Doughnuts!!! So good you could go nuts!

Ok excuse the Willy Wonka title, hahaa but I couldn't resist. When you think of doughnuts, you don't really think of them being a semi healthy option for breakfast....I mean...it's a doughnut, right? Wrong! This doughnut recipe is essentially a pancake!..And a protein packed one at that! Ok, allow me to explain. Basically this doughnut recipe came to me one day while I was assembling my pancake mixture..which contains mostly almonds and a little flax..I hadn't added the milk yet, and saw the dryer, more pliable dough and had a crazy idea. Cook em without the added milk, and roll them in powdered xylitol and cinnamon instead of my usual butter and honey pancake topping. What a glorious realization!!! These are easy and delicious! They taste sooooo good you would swear they were severely unhealthy! But they're not!!!! Enjoy!

Makes roughly 20 donut middles( If you want to make them like real doghnuts with the holes...good luck...my version is faster)
For the dough
2c. gluten free flour ( My blend is 1c. almond meal 1/2c. tapioca flour 1/2c. millet flour)Update: I have also subbed 2tbls. coconut flour in place of millet and it worked wonderfully!
1tsp. baking powder
1/2tsp. baking soda
1/2tsp. sea salt
1 packet stevia
1/4c. plain greek yogurt(omit or use some pumpkin or sweet potato puree if your dairy free)
1tbls. flax meal
2-3tbls. water
or 1 egg...nix the flax and water
Coconut oil

Combine flax meal and water together, or egg if using. Add in yogurt or veggie puree or neither if you prefer. Combine dry ingredients and add to flax/or egg mixture. Dough will be sticky. Coat your hands with coconut oil and pinch small pieces of dough off one by one and flatten into small discs with your palm. Or you can roll them into small rope shapes and they look like little french toast sticks!!! :) (my favorite) Heat a pan on medium high and add one tbls. coconut oil. When oil is heated, add the doughnut shapes. Cook on each side about 2-3 minutes, or until browned and cooked through.Immediately dip into cinnamon sugar mixture:)

Cinnamon "sugar" topping
1/4c. xylitol or coconut crystals ( pulse it in a coffee grinder to powder it)
1tbls. cinnamon
Mix together in a shallow bowl or a plate
Note: Ultimately, you use less oil, than you would to make pancakes, not to mention the butter and honey or syrup you put on after....so all in all, these are just as calorie/sugar friendly as pancakes if not better! Remember xylitol (made from birch not corn) and coconut crystals are very low glycemic. Even more so than honey:) So these may taste like they are a sinful treat, but they are packed with protein from the almonds and flax. Serve with a protein smoothie or some eggs and you're set!:)

Genevie's Butter Pecan Ice Cream

ICECREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everybody loves it....not too many people will shun away from this delightful and happiness inducing treat! Unless, of course you're dairy intolerant, freaked out by soy, or just plain don't wanna pay $7 for a pint of coconut milk ice cream:/....which I'm sorry to say contains antifreeze:/ They all do...but that's another subject! The solution, is but a coconut milk can and an ice cream maker away! This is a pretty basic recipe that can be added to with any flavor under the sun....this one happens to be my second personal favorite...mint chocolate chip being the first:)

Serves 8-12
For the ice cream base
2 cans coconut milk( full fat...I like thai kitchen the best)
1c. almond milk
1/4c. xylitol or coconut crystals
4-6 packets stevia to taste( I use sweet leaf brand because it does not contain fillers like maltodextrin)
1tbls. vanilla or 2 real vanilla beans(middle scraped out, pods discarded)

For the pecans
1c. chopped raw pecans
2tbls. butter or coconut oil for dairy free
1tsp. sea salt
Melt butter in a pan, add pecans and sea salt. Cook until pecans are light brown toasted.
Add everything into an ice cream maker and voila!

Note: If you do not own an ice cream maker you can still mix everything together except the pecans...put the mixture in a freezer safe container, ice trays are ideal because the mixture just pops right out...then once it's almost frozen, pop it into a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Then add the chopped pecans after. This obviously won't yield the exact consistency of an ice cream maker, but it will get the job done:)

5 Minute Chocolate Bars

Easy, peezy, just plain simple recipe! This post doesn't need an intro....it speaks for itself.....it's a chocolate bar.....it's easy.....and it takes 5 minutes.....nuff said! Here's how to do it!

