Instant Pot Coconut Milk Yogurt

Wow, summer sure gets crazy around here!  I find that our meals are basically whatever is ready in the garden and some grilled meat.  I have missed working in my kitchen and blogging. So how could I resist using my favorite kitchen toy......er appliance?  Here's a super simple, 5 ingredient recipe that I really enjoy. It really works well to put it in before I go to bed, then in the morning the yogurt can be chilled and ready to eat in an hour or so. It's slightly sweet and so much better than store bought coconut yogurt.

Gather up the following

 About 12 hours later you have 4 cups of this.

It's a Great Day to Bake Cookies

When it's snowing and sub zero temperatures it's a great day to bake some cookies!  I fully enjoyed my oven's warmth as I made 3 batches.  Two were wonderful and 1 was not. 

Let's start with the ones pictured on the right that we didn't like, so we can end on a good note.  This was supposed to be a simple 1 cup of peanut butter, 1 cup of sugar, 1 egg & 1.5 cups of chocolate chips.  I think it was a misprint and should have been 1/2 cup of chocolate chips.  Anyway, they turned out hard and there was no possible way to stir that many chips in.  Oh well, that's part of trying something new!

Next are the Double Chocolate Mocha cookies at the bottom. I used this recipe with a few alterations to the ingredients.  The bake time was perfect at 8 minutes & made exactly 24 small cookies.  Here's the ingredients I used:
2 1/4 cup blanched almond flour
1/4 cup cacao powder
2 Tbsp organic coffee beans, ground fine
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp pink Himalayan salt
1 stick butter, salted
1/4 cup coconut sugar
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp vanilla
3/4 cup chocolate chips (I used Lily's brand)

The bars on the left of the plate are a Paleo Chewy Granola Bar.  They are so yummy and make a great after school snack or even a grab and go breakfast.

Let me know if there is ever a recipe you'd like for me to test or alter for dietary needs. 

Grain Free Apple Pie Granola

I modified my original grain free granola recipe & made this Apple Pie Granola.  It's sweet enough to be satisfying and has all the spice of a traditional apple pie.  It is great dry or with some homemade coconut milk.  Getting all the ingredients out takes awhile, but it makes a big batch. Plus your kitchen will smell amazing!  If you make it, let me know what you think in the comments or by email.  renaeats@gmail.com

Grain Free Apple Pie Granola
1 1/2 cups pecans, chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
2 cups shredded coconut, unsweetened
1 cup roasted & salted sunflower seeds
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
2 Tbsp ground flaxseed
2 tsp cinnamon (I like Korintje)
1/4 tsp ground allspice

2 Tbsp raw honey
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup coconut oil (I used refined, unrefined will give a more coconutty flavor)
2 tsp vanilla

1 cup dried apples, chopped
**************************************************************************
Preheat oven to 300.
In a large bowl, mix all nuts, seeds and spices. 
In a saucepan combine honey, syrup, applesauce and oil.  Heat until all liquid and combined.
Add in vanilla.
Dump over the nut mixture & coat.
Spread on parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake for 30 minutes, stirring once.
Add in dried apples and bake for 10 more minutes.  Mixture should be toasted light brown.
Cool completely.  I like to store mine in a glass jar.

Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes

I will have to call ours donut mini muffins.  We only have a muffin maker, not a donut hole or cake pop maker.  Anyway, I followed the recipe for the paleo version of these and they turned out great.  I have not tried this, but it might work in the oven as mini muffins.  Give this recipe a try if you are in the donut mood & need a healthier option!

Loaded Chocolate Milk

Here's a great snack or dessert idea.  I've tried different combinations, but here's my favorite!

1 cup full fat coconut milk
4 small dates (1-2 medjool dates)
1/2 Tbsp flax seed
1 Tbsp cacao powder
1 tsp vanilla

Place all ingredients in the Vitamix and process on high until very smooth.  Pour over ice & drink with a straw.  Makes 1 serving.

