Chocolate Almond Butter

This is a great alternative to chocolate hazelnut butter, in case you want something different, or just have lots of almonds on hand.  Also, you don't need to go through the extra step of roasting your hazelnuts and skinning them (UGH) so try this recipe out rather than buying the sugar laden junk at the store.

Chocolate Almond Butter
1 cup raw almonds
3 tbsp cocoa powder (i like it suuuuper chocolatey!)
3 packets stevia (I used pure via)
2 tbsp coconut oil
pinch of salt

In a food processor, process your almonds until it starts to become buttery, as opposed to flour-y.  This will take a few minutes, and likely you'll have to scrape down the sides periodically.  Once it starts to resemble a butter, turn off the processor and add in your cocoa, salt and sweetener, and turn it back on.  Then, drizzle in your coconut oil with the machine whirring just until everything is incorporated.  Taste and adjust according to taste.  You may want it a tad more sweet, or a bit "runnier."

This is a great condiment to have on hand, and also makes the base of some pretty delish chocolate almond cookies!  All you do is add an egg, and some granular sweetener, and you've got a cookie batter!

Enjoy!

Sugar Free Lemon Lime Curd

Do you like SUPER tangy/sour foods?  If so, there is probably nothing tangier and more lip puckering than this Lemon Lime Curd.  It will practically curl your toes!  Don't ask me why I made this.  I don't usually go for lemony stuff and I'm more into solid treats than mushy ones.  Maybe it's because MKG had some lemon meringue pie last night (rude!) in front of me.  That is probably why.

Anywho… the GFG is sad to say that fruit is 100% gone from my diet.  I am in mourning.  I cut out I'd say 80% of it already, but it seems my blood sugar just cannot handle the little buggers.  And I am far too lazy to have to think about how many grams of carbs in each portion of fruit I'm eating and how much protein I'm eating it with, etc etc.  So down the abyss it goes, with all the other non-GFG approved foods.  I'm sure they are all having a party down there, the granola and watermelon and crackers and french fries and bananas enjoying being high as a kite on sugar and carbyness.  Oh well!  I'll trade their partying for me NOT going into a sugar coma any day.  However- lemons and limes are different.  I don't really consider them fruit, not in the traditional sense anyways.  Yes they are fruit, they have seeds and grow on trees, but they have so little sugar, and all that acid is actually quite alkalizing in your body, and quite good for you.

I also gave up dairy 95%.  The remaining 5% is butter, which I rarely use, but dang-it if I want to use a little butter now and then I'm not going to lose my sh*t over it.  I guess I could go super-paleo and get some ghee.

But back to the subject at hand.  I made some lemon curd.  I ate several bites of it and that was enough for me.  It was really good, but pretty powerful.  So beware peeps!  I am not going to show you a pic, because it was ugly.  You've all seen lemon curd before.  So just pretend you're looking at a pic now.

Sugar-Free Lemon Lime Curd
2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup erythritol (I like Z Sweet brand from WF)
zest from the lemons/limes
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup butter, butter sub like Earth Balance like I used, or even coconut oil

Melt your butter over low heat, then mix in juice and erythritol.  Remove from heat and stir until sweetener is dissolved.  Mix in your yolks then return to low heat and stir until your arm falls off, or the curd has thickened considerably, whichever comes first.

Refrigerate and enjoy with your morning coconut flour muffin, of which you all know I have many many many recipes.  Don't believe me?  Look to your right and you'll see MUFFIN in the tag cloud.

Do you eat fruit?  What fruits are in your repertoire?  What's your take on dairy?  I don't seem to have a problem digesting it, I've just been reading so much about the negative impact all that lactose can have on your insulin levels….

Til next time GFGs!! Xoxo

Nom Nom Paleo's Korean Shortribs

Ever read Nom Nom Paleo?  Great blog.  Cool new iPad app too.  I recommend it!

Last weekend I bought some grass-fed short ribs at the farmers market.  Stupidly, I bought 1 measly pound, not realizing most of it would be bone.  Amateur move folks.  But, the few morsels we got were pretty damn tasty.  I made Nom Nom Paleo's sauce, with a few deviations, but cooked them differently as I did not want to drag out the slow cooker for a pitiful lb of meat.  For the full instructions on nom nom's ribs, click here.

