Primal Pumpkin Pie I have mixed feelings about eating primal on Thanksgiving.  On the one hand, so many delicious foods can be prepared in a primal way that there is truly no need to feel deprived.  After all, the turkey and the vegetables present no problems, gravy can be thickened with arrowroot, and even a tasty batch of quick rolls can be whipped up using almond flour. On the other hand, this tends to...

Last summer I wrote and received a grant for my kids’ co-op preschool to fund a new program promoting the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.   The program is called “Try It Day”.   Once a week, another parent or I bring in samples of a given fruit or vegetable.  The kids all get a chance to try it before snack time.   If they try it, or even just lick it, they get a sticker...

I think cardamom is an under-utilized spice.  If you’re not familiar with cardamom, it has a slightly sweet, pungent flavor that can be used in savory meat dishes, curries, and baked goods.  You can also add some to your coffee grounds.  My mom makes a cardamom braid at Christmas so I always associate cardamom with a colder season. I was thinking about how I might use cardamom more often and decided it...

I ran across a rustic sort of carrot cake recipe online not too long ago and thought it looked like a good candidate for a primal cake.   I am beginning to realize how many flour-based dessert recipes can be successfully altered using almond flour and an alternative sweetener, such as honey or maple syrup.  The result, as in this case, is frequently something healthy enough to eat for breakfast.  I made...

Primal Coconut Blueberry Muffin I am always on the lookout for a primal baked good that still might taste good without adding honey, agave, or sweetener.  I’ve noticed that if you stop eating sugar for long enough, fruit starts to do a pretty good job at satisfying a desire for something sweet.  It being blueberry season and all I decided I’d try my hand at creating a coconut flour blueberry muffin that...

Yesterday I posted a master recipe for create-your-own primal cookies.  Today I will share with you some of the cookie recipes I came up with. Chocolate Chip Cookies I won’t call these primal because let’s face it, they aren’t.  They are, however, grain free, use a minimal amount of natural sweetener, and to my surprise, look and taste like normal chocolate chip cookies.  No joke. 1 ¼...

Over the 4th of July weekend I decided to mess around with some primal cookie making.  The last thing I need are loads of cookies hanging around the house but I had lots of family in town who politely ate the products of my experiments.  I’ve mentioned before that baking is not my forte mainly because I don’t measure carefully and I get impatient with the process.  There’s something about...

I decided to make a nice dinner for my husband and stepfather on Father’s Day.  It was just going to be a casual, outdoor meal on the grill, but since it was a special occasion I felt I needed to include a dessert.  Dessert is my least favorite course to prepare so I usually opt for something simple.  We still have a huge amount of strawberries leftover from strawberry picking so I decided to make the American...