Paleo Chunky Monkey Cake

I originally found this recipe here although the recipe was for cookies, not cake. I decided to tweak the recipe and turn the batter into a cake instead. My husband couldn't believe that it didn't contain any grains, it had the texture of cake made with wheat, and was moist and fluffy!

1 cup sunflower butter or other nut or seed butter (I used my homemade sunflower-coconut butter)
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 egg
3 tbsp my homemade Nutella or any chocolate nut spread
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp tapioca starch
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together all ingredients except pecans, until well mixed. Stir in nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9x9 pan. Bake about 25-30 minutes, until done.

*Note* The Nutella recipe does use coconut sugar and maple syrup but could be adapted to use honey if desired to stay away from all sugar.
*Note* The banana can be changed to any fruit or veggie that is good in baked goods. I have made this recipe with shredded zucchini (1/2 cup or more if desired). I think pumpkin, apple sauce or grated carrots would also work nicely. I have also made this nut free by replacing the Nutella with extra sunflower butter and 1 tbsp cocoa powder! I love this very versatile recipe!

Canned Tomato Sauce

3 ice cream pails of tomatoes
2 1/2 lbs onions
2 green peppers
1 or 2 red peppers
2 medium zucchini (optional)
1/2 cup pickling salt
1 cup sugar
3 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp oregano
2 tbsp parsley flakes
2 tbsp basil
4 bay leaves
36 oz tomato paste

Blend tomatoes in a blender (saves you from peeling all the tomatoes). Add diced or blended onions, zucchini and peppers (depending if you want chunks in your sauce). Add rest of the ingredients. Simmer for one hour. To sterilise jars, place in a cold oven. Turn oven on to 225 F, heat jars for 20 minutes once oven is at correct temperature. Put sauce in hot jars and place in water bath canner. Can the pint jars for 35 minutes and quarts for 40 minutes. Times may change depending on altitude. Take out of canner and let cool. Lids will make a popping sound when they seal and will be concave in the middle. Makes 9 quart jars.

Sourdough Bacon and Cheese Muffins

Sourdough is a great way to make your wheat baking healthier and easier for your body to digest. All it takes is a little more planning ahead to make this delicious recipe! See this post for more info on sourdough muffins.

1 C “discarded” sourdough starter

1 C whole wheat flour

1 egg

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 C melted coconut oil or melted butter

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/2 cup real bacon bits or crumbled fried bacon

In a stand mixer, combine sourdough starter and whole wheat flour. I added a little water to this in order to mix the flour and starter together. Without the water it was too dry and crumbly. Once the two are thoroughly combined, cover the dough with plastic wrap ensuring that none of it is exposed to the air. Let sit at room temperature for at least seven hours. The longer it sits the more tangy it will become, 7 hours seems a good amount of time. The dough will rise some while it sits. If any of it has gotten exposed to the air and gotten dry, just remove those bits so you don’t have little dough nuggets in your final product. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a muffin pan with papers or grease the cups. In a separate bowl, mix together all other ingredients except for cheese and bacon. Add those ingredients to the dough in the mixer’s bowl and mix together. Fold in cheese and bacon and scoop batter into prepared muffin pan. Bake for 20 min. Makes about 12 muffins.

Gluten Free Bacon and Cheese Muffins

I found the original recipe here and of course tweaked it to fit my taste and what I had in the pantry!

1/2 cup grated tasty cheese

1/2 cup real bacon bits or sliced fried bacon

3/4 cup rice flour

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1/4 cup potato starch (tapioca or arrowroot would also work)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar (I used maple sugar)

1/2 teaspoon bacon topper seasoning from Epicure (optional)

1 egg (I used 1 tbsp ground flax and 4 tbsp water to make a flax "egg" and it worked quite nicely)

1 cup milk

Beat egg and milk together very well. Mix all dry ingredients and cheese together. Add wet ingredients to dry ones. Don't overmix. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Aloe Lemonade

Since dealing with health issues lately, I have been on a search for ways to detox my body from toxins and build up my immune system. I have come across a super food that is suppose to aid with these things: aloe vera juice! Add it with lemon juice (which also aids with detoxification and we have a winning combination). I have read that you should start slow with aloe as your body needs to get used to it. I think this is a good way to do it. I am no expert on aloe but am always looking for ways to be healthy. Just make sure you are using organic pure aloe. Not the green stuff that is sold in most stores that is not pure and has been processed.

