Crispy 'Fried' Banana Crepes

Writing this post was hard enough without wanting to make 12 more of these and eat them ALL. This was everything I could ask for and more on a plate.

Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside - talk about melt in your mouth good.

The bananas, coconut flour, and macadamia oil bring a sweet touch to these crepes so no added sugar is necessary.

Coconut flour is light, but full of fiber, leaving you feeling satisfied and floating on air - this breakfast is a trip to food heaven.

Crispy 'Fried' Banana Crepe
Servings: 2 (10inch) large crepes

Ingredients:

Crepes:
2 organic eggs
2 Tbsp of coconut oil (melted)
1/3 cup of homemade almond (or coconut) milk
1/4 tsp of pure vanilla extract
2 Tbsp of coconut flour
1/8 tsp of salt
Few small dashes of cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
More coconut oil (for pan)

Filling: 1/2 banana chopped (for each - so 1 banana total) + cinnamon + 1/2 tsp of coconut oil (for each - so 1 tsp total)
*Feel free to add some chopped nuts, cacao nibs, shredded coconut, or switch up the fillings!

Almond Butter 'Syrup': 2 Tbsp of almond butter mixed with 1 Tbsp of organic macadamia oil 

Topping: 1/2 banana chopped (for each - so 1 banana total) + 1 Tbsp of coconut oil (for each - so 2 Tbsp total) + cinnamon

Directions:

Heat a 10inch non-stick skillet with coconut oil over med heat.

Combine your crepe ingredients in a small bowl and mix until your batter forms (it should be more runny than normal pancake batter).

Pour 1/2 your batter into the skillet and swirl around until it coats the whole pan.

(Now, I did this whole crepe cooking process a little differently.....flipping a crepe can be a pain in the A** and it can be hard to get it to roll up and stay shut sooo....)

Let your crepe start to cook for 2-3 minutes becoming bubbly and crisp around the edges. Remove from the heat and let sit for another 1-2 min. Meanwhile, prepare your filling. Toss the banana, coconut oil, and cinnamon together. Place your crepe back over med heat, place the filling in the middle of the crepe then fold the crepe in half (just like cooking an omelet). Press down with a spatula then fold over in half again. You should have a nice burrito type roll - no flipping, rolling B.S.

Carefully remove the crepe from the skillet and place it on a plate. Prepare your topping by placing banana, coconut oil, and cinnamon in the skillet and caramelizing the bananas on both sides. Remove and set aside.

Then place a generous amount of coconut oil in the skillet and turn the heat up to med high. Let the oil heat and place your crepe back in the pan and "fry" until golden brown & crispy on both sides.

Mix together your almond butter syrup ingredients and serve over the crepes with banana topping.

Then....be prepared to be brought to food heaven :D

Avocado Basil Spinach Pesto

I HEART PESTO <3

Pesto on pizza, pesto on sandwiches, pesto on eggs, pesto on everythinggggg!

So I saw this nut free/vegan version using avocado - genius! So I decided to add a few of my own twists adding spinach & walnut oil, nutritimentation style.

Full of healthy fats and greens, this pesto is a skin-glowing, brain boosting concoction.

Avocado Basil Spinach Pesto

1 ripe avocado
1/4 cup of basil leaves (I used the leaves from about 1/2 package)
A big handful of spinach (about 1/2 cup)
1 Tbsp of fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup of walnut oil
1/4 tsp of Himalayan salt (or kosher/sea salt)

Combine all ingredients in a food processor (or blender) & blend until smooth.

Try a 'caprese' style omelet stacking fresh tomato with the pesto with a spinach omelet topped with more pesto & hemp seeds.

Homemade Almond Milk

After doing research on the additive carrageenan and learning how reports suggest it turns into a carcinogen and can be harmful to digestion by turning into an inflammatory agent, I decided to ditch store bought nut milks & start making my own. 

Man, am I glad I did! Yet again, homemade food proves it's way better then store bought. This version of almond milk is so creamy and actually tastes like real almonds, can you believe that? :)

This version can be transferred into other types of milk like coconut or cashew - just substitute cashews or shredded unsweetened coconut. 

Homemade Almond Milk

Ingredients: 

1.5 cups of raw organic almonds (*ratio is 1 cup of almonds to 2 cups of water - my Vitamix doesn't quite fit that so I shrunk it down a bit)

3 cups of water

That's it! Now try reading your store bought almond milk ingredient list....hmmmmm...

Here's how....pictures and all :)

Start by soaking your almonds in a bowl of water overnight. (6 hours will do, I just find it's easier to let them soak overnight)

Pour almonds through a strainer and rinse very well!

Put almonds and the 3 cups of (new) clean water into your blender & blend on high for 1-2 minutes.

Place a cheesecloth (or mesh strainer or nut milk bag) over a wide mouth container.

