Brownies.....

I love brownies!!  I really miss my old recipe.....it was so delish!  I have tried another primal recipe using almond butter BUT, don't be mad at me, I don't really like almond butter!  The recipe tasted more like the almond butter than the chocolate! 

I found this recipe yesterday and made it last night. Yummy!  My husband ate 2 pieces.  He kept saying how good they are.  That's a big deal to hear that!!

I used almond flour that I ground up!!

Closer...

I followed this to grind your own flour. It's a bit down in the post but Vanessa was correct.  You can make your own flour!  The first time I did it I did not have a coffee grinder.  But I got the Hamilton Beach grinder and it works very well!!  I used my Ninja Master Prep to grind down the nuts.  Then I sifted the fine particles out and put the larger pieces in to the coffee grinder.  This really works well.  I made a bit of a mess and it's a little noisy but you save so much money!!
A BIG THANKS to Vanessa for showing me the way!!

Blueberry Muffins

Sophia loves blueberry muffins, especially these packs of Entenmenn's Little Bites.

But since we went Primal -  those are OUT!! Just call me Heidi!!

 I found this recipe on PaleoPeriodical.com.  It's for Blueberry Apricot Cardamom Muffins.  I made a half batch for Sophia but she did not like the cardamom.  A shame because I love cardamom!!

So yesterday I made a half batch of the recipe and changed out the cardamom for 1/4 tsp of cinnamon and 1/8 tsp of ground cloves.  I also substituted 3 dried figs for the apricots.

I made 30 mini muffins instead of regular sized muffins.  I baked them at 350F for 8-10 minutes.  They are very moist and yummy!!!

Sophia loved them.  I packed some extras in her lunch to share with her friends, as they are always asking her about eating Primal.

Happy Birthday to Me!!

Since today is my 49th birthday I will be making this for myself from PaleoOMG.
Paleo Chocolate Cake in a Mug...

What you need:

• 1.5 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1.5 tablespoons almond flour
• 2 tablespoons walnut oil
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons raw honey
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of salt
• pinch of cinnamon

What you do:

1. Add all ingredients to a mug.
2. Mix all ingredients well with a spoon.
3. Microwave for 3 minutes.
4. Consume.

Juli is a funny blogger.  Stop by her blog and check it out.

Paleo Fudgy Brownies from Health-Bent.

The other day Sophia was asking me for brownies.  BUT my recipe has way too much sugar and it used grain flour. So I was looking around on other blogs to see what I could find. A lot of the recipes used the same amount of sugar (2 cups), a lot of Paleo recipes used fake sugars (don't like them) and a lot of recipes used grain flours (not allowed).  But them I came across this site, Health-Bent. They have a TON of recipes!  A lot of categories too!  I can't wait to try more from this site!!
I found their recipe (below) for Brownies and decided to give it a try.

At first when you bite into them, you think not sweet. But keep on eating them!  They are so good. Next time I make some I will bake them a bit longer than the 18 minutes it recommends.  You only need to eat a small square.
I served the brownies with some whipped cream!!
Paleo Fudgy Brownies

These brownies are seriously dangerous. They’re too good. I swear, neither one of us could tell the difference between these and “conventional” brownies–except for the fact these don’t make you feel like poo after you eat them. I made 2 batches in two days and….they’re all gone. Oops.

Besides the fact that these are completely gluten free; you could leave out the sugar in the brownies and be almost 100% Paleo. Try and find chocolate chips with the highest percentage of cocoa. The higher the percentage the less sugar in the chocolate. If you can’t find a good quality chocolate chip, you could always chop up a chocolate bar instead.

Ingredients

• 1 c almond butter
• 1/2 c canned coconut milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 t vanilla extract
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/3 c cocoa powder
• 1/4 c sugar (optional or sweetener of choice)
• 1/3 c chocolate chips (use the highest % cocoa you can find, around 70% is good)
• 1/3 c chopped nuts

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 x 8 baking dish.
In a bowl whisk together the almond butter, coconut milk, eggs, vanilla extract and salt. Then add the cocoa powder, sugar,  and chocolate chips.
Pour into the prepared baking dish and top with chopped nuts.
Bake for approx. 18 minutes.

Fruit & Yogurt Popsicles

I whipped up these popsicles today for Sophia.  I got the idea from this really cute blog that I cannot find anymore. Note: I found the blog!!  Here is her post from The Spunky Coconut.
I used:
1 peach -  skinned, seeded and chopped
a bit of honey
1 small container of Fage yogurt


I just mixed the chopped peach with the honey in a bowl. Then I put some yogurt in the mold and then peaches, continuing in layers until the molds were pretty full.  Freeze then enjoy.

The molds looked like this. Sophia loved them!

Meyer Lemon Bars

I was out shopping the other day and was surprised to find Meyer Lemons.  I kept seeing them on the cooking shows.  I wanted to know what the big deal was so I bought them.

 This is what they look like.  A bit smaller and more round than a regular lemon.  The skin is more on the orange side.  The peel is a lot thinner too.  They taste differently.  I don't care for the taste.  I needed to do something with them before they dried up!  Looked around and found a recipe for Lemon Bars.  I have never made lemon bars before.

Recipe:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar (10x or icing sugar)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temp
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
4 large eggs
Zest and juice of 4 lemons (should be about 1/2 cup of juice)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

 1. Spray a baking dish approx 9x7 or so (whatever you have that's about that size) with a vegetable spray.

In a bowl, mix the first 3 ingredients until they look like this photo (above).  You can do it in a food processor, if you have one.   

2. Press the dough into a layer about a 1/4 inch thick.  Make sure you push it up the sides of the dish too.  Prick it with a fork.  This make it bake evenly and not puff up.  Refrigerate it for 1 hour.

3. Preheat the oven to 375 F (after the crust has chilled).  Bake the crust for 15 minutes, until it's a bit tan in color.

Meanwhile,  start the filling.  In a medium bowl, combine the sugar and flour.  Beat in the eggs, then the lemon zest, juice and vanilla. Pour the filling over the crust and bake for 15 minutes until set.

Before baking...

                                     Cool and sprinkle with more confectioner's sugar, if desired.

This recipe was very easy.  My husband really liked it!  Something I will make again.  Maybe I will try it with an orange!