Sugar on the Brain: Desserts Galore!

Two things.

First, I came here today to look up my blueberry crumble recipe for dessert tonight and was horrified, mortified, and slightly embarrassed that I have not posted for the whole month of February.  I could blame it on a shortage of delicious recipe creations but that would be a lie.  The truth is as usual time slipped away, and so to apologize there will be plenty of recipes.  That's why you read anyways, right?

Second, you know when you give something up and then you can't stop thinking about it?  Yup, sugar on the brain.  Eric and I decided to give up sugar for Lent.  No we are not Catholic.  No we do not go to church.  But we were sick of explaining "sugar detox" to people.  Therefore it was decided that everyone would give us less cr*p if we just said we were doing it for religious reasons.  Sorry for the offensive language (heh heh), but there are times when people's reactions our "primal lifestyle" drive me crazy.  See, right there.  Even the fact that I had to use "quotations" to explain something that we've been doing for over a year and plan to do for the rest of our lives is silly.  Sorry.  I will stop now.  I blame the detox.

Okay, I am focused.  So.  Eric calls this phase "not eating sugar," or at least non-fruit sugars.  I call it horrible.painful.angry.suffering.  But only for a week or two, then it gets easier, I swear.  It doesn't happen with everyone, but my body goes through a type of withdrawl.  Seriously, did you know our bodies are addicted to the stuff?  Not only is it addictive, but if present, our bodies will use sugars as energy before fats.  It's easier to break down and this means that the fat you eat can then get stored elsewhere (helloooo, it's fat) for later use, which would be great if we lived in the wild.  It is incredibly possible to function without these sugars (our ancestors didn't even have them!), but it takes time for the body to remember.

Anyways, this is why we do the torture, I mean detox, to get our bodies back on track after a particularly lousy month of following the 80/20 principle. Sure it's delicious at the time, but eventually all those sugary treats start to catch up with us and really slow us down.  If this doesn't make sense it's because you've never been there.  Try it some time, you might be surprised by the results.

And now for the recipes.  Since I can't HAVE these things right now they are of course all I can THINK about, so what better time to share them than now.

First up, my finalized, officially the best, chocolate chip cookies!

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup grapeseed oil
• 1/2 cup applesauce (optional)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a mixing bowl combine wet ingredients. Add dry to wet ingredientsand beat with hand mixer until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips by hand.

On a parchment lined baking sheet, drop balls of cookie dough, be sure to flatten. Bake for 15 minutes, then let cool and serve with a cold glass of milk!

**an R&E original

This next recipe is so easy it made me laugh when I ate it because it's so  freaking good!
 

Vanilla or Chocolate Pudding

(or custard if you can't wait a full night)

• 1 can of coconut milk
• 1/2 cup vanilla protein powder (or chocolate chips powdered in food processor)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil

Put the can of coconut milk and the coconut oil into a saucepan and heat it on medium, whisking frequently.  Once it starts to simmer remove it from heat and put it into the food processor with the powder.  Blend until smooth, pour into bowls or ramekins or whatever, and refrigerate overnight.  Serve with whipped cream, cinnamon, berries, or all!







**modified from http://www.elanaspantry.com/


Last up is something you might not *think* is dessert, but I assure you if you mix it with a little bit of yogurt it is amazingly delicious.  Come on, would I ever steer you wrong?

Primal Honey Nut Granola

(oh, I went there)

• 1/2 cup ground flax seed
• 1 1/4 cups sliced almonds
• 1 1/4 cups chopped walnuts
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Mix all above well in a big bowl and set aside.

• 1/8 cup honey (more if you want but I swear it's enough)
• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil

Melt coconut oil and honey in the microwave, about one minute.  While still liquid add to big bowl and mix mix mix until everything is combined and sticky.  Spread on a cookie sheet and bake at 250 for 50 minutes.  Then take out and gently stir and bake another 15 or so minutes until crispy but not burned.  Let it cool completely and store in container lined with a paper towel to absorb extra moisture.

Sorry there's no picture it was really that good.
*modified from http://www.paleotable.com/


Enjoy, next up will be double chocolate brownies and ice cream once this detox is over.
Oh, and try not to make (and eat) them all at once!