Homemade Almond Butter

GUYS. SERIOUSLY. GUYS.

Say it with me now, ALMOND. BUTTER.
Yes. I know what you're thinking..."Okay, Maria...we get it, almond butter isn't that exciting."

But....

WHEN IT'S HOME MADE AND REALLY DELICIOUS IT IS!

Save yourself some money folks, get out your food processor, some sea salt, and a 16 oz. bag of roasted raw almonds...because that is all you need to make this creamy goodness.

Seriously.

Look...

Ingredients (yields 12 oz. of almond butter):
1 sixteen ounce bag of roasted raw almonds
Sea salt to taste (optional)

*NOTE: Depending on the size of your food processor, you may have to make 2-4 small batches and combine them in to one jar. I made two batches.

1. Process almonds in food processor (like I said, depending on the size of your food processor, you may be able to do the whole thing at once, or in a couple batches)

2. During this process, you will notice that the almonds will become flaky and stick to the sides of the food processor. Every so often when your almonds are clinging to the sides, stop processing, scrape them down, and keep processing until you get your desired creaminess. You'll be able to tell when it's in to a butter.

3. Add your sea salt to taste, process some more to mix the salt in.

4. Repeat steps 1 through 3 if you have to make multiple batches, if not...go put your almond butter on some fruit, on some paleo pancakes, or just eat it right out of the jar like I did! ;)

So the story behind my inspiration for this recipe is that last week, I was at Trader Joe's actually looking for some almond butter, and they didn't have any. I was deeply saddened...but when I looked at the empty shelf, I noticed the price labels were still there, and thought to myself, "Hmmm, that's actually pretty expensive". So I then thought long and hard and said, what if I just smash up some almonds myself? Can't be that hard, can it? Well...it actually wasn't too difficult to come up with the idea. I did have a few hiccups, I tried adding coconut oil and that didn't work out so well, and I tried adding a little almond milk (why? don't ask), and finally just did the almonds themselves with a little sea salt. I was thoroughly convinced that I needed some sort of liquid in there, but I actually didn't. Who woulda thunk it?!

Anyway, think of all the possibilities of flavors! You could add some dark chocolate, or espresso and a little bit of stevia, maybe some vanilla extract? I'm super excited to experiment with more. Feel free to share your ideas!

Enjoy!

Maria

There's A Guy Named Steve Who Sounds AWESOME

Hello friends. Sadly, today I have no recipe for you. I was running around between class and rehearsal. I made myself a big smoothie and some eggs for breakfast, ate some peppers and almonds for lunch, then Sammy and I made chicken wrapped in bacon with some asparagus for dinner. Delicious. 

Any who, I had a pretty long day and didn't have time to sit at the computer and write a post until now...and even though it's late, I hope you all find the little bit of information I'm about to throw at you just as interesting as I did!

There's this guy named Steve. He sounds super cool. I was googling some paleo-snack ideas when this guy's site popped up. Steve's Original. He makes paleo-friendly packaged snacks that look and sound absolutely DELICIOUS. He calls them PaleoKits. The best part is, 15% of the proceeds from these PaleoKits goes to his Club National Program which "helps bring cross-fit, nutrition, and personal development" (direct quote from site). Go explore the website, learn more about what Steve does, and order some of his PaleoKits and other yummy goodies! I know I did. 

That's all I've got for today folks. I'm pooped. Reality is starting to kick in with school, so I'm going to have fun keeping up here, in class, musically, and in the gym. BRING IT, LIFE! 

Maria

3 Ingredient Fried Bananas

See! I told you, ONLY 3 ingredients!

Some how, blasting the Red Hot Chili Peppers and making fried bananas just seems right. Huh? Who agrees? Let me tell you, dancing around like a fool to The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie and chopping up some bananas is a crap ton of fun.

Anywho, my family and I went out to dinner tonight and when we got home, my sister was hankering for some dessert. I immediately knew what to make her. Fried bananas. She agreed quickly because she likes the ones from Texas De Brazil so much (speaking of which, if you're paleo, Brazilian steak houses like Texas De Brazil are AWESOME...all you can eat meat, and a HUGE salad bar, a little pricy, but well worth it).

