Paleo Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls and more!

Oh October, where have you gone?!

I had told several people I would have recipes out in the month of October and I did not mean for it to be the very last couple days, but here we are! We knew this Fall season would be busy, we just did not actually have a grasp on what that would really look like for our family. All that to say, thank you so much for your patience and grace!

These recipes quickly became family favorites and it's easy to see why when you try them! Keep in mind, I am not a food photographer, so I appreciate your grace in that area.

One thing I have learned while on a restrictive diet is to be creative and to keep trying recipes until you make magic and well...these are all a bit of magic in my book.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Seeds

Time commitment: 40 minutes

My kids request baked pumpkin seeds every year! It is one of the things they look forward to most! I sure do not mind because they are super easy to make and they have great health benefits!

For starters, they are loaded with Magnesium (Magnesium helps calm nerves, relax muscles in the digestive tract and neutralize stomach acid, gives you energy as well as helps you gain a restful night sleep and last but not least, it is incredibly beneficial for brain, bone and heart health among many other benefits. Would you believe that Americans are 80-95% deficient in Magnesium?)

Yay pumpkin seeds! Roll up those sleeves (or your kids sleeves) and make use of all those pumpkins after Halloween instead of letting them rot or tossing them in the trash.

Here are your simple instructions:

1.  Cut a hole around the stem on the top of the pumpkin.
2. Grab a large spoon or a pumpkin scraper and start pulling out all the guts. (I like to grab the strainer and load it up with all the pumpkin guts)
3. Wash the seeds in water and pull out all the stringy pumpkin guts. Throw away the guts and leave the seeds in the strainer. 
4. Grab some paper towel and pat down excess water from the seeds.
5. Lay out a piece of parchment paper and spread seeds on the parchment paper in a thin layer to dry out overnight.
6. When the seeds are dried out, place them on a large cookie sheet.
7. Drizzle Avacado oil (or coconut, or olive oil) across the seeds.
8. Sprinkle seeds with a spice of choice! (We like a bit of turmeric, chili powder and a six pepper blend).
9. Slightly stir or mix seeds, oil and spices to evenly distribute.
10. Place in the oven at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

Paleo Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Time commitment: 1 Hour | Makes: 10-12

I tried a variation of these the entire month of October and Eureka! I finally got it. It can be really hard trying to find an easy, clean recipe for cinnamon rolls. I promise you will not be disappointed with this recipe. I grabbed a couple ideas from this post on 17recipes.com and then tweaked it a bit by adding some pumpkin goodness as well as a few more of my favorite go-to ingredients.

My husband tried them and exclaimed, "No way these are healthy, are you sure? What is in these? These are SO stinkin good!" —Josh Stewart

He then proceeded to eat almost the entire batch. ;)

Ingredient List:

• 2 Cups Almond Flour
• 1/4 Cup Coconut Flour
• 3/4 Cup Tapioca Starch
• 1 Tsp. Pumpkin pie spice
• 1 Tsp. Baking powder
• 1/4 Cup Coconut oil
• 1 Cup Pumpkin puree
• 1/2 Cup water
• 1 Egg
• **If you like everything a bit sweeter, you can add stevia, maple syrup or honey to the batch, but I did not think it was necessary because the filling is so delicious.

Filling:

• 1 1/2 Tbsp Coconut oil (melted)
• 1/4 Cup chopped dates
• Cinnamon (That date and cinnamon combination is key!)
• Stevia (honey, or maple syrup could be a substitute as well)

Icing:

• 2 Tbsp Coconut oil (melted)
• 2 Tbsp local raw honey
• 3 Tbsp Tapioca starch (possibly more depending on how think you like the icing)
• 1 Tsp Pure vanilla
• *Alternate icing idea— Almond butter

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place all dry ingredients in a large bowl (almond flour, coconut flour, tapioca starch, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder)
3. Add in egg, pumpkin puree ,and water. Stir until combined.
4. Add in melted coconut oil.
5. Place in the freezer to firm.
6. Roll out a piece of parchment paper and sprinkle tapioca starch to prevent the dough from sticking. Flatten your dough with a rolling pin in a nice rectangular shape.
7. Place dates in a food processor so they are nice and chopped.
8. Spread coconut oil over the dough.
9. Sprinkle dates evenly on dough then top generously with cinnamon and a little sprinkle of Stevia.
10. Tightly roll dough and then slice in 1- 1 1/2 increments. 
11. Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
12. While the cinnamon rolls are baking, melt coconut oil for the icing and place all icing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together.
13. When the cinnamon rolls are slightly brown, remove them from the oven and let them cool for about 10 minutes.
14. Drizzle icing over cinnamon rolls and enjoy! (I really enjoyed this icing recipe compared to most, but almond butter is ALWAYS a win on any clean pastry treat). 

Paleo Hot Chocolate

Time commitment: 7 minutes | Serves: 1

Now that the weather has finally cooled off and Fall is officially here, it makes me crave a hearty warm cup of goodness in the morning from time to time. I drink lemon water every morning, but sometimes a cup of hot chocolate is the cure for a cold morning, or evening, snuggled up in a blanket and sitting by the fire. Have you ever looked at the ingredient list on the back of boxed hot chocolate? It is usually full of sugar, fillers, and preservatives. This recipe takes maybe a whole 7 minutes and it is delicious.

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Almond/Coconut milk (I use the combination from Silk)
• 1 Tbsp Cacao
• 1 Tbsp Coconut oil
• 1 Tsp Pure vanilla
• Stevia
• Cinnamon
• *Optional- 1 Scoop Collagen Peptides (I use collagen peptides because it is an extra source of protein, but it is also a great supplement for repairing muscles and your intestinal lining.

Instructions:

1. Place all ingredients in a pan and whisk. Pour into your favorite mug when it is your desired temperature.
2. Sprinkle with a bit of cinnamon and stevia and voila!

I hope you enjoy these tasty recipes! Clean eating is the way to go in my book, but it does not have to be plain and boring. Get creative, use substitutes and make the foods you love. 

Have a wonderful week friends.