If you follow my Instagram account, you may have noticed that sweet potato fries are one of our new favorite foods. Mostly because my picky eater has grown to love my new method for making them. She requests them twice a week! I am so thrilled to have another healthy food that she looks forward to!
Burgers & Sweet Potato Fries
The bad news is, I can’t really give you the recipe.
To clarify, I have been using the recipe from Paleo Indulgences, but have altered it a bit to make it easier! She includes an extra step in the prep of the sweet potatoes that is quite genius. It really makes a difference in the final texture of the sweet potato fries. This recipe is not published on her website/blog & I searched through lots of Paleo blogs to see if someone else was doing a similar thing. No such luck. I am not really into giving away other people’s recipes or infringing on copyright, so I will just say buy the book, flip through it at the bookstore or check it out from your library. You will not be sorry. My review of Paleo Indulgences can be found here.
My little adaptation of the recipe includes tossing the prepped fries in coconut oil, crushed garlic & Penzey’s Tsardust Memories Seasoning (salt, garlic, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg & marjoram) before baking.
There are TONS of recipes for Sweet Potato fries on various blogs & in some of the published Paleo cookbooks. I have tried a few of them and they have all turned out well. These are just the ones that have turned out GREAT!
I may have a bit of a cookbook collecting problem. That Amazon Prime free shipping offer is just too tempting. For months, the cookbook Paleo Indulgences was recommended for me available on Pre-Order. I wasn’t that familiar with the author, Tammy Credicott of The Healthy GF Life, & honestly felt a little guilty about buying a book that was “all desserts.” However, after reading some positive reviews and looking for some reliable coconut flour baking recipes, I decided that having a dessert heavy Paleo cookbook might not be such a bad thing.
I was pleasantly surprised when Paleo Indulgences arrived on my doorstep. It is very striking and simple. The images are crisp, but cozy.
The recipe organization is a bit whimsical:
Yes, you read that right. It is a PALEO cookbook, complete with introduction by Robb Wolf. In just a few pages, Tammy Credicott gives a nice little summary about what Paleo IS and ISN”T, along with some guidelines on how to apply it to your family life.
The book really won me over with my initial flip through, when I stumbled upon recipes to make some “copy-cat” Girl Scout cookies. Finally, a Paleo author that gets me! It isn’t that I can’t live without Thin Mints, because I can. And have for a couple of years, now. The dilemma is that I am a mother to a wonderful little Girl Scout, that I try to keep gluten-free. Having a Paleo friendly version of those little fundraising munchies is going to make cookie season much more bearable for us. Just knowing that we have that option helps take the stress out of an unavoidable part of the year.
The biggest surprise with this cookbook has been that it is not all desserts. There are several main dish, appetizer and snack recipes. I immediately made the Chicken ‘n Dumplings recipe. It was wonderful. The dumplings were made of coconut flour, which made them very light and fluffy. By the end of the week, I made Mandarin Chicken and Asian Pork Lettuce Wraps. Everything was delicious!
Chicken ‘n Dumplings from Paleo Indulgences
Mandarin Chicken from Paleo Indulgences (I added snow peas for extra vegetables)
Asian Pork Lettuce Wraps from Paleo Indulgences
What I really liked about Tammy’s recipes were that they were simple with not a lot of “unusual” ingredients. Pantry staples. Also, every recipe in this book is one you recognize as being home cooking or a restaurant favorite. This is the book that I want to hand out to my friends and family and say “Hey, LOOK! You can STILL HAVE THAT!” In my opinion, this would be the perfect book to hand a friend that is interested in experimenting with Paleo or transitioning to Paleo. Especially if they have kids!
Now for the baking and the desserts!
I have been looking for more reliable coconut flour based recipes. I made the Blueberry Crumb Muffins, which were excellent. I especially liked her creativity in using chopped seeds as a crunchy topping. It made these muffins an extra delicious bakery-style treat, but safe to send to our Nut-Free schools. (Don’t mind the fact that they are a little green in the picture below. I used frozen blueberries and my little guy was none too gentle when mixing. Still delicious!)