Fried bananas are literally the quickest dessert you can whip up when you really want something sweet. It literally takes 3 ingredients, a frying pan, and a pair of tongs or a spatula.

And, we're off! To the world of Fried Bananas (Not the Dexter Gordon song, for you jazz nerds out there...okay, that's probably just me and my boyfriend. Not funny. Got it. Moving on...)

Ingredients (Yields 1 serving):
1 Medium or large banana (depending on how hungry you are)
1 tbs of coconut oil
Cinnamon to taste

Directions:

1. Peel and cut your banana in to fourths (I made a little extra so I could have some, but I trust you can follow my written directions). Cut the banana in half, then cut the halves in half. Got it? Enough of the half talk. If you prefer NOT to have longer larger pieces, you can cut the banana in to little circles, just remember in both cases, THE THICKER THE BETTER. Why you ask? Because if it's thin, it turns to moosh and looks like hot steaming banana baby food (I mean...my pictures do no justice, but you get the point, don't make little slivers).

2. Oil your frying pan with coconut oil...that means dump your clump of coconut oil on the pan, turn the heat on medium and let that stuff melt. Now you can spread the oil around by lifting the pan from the heat and moving it from side to side and up and down until the pan is coated in oil.

3. Place your chopped nanners (yes, I refer to my bananas as nanners, and I am a 21 year old woman. NO SHAME!) in to your frying pan and let them fry on medium high for about 2 minutes. Check on them. It can be more or less depending on your stove/preference. Just look for that nice dark yellow/golden brown color. Seriously...check on them. Also, step 4 is important. Very important.

4. NOW FLIP THEM! Show some love to the other side of that banana slice, and do the same thing, so the other side can cook. Think of it as the cool side of the pillow...being warmed back up? Okay, bad analogy, just don't forget to flip them.

Here lay our nanners. They are currently frying. That's what they should look like as they fry. Do your nanners look like this? I hope so. Okay Moving on.

5. Transfer your friend bananas to a plate, and sprinkle them with cinnamon, and other tasty/sweet seasonings of your choice. You may also add raw honey or stevia to them if you like, but the bananas are caramelized as they fry, so they're plenty sweet for my sister and I.

Warning: this next photo does no justice to the end product. I had some issues with my tongs, and the cinnamon plus the lighting didn't make for a great photo...they were SUPER tasty though. I have pictures of my sister eating them to prove it! (That's not weird or anything...)

See? Delicious. They were a hit.

My sister was a very happy camper. The dish was gone within seconds after I snapped this photo, so I'm glad I got one shot before they were gone!

Eat, Drink, & Be Merry

Maria

Almond Crusted Chicken Breast Tenders

Today is a good day. Even though it's almost below zero out...yay Chicago weather! After I woke up this morning, I ended up falling right back asleep with Sammy on the couch, shocking. We then finally got up off our butts around 11:30 and made some eggs for breakfast. Sammy had to leave after that, and I was already thinking about dinner because we ate such a late "breakfast". I then decided I was going to make some almond crusted chicken breast....tenders. I thought I was going to make chicken breasts, but then realized we only had tenders in the fridge, so I thought, meh this works as well.

These tenders make a great savory dinner and taste delicious! You're welcome in advance. I almost ate the whole pan...don't worry (and I know you were), I didn't this time.

Ingredients (Yields 2 servings):
6 chicken breast tenders
About 3 to 3.5 oz. of almonds
2 small cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp of sea salt (optional! you can make this salt free if you would like)
1 tbs of olive oil

Measure out about 3 oz. of almonds and chop them up in your food processor. You're going to want some smaller chunks in there so they get nice and crispy when put it in the oven. Don't process them down to an almond flour!

 See? Simple. You can do this. I believe in you. Transfer them to a bowl as well, it will make life easier.

Chop up your garlic and add your sea salt, and mix it in with your almonds.

Now, coat your chicken breasts in olive oil, and evenly coat them in the almond mixture you have just prepared. They should look like the photo below...mmm raw chicken...

After you have coated your chicken breasts, bake them at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

 Enjoy!

