Coconut flour cinnamon buns

These cinnamon buns were a big hit at our homegroup last night. When cooking gluten, sugar, and sometimes grain free, it's almost impossible to please everyone, especially if some people aren't used to the different textures and flavors that you or your family are accustomed to. Understand, these are not chewy, flaky, ginormous, pillsbury like buns (although I do hope to find and replicate such a recipe one day:) These are made with protein and fiber rich coconut flour,(does not taste like coconut) and they are super moist and buttery. Definitely a sweet alternative to the average cinnamon bun:) And we all got an extra kick of protein and fiber! Yay! Everyone enjoyed them, and they were gone before we knew it:( Time to get back in the kitchen:)

3/4c. coconut flour
1/2tsp.baking powder
1/2tsp.baking soda
1/4tsp. sea salt
1/4c. coconut oil(melted)
3 eggs
1/4c. coconut crystals, or sucanat
2tbls. raw honey
Mix all dry ingredients together. In a stand mixer or with a hand held, beat the eggs, crystals, honey, and oil. Add in dry ingredients until combined. Batter should thicken considerably as coconut flour absorbs a LOT of moisture. Place dough in refrigerator for 1 hour or even overnight. This makes it easier to roll out.
For the filling:
1/4c. butter
2 tbls. raw honey
2tbls. blackstrap molasses
2 tsp. cinnamon
Melt everything together in saucepan
preheat oven to 350
Remove dough from fridge. Lightly oil 2 sheets of parchment paper. Place dough inbetween 2 sheets, and roll out into a medium sized square shape. Fill the entire square with filling. Carefully roll the dough up jelly roll style. Cut with a knife, or floss(i like floss). Place cinnamon buns on pan. Press them down a bit so they have a nice circular shape. Bake at 350 10-13 minutes. I ended up with a little filling leftover and used it as the icing as well, but you could make a coconut cream icing that would probably be incredible!

Copycat Bonefish Grill Salad Dressing

Ok, so over the last few months I have reeeeeeeally been trying a lot of copycat recipes. Mainly because 1. It's always better to cook things yourself....2.You know exactly what's in it,  and you can make it personal so it fits your families dietary needs. Bonefish is probably one of my favorite places to eat out. We don't eat out a lot, but Bonefish is a special treat I get excited about. And in my opinion, their house dressing is superb! I use a different acid than bonefish, they typically use orange juice, and frankly, I never have orange juice in my house, so I subbed fresh lemon and lime juice.My version is also a little creamier, which we happen to like. Any lettuce would be thrilled to partner up with this dressing! So enjoy! Even if you don't think this comes close to bonefish, it's still pretty darn good and worth a try:)

2 tbls. xylitol or honey(I have used both...either one works great)
3tbls. water
2tbls. apple cider vinegar(you can also sub red wine vinegar)
1 large clove garlic
1tbls. dijon mustard
2tsp. lime juice
2tsp. lemon juice
1 tbls. fresh cilantro
1/2tsp. dried basil
1/4tsp. sea salt
1/2c. olive oil
Put all ingredients in food processor until everything is combined
You may need to add more oil depending on your taste.....this amount has worked great for me:)
I didn't have hearts of palm or pumpkin seeds handy, so I tossed our salad with some raw sunflower seeds, carrots, and cashews....Deeeeelicious!

Taste Like Grits To Me!

