Kitchen Sink Butter

I warned you about the twentysomethingandpaleo nut butter fever epidemic that’s taken my household by storm.Well four days later our Suntan Butter supply is entirely depleted and so: from desperation comes some of the most delicious recipes. (I’m not just making that up, Anthony Bourdain says it all the time) Yes, i realize kitchen sink butter sounds gross. You’re probably thinking of that goop that catches in the drain when you wash the dishes. (Too graphic, ok I’ll stop). It actually has nothing to do with sinks at all. It involves only one thing: raiding your cabinet for any leftover nuts and seeds you can find and throwing them into an eclectic mash of butter in your food processor.
Nut butter fever is falling hand in hand with the sudden splash of springtime here as well!! I hope everyone is sitting out on their stoop/balcony/porch/sidewalk/deck and enjoying the PERFECT sunset. May really is a magical month. Completely taken for granted I’d say.

Kitchen Sink Butter (7May2013)
approx
3 tbsp sunflower seeds
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup cashews
2 tbsp pecan halves
Dash of Himalayan Pink Salt

Food processed on setting 1 for about 3 minutes.

This is by far the palest but creamiest nut butter we’ve created so far! I realllly hope it lasts until food shopping Friday, otherwise I’m SOL.

Sunshine in my Ham Cup

I know, eggs in muffin tin recipes are a dime-a-dozen these days. But twentysomethingandpaleo eggy ham cups are special for a few reasons: a) the extra super special ingredient power boost, b) the unprocessed meat, c) the eggs come from the chickens that live down the street. THAT’S RIGHT. My day was made last Tuesday when I turned the corner and saw the hand-written “Brown Eggs, $2/dozen” sign down the street from my apartment. YES! Now I just have to find a neighbor who raises grass fed beef, chicken, and pigs.

Sunshine in my Ham Cup: 5 servings @ 100 cal/ea. (F 6g; C .5g; P 11g)

5 slices organic uncured ham
5 eggs
(special ingredients) sunshine and smiles
(optional) paprika, garlic powder, and nutritional yeast sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350F.
Tuck ham into cups of a muffin tin and place in oven for 5-10 minutes to brown up a bit (this step might not be necessary if your ham is sliced super thin)
Crack one egg into each ham cup in the muffin tin and place back in oven for 15 minutes (checking after 11 minutes).

Cranberry Orange Fridge Cake

My apple upside down cupcakes fared so well in the fridge (I actually think it enhanced the sweet cakey flavor) that I had to do my favorite fruity mix: CranOrange. Fridge cakes are the PERFECT post work out snack food too, because they’re cool and light and can be picked at judiciously without exuberant amounts of guilt.

Cranberry Orange Fridge Cake: 6 servings @ 176 cal/ea (F 9g; C 25g; P 4g)

4 egg whites
2 tbsp cup coconut cream
(can substitute coconut cream with 1 tbsp melted coconut oil and 1/8 cup coconut milk)
2 tbsp honey or agave
3 oranges
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp coconut flour
½ cup almond meal
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup cranberries (fresh is best but DEFINITELY unsweetened)

Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease cake pan or muffin tin with coconut oil.
Combine dry ingredients, stir in wet ingredients.
Cut two oranges into chunks, and squeeze 3rd orange for juice.
Stir oranges and cranberries into batter.
Pour into cake pan/muffin tin.
Bake for 1 hour.

Now go for a 4 mile run, get home and drink some water, grab a fork, open the fridge and TRY to tell me that fruity fridge cakes aren’t the most refreshing snack you could hope for.

Paleo Cocoa Puff Cereal

If you don’t know, now you know, that cereal was a staple in my daily food consumption regime before becoming paleo. Still health conscious, I’d have cheerios or rice krispies, but the favorite: cocoa puffs. What did I find on pintrest one day? A recipe for PALEO COCOA PUFFS! This twentsomethingandpaleo is about to get her coo-coo on with icy cold almond milk poured over top.

Paleo Cocoa Puff Cereal: 5 servings @ 110 cal/ea (F 6g; C 11 g; P 4g)

½ cup almond meal
½ tbsp coconut oil
pinch of salt
1 tbsp coconut flour
1 egg white
1 ½ tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 350F
Mix almond meal, salt, coconut flour, and cocoa until well combined.
Stir in egg white, honey, and melted coconut oil.
Start pinching into the dough and rolling out cocoa-puff sized balls.
Lay on parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes.

Paleo. Cocoa. Freaking. Puffs.

Paleo Pumpkin Patties (6 patties @ 120 cal/ea.)

I’m not going to lie to you: these were supposed to be bagels. Ah bagels, how I’ve missed you. You used to be popped in my toaster every morning, but you were made out of processed bleached flour, preservatives, and boiled with no love. Lender’s frozen bagels – meet TWENTYSOMETHINGAND PALEO Pumpkin Patties. They don’t have holes, they’re not dense and chewy BUT you can’t really go wrong with pumpkin baked goods AND they’re KILLER when warm with some melty coconut cream smeared on top. F cream cheese (sorry Philadelphia)

15 oz can pumpkin puree
¼ cup almond meal or flour
2 tbsp coconut flour
2 eggs
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp cinnamon
3 tbsp pumpkin pie spice (if you have it)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix wet ingredients (i.e. pumpkin, eggs, water, lemon juice and honey) then mix in the dry ingredients (i.e. almond meal, coconut flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt).

