No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake (Dairy Free) with Easy "Graham Cracker" crust

Yes it's dairy free and oooohh soooo creamy and doesn't leave you with a weighed down feeling after you have eaten a healthy slice.
The secret ingredient is,,,shhhhhhh....You are sworn to secrecy on this one....Make it and take it to a potluck. Sit back (after you have had your slice) and listen to the rave reviews! OK It's cashews.
This recipe is only slightly more difficult that other recipes I have posted but only because there are 2 steps. Crust is one and filling is the other. And you need to take the time to soak the cashews.
I used a 9 inch spring form pan but a deep dish 9 inch pie dish works too.

No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake (Dairy-Free)

Grain-Free "Graham Cracker" Crust

"Graham Cracker" Crust (Grain Free)

• 4 Tbls melted butter or 5 Tbls coconut oil
• 2 Tbls coconut nectar or agave, honey or maple syrup
• 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour, packed
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Stir together all ingredients until combined
3. Line the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan with parchment or wax paper.
4. Spread mixture using your hands into the pan.
5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. If using a pie dish use a crust shield after 7 minutes of baking.
6. Fill with the pumpkin cheese cake filling when crust is cool.

No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake (Dairy-Free)

soak cashews

Love Trader Joes

• 1 1/2 cups organic pumpkin pulp (I used Trader Joes)
• 1/2 cup coconut nectar or agave, honey or maple syrup
• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 3 Tbls lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 fully baked and cooled grain-free "graham cracker" crust (recipe above)

1. Combine all ingredients in a high powered blender except crust. Blend on high until smooth and creamy
2. Pour mixture into fully baked crust
3. Place in freezer to set. At least 2 hours.
4. Remove sleeve on spring form pan and slide cheesecake onto serving dish.
5. Keep in fridge until you are ready to serve

Time to pour into crust

It is as good as that.

It is worth the time and effort to try this one. I GUARANTEE it!!

Let me know how your cheesecake turned out.
ENJOY!!

Goat Cheese, Trehalose Frosting

I posted mocha frosting and filled chocolates using the glyconutrient, Trehalose last year and here comes another frosting recipe. SOOOOO, if you like cream cheese frosting you are going to LOVE this recipe! 

It is OFF THE HOOK!! Seriously!! 

Trehalose comes granulated and looks just like refined white sugar, however it is not and the way it reacts to heating and cooking is different then white sugar. (It doesn't brown and caramelize the same) So because of the $4 per pound cost I have only used it for frosting and confections by making it into powdered form. I have found that I use a bit more liquid to make a smooth frosting or confection to fill chocolate cups, then when I used refined white sugar.

Trehalose is 50% the sweetness of white refined sugar and has a clean taste that doesn't leave a heavy, sugary aftertaste. It is considered a glyconutrient,  What does that mean? 

I order Trehalose at www.Glycop.com.  Trehalose is just ONE glyconutrient that is a beneficial nutrient that supports good health. There is one network marketing company who specialize in a line of glyconutrients. The following is taken from information I have gotten online.

"I'm sure you will have heard about diabetes - in a strange way Trehalose and diabetes are connected. 

Trehalose is a relatively recent discovery and just 12 years ago Trehalose was confined to the research labs and academics. TREHALOSE is NATURAL and CONTAINS NO CHEMICALS. The breakthrough came in Japan about 15 years ago when a scientist managed to get an enzyme to convert simple starch into Trehalose. This breakthrough enabled Trehalose to reach many more places and today it is used widely in the cosmetic industry, skincare, food preparation and the freezing of living organisms for transportation or research - called cryo-preservation. Trehalose has the ability to stabilize proteins and that's one of its major uses in the food industry. Trehalose was first used in Japan to help in the preparation of sushi where it helps with stability, flavor and shelf life. Learn about Trehalose and how it can aid healthful living. It is a viable, natural alternative to sucrose (white table sugar) and research suggests that it is a good alternative natural sweetener and much better than Aspartame or Nutra Sweet - oh and an added benefit is that you will have better energy levels throughout the day.

When eaten it has a very low effect on the blood glucose level and hence is very useful for diabetics. Due to its ability to stabilize protein it may also have some benefits in terms of aiding neurological degenerative diseases."

WOW, sounds almost to good to be true! Especially the last statement, "some benefits in terms of aiding neurological degenerative diseases." Give me some! You can get it for $4-lb from Glycop.com. You don't have to buy a membership to order the "essentials". I can thank my dad for turning me on to this sweet brain food.

I used this frosting on craisin, pecan flax muffins

Goat Cheese, Trehalose Frosting (cream cheese frosting)

Ingredients

• 1 cup powdered Trehalose, (instructions below)
• 4 oz whipped goat cheese (Chevremousse whipped goat cheese) I got this at Costco
• 1 Tbls Kerry Gold butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Directions

1. Put the Trehalose in your power blender (I used a vitamix) start low and increase power. Blend for about 30 seconds to a minute.
2. Dump the powdered Trehalose into a medium mixing bowl.
3. Add goat cheese, softened butter, vanilla and lemon juice.
4. With hand mixer, blend until smooth.
5. Frost 12 to 15 cupcakes or flax muffins.
6. Store in the refrigerator.

Can you say YUMMMMM!?!?!?! Once you try frosting using Trehalose you'll never want to use refined white sugar again!

