Raisin Walnut Cookies

Cookies are always a favorite to bake when we have guests coming over, and this gluten-free, egg-free and refined-sugar-free recipe, that follows the base recipe featured in our book Quick & Fantastic Paleo Cookies, is a safe bet to serve on virtually any occasion.

Raisins offer a natural sweet sensation while providing the body with numerous vitamins and dietary fiber. Walnuts also offer natural healing properties and together add delicious flavor to a cookie I can’t get enough of.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup grass-fed butter, kept refrigerated
1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
1 ½ tablespoons honey or raw agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ tablespoons water
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened, dried raisins
1/2 cup walnut pieces
Arrowroot flour as a non-stick base for rolling

RECIPE

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Place parchment paper or foil sheets over your baking sheet to prevent your cookies from sticking.
Combine the tapioca flour, coconut flour, baking soda and sea salt in a small bowl.
In a food processor (or using a large bowl and an electric hand mixer) beat the butter and sugar for approximately 2 minutes, or until fluffy.
Add the dry ingredients, water, agave and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture and beat until well combined.
Lightly dust arrowroot flour on a clean counter.
Place the cookie dough, raisins and walnuts on the dusted counter and combine them using your hands.

Using a rolling-pin, roll the cookie dough until 1/4 inch thick and then cut out your cookies using a cookie cutter.
(If ever the dough is too sticky to handle, simply add a small amount of arrowroot flour at a time until it becomes manageable.)
Place the cookies on your lined baking sheet and bake for 12 to 14 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

This recipe makes about a dozen cookies.

Camilla Carboni

@camillacarboni | camillacarboni.com

PALEO Cleanse made the Amazon Best Seller list!

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Find Out More About PALEO Cleanse Here

Crockpot Pulled Pork

Pulled pork is hands down delicious. Thankfully, while it takes a while to cook it’s relatively low maintenance to get it going. I’ve made pulled pork on a grill, in an oven and now a crockpot. So far I think the crockpot is the easiest. My other favorite piece about making pulled pork is that it lasts you a few days if not the whole week, which means that you’re less likely to eat something bad.

INGREDIENTS

8 – 10 lbs pork shoulder
1/2 – 3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 – 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 orange rind grated
3 tbsp honey
1 1/2 tbsp paprika
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tbsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
3 – 4 cloves garlic, diced

RECIPE

Turn your crockpot on low.
Place your pork shoulder in the crockpot.
Pour liquids over the pork and then cover pork with rind, spices and garlic.
Rub your spices over the pork to make sure it is thoroughly coated.
Let pork cook for roughly 9 – 11 hours or until pork easily falls apart when separating with a fork. (I let mine go overnight while I was sleeping and pulled it in the morning.)
Remove pork from crock pot and place on a cutting board. Pull the pork using two forks, use one fork to hold the pork still and the other to shred.

I eat my pulled pork with guacamole on sweet potato buns but dress yours however you’d like! This will make enough pork for two for 4 or 5 meals.

Enjoy!

Melissa Van Dover

@melissavandover | melissavandover.com

PALEO Cleanse made the Amazon Best Seller list!

Order Your Copy Here

Find Out More About PALEO Cleanse Here

PALEO Cleanse: Summer Solution

We know that biting into a big juicy piece of steak while your friends are picking away at a tiny summer salad always makes for a table turner. Nobody can ever get over just how much we eat, but the fact is, if you eat the foods that our human digestive system can easily breakdown, you can eat a whole lot more than you ever thought (without the guilt).

But we know it’s summer–the season of more outdoor time and a whole lot less clothing–and we all want to look our very best. The good news is that gone are the days of heavily restricted eating, calorie counting, liquid diets etc. The world has finally figured out that by following a diet similar to our Ancestors, we can happily eat solid, seemingly fatty foods and still look dashing!

In PALEO Cleanse we walk you through 30-Days of Paleo eating with customizable weekly meal plans that are easy to make but delicious and varied enough to keep you from getting bored. It’s a great way to detox this summer without deprivation dieting. Plus, most people drop pounds, enjoy clearer skin and more toned bodies after just a few weeks on the Cleanse.

So now, when everyone is salivating at the grass-fed steak you are happily devouring you can think to yourself, “you need a copy of PALEO Cleanse”! 😉

Happy summer eating, the healthy way,

Camilla and Melissa

thepaleopact.com

PALEO Cleanse made the Amazon Best Seller list!

