Raspberry Thumbprint Mini-Cakes

This recipe was thoroughly inspired by AndreAnna Mclean’s recipe for Flourless Grain-free Fig Newton Mini-Cakes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of unsweetened almond butter (12 oz)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 c. applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 jar fruit-juice sweetened raspberry jam (you wont need the whole jar)
• parchment paper
• 2 Tbs oil (grapeseed or olive oil will both work fine)

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
• Throw the almond butter, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, and apple sauce into a food processor and blend.
• Line a sheet with parchment paper
• Put some oil in a small bowl
• Oil up your fingers (You’ll do this repeatedly. It’ll keep the cookie dough from sticking to your fingers) 
• Put scoops of dough on the parchment paper (12 to 14 of them)
• Oil your fingers again
• Use your thumb to create a “thumbprint” size crater in each cookie
• Fill each crater with jam
• Now pinch the sides of cookies so that you create a little nest for the jam. Or don’t. It’s fine either way.
• Bake for on the top rack for 15-17 minutes until it’s slightly brown on the edges
• Let it cool completely
• EAT!!!

Leftovers

These cookies are super delicious and super nutritious. They would be great for healthy after school snacks or just snacks in general.

If you want them to be a little sweeter, I’ve been sweetening them with 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup of coconut sugar. 1/3 cup is really sweet. 1/4 cup is medium sweet.

I love these cookies and have been baking them kinda nonstop. They take almost no time to make, and I’m loving have them around so I can just grab one on my way out the door.

Thank you so much to AndreAnna from www.LifeAsAPlate.com for this fantastic recipe. You should all check her out. She’s awesome in about a billion ways.

EDIT:

Some background on those hamantaschen cookies I was talking about. Christi wrote in and shared some knowledge:

Hamish (the guy the cookie is named after) is the one who got the king to sign a decree that all the Israelites living in Persia could be killed on a certain day (since at that time the vast majority were exiled to Persia, the race could have nearly been wiped out). But Esther was the queen (and secretly Jewish) and after fasting and praying she went to the king and got a new law passed allowing the Jews to kill their enemies. Its in the book of Esther which is a very short book and reads like a story (unlike some of the prophets who are short but not story-like).

Knowledge is power. Thanks for filling us all in, Christi!

Lovelillian

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Alex wants to know: What’s the difference between almond butter and almond flour?

And then we make a shameless plea for corporate sponsorship. Or at least a free blender.

edit: Two things: Apparently you CAN make almond flour with a crap blender. It’s just a little bit more involved. And there’s a proper blanching definition. Here’s what Christi S. wrote in:

• You can make almond meal (unblanched almond flour) at home with a crap blender, just make almond milk (EPISODE ON HOW TO MAKE ALMOND MILK COMING SOON!!!) the stuff that is strained off can be dried in the oven and it is almond meal.

• Blanching is dipping something in boiling water and then an ice bath to stop the cooking process. You can do it when peeling tomatoes or peaches and it makes it much easier to peel the skin off. I suppose that blanching the almonds would make them easier to peel and it also sounds better than “peeled almonds.”

So the flour that I use (from honeyvillegrain.com) is made from almonds that have been blanched. Which means that they were dipped into boiling water and then into ice water in order to get the almond skin off easily.

Coming soon: Raspberry Thumbprint Mini-Cakes!

Mmmmm.

Lovelillian

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ROASTED BRUSSEL SPROUTS!!!!!!

Ingredients

• 4 cups Brussel Sprouts (I used 2 lbs)
• 3 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 pinches of Celtic Sea Salt
• Freshly cracked Pepper
• 6-8 minced cloves of garlic

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Rinse the Sprouts.
• Chop them in half.
• Put them in the baking pan.
• Drizzle with Olive Oil.
• Add the Celtic Sea Salt & the Fresh Pepper.
• Mix everything up with your hands in the pan. Make sure all the Brussel Sprouts get coated in oil.
• Throw it in the oven for 25 minutes.
• Take out of the oven.
• Add the garlic and stir it up with a spatula.
• Throw back in the oven for 10-15 minutes
• Take out, Mix around with the spatula.
• EAT!!!

