Raw Honesty, and Alternative Devil's Food Cake

Well, I'm home today with a not sick kid, who happens to be napping right now, so I figured I'd take this moment to catch up on my blog a bit.  For those of you who check in and read this regularly, I'm sorry I've been MIA.  But, I do want to say thank you for checking in and reading what I post, and for the feedback you give me whether in emails or in person.  It makes me feel like I'm not so alone with my line of thinking.  Lately I've been feeling super lonely, so any of you like-minded friends out there, I could use a little extra love.  Justin sayin...

And that's why I've been MIA.  I've just felt sorta discouraged, like what's the point of posting this stuff?  My home remedies and whatnot, that is.  I know more and more people are checking out my recipes, which is super cool, and my first day of Alternative Market went over with flying colors, so that's awesome too.  But when it comes to eating healthy on a regular basis, or healing illnesses or ailments with natural remedies, or avoiding problems by watching our diet, it seems like I'm totally alone on that one.

RSV has been traveling around my boys' daycare, and we were afraid Elliot might have it as he's had the symptoms, which are mostly just common cold symptoms.  And basically that's what RSV is, the common cold, but it can be dangerous for babies and little kids if it gets out of control, and it can get out of control pretty quickly, which it did for my niece (who was playing quite a bit with Elliot the day she got it).  But it's super common, a lot of times it just goes undiagnosed because symptoms remain mild like that of a regular cold and there's no reason to go to the doctor about it.  I'm sure we've had it a ton of times.  Anyway.  It's super contagious, so I'm just keeping Elliot home away from the babies at the daycare, and preventing further spread to our family because I'm going away with my husband this weekend for my birthday and I would love to go guilt-free and not leave a sick kid with my parents!

I'm not sure if he's RSV positive or not, though.  We had him tested at our doctor's office (which is a horrible nasal swab!), but they don't keep rapid results tests there, which I didn't realize until after we did the swab.  Sorry Elliot.  We won't get results for a couple days, so what was the point of having it done, right?  They don't keep those tests there, though, because they'd expire before they got used, because that's not something they routinely check.  Because they treat people primarily homeopathically.  I'm among a certain group of people that don't go in looking for an ailment like RSV.  We think differently.  We take action differently.

And this whole thing has been yet another moment thrown in my face with flashing lights that I am very alone.  Because all the other daycare parents are getting their results for their kids within minutes and I have to wait a few days.  I was sent home with a homeopathic remedy to treat Elliot's cough, which should assist in preventing RSV symptoms from escalating if that is, in fact, what he has, and his cough diminished as the day went on and I used the remedy.  That's how it is every time I go there - we have an ailment, we get a remedy, it works.  On we go with our lives, no side effects, no complications to our organs because of foreign chemical substances in drugs, no damages to our gut flora (and in turn our immune systems) because of harmful antibiotics.  These doctors know what drugs can do to our insides, and they respect that they should be saved for worst-case scenarios.  They know that our around 80% of our immune system resides in our intestines, so antibiotics are also saved as a last resort, and probiotics are strongly encouraged.  They recognize the importance of diet to a healthy immune system and overall well-being, and recommend diet changes to assist in achieving optimum health.  They see the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies, which have been used for centuries, and they work.  It's amazing how they work.  And for those of you who don't know the difference between homeopathic and holistic/natural, there's a big difference, please look it up.  I'm not talking about crushing a plant with a mortar and pestle and making a tea.  That's not homeopathic.  This is homeopathic.  Make sure you know what I'm talking about.

So anyway.  I see this stuff work time and time again, so effectively and harmlessly, that I can't help but wonder, why is this not mainstream?  Why is this not conventional medicine?  Why oh why am I a minority?  Why would everyone willingly choose chemical drugs with potential side effects and put their organs at risk when there is a better way right here under their noses?  And I get so confused, wondering why I'm alone...

I've gotten to the point where I don't really talk much about my natural lifestyle in the open.  Still, a lot of people email me on a very regular basis wanting advice.  But it's getting frustrating because I don't know exactly what you're looking for.  I give what advice I can, what I would do in your situation, and I'm beginning to realize that what I'm suggesting - the things that are very normal to me - are totally "out there" for you.  And food is another thing - I'll find myself amongst people talking about the Fruit Loops they gave their kids for breakfast, and I'm trying to keep my jaw off the floor.  And I have to step back and say, No Jami, most people aren't aware that starting your day with processed sugar and food dye is a very bad idea.

And it makes me sad.  And I stop and have a moment of gratitude that I have the awareness that I have, and the open mind to continue to learn more and try new things that are safe, that I have the knowledge to treat the problems rather than the symptoms if we come down with any sort of ailment.  And I wish I weren't so alone.

Am I really that alone, you guys?  Or are all you natural lifestyle enthusiasts just keeping quiet in your own little world just like I've begun doing lately, and that's why I don't know about you?  I'm tired of being the crazy one for doing what I feel is safer and healthier for myself and my family.  I'm tired of being surrounded by people who just give into the fear tactics used by the medical field.  I'm tired of being surrounded by people who blindly trust their physician.  I'm not saying doctors or physicians are bad people, I know it totally sounds like that's what I'm saying, I know they're not, and I want to believe that a lot of them truly do care about your well being more than they care about their wallet, they just don't know how to treat holistically and weren't trained to do so.  They treat your symptoms because that's how they were trained.  Because that's the kind of world we live in.  You're willing to take drug after drug after drug to treat your symptoms and completely ignore the problem that your symptoms are trying to warn you about, and then you're willing to take on the side effects of those drugs that may have long term damages you'll have to deal with late into life.

