Green Zebra Cakes (Paleo)

I cannot believe that my last post was almost a month ago! Honestly, I’ve been too busy to keep up with life outside of student teaching. Come mid-December, I promise to make it up to you. Surprisingly, I had a little time this weekend, so I was able to work on this post! It’s kinda Halloween-ish, right? Well, it’s a green and black treat if that makes a difference…until next time!

Green Zebra Cakes:

Base:

1 ripe banana

1/2 avocado

1/4 cup coconut butter

1/2 tbsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

Chocolate Drip:

1/2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

2 tsp cacao powder

2 tsp honey or maple syrup

Directions:

Combine all base ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Spoon into silicone cupcake liners and place in the fridge for 1 hour. Afterwards, pop the cakes out of the cupcake liners and place on a plate.

In a small bowl, whisk together the chocolate drip ingredients. Drizzle over cakes. Upon contact with the cold cakes, the drizzle should harden up. Place in the fridge  until ready to serve.

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“Zombie Brain” (AKA: Whole-Roasted and Spiced Cauliflower)

Everyone knows what tomorrow is! Valentines Day? Ummm, sure? But let’s set aside the fake holiday and talk Walking Dead!

This year we’re having a “Bloody Valentines Day” Party to kick off the start of Walking Dead again. My dad wasn’t too enthusiastic about this until I suggested we make ribs for dinner. Now he’s on board. And I’m making a cauliflower brain fit for zombie consumption. In case, anyone else is as crazy as I am, see the recipe below!

For all non-Walking Dead fans, feel free to make this and call it “whole-roasted and spiced cauliflower” 😉 

So yes, tomorrow will look more like a repeat of Halloween than Valentines Day at my house. Sorry, Walking Dead takes higher priority.

Ingredients:

1 cup plain, whole milk yogurt

2 tbsp avocado oil

1 and 1/2 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp garlic powder

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne

1 cauliflower, leaves and protruding stem removed

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Set aside. Place cauliflower on top.

In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, oil, and spices. Mix together.

With a spoon, “paint” the cauliflower until entirely and thickly covered with the yogurt mixture. Reserve leftover yogurt mixture. Place in the oven to bake for 30 minutes. Afterward, allow to cool for 15 minutes before cutting. Use reserved leftover yogurt as a dipping sauce. 

Chocolate Covered Clementines (Paleo)

Happy Halloween! Really simple and quick treat for you guys today.

Chocolate covered clementines!

Move over strawberries, because clementines and chocolate are now the new best of buds. And with the orange and black color, we got Halloween covered 🙂

Bungie totally agrees with me too. Granted, he can’t have chocolate, but he is decked out for Halloween and kept eyeing up these treats (and photobombing pictures in the process!)

Happy Halloween!                                                 From Bungie and I to you!

Chocolate Covered Clementines (Paleo)

Ingredients

2 oz dark chocolate (the darker the better!) 

1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

5 clementines, peeled and broken into pieces 

salt

Directions:

Cover a plate with wax paper.

Melt together the chocolate and milk (you want a pretty thin consistency).

Dip half of each clementine in the chocolate and then transfer to the plate. Repeat for each clementine.

Sprinkle with salt and place in the fridge for at least 10 minutes, for chocolate to harden. 

Raw Brownies with Avocado Frosting (Paleo)

As Halloween is now less than a week away, I figured it was time for my Halloween post! 

And please note that this does not mean this recipe must be made only around Halloween. In fact, I’ve been playing around and trying to perfect it since last May! 

And oh my, what a delicious time I’ve had creating this recipe. I don’t think I’ll ever eat regular brownies again. 

Okay, that’s a lie. But still, I prefer this to a regular brownie any day. Plus, this recipe is full of nutrient-dense food. What more can you ask for? 

Hmmm, maybe frosting? Green frosting that’s color-dye free to be exact 🙂 

There we go, life just got a hundred times better 🙂 

I have to admit, I kinda get crazy when it comes to themes. Not only did I make these brownies for a pumpkin-carving party, but I also photographed them with my chalk-board painted pumpkin and my self-made candy cane glass bottles. 

My dad just shakes his head at me. 

But what can I say? I love Halloween 🙂 

Raw Brownies with Avocado Frosting (Paleo) 

Ingredients: 

Brownies: 

3/4 cup almonds 

1/4 cup grounded flaxseed

1 cup packed pitted dates (soak for 2 hours beforehand and then measured out!) 

1 tsp vanilla 

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup cocoa powder 

Avocado Frosting:

1 avocado 

6 tbsp almond milk

3 tbsp honey 

2 tbsp coconut butter, melted

1/2 tsp vanilla 

1/4 tsp salt 

Directions: 

Combine almonds and flaxseed in a food processor and pulse until almonds are in fine pieces. Add in dates, vanilla, and salt. Continue to pulse, stopping often to scrape sides of the bowl with a spatula. After it is fairly combined, add in cocoa powder and pulse until everything is evenly mixed. Again, stop often and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Line a plastic container (size will depend on how thick you want your brownies to be) with parchment paper and then spread brownie mixture throughout the container evenly. Place in the fridge to harden for at least 2 hours. 

Meanwhile combine all frosting ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Place aside (in my opinion, the longer it sits, the better it tastes!) until brownies have hardened. 

Once ready, remove the brownies from the container by pulling up the parchment paper. Place brownies on a flat surface and frost away! Store finished brownies in the fridge. 

Note: this frosting recipe makes a lot more than needed for the brownies. You can either cut the recipe in half or save the extra for another dessert. OR, place extra in a bowl and let sit overnight in the fridge. The next morning you’ll have amazing avocado pudding (so good!). 

Halloween Sour Cherry Candy (Paleo)

I was a major chocoholic when I was little (still am by the way). But I did not like any candy that was sour, fruity, or gummy. Fortunately, I have a friend who hates chocolate but is obsessed with everything sour, fruity, and gummy. After every Halloween, both of us would haul a huge bag of the candy we disliked on the bus to trade. It was a Win-win.

I’ve come to realize that I don’t hate everything sour though. I think it was just the extreme ingredients in the candy. I blame candy for the reason why I never liked or tried grapes and cherries. The artificial flavors taste nothing like the real thing (obviously)!

They just taste… nasty.

I was surprised when I first tasted dried sour cherries and actually liked them. So, I wanted to make my own sour “candy” this year with ingredients that I could enjoy 🙂

Halloween Sour Cherry Candy (Paleo) 

Ingredients:  

2/3 cup organic dried sour red cherries, packed

1/4 cup raw almonds

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp salt

1 tbsp water

Directions:  

Combine dried cherries, almonds, vanilla extract and salt in a food processor. Pulse until almonds break into small pieces. Add in water and blend until a ball forms (be patient!). Form into small balls. Store in the fridge.