Paleo Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate “Buttercream” Frostingaka AMAZINGNESSOn Valentine’s Day I came home to my sweet fiancée in the kitchen, doing what she does best: amazing food creation!!!! She was baking me Paleo Cupcakes, and I could hardly wait until they came out of the oven to try one!

I posted a #dontbejealous picture on Instagram (follow me on IG: Lucky13Fitness) of the gooey, chocolatey, yummy treats.  A few people asked for the recipe, and so here it is!    We must give full credit to www.almostsupermom.com, as that’s where Jen found the recipe.  The recipe below, however, has some Lucky13 modifications in it, so it’s our own version of the original.

Hope you enjoy (with a glass of almond milk)!

Paleo Chocolate Cupcakes 
2 cups almond flour OR sunflower seed flour (we used almond)
2 Tbsp coconut flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Combine dry ingredients.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. (L13F note: we do NOT have an electric mixer… we hand mixed the batter and it turned out just fine… plus, its a built-in arm workout!)  Line a muffin tin with cupcake wrappers and fill 3/4 of the way with batter.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Almond Butter Frosting
1 cup sunflower seed butter  (you can use almond butter, but if you dig peanut butter, sunflower seed butter has the best resemblance in taste)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup honey
splash of almond milk, to give proper consistency

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and beat with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. (L13F note: as I mentioned above, we don’t have a hand mixer.  Here, we used our mini Ninja food processor, and it turned out perfectly.)

Here is another DELISH Paleo recipe that we tried last week… we got the recipe from www.fastpaleo.com, which is a Paleo recipe sharing site. I must give FULL Credit 'cause these were delish!

These muffins are perfect to make when you’ve got some bananas that are just a wee bit too ripe for eating on their own. My favorite way to eat these muffins is….you guessed it… with a little almond butter on top! I heat them in the microwave for 30 seconds and then top with nut butter. Delicious for breakfast or a pre-workout snack! Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients
3 ripe banans, mashed
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
2 tbsp honey
1/2 cup coconut flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (we subbed and used pecans since Jen is allergic to walnuts… they came out just as great!)
4 eggs

Preaheat oven to 350. Combine mashed bananas and honey. Heat coconut oil in the microwave and then add to banana/honey mix. Mix well and then add the eggs and vanilla.  Whisk until eggs are combined.  In a separate bowl, sift coconut flour. Add all other dry ingredients and whisk together. Add the dry to the wet and fold in nuts. Pour into greased muffin tins or paper lined muffin tins.  Bake 20-25 minutes

I made a smoothie for breakfast yesterday and it was a GREAT pre-workout meal that tasted good and kept me fueled and full for hours.

*NOTE:  I did not measure any ingredients exactly, so use your own judgement on quantity, depending on how much smoothie you want to make.






Green Smoothie
- 1 banana, sliced
- 1 scoop Amazing Grass Amazing Trio powder [you can use any type of superfood, wheat grass, supergreens, etc]
- approx. 1/3 cup almond milk
- approx. 3 Tbsp almond butter
- handfull of ice cubes
- approx. 1 Tbsp. honey

Put all ingredients into a blender, and blend until smooth.

These delicious treats are a FAVORITE of mine!!!! I eat one almost every day for breakfast, and sometimes bring one with me to work as a snack.  I’ve shared them with clients, friends, and family & they are always a hit.  These muffins are a delicious dairy/gluten free treat that are FULL of flavor!

Paleo Pumpkin Muffins
3 eggs
1 cup of pumpkin puree
2 cups of almond flour
1 tsp of baking power
1 tsp of baking soda
1/2 cup of honey
1 tbsp of allspice

Mix all ingredients without the eggs first, then mix in eggs and put in muffin tray. 350 for 20-30 min depending on your oven.   Top with nut butter, or enjoy with a piece of fruit.

*Add fresh cranberries and ginger for a different, delicious flavor!

Just this past weekend I went apple picking with friends and family to Bolton Spring Farms in Bolton, MA. Its a place I’ve been visiting since I was a kid, and I have grown to love my annual trips there.  This year I picked McIntosh apples (the Cortland crop had been wiped out due to a hail storm in the early spring) and found that they are just great to use in cooking.

I plan on trying different recipes and ideas with my apples but the first thing I did was make apple sauce.  It came out delish. It’s Paleo friendly.  The best part is that there is ZERO added sugar.  The apples are plenty sweet on their own!

Here’s my recipe:

Simple Sweet Apple Sauce

1. Peel, core and slice apples.  Put apples in crock pot (I didn’t keep track of how many, I just kept going until my crock pot was full)

2. Add a generous amount of cinnamon

3. Add 2-4 (depending on how many apples) cinnamon sticks.

4. Cover crock pot and put on low setting.  Let cook for 4-5 hours or until apples are mushy.

5. Enjoy!!!!

My mom makes hers in a saucepan on the stove and just keeps an eye on it (simmering on a low setting).  She also adds plums to her sauce, to give it a tangy quality.  I’m going to try this next!!

Hello Lucky13′ers!

If you’ve read my blog before, you’ll know that I am a HUGE fan of kale (Swiss chard, and collard greens work too), as it has the most nutrients per calorie of any food!! I have prepared it several ways…my most favorite is sauteing it in a wok with some onions, mushrooms and string beans.

But last week I was itching for something new, so I decided to try making Kale Chips.  They were delicious and So easy to make.  Try it out and tell me what you think!

Kale Chips

Ingredients:

1 bunch kale, I used black kale but you can also use Dinosaur kale

1 Tbsp olive oil

Sea salt, to taste

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Farenheit.  Remove kale from stem, and chop into large pieces.  Put into bowl and toss with olive oil and sea salt.  Lay pieces of kale in a single layer on a baking sheet. (Use two sheets if need be; don’t put layers of kale on top of one another).  Bake for 20 minutes or until crisp.  Let cool and then enjoy!