I'm sorry, guys.  This is a depressing post.  I just wanted to share some honesty though.  And vent some frustration.  Because being alone in your lifestyle choices is very frustrating.  Like I said, I need a little love.  So if you don't mind, leave a comment or shoot me an email letting me know you care about my posts on here, you care that I share my first-hand experience with you, that you've learned something through all this.  I've got so much to share - more remedies for the common cold, how to heal pink eye, basic solutions for boosting the immune system safely, etc.  I know some people care, I've talked to you at my office and sent you on your way with information.  But sharing it here... I don't know.  I'm losing ambition to make my knowledge available to the public.  So please let me know if this blog makes a difference to you.  I'd really appreciate it.


In the meantime, the best way to combat the blues is chocolate, right??  I think so!  I whipped up this chocolate cake based on my cinnamon scone recipe, and made the icing from scratch, and it turned out amazing.  Harlee took a bite of it and moaned happily, it was so good.  Seriously, forget that these are "healthy".  Alternative, yes, as they're grain-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free, but they taste too good to be "healthy".  They're sinful.  I'm totally calling it a Devil's food cake.

Alternative Devil's Food Cake

1 ½ cups cashews (or 1 1/3 cups ground)
¼ cup arrowroot powder
Pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp cocoa powder
4 tbsp organic maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract

1 Egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9” metal cake pan with parchment paper.  Blend the cashews in a food processor until ground into a flour.  Add the remainder of the ingredients to the food processor and blend until smooth.  You should have a thick, sticky batter.  Pour into the parchment-lined cake pan and spread out toward the edges.

Bake for 30 minutes, then top with prepared icing.  Let cool, cut into wedges, and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Chocolate Icing

 

1/2 cup coconut butter, softened

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup almond or coconut milk

 

 

 Coconut butter works way better than coconut oil.  Oil would work just fine too, but you'd have to keep it cool as it can melt. 

Add all ingredients to a bowl and beat with a stand or hand mixer until thoroughly combined.  I found it easier to spread over a warm cake, as it melts and doesn't make the cake crumby.  Once cooled, it sets up well.

Everything in moderation, guys... Don't eat the whole cake...

The Family Mealtime Illusion and Honey Lemon Chicken and Shrimp Pasta

So I talked about emotional eating in a somewhat-recent past post.  There's another component to emotional eating that just dawned on me after that Ive been exploring and want to talk about here.

It's the cultural ideas planted in our heads about food.  I, like a lot of people I'm sure, was raised with family meal time every night.  Mom had dinner done at a certain time, and we all sat down at the dinner table as a family and ate.  It's supposed to be family bonding time, and I've even read studies that show that kids who are raised with family meal time actually do better in school and stay out of trouble in their teenage years.  Why?  Because that's the one time in the day the family gets to sit down together as a whole and talk to each other.  Make the kids feel important, make them feel like mom and dad are interested in them and want to know how their day went and anything like that.  It makes sense!  And I and my siblings all stayed out of trouble, so maybe there's something to that...  So ever since Harlee started eating meals I felt eager to establish a specific dinner time that we all sat down together and form the habit of discussing our day and making everyone feel important and loved.

And I was met with great frustration.  If Justin wasn't working late or on night shift, he'd be out mowing, or working on something outside and not ready to drop everything and come in yet.  And I'd get aggravated because it's family time!  You can't shirk family time!  Come on!  And if he did come in to eat, he'd rush through it so he could get back out to finish what he was doing.  I know my mom has experienced this aggravation too, as I've seen it, and I think there are probably quite a few families that deal with the same thing.  Or if it's not that exact same scenario, I know there are quite a few families that do feel bad about their lifestyles being too busy to even allow for a family meal time to happen at all.

I was about to give up on family meal time but it made me sad to think about having to do that.  That's supposed to be family time.  What's going to happen when the kids are in school and they don't have this consistent routine of family time to come back to?

I quit dwelling on it for awhile.  But it nagged me in the back of my mind.  

Meanwhile, I read an article about Intermittent Fasting.  I had heard of it, and I heard great things about it too, but never really gave it much thought until I read that article.  Wow!  It basically says it's like hitting the reset button for your body because it allows the chance for your cells to pull nutrients from your body rather than your food, and it causes your cells to be able to discard all the old junk that doesn't work anymore and rebuild itself.  This could potentially rid your body of the start of illnesses and diseases!  There's more to it than that - I encourage you to read that article, it's good!  I'm currently working on my own article about it, so stay tuned.  So anyway I decided I'd give it a try.  I forgot to bring my lunch with me to work one day, and it was a day Harlee had karate in the evening, so I figured it was a good time to try it.  I ate breakfast that morning, and wouldn't eat again until the next morning.  Of course I felt hungry.  At times I almost felt dizzy.  But it wasn't debilitating.  And actually, that evening Justin and I hoed the garden together while Harlee helped pull weeds and I exerted a lot of energy, but I didn't feel like I was going to pass out.  I slept AMAZING that night.  I got the best sleep I'd gotten in a long time!  And I woke up feeling great too - I was in a good mood and I didn't feel like I was starving.  I made a bacon and veggie omelet as my break-fast meal and it tasted amazing, and I went back to eating normal the rest of the day.  I drank a TON of water while I fasted - I couldn't seem to get enough!

