Coconut, carrot and apple muffins

1 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup saltanas or chopped dates
1 cup grated carrot
1 tsp chia seeds (optional)
1 cup grated apple
1/2 cup water or milk
1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
6 eggs
flaked or shredded coconut to garnish

Mix dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in another.
Mix the wet ingredients into the dry, adding more water if needed.
Spoon mixture into muffin tray and garnish with flaked or shredded coconut.
Bake at 180C for 30 mins
Test with skewer. If necessary, cook a little longer.

Protein Blast Balls

1 cup almond meal
2 tablespoons protein powder (vanilla flavour works best)
1/2 cup goji berries
1/2 cup shredded/flaked coconut
1/2 cup chia seeds
10 medjool dates, pitted
3 tablespoons agave syrup
2-3 tablespoons tahini

Place all ingredients into a food processor until well blended. Mixture should be quite dense. Then form into balls and roll in extra desiccated coconut.

Refrigerate and enjoy.

Makes approx. 15.

Paleo Double Chocolate Cookies

Double chocolate cookies

Yields about 24 cookies

Those sugar-less dark chocolate cookies will cure any craving for baked goods you might have. They’re a

really great treat, to be enjoyed with moderation.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup almond butter;

• 1 tbsp melted butter, ghee or coconut oil;

• 1 egg;

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder;

• 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips;

• 2 tsp vanilla extract;

• A pinch of fine sea salt;

PREPARATION

1 Preheat your oven to 350 F.

2 Mix all the ingredients well together in a bowl.

3 Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper,

scoop out pieces of dough about 1 tbsp in size

and press them on the parchment paper in the

shape of a cookie. The cookies won’t expand or

change shape when cooked.

4 Place in the oven to bake for about 12 minutes,

until just cooked.

Coconut Vanilla Ice Cream

Before we get all carried away with a recipe for ice cream that is also Paleo friendly, I have attempted this and failed. Maybe I did it wrong. Maybe I did it right, and it's supposed to taste like that.  Make at your own peril! (by the way, if you attempt it and you find it delicious, let me know! I'd love to hear what you think!)

I didn't have a glass bowl for the double boiler,
This was the only option my mother-in-law
could offer! Maybe that's where I went wrong...

Coconut Vanilla Ice Cream

• Serves 4

This ice cream is prepared with coconut milk, doesn’t call for any dairy products and it tastes amazing this

way. People are often worried about making ice cream because they don’t have an ice cream machine, but

it’s not much more complicated or time consuming without one. The trick is to fully cool the custard in the

refrigerator before putting it in a bowl in the freezer and vigorously whisking it every 30 minutes for about

2 to 3 hours while it freezes. This will prevent hard crystals to form and will produce the same smooth ice

cream you’d expect from an ice cream machine.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 can coconut milk;

• 2 eggs or 4 egg yolks

(yolks alone will give more

richness);

• Seeds from 2 fresh vanilla

beans or 4 tbsp real vanilla

extract.

Flavoring options

• 1/2 cup of your favorite

berries (chopped or

blended to a puree);

• 1/2 cup coconut flakes;

• 1/4 cup finely chopped

mint;

• 1/4 cup chopped nuts;

• Lemon, lime or orange

zest;

• 3 tbsp raw honey;

• 1/4 cup dark chocolate

chips or flakes

PREPARATION

1 Bring some water to a boil in a pot and reduce to a simmer.

2 Place a heat proof bowl over it in a double boiler fashion and

pour the coconut milk in it. Put the vanilla seeds or vanilla

extract with the coconut milk and heat until hot, but make sure

it doesn’t come to a boil. If using flavorings such as mint or dark

chocolate, you can add them now. You can also add chocolate

at the end of the process to keep the pieces whole.

3 Whisk the eggs or the yolks in a separate bowl. Add one ladleful

of the hot coconut milk to the eggs while whisking quite

vigorously. What you’re doing is tempering the eggs and slowly

bringing the temperature up without cooking the eggs and

risking that they scramble. Add two or three other ladlefuls of

the coconut milk mixture and incorporate them to the eggs

while whisking continuously.

4 Take the tempered eggs and whisk in the bowl with the rest of

the coconut milk on the double boiler.

5 Whisk for a couple of minutes non-stop to form a thick custard.

Make sure it doesn’t get too hot and the simmering water

doesn’t touch the bowl.

6 Once the custard is ready, remove from the heat source and let

it cool on the counter or the refrigerator.

7 You can add any other flavoring you want to use once the custard

is cold enough to put a finger in it and feel comfortable.

8 Let it cool even more in the refrigerator before freezing it.

9 Place in your ice cream maker and follow its instructions or put

in a baking dish in the freezer and stir vigorously every 30 minutes

for about 2 to 3 hours until it’s set.

10 Take it out of the freezer for about 10 minutes before enjoying

so it softens a bit. Serve with added coconut milk, berries, mint,

coconut flakes or any other flavoring you might like.

Paleo Banana Bread

Banana bread

Serves 6

Who said you can’t enjoy banana bread anymore now that you follow a Paleo diet? With the right ingredients,

it can be enjoyed without much guilt. Enjoy with moderation because it’s still high in nuts and fruit.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup almond butter;

• 1 cup almond flour;

• 3 very ripe bananas;

• 2 eggs;

• 1 tsp baking powder;

• 1 tsp baking soda;

PREPARATION

1 Preheat your oven to 350 F.

2 Mash the bananas with a fork in a bowl and add

the almond butter, almond flour and eggs.

3 Combine everything well.

4 Add the baking powder and baking soda and

combine well.

5 Form a loaf in a baking pan and place in the

preheated oven for about 35 to 40 minutes, until

a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out

clean.

Fresh Herb Meatballs

When I first made these, I didn't have the fresh parsley or basil, but I had dried - so I've used that. No measurements, just a few shakes of the shaker. I also added some Tarragon.

Fresh herb meatballs

Serves 4

Serve these with a marinara or spaghetti sauce and over spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles if desired.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb ground beef;

• 1 lb ground pork;

• 1/4 onion, minced;

• 1/4 cup fresh basil, finely minced;

• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely minced;

• 1 cup spinach, finely minced;

• 4 eggs;

• 1/4 cup almond meal;

• 1 tbsp dried oregano;

• 4 cloves garlic, minced;

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

to taste;

PREPARATION

1 Preheat your oven to 350 F.

2 Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix

well with your hands to combine. You can use a

food processor to reduce the basil, parsley and

spinach to a finer mixture before adding it to the

ground meat. Season the mixture to taste with

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

3 Make small balls the size of a golf ball and place

them apart on a baking sheet, then place them

in the preheated oven to cook for about 25 minutes,

until well cooked.