Reflections 13-15

Okay, so for the past few weeks, Mickey and I have been working on creating a website for our 20% Time project. I had not written reflections 13 and 14 until now because we had been working on this website (the only foods we've made have been simple green smoothies and the brownies we make all the time). In Web Design, the final project was to make a website with at least 11 pages, so we used this opportunity to create something to talk about the Paleo Diet and some of our favorite recipes. We included a separate page for each recipe, which were our almond flour brownies, scrambled eggs, and coconut four waffles, just to name a few. It was fun to make this website because it combined what we learned about web design with what we taught ourselves in Humanities. We will try to find a way to show our website during our final presentation.

Reflection 12

Mickey and I were unable to meet up this weekend. However, tonight my friend came over for dinner and the two of us made guacamole--which we ate with lettuce instead of chips--a garden salad, and salmon burgers. It was a simple and delicious paleo meal.

Reflection 11

Mikolaj and I were unable to meet up this weekend. Luckily, my mom baked a paleo apple cake to bring to my grandma's house on Sunday. It called for both coconut flour and almond flour in addition to coconut sugar. These are low carbohydrate substitutes for white flour and sugar. Coconut and flour is not my favorite to bake with because of its taste, but the cake turned out well.

Reflection 10

This week Mickey and I helped out his dad. He bought steaks, fresh spinach, and russet potatoes, and Mickey and I helped with the preparation and cooking. The potatoes were the easiest; those we just wrapped in tin foil and put on the grill. The spinach we seasoned and threw in a pot to cook them down. The steaks we also only seasoned with salt and pepper, and those we put on the grill and checked periodically. I am personally afraid of burning myself on hot things like grills and ovens, so even opening the grill scares me. This was a learning experience for me and helped me overcome my fear a little bit...and, not to mention, the results of our cooking were very satisfying. :)

Reflection 9

This week, I found a recipe for blueberry scones! This recipe was simple enough, so Mickey came over to make it with me. I knew I would have to use strawberries in leu of blueberries, but I thought I had everything I needed.  Unfortunately, I was missing one key ingredient: almond flour. Since the recipe called for coconut flour and almond flour, I wondered if I could just use all coconut flour. When I looked up substitutions, I didn't find anywhere that coconut flour could directly substitute almond flour (which makes sense because they are very different in consistency and weight). I learned that I substitute the almond for tapioca flour, which I luckily had. The website I found said to use equal parts coconut flour and tapioca flour, but scones are supposed to be more dense than muffins or cakes. Knowing that coconut flour is very heavy, I took an educated guess at the proportions of which I should use each ingredient for scones. I used 1/2 cup coconut flour and 1 cup tapioca flour (instead of 1/4 cup coconut flour and 1 1/4 cup almond flour, as called for). Thankfully, I made a good estimation of the proportion that would create the right consistency for scones. I learned how to mix flours to create different textures through making these scones. After all said and done, the scones came out perfectly and deliciously.

Reflection 8

This week, the closest thing Micey and I did to cooking paleo was eating paleo brownies and going out for a sushi lunch. This is because we were both at accepted student days. The brownies wee my mom's standard coconut brownie recipe, although slightly under baked and, therefore, gooey and rich as can be. Sushi is not totally paleo because of the rice and the fact that it's hard to know what kind of fish you're eating when you go to a restaurant (is wild-caught or farm-raised, etc. ). However, sushi is high in protein, omega-threes and -sixes, fresh veggies, and many micro-minerals (from the seaweed). Don't worry--there's one recipe we're just dying to try and will make ASAP!

Reflection 6/7

On Easter, Mickey's mom made polish salads that were paleo, and my mom made coconut flour brownies. The salads consisted of various chopped vegetables and mayonnaise, and some even had bacon or ham. The brownies are paleo because they were made with ghee, coconut sugar and coconut flour. It made a wonderful addition to our Easter.

The next week, my mom had made keilbasa with cooked sour krout and chestnuts. The meat and sour krout were from a Polish store that gets all its food from small, local farms, and the chestnuts were organic. This is a variation on a Polish meal bigos. this is a very healthy meal because the sour krout is fermented, so it has lots of healthy microbacteria, and the meat is organic and without additives. needless to say, it was delicious.

