Paleo double chocolate muffins/cupcakes and coconut cream frosting.

Dairy-free | Soy-free | Gluten-free | Paleo | Clean eating

These cupcakes may be decorated for Halloween, but let me begin by sharing something that I just learned:

Paleo baking isn’t scary!!!

To keep the record straight, I have no intention of abandoning my beloved grains. But I had lately begun to notice that so much of my cooking was bordering on Paleo anyway–without being a buzzword–that it seemed like a logical experiment, especially when I learned that my oldest’s 1st-grade teacher is celiac.

So what is Paleo cooking? Basically the idea, and hence the name, is to eat what was available to our cave-dwelling ancestors (but a whole lot tastier and with more variety!): meat, eggs, seafood, veggies, fruits, nuts, and seeds. No dairy, grains, sugar, or artificial junk. (Obviously the sprinkles are NOT Paleo.)

So clean eating is basically Paleo + dairy and whole grains. And when you’re eating dairy-free anyway, the only thing you have left to cut out is the grains! Again, I don’t plan to cut out grains altogether, but occasional paleo choices have helped me lower my carb intake and see results around my waistline, even when indulging in occasional treats like this one.

These are really just muffins with frosting, and they taste just fine without the frosting. In fact, my coconut-averse middle child (is she really my child???) prefers them without the frosting, but they’re so much more fun to decorate with it!

The verdict? Let’s just say that her teacher asked to know my secret to successful gluten-free baking.

Double Chocolate Paleo Muffins/Cupcakes

(original recipe here)

• 3/4 cup almond meal
• 2 Tbsp cocoa powder (darker is better if you like richer muffins)
• 3 Tbsp Enjoy Life or other allergy-friendly mini chocolate chips
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• dash salt
• optional: 1/2 scoop protein powder (we used Vega brand chocolate flavor)
• 3 eggs
• 3 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce or coconut oil
• 3 Tbsp honey
• 1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line 9 cups of a muffin tin with paper liners, or use a silicone muffin tin.
2. In a smallish bowl, combine dry ingredients.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, applesauce or oil, honey, and vanilla until smooth.
4. Combine wet and dry ingredients, mix until well incorporated, then stir in chocolate chips.
5. Pour scant 1/4 cupfuls of batter into papers. Bake 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Coconut Cream Frosting

• can full-fat coconut milk, refrigerated at least 24 hours
• 1/2 tsp (or to taste) vanilla
• 1 tsp (or to taste) honey

1. Keep can steady and DO NOT SHAKE while removing from the refrigerator and opening with a can opener. Skim the cream off the top and spoon into a small bowl.
2. Add vanilla and honey; whisk well for 2 minutes. If desired, place back in the refrigerator to firm up more.
3. Frost muffins and decorate as desired.

Oldies but goodies, revamped.

With the new direction we’re taking, I thought I’d go back into some of my old favorites and bring them back in our new light. All of these are dairy- and other allergen-free, and most are clean and unprocessed. All are delicious and totally family-approved.

Sweet potato pancakes – These are perfect for fall, and for switching things up on the pancake front for breakfast or “brinner.” I recently gave them a clean makeover, and I honestly think they taste better than before!

Peanut butter protein balls – A perennial favorite in our house. I always have a batch sitting in the freezer to thaw a few for us to eat. If you have a new mama in your life, these are perfect for quick, easy energy during those ravenous first few weeks of breastfeeding; plus, the flax and oats help with milk supply.

Vegan creamy tomato-basil pasta – “Vegan” used to be a dirty word in our house, but once we got past that, this is quite possibly the perfect weeknight pasta dish, especially when you’re dealing with dietary restrictions. I dial the garlic and basil down from the original recipe and throw a couple handfuls of short pasta into the water with the spaghetti to keep the little ones happy. This was the first meal where my little one ate exclusively “grownup” food!

Chicken curry – I seriously love yellow curry. Good thing, because for awhile it seemed like the only MSPI-safe restaurant food in the U.S. was Thai curry! I think my girls got sick of curry after awhile. If you don’t have delicious Thai takeout nearby, this one is easy, delicious, and family-friendly because you can adjust the spices up or down.

One-ingredient ice cream – Quick, easy, lots of ideas to change it up, and dairy-free! I think this will come in handy as my MSPI baby starts to notice more that sorbet isn’t the same thing as ice cream and wanting some too.

