Coffee Brownies (Raw/Paleo)

Sometimes you just need a chocolate fix. I happen to like the sweet/salty flavor combo. These brownies satisfy that craving without all the extra refined sugars and overly processed ingredients. These brownies taste a lot like the Jocalat Larabars. You can customize theses bars by swapping the coffee grounds and cutting the vanilla extract in half and adding a different extract (orange, coconut, peppermint, etc.). Go ahead, give it a try!

recipe adapted from mynewroots.org 

Coffee Brownie

-1 cup almonds

-1 cup walnuts

-1 tsp vanilla extract

-20 medjool dates (small)

-1 c. cocoa powder (unsweetened)

-1/2 tsp coffee grounds

-dash of sea salt

-Combine almonds, vanilla, 1/2 of cocoa powder, salt, and coffee grounds in food processor. Pulse until well combined and crumbly. Then add in dates and walnuts. Pulse until it looks like dirt (literally). When you mash the mixture between your finger tips it should stick together.

-Line a brownie pan with parchment paper and pour mixture inside pan. Pat down firmly and place in the freezer until firm (a few hours). Then remove, cut into squares and enjoy! I store mine in the freezer for a nice old treat, I also prefer the texture when they are frozen.

Beet Hummus

Dear Mom,

If you're reading this, as I'm sure you are, I'm sorry. You may want to stop reading now. I'm pretty sure this recipe is considered betrayal to my arab roots.

Love you,

Z



No self respecting arab tries to tamper with a good thing, except me. Funny story, this one time I asked for baked falafel, turns out, that's gross. The falafel turned into hockey puck like saucers that my family then threw around the dinning room table. I don't think they'll ever let me live that one down.

Chickpeas aren't paleo and I miss them. So I decided to try to recreate a food I grew up on. I read a few blogs talking about beet hummus but they added silly things like cumin to their hummus. Why? I don't know. The first time I made this I used red beets, magenta hummus? I think not. Second time around I used golden beets, at least the color is closer.

I DO think this tastes great. It's a fun dip for raw veggie or to mix into chicken salad or tuna salad recipes. It's no traditional hummus though. I'm convinced nothing will ever compare. I can't ever stop eating hummus forever. It just feels wrong. Having said all that. Go ahead and try it. This is a great way to get in an extra vegetable, healthy fats, and fiber. Also, beets are great pre workout fuel! They are vasodilators, which enhances blood flow and means more oxygen travels into your muscles. YEY!

It should look like this when you're all done

Beet Hummus

-6 small to medium yellow beets (boiled and skinned)
-2 Tbs. Tahini
-1/2 + 2 extra squeezes of fresh lemon juice
-1/2 Tbs. minced garlic (you can use garlic powder too)
-1/4 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
-dash of salt

1. You'll want to boil your beets until they are fork tender. Then let them cool and peel the skin with your hands. It's the easiest way to cook up beets (in my opinion).
2. Toss all your ingredients in the food processor and pulse until smooth (I let it run about 3-5 minutes)

Enjoy with baby carrots, diced cucumbers, peppers, sliced mushrooms or anything!

Paleo Chicken Meatballs and Eggplant Bake

This was one of those recipes that I came up with on the fly. I opened my fridge and pantry, took a quick inventory and decided I had a lot of produce to use up. The eggplant bake is a little like ratatouille.  It pairs well with pretty much any protein (fish, chicken, beef, etc.) and take very little prep.

You could also make the chicken meatballs into larger patties and puree the eggplant bake (to form a sauce). Think of it as an open faced burger with a nice veggie sauce. Add a little feta cheese (if you'd like) and you've got another great meal! Throwing veggies in the blender to make a puree is a great way to sneak extra veggies into a picky eaters' diet!


For the Meatballs…

Chicken Meatballs:

-1 lb ground chicken breast
-1/8 c. egg whites
-1/4 c. coconut flour
-3/4 tsp minced garlic (or more if you like it garlicky)
-1 tsp. dried parsley
-1 tsp dried thyme
-1/2 tsp pepper flakes

Step 1

Mix until well combined. This will be kind of sticky but you can slightly dampen your hands with water to prevent them from sticking when you roll.

