The Best Paleo Granola Ever

The Best Paleo Granola Ever
Granola can be healthy. Mostly. The granola I made and am posting about here falls somewhere in between healthy and dessert-like. I wouldn't eat it every day, but in moderation I think it's fine. Or when you're hiking.

This granola came in two parts. The first batch I made according to a wonderful recipe from Nom Nom Paleo, you can find it here. Michelle Tam rocks some seriously good food -- like that Tropical Paleo Granola. It rocks. I didn't have any macadamia nuts and so I ended up using the same volume or so of any mix of what I had on hand: (soaked/dehydrated) almonds, cashews, walnuts, hulled sunflower seeds, and pecans.

Step one is make Nom Nom Paleo's Tropical Paleo Granola. If you want to make it just like I did, make sure you soak/dehydrate your nuts/seeds overnight (7-10 hours) and then dehydrate them for 10-14 hours or so. I could get more advanced but usually don't.

Nuts/seeds ready to soak overnight. I use 1-2 tbsp of sea salt and cover the nuts with filtered water. I usually let them soak overnight and then rinse them well and put them in the dehydrator in the morning. When I come home from my day in the evening I'm always happy to have a warm bowl of nuts/honey before I jar up my nuts and put them in the fridge.

Prepping for Nom Nom Paleo's Tropical Paleo Granola =).

The wet ingredients ready to process. This mix smelled and tasted delicious.

Nice and processed =). Thank you Michelle Tam and Nom Nom Paleo! This stuff rocks...

My dry ingredient mix. A bit different than Michelle's. Also, I unintentionally used a lot of whole nuts in this mix. It ended up working well because I mixed this granola with another batch I made of my own granola; If you are just making Nom Nom Paleo's, I would chop up the nuts a bit more.

Adding the wet mix onto the dry mix. The union of awesomeness!

Baking at 250 degrees F, turning/mixing every 20 minutes for almost 2 hours.

The final product of Nom Nom Paleo's Tropical Granola. I vote yes please =). The unlisted next step is to not eat all of it before you make the next part. This won't be easy.

Now that the first batch is done, get ready for round two. I decided to wing this one with my remaining ingredients and it worked wonderfully. My granola was on the sweeter side and thus complimented Nom Nom Paleo's well.

Ingredients
Note: Some ingredients aren't measured here. Use as much/little as you feel fit for these ingredients.
-Organic Heirloom Pumpkin Seeds
-Organic Raisins
-Soaked/Dehydrated Almonds, Walnuts, Cashews, Pecans, and Hulled Sunflower Seeds
-5 Pitted Medjool Dates, Chopped
-2-3 Tbsp Raw Honey
-1/3 Cup Maple Syrup
-1 Tbsp Orange Juice (as pure as possible)
-Shredded Unsweetened Coconut
-1/2 Cup Coconut Oil
-1 Tsp Cinnamon
-1/2 Tsp Nutmeg
-A Pinch of Salt

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
2. Chop all the nuts/seeds and dates roughly using a food processor. You don't want to totally decimate them, but you don't want them whole either.
3. Pour the (mostly) dry mix into a large bowl.
4. Add everything else. Mix very well. You can use your hands if you feel like getting finger-lickin' tasty fingers ;).
5. On a large baking sheet, lay out some parchment paper and then evenly spread your granola onto the sheet.

My granola before baking.

6. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes turning the granola every twenty minutes. The only important note here is to try not to burn anything. If you think it's burning, it's done; Stop! =).

My granola done. Yum!

7. Mix the final product with Michelle's Tropical Granola from Nom Nom Paleo, let it all cool to room temperature, transfer it into a large glass tupperware container and refrigerate it. If you don't eat it all immediately it will last for a week or two in the fridge.

Easy Paleo Cast Iron Seared/Oven Baked Chicken Breast

Easy Cast Iron Seared and Oven Baked Chicken Breast
This is a great way to prepare chicken. It took me a total of 30 minutes including prep time to make two delicious chicken breasts to bring as an easy lunch/dinner for later. I used a cast iron skillet. You can put your cast iron skillet right in the oven or use it on the stove-top; One of many reasons I love cast iron. If you don't have a cast iron skillet on hand, look into getting one, but you can use anything oven-safe.

