Elvis Cupcakes ( GAPS peanut butter and banana cupcakes with chocolate icing)

Peanut butter was on the clearance rack so that means I bought all the jars! Here's what I did with some of that peanut butter...

Made cupcakes! These are so cake like you'll be amazed that it's not. These are kid approved and mama approved . I've only eaten 4! 

Here what you'll need 

1cup honey

2 1/2 of natural peanut butter

10 large eggs

1tsp of vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp of baking soda 

2 to 3 very ripe bananas 

Place the honey,eggs, peanut butter, vanilla, and baking soda into a food processor and blend until smooth. 

Mash bananas in a small bowl and then fold into the cake mixture

Bake for 30 minutes or until a tooth pick removes cleanly and a 300° oven. It make 24 cupcakes. 

The chocolate butter cream icing 

2 sticks of softened butter

10 Madjool dates 

1/2 cup honey 

1 cup cocoa powder

1 table spoon of cooled dark roast coffee

Remove pits of dates and pour a 1/2 cup of boiling water over them . Let them sit to soften for about 15 mins. When cooled peel the skins off the date and place into the food processor with honey and blend until a paste is formed. Then add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. 

You may need to chill the icing so that it thickens. 

I topped these bad boys with an unsweetened banana chip.

Pumpkin banana nut butter pancakes

Dang... these are good! And they healthily, kid and mom approved! Now, I winged this. So, you may need to play around with the ingredients a little for you liking.  These are a slightly wetter pancake. So keep that in mind when making them. Okay, let's go...

2 ripe bananas 

2 large eggs

1/4 cup of any nut butter ( we used peanut) 

1/4 cup of pumpkin purée 

Less than 1/4 cup of coconut flour ( just enough to thicken it) 

1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice

1/2tsp of ground cinnamon 

A splash of vanilla extract 

 

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend. Make sure to scoop down all side to make sure it's well blended. 

 Fry in a generous amount of extra virgin coconut oil.  When you ladle the batter  into the frying pan, circle the the ladle on top of the pancake flattening the wet batter out. These pancakes hold up better if they are thiner. They also take longer to cook then you would think. About 3 mins or longer until they can be flipped . 

We topped ours with lots of kerrygold butter,and for a treat we had a bit of maple butter on them. (Maple is not GAPS legle)  and we drizzled yummy homemade elderberry syrup all over it! After all, we are fighting a yucky cold...

Happy ( yummy) Tuesday ! 

Spaghetti squash lasagna

I should clarify this recipe is not GAPS legal but my family was absolutely craving real lasagna. Unfortunately, we just can't have it so I threw this together. And I have to tell you it was amazingly delicious and a winner and in house from now on. Though, if we wanted more than once every now and then I have to Do some tweaking to make it GAPS legal. So here's the recipe with  not the exact measurements but you'll get it! And I encourage you to be creative with this recipe and make it your own! 

Ingredients:

One large spaghetti squash 

1 pound of ground beef

1 cup of dry white wine

Olive oil 

1 small can of tomato paste 

1 can of diced tomatoes 

1 can of tomato sauce

Powder garlic

Powder onion 

basil 

oregano 

Bay leaves

1 large Onion

1 bell pepper 

Minced garlic to your liking

 1/2 cup of sliced mushrooms

3 cups of mozzarella or any type of cheese

16 ounces of ricotta or farmer's cheese

1 large egg 

1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese

 Set your oven to 400°. Slice the large spaghetti squash in half longways and deseed it. Pour the 1/2 of white wine into a 9 x 13 pan.  Season the inside of spaghetti squash with salt and pepper, Powdered garlic ,powder onion, basil ,and oregano. Place the squash inside down into the white wine and cover with foil And place into the 400° oven for about 30 minutes or until the outside of the squash becomes soft. Once it has become soft and golden brown take out of the pan and set so it may cool completely. While your  squash is cooling make the sauce.  Turn your oven down to 375°.