Reflection 5

This week Mickey couldn't bake with me, but I made coconut macaroons. They were simple and easy. Four egg whites, shredded coconut, organic coconut sugar, almond extract, and salt were the only ingtedients. I added chocolate chips for some variety, but truth be told they weren't even necessary. The macaroons were crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, just like s good cookie should be. They are not exactly low carb considering the sugar, but the sugar helps hold it together and make it crispy but not crumbly. I made them go bring to my grandma's house on Saturday, so I didn't feel the need to made something super heslthy anyway. They are absolutely delicious; I even made a second batch since I couldn't stop eating them!

Reflection 4

This week  Mickey and I strayed from our mission of strictly making desserts and made ourselves a wholesome lunch for after practice. We made a BLT frittata from a recipe on PaleoGrubs.com. The whole thing had eight eggs, tomatoes, cooked greens, basil, milk, and...BACON. Who doesn't loveeee bacon? Not us! The bacon we used was from pasture-raised, hormone-free pork. When livestock is raised the way it is naturally supposed to, this eliminates much of the toxins (which are stored mostly in the fat of the animals, which we consume much of when we eat bacon), hence eliminating the main health risks in bacon. All ingredients were of course organic, and, although the recipe calls for almond milk, we used regular milk (the only non-paleo ingredient). A meal like this is very nutritious, low-carb, and high in healthy protein and fats. Plus, it can actually be eaten for any meal--I might even eat the leftover piece for breakfast tomorrow!

Reflection 3

This week, we wanted a sweet snack and opted for something simple. The apples my mom had just bought were pretty amazing, so we sliced one and covered it with almond butter and dusted the slices with cinnamon. It was pretty delicious for a healthy, five-minute snack. Apples are pretty low carb if you consider their glycemic index, and the almond butter adds more fiber and some fat and protein as well, balancing out the snack. This midday treat was easy, delicious, low-carb, and  nutrient-packed!

Reflection 2

This week Mickey and I want to make something for our friend's birthday; we're thinking paleo brownies. This will be the recipe that we usually use for brownies, so we were thinking of flavoring them with orange extract or almonds or lavender salt to make them more interesting (although they are already super rich and tasty). We want to make new things and learn how to alter recipes, so making flavored brownies will be a good start.

Reflection 1

This week Mickey and I will most likely not be able to meet and bake due to his (last!) tournament. So in class i looked up recipes we could try out and/or build from. They are mostly desserts (a few side dishes). I got them from healthfulpursuit.com, which is a health blog I had never heard of. I really like it, though, because they have many different categories of foods. I was under "Low-Carb Paleo Recipes." I liked these recipes because they were truly paleo and low carb. I can't wait to try them!

20% Time (second semester) Proposal

My 20 Time Project is going to be to learn about food from different cultures and make paleo recipes to suit  how our paleolithic predecessors would have eaten in different regions. My final product/goal/accomplishment will be baking something without a recipe (creating my own recipe) in addition to continuing my Instagram. Eating the healthy food I make and taking photos/videos to post on social media.

Learning how to alter recipes to fit it and still taste good.

most of this project will be done outside of class. In class we will research recipes and plan for the weeks' work. .

Reflection 13

This week my mind made another Paleo banana bread.
This time we used a different recipe; this one called for coconut flour (since almond flour actually isn't supposed to be cooked at really high temperatures). It had cinnamon, it had walnuts, and it had semisweet chocolate chips (not very paleo). Unfortunately, it came out a little greasy-- maybe because there was too much coconut oil. Maybe next time we'll just use less coconut oil. It may also have been greasy because it needed to bake longer. I'd like to experiment with this recipe and perfect it because I like it much better than the almond flour recipe I usually use.

Reflection 12

For my competition on Thursday, I made paleo energy balls. I used dates,balmonds, walnuts, vanilla, coconut oil, salt and cinnamon. It was easy to do in a food processor. First I whizzed up the dates, and then I added the nuts. I pulsed it until the bits were chopped but not pulverized. All I did after that was scoop the mixture into balls. They were sticky, so I toasted some coconut shreddings and rolled the balls in them. I refrigerated them and brought a few to my competition. They were the perfect thing and were heathy and delicious!