Ingredients
-Free range chicken breast(s)
-Olive oil, coconut oil, or ghee (your preffered cooking fat)
-Pepper, thyme, rosemary, basil, and sage

Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Pre-heat your cast iron skillet on medium heat.
3. Season your chicken breasts with a generous portion of cooking oil and all the spices on both sides. Rub 'em down good.

Season the bird. Rub it down good ;).

4. Pour a tablespoon or two of oil into your skillet so the breasts don't stick. You don't need much because you already rubbed down your bird ;).
5. Place your chicken into the cast iron skillet and sear it for 3-4 minutes a side over medium heat.

Place 'em in the skillet. Wait 3-4 minutes.

Flip 'em. Tongs help.

After another 4 minutes, they are ready for the oven. I flipped them back first.

6. Place your entire cast iron skillet in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes at 375 degrees F.

Put the whole skillet right in the oven.

7. Take the skillet out of the oven, the breasts out of the skillet, and let them rest for 5-10 minutes or so on a cold plate/cutting board.

Let 'em rest. Be proud that you just cooked a great, healthy, easy Paleo meal.

8. Enjoy!

I brought one breast to work/school for lunch. I just added some carrots, grass fed sharp cheddar, baby kale, baby spinach, and arugula =).

Thanks for reading!

-Perry, The Simple Paleo Cook

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Sunnyside Up Eggs and Pork Sausage

Sunnyside Up Eggs and Pork Sausage
I just recently learned how to cook sunnyside up eggs. I know, I know...It's not rocket science. Actually, cooking sunnyside up eggs ended up being easier than cooking scrambled eggs. Even the clean up has been easier. The basic golden rule is...wait for it...butter. Lots of grass fed butter. Or ghee. I like using ghee when I can (ghee is clarified grass fed butter). Using lots of butter makes for super easy cleanup because the eggs slide right out of the skillet and onto whatever delicious food you may (or may not -- who needs anything else!) have on your plate.

Ingredients:
2-4 Pastured Eggs
2-3 Tablespoons of Grass Fed Butter or Ghee
1lb of Pork Sausage
Salt/Pepper to taste
2-3 Handfuls of Baby Kale

Instructions:
1. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium/high heat and drop in your pork sausage. Stir it occasionally so it doesn't burn while you're cooking the eggs.

My pork sausage from Blue Valley Meats. Nice and local.

2. Heat another small/medium cast iron skillet over medium heat and add the grass fed butter/ghee.

Lots. Of. Butter.

3. Once the butter is shimmery and melted (but not burning), crack your eggs gently into the skillet.

Eggs in the skillet, ready to be covered.

4. Cover the eggs and let them cook for 2-5 minutes depending on how well you like everything cooked (and how solid you want the yokes to be).

Cover the eggies ;).

5. Plate some baby kale and pork sausage for a bed and then add your sunnyside up eggs on top! They should slide easily out of the skillet if you used enough butter.

Breakfast is served.

6. Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

-Perry, The Simple Paleo Cook

Twitter (@SimplePaleoCook) | Email | Pinterest

Sweet Potato Hash / Bacon and Paleo Blueberry Pancakes

Sweet Potato Hash

I used my Cuisinart and it's shredding disc to shred up the sweet potato and then basically fried it up in some grass fed butter and a couple spices.

Ingredients/Tools:

-As many sweet potatoes as you wish. I only had one to use this morning.

-2-3 Tbsp. Grass Fed Butter / Ghee

-1/2 Tsp. Garlic Powder

-1/2 Tsp. Onion Powder

-1/2 Tsp. Dried Rosemary

-1/2 Tsp. Black Pepper

-Food processor with a shredding disc

Instructions:

1. Cut your sweet potato(es) the long way (think hot dog, not hamburger).

2. Shred the "hot dog" slices of sweet potato using a food processor.

3. Add the seasonings to the shredded potato(es) and mix well.

Sweet potatoes shredded and spiced. Ready to fry 'em up.

4. Melt your butter in a cast iron skillet (or in my case, because all my cast iron was in use for the pancakes and bacon -- a large pan/skillet).

Grass fed butter! This is some Kerrygold (even available at stores like Safeway!).

5. Once the butter is...glistening (shimmering -- warmed up but not burning), add your shredded sweet potato.

6. Mix it around a little bit on medium/high heat and then LET IT SIT.

I was so excited as this point I can't even tell you. I love sweet potatoes. So. Much!

