Paleo Mayonnaise

And to think that I thought I wouldn’t enjoy mayonnaise ever again on the Paleo diet, boy was I wrong! The Paleo diet is the chance to discover blends and flavors of mayonnaise that will stay unknown to most people. For example, the baconnaise, the duckonnaise or the beefonnaise all made from the fat of their respective animal, pork, duck and beef. Most people think that this is an heart attack in a jar, but we know better and know that it’s really a health food.

I’ll give you two different versions of mayonnaise recipes today, a coconut oil mayonnaise and the now famous baconnaise. The technique of preparation is the same for both and also keep in mind that you can extend this delicious concoction with spices, fresh herbs (dill is delicious in it), garlic or even chopped pickles for a tartar sauce.

As for the technique, you can use either a blender, a food processor or your soon to be sore hand and a whisk. I prefer the version made by hand because it’s really not that bad and it makes for less things to clean afterwards. The technique is basically the same for all those techniques, so I’ll explain it in a comprehensible way for the three techniques.

The coconut mayonnaise is made with half olive oil because it would become way too hard in the refrigerator. I don’t recommend a full olive oil mayonnaise unless you use the light version because it will taste too strong.

2 egg yolks1 tsp mustard (this is optional)3 tsp lemon juice1/2 cup olive oil1/2 cup coconut oil1 cup liquid bacon fat (you can of course use rendered lard, it’s the same thing) in place of the olive and coconut oilsPut the yolks in a bowl (blender, food processor) with the mustard, if using and 1 tsp lemon juice and mix those ingredients together;Start whisking vigorously (blender or food processor on low) while dripping the oil very slowly, even drop by drop in the beginning. You’re creating an emulsion and if you put too much oil at once, it will separate and will be very hard to save. Whisk non-stop and use a towel under the bowl to help stabilize it;As you add more oil, the emulsion will form and the mayonnaise will start to thicken and you can pour the oil faster at this point;When all the oil is incorporated and the mayonnaise is thick, add the rest of the lemon juice and taste your creation. You can season to taste with salt and pepper;Enjoy without guilt and put the store in the refrigerator!

And here you go, it’s that simple. Of course I encourage you to play with it and to come up with new variations. Happy Paleo mayonnaise making!

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the Paleo cookbooks. It’s basically two cookbooks that were put together by Nikki Young and they are of great help when I’m out of ideas about what to prepare. The cookbooks would definitely be a good addition to your Paleo cooking arsenal.

Be sure to register for my free newsletter at the bottom of the page to receive great and exclusive cooking tips, paleo diet recipes and great offers right in your inbox.

Mayonnaise picture

View the original article here

Paleo Coconut Vanilla Ice Cream

The good news is that you don’t have to say goodbye to ice cream when following the Paleo diet. The bad news is that you’ll absolutely have to make it yourself. Some health food stores now offer a coconut milk alternative to regular ice cream, but I think it still contains some nasty ingredients. Making it yourself can actually be fun and rewarding. You’ll impress everybody when they’ll learn that you made the ice cream yourself from A to Z and you have much more control over the final result.

This rrecipe is 100% Paleo and while you have to possibility to add some sugary indulgences like dark chocolate or honey in it, it’s completely up to you and you don’t have to add anything sugary to get a great result that’ll please everybody. You can leave it plain like your usual vanilla ice cream or add any of your favorite flavoring during the preparation process. Fruits, coconut flakes, nuts or mint are all good options, as are honey or chocolate if you’re in for a little treat. You can always prepare the ice cream plain and add any of those other options when serving the ice cream so you can enjoy different flavors every time.

People are often worried about making ice cream because they don’t have an ice cream machine, but it’s not much more complicated or time consuming without one. The trick is to fully cool the custard in the refrigerator then putting it in a bowl in the freezer and vigorously whisking the custard while it freezes every 30 minutes or so for about 2 to 3 hours. This will prevent hard crystals to form and will produce the same smooth ice cream you’d expect from an ice cream machine.

This is a real ice cream made with a custard with the help of eggs. Unlike simpler ice cream recipes not based on a custard, this one will be much richer and will feel like the real ice cream you’re used to. It takes a bit more implication on your part, but the result will speak for itself.

Base

1 can coconut milk, full-fat;2 eggs or 4 egg yolks (yolks alone will give even more richness);Seeds from 2 fresh vanilla beans or 4 tbsp real vanilla extract.

