Paleo Rich & Creamy Cinnamon Hot Chocolate

Usually for me the first snowfall of the year means that is is officially hot chocolate time! With no snow in sight I can’t wait any longer. This healthier Paleo hot chocolate is easy to prepare and you can actually feel good about what you are drinking. Raw Cacao is a super food that is rich in essential vitamins and minerals. It is also known to improve your mood and act as an anti-depressant as well as boost energy. Coconut milk is full of good fat and is an anti-inflammatory. Coconut milk can also raise the metabolic rate and has immune boosting qualities. Cinnamon, also an anti-inflammatory, can increase blood circulation. All of these benefits will help you survive and thrive in the cold weather months! See more healthful spices to add at the end of this post.

Ingredients:
1 can of Full Fat Coconut Milk
1/2 C. Water (Omit for a richer drink)
2 Tbsp. Cacao Powder
1/4 C. dairy-free/sugar free chocolate of your choice
1/4 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
1 Tbsp Maple Syrup (or Honey)
(Optional) 1/4 tsp. Turmeric
(Optional) 1/4 tsp. Cardamom
(Optional) 1/4 tsp. Ginger

Heat coconut milk, chocolate, water, vanilla and cinnamon in a pot on the stove for 10 mins. being careful not to let it boil. Add cocoa and maple syrup, stir and let heat for a few more minutes to let the flavors mix. P(Serves 2)

If you want to add even more of a boost to your beverage try one or all of the optional ingredients. Turmeric is an antioxidant containing anti-inflammatory compounds. Turmeric has also been shown to improve liver function, indigestion and dementia. Cardamom, which is a good sweet spice, has been known to promote digestion and may help prevent cold and flu symptoms as well as lower your blood pressure. Traditionally ginger has been used to relieve colds and stomach troubles. Ginger is rich in inflammation-fighting compounds which may help reduce arthritis pains.

I topped my cocoa off with marshmallow cream from Vanessa Barajas’s cookbook Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind. What’s better than a cozy cup of hot chocolate, fireside, on a cold winters day? Whenever the cold hits – I’ll be ready!

{Thanksgiving Leftover} Paleo Squash Bread

In general, I love having leftovers. Leftovers mean that you have one more meal without having to cook. Thanksgiving is almost here I can already taste the turkey! What comes with Thanksgiving? Lot’s of leftovers! In just a few days I am sure people will be looking for fun new recipes to jazz up their leftovers. Okay, I’ll jump on that band wagon… This recipe was a happy accident as I was trying for a souffle and ended up with a thin bread which is perfect for an update to the classic Thanksgiving sandwich.

I used to LOVE the after Thanksgiving sandwich. You know the one. Two slices of bread, turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and a little mayo, YUM. This year, having moved to a predominately Paleo lifestyle to help aid in my health and healing commitment I will have to rethink Thanksgiving a bit. To start with, the bread… This recipe not only uses a common leftover item, squash, but it adds more nutrients to my favorite sandwich!

Fall Cocktail Part 4: Cider Sangria

 

Today’s post is the fourth and final beverage in my fall cocktail series each featuring my favorite ingredient, fresh fall apple cider. If you missed the first three installments you can read them here: 1|  Apple Cider Mimosas 2|  Cider Geniever 3| Spiked Hot Apple Cider 4| Cider Sangria (today’s post)

Okay, sangria is technically not a cocktail, but it is delicious so let’s agree to overlook technicalities, shall we? This is a colorful, festive beverage perfect for starting out any gathering (that’s right Thanksgiving, I am looking at you!) and it only takes about 5-10 min to prepare.

Fall Cocktail Part 3: Spiked Hot Apple Cider

Today’s post marks the third installment of the Fall Cocktail series featuring Apple Cider and it is a hot one! I probably should have come up with a more creative name, but for now, Spiked Hot Apple Cider it is. Did you miss the first two drink recipes? Don’t work, click HERE for Cider Mimosas and HERE to read about Cider Geniever. Okay, ready for a drink to help keep you warm in the cold months ahead?

Fall Cocktail Part 2: Cider Geniever

Okay, ready for the next installment in my fall cocktail series featuring New England’s own apple cider? Perfect, because today’s the day! If you missed the first post for Cider Mimosas you can see it HERE.  The Cider Mimosas are simple to make and only need two ingredients, today’s Cider Geniever are equally easy to create but you will need more than two ingredients. You will need three!

Fall Cocktail Part 1: Apple Cider Mimosas

This Thanksgiving will be my first Thanksgiving on my new diet. It is my husbands favorite holiday and we will be spending much of it with his family. I have decided to post a four part series of Fall Cocktails all featuring New England’s honorary fall drink: Apple Cider. It’s true, drinking alcohol is not Paleo but it remains a part of many people lives. Champagne is wine that had been carbonated by fermenting the wine a second time. If you choose to include wine into your Paleo lifestyle than you can certainly include a glass of champagne every now and then. Because: fermented! To sweeten the deal, I am pairing fermented apple cider with champagne to make a delicious fall beverage.

Paleo Classic Burger Updated

When you adopt a Paleo lifestyle there is a lot of cooking and planing involved. Sometimes you just don’t feel like cooking a big meal or have time to get to the store. Last week I was having one of those days… I looked in the fridge to see what we already had on hand and tried to come up with a meal. That is what inspired this simple update to a classic burger and fries. My husband said I hit it out of the park with this one and requested we keep it in a rotation so I made it again just the other day. Instead of onions, I used leaks. Instead of sweet potato fries, I used carrots to add a sweet flavor. The seasoning I came up with takes the place of your standard mustard… Check out the recipe and see what I mean!