7. Let it cook for about 3-5 minutes.

8. Uncover and flip it around. You want to cook it until there are some brown bits and your hash

approaches crispy but not burnt. I didn't quite find the optimal balance this morning (it was my first time). I only used medium heat. Next time I'm going to use medium/high heat while watching it closely. 

9. Enjoy! I cooked some bacon as well as some paleo blueberry pancakes.

The bacon notes: I used a package of Bacon Ends and Pieces. At $5.59/lb it was a bargain for such high quality local bacon.

Mmm...bacon...

Cooked bacon placed on a plate lined with some paper towels. Note the saved bacon grease in the top left corner. Save that bacon fat! It's great for so many things...

I also cooked some bacon and paleo blueberry pancakes. Yum. Full on delicious breakfast.

I want to hear from you! Really! If you have any suggestions, comments, questions please feel free to comment here or find me on Facebook (simplepaleocook@gmail.com), Twitter, or by email.

Thanks for reading!

-Perry

Twitter (@SimplePaleoCook) | Email | Pinterest

Chocolate and Honey Banana Bread Coffee Cake Muffins

Chocolate and Honey Banana Bread Coffee Cake Muffins
Ingredients
-3 Large Brown Bananas
-1/4 Cup Grade B Maple Syrup
-1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
-3 Eggs (Pastured is ideal, free-range is okay too)
-1/2 Cup Almond Butter
-1/4 Cup Coconut Flour
-1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
-1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
-1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
-1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
-Pinch of Salt

Topping Ingredients
-4 Tbsp (1/4 cup) grass fed butter, ideally slighly warm, but it's not a neccesity
-2 Tbsp Coconut Sugar
-2 Tbsp Almond Flour
-1 Tbsp Organic Raw Honey
-1 Bar 100% Cacao Baking Chocolate (sub some Life's Good GF/DF chocolate if you want to keep this recipe GF)
-1 Tsp Cinnamon

-1/4 Cup Pecans/Almonds/Walnuts, whatever you have around works

Instructions:
1. I start by mashing up some bananas in a large bowl. Then add the maple syrup, vanilla extract, eggs, and almond butter and mix it all up well.
2. Add the coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt to the mix and again mix everything up well.

Batter and topping all set and ready to go. Chocolate on the side for chunkyness.

3. Pour the batter into your muffin tins, leaving some room on top for each muffin to expand. They will expand. I learned this the hard way ;).

Some of these tins are probably a bit over-filled. It worked out.

4. Once you have your batter in the tins mix up the topping. Just get everything in a bowl, wash your hands, and go to town. I like to mix everything up and squeeze it together over and over to get all the goodies evenly distributed. You could add the chocolate in tiny pieces here or leave it in chunks and place them in the center of each muffin.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them and do the fork test, if the fork comes out clean after sticking it in a muffin, they're done =).

Keep an eye on them. Do some yoga while you wait =).

Done. Yay =).

6. Don't eat 7 of them. Or at least try not to. If you do (like I did), don't do it again, and forgive yourself. Give them away to friends/family or freeze 'em/put 'em in the fridge for enjoyment in moderation.

Perry, The Simple Paleo Cook

Thanks for reading =). Comments? Questions? Suggestions? I want to hear from you!
Twitter (@SimplePaleoCook) | Email | Pinterest

Kefir

I've had a beautiful weekend including a sunset at a local park, eating a sandwich at Paseo (Seattle) -- my one bit of bread for the next three months or so...I'm not perfect (this was a really, really good sandwich...people wait up to three-hours in line just to get one), exploring a foreign kitchen as a friend is dog-sitting for a family and they gave her free reign of the kitchen, I found my first side crow yoga pose, and my kefir grains came in the mail (so excited!). A couple pictures below and then onto the kefir journey.

That's me @ Gas Works Park in Seattle. What a beautiful day it was =).

Sunset at Gas Works Park, Seattle.

Yep, I break Paleo every now and then. I do sincerly try to avoid it, but I had heard some pretty rave reviews of this sandwich shop (Paseo). It was also *very* close to the house a friend was dog-sitting at. It happened and I don't regret it one bit! My special treat for the next couple of months.