Blueberry Crumb Muffins from Paleo Indulgences
The biggest hit in the house were the Decadent Brownies. This coconut flour recipe will be in our regular rotation. In all honesty, it is probably the BEST coconut flour baking recipe I have ever made. The husband and the kids just loved them. They are perfect for cutting up, freezing and packing in our little Nut-Free lunches. This recipe made purchasing the book worthwhile.
Decadent Brownies from Paleo Indulgences
I really couldn’t be more pleased with this cookbook. I plan on cooking my way through it. I am also really excited to have this book for the holiday season. There are several coconut oil based candy recipes that I am glad we can have on hand for holiday parties. I have already made a shopping list so that I can do some cooking and baking here and there, freezing the goodies for the holiday season. It is really nice to know that I can continue some holiday traditions with my kids to share with our non-Paleo friends and family. The perfect resource is right on our bookshelf!
Don’t take my word for it! Here are some other great reviews of Paleo Indulgences, some include a recipe you can experiment with on your own:
No picture for these, yet! Soon, I promise. I have been taking these little goodies to my Picket Fence Paleo workshops as a small appetizer that can be served with a dollop of 3 Minute Mayo or Dijon mustard (pictured above). Salmon cakes are a comfort food of mine, my mom used to whip them up for a quick dinner. On the nutrition front, they are high in protein and fat. Very few ingredients, simple and fast to prepare.
I adapted mine from The Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam.
Salmon Cakes
Makes 4 large burger size or 16 small appetizer size
Notes:
I like Trader Joe’s canned salmon because it is affordable and has a clean ingredient list. I do use the canned salmon that is skin, bones and all. It is all edible (and nutritious to boot). It will not be noticeable in the finished product. It is also cheaper, which is nice. Just make sure to read the labels at the store and get the cleanest salmon that you can.
Salmon lends itself towards being very tasty with lemon and dill flavors, but you can take these any direction that you want. Go crazy! I would use some combination of lemon, garlic & dill. Also, a ranch style seasoning would be great to make it family friendly.
Pictured above: Paleo Pork Cutlets in Dijon Cream Sauce served over Sweet Potato Noodles
I used to make something much like this, before Paleo. The only real swap I had to make was canned coconut milk for heavy cream. This is a really easy, very tasty and rich dish that only took a few minutes to make.
Sweet Potato Noodles: Not an original idea. 
Sometimes I use my ceramic peeler to take the skin off of my sweet potatoes. I had thought about just peeling the entire sweet potato into noodles, I just hadn’t done it yet. Then the other day I stumbled upon this post from The Civilized Caveman. He beat me to it! His recipe for Sweet Potato Pasta sounds yummy. Sweet Potato noodles sauteed with sage, cinnamon & grass fed butter. I think that sounds like an excellent side dish for many a meal. He shares in the post that he got the idea from Ashley Tudor’s book, Sweet Potato Power. I haven’t read it yet, but I think I might need to check it out. I can always use more ideas for how to cook sweet potatoes, as they are one of the few sources of carbs in my diet.
I simply sauteed my sweet potato noodles in some coconut oil till they were tender, but not losing their shape. Then I set them aside in a bowl and covered them to keep warm. I didn’t season them at all because I wanted the leftovers to be versatile enough to eat for breakfast or lunch the next day. This is going to be one of my new favorite ways to eat sweet potatoes. All I needed was my handy $10 ceramic peeler!
Variations:
I thought I already had this “not-really-a-recipe” posted on my blog, but I can’t seem to find it, so here it is. I am calling this dish “Weekly Sweet Potato Hash” because we eat it at least once a week. Usually the night that we are scrambling around in a hurry. I can have this ready in 20 minutes or so and almost always have the ingredients in the house.
Adapt this any way you want with whatever veggies you have in the fridge. You can also take the spices a lot of different ways. I really enjoy using Penzey’s Breakfast Sausage Seasoning or Tsardust Memories Seasoning for my hash. A little garlic, sage and paprika also gives it a nice flavor. Swap out the veggies, use ground sausage or pork instead of the links, or use bacon.