Pour in 1/3 of the almond milk mixture from the blender. Grab all sides to enclose the almond mixture and start to squeeze! Here comes your fresh delicious almond milk! 

Squeeze until all the milk comes out then place the almond meal into a bowl (you can save this to dehydrate and make almond flour for baking!) 

Then repeat above steps until you're done.

Another 1/3 of the mixture...

And another....

OK you're done!

This recipe will give you just under 25oz. of almond milk.

Store almond milk in a mason jar in the fridge for 3-4 days. Feel free to add in a tsp of vanilla extract, sweetener, cinnamon, or even some raw cacao powder...yummmmm.

Five Ingredient Fennel Soup

This is a 'soup for dummies' - so simple, yet so delicious. I was so impressed with the 'creaminess' cauliflower gave my 'Creamy' Cauliflower & Carrot Soup that I decided to let it to continue to impress me. Congratulations cauliflower, yet again you blew my socks off.

There's a freshness to this soup that just makes it so lovely. The combination of sweet from the fennel & leek and buttery from the ghee, garlic, & cauliflower makes this an all around crowd pleaser.

Five Ingredient Fennel Soup
Servings: 3-4

Five simple ingredients:
1 fennel bulb - chopped
1 leek - sliced
1 cup of chopped cauliflower
3 cups of homemade chicken stock (or vegetable)
1 tsp of fennel seed

Plus a few pantry staples:
1 cup of water
1 large garlic clove
2 tsp of apple cider vinegar (or white wine)
3 Tbsp of ghee (or butter)
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Melt the ghee in a large soup pan, add the fennel and leeks, sauté until the fennel starts to become translucent and soft. Add the fennel seeds & apple cider vinegar, give a quick stir and let sauté for another minute. Add the remaining ingredients (garlic, water, stock, & cauliflower) and bring to a boil. Turn down to low/med heat and let simmer for about 30 minutes until cauliflower becomes tender.

Place into a blender (or food processor) and blend until it becomes 'creamy.' Season with salt & pepper.

Pour into a bowl, serve nice & hot. Garnish with hemp seeds, flax (or olive) oil, and a dollop of raw almond cashew yogurt. .....then stop & appreciate the beauty of your bowl......and dig in :)

Apple Pecan Walnut Cinnamon Swirl Bread

After seeing these mouth drooling photos from this recipe - I knew some nutritimentation was absolutely necessary. Luckily, I had some homemade apple sauce in the fridge begging for some attention. 

Lo and behold we have Apple Pecan Walnut Cinnamon Swirl Bread <333

I love spelt flour. I love sprouted nuts. I love apples. I love cinnamon (& cardamom). What I love most, all of these put together into a loaf of bread.

No sugar added nor needed here - you're sweet enough ;) ......Oh...and the apples bring that to the table too.

OK, fine, read the recipe already!

BUT WAIT....look at those chunks of pecans & walnuts ..... :)

Apple Pecan Walnut Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Ingredients:

Bread
2 cups + 2 Tbsp of spelt flour
1 & 1/2 tsp of baking soda + 1 & 1/2 tsp of lemon juice *mix together in a small cup and have ready to add to dough
1 tsp of Himalayan salt (or kosher/ sea salt)
3/4 cup of warm water
1/2 tsp of cinnamon

Filling
1/4 cup of homemade apple sauce (mine had cinnamon already in it - if you use store bought, mix in some cinnamon to your liking)
Few dashes of cardamom (optional - I love the flavor profile it brings though! You could use a warming spice like nutmeg instead)
1/2 cup of roughly chopped sprouted pecans & walnuts

Glaze
1 Tbsp of maple syrup
A bit more cinnamon for sprinkling

Directions:

In a bowl combine your bread ingredients and gently fold together to form your dough. Cover dough with a lid but don't fully close it, air should be allowed to get in. Let sit for 2-3hrs for dough to rise.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a small bowl, combine your filling ingredients and mix well.

On a piece of parchment paper or floured surface, lay out the dough and spread evenly into a rectangle shape (you could use a rolling pin, I just used my hands :P). Spread your filling evenly onto the dough leaving about in inch around the edges and top with your crushed nuts.

Just like making cinnamon rolls, starting from one side, start to roll your dough up tightly. Stop halfway, then do the same on the other side until it meets the other roll. Fold the dough in half, stacking the rolls on top of each other then place in a greased or parchment paper loaf pan.

It's O.K if there are some pecans are peeking out :D

Finally, make your glaze on top- spread the maple syrup then sprinkle with cinnamon. YUM.

Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes - the bread will rise and become nice and brown. Use the "knife comes out clean" test to make sure it's fully cooked.

Serve warm with maple syrup and cinnamon :)

Or.... put a savory twist on this bread and dip it into a bowl of 'Creamy' Cauliflower & Carrot Soup for dinner like I did - what a perfect combination of flavors!