Gluten Free Soy Free Dairy Free Sesame Cracker

Crackers !!!!! I knew I have to bake these when I saw the recipe at Elana Pantry's.  This is the first time I bake my own crackers.  It is really easy. Took me only ten minutes.

However, I did not bake them long enough in the over. I took them out when they are just about to brown. I should have taken them out when they are golden or almost golden.
 
They do taste good though ! This recipe is definitely a keeper

Ingredients:
3 cups blanched almond flour
 1 ½ teaspoons celtic sea salt
1 cup sesame seeds
 2 eggs, whisked until frothy
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil ( I used Olive Oil since I do not have grapeseed at home)

Direction
1.  In a large bowl, stir almond flour, salt, sesame seeds, eggs and oil until well blended
2. Separate dough into two halves Line two large (12 x 16) stainless steel baking sheets with parchment paper
3. Place one half of the dough in the center of each lined sheet
4.  Cut another piece of parchment paper and place it over one of the balls of dough Roll dough out between the two pieces of parchment paper, until it is ⅛ inch thick and covers the entire baking sheet; remove top paper and repeat process with the other piece of dough
5.  Cut the dough with a knife or pizza cutter into 2 inch squares
6. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown
7. Cool and serve

~bel~

Paleo Crockpot Pork Loin

Survived the first week on Paleo!!! *Phew* !!

We have been cooking more at home than usual because of the diet restriction. The BF has been diligent in his cooking and lucky me get to eat ! He made this pork loin last week. Another easy recipe which requires only a crockpot.


Ingredient
1-1/2 lb pork loin
1 (16 oz) can tomato sauce
2 medium (6"-8") zucchini, sliced
1 head cauliflower, separated into medium florets
1-2 Tbs dried basil
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
 1/2 tsp sea salt (optional)

Direction: 
Add all of the ingredients to a large crock pot.
Cook on high for 6-7 hours.

~bel~

Paleo Banana Muffin

Panning ahead for Day 2 breakfast. It is hard to make breakfast in the morning as we are always rushing for time. After much thinking, I decided that muffin will do the trick... bake a batch today.... have some as pre track work out later today and keep some for breakfast tomorrow. Perfect solution !

I have never bake muffins without flour or butte but I saw this recipe on Robb Wolf blog and it look simple enough and decided to try it ! I like simple bake :)


Ingredients:
2 cups almond flour
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
 4 really ripe bananas (mashed well)
2 tbsp local honey
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

 Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2.  Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
3.  In a separate bowl, add the mashed bananas, eggs, honey, and vanilla and mix well. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir until combined.
4.  Fill greased muffin tins, baking cups, mini-loaf pans or big loaf pans about 3/4 full. Bake muffins for 23-25 minutes and loaves for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

~bel~

Paleo day 1 : Breakfast- Chirozo Scrambled Egg

Officially Day 1 of Paleo Challenge. The BF and I woke up early for the morning pump class. I was tired and really did not want to go. But the BF has promised to make breakfast... so I just need to move my butt and do some weights before breakfast. This Chirozo Scrambled Eggs made my day !

The BF chose this recipe from Paleo Plan. 

This is the first time we use coconut oil for cooking. I really loved it. We used extra virgin coconut oil... it give the scrambled eggs a slight coconut taste... its really good

Ingredients:
1 Tbs coconut oil
 1/2 yellow onion, diced ( We omitted this as we ran out of onion)
1/4 lb chorizo, sliced (with no filler ingredients)
4 eggs dash of sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper hot pepper sauce

Instructions
1. Over medium-high heat, sauté the onions and chorizo in coconut oil until the chorizo gets crispy around the edges and the onion turns slightly translucent.
2. Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a small bowl and add sea salt and black pepper. Pour the eggs into the pan with the crispy chorizo and translucent onions. Scramble the eggs softly until cooked. Top with hot sauce.

Paleo Challenge Day 1: No Beans About It- Turkey Chili Recipe

Paleo Diet ! The BF and I finally decided to commit to a 30 days challenge. Kudos to the BF.. he actually went to buy the Paleo for Athlete book so that we can research on this diet. We have heard many good things about this diet and thought that we should try it for a month. I figured that this will be good for the BF as he eats pizzas and burgers every week. 