I like to cook my eggs separately and put them over hash on individual plates. I usually have leftover hash, so I can pack it away in the fridge egg-free!
If you are following a Paleo/Primal lifestyle with no grains and no sugars, squash and sweet potatoes are going to quickly become a favorite source of dense, complex carbohydrates. If you have heard that Paleo/Primal is a “low carb” approach, that isn’t entirely true. By nature of no grains and no sugar, you eliminate huge sources of high carbohydrate, processed foods. However, there are no “limits” to the amount of fruit, veggies & complex carbs, such as sweet potato, that you can consume. This is a part of the lifestyle that you have to figure out what makes you “Look, Feel & Perform” the best. Your insulin sensitivity, weight loss/gain/maintenance goals, gender & activity level will play a role in how many carbohydrates you take in at any give time. You have to eXperiment and see what works for you! (Stay tuned for “X is for eXperiment: n=1″)
At our house sweet potatoes, zucchini, yellow summer squash, spaghetti squash, pumpkin and butternut squash make pretty frequent appearances on our plate. Summer & Fall will bring some new and interesting varieties of squash to the Farmer’s Market. Don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things!
The biggest obstacle to getting the squash and sweet potatoes on your plate is the amount of time it takes to prepare them. The time is mostly hands off, but you have to think ahead and be prepared. I have recently found you can throw whole squashes & sweet potatoes in the Crockpot (washed) and set it on low for 6-8 hours. They are perfectly cooked and absolutely no work. No worries about cutting off your hand!
Sweet Potatoes can be cut up ahead of time, just put in a container and pour water over them. The smaller you cut it, the faster it will cook. Drain and use when you are ready!
Don’t be afraid to throw diced sweet potato into a a bowl of chicken soup or beef stew. They are also a perfect companion to an egg/bacon or sausage/veggie scramble. Dice into small cubes, saute in coconut oil/butter/bacon grease till soft, put off to the side in a bowl. Add to your finished eggs. This is a meal we probably eat once a week.
Mashed Sweet Potatoes or Sweet Potato Puree are a staple. Spice it up with different spice combinations so it doesn’t get boring. One of my favorites is adding a teaspoon or so of the adobo sauce that is in a can of chipotle peppers. Makes them warm and spicy, but not overpowering. Of course, butter and cinnamon are always a winner when it comes to sweet potatoes.
One of my favorite spices to use with sweet potatoes is Tsardust Memories from Penzeys Spices. ( Hand-mixed from: salt, garlic, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, marjoram. ) The garlic & cinnamon combo is a winner!
This is an excellent way to satisfy any cravings you have for pasta. Take the same elements you love in your favorite pasta dish and toss them with some spaghetti squash noodles. They are also a wonderful side dish to any meat by tossing with some olive oil/butter and sprinkling with some Parmesan cheese (if you can do a little aged dairy.)
Butternut Squash has a really earthy flavor that I think pairs well with bacon! And so does everybody else. :) Also, sometimes you can get lucky and find butternut squash already peeled and cubed at the grocery store. This takes a lot of work out of things. However, baking or putting it in the CrockPot a head of time will eliminate most of the drudgery behind peeling and shopping these things. My collection and experimentation with butternut squash is embarrassingly low. The truth is, we like the soup from Balanced Bites so much, that I stick with it. It is one of my hubby’s favorite dishes, and a great holiday dish. I served it at Christmas last year.
An excellent side dish is cubed butternut squash sauteed in bacon grease and then add crumbled bacon, onions & a few handfuls of fresh spinach to wilt at the end. It is delicious and filling! Don’t be afraid to throw some diced butternut squash into soups and stews, it will lend a buttery, rich flavor to the dish. It pair well with chicken and pork.