Then I had a client who asked me how the fasting went, and I told my story and we got to talking about food.  This client sees food as fuel, they eat to keep their bodies going, and they only eat real food, not processed junk.  I asked about their family mealtime and the answer was that they didn't really have a regular family mealtime.  Sometimes they'd sit down together, but they'd all eat different (healthy) things, sometimes they'd eat separately whenever they were hungry.  Yet from what I know of their family, it doesn't seem like it's causing the kids to suffer...

I thought about my family.  How nice it was to not have to think about dinner that night I was fasting.  And I realized, didn't we have quality family time in the garden that night? All working together to weed it?  That was nice, and it was family bonding time that didn't revolve around food.  Maybe it's best if family time didn't revolve around food... Maybe that's the key to helping my kids form healthy eating habits.  To eat when they're hungry, not necessarily at a designated time.

But what about cooking? Cooking meals that look and taste good but are also healthy and nutritious is fun for me - it's a form of art, a creative outlet.  Would this mean having to give that up?

Well, that issue resolved itself too.  My dad came over to help Justin put up railing on our retaining wall and they were busy working on it from morning and into the afternoon.  Justin and I had plans that evening, so if we were going to have a family meal, it would have to be lunch.  This time, however, I didn't worry about a family meal.  I had the chance to cook and try a new recipe, plus I was feeling hungry, so I set to it and made an amazing pasta dish with zucchini noodles I had in the fridge.  I served up a plate, sat outside with some lemonade, cut up some chicken for Elliot and sat him next to me, and we watched my dad and Justin work.  I thoroughly enjoyed that lunch - the recipe turned out amazing, and I didn't have to feel aggravated that we didn't get to sit down as a family, knowing it's just food, and we can have family time in plenty of other ways.

It was a very freeing experience.  And since then, I havent worried about sitting down to eat as a family.  We have family time in the garden, or in the car on the way to karate (which, by the way, I pack a lunchbox for Halree so we don't wind up at a drive-through), or reading stories before bed.  It doesn't have to revolve around food!

And let me tell you, that's helped even more with breaking my emotional eating problem.  Food is fuel and medicine.  Not a social crutch or an emotional stimulant or something to fill a void in your heart or something to do when you're bored.  Find ways to replace food in those situations.  There are plenty of options! 

So, now that I've shared that story, let me share that amazing recipe I just talked about.  It was SO good. It's based on this honey lemon chicken recipe I found on Pinterest, but with my own twist.  I served it up with some peach mango lemonade.  Holy cow it was good.  So here's my recipe!

Honey Lemon Chicken and Shrimp Pasta

Sauce

1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
leaves from 2 or 3 sprigs of thyme (I used a variety called lemon thyme that I have growing on my porch)

Chicken and Shrimp

1 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
Juice from one lemon
Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
12oz peeled cooked shrimp
3 small-medium zucchinis, spiralized

Combine the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl or measuring cup and set aside.

In a large skillet, add the olive oil, chicken, lemon juice, and black pepper and cook over medium-high heat until chicken is almost cooked through (but not totally).
Turn heat to medium-low, add the shrimp, and slowly add the sauce.  Stir to combine, and let it bubble at a low boil until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is cooked through.
At this point I transferred everything to a large pot and added the noodles and stirred over medium-low heat until combined and the noodles were just soft enough to my liking (be careful not to over-cook or they'll turn to mush!)

Serve and top with a little lemon zest, freshly cracked black pepper, and enjoy!

This was crazy good.  I enjoyed it with some peach mango lemonade, which is super easy to make.

Fruit Lemonade

I cheat and use the powdered lemonade. Do not use sugar-free, that stuff is poison.  Use real sugar.  I measure out enough for a gallon.  But you can make real lemonade, I've done that before too when I have the time to spare.
Then I take half of a 12oz bag of frozen fruit (I've used raspberries, blueberries, mixed berries, and this time I used a peach mango medley), put it in a cup with hot water, and blend it with my immersion blender (or you can use a regular blender), and pour it into the pitcher with the lemonade powder.  Fill it the rest of the way to make a gallon, stir to combine, and enjoy!

This is SO easy and SO good, and such a simple way to add a little extra nutrition to your lemonade!

Paleo Banana Muffins

I made paleo banana muffins awhile back and never saved the recipe.  Then here I was with overripe bananas and no recipe to follow to recreate the muffins I made before!  These turned out even better than those, though, so I'm not making that mistake again - I'm writing it down now before I forget!

Harlee used to eat bananas all the time.  I never had to make banana bread with overripe bananas because he'd eat them all before they ever got to that point.  I guess his taste buds changed because he's not as interested in them anymore, and since I don't care for them that much (and apparently Justin doesn't either), and the co-op basket always comes with bananas, we now have the overripe situation.

Bring on the banana bread! Paleo-style, of course.

I found the original recipe on PaleoNewbie.com and added my own twist to it.  Bananas need peanut butter, in my opinion.  And peanut butter needs chocolate.  So, without further ado, I give you:

Paleo Chocolate-Chip-Peanut-Butter-Banana-Nut Muffins  (say that three times fast...)

3 ripe bananas

2 eggs

1/2 cup nut butter (I used peanut)

1/4 cup butter or coconut oil, melted

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups almond flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1/2 cup (or more...) chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F.

