(Almost) Paleo Chocolate Mousse

This recipe is a work in progress. I went to a nutrition seminar recently at my gym, Livestrong Primal Fitness, and one of the benefits was scoring this really cool recipe for a Paleo chocolate mousse. However, the recipe used cacao powder which I currently do not have. Someone at the seminar asked if it would be ok to substitute the cacao powder for 85% Organic Fair Trade dark chocolate and the general consensus was yes. So, off I trot to get me some 85% Organic Fair Trade dark chocolate and when I find said chocolate I am somewhat overjoyed but a little dismayed as it does contain a fair bit of sugar, much much less than mass produced commercial chocolate (13g per 100g as opposed to about 56g per 100g) and it is organic sugar but I think I'll try with the cacao powder when I get some and stick with that. I altered the contents a little from the original recipe but I tend to do that!

Excuse the greasy picture but I didn't think to photograph this until I had already used it and my hands were oily from breaking it apart.

So, there's really nothing wrong with calling this a paleo recipe but it sits just on the boarder of being too sugar laden, although some would say that about my Paleo Cookies too because they include organic honey. So, you choose, Paleo enough or not?

Anyway, it's delicious so until that Cacao Powder arrives it will have to do. So, here it is!

Oh and yes, I am well aware that the picture looks like a big bowl of poo ;-}

Ingredients
1 large or 1 and a half med avocados
l large or 1 and a half med bananas
3tbsp coconut cream
1 80g block 85% Organic Fair Trade chocolate.

Method


Scoop flesh from avocados and place into large mixing bowl. Chop banana and add to bowl.

 Blend using a stick blender. If your avocado is a little under ripe you'll need to blend it a little more thoroughly.

Add coconut milk and blend in 

Break chocolate into smaller pieces and melt slowly in the microwave. My bog standard microwave used 3 x 60sec on 50% power and it was perfectly melted. Add to mixture.

Blend chocolate in thoroughly using stick blender. Once mixture has fully combined transfer to serving bowl and refrigerate.

It's a super easy recipe that took me about five minutes to make. Serves about 4.

Paleo Cookies.

My friends I think we have a winner! These cookies are something I conjured up in a moment of sugar craving madness and I am proud to say they are, in my very biased opinion, delicious. I thought of making something like this when I was cooking the Apple Crumble because it struck me that the base could be used for something much more awesome, and so the humble Paleo Cookie was born. They are extremely easy to make but given I'm not an actual chef nor baker I haven't figured out how to keep them crunchy past the first day. They still taste great the next day but they're much softer. These cookies are best off cooked in a low temp for a longer time. That will allow them to cook without burning them. I find that almond flour is very prone to burning at high temperatures so I try to cook on a lower temp for longer which usually woks.

If you have any cooking tips as to how to keep them crunchy, please fire off a message so I can learn!

Ingredients


Two free range egg whites
3/4 cup coconut flour
3/4 cup almond meal
1/2 cup organic honey
half cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup melted coconut oil (melted)

Method


Pre heat oven to about 120. Line baking tray with oven proof baking paper


In a large bowl whisk egg whites until soft peaks form and they become stiffened. I use a hand held blender.

Gently fold in coconut flour until the mixture looks a little like biscuit crumbs

Mix in the almond meal. Pour in the honey and melted coconut oil. Here's where you have to get your hands messy. The honey won't really want to bind with the other ingredients but adding the oil and using your hands to mix it will help it all come together. I found that using a wooden spoon just didn't do the job so, hands it is.

Add the slivered almonds and mix together thoroughly.

In the end the mixture will be quite oily but maliable and a little crumbly. You might need to mess around and add a little more of the coconut flour or almond meal if you think it's really going to fail. To be honest half of the pictures for this recipe were deleted by my three year old so I'm going by memory here!!

Once it is all mixed in, scoop out a tablespoon of mixture at a time, mound it into a ball them place on a tray lined with baking paper and flatten into a biscuit shape.

Cook for around 25 minutes but keep checking that they are not starting to burn around the edges. If they are, lower the heat and increase the cooking time a little. My first batch came out perfect so I haven't altered the recipe but your oven temperature will vary to mine so keep an eye on them!

