I really think your going to thoroughly enjoy this creation, my friends. Seriously, if apple pie walked into a bar, met a caramel apple, fell in love, these bars would be their babies. Yep, that’s my best analogy of the day, except these babies are a million times easier and way healthier than either of the latter apple treats.
So if you like easy, delicious, high protein treats, without any added sugar you’ve come to the right place.
The base for these bars is really similar in texture to a thick chewy caramel. I’m curious if I could somehow maguiver it around a whole apple and stick a twig in it for paleo friendly caramel apples. This invention just might have to happen.
Yesterday I went for a long drive to the neighbouring village to visit some friends. There’s a dead zone where no radio stations work and I drove in sweet stillness enjoying a crisp fresh apple. Grateful for the moment of quiet and peace with the solitary sounds of a crunching orchestra of sweet and refreshing delight. I don’t know about you, but this is the time of year where I start craving fresh fruit, dreaming of plump berries freshly picked, and sweet juicy peaches. Apples will have to do for now, as none of those luscious fruits are any good out of season. Groundhog says 6 more weeks of winter, we’re almost there, before you know it this blogs pages will be brimming with juicy fruits and vibrant greens!
Until then, enjoy the delightful sweetness of an apple enveloped in this caramel goodness, yum.
Oh God, I gave my baby sugar, have I created a monster?
I was enjoying one of these delicious cookies and he was screaming his face of with jealousy, I just had to give him some, and after that he was as content as could be.
Truth is, no one can resist cookies like these, there’s no measuring, no dough sitting in the fridge for an hour before you can use it. Literally you just throw 4 or 5 ingredients together (depends whether you want chocolate or not) and presto, chewy, rich and moist cookies. I’m not much of a traditionalist baker so these types of cookies are totally my thang.
Making almond butter is really easy, and can save quite a bit of money considering how expensive it can be, especially organic. I always buy raw nuts in bulk quantities to make things more affordable. Good food can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. You can easily make any nut butters in a good food processor, but I’ve got a vita-mix so that’s what I’m going off, the trick to making smooth almond butter in the vitamix is to not process too many almonds at one time. Around a cup of roasted almonds is usually all I do in the blender or it tends to overheat and shut down.
Spread raw almonds on a baking tray and roast until golden and fragrant, about 15 minutes. Toss them around the pan at the midpoint so they don't burn.
When the almonds have cooled, add half to the vitamix and blend until you achieve a coarse mealy texture. Add salt.
Next you'll want to keep the vitamix on just below medium speed and use your plunger to push the almond meal down the sides until you start to get a really smooth butter. The longer you blend the smoother your butter will be. Repeat as many times as needed for however many batches you want to make. Roughly 2 cups raw almonds will equate to about a cup of almond butter.
There you have it, pretty easy and definitely better than store-bought. Isn’t it the worst when you buy almond butter and you can tell its been sitting on the shelves for a little too long, major bummer. Plus the smell of roasted nuts is almost as great as the smell of freshly baked cookies.
I live in a place that resembles a town by the sea, the vastness of Kootenay lake allows the imagination to easily play pretend. Walking along the shore line there’s even a faint fishy smell and the rocks could easily be shells. The fish aren’t as abundant as they were once upon a time, but alas, things change.
I keep a little stockpile of wild sockeye salmon for days where the extra omega-3’s are a Godsend. Have I mentioned how important omega-3 fatty acids really are, seriously when I am lacking in these healthy fats my whole demeanour changes and my skin gets all mangled. So having steadfast super yummy and omega-3 rich recipe like this bomb dot com chowdah is essential!
I implore you to try it out even if your a chowder skeptic like J, this chowder passes the test. Brimming with nourishing creamy broth, tender scallops and nutrient dense wild salmon. I like to keep the spices minimal, a bit of fresh dill and green onion is all that’s needed and this dish comes together in a pinch. Searing the scallops before adding them to the soup gives a really nice texture but its totally optional, check out my post on how to perfectly sear scallops.
Bloobs, my affectionate pet name for one of the best berries on the planet. Blueberries.
Antioxidants rich, delicious, and blue, rare for any food. These blueberries and cream truffles are dead easy and so good. They’re really affordable when you make your own luscious coconut butter. These truffles are not only nomtastic but also pretty healthy, were talking ample fibre and healthy fats from the coconut paired with antioxidant rich bloobs and dark chocolate.
1 C fresh blueberries (you can also use frozen just thaw them out first)
3 tbsp raw honey
½ C paleo friendly raw chocolate or chocolate chips
Instructions
Melt coconut butter in a double boiler or water bath.
In a high powered blender or food processor, combine coconut butter, berries and honey.
In your double boiler or water bath, melt the chocolate.
Use a small size ice cream scoop to make little blueberry balls and coat with melted chocolate.
Allow to set in the fridge for at least an hour if you can wait that long!
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It was my birthday on Saturday, I almost made myself a cake, almost. But I succumbed to laziness and opted to eat ice cream instead. It was a fun day and I would tell you how old I am but…it’s a secret.