Guacamole Deviled Eggs

I made this recipe last night.  We ate them for breakfast.  They are a tasty alternative to the traditional deviled egg.  I used hot sauce instead of pepper flakes.  No picture as one kiddo tumbled the container out of the fridge.  :)

Chocolate Granola with Berries

Chocolate, granola and berries are some of my favorite things, so this recipe looked really good to me!  It was fairly quick to assemble and once in the oven, it doesn't need to be checked on very often.  The result is delicious! 

The winner of my last giveaway is getting this quart jar of granola and some homemade coconut milk.

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter "Granola" Bars

Need a good grab and go snack?  Make these!  They are so good.  I made one batch with peanut butter & one batch with almond butter.  They are delicious and filling.  I cut and wrapped mine in waxed paper for a quick snack while I'm up feeding the baby at night.  Store in the freezer.

 

Cashew Butter Dip

I love trying to incorporate a little protien into our snacks.  This was a nice alternative to peanut butter.

1 cup unsalted cashew butter
5 small dates
1/3 tsp salt

Blend together until smooth.  Serve with fruit, veggies, crackers, etc.

We ate ours with apples and celery.
 

Carrot Gingerbread Muffins & Blueberry Lemon Muffins

Muffins are such a great portable breakfast and snack.  I like both of these recipes because they are high in protein and contain some veggies or fruit.  These both come from the Practical Paleo cookbook. First is the Carrot Gingerbread Muffin recipe.   My hubby & I both love these, but the kiddos are so-so about them.  They have very strong spices in them.  The other muffin is a Lemon Blueberry Muffin.  This blogger left out the lemon juice, we used 4 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice in ours.  My kiddos liked the lemon flavor.  These both keep well in the fridge for a few days.

 
See the liners on these muffins?  They are parchment paper muffin liners.  A friend recommended them to me for paleo baking.  She was right, they come right off, no wasted muffin stuck to the liner!  

Paleo Candied Pecans

This looked like such a yummy treat to take along shopping, pack in lunches, or even serve at a holiday.  It was simple and used ingredients I had on hand.  The only thing I did different was to use 5 cups instead of 4 so they would not be so sweet.  They turned out perfect and were just the right sweetness!  I filled these 2 jars when finished.  Naturally, not all of the pecans made it into the storage jars...........

Paleo Caramel Dip for Apples

I have been trying many different dip options this Fall.  Some are too runny, some just taste "off."  This dip has been my favorite.  It is very dip-able, the flavor is good and it even packs a bit of protein!  I used refined coconut oil so it did not taste coconutty and raw almond butter so it didn't taste almondy.  It just tastes caramelly! 

1 cup dates, soaked (I like mine to soak for at least an hour)
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp coconut sugar
2 Tbsp raw almond butter
2 Tbsp coconut oil, refined
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Place all ingredients into Vitamix or food processor and blend until smooth.  May need to scrape down sides and process again.  Serve with apples.

Monkey Bars

I have been wanting to try this recipe and some overripe bananas on the counter gave me the perfect opportunity.  They turned out well and I hope to serve them to my family today.
 

Almond Flour Zucchini Bread

Anyone have zucchini yet?  My one little vine with a little baby zuc broke off a few days ago due to  a strong wind.  So, I'm still leaching off friends!  Aren't friends great?  Gardening friends help each other extend the growing season.  Hopefully, I will have plenty of squash to give back when theirs has run it's course. 

I made this zucchini bread recipe yesterday.  I thought it didn't look quite done in the middle, but I had somewhere to go, so I took it out.  Unfortunately, mine was a bit doughy in the center, so I'll spare you a picture!  The rest of the bread was delicious.  I was afraid the banana would make it taste like banana bread, but the flavor is subtle and hidden by the spices.  I served it with supper which consisted of what's ready in the garden (roasted kale, red potatoes, cucumbers, sweet corn) and some grilled chicken.  The leftover will make a good breakfast or snack toasted with almond or coconut butter.  I think I'll go have a piece now!

Peaches & Coconut Milk

While I was driving the "mom taxi" tonight, my hubby made the others a fresh peach milkshake.  I took a couple sips of one of our kiddo's and it was yummy!  Unfortunately, I do not feel well when I overindulge in such things as ice cream and sugar.  So, this is what I made for myself.  It was easy, yummy, satisfying and paleo!  This would also make a great breakfast topped with grain-free granola.