Possible flavoring options (add any or a combination of the fallowing flavorings)

1/2 cup of your favorite berries (chopped or blended to a puree);1/2 cup coconut flakes;1/4 cup finely chopped mint;1/4 cup chopped nuts;Lemon, lime or orange zest;3 tbsp raw honey;1/4 cup dark chocolate chips or flakes (you can take a high quality dark chocolate and chop it yourself to your liking).Boil some water in a pot and reduce to a simmer.Place a heat proof bowl over it in a double boiler fashion and pour the coconut milk in it. Put vanilla seeds or vanilla extract with the coconut milk and heat until hot, but make sure it doesn’t come to a boil. If using flavorings such as mint or dark chocolate, you can add them now. You can also add chocolate at the end of the process to keep the pieces whole.Whisk the eggs of yolks in a separate bowl. Add one ladleful of the now hot coconut milk to the eggs while whisking quite vigorously. What you’re doing is tempering the eggs and slowly bringing the temperature up without cooking the eggs and risking that they scramble. Add two or three other ladlefuls of the coconut milk mixture and incorporate them to the eggs while whisking continuously.Take the tempered eggs and whisk in the bowl where the rest of the coconut milk is on the double boiler.Whisk for a couple of minutes non-stop to form a thick custard. Make sure it doesn’t get too hot and the simmering water doesn’t touch the bowl.Once the custard is ready, remove from the heat source and let it cool on the counter or the refrigerator.You can add any other flavoring you want to use once the custard is cold enough to put a finger in it and feel comfortable.Let it cool even more in the refrigerator before freezing it.Put in your ice cream maker and follow its instructions or put in a baking dish in the freezer and stir vigorously every 30 minutes for about 2 to 3 hours until it’s set.Take it out of the freezer for about 10 minutes before enjoying so it softens a bit. Serve with added coconut milk, berries, mint, coconut flakes or any other flavoring you might like.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the Paleo cookbooks. It’s basically two cookbooks that were put together by Nikki Young and they are of great help when I’m out of ideas about what to prepare. The cookbooks would definitely be a good addition to your Paleo cooking arsenal.

Be sure to register for my free newsletter at the bottom of the page to receive great and exclusive cooking tips, paleo diet recipes and great offers right in your inbox.

Ice cream with mint, with berries, vanilla bean, ice cream

View the original article here

Paleo Coconut Vanilla Ice Cream

The good news is that you don’t have to say goodbye to ice cream when following the Paleo diet. The bad news is that you’ll absolutely have to make it yourself. Some health food stores now offer a coconut milk alternative to regular ice cream, but I think it still contains some nasty ingredients. Making it yourself can actually be fun and rewarding. You’ll impress everybody when they’ll learn that you made the ice cream yourself from A to Z and you have much more control over the final result.

This rrecipe is 100% Paleo and while you have to possibility to add some sugary indulgences like dark chocolate or honey in it, it’s completely up to you and you don’t have to add anything sugary to get a great result that’ll please everybody. You can leave it plain like your usual vanilla ice cream or add any of your favorite flavoring during the preparation process. Fruits, coconut flakes, nuts or mint are all good options, as are honey or chocolate if you’re in for a little treat. You can always prepare the ice cream plain and add any of those other options when serving the ice cream so you can enjoy different flavors every time.

People are often worried about making ice cream because they don’t have an ice cream machine, but it’s not much more complicated or time consuming without one. The trick is to fully cool the custard in the refrigerator then putting it in a bowl in the freezer and vigorously whisking the custard while it freezes every 30 minutes or so for about 2 to 3 hours. This will prevent hard crystals to form and will produce the same smooth ice cream you’d expect from an ice cream machine.

This is a real ice cream made with a custard with the help of eggs. Unlike simpler ice cream recipes not based on a custard, this one will be much richer and will feel like the real ice cream you’re used to. It takes a bit more implication on your part, but the result will speak for itself.

Base

1 can coconut milk, full-fat;2 eggs or 4 egg yolks (yolks alone will give even more richness);Seeds from 2 fresh vanilla beans or 4 tbsp real vanilla extract.

