Paleo Pumpkin Pie!

Thanksgiving is here! My favorite holiday. I always look forward to the long weekend to spend with friends and family, to eat absurd amounts of food and to celebrate Alex's and my anniversary (sorry, had to throw that in there).

My absolute favorite part of Thanksgiving is dessert and in my house we usually have pumpkin pie. Since my family and I have started eating Paleo, we've been a bit worried about the upcoming festivities. It will be a "free day" for us but I thought this would be a great opportunity to try out another paleo recipe.

This past weekend, I did a bit of research and found a couple of paleo pumpkin pie recipes to combine into the easiest and tastiest recipe for me to create.
Here is what I came up with and it is awesome!

Last month I made a paleo apple pie and really enjoyed the crust and decided to use that recipe for this pie too. The crust is not only easy to make, it is super tasty.

For the crust you will need:
9 eggs (room temperature)
3/4 cup of honey
1 cup of coconut oil (heated to liquify)
2 cups coconut flour (amount varies)
(This actually made enough dough for two pies, which was the amount I needed but you can cut the proportions if you want)

-Preheat oven to 350.
-Put eggs, honey, and coconut oil in the food processor and pulse until smooth. Mix in the flour a little bit at a time until it looks like dough.
-Grease a 9 inch pie pan with coconut oil and then press the dough into the pan evenly to cover the bottom and the sides.

I found a very simple pumpkin filling recipe from Ann over at Twelve in Twelve. Ann found the recipe at the Everyday Paleo blog. Ann gave it good reviews and Everyday Paleo is a reliable source... so it was good enough for me to try!

For the Filling you will need: 
1 – 14oz can of organic pumpkin puree (nothing added, just pumpkin) 
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon -I will actually be doubling the amount for my next pie because the cinnamon wasn't strong enough for me or my taste testers.
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon fresh grated ginger -I didn’t include the ginger and the pie was just fine without it.
2 eggs
1/2 cup raw organic honey
1/2 cup coconut milk -I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk because that's what I had on hand.

While the crust is in the oven, whisk all of the pie filling ingredients together.  Pour into the crust that has been baked for 10 minutes, return to the oven and bake for and additional 45 minutes.

 
I'm pretty sure my oven is the original that was installed in this apartment back in the 80's so it's a little wonky. I baked my crust for 10 minutes before pouring in the filling and then baked it for an additional 45 minutes but the pie would not set.


I wound up baking it for an hour and a half, which caused the edges of the to blacken but it didn't taste burnt. When I make it again for Thanksgiving, I will probably lower the temperature and keep a better eye on it.
Overall, it tasted great! The filling was perfectly smooth but not too sweet. My parents didn't believe that it was paleo and were excited when I told them that I'm making another one for Thanksgiving day.
As for Alex...

I think he liked it. ;)

Paleo Apple Pie

So it is Fall (kind of... it's just starting too cool down in the Bay Area) and after seeing this post on tumblr, I decided that I wanted to bake an apple pie. My mom has an old tree in her backyard that grows these delicious red apples and always gives me a large bag of them to bring home.
Since I am still on the 30 Day Paleo Challenge, I looked up a paleo friendly recipe online and man, did I score. This recipe is not only simple but it is delicious too (and gluten free)! I found it over on Midlife Army Wife.

For the filling you will need:
10 apples – peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 cup raw honey
1 tablespoon cinnamon


The recipe calls for 10 apples but I don't think I needed quite that many so I would say use 6-10 apples depending on the size that you have.
Midlife Army Wife says, "Over medium heat, cook the filling ingredients until the sauce has thickened and coats the apple slices.  You want the apples to stay a bit firm, or else they will end up too soft after baking.  When thick, remove from heat and set aside to cool while you work on the crust."

For the crust you will need:
9 eggs (room temperature)
3/4 cup of honey
1 cup of coconut oil (heated to liquify)
2 cups coconut flour (amount varies)

Preheat oven to 350.
Put eggs, honey, and coconut oil in the food processor and pulse until smooth. (I used a hand mixer and it worked out just fine.) Mix in the flour a little bit at a time until it looks like dough. Midlife Army Wife says, "If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour, but be careful not to dry it out."
Divide the dough into two halves, one for the bottom crust and one for the top.


Grease a 9 inch pie pan with coconut oil and then press the dough into the pan evenly to cover the bottom and the sides.
Fill the pan with your cooked cinnamon apples and then use the rest of the crust dough to cover the apples.


