Paleo Eggs Benedict

Last year I was on quite the eggs benedict kick. And no, not a healthy version! It was a treat every time we went to visit my dad and something we never made at home. Last week after a friend ordered a fantastic "green eggs and ham" (eggs benedict with spinach) at one of my favorite breakfast spots, I thought that I needed to find a way to make it right away. Not sure what took me so long to finally attempt it.

I was unsuccessful in finding any Canadian Bacon that didn't have added sugar so I just subbed two pieces of bacon, cut them in half, and stacked them for a little thickness. Plus, we all know that everything tastes better with bacon.

The key to this recipe is timing. I won't lie, I failed at this. Usually when it's my first time making something I completely over/under estimate how long certain things will take. However, I now know how to time it better, so hopefully anyone who tries will be slightly more successful than me.

Recipe:

Biscuits

• 6 egg whites (save 2 or 3 of the yolks. you will need these for the hollandaise sauce!) 
• 3/4 cup blanched almond flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder (I use the aluminum free brands)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of coconut oil
• 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt 

First, mix the two flours in a bowl then add in the coconut oil. I just used a fork to kind of break it up in the bowl. You do not want it melted or smooth in there. This will help give it an authentic crumbly biscuit texture! Put in the fridge for 15 minutes.

While that is in the fridge, go ahead and preheat your over to 400 degrees, then separate your eggs. Use one bowl for your egg whites and put 2-3 of your yolks in another bowl. Place that to the side, you will need it later! Mix your egg whites until super frothy.

Combine your flour mix and eggs whites. Mix well! The dough should come out like "real biscuits". Make sure they aren't dry.

I greased a baking sheet and then hand shaped the dough like english muffins. Your can choose how big you want them, I tried to make them a good size so they could support the bacon and size of a poached egg. For me this turned out to make 6 biscuits.

*As soon as you pop those in the oven you can get started on the sauce!

Bake for 12-15 minutes. You will see them start to turn a perfect golden brown.

Hollandaise Sauce

• 2-3 egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons of coconut oil (must be hot! about 95 degrees)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika (I use a very generous portion)
• Blender full of water

First, fill your blender completely with water. Then pour this into a pot and boil the water. (It'll make sense in a minute I promise). Once the water is boiling, pour back into your blender and cover. Let sit for 10 minutes.

*While you are waiting for this you can move on to getting your eggs or spinach set up!

After 10 minutes pour out the water and dry your blender. Add your egg yolks and lemon juice. Mix together on low.

Take your super hot coconut oil and slowly pour it in a steady stream. Like, painfully slow. Keep mixing on low. This and the hot blender help cook the eggs.

Once all the oil has been poured, add in your seasonings and pulse a few times. Pour over your eggs right away.


Bacon
Pretty self explanatory. I cook two pieces of bacon for every eggs benedict I want to make. I ended up making 6 biscuits and 4 eggs so I sent the extra bacon and biscuits to work with J.


 Wilted Spinach

This is the easiest step as long as you aren't distracted and let it burn the first time. Yep, that happened. Ugh. At least it's fast and doesn't take long to re-do. Throw whatever oil you want in the pan, throw in some spinach, move around until it's wilted, and boom. You're done


Poached Eggs

My dad knows my love for eggs benedict so he gave me a poached egg maker for Christmas. It couldn't be easier to use. (see here) Fill the bottom of the pan with about half an inch of water, boil it, grease your egg cups; and when everything is ready carefully crack eggs in said cups, cover and wait about 3 minutes. You can cook more depending on how runny you like your eggs. Pop them out and you're done!

I stacked biscuit, spinach, four half pieces of bacon (two on top of two), poached egg, and hollandaise sauce. Cannot begin to describe how good this was!

Paleo Chocolate Cheesecake

As a child I had a ridiculous sweet tooth. I could power through chocolate cake like nobody's business. It's hard to say no when your dad is famous for his homemade chocolate icing (friends still ask about it). Let's face it, it wasn't the healthiest thing, plus my metabolism is nowhere near that of my teenage self.

For Valentine's Day we stuck with a pure paleo meal. Just because we were eating healthy didn't mean I wanted to skip our usual indulgence in a giant steak and dessert! I made this amazing raw cashew cheesecake. When I first stumbled upon the recipe I was totally intimidated. The thought of making cheesecake made me nervous, but healthy cheesecake?! However, if you have the right supplies, it's not hard at all. It was amazing, but after having a bit of a chocolate craving I decided to try a chocolate version. Our gym was having a paleo potluck so I also knew that if I had to take it there, I wouldn't end up eating the entire thing by myself.

I'll go ahead and apologize for the quality of photos. As someone who loves photography, it's a bit embarrassing to post horrible cell phone photos! I recently sold my DSLR with plans to upgrade, but hasn't happened yet. Cell phones pics will have to suffice for the time being.

Onto the recipe!!

Prep
They key is a round spring form pan. Mine is a 9" and it worked perfectly for these measurements. An 8' pan works just as well! Having a blender AND a food processor also made it much easier. Also, this is a recipe you have to plan in advance. If you read the post I linked to, you'll see how important to soak your cashews! I soaked mine overnight, but you can get away with 4 hours if necessary.