With a stand mixer or hand mixer, mash the banans and mix with the eggs, vanilla, butter, and peanut butter. Add the dry ingredients (except the chocolate chips and nuts) and mix into a batter.  Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips.

Line a muffin tin with baking cups and pour the batter into each one.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick insterted comes out clean.

Enjoy now, or freeze for later!

Snow Day, Getting back on the Healthy Wagon, and Turtle Fudge Cheesecake

Both the boys are snoozing and the snow is still blowing around outside so I've finally got a moment of free time to share with you yet another AMAZING "cheese"cake recipe.  I'm addicted to these things!  It's my new favorite dessert.  I think I may have mentioned before that Elliot really doesn't seem to have a dairy intolerance anymore - I've been eating it and he's handled it just fine - but I can't stop making this dessert.  The first time I made it was because I wanted something to make me feel like I was still kind of eating a cheesecake even though I couldn't eat cheese.  And it turned out so freaking amazing that I just haven't stopped.  And there are so many different ways to make this, too!

So far the "cheese"cakes I have made include:
Cookie Dough
Pumpkin
Cherry
Chocolate Heath
Lemon-Blueberry

The lemon-blueberry has been my favorite so far.  But I'm a sucker for that flavor combination, and those flavors by themselves.  Girl Scout cookies came in and so far I've resisted busting into the box of Savannah Smiles and eating the whole thing all in one sitting...

On a side note, I actually haven't busted into the box because I've finally cracked down on my diet.  Like, gotten serious about it, for REAL this time.  Remember my first post of the new year?  I admitted that I'm human and have made mistakes, I totally fell off the Paleo wagon and have been gaining weight steadily and feeling crappier and crappier about myself.  And I said in that post that I'd try to do better, and I haven't.  It's March now, we're a quarter of the way into the year, and I haven't changed.  I've been slacking in my workouts more and more, still eating way more carbs and processed food than I care to admit, and it's been showing.  My skin is blotchy, I feel tired and run-down, and my "spare tire" keeps growing.

A few things finally hit me, which I'll probably write about in a future post, but I finally found the motivation to crack down and stick with it.  One thing that helped was starting up personal training again.  I'm just the type that needs that sort of exercise.  I need to be on someone's schedule, I need to have accountability, I need someone to tell me what to do and how to do it.  I'll put it on my calendar and show up.  This time, it's with a totally new trainer, in a totally new location, with a totally new system.  I got soooo much out of Flex and had such great success with Derek, but the timing just wasn't there this time, and I'll admit I've been nervous about trying something different, coming from knowing what he came up with for me worked so well.  But at the same time I'm excited about the change of pace, the different scenery, the different trainer - it's mixing things up a bit for me, giving me something new to look forward to, and that helps keep me motivated.  My first day was Tuesday and I'm sore today!  I felt so happy after I left - I'm back on track, getting back into the swing of things, and there's a light at the end of a tunnel that I dug myself into - a tunnel that just kept getting longer and darker the more I fell into the clutches of my bad habits.

And with this new exercise routine, I'm feeling a sense of motivation.  She took my weight, measurements, and body fat percentage, and being able to have tangible numbers in front of me made me feel determined to keep those numbers changing.  I want to burn off the body fat, regain my confidence, and most importantly, my good health.  But that's not a goal that's met in the gym, and I know that.  These are goals that will only be met if I behave in the kitchen too.  I guess the realization set in that I really do need to take the bull by the horns and crack down.  So all day yesterday I've been gluten-free, and all day today I've been 100% Paleo.  I'm going to focus primarily on gluten-free, as I'm sure non-paleo carbs will sneak in here and there, but I'm going to do my best to keep it as Paleo as possible.  I'm already feeling better, it's amazing what just two days have done.

Anyway.  That's where I am right now.  I'm excited and motivated and feeling really good about the future.  Bring on bikini weather!  (No seriously, please bring on bikini weather, this snow is getting OLD.)

Here are some snow pictures:

My brother Joel and I with our Buddha snow sculpture

Justin built a snowman

 Us with our friends Clay and Barbi with our igloo that we built in the front yard of my office

Alright, now for that "cheese"cake recipe!  It was Mom's birthday on Saturday (happy birthday, Mom!) and I told her I'd make her one of my cakes, and I threw some ideas out for what types I'd like to make, and she requested turtle fudge.  I was totally okay with that idea!  And ooooh my goodness it turned out great!!  We went over Sunday and played in the snow, then went inside for lunch and then to indulge in this fabulous dessert.  It tasted sinful.  I'm just blown away by how delicious it was, without having anything bad in it!  Of course it was chock-full of calories... I guess we can't get off THAT easy... but at least it contained a fraction of the carbs of what the SAD (Standard American Diet) version of this cake would be.

Doesn't that look heavenly??

So this was almost-vegan.  You can definitely make it totally vegan if you want, but I didn't want to.  It was also involved.  It took a few days of prep-work and had a lot of different steps involved.  But I'm telling you, it was SO worth it.  Plus Harlee got a kick out of helping me, as usual.

First, I made dairy-free sweetened condensed milk.  I found this recipe on The Detoxinista.  It's super easy to do, here's how:

Sweetened Condensed Milk being poured into fudge mixture

Dairy-Free Sweetened Condensed Milk

You need:
1 14oz can of full fat coconut milk
1/4 cup honey (or sweetener of choice)

Pour the coconut milk into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, about 5 minutes.  Whisk it while it's heating so it doesn't burn, and watch closely so it doesn't boil over.

