Homemade Almond Milk, Flavored Almond Milk, and Almond Flour

Almond Milk (makes 1 quart)

   We love Almond milk! We are (mostly) dairy free, so we love that almonds are naturally a good source of calcium. Of course remember that almonds are high in omega 6s so don't go too ape-y crazy on the stuff! Please remember to soak your almonds over night and rinse well before making almond milk. Almonds contain toxic enzyme inhibitors and can cause digestive issues, soaking them mostly eliminates this issue. In addition soaking almonds also makes them taste better, makes them easier to digest, better absorption of nutrition from them, increases enzyme activity, and soaking starts the sprouting process which bumps up their nutritional value considerably. So always soak your nuts!!

    If you wish you may remove the skins from the almonds first. These naked almonds are called "blanched." Its really easy to do after they have been soaked, just pinch the almond between your thumb and forefinger and with a snapping motion the seed pops right out of the skin. I like to do it this way because I think the milk tastes better and I like the flour made from the pulp better with out skins.

2 cups raw almonds, soaked over night (discard soaking water and rinse nuts well)

4 cups filtered water

Place almonds and water in blender. Blend well. I like to leave the blender on for at least a minute. Once the almonds are all blended well strain through a nut milky bag, several layers of cheese cloth, or a muslin cheese making bag (I use a muslin bag). Make sure to squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible. Add filtered water to make 4 cups (I usually have to add about 1/4c)

Flavored Almond Milk

Vanilla-

1-2 Tbs Honey (optional)

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

      
        OR
Chocolate-
1-2 Tbs Honey (optional)

6T unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cinnamon

   After making your fresh Almond milk give yourself a big pat on the back. After your done doing that rinse your blender and pour the almond milk back into the blender. Add desired ingredients and blend. Voila!!

Almond Flour (yields approx 2 cups)

After  straining your almond puree you will be left with "almond pulp". Spread out the pulp on a cookie sheet and place in an oven on its lowest setting (mine says WARM). Leave in the oven for 12-24 hrs until completely dry. Then grind dried pulp in a food processor, coffee grinder, or blender.

Blueberry Coconut Milk Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups homemade coconut milk (or you can use 1 can of canned coconut milk)

1c of thawed frozen blueberries (you can use fresh too)

1-2 TBS of maple syrup to sweeten to taste (yes taste it and add more 1 Tbs at a time till you like it).

1 Gallon size freezer bag, filled 1/2 full of ice cubes

1 cup rock salt

1 quart size freezer bag

Mix frist 3 ingredients in a large bowl and then pour mixture into a quart baggie and seal well, place the quart baggie into a gallon baggie (fill gallon baggie about half way with ice and 1 cup rock salt first) and then shaaaaaaaaaake until the mixture solidifies (about 5 minutes is all it took). Oh and wear your winter gloves because you will look cool because its really cold!

Paleo Apple Crisp with Coconut Milk Whipped Cream

serves 5

Apple filling:

5 Apples (Pears work well too)

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

2 Tbs Honey (optional)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground ginger

Crisp Topping:

1 1/2 cups almond meal/flour

1/2 c coconut flakes

2 Tbs honey
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup melted coconut oil

Whipped Topping:

1 can chilled coconut milk

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350F

peel and slice apples (or pears) and toss with blueberries in a 1 qrt oven save dish

drizzle 2T honey across the fruit and sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger

in a separate bowl mix together almond flour, coconut flakes and cinnamon, then add in coconut oil and honey and mix well. Top fruit with crisp mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 30min, uncover and bake an additional 30min until fruit mixture is gooey and bubbling around the edges

While crisp is baking take scoop cream out of the chilled coconut milk. leave the coconut water in the can (you can drink this later, but we will not be using this in the recipe). whip the coconut cream with a whisk or an electric beater until stiff. You may sweeten the whipped cream with a little honey if you wish (and whip again) but I don't think it needs any sweetener. Top each serving with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of Cinnamon and enjoy!

Cranberry Poached Pears

4 pears
3 cups 100% cranberry juice (NOT from concentrate if you can find it)
1/3 cup cranberries
1/8 cup honey (if you are using cranberry juice from concentrate, you could skip this)

Preheat oven to 350Peal and slice pears and place in a 2 qt baking dish with a lid, add cranberries. Drizzle honey across pears, pour in juice. Cover and bake for 40 min.

Micah's Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm calling these Micah's because my youngest son is allergic to dairy and eggs. Finding egg free Paleo recipes is hard, especially baked goods. I wanted to make the kids one of their all time favorites from our pre-Paleo days, CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!! Alas I could not find an egg less, dairy free, gluten free, wheat free, refined sugar free.... go figure ;) So with out further a-do....

2 cups almond flour
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
4 tbs flax meal
6 tbs water
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups Enjoy Life chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. In a medium sized mixing bowl combine dry ingredients
3. In a small mixing bowl beat flax meal and water, then mix in the remaining wet ingredients with a hand mixer
4. Combine wet and dry ingredients
5. STIR in chocolate chips
6. Drop tablespoon sized balls of dough on a parchment lined baking sheet
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes
8. Let cool, and enjoy!

I Can't Afford To Eat Healthy!!

I hear this all the time, and it's completely untrue. Yes it would be lovely if you could throw out all that unhealthy food and stock your kitchen with all kinds of natural foods and ingredients to make gourmet real food meals.... then there is the real world. You really can make your budget work if you take the time to do some thinking. Replace that $5 box of sugary cereal with $5 worth of eggs and bacon. Skip the sandwich for your lunch and replace it by baking a whole chicken that will cost around $5 and probably be enough meat for 3-5 lunches. Same thing with dinner. Replace those carbs with more meat, fat and veggies.
I have a family of five (three children ages 7,4,and 1) and we were spending about $200 a week on groceries buying typical American processed foods. We ALL went Primal/Paleo . Take a look at the picture of my grocery cart at the bottom.

How much did this cost? $180, and it lasted over about 2 weeks. It can be done.

One of the tricks to not over spending at the grocery store is to look at what's on sale online or in the paper, clip coupons, plan your meals, and make a list. You can of course save by buying in bulk if you can use it all before it goes bad. Freeze food to keep it longer. Meat, fruits, and veggies are all very easy to freeze. I found avocados on sale for 2/1.00 so I bought 10. If you find you bought more then you are going to be able to eat before they turn bad freeze them. I could make guacamole and freeze it in a container or freezer bag. Another option would be to smoosh with a fork or purée in a blender or food processor and freeze it in an ice cube tray. Pop out the avocado cubes and put them in a freezer bag. Then you can pull out what ever amount you need easily (1 cube=approx. 1oz)
The point is you can afford it. Just substitute what you have been eating that is unhealthy for something healthier.

Cranberry Relish

It might be too late to make this for Thanksgiving, but this is a great side to any poultry, and cranberries should be available for several more weeks. My family loves it when I make this when I bake a whole chicken (or 2).

2 12oz bags cranberries
1 lg can pineapple chunks in JUICE
2 oranges peeled and sectioned
1/8-1/4c honey to taste
Preheat oven to 350F (can be baked at a higher temp if you need, just adjust cooking time accordingly)
Mix all ingredients in a baking dish, including the juice from the pineapple can. Bake covered for 40 min, stir, bake uncovered for additional 20 min.