AIP Pumpkin Pie and Crust: Baked Version (Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free, Egg Free)

I am very excited to share this pie with you. Last year I posted my mini, no-bake pumpkin pies. I love those as a fun (and cute!) alternative to a regular pie and they are tasty, but this year I wanted to make a real pumpkin pie. Gluten is definitely out of the question since I discovered I can't eat it. And since I've been moving towards the autoimmune protocol (healing protocol for autoimmune disease and gut healing), I wanted to make an AIP pumpkin pie. Not an easy task! Especially for someone that prefers cooking to baking. :)

Fresh Tomato Basil Vinaigrette (Paleo, Whole30)

Summer, summer, summer time.

Time to sit back and unwind.

Just a bit of a break from the norm (were you singing along?) with this tomato basil vinaigrette. Fresh summer tomatoes are one of my favorite things. Juicy. Sweet. With just a sprinkle of salt. And lately, as a vinaigrette. With basil, of course. Because tomatoes and basil just belong together.

If you like tomatoes, I think you will love this vinaigrette.

60+ Paleo Spiralizer Recipes plus How to Avoid Buying a Counterfeit Paderno Spiral Slicer

Guess who's back...back again? Well, it's been a long time, my friends. It's been a crazy, stressful summer around here, so I apologize for not posting. I hope that you are all enjoying summer wherever you are.

A few months ago, my spiralizer broke. Since I have recommended this spiralizer before, especially to those of you on Facebook, I figured I should tell you guys what I found out. I purchased (what I thought was) the Paderno vegetable spiral slicer back in September, but at the end of May (after only using it a few times a month), part of the handle broke. Turns out it was a counterfeit unit (purchased through Amazon, but sold by another seller).

I also scoured the Internet for spiralizer recipes from many talented bloggers. For those of you that already have a spiralizer or plan to get one, I didn't want to leave you hanging without recipes to use this thing. It only took me a few months to put this together. ;-)

So...after contacting the company, Paderno World Cuisine, this is what I learned from the CEO:

Tangy Marinated Slaw, No-Mayo (Paleo, Autoimmune Protocol, Whole30)

Cabbage has always been one of those vegetables that I have tried to learn to love many different times. But no matter what I do with it, even trying the undoubtedly delicious (for most) World's Best Braised Cabbage from Nom Nom Paleo, it's just not my favorite thing. Yet, over St. Patrick's Day weekend, I found myself with five, maybe six, heads of cabbage. I'm a sucker for a deal and at 39 cents a pound, I may have gone just a little overboard. Just a little. Don't worry, I only hoard cabbage (and avocados).

 

Dark Chocolate Mints (Healthy Andes Copycat)

I will fight for an Andes Mint. Not even joking. Not a throw-down, fists-up kind of fight. Not even a hair-pulling, nail-breaking fight (well, maybe). But...

When the server sets those mints on the edge of the table, all bets are off. First come, first serve. You know what I'm talking about. Okay, so I don't eat at this particular establishment anymore. But when I did, it was mostly for the mints. Never mind that I could just buy the mints from the store. Apparently there was something special about the ones you receive after chowing down on bread sticks.

Keep reading or print recipe here.

Carrot Top Pesto (nut-free) with Roasted Carrots

I didn't always like cooked carrots. My first memories are of those mushy, boiled ones. Probably from a can. They made their appearance at home and were a regular feature in school lunches. That was when my strong dislike for cooked carrots began. Once I hit adulthood, I was free. No more cooked carrots for me. Even when I moved into my first apartment and begin cooking everyday, carrots were off the menu. The blurry memory of sitting at the dinner table with nothing but carrots left on my plate was enough to make me swear them off forever.

Or so I thought...

It wasn't until I started following paleo over a year ago that I decided to try out roasted carrots. I was roasting every other vegetable known to man (I like to exaggerate), so there was no reason to leave out the carrot. At first, I sliced them and tossed them with coconut oil and cumin. They were divine and I was hooked. No mushy carrots are welcome here. But, although these roasted carrots are delicious on their own, this recipe isn't really about the carrots...