Maria

Chocolate Ice Cream...Yes, You Heard Me.

Primal people. Remember how I said smoothies could be like an ice cream fix for some? WRONG. I was way off! I have found the ultimate ice cream fix. It dawned on me today...I've heard of people using frozen bananas as ice cream. Genius. Absolutely genius.

I couldn't believe I hadn't tried making some banana ice cream, so this morning I froze up a couple of bananas and got to work after I had a lazy Sunday. My mom, sister, and I watched Pitch Perfect, and as soon as the movie was done, I ran to the blender and started mixing. Go watch Pitch Perfect if you haven't had the chance to...but first GO MAKE THIS REALLY SIMPLE ICE CREAM!

Seriously guys, it's great.

You're going to start with two medium bananas, the more ripe, the better. I used super ripe ones this morning, but I had realized there weren't any ripe ones AFTER I had chopped them up and froze them.

Chop those suckers up and stick them in the freezer. I let them stay in all morning/afternoon because I planned on making this as a treat after dinner. Feel free to leave them in an hour or so if you're impatient.

Next, take your frozen bananas and stick them in the blender with everyones favorite ingredient, COCOA! I used a half of a teaspoon, but feel free to add more or less to your liking. If you enjoy more flavors, you can add some natural vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, or any other natural/paleo-friendly flavoring you can think of!

You go Glen Coco! 

You blend Glen Coco!

Blend your heart out!

Blend until you get a nice, thick, creamy consistency, just like ice cream, Glen Coco!

(Yes, I'm talking to you, you're going, and you're blending. I really felt the need to make a Mean Girls reference)

Wait for it...wait for it...

Ta-dah! There it is. Chocolatey-ice-creamy-goodness.

This can serve one person if you really enjoy ice cream, or you can split it with someone you love.

I started eating this (and planned on eating the whole thing, because...well...ya know, I like my food), and then realized I should save some for Sammy when he comes over. He now has a surprise for when he walks in the door! Which should be any minute now...

Enjoy & Indulge

(without the guilt!!!)

Maria

Strawberry Banana Almond Milk Smoothie

Hello friends! Today was a good day. On Friday, I spent the night in the city with my best friend Jessa, and my boyfriend Sammy came to pick me up in the morning.

Last night, Jessa, her roommates and I played Quelf and indulged in some wine. If you haven't played Quelf, I highly suggest finding a way to play. It's a ridiculous board game full of all sorts of silly rules and actions each player has to make. I am proud to say as everyone was eating chips, I ate a nice big bowl of grapes. STRONG. I AM STRONG.

Anyway, when Sammy and I got back to my house this morning, we had some eggs scrambled with skirt steak and onions, and I decided to make a smoothie. Let me tell you, smoothies have become my best friend on this diet. They're so simple, quick, and HEALTHY. Smoothies are also a great way to sneak in your fruit servings if you're not so keen on that. It almost tastes like a milkshake for those of you who have dairy withdrawal and/or miss ice cream dearly. Anywho, today I'll go through the steps to a simple strawberry banana paleo friendly smoothie! What's awesome about this, is that you can really sub in any fruits you want, just use the almond milk as your base.

Ingredients:
1 cup Frozen Strawberries
1 medium banana (NOT frozen)
1 cup almond milk

If your strawberries are not yet frozen, you can wash them, cut the stems off, and freeze them in an airtight container. Once those are ready (or if they're already frozen), you can combine all ingredients in your blender and blend away! What's perfect about the frozen berries is that you don't have to add ice to your smoothie to make it thick, and your smoothie doesn't get all watered down and nasty. The frozen berries give it the perfect thickness in my opinion.

Making a smoothie in the morning is a great filling breakfast and it's perfect to take it on the go in a portable tumbler cup! If you're not a strawberry or banana fan, you can always use frozen blueberries, peaches, or any other fruit you can possibly think of freezing. I really enjoy making up different combinations of fruit. I would also recommend a strawberry and peach combo. Tastes like the beach.

I didn't really get a chance to snap a pic of anything for today, but it's such a basic recipe I use almost every day, that I completely disregarded the fact that my post was going to be on a smoothie. It's a real simple process and I think you people can trust that my recipe is reliable. It's really hard to mess this kind of thing up. You can do it. I have faith.

