Paleo chocolate mug cake

I can't believe I waited so long to try this. I could've been eating cake every darn day if I wanted to! I got the recipe from PaleOMG and slightly modified it.


Paleo Chocolate Mug Cake
(serves 1)

1.5 tablespoons coconut flour
1.5 tablespoons almond flour
2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons honey
1 egg
Pinch of salt
Pinch of cinnamon

1. Add all dry ingredients in a microwave-safe mug and mix well.
2. Add coconut oil, honey, and egg and mix well. Make sure that the egg is well incorporated in the batter.
3. Microwave on the highest setting for 1 minute and 45 seconds.

Coconut chia pudding

I'd known about chia pudding for some time before I finally decided to get a bag of chia seeds from Healthy Options. They don't come cheap, that's why it took me a while to get on the chia bandwagon. They're not strictly paleo, but I do find them good for me. Mark Sisson briefly wrote about why we should be cautious about consuming too much.

I make chia pudding the night before I plan to have it for breakfast, since it should be chilled before eating.


Coconut Chia Pudding
(serves 1)

1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon coconut sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons chia seeds

1. Using a blender bottle, mix together coconut milk and coconut sugar. Make sure that the sugar is dissolved.
2. Take out the wire whisk ball thingamajig and mix in the chia seeds. Stir every few minutes.
3. Pour the mixture into a small bowl or mug, cover with a plastic wrap, and chill overnight.

Easy peasy pancakes

Don't laugh, but I went on a special trip to the grocery just to get bananas for my new favorite, two-ingredient pancakes (whose recipe I got from Carrots 'n Cake, remember?). The first time I made them, they didn't look so pretty because I couldn't flip them well. But I'm able to do it better now.

Two-ingredient Pancakes
(makes 2)

1 medium-sized banana
1 egg

1. Preheat a little bit of coconut oil in a nonstick pan over low-medium heat.
2. Mash the banana very well.
3. Crack the egg into the mashed banana and mix thoroughly. Like, really thoroughly. Otherwise, you might end up with a banana omelet.
4. Pour half of the batter in the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes, then flip and cook for another 3 minutes. Cook the rest of the batter.

I like topping it with coconut butter.

Cold-brewed coffee

Yes. I didn't even know this term until a few weeks ago when, after browsing for paleo recipes, I came across a link that talked about using paleo condensed milk for Vietnamese-style iced coffee. I love Vietnamese coffee because it has such a rich flavor, and I didn't know there was such a thing as an iced version of it.

Apparently, there's a whole population of coffee drinkers who prefer this method of brewing coffee over the usual way of hot-brewing. This site explains why cold-brewing is better than hot-brewing.

If you love iced coffee, maybe you'll become a convert like me and start cold-brewing. This is the "recipe" I follow (if you can even call it a recipe). I adapted it from The Pioneer Woman's recipe.


Cold-brewed Coffee
(makes 1 liter)

1 1/2 cups ground coffee
6 cups cold water

1. Place the ground coffee in a sealable container (could be a plastic or glass jug). Pour the cold water into the container and stir to make sure that the grounds are getting soaked. Let this mixture sit at room temperature for 24 hours. I let mine sit for 36 hours and it turned out well.
2. After having let the mixture sit, place a cheesecloth over a strainer and pour the mixture through that and into another container.
3. Store in the refrigerator.

One-liter jug of coffee concentrate

Creamy Iced Coffee
(makes 1 serving)

1 1/2 to 2 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk
Half a glass of coffee concentrate
Half a glass of full cream milk
Lots of ice cubes

Spoon the condensed milk into a tall glass, then fill the glass with ice cubes.

Pour in the coffee concentrate.

That's the condensed milk at the bottom

Then pour in the milk.

Stir well to make sure the condensed milk doesn't stay at the bottom.

Notes:
- Adjust the proportions to suit your taste.
- To "paleo-fy" this, just substitute sweetened condensed coconut milk and coconut milk. I haven't tried it yet because it's so much more convenient to use non-paleo ingredients.

Homemade chocolate

I don't know about you, but I can't live without chocolate. That remains one of my indulgences even now that I'm trying to be as paleo as possible.

I started looking for paleo chocolate recipes when I couldn't find paleo-friendly chocolate chips for cookies I wanted to back and had to settle for regular chocolate chips. The cookies would've been perfect if they didn't make my tummy hurt (I assume it was the sugar's fault).