Put your olive oil or any other fat into The bottom of this large saucepan so that your ground meat will not stick. Browned meat and season with salt and pepper and minced garlic .Once your meat has become brown add your large diced onion and diced bell pepper and sliced mushrooms. You may pour out the excessive fat at this point if you choose. This is when I like to add my oregano and basil and bay leaf.  Once your onions Becomes translucent then add your tomato paste.  I allow my tomato paste to get a little brown so that it turns rich in flavor.  Add your can of diced tomatoes and add your add your tomato sauce and let come to a boil. put lid on and turn it down to simmer. I like to simmer for about 20 minutes. 

 Now That your squash has become completely cool go ahead and take it out of the skin. Add it directly into the sauce in the sauce pan Stirring very , very gently. This is where I add in the half cup of Parmesan cheese so that it becomes a bit thicker. 

To make the ricotta filling you want to add the whole 16 ounces of ricotta cheese or farmers cheese into a bowl add one large egg and one cup of mozzarella or any other cheese Sprinkle with a little bit of oregano, basil, salt and pepper and mix well. 

Now is time to Layer it! 

Place a little bit of olive oil into the 9 x 13 pan. Ladle and half of the spaghetti squash and sauce mixture. Then make a layer of ricotta cheese. Then ladle the remaining half of spaghetti sauce mixture on top of that. I placed it into 375° oven uncovered for about 25 minutes. Then I  took out and covered the top with 2 cups of mozzarella cheese and placed it back into the oven until it became nice  and golden brown.  What is become golden brown take it out of the oven and let it cool for about 25 minutes so that it can set. 

Now Admit this meal takes a lot of time to make! But it's very delicious and well worth it! If you make it ,tell me how it turns out! I would love to hear if You modify in any way like I said be creative! 

Happy Thursday y'all! 

Intro is not going to fun

Well I've been putting an off for long enough. But it's time to do intro. I really don't want to do intro. it sounds absolutely horrible but it absolutely 100% needs to be done after this week.

 Last week was Fourth of July and with Fourth of July comes barbecues and parties. There for a few more slipups than I would like to admit. This goes for me too. I've been feeling absolutely horrible my stomach felt like there's been nothing but glass in my intestines and my IBS is back. I've been having difficulty waking up and keeping my energy through the day. My son's temperament has been violent, His tics are in full swing and he's been extremely defiant. He also refuses to eat anything except for crap. 

So here we are we are,doing intro it's going to be much longer than one wants to eat boiled meats and vegetables in a brothy soup but that's what we'll be eating , adding foods to our diet very slowly making sure we are not having any reactions to the foods. 

So wish me luck and send me encouragement! 

Chicken broth cooking. It has 20 more hours to cook...

Honey Peanut Butter Chocolate (white bean) Cake

  I was craving chocolate cake.  Actually , it was more like " someone's gonna get hurt if I don't get chocolate cake!"     so, I made one out of the ingredients I had on hand. I was pleasantly surprised of its cake like texture and chocolaty taste. I took it to a family get together and it was completely devoured ! No one believed that it was a healthy cake!  The best part about this cake is that it’s totally budget-friendly. It’s basically beans, eggs, and cocoa. 

Healthy Flourless Chocolate Cake
Adapted from a recipe at healthy indulgences

Cake Ingredients:
 1 1/2 cup cooked cooked navy beans
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
6 tablespoons unsalted organic butter OR coconut oil
 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons honey + 1/2 teaspoon stevia extract

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Honey Peanut Butter Icing:

1 stick of softened unsalted butter

1 cup of natural peanut butter ( I used crunchy)

1/4 cup of honey

1 tablespoons of pure maple syrup ( optional)

Preparation:
  (This recipe is for one layer of a 9" round cake. I ended up cutting it in to two layers. Next time I will double the recipe to have a full size cake of a two layer 9" rounds)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.   grease the 9" pan with a thin layer of butter. Dust cocoa all over the inside of the pan, tapping to evenly distribute. Cut a round of parchment paper and line the bottom of the pan, then wwith parchment lightly.

