A myth explained...

Why eat a traditional or paleo diet if people only lived until about 40 back in those days?

It may surprise you, but people who lived past the dangers of childhood (accidents, infectious disease) lived longer than we do now...

Check it:
http://grannysvitalvittles.com/how-long-did-people-live-100-years-ago/

Guest Post - Butter Me Up

My dear friend (who is also my husband's cousin) has a great blog featuring indulgent desserts and wonderful recipes and lucky for me she is today's guest spot! Dessert is a super treat for me, so when I go for it, it needs to be good. I can always trust that Katie gives the good. Besides being dang funny, she is a wonderful baker and I got crazy excited when she mentioned this Primal Fudge. I'm on my way to the store now to get the ingredients... can't wait to get Buttered Up! 

Katie and her boys...

PRIMAL FUDGE

A few weeks ago I saw a post on Pinterest for Primal fudge - which basically means that if you are following a Paleo diet, you can eat this chocolate crack. It has no dairy, no refined sweeteners, and the fat source is coconut oil and nut butter, which are overall healthier for you than the usual butter/whipping cream combo found in traditional fudge. It is super simple to put together. The hardest part is waiting the 10 minutes for them to harden in the freezer. As a side note, these are best eaten right out of the freezer or refrigerator, as they tend to melt fairly quickly. Not great for traveling but who needs to travel with fudge??

PRIMAL FUDGE

1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1/2 cup smooth nut butter of choice (I used a peanut/almond butter combo-salted)
1/2 cup good quality cocoa powder (I love Trader Joe's brand)
1/4-1/3 cup honey (agave also works)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Over low heat, melt the coconut oil. Add the nut butter, vanilla, and honey. Whisk vigorously until combined. Finish by adding the cocoa powder and beating well. Pour into paper cupcake liners and freeze for at least 10 minutes before devouring. Store in airtight container in freezer or fridge.

Alternatively, you can melt coconut oil and blend all ingredients in your VitaMix or Cuisinart.

You can see more of Katie's decadent recipes at www.buttermeupbaker.blogspot.com

Mini-Frittata Muffins

Life get busier and busier doesn't it? I'm always looking for simple, on the go, real food. Lately, I've been doing all kindas of versions of this muffin style, egg frittata, but my favorite is from Nom Nom Paleo. I'll take these to go on a busy morning and eat (scarf) them in the car. They are delish.

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons fat (coconut oil, ghee, etc.)
½ medium onion, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
½ pound of cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
½ pound frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
8 large eggs
¼ cup coconut milk (the fatty stuff at the top of the can works best)
2 tablespoons of coconut flour
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
5 ounces of Prosciutto di Parma
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
A regular 12 cup muffin tin

Preheat oven to 375°F and prep veggies. Heat half the coconut oil over medium heat in a large cast iron skillet and sautéed the onions until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cooked them until the mushroom moisture had evaporated. Seasoned the filling with salt and pepper and spoon it on a plate to cool to room temperature. For the batter, beat the eggs in a large bowl with coconut milk, coconut flour, salt, and pepper until well-mixed. Then, add the sautéed the mushrooms and spinach and stir to combine. Brush the remainder of the melted coconut oil onto the muffin tin and line each cup with prosciutto, taking care to cover the bottom and sides completely. Spoon in the frittata batter and topped each muffin with some halved cherry tomatoes. Put the muffins in the oven for about 20 minutes and rotate the pan in the oven halfway through. I let the muffins cool in the pan for a couple minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.

 Ermahgerd, they are so good!

Beautiful Food

Just thought these were the prettiest carrots I've ever seen. Almost too pretty to eat... almost.

Almond Flax Seed Bread

Since I just finished eating my 2nd loaf of this in the last week (all by myself), I figured I should write about it. It's REALLY good. Throw in a little homemade butter and that's it folks, don't bother with anything else, cause I'm taking that loaf down.

This almond bread benefits from the addition of flax seed which help to not only improve its texture, but also improve its color and consistency.

1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1 tbsp whole flax seeds
1/2 tsp unrefined sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 eggs beaten
2 tsp honey, optional
1/2 tsp raw cider vinegar
butter, to grease a loaf pan

1. Preheat the oven to 300°.
2. Grease a loaf pan.
3. Mix all ingredients together until thoroughly combined, then pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 300° for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the bread’s center comes out clean.
4. Cool completely before serving.

Makes 1 loaf

Farmer Friday: Kale Salad

This week's farmer's bag is one of my favorite ones yet! I received red leaf kale, arugula, spinach, broccoli, some amazingly sweet oranges and tangerines, leeks, and pee wee potatoes. The oranges didn't make it home. They were too good, and we couldn't stop eating them, so that cancels out any good recipes for those. But, I've always loved kale and lately I'm on the kale salad band wagon. So here is my favorite recipe to date. This photo has bell peppers and pepitas, but not my favorite.

For the salad:

1 bunch kale, stalks removed and discarded, leaves thinly sliced
Small handful of pine nuts, about 2 rounded tablespoons

Small handful of Goji berries

2 tablespoons of Raw milk Parmesan, shaved 

1 teaspoon of finely chopped green onions (optional)

For the dressing:

1 tablespoon of Balslamic vinegar

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard

Pink Himalayan sea salt
2 teaspoons honey
Freshly ground black pepper

Small squeeze of lemon juice (optional) I like mine tart!

 

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. 

For the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar, dijon, honey and lemon juice until combined. Add the olive oil until you get a nice smooth consistency. Salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle over the salad and enjoy!

I actually like to make this first before anything else I'm serving because the longer it sits, the better it is. I even put the dressing on the kale up to a couple hours before I eat it. It tends to soften the kale which is denser then some other lettuces. Then I would add the parmesan last for freshness.