Paleo Pumpkin Banana Bread

This recipe follows Whole 30 Guidelines folks, so gobble up!  I made pumpkin bars from the recipe I posted a couple of years back.  At the time I thought they were God's gift to my taste buds, but my idea of clean eating was distorted at the time and still contained copious amounts of sugar in the form of honey.  Now...don't get me wrong. I still indulge with honey here and there, but not enough to categorize it with it's own food group any more.  Long story short, this time they tasted awful to me; way too sweet.  When I discovered it was the flavor of the pumpkin I was craving and not the sugar (said discovery came about once I realized I had consumed half a cup of pureed pumkin directly from the can with a large serving spoon in.my.face), I decided to come up with a recipe sans sugar. 

If you're looking for sweet, you won't like this. So, have the expectation of a dense, robust, pumkin and spice loaf.  I would serve this warmed with a half gallon of honey over the top (ha, just kidding)your morning coffee tea or, if you're not doing your Whole 30, a spread of Kerrigold Grassfed Butter (super yum).  I made it just to go with my Perfect Paleo Chili and it was a magical combination.



I'm sorry this is such a grody picture.  It looked way better on my iPhone.  The loaf does not actually resemble excrement.
 

Paleo Pumkin Banana Bread

Ingredients:
2 bananas, very ripe
1 c pumpkin puree
3 eggs
1 TBSP vanilla extract
2 c almond flour (I used almond meal, but I bet this would be better with blanched almond flour)
2 TBSP coconut flour
1 TBSP cinnamon
1/2 TBSP nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Method:
Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine all wet ingredients into food processor or blender.  Blend until there are no chunks.

Combine all dry ingredients medium bowl.  Slowly add dry ingredients to wet, mixing the whole time.

Grease 7.5 x 3.5 loaf pan.  Pour batter into pan evenly.  Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until you get a "bounce" not a "squish" when you press on the top center of the loaf.

Remove from oven and let cool 15+ minutes. 

Red Pepper Dip (Pseudo-hummus)

I was in a pinch for a dish to bring to a BBQ the other day and found this in my Everyday Paleo Cookbook.  If you miss hummus, this is about as close as one could possible get for a paleo version and it is tremendous.  Best part about it? Super easy.  Hope you enjoy!

Red Pepper Dip

Ingredients:

2 cups walnuts (soak in water for an hour to soften, if you can)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 jar (12 oz) roasted red peppers, drained
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp lemon juice (I was out, so subbed with lime juice)

Method:

Pulse walnuts, cumin, and salt in food processor until finely ground.  Add peppers, garlic, EVOO, and lemon or lime juice.  Process until smooth.  Refrigerate.

Serve with celery, terra chips, or other favorite veggies!

Pablano Pesto

Donnie brought a recipe home from one of his co-workers, Matt Gintzler, that is PHENOM!
It doesn't sound nearly as delicious as it tastes but, trust me, it is worth making.  We just used it as a dip with plantain chips tonight, but I would use it over spaghetti squash, on eggs, anywhere.  It's super yummy!

Pablano Pesto


Ingredients:

2 poblano chiles, roasted
3/4 Cup Almond Meal
1/3 C Olive Oil
1 bunch cilantro
2 cloves garlic
Salt
Jalapeno (optional)

Method:

If chiles are not roasted, seed, coat with olive oil, and roast at 400 F until soft and skin bubbles.  Let cool until they can be handled bare-handed.

Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth.

Buffalo Wings

Jess gave me another great recipe to try. I am always looking for ideas for appetizers and these wings turned out really well.

And no, bison do not have wings...the name came from the recipe's origination in Buffalo, NY.  Aren't you glad I clarified that?

Buffalo Wings

Ingredients:

12 chicken wings, wings and drummettes separated

1/4 c buffalo hot sauce, preferably Frank's
1 tbsp honey
1 ts unsalted butter

Method:

Preheat oven to 425 F.  Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Arrange the wings in a single layer on the prepared pan and roast, turning over once, until cooked through, about 35 min.
(I noticed the skin was still soft, so I turned the broiler on at 500 F for about 5 minutes each side to crisp up the skin. Be careful not to burn. Burnt skin = smelly)

Meanwhile, combine the hot sauce, honey, and butter in a lg bowl. Remove the wings from the oven and immediately transfer to the hot sauce mixture. Toss continually until evenly coated.

They have great taste but not really hot. Matt thinks if you add cayenne pepper or some jalepenos to the sauce it will spice them up.

Serve them up with some celery and carrots and flavored Paleo Mayo...yum!

Bacon-Wrapped Dates

In light of the Superbowl, I thought I would post a few appetizers.  I absolutely LOVE Cafe Vino in Fort Collins and they serve the greatest Bacon-Wrapped Dates ever.  I went home and tried to mimic them, minus the goat cheese, and they turned out great.  I make a Balsamic reduction to go over the top of them, but it isn't necessary...they are yum without it.