This recipe made about 24 cookies. As I mentioned they were lovely and crunchy the first day however by the next day they were a little soft. Still delicious though. My three year old devoured them! 

Enjoy :)

Apple Crumble

This recipe was inspired by an plum tart made by my fellow Paleo enthusiast, Paulette. I did buy some plums but they were anything but fresh. That'll teach me to shop in supermarkets! Still, I wanted to make something so I took Paulette's recipe and turned it into an apple crumble. Now, this recipe turned out amazingly well for my first time at trying it but there was still room for improvement. I'd probably blind bake the pastry at a lower temp and for a little longer so the edges didn't burn. But it was still a hit with everyone even though it was a little crisp around the edges. It looks a little fiddly but if you've got a spare hour, definitely treat yourself. I got the shredded coconut from a health food store. I couldn't find any in supermarkets that wasn't laced with sugar and preservatives. The RO just means, 'raw organic'. It saves me typing it three times. The pastry in this recipe held together really well, so much so that I'm thinking of altering it a little to make some biscuits. Careful though, it is extremely filling so dish yourself up a small piece first and go back for seconds if there's still room ;)

Ingredients

Pastry

1 cup coconut flour
1 cup almond meal
1/2 cup shredded coconut (non sugared)
2 egg whites
1tsp cinnamon
1tbsp raw organic honey (RO)
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

Filling

6 medium apples (peeled, cored and chopped)
1tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2tbsp RO honey
1 cup water

Crumble

2tbsp almond meal
4tbsp shredded coconut (non sweetened)
1tbsp RO honey


Method

Whisk egg whites until soft peaks form

Slowly sift in coconut flour and add almond meal.

Stir in shredded coconut and cinnamon. Mixture should be moist but crumbly

Add melted oil and honey. Mix together thoroughly (the honey will be a bit tricky) until a dough forms. The mixture will still be crumbly but will hold together if pressed.

Put mixture into a small baking dish and press firmly into shape. Make sure the corners aren't too thick.

Blind bake on a low temp (I did 130 but it probably should have been about 100-110) for around 20 minutes. Mine got a little burned but it didn't alter the flavour. It really wasn't as bad as it looked in the picture.

While pastry is baking. Put apples and water in a pan and cook covered on high heat for around 15 minutes.

Remove lid and cook for a further 10  or so minutes, until water evaporates. Add honey, cinnamon and nutmeg and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Remove apples from heat and spread evenly over pastry. To make crumble combine coconut, almond meal and honey. Rub together with fingers until all ingredients are combined. Sprinkle evenly over apples.

Cook uncovered in oven on around 150 for about 15 minutes. Serve with coconut cream!!

Paleo Pancakes

These are awesome and just the thing when you really need something sweet or a dessert, and there's nothing Paleo in the house!! Now, the ingredients here are just a guess so you'll have to phaff about with it a bit to get it right. There are heaps of variations you can make so add any fruit you like. Remember though, they're quite dense and very moist. They don't have the same texture as regular flour pancake but they won't upset your blood sugars either ;) They do take longer to cook than regular pancakes, and you might find that they burn easily, just lower the heat and cook more slowly if this happens. Here's a pic of a larger one/

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 cups almond meal
2 free range eggs
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 mashed banana (or half cup blue berries)
1tbsp coconut oil
1tsp baking powder

Optional

1tbsp slivered almonds
2tbsp extra coconut milk
1tbsp manuka honey.

Method

Whisk eggs together and add almond meal. Stir through mashed banana and coconut milk. If it's too thick or too runny adjust the almond meal/coconut milk ratio. Sprinkle in the baking powder and stir through thoroughly. If you're not a fan of banana just leave it out.

 In a non stick frying pan heat a little of the coconut oil. Poor or spoon some dollops of the mixture in the size you want. They're quite thick so you might need to use a spoon to disperse and flatten the mixture a little. Make sure you leave room to flip them! Cook on a low-medium heat until the top of the mixture appears to be turning solid. Flip, and cook for a further 4 or so minutes.

They're delicious like this, or you could add the optional ingredients for a more indulgent dessert ;)