Leftovers

• Thank you to Bitchin’ Kitchen for the recipe and the cookbook! I wasn’t sure if I would be able to eat anything in this cookbook (cause you know, Nadia G is Italian and loves cheese) But I went through and put tabs on all the recipes that I can make with little or no substitutions. I will be trying a few more of them on the show in the future. Why? Because they look delicious. You’ve been warned.
• And for those who don’t know. Bitchin’ Kitchen is a super fun show on the Cooking Channel. Check out some of what Nadia G and her crew do HERE.
• Initially I had little to no faith in this recipe because before this, I’d never eaten a tasty brussel sprout (and now I know what a sad life that was). But I’ll say this now: This is crazy good and everyone should try it.  I ate them for the rest of the week as a side to all my meals. And this recipe has made it into my weekly rotation.

Make this. Make this now.

Good luck!

Lovelillian

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Coming Soon!!!!

I’m making Brussels Sprouts from the new The Bitchin’ Kitchen Cookbook, and they’re fracking DELICIOUS. If you don’t believe me now, you’ll believe it when you see the new episode. Because my enjoyment is clearly apparent and cannot be avoided.

Lovelillian

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Cauliflower Florets!!!

Ingredients

• 1 head Cauliflower
• 3 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Spices (I used 1/2 tsp Celtic Sea Salt, 1/2 tsp Cinnamon, 1/2 Cayenne Pepper (use less. Maybe 1/4 tsp), and 1/2 tsp Basil)

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400 F
• Wash and chop up the Cauliflower (try to get keep them 1/2 to 1/4 of an inch thick.
• Put the Cauliflower on a sheet
• Brush Olive Oil on top
• Sprinkle a mixture of spices on all the pieces of Cauliflower (I used Celtic Sea Salt, Cinnamon, Cayenne Pepper, & Basil. But you can really do anything you want).
• Bake on the bottom rack for 25-35 minutes (until they’re cooked all the way through. ie translucent and crispy)
• Eat!!

Leftovers

• I always think that it’s hardest to follow a recipe that doesn’t have any pictures. I had my own idea of how I wanted this recipe to go and I still don’t know if that is what eatocracy intended.  But ultimately that doesn’t really matter.  They suggested some spices to use, but also stipulated that you can use whatever spices you want. So, I guess this recipe can be whatever you want it to be, which is pretty awesome.

• While I used to much Cayenne Pepper and cut the Cauliflower a bit too thick, I still consider this recipe a success.  It was a tasty, simple snack that I munched on for the rest of the day. I say go for it.

Thank you so much to eatocracy.com for the recipe and thank you so much for watching! If anyone makes this (which I do recommend) please let me know how it goes and what spices you end up using in the comments!

Good luck!

LOVELILLIAN

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Coming Sooon!!!!

Cauliflower Rice and Christmas are both on their way to you. And hopefully they will both be delicious.

Wish me luck!

Lovelillian

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APPLE CRISP!!!!

I did this the (relatively) hard way.  You don’t have to.  Here’s my revised recipe for this fantastic apple crisp complete with all the changes that I suggest in this episode.

Filling Ingredients

• 8 large thinly sliced Apples (I used Macouns)
• 1/4 cup Honey
• 1/4 cup Blanched Almond Flour
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp Nutmeg (or some ground Ginger)
• 3 Tbs Palm Shortening

Crisp Ingredients

• 2 cups Blanched Almond Flour
• 1/2 cup Honey
• 1 Tbs Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Celtic Sea Salt
• 6 Tbs Palm Shortening

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
• Thinly slice 8 large apples (so that there are thin ribbons of skin).
• Put the apples in a brownie pan
• Mix together the Honey, Blanched Almond Flour, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Palm Shortening (for the filling)
• Pour the filling mixture all over the apples. Don’t worry about getting it perfectly evenly distributed, it will melt and spread out.
• Place in the oven (just while you prepare the crisp topping)
• For the crisp topping: Mix together the Honey, Blanched Almond Flour, Cinnamon, Celtic Sea Salt, and Palm Shortening.
• Take the apples out of the oven
• Use your hands to place the crisp topping batter on top of the apples in small clumps. (Don’t worry about perfectly covering every inch of the apples. The crisp topping will melt and spread a bit in the oven).
• Bake for 40 to 60 minutes on the middle rack (until it’s golden brown).
• Let it cool for 30 minutes
• EAT!!!

Leftovers

I’ve been trying for years to get an apple crisp to have the taste and the texture similar to the apple crisp I ate growing up, and this time I actually think I’ve done it.  Maybe it’s not exactly the same, but it’s the pretty darn close.