This makes one chocolate bar
1/4c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2tbls. melted coconut oil
1tbls. honey
1packet sweet leaf stevia or a few drops of liquid stevia

Combine all ingredients very well...Keep stirring! You may need to add in a little almond milk depending on the sweetener you used. I used the stevia packet so I needed some almond milk. Just add bits at a time until it's slightly thick, not runny at all! Mine was like a ball of cookie dough when I was done. Shape it into a bar shape or whatever shape you want, and place in the freezer for 5 minutes. Enjoy! I chopped mine up and used as chocolate chips in some almond butter cookies:) These would also be amazing with some celtic sea salt sprinkled on top, or with sliced almonds. Get creative!

Update!!!! If you shape into little balls and bake them for 5-7 minutes in the oven, they are like fudgy brownie bites!!!! Delicious!

Zucchini "Tots"

I have been on a "tot" kick lately. Trying to find substitutes for something as delicious as a golden white potato is near to impossible. But, since my family has nearly nixed the awesome root of deliciousness out of our diet, compensation is needed! Nothing will ever quite replace a crispy french fry, or a fluffy white potato steaming with butter and chives, or the more kid beloved, tater tot, but there are foods that can easily sub as a fun finger food, that is kid friendly and satisfies the craving for handheld munchies:) This is where the creativity can soar. I love cauliflower, zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, butternut squash, the list goes on. These are all things that I have found to be a helpful transition into this healthy little world I am trying to create. Mind you, as i said before, there is no real substitution for the white potato itself, but these lists of veggies have claimed a spot in my weekly menu because of their versatility and all around yumminess. Even a veggie you may not be particularly fond of can surprise you if you cook it the right way:) So here is the first of my veggie finger food attempts. Next will be spaghetti squash:)

Makes about 18 mini zucchini "tots"
Preheat oven to 400
2c. grated zucchini( I used my grating blade on my food processor)
2 eggs
1/2c. almond meal
1tsp. sea salt
1/2tsp. garlic powder( you can add any kind of herb or flavor you like)
2 pieces cooked turkey bacon crumbled

Grate zucchini. Once grated, squeeze the excess water out in a dish towel. (Don't skip this or they may come out soggy) Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Pour into mini muffin pan and bake for 10-15 minutes on 400 until golden brown. If you don't have a mini muffin pan, you can use a regular muffin pan, but don't fill them up all the way. They will be more like zucchini patties but will still taste the same. The point is bitesize finger food, so I recommend the mini:)
Note: My brother who despises zucchini liked these a lot! Try this same recipe with cauliflower. It is done the same way:) And is very delicious:)

Chicken and Broccoli "Alfredo"

Who doesn't love alfredo sauce?! It's rich, it's creamy, oh so comforting and delicious. Traditional alfredo sauce is made with butter, flour, and heavy cream, and cheese....it's just not a good situation:/ So in hopes of getting a healthier option without sacrificing texture or flavor, I turned to Google! I heart google! I typed in " vegan alfredo sauce", and after filtering through quite a few that used tofu, I found one that was made with...drumroll.........CASHEWS! Of course cashews, why didn't I think of that?! If you've ever worked with the cashew, it shouldn't surprise you how well they work in this recipe! They are so so helpful! I use them to make fudge, raw filling for my key lime pie :) :)...a parmesan cheese sub in my caesar dressing....and now alfredo sauce! The list goes on and on! Needless to say one of my favorite nuts and kitchen staples for sure. My family was wowed by this recipe. They could not believe it contained no butter, heavy cream, or cheese!! Just wonderfully awesome cashews, some almond milk, and salt and pepper! That's it! Don't be skeptical......try it.....you'll love it!

Serves 4-5

4tbls. coconut or grapeseed oil

1 1/2 lbs. chicken breasts cut into small chunks

1 head of broccoli

1 bag frozen green peas

1/2 onion

3 cloves garlic

Heat the oil on medium high. Add in the onion and garlic and cook 1-2 minutes. Add in the chicken and cook until completely done. Add in the broccoli and peas and turn heat down to low. Cook covered on low while you make the sauce:)

Sauce:

3/4c. raw cashews ( soak them in just enough water to cover them for about 30 minutes)

unsweetened plain almond milk ( I haven't measured this. I usually just pour enough to make the cashews creamy)

salt and pepper to taste

After soaking the cashews for about 30 minutes, discard the water and place cashews in a food processor. Add salt, pepper. Stream in almond milk until it becomes creamy. If it gets too runny, you can always add a few more cashews....if it's too thick, add more milk:) Once completely blended, add to the chicken and veggie mixture. Stir until everything is completely coated. Again, feel free to add more milk if you like it very saucy. Serve with cooked spaghetti squash instead of noodles:)

