Apple scones

Almost every weekend, the same thing happens to me: I feel like baking. To be honest, I also get that feeling during the week, but I only get baking on weekends. After all, my freezer is filled to the brim with meat and eating everything I bake at once isn't that much a good idea for my health (and weight..).

I made these scones twice so far. The dough turned out quite differently in both cases, while using the same ingredients in the same amounts. Turns out the size of the eggs you use actually matters. I used large eggs the first time and medium the second. It didn't affect the flavor, yet it was impossible to form scones with the first batch of dough and they turned out a little stickier. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, but I still liked the result of the second batch a little better; it was more 'scone-worthy'. That's why this recipe clearly calls for medium sized eggs.

Apple scones (10 pieces)

Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, liquified
- 2-4 tbsp honey
- 2 medium eggs
- 1 sweet apple, core discared and finely chopped
- 1 handful of raisins
- 1 handful of chopped walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Combine almond flour, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger in a large bowl.
3. In another bowl, whisk the eggs together with the coconut oil and honey.
4. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry and stir until well combined and a thick batter forms.
5. Stir in the apple, raisins and walnuts.
6. Put small heapings of the batter on the baking tray, keeping them approx. 1 inch apart, and shape them into scones by using your hands. When your batter is really thick and sticky, it helps to wet your hands a little before you start shaping.
7. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool, serve and enjoy!

Cinnamon Carrot Slaw

Hopefully no one is getting tired of my salad recipes yet, because I've got yet another one!
I can't help it, but I just love using coconut cream as a base for dressings..


I'm so glad it's almost weekend again.. My last weekend in the Netherlands before heading to the USA! Because of some festivities in my city, 80% of the hospital will be closed tomorrow afternoon, so I only need to work 4 hours tomorrow. That's not so bad.
I finally finished planning my holiday, and am now busy making a 'what to pack' list, which is almost finished as well. Although I think some stuff will pop up in my head over the next few days.
I practiced some double unders again yesterday, with a different rope this time. I did almost 30! The rope you use definitely makes a huge difference. I now have 2 days of rest, because this weekend is going to be very intense, workout-wise.
Saturday: CrossFit WOD at CrossFit Twente
Sunday: SealFit WOD at Breda Strength & Conditioning
Especially that second WOD is going to be really, really (really) hard.. We'll see what happens!


Cinnamon Carrot Slaw (serves 2)
- 3 medium winter carrots, shredded
- 3/4 cup coconut cream
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts


1. In a small bowl, combine coconut cream, lemon juice, cinnamon and cilantro and mix well.
2. In another bowl, combine shredded carrots, raisins and walnuts.
3. Stir in the dressing until well-combined. Serve and enjoy!

Coffee cookies

Why am I posting a recipe for cookies while I'm on the Whole30??
Because I made these today, for my parents, and they loved them. I didn't have any, didn't even feel like it, but my parents liked these so much that I figured I might as well share the recipe with everyone.
The picture shows my dad's cookie. We had just agreed that I should post the recipe, when I realised I hadn't taken a picture yet so I made him stop eating and quickly snapped a shot!


The batter makes approx. 4 cookies, although I only made 2 huge ones so I wouldn't even be tempted to have any. (thinking ahead! I simply don't trust myself with cookies.. yet..)


Coffee cookies
- 1 1/4 cup almond meal
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cookie spices
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, liquefied
- 1/4 cup freshly brewed coffee
- 2 tbsp agave nectar
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts


1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, mix the almond meal, baking powder, cinnamon and cookie spices.
3. Stir in the coconut oil, coffee and agave and mix until a sticky dough forms.
4. Stir in the raisins and walnuts and divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll these into balls.
5. Drop the balls on the prepared baking tray and flatten them with your hands to form cookies.
6. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes, so they will become firmer. Enjoy!

Walnut cookies

What's a girl to do when she finds herself at home on a Saturday night, it's raining outside, she just got a huge amount of walnuts, she's addicted to carbs, is recovering from a 'birthday cake hangover' and doesn't start the Whole 30 until tomorrow??

That's right, she bakes a batch of cookies! (and eats them while watching a movie..)

I spent about 45 minutes cracking walnuts to get enough for this recipe, but it was worth it.

Some time ago someone saw my supply of walnuts and mentioned to me I could also buy ones that have already been cracked. There's nothing wrong with putting in some effort to get yourself some food; it actually a really primal thought.

I also totally understand why primal people never ate that many nuts. They didn't have nut crackers back in the days so it must have taken one hell of a long time to crack them. I wonder how they did that..

Perhaps they smacked them with a rock or something like that. Maybe we could give some nuts to a chimp or orangutan and see what they do with it, that might give us an idea.

For now, just enjoy the fact that cracking nuts is an easy job for us and try making some cookies with them.
If you want you can save a couple of walnut halves and press them into the cookies for decoration right before baking, like I did.

