Paleo Bread Round-up

Which grain-based food do you think most people miss when starting a Paleo lifestyle? I missed cereal more than anything else, but apparently the majority of people miss BREAD! I can see why. Sandwiches are the usual lunch food for a lot of folks, small and large alike. Bread is the starter at a lot of restaurants and who doesn't love toast for breakfast? So, do you have to go bread-free when you start eating Paleo? Most certainly not! When just beginning to eat Paleo foods, you may want to recreate some of your grain-based comfort foods to make the transition easier.

Many of the grain free bread recipes I found use almond flour as the base, but I did find a few that were nut free. Also, you can substitute sunflower seed flour for almond flour cup for cup, but keep in mind that sunflower seeds will turn green when mixed with baking soda…tastes the same, but the bread will have a greenish color.

When making re-creations of grain based foods you may want to keep in mind the words of the Paleo Mom "I think recipes like this are great for kids, athletes, and very healthy individuals who can handle more carbohydrates (like those in tapioca and arrowroot flours) and have no reason to steer clear of almonds (which have a high omega-6 and phytic acid content). Think of this as a special treat rather than a staple."

Nut based breads

Northwest Cavegirl's yeast-free Sandwich bread - almond and coconut flour


Elana's yeast-free bread with almond and coconut flour


Paleo Mom's Almond flour yeast bread


Urban Poser's Sourdough bread


Urban Poser's Flatbread with cashew cheese


Health extremist's Almond and coconut flour bread - yeast free


Coconut flour based bread

Real Sustenance's Grain, egg, yeast and nut free flat bread


Paleo Mom's Grain and nut free yeast bread

Dark Chocolate Maccaroons

Last year around Halloween time I created a pumpkin pie recipe that I posted to my blog. A little while later around Thanksgiving someone posted a link to my recipe in a comment on Mark's Daily Apple saying that he liked the crust so much that he would eat it alone like a macaroon. That comment got me thinking! So this year when I made my pie crust for pumpkin pie, I made extra. I put the extra in a pie tin and stuck it in the freezer. When it was hardened up I drizzled some dark chocolate over the top then put that back into the freezer to harden. What was the result, you ask? Dark chocolate macaroon cookies! These cookies are so easy to make, it might be dangerous. But with little more than nuts, coconut oil, shredded coconut and dark chocolate, I suppose they aren't really that bad for me.

Dark Chocolate Macaroon Cookies
1 1/2 C Almond meal
1 C unsweetened shredded coconut
1 C Coconut oil, melted
1/2 C 70% or darker dark chocolate chips

Mix meal, coconut and oil together then press into thin layer in a pie pan or 8x8 brownie pan. sprinkle chocolate chips or shaved chocolate on top of cookie mixture. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. When chocolate chips are melted smooth chocolate over the top of the cookie with a spatula in an even layer. Cool, then place in freezer to harden. Cut into squares or break into pieces to serve.

Paleo/Primal Apple Cider Muffins

'Tis the season for apple cider! One of my favorite drinks during the holidays is Warm Mulled Apple Cider. For Thanksgiving Dinner the last few years I've pulled out the crock pot and filled it with apple cider and mulling spices and let it sit on Low most of the day. Young and old alike love a mug of this golden yumminess.

This morning when I got up, I was in the mood to make muffins, and once I looked into the fridge and saw the jug of apple cider, I knew just what kind to make. Apple Cider Muffins! I was also sadly lacking in my usual muffin starter of almond flour, so I used coconut flour instead. They turned out very apple-y and cinnamon-y and were a big hit with both small and large family members!

Apple Cider Muffins
1 C apple cider (I prefer organic unfiltered unpasteurized and local!)
3 apples
1/2 C coconut oil - melted
4 eggs - separated
1/4 C maple syrup
1 C coconut flour
1 T cinnamon
1/2 t ground cloves
1 t baking soda

Preheat oven to 350F. Core, peel and dice apples saving peel to use. Separate eggs. In a blender add apple peels, apple cider, egg yolks and maple syrup. Blend until mostly smooth. In a small bowl, beat eggs to soft peaks and set aside. In a larger bowl, combine coconut flour and coconut oil; let sit for a few minutes allowing flour to absorb oil. Add blended mixture to coconut flour mixture then add cinnamon, cloves, baking soda and diced apples. Lastly fold egg whites into mixture. Scoop 1/4 cup of mixture into lined muffin tins. Bake for about 25 minutes or until muffin is slightly firm when you press on the top.