Here's what I did:

Covered ribs with S&P and broiled about 7 minutes per side.  In a dutch oven, throw a bag of frozen asian veg in with some S&P, a few whole green onions, and some carrots.  Lay seared meat on top.  Reduce oven temp to 350.  Pour sauce over top, and cook for about 90 minutes.  I did not make the sauce exactly as in the link, so here's what I did in case you are lazy like me.

Delish Asian Shortrib Sauce
1 whole pear, cut up
1 cup water
1/2 cup gluten free soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
3 green onions
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp vietnamese garlic chili sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp kosher salt
1 inch of ginger, don't bother peeling, cut up into bitty chunks

Blend this whole thing on high until smooth, and pour over your meat and veggies.  Into the oven they go until nice and tender!

Try it!

Ground Turkey Taco Cups and Homemade Guacamole

Even if I weren't a GFG, I think I'd still prefer these super cute little taco cups to actual tacos.  They are so much fresher and more fun to eat, and look how pretty and green!

I pretty much made this recipe exactly-except with ground turkey instead.  It came out great and I highly recommend not only the recipe, but the blog.  Check it out!  Served this with refried beans and homemade guacamole.  If you are going to try out this recipe- definitely don't scimp on the spice mixture- and maybe even double it to save some for next time!  It's that good.

Want some easy, delish guac to go with it?

Here is my foolproof guac recipe:

1 avocado
1 cup of grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 red onion, chopped finely
juice of one ripe lime
2 tsp kosher salt

Masy your avocado and throw in your tomatoes and onions, and then add your (fresh) lime juice.  Add your salt and combine.  Let this sit in the fridge for a bit and cover the guac with plastic wrap- not the bowl, but the guac itself.  The lime juice will keep it from oxidizing.

Happy eating! XoXoGFG

Homemade Ranch Dressing made with Yogurt

AAaaarghhh I had a whole post finished and then I accidentally deleted and have to start over!  Ugh!  Oh well.  Today's post is about a super easy recipe for homemade ranch dressing- I cannot understand why it took me this long to make some.  No cooking involved, just stirring.  I have been searching high and low for an acceptable ranch dressing that I could feel good about giving S, but they either have a bunch of gross preservatives, sugar, HCFS, starch, or are made with soy derivatives or some other such product.  Ick.

Perusing Pinterest as I am wont to do, I found many a recipe that were almost what I was looking for, but not quite.  They all called for sour cream, for one.  Finally, after giving it some thought, I came up with this delightfully creamy, thick, tangy, and decadent tasting ranch dressing, that is made with YOGURT!  Yogurt folks.  No one would ever ever know.  I promise.  If I were a real rock star I would make this with homemade mayo- but I haven't gotten there yet.  If you have the balls to make some, here is a great recipe.

Homemade Ranch Dressing with Yogurt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup yogurt (I used plain non-fat european style from TJ's
3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp mayo (mine is reduced fat canola oil mayo from TJ's)
2 tsp lemon juice
2 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried chives
1 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp celery salt
1/4 tsp seasoned salt

Stir to combine and pour into your jar/bottle.  This makes 2 1/2 cups.  My jar only held 2 cups so the rest I'm bringing to a friend.  This is super tangy and tastes so.... fresh!  Seriously.  When I think about all that processed junk they call dressing, all I can think about is chemicals and plastic and god knows how long it was sitting on the shelf.  Honestly- if the individual ingredients aren't actually food, and for some reason it can sit on a shelf at room temp for an eternity at the grocery store- how on earth do we just universally accept it as food?  It's not food!  It's an engineered chemical edible product.  Barf.  However, this probably will not last too terribly long, even in the fridge.  Well, it shouldn't anyways.  But no way would I throw this out in two weeks if it still smelled and tasted good.  Uh uh.  I made a big batch of ketchup like, months ago, and after defrosting some a month ago it's still in the fridge, and I'm still gonna use it, and I don't care. It's not bad, I think people get really super conservative about telling you when to throw stuff out.  You can throw out your half-eaten perfectly good homemade condiments whenever you want!  But me, I'll hang on to 'em until they start to look/taste weird.