Date Walnut Muffins

These little protein packed beauties were adapted from elanaspantry.com. She uses all almond flour which I love, but sometimes I like to try my luck with coconut flour and see what kind of results it yields. I knew Elana's recipe was delicious because my friend Sara had just made some the other day.But, being that my diet consists of quite enough almonds, I wanted, at least for today, to use coconut flour. Or at least half and half:) These were a great afternoon snack for my son who insisted that they were cupcakes! Ha, it won't be long before he figures out the charade....that cupcakes and muffins really are two separate entities! But for now, to him, cupcakes and muffins are synonymous.:) I'll enjoy that while it lasts! :)

Makes12 muffins
1/2c. almond meal or blanched almond flour
1/3c. coconut flour (coconut secret is the best..it's $5 on amazon)
1/2tsp. baking soda
1tsp. baking powder (if you're completely paleo just up the soda to 1tsp.)
1/2tsp. celtic sea salt
1/3c. honey
1/4c. grapeseed or coconut oil
4 eggs
1/2c. chopped dates
1/2c. chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350
Combine dry ingredients. Combine all wet ingredients then add to the dry. Stir in walnuts and dates. Pour into muffin cups or greased muffin pan and bake for 15-17 minutes depending on the size of the muffins.
Note: If you don't want to do muffins, you can always pour the batter into a 8x8 baking dish then cut into bars:)

Cinnabons!!!!

Usually when I get a recipe in my head, it doesn't leave me alone until I actually get in the kitchen and make it......kind of like a song getting stuck in your head. So this week, the food part of my brain was focused on cinnamon rolls. Warm, gooey, cinnamon bliss! My past attempts at cinnamon rolls have resulted in very dense, crumbly, circular bricks, that tasted fair, but just didn't cut it texture wise. Kind of like my past biscuit attempts. But, I recently came up with a delicious gluten free biscuit recipe that is finally worthy of a post.(coming soon)They are super easy, light, and buttery. So I thought, why not make the cinnamon rolls out of my biscuit dough?? Well it was a success. What a winner! These peel apart just like the real deal that I remember from childhood. And it gets better! These aren't filled with tons of butter and sugar. The filling is made from a little butter, honey, molasses, and unsweetened applesauce!!....and obviously....CINNAMON! The only thing that would take these to the next level would be a packet of yeast. The yeast adds a little more rise, and a slight chewier texture. I try to steer clear of yeast for the most part, but sometimes you just have to have it. It makes for insanely good pizza crust and sandwich bread. So with that said, I will be trying a yeasted version very soon just to weigh the difference. But for now, these are simply wonderful, and craaaaaazy good! Ok that was redundant :D

Makes 10-12
For the dough:
2 1/4c. gluten free flour blend ( I used  2c.almond flour, 1/2c. tapioca flour )
1tbls. baking powder
1/2tsp. baking soda
1 packet stevia, or 2tbls. coconut sugar or sucanat
1/2tsp. sea salt or celtic sea salt (my fave)
4tbls cold butter
1/4. plain greek yogurt( if you don't want to use yogurt, you can sub more almond milk)
2 egg whites...or 1 white 1 whole egg
2-4 tbls.. almond milk

For the filling:
2tbls. butter
1/3c. unsweetened applesauce ( usually one container of a six pack is 1/3c.)
2tbls. honey
1tbls. blackstrap molasses
1tbls. cinnamon

Combine first five ingredients. Cut butter into small chunks and with your hands, crumble it into the flour until it has a crumbly texture. Add in remaining ingredients, and mix with a fork until just combined. Shape the dough into a ball. Place on a floured sheet of parchment paper. Roll dough into a rectangle shape about 1/4 inch thin. I usually sprinkle the parchment and the dough with tapioca flour.

For the sauce, heat a saucepan on medium heat and add butter. Once butter is melted and begins to sizzle add the rest of the ingredients. Stir until it thickens slightly. Take off the heat and pour most of the sauce, (reserving some for the topping), onto the dough. Spread the sauce evenly over the dough leaving the edges bare. Gently roll the dough, starting at the end closest to you. I use the parchment to help me roll. So it's kind of like roll, then peel, roll, then peel. Get it? Once it's completely rolled up, cut it into 1 inch pieces and place on a baking sheet Bake for 10-15 minutes. I added a little greek yogurt to my reserved sauce and blended it so it would be extra creamy:)You could also add coconut cream:) Pour sauce over warm rolls and enjoy!
Note: You can also add nuts and raisins to the filling. I may try some pecans next time:)

Cinnamon Caramel Apples

I make pancakes about twice a week. They are my favorite breakfast!! I usually just drizzle some honey on them and I'm a happy camper, but for my birthday breakfast:) I decided to up it a little:) So I did an apple cinnamon, caramel sauce! Yuuuuuuuuummy!!! I mean really? A little butter, honey, and milk, and it is for real caramel yall! So delicious and took pancake bliss to a whole nother' level!

