Playing Catch Up

It has been far too long since I've posted anything. After many years, I am going back to school so that is taking up a large chunk of my life right now, in addition to work. But I'm so glad I'm finally doing it! Giving up my "free time" was a hard decision to make. When it's all over, I know I will appreciate every free moment I have so much more. I'm very thankful to my husband, Andrew, who encouraged me to go back (and I'm sure is regretting it a little as he has to fend for himself a bit more nowadays)! 

Over the holiday weekend, we were able to spend a little extra time together. The California sun was out, so we went on one of our favorite hikes (the same hike he took me on the night he proposed). 

We also biked to Abbot Kinney street in Venice to a fun breakfast spot called Zinque. Their coffee is strong, and their bread is supposedly flown in from France every couple of days. I ordered the salmon tartine, and it was delicious!

I love to cook and bake, but lately feel like I haven't had much of a chance. I've been trying to find recipes I can prepare ahead of time. Over the weekend, I made two awesome paleo treats--both super fast and simple. 

The first is banana bread. Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a fan of bananas, but I decided to give this recipe a try because I have yet to be disappointed with the Caveman's recipes. This definitely did not disappoint, and now I'm obsessed with this "bread." 

Paleo Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 4 organic bananas (they don't need to be overly ripe, but can if you want)
• 4 grass fed eggs
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 4 tablespoons organic butter, melted
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Combine bananas, eggs, nut butter, and butter in a blender or mixing bowl (using a hand mixer)
• Once all of your ingredients are blended, add in your coconut flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and vanilla. Mix well
• Grease a 9x5 glass pan with butter
• Pour in batter and spread evenly
• Place in preheated oven and bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean
• Remove from oven and flip bread out onto a cooling rack

Bon appetite!

I have a hard time cooking with coconut flour--even when using a recipe. Everything always comes out dense. These actually turned out quite good!

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 4 grass fed eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup of shredded unsweetened organic coconut
• 3/4 cup of organic chocolate chips 

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• In a large bowl, combine coconut oil, raw honey, eggs, & vanilla. I melted the coconut oil and honey first to make it easier to stir. 
• Add in your coconut flour
• Stir in the shredded coconut and chocolate chips
• On parchment lined baking sheets (or use a silpat), drop heaping tablespoons of cookie batter (Make sure you form them to look like the cookies you want for a final product because they do not rise or spread like conventional cookies)
• Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown
• Remove from oven, and transfer to a cooling rack

Bon appetite!