Christina's Super-Nutritious Almond Butter

2 TBSP coconut oil
2 dropperfulls liquid Vitamin D
1 TBSP chia seeds
1 TBSP hemp seeds
1 TBSP flax seeds
1 C almonds
1/2 C pecans and brazil nuts (I cover bottom of measuring cup with brazil nuts then fill the remainder with pecans)
salt to taste (1/4 - 1/2 tsp)

Blend it all up in a good blender (I do speed 9 in our Blendtec) and enjoy!

Christina's Pumpkin Pancakes

from Our Best Bites

I made this without the whipped cream because I felt like that was way too much sugar for first thing in the morning, but I think it would be great for a brunch or dessert or something. 

3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups whole wheat flour
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
3/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons coconut or olive oil
2 eggs
2/3 cup pumpkin puree

Cream Cheese Whipped Cream
4 ounces cream cheese (low fat is fine, no fat free)
4 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup whipping cream (heavy or regular) whipped until medium peaks form

Maple syrup for serving

Instructions

Prepare whipped cream by beating cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth and creamy.  Take 1/2 of the whipped cream (that you already whipped) and beat it in until smooth.  Add the rest of the whipped cream and use a spatula to gently fold in (do not beat).  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.   

Prepare pancakes.  Whisk together flours, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.  Make sure to break up any clumps of brown sugar.  In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, vanilla, oil, eggs and pumpkin.  Combine wet ingredients with dry and gently combine until mixed.  Do not overmix.

Heat a nonstick griddle to medium heat.  When hot, use butter or nonstick spray to coat the pan.  Drop 1/4 cup pancake batter to form each pancake and cook until edges set (if you wait until they bubble, it might be just a bit too long).  Flip pancakes and cook remaining side.

Serve warm pancakes with a dollop of cream cheese topping and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Makes 12-14 large pancakes.

Christina's Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies

adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup coconut oil, heated until barely melted then cooled1 ½ cups white sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of two large (three small) limes
3 tbsp lime juice
1 cup coconut
½ cup sugar for rolling cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. If you haven't already toasted your coconut just put a layer of coconut on a cookie sheet and bake it at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes. Watch out. It goes from white to burnt really quick if you aren't watching closely.
2. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. Using a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and very fluffy.
4. Beat in egg, vanilla extract, lime juice and lime zest.
5. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients and toasted coconut.
6. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and roll in sugar. Place on lined cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. I made mine too big and they ran together. These do spread quite a bit.
7. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned.
8. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

Fantastic served with cream cheese frosting with the zest of a lime or two.

Christina's Double Coconut Muffins

from Smitten Kitchen


1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup full fat Greek-style yogurt, at room temperature is best (or use coconut cream)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature is best
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut, divided

Preheat oven to 375°F. Either grease 10 muffin cups with butter or coconut oil, or line them with papers.

In a small saucepan, warm your coconut oil just until it melts. It should still be on the cool side.

In a medium bowl, whisk together your flours, baking powder and salt. Stir 1/2 cup shredded coconut. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, sugar, coconut oil, yogurt and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients until just combined. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups then sprinkle the top with remaining 1/4 cup coconut, about 1 to 2 teaspoons on each.

Bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out batter-free, about 20 minutes. Transfer muffins to a rack and let cool.


You could make mango-coconut muffins by adding a cup or so of diced mango chunks to the batter; pina colada muffins would use the same volume of pineapple chunks. You could replace the yogurt with mashed banana or banana puree to make a banana-coconut muffin and if you’re into that whole lime-in-the-coconut thing, you could add a teaspoon of lime zest. Chocolate chips? (1 cup), Macadamia nuts? (1/2 to 3/4 cup, toasted and chopped). If adding a moist ingredient like mango or pineapple, reduce the amount of yogurt or coconut cream by 1/3.

Christina's Red Velvet Cake with Beets

from Sophistimom


2 large beets (enough for at least 1 1/2 cups puree)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (juice of one lemon--if your lemon yields slightly too little juice, don't add more!)
1 cup coconut oil (chilled)
1 cup buttermilk
2 2/3 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsps baking powder
1 1/2 tsps kosher salt
4 TBSPS natural (not dark or dutch processed) cocoa powder


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place beets in a small baking dish and add a 1/2 cup of water. Cover with parchment paper and foil, and roast until quite tender, about 60-90 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
2. Butter 3 8 inch cake pans (I used 2 9-inch pans and then made some cupcakes with the extra batter). Cut out parchment paper circles and place in the bottoms of the pans. Butter the parchment paper and dust with flour. Set aside. Peel the beets and cut into large chunks. Place in a food processor (or a very good blender) with the lemon juice, and pulse until smooth and pureed.
3. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together coconut milk and sugar. Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing well until each is incorporated. Mix in vanilla. Set in refrigerator to chill.
4. While ingredients are mixing, whisk together four, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder in a separate bowl. Slowly add flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Measure out 1 1/2 cups of the beet puree mixture, and fold into the cake batter. Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans. Tap pans on the counter to remove any air bubbles.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Invert cakes onto cooling racks, and allow to cool completely. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze until ready to frost.

Cream Cheese Frosting
2 packages cream cheese, at room temperature
2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 pound (4 cups) confectioner’s (powdered) sugar
2-3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure almond extract

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Switch to the whisk attachment, and mix until smooth and slightly fluffy.

Christina's Whole Wheat Bread

4 C. whole wheat
1/4 C. vital wheat gluten (you can find it in the baking aisle)
2 1/2 C very warm water
1 TBSP yeast
1 TBSP salt
1/3 C oil
1/3 C honey

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Stir together flour and vital wheat gluten. Add water and beat 7-10 minutes. Add yeast and beat 3 minutes. Add salt, oil and honey, beating well after each separate addition. Add more whole wheat flour until dough begins to pull away from sides of bowl.

Pour a few tablespoons of oil on counter and spread with fingers. Pour dough onto counter and knead 2-4 times from different directions. Divide dough in half and form loaves. Place in greased pans. Cover with wet towel and place in warmed oven. Turn off heat and let rise 20-30 minutes. Remove towel and turn on oven to 350 degrees. Bake 25-30 minutes and butter tops when done.