Order Your Copy Here

Find Out More About PALEO Cleanse Here

Only 7 Days Left…

Time is ticking…

There are now only 7 days left to enter for your chance to WIN our Paleo Bundle Giveaway!!

The winner could easily be YOU…and as the WINNER you would receive:

An autographed copy of the best seller, PALEO Cleanse by yours truly! 😉

An autographed copy of Tarah Chieffi’s bestselling book, The Everything Paleo Pregnancy Book!

A one year subscription to Paleo Living Magazine!

Fatworks‘ newest Buffalo Tallow!

A taste of EPIC bar and their newest product, EPIC Bites!

It’s EASY to ENTER…

All you need to do to stand a chance to WIN the Paleo Bundle Giveaway is:

1. Visit our Facebook Page (Facebook.com/ThePaleoPact) by clicking HERE.

2. Click in the section on the top right of the Wall which prompts you to “Write something on this Page…” as shown below:

3. Upload your favorite Paleo Picture using the camera icon button, or share a quote or a recipe (or anything Paleo-themed) in the text box.

4. Click the “Publish” button.

5. Encourage your friends and family to Like your Post!

That’s really all you need to do to enter…

Ready? Set…Go! 🙂

Want more details about the Giveaway and everything you stand a chance of WINNING? Click HERE.

We also want to say a HUGE Thank You…

A HUGE Thank You is due to all the wonderful people who attended our PALEO Cleanse Discussion and Book Signing at Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage in Littleton this week.

Trust us when we say these fabulous people deserve a huge thank you…

With Colorado’s unpredictable weather, that event turned out to be right in the middle of a summer storm. We’re talking thunder, lightening, hail…and a tornado watch…and still these amazing folks made their way against the odds to chat with us that evening!

Thank you for the truly amazing support! We had an awesome evening with you.

And last, but not least, here’s our EVENT LINEUP for the rest of June…

JUNE 9th: Join us at Barnes & Noble, Boulder at 5:30pm for a PALEO Cleanse Talk & Book Signing Event! We’re so looking forward to it and ask that you please support B&N–they’ve been so amazing at supporting our book across the nation.

JUNE 17th: Join us at RAD Muay Thai at 5:30pm for a Paleo Clinic Event! We’ll be bringing Power Bars from PALEO Cleanse and having a fun evening discussion, book signing and video interview. Find out all the details HERE.

Until next time friends,

“A healthy attitude is contagious but don’t wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier.” – Tom Stoppard

Camilla and Melissa

thepaleopact.com | @thepaleopact

Sweet Potato Buns

This is officially my new favorite, “must-know” recipe. I’ve been off of wheat for a while, it started before I even began Paleo because I’m allergic to wheat. One of the biggest issues I ran into when giving up wheat was not having buns. I switched to lettuce wraps for my burgers for a bit but honestly I was never very crazy about them. Finally, I just gave up and did no bun.

These sweet potato buns are great for everything that needs a bun. They’re delicious and they’re incredibly easy to make. Not to mention they passed the Husband Test, I actually had to hide them from him because he was eating them all!

INGREDIENTS

2 large sweet potatoes*
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted**
salt or cumin for seasoning

Notes:
*Remember you’re trying to make circles so if you can find nice even sweet potatoes it’ll help in the long run.
**If you have a brush for marinades or sauce it’ll make it easier to put it on the sweet potatoes.

RECIPE

Preheat oven to 425°F.
Line a baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper.
Skin sweet potatoes and slice into 1/4″ slices. (As a note you can still roast the ends and eat them but they may be a little too small to make buns.)
Place sweet potato slices on baking sheet and brush with coconut oil, flip and repeat.
Sprinkle with salt or cumin if you’d like to season them a little, honestly they don’t need much.
Place in the oven. In total you will cook the potatoes for roughly 30 – 35 minutes, flipping once halfway through. (You can test one to check if it’s done by inserting a fork, it should easily poke through the sweet potato flesh.)
Remove and let cool.

I paired this sweet potato bun with guacamole and pulled pork, it’s delicious.

Enjoy!

Melissa Van Dover

@melissavandover | melissavandover.com

PALEO Cleanse made the Amazon Best Seller list!

Order Your Copy Here

Find Out More About PALEO Cleanse Here

Paleo Bundle Giveaway!

We are excited to announce that we will be running a Paleo Bundle Giveaway starting June 1st, 2015!

It’s just in time to get you books and Paleo products to get you in the best health (and shape!) of your life this summer.

So what’s in the Bundle?