Anyway, after our smoothie escapade, Sammy and I had dinner with my family, and my dad made steak fajitas without the tortilla part...so basically steak, red peppers, poblano peppers, and onions. Super simple, super yummy. After that, we went out to celebrate our friend Rachel's birthday. So much fun! We went to the Ram, and Sammy and I went hard on the water tonight. I mean, we drank A LOT of H2o...ON THE ROCKS. Yeah. That's right. Paleo probs to the max. It was wonderful. Seriously though, we had a ton of fun, and it was great to be with good friends and celebrate Rachel's birthday.

Anyone have some interesting fruit combinations to throw in a simple almond milk smoothie? Leave a comment! I'd love to hear what you people have to say.

Be well. Eat well.

Maria

Paleo Chocolate Cake

What's up paleo nerds? Hello! Anybody out there? Probably not, considering this is my first post. Okay. Great start.

Well, let's see. My first post. For some reason, it doesn't surprise me that my first post is about chocolate cake. Who doesn't like a good chocolate cake, right? Well, as I have started this paleo adventure, one thing I have missed for sure have been sweets. I'm a HUGE baker. I adore cookies, cakes, and everything in between. Before this lifestyle change happened I was baking weekly and there were always sweets around. Sounds great, doesn't it? Well, it was...until I stepped on the scale and saw a number I had never seen before. That's when I decided it was time to change. My dad had told me about this "paleo" diet and how he wanted to try it out, so I then took initiative and said, "LET'S DO THIS!" I then informed my boyfriend of our little plan, who graciously accepted the invitation to our new adventure. 

I'm two weeks in to the diet, and I have been CRAVING (that's understatement, by the way) chocolate cake like no other. I ventured out to buy some coconut flour at Whole Foods, and low and behold, there it was gleaming in all of it's glory...Bob's Red Mill Coconut Flour. I grabbed the little bag and went home, happier than a pig in you-know-what.

First recipe I try is off a random blog I found via googling "coconut flour paleo brownies"... let's just say these puppies were very dry and kind of bland. I then thought to myself, "Self, why not make your own chocolatey paleo dessert?"and did just that. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you my recipe for the yummiest, most moist chocolate cake you will ever consume...EVER. Yes. It's paleo. Don't let that scare you if you're not a caveman/woman...it's really great. Take my word for it...and follow the instructions I leave you with.

Disclaimer: The picture is not so pretty...I dug in before I could even get a decent picture of the cake, and I had to use my phone because the nice camera's battery was dead. Of course. Just take my word for it, and don't let my foolish instagram photo I snapped AFTER I took a bite of the deliciousness in front of me stray you away. Just embark on this chocolatey journey and swim in the sea of the sweetness that it led you to. Enough of the talkin', GET BAKIN'! 

Paleo Chocolate Cake

Ingredients: 

1/3 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 packets of stevia (or 1 tablespoon if you're not using packets)

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3 eggs

1/3 cup raw honey

1/4 cup MELTED coconut oil

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit and grease up an 8x8 cake/brownie pan with some coconut oil

2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together your coconut flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, stevia, baking soda, baking powder, and salt

3. In a small bowl, with an electric mixer, mix your eggs, raw honey, MELTED coconut oil (did I mention you should melt the coconut oil?), vanilla, and almond milk

4. Combine wet and dry ingredients

5. Mix em up with your electric mixer

6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean

*If you would like a thicker cake, you can use a smaller pan

*Feel free to omit the stevia, it just added the perfect amount of sweetness for me

*I added some gluten free dark chocolate chips and just sprinkled them right on top, this is optional...but come on, let's be honest, you'll love it.

*One last asterisk...don't be afraid to double the recipe if you want even more chocolate lovin'!

This is a very chocolatey cake. I didn't put a frosting on it. Partially because I haven't ventured in to making a paleo friendly frosting (this will be my next endeavor). In my opinion though, this cake is sweet enough that you can eat it without frosting!

Enjoy!

Eat primal, be happy :)

Maria