Mom's Sunbutter Satay Sauce

Had a really busy day yesterday (internship) so I didn't have any time to post a new recipe, let alone cook anything. I got up at 5 a.m., had some leftovers from the oven dish my mom made on Sunday (she gave me the leftovers, yum!!) and lunch consisted of a few chicken burgers with carrots. Back at the train station, before going home, I was pretty hungry so I bought some guacamole (most paleo friendly food they had that would actually fill me up) and back home I had some cucumber and a scrambled egg.


Today was less busy, just another day at work, and a tough 300 workout afterwards. Not the original 300 Spartan Workout of course, but my trainer made me an adapted one and I loved it! It was pretty hard today, not too hard though, but according to my trainer it should be less easy for me so I'm going to add some more weight next time.
Here it is:
- 25 push ups
- 25 ring pull ups
- 25 squat med ball push pass
- 50 overhead kettlebell swings
- 50 rack pulls
- 25 squat med ball push pass
- 50 kettlebell deadlifts
- 25 push ups
- 25 ring pull ups

And I also promised to share my mom's recipe for sunbutter satay sauce with you. It's all paleo, and delicious!! I only thought about taking a picture of it when we were done eating and we finished just about all of the satay sauce, but I guess that only makes it clear how good this sauce is, right?
Anyway, just try it, and enjoy!

Chocolate pistachio cookies

I'm about to head to the train station to go to my parents, but figured I'd share a recipe with you all before leaving! Chocolate pistachio cookies!!
And yes, these are really yummy! (I mean, what can go wrong if you use almond, pistachios, coconut and chocolate!?)
So I wish everyone a great weekend, and perhaps some baking fun when you feel like it. I'm off to have a tasty BBQ now ;-)

Apricot spice cookies

I made these cookies last Saturday because my mom came over to visit. I hate it when I don't have any baked goods available for my guests. The amount of dough could've easily made 8-10 cookies, but I decided to make just 4 cookies. While these were baking I quickly dusted and vacuumed my home, and I took a shower while they were cooling.
Dried apricots make a great base for any cookie or cake, they add sweetness, a lovely texture and help everything stick together like it should. These cookies are firm on the outside, but still have a bit of softness on the inside, yum!


Today is going to be a busy day for me! I'm going to the market for my weekly veggie supply, do some studying, write a letter to a penpal (yes I have those, and it's great fun!) and I'll probably look into my holiday plans once again as well. Oh and not to forget some running! And I also still want new shoes.. I guess I better get going right now!

Mini Paleo apricot cake

Here it is, my last bake for now. Looks good, doesn't it? I love the way the picture turned out and the way it tasted too. Very yummy, and a good 'last cheat meal' indeed. (although I decided to change my way of eating after eating this, not before)
The batter is actually really versatile, you could add some baking powder and make muffins out of it, or drop it on a baking tray and turn it into scones. The baking time will be slightly different, but as long as it's golden brown it will probably be done and taste just fine. This mini cake is slightly moist inside, which makes it even better.
Enjoy!

Back home, lots of pictures, and a recipe for Antillean Chicken

Finally, I've got the time (and energy) to post to my blog again, after a really busy weekend at my parents' home.
As I told in my last post, my mom's birthday was last Saturday, so we celebrated that first of all. I'd made her some of my Paleo chocolate hazelnut cookies, which I put in a jar with some ribbons. I'd already given her a raw food cookbook in New York, so this was just a little extra gift.
My mom had been doing some serious baking and pie-making!
First off, she served a strawberry cake, topped with cashew vanilla cream and fresh strawberries. Yum!!
The recipe for the cake was based on Elana's Strawberry cupcakes.

Chicken salad with lemon coriander dressing

Here's the fist dish I made with the roast chicken I had leftover from Easter. Last week in NYC I had a really nice chicken salad at Whole Foods Market (of course..) and wanted to create my own version. This worked out really well!
I figured I should make some mayonnaise for the dressing, but I had just finished the last bit of lemon juice I had left so that wasn't going to work. I did have some whole lemons, but I was going to use those for another dish. So I figured I might as well use some coconut cream and lemon zest to create my dressing, and along with some fresh coriander leaves it turned out to be delicious. And easy too!
I'm also not a huge celery fan, not at all to be honest, but I loved it this way. Somehow the dressing and the raisins didn't make it taste bitter at all and I even ate the celery leaves just like that to see what they would taste like. I liked those too.
The recipe serves just 1 person, but you can easily double it to serve more. If you'd add this salad to a foodprocessor and process it until a little smoother it would be nice to serve on crackers too.

Chocolate pumpkin cookies

Why would you make pumpkin cookies when you could also make chocolate pumpkin cookies?
Right, that's what I thought!
I don't know why I'm craving cookies all the time, but I really like experimenting with them these days. So far, these are one of my favourites!
Quite moist on the inside, rich chocolate flavour, walnuts..