Reduce heat to a simmer, and pour in the honey, whisking until it's dissolved into the milk.  Simmer for about 30 minutes, until the milk is reduced by half and thick.  Let cool.

I put it in an airtight dish and kept it in the fridge til I was ready to make the cake.  This is an ingredient for the fudge, which I made after I made the crust for the "cheese"cake.  The crust was pretty much like all the other crusts, only this time I used both almonds and pecans:

Crust

You need:
2 cups pecans, ground into flour
1 cup almonds, ground into flour
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
4 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash sea salt

Mix all ingredients until combined.

Line a springform pan (or 8x8 glass baking dish) with parchment paper.  Spread the crust mixture out evenly on the bottom, pressing flat.

Now that the crust was done, I was ready for the next layer: Fudge.  I actually got this idea when I happened to catch an episode of Giada at Home on FoodNetwork, and she made Cinnamon Fudge.  I got online and realized, I can totally Paleo-ify this!

Yummy melting fudge

Paleo Fudge

You need:

1 recipe Coconut Sweetened-Condensed Milk (see above)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups dark or milk chocolate chips (I used a combo of both)
3 tbsp butter or coconut oil (I used butter)

Combine all ingredients in a glass bowl, and place the bowl over a saucepan of boiling water.  Stir the ingredients until melted and smooth.  Remove from the heat and, if you want just plain fudge, spread it out in a baking dish lined with parchment paper.

Or, in the case of this cake, spread it out over the crust mixture and let cool.

K, so you've got a crust, a layer of fudge, now you need the "cheese"cake!  That part hasn't changed, only this time I added an extra cup of cashews so I could have a little more :).

"Cheese"Cake

3 cups raw cashews, soaked in water overnight
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash sea salt

Discard the water the cashews were soaking in and place in a food processor or blender along with the other ingredients.  Blend until smooth.

I spread this mixture out over the fudge, then I sprinkled on more chocolate chips as well as chopped and whole pecans.  Then came the last step.  Caramel.  I got this recipe from Simple Roots Wellness and modified it to what I had on hand.

Paleo Caramel

1 14oz can full fat coconut milk
⅓ cup honey (original recipe called for coconut sugar - that would have worked better but I didn't have any on hand)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp coconut oil (or butter)
¼ tsp salt

In a small saucepan add coconut milk and honey.  Bring to a boil over medium heat stirring the whole time.  Once boiling turn down heat and stir continually at a slow boil, careful not to let it burn.  Continue boiling until sauce has reduced and thickened, about 25-35 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, oil or butter and salt.  Mine was light in color compared to regular caramel.  I'm sure using coconut sugar would have changed that.  But it still tasted awesome!

Drizzle this all over the top of the pecans and chocolate chips and pop the whole thing in the freezer for at least two hours.  Transfer to the fridge to thaw and soften, and dig in.  And marvel at how amazing it is.

More Vegan Cheesecake (Cuz It's My Birthday!)

I love birthdays.  I've probably mentioned that before.  I made two vegan cheesecakes for my birthday too and I'm SO happy with the turn-out!  By the way, I've been eating dairy little by little and Elliot has shown no adverse reactions to it.  So I'm thinking we are in the clear from his former dairy allergy!  I still don't eat it a LOT because I've noticed I personally feel better when I avoid it (and my skin is clearer, too, among other things), but sometimes it's hard to pass up (like in the form of cheese or milk chocolate...).  However, even though I don't HAVE to avoid dairy, I'm not going to stop making this dessert.  Seriously, it's THAT good.

This has been a great birthday weekend so far.  I couldn't have asked for better weather for February, thanks Mother Nature!  Friday night I had some friends over - I decided it's easier to just have everyone come to me rather than going out, that way we can hang out at our own leisure and nobody has to worry about getting sitters for their kids or anything like that.  Plus Justin makes pork steaks that rival anything I've had at a restaurant so I'm always happy to stay home if those are on the menu!  Everyone brought a dish and we had a great evening.  And I'm pretty sure everyone gave the thumbs-up on my "cheese"cakes!

Me, the girls, Elliot, and his two little buddies on the way :)

Saturday we took Rachael with us to the St. Louis City Museum, because you're never too old for that place, and I wanted to do something I don't normally get to do.  We got sushi for lunch and then played the rest of the day.  It was fun!  And a little rough on the knees... The weather was so perfect, though - which worked out great for playing outside!

Sunday Rachael and Cassie came over for a birthday party workout, which was so much fun!  I really liked this one - Rachael surprised me with the line-up, so it was nice to not have to make one up myself.  It was a rough one though!  We started out doing 86 lunges... which we immediately decided to change to 86 front kicks and did 19 lunges instead.  My butt is sore from all that leg work...  I really liked that it was a 29 minute AMRAP though (As Many Rounds As Possible).  It forced us to get a good half-hour workout in, when normally my crossfit workouts have been done in 5 minutes.

Later we took the Harleys out with Clay and Barbi and rode up to Bully's Smokehouse in Columbia for a late lunch.  Ooohhh I've missed the bike... We hardly rode at all in over a year, being busy with the house and me being pregnant with Elliot, so it was nice to finally get a good ride in.  Hope we can get more in the books this spring and summer!

Justin and I watched The Giver after the boys fell asleep.  Holy crap that movie was powerful.  Or at least I thought so.  I read the book a loooong time ago so I kinda forgot what it was about, but I remember liking it.  Don't remember it being that intense though...

