Totally not local...but not every meal can be that way.

So, even though I call myself the Local Food Lady, we all know that I don't eat local 100% of the time!  The main crux of doing this blog and writing about my food choices is to strive for local foods. There are plenty of items that I haven't looked for locally (quinoa is a good example) or that I know definitively aren't grown locally (hello morning coffee!!). 

The mister and me are participating in a nutrition challenge at our gym.  He's following the Paleo diet and I have opted to eliminate sugar and gluten from my food sources. So, since I prepare most of the meals in the household, my dinners will be paleo, but my breakfast and lunches will not.

In essence, the difference between our two nutrition challenge choices is that I am continuing to eat: dairy, oatmeal, legumes, fruits (raw, cooked and dried) and gluten-free starches (like quinoa).  I'm also having a tiny, tiny bit of local, raw honey in limited dishes like my morning oatmeal. People who embrace the Paleo diet as a lifestyle choice will incorporate honey or maple syrup on a minimal basis, but the mister is attempting to avoid these sweeteners completely.

Also, anything that comes from a box or is packaged should have 5 grams or less of sugar per serving and should note "gluten free" on the label.

What's the reason behind this?  1) it's a challenge and 2) let's see what kind of impact these changes have on my body.  Over the last few months, I realized that I was relying on flour-based starches too often for dinners (hello pasta!) and if I saw a pizza on a menu, I was jumping to try it.  So, I began to scale back on the pasta and pizza dough, and have begun to remember that when dining out, a salad with lean proteins is a smarter option in lieu of a pulled pork sandwich doused in bbq sauce. 

What is the biggest challenge for me?  Beer!  I'm a big fan--beer geek, is a better term--of microbreweries (our local one, specifically) and the mister and me have an entire refrigerator in our basement dedicated to our love of beer.

I completely eliminated the 2 Splenda that I would put in my 20 ounce coffee and eliminated my secret stash of small chocolates. Instead, I'm drinking my coffee with half-n-half and opted for 85% dark chocolate that has 1g sugar per 1" square.  That said, I was in the mood to create a Paleo-friendly dessert that incorporated my favorite flavor--chocolate! 

I came upon a recipe for Paleo Chocolate Pudding. Hmmm...wondering how this would work out. As you know, I am inspired by recipes and rarely follow them to a T. This is what I used for my puddin':

- 4 very, very ripe avocados (it helped they were already chilled in the refrigerator)
- 1/4 cup of Hershey's Special Dark unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup buckwheat honey (it's dark like molasses)
- 3 tbs. creamy almond butter (unsweetened)
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
- 1 tsp. bourbon vanilla extract (you can use any extract you wish--almond, mocha, mint)
- spices: nutmeg, cinnamon

I tossed it all in the Cuisinart and and it came out looking just like pudding.  I tasted it and could not believe how AWESOME it was. It was the consistency of incredible fudge. I even went so far as to walk upstairs to the mister with a spoon and said, "ok, there's some honey in this, but you MUST try it!"  I think the Hershey's Special Dark was the slam dunk.

I packaged it up in individual servings for my lunch this week.  I cannot wait to make this again.  The only local ingredient on the list was the buckwheat honey. Even though we are 75 miles from Hershey, PA, I  don't think Hershey's cocoa powder counts.

Next time, I'll probably add some fresh mint from the garden (2nd local ingredient!) and give it a mint chocolate chip flavor. 

Not only is this Paleo-friendly, but it's vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free and the only product that is not vegan-friendly is the honey (I'm not opening that beehive here). 

Paleo-friendly puddin'

There's something awesome about double chocolate cookies.

So, as I have said before, the mister and me are doing a nutrition challenge. We are on day 14 right now. One big thing I'm missing is beer, but also I have had a craving for something sweet. Since we are avoiding sugar, even a teeny bit of honey (I'm talking a droplet) is enough.  It's amazing how the palate will change when you eliminate something from it. 

Yesterday evening, I decided to indulge that sweet craving and make some double chocolate chip cookies.  

