Maple Cinnamon Sweet Potato Puree w Toasted Pecans

Oh for the love of sweet potatoes.  My husband eats sweet potatoes every single day.  Usually I make easy mashed sweet potatoes but for Thanksgiving day, I went the extra mile and made especially decadent sweet potato puree with toasted pecans on top.  The result was a hearty, creamy, comforting side that we all decided was worth the extra steps to make.  So for a quick weeknight meal this might not be your choice (see here for a faster sweet potato recipe) it will certainly win over a crowd.  I think I will make them again for my family on Christmas Day.  Enjoy!

A bowlful of deliciousness!

Ingredients:
1c raw pecans
5 or 6 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed clean
3tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/2c butter (more to taste)
1/4c pure maple syrup (more to taste)
1tsp ground cinnamon
salt to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350F.  Place your pecans on a baking sheet and place in the center of a preheated oven until fragrant, about 8 minutes.  Remove and let cool, then coarsely chop.
2. While the pecans are roasting, coat the outside of your potatoes with olive oil.  When the pecans are done, place the sweet potatoes in the oven and bake them until easily pierced all the way through with a fork (1-2 hours depending on their size).  Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.  Then peel.
3. In a large food processor, process peeled potatoes, butter, maple syrup, cinnamon and salt until thick and very smooth.  Add butter, syrup, and more salt to taste.  Serve hot topped with toasted pecans and sprinkled with sea salt and cinnamon.

Gluten Free Nut Grahams

I am on a mission to make low sugar treats.  Something that still tastes delicious but won't spike your blood sugar to the near heavens.  I didn't create this one on my own:  I pulled it from the blog Gluten Free Goddess and you can find the original recipe here.  Of course, I changed quite a few things about it and only added half of the sugar it called for.  After some consulting with a few tasters, we have decided they taste more like a graham cracker cookie or a breakfast bar.  So that is what they are called:  Nut Grahams.  A great low sugar gluten free snack on the go!

A great treat or snack on the go!

Ingredients:
1c almond flour
1c sorghum flour
1/2c tapioca starch
1 1/2tsp baking soda
1tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1c dark brown sugar, packed
a heaping 1/3c butter, room temperature
1tbs vanilla extract
2tbs maple syrup
2 large eggs
3/4c chopped pecans

Directions:
1. In a bowl, mix dry ingredients except sugar.  In a larger bowl, mix wet ingredients plus brown sugar until fully combined. 
2. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing a bit at a time until fully incorporated.  The mix will be more wet than traditional dough and thanks to the xanthan gum, very gummy!  Stir in 3/4c chopped pecans by hand.  Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes.
3. Preheat your oven to 350F.  Line a baking pan with parchment or nonstick foil.  Using a small ice cream scooper, scoop out mounds a few inches apart.  Press down slightly with a bit more pecan pieces, if desired.  Bake in the oven for 15-17 minutes.  Let cool and enjoy!

Mom's Birthday Chunkys

My mom's favorite candy as a kid is a small thick chocolate candy bar called a "Chunky."  It's filled with raisins and nuts.  For her birthday, I recreated her favorite treat into heart shaped molds.  Using good quality dark chocolate and lots of natural raisins and pecans, the homemade Chunky was born.  These are easy treats to make at home or to give out as gifts.  Valentine's Day anyone?!? 

Plastic or tin heart shaped molds can be used for baking as well as candy making!

Ingredients:
10oz bittersweet or dark chocolate (I used Ghirardelli 60% cocoa chocolate chips)
1c chopped pecans (substitute your favorite nut)
1/2-1c raisins (just add as many as you can)

Directions:
1. In a large glass bowl, microwave chocolate, stirring after each minute until completely melted.
2. Pour in as many nuts and raisins as you like and stir well.  The mixture will be very chunky.
3. Pour into plastic or tin heart molds and spread evenly.  If you don't have any molds, you can make clusters by dropping them by the spoonful onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  Place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.  Remove.  Store at room temp.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Pecan Bark

After some extensive candy making with my mom and niece, I still had leftover chocolate.  Of course, my mom wanted to throw it away and I cried outrage!  I took the bowl from her hands and made a nice plate of pecan chocolate bark with my leftover melted chocolate.  It's so easy a caveman (or Anthony) can do it!  Simple.  Elegant.  Delicious.

This elegant bark takes only 5 minutes to prepare!

Ingredients:
1c Ghirardelli 60% cocoa chocolate chips (or darker)

1/4c whole, broken, or chopped unsalted pecans (raw or toasted)
a pinch fine sea salt

Directions:
1. Optional:  To toast your pecans place them in a preheated 350 degree (F) oven for 10 minutes or until fragrant.  Remove.
2. In a large glass bowl, melt chocolate chips in minute intervals, stirring between each one until completely melted.
3. Place a piece of seran wrap at the bottom of a large flat plate, pan, or baking dish.  Pour the melted chocolate on top of the wrap and spread evenly and thinly with a spatula.
3. Sprinkle with nuts and a tiny pinch of sea salt.  Place in the fridge until hardened.  Remove from the seran wrap and break into bark.  Enjoy!

