Healthy Pumpkin Spice Latte in the Crockpot! (paleo - no dairy or refined sugars)

I hope you all are enjoying your fall as much as I have been. I have been loving the cool weather, the subsequent warm clothes, the changing leaves and the pumpkin flavors. I have been posting a lot of pumpkin recipes as of late, mostly because I LOVE pumpkin flavors.

Here is another pumpkin recipe for your enjoyment! This time its a healthy pumpkin spice latte. Yes, that's right, HEALTHY! The lattes you get at any coffee shop are full of nasty things for your body. Preservatives, corn syrup, sugar, oils, dairy, etc... Yuck, yuck, yuck. (Okay, I will admit that I love the Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Sbux, but my body does not.) This recipe is made with whole and nutritious ingredients: coconut milk, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, coffee and spices. All natural and yummy!

I made this in the crock pot for a Harry Potter movie night. We have been working through the Harry Potter series with a friend and my little brother. Its been a blast. I've read the books quite a few times and seen the movies just as many. I am a unrepentant Potterhead. My brother, on the other hand, hasn't read the books (goes against everything I hold dear to let him watch the movie before reading the book, but he is not a reader) so its been so fun to watch him experience the stories for the first time.

There were a few people at our movie showing that are not concerned with healthy eating, and are usually totally turned off by food that is actually good for their bodies. I didn't even tell them this was a paleo drink and they didn't notice. My little J, who is a coffee addict at two years old, loved this latte too.

This recipe made enough for the five of us enjoying the movie and about three cups for me to enjoy over the following days. The original recipe called for a really small amount of coffee and I thought that wasn't enough, so I changed that amount. I also added some maple syrup because I thought it needed a hint of sweetness. I served this with homemade whipped cream that I had in the refrigerator. Usually I would serve something like this with whipped coconut cream, but I had the whipped cream and it tasted lovely.

I would totally recommend this recipe for a cool fall day, perfect for a pumpkin carving party or trick-or-treating. I can just imagine sitting around a bonfire with a cup of this yummy drink and some roasted marshmallows. Throw in a little guitar and an impromptu sing-a-long and you have the perfect fall evening.

It would be so yummy with these paleo pumpkin chocolate chip muffins or this paleo pumpkin bread. Its great hot and chilled. I just put the leftovers into some travel coffee mugs and stuck it in the fridge. When I needed a pick-me-up through out the day I had a gourmet latte ready and waiting. The original recipe says you can make this on the stove top, but that it is better in the crock pot because the flavors have more time to meld. I haven't tried it on the stove top, but I am sure it would be fine.

What are your favorite pumpkin recipes? Leave a comment and let me know!

Happy fall!!

XOXO,
Coco

Pumpkin Spice Latte [paleo - no dairy or refined sugars]
(recipe adapted from Wellness Mama)

• 4 cups of Unsweetened Coconut Milk (or 2 cans of coconut milk)
• ¼ cup canned pumpkin (without added sugar) 
• 2 tablespoons of natural vanilla extract
• ½-1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice ( or ½ tsp cinnamon and a sprinkle of cloves and nutmeg)
• 4 cup of strong coffee
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• Optional topping: whipped cream or coconut cream (recipes follow)

Pour all ingredients except heavy cream into crock pot. Use immersion blender or whisk to mix well.

Turn crock pot on low for 2 hours until hot and flavors are incorporated.

Top with whipped cream or whipped coconut cream. Serve hot or chilled.

Whipped Cream: In a chilled mixing bowl whip 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream, 1 tablespoon powdered sugar (optional) and 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Whip with a mixer or by hand until stiff peaks form. Do not over whip or you will have butter instead of whipped cream.

Whipped Coconut Cream: Put a can of full-fat coconut milk (more info on coconut milk) in the fridge for a few hours. When it has chilled remove the can from the fridge without shaking or jostling too much. Open the can and scoop out the white cream and fat that has risen to the top, be careful not to get the cloudy liquid that has settled to the bottom of the can. Now whip the creamy white coconut cream until you have whipped cream consistency. You can add a small amount of vanilla if you wish.



