Paleo Gingersnap Cupcakes

I was craving my big gooey gingersnap cookies but I wanted to have a grain-free, less-guilt experience....so I came up with these.  They are a great substitute but they aren't going to be that crazy-sweet cookie I was thinking about. (Hey, Ger says just make the cookies, Mom! So, I will, VERY soon. I'll put that recipe up on here, too.)


I mixed up all these ingredients in a large mixing bowl:

3/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup organic pumpkin
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
6 eggs
1  1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

I placed 12 cupcake papers in my cupcake pan and divided the batter into the 12 cups.

I baked them in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. I let them cool on a cooling rack.

They are nice with coffee or organic whole milk - hey, you could count them as part of a great breakfast since there's 6 eggs in 12 cupcakes.

Next time I make them, I want to throw in some fresh ginger, too. 

Chicken Vegetable Soup

I made up new soup for when the kids came over for Christmas Eve lunch and present-opening. Everyone LOVED the soup and Ger said it was probably his second favorite of my soups ever! (I've got to remember to ask him what's in the number one spot.....) It wasn't paleo since it had potatoes and corn in it, but I went for organic, so I really don't feel guilty at all!

I hope you try it soon and let me know what you think. Mmmmmm.

I put 2 TBSP coconut oil and 4 huge organic chicken breasts into my big stock pot and browned the chicken on both sides over medium heat.

While the chicken was cooking, I diced 1 small onion and threw it into the stock pot.

When the onion was translucent, I added all the other ingredients:

4 organic potatoes, diced
1/2 head cabbage, chopped
1  10 oz package frozen organic corn
1 10 oz package frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, green beans, etc)
2 large cans organic tomatoes including the juice
1 can Rotel Original tomatoes
1 can coconut milk
1/2 tsp turmeric
smoked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

I put a lid on it and let it simmer for a couple of hours. I shredded the chicken chunks before serving this soup with homemade basil flatbread.

If you have your own canned tomatoes, they are a great substitution for the canned tomatoes...like these red and yellow tomatoes, canned by my mom!

I hope your holiday season was filled with much laughter and love. The kids were so good to me - letting me try to get a photo as Elves.... and even though Mikko wouldn't keep his hat on, we sure did get a laugh out of it.

Honey Baked Ham and Pineapple Appetizer

What if you want a really delicious and easy crowd-;leasing appetizer? Well, it's all about the ingredients.  This is a great appetizer. We had it with a big pot of soup and flatbread and a Honey Fresh Apple Cake for dessert.  If you cut up your ham and your fresh pineapple the day before, you can throw these together and have them hot out of the oven in just minutes!

I cut 5 slices of Honey Baked Ham into big bite-sized pieces.

I cut one fresh pineapple into 8 spears and then cut each spear into bite-sized pieces.

I laid the ham pieces on a big flat pan and stacked a piece of pineapple on each one.

I sprinkled them with organic cinnamon.

I put them into a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.

I took the pan out and set it on a wire rack to cool.

I stuck a toothpick in each one.

Done.

We all tried not to eat too many of them until everyone got here......but it sure wasn't easy!   I even got distracted and didn't get a photo of the finished product with the cinnamon and the toothpick!

Oxtail Soup

Oxtail Soup is just so healthy and delicious. If you've never had it, you don't know what you are missing.

This is a guest blog from Sonia. It's her second one. Her first was Sonia's Ceviche.
 She is a great cook and we're lucky to have another recipe from her!

 Also, she is a Crossfit Countdown BEAST. See?

So, some people are going to think, "What?? Oxtail?? I'm not about to eat that!" It's just another cut from the animal - be BRAVE! OR, make it with another meat that you think is ok, like a grass fed roast. You will do best with a roast that still has a bone in it, because the marrow is a very important part of this recipe though.

Here's Sonia's recipe:

2 lb ox tail (International Grocery Store in Charleston) or whatever meat preferred
1 cup diced white onion
1 cup red/green bell peppers
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup allspice
1/4 cup curry
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup coconut oil
salt and pepper to taste

Add coconut oil to crockpot set on high. After melted add oxtail  and onions, peppers, garlic.  Once stirred together add all seasonings.  Simmer on high until meat is cooked. (The liquid comes from the coconut oil, water from the veggies, and marrow from the ox tail.) Simmer on low for one more hour.

Serve over rice.  I used cauliflower "rice."

Bone marrow is delicious and helps to keep your bones STRONG so try this one out. You are going to love it!

Thanks, Sonia.

Zucchini with Bacon

Why is deciding what to eat for breakfast so hard? Why do some foods seem so hard to even consider for breakfast?  Have you ever asked yourself these questions? I have found that the longer we eat clean, the easier it is to eat "different" foods for breakfast. The photo above is a perfect example of a great breakfast that doesn't fit into many people's idea of what should be eaten as the first meal of the day, but it delivers sustained energy, continued health and nutrition, and it was easy.

I cooked 6 pieces of bacon in a large skillet. I placed the cooked bacon on a plate with paper towels and patted the bacon with another paper towel.

I poured out half of the bacon grease into a container for later use.  (Do you keep bacon grease?)

I washed and sliced 2 organic zucchini and put it into the skillet over medium heat and stirred often.

While the zucchini was cooking I added:

1 tsp Garlic Gold Nuggets       garlicgold.com
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp turmeric
pink sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

This made a great breakfast. It also makes a great side dish. Make the effort to eat real foods and get lots of vegetables into your plan. Your health is so important and great food is like putting money in a savings account for your future.

Paleo Crock Pot Coconut Milk Roast

This is such a busy time of year. We put so much stress on ourselves, wanting to make everything just so, wanting to get through the to-do list, wanting to prep meals, eat healthy, WOD, make family memories, clean out that closet that won't shut....etc etc etc!

Just a small amount of time with some quality ingredients is worth it if you have a great recipe. This is one of those. It's patterned after my  Paleo Crock Pot Chicken Thigh Dinner.                             Paleo Crock Pot Chicken Thigh Dinner

Someone had made it often and they told me how they made it with a roast instead, but I can't remember who it was. If it was YOU please let now on whatever social media you interact with me on.  I want to give you credit for this great way to tweak my original recipe.


I rubbed 2 TBSP coconut oil in my crock pot.
I peeled maybe 8-10 organic carrots and cut them in in big pieces and placed them into the crock pot.
I placed a large grass fed beef roast into the crock pot.
I cut 2 small red onions into large chunks and put them on top of the chicken.
I poured 1/2 cup chicken stock into the crock pot.
I poured 1 can of organic coconut milk into the pot. (I didn't stir. The coconut milk was partly thick, partly thin, of course, but that's not going to matter after it cooks all day)
I added: 
1 tsp Cherry Wood Smoked sea salt, (salttraders.com) 
freshly ground black pepper, 
1/2 tsp rosemary, and 
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp turmeric
I left the crock pot on low 8+  hours. (4 hours on high would work, too)