Flourless peanut butter cookies – Sometimes, as a stressed-out mom of a newborn, who felt like I couldn’t eat anything, ever, I just needed a treat. Or several. Dairy-, soy-, and gluten-free, these fit the bill for dietary-restriction-sufferers. And the protein was great for nursing!

Maple Oat Pumpkin Muffins.

Dairy-free | Soy-free | Nut-free | Clean eating

One major discovery I’ve made in my clean-eating journey is that I have an inherent sweet tooth–and depriving myself on this or that diet plan just sets me up for failure because I never feel quite satisfied. So now I’m learning to find clean, healthy ways to satiate that need for sweetness, and as a result I don’t need “cheat days” or “when I’m done with this 21-day challenge I’ll gorge myself on X, Y, and Z.” So on here you’re probably going to be seeing a lot of clean sweets.

I don’t think I could ever get sick of good pumpkin treats. My friend recommended these beauties to me a couple months ago, and I’ve made them at least four times since. They disappear SO fast–even when I freeze 2/3 of the batch. (They do freeze beautifully, by the way; just wrap one in a paper towel and zap it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to thaw.) My whole family loves them; even My Husband The Reluctant gave them the glowing review the first time he ate them of, “I would like these even if I weren’t forced to eat clean!” They’re sweetened with real maple syrup in addition to the natural sweetness of the pumpkin, and the oats and whole-wheat pastry flour make them hearty enough to be a light breakfast–without weighing you down.

Maple Oat Pumpkin Muffins

• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/2 cup maple syrup, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or other milk of choice)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• (heaping) 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling
• (heaping) 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground allspice (or cloves)
• 1 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour*
• 1/3 cup old-fashioned (not instant) oats, plus more for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 325 and grease** the cups of a muffin tin.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together coconut oil and syrup. Beat in eggs. Mix in pumpkin and almond milk until smooth, then mix in soda, vanilla, salt, and spices.
3. Switch to a large rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Add flour and oats at once, stirring until just combined.
4. Scoop scant 1/4-cups of batter into muffin cups (an ice-cream-style scoop works really well for this), then sprinkle with a few oats and some cinnamon.
5. Bake for 23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Wait until cooled (or try to) to remove them from the pan.

* Whole-wheat pastry flour is ground finer than other whole-wheat flours, so baked goods come out lighter and less dense; it is an ideal substitute for all-purpose flour. I pretty much only use this now, even in my less-clean recipes.

** If you’re going soy-free, PAM for Grilling is the only mainstream brand of cooking spray I’ve found that does not contain soy lecithin. I use it for everything!

Original recipe here.

A new face and a new direction. (Also: where have I been the last 2 years?)

Seeing the date of my last post–2 years and 6 days ago–reminds me just how much has gone on to keep me from blogging.

I ran a half marathon.

I learned how to eat clean, and how great it made me feel.

I got pregnant, and the resulting months of debilitating morningsickness and exhaustion kind of put preparing unprocessed foods on the backburner.

This cutie was born in October last year.

3 weeks later, we learned she had MSPI: milk/soy-protein intolerance. Literally overnight, I had to cut all dairy and soy out of my diet in order to keep her from writhing and crying in pain after every feeding.

Adjusting to life with a newborn, a kindergartener, and a 2-year-old, combined with having to completely turn all of my meal planning and shopping on its head, reading labels on everything, and not being able to eat at most restaurants, brought on postpartum depression and anxiety. I had panic attacks ordering in restaurants and just driving down the road. I felt very fortunate to have a good friend whose baby, 9 months older, was also MSPI, so she was able to get me started in what to buy and how to order food, so it could have been a lot worse. But I still had a hard time functioning.

In January, when she was 3 months old, we found out we would have to move to Switzerland for 6 months for my husband’s job–with 4 weeks’ notice.

Our time there was both awesome and at times quite difficult. I homeschooled our kindergartener, planned our family trips, and figured out where to buy the things we needed in another language. I learned what breads, chocolates, and pasta dishes were dairy-free, and thankfully soybeans are not nearly as widespread in Europe as in the U.S., so I was able to find plentiful eating options. We had the opportunity to travel all over Europe as a family, and thankfully when my baby turned 6 months her stomach became strong enough that I could enjoy dairy again. Hooray for croissants, gelato, and Swiss milk chocolate!