Butternut Squash Soup from Balanced Bites
One of my favorite ways to enjoy acorn squash is simply to cook it and top with coconut butter/butter and sprinkle with cinnamon. The shape of acorn squash, make them a perfect vessel for filling with meat, and many recipes you find will lead you that direction. I topped an acorn squash with leftover Mexican Raisin Chicken and an avocado and it was a pretty delicious little dish. I need to add more acorn squash recipes to my blog! As I experiment this fall, I will come back and add some winning recipes! If you have any good ones, feel free to send them my way!
I love all things pumpkin! I stock up on canned pumpkin during the holidays so that I have it all year long. Canned pumpkin is one of the few “clean” canned foods available, so I am not going to lie: I always use canned. You will never find me roasting a whole one, unless we are making seeds for the kids. I take advantage of all the shortcuts I can get, and canned pumpkin is one of the few!
This is our favorite Paleo-ish baking recipe hands down. I make it at least once a week. Very simple and if you have some almond flour, you have pretty much everything you need. This recipe pleases Paleo folks and regular folks taste buds for a bakery good.
I have blogged before about how great Elana’s Pantry is, and the quality of her cookbooks. Quite simply, her recipes turn out every time and there are no wasted ingredients. Picking up The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook ($9.90 today with Amazon Prime!) will save you a lot of time, money and frustration, if you plan on doing much Paleo/Primal/Grain-free/Gluten-free baking for your family. One of the reasons I haven’t blogged this recipe, even though I have been making it weekly for months, is it is one of her originals that is not available on her website. I don’t like stepping on people’s toes or crossing murky lines of recipe ownership. I did find this recipe pretty similarly blogged on another site, and i have made my own little tweaks from the original, so I am ready to publish it.
Moms, girlfriends, friends….this is the recipe to try if you want to win over someone with your Paleo baking. Made purely of almond flour, eggs & coconut oil, with just a touch of sweeteners, you can feel pretty good about enjoying these with a breakfast or packing as a snack. The protein and good fats are very filling. My kids will eat 1-2 for breakfast or snack and are full for a few hours afterwards. Anybody else notice that regular chocolate chip scones/cookies/brownies don’t have that effect?
adapted from Elana Amsterdam’s Chocolate Chip Scones
(The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook)
Following a Paleo diet means making every bite count. It means choosing foods that will improve your health, not harm it. It is about seeking out foods that are full of protein, fats, vitamins & minerals.
Real, whole, unprocessed foods = meat, fish, fruits & vegetables. Simple!
Common questions I get asked:
I always enjoy Robb Wolf’s direct answers, including the ones found in “Kids, Paleo and Nutrient Density.”
This is another aggressive post by Richard Nikoley from Free The Animal comparing 2,200 calories a day of a Standard American Diet to 2,200 calories a day of a Paleo Diet. (There is a fair amount of adult language in his blog, but he is one smart guy!)
I thought the best way to approach this topic would be for me to list some of the Most Nutrient Dense foods that are a regular part of my Paleo diet. I compiled my list based on all the reading and research I have done personally, then I double checked with Diane Sanfilippo and Chris Kresser to see how my lists stacked up against theirs.
In case you feel like I have overlooked fruits and vegetables with these lists, I consider fruits and vegetables to be very nutrient dense foods! So eat as many as you can handle, assuming you don’t have any digestive distress or insulin issues. No one gets sick or overweight eating too many fruits and vegetables. Add them to your quality sources of protein and fat.
Sweet Potato Nutrition Facts (for one medium size sweet potato)
Salmon is one of our favorite weeknight dinners and packs a nutritional punch! This shouldn’t be a big surprise, nearly every health organization recommends adding more fish to your diet, especially salmon. It is one of the best sources of omega 3 fatty acids which in simple terms, make our blood less sticky. This is a good thing. It is also really good for your brain and skin. Although salmon is one of the fish that most people seem to enjoy and we have decent access to, don’t forget the other less popular fatty fish: mackeral, herring & sardines. The latter are often cheaper and can be found in canned and jarred form. Be brave & experiment. I have had a few dishes that I really enjoyed (deviled eggs with sardines), that I would never have guess I would have liked.
Here is a guide to the types of salmon available and which ones you should buy (always wild, never farmed).