3 cups cold water

1/2 cup lemon juice

2 oz aloe vera juice

stevia to taste (you may need to blend this in a blender if using powdered stevia)

I like my lemonade tart so I only used a few pinches of dried stevia, but experiment with what you like. You can use sugar if you want, but I am trying to eliminate sugar from my diet.

Berry chocolaty smoothie

1 cup coconut water or your choice of milk
1 tbsp. Nut or seed butter (I used a sunflower and coconut butter)
3 dates
1 tbsp. Chia seeds
1 tbsp. Hemp Hearts
1 tbsp. Cocoa powder
1/2 cup frozen strawberry and mango fruit mix
1/2 cup fresh spinach or kale

Toss all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.

Homemade Acne Face Cream

This is adapted from my hand lotion recipe but using ingredients to help combat the dreaded acne problem. I will wash my face at bedtime using water and a Norwex makeup removal cloth. No soap needed. I will then massage my face cream into my face and neck area. This leaves my skin so soft and does seem to help the breakouts as long as I stay away from my other nemesis - sugar!

4 Tablespoons raw organic shea butter
1 1/4 Tablespoons organic coconut oil (also has some antibacterial, antifungal and antimicrobial properties)
5 drops geranium essential oil - good for soothing inflammation and scar healing
14 drops tea tree oil - good for combating the acne infection and cleansing
5 drops lavender - good for the inflammation

Mash the shea butter with a fork in a mixing bowl. Add the coconut oil and mix with the fork. Beat well with a hand mixer for a few minutes until fluffy and well combined. Add essential oils and beat another minute or two. Put in a 4 oz. jar. Again use clean hands when appling to avoid contamination of your lotion.

Homemade Shea Butter Hand Lotion

A current interest in mine lately is to learn more about and use essential oils. I am also purging my house from commercial body care products. These two things combined have lead to me making some wonderful hand lotion that leaves your skin moisturized, aids in relieving joint discomfort , and smells so good. Of course you can change up the essential oils to suit your preference of scent or according to healing properties. I was looking for joint pain relief and chose to use peppermint and lavender for their anti-inflammatory properties. Plus I absolutely love the smell of peppermint. I have read that bugs don't like peppermint or lavender for that matter!

I found the recipe here

4 oz. unrefined shea butter (I used raw organic shea butter)
2 tablespoon base oil; I used sweet almond oil. (Extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil or others can be used as well)
10-25 drops essential oil(s); optional, I used 20 drops peppermint and 5 drops lavender
mixing bowl
electric whisks mixer
one clean empty 8 oz. jar, or two 4 oz. jars, because volume will be increased

Steps for making whipped cream:

Before you start to prepare whipped shea butter, make sure your unrefined shea butter is on a room temperature. Do not melt or heat it! Put your shea butter in a bowl and mash it with a fork. The same way you make a mashed potato. Add base oil(s) and mash it little bit more. Put the mixture into the mixing bowl. Mix it on a high speed with electric mixer for approximately 5 minutes. Believe it or not, this is it! Optionally, you can add chosen essential oil(s) and mix it few minutes to blend it with your whipped cream. Put whipped cream in a clean jar(s) and close it. Keep it in a dry, dark and cool place. Room temperature is fine. Remember to always have clean hands when touching the cream in the jar. There are no preservatives other than the essential oils to prevent contamination of germs and bacteria in the lotion.

