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I am continuing to celebrate the fall season with more pumpkin! I am still developing this recipe, but from what I have done so far it has been delicious. It is super moist (it almost reminds you of pumpkin pie in a loaf), and it is just scrumptious and tastes like fall in a loaf. :) 


It is also very versatile. The first time I made it was in this loaf form, but I have made the same recipe again but baked it in muffin tins (and added some chocolate chips). It makes a delicious breakfast bread, snack, or a dessert. 






Ingredients:
1/4 C butter, melted (sub 1/4 coconut oil for dairy free)
1/4 C almond butter
1/4 or 1/2 C honey (depending on how sweet you like things)
1 T vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/4 C almond flour
1/8 C coconut flour
1/4 C unsweetened coconut flakes
1 t baking soda
1 T pumpkin pie spice
pinch of sea salt (optional)
1/2 C chocolate chips (optional)

Ingredients for optional topping:
2 T butter (melted) (or coconut oil)
3 T unsweetened coconut flakes
handful of walnuts or pecans
1/2 t cinnamon 
bit of honey

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. Combine butter, almond butter, honey, and vanilla.
3. Whisk in eggs until combined.
4. Add dry ingredients and whisk until combined.
5. Mix in chocolate chips if desired.
6. Pour into greased loaf pan.
7. If you want the topping, just mix all the ingredients together and sprinkle on top of the loaf.
8. Bake at 325 for approximately 50-60 minutes (keep an eye on it in case of variant oven temperatures)

Enjoy!

*Note: If you would like to make muffins rather than a loaf, just bake at the same temperature for around 20 or 30 minutes (But keep an eye on them--I don't remember the exact baking time). It will yield about 24 muffins (depending on your pan size--mine is kind of small-regular sized). 



 
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My family has never had many traditions. A few here and there, but overall not many. One tradition that lasted for years, however, was that every Saturday morning my awesome mom would make me chocolate chip pancakes. I really do not care for pancakes unless they include chocolate chips, and my love for chocolate chip pancakes has stayed strong to this day. 

I am therefore very pleased to have now discovered how to make genuinely tasty Paleo pancakes. I put a fall spin on these, adding some pumpkin pie spice and vanilla. I am loving the fall weather that has finally come to South Carolina, and I am trying to turn everything pumpkin these days. There is definitely a subtle banana flavor to these cakes, but it adds a nice sweetness, and who doesn't like a little banana with chocolate? This is also a perfect and easy use for those overripe bananas on the counter that nobody has eaten. The texture is the closest I have found to true pancakes, and they are a nice medium thickness (fluffy, but thin enough to not be too soft in the center). 


*Original recipe inspiration adapted from here.


Ingredients:
2 overripe bananas 
2 eggs
2-3 T almond butter
1-2 T coconut flour
1 t vanilla
1/2 or 1 t pumpkin pie spice (or a combination of cinnamon and other fall spices)
pinch of sea salt
butter (for the griddle)
toppings (dark chocolate chips, berries, nuts, etc.)

Directions:
1. Mash bananas with fork.
2. Add remaining ingredients and whisk until well blended (try to get all the banana chunks to disappear)
3. Heat griddle to about 325 degrees (or heat pan on medium to medium high heat) and butter liberally (they tend to stick a bit)
4. Spoon or pour batter onto griddle in medium sized pancakes, and top with chocolate chips, berries, or whatever you would like in your cakes (or leave them plain if that is what you prefer)
5. Cook for about 5 minutes or until bottom is browned and flip, cooking another 2 or 3 minutes.

Enjoy!

 
One of my favorite meals growing up has always been spaghetti. Not just any spaghetti, though--my mom's spaghetti. That woman makes the best spaghetti I have ever tasted in my life. I have never even thought to order spaghetti in a restaurant because I know that I would be disappointed, it simply will not measure up to my spaghetti standards. So, along with the many other things I learned from my mother, I also learned to make her spaghetti sauce (although I don't think I will ever make it quite as good as she does).

The problem came, however, when I no longer could eat noodles. I thought for quite a while that no noodles meant no spaghetti, but I was oh so wrong! I came up with this super duper easy and delicious Paleo substitution that, while it certainly will not fool you for noodles, will beautifully satisfy your Italian cravings. As long as you don't mind the taste of cabbage (although it is almost undetectable underneath the sauce) then this will definitely be an extremely easy, delicious, and cost-effective alternative to your typical spaghetti dinner.

Paleo Cabbage Spaghetti:
*yields approximately 6 servings*

Ingredients:
2 heads of cabbage
2 T butter

1lb ground beef
2 large cans (the really big ones) tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 T Italian seasoning
1 T Oregano
2 T Mrs. Dash seasoning blend
1 beef bouillon cube (Knorr brand)
1 T sugar (optional--if you don't mind a little sugar it helps to cut the acidity of the sauce)
Splash of cooking wine (optional)

Directions for Cabbage:


1. Cut up your cabbage. I am not an expert at this, so I am not sure if I have any good advice for how to do it, but I cut the bottom core part out of it, sliced it in half from the top (to create two mirror images), laid it on its now flat side and sliced into slivers. Basically you just want it in shapes that are vaguely reminiscent of a noodle.
2. Rinse cabbage and put in large pot, and fill with water (to about 3/4 of the way up the cabbage)
3. Add 2 T butter and cook on high heat until desired tenderness, approximately 30 minutes or so and drain excess water.

Directions for Sauce:


1. Brown ground beef in a large pot; when cooked, drain liquid from pot.
2. Add remaining ingredients and allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes (or as long as you would like--the flavors will just continue to get better)

Serve with your favorite Italian side and enjoy!
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Chopped and rinsed cabbage.
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Cabbage noodles!
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Browned ground beef.
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And there you have it!