After a busy weekend, I spent today, my actual birthday, not doing anything too exciting at all.  We went to the chiropractor, then I had to get blood drawn to check my thyroid and adrenals (more on that some other time), happy birthday to me... Then we did a little shopping.  We did eat at Olive Garden, per my request, and now I feel lazy and sluggish from the breadsticks and pasta.  Good reminder why I try to keep my diet clean...  Clay and Barbi are coming over again this evening for pizza (yeah, I'm doing it to myself again!) and that's a wrap for my birthday!  It was a great welcome into the last year of my 20s!

Here's the recipe for my "cheese"cakes!  I'll start with the lemon-blueberry.  That was originally going to be my only cake, as I'm a sucker for lemon and blueberry flavors, but it's not a favorite flavor combo for everyone, so I did a back-up cake with a chocolate-heath flavor.  It was way less healthy... but so freaking good regardless... haha :)

Lemon-Blueberry "Cheese"cake

For the crust:

2 cups pecans, ground into flour
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
4 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash sea salt

Mix all ingredients until combined.

Line a 7x11 (or 8x8, which is what I used) glass baking dish with parchment paper

Spoon in crust mixture and flatten evenly

For the filling:

2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water overnight
2-3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash sea salt
2 tsp lemon extract

3 tbsp lemon juice

 

Discard the water the cashews had been soaking in.

Combine soaked cashews, coconut oil, vanilla, maple syrup, and salt in the food processor.

Blend until creamy and smooth.

 

 

For the topping:

2 cups blueberries, frozen or fresh
1/2 cup honey
1-2 tbsp arrowroot powder
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the blueberries and honey in a sauce pan and bring to a boil while adding the lemon juice and vanilla.  Simmer about 5 minutes and add the arrowroot while stirring until it is all combined.  Simmer on low until thickened and take off the heat. 

 

Take half the filling a set aside.  Mix the other half of the filling with some of the juice from the blueberries.  Swirl the two halves of filling together and spread out in the baking dish.  Top with blueberries, place in the freezer for a couple hours to set, then move it to the refrigerator to soften before serving.  Enjoy!

 

 

Chocolate Heath "Cheese"cake

 

For the crust:

2 cups pecans or almonds, ground into flour
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
4 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash sea salt

Mix all ingredients until combined.

Line a 7x11 (or 8x8, which is what I used) glass baking dish with parchment paper

Spoon in crust mixture and flatten evenly

For the filling:

2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water overnight
2-3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash sea salt
1 tbsp cocoa powder

 

Discard the water the cashews had been soaking in.

Combine soaked cashews, coconut oil, vanilla, maple syrup, salt, and cocoa powder in the food processor.

Blend until creamy and smooth.

Spread filling out over the crust, top with melted chocolate and Heath toffee bits, and freeze for a couple of hours.  Move to the refrigerator to soften for a couple hours before serving.

Justin's Birthday, Brisket, and Cherry Cheesecake

How is January almost over already?  This is crazy!  I wanted to publish Justin's birthday cheesecake recipe back around his actual birthday, but now it's almost MY birthday!  Oh well, I'm the kind of person who likes to celebrate birthdays for weeks so we can still pretend it's his birthday :).

Hi birthday is January 11th, so in the days leading up to it I brainstormed what to do to celebrate.  I asked Harlee to ask Justin what kind of birthday cake he wanted.  That was entertainment:

Me: Harlee, ask Dad what kind of birthday cake he wants.
Harlee: What kind of birthday cake you want, Dad?
Justin: Tell Mom a cherry cheesecake.
Harlee: Dad wants a chicken cheesecake!
Justin: No, a cherry cheesecake
Harlee: He wants a cherry on top!

I shared that on Facebook so some of you may know this story already.  Hahaha it still cracks me up though.

I did not make a chicken cheesecake with a cherry on top, which I guess didn't disappoint Harlee.  I didn't make a conventional cheesecake, either.  I went with my vegan style cheesecake - dairy-free and paleo (well, almost... I did drizzle some melted white chocolate on top... but other than that it was paleo!)!

Fortunately this turned out amaaaazing.  Wow I was so happy with the outcome... And I'm glad too - last year Justin's birthday cake was a total flop - a very sad attempt at a paleo red velvet cake.  He deserved a damn good cake this year, so I'm very happy this turned out so well!  I don't really know how I got so lucky with him... usually winter is slow for him at work (he's a boilermaker) so he's been home a lot, and he's totally assumed the role of "super dad".  He's been cleaning, keeping up with laundry, dishes, watching the kids, running my errands... All I've had to do is go to work and cook dinner (which I enjoy doing anyway).  I wish it could be like this forever... I'm not really your typical female I guess, and I'd definitely fail miserably at being a 50's house wife - I much prefer being at work over being at home doing all the chores Justin's been keeping up with.  He doesn't seem to mind, though, which is kinda funny.  Definitely a big role reversal going on here!  But hey, we've got balance, and that's all that matters!  On top of being a great wife, he's also been finishing up some projects around the house - the stairs to the basement are now sealed and shiny with polyurethane, he's got an amazing hand-made gun rack set up in the vault in the basement along with the bones of a hunting room, he's started unpacking a lot of boxes that had been pushed to the side amidst the craziness of moving in, having a baby, moving my business, and then celebrating holidays.  I don't know how he's pulled everything off that he has, and on top of that he's had time to come pick me up from work and take me out to lunch quite a bit.  My stress levels have been, well, nil - I may have forgotten what the word "stress" even means... And that's come in super handy since Elliot had been pretty unhappy about his incoming teeth.  He's a lot better lately, which I just posted about, but for awhile there... whew!