In July we returned to Florida, and after a rocky repatriation period, I’m back to spinning plates: PTA, extracurriculars, church and community responsibilities, nap time, race training, and the list goes on. I’ve recommitted to eating clean because it’s the only way I can have the energy I need to keep all those plates spinning.

And just a couple of weeks ago, this little one turned one!

Because she spent almost as much time outside the U.S. as in it, I chose a world traveler theme for her party.

I cut up a map to make the pennant banner and the mini banner on the cake, as well as the tiny toothpick flag on her dairy-free cupcake. On another map I connected photos of each month of her life with where in the world she was. We ate foods from the countries she visited or lived in, and enjoyed our friends’ company.

So now that you know where I’ve been these last two years, here’s the aforementioned “new direction.” Since my little one’s diagnosis, I feel like friends and acquaintances with MSPI babies keep coming out of the woodwork. Since committing to eating clean, friends have asked “isn’t it hard?” So my plan going forward is to continue (resume?) posting great family-tested recipes, just now with an emphasis on whole foods and possible dairy-free substitutions. Even if (when?) my cutie outgrows her MSPI, I’ll continue posting with dairy-free options.

If you’re a new mom desperate for MSPI-friendly meal and snack options, start at my “eat while nursing” Pinterest board here, and I’ll try to start getting new recipes and shopping lists into your hand(held device) in the coming weeks!

Sweet potato pancakes.

Dairy-free option | Soy-free | Nut-free | Clean-eating option

Well, I’ve done it. I actually managed to get my child sick of one of her favorite foods in the world. Looks like Pancake Friday wasn’t such a great idea after all… So in tribute to the demise of Pancake Friday, I give you my final pancake recipe for awhile.

Now, for the record, these Sweet Potato Pancakes were not the straw that broke the camel’s back. They were amazing. My husband’s cousin asked for the recipe & they were a hit at her house too! These are perfect for fall, & just sweet enough with real maple syrup.

• 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
• 3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 1/4 cups mashed baked sweet potatoes (about a tuber & a half)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups milk (I used almond)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 cup butter or coconut oil, melted & cooled
• 2 Tbsp. brown or coconut sugar

1. Sift together dry ingredients.
2. Add remaining ingredients & mix until fully incorporated.
3. Heat a griddle on medium heat & grease with cooking spray (PAM for Grilling is soy-lecithin-free).
4. Drop 1/4-cupfuls of batter onto hot griddle & cook until edges are set & bubbles begin to form. Flip & cook until both sides are golden.
5. Serve topped with maple syrup & a dusting of cinnamon.

Adapted from here.

Pumpkin Apple Cream Cheese Streusel Muffins. Intensely delicious.

Fall is always the most depressing season here in Florida. While friends in other parts of the country & world are posting on Facebook about cooler temperatures, fall leaves, & sweaters, I’ve been in flip flops since February & my A/C is still blaring 24 hours a day. I miss seasons. I miss jeans! It wouldn’t hurt to come home from a run not dripping with sweat either…

So I try to will Fall here to the subtropics from my kitchen. Today’s post is my hail-Mary, 4th-&-goal, “It’s Fall, gosh darn it!”

These muffins are intense. Amazing. Fall in a mouthful. And you know what? It worked! We’ve been soaking in torrential rains since Monday afternoon, & the temperature on my dashboard actually started with a 6 this morning! 69 degrees! It’s FALL in Florida!!!

…until it dries out & both temps & humidity go back up to the 80s for at least another month. But you know what? I just wore jeans two days in a row! In September!

Here’s how to bring Fall into your kitchen:

Muffins:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup pumpkin puree (use the rest of your can to make these & thank me later)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups chopped peeled apples (about 1 1/2 apples. I used Braeburns because they were on sale.)