Anyway, I eventually stumbled over this raw vegan coconut oil chocolate recipe from Avery Cooks. I never knew making paleo chocolate could be so easy! Her recipe called for vanilla extract but we never have any on hand so I omitted that and tweaked a few things, too.


Paleo Coconut Oil Chocolate
(makes 1 big-ish bar)

6 Tbsp virgin coconut oil
6 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (not the Dutch-processed type)
3 Tbsp coconut sugar (or to taste)
1 Tbsp coconut nectar (optional)

1. Lightly grease a loaf-sized pyrex dish then line it in cling wrap. This will make taking out the chocolate easier when it has hardened.
2. Thoroughly mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour into the dish and spread out.
3. Refrigerate or freeze then cut into bite size pieces when set.
4. Store in freezer.

Note: If you don't like the texture of coconut sugar granules mixed with your chocolate, use a liquid sweetener instead.

Spiced Chicken with Moroccan Dipping Sauce

I took it upon myself to make lunch yesterday, as it seemed people around the house didn't feel like coming up with a lunch menu. We didn't want to do anything work-intensive, and since I went paleo I learned a trick: baking. You just season everything, stick that in the oven, wait 30 minutes or so... and voilà! You're good to go!

It doesn't look like much but it sure smelled fantastic!

Spiced Chicken
(adapted from this recipe by The Clothes Make the Girl)

6 pcs chicken leg quarters
Salt for salting the chicken
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 Tbsp ground allspice
1/2 Tbsp black pepper
1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
Olive oil for drizzling

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Rub salt over the leg quarters and let sit for about 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine all the spices in a small bowl.
4. Place the chicken in a baking dish big enough to fit all the pieces comfortably. Sprinkle on the spice mix a little at a time, making sure that the chicken pieces are all pretty well coated. Turn the pieces over and coat the other side.
5. Drizzle olive oil over the chicken and rub again.
6. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the juice runs clear when you pierce the meat.

We paired this with Moroccan Dipping Sauce, still by The Clothes Make the Girl.

Moroccan Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp paprika

Pinch cayenne pepper

1/2 salt

Pepper to taste

1/3 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp minced cilantro or parsley

Whisk the lemon juice, garlic, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper together. Gradually whisk in the olive oil, then stir in chopped cilantro or parsley. Serve at room temperature.

Paleo Tablea Cupcakes

The first and only time I made this was during the Paleo Challenge last March. I'd adapted this chocolate cupcake recipe from Elana's Pantry, and while I was happy with its taste, I wasn't thrilled about the centers that had sunk. Also, it's not that easy to find 100% pure tablea. Most of the ones I see in supermarkets either have sugar and milk or whey.

But since then, I'd found several other sources of tablea -- there's the Kablon brand, and there are also several sellers on sulit.com.ph -- and now I feel confident enough to share the recipe.

Tablea cupcakes and Coconut banana muffins

Paleo Tablea Cupcakes
(makes 18)

1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
4 tablets pure tablea, chopped
6 eggs
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup coconut nectar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line cupcake pans with paper liners.
2. In a small bowl, sift together coconut flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a double boiler and mix in chopped tablea, whisking until the tablea is melted and the mixture is smooth. Transfer this to a medium mixing bowl and let cool for around 5 minutes.
4. When the chocolate mixture is just a tad warm, add the cocoa and mix well. Then, add the coconut sugar and coconut nectar.
5. To the chocolate mixture, add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
6. Add the coconut flour mixture to the chocolate mixture and blend well.
7. Scoop a scant 1/4 cup into each cup. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

This goes extremely well with Fog City Creamery's paleo coconut vanilla ice cream.

Paleo Banana and Cream "Oatmeal"

On a rainy day like today, there's nothing more I would like than to have a bowl of warm porridge. During my pre-paleo days, I would have oat bran or champorado with sweetened condensed milk. I still have champorado occasionally when I have a cheat meal to spare. That's one of the few times I wish rice were paleo.

Anyway, the past few days I'd been googling recipes for paleo "oatmeal". There were a lot of good ones (this one on Mark's Daily Apple seemed to have a lot of good reviews), but I wanted something that didn't require a lot of time and ingredients to prepare. What can I say? I'm lazy like that.

Well, I finally came across this Banana and Cream "Oatmeal" recipe on A Girl Worth Saving's site. It had only 4 ingredients and you hardly have to cook it. Perfect! I tried it today and it totally satisfied my porridge craving. Plus, it was a good way to use up the coconut butter I still have sitting in the pantry.

