Guacamole

How To Make Guacamole 

Guacamole is a favorite dip in our family. This guacamole recipe is healthy, and with only 7 ingredients, so easy that my boys and their friends often make it as an after school snack. All you need is ripe avocados, lime juice, red pepper flakes, cilantro, chili, chipotle, and salt.

If you want to know how to make guacamole that’s fantastic all you really need is perfectly ripe avocados. I have a couple of quick tips so that you will know how to choose the perfect avocado. First, hold the avocado in your hand and squeeze it, if the avocado is hard it is under ripe, and will not have the proper texture or flavor (it will be slightly bitter and astringent). If the avocado is super soft it is overripe and close to spoiled. The perfect avocado is one that is slightly “tender” when you hold it and apply gentle pressure.

Once you have an avocado that is tender, look at the stem on the top of the fruit (yes, avocado is a fruit). Do not buy the avocado if the stem is black. If that is the case it is overripe and the inside will likely be black as well. Look for a brown stem, which indicates a well ripened avocado.

Perfectly ripe avocados are slightly sweet, incredibly creamy (they are a great base for healthy puddings), and very rich. When mashed, the perfect avocado makes a beautifully smooth dip.

Serves:8-12

Ingredients

• 6 avocados
• ¼ cup lime juice
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
• ¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon ground chili powder
• ½ teaspoon ground chipotle
• ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, mash avocados and lime juice
2. Mix in red pepper flakes, cilantro, chili, chipotle, and salt
3. Serve over Paleo Tortilla Chips

According to Wikipedia, “Guacamole is an avocado-based dip that began with the Aztecs in Mexico. In addition to its use in modern Mexican cuisine it has also become part of American cuisine as a dip, condiment and salad ingredient.” This simple guacamole recipe is perfect for beginner cooks wondering how to make guacamole, and also perfect for children learning their way around the kitchen.

If you like spicy food, add jalapenos and finely diced onions to the recipe above. To further turn up the heat, increase the amount of the spices in this recipe. Of course if you are looking for an avocado dip that is mild and more kid-friendly, decrease the amount of spices in this guacamole recipe. That’s what I did when the boys were younger.

If you want to make your guacamole ahead of time, throw in a couple of the avocado pits and it will not go brown for 2-3 hours. Serve with Paleo Tortilla Chips.

Paleo Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

1. 1 cup zucchini, grated
2. 1 1/2 cups almond flour
3. 1/4 cup coconut flour
4. 1 tsp baking soda
5. 1/2 tsp salt
6. 3 eggs
7. 2 tbsp honey
8. 1 banana, mashed
9. 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
10. 2 tbsp almond butter
11. 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Squeeze any excess moisture out of the shredded zucchini. Whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, add the eggs, honey, banana, coconut oil, almond butter, and cinnamon. Use a hand blender to combine. Add the dry ingredients into the wet and stir to combine. Fold in the shredded zucchini.
3. Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the loaf is set. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before serving.

Notes

1. Servings: 1 loaf
2. Difficulty: Medium

Paleo Strawberry Cheesecake

Paleo Cheesecake

2 cups raw cashews

4 cups water, soaked overnight

In food processor, place,

1 cup almonds with

12 dates

Process till ground fine.  Spread in pan with removable sides

Place in food processor:

Raw cashews, drained

5 tablespoons lemon juice

1/3 cup honey

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

Process until well mixed and smooth.  

Add 2 cups fruit and blend in.   Spread over crust.  Freeze for 2 hours.

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ROSEMARY SHARP CHEDDAR APPLE MUFFINs

Ingredients:

Preheat your oven to 450°F and line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners.
In a large mixing bowl, combine 3-1/2 cups of grated apples (that’s about 3 large) Gala
1 cup of unsweetened applesauce, 
½ cup of buttermilk, 
½ cup of liquid honey, 
½ cup of avocado puree (that’s about 1 large), 
1 tbsp of pure vanilla extract  
3 large eggs.

Mix all the ingredients well with a whisk until all they are evenly combined.

In a separate bowl, combine 

2 cups of whole wheat flour, 

1 cup of rolled oats, 

3 tbsp of corn starch, 

1 tbsp of baking powder, 

1-1/2 tsp baking soda, 

1 tsp salt, 

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary 

1 tsp of ground cinnamon.

Mix well with a flat whisk until evenly combined and set aside.

Add the grated cheese and chopped walnuts to the dry ingredients.

Mix well until the cheese and nuts are completely coated with the flour. This will ensure that they don’t sink directly to the bottom of the muffins.

Throw the dry ingredients into the wet…

In a separate bowl, combine 

2 cups of whole wheat flour, 

1 cup of rolled oats, 

3 tbsp of corn starch, 

1 tbsp of baking powder, 

1-1/2 tsp baking soda, 

1 tsp salt, 

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary 

1 tsp of ground cinnamon.

Mix well with a flat whisk until evenly combined and set aside.

Add the grated cheese and chopped walnuts to the dry ingredients.

Mix well until the cheese and nuts are completely coated with the flour. This will ensure that they don’t sink directly to the bottom of the muffins.

Throw the dry ingredients into the wet…And mix delicately with a large wooden spoon or rubber spatula until just incorporated, no more.

Divide the batter equally between the muffin cups; the batter will mound higher than the paper cups, that’s perfectly normal.

If you preferred smaller (and less flat!) muffins, you could also divide the batter between 18 to 24 paper cups, instead. Of course, you’d need to adjust cooking time accordingly.

Place your muffins in the preheated 450°F oven for 10 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 350°F. Continue baking your muffins for another 18-20 minutes, or until the tops are nice and golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Keep the finished muffins in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week, or freeze for up to a few months.  Flavor is best when served cold!

Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Serves: 24 cookies
Ingredients
2 ½ cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
5 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
½ cup salted butter, or palm shortening , melted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:In a large bowl combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, and pecans.

In a small bowl, mix honey, butter, and vanilla
Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients.

Place dough in center of a piece of parchment paper
Form into a log approximately 2½ inches in diameter
Place in freezer for one hour, until firm, unwrap and cut into ⅛ inch thick slices.

Place slices on a parchment lined baking sheet
Bake at 350° until lightly golden, 7-10 minutes.

Cool for 1 hour
Serve

Meatball Noodle Soup

Meatball Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb  ground pork

¾ cup raw medium shrimp, peeled and roughly chopped
2 large eggs
¼ cup green onions, chopped
¼ cup carrots, finely diced
¾ tsp Himalayan salt
¾ tsp black pepper
2 tbsp coconut flour
1 tbsp coconut oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup onion, chopped
2 cups vegetable broth 
3 cups water
2 tsp fish sauce
12 oz sea kelp noodles
1 bunch spinach

*

Directions:

Prepare the meatballs by combining the ground pork, shrimp, eggs, green onions, carrots, sea salt, black pepper and coconut flour in a large mixing bowl and mix with your hands until well combined.
Form the pork mixture into twelve 1½" (4cm) meatballs and set aside. A spring-loaded ice cream scoop works wonders for this. 

Add coconut oil to a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and onion. Sauté until fragrant, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the broth, water and fish sauce. Cover and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Reduce the heat to medium-low until the broth mixture is just simmering. Drop in the meatballs one by one, about 5 seconds apart so that they do not stick to each other. Simmer uncovered for 25 minutes, then gently stir and add the spinach to the soup. Mix for 1 to 2 minutes until it wilts. Add the sea kelp noodles and let them cook for about 1 minute, then turn off the heat and serve hot.

Garnish with chopped carrots and green onions, if desired.  Serves 2 generously.