Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Dairy Free Paleo Spinach Artichoke Dip (gluten/grain free, soy free, egg free, vegan)



One of my oldest favorite appetizers from years ago was a creamy spinach and artichoke dip. I loved how creamy and rich it was and still had veggies! :)

Anyways, I made this recipe a month or two ago and forgot to post it so here it is! You can eat it plain or I had some with some plantain chips from Trader Joe's as well. This recipe is pretty quick and easy to make.


Dairy Free Spinach Artichoke Dip 
~gluten/grain free, soy free, egg free~

1 cup of cashews, soaked in boiling water for half hour
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
7 Tbsp of the artichoke water
3 tsp olive oil
1 can artichokes (7), chopped
1.5 cup frozen organic spinach

Pre-heat oven to 375'F. Blend all ingredients except for artichokes and spinach. Mix in artichokes and spinach, and pour into oiled pyrex. 

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Enjoy!

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Monday, April 14, 2014

Baklava Cinnamon Rolls (Paleo, Grain/Gluten Free, Egg Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free)




This past weekend I made one of our favorite weekend treats- my recipe for Baked Apples. I ended up having a lot of leftover filling that I kept snacking on for the next few days. Something kept reminding me of baklava though, and more specifically, my Baklava Cake, and I'm guessing it was the pistachios... Anyways, I've been meaning to make my Cinnamon Rolls for a while so decided to experiment a bit in combining recipes. I'm really happy with the way they turned out and excited to share the recipe, especially since it's been a year since I posted it! *Bonus-it's egg free for all of those looking for the rare Paleo egg-less recipe. Hopefully you'll enjoy the warmth of nuts and spices in this special baklava-inspired treat. And if you have extra filling, make some baked apples! :)


Baklava Cinnamon Rolls 
(Paleo, Grain/Gluten Free, Egg Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free)


Dough

Dry Ingredients
2 cups Organic Blanched Almond Flour
1/4 cup Organic Coconut Flour
1/4 cup Tapioca or Arrowroot Starch
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/8 tsp Sea Salt 

Wet Ingredients
1/4 cup ground Chia Seeds mixed in 1 cup Water
1/4 cup melted Coconut Oil 
1 tsp Rose Water
1 tsp Ground Cardamom
1 tsp Vanilla or 1/2 tsp Powdered Vanilla
2 Tbsp Honey

Filling

1/4 cup Honey (1/2 cup if you like it more sweet)
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
3 Tbsp melted Coconut Oil

3/4 cup blended nuts (see below)

Nuts
1.5 cups of roasted pistachios, almonds, and cashews
6 dates, chopped
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice
1.5 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp coconut oil

Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until finely ground and sticky. Set aside.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees farenheit.

In medium bowl, add chia meal and water and whisk with a fork until starts to gel. Set aside.

Add dry ingredients to your mixing bowl and whisk/blend until well incorporated.

Add the rest of your wet ingredients to the chia mixture and mix.


Add the wet into the dry and beat with mixture until all the dough comes together.

On a Silicone Baking Liner/Silpat or parchment paper-lined jelly roll pan, roll out your dough until thin. If it sticks to your rolling pin, you can place another piece of parchment paper over it to roll, but I didn't have any problems with it. Or, your dough could be too warm and you could chill it a bit as well. 


Mix the first three filling ingredients in a small bowl and spread over the dough. You don't need to be a perfectionist with this since it will be rolled. Sprinkle the nut mix over the dough.


 You can roll this two ways:

For smaller and more rolls, roll from the long side of the pan. This is what I did and prefer. Lift the edge of the silpat and gently pry the dough off to roll it. Continue to roll gently until you have reached the end, using the silpat to help roll. Then slice with a sharp knife into approximately 1" slices. If it sticks to the knife, wet it a little bit. Place flat side down on pan, evenly spaced. I had 16 rolls this way.




 For larger rolls, roll from the short side of the pan. I have not tested this so I'm not sure how long it will take to bake.

Place in oven and bake approximately 15-20 minutes. Mine baked well at 18, but watch it carefully as the size of your rolls will change baking time. You want it slightly crispy on the top but not hard or dry.

Remove from oven when cooked and cool on baking rack for about 10 minutes until cooled and firmed some, but still warm and gooey.
Frosting:
These are not overly sweet, so if you like, sprinkle some maple syrup over the tops, or I blended equal parts melted coconut butter (coconut manna) and maple syrup and made a bit of a frosting to put on top of some as well. I loved it as it is though, so if you have a sweet tooth, maple or more honey is fine to add either on top or inside.



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Sunday, March 16, 2014

Review: Miss Paleo Cookie Mix

I was recently asked to write a review for a Paleo baking mix and was quite excited to have the opportunity. This is the first Paleo/Grain Free prepared mix that I've seen, and I'm so happy that the great team at Miss Paleo have risen to the challenge!


Miss Paleo sent me a mix for cookies as well as a prepared brownie to sample. The brownie was a moist, cake-like treat, that was not to sweet yet satisfied my chocolate craving.

For the cookies, I decided to make "everything" cookies, and used mini chocolate chips, cranberries, cherries, coconut, and raisins. I followed the instructions on the package, but ran into the issue of not knowing what to do once I dropped spoonfuls on the pan since gluten free doughs definitely vary in how they bake. I decided to flatten some and leave the rest a little puffy. You can see the difference on the post-baking tray picture below. If you like a flatter cookie, definitely press them down before baking. I let them cool on the tray a few minutes then transferred to a baking rack to cool.



Overall, I was really impressed with the product. Simple, straightforward ingredients: Almond flour, Coconut sugar, vanilla, baking soda, and salt. The company also carries muffin and brownie mixes with similar ingredients.

If you're interested in giving Miss Paleo a try, check them out at http://www.misspaleomixes.com 
or follow them on Facebook: 
https://www.facebook.com/misspaleomixes
I love supporting small businesses and people working on healthy, affordable products- especially for those of us with diets that take a bit more thought :)

If you're in the California area you can also find them here: 

  • Raley's Grass Valley
  • SPD Grass Valley
  • SPD Nevada City
  • Briar Patch Co-op
  • Natural Selections
  • Tess's Kitchen
  • New Earth Market Yuba City
  • Sunflower Market Yuba City
  • Sunrise Natural Health Foods Auburn
  • Elliott's Citrus Heights
  • Chico Natural Foods
  • Placerville Natural Foods Cooperative
  • Sacramento Natural Foods Cooperative

 


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