Cinnamon Roasted Pecans and Almonds!!!

We all want to know how to snack!!  I get this question all the time.  If you aren't asking it right now, you will in 3 months.  This is a snack you are going to want to make all the time!

Ingredients: preheat oven 350 degrees
5 handfulls (small mixing bowl full) of mixed pecans and walnuts
About 1 tsp. cinnamon
About 1 Tbs. maple syrup

I'm drooling over this while i'm typing!  Get a mixing bowl and mix your ingredients until everything is evenly covered.  On a baking sheet w/ parchment paper (it's like wax paper but you can put it in the oven) spread it around and put in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

Wait until it cools and you have a really awesome snack!

Dried Fruit

It's time to get a dehydrator or dig it out of your garage and dust it off.  Dry fruit from the store is gross. Dry fruit made from home is THE BEST SNACK EVER.  I have mangos, pears, bananas, and cranberries (flop)!  All the sudden the banana chips were gone! In Shaun's belly! They dried for two days and they were gone in seconds! Well. bananas are so cheap,  I just made more.

Pumpkin Nut Muffins

Ingredients: preheat oven 400 degrees, makes 12 muffins
1/2 C. coconut flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 C. pureed pumpkin
6 Eggs, beaten
4 Tbs. coconut oil OR gently melted unsalted butter
1/3 C. pure maple syrup or honey (Grade B or less)
1 tsp. real Vanilla extract
some pecans
12 aluminum muffin liners

Holy Cow! Where was this recipe when I had my last 45 day, no cheating, paleo challenge!? Now that I'm preparing for a lifetime of paleo, I'm extremely excited that I have The Primal Blueprint Cookbook to give me amazingly healthy, delicious recipes like this. GO TRY IT RIGHT NOW.  If you don't have coconut flour, go buy it, and you can also make a pancake recipe that I'll post soon.

Grease a muffin pan very well, or you can prevent the mess by getting aluminum muffin liners. 1st, combine all the dry ingredients in one bowl #1; blend, stir well, and set aside.  Get bowl #2 and add the pumpkin puree. One by one add the eggs and mix well.  Add the oil/butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.  Mix well. Add the dry ingredients from bowl #1 and whisk until you don't see any lumps. You can add chopped nuts if you want. I added mine on top.  Use a spoon to fill in muffin pan or liners 3/4 full.  They will rise a little bit.  Bake 18-20 minutes.  I kept mine inside for 20 minutes.  You can get a toothpick to poke through the muffin; if it comes out "clean" then they are ready to come out.  I prefer the muffins warm, but they are yummi warm or room temp.  The muffins stuck to the liners just a little bit. It wasn't big problem, though.

Almond Crusted Chicken Fingers

You thought that once you go paleo, you can't eat good food. Not True! This is a great recipe for kids AND adults!

Ingredients:
olive oil
almond meal
seasoning (I used Kick'n Chicken)
dill
1 egg
chicken strips

First, heat the olive oil in the pan on medium or a little less than medium heat. Get 1 bowl and 1 plate. 1 bowl is for the egg (beat it like you're making scrambled eggs. This is the coating so your almond meal sticks to the chicken). 1 plate is for your almond meal (add seasonings. I used both dill and kickn chickn).


1. dip a chicken strip in the eggs. You just want a thin layer, not big clumps of egg.
2. Roll the chicken strips around in the almond meal
3. put the chicken in the hot oil in the pan. Cook each side for about 5 minutes. They might look cooked on the outside, but the inside could still be uncooked. You don't want the heat too high because it'll burn the outside almond meal. Next time I'll probably take the chickens out of the fridge early.

I also made acorn squash for the side. Cut it in half, dig out the seeds (but keep them!). Put the half in a medium bowl, add a squirt of water, cover with saran wrap and put it in the microwave for 3-4 minutes. If you want an AWESOME snack, then turn the oven on 350 degrees, get a baking sheet and foil. put the seeds on the foil (but make sure all the stringy guts are cleaned off them) and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until they are lightly browned. WOW so freaking good!