I covered these in C is for Coconut. Check out that post for lots of information and recipe links!
Egg yolks are a nutritional powerhouse. Nearly breaks my heart to think about people eating egg white omelets in efforts to “get healthy.” Eggs are one of our most misunderstood whole foods. My post E is for Eggs will cover the specifics on why this food is so nutritious and why they have received a bad rap over the years from the medical & nutrition industry. Most importantly, it will feature lots of recipes to enjoy these little bundles of goodness. So, start locating yourself a source of some farm fresh eggs and get ready!
Do you remember your grandparents talking about eating liver and onions? Apparently, they were on to something that was lost on the last couple of generations. Organ meats are REALLY good for you. I mean REALLY, REALLY good. Sigh.
I am not going to lie. I haven’t started cooking with organ meats on a regular basis. It is one of those things that I know I SHOULD do, I just haven’t added it to my routine. Does it freak me out a bit? Yes. I have 2 packages of beef liver in my freezer that are calling my name. I have tried liver, heart and even tongue on any occasion that someone brings it to a potluck and I have liked it each time. I really don’t know what is holding me back, other than a mental block. After reading some of the resources that I am going to list below, I am motivated to try it just for the potential “energy boost” that the concentrated B vitamins provide.
Don’t take my word for it. Read some of these articles. Be brave. Source some liver and other organ meats from a butcher. Get cooking. Tell me how it goes. I will, if you will!
Liver: nature’s most potent superfood by Chris Kresser
The Benefits of Liver and Cod Liver Oil and Dessicated Liver by Chris Masterjohn
I do know that if you want to experiment with cooking with liver for the first time, and if you are trying to please picky eaters, you should mix it with other more palatable meats. Bacon, ground beef and sausage come to mind. Incorporate it into meatballs, meatloaf or burgers. Also, “breading” chicken livers (with almond or coconut flour) might be a good way to get started.
This is another one of those areas where you Grandma knew what she was doing. Just a couple of generation ago, you couldn’t buy broth or stock in a can to add to your soups, chilis, stews, gravys and sauces. You had to make it yourself by roasting bones and simmering them in a pot for hours. Doing so releases minerals and collagen into the water from the bones that you can’t really get elsewhere. This is another one of those processes that really isn’t that tough, but you have to learn to incorporate it into your schedule. (If you aren’t interested in making it, you can purchase it from U.S Wellness Meats here, but it is MUCH CHEAPER to make it at home!)
Bone broth is very healing for the stomach and the skin. I can testify that my skin looks its best when I have been drinking bone broth on a regular basis. Either enjoy it as a soup or pour a cup full and sip it like tea. There isn’t any other place that you can get these minerals. Start saving up your leftover chicken bones and stick them in the freezer till you have enough to make a pot of stock!
Hmmm….Cod Liver Oil. Grandma. Are you sensing a theme here? Yep. She was on to something.
Everyone in the world of Paleo nutrition is passionate about the use of Cod Liver Oil/Fermented Butter Oil Blend. It sounds crazy, but there is no other product that comes close. I use it myself, but have only had it for a short time, so I cannot fully testify to the benefits. A huge source of Omega-6 fatty acids, it is healing for the digestive system and the skin. Let’s be frank here, it is Fermented Butter Oil, mixed with fish oils. It isn’t very palatable. You can buy it in capsules, but it is cheaper to buy it as a gel. I take the Cinnamon Tingle and I can get it down just find.
Superfood: Cod Liver Oil – Butter Oil Blend by Liz Wolfe at CaveGirlEats
Buy from Green Pastures. You can get a discount from ordering larger quantities.
Fermented foods are nature’s probiotics. They provide your gut with little microorganisms that keep your digestive system happy. It might be hard to believe, but over sugared yogurt products are not the best place to find these little guys. I personally love the taste of fermented foods, so it is not hard for me to add a big spoon full of sauerkraut to a meal or drink some kombucha. As with most things Paleo, there is a difference between sauerkraut in a can and the kind that is processed the best way to maximize the health benefits. You might need to hit Whole Foods or a local health foods store, they should be in the refrigerated section. Otherwise, it is very easy to make some of your own. Just takes a little prep time and then a few weeks to sit around in the dark. Yep, you read that right. It sits out at room temp for the fermentation process, then gets stuck in the fridge. Don’t be afraid! Give it a try. These foods can really get your digestive system on the right track.
