Baked Smoothie

I recently followed an interesting online conversation regarding the tagging of recipes as Whole30. In many cases, recipes that contain non-compliant ingredients were incorrectly tagged as Whole30. Duh... they shouldn't be. However, the more controversial recipes were those than contained all compliant ingredients but did not necessarily meet the intent of the Whole30 program.

This is where my interest in the conversation suddenly increased.

When my daughters and I complete a Whole30, our intent is to spend 30 days ridding our bodies of toxins and eating the best we can by eliminating all the "illegal" foods prohibited during this program. My kids are 9 and 10. The promise of better health is not quite good enough motivation for them to want to eat this way. So my challenge, as mom and head chef of our household, is to entice them so that they want to adhere. Show them that I can take some of their old favorite dishes and turn them into Whole30 compliant dishes and usually, make them taste even better than before. I'm not talking paleo-ized mac-n-cheese and fried chicken. But do I look at recipes I've been making for years and seriously consider how I can improve them in a way that makes them healthy to eat? Heck yeah! And I don't feel I'm straying from the spirit of Whole30 by doing so.

So I apologize if I'm one of "them"... one of the people who has been tagging recipes as Whole30 that don't meet the intent of the program. I thought I've always made good judgement of what is or isn't. But maybe my perception of the program differs from what it is meant to be. I'm sorry and I will try to be more conservative in the future.

Like now... (tempted as I am, I will forego the Whole30 tag)

My daughter came home from school one day last week and proudly relayed to me how she turned down cupcakes being passed out for a friend's birthday. This is my sweet-tooth kid and I know the willpower it took for her to say no. A LOT. And so when she ended that story by asking if we could make a treat over the weekend, I gladly agreed.

I've seen many "cake in a cup" recipes and at some point realized they look suspiciously similar to our favorite PB Cup Smoothie. So here's my take on it... They're delicious and contain only Whole30 compliant ingredients.

Makes 9 muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond butter
• 2-3 T 100% pure cocoa powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Add all ingredients to a blender and mix until smooth.
3. Grease cupcake pan or fill with liners.
4. Divide batter evenly to make 9 cupcakes. Tins should be about 2/3 full.
5. Bake for 15 minutes.
6. Serve immediately.

PB (Paleo-Butter) Cup Smoothie

"Two great tastes that taste great together"... Reese's Peanut Butter Cup is considered the finest creation by H.B. Reese, a former employee of Hershey's who branched out to start his own confection company. I have to agree. I'm not a huge fan of candy, but in my pre-paleo days, this is one sweet treat that would tempt me to indulge in crappy check-out stand candy. But... just because I'm not eating sugar (or peanuts) these days, doesn't mean I don't still crave those flavors. This smoothie is my answer to that craving. And my ultimate fallback "dessert" whenever my kids talk their dad into bringing some non-paleo treat into the house!

And for the record... if you  hear my girls talking about eating "Chocolate Ice Cream" for breakfast, please don't go calling children's services on me! I love giving them the royal treatment first thing in the morning with this healthy dish!

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

• 2-3 bananas, cut into 5 or 6 pieces each and frozen
• 1-2 cups unsweetened coconut milk or almond milk 
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 2-3 T cocoa powder (I prefer Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa)

Directions:

1. Add frozen bananas to the blender then top with almond butter and cocoa powder.
2. Add milk until it nearly covers the fruit. This makes a thick, but drinkable consistency. Use less for a thicker, ice cream like dessert.
3. Blend until smooth.
4. Pour into cups. Drink immediately!