Pecan Crusted Wild Caught Salmon

This is hands down my all time favorite salmon dish.  I haven't made it in a while so I forgot how amazing it is.  The rich salmon flavor holds up nicely with the dijon pecan topping.  I served mine with a big helping of Sauteed Swiss Chard with Lemon & Dijon.  I bought some fresh sockeye wild caught salmon on sale at Whole Foods yesterday and it is so delicious.  Remember, wild caught fish is always better than farmed!  The guy at Whole Foods asked me how I was planning to prepare it and when I told him he said, "Wow, yea I think that would be great together!  I want to try that!"  I am hoping you all have the same reaction as his.  Believe me, it's wonderful.

A rich delicious dinner in less than 30 minutes!

Ingredients: (serves 2):
2 4-6oz wild caught salmon filets
2tsp dijon mustard
1tbs organic butter, melted
1/4c chopped raw pecans
Squeeze of a lemon
Sea salt
Recipe for Sauteed Swiss Chard

Directions:
1. Preheat oven 400F.  Rinse and pat salmon filets dry.  Place a piece of regular foil down on a baking sheet.  Place the filets skin side down.  Rub 1tsp dijon on top of each filet.  Sprinkle with sea salt and squeeze a dash of lemon over both.
2. Mix melted butter and pecans in a small bowl.  Take 1/2 of the pecan mixture and place it evenly on top of each fillet.  Pour any extra butter over top.
3. Place in the oven and bake about 15 minutes or until done.  Baking the fish skin side down without oil will allow it to stick, making the fillet come right off the skin with a spatula.  Serve hot over a big scoop of swiss chard.  Enjoy!

Nutritional Information:
1 serving = 1 fillet
Calories: 350
Protein: 24g
Fat: 15g
Carbs: 2g
Sodium ~ 200mg

Butter Pecan Sweet Potatoes

This recipe tastes like dessert.  Sweet roasted sweet potatoes are topped with chopped pecans, brown sugar, and butter to make the perfect Thanksgiving side.  They were a hit with everyone and were so simple to make, you don't need a holiday to indulge in this treat!  Enjoy!

Sweet potatoes are my all time favorite Thanksgiving dish!

Ingredients:
4 large sweet potatoes, washed, peeled and cut into 1/2" slices

2-3tbs extra virgin olive oil
1tsp sea salt
3tbs butter, melted
1/2c light brown sugar
1/2c chopped pecans

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 400F.  Coat your potato slices with olive oil and place on 2 foil lined baking sheets.  Sprinkle with sea salt and bake for about 30 minutes, or until fork tender.
2. Remove potatoes from the oven and layer them, slightly overlapping, in a large casserole or glass baking dish.  Drizzle with melted butter, sprinkle with brown sugar, and top with raw chopped pecans. 
3. Place back in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the sugar is caramelized and the pecans are toasted.  Serve warm.

Paleo Fruit & Nut Granola

Anthony used to eat your American standard breakfast every morning:  cereal.  Of course, going grain and gluten free meant that cereal was pretty much out of the question.  This morning I decided to make a paleo friendly granola with some unsweetened coconut, a mix of nuts and seeds, and a little dried fruit for sweetness.  A small bowl in a glass of almond milk is perfectly satisfying and much better for your body.  Whip up a big batch and store it in an airtight jar.  A quick delicious breakfast is only moments away.

An oatless grainless bowl of goodness

Ingredients:
1/2c finely chopped pecans, toasted*
1/2c finely chopped walnuts, toasted*
1/2c slivered almonds, toasted*
1/2c raw sunflower seeds
1/2c unsweetened coonut
2tbs agave nectar
1/4tsp cinnamon
1/2tsp vanilla
pinch sea salt
1/2c dried cranberries
1/2c dried, pitted, and chopped dates

*To toast raw nuts, place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 350F for 5-7 minutes for chopped nuts, 10 minutes for whole nuts.  They are done when you can smell the toasted flavor.  

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350F.  In a bowl, mix raw sunflower seeds, coconut, agave, cinnamon, salt and vanilla.  Spread over a baking sheet lined with nonstick foil and bake for 5 minutes (stirring once).  They will be done when the coconut is light brown and toasted.  Let cool.
2. In a large bowl, mix in all other nuts and dried fruit.  Serve in a small bowl with almond milk and enjoy!