Possible flavoring options (add any or a combination of the fallowing flavorings)

1/2 cup of your favorite berries (chopped or blended to a puree);1/2 cup coconut flakes;1/4 cup finely chopped mint;1/4 cup chopped nuts;Lemon, lime or orange zest;3 tbsp raw honey;1/4 cup dark chocolate chips or flakes (you can take a high quality dark chocolate and chop it yourself to your liking).Boil some water in a pot and reduce to a simmer.Place a heat proof bowl over it in a double boiler fashion and pour the coconut milk in it. Put vanilla seeds or vanilla extract with the coconut milk and heat until hot, but make sure it doesn’t come to a boil. If using flavorings such as mint or dark chocolate, you can add them now. You can also add chocolate at the end of the process to keep the pieces whole.Whisk the eggs of yolks in a separate bowl. Add one ladleful of the now hot coconut milk to the eggs while whisking quite vigorously. What you’re doing is tempering the eggs and slowly bringing the temperature up without cooking the eggs and risking that they scramble. Add two or three other ladlefuls of the coconut milk mixture and incorporate them to the eggs while whisking continuously.Take the tempered eggs and whisk in the bowl where the rest of the coconut milk is on the double boiler.Whisk for a couple of minutes non-stop to form a thick custard. Make sure it doesn’t get too hot and the simmering water doesn’t touch the bowl.Once the custard is ready, remove from the heat source and let it cool on the counter or the refrigerator.You can add any other flavoring you want to use once the custard is cold enough to put a finger in it and feel comfortable.Let it cool even more in the refrigerator before freezing it.Put in your ice cream maker and follow its instructions or put in a baking dish in the freezer and stir vigorously every 30 minutes for about 2 to 3 hours until it’s set.Take it out of the freezer for about 10 minutes before enjoying so it softens a bit. Serve with added coconut milk, berries, mint, coconut flakes or any other flavoring you might like.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the Paleo cookbooks. It’s basically two cookbooks that were put together by Nikki Young and they are of great help when I’m out of ideas about what to prepare. The cookbooks would definitely be a good addition to your Paleo cooking arsenal.

Be sure to register for my free newsletter at the bottom of the page to receive great and exclusive cooking tips, paleo diet recipes and great offers right in your inbox.

Ice cream with mint, with berries, vanilla bean, ice cream

View the original article here

Paleo Mayonnaise

And to think that I thought I wouldn’t enjoy mayonnaise ever again on the Paleo diet, boy was I wrong! The Paleo diet is the chance to discover blends and flavors of mayonnaise that will stay unknown to most people. For example, the baconnaise, the duckonnaise or the beefonnaise all made from the fat of their respective animal, pork, duck and beef. Most people think that this is an heart attack in a jar, but we know better and know that it’s really a health food.
I’ll give you two different versions of mayonnaise recipes today, a coconut oil mayonnaise and the now famous baconnaise. The technique of preparation is the same for both and also keep in mind that you can extend this delicious concoction with spices, fresh herbs (dill is delicious in it), garlic or even chopped pickles for a tartar sauce.
As for the technique, you can use either a blender, a food processor or your soon to be sore hand and a whisk. I prefer the version made by hand because it’s really not that bad and it makes for less things to clean afterwards. The technique is basically the same for all those techniques, so I’ll explain it in a comprehensible way for the three techniques.
The coconut mayonnaise is made with half olive oil because it would become way too hard in the refrigerator. I don’t recommend a full olive oil mayonnaise unless you use the light version because it will taste too strong.

2 egg yolks1 tsp mustard (this is optional)3 tsp lemon juice1/2 cup olive oil1/2 cup coconut oil1 cup liquid bacon fat (you can of course use rendered lard, it’s the same thing) in place of the olive and coconut oilsPut the yolks in a bowl (blender, food processor) with the mustard, if using and 1 tsp lemon juice and mix those ingredients together;Start whisking vigorously (blender or food processor on low) while dripping the oil very slowly, even drop by drop in the beginning. You’re creating an emulsion and if you put too much oil at once, it will separate and will be very hard to save. Whisk non-stop and use a towel under the bowl to help stabilize it;As you add more oil, the emulsion will form and the mayonnaise will start to thicken and you can pour the oil faster at this point;When all the oil is incorporated and the mayonnaise is thick, add the rest of the lemon juice and taste your creation. You can season to taste with salt and pepper;Enjoy without guilt and put the store in the refrigerator!
And here you go, it’s that simple. Of course I encourage you to play with it and to come up with new variations. Happy Paleo mayonnaise making!
If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the Paleo cookbooks. It’s basically two cookbooks that were put together by Nikki Young and they are of great help when I’m out of ideas about what to prepare. The cookbooks would definitely be a good addition to your Paleo cooking arsenal.
Be sure to register for my free newsletter at the bottom of the page to receive great and exclusive cooking tips, paleo diet recipes and great offers right in your inbox.
Mayonnaise picture
View the original article here