These fabulous products…and more…

An autographed copy of our bestselling book, PALEO Cleanse!

30 Days of Ancestral Eating to Detox, Drop Pounds, Supercharge Your Health and Transition into a Primal Lifestyle.

Learn more about PALEO Cleanse here.

An autographed copy of Tarah Chieffi’s bestselling book, The Everything Paleo Pregnancy Book!

The All-Natural, Nutritious Plan for a Healthy Pregnancy.

Learn more about it here and visit Tarah’s site, What I Gather, by clicking here.

A one year subscription to Paleo Living Magazine!

Available only on the Apple App Store and on Google Play, Paleo Living is a magazine dedicated to helping you live a life you love by taking control of your body and your health.

Learn more about Paleo Living Magazine here.

A jar of Fatworks Tallow!

The Saturated Superheros, the Lords of Lard, the Royals of Oils: They are Fatworks! Makers of the highest quality and most delicious pasture raised traditional cooking oils on the planet, and they WILL change your Fattitude!

Learn more about Fatworks here.

A taste of Epic!

EPIC Bar, the original meat, fruit, and nut bar, is a savory high protein snack designed to inspire your most EPIC adventures. Consistent with the simple yet powerful diets consumed by our ancestors, EPIC Bars are packed with the highest quality animal meat available. Each bar is rich in protein, low in sugar, gluten free, grain free, and absent of both soy and dairy.

Learn more about Epic here.

How does the giveaway work?

We kept it simple…because we’re sure you know by now that’s how we roll!…

All you have to do for a chance to WIN the Paleo Bundle is:

Post your favorite “Paleo inspiration” to the Wall of our Facebook Page: http://www.Facebook.com/thepaleopact between 12pm MST on June 1st and 12pm MST on June 15th, 2015 and then, on June 15th MST, 2015 the post with the most “Likes” wins!

“Paleo inspiration” can be anything from your personal Paleo story, an image of your favorite recipe, a quote, a meme…anything that you have encountered on your Paleo journey that was meaningful to you.

What are the giveaway rules?

Check them out on our Giveaways page by clicking here.

We can’t wait to see all your “Paleo Inspiration” entries posted on our Facebook Page wall and we look forward to finding out who the Winner will be!

Camilla and Melissa

thepaleopact.com | @thepaleopact

Baked Beet Chips

I love beets. This was actually a recent love for me, when I was younger I never had a desire to try them but now that I have I can’t get enough. I made apple chips a little while ago and I decided it would be a good time to try out beet chips as well.

As a note: this recipe makes roughly enough to fill ½ a sandwich size, ziploc bag.

INGREDIENTS

3 – 4 beets
salt for dusting

RECIPE

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper.
Wash beets, peel and slice them to roughly ⅛” thickness, the thicker your slices the longer they will take to cook.
Lay slices flat on baking sheet.
Dust with salt to your liking, I found a light sprinkle worked well for me.
Bake for 1 hour.
Remove from oven and flip slices, dust with additional salt.
Place back in the oven and bake for another 1 – 2 hours.
Remove and let cool.

Towards the end of your baking time you may want to periodically check your beets, ensuring you don’t burn them. These are great with a little dressing or vinaigrette for dipping.

Enjoy!

Melissa Van Dover

@melissavandover | melissavandover.com

PALEO Cleanse made the Amazon Best Seller list!

Order Your Copy Here

Find Out More About PALEO Cleanse Here

Paleo Apple Pie

Apple Pie!

It’s one of those famous American treats that we just can’t live without. Unfortunately, traditional Apple Pie has more sugar than apples and more gluten than goodness, which is why Apple Pie was on my Paleo To Do List!

This recipe is sweetened with natural dates and is 100% grain-free and dairy-free. Now there’s an Apple Pie you can indulge in!

INGREDIENTS

4 large red apples, chopped
2/3 of a cup chopped dates
1 and 2/3 of a cup water
2 tablespoons cinnamon

RECIPE

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the apples, dates and water in a large sauté pan and set the temperature gauge to medium heat.

Stir and let the apples soften. Once the water evaporates, add a cup of water and the cinnamon. Stir, then cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
Pour the mixture into a baked Paleo Pie Crust, using the caramelized dates that tend to line the bottom of the pan to fill in the gaps between the apple pieces.

Top with Paleo Pie Crust crumbles to “seal” the pie.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let the pie cool before slicing.

Tip: Paleo Pie Crust is easier to crumble when chilled. Use un-baked Paleo Pie Crust mixture and refrigerate it for a few hours before crumbling over pies for the best finish.