Blueberry Coffee Cake

Thanks to Paleo Parents for having Urban Poser as a guest blogger. This recipe was adapted from their berry's and cream breakfast cake and adapted again to create the Southern Peach Cobbler recipe.

For starters, I quadrupled the recipe which meant I needed 20, YES 20 egg yolks. Of course I was excited because I got to try separating eggs with a empty water bottle. Yep it works!! See Separate eggs video.
I still had a few egg yolks break but it didn't detour me from finishing this recipe. I am ashamed to report I threw the contaminated egg whites away as I had so many broken egg yolks within the whites(that's another story). This is why I adapted a recipe that uses the whole egg when I was working on the Southern Peach Cobbler.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

Ingredients

• 1 cup coconut flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 20 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup maple syrup or other liquid sweetener
• 1 cup coconut oil (melted)
• 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
• 2 1/2 Tbls lemon juice
• 1/3 cup of butter
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups blueberries, frozen or fresh

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put butter in 10 inch round baking dish (I used a silicone dish) and place in oven.
3. Keep and eye on the melting butter while you assemble the ingredients and remove once the butter is melted.
4. In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients and set aside.
5. Using a hand mixer, beat egg yolks for a couple minutes in a medium bowl. 
6. Once yolks are thoroughly blended add the sweetener, oil, and lemon juice and mix well.
7. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture while mixing.
8. Pour batter over the melted butter in the baking dish.
9. Sprinkle the blueberries all over the top of the batter. push some down into the batter to distribute throughout the cake.  
10. Place in oven and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until the center no longer jiggles(technical baking term) or bounces back with you touch the center.
11. Serve warm with coconut ice cream or simple pour some coconut milk over the steaming hot cake. I enjoy the cake just like it is straight from the oven.

What kind of fruit did you try with this recipe?

ENJOY!!

Baked Cabbage

I discovered a love for cabbage a few years ago. I love it fixed almost any way. One of my favorite ways, because it is sooo easy, is baked. Set it and forget it, at least forget it for 20 to 25 minutes.

It's such a simple recipe and you can't mess it up no matter how you might change it up.

Here goes!!

Baked Cabbage

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• 1 head cabbage sliced into 1-inch wedges.
• Arrange wedges on a cookie sheet. I used a silicone sheet on a cookie sheet.
• Drizzle with bacon grease or olive oil over the cabbage wedges.
• Sprinkle generously with sea salt and pepper.
• **Here's where it gets creative.**
• Use your favorite Italian seasoning or herb garlic blend or one of your favorite herb blends. Sprinkle generously!
• Place baking sheet in oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
• Serve immediately.

What are you serving cabbage with tonight?

ENJOY!!

Southern Peach Cobbler Paleo Style (nut free)

Southern Peach Cobbler is a comfort food from my childhood. It was a dessert my mom made when we had company, and we had company most Sunday's for lunch after church. There were always peaches in the pantry. The hot peachiness with ice cream melting down the piping hot dessert, straight from the oven. Now that I am drooling, I'll tell you, I have worked on the recipe a while and found something close to the original. Buttery goodness and chocked full of peaches.

My first attempt I tried converting my mom's original recipe...FAIL...don't want to talk about it!!

My second attempt used blueberries and a recipe I got here at Paleo Parents as written by the guest blogger, The Urban Poser. I quadrupled the recipe and separated 20 eggs. YES 20 egg yolks. It was delicious but I am looking for an easy to follow recipe that I don't have to scramble(get it?) to find a recipe with 20 eggs whites, not to mention 20 egg whites that are contaminated by broken egg yolks.

Three time was a charm! Southern Peach Cobbler perfected. IMHO. I used the same basic recipe as the blueberry cake recipe except I used 10 whole eggs and a slightly larger baking dish.
Here is my adaptation of the recipe I found here.

Southern Peach Cobbler, Paleo Style (nut free)

Ingredients

• 1 cup coconut flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 10 whole eggs
• 3/4 cup maple syrup or other liquid sweetener
• 1 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
• 2 1/2 Tbls lemon juice.
• 1/3 stick butter
• 2 cups sliced peaches (fresh or frozen, thawed)
• 1/3 cup beet or coconut sugar or other granulated sugar substitute such as Xylitol.*optional
• 1 tsp cinnamon*optional

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put butter in approx. 9 X 13 baking dish and place in oven to melt in dish.
3. Toss peaches, sugar* and cinnamon* is a small bowl and set aside.
4. Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl while butter is melting. Set aside.
5. Watch butter in oven carefully so as not to burn and remove when butter is fully melted.
6. Crack eggs into a large mixing bowl and whip together well.
7. Add sweetener, oil, coconut milk, and lemon juice to eggs and mix well.
8. Add dry ingredients to the egg mixture, fully incorporate.
9. Pour the batter over the melted butter in baking dish.
10. Place peaches on top of the batter, covering the batter. It's OK if some sink into the batter. You'll find them once you cut into the hot cobbler.
11. Place baking dish in oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
12. You can serve immediately with more butter melted over it or coconut milk poured over this delicious hot dessert.

This dessert is delicious right out of the oven and it's great leftover as well. Store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

Hope you try this easy dessert recipe. It's easy to mix it up using different fruit fillings. I used blueberries right from the freezer on test run #2 by simply sprinkling several hands full of berries over the cobbler batter.
ENJOY!!