I promise I have no paid endorsement (Trader Joe's feel free to do so!), but I love this cocoa powder. It's a good size, good price, and comes in a super cute container that I end up reusing for other things in the kitchen!

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1 1/2 cups of walnuts (you can sub pecans or other nuts as well!) 
• 3 1/2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder (if you don't want a chocolate crust, coconut flakes add to a great authentic crust texture. Use 1/4 cup) 
• 1/2 cup of pitted dates (you can be a little liberal on this) 
• Pinch of sea salt

For the filling:

• 2 cups of cashews (remember to soak!!) 
• 1/2 cup maple syrup (honey would likely also work. I try to avoid agave nectar)
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 cup of coconut oil (I like to melt mine)
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup of almond milk (I used chocolate almond milk for overkill. You can also use water!)

For the ganache:

• 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract 
• 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup of coconut oil
• 1/4 cup of maple syrup
• Pinch of seasalt

Steps:

1. In the food processor add the walnuts. I like to blend them first so they are more fine. After you've chopped them to your satisfaction, add the dates, cocoa powder, and salt. Make sure it sticks together, but not too soft and gooey. Remember, it is still the crust!
2. Spoon everything from your food processor onto the bottom of your spring form pan. Make sure to not go above the bottom lip. I put everything in there without the side around it so I can make sure it is even and doesn't overflow! 
3. Add all of your filling ingredients into a blender. It will go for a while, but it will start to look creamy like a milkshake! After it looks done? Blend for another 20 seconds!
4. If you are like me and took of the pan side, make sure to snap it back on. (Triple check to make sure it is on properly and snapped tight. Nothing worse than perfectly good chocolate cheesecake all over your kitchen!) Pour out your blender into the pan and smooth it out. I'm sure many of you can make your cheesecake much much prettier than mine is. I'll get there eventually! 
5. Put the cheesecake in the freezer. A minimum of 4 hours, but because of timing I did mine overnight. 
6. After the four hours or overnight freezing you are ready for the grand finale. The topping! For the ganache a double boiler would be great. I used to have one, but of course with our latest move it was nowhere to be found. I used a big pot and a little pot (make sure they have lips so the small one can rest on top) and made a useable makeshift one. Boil the water in the bigger pot. Once it's ready at all the ingredients to the smaller one and stir. Place the small put so it's just in the water. Can you just microwave it? Probably, but you do risk having that "burnt chocolate" taste. There are a few options here. Go with whatever is easiest for you and your kitchen!
7. After boiling for a few minutes it shouldn't be a thing sauce, but more of a frosting texture. Take your cheesecake out of the freezer and pour on! I just poured a bit on the center and spread it around, I was a bit nervous about how overpowering it could be. However, you can cover the whole thing and it will be fantastic! 
8. I put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes (for the ganache to form a little better and it gave the cheesecake time to defrost) Just remember all the liquids that went into this! If you it is too warm or our too long they will melt and change the entire texture! 
9. ENJOY! It's super rich so make sure to share. Any leftovers should be stored in the freezer. 

At our potluck it went pretty fast so I forgot to get a photo of the finished product, but I did remember to snap one picture! Again not pretty, but tastes oh so amazing!

Here we go!

I'm that weird girl who "eats crazy healthy". Most friends know the things I don't eat and become incredibly confused when they see me eating cheesecake, "Chick-fil-a nuggets", and chocolate chip cookies. After telling them the easy substitutions you can make, or how to "paleo-ify" things, they'd immediately ask for a recipe. My memory of every ingredient (I'm one of those ehh pour a little more in/not take measurement types) and the steps is awful. I'm hoping that posting my recipes after I make them will not only make me a better friend who actually gets her recipes out (fingers crossed), but even allow me to see if anyone who reads this has ways to improve recipes or share what worked best for them! Maybe it will even inspire a few people to make some healthy changes and not be afraid to try some new foods!

Anyways, here is a bit on me and what led me to this! A little over a year ago, my husband (J) and I started our "health journey". Did this journey include some junk food, alcohol, and skipping the gym? Yes, but I called it a journey so that means there is plenty of time to improve, right?!

This summer with our big move we were lucky enough to join the most amazing gym that has helped us stay on a healthier path and got me started on a paleo lifestyle. Yep, the same girl who loves pizza, bread, and Jack Daniels! I cut out all GMOs, processed sugars, gluten, legumes, dairy, corn, etc etc. I'd be lying at first if I said I didn't freak out and panic over what I'd be able to eat. All I can say is thank goodness for great paleo blogs and Pinterest!

My husband was a little harder to get on board. He could eat mac and cheese, Taco Bell, and drink a gallon of milk every day. After a few great paleo meals that included modified chicken nuggets, meatloaf, and ice cream he was sold. We've both seen amazing results in our physical appearance, emotional well being, and in our workouts. Something that started out as a small lifestyle change for me is now becoming my career. Seeing family and friends struggle with health problems is heartbreaking. Helping them ease, or even overcome them, with something as simple as nutritional changes, is amazing to see.

Advanced warning: I've tried the blog thing a few times and life tends to get in the way of updates, but I will be trying my best. First recipe post to look forward to? Chocolate cheesecake (with chocolate ganache!)