Paleo Coconut and Carrot Cake

In my GCSE year, I studied food technology where by myself and my class mates would find our favourite recipes to cook, explore food, and learn about the science behind it. My friend Emily decided, for her final cooking practical, that she would make a carrot and coconut cake; and oh my was it scrummy! She later gave me the recipe and I made it a few times since, sharing it with another few who asked.  Seven years later, and I have (annoyingly) misplaced the well-used scrap of paper that read the recipe to Emily's carrot and coconut cake (DANG)!!  So... using my foggy memory, my interest in paleo food and a little research into Paleo baking, I have attempted to recreate this little gem; I substituted flour for coconut flour, sugar for honey, and butter for coconut oil. PALEO here we come!
The coconut ingredients in the cake keep the whole thing completely moist, while the raisins and the walnuts give it a little bit of texture.

I think I have succeeded in recreating it? ....... Well you can judge that after making it yourselves....

For the icing, I used Greek yoghurt and for some Paleo followers, they would argue that this is not part of the diet. You can decide weather you want to add this or not, and by all means make a different icing!! The one I have put here is only a suggestion!!

Ingredients:

Sponge:

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup coconut oil

3 medium carrots, grated

4 eggs, beaten until they are well scrambled

1/4 coconut flour

1/2 desicated coconut

1/4 linseeds

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup walnuts

2 tsp cinnamon

1 heaped tsp baking powder

Icing: (optional)

2 tbsp fat free greek yoghurt

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp ground almonds

1 tsp cinnamon

Toasted coconut flakes

Directions:

Set oven to 180 degrees. Line a medium sized tin loaf with baking parchment, and grease to make sure nothing sticks.

Wash, peel and grate your carrots. Set aside.

In a bowl, melt coconut oil so it is liquid, and beat well with the honey.

Add your beaten eggs, and sift in your coconut flour over the top (this is to make sure there are no lumps!). 

Beat well.  You will be able to see the coconut flour expand and thicken the batter. Make sure there are no lumps!  Add your grated carrot, your linseeds, raisins, chopped walnuts, desiccated coconut and baking powder. Beat well until all the ingredients are mixed well.

Tip mixture into your prepared cake tin and set in the oven. 

Bake for about 50 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.  Equally you can make the mixture into muffins, but keep in mind it will probably take a shorter time to bake!

Once cooked, take it out and set it onto a wire rack to cool. 

The Icing is optional, but I think it adds something a little extra to the flavour... plus it looks pretty too! To make the icing, measure out all of your ingredients into a bowl.

Beat well. It should look something like this....

In a small frying pan, tip out a large handful of coconut flakes and put them into the pan dry. On a low heat, toast the flakes until golden brown. Keep your eye on them, they will start to brown very quickly! 

Once the cake has cooled, spread over your icing evenly and sprinkle on your toasted coconut flakes.

Serve and Enjoy.....

 

Sweet Potato Fries

Quick, easy and tasty! 

These Sweet potato chips are just great, and you can whip them up to absolute perfection in no time at all! They are minimal admin with them being baked instead of deep-fried, also making them a healthier choice, AND super delicious! The sweetness from the potato caramelises when baked, making them soft in the middle, crispy on the edges and just simply melt in your mouth! 

The little trick of the trade for cooking these guys.....?

Using a plastic freezer bag to help evenly distribute your oil and seasoning is a great little tip I came across, whilst prowling the internet one evening. This is the first time I had tried this, and it was a genius idea!! Why didn't I think of that one first- DANG...

Anyways, here's to the health side of things......

Sweet potatoes are known as a 'Low GI' food, meaning that they release glucose more slowly and steadily within your body, giving you more sustained energy levels throughout the day. They are extremely high in vitamin A (which is predominantly important for the health of the retina within your eye; ie the health of your vision), as well as both vitamins C and D (Immune support). They are a good source of magnesium (which is famous for being the 'relaxation and anti-stress mineral'!), potassium (aids in nerve functioning and the control of blood pressure), and iron (which helps keep your energy levels high, aids in the production of both white and red blood cells within the body, and helps to maintain your immune system at its optimum). Vitamin B6, also noticeably present within sweet potato, acts as a coenzyme to many other enzymes in the body, essentially boosting the body's metabolism. Per 100g raw they contain: 86 cals, 20g complex carbohydrates, 2g protein, 3.4g dietary fibre, and zero fat.....

These little orange guys pack a nutritional punch, hey!?

Ingredients:

Sweet potatoes, (I would measure about 1 regular sweet potato (approx 130g) per person)

1 tbsp olive oil or oil of choice per potato 

Salt, Peper, and any spices you fancy! (chille flakes, cumin, paprika, garlic, curry powder....)

