Kelp Noodles
Have you ever tasted kelp noodles? They're different. And delicious.
Lately, I've been eating more than my fair share of kelp noodles and I have to say I'm enjoying them immensely. They're my new favorite food. We eat these low carb gluten free noodles several nights a week with dinner. And did I say they're delicious? Oh yes, I did.
What are kelp noodles? They're simply noodles made from kelp seaweed. I believe I first heard about kelp noodles from Kelly of The Spunky Coconut. It took me a few months to get around to actually purchasing them after she told me about their various benefits; since then these gluten free Paleo noodles have changed my life.
You see, I hadn't had a noodle for at least 6 months, since last fall, when I gave up legumes. Up until that point I had been indulging in these gluten free black bean noodles that Alexa from Lexie's Kitchen had recommended to me.
Here's how I personally prepare my kelp noodles:
Preparation Instructions for Kelp Noodles
- 1 package kelp noodles
- 1 large mixing bowl
- water for rinsing
- Open the noodles and place them in a bowl
- Run water over them a few times to rinse them out
- Fill bowl of noodles with warmish water and let stand for 30 minutes
- Rinse noodles a final time and serve with your favorite sauce
Please note: kelp noodles have a crunchy texture that is different than that of traditional pasta.
Have you ever eaten kelp noodles? If so, when did you first hear about them? Did they change your life the way they changed mine? Do your children fight over them with you?
Vanilla Fig Bars
I've been working on various power bar recipes lately as I need some easy to pack snacks for an upcoming adventure. My husband and I are planning on climbing a 14'er (that would be a 14,000 foot mountain) this summer and of course I want to make sure we have the proper nourishment. These bars will work well for the two of us given our constitutions.
Like all of my recipes, I tested this one many times before posting it here. During one of my test batches the mixture was so thick that the food processor could not spin it further. When this happened, I pulled the mixture out of the food processor and finished working it together with my hands before placing it in the pan. In the event that this happens to you, feel free to use this little trick.
Finally, if you are wanting to reproduce my exact results, use blanched slivered almonds. The key really is the blanched more than the slivered. Recently, I have been purchasing my blanched slivered almonds at the Whole Foods here in Boulder. You can use almonds that are not blanched and you will get more fiber, however, I found the flavor profile was not as good when I made them this way.
As always, feel free to try out any and all substitutions that come to mind so that you can customize these bars to your exact dietary needs. Unfortunately, I don't know how things will turn out without testing your substitutions, so will not answer substitution questions. Besides, if I did, I'd spend my entire life chained to the computer, and I need to train for that 14'er, remember?
Vanilla Fig Bars
- 2 cups blanched slivered almonds
- ⅓ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ⅛ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- 15 drops vanilla crème stevia
- 1 cup dried figs, soaked in ½ cup water for 12 hours
- Place almonds in food processor
and pulse to texture of gravel
- Pulse in coconut, salt and stevia
- Pulse in figs
- Press mixture into an 8x8 inch Pyrex baking dish
- Refrigerate for one hour
- Cut into 16 squares
- Serve
I like these bars as they have relatively few ingredients and are a fairly nutritious snack made of whole foods. Figs are antioxidant rich and full of fiber. Almonds (one of my favorite foods of all time) are a nutrient dense super food also full of fiber and substances that promote cardiovascular health. Coconut again provides fiber and good fats as well.
Just in case you have any big hiking or travel plans for this summer and need some good gluten free on the go snacks, here are a couple of my other bar recipes:
-Goji Power Bars
-Spicy Power Bars
-Cherry Vanilla Power Bars
Primal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Primal. Paleo. Specific Carbohydrate. GAPS. Call it what you want. I began the grain-free diet in 2001. I have adhered to it religiously ever since. When I began, I followed the Specific Carbohydrate Diet; since then, although I've used various sweeteners and oils, I have not veered from grain-free. This is not a fad for me. It's not even something that really has a name. When I started my grain free diet, people thought the gluten free diet was freakish.
Now there's lots of us. We're gluten free. Some of us are even grain free. We're definitely not freaks. Now we're merely a bit ahead of the curve. It wasn't always like that.
The almond flour cookie recipe that I share with you today for a Paleo chocolate chip cookie reminds me of the way I used to bake a decade ago. When I used honey quite often in my recipes. Call them what you want. Argue with what they're called. It's all semantics anyway. And I promise you. I won't argue back. I have a teenager and a tween. So why would I look for more arguments here? Just enjoy the cookies.
