraps or spoiled fruits or veggies, egg shells, coffee filters/grounds, tea bags, leftover pulp from juicing

From the yard:  grass clippings, pine straw, leaves, pine cones, small sticks (although we don’t do pine cones or sticks because they just take too long to break down)

Other stuff:  shredded newspaper, shredded junk mail, hair (I know, random, right??)

Never put any meat or dairy items or processed food in your compost bin.  Or dead animals.  Or dog or cat poop.  Cause……yuck.

Once you have your bin built, you are ready to go.  I remember when we started, I had my husband pour in some grass clippings to start (just put your stuff right on the ground!) and then we just started adding to it.  At first I worried if I was turning it too much or not enough.  Or if I should water it more.  You will also see lots online about adding chemicals to keep it balanced.  Do not stress about compost.

Just take a deep breath, and remember–it’s garbage!!  You’re not going to screw it up any worse than it already is!

If you turn your compost and it smells like fresh dirt or the forest, etc, it’s working.  Recently, the side we are letting cook began to smell like moth balls, which was odd.  I’m sure I could have gone online and found all sort of chemicals to “fix” my problem.  But I figured the decomposition had stalled because I hadn’t added to it in so long.  So I added about 5 banana peels and some coffee grounds (things I thought that would decompose quickly) and sure enough the next day it had that fresh dirt smell again!

Other random tips:

The decomposition process will go faster in the summer than in the winter.  This is to be expected because of the warmer temperatures.

While  you can throw grass clippings into your compost pile, do not throw the weeds you just pulled.  Those seeds are very hearty and will likely “weed up” your flower beds when you spread your compost for fertilizer.

If you spread your compost before it is completely decomposed, you may find some random fruits or veggies growing in your flower beds, due to fruit or vegetable seeds that have not yet decomposed.  This is not the end of the world and it might be fun to see a random cantaloupe pop up in your zinnias!!

Do you have any other questions about composting?  Do you compost or are you inspired to start?

Frosty Pina Colada Bites (Paleo, Nut-Free, SCD, Sugar-Free)

This recipe is dedicated to summer…..and to those of you who don’t have an ice cream maker, but still want in on some guilt-free, ice-cold, Paleo goodness.

I feel like this recipe would work for almost anyone.  It is dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, and grain-free.  It has no added sugars whatsoever.  But it tastes decadent.  Heck, it’s even pretty!

Oh, and did I mention that there are only 3 ingredients?  And the flavor varieties are endless?  What the WHAT?!?!

So shut up, you say, give us the flippin’ recipe.  Okay, okay.

Frosty Pina Colada Bites

Traditional Pina Colada 

1/2 cup coconut cream concentrate/coconut manna/coconut butter

1 8 oz can of pineapple, drained (make sure it is in pineapple juice, not syrup).  8 oz of fresh pineapple would work fine as well.

1/2 ripe banana

Orange Pina Colada (my favorite!)

1/2 cup coconut cream concentrate/coconut manna/coconut butter

2 single serving cups–probably about 3/4 cup–of mandarin oranges, drained (make sure it is in juice, not syrup)

1/2 ripe banana

Strawberry Pina Colada 

1/2 cup coconut cream concentrate/coconut manna/coconut butter

1 cup of strawberries (if frozen, thaw completely)

1/2 ripe banana

Melt/soften your coconut cream concentrate by placing the jar in a bowl of hot water.  If you have a dehydrator, you can put it in the dehydrator on a low temperature.  Place all ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth.  (The strawberry recipe was much thicker because the strawberries aren’t as juicy.  You may want to add a teaspoon or two of water).  The mixture should be just a bit thicker than muffin batter.  Transfer mixture into silicone molds or liners in a mini muffin pan.  Place in the freezer for around 30 minutes.  You will store them in the freezer and you can pop them right in your mouth for a frosty snack.  Note that you could also store them in the fridge.  They won’t be hard in the fridge, but more of a gooey, marshmallow-y texture.  See which you prefer!  If you try other flavors, I would love to know what you try and how they turn out.  Enjoy!