Enjoy!

Camilla Carboni

@camillacarboni | camillacarboni.com

PALEO Cleanse made the Amazon Best Seller list!

Order Your Copy Here

Find Out More About PALEO Cleanse Here

Book Review: The Everything Paleo Pregnancy Book by Tarah Chieffi

For two people that haven’t yet had kids, we weren’t too sure what to expect…plus when the book showed up in the mail, the men in our lives wondered if we were trying to tell them something! Thank you Tarah for the late April Fool’s joke!!

About The Book

What struck us first was how well layed out THE EVERYTHING PALEO PREGNANCY BOOK is. It’s very easy to read and structured to help readers new to Paleo easily navigate the diet. We can only imagine how beneficial this easy to follow structure must be for anyone expecting, or transitioning into a Paleo lifestyle post-pregnancy. What’s more, Tarah covers exactly what to expect during each trimester–trust us…we’ll be reading this book again one day when we actually are pregnant!

One of the unique features of this book is it covers the common symptoms of pregnancy and then provides Paleo-friendly recommendations on how best to tackle them. Tarah also covers supplementary items, such as fitness and postpartum changes.

Included in the book is an easy to follow 28-Day Meal Plan, which features a variety of extremely tasty recipes that anyone would enjoy, pregnant or not. One of the favorites is the Farmers Market Chicken Bake. It’s topped with bacon (who wouldn’t like it!) and it’s definitely hardy enough food to feed both you and your baby.

Here’s Tarah’s Farmers Market Chicken Bake Recipe:

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons coconut oil, divided
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1-inch cubes
1 golden delicious apple, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 large yellow onion cut into 8 wedges
1 small butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
Half a teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon chopped, fresh thyme
1 tablespoon chopped, fresh sage
1 teaspoon chopped, fresh rosemary
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
6 slices bacon

RECIPE

Heat oven to 450degrees F.
Coat a 13-inch x 9-inch glass baking dish with 1 teaspoon of coconut oil.
Add chicken, apple, onion and squash to baking dish.
Toss with remaining coconut oil and spices until everything is evenly coated.
Lay bacon slices evenly across the top of the dish.
Bake for 50 to 55 minutes until bacon is crispy, chicken is cooked through and vegetables are beginning to brown.

Last but not least, the back of the book contains very useful advice for pregnancy-friendly Paleo food substitutions and other pregnancy-must knows.

It’s no surprise that THE EVERYTHING PALEO PREGNANCY BOOK is a top hit on Amazon and we highly recommend it!

Tarah Chieffi is an author, freelance writer, blogger at What I Gather and holistic nutrition educator in the Louisville/Southern Indiana area. Tarah’s passion is working with pregnant women, new moms and families to achieve health and happiness through physical fitness and a “real food” lifestyle.

ORDER YOUR COPY OF THE EVERYTHING PALEO PREGNANCY BOOK

Coconut Shrimp

During my days living in Hawai’i I ate a fair amount of shrimp. Those shrimp shack takeout stands make a wonderful plate lunch, enjoyed with the sound of the ocean in the distance. But the best thing of all was the story behind the only shrimp shack that was run by a woman on the Island of O’ahu, Big Wave Shrimp.

It had been her life long dream to run her own business, but it wasn’t really heard of to do so at the time. Luckily she had a very supportive husband who spent all his savings buying her a truck to turn into the Big Wave Shrimp shack. Many years later, the truck still operates on the North Shore, serving up plate after plate of her famous coconut shrimp to locals and tourists alike.

With that I have set myself up for a challenge–and I don’t proclaim to beat her recipe by any means–but this is a little taste of the coconut shrimp flavor I so vividly remember.

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon grass-fed butter
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
1/2 cup cooked shrimp (fresh or frozen)
2 tablespoons coconut milk (canned and full fat)
1/8 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Black pepper (optional)

RECIPE

In a medium saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat.
Add the garlic and stir before adding the shrimp.

Continue to cook on medium heat until the shrimp is thoroughly heated, then sprinkle the shredded coconut over the shrimp and cook for another few minutes, stirring often, until the coconut begins to brown.
Add the coconut milk, stir and let simmer for a few minutes before sprinkling with crushed black pepper, as desired, and enjoying warm.

Enjoy it and Mahalo,

Camilla Carboni

@camillacarboni | camillacarboni.com

PALEO Cleanse made the Amazon Best Seller list!

Order Your Copy Here

Find Out More About PALEO Cleanse Here