Paleo Baking with Pals

These are my friends. I didn’t know most of them a year ago, but we were brought together by Crossfit.

We are all Mothers, mostly in our 40’s, and all part of our local Crossfit Box’s off-peak squad, affectionately known as the ‘Strong Mums’. We are in our post-WOD state here, so forgive the lack of grooming.

As I pursue my Paleo eating journey, I am improving my understanding of how to adapt normal baking recipes to suit the Paleo diet, and it’s catching on! My cakes can’t be too shabby, since this baking day was devised as a result of requests to share my knowledge (and my cakes) with my girls.

It was a blast. Much coffee was imbibed and between us we managed to knock up a Snacksatisfyingly respectable few bakes between the seven of us and two ovens.

I’m happy to spread the grain & sugar-free message to my fitness-seeking pals, but ain’t it amazing how a gym can bring people together in the unlikeliest of ways? Crossfit has brought us together – a group of women whose paths would most probably never have crossed without the atmosphere and camaraderie of a Crossfit gym.

In case you are wondering, our repertoire included a magnificent chocolate sandwich, a triumph of a fruit cake, some divine almond butter fridge snacks, and a showstopping star anise and almond cake. Nom.

And the best part? I now have a cupboard full of cake!

Vanilla Seedy Morsels

Snacks that are sugar free are a staple for the Paleo cook.

These were an experiment which serendipitously worked (hurrah for that!)

There are two similar, but separate snacks here:-
1. Sunflower & pumpkin seed clusters (above), which have honey in to help them, well…cluster
2. Sunflower & pumpkin seeds with vanilla (below)… No clustering, just scattering required.

For each, start with about a cup of mixed seeds in a bowl. I used just pumpkin and sunflower, but if I make them again I think sesame seeds would add a lovely flavour.
Add about 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract or bean paste. Mix the whole lot in…add a few drops of water to loosen the syrup, but make sure all the seeds are coated.
If you want to make the clusters, this is the point at which you need to add around 4 teaspoons of honey. Mix well again.
Heap the sticky mass onto a baking tray, ensuring you spread them out thinly & evenly.
Finally, bake (in each case) for around 15 minutes in a low oven around 140 degrees C.

When you remove from the oven, they should just be turning golden. Leave them for a couple of minutes so that they are not hotter than the bowels of Vesuvius, as you need to use your fingers next!
For the clusters, working quickly, shape them into little balls (broad bean size) and lay onto grease proof paper. If you’re not quick enough, they WILL turn to concrete, so just pop them back in the oven for a minute to soften again if that happens.
If you’re making the vanilla only seeds, just separate them with your fingers and scatter across your greaseproof paper, like a sprinkling of granola sand. Poetic eh?
Leave to cool.
Scoff.