The dough was too delicate to roll out into one piece to cover the pie so instead, it is recommended to roll out smaller pieces and then place them together over the apples like a puzzle.


Bake the pie at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes and cover the edges of the pie with foil if they start to brown too much.


Midlife Army Wife recommended letting the pie cool over night before covering it. This will prevent the crust from becoming too soggy. I let mine cool over night and it was perfect the next morning.


The pie was delicious! It crust wasn't too sweet but if you took a bite of crust with a bite of the cinnamon apples, it was just right. I even heated a piece up in the morning and had it for breakfast.
All of my taste-testers, my parents and my boyfriend, all enjoyed the pie. My mom even requested that I bring her more! There will probably be more apple pies in the near future because this baby is definitely a guilt-free treat!

Paleo Cupcakes

I have a major sweet tooth and since I eat mostly paleo, my beloved sweets have been cut out of my life. However, some awesome people in the paleo community have created paleo friendly recipes for sweets and other comfort foods so this weekend I decided to make cupcakes.
You should note that even though these are technically alright to eat on the paleo diet, they are a once-in-a-while treat because they are still too sugary for you. 
I found the cupcake recipe at Elana's Pantry which also linked me to a frosting recipe as well.

For the cupcakes you will need:

• ¼ cup coconut flour
• ¼ cup cacao powder
• ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt (I just used regular salt)
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 4 eggs
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• ⅓ cup honey

1. Pulse together dry ingredients in a food processor
2. Pulse in wet ingredients
3. Line a muffin pan with paper liners and scoop ¼ cup into each
4. Bake at 350° for 15-18 minutes
5. Cool and serve

Makes 8 perfectly moist cupcakes. My dad compared the flavor to an Almond Joy which is one of my favorite candy bars so, woo-hoo!

For the frosting:

• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• ⅓ cup coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. In a small saucepan over very low heat, melt chocolate and coconut oil
2. Stir in vanilla extract
3. Place frosting in refrigerator for 15-30 minutes to thicken
4. Remove from refrigerator and whip frosting with a hand blender until thick and fluffy
5. Frost over Paleo Chocolate Cupcakes

You must, must, muuust refrigerate the frosting for 15-30 minutes. I forgot about the frosting and it just solidified to a giant sauce pan shaped chocolate bar so I had to reheat it to start over. I'm not too sure about the flavor of this frosting. No one else complained but I've never really been a fan of the coconut oil flavor and that was all that I picked up on while eating the frosting.

All in all I would say there is barely any difference between these cupcakes and normal cupcakes. My three taste testers also approved them so I will say that this paleo recipe is here to stay!

30 Day Paleo Challenge: Completed!

 

I did it! I finished the 30 Day Paleo Challenge that my dad's work had us do. I have to say, it wasn't easy, especially the first week when all I was eating was plain salads and craving a double chocolate brownie. Luckily, with the support of my family, boyfriend, the Challenge group, and a few inspired recipes, I got through it and I'm so glad that I did. I feel so good! So much energy and the best part is that I don't really crave sugar anymore...well, I still want that brownie but the thought of what the sugar does to my body and insulin levels veer me away.
Yesterday was the last day of the challenge so today my mom and I headed over to my dad's work for a end-of-the-challenge Paleo Potluck. There was so much delicious food and everyone looked so good! Everyone saw results and most (including myself) plan on continuing with this lifestyle.
So just to break it down, for 30 days I didn't have any: sugar, carbs (breads, pastas, rice, noodles...omg I miss noodles!), or dairy (cheese, milk, etc.).
I did eat a lot of: veggies, fruit (that had lower levels of sugar), meat (BACON), and eggs.

Here are my results:
(In 30 days)
Weight:   -4.6 lbs.
Bust:      +1/4 inches
Chest:    + 3/4 inches
Waist:     -1 inch
Hips:      -1.5 inches
Thigh:    -3/4 inches

I'm so excited for these results. I've been trying to get into shape all year and while saw some results, I knew that I wasn't eating as clean as I should or could. My weight would fluctuate and my body just did not feel good. This challenge was just the jump start that I needed in order to be successful.
Above are pictures of some of the foods I ate. They are all paleo friendly (yes, even that ice cream!) and tasty!
I can't wait to see more results in the future!