Exploring a foreign kitchen was a blast! A friend is dog-sitting for this family as they are out-of-town. They gave her free reign of the kitchen/food. I had no idea where anything was. Their oven smoked at first; Freaked me out. In the end, I was able to find TONS of delicious things. I have to leave these kind folks a thank you card for allowing us free reign of their food. Pictured above is a medley of banana chips, bananas, pecans, dried peaches, pistachios, bound with sunflower seed butter. The eggs were cooked with butter, rainbow chard, avocado, salt and pepper. Delicious! And totally thrown together on a whim ;).

Back to kefir grains. Wait...did he just say grains? Grains aren't Paleo. Kefir "grains" aren't actually grains. They can't be made or manufactured. They come from a combination of yeasts and bacteria made up of a substrate of several dairy components. Kefir seems to be really amazing stuff. It's one of the most potent probiotic foods available. It's not Paleo as Paleo doesn't include any dairy. That said, I'm not 100% Paleo. Chris Kresser wrote a great article on kefir here.

In a nut-shell, kefir can/is:
-A strong natural remedy against any allergy.
-Help control acid reflex and heartburn.
-Reduce sugar cravings.
-Correct high blood pressure.
-Promote faster wound healing.
-Help sleep disorders, depression, and ADHD.
-Easily digestible.
-Rich in B12, B1, vitamin K, and Biotin.
(Source: Milk Kefir Unleashed | Fusion Teas)

I'm going to be including home-made kefir in my diet and my blog posts. Starting today, with my very first kefir experience, you can read my entire journey now and in the future.

My First Kefir Experience
My kefir grains came in the mail a couple days ago. I didn't have time to tend to them yet so I put them in the fridge. I got home this afternoon prepared with some store-bought homogenized whole milk to get the process started. I intend on using non-homogenized milk, raw milk, and maybe coconut milk with my kefir grains after they get going. The instructions recommended starting them with store bought whole milk, so I did.

Thus far all I've done is:
-Removed the kefir grains from their packaging. I ordered 2 tbsp's of grains from Fusion Teas and had them shipped from Amazon.
-Placed them in a clean glass mason jar.
-Covered them with one cup of homogenized store-bought whole milk.
-Placed (without tightening) a plastic lid on the jar. Apparently some people use a coffee filter and a rubber band. Ultimately, you just don't want the container exploding. That would be...bad ;).
-I've left the jar on my counter-top. My apartment is not cold, but it's also not extremely hot either. I'm keeping the grains out of direct sunlight.

My kefir grains at the bottom of a clean glass mason jar.

Adding one cup of whole milk and a plastic lid (not tightened on, just placed on top).

Setting my kefir and milk on the counter-top to ferment. The lid is not tightened on. Just placed on top.

In 12 hours or so I will strain the grains, discard the first cup of milk, and add a fresh cup of milk. I can't wait for my first kefir! I'm going to add some honey and try it more or less plain at first. Then I'll branch out ;).

Thanks for reading =). I want to hear from you! Comments? Questions? Suggestions? 
Twitter (@SimplePaleoCook) | Email | Pinterest

Cheese and Paleo

The cheese I bought last night @ Trader Joe's.

To cheese , or not to cheese…that is the question. Dairy, including cheese is not Paleo. Does that mean I shouldn’t eat it? Ever? I want to be healthy. I don’t want to hurt my body. Is eating cheese going to hurt me? Is drinking milk, putting butter in things, making and eating kefir, and enjoying the occasional other dairy product really bad?

The short answer: Maybe.

It depends on your body and the type of dairy. Where that dairy came from seems to be a huge factor. That cheese in a can? Bad, bad, bad. I don’t even want to know what’s in that stuff. I won’t go near it. Grass fed, raw, aged cheddar cheese? Welcome to the Paleo gray area. Personally, I haven’t had any cheese or dairy (aside from eggs and grass fed butter) for months. I don’t really miss it. It’s definitely not something I feel like I need in my diet. That said, I want to experiment with adding occasional dairy to my diet.