If you are going to do dairy, which means that you or your family members DO NOT have sensitivities to it, you should be trying to find Grass-Fed. I DO recommend that you do a 30 day dairy free experiment to see if there are issues with dairy. Lots of people have various reactions to dairy. Dairy is a main culprit in bloating and other digestive distress; skin issues such as acne, eczema, psoriasis; arthritis and other immune system diseases; sinus and respiratory problems. Even if you think you “don’t have a problem” give it a month and see what happens. Maybe a lingering cough will clear up, your allergies might get better, an achy knee feels good or a pesky patch of dry skin on your arm goes away. Paleo and Primal message boards are FULL of this anecdotal evidence.
My son had a dairy allergy as a baby, even while being on a breast milk only diet, if I consumed diary he had an ear infection. After a lot of trips to the doctor I figured it out myself and he was rarely sick again. No more ear infections. Now he can have 3 or 4 servings of dairy a week, but we don’t over do it. I find that my skin is clearer the less dairy I consume. I splurge on feta cheese, goat cheese and the occasional gluten free pizza.
So, the good news is: If dairy doesn’t bother you, WHOLE MILK and BUTTER are GOOD FOR YOU! I know, it seems almost dirty, right? It goes against everything you have ever heard about health and nutrition, in the last 30 years anyways. It is true. They are super foods. Read what Mark Sisson at Mark’s Daily Apple has to say in “Is all Butter Created Equal?” Or take a look at “Healthy Milk: What to Buy” from Food Renegade.
If you are going to enjoy dairy, consider purchasing grass fed dairy products and adding this “super food” to your diet. It is worth the cost, but you might have to consume less. Take a drink of a glass of grass-fed whole milk or try a pat of grass-fed butter. Just looking at the natural color of grass-fed butter will likely change your mind.
I don’t think you need me to give you recipes to tell you how to enjoy milk and butter. :)
I hope that this post has given you some ideas on how to incorporate nutrient dense Paleo and Primal foods in your diet. Explore some of the links and other blogs. It was not meant to overwhelm you, but if you are new to the Paleo scene, it may very well have. I joke all the time that there are “levels of Paleo!” You might not be ready to jump into eating liver and fermenting your own sauerkraut. That is exactly why I divided this list into two categories. Stick with the easy stuff (like I did for the first year) and then start exploring the other avenues.
Let me know if you have any questions or if you think I have missed something. If you have recipes for liver or fermented foods that are sure-fire, please let me know. I would love to add them to this resource. I promise to experiment with liver and get back to you!
Thank you for reading & following.
What is it with all the coconut products and the Paleo diet?
There are entire books devoted to the subject of coconut oil, coconut products and the potential “miraculous” health benefits. A quick Amazon search could net you a ton of reading. I am skeptical to say that any one thing is a miracle cure, but I love using coconut products and I genuinely think my brain works better when I use coconut oil as my main source of cooking oil. Coconut oil is full of saturated fat, which may scare you if you have listened to traditional/conventional nutrition advice over the years. Even Dr. Oz is on board! (I will be doing an F is for Fat blog post soon, so stay tuned for more specifics on why you shouldn’t be scared to add some fat to your diet.)
I could go into great detail about the Medium Chain Fatty Acids, Lauric Acid, fiber and vitamin/mineral content of coconut oil. I could also get into the anti-viral or anti-bacterial properties. There is even research involving Alzheimer’s and other serious illnesses. But, I am not a scientist, I am a cook, so get your Google on and do some research if these ideas are compelling.
Mark Sisson, author of The Primal Blueprint, does a much better job discussing the variety of coconut products in a Paleo or Primal diet than I possibly could, so please take some time to read what he has to say. Keep reading to find out how coconut products now take up a lot of space on my pantry shelves and links to some of my favorite recipes.