S is starting to get a wee bit pickier about eating her veggies, so I figure this ranch should do the trick when her green beans are causing a tantrum.  Spinach has become a recent new fave when I add a touch of cream cheese and some kosher salt.  I do like ranch a lot, although I've never been one to slather it on pizza, sandwiches, french fries, tater tots etc, not that I eat that stuff anymore anyways.  What's your favorite way to eat ranch?

Happy eating GFG's, xoxo!!

Homemade Ketchup, Flourless Cakenies, and Chia Pudding Take 2!

MKG and I had a fun-filled weekend in Dodgeville, WI at my cousin's wedding!  We drove pretty much all day Friday and all day Sunday, but every minute was worth it.  We had the best time EVER and it was fabulous seeing friends and family I don't usually get to see.  So grateful and so happy for the lovely couple.  I have to give a shout out to Blue Plate Catering, of Madison WI.  What an excellent job they did!  Bacon-wrapped meatballs?  Um, fine by me!  We all know being a bridesmaid can suck, but I am just thrilled to pieces I got to play a role in the wedding and share the occasion with my gorgeous, amazing, sweet cousin.

Anyways- now it's back to reality!  I have wanted to make homemade ketchup for ages (catsup? ketchup?) and today was the day I decided.  The main impetus was that S really likes sauces/spices/flavorings for whatever she's eating.  God bless her, the girl does not want to eat bland food.  To get her to eat her veggies I usually need to put some soy vey, hummus, cheese, or cook it with some spices.  Same goes with eggs.  I know this is partly a regional thing- not being from Kansas originally I was initially appalled to see people eating potatoes and eggs with ketchup- but eventually it took hold.  I looooooooove ketchup and eggs.  But commercially prepared ketchup has a bunch of junk in it.  Sugar, HCFS sometimes, and other preservatives.  Now usually recipes for ketchup will call for brown sugar- so rather than use brown sugar I used apple cider vinegar, instead of regular white vinegar.  I am very pleased with the results and so glad I made a double batch.  I'll freeze most of it.  Here are the ingredients:

Homemade Ketchup
2 28 ounce cans of tomato puree
1 really large yellow onion, peeled and chopped roughly
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 cups water
couple stems of clove
and the following spices which I eyeballed:
kosher salt
pepper
celery salt
ginger
cinnamon
ground mustard
asian seasoning
cayenne

Simply put- I blended the onion, jalapeno, vinegar, water, garlic, and cloves in the ninja, then pouring into a large pot.  I added the tomato puree, and then all the spices, and stirred, turning on the heat to high.  Once it was bubbling, I turned out it down to a simmer for 45 minutes.

Flourless Cakenies
Many a blogger has made flourless chocolate brownies.  Mine you cannot technically call a brownie, they are just too cakey.  Very good though!
Preheat oven to 375 and grease an 8x8.
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup PB
1 large overripe banana, mashed well
2 tbsp stevia in the raw

Mix PB, eggs, vanilla, mashed banana, and stevia together.  Add to mixed dry ingredients (salt, baking powder, cocoa) and incorporate.  Depending on how much liquid was in the banana, you may have to add some water, a tablespoon or so.  I baked mine for 25 minutes.  It is very chocolatey and not too sweet.  Feel free to sweeten it up a bit more, or throw in some choc. chips or nuts.  I also toyed with the idea of making a choc. ganache but never got around to it.

Finally, Chia Pudding Take 2!
After last week's not so great chia pudding I wasn't sure I wanted to try it again- but what the hell.  I'm glad I did because this is way better and a great alternative to tapioca.  I'm excited for S to try some too!
2 tbsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 plus 2 tablespoons milk (nutmilk, 2%, whatever- I used whole milk but vanilla almond milk would be great too!)
1/4 cup water
sweetener, to taste

Stir well and let sit a few hours in the fridge.  Enjoy, xoxoGFG