Step 2

I rolled them into golfball sized balls and put them into a lightly oiled non sticky skillet on medium high. Let brown on each side (5-8 minutes).

Step 3

Then flip over and let brown again. You can continue to bake here but since I'm adding them to my eggplant bake I pulled them off the stovetop to finish cooking in the oven.














Eggplant Bake:

-1 whole eggplant (small-medium) diced

before baking

-1  orange pepper diced
-1 yellow pepper diced
-1/2 large yellow onion diced
-5 strips turkey bacon diced
-1 carton crushed tomato sauce
-1 T. minced garlic
-1 T dried thyme
-1 T dried parsley
-Salt/pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 Degree.

Throw all ingredients into a ceramic baking dish. Add meatballs from above (or not if you are making this solo). Mix together and bake for 30-45 minutes (until eggplant fork tender and meatballs fully cooked). You can enjoy this plain or on top of spaghetti squash.

Paleo Carrot Cake Bread

Clearly I'm loving fall bread creations! They take very little prep work and last all week. These bread recipes are a great way to add an extra vegetable or fruit into your diet. Keep in mind, this shouldn't be considered your vegetable serving for the day but it's always nice to get a little extra boost!

I have not been using any added sugars (honey, agave, sugar, etc) so this recipe does not include it. Please feel free to add honey or coconut sugar to make it sweeter. I'd suggest starting with 2 T up to 1/4 c. but try to use as little as possible. I think the ripe bananas add enough sweetness.


Carrot Cake Bread

-2 1/2 c. almond flour
-3 eggs
-3 ripe bananas
-1 pouch pureed carrots
-1/4 c. shredded coconut
-1/4 tsp ground ginger
-1 tsp ground cinnamon
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1/2 c. raisins
-2 T coconut oil
-1 tsp. baking soda
-2 T honey (I do not had honey to my bread but if you like it sweet I'd go ahead and add some sweetener of choice)

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Add all ingredients into the food processor and pulse until well combined. You can keep the raisins out and add them last but I don't mind them getting mixed up.

Grease your loaf pan. I used coconut oil spray for this. Then pour mixture into the pan and give it a little shake or smooth it out.

Bake for about 1 hour, depending on your oven. You'll know it's done with you stick a fork or knife in the center and it comes out clean.

After it's cooled dig in! If you try to cut this warm you won't get a clean cut. I usually cut it into 8 slices. Just a quick note, feel free to add crushed pineapple to make it even more like your typical carrot cake. Make sure if you add pineapple that you squeeze all the juice out first!

Butternut Squash and Chicken Sausage Saute

 Fall flavors are in full bloom. I threw a few of my favorite fall flavors into a skillet and let them cook up. I must say, the end result was pretty tasty! This would be a great make ahead meal or the week but it also comes together in 20 minutes or less, making for a great weeknight dinner. I used precut butternut squash but you could use frozen or buy a whole squash. If you don't have carrot juice feel free to swap it out for orange juice but it will come out a little sweeter.


Butternut Squash and Chicken Sausage Saute
-1/2 small yellow onion, diced
-1 apple, diced (I used pink crisp)
-2 cups chopped butternut squash (fresh or frozen)
-1 package apple chicken sausage
-1/4 tsp ground ginger
-dash sea salt
-3 T 100% carrot juice
-1/2 T champagne vinegar (optional, gives a little tang)



1. Chop all ingredients and set aside each individually.
2. Use cooking spray or 1/2 T oil (of your choice) to a skillet. Turn onto medium high heat.
3. Add onions and sea salt to skillet, saute until translucent.
4. Add butternut squash and ginger to skillet.
5. Once squash is fork tender add apple and chicken sausage.
6. Cook another 5-10 minutes, until sausage browns (they are already pre cooked).
7. Add a carrot juice and vinegar to deglaze pan and let liquid simmer.

EAT! :)