No Bake Mini AIP Pumpkin Pies with Coconut Whipped Cream (Paleo, Autoimmune Protocol, GAPS)

If you follow me on Facebook, you may have seen me post about a pumpkin recipe a few weeks months ago. I started working on this back in August or September (and neglected to take pictures until recently) and it took some time to get these as I imagined them. When I have an idea for creating desserts that are allergy-friendly and I have to try to make them. I'm a little obsessed. I'm also obsessed with mini desserts. See here and here. This recipe actually started as somewhat of a pumpkin fudge. I was making this almond butter fudge and decided to try it with pumpkin. It tasted similar to a pumpkin pie, but then I decided that I wanted to create something that really was like pumpkin pie. But without eggs and nuts, and of course without gluten and dairy. A perfect and fun substitute for traditional pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving!

Crispy Avocado Fried Egg with Yolk Only Option (Egg in a Basket)

There were two motivations behind this recipe. I'm not really sure I can call it a recipe. It's more of an idea, I guess. A few months ago, my sister was testing out possible allergens to determine the cause of her child's severe eczema. So the main reason for this idea was for my niece. She had a possible sensitivity to egg whites, so I wanted to create some way for her to consume egg yolks. I wanted something easy, but also something she would really enjoy. (She wasn't having any issues eating gently washed egg yolks.)

Making Mayo by Hand with Recipe for Coconut-Ghee Mayonnaise (plus tips for broken mayo)

The first time I made mayonnaise, it was a disaster. I tried to use the immersion blender method that so many others love. It didn't work for me. I'll never use an immersion blender again (for mayo). [Update: I finally purchased a Cuisinart immersion blender and it works beautifully for mayo!] So...after many, many months, I decided to try again. This time I wasn't going to take my chances with any blender method (my regular bender and food processor don't have the option to pour in the top so they won't work anyway), so I decided to pull out the big guns. My big guns, of course.

Hand-beaten mayonnaise.

Instant Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream (Banana Soft Serve)

My pumpkin consumption usually only involves pumpkin pie. Lots of pumpkin pie. (Last year, I made it using this crust from Mark's Daily Apple and it was delicious.) But...this "ice cream" might just change my mind. I'm putting pumpkin in everything from now on. (I'm kidding. But after eating this for several weeks, I'm tempted.)

Citrus-Herb Chicken Kabobs

While I don't have my own kids (yet), I'm always trying to make sure my nieces and nephews know that real food can be delicious (and not taste like lunch room food). Most of them are pretty adventurous and are willing to try the majority of the food I make or eat. They've tasted my roasted seaweed and kombucha. (They are now obsessed with seaweed. "Spicy" ginger kombucha, not so much.) They tasted and loved my kale chips and molten chocolate brownie. Some of the normal food stuff, like different types of chicken and fried zucchini coins, is a little harder to get them to try. It's new and weird. Chicken is usually a win but the zucchini coins needed to be very thin and crispy for those to be devoured.

Crispy Grain-Free Zucchini Coins with Roasted Red Pepper Dipping Sauce

This is not something I eat often. Maybe once year, at the end zucchini season. I eat a lot of zucchini during the summer, many different ways (like this pasta). Then every once in awhile, I fry it (or you can bake it). It's so good, but I make a huge mess when I make it. The breading mixture ends up everywhere. Everywhere. It's just one of those things. I can't help it. I used to make it with panko bread crumbs (something I really miss), but since I can't eat gluten anymore, I knew almond flour would be a great replacement. There is a crispiness you get from almond flour that you just can't get from coconut flour.

Lemon-Garlic Shrimp with Zucchini Noodles and Spinach (Gluten Free, AIP, Paleo)

There was this pasta dish I used to make often -- back when I ate pasta. It involved butter (eh, I probably used margarine back then), wine, tomatoes, garlic, shrimp, and of course, pasta. I actually rarely eat shrimp anymore (I'm all about sardines now), but I wanted to try to recreate this dish. I started out making it with zucchini noodles and it was very good. But I decided to leave out the tomatoes and wine (and just drink it instead) to reduce the time it takes to make this. I'm all about the quick and easy lately. Instead I added some herbs and baby spinach. Feel free to adjust garlic and lemon to taste.

(By the way, did you know you can freeze lemon juice. Just defrost the cubes as needed.)

Homemade Tangy Chipotle Barbecue Sauce

My freezer is full of barbecue sauce and your Google search for BBQ sauce gets that much harder...