Cauliflower "Couscous"

Growing up, I only ate cauliflower on occasion and it was usually paired with broccoli.  I always thought of it as a plain boring vegetable.  But there are so many things you can do with cauliflower!  You can turn it into a rice, a couscous or even blend it into a mock mashed potato!  Who knew cauliflower could be so versatile?  In this quick dish, I turned it into a light fluffy couscous and topped with with some toasted pecans.  Perfect to accompany any dish!

Who needs grains with recipes like this?!

Ingredients (serves 2):
1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into pieces
2tbs butter (preferably organic and grass fed but do what you can)

sea salt and fresh ground pepper
small handful of toasted chopped pecans

Directions:
1. In a food processor, pulse the cauliflower until fine: resembling couscous.
2. Place it in a microwavable glass dish and microwave on high for 4 minutes.  Add in butter and microwave another minute.  Stir, add a bit of salt and pepper, and top with pecans.  Viola!  A grain-free side dish perfect for any meal!

Homemade Oatless Granola

Granola is one of those amazing things that is delicious in milk, over yogurt or plain.  It's usually a mix of nuts, oats and honey that has been mixed together and thrown in the oven.  My granola has no grains or oats and is only sweetened by the shredded coconut.  I got the idea from the blog Mark's Daily Apple with a few changes to make it my own.  I ate it last night in a bowl with some almond milk.  So tasty! 

Perfect for breakfast!

Ingredients:
3tbs extra virgin coconut oil
2tbs bourbon vanilla extract

7oz bag shredded coconut
3/4c raw sliced almonds
3/4c raw pecan pieces
1/2-1tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350F.
2. Melt coconut oil in the microwave until liquid.  In a large bowl mix oil, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.  Stir in shredded coconut until combined.  Then stir in nuts until everything is well coated.
3. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet (I like to line mine with nonstick foil).  Bake for 10 minutes (maybe a little longer) or until nuts and coconut are toasty.  Be careful not to burn!  Let cool and serve with almond, soy or regular milk.

Gluten Free Breakfast Bars

You might be thinking that these look a lot like my Homemade Granola Bars, and they are, sort of. These delicious hearty bars are less sweet than the original granola bars and have some almond flour for an extra dose of filling protein. They are the perfect breakfast on the go and keep best in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

Hearty breakfast on the go in a piece of cake with these bars!

Ingredients (makes 16 large bars):
2/3c gluten free oats, processed in a food processor until finely ground

3c gluten free oats
1/2c almond flour
1tsp salt
1tsp cinnamon
3c nuts, chopped or whole as preferred (I used 1c pecans, 1c macadamia nuts and 1c slivered almonds)
3c dried fruit (I used 1c chopped apricots, 1c dried cranberries, and 1c dried mixed berries)
12tbs melted butter or extra virgin coconut oil (use butter for a richer flavor, use coconut oil for it's health benefits and add some shredded coconut to the bar for a coconut flavor)
1/2c honey
2tbs light corn syrup
1tbs vanilla extract
2/3c creamy almond butter

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Line a 13x9" cake pan with parchment paper or nonstick foil.
2. In a large bowl, mix together oat flour, oats, almond flour, salt cinnamon, nuts and dried fruit.
3. In a microwavable bowl, add butter or oil.  Microwave until melted.  Stir in honey, corn syrup, vanilla and almond butter until smooth.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix with your hands until well coated and moist.
5. Press mixture into the prepared pan firmly until evenly pressed into the pan.  Bake for about 30 or 35 minutes until the outsides are deep brown and the top is starting to brown but still soft in the center.
6. Remove from oven and let cool about 10 minutes.  Use the paper to help remove the entire pan of bars, cover with foil, and place in the refrigerator for a few hours before cutting (otherwise they tend to fall apart).  Once cut, store them on lined parchment paper in layers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve (they will be set the next day).

Flourless Chocolate Pecan Cookies

Yes, this is my first attempt at gluten free cookies.  The result was not pretty.  Literally, not pretty.  But the cookies are slightly crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside with lots of melted chocolate and crunchy pecans.  They are delicious, but a bit harder to work with due to being flourless.  Make sure you put parchment paper or nonstick foil down on your cookie sheets first:  otherwise they will fall apart when you try to take them off.  Perhaps I need to work on the presentation of this dessert, but it's worth a blog post because they are so dang tasty.

As the cookies cool, they glue together and are less likely to fall apart

 Ingredients:

A bit of crunch on the outside, but all chewy and melted chocolate in the inside

2c confectioners sugar
1c packed brown sugar
3/4c dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2tsp sea salt
1 1/2c chocolate chips
1 1/2c chopped pecans
4 large egg whites, room  temp
2tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together sugars, cocoa, and salt.  Stir in chocolate and pecans.
3. Add egg whites and vanilla and stir just until combined.
4. Drop by 1/4c about 3 inches apart on cookies sheets.  Bake until cookie tops are cracked and dry, about 20-25 minutes (rotate sheets half way through).  Let cookies cool completely.