Plop nicely on a cookie sheet and bake for 17-20 minutes.

Let cool, and then bag it up for freezing.

Rasta-flower-arian Pepper Eggs (3 servings @ 150 cal/ea)

Tis the season to commemorate the smooth and slow Jamaican lifestyle – starting with breakfast! Happy four-twenty.

1 each of: red (large), green (small), and yellow (medium) bell peppers
2 eggs (per serving; 6 total)
Jerk seasoning
salt and pepper

Slice peppers into rings (the sharper the knife the better).

Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of pepper rings before placing in a skillet on the stove at medium heat.

When the first side is browned, flip rings over, and crack an egg in the center.

Sprinkle each egg with Jerk seasoning.
Sprinkle some water in the skillet (to make steam) and cover for approx 2-5 minutes (you can and should check) until the egg is cooked to your liking.

Have a jammin day mon. Peace and Love.

Bacon Egg CheesyAvo Mash Breakfast Sandwich on Paleo English Muff (1 sandwhich @ 490 cal/ea)

Breakfast sandwiches fall into the most phenomenal food category (breakfast food) but are slapped together on a roll… normally not considered a paleo practice… until this lovely blog introduced the EASIEST paleo English muffin recipe. Very twentysomething. Very paleo. Very breakfast.

Bacon Egg Breakfast with CheesyAvoMash on a Paleo English Muff (1 sandwich @ 490 cal/ea):

THE MUFF… Mix the following ingredients in the following order:
1/3 cup almond flour + 1 tbsp coconut flour + ¼ tsp salt + ¼ tsp baking soda + 1 egg + 3 tbsp water

Microwave 2 minutes (add 30 seconds if raw on top after 2 minutes)
Let cool, slice, and wait for further instruction.

THE CHEESY AVOCADO MASH… Mash the following ingredients in the following order:
¼ avocado + 1 tbsp nutritional yeast + ¼ tsp Himalayan Salt + ¼ tsp garlic powder

THE BACON EGG AND SANDWICH…

Step 1: Fry one or two eggs in non-stick skillet. (Over easy if you have a soul). Set to the side.
Step 2: Fry bacon in same skillet – to save water and the rainforest. Set bacon to the side.
Step 3: Slather CheesyAvoMash on one side of each Paleo English Muff.
Step 4: Place one half of muff, unslathered side down, in the bacon greasy skillet.
Step 5: Place bacon and eggs on top of muff-in-greasy-pan.
Step 6: Place second half of muff, slathered side down, on top of breakfast stack.
Step 7: Flip after side one is nice and crispy like a grilled cheese.

BOOM! I don’t know a single twentysomething who doesn’t love a nice grilled sandwich and I for one, could not deprive another Paleo twentysomethings of a bangin breakfast recipe OR a grilled sandwich. That would be cruel. Now go forth and take on the weekend like a boss, and if all fails, know you had a great paleo breakfast!

Sunday Special: Andrea’s “Not-so-Fat Kid Loves Cake Shake” (1 shake @ 80 cal/ea)

A creation of my co-worker’s own doing and ravenously paleo, I’ve been waiting for a nice calm Sunday to savor this cake-tasting dessert-for-breakfast treat. My inner fat kid is jumping for joy!

Blend/food process:

1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup almond milk
1 tsp stevia or natural sweetener
1 tsp vanilla extract

And voila! Beautiful springy-pink cake shake … an Easter bunny straw only seemed appropriate. Good to the last drop – thanks Andrea!

Paleo Blueberry Muffin Tops (6 tops @ 105 cal/ea)

Don’t be afraid of the term “muffin top” – especially if your muffin top is paleo like mine! (And blueberry mmmm…)

Blueberry Muffin Tops
(6 muffins @ 105 cal/ea.) – 40 min

4 oz (1/2 cup) almond meal
¼ tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/8 cup stevia or sweetener
¼ tsp cinnamon
1 banana
½ cup blueberries (frozen)
¼ tsp salt
½ cup almond milk

Preheat oven to 300F.

Food process banana, egg, stevia, salt and cinnamon until smooth.

Add the almond meal and baking powder in and blend again.

Add frozen blueberries and pulse a couple of times to chop them up a bit (but not too much).

Add almond milk last, pulse a couple of times, and you should have a strange somewhat crumbly dough.

Use those hands and play patty-cake to form some lovely muffin top rounds.

Lay on cookie sheet (optionally covered with parchment paper or tin foil)

Bake 30-35 minutes.

Wrap in parchment paper, and package up for freezing!

Blood Orange Carrot Coffee Cake (6 slices @ 120 cal/ea)

We love blood oranges!! And carrots! And coffee! And cake! So this easy grab-and-go breakfast option is a quadruple threat I guess.

Blood Orange Carrot Coffee Cake
6 slices @ 120 cal/ea – 30 min

4 carrots
1 blood orange
1/4 cup honey
2 egg whites
1/3 cup almond meal or coconut flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ cup almond milk

Preheat oven to 400F

In food processor/blender, mix carrots and blood orange to a pulp.

Add in honey and egg whites. Then add in almond meal and baking powder. Add almond milk last.

Pour into bread pan, and bake for 14-20 minutes.

Remove and let cool. Put in freezer for aprox 40 minutes before slicing with a SERRATED knife. (To get that toaster-friendly non-crumbly cut)

Then package up for freezing!