Other paleo pumpkin recipes:

paleo pumpkin bread

paleo pumpkin chocolate chip muffins

My Whole30 Journey - Cool Veggie-Packed Gazpacho

I am often asked where I am from, or where my family is from. Its a nice way of asking why I my coloring is as dark as it is. The truth is that I am fully American, like Mayflower American. Okay, maybe not that far back, but almost! I usually appease people with an answer that will give them the information they want: I have dark skin and hair because part of my dad's family is from Spain.

Spain is responsible for some pretty awesome contributions to this world. The language, the classical guitar, some awesome artists (Dali, Picasso, etc...), the siesta, and of course the food! Spanish tapas is one of the best culinary experiences available. 

Tapas is basically a smorgasbord of small portions of different appetizers or snacks. Usually you would order a few different items and share amongst the table. The idea is that you would have more opportunity for conversation because you aren't focused on eating an entire meal, and because you are sharing everything on the table. A little sangria doesn't hurt either!

One of the things I always order at a Spanish tapas resteraunt is gazpacho. Essencially cold soup. Gazpacho can really be anything from fruit soups (Tropical Fruit Gazpacho recipe) to salsa type soups. Everything in gazpacho is always fresh and flavorful. Its really so refreshing to sip down a cup of this chilled soup.

gazpacho served with stake and fried plantains (Whole30 approved!)

This particuallar recipe has been tweeked from Ina Garten's recipe. I added some extra veggies, and some fresh cilantro (love me some cilantro), and a little kick of jalapeno. I think my additions just kick up the recipe. 

I love a good bowl of this cool Spanish soup on a hot day. It has amazing flavors, spicy and fresh, it just makes your mouth sing! Its also packed with fresh veggies so its awesomely healthy.

heck yes! make your body happy!

Unless you are on a no-vegetables diet, this will be approved! Its paleo/primal/caveman, nut, grain, gluten, sugar, sweeteners, fat, soy, egg, and dairy free, its also vegan and raw. I mean come on! Talk about healthy! Its also pretty simple to make, just toss your veggies in a food processor or blender and then let it all chill so the flavors blend. Its a pretty impressive little soup for a dinner party or just keep it all to yourself and take it to work for lunch.

Cool Veggie-Packed Gazpacho
(adapted from Ina Garten's The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, foodnetwork.com)

• 1 hothouse cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
• 1 zucchini 
• 2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
• 4 plum tomatoes
• 1 red onion (optional)
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 23 ounces V8 tomato juice (3 cups)
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• Optional garnishes: fresh cilantro, lime wedges, avocado

Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not over-process!After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop. Garnish as you like and serve with crusty bread, tortilla chips, or just on its own.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4-8 (depending on your portion sizes, I got about 8 servings)

My Whole 30 Journey - Tropical Fruit Gazpacho

When we were packing up our apartment to move I ended up with 3 good sized boxes full of cook books. I have a problem. I come by this problem honestly, my mom also has quite the collection. My bet is if they were to move she would have more than just 3 messily boxes.

Recently she has been adding to her paleo and primal cookbook collection. She has some great ones. I love to raid her bookshelves in search of the perfect recipes. 

Make it Paleo, by Bill Staley and Hayley Mason

This week she has been cooking out of Make it Paleo, by Bill Staley and Hayley Mason. I love this cookbook! Its full of beautiful full page, full color photos. Its like reading a recipe blog. Oh, and the recipes are great too :)

So far, I have made two recipes from Make it Paleo. Chocolate Pie (for my dad's birthday, post to come) and this Tropical Fruit Gazpacho or Summer Soup. 

Tropical Fruit Gazpacho from Make it Paleo

This soup is wonderful. Its has a cool, refreshing quality and its not too sweet. Its like a trip to the Bahamas! We ate it as a first course, but it would be perfect for breakfast or as a dessert or in shot glasses at a party.

