Pop(no)corn Meatballs (Paleo, AIP)

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb Grass Fed Ground Beef 

1/2 tsp Sea Salt

1/2 tsp Garlic powder

1 Cup Tapioca Flour 

1/2 tsp Sea Salt

1/2 tsp Ground Turmeric

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

6 TBS Grass Fed Gelatin 

3 TBS cold water

6 TBS hot water

1 Cup of Solid Cooking Fat (I used the fat from the top of my last batch of bone broth)

DIRECTIONS:

In a small saucepan heat your cooking fat over medium heat. In a mixing bowl, combine your ground beef with 1/2 tsp of sea salt and 1/2 tsp of garlic powder. Once combined, begin to role the ground beef into small balls, smaller than an average meatball. Once all of the ground beef has been rolled into balls, take another mixing bowl and combine your tapioca flour, sea salt, garlic powder and turmeric. Then, in a smaller bowl, take your gelatin and cover it with your 3 tbs of cold water. Allow it to sit for about a minute. Then pour the hot water over top of the gelatin and stir until completely combined and liquid. Turn the cooking fat up to medium high heat. Take the meatballs and dredge them in the flour mixture, then dip them in the gelatin mixture and dredge in the flour mixture again before dropping them into the cooking fat. Repeat this process until you have enough meatballs to cover most of the bottom of the saucepan. Cook them for five minutes, using a slotted spoon to move them around and ensure even cooking. After five minutes, remove them from the saucepan with the slotted spoon and place them on a wire cooling rack. Repeat this until all of the meatballs are cooked. Serve with your choice of dipping sauce and enjoy.

Sweet Potato Chicken Poppers (Paleo & AIP)

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground chicken (uncooked)
• 2 cups raw (not cooked) sweet potato, grated 
• 2 tbsp coconut oil + 1 tsp for greasing the baking sheet
• 2 tbsp coconut flour 
• 2 sprigs green onion, chopped fine
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F and lightly grease a lined baking sheet with coconut oil
2. Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and thoroughly combine
3. Begin rolling the mixture into small, slightly flattened poppers about one inch in diameter (you'll have about 20-22 poppers) and place them on the cooking sheet
4. Place in the oven for 25-28 minutes, flipping half way through
5. Crisp further in a pan or place under the broiler if desired for 1-2 minutes to crisp further
6. Remove from the oven when thoroughly cooked through
7. Allow to cool and serve with your favorite sauce

EASY PEASY CHOCOLATE MILK – PALEO

Gutsytbynature

Makes 4 servings

Here’s what you need:

I can coconut milk (make sure it’s just coconut milk, no added gums or anything else)

2 tablespoons raw cacao (or carob)

1 tablespoon mesquite powder

1 teaspoon honey, or your sweetener of choice (if you use raw honey, like I did, wait until the mixture has cooled down to a drinkable temperature before adding the honey, to maintain the beneficial properties)

Method:

Pour the coconut milk into a saucepan and gently heat

Add the raw cacao and mesquite powders and sweetener (but not if you’re using raw honey)

Blend with a stick blender til everything is mixed together and the milk gets frothy

If using raw honey, add once the liquid is at a drinking temperature

If drinking “hot” just pour into a mug or glass and drink!

If drinking cold, put the mixture into the fridge til the milk has cooled. Add ice cubes if you have some available

And that’s it – pretty simple huh! All measurements are approximate and you can adjust according to your own tastes. It is quite a decadent, rich mixture so if you want to add water to thin it down, then do so. This mixture also makes a delicious chocolate sauce too, and I have been known to pour it over chopped bananas and desiccated coconut for breakfast! 

 If you’re following the autoiummune protocol (AIP) and haven’t added raw cacao back in yet you can easily sub carob which has it’s own health benefits, including being a rich source of phosphorous and calcium.

I’ve ( Gutsy by Nature) also discovered a fabulous new thing – mesquite powder! If you are following AIP  make sure you find one that is just the ground pods as that is classified as AIP friendly, if you find one that is ground pods and seeds that is not AIP friendly, so do check with your supplier. What I like about mesquite powder is that it adds a slightly sweet, caramel flavour and when mixed with raw cacao it just takes the edge off the bitterness of the cacao. It is also high in protein and calcium, rich in zinc and potassium with good amounts of magnesium – winning!