Fall Fever... Gone Primal

     Guess what ya'll?! It's Fall! My absolute favorite time of year. Cool weather, sweaters, boots, scarves, pumpkin flavored everything, warm fires, candles and my personal favorite, THANKSGIVING! The only day I allow myself to eat until I'm going to burst. So, with that said, being Primal always meant that I couldn't enjoy the delicious flavors of Fall... Until this year. I've been Primal for over a year now and I never knew how much fun I could still have with Fall foods. Here are a few of my favorite Fall recipes that I've been playing with a little bit. I'm definitely not disappointed with the outcome! 

1) Pumpkin Spice Latte. These were my Achilles Heel last Fall. I drank probably one a day for a month straight. And just so you know, if you're guilty of the Starbucks Fall Fever like I am, let me give you the nutritional facts of a Grande Pumpkin Spice Latte. 

Calories: 310

Fat: 6g

Cholesterol: 25mg

Sodium: 210mg

Carbohydrates: 49g (!!!)

Sugars (are you ready for this one?): 47g (Woah!!)

Yeah... last year at the end of Fall, I looked up the nutritional value of one of these babies and nearly cried. No wonder I totally plateaued! Anyway, here is the Primal/Paleo version (remember, this does not taste exactly like the Starbucks version. It has a very coconutty taste to it!) :

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• I cup strong, brewed coffee
• ⅓ cup organic pumpkin puree
• 6-8 tablespoons coconut sugar
• pinch of salt
• cinnamon, to taste
• nutmeg, to taste
• Optional: whipped coconut cream, for garnish

Instructions

1. For the unsweetened coconut milk, scoop the solids off of the top of the can before measuring out a cup of the remaining liquid. Use the solids to whip with a little extra coconut sugar for the topping, if desired.
2. In a blender, combine the cup of coconut milk with the coffee, pumpkin puree, coconut sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings, as needed.
3.  Pour half of the mixture into each glass. Garnish with whipped coconut cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon, if desired. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 276

Fat: 28.6g (remember, fat is your friend)

Cholesterol: 0g

Sodium: 18mg

Carbohydrates: 6g (much better!)

Sugars: 4g (whoo! Much, much better!)

2) Slow Cooker Quinoa Chicken Chili. This is not necessarily a Primal dish, but I modified the recipe to be Primal-ish. I omitted the corn and halfed the beans and added two more chicken breast to make it thicker because of the lack of ingredients. Here is the perfect Fall dinner:

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Quinoa
• One (1) 28 oz can of diced tomatoes (you could use crushed)
• One (1) 14 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies (Rotel)
• Two (2) 16 oz cans of black beans, rinsed, drained
• One (1) 15 oz can of corn, drained
• 3 Cups chicken stock
• 2 large chicken breasts, frozen or thawed (cook longer if frozen)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper
• 2 tsp chili powder

Instructions:

1.) Toss everything into slow cooker and cook for 6-8 hours on low or 4-7 hours on high. I added frozen chicken breasts to mine and cooked on high for about six hours. As long as the chicken is cooked – it’s done!

2.) Remove chicken and shred it with two forks. Return to slow cooker.

3.) Top with cheese, sour cream, avocados – whatever sounds good to you!

3) Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread... Yeah, don't pass this one up!! So. Freakin. Good. It even passed the taste test of my non -Primal and extremely picky when it comes to healthy food, father. 
Ingredients

• ·         1 1/2 cups of almond flour
• ·         3/4 cup of canned pumpkin ( not pie filling )
• ·         3 eggs, whisked
• ·         1/4 cup raw honey
• ·         1 tsp baking powder
• ·         1 tsp baking soda
• ·         1 tbs cinnamon
• ·         2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice
• ·         1 tsp of vanilla
• ·         3 tbs of coconut oil, melted
• ·         OPTIONAL: 1/2 cup of semisweet dark chocolate mini-chips (I use the Enjoy Life brand). You can also add nuts as a substitute, or this bread is awesome without anything!

Instructions

1.       First combine all the dry ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl

2.       Next, in a small bowl, mix all the wet ingredients together

3.       Now pour the wet ingredients into the larger dry ingredients bowl and stir until combined

4.       Fold in chocolate chips or nuts (OPTIONAL)

5.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

6.       Grease a bread pan of your choice (I made mine in an 8″ pan) and pour in the mix

7.       Bake at 350-degrees F for 35 to 45 minutes. Check doneness by inserting a toothpick…if it comes out clean, the bread’s done

8.       Cool, slice, serve and enjoy!

4) Grain Free Cinnamon Muffins. 

For Muffin:

• 2.5 cups almond flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp applesauce, unsweetened
• 2 tbsp pastured butter
• 3 tbsp honey
• 2 eggs (not pictured)
• 1/4 cup raisins, optionl                                      

For Frosting:

• 1 tbsp milk or cream
• 2 tbsp tapioca flour
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon                          

1) For the muffins, mix flour, salt, soda, and cinnamon in a bowl. In a mixing bowl, mix the applesauce, butter, honey, and eggs. Incorporate the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. You can stir in raisins at this point or divide the batter and stir some raisins in half the batter. Pour into paper muffin cups in muffin tin.   Makes 10 regular size muffins (not Costco size!).

2) Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Meanwhile, stir the cream and tapioca flour together until blended.  Then stir in maple syrup and cinnamon.  Frosting will be runny.

3) Once muffins are done, let cool for about 10 minutes.  Then take a toothpick and poke holes into the muffin top.  Spoon a bit of frosting onto the muffins and let it soak in through the holes.

5) Primal Walnut Pie Crust Pumpkin Pie!!! (this recipe is from MarksDailyApple.com)

Ingredients For Crust:

• 2 1/2 cups walnuts
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Instructions:

1)Blend walnuts, baking soda and salt in a food processor until finely ground. Add butter and pulse until butter is mixed in.                                                                                                                                                    2) Scrape the batter into a 9-inch tart pan. You can use a rubber spatula to smooth the batter over the bottom and up the sides, but ultimately your fingers will be the best tool. Take your time smoothing and patting the batter out evenly. It’s better to spread the batter thinner across the bottom of the pan and thicker around the edges of the crust.                                                                                                                                      3) Place the pie on a cookie sheet (helps to keep the bottom from burning) and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.                                                                                                                             4)Remove the crust from the oven and pour your filling of choice inside. Bake again until filling is done.

Pumpkin Filling:

Ingredients:

·         One 15-ounce can of pumpkin

·         1 cup canned coconut milk

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

·         1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

·         1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

·         1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

·         1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

·         pinch of sea salt

·         3 tablespoons maple syrup

·         1 tablespoon arrowroot powder (found the spice section of grocery stores)

·         3 eggs, whisked

Instructions:

1) Mix together all ingredients. Pour into the pre-baked crust. Don’t overfill the crust – you might have a little batter leftover.                                                                                                                                             2) Bake for 50 minutes. The center of the pie should be fairly firm and only jiggle a tiny bit if you shake the pan. Let the pie cool completely before cutting into it. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.                                     

That's all I have for ya'll this time. I've been baking up a storm on my days off so if you guys are interested in seeing more recipes, leave a comment down below to let me know! Or if you have any suggestions on dishes you would like me to primalize, comment below! Hope you guys enjoyed this, I know I sure enjoyed eating all this deliciousness!! Happy Fall!