Why Paleo is a waste of my time, Reason #3

Posted on August 5, 2013 by chatty

Reason #1 was NF milk in my coffee. Reason #2 was the feta cheese in my egg-avocado-spinach salad from Evolution Fresh. But reason #3 is the reason to write home about (or, in this case, blog about): S’mores Brownies. Seriously!?!

The hand model in the pic is my work spouse, EC. We split one brownie, thank goodness. It was delicious. Pinterest win, for sure.
Thanks, Billie, for destroying my will power.

BTW, reason #4 was the ice cream that made an encore performance tonight. Paleo. Why do I even bother?

Paleo pancakes etc.

Posted on August 4, 2013 by chatty

At 6:30 this morning the kiddie snuck into my bed to greet me.
“What do you want for breakfast?” I asked her.
“Maybe a … Doughnut?”
Man. This kid and doughnuts. I know I only have myself to blame. It’s still annoying.

I made paleo pancakes instead.

2 eggs + 1 ripe banana + 1/4 c almond butter. Mix well. Cook as you would a pancake in a pan coated with coconut oil.

Added chocolate chips to the kid’s portion.

And so a day of Paleo began …

Update … This week Met Market has a BOGO Free coupon for Whidbey Island Ice Cream. So… After a successful grain-free day, I ended the affair with a small scoop of chocolate and a small scoop of coconut.

Everyone should be this lucky.

Wicked Awesome Coffee Cake

Posted on August 2, 2013 by chatty

This is another repeat. Our same neighbors delivered a gallon bag of blueberries. Big, sweet juicy blueberries. So I made this New England coffee cake recipe again. Some tweaks this year: reduced brown sugar to 1/3 c in the topping. Also with the topping, I used coconut oil instead of butter, and almond flour instead of flour/walnuts. Provided another layer of flavor. The Paleo tweaks to this non-paleo dessert got me wondering if I could turn it into a Paleo treat. Nah, I’d always be jonesing for the real thing.

Husband review: “This is so friggin good!”
Yes, yes it is. Wicked good.

Recipe via AllRecipes.com

Lemon cookies

Posted on May 21, 2013 by chatty

The kid asked if we could make cookies.
“Sure,” I said, “What kind?”
“I want lemon cookies.”
“Ok. We can make lemon bars.”
“NOOOO. Lemon COOKIES!”
“Well, lemon bars are like cookies. They’re just squares, not circles.”
“CIRCLES!!!”
“Crikey. Fine. Cookies.”

And so, that is the story behind these semi-homemade lemon cookies. A harder outside, soft chewy inside. We used the Easy Lemon Cookies recipe from Allrecipes.com, the one substitution was replacing lemon extract with 3-4 tbsp lemon juice (2 baby lemons) and the zest of one baby lemon.

Lemony.

New Years Cake

Posted on March 30, 2013 by chatty

modernized version of a traditional treat

Late post. This is a Chinese New Year tradition. Yes, the Lunar New Year was in February. i also have a St Pattys Day post in my Drafts folder so sue me! I could tell you about Nian Gao, or you could Bing it yourself. Maybe when I’m not typing from the iPad I’ll expand on the history but by then wouldn’t you have already clicked the nice link I provided?

I had to delay making this until my Paleo Challenge was complete. I love the texture of sticky, glutinous rice flour in desserts (think Mochi, sesame seed/ red bean dim sum desserts) but rarely use it for everyday baking (though since I now have an extra bag hanging in the pantry there may be something in my future). The updated version of a New Years cake was slightly modified. I used coconut oil because I had it, and less sugar because I didn’t have enough of it The oil made no diff to me, but it really wasn’t sweet enough. Which is funny to say as I am a fan of lightly sweetened treats, and often reduce the amount f sugar in recipes.

The kid enjoyed it, the husband did not, and, frankly never has. I’ll have to find a New Years treat we can all enjoy next year.

Recipe (includes many more Chinese New Year recipes and a quick historical lesson).

