Blueberry Crisp...so delicious!

After searching the internet I found this same recipe on several Paleo Blogs and let me tell you it is so good!  It is best warm for sure!  Hot out of the oven it was off the chart!  I enjoyed it best with some coconut milk poured over it, tasted like oatmeal and blueberries!  I loved oatmeal in my pre-paleo days so it was a nice treat to have something that tasted so good and was still "Paleo".  Not only that but it is super easy and I look forward to trying it with other fruits too.  I will try to get some pictures posted soon, it's just so delicious I had to share it. If anyone knows who the original creator of this recipe is please post in comments so I may give them credit.

Blueberry Crisp

• 1 1/2 cups almond meal
• 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1 cup chopped pecans or  walnuts (I used walnuts)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/3 cup organic butter, or coconut oil, warmed
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (may want to decrease this amount depending on personal preference and the sweetness of your fruit)

 Blueberry Crisp  with pecan crumble ready to bake.

 Blueberry Crisp baked and ready to serve.

 

Blueberry Crisp with Pecan crumble, served with Vanilla Coconut Ice Cream.

• Mix all the dry ingredients together and add in the wet ingredients. Grease a 8x8" pan with coconut oil and fill the bottom of the pan with a nice thick layer of berries.  I used a lot of berries (about 4 cups worth), and then topped it with the crumble topping and baked at 350 for about 30-35 minutes depending on your oven.  
• Remove and enjoy, top it with some coconut milk for a yummy breakfast, or top with some coconut milk ice cream for dessert, or just enjoy it as is. 
• I made this again tonight to go with my homemade ice cream but with pecans and it's amazing the difference the nut makes.  The Pecans make it more of a dessert dish for sure, I also used blanched almond meal this time.  The first time I  used unblanched almond meal and walnuts and like I said it had a totally different taste, reminded me of oatmeal with some coconut milk poured over it.  My personal preference is with the unblanched almond meal and walnuts.  But either way is very delicious, will probably continue to make it both ways depending on the occasion.
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Yummy Blueberries and more....

This week we took a little drive out to Mckinleyville with the family to pick Organic Blueberries, which are currently in season.  It was a fun experience for everyone, they even provide cute little buckets for the littlest guys to "pick" in, though I think the majority of their berries made it to their bellies.  It's a fun little outing that will also net you some delicious fresh Organic blueberries.  Their location is:  Wolfsen Farms, 2103 Mckinleyville, California and their phone number is 707-839-2017.  They offer Certified Organic Blueberries, July 1st-September 15 each year, they were about $5.00 a pound when we bought ours last week.  
I have been finding it such an educational value for the children to see and learn how the food they eat is grown and where it comes from.  We have been growing our own vegetable garden this summer and I have found it very rewarding and enjoyable.  I actually started it with the nudging of the children, they have been wanting to grow a garden for some time.  I knew however, that at some point the novelty of it would dwindle and they would loose interest.  They did for a while, but now that it is producing yummy snap peas, green beans, zucchini, multiple kinds of lettuce, kale, spinach, chard, etc. they are back to enjoying it and wanting to check it's progress.  I think it has made them enjoy their food more too.  We have tomatoes and sweet bell peppers growing, neither of which they like, but they are so excited about the fact they are ripening.  And we have discovered as many of you know just how much tastier farm fresh, home grown veggies are!  If you can't grow you own I would suggest visiting your local farmers market for a delicious assortment of fresh produce. And if you are a bit adventurous now is a great time for picking wild blackberries.

Some fun new recipes to try....

I've been trying some new recipes this week, and found a couple worth passing along.  We made Everyday Paleo's Puerto Rican Beef, with mashed sweet potatoes the other night and it was a hit.  It has a very homey, comfort food sort of appeal.  

 And last night we had Pulled Pork Barbecue from Primal Palate, and Roasted Root Veggies from Sarah Fragoso's Everyday Paleo Book, which if you have the book it's on page 139.  The roasted veggies was an attempt to venture outside my normal veggies, and it was delish!  I haven't had beets since  was a kid and even thought I didn't like them.  But I'm finding that many of the veggies I thought I didn't like are actually quite good, thus the reason I am trying to venture out a bit.  The Roasted Root Veggies contain, beets, parsnips, carrots, red onion, garlic and some seasonings, which are a delicious combination worth trying.  As for the Pulled Pork Barbecue, it was really quite good, it got a thumbs up from the kids.  Finding a good tasting "Barbecue" sauce since going Paleo has been a challenge, this one is good, in fact probably the best one I have tasted so far, and I will probably make this dish again.  But I'm still holding out for the barbecue recipe that makes me gasp and go Ahh now this is it!!  I shredded my meat, added it back to the crock pot, poured the sauce over and mixed well, then left it on low for a while and finished getting the veggies ready.  Oh and I used honey for the Stevia.  

One thing I will warn you, I don't consider the Pulled Pork recipe to be budget, any recipe that requires me to purchase ingredients I don't already have and are a little spendy aren't considered budget for me.  It calls for shallots, which to me a a "luxury" item, as they are more expensive then onions.  And the smoked paprika cost me over $6 a bottle, while tasty, it's a bit expensive and not something that Winco carries at all, nor did I find it at the Natural foods store, I found it at Murphy's Market in Cutten.  And it uses a large amount of chicken broth that is discarded, I would suggest straining it and saving it for a soup.  I can't stand waste, when I boiled my sweet potatoes, I saved the broth from them too, lot's of good nutrients in there.  Anyway, enjoy and happy eating.