Cream cheese layer:

• 6 oz. cream cheese, room temp
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla

Streusel:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 5 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into small cubes

1. Preheat oven to 350 & line 2 muffin tins with papers. (Yield is about 21 muffins)
2. Make muffin batter: whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a smallish bowl, mix together pumpkin, eggs, & oil. Mix wet ingredients into dry until incorporated. Stir in apples. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.
3. Cream cheese mixture: in electric mixer bowl, blend ingredients until smooth. Place a heaping teaspoon on top of batter in each cup.
4. Streusel: using a pastry blender or 2 forks, cut ingredients together until they form a coarse crumb. Easily the most time-consuming step; I personally have a love-hate relationship with streusel (love to eat it, hate to make it), but trust me, it’s worth it.
5. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Optional: top with glaze when cooled (1 cup powdered sugar mixed with 2 Tbsp. milk). But they are insanely delicious without, let me tell you!

Linked up at TidyMom

Easy Baked Chicken. 5 minutes of prep. Yes, really.

I know all of you moms can relate to this:

When my little one was first born, everything had to be done one-handed &/or at lightning speed, or screaming would ensue. Including dinner. I didn’t think most of my go-to recipes were that time-consuming until I had The Witching Hour to contend with. So I started looking for meals that took literally 5 minutes of prep. They could sit in the oven all they wanted, but hands-on time was at a premium.

Mother-in-law to the rescue!

This easy dinner is adapted from her recipe, and literally takes 5 minutes, especially if you have a bigger kid on hand to crush the crackers for you. The amounts are approximate because I just kind of wing it every time–feel free to do your own improvising! I serve it with seasoned brown rice, which takes longer to cook, so I start it before the chicken. The rice recipe is at the bottom.

• 1 sleeve Ritz crackers
• 1 Tbsp. parmesan
• up to 1 tsp. garlic salt
• about 1/2 cup sour cream
• 4 chicken breasts

1. Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with foil.
2. Place the crackers in a Ziploc bag & use a rolling pin to crush them into fine crumbs. Pour into a shallow dish. Add parmesan & garlic salt; stir to combine.
3. Place sour cream in another shallow dish.
4. If desired (especially if you’re short on baking time), cut chicken breasts in half.
5. Coat one piece of chicken in sour cream, then fully coat in crumb mixture. Place on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken.
6. Bake 15-20 minutes or until done in the middle (this is why I cut mine in half; they get done quick & don’t burn).
7. Serve with seasoned brown rice (below) & salad or fruit.

Seasoned brown rice

1. Make brown rice according to package directions, to yield 3-4 servings.
2. 5 minutes before it’s done, add about 1 Tbsp. butter, up to 1/2 tsp. garlic salt, & about 1 Tbsp. dried parsley.
3. Serve with chicken.

What are your favorite no-time-flat dinners?

Whole-wheat blueberry pancakes.

Friday night has become pancake night at our house. The girls love their pancakes, & it makes my meal planning easier knowing that pancakes will always be that night. But pancake night brings with it 2 challenges: 1) How not to get sick of the same recipe every week, & 2) How to make a carb-heavy meal hearty & healthy. So let’s just say you’ll probably be seeing lots more pancake recipes on here in the future… (If you haven’t seen my banana walnut pancakes yet, go there now. I’ll wait. You can thank me later.)

The base of these whole-wheat blueberry pancakes is remarkably similar to those banana walnut pancakes. It has me thinking that I could probably interchange fruit mix-ins with very little changing of the recipe! Once again, I’ve subbed some Greek yogurt into the original recipe for added protein, & flaxseed for fiber, omega-3s, & general awesomeness. If you still have blueberries in your grocery store, hurry & make these before you have to wait until January for the Chilean ones!

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 2 Tbsp. flaxseed meal (pour into a 1-cup measuring cup, then add flour below)
• 1 cup (minus 2 Tbsp.) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup buttermilk (make by adding 1 Tbsp. white vinegar to a 4-cup measuring cup & filling with milk to the 1-cup line & waiting 5-10 minutes before adding remaining liquid ingredients)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 Tbsp. butter, melted & cooled
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• extra milk for thinning batter (about 1/4 cup)
• blueberries

1. Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.
2. Combine liquid ingredients in a large measuring cup, then pour into dry ingredients & stir gently until just combined (batter will be lumpy). Stir in milk to reach desired consistency.
3. Heat a griddle on medium to medium-low heat, then spray with cooking spray. Ladle 1/4-cup portions of batter, then sprinkle several berries in each (extra points from your Munchkins for smiley faces). Let cook until bubbles form in the batter & edges are set, then flip & cook on the other side a few more minutes or until golden brown & done in the middle. Because the batter is relatively thick, a lower temperature for longer may be your best bet.
4. Repeat with remaining batter & berries, spraying the griddle between every batch or two.
5. Serve immediately as desired (with additional berries & some cream, or just with plain old maple syrup). Extra pancakes can be frozen & reheated in the toaster.