These would be perfect for an Easter treat! And that's why I decided to join in Kelly's recipe roundup for 'Our Spunky Holiday', the Easter edition!
She has some wonderful recipes on her own blog, go check it out over here: The Spunky Coconut

Paleo Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

I needed chocolate and cookies today.. And I had a good reason for that.
The best way to combine my needs: chocolate cookies!
I kept them simple, only used 5 different ingredients and sweetened them with dates instead of agave or something similar. I like my chocolate to be bitter, so if you like yours to be a little sweeter, simply add a few more dates.
Right now, I'm watching Prison Break, my latest addiction, and am enjoying these cookies at the same time. Pretty good!

Carrot cookies

Ok, so I have to admit.. My cravings got even worse yesterday! Causing me to bake these carrot cookies. I didn't allow myself to eat the whole batch, by immediately freezing most of them. They are really good though, so I'm sharing the recipe with you.

I have a vague idea on where my cravings came from; Friday night's cookies. (and the fact that I ate the whole batch at once)
Of course I felt sick again after eating my cookies and my stomach still doesn't feel too good. I'm definitely going to take things easy today; going to the market for my veggies (finally I get to go there again, I missed it over the last 2 weeks), some cooking, some studying and I think I'm going to go shopping too. I'm still looking for a pair of shoes to wear in New York!
Anyway, without further ado; the cookie recipe:

Quick paleo cookies

My nut- and fruit free weeks are over! In total I stuck to it for 2.5 weeks and I felt great! My only cheat days were last weekend, when staying with my parents and enjoying that awesome high tea.
These days I get way less cravings, my blood sugar is pretty much stable throughout the day and I feel much fitter. Most of the time I don't even feel like eating any fruits or nuts because my meals keep me full all the way through to my next meal.
From now on I'll only be having fruits and nuts as a treat on weekends. They're so easy to grab during the day as a quick snack, but in the end they won't make me feel any better, just more tired and craving for more. So it's weekends only!

High Tea and Raw Vegan Lemon Cheesecake

This post should actually be my mom's post, because she's the one who prepared all this delicious food.
She did so much baking and put a huge amount of time into preparing every single item of food we had today. And it all tasted great! Plus, we had a really good time having this high tea while talking about travelling and sharing our next holiday plans.

Nutty snack balls

I guess I just had to snack tonight.. But instead of going to the supermarket and get myself a bag of crisps, I made these little thingies. Much more satisfying and they taste better too!
They were especially good while enjoying one of my favourite movies: The Chronicles of Riddick. (and some episodes of House MD, of course..)
Plus I used up of a lot of dried fruit this way!
You could use some dried cherries instead of half of the raisins and add some vanilla to make these balls extra special.

Banana nut ice-cream

Today I've started stocking up on lots of meat, fish, poultry and eggs, and I'm trying to get rid of most of the fruit I have left.
I even cleaned my freezer! I just took my blowdryer and the whole thing was emptied, cleaned and filled back up again in under 20 minutes. Without water damage ;)
Seems like my diet and working out are making things like household chores much easier to get started with too. I used to put them off as often as I could, but now it hardly takes me any effort anymore.

Spicy almond beef burgers and roasted broccoli

Had another cool workout yesterday, they let me do an exercise called 'rope battle', which I think is really hard.. Not hard to do, but it takes a lot of effort from your arm muscles. I like it though! At one point my trainer asked what my heart rate was, so I measured it; 132 bpm. And he was like 'that's only average, let's do another set and go all-out!'. I'd never heard a trainer say that in a gym, and it was just what I wanted to hear!
I also had to push a prowler to the other side of the gym a few times, at max speed. That surely got my heart rate up ;) Anyway, it was really cool again, and I had lots of energy afterwards and even today my energy levels seem to be higher than usual. And I'm not that sore at all!
Next workout will be on Sunday! I'll have my own schedule by then, so I can do a workout without making an appointment first.

Pumpkin breakfast pudding

After using half of a butternut for my chicken curry yesterday, I pureed the other half and used it this morning to make a creamy and thick breakfast pudding. You shouldn't be eating this too often, because it contains a generous amount of nuts and carbs. The pudding is quite filling and warming because of the spices and perfect for a (lazy) Sunday morning.
My Sunday morning won't be lazy at all today; I'll be off to the gym in an hour for another CrossFit workout. I wonder what it'll be like today..

Coconutty protein bars

Today I felt like making a high-protein treat that most certainly wouldn't spike my blood sugar. It does contain some carbs, but a lot of protein too so I think it's very suitable as post workout food or to take with you as a snack.
I put a lot of fresh coconut meat in these (after all, I had a lot of it..) but I think they'll work just as well when you substitute it with dried coconut.
They're really firm and come out of the baking tin very easily, so they're perfect as an on-the-go snack, without having to worry they will fall apart as soon as you take a bite.