Dairy Free Matcha Tea Latte

Welcome Fall! The air actually cooled down for a few days there. We were having nearly 90 degree days at the end of September, it felt like Fall would never arrive. But it did. Here it is. I love each season, especially the changing of the seasons so I didn’t hesitate to enjoy a Matcha tea latte on the first cool morning. While you can drink a latte in any season, I always associate them with fall. This is my first fall being dairy free so I knew I had some experimenting to do. I was first introduced to Matcha Tea when I was about 9 years old and enrolled in a Japanese brushwork class. The instructor started each lesson with her own mini-tea ceremony. All of the students would sit on the floor in a circle and mix our own tea our of the bright green Matcha powder and I loved it!

Paleo Fried Green Tomatoes

One of the perks of moving to the country is that there are farm stands everywhere! I love being able to buy local. It is nice to know where my food comes from while at the same time support local farmers. Another perk about buying local is that you are always buying what is fresh while it is truly in season. It can also be exciting (not in the same way that a roller coaster is exciting, but this is small town fun that we are talking about here) to see what is new each time you stop at the farm stand. The other day when I passed a local farm stand they had a bushel of green tomatoes!  Fried green tomatoes anyone?

Quick and Easy Paleo Beef Stir Fry

This is the first meal we made in our new home. I would have loved to have a real celebratory meal where I planned and cooked something fabulous, but when you just finished moving, and your kitchen is only half put together you make what you can. That being said, I don’t know why I always use this as my fall back meal when it is so delicious! Whenever I am crunched for time, or don’t really feel like cooking, a variation of this recipe is what I will end up making.

Paleo Strawberry Rhubarb Torte

I have a sweet tooth, I think it runs in my family. I have always preferred pies over cakes, and cookies over candy. My grandmother’s strawberry rhubarb pie has always been at the top of my list! My husband likes fruit but only in it’s natural form, but put it in a dessert and he wants nothing to do with it! This has caused a big strain on our relationship. (I kid… it just means more deliciousness for me!) I have yet to figure out a good gluten-free, dairy-free pie crust so at the moment my summer fruit inspired desserts all come in the form of a torte. Here is my recipe for a strawberry rhubarb torte.

Paleo Creamed Spinach

Creamed spinach has always been one of my favorite side dishes. Once I discovered that I couldn’t eat dairy anymore I knew that I would have to come up with a new Paleo friendly version of this side dish. I tried a few different variations before deciding to share this recipe with you, which I feel is the most similar to what I grew up with. In this process, I also discovered that creamed spinach is not photogenic!

Healthy AIP/Paleo Juice Pops

Hot time, summer in the city… It’s reaching that time of year again when you need anything and everything to stay cool. Here is an easy AIP/Paleo recipe for juice pops using fresh juice from your juicer. I like to keep some on hand frozen in my freezer for a treat on a hot day.

Healthy Paleo Chocolate Pudding

I have been very into chocolate avocado shakes lately. I recently went to make my shake, had everything in a blender ready to go and realized I as out of almond milk! I use almond milk as my liquid base and had nothing available for a good substitute. Not wanting to waist my ingredients, I dumped them into my food processor instead for a little food experiment which is how I discovered my version of a healthy chocolate pudding. With potassium, healthy fats and no processed sugars this really is a healthy pudding!

Fresh Juice Citrus Margaritas

I love my juicer. Last summer I honestly used it every other day. The combinations of flavors you can make seem endless and it is easy to clean which is very important to me. Fresh juice is so much better than processed juice in both taste and nutrition. Now I probably shouldn’t mention the health benefits of fresh juice when I am about to segway into adding alcohol to it… but what can you do? Every now and then you need a celebratory beverage and this is by far better for you than any pre-made mix full of syrups and sugar and that is why I came up with the fresh juice Margarita!

Paleo Sweet Apple Sausages

I love when I get a Sunday morning at home to relax and really take time to enjoy breakfast, in a leisurely way.  One of my favorite morning side dishes is Sweet Apple Sausage. Here is what you need to make them:

Paleo Poached Pears

I love poached pears. Before going on the AIP diet, my husband and I stayed at a B&B that served an amazing 2 course breakfast each morning. The last day of our stay our first course was a beautiful poached pear with a dab of mascarpone cheese on top. It was so simple, and so delicious. As most poached pear recipes call for wine and a good amount of refined sugar I wanted to see what I could come up with that would be more AIP friendly. Here is my recipe:

Sweet and Creamy Hot Coconut Milk… and a book!

These days, I always have a large pile of books collected in a to-read pile. The problem is that when I finish one book, I get so excited about starting a new book that I buy three more to replace the one I finished so the pile never gets any smaller.

My dad gave me the book ‘Wolf Hall’ by Hilary Mantel a few years ago. In the beginning of March, when I discovered that PBS would be airing a Wolf Hall series, I knew that I had to start and finish the book before the series aired. Setting the other book I was reading aside I started Wolf Hall… Today, after filling my Big Ben mug (to keep with the London theme…) with some sweet & creamy coconut milk that I just brewed I am ready to finish the last 30 pages a full two days before the series airs, phew! Here is how to make a cup of creamy coconut milk for yourself:

Paleo / AIP Strawberry Banana Coconut ‘Ice Cream’

I am doing a happy dance today! I have been gluten free and dairy free since Jan 1st 2015 without exception. Currently I am in day 20 of a more strict diet known as The Autoimmune Protocol (or AIP for short). While I can feel the improvements more and more each day it is always good to have medical reassurance that I am on the right path and today at my appointment my doctor could see huge improvements too!

I am going to celebrate with a little AIP Treat: Strawberry Banana Coconut ‘Ice Cream’. Here is what you need to make it: