Blueberry Almond Coffee Cake (Gluten Free + Paleo)

Coffee cake was one of my absolute favorite things when I was a kid. I didn’t eat it all the time, it was more of a special occasion thing - like holidays or brunch events. But man, when I did have it, I would eat A LOT of it. Because it’s soooo good. It’s hard to stop!

Needless to say, I haven’t been hitting the Entenmann’s in quite some time. But I recently came across a recipe for a gluten-free coffee cake that looked promising. It was and I was thrilled! I made some modifications and tweaks and this Bluberry Almond Coffee Cake was born.

It’s nice and moist (sorry, but it’s an accurate descriptor!) on the inside, with a crumb topping and melted coconut butter drizzled on top instead of super sugary glaze. It’s paleo, gluten-free, and low in sugar! And it totally hits the spot.

An egg really helps lift the almond flour, but you could use a flax egg or vegan egg substitute to make this vegan. This may increase the cooking time.

And now, without further delay - the recipe. Let me know what you think in the comments!

Blueberry Almond Coffee Cake
(Gluten Free + Paleo)

makes 1 loaf
prep time 10 minutes / cook time 1 hour

ingredients
½ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
¼ cup maple syrup
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract (optional)

1 ½ cups almond flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
1 cup of blueberries

crumb topping
½ cup of almond flour
1.5 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp cinnamon

for serving
drizzle with melted coconut butter

instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a regular loaf pan (either grease it or line with parchment paper).

2. Mix all wet ingredients together. In a separate bowl mix all dry ingredients except blueberries. Slowly add the dry to the wet ingredients, stirring to make sure it’s well-combined. Then stir in blueberries, reserving a small handful for the top of the loaf.

3. Mix up your crumb topping and distribute evenly on top, then sprinkle with reserved blueberries.

4. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until edges are turning golden and loaf is firm when you press in the center.

5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes. Then carefully transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool for at least another 20 minutes.

6. When ready to serve drizzle with melted coconut butter. Enjoy! Best enjoyed in three days, after that refrigerate or freeze the leftovers.

Good Medicine Everyday: Breath

We do it all the time, whether or not we’re aware of it. But that’s just it - bringing some awareness to our breath can have huge pay offs for our health.

Notice your breath now. Where do you feel like you’re breathing? Your chest? Does it feel shallow? That’s how most of us breathe throughout the day. Putting some effort into breathing deeply and into your belly (basically slow, long, deep breaths) has a tremendous impact on the state of our nervous system.

When it feels like you’re breathing into your belly, you’re actually breathing into your diaphragm, which is located near the bottom of your rib cage. Your diaphragm is a muscle and it’s important to keep this muscle strong! Just like other muscles, it can atrophy when not used. Doctors see atrophied diaphragms during surgeries.

Let’s look at some of the benefits from deep belly breathing (1):

• lowers heart rate

• lowers blood pressure

• helps you relax, which helps lower the stress hormone cortisol

• keeps lungs and diaphragm strong

• activates the parasympathetic nervous system - our rest + digest state

Perhaps the biggest benefit is stress reduction, which in turn also helps reduce anxiety and depression. It’s so simple, yet so many of us forget to breathe deeply!

I love my friend Emily’s tip - bookending your day with breath. She suggests taking 5 deep breaths in the morning before you get out of bed and 5 deep breaths before you go to bed. I personally focus on my breath during meditation. Kundalini yoga uses a whole slew of breathing techniques that activate energy, detox, boost immunity and a bunch of other really cool things. You may have heard of Wim Hof, who uses breath to help his body endure insanely cold temperates.

Breathing changes the brain, and while I’m not going to get into all the heady details in this post, just know that your breath is perhaps the most powerful tool you have when it comes to your day to day mood and experience of life.

Paleo Kimchi Fried Rice (It's Vegan, too!)

My favorite part about cooking for other people is getting out of my comfort zone. We tend to cook what we know or variations of it - over and over again. Which is nice in terms of preserving mental energy and saving time, but can get a little boring when it comes to the food we end up eating over and over.

I had never made kimchi fried rice until I had to for a client a few weeks ago. And when I tasted the end product to make sure it was up to par, I was blown away. I wanted more of it in my life!

I don’t do a whole lot of grains - I find that I feel better when I limit my intake of them. So I wanted to see if making kimchi fried rice with cauliflower rice would still get the job done. (If you’re curious how they affect you, eliminate them for one month and then reintroduce them.)

I must warn you - it of course doesn’t have that same sticky, starchy mouth feel that actual rice has, and you shouldn’t expect it to since cauliflower isn’t starchy. But in terms of flavor and satisfaction? It totally still delivers. I love love love the pungent, spicy flavor burst from the kimchi mixed with the mellow nuttiness of the sesame oil.

While you can totally enjoy this recipe all on its own as a small meal or snack, it’s meant to be more of a canvas. It’s up to you how you want to make it into a full meal - top with a fried egg or scramble some in, serve with chicken or pork, bulk it up with lots of extra veggies. The options are entirely in your capable hands!

A note about kimchi + probiotics - cooking at high heat kills the probiotics in fermented foods (and which is probably why I’ve never made kimchi fried rice before). That’s why I strongly suggest topping the finished product with some fresh kimchi so that you get all the beneficial bacteria to keep your gut healthy and happy!

Paleo Kimchi Fried Rice

serves 1
total time about 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 cup steamed broccoli florets
2 tbsp avocado oil
¼ cup kimchi
1 cup of cauliflower rice
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ tsp smoked paprika

Kimchi Sauce
2 tbsp kimchi liquid
1 tsp coconut aminos
½ tsp sesame oil

For Serving
Green Onions
Fresh Kimchi

Instructions

1. If you need to steam your broccoli, get it started now. Steam for 10 minutes, until tender but still bright green. Set aside. Mix up the Kimchi Sauce in a small bowl and set aside.

2. Heat a large pan over high heat. Once pan is nice and hot add avocado oil, followed by the kimchi. Fry the kimchi for 2-3 minutes, until it starts to dry out.

3. Add cauliflower rice, garlic, smoked paprika and half the Kimchi Sauce to the pan. Quickly stir until everything is incorporated, then let it sit on high heat for another 2-3 minutes. Cooking at super high heat and getting smoky has always made me kind of uncomfortable, but this is what you want for this dish - high heat and fast cooking.

4. After 2-3 minutes, give the mixture in the pan a stir. Let cook for just one more minute.

5. Transfer to serving dish. Drizzle with the rest of the Kimchi Sauce and top with green onions, fresh kimchi and any other protein or veggie you want to add. Enjoy!