The BF chose 1 May as Day 1 of the challenge. So here we are... on this cave man diet for one month.

Another Kudos to the BF. He planned the menu for this week on Sunday afternoon and went to buy all the ingredients yesterday.

We decide to make a Turkey Chili for dinner last night so that he could have it for lunch today. ( Today being Day 1)

He found an easy but yummy recipe on All Recipe. We both agreed that this a keeper. Its really awesome !

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Directions :
1. Crumble the ground beef into a stock pot or large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
2. Add the onion and garlic, and cook stirring frequently until beef is evenly browned. Drain off excess grease.
3. Season with chili powder, oregano, cumin and hot sauce. Stir in the tomatoes and vinegar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 1 hour - or longer if you have time. Stir occasionally to prevent burning on the bottom.

~bel`

Baked Chicken with Balsamic Peppers

Someone mentioned "Paleo Diet" last week and curious me was on the internet the whole week reading about this diet and Paleo recipes.

I saw this chicken recipe and decided to try it last night. I bought the ingredients, sent the recipe to the BF and told him that he is making dinner :). The BF did a great job on this... it is so yummy good.

This is a easy recipe.. good for weekdays. We served the chicken with some green beans and brown rice. So good !

Ingredient

4 large ripe bell peppers: red, green, orange, yellow; cored and sliced thin

1 large sweet onion, sliced thin

1/3 cup organic balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons gluten-free Worcestershire Sauce

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup or so chicken broth

6 fresh cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon rosemary

4 fresh, organic free-range split breasts of chicken, rinsed and patted dry

Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.

2. Toss the pepper and onion slices in a large bowl. In a large measuring cup, fork-stir your sauce using: balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire, olive oil, broth, chopped garlic, and herbs. Pour the sauce over the sliced peppers and onions and toss well to coat.

 

3. Place the split chicken breasts in the bottom of a baking pan sprayed with olive oil. Season with sea salt and pepper, to taste. Pour the balsamic pepper mixture over the chicken and arrange them evenly. Use every last drop of sauce.

 

4. Loosely cover the pan with a piece of foil and place in the center of a pre-heated oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Spoon the sauce all over the peppers and chicken breasts to keep everything happy and moist, recover it and continue to bake until everything is melt-in-your-mouth tender (depending upon the thickness of the chicken, and the size of your pepper strips, and your particular oven and altitude it could be an additional 10 minutes or 20 minutes).

Blueberry Muffin

I am in "muffin frenzy" state of mind these days. just can't get muffins out of my head. I have been reading and looking at muffin recipes. I love baking muffins...they are easy.. usually just two bowls for the wet and dry ingredients..... no cake mixer.

My cool ultra-runner friends Sarah and Miguel are running the Nanny Goat race in May. This is a unique race where participants run round a one mile dirt loop for 12 or 24 hours. The objective is to run as many run as possible within the 12 or 24 hours. To help them practice their run, our good runner friend Matt planned a mini goat run - a 5 hr run around a one mile loop around his hood. .. of course.. we runners are invited to the run.

I could not decide what to bring to this event .. and asked the BF... banana muffin, chocolate or blueberry. I almost expected him to say chocolate.. but the chocolate loving boy abandoned his chocolate and asked for blueberry.

So.. blueberry is it ! I chose this recipe from Joy of Baking. It is a healthy recipe.. no butter. Just yogurt and canola oil. I was skeptical of any recipe that abandon the butter.. but surprisingly this turn out really yummy.


Ingredients
1 cup (240 ml) plain yogurt (regular or low fat)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup (60 ml) canola or corn oil
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups (100 grams) fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Position rack in center of oven. Butter or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

2. In a large measuring cup or bowl whisk together the yogurt, lightly beaten egg, oil, and vanilla extract.

3. In another large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Remove 1 tablespoon of the dry ingredients and toss it with the blueberries.

4. With a rubber spatula fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are combined. Gently stir in the blueberries. Do not over mix the batter or tough muffins will result.

5. Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop.

6. Place in the oven and bake for about 15 - 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from pan.

Makes 12 muffins.

~bel~