 Justin is currently elbows deep in his next project - the chicken house.  The Papenberg Homestead is on its way to becoming just that - a homestead.  I've never raised chickens before, I have no idea what's involved with it... all I know is that they look creepy, but they taste good and so do their eggs!  I'm super excited about fresh eggs...  I'm also excited about the fact that they supposedly eat anything - so when I have cooking scraps (like rinds, peels, stems, cores, seeds, etc.), I can toss it to the chickens rather than feeling really bad about throwing it away and being wasteful.  I could start composting, but there's a lot of involvement in that, from what I understand, and I'm not seeing me sticking with that kind of project.  So, to the chickens it'll go!

I digress.  So anyway, we started the morning with Justin's birthday present, which Harlee was excited to help him open:

We got him a scope mount for his gun.  He was pleased with that gift and spent the rest of the morning attaching it to his gun while Harlee and I got to work on dinner for the evening.  We made brisket in the crockpot with all homemade ingredients.  Harlee loves helping me cook!

homemade ketchup

stirring the homemade Worcestershire sauce

 We also had roasted garlic Parmesan asparagus and a salad with mixed greens, apples, walnuts, and a simple balsamic vinaigrette dressing that anyone can make:

1 part balsamic vinegar
1 part olive oil
1/4 part honey
Garlic powder, salt and pepper, basil and oregano to taste

Shake it or whisk it together and enjoy!

Here's the link to the recipe I used for our brisket:  http://paleoleap.com/slow-cooked-beef-brisket/
And here's what dinner looked like:

Yum!

But I've kept you waiting long enough.  How about that "cheese"cake recipe, then?


Topping
2 cups sweet cherries, pitted
1/2 cup honey
1-2 tbsp arrowroot powder
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the cherries and honey in a sauce pan and bring to a boil while adding the lemon juice and vanilla.  Simmer about 5 minutes and add the arrowroot while stirring until it is all combined.  Simmer on low until thickened and take off the heat.





Crust:

2 cups ground pecans
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
4 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash sea salt
Dark chocolate chips, melted (optional)

Mix all ingredients until combined.

Line a 7x11 (or 8" springform pan, which I used) glass baking dish with parchment paper

Spoon in crust mixture and flatten evenly.  Spread melted chocolate over the crust, if you'd like (and why wouldn't you?)

Filling (which I doubled)

2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water overnight
2-3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash sea salt
1/2 cup prepared cherry topping

Discard the water the cashews had been soaking in.

Combine soaked cashews, coconut oil, vanilla, maple syrup, and salt in the food processor.

Blend until creamy and smooth.

Once blended, stir in the cherry topping and spread mixture evenly over crust

Spread the warm cherry topping over the cashew filling.
Place in freezer for 4-6 hours.

Move to refrigerator to thaw until ready to serve, then cut into bars or wedges.

I ended up melting about a half a cup of white chocolate chips and putting it in a ziplock bag, cutting the tip off, and  squeezing all that yumminess on top of the cheesecake.  So not paleo, yet soooo good...

Three Recipes in One! Two Vegan Cheesecakes and Glazed Mixed Nuts

I've gotta say, this whole dairy-free thing has led me to all kinds of wonderful discoveries!  These vegans, they sure know how to make some fabulous desserts!  Cheesecake in particular.  Justin and I both love that stuff.  It's so bad for you though... and now it's definitely off-limits for me since Elliot can't handle it when I eat any dairy products.  But that doesn't stop me!  Heck, that's what led me to the Paleo lifestyle over two years ago - I refused to give up indulging in guilty pleasures, so I found ways to replace them with healthier versions.  Same goes for this - I can't have dairy?  I'll find replacements!

In this case, cream cheese is replaced with cashews.  Oh my goodness, do they come to the rescue... I'm not even a big fan of cashews, but you really can't tell that's what this is made of!

Lucky you, I'm sharing three recipes with you in this post!  Two "cheese"cake recipes and an amazingly delicious (and equally amazingly simple) glazed mixed nuts recipe.

I'll start with the original recipe I discovered and tried for the first time.  We were having a couple friends over for dinner, Gordon and Sandy, whom we normally go out to Tequila's with, but now with two little ones it's just easier to have people over rather than hope the odds are in our favor that both babies are on their best behavior at a restaurant (not entirely likely, which makes going out to eat more stressful than it is enjoyable).  So I made this cornish hen recipe, with a salad and roasted potatoes on the side (okay so potatoes aren't Paleo but they're at least tolerable for Elliot!), but I wanted something for dessert too.  Gordon is a major chocoholic, so I knew chocolate had to be involved.  And cheesecake sounded really good... so off to Pinterest I went in search of a vegan cheesecake recipe, and voila, I found this one from Lexi's Clean Kitchen.  It did not disappoint!

So here's the recipe, with my tweaks:

Cookie Dough Cheesecake

For the crust:

2 cups almond flour
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
4 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash sea salt

Mix all ingredients until combined.

Line a 7x11 (or 8x8, which is what I used) glass baking dish with parchment paper

Spoon in crust mixture and flatten evenly

For the filling:

2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water overnight
2-3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash sea salt
1/3 cup Enjoy Life's mini chocolate chips
Extra chocolate chips for sprinkling on top

Discard the water the cashews had been soaking in.