Drain and rinse beans in a strainer or colander. Shake off excess water. Place beans, 3 of the eggs, vanilla, stevia and salt into blender Blend of food processor. Blend on high until beans are completely liquefied. No lumps! Whisk together cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Beat room temperature butter with honey until light and fluffy. Add remaining two eggs, beating for a minute after each addition. Pour bean batter into egg mixture and mix. Finally, stir in cocoa powder, and beat the batter on high for one minute, until smooth. Scrape batter into pan and smooth the top. Grip pan firmly by the edges and rap it on the counter a few times to pop any air bubbles.

Bake for 40-45 minutes. Cake is done with the top is rounded and firm to the touch. After 10 minutes minutes of cooling, turn out cake from pan, and flip over again on to a cooling rack. Let cool until cake reaches room temperature, then cover in plastic wrap or with cake dome. For BEST flavor, let cake sit over night. I promise this cake will not have a hint of beaniness after letting it sit for eight hours! If you are stacking this cake, level the top with a long serrated knife, shaving off layers until it is flat and even. Frost immediately before serving.

Icing preparation:
Place all ingredients in mixer on high until it whips up . It takes about 3 minutes. You may need to chill it a bit if it seems runny. Then smooth over cake and  BAM!  You have chocolate peanut butter GAPS cake!

Spicy cowboy Chipotle roast

Okay, okay! so many of you have asked for this recipe so here it is! This recipe is my modification of the Pioneer Woman's recipe for Chipotle roast.
What you will need is:
1 roast
5 cloves of garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Beef bone broth to cover the bottom of the crock pot
One can of diced tomatoes with chillies
Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 large onion
Bay leafs
1 tablespoon of honey
1 teaspoon of cumin powder
1 teaspoon of chili powder

I stab the roast with a sharp knife  to create holes to place the garlic cloves in them. You may have to slice a garlic cloves in half and create more holes. Then give the roast a rub with salt and pepper in place into the crock pot. I add some bone broth to the bottom of the crock pot. Probably about an inch or so. add honey. add one large chopped onion. your can of undraind diced tomatoes with chillies, chili powder, cumin power,bay leafs, and 2 of the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.
You can add more or less if any of these ingredients to your likeing. Place it in crock pot on low for 8 hours .

For the cauliflower chedder "grits"... you will need:
1/2 of onion
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2  stick of butter
4 ounces of cream cheese or strained yogurt or sour cream
1 cup of bone broth
1 cup of cream or half and half
1 head of cauliflower
2 cups of cheddar cheese

The following is to taste:

Salt and pepper
Garlic powder
chili powder
Cumin powder

Cut the head of cauliflower and place it in a food processor pulsing it down into it looks like the texture of grits. set aside

The large pot meltdown your butter. saute your finely chops onions and bell peppers in your melted butter. Add your bone broth and cream cheese ( or strained yogurt or sour cream) allow it to melt together. add your cream or half-and-half. Then and your seasonings to taste. I generally doabout 1/4 of a teaspoon each. as you begin to see that your liquid is heating up really well go ahead in and the two cups of Cheddar cheese. Stir continuously until it boils and cheese melts into a sauce. At this point you want to add your cauliflower and cook for about 5 (more or less) minutes. you want your Cauliflower to not be raw but you don't want it to be super soft. you want to have a really nice texture.

Happy Wednesday, y'all!

Sweet Chipotle carrot fries

Absolutely love sweet potato Chipotle fries! Man, I had a craving for them last night! So I made the same thing but with carrots! To my surprise they tasted exactly like sweet Chipotle fries! Only the texture was different because it was carrots and not potatoes .
  it tastes amazing it's super easy!
I took about six to eight carrots and slice into little sticks, about the shape of fries.
I tossed them in olive oil with a good sprinkle of Mrs.Dash Chipotle Southwest seasoning, a good sprinkle of cinnamon, and salt & pepper to taste. The last thing I did before I popped it into the oven is I put a couple pats of butter on top.
I then placed the carrots onto a cookie sheet and bake them at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes or until crisp and golden brown.

They will come out super sweet with the kick of heat!
-Happy Tuesday!