Paleo – Trading Paper Crowns

The finished product. Toasty, seasoned and fantastic!

Well, the blanket of snow on the ground in the Washington, DC area has melted. Boo hoo – that means I and thousands of other people will be commuting to work this morning.

Oh well, at least, we got to witness such a beautiful snowfall yesterday. It was very refreshing and gave me a lot of time to cook.

{Check out my Instagram for snow pictures!}

With all the snow and the weather getting more frigid – my food cravings come out in full! The two foods on my naughty list, for the most part, are potato chips and French fries.

And, these are way not good for you. So, it is awesome to find healthy alternatives to these sinful treats = when you get a craving. Hello sweet potato fries!

Last night, I just ate of plate of these for dinner. Simply awesome and they took no time at all.

Before they were in the oven!

You will need: 2 sweet potatoes, 2tbsp of garlic powder, 3 caps full of olive oil {maybe more – you want to lightly coat each potato piece}, 1 tsp. onion powder, 1 tsp. red pepper, salt and pepper to taste.

Take a pretty sharp cutting knife and chop your potato pieces into strips that look like old fashioned fries. This might take a little elbow grease. Sweet potatoes are pretty thick.

Once your strips are chopped up, pour them into a bowl and add the olive oil, garlic, onion, red pepper, salt and pepper – and stir these ingredients in. You want to make sure all the pieces are lightly covered.

Preheat oven to 400. Line a cookie tray with foil – and dump your fries onto the lined tray {easy cleanup}. Pop these tasty treats into the oven and let cook for about 20 minutes.

Friends and family will love these – treat them and yourself to something healthy and way lower in fat. Not to mention, this is paleo and gluten free!

The batter might look a tad different.

It’s snowing outside my little abode today. What better way to soak up the winter weather than bake?

I am still on the 20 Day Paleo Challenge. Don’t get on to me for not posting the past few days! life happens. I am sure many, many people relate. But, friends, I have stuck with the challenge and will try to make up for late posts, hopefully today!

Anyway – this morning I wanted something warm – namely a muffin {kind of miss these} and ran across this paleo muffin recipe online.

I was a little hesitant because one of the main ingredients was zucchini {crazy, I know}.

However, I just ate two {watching the snow outside my windows}– and they are awesome. Literally.

Oh, and PS – this is a paleo and *gluten free* recipe! Rejoice!

Finished product – already had started chowing down on one.

You will need: 1 ½ cup almond meal or flour {this is gluten free}, 1 cup shredded zucchini {I used a cheese grader}, 2 cage free eggs, ¼ cup light agave nectar, ½ tsp. baking powder, ½ tsp. baking soda, 1 tbsp. cinnamon, 2 tbsp. melted coconut oil, 1 tbsp. vanilla extract and a pinch of sea salt.

This recipe is very simple, honestly – and will yield about 9 muffins.

Add the eggs and almond flour into a large mixing bowl and stir. Shred your zucchini into a separate bowl and make sure you have a cup of it. Usually, one zucchini will be 1 cup. I only had a little bit left over.

Dump these green shreds into your mixture and stir it up. Add in the salt, nectar, baking powder and soda – and stir again. Lastly, pour in the melted coconut oil, vanilla and cinnamon.

Preheat the oven to 350. Like any muffins, place cupcake liners in a muffin tin and pour the wet mixture into each slot. These rise like normal muffins – so you may want to just fill them up ¾ of the way full.

Let them bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy. These are rich and creamy tasting. Perfect for that breakfast meal with that cup of hot Earl Grey Tea!