I hesitated to post a BBQ sauce recipe...well, because there are plenty of them. And people can be very particular about their barbecue sauce. But here you go. I figured after posting these Double Bacon BBQ Burgers that I had to post a BBQ sauce (I actually made the burgers because I was testing this sauce and needed something to use it for). I couldn't just leave you in the grocery aisle alone, searching through the hundreds of bottles of barbecue sauce. High fructose corn syrup. Corn starch. Corn syrup. Caramel color. Modified food starch (what, the what?). You get the point. One bottle I read was a special family, contest-winning, recipe. And the first ingredient -- high fructose corn syrup. 

Double Bacon BBQ Burgers with BBQ Avocado Sauce and Caramelized Onions

Bacon. Beef. Barbecue sauce. With their powers combined, I present you with...Captain Burger.

Okay, not really. But what we do have is... Double Bacon BBQ Burgers.

Because what do you do when you have way too much barbecue sauce (recipe coming soon)? Well, you put in on and in everything you make. Of course. BBQ burgers are nothing new. Even BBQ bacon burgers have been done before. I actually started out with just a bbq burger and stuffed it with avocado (ala Civilized Caveman), but then...bacon.

Chocolate Truffle Cake from Indulge: 70 Grain Free Desserts

If you follow me on Facebook, you may have seen me rave about a coffee cake I made using a recipe by Carol Lovett from the popular blog, Ditch the Wheat. The recipe came from Carol's ebook, Indulge and Carol has graciously allowed me to share a recipe from her book with you (and give a copy to one of you!). Sorry, but it is not the coffee cake. Instead, I give you this amazing Chocolate Truffle Cake. Carol says, "This cake is a cross between a chocolate truffle and a brownie. The cake is so rich only a sliver is needed to satisfy your craving."

Oh, and it is...so rich but so good.

Indulge is available right now for 20% off the normal price! Check it out here.

No Bake Coconut Banana Cream Bites (Grain-free, Paleo, Autoimmune, GAPS)

So yeah...there's this:

I made these coconut tarts and after all the testing, I was ready to give up sweets for good (I actually gave away dried mango, so I think that's it for the sweets for awhile). Then a family member gave me some ripe bananas that needed to be used. My obsession to make the perfect coconut butter left me with, well...tons of coconut butter. (The first time I discovered coconut butter, I made this peppermint bark.) And a banana version of the coconut tarts was born. I'm not calling these tarts because it doesn't seem right. Cream pies, maybe. But I don't want to disappoint anyone looking for a real banana or coconut cream pie, so I'll calling them "bites." Yeah, it might take two bites to eat one of these, but you get the idea.

Tomato Cucumber and Red Onion Salad with a Balsamic Basil Vinaigrette

Ah, summer. Since I've been eating real food, my eating habits tend to flow with the seasons...meaning, whatever is in season, I'm likely going to be eating it. Summer is usually filled with lots of fresh veggies that are perfect for a cold, easy-to-make, salad on a hot summer night. Grilled meats and veggies and cold salads -- that is my summer menu. Every day.

This is a pretty typical combination that I'm sure you've had before. Tomatoes and cucumbers go together like peanut butter and jelly or bread and butter (well, I don't know anything about that anymore...the bread, not the butter) or maybe beans and rice. I don't know. Whatever you think goes well together. You get the idea. This is my version of a Greek salad that I typically throw together during the summer months. I like mine with fresh basil, thinly sliced red onions, and a very simple vinaigrette of balsamic vinegar and olive oil (with extra basil, just because). Plus, my newest addition that I've become obsessed with in the last few years has been added to this salad -- avocado. Because everything is better with avocado.

No Bake Mini Coconut Lemon Tarts plus berry versions (paleo, autoimmune, GAPS)

This recipe was created because of these Hail Merry Lemon Tarts. Have you heard of them? Seen them? I was in Earth Fare almost a month ago picking up a few things. While I was concentrating on picking out some greens...There. They. Were. In the produce section. Enticing me. Telling me to drop my kale and chard and eat a lemon tart. I can't turn down a lemon tart (or anything with lemon).

Ginger Garlic & Lime Grilled Chicken

What's not to like? Ginger, good. Garlic, good. Lime, goooood.