Combine soaked cashews, coconut oil, vanilla, maple syrup, and salt in the food processor.

Blend until creamy and smooth.

Once blended, add in chocolate chips and spread mixture evenly over crust.  (My mixture was a bit warm from the coconut oil having been freshly melted so the chocolate ships melted a bit, which turned out fantastic)

Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.
Place in freezer for 4-6 hours.

Remove, slice into bars, and store in refrigerator.

Lexi was kind enough to provide nutrition facts: (someday I need to go back through my recipes and include this info...)

1. Serving: 15 bars
2. Amount per serving: 1 bar
3. Calories: 253
4. Fat: 20g
5. Carbs: 16
6. Protein: 6g

This "cheese"cake successfully won the approval of Gordon the Chocoholic (well, all of us, really), and they couldn't guess what the main ingredient was that replaced the traditional cream cheese.  I knew I would definitely be making this again!

And today, I did!  Once again we found ourselves with an opportunity to go out to dinner with a couple friends, Clay and Barbi, but we didn't have anyone available to watch the boys.  So, instead, we ordered from Tequila's (which is where we usually go) and ate at our house instead.  Clay likes to order a cheesecake dessert they have on the menu, and I didn't want him to miss out on dessert!  But since it's pumpkin season, I decided to tweak the above recipe to make it a pumpkin cheesecake instead.  I also decided to top it with a fantastic, yet ridiculously simple recipe I had made for a friend's daughter's birthday party a couple months ago - maple glazed mixed nuts.  They're so good it's crazy.  And I still can't get over how easy they are to make.

Here's what I came up with for the Pumpkin Cheesecake:

Make the crust as explained above.

To make the filling: 

2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water overnight
2-3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash sea salt
1 cup canned or fresh pumpkin puree

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Discard the water the cashews had been soaking in.

Combine soaked cashews, coconut oil, vanilla, maple syrup, and salt in the food processor.

Blend until creamy and smooth.

Once blended, add in the pumpkin and spices, and stir to combine.

Spread mixture on top of the crust.

 To make the topping:

Follow the recipe below, but instead of two cups of whole nuts use 3/4 cup of pecans, chopped, and 2-3 tbsp pure maple syrup.

Spread the glazed pecans over the cheesecake, place in freezer for 4-6 hours, then transfer to the refrigerator before serving.  Slice into bars, and enjoy!

Everyone loved the "cheese"cake!  Again, you can't even tell that cashews are the main ingredient!  The texture and flavor are amazing, and I love how I didn't feel weighted down and almost exhausted after eating it like I would normally feel after eating a real cheesecake.

And now, I leave you with the last recipe, which I got from Bit of the Good Stuff:

Glazed Mixed Nuts:

 

 2 cups of nuts (I used walnuts, pecans, and almonds)
4 tbsp pure maple syrup

Preheat a dry frying pan (skillet) on medium-high heat.
Add the nuts and dry fry for 2 minutes, stirring continuously.  Add the maple syrup and continue stirring for about 3 minutes, until the nuts are fully coated and the syrup has caramelized and become very sticky.
Spread the nuts on a piece of parchment paper.  As they cool, the nuts will dry and become shiny, and no longer sticky.  Store in an airtight container.

Vegan Mozzarella Cheese

Harlee helping spread the sauce

Elliot is definitely dairy intolerant.  It makes things tricky for me when cheese is involved, but otherwise I've been totally fine with it.  Unfortunately, I had been craving pizza for a week or so and pizza is just not the same without cheese.  So I just kept trying to remind myself that one day I would no longer be breastfeeding and then look out, Dicarlo's, because I'd be going on a major pizza binge!

Then I found a recipe for vegan mozzarella cheese on OneGreenPlanet.org.  I thought, what do I have to lose?  I'm going to give it a try!  I'm still pretty strict about eating Paleo (at home... I'll admit I'm not as strict as I should be when we go out) so I made my dairy-free cauliflower pizza crust recipe and tried my hand at this vegan cheese.

Harlee is quite the little chef!

It was so weird... once it thickened up it totally took on the consistency of cheese... Crazy!  Fortunately it's really easy to make, tastes awesome, and keeps well in the fridge.  So all you dairy-intolerant people, fear not, for now you can enjoy pizza again!

Here's the recipe from the website:

• 1/4 cup raw cashews soaked in water for several hours or overnight
• 1 cup hot water
• 2  tbsp + 1 tsp tapioca or arrowroot powder (I used arrowroot)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 3/4  tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1. Blend all ingredients together in a high speed blender until completely smooth, or with an immersion blender, for about 1 minute.
2. Pour into a small saucepan and cook, stirring constantly over medium high heat.  Once the mixture starts clumping up, reduce heat to medium and keep stirring.
3. Keep stirring for another 2-3 minutes until you have a big melty blob of "cheese" that's goopy and stretchy.
4. Remove from heat and let cool a bit while you assemble the pizzas
5. For pizza, once it's cooled just pick apart pieces of the "cheese" and stretch it out over your pizza crust.  It's weird stuff, but you can work it to make it cover the pizza.  Then just bake it according to the crust instructions posted in the link above!
    

 Enjoy!

Mine is the bottom left pizza and the rest are made with regular mozzarella.  Could you tell?

looks totally legit!