Grits.....growing up, we almost NEVER ate eggs without grits....they go hand in hand. Although over the the last few years, my family has pretty much reached a complete corn boycott. Don't judge me yet....I enjoy a nice homemade bowl of popcorn about once or twice a month. The fact is, corn just doesn't digest well.And it's also the main ingredient in livestock feed these days, because of it's ability to fatten em' up quick!:(You may think,"So what? Who cares about digestion?" Well, truthfully, it has EVERYTHING to do with digestion. Your body should not have to work hard to digest anything. The harder our bodies have to work to digest what we eat, the more it causes our bodies to age.  Soooooooo, as southern people, or someone who simply enjoys southern food,what can you do about grits? Well friends, the answer is.....MILLET! If you're not familiar with millet it's a gluten free grain, veeeeery similar to corn in texture and color, but has quite a bit more nutrients, including protein, iron, and B vitamins. It's a delicious and easy alternative, and best of all, it cooks, looks, and tastes just like grits. If you're a grit-lover, give this a try!
serves 4-6
3c. water
1 1/2c. whole millet (NOT MILLET FLOUR)
1-2tsp. sea salt (start with 1)
4tbls. butter
Grind the whole millet in a coffee grinder until it becomes mealy. It will resemble corn meal. Boil the water, then add millet, whisking it in to avoid lumps. Turn stove to low and let simmer. Once millet has absorbed most of the water, add the salt and butter. Then turn off the stove, and let the it sit covered for about 5-10 minutes. If you like your grits thicker, this recipe is perfect, if you like them thinner, simply reduce the amount of millet to 1c. I have also been experimenting with quinoa for grits, I will post about that after I know for sure:)
Post Update!!- I have successfully used quinoa instead of millet and it was equally as yummy. The textures are almost identical. The quinoa has a little stronger flavor, but it is well worth trying! You have to grind the granules just like the millet, until it's a fine powder with small grainy bits....just reduce the quinoa to 1c. and follow the recipe above:) Happy grit-making!

Curried Cashew Chicken Salad

There is a restaurant here that has the best chicken salad I've ever had....no, p.c locals, I don't mean Cahall's, although it's yummy too.  Somethin's Cookin has a curried chicken salad that is by far my favorite thing on their menu:) Of course, I have tried my best to recreate it at home. And today I came pretty darn close:) I'm pretty sure their recipe contains mayo, as all chicken salad does, but mine actually has no mayo whatsoever. I made a homemade dressing that was even better to me than I could have hoped. If you're not fond of curry you could definitely leave it out, but personally, I love curry so it was happiness all around! Even my dad who is not a huge curry fan loved it! So that's sayin' somethin':)
1 lb. chicken breasts cut into chunks and cooked any way you like.(Ours was grilled the night before)
1 tbls. dijon mustard
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2c. sherry wine ( I simmered it on the stove for about 5 minutes to evaporate the alchohol)
1-3 tsp. curry powder(start with one, then add more to your liking. some curries are stronger than others)
1/4c. olive oil
3 tbls. raw cashews
Combine all ingredients, except chicken and cashews, in food processor(if you don't food process it, the olive oil will not emulsify) then add in cooked chicken. process until desired consistency. If you like your chicken salad chunky, just pulse a couple times. Add in cashews last so they just get a quick rough chop. We like ours spread on some socca bread:)But it's also fabulous on a balsamic salad as well:)

My New Found Friend: Socca Bread

Today I was on one of my favorite websites pure2raw....and I had seen their recipe for socca, and was intrigued. Apparently socca is a flatbread made with beans...such as garbanzo flour, mung bean, even lentils. I didn't have any garbanzo or mung bean flour, but I did have half a package of lentils. So I gave it a shot......and oh my goodness, I was beyond wowed at this bread. Now grant it, if your expecting white and fluffy, you won't get it, but this has a nice grainy, crispy texture, that I enjoyed with some olive oil on top, then I tried honey, and of course that was amazing too. Give this a try, it's soooo easy and delicious, and fiber full!

1c. lentils

1/4c. water

1 tsp. sea salt

You can add any flavor here you like....I added some dried oregano and black pepper, next time I'll reduce the salt by half and add some cinnamon:)

Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor

Heat 2 tbls. olive or coconut oil in a skillet in medium high heat. Pour mixture into skillet and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side til golden brown and crispy:) mmmmm mmmmmm. This was a great afternoon snack for us!

Homemade My Thai Pad Woon Sen

Me and my clan love us some thai food!And here in panama city, we are fortunate enough to have a veeeeeeery good thai restaurant.We usually get our my thai fix once a week on friday nights:) Ah happiness! But of course it's ALWAYS more cost efficient to make your own. So I figured I'd give it a try. We pretty much have all stuck to one dish, that being the pad woon sen. Traditional pad woon sen's are made with mung bean noodles(clear noodles) which you can find at any asian market or sometimes world market carries them. Now mung bean noodles are a little finicky. They do not like a lot of liquid, it tends to make them sticky, so it's very important to season each layer of this dish rather than drown it all in sauce at the end. My last attempt at these was an extreme success with the fam. They all claimed it was just like my thai, so give it a try and feel free to experiment:) I did chicken last time, but I've also done shrimp, and tofu, and they were both great!