I love this stuff! It can be a little grainy from the raw shea butter, but it is easily worked into the hands. This cream does not leave your skin feeling oily once it's absorbed into the skin. Remember, if you don't like a lot of scent then omit the essential oils or reduce the amount used. Be careful using citrus oils as they can increase your skin sensitivity to the sun!

Next on my to do list is make homemade bug repellent, since it's THAT season again in Manitoba! Here's a picture of the finished product.

Homemade Dish Soap

I recently ran out of dish soap for hand washing my dishes. Since I have been trying to use all natural cleaning products and have fallen in love with using essential oils, I figured it was time to make my own dish soap. I found the recipe here

1 3/4 cup boiling water
1 tbsp. borax (go to the website to see their research on the safety of using borax)
1 tbsp. grated bar soap (I have been using a natural bar that contains rosemary and lavender)
15-20 drops essential oils (I use around 10 drops of lemon essential oil as my soap already has rosemary and lavender in it. The lemon smells so nice and helps clean the dishes!)

Heat water to boiling.
Combine borax and grated bar soap in a medium bowl. Pour hot water over the mixture. Whisk until the grated soap is completely melted.
Allow mixture to cool on the countertop for 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally. Dish soap will gel upon standing. (Although mine doesn't really gel)
Transfer to a squirt bottle, and add essential oils (if using). Shake well to combine.
Now you’re ready to use your liquid dish soap just as you would use any commercial brand!

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

After much researching and compiling of recipes I finally decided to try making my own dishwasher detergent. I have avoided this in the past since our water is very hard and we don't always remember to buy softener salt. However this stuff works and is super easy to make! A key step in using this is to have white vinegar in the rinse aid compartment of the machine. I have been using vinegar for a long time and my dishes are always clear if my vinegar doesn't run out!

1 cup washing soda (not baking soda!)
1/4 cup citric acid
Tea Tree essential oil (optional but I highly recommend essential oils for an extra clean and scent)

Combine the washing soda and citric acid in a bowl. These do clump together so I recommend making tablets out of this recipe. I have also read of people using silicon packets from a vitamin bottle in an air tight container to prevent clumping/turning rock hard. To make tablets put 1 tbsp. of the mix into each part of an ice cube tray. I then added 2-3 drops of essential oil to each tablet. I lightly pressed the powder down and then let it sit for 24-48 hours until I could gently pop each tablet out. I then stored the tablets in an air tight container. If you would rather not make tablets, just use 1 tbsp. mix in your machine.

Homemade Nutella

I love the nutty chocolaty combination of Nutella. However since trying to maintain a mostly whole food and refined sugar free diet, I cringe at the label on the store bought stuff. I have now managed to make my own version of Nutella. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

2 cups roasted hazelnuts with skins removed (put on a baking pan and roast at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes until skins start to crack, then rub skins off when still warm)
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
4 tablespoons cocoa
3 tablespoons coconut sugar
3 tablespoons maple syrup (this liquid helps improve the texture and helps the Nutella not to be too dry, and adds sweetness of course)
pinch of salt

Blend hazelnuts in a Vitamix or other strong blender/food processor until you have a nut butter. This makes about 1 1/2 cups of nut butter. Remove from blender and put into a mixing bowl. Add other ingredients and mix with a spoon until well blended. Store in an air tight container or jar. Makes about 2 cups.

Homemade Coconut Yogurt

4 cups of coconut milk either from the store or homemade
1/4 cup tapioca flour or coconut flour
1 tbsp. maple syrup (the bacteria need something to eat)
live culture (starter powder or 2-3 tbsp. coconut yogurt) or 2 probiotic capsules

To make your own coconut milk put 4 cups of water in a Vitamix or other good blender, add 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut. Blend for 2-3 minutes. It will separate if not used right away. Just stir or shake and it's not a problem. There may be some pulp, if you really don't want this you can strain it through cheesecloth but the pulp does make for a thicker yogurt. Plus you don't have extra clean up if you don't strain it!

