Smokey Salted Caramel Pecan Cups

These are ridiculously delicious. Great for when you're craving just about anything. They're easy to make, but take a long time, so it's something fun to do on a lazy afternoon. The first time I made these, I did it with 100% dark chocolate.

9 oz dark chocolate. I used 100% mixed with 65%

1 cup coconut sugar
1 cup full fat coconut milk
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
pinch chipotle powder
1 cup chopped pecans

Optional:
Coarse Sea salt
Cinnamon
Chipotle

In a double boiler, melt chocolate and stir together.

In a heavy sauce pan, stir together coconut sugar, coconut milk, and sea salt. Turn heat on low, add smoked paprika, cinnamon and chipotle. Let boil for about 20 minutes, keep heat on low so it doesn't boil over and stir occasionally. When it is reduced and thickens, remove from heat and place in glass bowl. Stir in pecans and let cool.

Line a muffin tin with parchment cupcake liners. Spoon meltedchocolate into cups, coating the bottom. You only want to use enough to line the bottom with about 1/8 of an inch and save the rest of the chocolate for later. put in freezer for about 30 minutes or an hour in the fridge, or until chocolate hardens.

Remove cups from freezer and spoon the pecans caramel mixture into them. Spoon the rest of the melted chocolate over them and sprinkle the tops with coarse sea salt and a slight dusting of cinnamon and chipotle. Put back in freezer or refrigerator for 2 hours. Remove cups from muffin tin and enjoy. Keep refrigerated.

Banana Fudgesicles

It's freakin hot out. 115 degrees. It's a good thing I had these babies in the freezer. Dairy free, no added sugar, fruit sweetened and a good source of potassium, so it does double duty on a hot day!

I got this awesome stainless steel popsicle set from amazon. Some of the reviewers complain the the pops look phallic. It's a popsicle, you lick and suck it. What do you expect it to look like. It will not turn your son gay or make your daughter a porn star. Get over it and don't sexualize your food or your children. If you're concerned about plastic and want what's best for your family, no matter what it's shaped like, this pop mold is for you. I originally bought it to make deodorant sticks, but room temperature in the summer in Arizona is 80 degrees and the melting point of coconut oil is 76 degrees. You do the math. Needless to say, I keep my deodorant goo in a small mason jar. There will be a recipe for that eventually.


1 can full fat coconut milk
1 ripe banana
1/4 cup cocoa (or cacao) powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Pour into Popsicle molds and freeze. 

Rainbow Cake

My birthday is in June and what better way to celebrate June than with a rainbow cake. No artificial colors or flavors, just wholesome grain-free, gluten-free yummy goodness. I adapted this recipe from Saffron Girl's Paleo Beetroot Cake recipe, but made it even more awesome.

Yellow Layer:
1 1/2 cups golden beets, chopped and roasted
2 Eggs
2-4 Tbsp Honey (depending on how sweet you like it)
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 Tbsp almond extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup almond flour

I didn't use any fat or oil when I roasted the beats. Puree beets. Beat eggs in a mixing bowl, then add pureed beets, coconut oil, honey and extract and beat together. Mix all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then combine all the ingredients together and mix thoroughly. Pour into a greased cake pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Red Layer:
1 1/2 cups red beets, chopped and roasted
2 Eggs
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
2-4 Tbsp Honey (depending on how sweet you like it)
1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder flour

Follow the same instructions for the red layer as the yellow layer. If  you're really talented, you can bake them in separate cake pans and layer them. If you're lazy like me, you can just put one layer on top of the other in the same cake pan. If you're really creative, try swirling or marbling the 2 batters. It doesn't matter which layer is on the top and which one is on the bottom, either way it tastes awesome.

Bake for about 45-60 minutes, or until a fork comes out clean.

Frosting:
1 ripe banana
2 ripe avocados

Puree bananas and avocados together. When cake is cool, remove from pan and frost. Eat before the frosting oxidizes.

Baconated Bananas

You're Welcome.

Ingredients:
Bananas
Bacon
Nut butter
Dark Chocolate (optional)

No exact measurements here. Slice banana into 1" chunks, then slice chunks lengthwise. Spread nut butter on the banana chunks. If you're using chocolate, break a square into small bits and place chocolate on the nut butter on the banana. Match up your banana halves and wrap in bacon. Fry in pan until bacon is crispy and chocolate is melted. Enjoy.

Sweet Bacon Crusted Pumpkin Pie

Last year I made a savory bacon crusted pumpkin pie to have as a side dish. This year, thought it would try a dessert. I'm not a big dessert eater and I think paleo dessert is an oxymoron, unless you're eating berries. This is a nice treat for the paleo eater who has been good all year and wants a clean dessert.




Ingredients
1 12 oz pack of bacon
1 1/2 cups fresh pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1/8 cup maple syrup (or more if you like it sweeter)
1/2 Tbsp coconut butter
1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

I did something a little different this time, I poked holes in an aluminum pie plate and placed it on top of a stoneware pie plate to let the bacon grease drip off. I lined the pie plate with half the bacon and set it under the broiler for about 10-15 minutes. I drained off the excess grease and lined the same plate with the other half of the bacon. When that was done, I let the bacon cool so I could line the whole plate with all the bacon since the bacon shrinks. In a mixing bowl, combine all the other ingredients and fill bacon crust. Bake at 350 for about an hour let cool and serve.

Pumpkin-Banana Pancakes

I don't like adding honey or maple syrup to foods if I can avoid it. These have no sugar added and only get the sweetness from the banana. I used a banana that was just becoming ripe, pale yellow with green tips. If you prefer them sweeter, use a riper banana. I rarely make pancakes or any other type of substitute for gluten laden foods. Mostly because the texture is never right and they just leave me wishing for the real thing. This was a good alternative. Theses are thinner and denser than traditional pancakes, but very flavorful and have a good texture. Next time I'm going to leave out the coconut oil to see if they turn out fluffier because the egg and fruit mixture was pretty frothy until I added the oil.

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 banana
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice.
1 Tbsp melted coconut oil (optional) and coconut oil for the pan.

Beat the eggs. Cut the banana into chunks then beat with the eggs. Add pumpkin and pumpkin spice beat it all together and then add the coconut oil.

Spoon the batter into a well oiled pan and cook until the pancake starts to stiffen and is flippable (about 3-5 mins) then flip, and cook for about another minute. This recipe makes about 8 small pancakes. You could also make them bigger and use them as crepes.

Top them with whatever you like. I like flavored olive oils and vinegars. Like these from local small businesses: Vanilla Bean Olive Oil and Dark Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar