Plantain and Spaghetti Squash Paleo Kugel

I have been having a lot of fun cooking with plantains as they offer a great alternative to all the almond and coconut flours you often see in paleo cooking.

When cooking with plantain recipes make sure you note the color that is called for. A green plantain offers a totally different consistency (more for chips/crackers) than a ripe one  –the darker the sweeter, softer and more desert like. In this recipe a ripe or an almost ripe would work best. 

Kugel is a traditional Jewish comfort food –often containing noodles, cinnamon and creamy dairy . Sounds delish right? But I really wanted a healthy alternative that would not put me to sleep or make me feel awful after.

To me this really tasted like a kugel–though not nearly as sweet. You may want to add raisins, vanilla or a little honey/maple syrup.

And with that I give you Plantain and Spaghetti Squash Paleo Kugel:

Ingredients

• 2 ripe plantains
• 1-2 cups cooked spaghetti squash
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, very soft or melted
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon coconut flour
• 1 small apple, grated
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Combine plantains and coconut oil in a blender or nutribullet. You can also mix with the back of a fork if plantains are very ripe.
3. Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix.
4. Add to well greased pan.
5. Top with more cinnamon
6. Bake @ 20-25 minutes

 

Paleo: Banana Orange Walnut Mini-Muffins

These muffins are very tasty and somehow better in the mini muffin cups. I blended a whole orange in my NutriBullet which gave them an extra level of moistness and flavor. You can also squeeze an orange or put it in a blender or food processor.  

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup coconut flour (sifted)
• 4 eggs
• 1 orange (blended or squeezed)
• 2 bananas (very ripe/blended with back of fork)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
• 1/4 cup ghee or butter melted

Directions:

• Grease muffin pan with coconut oil
• Combine all ingredients and pour into pan
• Bake @400 degrees about 12 minutes
• Let cool and gently remove from pan with a small spoon

Paleo: Banana Sweet Potato Muffins

I recently discovered coconut flour and am exploring ways to use it. Coconut flour is very in high fiber, low in fat and is naturally sweet. I am very happy to find another healthy gluten-free flour to add to my repertoire! I am not usually a fan of coconut but the flour is very mild.

I made these muffins with ingredients on hand and the result was surprisingly good. Even my daughter liked them–she noted the flavor was like banana bread but the consistency was different. And so goes gluten-free baking. For this recipe you can also use three bananas instead of the one sweet potato and chocolate chips instead of raisins.

These are great with scrambled eggs or a snack you can grab on the go.

Ingredients:

• One sweet potato (cooked)
• Two very ripe bananas
• Two eggs
• One cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup raisins
• One teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt

Steps:

1. Mash bananas and sweet potatoes together
2. Add rest of ingredients, combine with hands
3. Bake in muffin cups @ 325 for 20 minutes

Happy Baking-Julie