Shakeology Recipe of the Week--Peachy Almond Yum!

Necessity is the mother of all invention. This week's shake was born from the need to use up some ingredients that were going bad (namely peaches) and that I hadn't been grocery shopping in far too long and didn't have ingredients for my go-to recipe's around.

And what came out of this was amazing. It tastes very familiar...like many different pastries I've enjoyed over the years but I can't quite pin it down to just one. Think peach cobbler meets an almond sandies cookie. I think it is delicious so I had to share.

- 1 peach

- a little ice

- a lot of almond butter (3-4 tbsp?)

-1 banana

- a couple drops of almond extract

- Strawberry Shakeology 

- fill with vanilla almond milk (I always use unsweetened)

Blend and enjoy!!!

Shakeology Recipe of the Week--Strawberries & Cream

Nothing reminds me of early summer like the taste of fresh strawberries. And wow are they good with some whipped cream. But that is something I indulge in maybe once a season. To satiate my strawberry/whipped cream cravings I've been mixing up this Strawberries & Cream Shakeology recipe and it is so tasty and refreshing. (I don't measure so pardon the lack of precise measurements.)

-handful of frozen strawberries, or a little ice and handful of fresh strawberries (now that they are finally in season after the late winter)

-1-2 tbsp fat free or part skim ricotta

-fill to cover ingredients with unsweetened almond milk (unsweetened vanilla almond milk is good too)

-1 scoop strawberry Shakeology

Blend and add more fruit, ice, or almond milk to achieve the consistency you like. And enjoy!

It is also delicious with other fruit added, like banana, pineapple, and mango. Experiment and have fun with different flavors!

The Hunt for Paleo Pancakes- Part 2

One of my favorite features of Facebook are groups.  You can join a group for just about anything.  Right now I'm in a great challenge group where we are trying to eat paleo, or paleo(ish) to be more precise.  A few exceptions are made to make the menu a little more palatable.  In addition to having people to hold you accountable it is a great place to go for recipes.  Last weeks recipe was courtesy of a fellow group member, as is this one.  With just a few tweaks to match the recipe to what was in my pantry I made another attempt at grain-free pancakes.  

These pancakes turned out to taste very good.  My 2 year old taste tester scarfed one down.  The only tweak I made to the recipe was that I added a little more flour in because the blueberries were a little wet.  That being said this is a solid contender for a good grain free pancake.  The original recipe calls for hazelnut flour which I think would be fantastic.  When I track some down I will definitely try them again.  Before the whole family tries these out they may call for a few more options but this recipe is a solid contender for my go to pancake recipe.

Nut Flour (not just one nut but two) Pancakes

Yield: Serves 4 Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 6 minutes  (each batch)

Total Time: about 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup cashew flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 tbs oil (I used coconut oil)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tbs maple syrup or honey (I used honey)

Directions:

1.  In a medium bowl mix together try ingredients.  In a separate bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients.   Pour wet mixture in to dry ingredients and mix until no lumps remain.

2. Heat greased pan.  Make 2-3 inch sized pancakes. Cook slow at low heat.  Do not look for bubbles but instead cook for 2-3 minutes per side.  

3. Serve with blueberries.

The Hunt for the best Paleo Pancakes

Reading the grocery flyers this week (I read them every week, but especially when I'm preparing to stock my freezer) I saw the advertisement that I love to see at the beginning of every summer...Blueberries on sale!  In our house we can polish off a pint of blueberries without thinking twice but what we all love are blueberry pancakes.  

This is my first summer following a paleo lifestyle and I refuse to make my family pancakes without enjoying them myself.  Unfortunately the paleo pancakes I have found have been less than impressive.  Hence, then hunt for the best paleo pancakes.  I am determined to find ones that both the family and I love allowing me to partake in a favorite family tradition (Sunday pancakes) and enjoy one of the best things about New Jersey, their blueberries!

The below pancakes were very tasty.  A little thinner than I like and unfortunately because of that I put the blueberries on top rather than inside the pancakes.  The kiddo ate about half the pancake and then stated he didn't like them.  I'm pretty sure he was just bored with them and wanted to each straight blueberries, so I don't trust his opinion.  While, these pancakes provide a great jumping off point but certainly are not going to compete with non-paleo pancakes.  

Coconut Flour Pancakes

Yield: Serves 4 Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 6 minutes  (each batch)

Total Time: about 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup coconut flour

1 tsp baking soda

dash of salt

4 eggs 

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp honey

1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

Directions:

1.  In a medium bowl combine coconut flour, baking soda and salt and stir with a fork.  In a separate bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients.  Pour wet mixture in to dry ingredients and mix until no lumps remain.

2. Heat greased pan.  Make 2-3 inch sized pancakes.  Keep enough space between the pancakes to ensure they do not run together.  Cook the pancakes for 2-3 minutes or until they are bubbling.  Flip pancakes and cook for another 2 minutes.   

3. Serve with blueberries, blueberry sauce or almond butter.  (We did almond butter and chopped blueberries).

Breakfast on the go: Egg muffins

Breakfast is the best.  It is absolutely my favorite meal, well other than brunch.  But of course part of the joy of brunch is that you can eat breakfast...and steak...and shrimp.  My breakfast used to be a variety of easy go to foods.  Granola with yogurt and fruit.  Oatmeal.  Peanut butter on a multi-grain waffle.  All of these are tasty and healthy breakfast options.  These days however, I am eating paleo.  That means no granola (unless I make it special.  Stay tuned for a post on that).  No yogurt.  Frankly, no to everything I previously ate for breakfast.  

My breakfast is currently eggs, meat and veggies.  I must say I love it.  I feel filled up and don't get hungry and even better I feel like I am indulging by having bacon.  The only problem with this plan is that each morning I am making breakfast while trying to get out the door with bottles, lunches and babies in tow.  Thus I am usually scarfing down my breakfast in a quick, unhealthy amount of time.  

I've known of the existence of egg muffins for awhile now and way back when I've even made them, but not recently and not with cheese.  Despite my reservations it was time to bite the bullet and finally make breakfast easier, so more time could be spent playing with the kiddos before work and not frying eggs.  What was going into my first egg muffins?  What I had in the refrigerator of course (A common theme when I make my own recipes).  Kale and Trader Joe's Maple Chicken Sausage.  Easy, tasty, filling and now my breakfast is ready to go for the rest of the week.

Kale and Sausage Egg Muffins

Yield: Serves 4 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes 

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

One Package Chicken Sausage (could use turkey if you like)

8 whole eggs 

1 bunch of Kale

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cut sausage into 1/2 inch pieces.  In a medium skillet, brown the  sausage pieces on medium-high heat. Cook until sausage is brown all the way through. Chop kale and toss in the skillet until it is cooked.  Set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. 

3. Grease 8 muffin tin cups with cooking spray or line cups with paper liners.   Distribute kale/sausage mixture into the muffin cups.  Pour egg mixture evenly into the muffin cups.

4. Bake egg muffins for 20 minutes, or until the muffins are firm in the center. Remove from oven and gently go round each egg with a butter knife. Serve warm.

Great news!  You can store the egg muffins in the fridge for 3-4 days and reheat them in the microwave.