This is my primary cooking and baking oil. Coconut is the best oil for baking and cooking because it is stable at a high heat. You do not want your oil to be “smoking” in your pan when you are cooking with it. Although I have tried various brands and have been happy with all of them, I buy it in large quantities from Tropical Traditions. I watch for sales and take advantage of free shipping offers. And no, it DOES NOT make everything taste like coconut. You can also use coconut oil as a lotion and for other skin and bodycare needs. It is versatile, high quality stuff! Coconut oil is popping up everywhere, you can probably find some at your grocery store, try to find unrefined if you can.
More information on coconut oil can be found here:
PRINTABLE Infographics from Balanced Bites on coconut oil versus other cooking oils:
I always have a few cans of coconut milk in my cabinet. Buy the regular, not the light. I use it for baking, for coffee & for cooking. You can even refrigerate it and whip it into a dairy-free whipped cream! Check out your grocery store shelves and look for the brand with the cleanest ingredient list. Most will contain a bit of guar gum for texture. That additive bothers a few people, but not most. Even Wal-Mart carries 2 or 3 brands of canned coconut milk. You may see some coconut milk in cartons in regular grocery stores and Trader Joes. The canned coconut milk is thicker and “cleaner” as it has less ingredients. We use the carton stuff on occasion, but more often use the cans. Robb Wolf (The Paleo Solution) breaks down the ingredient list and his advice about purchasing coconut milk in “Coco-What??”
This isn’t the shredded coconut you grew up buying for cakes and other treats. This is UNSWEETENED coconut and it is drier than the standard stuff you remember. I keep a small bag on hand to use in specific baking recipes that call for a finely, shredded coconut.
These are also UNSWEETENED and sometimes called coconut chips because they are a much bigger flake, almost a shaving of coconut. This is one of our household staples. In about 3 minutes you can make tasty snack of Caramelized Coconut Chips. I send these in my daughters lunch daily and we have them as a late night snack. They are delicious as the base to a Paleo Cereal, which is simply a big bowl of coconut flakes, berries, nuts & sometimes mini-chocolate chips with coconut milk. Also a favorite snack at our house.
Coconut flour is NOT my preferred baking flour, but it can give you a fine texture that you cannot achieve with almond flour. There are a couple of things to take into account if coconut flour is new to you. First, the price may be a bit of a shocker! It is expensive. Second, take a look at the recipe you are about to try, it doesn’t call for much. The chocolate cupcake recipe I have linked to below calls for 1/4 cup coconut flour to make 10 cupcakes. If you are used to baking with regular flour, you know this is much less dry ingredients than you are used to. Coconut flour recipes are going to be small amounts of coconut flour mixed with more eggs/oils & liquids than traditional baking, because it is very dry. So, the cost starts to even out. Like I said, I am not a huge fan of coconut flour, but I do keep it on hand to help to lightly bread my chicken nuggets, make birthday cupcakes & occasionally pancakes on the weekend. Also, if you have a nut-free school, coconut flour treats may be allowed since they are not a nut, or a peanut. Some people do have a specific coconut allergy, but it is not usually airborne.
Coconut water is the clear liquid inside of a young coconut. You can find it at the grocery store, gas stations & Costco these days. Buy a single and see if it is for you, not everyone likes it in my experience. I would say it is actually 50/50. It isn’t cheap, but it makes a great post-exercise drink because of its high potassium, mineral and antioxidant content. It is low calorie and a very “clean” drink. There are so many brands being marketed right now that you do have to start reading labels, they are beginning to add flavors. Always read labels! I enjoy the taste of coconut water and I use it to mix drinks. Vodka and coconut water is one of my favorite drinks and it minimizes a potential hangover by keeping you hydrated. I can’t prove that, but I never feel poorly the next day if I have been mixing my drinks with coconut water the evening before.
