Paleo Chocolate Cupcakes

With my little man’s first birthday right around the corner, the cake question has come up many times. What type of cake do we want to have? Do we even want to introduce him to cake at such a young age? I have been a little hesitant to introduce him to sugar so early, not to mention all of the other additives in a store bought cake or cake mix. So, I have been searching around online for a couple of weeks looking for a “healthy” (Yes, I know cake is not healthy.) alternative. I wanted to find something with minimal ingredients that tasted good. I searched for a Paleo recipe knowing that it would be dairy free and gluten-free for our dietary needs. Baking Paleo and gluten-free can be a bit challenging and doesn’t always turn out the way it is intended, so I thought it would be a good idea to give this recipe a try before the day of the party. I tried them out on Sunday, and they were pretty darn good. The family came over and helped taste test them. My brother-in-law said they tasted like German chocolate cake. This was probably from the coconut oil that I used to make the frosting. I’m sure you are dying to know the recipe, so here ya go…

Ingredients for the cupcakes:

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cacoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup 100% pure maple syrup

3 eggs, room temperature

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

3. Beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Add the maple syrup to the eggs and mix well.

4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well with a hand or standing mixer.

5. Fill 8 cupcake liners to the half-way mark.

6. Bake for 20 minutes.

7. Cool thoroughly before frosting.

Ingredients for the frosting:

4 tablespoons of butter

4 tablespoons of coconut oil (solid)

5 tablespoons of maple syrup

4 tablespoons unsweetened cacoa powder

coconut flakes (optional)

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together for 2-3 minutes until well combined.

2. Store in refrigerator until ready for use.

3. Frost cupcakes and enjoy.

*Note: The coconut oil has a melting point of 76 degrees. It is important that you mix it when it is solid and store the frosting and frosted cupcakes in the refrigerator to avoid melting.

Aren’t the wrappers so cute? I thought they would be perfect for the Mickey Mouse themed party. 🙂

Recipe inspired by Comfy Belly

Linking up with: Jessica and Kelly

These were really easy to make which is my favorite part. Let me know what you think about them. Would you try them for your next big event?

Green Protein Smoothie Recipe

My go to green smoothie is my post-workout protein smoothie. Here is what I put in it:

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 4 tablespoons hemp protein powder
• 1/2 banana
• 1 tablespoon almond butter
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• ice

I toss it all into the blender, blend it up, and enjoy. Since I can’t do whey protein, hemp is the best alternative for me. The hemp protein isn’t the best tasting stuff, but I have found that this mixture of ingredients masks the taste of it pretty well. It’s actually really tasty. I hope you like it as much as I do!

Eat Your Greens-Simple Kale Chip Recipe

I have been on a green food kick lately. I don’t know what it is, but I have just been craving everything GREEN! Last, night we had asparagus, the night before that we had salad, and kale the previous night. I had some left over kale, so I decided to attempt making some kale chips (again). The first time I tried it, I kinda burnt them. They weren’t so good. This time, I kept a very close eye on them.

Here’s what I did:

• I preheated the oven to 325 degrees.
• I used the flat leaf variety of kale (any kind will work though). After rinsing and drying it, I tore the leaves into bite size pieces.
• I laid the pieces flat on a baking sheet.
• I drizzled just a bit of olive oil on the leaves.
• I sprinkled some sea salt on them, and…
• I put them on the middle rack of the oven for 6 minutes.

Then, wah-la! Delicious kale chips were made.

They were so delicious that my son even enjoyed them! It surprised me big time seeing as how he doesn’t like any vegetables.

I think they’re his new favorite! Well, probably not, but at least he liked them (as you can see by the mess)!

Let me know how you like these! I love hearing from you!

Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus

I’ve been making my own hummus lately. I think it tastes much better than the store bought stuff, and it’s super easy. I recently made a cilantro jalapeno one. Yum!

Ingredients:

1 can of garbanzo beans or lentils

1 tablespoon tahini (Trader Joes has a good, decently priced one.)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

1/2 bunch of cilantro

1 jalapeno, sliced (seeded or unseeded depending on your spicy tolerance)

Directions:

1. Drain juice from beans into a small bowl and set aside.

2. Add all ingredients to food processor and turn on.

3. Mix in a tablespoon at a time of juice from beans until desired consistency is reached. (I usually do 1-2 tablespoons.)

4. Enjoy with carrots, peppers, celery, or anything else you desire.

Mine turned out pretty good. I wish my jalapeno had been a bit hotter though. I used almost all of the seeds, yet was still craving more spice. Hopefully, I get a hotter one next time.

ENJOY!

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe (Modified)

I made my gluten-free pumpkin pancakes again this morning. Since I am doing the clean eating challenge this month, I wanted to find a way to omit the brown sugar without sacrificing the sweetness. So, instead of the tablespoon of brown sugar, I added half a banana and an extra 1/4 cup of water. They turned out really yummy, and they are sweet and moist enough to not even need the extra calories of maple syrup. If you want to use syrup, make sure it’s 100% maple syrup if you are eating clean. Here is the modified recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 a banana
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Mix all dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
2. Beat eggs in a small bowl. Add the remaining wet ingredients to the eggs and mix well.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a large spoon until well blended.
4. Pour 3-4 tbsp. of batter into a nonstick pan to form a pancake. Heat until brown, flip, and cook other side.
5. Enjoy!

Let me know what you think of these by leaving a comment below. Hope you like them!

 

Hearty Pumpkin Muffins

I  just made some delicious, hearty and healthy muffins. They are made with all clean ingredients and are easy to make. That’s my favorite kind of recipe! These muffins have just the right amount of sweetness and are only about 200 calories each.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp pumpkin spice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• dash of sea salt
• 1 apple, peeled and grated
• 5 baby carrots, grated
• 1/2 cup chopped, raw almonds
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper cups or lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Mix the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Add apple, carrots, almonds, and raisins to bowl and stir until well mixed.
4. Beat wet ingredients in a separate large bowl.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones, and mixed until combined.
6. Fill muffin cups and bake for 25 minutes.

Did I mention these are gluten-free? Another plus!

My coworker made these muffins and brought me a couple into work along with the recipe. I modified it a bit as the original recipe called for walnuts instead of almonds, 1/2 cup of pitted dates instead of the raisins, 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds (which I omitted), and it also called for a whole cup and a half of grated carrots. You can add any of these ingredients back in if you’d like.

I have also made a version without the nuts, but I prefer it with them. It adds more substance and a little crunch.

Let me know if you try these hearty muffins and how yummy they turn out. Also, if you have some left over pumpkin, try out this recipe for pumpkin pancakes.

April Clean Eating Challenge

Hey Everyone! I am excited to announce that my April Clean Eating Challenge is live on Challenge Loop! Are you ready to start eating better, feeling better, and looking better? This is a great opportunity to join others with the same goals. I have done a couple of challenges on Challenge Loop so far, and I love having the motivation and accountability that it provides. Check out the challenge here for more details. You can also download the Challenge Loop app on your iphone. Be sure to spread the word and get all your friends and family to join us too. The more the merrier!

 

I’d love for you to join me! I will be posting more recipes throughout the month if you need some inspiration. And, feel free to email me (eat_nap_play@yahoo.com) or leave a comment if you have any questions along the way. I can’t wait to see everyone’s results at the end of the month! 🙂

Also, I have written a couple of other posts about clean eating that you may want to check out here and here.