Banana and Cream "Oatmeal"
(serves 1)

1 ripe banana
2 Tbsp coconut butter
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of salt

1. In a small microwavable bowl, mash the banana, then mix in the salt and cinnamon.
2. Mix in the coconut butter.
3. Microwave on low for about a minute. Take it out and mix it further to make sure that everything is getting heated. Put it back and microwave again for about another minute.
4. Enjoy!

If the mixture seems too thick or creamy for your taste, you could put a little bit of coconut milk in your bowl. You can also top it with dried fruit or nuts.

Almond Flour Pancakes

The search is over. I finally found the best paleo pancake recipe. I know that paleo pancakes can never be as fluffy as regular ones, but this comes close. Even Nanay (who is anti-paleo because she thinks I'm being too extreme in my diet) and Tatay were surprised that it tasted good.

I got the recipe from The Urban Poser here. I changed some things but it still turned out well. Here's my version:


Almond Flour Pancakes
(makes about 20 small pancakes)

1 1/2 cups fine ground almond flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs (room temperature)
5 Tbsp coconut cream (gata in Filipino)
2 Tbsp coconut nectar

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the almond flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. You could also sift or whisk them together. The important thing is the dry ingredients are well combined.
2. In a smaller, separate bowl, blend together the eggs, coconut cream, honey, and vanilla.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Let rest for 5 mins, then pre-heat your pan over medium heat (I used a non-stick pan).
4. Add about 1/8 cup of batter to the pan. Make sure the pancakes are no bigger than 3" in diameter or you'll have a hard time flipping them. Cook until the surface starts forming a few bubbles and the edges just start to form. Flip and cook the other side.
5. Serve with your choice of toppings. I had mine with butter and coconut nectar.

Almond flour is expensive so you'd want to cook every bit of batter in the bowl. You won't regret making this recipe, though! I'd post a photo, but I was so hungry this morning and they're gone now, though I stored some in the freezer. I'll make sure to take photos next time.

Chocolate-Covered Katie's Fudge Babies

I've been wanting a paleo treat that doesn't need a lot of time to prepare (i.e. no baking), and I finally stumbled across these fudge babies by Chocolate-Covered Katie.

Now, for the longest time, I've avoided making anything with dates. Why? Because we don't have a food processor, and almost all the recipes I've found require the use of it for the dates. But I've had a pack of dates sitting in the fridge for some weeks now, so I thought the fudge babies would be a good recipe to use it in.

I have to say that they were perfect. I think I need to buy dates regularly now. Here's the slightly modified recipe that I followed:


Fudge Balls

1 cup walnuts
1 1/3 cups pitted dates
1/4 tsp salt
4 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa

1. Chop walnuts very finely, then set aside.
2. Place dates in a shallow dish and sprinkle with some water (about 1 to 2 Tbsp). Microwave on a low setting for about a minute, mash with a fork and sprinkle with more water if needed, then microwave again for about 2 minutes and mash very well using a fork. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
3. Add cocoa, walnuts, and salt to the mashed dates. Use your hands to mix everything together very well, and when everything's mixed, form into 1 to 1.5" balls. Be warned: the mixture will be very sticky but it's so gonna be worth it. Trust me.

I almost wasn't able to take this photo because I couldn't help
eating them all!

Post-challenge Day 17

Today's meals

Breakfast: Sweet potato hash with fried eggs, black coffee
Lunch: Pork chops, ampalaya with eggs
Dinner: Tilapia and pechay cooked in coconut milk
Snacks: Singkamas, bananas, non-paleo cookies (M&M's, which my niece made, and peanut butter, which I and my son and nephew made)

The sweet potato hash recipe I'd gotten from Nom Nom Paleo was sooo good, if I may say so myself! It was also my first time to fry eggs, believe it or not. I rarely fry stuff because I'm afraid the oil will jump out at me and go into my eyes. Weird, I know. Anyway, it wasn't that bad. I followed the instructions and just waited until the eggs looked done. Et voilà!

Halfway through the meal was when I thought about taking a photo

With my mug of coffee on the side

Sweet Potato Hash with Fried Eggs

For the hash:

2 medium sweet potatoes, grated
Salt
Ground black pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Dried oregano
Dried basil
Beef fat for cooking

1. Place grated sweet potatoes in a large bowl and toss with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, and basil.
2. Heat the fat in a skillet over medium heat. When it's hot, add the seasoned sweet potatoes.
3. Toss everything in the fat and stir-fry for a minute, then cover for a few more minutes while the sweet potatoes cook.
4. The hash is ready when the texture is soft.