Chocolate Coconut Larabars

Posted on February 25, 2013 by chatty

The Paleo challenge is over, but i still have a few more posts that I need to post. Since ending the challenge (200 points behind the winner!) I’ve had no less than 3 doughnut halves; a mocha; peanut butter pretzels; pizza; countless Thin Mints and many more treats that I loved and missed.
A few foods I tried during the challenge tat I plan to keep in rotation:

Beets
Brussels sprouts (can hardly believe I’m saying that but they really grew on me)
Medjool dates

Regarding dates … you have to be specific, as the other ones just don’t taste as good. Medjools are sweet and sticky, and are amazing to use in bars and other sweets, though be careful. As with all dried fruits, just cause they are fruits they are not low in calories and actually dates have a lot of sugar in them.

That all said, I’m crazy about these copycat larabars. I made them twice. Super easy, requires no baking, use all natural ingredients with no added sugar. Dates rock.

these copycat larabars are made with 5 ingredients

This recipe comes courtesy of Mom’s Kitchen Handbook, via Pinterest (yes! I successfully created something I discovered on Pinterest!)

Oddly enough, while milk in my coffee continues to be a must, I’ve lost my taste for yogurt, cheese and other dairy. Will need to find additional ways to add calcium to the diet.

I’ve still got a few more ingredients in the pantry, so, cavemen and women … I will return. Just after I make a few more goodies.

When life gives you blueberries …

Posted on July 23, 2012 by chatty

… Make Blueberry coffee cake.

This recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com, New England Blueberry Coffee Cake. I chose it a) because it has ‘New England’ in the title and 2) far less sugar than many of the other muffin and coffee cake and crumble recipes. Should I find myself with many pints of blueberries in the future I will surely make this again. The crumbly topping was a tad more sweet than I like. I can deal with it now and will readjust for next time. The toddler liked and the husband liked and that’s all that really matters.

Really tasty. I’ve been on an uber sweet kick lately. Terrible for my waistline. But oh so tasty.

P.S. am I the only who noticed that I stopped journaling the day I ran my race? Got to get back on that. But, July, you have been most enjoyable.

Pinkalicious!

Posted on May 28, 2012 by chatty

We’ve been reading this book lately, Pinkalicious. It’s about a girl who eats too many pink cupcakes and turns pink. She loves it until she eats one too many then turns red, then needs to eat a lot of green stuff to turn back to normal. I’m not a huge fan of this book. For one, her parents let her eat like a gazillion cupcakes, then she sneaks in more cupcakes, and she snubs the green veggies. Anyway, my toddler is enjoying it meaning we read it a few times a day. Well, all that talk about cupcakes, you’re bound to start craving cupcakes. I debated between baking from scratch and heading to Trophy and decided baking would be a more interesting activity but did opt to get some help from Duncan. We did the frosting ourselves, though. I finally had a good, smooth result for my American buttercream frosting. Room temperature butter, my friends! Simple details.

We enjoyed it. Lily was eager to dig in and showed a lot of restraint for a 3-year old. At last after dinner we had a cupcake (I had made a lot of minis and a few regular sized ones … L had a mini) … As soon as she finished it she yelled “More More More” (from the book) … Ugh!

But the cupcakes were tasty! Duncan Hines Devil’s Food Cake (because that’s how i roll) with pink buttercream frosting. Some dinosaur sprinkles, too. A nice end to a sort of stressful long weekend.

Potluck staple

Posted on May 28, 2012 by chatty

Rest day so just taking a workout log break, too … I’ve got some other baked goods pics that still need to be uploaded. Once upon a time I had pride in my baking antics. These days I just run out of time. Plus, if the toddler is “helping” I need something quick and easy.

Can’t get much easier than the classic Rice Krispies Treat. Even though others going to the potluck bring way fancier stuff, this is the go to snack for kids and grownups alike. And did I mention how easy they are to make (I am always reminded of this commercial…)? Funny the first time I made them I remembering it being so messy I didn’t do it again for years. The the next I attempted it, years later, it was a cinch and cleanup not a problem. Wonder what I did wrong that first time around.

These days they sell marshmallow bags in exactly the right amount for one batch of treats. I recall there always being leftover marsh. It was always a nice extra to enjoy those leftovers, but alas all good things must come to an end.

These are a fun retro snack, though I don’t think I could bring them to the same potluck event more than once. Then I start looking lazy!