I went for a shake of salt and chilli flakes in this batch!

Directions:

Set the oven to 180 degrees.

Begin by scrubbing your sweet potatoes, and cutting any gross ugly bits off. You don't necessarily need to peal them, but if you prefer to do so, go ahead! Especially when they may be from a green grocers and are still accessorising with a little bit of mud!!

Chop them into chip shapes about 1/2 cm wide

Put all of your chip-shaped-sweet-potatoes in a large freezer bag, drizzle in your oil and seasonings, seal it, and give it a big shake around. Keep shaking until you think your fries have an even coating of everything.

Tip out onto a baking tray. 

If you want to save yourself a bit of washing up, lining it with a bit of baking parchment or foil always saves you scrubbing away at your dish afterwards! Make sure all of the potatoes have their own space. You don't want them over lapping each other, as they won't go as crispy!!

Bake for about 30 mins until you can see the edges turning golden brown! 

Take out of the oven and serve!

Peanut butter Chicken

This is a recipe I came up with after having made my first batch of home-made peanut butter.... 

(Follow the link for the recipe here: loubieloup.blogspot.com/homemadepeanutbutter )  

I was so addicted (actually.... correction, I am still very addicted to it), and I consequently got carried away adding it to a main meal sauce. Holy smokes was it delicious I have made it three times since then! If you want something bursting full of flavour, easy to make yet super impressive- give this a go!! It makes great left overs to add into salads, wraps or cous cous for lunch too!! I promise you wont be disappointed...

Ingredients:

800g (approximately) chicken breasts, cubed

4 heaped tablespoons of chunky peanut butter

Chicken stock cube

1 cup boiling water

1 tbsp tumeric

5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1 tsp chilli flakes (or use a small fresh chilli if you have them lying around!)

1/4 cup coconut flakes

2 large leeks

1 red bell pepper

coconut oil (or oil of choice) for frying

I used spinach to serve, however those who want filling up a bit more go for rice/ sweet potato, whatever you like!!

Directions:

In a large bowl, add your peanut butter, your stock cube, garlic, chilli, tumeric and coconut flakes. Pour over about a cup of boiling water mashing (the peanut butter and stock cube) and mixing the ingredients together to get a yellow chunky peanut like sauce. Add your chicken, cover with cling film and leave to marinate in the fridge while you do your other prep. 

This step could also be done in the morning and left to marinade all day, ready for you to fry up for dinner!

Chop your leeks and bell peppers up into your desired shapes. In a large frying pan, add your coconut oil and fry your vegetables on a low heat. 

After they begin to soften, add in your bowl of marinated chicken and leave to simmer, stirring every 5 minutes or so to make sure the chicken is cooked evenly. 

Once cooked though, serve immediately! Season if desired, however there is a lot of salt from the stock cube!

As mentioned before, I served mine on a bed of spinach with sweet potato fries (recipe to come!) but equally this curried flavour would go well with rice, noodles, sweet potato or even wacked in a wrap! Yum yum yum.....

The Mug cake

For the last two nights I have been staying round 'the boys' house, and learning a lot about their little random treats...... one of them being 'The mug cake'. A great little food-invention that takes all of about 5 minutes to make, has limited washing up, and is healthy, hearty and satisfying! I wouldn't say it was the average 'boy snack', but their new found love for Paleo food has inspired them to knock up some absolute crackers.

Why is it so good for you?

Ground Almonds- For those of you who a little more familiar with the Paleo Diet, you will know the wonders of ground almonds. The texture, taste and health benefits are all positive. In just one quarter cup of ground almonds, you will be getting 6g of protein, 3g fibre, 20% of your daily magnesium needs, and around 35% of your daily vitamin E intake. Magnesium is essential for muscle function, bone health and energy needs; vitamin E improves the health of your red blood cells and infamously helps improve the quality of your skin, nails and hair. Although relatively high in fat, it is all 'healthy fat' and will keep you fuller for longer, giving you sustained energy for the rest of the day.

Bananas- High in potassium, bananas are great for lower blood pressure, ensures calcium absorption, which consequently helps to keep your bones in tip-top shape! Bananas are great for settling the stomach and maintaining the stomach's health. They trigger the production of mucus in the stomach, lining it and creating a protective barrier against stomach acids. Bananas contain an enzyme that helps to break down any 'bad bacteria' in the tummy. It is said that if you eat 4-6 bananas a week, your chances of developing cancer in the kidney decreases by an astonishing 50%!! Gobble up guys.....