Serves 4

4 small organic apples, or 2 large ones

2tbls. butter

3-4 tbls.almond milk

4tbls. honey

1tsp. cinnamon

pinch of salt

Chop apples into small chunks

Melt butter in a pan on medium heat. Add in almond milk, honey, cinnamon, and salt. Stir until it thickens a bit, then add apples. Simmer until apples are slightly tender, or longer if you like them completely soft.:) Enjoy!

Note: I used this recipe the other day and topped it with oats, some butter and honey. Put it in the oven until oats were browned and crunchy. Delicious! Like caramel apple granola!

PF Changs....THAT'S RIGHT....PF Changs Orange Peel Chicken

WOW!!!! This was amazing!!!!!I could have sworn I was at PF Changs tonight. It's been over 3 hrs. since dinner and I am still a little stunned at how identical this tasted to their orange peel chicken! If you've ever had it, you know how delighted I must feel right now to have recreated it. It's all in the sauce, and boy was it delectable! I made enough for my whole family tonight, so if you are only cooking for two you could decrease the recipe by half, and still have some leftovers:):)

Serves 6
6 boneless chicken breasts
1 1/2tsp. sea salt
1c. coconut flour
1/2c. coconut oil
Cut the chicken into small chunks. Place chicken in a large bowl, then sprinkle with sea salt and coconut flour and toss to coat completely. It will be just a light dusting. Heat 3tbls. of coconut oil on medium high heat. Once oil is hot, add the chicken and cook until browned on both sides. Repeat in batches until all the chicken is cooked. Set aside.

The sauce:
2tbls. coconut or grapeseed oil
6-8 green onions chopped
4tsp. garlic chopped
Peel from half an orange, cut into small slivers
1 1/2c. tomato puree
4tbls. chili sauce (you can find this at world market or your grocery store in the ethnic food section. It's a spicy japanese sauce)
2tbls. braggs liquid aminos
1/4c. honey
3/4c. water
juice of one orange
Heat the oil medium high and add onions and garlic and orange peel. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Once boiling turn completely off and let it sit on the stove. It will thicken slightly. Toss with chicken and serve over a fluffy bed of quinoa:)
Note: You could use any protein you want, shrimp, beef, or even tofu instead of chicken:)

Craaaaaaaazy Good Girl Key Lime Pie

This past week was mine and my sister Aprill's birthday. I had an entire weekend of dinners and desserts planned for the glorious birthday festivities. Not only did I finally come up with the perfect fudgy brownie recipe....which I will share soon:D....but at Aprill's request, I also made a key lime pie. Now key lime pie can be tricky, cuz some people like theirs a certain way, or from a certain place. But I was intent on making one not only dairy and soy free, but with natural sweeteners and mostly...don't freak out....RAW! Yes a raw key lime pie....no ooey, goopey, nasty condensed milk, no egg yolks, no keebler graham cracker crust! Just natural, pure ingredients, that made me feel good about even having some for breakfast....yes....key lime pie for breakfast!! So now that I've hyped it all up, you be the judge. I promise this recipe will not disappoint!

For the crust:
2c. raw almonds
1c. medjool dates
1tsp. cinnamon
1tsp. lemon juice
1tbls. coconut oil or melted butter

For the filling:
1 very ripe, but not browned, avacado (trust me you can't taste it!!)
1/2c. raw cashews, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes
1/2c. coconut butter ( I make mine in the vitamix with just 2c. raw unsweetened coconut and blend it on the highest speed until creamy)
1/4c. raw coconut sugar, xylitol, or sweetener of choice. ( I used coconut sugar, though next time I will try xylitol, as the coconut sugar gave the filling a slight brown color)
4-6 packs stevia
juice and zest of 4or 5 small limes ( you can always add more if you like )
A note about coconut butter: If you don't have or don't want to bother with the coconut butter, you can sub another 1/2c. of raw soaked cashews. These ingredients are mostly interchangeable.

To make the crust, blend first four ingredients until fine. Add coconut oil. Once combined, pour into a pie plate, and press the dough until it reaches to the upper sides of the pan. Now at this point, you can go on to make the filling and assemble the pie if you want to keep it completely raw. Or, you can bake the pie crust at 350 for 7-10 minutes if you want a real cookie like crust:)
To make the filling, place all filling ingredients into the food processor and blend until creamy. If mixture is too thick, add some almond milk until desired consistency is reached. Be careful not to add too much as this will make the pie runny:) Pour filling into cooled crust. I topped it with decorative lime wedges and some sprinkled coconut sugar:) Refrigerate until ready to eat. This pie can live at room temp, but it's much better cold:)