For the fried eggs:

2 eggs
Salt
Ground black pepper
Coconut oil or animal fat for cooking

1. Heat the oil or fat in a pan over medium-low heat. Once hot, crack 2 eggs into a bowl and pour into the pan.
2. Season the eggs with salt and pepper, and cover for 2 to 3 minutes, depending on how runny you want your eggs.
3. Once they're done, slide the eggs onto your mound of sweet potato hash.

So, so, sooo good, I swear.

Paleo Chicken Nuggets with "BBQ" Sauce

I stumbled upon this recipe from Multiply Delicious while filtering google results for paleo recipes. As usual, I tweaked a few things. Except for the coconutty texture of the "breading" it tastes almost like the real thing! This is the recipe I followed:

Chicken Nuggets

1/2 kg ground chicken
1 egg
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup + 1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
Coconut oil for frying
Salt and pepper

1. In a bowl, mix to combine 1/4 cup almond flour, dessicated coconut, and salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, combine ground chicken, 1/2 cup almond flour, onion powder, garlic powder, egg, and salt and pepper. Mix well until everything is incorporated. Form into balls and flatten a bit (so they'll look like chicken nuggets), then coat in almond flour and coconut mixture.
3. Cook in coconut oil and serve with "BBQ" sauce.

Paleo BBQ Sauce

3/4 cup 100% natural orange juice
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
10 Tbsp tomato paste
3 to 4 Tbsp coconut sugar
1/2 medium onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp coconut oil

1. Heat coconut oil in medium heat. Cook onion and garlic and saute until soft.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients except coconut sugar and simmer for 5 mins.
3. Add coconut sugar and simmer again for 10 to 15 mins.

Paleo Chicken Fingers

I'd bought chicken breast the last time I went to the supermarket, and instead of using Melicious' chicken spice blend which I usually use for chicken breast, I sliced them into strips to make chicken fingers. Because I miss Friday's chicken fingers with honey mustard sauce.

Again, I scoured the Internet for paleo "breading" recipes and found myself checking out The Paleo Mom's chicken fingers recipe. I made a few changes in the recipe and this is how I made it:

Paleo Chicken Fingers

1/4 kg chicken breast fillet, cut into strips
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup almond flour
1/2 tsp rock salt
3/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp cumin
Coconut oil for frying

1. Rub some salt onto the chicken strips and let sit for about 15 mins.
2. Beat egg in a shallow dish. In another shallow dish, combine almond flour, salt, paprika, curry powder, and cumin and mix to combine.
3. Heat some coconut oil in a frying pan. Dip the chicken strips in egg, then dip in the almond flour mixture, making sure to coat all sides.
4. Cook the chicken (about 2-3 mins per side). Place on paper towels to drain excess oil.

It came out a little bit too salty for my taste, so I probably should've omitted the salt in the almond flour mixture. I would've made some sort of dip if I'd had the ingredients and the time, but that'll have to wait until next time.

Paleo Challenge Day 25

Today's meals

Breakfast: Non-paleo waffles (my first cheat meal, if you must know)
Lunch: Grilled chicken, banana with coconut butter, black coffee
Dinner: Pork chops, eggplant cooked with coconut milk, banana bread french toast, caimito
Snacks: Singkamas, chocolate-covered polvoron (again, non-paleo)

I tried my hand at baking PaleOMG's Banana Bread French Toast this afternoon. It was good, but I guess since I used coconut butter instead of cashew/walnut butter mine didn't come out as "cakey" as it looks in the original recipe's picture. I tweaked some other things, too. This is how I made it:

Banana Bread French Toast

Banana bread:

3 Cavendish bananas, mashed
3/4 cup coconut butter
2 eggs
1 tbsp coconut nectar
1 cup almond flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 375F and line a bread pan with wax paper.
2. In a bowl, mix mashed bananas and coconut butter very well and set aside. In another bowl, whisk together almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Make sure they are combined well.
3. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs then add the banana mixture and coconut nectar. Mix well then add the almond flour mixture and mix again until you get a batter.
4. Pour the batter in the lined bread pan and bake for 25-30 mins. Let cool, then cut into 1/2" slices.

Fresh out of the oven

French toast:

2 eggs
1/3 cup coconut milk
1/4 tsp cinnamon

1. Whisk together the ingredients in a shallow bowl and heat a tablespoon or so of coconut oil in a pan.
2. Dip the banana bread slices in the egg mixture on both sides then cook in the pan.

Voila!

