Paleo Apple Butter

Apples right off the tree may not look all perfect like the ones in the grocery, full of pesticides and covered in wax, but you sure can make some pretty Paleo Apple Butter with them. I did it myself today.

I peeled, cored and sliced 10 local apples, cutting out any bruises or bumps. I wish now that I had peeled more than that because it cooked down SO MUCH, and it was SO GOOD!!!

Anyway, I put the apple slices into the slow cooker along with:

2 TBSP raw honey
1 TBSP cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves

I put the lid on and cooked it on high a couple of hours, and a couple of hours on low, stirring every 45 minutes to an hour. It cooked down and didn't need blending - we loved it so much! We want more ASAP.

This is a favorite photo from Ger winning the Outlaw Pro Invitational in Toronto. Beast-mode!

Paleo Johnny Cakes

Don't these look just like the cornmeal cakes that Granny makes? My mom even calls them "hoe cakes" instead of Johnny cakes. I used to love to order them at the Cracker Barrel, back in my before-paleo days, along with fried apples or apple butter.  I had a slow cooker full of my paleo apple butter simmering and I wanted to try to make a paleo version. I think they turned out pretty well! I hope you try them.

I stirred up the following ingredients in a bowl:

4 eggs, (out of the fridge a few minutes, so they aren't so cold)
1/4 cup coconut oil (tropicaltraditions.com is my favorite)
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
2/3 cup organic coconut milk

I stirred it all up and it was thick....

 but if you think yours is too thick, add a little more coconut milk...
Next, I got my skillet heated up and added 2 heaping TBSP of coconut oil. (Bacon grease would be amazing, too)  I put four blobs of batter into the skillet at a time, over medium heat. I waited for the air bubbles to show before I flipped them over, tilting the skillet so there was coconut oil where I was about to put them.
                                                            See those little air bubbles?

We ate them with my Paleo Slow Cooker Apple Butter. They were pretty sweet! We celebrated Cassie's bodyweight snatch today! Yay!

This recipe made 8 Johnny Cakes about 4-5 inches in diameter.

Balsamic Roasted Sweet Potatoes

In a large skillet, over medium heat, I put the following ingredients:

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

1 TBSP raw honey  (local honey is also an excellent choice)

3 TBSP KerryGold pasture butter (from grass-fed cows. Coconut oil also works fine.)

1 tsp smoked sea salt ( Have you tried salttraders.com?)

I cooked and stirred this mixture for 3 minutes and then turned off the heat.

I peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces 4 organic sweet potatoes. I put them into the skillet and stirred them until they were coated. 

I spread them out on a big pan and roasted them for 40 minutes in a 400 degree oven. I slid them onto a plate so they wouldn't stick to the pan. (They will.....if you leave them there....but you might just eat them so fast you'll never know....)

I think I have another winner here.......

                                                       Do you have the new shirt yet?

Italian Chicken with Red Cabbage

I love how Shea shared this recipe on Instagram with side by side shots. Do you follow feedinggersasser on Instagram?

When you don't have much time to cook a nice paleo meal, this might be one that you can pull off and even get compliments.
I took several healthy chicken breasts and cut them into 4-5 pieces each. I put them into a BIG skillet that had 2 TBSP coconut oil melted in it. I sprinkled the chicken with smoked sea salt, tumeric, basil, and freshly ground black pepper. I cooked them on medium until there was no pink in the chicken.

While the chicken cooked I cut up a small head of red cabbage. When the chicken was done I put the red cabbage in and stirred, letting it start to cook.

The last thing I added was a big jar of pasta sauce. (Mine was Tomato Basil and had NO SUGAR in the ingredient list. Read your labels - the pasta sauce will cost a little more, but be totally worth it.)

I put a lid on it and simmered for 10 minutes until the red cabbage was done.
You might want to splurge with a little shredded KerryGold cheese on top.....( or other cheese from grass-fed cows. Yum!)


 It didn't take long.
I had leftovers for lunch the next day.
I had one skillet to clean up.
We ate healthy fuel.
Win.

Fresh Strawberry Protein Balls

Strawberries are one of the most important places to put your money into organic produce. Strawberries are like sponges and soak up a lot of chemical pesticides that you should NOT be running through your body.
I was on a protein ball kick today. I made two batches of my Cocoa Delight Bites, (made with Progenex Locha Mocha) one for us and one for Jenny. I also made these new ones with fresh organic strawberries. YUM! Here's what I did:

I put all the ingredients in one bowl:
4 scoops vanilla protein powder ( I use SFH or TEN Institute now)
1/2 cup coconut oil, NOT melted
2 TBSP local honey
2 TBSP pecan butter (recipe is on here; almond butter works, too)
1  1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (nuts.com)
1  1/2 cup chopped organic strawberries
4 TBSP coconut milk (once in a while a batch needs a little more...)

