In my relatively short time blogging about eating a paleo-ish lifestyle, I have heard my share of excuses: it’s too hard, it’s too time consuming, it’s too expensive, it’s too much work to make the transition, my kids won’t like it, my spouse won’t like it, I can’t live without “xyz”. And here’s the thing – I get it. I get those excuses because I made them once. I was already gluten free and I remember feeling WAY overwhelmed by taking out the remaining gluten free grains and dairy.
I had completely convinced myself that I did NOT have a problem with cheese or butter or heavy cream, because I had no digestive upset and plus “I am using the high quality good stuff”. But the thing is, I DID have a problem. Until I finally WENT PALEO, I had major neurological distress including brain swelling, vertigo, migraines, severe mood issues, depersonalization even. All this from food you ask?! YES!!! Sure I had other issues as well but mostly rooting from leaky gut I believe. And until I finally took that plunge of giving up inflammatory foods, I had only continued to decline.
If only REAL LIFE PALEO had been around back then, my transition would have been exponentially easier. I have always had a major blogger crush on PALEO PARENTS, from my very first days of dabbling in a grain free lifestyle. I loved how realistic they made it all seem, like if THEY could do it, certainly I could… right???!
In walks REAL LIFE PALEO – the most comprehensive guide and cookbook including a 3 part strategy to SWAP, REMOVE, + HEAL. This book is a beast, with 428 pages of information, guides, recipes, strategies, nutritional information, how-to’s, lists, and on and on and on. I seriously could go on forever about the sheer amount of info that lies between those two covers.
I think what makes this book different from others is that Stacy + Matt want to really give you the TOOLS for SUCCESS so that you can make the transition without feelings of failure or deprivation. After all, feeling satisfied after a meal is part of the ticket to creating habits that will last you all your days. And the best part is this book is not just for beginners, it is for anyone eating clean. I mean, who can’t use over 175 mouth watering recipes right at their fingertips?? Yep, that’s what I thought. So whether you are a beginner, trying to wrap your noggin’ around how this whole Paleo thing works, or whether you are a veteran who just needs some delicious new appetizing recipes, this is a must have in your arsenal.
Today I am extra excited because I get to share REAL LIFE PALEO’S Chunky Monkey Muffins which I know y’all will love because they can be made NUT FREE + EGG FREE!! The perfect allergen friendly snack for lil primates and big ones too!!!
Ingredients:
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1 cup soft Medjool dates, pitted
- 1/2 cup sunflower seed butter (or almond if you aren’t sensitive to nuts)
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 2 tablespoons cacao powder
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 cup palm shortening or unsalted butter, softened
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- Optional (Toppings): 1/2 cup chocolate chips and/or 1/2 cup raw walnuts, chopped
- In a food processor, puree together the dates and bananas until smooth
- Add remaining ingredients to food processor and pulse until a thick batter forms (scrape sides to fully incorporate but do not over blend)
- Spoon into lined muffin tin, filling cups 2/3 full
- Toss topping ingredients together in small bowl, sprinkle on top of each muffin and press gently to get them to “stick”
- Bake at 350 degrees for 16 – 18 minutes
[…] Chunky Monkey Muffins […]