Apple Cake

I have a nice old apple tree in my front yard. It's huge and produces 4 different apple varieties. Now, when I say it's huge, I really mean it. The span of its branches is probably 20 to 25 feet across, and the top is taller than any of our ladders. On some years when the weather has been too hot or too cold at just the wrong time of year we've gotten a poor yield that gave us maybe 20 lbs of apples...This is't one of those years. Every day I can go outside and collect at least a couple dozen apples. Some are smaller and have apple scab, but luckily this year we're getting many "perfect" apples. They are a good size, have unblemished skins and not a bug in sight.



So, what do you do when you've got so many apples? Well, today I made a ton of apple sauce to freeze, put apples in the kids' lunches, and made an apple cake...then Hubby brought in another arm-full of newly fallen apples. Oh, well. I won't complain about having too much of any kind of food. I'll just do my best to preserve it to eat later.

Apple Cake
1 C Coconut flour
1 C Coconut oil - melted
2 C Almond Flour
2 T cinnamon - yes that's tablespoons
1 t ground clove or nutmeg (I used cloves)
1/2 t salt
1/2 C maple syrup - room temp
6 eggs - room temp and separated
4 C peeled, cored and diced apples

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 and bring all ingredients to room temperature (this is crucial for getting these ingredients to mix). In a large bowl, combine coconut oil, coconut flour, spices, almond flour, egg yolks and maple syrup. This mixture will be somewhat stiff. Gently mix in the diced apples. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites to soft peaks. Gently fold egg whites into apple mixture.
Pour batter into an 8x8 pan or lined muffin tins. Bake for about 30-40 minutes for 8x8 and about 20 minutes for muffins. Make sure the middle of cake is somewhat firm to the touch.

Everyday Cookie

I just received my copy of Eat Like a Dinosaur: Recipe & Guidebook for Gluten-free Kids (ELaD) by the Paleo Parents. It is a wonderful treasure trove of kid friendly Paleo recipes that I intend to fully review very soon. But this afternoon I was instructed by the boy to make some chocolate chip cookies while he was at baseball practice. While I have several good paleo chocolate chip cookie recipes and the ones in Eat Like a Dinosaur also look very promising I was inspired by the "Anytime Cookie" recipe in the book. The idea of an Anytime cookie, which is a cookie that contains only healthy food that is good to eat anytime, is an awesome idea. I've gone in that same direction before when making muffins for the kids that were packed full of veggies, fruits and nuts. If I can make a "Treat" that the kids love to eat, but contains protein, vitamins and such without added sugar, then I wouldn't mind if they had a couple for breakfast, or had one in their school lunch bag or had one for an after school snack.

The ELaD Anytime Cookie recipe looked good, but I was running low on Almond flour and had some carrots that were begging to be put into a cookie. So I went in another direction. The result is a cakey cookie that is moist and sweet without added sugar; all sweetness comes from fruit and chocolate chips. The Boy loved them as did the girl...and the Hubby; so I imagine I'll be making these Everyday Cookies a lot...although hopefully not Everyday.



Everyday Cookie
4 Carrots
1 ripe banana
5-6 prunes
1/2 C almond butter
1/2 C walnuts
2 Eggs
2 t cinnamon
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 T Vanilla
1/2 C coconut flour
1/2 C dark chocolate chips

In a food processor, puree carrots, banana, prunes, and walnuts. Add all other ingredients except chocolate chips and process until well incorporated. Mix chips in by hand then drop dough by large spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet with a silpat or parchment paper lining. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool completely before handling. Makes about 2 dozen.

Coconut Flour Pancakes

I love my Almond Flour Pancake recipe. But when Sunday morning arrived,  I went to the pantry to gather my ingredients to make pancakes only to find I was out of Almond Flour! What do you make pancakes from when you're out of almond flour, you ask? Why, Coconut flour of course!

Now, coconut flour is an entirely different beast from Almond Flour or regular wheat flour, for that matter. Coconut flour is very thirsty and requires a large amount of liquid to have the right consistency and not be too dry. But once you understand the liquid to dry ratio you need, coconut flour can be a very tasty and cost effective flour for Paleo/Primal baking.

What are the benefits of coconut flour? Well, I'm glad you asked!