Its important to use fresh ingredients, the soup isn't cooked and relies on the fresh fruity flavors of the fruit used. Make sure everything you are using is ripe and naturally delicious. I did use about a 1/2 of a cup of coconut flakes instead of a fresh coconut (didn't feel like hacking into a coconut), but that is the only substitution I have experimented with.

Tropical Fruit Gazpacho
(Original recipe from, Make it Paleo: Over 200 Grain Free Recipes for Any Occasion, by Bill Staley and Hayley Mason.)

• 1 pineapple, peeled and chopped
• 1 mango, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 1/2 coconut, chopped (or 1/2 cup dried coconut flakes)
• 1 lime, juiced
• Optional garnish: lime wedges, chopped mango or pineapple, coconut flakes, cucumber slices

Peel and chop pineapple, mango and cumber. Reserve 1/2 cup of diced pineapple to add after blending.

Tap open coconut using blunt edge of a chef's knife, separate meat from shell. Using a vegetable peeler, remove the think inner skin. Shop coconut meat into chunks.

In a high-speed blender or food processor, blend coconut chunks on high until finely shredded. (I did this even with the dried coconut flakes.)

Add mango, pineapple, and cucumber, and puree.

Squeeze in lime juice, and continue to process until smooth.

Stir in diced pineapple. Garnish and serve.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Serves: 6

Will impress: Everyone!

My mom's recipe notes.

I highly recommend buying this cookbook. Make it Paleo: Over 200 Grain Free Recipes for Any Occasion, by Bill Staley and Hayley Mason. Available on Amazon.com and on shelves at any major book store. Or visit their website at The Food Lovers Kitchen.

My Whole 30 Journey - Sweet Potato and Sausage Hash Recipe

This dish was a hodge podge of what I had left in my fridge. Leftovers make the best meals!

A few days ago I made some really wonderful sweet potato hashbrowns. The recipe was really simple and easy. Just shred two sweet potatoes with a cheese grater or a food processor, put the shreds in a sack of cheese cloth and squeeze out as much of the juice as possible. Then add some salt and pepper and whatever other spices you like, cinnamon and nutmeg or chili powder and cumin or whatever. Form the shreds into patties and pan fry with a little coconut oil. Using a nonstick skillet is a good idea, but I don't own one of those, so mine came out a little less than beautiful. Thank goodness they tasted great! Crispy and salty sweet, just what I was hoping for.

Turns out that while my hubs and I can eat two whole sweet potatoes on their own, when made into hashbrowns these babies fill you up! We only consumed about 1/3 of the batch that I had made. So, I pretty quickly came up with a way to use up the leftovers. I am sure you could use just shredded sweet potatoes that have been drained of as much juice as possible, it doesn't have to be leftover hashbrowns.

I also had some leftover fried apples. To make these just chunk up (technical term) some Granny Smith apples and toss them in a skillet with some coconut oil and cinnamon and cook until tender. These are an awesome side dish, breakfast or desert! And it's Whole 30 and paleo approved!

Even if you aren't using leftovers, this is still a one pot meal. You will need a bowl or two, but it's not much clean up. It's easy to put together and is good for any meal of the day. My bet is for those of you who like eggs (I don't so I haven't tried it), this would be good with an over easy egg.

Okay, here's the recipe for my Sausage and Sweet Potato Hash.

Sausage and Sweet Potato Hash

1-2 Granny Smith apples, cut into bite-sized chunks

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 lb. breakfast sausage without casing (make sure there is no added sugar)

2 sweet potatoes, peeled

1/3 cup unsweetened dried cranberries

1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Shred the sweet potatoes using a cheese grater or a food processor. Transfer the shredded sweet potatoes to a wire mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth and squeeze as much of the juice out as possible. Set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the coconut oil to melt. Toss the apples with the cinnamon and transfer to the hot skillet. Cook until tender, about 5-7 minutes, be careful not to over cook. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

Add sausage to the skillet and cook until browned, breaking it up as it cooks. Add the sweet potatoes and cook for a few minutes. Add the apples and cranberries and cook to heat. Remove from heat. 

Serve hot with toasted pecans.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

What's your favorite leftover, toss everything into a skillet meal?

XOXO,

Coco