I’ve already made this recipe three times since shooting this episode.  I like it best when the crisp is totally cooled (that’s when the texture is the firmest and chewiest).  It’s also fantastic with some coconut milk (or ice cream if you can do that).  If you love apple crisp, make this.  Make it right now.

And a huge thank you to Sara from www.themessychef.net for her inspiring recipe!

Good Luck!

Lovelillian

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Spinach Bread Redo!!!!!

I wasn’t totally happy with the outcome of this recipe the first time around, so this time I’m taking a few suggestions you guys left in the comments and I’m trying them out for the very first time, on camera!

This result is definitely better.  Although I dislike that this bread requires toasting after baking in order to get rid of the wetness on the bottom, it’s pretty great after it’s toasted.  So, if you really love wraps and have been looking high and low for a grain-free, high flavor wrap-like thing, and you don’t mind toasting it, then is this perfect for you! If not, well, I’ll keeping trying out new recipes and taking your suggestions. So, onward.

Lovelillian

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Baked Apples!!!!!!

Ingredients

• 4 cored Apples (I used Paula Reds)
• 4 Tablespoons Grapeseed Oil
• 4 teaspoons Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated Nutmeg
• 4 teaspoons Honey
• 4-8 Tablespoons Coconut Milk

Directions

• Preheat the oven (350 degrees F)
• Core the apples
• Grate the Nutmeg
• Pour the Grapeseed Oil and Honey inside the core of the apples.
• Sprinkle Cinnamon and Nutmeg on the apples
• Bake for 24 to 34 minutes (until they’re soft)
• Pour Coconut Milk inside the core of the apple.
• EAT!!!!

This is a scrumptious, easy to make desert.  I say make it immediately.  But make double. Make at least 8 apples.  You’ll thank me later.

Thank you www.thepaleodiet.org for this delicious recipe!

Lovelillian

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Spinach Bread!!!!

Ingredients

• 3 medium Eggs (whisked)
• 16 ounces of frozen or fresh Spinach
• Dab (2 Tablespoons) of Grapeseed Oil
• 1/2 cup Pine Nuts
• 4 medium cloves crushed garlic
• small bunch of fresh Basil
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Wash Spinach.
• Dry Spinach (I used a salad spinner and then paper toweled off the excess water).
• Pour a dab or Grapeseed Oil (about 2 Tbs) into a frying pan.
• Put the burner on medium.
• Crush Garlic and put in the pan.
• Saute Garlic and Pine Nuts in the pan until golden brown-ish.
• Put the Basil and golden brown Garlic and Pine Nuts into the food processor.
• Pulse until all the nuts are broken up but not completely smooth.
• Add spinach.
• Blend.
• Whisk Eggs.
• Pour Eggs into the food processor.
• Blend for 30 seconds.
• Grease the pan with Grapeseed Oil.
• Bake on the top rack of the oven for 30 to 40 minutes.
• Cool for 30 minutes.
• Make SANDWICHES and EAT.

FYI & Why

The directions above are what I did.  However, I wouldn’t recommend it.  Don’t make my mistakes!

I would recommend that you either half the recipe, or split the spinach batter into two to three pie pans, or just use a much bigger pan (like a brownie pan) to bake in.  While the taste is pretty incredible (OMG spinach-basil pesto) the problem lies in the texture of the bread.  The crust was delicious and “bready”, but the inside was wet and soft, rendering it useless as an actual bread (When Sarah and I tried to pick it up it, it fell apart in our hands).  So, I think that the best way to get an even, firm texture would be for it to be thinner to begin with.  I also think that would just be tastier all around.  Kind of like a really flavorful pita bread.

The next time I make this, this is what I’ll be doing: Pouring the batter into a brownie pan and baking it for around 20 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.  And then I’ll make and eat lots and lots of sandwiches. :)

Thank you to Mark Sisson and Jennifer Meier for coming up with this recipe!!!  Their book is called “The Primal Blueprint Cookbook” and Mark has a great blog called www.MarksDailyApply.com Check it out!

Good Luck!

Lovelillian

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And I’m still editing the Spinach Bread episode.  I’m sorry… I’m slow.  But it’s coming!!!!  PROMISE.

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Coming Soon!!!!

Spinach Bread! No flour required!

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