I stirred them up with a wooden spoon.  I used my cookie scoop to make them quickly into balls and placed them on parchment paper. Then I popped them into the freezer for 20 minutes. They were so good! 

They make a great dessert, after dinner. They make a great snack. They also make a great breakfast - plenty of protein and so tasty beside coffee with coconut oil, pasture butter, and molasses.

Cinnamon Vanilla Pecan Butter

Here are some very nice ingredients. You know beautiful, healthy ingredients make beautiful, healthy meals. They fuel us all up, whether we are just hitting WODs at the box, or running, or mountain-biking, or preparing for competitions. ( My favorite 2 athletes will be on the road the next two weekends.)
So,  I toasted 1 pound of pecan halves on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 12 minutes and then let them cool completely. The other ingredient amounts were:

1 TBSP coconut oil
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla

I put half of each on the ingredients into the food processor and let it run until it was completely smooth. (I had to scrape down the sides once.)

Then I transferred the pecan butter to a Lock-n-Lock container. Then I put the other half of the ingredients in the food processor and did the same thing. I thought about adding a tsp of raw honey, but Ger said it didn't need it, and he was right. The ingredients kick up the sweetness of the toasted pecans in a healthy, completely guiltless way!

I can attest to the fact that this stuff is great when you dip apple slices in it.
I've also been quite happy with a tablespoon of it, with 4 dark chocolate chips stuck in it.
It's a great snack. It's not a bad addition to your breakfast ideas either.

Here's a new photo of Mikko. We are all amazed at how fast he is growing and how smart he is. 

Fix Ahead Breakfast

My back-to-school issues are upon me, so I have been doing a lot of prep today. I know old-fashioned oats are grain. I know grain isn't paleo. I also know that these oats don't spike your insulin levels like other grains and I LIKE them now and then. I buy McCann's Irish Oats - Instant, from amazon.com. They are already cooked slow, then dried, so they are faster. They are nutty and I love them MUCH more than Quaker Old-Fashioned Oats, and I don't think these Irish oats have GMO worries.......

I prepped several containers with (clockwise, from the oats, in the photo) McCann's oats, toasted pecan pieces, dried cherries, (nuts.com, with no added sugar - hard to find, but so good for your joints)  vanilla protein powder, dried goji berries (also nuts.com) and cinnamon.

Why get everything out every morning that you might eat this? I just do several while I have everything out. And, the mornings will go smoother. Just add hot water and stir.
If there's a really a time-constrained morning, I'll just take the container with me!

What do you do to prepare ahead for your mornings?

Paleo Cocoa Blueberry Muffins

It's the last Sunday of my summer break. How could it be? I don't know how this summer snuck by so quickly but school starts Tuesday. Today will be a day at home, prepping for the week, cleaning, cooking, and this new recipe for dense, heavy Paleo Cocoa Blueberry Muffins. (I did get through a 4 hour Professional Development online earlier, too.)
If you are still in vacation mode, ENJOY every minute!

I mixed these dry ingredients in a small bowl:

1/2 cup coconut flour
2 TBSP dark cocoa
2 TBSP almond flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda

I put a very small saucepan on the stove, on low, with:

1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup pasture butter (mine was salted - if yours isn't salted, you may want to add a tiny bit more sea salt in your dry ingredients)

I just heated this until the butter and coconut oil melted. Then I took it off the stove and let it sit a little. (You don't want to put eggs in if it's very hot)
I added these other wet ingredients to the saucepan mixture:

2 eggs
1/4 cup raw honey
1/4 cup maple syrup (or 1/2 cup raw honey will work, but the taste has more depth with maple syrup)
2 TBSP vanilla
2 tsp apple cider vinegar (trust me.....)
I stirred this mixture up and in a few seconds, it thickened. (it's that magical coconut flour thing)
Then,  I gently folded 1 cup of fresh blueberries into the batter.   
I put 12 cupcake papers in my muffin pan and then put the cupcake batter in them with a cookie scoop.

I baked at 350 degrees for 22 minutes. You may want to check yours early because I use a Pampered Chef cupcake stoneware pan. I find that it takes a bit longer.....

I liked these with a cup of Zen green tea. Isaac said organic milk's better with anything cocoa.