Coconut Aminos are a soy & gluten free substitute for soy sauce. I get mine from Whole Foods or other health food stores. I am only familiar with the brand from Coconut Secret. As described on their site: coconut aminos are enzymatically alive and contain 17 amino acids as well as being a good source of sea salt in the diet. I have such a sensitivity to soy that I prefer to use coconut aminos to gluten free soy sauce. Many people because of availability & cost do use gluten free soy sauce with few difficulties. Give it a try and then make a personal decision. I do love the opportunity to make my own Chinese and other Asian inspired dishes.
Coconut butter and manna are essentially the same thing, whole mature coconut meat that is dehydrated and blended into a butter. Price points can be different and The Primalist did a great post explaining the differences between two of the most common products you will find on the shelf. If this is a product you would like to add to your pantry, give it a read before you spend your money. Currently, I am seeing a lot of Facebook and Instagram posts regarding coconut butter as it is a snack recommended on the 21 Day Sugar Detox from Balanced Bites. The best way to combat sugar cravings is to get a nice dose of healthy fats in your system. The coconut butter is naturally a little bit sweet and I also think it makes a nice little snack just off of the spoon. The Artisana brand sells individual servings in case you want to sample the product before you spend the big bucks. Also, these are handy little samples to pack for road trips, hikes or other traveling.
Recipes Using Coconut Milk:
You can essentially use coconut milk as a replacement for regular milk in any recipe. Coconut milk is thick and creamy and will give soups and sauces and amazing texture. Most people are surprised that the coconut flavor is not pronounced. Don’t be afraid, give it a whirl. If you have been using skim or 2% milk because of the conventional nutrition wisdom, you will likely be pleased with the rich tasting results. And it is GOOD FOR YOU! A curry dish is one of the most traditional places you will find coconut milk in a recipe. That isn’t really my thing as my husband and the other men in my life do not seem to care for curry, so I don’t cook with it.
One of the best drinks I have ever had was at a Brazilian restaurant, a Batida De Coco. It calls for a special kind of rum, but we were able to mix some up at home and they were delicious. The basics: coconut milk + rum + a cinnamon sugar rim. Amazing! Just use your regular amounts of mixer and alcohol and I think it will be a sure-fire winner! If the milk is too heavy for you, do half and half coconut milk/coconut water or just water down your coconut. We blended ours with ice for a cold drink.
Recipes Using Coconut Flakes or Shredded Coconut:
Recipes Using Coconut Butter/Manna:
If I missed anything or if you have any questions, please let me know by emailing laci@picketfencepaleo.com or leaving a comment! Thanks for reading!
No amazing unique recipe creation today, but I put together a pretty great dinner and wanted to share the links with you.
The roast recipe came from Fast Paleo. It is very easy with only a handful of ingredients. I used leftover morning coffee, dehydrated onions & Trader Joe’s crushed garlic. I pretty much followed this recipe to a “T.” A lot of CrockPot meat recipes will advise you to brown the outside in a pan with oil first, to get a bit of sear on the outside. I agree that this step adds a nice touch, but I am generally trying to get things done as simply as possible, with few dishes to wash later. I love that this recipe didn’t require it, and it turned out juicy and delicious.
I just tossed the broccoli with a little coconut oil, salt & pepper and then roasted it as I finished up the potatoes.
Now, for the Smashed Spiced Sweet Potatoes. I pinned these little guys from Pinterest months ago, and just finally got around to making them. We really enjoyed them, but I would do a few things differently next time. I tried to see if I could get away without peeling them. They would have been better if I had followed directions. Basically, peel sweet potatoes and slice into thick even “coins.” Bake till they get kind of soft. Take a small drinking glass or jar and smash them. Then brush with coconut oil, sprinkle with spices. A little bit of sugar is going to help them caramelize and get a bit crispy. I didn’t use any sugar, and I enjoyed the texture. I sprinkled mine with cumin, cinnamon, salt, paprika and a little cocoa powder. The original blog post goes a bit spicy-er! Try it any way! They remind me a lot of these Sweet Potato Chews that I made a few months ago from Whole 9. Those tasted just like a toasted marshmallow.
