Paleo Friendly Fruit and Nut Bites

Before my husband and I started our journey towards the Paleo diet he would eat some sort of packaged cookie or snack with a glass of milk after dinner almost every night. He has done as awesome job at cutting out dairy and cookies but I know there are always healthy substitutes out there. After doing lots of research on non-processes snacks and desserts I realized that several of them were fruit and nut based and super easy to make with the right ingredients.

I found this recipe for a starter and kind of made my own creation from there.

What you will need:

1 Lb of dates

2 Tbs nut butter of choice

1/2 cup crushed almonds

1/2 cup finely chopped dried coconut

First things first, my local grocery store only sells pitted dates. Bend the date in half and the pit will be exposed. Just pick them out and throw them in your compost pile.

Toss the dates and the nut butter in the food processor and start pulsing. You will probably have to use a spoon to move things around a few times.

If your dates start to look like a "hot mess" then you are doing it right.

Once they look like mush with small chunks then dump it onto a piece of wax paper.

Start to roll into small 1" size balls and then roll between the almond and coconut mixture. They are ready to eat now but I like to place in the fridge for about 3 hours so they can firm up a bit.

Tada! You have a healthy snack that is great for on the go people or for a late night sweet tooth.

My next yummy recipe that I will be trying are these black bean truffle balls.

Brittney

Glazed Trout With Mushrooms, Spinach and Squash

Whew, I was so busy these past few days and I realized I had not posted anything since the 9th. I am slacking! My husband and I are in the process of cleaning out our cabinets and converting over to an unprocessed diet. At this time I can't really call it Paleo because we are not quite there yet, however, that is our goal. When we started this conversion last week I told my hubby one of the main things that he could not have was white potatoes. He agreed even though he is a total meat and potatoes kind of guy. It was too funny because last night when we were serving dinner he did a look around the kitchen just to make sure he was not missing any potatoes :). I made a super delicious dinner with fresh water trout and veggies.

It looked a little something like this.

For the glaze: 3 cloves fresh garlic

2 inch section of fresh ginger

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup of soy sauce

Put it in mini food processor for a few pulses until blended and set it aside for a minute. Score the fish all over making little "pockets" for the glaze to seep into. Pour over the fish and bake on 300 degrees for about 25-30 minutes.

In the mean time, saute some mushrooms in water, fresh garlic and pepper.

I also sauteed organic spinach and used the vegetable peeler to shred some squash. I cooked it the same way with water, pepper and garlic.

It was so yummy once we actually got to dig in!

Do you have any beginner Paleo or unprocessed diet recipes or tips? Send them my way and I will post them to share with others!

Brittney

A Is For Apron

It's always fun to look through old patterns and look at the evolution of the Apron. Aprons were used to serve multiple purposes and today they are still widely used but almost as a fashion statement first and a handy kitchen tool second. I have just recently started to wear aprons while cooking and they really do alleviate the need to always know where your dish towel is because you can just wipe your hands on your apron. In addition, you have pockets to place an egg or something small in. I am sure we can all relate to setting an egg on the counter and walking to the other side of the kitchen and hearing the egg splatter on the floor :) Here is a fun little poem on the handiness of an apron. Enjoy!

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be along time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.


This poem Grandma's Apron is listed as "Author Unknown"