Reflection 11

This week I made coconut flour waffles. I did it on Christmas morning because my mom found a recipe, and I thought it would be a nice gesture on my favorite holiday. It called for coconut crystals as sweetener, eggs, coconut flour, and cinnamon. This is what makes it low carb and paleo. However, I did not put enough cinnamon in them; I didn't want them to taste like cinnamon, but I think the cinnamon is just supposed to make them more flavorful, since they were sort of bland. However, I took some frozen berries and reduced them in a pot on the stove to make a warm berry sauce. This definitely made it taste better. I also made some bacon (hormone-free, organic, grass-fed) for some protein and variety. Overall, it was delicious!

Reflection 8 (late)

This weekend was Thanksgiving, and all the thanksgiving fod my mom made was Paleo (except the stuffing). Luckily for us, most thanksgiving foods are practically Paleo anyway. The cranberries were organic and made with raw honey, carrots, ginger, and other spices. There was also a sweet potato casserole. It was made uniquely with coconut milk instead of heavy cream (dairy is not paleo) and had toasted coconut and candids pecans as garnish. There was also a squash and zucchini dish (although more carby than other veggies like broccoli, still paleo). You might be thinking, "okay, so those foods are paleo, but apple, pecan, or pumpkin pies are definitely not paleo." Well, you're right. But there is a way to make them that is. Although my grandmother always makes the (best nonpaleo) pumpkin pie, all of these pies can be made paleo. The hardest part of making it paleo is making the crust with almond flour (this step can be skipped by using Julian's Baked paleo pie crusts). The rest is easy: substitute in almond flour for white flour (used to hold any pie filling together), raw organic honey for sugar or other sweetener, coconut or almond milk for regular milk, and use all organic ingredients. Since it's just as simple as baking nonpaleo foods, maybe your next Thanksgiving will be a Paleo one, and you can all thank me for guiding you. Happy Cooking!

Reflection 9

This week we strayed from food and made an all natural body butter instead. My mom had this idea, and she had already bought miniature mason jars to put it in. So we mixed together almond oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter, and a little almond extract (for scent).  After we mixed it in a metal bowl, we put that bowl into a bigger bowl of ice water and whipped it to a peak. Then we just scooped it into the mini jars. It was really that simple.

For those who aren't huge bakers or cooks, this kind of thing is the perfect home-made gift. While most people are giving out home made cookies or chocolates as holiday gifts, you were a little more creative with your home made gift. And this is something that the receivers of your awesome gift will use for a while, and not eat all at once (not to mention, it won't make them fat!). I'm getting ready for the holidays…are you?

Reflection 7

We decided to stray from baking sweets this week. We found a recipe for "breakfast muffins" from paleogrubs. These "muffins" are actually like miniature meat loaves with an egg inside and bacon on top (or maybe like an egg pie with a meat loaf crust and bacon top?). They are very dense and filling since they are low carb and also the perfect thing to hold you. It's a complete breakfast; it has protein and healthy fat and minumal carbs...and, not to mention, bacon!! The only carby ingredient is almond flour (which is still relatively low carb), used to hold the ground beef together for the "crust."

There is a common misconception that all bacon is unhealthy because it is about half fat. Wrong. It is true fat is what stores the hormones and toxins in non-grass-fed beef and other meats. Since this follows paleo guidelines, we used organic, grassfed beef, eggs, and pork bacon. This means all the fat and meat is healthy. Have your bacon...and eat it, too!

Reflection 6

This week we used blackstrap molasses to make ginger snaps. The molasses is an all-natural sweetener; they were relatively low carb. I think we used too much salt because they were salty. It was a weird combination that could have worked but didn't with these cookies.

The recipe called for almond butter (as opposed to almond meal) to make the cookies more gooey, which it did. However, it also changed the flavor in my opinion. I wonder if they would have been better with regular almond meal.

Overall, they weren't bad. Maybe we'll make them again--they weren't that complicated to make.