I recently ordered some whole milk, some raw milk, and some cream from Pure Eire Dairy. They are local to my state and are/have:
-100% Grass-Fed & Non-GMO Certified
-Hand-selected herd to be free of A1 positive cows
-Antibiotic and Hormone Free
-Free of chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides
-Not combined with any other dairy
-All jersey herd for better grazing and a rich, creamy milk
-Minimally processed milk utilizing vat pasteurization & no homogenization

I plan on making kefir at home along with including some of Pure Eire's dairy into my cooking. I don’t plan on drinking large glasses of milk with every meal, if at all. Maybe a very small glass (<8oz) every now and then. I bought some cream to put in coffee from them as well. I'll be sharing it with a co-worker and keeping it basically as a special treat. Again, moderation. I’m experimenting. Taking it slow.

As for cheese… I haven’t had cheese for almost 4 months. I honestly don’t miss it all that much, but am curious to see what happens if I start to eat some cheese in moderation. For example, I put a small slice of cheese on each of the frittatas I cooked this morning. I also packed a small slice with my lunch today as a special treat. I don’t plan on eating cheese every day. All things in moderation. Balance.

I did some brief digging on dairy, cheese, and being Paleo. Some of what I found is hopeful, some of what I found is disturbing, and ultimately it’s up to you what you want to put into your body, your temple. I try to be informed.

The Pros and Cons of Dairy/Cheese on a Paleo Diet
First off, I need to say that dairy/cheese is not Paleo. I’m not 100% strict Paleo. I try my best, but am willing to make some exceptions for things like grass fed butter and green beans. Now I’m adding exceptions, or experimenting with them at least for now, for certain, carefully selected milks, creams, and cheeses. Cheese itself is actually addicting (so I’ll be careful!).

I found the following four points about why cheese is addicting from Stupid Easy Paleo:
-Cheese is a concentrated source of casein.
-Casein breaks down into casomorphins in the gut.
-Casomorphins have opioid and histamine responses in the body.
-This opioid effect seems to explain why people cite cheese as one of those foods they just can’t give up when going Paleo.

Cheese really is addicting. I didn’t know!

Some good things about dairy/cheese are that, according to Paleo Leap, “dairy can introduce good bacteria with yogurt, kefirs, and possibly cheeses”. They go on to say, “In fact, fermented dairy is, in my opinion, one of the best choices you could make if you decide to consume it, mainly because of the good bacteria, but also because the fermentation process will consume most of the sugars.” Marks Daily Apple claims, “…much of what makes dairy so problematic for people is mostly absent from the best cheeses”.

You see, some bad things happen because lactose is not tolerated very well by a large portion of the population. The exception here, from Paleo Leap, is “Hard cheeses, yogurt and kefir that have been fermented long enough to eat up all sugars won’t have any lactose left, so it’s a good alternative for the lactose intolerant”. Marks Daily Apple points out, “the less lactose a cheese has, the less carbohydrates”. This is good news =). Unfortunately, “Even without lactose, dairy will still have this insulin promoting effect (Cheese: Why You Can’t)”.

Paleo Leap warns, “since dairy is growth promoting because of a multitude of growth factors like IGF-1 (Insulin-like growth factor 1), undesirable things like acne can become a problem and some people argue that cancer cells could also develop much faster with dairy (The Place of Dairy)”. Paleo Leap goes on to explain, “…we are not supposed to drink the milk from other animals. We are the only mammals who do it”.

Milk needs to be carefully selected. Paleo Leap explains, “regular grocery bought milk is still a very poor choice. The cows probably ate a diet of corn and soy while confined in a very tight environment. As if it wasn’t enough, we skim the milk to reduce the healthy saturated fat and we pasteurize-it, rendering some enzymes and beneficial bacteria infective”. Luckily, they continue to show the bright side saying, “Do not despair though because grass-fed, pasture-raised and organic cows will produce a milk of a much higher quality… it’s high in vitamin K2, omega-3 fatty acids, CLA (Conjugated linoleic acid), a powerful antioxidant and anti-cancer linoleic acid”.

The general advice seems to be to go raw and grass fed whenever possible. This does come with some risks, you need to choose your source carefully! If you can’t go raw, Marks Daily Apple suggests that, “Pasteurized grass-fed cheese isn’t chock full of the delicious bacteria common to raw dairy, but it does retain the higher levels of CLA. Grass-fed cheese, pasteurized or not, also contains the heat-resistant vitamin K2, which Weston Price asserted was the key (along with vitamin D3) to the excellent bone and dental health in the primitive (but supremely healthy) groups he studied” (Is All Cheese).