Snickerdoodle Blondies (Paleo, SCD)

Last night I teased on Facebook that I had a recipe for snickerdoodle blondies, and I predicted that everyone probably already had the ingredients in their cupboard.  That’s how basic these little yummies are.   These blondies are inspired by a recipe in the book “Breaking the Vicious Cycle“, which is considered the SCD bible.  That recipe is simply for Peanut Butter Blondies and it was the first time I had ever even heard of using peanut or almond butter for baking–that was a fun revelation!!

It reminded me of another recipe I used to make for my boys that they loved.  This snickerdoodle blondie recipe by Chocolate Covered Katie has some unexpected ingredients (chickpeas!!), but my kids used to gobble them up!!!   Now that we’ve omitted legumes from our diet, those blondies aren’t an option any more, but I think these new ones are even yummier.  So without further ado…..

Snickerdoodle Blondies (makes 9)

1 cup almond butter (may also use all-natural peanut butter if you aren’t Paleo.  I prefer almond butter because it is more of a mild flavor and doesn’t taste quite so nutty.)

1/2 cup honey

1 egg

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 TBSP. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325.  Using a hand mixer, blend all ingredients together in a mixing bowl.  Batter will be thick!  Pour it into a greased 8×8 glass baking dish.  Bake for 20-30 minutes.  The blondies get really puffy while they bake:

and then when they begin to cool, they start to deflate towards the middle.  This is normal.

My husband worked late last night and I left these on the counter for him with a note telling him to try them.  I woke up to this note:

So I’m thinking he liked them.

So tell me, do you have the ingredients on hand?  And if so, when are you going to try them?

Satisfying Everyone (Without Becoming a Short Order Cook)

Today, I was thinking about what to make for dinner.  As I perused my fridge and freezer, I got a great idea that sounded delicious to me.  The only problem is, I knew that I was the only person in our family who would really like it.  In the past, I would have just told myself to forget it.  As you parents know, making dinner is hard enough without making multiple meals for multiple people.  Or even worse, putting a lot of time into something that you find delicious, only to have the rest of your family complain about it.

Please understand that I do think it is important to have your family try new foods.  Or even new ways of eating foods that they already enjoy.  But sometimes you just know that your efforts are going to be in vain.  For instance I know my kids hate casseroles–all those foods mixed up together, it just doesn’t always fly.  But what if I know that they like 75% of the ingredients that are in a particular casserole? I could reserve some of the cooked meat and veggies from the casserole and serve those to the kids separately, but make the casserole for the grown ups.  See what I mean?

The difference for me lately is that now I am a little more creative in the kitchen.  I also have a lot more ingredients on hand, which allows me to put together a few variations on any dish.  So tonight, I made myself that dinner I was dreaming of.  And with very minimal effort, I made sure that everyone had a dinner they were happy with.  Here’s what I did…..

First of all, what sounded good to me was a portobello mushroom stuffed with chicken, artichoke hearts, olives, bell peppers, prosciutto, and smoked provolone.  But I knew that wasn’t going to fly with the rest of the family.

So I cooked some chicken breasts on the stovetop.  Just seasoned them with salt, pepper and garlic powder and cooked them on both sides in ghee while the oven was preheating.  While they cooked, I prepared the portobello by scraping out the gills and rubbing it with olive oil.  Then I cut up some raw veggies to serve with dinner (I set aside some diced bell peppers for my meal).

I took one cooked chicken breast for myself and diced it up and mixed it with all of the other ingredients I wanted to add to my portobello, then tossed it in the oven at 400.  Then I topped 2 other chicken breasts with prosciutto and smoked provolone because I knew my husband and youngest son would like that.  I topped the last chicken breast with pesto for my oldest son.  Easy as that!

Everybody got a meal that they enjoyed and my effort was very minimal.  Obviously this doesn’t work with every single meal, but if you think ahead, you can handle it.  I think we can all agree my meal was the most beautiful and delicious.  But it tasted even better knowing that everyone was happy.