Add flour to milk and heat in a pot on the stove to 160F, remove from heat and let cool to 110F, this will take 1.5-2 hours. once cooled add maple syrup and stir. Take 1/2 cup of milk and combine with live culture. Add this back into rest of milk. I use a glass jar to keep the milk in. I then put it in a warm 110F oven (if too warm it can kill the bacteria) and let it incubate for about 8 hours. The yogurt is not overly thick at this point. Put in the fridge and let it sit about 8 hours. It does thicken a little during this time. Homemade coconut milk does give a thinner yogurt than full fat canned milk. You could try making it in the crockpot like my other recipe here.

Gluten Free Quinoa Pancakes

about 3/4 cup cooked quinoa (I cooked mine in coconut milk but water is fine too)
1/4 cup coconut yogurt (I suppose you could use any soured milk or yogurt)
2 heaping tbsp. buckwheat flour
2 heaping tsp. white rice flour
2 tablespoons maple syrup,
1 egg or egg replacement equivalent
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. sea salt

Blend together in a Vitamix or other blender until well blended. Makes 4-5 pancakes. These pancakes really taste like real pancakes (ie: made with gluten) not gummy at all.

Quinoa Bars Gluten and Grain free

I found a wonderful recipe for a great snack bar that was gluten and oat free! I used the recipe found here and of course turned it into my own!

1 c. cooked quinoa*
1/2 c. sunflower seeds, ground finely in food processor
1/2 c. almonds, ground finely in food processor
1/4 c. dried apricots, chopped into small pieces
1/4 c. honey or maple syrup
1/4 c. shredded unsweetened coconut
2 tsp. cinnamon
½-¾ tsp. unrefined sea salt
1 egg
1 scoop Vital Whey protein powder (optional)

Instructions
*Soak 1 cup dry quinoa overnight in water and either rinse and cook right away or set to sprout for 2-4 days. To cook: Mix with 2 cups milk or 1 can coconut milk. Bring to a boil, stir, and lower to simmer, covered, for 30 minutes (no stirring). This will make enough for two 9×13 pans of bars or you can eat the cooked quinoa on top of yogurt with blueberries, cinnamon, and maple syrup. You can also freeze extras for future batches. If you only want enough for one recipe, use ¼ c. quinoa and ½ c. milk. Simply mix all the ingredients together with a spoon or a mixer, then spread in a greased 8×8-inch glass baking pan. (I used a 8x!0 pan and just had thinner bars) The batter/dough will be rather moist; don’t worry. Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes until firm to the touch in the center and browning on the edges. Cool completely in the pan, then cut into 16 2×2-inch squares. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

To make this my own I used pecans instead of almonds, dried dates for the fruit (1/4 cup was not enough, next time I will add more as these are not very sweet), used maple syrup (again I would use a little more next time), added 1 tsp vanilla, used egg replacement powder as per the box instructions, added 1 tbsp chia seeds, and added 1/2 tsp baking powder and omitted the whey protein powder. I cooked the quinoa with coconut milk as well. Since I have a sweet tooth, I did melt dark chocolate with coconut oil and drizzled this on top after baking to add some extra sweetness. I had made a second one as above but with cocoa and dried cranberries instead of vanilla, cinnamon and dates.

Leftover Oatmeal Muffins

Ever wondered what to do with your leftover porridge? Here is a good way to use it up. I got the original recipe here but of course I tweaked it a little!

2 cups cooked oatmeal ( I used oatmeal cooked with apples)
1 1/2 cups flour ( I used 1/2 cup whole wheat and 1 cup white flour)
1/4 cup sugar (omit if the oatmeal is sweetened)
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt (reduce or omit if you salted the water for your oats)
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil or melted butter
1/2 tsp apple pie spice (my addition)
1/2 tsp cinnamon (my addition)
1/3 - 1/2 cup whey - I found the batter too dry and needed to add more liquid to wet all the dry ingredients

Combine all ingredients and stir just until combined. Batter will be thick. Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full and bake about 20 minutes at 375. Let cool 5-10 minutes before removing from pan.