Eggs- A high source of protein, eggs too will keep you fuller for longer, contain all of the 9 essential amino acids (essentially the building blocks in your body), and equip you with vitamin D (essential for the absorption of calcium and the health fo your bones, hair, skin and nails), as well as many of the B vitamins, again keeping your energy levels high and your metabolism pumping!

Ingredients:

Ripe banana

1 large egg

1 tbs linseeds

1 tbs Cacao nibs/ or chocolate chips

1/4 cup ground almonds

squeezy honey

The photos I have taken were just off of my phone so not the best quality but hopefully they are ok!!

Directions

In a mug, mash your banana up with your folk with as few lumps as possible. It goes without saying that the riper the banana the easier it will be to mash!

Crack your egg in and tip in your cacao nibs and linseeds. (sesame seeds will work just as well and by all means go for both if you have them lying around in your cupboard!) Whisk well.

Tip in your almond flour and whisk again. If you have a sweet tooth, you can put in some honey at this stage, but equally the sugar from the banana gives it a subtle sweetness!

This is roughly what your mixture should look like....

Put your mug cake in the microwave, and set it for about 2 minutes. Take it out and let it stand for around 1 minute, and then give it a final 1 minute blast. Let it stand again, the mixture will still be cooking as soon as you take it out! We microwaved it for a total of about 3 minutes but I recommend that you just keep checking it.  We used a 800W microwave so the cooking times may be a bit different also...... Ultimately you want it to look a little something like this.....

It rises a little!!

Tip it out onto a plate.....

........and squeeze over some honey. ENJOY!

Garlicy Stuffed Aubergine with Chicken, Rosemary, Tomatoes and Feta

Aubergine is by far one of my favourite vegetables, and the combining it with a chicken-tomatoey-garlicy-rosemary sauce is just delicious! 

This aubergine wasn't the average aubergine; this was a different variety: white with a few purple stripes in it which I had found at one of the local vegetable shops near my flat. I don't think it particularly makes any difference in the cooking of this dish (I have made this previously at home with the standard aubergine), only that the skin isn't a dark purple/black colour! These little guys look really impressive for a dinner party, and if desired/necessary, it can be made vegetarian very easily by simply leaving out the chicken or substituting it for quorn or tofu. It may look a lot more complicated than it actually is; it is in fact a very easy recipe, and is definitely worth that little bit of culinary effort!

Ingredients: (serves 1 as a main meal, 2 as a starter: double/triple/quadruple for more.....)

1 aubergine

Olive oil

2 cloves garlic

Rosemary leaves, about 1 tbsp

3 small tomatoes, chopped (see picture for reference of quantity)

2 chicken tenderloins, chopped into small pieces

1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)

30g Feta

Salad:

Mixed leaves (I used baby spinach and lettuce)

2 Tbsp bulgar wheat (pre-cooked)

Olive oil and lemon dressing (2:1 ratio respectively)

Directions:

Turn oven on to 180 degrees.

Get your aubergine and slice it down the middle. Use your knife to cut out the flesh of the aubergine of both halves. You can use your hands pulling out some of the flesh too. Set the fleshy middle to one side.

Place your aubergine 'shells' on a baking sheet. Very roughly slice your garlic cloves and scatter over the aubergine, drizzle with some olive oil, a sprinkle of salt and half of your rosemary leaves.

Put in the oven to cook. 

Meanwhile, take the flesh of the aubergine and chop into small pieces. In a small frying pan, add a bit of olive oil with your chicken and begin to fry off on a medium heat. The chicken pieces should be chopped quite small, so they shouldn't take too long to cook through and brown-maybe about 5-7 minutes; once cooked, add in your chopped aubergine flesh. Stir fry again for another 2 minutes.

Add your chopped tomatoes, the rest of your rosemary and chilli flakes. Turn the heat down to a medium heat, and stir until the aubergine is cooked through, and your tomatoes are soft. It should turn a little bit saucy as your tomatoes soften.

By now, your aubergine 'shells' should have cooked through and crisped up. 

Take them out of the oven, put any garlic that wasn't in the shells, inside. Begin to spoon in your tomatoey-chicken filling. 

Crumble over your feta, and put back in the oven to crisp up. This should take another 5-10 minutes...

Serve both halves immediately. 

I had mine with a mixed leaf salad, which I tossed in a little bit of lemon juice and olive oil, and 2 tbsp of bulgar wheat which I had pre-cooked in the fridge. This is only a suggestion! If a bit more hungry, you could serve this with some wholewheat pasta and some truffel oil (the flavours go very well!)- this is my dad's favourite!! Enjoy guys!