Primal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup vegan palm oil shortening
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks
- Place almond flour, salt and baking soda in a food processor
- Pulse in shortening, honey and vanilla until dough forms
- Remove blade from processor and stir in chips by hand
- Scoop dough one level tablespoon at a time onto a parchment lined baking sheet
- Press balls of dough down gently
- Bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes
- Cool for 15 minutes (do not handle prior or cookies will break)
- Serve
Makes 30 cookies
If you want to make changes to them, do. Just leave a comment below to let us know how your substitutions and alterations turn out. I can't do the testing for you --remember, I've got a tween and a teenager, and they keep me real busy. And they like to eat cookies that I bake from scratch. These cookies. Gluten free cookies. Easy chocolate chip cookies. It just seems that all is right in the world when young men sit at the table eating cookies. So go ahead, like I said, enjoy the cookies!
What changes and substitutions will you make to these cookies to custom tailor them to your special diet needs? How do you think they'll turn out?
Vegan Raspberry Streusel Bars
This recipe for vegan raspberry streusel bars is based on one by Brittany at Real Sustenance. Ever since she posted her delicious looking recipe last year during the holidays I've been wanting to make it.
I adjusted her recipe by removing the sweetener from the crust and by increasing the amount of high protein items in the streusel so the topping would be a bit less sweet as well. I hope you like these gluten free dessert bars as much as we did.
Raspberry Streusel Bars
Crust:
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon water
- Pulse ingredients together in a food processor
- Press dough into an 8x8 inch Pyrex baking dish
- Bake at 350° for 12 minutes
Filling:
- 1 cup raspberry fruit spread
Streusel Topping:
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup blanched almond flour
- 2 tablespoons xylitol
- ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- Pulse oil, almond flour, xylitol and salt together in a food processor
- Briefly pulse in walnuts and coconut, so they are left coarse, not pulverized
- Set streusel aside
- Spread raspberry fruit spread over warm crust
- Sprinkle streusel topping over raspberry fruit spread
- Bake at 350° for 15 minutes
- Cool for 10 minutes, then refrigerate for 2 hours to set up
- Serve
Makes 16 bars
Recently I was fortunate enough to meet a wonderful couple, Pepi Gramshammer and his lovely wife Sheika. Pepi is one of the founders of Vail --"Pepi's Face" is a run on the mountain; Sheika, his awesome wife, is the genius behind many of their business ventures. They are the quintessential close knit hardworking European couple.
In any event, Sheika asked me what I had done earlier that day, and I told her that I had spent the afternoon making streusal. She had no clue what I was talking about which I thought was funny since she is from Austria and German is her native language. Finally, I got my point across through various descriptions and she said, "Oh! STREUSEL!" Rolling her "r's" in that wonderful way that only she can.
Whatever your accent, I hope you enjoy these vegan streusal bars!
Paleo Coconut Macaroons
With only four ingredients, this simple gluten free dessert recipe will wow your Passover or Easter guests. These primal macaroons are made of coconut, egg whites, honey and salt, making them an optimal Paleo cookie recipe. They'll be devoured within minutes!
Rather than shredded coconut, I used flaked coconut as I wanted to try something different, and I thought it would look pretty and brown nicely.
Paleo Coconut Macaroons
- 2 large egg whites
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- 2 ½ cups unsweetened coconut flakes
- In a medium bowl, whisk together egg whites and honey with a fork
- Briefly whisk in salt, then stir in coconut flakes
- Place bowl in fridge to chill for ½ hour
- Fill a 2 tablespoon scoop
with batter, so it’s heaping full
- Using your hand, firmly pack batter into scoop so it is level
- Release batter onto a parchment
lined baking sheet
- Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes, until macaroons are golden brown
- Cool for 1 hour and serve
Yield 8
I don't usually have a lot of tips for the recipes I write, however, I do have a couple for this Paleo Coconut Macaroon recipe.
As noted above, I did not use shredded coconut in this recipe; I used flaked coconut which is quite different. Coconut flakes are much larger than the tiny pieces in shredded coconut. I do not know if shredded coconut will work. If you try it, please let us know how it goes.
Next, the 2 tablespoon size scoop is important for the recipe to work –a smaller scoop won't work as it will not hold the coconut flakes. I'm not sure if an even larger scoop will work as I haven't tried using one. Feel free to experiment with any size scoop you wish.
Finally, the idea to let the batter sit in the fridge comes from the macaroon recipe at paleodiet.cz. I like this method as it helps the batter set up and creates a macaroon that holds together better after it is baked.
Does your family have a favorite macaroon recipe? If so, feel free to share it in the comments below.