Bacon-Wrapped Dates

Ingredients:

6 slices bacon, cut into thirds (I used thick-cut)
18 pitted dates (buy good quality, fresh dates, like Medjool's from Sprouts)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Wrap each pitted date with 1/3 slice of bacon and "pin" with toothpick.  Arrange on baking sheet and bake until bacon is cooked; about 20 minutes.

Balsamic Reduction:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 TBSP raw, unfiltered honey

Method:

Combine vinegar and honey in small sauce pan. Heat over medium heat until vinegar starts to boil. Stir constantly until vinegar reduces and you are left with a thicker sauce (about 5 mins).  Pour over bacon-wrapped dates.

Pico de Gallo a.k.a. Salsa Fresca a.k.a. A Little Bit of Deliciousness

This recipe has been on the site for some time, but it was held captive under another recipe and, clearly, not visible enough. Today it gets promoted and has a link dedicated solely to its greatness.
Pico de Gallo

Ingredients:

2 large, ripe, red tomoto (or 4-5 small roma tomatoes)
1/2 yellow or white onion
1-2 jalepenos, chopped
Chopped fresh cilantro, to taste
1/2 TBSP olive oil
1 tsp course sea salt, or to taste

Method:

Chop tomato and remove seeds and pulp. Finely chop onion, jalepenos (remove seeds to minimize heat), and cilantro. Mix all ingredients and enjoy!

Spiced Pecan Butter

This recipe came about because I was trying to make a creative pecan crust for a pumpkin pie. This butter was too sticky to make a crust, but I licked my finger and realized it was amazing. Love those recipes that come from mistakes! This would be amazing with apple slices!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 C pecans
4 large pitted dates
2 TBSP Almond Butter
1/3 C water
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves

Method:

Place all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth. Serve with your favorite veggies or fruit.

Pumpkin Bars - To Die For

It's Halloween and I am a complete sucker for two things: candy corn and pumpkin anything. Since I highly doubt I'll be able to modify a candy corn recipe to make it Paleo, I decided to try the next best thing and make some pumpkin bars. Thanks to elanaspantry.com, I was able to make them Paleo-friendly and absolutely delicious. I found they are even better the next day. Best of all, they are super easy to make.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pumpkin puree (I used Libby's)
1/2 cup agave nectar (this is where I modified the original recipe. I used raw, unfiltered honey instead)
2 eggs
1 cup blanched almond flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (I used 1/2 teaspoon because I heart cinnamon)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves

Method:

In a food processor, combine pumpkin, honey (or agave) and eggs. Pulse for 2 minutes (I'm lazy, so I just let it blend for about 30 seconds, then pulsed it a bit to make sure it was well blended).

Pulse dry ingredients into wet for a full minute, until well combined.

Pour batter into a greased 8x8 baking dish and bake at 350 F for 30-35 minutes.

Sweet Potato Chews

This came in an email from Whole 9. These are absolutely delicious. I made them last night and will definitely make them again.

Post-Workout Sweet Potato Chews


Cast of Characters:

Sweet potatoes. I thought these were yams, but apparently they are sweet potatoes. Whatever, I don’t really care. Just get the orange ones. The yellow ones don’t survive being baked and cooked.

Cinnamon. I’ve read that it improves insulin sensitivity. It’s also delicious.

Coconut oil. It imparts a subtle coconut taste that rounds out the flavor of the sweet potato in a truly marvelous way.

Now Do This:

First, you have to bake the sweet potatoes, so preheat oven to 325.
Spread a piece of aluminum foil on a middle rack and bake as many as you can fit for about an hour. You want them soft, so the skins easily pull away from the sides.
After baking, let them cool in the oven until it’s convenient to move on to the next step. Sitting in the oven overnight is fine, in fact.
Now you have to peel them. If you baked them long enough, you should be able to get most of the peel off with your fingers. Use a knife for any stubborn bits.

This will make MANY pans of sweet potato chews.

Next, you need to slice them and arrange them on a baking sheet. You can use a pan liner (like Silpat) to make removal of the finished product easier.
Cut them about 1/2 a centimeter thick. You want a uniform thickness if possible, and I find 1/2 cm gives me enough potato to keep it from becoming a mess when I transfer pieces to the pan.
Arrange them flat side up.
Now, melt your coconut oil and paint on your potato slices using a pastry brush.
Give a healthy dusting of cinnamon (I really load up).
Then back to the oven it goes for the “drying”. Cooking at 350 for 50 minutes brings about half the pan to an acceptable level. They sizzle nicely under the high heat.
Usually, I’ll remove the done ones and throw the pan back in for another 10 minutes and that produces pretty good results. I’ve also done 300 degrees and 90 minutes. That works pretty well too and is more forgiving, meaning less crispy pieces. You may have to experiment a bit. If you go too long or too hot, you will have sweet potato crisps. Not bad, but I prefer the chewy consistency of soft dried fruit.
Partition slices into perfect PWO portions and pack them in Ziploc bags or covered glass storage containers. (I don’t know how long they keep because we’ve never had a batch last longer than a couple days.) Enjoy!