1 ripe peach, cubed
coconut milk (probably 1/2 -3/4 cup)
5 drops vanilla creme stevia

Blueberry Lemon Bars

These are a yummy summer treat!  They were a nice balance of sweet & tart.  I used coconut sugar for the sugar in this recipe.  My kiddos liked these!  Blueberry Lemon Bar Recipe

Breakfast Power Smoothie

Well, I threw caution to the wind today and ate this smoothie for lunch.  Anyway, it was super fast to put together and easy to drink.  Yummy & made a good lunch on the go!  I did not add the stevia since the protein powder I was using was vanilla flavored and sweetened with stevia.  I use Thorne VegaLite protein powder. 

Mint Chocolate Chip Chia Pudding

This recipe intrigued me.  Since I have some fresh mint right now and about 1/2 bag of EnjoyLife mini chocolate chips, I gave it a whirl!  I made the optional chocolate sauce with 1 Tbsp cocoa powder, 1.5 Tbsp coconut milk, 1 tsp honey and 10 drops vanilla creme stevia.  This filled  3 of my little 1/2 cup jars.  It is light, fresh a subtly minty.  We weren't sure we liked the texture of the chocolate chips. If mint chocolate chip is your thing, check out this recipe! 

Raspberry Breakfast Cookie (with revisions)

Earlier this month I posted a recipe for raspberry breakfast cookies.  You can find this post here.  We all really liked them, but I felt they needed 2 improvements.  They were too sweet and too gooey.  With some experimenting, I was able to improve those 2 things.  First of all, the original recipe from Ditch the Wheat.  I chose the raspberry option.

Paleo Strawberry Breakfast Cookies

Yield: 36 cookies

Ingredients

• 3 cups almond flour (750 mL)
• ¾ cup raw honey or equivalent sweetener, add to taste (175 mL)
• 1 tsp baking soda (5 mL)
• 1 tsp salt (5 mL)
• ½ tsp cinnamon (2 mL)
• 2 chia eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (5 mL)
• ½ cup nut butter, just slightly melted (125 mL)
• (almond, cashew, etc.)
• ¼ cup unsweetened dairy free milk (60 mL) (almond, coconut, etc.)* Omit if honey or maple syrup are used.
• 1 cup raspberries or blueberries or strawberries (chop the strawberries) (250 mL)

Instructions

1. Prepare two chia eggs and preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
2. In a bowl, combine the almond flour, sweetener (unless it is liquid), baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
3. Add the chia eggs, vanilla, nut butter, sweetener (if liquid), and dairy free milk.
4. Mix to combine.
5. Add the raspberries, stir to combine, and let sit for 2-3 minutes.
6. Scoop 1 Tbsp of dough onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and flatten the top of the dough slightly.
7. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
8. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

Substitute the raspberries with blueberries, strawberries, or blackberries. In a hurry? Freeze in individual servings and defrost overnight. Enjoy in the morning!

http://ditchthewheat.com/paleo-strawberry-breakfast-cookies/


Now, with my current revisions:

• 3 cups almond flour (I reduced 1 cup by 3 Tbsp and replaced with 3 Tbsp arrowroot powder)
• 1/2 cup honey
• 10 drops stevia
• 1 tsp baking soda (5 mL)
• 1 tsp salt (5 mL)
• ½ tsp cinnamon (2 mL)
• 2 chia eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (5 mL)
• ½ cup cashew butter (125 mL)
• 2 Tbsp dairy free milk (60 mL) (almond, coconut, etc.)
• 1 cup raspberries or blueberries or strawberries (chop the strawberries) (250 mL)

These turned out a bit more crispy and will be much more portable.

 

Almond Butter Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

Is it possible I have never shared this recipe?!?!?  This is a wonderful cookie recipe that comes together quickly, stores well on the counter for a few days, freezes well, and is well liked by all in our house.  The only problem is that I ate 3 of them yesterday.  :)  I used Ghiardelli 60% dark chocolate chips & per my sister-in law's genius, I added 1/3 cup of chopped pecans.