Then there is Betacellulin. Marks Daily Apple has a good paragraph on it:
“Betacellulin, a potentially dangerous epidermal growth factor that has been linked to cancer, is present in most cheeses. Paleo critics often point to the betacellulin present in dairy as a major deterrent to its inclusion in a healthy diet (rightfully so), but they tend to focus on pasteurized, homogenized non-organic dairy from grain-fed cows – the most common type of dairy consumed in the country. Raw, grass-fed dairy, on the other hand, contains high levels of conjugated lineolic acid (CLA), which has been shown to have anti-cancer properties. Raw dairy supporters suggest that the higher levels of CLA present in raw, grass-fed cheese may act as a counterbalance to the negative effects of betacellulin also present” (Is All Cheese).


So, ultimately, there are risks and benefits. Pros and cons. Ups and downs. I figure that I have been almost 100% free of dairy in my diet and I have been fine. I’ll be slowly reintroducing some dairy with moderation in mind and carefully monitoring how I feel. Of course I’ll be blogging about it along my journey! Kefir here I come...

Stay tuned and thanks for reading! Also thanks to Paleo Leap, Stupid Easy Paleo, and Marks Daily Apple. You should check them all out; They have great information.

I want to hear from you! Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Twitter (@SimplePaleoCook)? Email (simplepaleocook@gmail.com)?

Sources:
"The Place of Dairy on a Paleo Diet | Paleo Leap." Paleo Leap Paleo Diet Recipes Tips. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 July 2014. <http://paleoleap.com/place-of-dairy-on-paleo-diet/>.

"Cheese: Why You Can't Quit It Stupid Easy Paleo - Easy Paleo Recipes." Stupid Easy Paleo Easy Paleo Recipes. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 July 2014. <http://stupideasypaleo.com/2013/10/28/cheese-why-you-cant-quit-it/>.

"Is All Cheese Created Equal?" Marks Daily Apple RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 July 2014. <http://www.marksdailyapple.com/cheese-unhealthy/#axzz38shmv3FC>.

Roasted Turnips/Cauliflower (w/ Bacon Fat!) and MC Yogi

Veggies + bacon = win.

Oven Roasted Turnips and Cauliflower
This is a go-to dish for me. Veggies just taste better roasted sometimes. Don't get me wrong; I love raw veggies. I also love slow-cooked veggies. Pan fried veggies. Blended veggies. Dehydrated veggies. My mom must be proud if she reads this. I love my veggies.

Ingredients
As many turnips as you wish, cubed into 1 inch squares (give or take)
Cauliflower, sliced up into somewhat smaller pieces (or not...how's that for specific instructions? sorry.)
Salt
Pepper
Bacon drippings (cold - it just makes it easier to work with)

Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
2. Slice up your veggies.

Turnips and ol' faithful (my cutting board)

3. Put everything in a large bowl, add your bacon drippings, salt, and pepper.

Turnips and cauliflower all nice and sliced up + BACON dripping ;). Love it.

4. Using your hands, get everything nice and covered evenly. Really get in there and have some fun with it ;).
5. Using parchment paper or foil (or nothing), put your veggies spread out on a large cookie sheet.

I was lazy. Straight on the tray they went. It smelled like bacon.

6. Bake 'em for 20-25 minutes or so stirring them once at around 10-12 minutes. Watch them closely near the end so they don't burn.
7. Mmmm....bacon + veggies =). (Yes, mmmm is a step.)

The end result. O' yeah.

Right now I have a four layer dehydration session going. My first Kiwi dehydration, more bananas with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a dash of coconut palm sugar (why not!), and some soaked cashews on top. I'll make a post on all of that as soon as they're done so I can get some good end result shots. I also bought some grass fed, aged sharp cheddar today. Very gray area. I'll have a whole post on that too. Lastly (but not least!) I'll be making some paleo carrot cake with paleo frosting soon. Stay tuned!

Suggestions? Twitter (@SimplePaleoCook)? Email (simplepaleocook@gmail.com)?

