Double Chocolate Chip Cake (Paleo)

Chocolate cake time! Tomorrow is my brother’s 18th birthday and since I won’t be seeing him then, we’re having cake tonight! I’ve been working with this recipe for a while now and am so happy to have perfected it in time.

The recipe makes one layer. I was too lazy to make layer II, so I just cut the layer in half and placed the one half on top of the other (with homemade “frosting” in between, of course) to make a half cake. Since there’s only 3 people here to eat the cake, this is the perfect amount for us. However, feel free to double or triple the size to feed a crowd!

Double Chocolate Chip Cake (Paleo)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup coconut oil, softened

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1/2 tbsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/3 cup cacao powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

pinch of stevia

3 tbsp coconut flour

3 tbsp chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and oil a 8-inch diameter springform pan.

In a food processor, pulse together coconut oil, sugar, and vanilla. Add in eggs and pulse again. Add in cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, stevia, and coconut flour until all the ingredients are combined. Stir in your chocolate chips.

Transfer and spread the batter into your pan. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Once done, let cool before moving.

*Makes 1 layer.

**I cut the one layer in half and place one on top of the other for a half cake.

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Salmon Patties (Paleo) And A Farewell

Let me first begin this post by saying Happy New Year, everyone!

I wanted to begin 2015 off right by posting something that includes one of my favorite foods: fish! Plus, I’m pretty proud of this recipe as the patties held up on my first attempt (thus preventing much frustration). Enjoy!

In other news, I wanted to give everyone a heads up that there will be no new posts on Health Without Sacrifice for the next few weeks. Why?

I’m leaving for India in 2 days!

Needless to say, I’m very excited right now!

While over there, I’ll be traveling through the Golden Triangle- Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur- and teaching in the rural villages in between. 

Oddly enough, it seemed like it was only a few weeks ago that I announced in this post that I was going. But then again, with all the preparation and book drives (we collected over 1,200 books!) for this trip, time has seemed to fly by! 

And am I completely packed for this trip yet? Of course not! However, I have loaded up on a large supply of my homemade treats 😉

So, this is a short farewell for now as I’m probably not going to have stable internet access while over there. No worries though! I’ll be posting a ridiculous amount of pictures when I get back!

I apologize in advance 🙂 

Salmon Patties (Paleo)

(Makes 6)

Ingredients:

1 (15oz) can of salmon

2 eggs

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 tbsp dried dill

1/2 tbsp garlic powder

1/2 tbsp onion powder

salt and pepper

ghee (or coconut oil)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients (except ghee/coconut oil) and form into 6 patties. Melt a tbsp of ghee or coconut oil in a skillet. Cook patties over medium-high heat, 3 minutes per side.

Beet “Cookies”

I’ve been holding out on you guys.

These “cookies” have been in the experimentation vault for a long time now. Before I’ve even started this blog, in fact. Perfection does not happen overnight. Apparently it takes years.

I say “cookies” with quotes because of the major lack of sweetener- it doesn’t need it, in my opinion. However, I think “cookie” may be misleading if you like super sweet treats. Scone, maybe? If anyone can think of a different name let me know!

I’ve always felt bad for beets. Nobody ever seems to give them a chance. Sure, they are ugly on the outside, but they have such a pretty color once sliced open. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s very much a metaphor. Kinda like an ugly duckling thing.

Anyway, I started experimenting with beets a few summers ago because my mom had gotten a bunch from her food co-op. While I was watching over a relative’s house, I took a bunch with me to play around with. That weekend, two of my friends came over the house to keep me company. While hanging around in the kitchen, I made a few batches of these “cookies,” all with variations to them. Then I offered them up to my taste testers. Using what they liked/didn’t like, I continued to mess around with the recipe. Some changes were good, others were horrible. By the next day, we had eaten all the “cookies.”

Fast-forward to December. Being crazy with the holidays and school, I had not cooked/baked in forever, let alone think about beets. While studying for finals, my friend texted me that she really wanted a beet “cookie.”

Pretty much the most random thing ever at the time. So I lied and said I’d make her some for Christmas (hey- I was busy). So, for the next few months I’d get the “you said” speech from her from time to time.