Notes:

• I used the loaf pan that my mother uses to make fruit cake and I don't know the dimensions but the batter filled it perfectly.
• The cake came out a bit mushy, so I had to take care that the slices wouldn't break while I was dipping them in the egg mixture.
• There was leftover egg mixture after all the bread slices had been dipped, so I think the coconut milk quantity could be reduced next time.

Almond Flour Banana Pancakes

I got my almond flour from Belen yesterday and I was so excited to use it for a new pancake recipe. I scoured the Internet and landed on Jan's Sushi Bar's recipe for Butternut Squash Pancakes. I thought it would be a great base for my favorite banana pancakes (Jack Johnson had it right about them banana pancakes). This is the recipe I followed:

Almond Flour Banana Pancakes

2 eggs

2 bananas, mashed

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2/3 cup almond flour

1/8 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1. In a small bowl, combine almond flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda. Whisk everything together and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs until they are frothy, then add the mashed bananas. Mix until well combined. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing well enough to make sure that the almond flour is well integrated into the batter.
3. Pour the batter onto the pan by the scant 1/4 cup and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip and cook the other side.
4. Serve warm with fruit, syrup, almond butter, coconut butter, or whatever you like to put when you eat pancakes.

Notes:

• Make small pancakes so you won't have difficulty flipping them.
• The pancakes will appear to be browner than regular pancakes (sort of like coconut flour pancakes).
• This made exactly 8 small pancakes.

Paleo Coconut Flour Banana Pancakes

I have to confess that I am very much a pancake person, which must be evident when I post my meals. One of the things that was very hard to give up when I went paleo was pancake and waffles. See, I wake up to the heavenly smell of pancakes every Saturday morning. It had become a weekend thing for the family to spend lazy Saturday mornings eating pancakes or waffles, and I was truly, truly sad that I had to give that up. So when I got my hands on coconut flour, I scoured the Internet for the best paleo pancake recipe using coconut flour.

Among all the recipes I found, the one from Paleo Spirit seemed to have gotten the most amount of positive feedback. The first time I tried it, it came out a little too "eggy" for my taste. I made it again using a banana, and it tasted better. The last time I made it, I used 2 bananas. Here's the recipe I followed:

Paleo Coconut Flour Banana Pancakes

Ingredients

4 eggs at room temperature
1 cup coconut cream
2 medium overripe bananas, mashed (I used the kind we call "lakatan")
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp rock salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Instructions

1. Sift together coconut flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the rock salt to the sifted ingredients and whisk together, making sure it is well combined. Set aside.
2. Crack the eggs in a medium-sized bowl and beat with a hand mixer until frothy. Mix in the coconut cream and mashed bananas.
3. Combine the dry mixture with the wet and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat the mixture again until the coconut flour is complete mixed into the batter.
4. Grease pan with coconut oil and heat over medium to low heat. When the pan is hot enough, pour batter to create pancakes that are about 3 inches in diameter (to be safe, make sure it's not bigger than the spatula you will use to flip it).
5. Cook each side about 1-2 minutes and serve.

Some notes:

• The pancakes will turn out brownish, and will look almost like they were burnt.
• They are very filling, and 3-4 pancakes is usually enough for me.
• Recipe yields roughly 20 small pancakes

Paleo Challenge Day 12

Today's meals

Breakfast: fried egg and spanish sardines
Lunch: garden salad and minestrone (I didn't eat the pasta and beans in the soup)
Dinner: grilled tilapia, grilled pork, veggies cooked in coconut milk
Snacks: apple, paleo banana muffin

I felt so deprived that I couldn't eat my niece's chocolate cake so I took matters into my own hands and baked paleo banana muffins made with coconut flour. It turned out quite well, if I may say so myself. The original recipe I found here called for maple syrup but I omitted that and added another banana instead. It was moist, cakey, and a little bit coconutty. My father, however, complained that it tastes "different" and lacked sweetness.

Anyway, here's the modified recipe I followed:

Coconut Flour Banana Muffins

3/4 cup coconut flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking soda
dash of sea salt (about 1/8 tsp)
3 bananas, mashed
6 eggs
4 tablespoons coconut oil

Preheat oven to 400F. Line muffin pans with cupcake liner.

In a bowl, sift together coconut flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda. Add the sea salt and whisk them all together. Set aside.

Put mashed bananas in a larger bowl. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add oil and mix well.

Add the coconut flour mixture to the egg mixture and blend well. Mixture should resemble a thick pudding. If it doesn't, consider adding a little more sifted coconut flour. Spoon into the muffin pan and bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Don't look like paleo muffins, do they?