Paleo cinnamon-carrot muffins

Since last week was Valentine’s Day, I needed (read carefully I said «needed») to make some muffins to celebrate. I tried several paleo recipes but they didn’t work out for me. I still have to master the recipes that require almond flour.

These are the ingredients that I used for mine: 

– 2 cups almond flour

– 4 tbsp. coconut flour

– 3 egg whites and 1 yolk

– 4 tbsp. melted coconut oil

– 3 tbsp. homemade applesauce

– 4 tbsp. raw stevia powder

– 1/3 cup grated carrots

– 1/4 cup almond milk

– 1 tsp. vanilla

– 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

– 1 tsp. baking soda

– 1/3 cup walnuts (add more if you wish)

Instructions:

– Pre-heat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

– Beat the egg whites to a meringue-style mix.

– In another bowl mix all the ingredients except the carrots and walnuts.

– Add the egg white mix to your bowl with the carrots and walnuts.

– Add the mix to 6 separate muffin linens (I bought mine at Tiger)

– Cook for 20 min (or until you insert a toothpick and it comes out dry).

– Let cool and enjoy 🙂

 

 

 

Gift idea: brownie mix in a jar

When I saw this the other day I immediately knew what I would give as a homemade gift for a friend. He loves good food (well, who doesn’t?) and rarely has time to cook, so I though this would be a lovely and original idea for his birthday present. Plus I know I will be making some of these for holiday season.

I followed this recipe and I have to confess I had to test it before I handed it out: it was heaven. Jimmy loved the brownies and I am planning on making some more to store in the freezer for our future sweet cravings.

This post falls into the Culinary Tuesdays category but I am going to go ahead and post it too in the OCD Thursdays because it is also a DIY gift idea.

Layer carefully your ingredients so they look pretty (mine look kinda weird, but I made the effort)

Don’t forget to add a little tag with the instructions and the rest of the ingredients to add when making the brownies. I bought my paper and tags at Tiger. 

Three easy Spanish tapas recipes

The words food, recipe and easy are a perfect combo. I am craving Spanish food really bad these days. With all the boxes around me and the little kitchen supplies left, I am trying to do as little cooking as possible. I am keeping this recipes here so I can cook them once I settle down in my new home. I found these recipes on Martha Stewart’s site, so get the cocktails ready and let’s have some tapas!

1) Stuffed piquillo peppers.

2) Tortilla Espanola con chorizo

3) Fried herbed almonds

We love it: Cauliflower Pizza Crust

I crave pizza all the time. I have it from time to time but not as often as I would love to. I found many recipes to substitute normal crust with cauliflower crust and I told you guys I would try some of them in this post.

One small warning: your kitchen is going to smell nasty when you are boiling and draining the cauliflower…but it will be all worth it at the end!

Here is the recipe I followed from «Eat.Drink.Smile».

I changed a little the toppings. I drained the cauliflower «rice» and put it in a clean cloth. You have to squeeze all the liquid out. I also didn’t use the microwave I just boiled my rice with enough water and a bit of salt. After many crusts gone wrong, I learned that it comes out pretty crunchy when you drain all the water from the cauliflower.

So let’s begin!

My lentil soup recipe

This recipe came out the day that I didn’t have the complete list of ingredients to my mom’s lentil recipe. So I improvised with the ingredients I did have at home and it came out pretty good. This dish is healthy and low-fat.

Ingredients:

– 1 cup lentils (I wash them two times)

– 6 cups water

– 1/2 tomato

– 1 medium carrot

– 1 medium purple onion

– 3 garlic cloves

– 5-6 bay leaves

– 1/2 teaspoon cumin

– 2 tablespoons olive oil

– Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

– Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot on low heat. Chop the tomato, carrot, onion and garlic. Saute your chopped vegetables for 5 to 6 minutes.

– Add the salt, pepper, cumin and bay leaves. Then pour the water and the lentils. It takes approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes for the lentils to be tender but it always depends on the kind of lentils you are using.

– The trick is to stir occasionally and taste them. Some people like to add more water to make the soup watery and some like their lentils dense so they can pure them. It all depends on you.

 

 

Breakfast idea: one ingredient, three ways

Let’s talk about eggs. Eggs are a fantastic source of protein and they keep me full all morning. I used to have only the egg whites but after a long debate with my doctor, now I eat the whole egg. Just one a day, not more because they do trigger my migraines.

I used to have plain scrambled eggs everyday. Now, I vary how I cook them. There are tons of different ways to eat them but I will share with you my top three.

1) Eggs a la coque. My mother used to give them to me in a cute little pink egg holder. I use to love them as a kid and I still do until this day. Carefully drop the eggs with a spoon in boiling water for 3 minutes. If the egg is cold add an extra minute. Normally, they are served with bread, but I have them with asparagus or any other veggie.

Photo credit

2) Sunny side up. I use a teflon pan and spray a little PAM. Always works.

Photo credit

3) Fritattas. Sometimes I eat them plain with some herbs and other days I throw in some veggies. Here you can find my recipe for baked zucchini mint frittatas.

What is you favorite?