• 1 and 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• scant 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup Hershey's Special Dark unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/8 c. buckwheat honey (you can use regular honey)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cups dark chocolate chips - I used "Enjoy Life Mega Chunks"

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a medium sized mixing bowl combine dry ingredients.
3. In a small mixing bowl beat egg, honey, and vanilla extract with a hand mixer.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry and beat with hand mixer until combined.
5. Melt coconut oil, pour into batter, and continue to blend until combined.
6. The mega chunks are a little too big, so I suggest chopping them first.  Stir in chocolate chunks.
7. On a parchment lined cookie sheet, create balls of cookie dough, about a tablespoon in size. Give them a little thumb print because they won't spread out like normal cookies.
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

They were incredible with some almond milk.  Enjoy!!

Farmers Market Report!

Saturday, May 5th, was opening day for the Phoenixville Farmer's Market. We've been lucky to have markets throughout the winter on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays, but the first Saturday in May opens the full season!  From now, through the end of November, the market will be open every Saturday from 9a to 1pm.

Each year, we are lucky to get a few new vendors to the market. This year is no different. I try not to miss a market, even in the winter months or in inclement weather.

This past weekend, I had a chance to see several new vendors at our market and picked up a bunch of great items.  Of course, I had to stop by my tried and true favorites, like FreshaPeel Hummus and Jenny and Frank's Artisan Gelato. Take a look at some of the great items I picked up:

Chocolate Supreme Gelato

Lemon Kale hummus

And some new products from new vendors: Naughty Nutty Love, Vera Pasta and our pickle vendor (I didn't catch the name on his stand, but those dill pickles were great!).  I am sure that I will be picking up many new items this season, as the market grows more and more each year. 

This place is missing something

I know!! A dessert recipe!!!

The fall is my favorite time of year because pumpkin is very much in season and part of many recipes. I cannot get enough pumpkin--lattes, ice cream, soup, and...PIE!!!

A few years back, I made this "healthier" pumpkin pie recipe that I got from Stoneyfield Farms.  A direct link to the recipe is here.  This pie tastes SOOOO wonderful. 

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar (organic!)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 2 large eggs (local!)
• 15 oz. canned pumpkin (organic!)
• 1 cup Stonyfield Lowfat Vanilla Yogurt  (buy two small yogurts at the store, since one yogurt contains 6 oz)
• 1 unbaked 9-inch deep-dish pie shell (I prefer a whole wheat pie shell)

Preheat oven to 425°F. Combine sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs lightly in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in yogurt. Pour into pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F and bake for 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours.

Top with ice cream (vanilla, or...pumpkin!!) or fresh whipped cream. 

I scream, you scream, we all scream for...

ICE CREAM!

On Friday evening, I tried my hand at making ice cream.  Problem is, I don't own an ice cream maker. I had heard on the radio that you can make ice cream with two Ziploc bags.  I did a little more searching, and came upon a recipe that used the ever dependable Cuisinart!!

It really was the simplest of recipes: half and half, sugar, frozen fruit and vanilla extract.  Since I am more likely to be inspired by a recipe, than to follow one, I tweaked the recipe to include the following:

Before the ice cream "set"

• 3/4 cup organic half and half
• 1/4 cup organic skim milk
• 1 cup organic cane sugar
• 2 "splashes" of bourbon vanilla extract
• 2 cups frozen rasperries
• 2 peaches, sliced
• a few frozen blueberries for good measure

I added the first five ingredients and pulsed the Cuisinart several times.  I then added the peaches and the blueberries.  It resembled a bowl of melted ice cream, but it had a really good taste. I put it in the freezer, until it got a little bit more "set."  It was even better (and more scoop-able) the next day.

Fresh from the ice cream scoop.

After taste testing with the mister and our friend, we all agreed that the frozen raspberries probably had a little too much "freeze" to them, which gave the ice cream more of a water ice aftertaste, but it was great, nonetheless. 

Coming up on the horizon....

I was a busy food lady over the weekend. There are many pictures to upload and recipes to post, but here's an inside look at what is to come:

• I made ice cream on Friday night...and I don't own an ice cream maker
• We received our first batch of Asian pears in our Fruit CSA this week!
• An entire tray of vegan burgers are hanging in the freezer, waiting to be cooked tonight
• Two massive batches of gazpacho will keep lunches easy this week
• I've gotta figure out something to make with the fennel I received in my veggie CSA