Merry Christmas Dinner! AND DESSERT!

Wow! No one could believe that a paleo dinner would taste so good - including dessert! Baked Ham, Sweet potato casserole, zucchini and yellow squash, and Walnut Meal Brownies.

servings: 7-8

Sweet potato casserole - recipe borrowed from CrossFit Lake City

pre-heat oven 350 degrees.















1Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 C honey + a few extra TBSP's
1/2 C coconut milk
1C pecans

Dice sweet potatoes and boil for about 30 minutes or until thoroughly soft. Drain water. Mash the sweet potatoes. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, 1/2 cup honey, and slowly add coconut milk. Stir until it's all blended well. Pour it into a baking dish/platter. Smooth it out and place the pecans on top. Drizzle the leftover honey. Cover with foil and bake for 40-45 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes to brown the pecans.

*we originally used 7 or 8 potatoes. This would have fit a 9x13, but I used two medium sized square glass baking dishes. With 7 people, we probably only consumed 4 potatoes which was 1 medium baking dish. More is better than less, though. This tasted SO GOOD!


Zucchini and Yellow Squash Side Dish
2 zucchinis (slice and cut in halves)
2 yellow squash (slice and cut in halves)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
2 chunks of unsalted butter

On Medium heat add butter and minced garlic. Put all veggies in the pan and stir. Continue until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. This was so easy and delicious. It's a stress and hassle-free side dish. It's a modern twist on Christmas Dinner.

Walnut Meal Brownies
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; Adjust oven rack to the middle position.















1 3/4 Cups of walnut meal (purchased or ground in food processor)
3/4 cups cocoa powder
1.5 teaspoon baking powder
1.5 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 large eggs (room temp)
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 c honey
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 c coconut oil
walnuts for topping
unsalted butter for greasing the pan.

First, mix all the dry ingredients. In a second bowl, whisk eggs for one minute, then add coconut milk, honey, and continue whisking. Add melted coconut oil and whisk until completely blended. Add wet mixture to dry ingredients and whisk well. Scrape the sides and make sure everything is mixed well. Batter will be thinner consistency than most conventional brownies. Pour the into the baking dish. I sprinkle whole or chopped walnuts - or nothing - on top. Bake 35-40 minutes. Cool before cutting.

THESE BROWNIES WERE AMAZING. You don't need Jenny Craig or Nutrisystem for your diet, and you don't need em for dessert either! YOU HAVE TO MAKE THIS RECIPE RIGHT NOW.

"granola" bars

Ingredients: preheat oven to 350 degrees
2 handfuls almonds - chopped
3 handfuls walnuts - chopped
3 handfuls pecans - chopped
raisins
honey
cinnamon poweder
clove powder
allspice
1 cup coconut (unsweetened)

GET CREATIVE WITH YOUR SNACKS! This is a great snack! It should be a snack you eat in moderation, though. Raisins and honey are still full of sugar. It has taken some perfecting because after a dozen times, it always turns out different, usually crumbly or over spiced. I'm not going to lie, I don't measure any of it out and obviously that's where my problems begin.

First, I've been slap chopping about 5 cups (i'm guessing since i have little hands) of nuts. My mom gave me one of her food processors, so I'll see how this saves time. I usually like large cut pieces mixed in with finely ground pieces. I add all the dry ingredients - 1 cup coconut (i've found it helps keep the final product from crumbling), a tiny dash of cloves (really potent), a sprinkle of allspice, and I go to town with the cinnamon. Stir so it's even. Next, I let the honey drizzle with my left hand and I stir with my right hand until I get the right consistency. I want it to all be evenly sticky. Not too sticky, but not dry.

Next, I use a square/rectangular glass dish (When I pour everything in, I like it to be at least an inch thick) and dribble olive oil all over the inside. You can use coconut oil, but I usually always have olive oil handy so why pay an extra 10 bucks. Pour your mixture into the dish, and take some wax paper as wide and long as your dish and smash your mixture all around to make it compact.

put it in the over for 20-25-30 minutes. It'll smell so good! It'll taste so good!