Fast-forward to the next summer: my friend wanted the recipe. I started to try and perfect it cause I refuse to release a recipe until it’s to my satisfaction. At one point, I tried changing the baking powder to baking soda on a 1:1 ratio (originally, the recipe only contained baking powder). This was the result:

Yup, it turned them brown (anybody know why??? I’m guessing a chemical reaction between the baking soda and lemon juice?). But they tasted so good with the baking soda! Yet, there’s no point of making beet cookies without the color. So, I had to reduce the baking soda until the color reappeared. Some other tried and tested variations:

-Different flours: Can make with all spelt, whole wheat, or white. Or a combination of all three. Oat flour can be used, just don’t exceed 1/2 a cup.

-Do NOT leave uncooked batter sitting out for long. It makes the “cookies” take on a sour taste.

-Don’t try adding cacao/cocoa powder. It does nothing for the flavor. It only dulls the color.

-Use UNrefined coconut oil. It makes it taste better.

-Don’t worry about greasing pan before hand

-Using lime juice and anise extract, as my friend did, WILL give it a different flavor. I won’t say bad because she actually liked it (I did not though).

-Do NOT place hot “cookies” immediately onto paper napkins on a wooden table when they are done.

Why? The next day I saw that they left 2 dozen round, white stains on the table. To make matters worse, it wasn’t even my table!

After a long google search, I tried everything to get the stains off. In case you are ever in this dilemma, turning the table around does not help. Blowing a hairdryer at the stains for 20 minutes does NOT work either! I had to rub toothpaste over the spots with a paper towel over and OVER again. And not a simple scrub. More like a hysterical, standing-up-and-putting-my-full-weight-into-it scrub.

I’ve never felt so exhausted from cleaning before. Even after this, the stains still shone faintly. I then rubbed on olive oil and let it sit for an hour. And presto! The stains disappeared. And the angels sang to me. I celebrated by eating a beet “cookie.”

Needless to say, these “cookies” have history to them.

Feel free to experiment. Just report the results please!!!

By the way, I apologize for my longest blog post ever. I’ll make it up with a recipe:

Beet “Cookies” 

(Makes 12) 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup spelt flour (can sub in whole wheat flour)

1/2 cup oat flour (can sub in more spelt or whole wheat flour)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

2 tablespoons UNrefined coconut oil, melted

1 tbsp pure organic maple syrup

2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup RAW beets, peeled and shredded*

water

Optional: add-ins such as chocolate chips, raisins, and/or nuts.

*To shred, pulse in food processor

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place flours, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Pulse in coconut oil, lemon juice, maple syrup, and vanilla. Add in beets and blend. To form dough ball, add 1/2 tbsp water at a time and give QUICK PULSES. Dough should be dry enough to work with without getting sticky hands. If its sticky, sprinkle in some flour or just work with the sticky dough (it won’t affect the finished product). Separate ball into 12 small balls and press down on baking pan (no need to grease) until desired shape. Press in add-ins. Bake for 8 minutes. Store in an air-tight container.

Strawberry and Goat Cheese Chocolate

From living near the Jersey Shore, I get to see the trends that come and go every summer on the boardwalk.

Lots of times it’s neon colored T-shirts reading messages such as “free hugs,” “YOLO,” and “lifeguard.” I even remember the first summer I began seeing the “futuristic” Dip ‘n Dots everywhere.

A few years ago, I started seeing a bunch of signs for chocolate covered bacon. I thought it was the oddest thing at the time.

But what do you know, the trend stuck.

I’ve never actually had chocolate covered bacon, but it’s one of those things that I eventually want to make.

Since I’m still housesitting, I’ve been eating odds and ends all week. With the stuff I had on hand, I decided to play around with chocolate flavors. Unfortunately, I had no bacon 😦 I did, however, have goat cheese and strawberries. Chocolate goes with strawberries and strawberries go with goat cheese, so why not?

Strawberry and Goat Cheese Chocolate 

Ingredients:

2 tbsp unrefined coconut oil, melted

1 tsp maple syrup

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

2 tbsp dark cocoa powder

4 tsp fresh organic strawberries, chopped into tiny pieces

2 tsp finely shredded raw goat cheese + extra for topping

Directions:

Whisk together coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla and salt. Add in coca powder. Quickly follow by mixing in strawberries and goat cheese. Spoon chocolate onto parchment paper and shape into bars/squares/balls. If desired, sprinkle with extra goat cheese. Place in freezer for 5 minutes, or until hardened. Store in refrigerator.