Perry, The Simple Paleo Cook

Cinnamon Carrot Chips

Cinnamon Carrot Chips

Ingredients:
As many carrots as you want. I used about 10 or so medium/large organic carrots.
Coconut Oil
(Optional) Cinnamon
(Optional) Nutmeg
(Optional) Salt

Instructions:
1. The cut. There are several ways to cut your chips, and all of them will result in a slightly different end product. I used my Cusinart w/ its slicing blade and made very thin chips. Next time I think I'll make some strips and some rounds that are a little bit thicker. Not too thick, maybe 1/8 - 1/4 inch tops.

My initial set-up.

2. The seasoning. Cinnamon to the rescue! I've been using cinnamon on...almost everything recently. For this step I used a couple tablespoons of coconut oil, a liberal sprinkling of cinnamon, and about 1 tablespoon of salt. Season to your liking and try to coat every chip with your mix.

3. Dehydrating. Let the learning begin. I though I would use parchment paper to help clean-up and help chips from not falling though. In hindsight, bad move. The paper blocked the central heat column until I poked holes to let the air circulate. It also didn't allow for the trays to snap together right, thus letting heat out where it shouldn't be going out. Oops. You cook you learn. So next time (and this time for you!) just set the chips gently right on the racks. If you want to try to use parchment paper, make sure you cut it to fit perfectly, not blocking any heat vents or connecting parts. This whole step can take anywhere from 6 to 12 hours depending on your cut size. Start checking every hour or two until they are dried to your liking.

My oops. Too much paper, too many chips, and a blocked central heating column. Eep! Did I do that? Yep, I (embarrassingly) did. I learned. They still came out ok in the end.

4. Enjoy! I enjoyed my experience and my carrot chips. As imperfect as the whole thing was. I stored them at room temperature in a sealed mason jar.

Carrot chips!

Thanks for reading! I'm glad I survived my bike journey this morning and am still able to write, cook, share my journey through being a paleo yogi ;), and always be learning.

With love and a smile on my face, rock on paleo adventurers! Until next episode...

Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Let me know! 

@SimplePaleoCook on Twitter 

Cinnamon and Nutmeg Banana Chips

Cinnamon and Nutmeg Banana Chips
My only concern with these chips is that I only made one tray of them. I could eat these little round bits of banana goodness all day (the carbs!).

Ingredients:
-Organic Bananas (I used three large ones, next time I think I'll use at least 12.)
-Cinnamon
-Nutmeg
-(Optional) Lemon Juice (or other acidic juice)
-(Optional) Salt

Instructions:
1. Slice up your bananas. There are a couple ways to do this. You can cut them into rounds of varying thickness. The thinner the round, the crispier the chip. The thicker the round, the more leathery the chip. I wouldn't go much thicker than a quarter of an inch. The other way, which I also used on one banana, is to stick your finger right in the center of the top or bottom of the banana. It magically (seriously, try it) separates into three natural sections. Just make sure you have clean fingers =).
2. Toss your sliced 'nanners in a large bowl and toss with as much cinnamon and nutmeg as you so desire. I just did a light sprinkle of both to cover the top layer of the bowl (lightly). It came out just about perfect. Note: To avoid discoloration you can use a little bit of lemon juice. I didn't because I didn't have any lemon (or other acidic) juice on hand. I also didn't use any salt, but you could do that as well. Personal preference.

Sliced bananas tossed with cinnamon and nutmeg.

3. Lay your chips on an (optionally) lightly greased dehydrator tray. The banana chips will stick to the tray a little bit. I didn't grease my tray and didn't have a problem. Next time I might put a tiny bit of coconut oil on a paper towel and lightly rub it around the dehydrator tray before I put the bananas on it. I don't want to start a fire or anything with the oil, but honestly don't think a light coating will hurt anything.

Ready to dehydrate.

4. Let 'em dehydrate for several hours. Somewhere between 6-12 hours or so. Some articles even mentioned 24 hours. I would possibly let them go overnight for about 8 hours with a free day coming up so you can stay home and check on them every hour or two after that. I kept "testing" pieces to see how they were coming along. Mmmm....testing.... ;).
5. Once you think they're done, let them cool fully and then transfer them to an air-tight container. I used a little mason jar. According to eatbydate.com they should last un-refrigerated for about 2 months. They will never last that long, I assure you. Try not eating these things. It's almost as bad as a full jar of honey. Which, oh dear goodness, is a serious test of moderation for me.

More please. I mixed these with some soaked/dehydrated almonds and walnuts as a work snack today. Didn't last long ;).

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