Spinach Pesto

One day while making pizza, I realized I was out of all my herbs....I tend to kill fresh herbs before they get big, and I simply didn't have anything resembling an italian herb in my cabinet:/ Sooooo what could I use for a pesto....hmmmmm...spinach? It sounded a little odd, but worth a shot. The result was waaaaaay better than I expected, and has now become a quick and easy solution for if and when I find myself herbless:)This pesto is so yummy, I would spread it on almost anything!I've used it on pizza, as a salad dressing, and even on eggs too!:) And it's spinach! Yum!
2 handfuls fresh spinach
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
olive oil
combine top 4 ingredients in food processor, then slowly stream in the olive oil until desired consistency.
When I DO have dried rosemary or oregano on hand I've added about 1 tsp.and they make it even better:)

Date Sweetened Fudge Bites

I have been trying for a while now to make "the perfect brownie"....and I feel that I'm close! I have made them with black beans, garbanzo beans, almond meal, and they have all been very yummy. But none of them have had that true "brownie" quality. It's hard to copycat some things without adding enormous amounts of butter and sugar, which I really am not gonna do. The butter doesn't bother me, but I'd rather not use 2 whole sticks in an 8x8 pan:/ So the other day I was experimenting, again, and stumbled upon these yummy creations. They have a brownie flavor, but more of a rich fudge texture....quite delicious! I'm still working on making them more brownie like,for my hubby's sake, because a good brownie can't be beaten in his book:), and then I'll have a great fugde, AND brownie recipe:) Enjoy!

2c. pitted dates (medjool is my fave!)
11/2c. hot water
1 tbls. vanilla
1c. almond meal/flour (note: making these with another flour will yield different results, I'm sure they'd still be good, but I can't vouch for a different flour yet:)
4 packs stevia( if you don't have/orlike stevia, I have used blackstrap molasses as well and it's great. 4 tbls.)
1-11/2c. cocoa powder(we like ours very chocolatey so I use the latter amount)
4tbls. coconut oil, or melted butter. I used coconut this time
1 tsp. baking powder

Put dates and hot water in food processor let sit for 5 minutes. Add all other ingredients and blend til smooth. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper, pour in batter. Bake at 350 about 30 minutes. It's done when knife comes out clean. Refrigerate or freeze until completely cold. *Do not and cut them when they are warm, they will not hold up:)

Paleorrrrrrific Pancakes!!!

My son looooves pancakes:) In the last year or so I have been trying to create the perfect gluten free pancake....it hasn't been easy, since a lot of flours have risky flavors, but I finally found a winning combination that is not just for the health nut, but for all pancake lovers out there! So here they are! Enjoy:)
serves 4
1c. almond flour ( you can grind your own in a vitamix or use honeyville farms blanched almond flour)
1/2c. tapioca flour
1/2c. millet flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2tsp. sea salt
2 eggs
1/3c. full fat coconut milk+2tbls. lemon juice( this is optional, but i sincerely recommend it for a more REAL pancake flavor:)
water (start with 1/2c. add more if needed)
mix the eggs and the coconut milk+lemon juice together, add in dry ingredients, then the water:) Stir until smooth. Drop batter onto a medium-high heat skillet. Cook for1-2 minutes on each side, until golden brown:) Hope you enjoy these as much as we do!

The Health Nut Balsamic Spinach Salad

This is another one of my favorite salads. It's slightly sweet and tangy, and filled with all sorts of yummies!
serves1
For the salad
2 handfuls spinach
1 tsp. of each- raw cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds,
1 small carrot chopped
1/4 small tomato chopped
1/4 apple chopped
1/2 avacado cut into chunks
for the dressing
2 tbls. balsamic vinegar
1-2 tbls. honey(depends on how sweet you like it:)
4 tbls. olive oil
whisk together dressing until it thickens a bit, then taste....if it's too tangy add more oil, if it's too oily add more vinegar....I usually don't measure this part that's why it's not perfected:) for added protein you could top this with some turkey or chicken if you have any on hand:)