Lunch bag: Healthy No-Bake Peanut Butter Balls

Dairy-free option | Soy-free | Gluten-free option | Clean-eating option

My 4-year-old’s preschool asks parents to pack healthy snacks that feature at least 2 food groups. This being my first year packing anything resembling a school lunch, of course I’m going over the top looking for fun, healthy snack ideas she’ll eat. This has been my first great victory: they’re easy, she loved helping me make them, they travel well, they’re not messy, & even My Husband The Suspicious Of Anything Labeled “Healthy” gave them his stamp of approval.

UPDATE: This is my new go-to to take to new moms. The oats and flax are great for breastmilk supply, and the quick energy is awesome for those early weeks of nursing All. The. Time.

• 2 cups quick oats (use certified gluten-free if needed)
• 1 cup Rice Krispies*
• 1 cup flaxseed meal
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips**
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter (we use Natural Jif or Skippy)*
• 2/3 cup honey
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 Tbsp. coconut oil

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, mixing gently to not crush the cereal, until well coated.
2. Use a tablespoon or soup spoon to scoop out tablespoon-sized portions & roll them into balls between your hands. Place them on a parchment- or waxed-paper-lined cookie sheet.
3. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours. You can serve them now, or place them in a Ziploc bag in the freezer to portion out in your kids’ lunches. They’ll keep a week in the fridge or a few months in the freezer.

* If you want to keep it 100% clean, use a less-processed brown rice cereal, or sub 2/3 cup more of quick oats, and use fresh-ground peanut butter (though that will make it much harder to mix) or another brand of jarred peanut butter that doesn’t contain refined sugar.

** For dairy- and soy-free, use Enjoy Life brand chips.

Original recipe here.

Linked up at Mommy Solutions

Baking Birthday Party!

Congratulations to “semicrunchymomma,” who wins the Estelle headband from Guavaloo for her little girl! Thanks to all who liked & shared!

This darling girl turned 4 this summer, & she told me back in JANUARY (she plans ahead like her mama) that she wanted a “baking party, with cupcakes & pizzas & chef hats.” What fun!

I had a field day with my cricut’s cupcake font for the “happy birthday” banner & these fun chandelier hangings my husband suggested:

I also used the cricut to freezer-paper stencil custom “Chef [name]” aprons for each of the kids. Kid-sized apron & chef hat sets were around $5 each from Chefskin on Amazon. I kept the party small–8 kids total–to keep cost & chaos to a minimum.

This fun garland was just cupcake papers of different sizes & colors randomly threaded onto embroidery thread with an embroidery needle!

While we waited for everyone to arrive, the chefs colored their very own restaurant menus…

…drawn by the very talented Sister Alison Bowe, a missionary currently serving in our ward! (I enlarged them to 11×17 for the kids.)

As the menus said, once the kids were all there & dressed as chefs, they got to make pizzas. Our local Grimaldi’s donated the dough, & “Chef Dad” tossed it pizzeria-style before the kids “decorated” them, in the birthday girl’s words.

Tasty!
Then they made fruit, yogurt, & granola parfaits. So that not ALL of the party food was junk.

Finally, the part everyone was waiting for: decorating cookies & cupcakes! With like 6 different colors of frosting & more than a dozen kinds of sprinkles, what could go wrong?

Turns out, not a whole lot. Luckily all of the parents stuck around to help out, which minimized the mess, & the kids took their decorating very seriously!

The birthday girl loved that she got to decorate her own birthday cupcake!

(I used this beet red velvet cupcake recipe. Had to counteract all that sugar somehow, right? See what a conscientious party host I am?)

Each kid got to decorate 4 cookies & 2 cupcakes. They ate 1 of each at the party, & the rest went home in these cute treat boxes from Michael’s, finished with baker’s twine & a darling tag.

What a fun time we all had! Special thanks to Ursula Borrack for capturing such sweet photos of this sweet party!

Shared at Tater Tots & Jello