A woman’s age is best kept a mystery anyhow.
The next day, was my fathers birthday and also the day my little babe took his first wee steps. How very exciting!
Reinventing the wheel is fun, I really enjoy creating new versions of an old classic in my kitchen laboratory. Has it been done before? Maybe. But for me, it’s new, it came out of my imagination and this is how all great things were born!
Oh my, I’m getting a little carried away. Most new creations occur for me because of this- I hate when food goes to waste, it gets under my skin and I feel horribly guilty and terrible every single time I have to throw food in the compost (hey, at least its going back to the earth). This repugnance to wastefulness all started when I travelled to India and saw just how little people live off, and oh how those living in poverty cherish even the smallest morsel. Arriving back to Canada, broke ass and needing a job asap I worked in a high end restaurant as a server (though my heart is in the kitchen). The amount of food left on plates destined for a fate in the trash can (of course, no compost) it was really gut wrenching. Though probably illegal, I would have my own little doggy back which I would take home,ahem, for my dog. I didn’t last very long and after this embraced cooking over serving, with my trusty compost bucket always at my side.
The moral of the story.
The kale in the fridge was getting past its prime and my brain wanted to make curry for dinner. Don’t get me wrong I love kale…sometimes…but I didn’t want any leafyness in the curry, I wanted smooth and creamy luxuriousness sans leaf. Palak Paneer is one of my favourite indian dishes, if you aren’t familiar, paneer is a type of indian cottage cheese and its cooked with curried creamed spinach, the texture and satisfaction this dish brings makes it a beloved classic. This creamy kale and chicken curry basically emulates the texture of palak paneer but instead of paneer chunks I’ve used chicken. If you’re fully paleo you can omit the heavy cream and cream cheese and opt for coconut cream, the result isn’t quite as rich but deliciousness nonetheless.
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 Tbs bacon fat or coconut oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 thumb sized piece of ginger, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs garam masala
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 bunch of kale, roughly chopped (remove the stems for a smoother sauce)
¼ C cream cheese
¼ C heavy cream OR omit dairy for ½ C coconut cream
½ tsp sea salt
Instructions
In a large skillet melt fat and add onion, ginger and garlic to simmer, when onions are translucent add cumin seeds and garam masala, let this cook together for a few minutes on med.
Add the chicken to the skillet and cover for a few minutes.
Put a pot of water on with a steamer preferably for the kale. Steam until just tender but still bright green, about 3 minutes.
Puree the steamed kale in a blender or food processor with the cream or coconut cream.
Add to the skillet and stir in cream cheese until melted if your using it.
Salt and enjoy alone or with basmati rice, coriander and plain yogurt.
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And remember kids, don’t let your eyes be bigger than your belly, tee hee.
I don’t know, am I alone in this? Does wasting food grate your nerves like it does mine? I know those of us with kiddos are probably frustrated about this. What do yo think?
Oh those days, when you are like a bottomless pit. Do you know those days?
They’ve been striking me often, I don’t know if it’s because it’s the dead of winter, some sort of subconscious knowledge that the end of the world is approaching, or the fact that a growing munchkin is stealing 600 calories from me daily. Nooo he’s not stealing it, I’m happy to donate those calories to my growing bean, but it makes a momma damn hungry to say the least.
Protein is the best hunger quencher, so I find myself noshing lots nuts, seeds, eggs and delicious pastured meats. I got a great deal on some free-range chicken recently and have been searching for creative ways to use it. Queue, sticky sweet chile lime chicken, oh my yum, this is so easy to prepare and just loaded with spicy, sweet and sour punch. We had this for lunch with rice noodles and sunshine sauce with added turmeric and some greens. It was just pure nourishment and subdued my momma bear hunger for a good while.
1 Tbs sambal olek chile hot sauce OR Lee kum kee chili garlic sauce
1 Tbs lime juice
1 Tbs honey
2 tsp fish sauce
pinch of salt
Instructions
To get your chicken breasts to cook evenly, I suggest putting them in a plastic bag (one at a time) and smashing them with a mallet or anything hard really, this simply evens the thickness and makes for a tender piece of chicken.
Heat a cast iron skillet or frying pan and melt a bit of fat or oil.
Place the chicken down and cook for 5 minutes on med-high heat. Flip and pour half the sauce onto the seared side. Allow the other side to cook for 5 minutes and top with the rest of the sauce.
Cover and allow to cook for another 2 minutes so that everything gets nice and sticky.
This recipe is for medium sized chicken breasts, for larger chicken breasts the total cooking time will increase by a few minutes.
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I’ve been writing a lot you guys and just wanted to share with you what I’ve been doing. So check it out…
Hey I'm Chantelle, my alter ego would be a mermaid if I wasn't such a terrible swimmer. I love writing authentically and cooking in my pyjamas. My favourite pastimes include eating avocados, travelling the world and hanging out with a toddler.
