Delicious Recipes

Bacon Bark

Ever heard of chocolate covered bacon?  I hadn't until last year, and honestly, the thought of 'ruining' chocolate like that kind of turned my stomach.  That's one of the great things about our new lifestyle, my mind is open to trying new things!  Liver, for example.  If you can get past the mental thought of consuming an animals organ, and think about how good it is for your body, and focus on that, it's easier to eat and often enjoyable.  I mention liver because that's what we had for dinner last night, wrapped in bacon from the farm, and the leftover bacon was used for this recipe.

This will be a perfect treat for all those holiday gatherings coming up!  That is, if you want to share.  ;)

And trust me when I say, you will want to devour the whole tray.  Open that mind to new possibilities.

Ingredients:

10oz  unsweetened, 100% cacao baking chocolate  (if you can't find this or would rather use 85% cacao, I'm sure that will work as well, you may just need to cut back on the amount of honey)

1/4 c raw honey

1/4 c coconut oil

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

6-7 slices of pastured bacon, cooked and crumbled

Good quality Sea Salt for sprinkling

Gather your ingredients

Spread out a piece of wax paper on a cookie sheet.  On VERY low heat, preferably a double boiler, slowly melt your chocolate, honey and coconut oil together in a pan.  When it's smooth and creamy and completely melted, remove from heat and add the extract.  Pour the melted chocolate in the center of the lined cookie sheet.  You may need to spread out with a knife or gently tap on the counter to flatten.

Then sprinkle with the crumbled bacon and sea salt.  

You may need to press some of the bigger pieces down into the bark.

Stick the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for about an hour to set.

Remove and cut into squares.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator, just to prevent it from melting.

It should keep for awhile, that is, if you (or the kids!) can refrain from sneaking them.  ENJOY!!

My husband says it's the most delicious Paleo Treat I've made thus far!

Power Protein Smoothie

This smoothie is excellent pre- or post workout.  It's full of good things and so easy to make.  Even great as a meal replacement.  My son has this for breakfast before every basketball practice.  He loves them!
In your blender or glass ball jar (if using an immersion blender), add the following ingredients:
6-8 ice cubes
1 cup of berries, any blend you prefer
2-3 bananas depending on size
3 raw pastured eggs

Blend until smooth and creamy!  Full of protein and good carbs to fuel your day or your workout.

Berries we picked this summer to freeze for smoothies.

Paleo Friendly Hummus

Ok, so if you are familiar with Paleo, you know that legumes are off limits.  Legumes are: soy, chickpeas, beans, lentils and peanuts.  Legumes are very high in Lectin and Phytates.  Lectin strips away mucous in the small intestine, which is the key cause of many autoimmune diseases.  It can also create symptoms similar to food poisoning.  Phytates have been shown to block mineral absorption of Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, and Iron.  This leads some experts this is the reason for high rates of disease and osteoporosis among Americans, despite their high dairy consumption.  Phytates also inhibit important enzymes involved in digestion.

We love a good hummus, so it was disappointing to think this would be off-limits for us, especially when we were to be consuming lots and LOTS of vegetables.  In the beginning, we were using Ranch dressing as dip. Then we learned about GMO's and switched to making our own with sour cream and our own seasonings.  Well, then we finally gave up dairy (will post about that separately), so we needed a new dip!  I can eat veggies raw and plain, but the kids prefer a dip, so I was very excited to find and make this Almond Hummus.  It is so easy and SO delicious, you will make it again and again.  I always double the recipe when I make it!

Almond Hummus

1 c blanched almond (this means w/o the skin.  you can buy this way or blanch your own)

2 tbsps Tahini

4 tbsps Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 cup water

Juice from 1 Lemon

1 tsp Celtic Salt (or other quality sea salt)

Dash of black pepper

Combine all of this in your food processor and blend until smooth.  You will probably have to stop it 2-3 times and scrape down the edge.  If you like it creamier, add a little extra water.  And when you store this in the fridge, pour a little oil on the top, almonds love moisture!

Banana-Almond Smoothie

I have been making smoothies every day for one meal.  If I have time to cook dinner, then I have a smoothie for lunch.  If we have to be out of the house for baseball or something, then I do my smoothie for dinner because it's so quick and easy and have a salad for lunch, for example.  SO - I will start by sharing my absolute favorite smoothie in the world.  Banana-Almond.  This recipe calls for frozen sliced bananas, but I almost never remember to freeze and usually just use 5/6 ice cubes with my room temperature banana.  ;)

1 medium frozen sliced banana
1 big spoonful almond butter
2 teaspoons ground flax
3/4 cup almond milk
1 scoop plain or vanilla protein powder
Dash almond extract (don't use imitation) ~ to me this makes the smoothie

Blend until smooth with immersion blender, VitaMix, or counter top blender.  Enjoy!