Fresh Baked Grapefruit

Oh. My. Word . . . my new obsession- baked grapefruit. Dude. Amaz-tastic. Yup I made up a new word for it. It is that yummy. 

When I was little I would have a grapefruit for breakfast, sprinkled with sugar on top of it. (No wonder I was hungry an hour later) Since switching to paleo, and not even having sugar in the house, I have missed out on grapefruit. But our weekly Bountiful Basket delivery brought me some beautiful grapefruit,  so I looked up some recipes. I combined a little of this one and a little of that, and landed on this concotion. A bonus to the flavor is how lovely it looks when it is served! 

Fresh Baked Grapefruit

Grapefruit
Cinnamon
Nuts of Choice

Cut grapefruit in half and using a serrated knife loosen the grapefruit from the membranes. Place grapefruit on a baking sheet or a shallow baking pan. Sprinkle each 1/2 with cinnamon. Roughly chop nuts and place on top. I have tried a few type of nuts and my favorite is pecans, although pictured below is walnuts. Place under broiler for 4-6 min or until the tops start to brown. Stay close and watch to avoid burning. Remove from oven and enjoy!

Looking for another recipe for grapefruit- check out this side from a previous post. Unique and tasty!

Fresh Key Lime Coconut Bites

Pinterest is pretty awesome. For creative minds, it allows us to dream big while we are waiting for a doctor appointment, riding in a car, or at an awkward dinner party. The reality is most of the things I pin are items that will remain on my board never to see the light of day. And of course there are many Pinterest "fails" that I could discuss, but that is just depressing. Every once in a while when the stars align, I find a gem. This is one of those recipes. I changed up the ingredients to my taste, but was inspired by my pinning. They are easy, delicious, and perfect to take to a party!

Fresh Key Lime Coconut Bites

1 Cup nuts of choice (I choose a variety of macadamia nuts, pecans, and almonds)

1 1/2 cup pitted dates

Zest and Juice from 3 key limes

1/2 Cup unsweetened coconut

Using a food processor, chop nuts.  You are looking for little bits, but not a paste. Add the dates, lime juice and zest. Pulse until the dates are chopped and mixtures begins to clump. Shape into 1/2 inch balls. Roll each ball in coconut. Enjoy!

*I actually ended up chopping everything by hand and mixed it together. My food processor gummed up when I added the dates. I need to get a new one, but if you don't have one, this recipe works great with some extra chopping on your part. 

Oven Roasted Maple Cinnamon Cashews

Here is a delicious sweet and salty recipe for your plain old cashews. The method of oven-roasting can be applied to various spices to create all sorts of flavors. Spicy, savory or sweet, you can enjoy the fun of creating new flavors!

Oven Roasted Maple Cinnamon Cashews

2 cups plain unsalted cashews
2 tsp ghee (or organic unsalted butter)
2 tsp maple syrup
Cinnamon
Sea Salt

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Place cashews on an ungreased cooking sheet. Bake for 7-10 min, or until nuts have warmed. Meanwhile combine maple syrup and ghee (you may have to melt the ghee a bit so you can stir ingredients together). Remove nuts from the oven and place in a mixing bowl. Pour syrup and ghee over them. Stir until everything is coated. Pour nuts onto a cutting board or back on the cookie sheet. Sprinkle with cinnamon and salt to taste. Let cool a few min before enjoying, as they will be pretty warm from the oven. Enjoy!

Fresh Candied Pecans

Every once in a while I like to mix up my nut options. This is an easy and delicious recipe for candied peacans. I like to take a few and chop them up for a salad topper. I did have to tell the hubby, "You can't take these to the couch to munch on while you watch TV." His reaction? "Lame! Next time make a batch 10x's as big". You may feel the same way once you try them. :)

Fresh Candied Pecans

2 cups pecans
1/4 cup honey
1 egg white
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Pre Heat oven to 300 degrees

Mix ingredients in bowl so everything is covered evenly.

Place coated pecans onto cooking sheet. (If you have a silpat no oil necessary, if using cookie sheet, spray with non stick cooking spray.) Bake for 30 min.

Remove from the oven and let them cool for 5 min before removing them from the sheet. Scrape pecans from cooking sheet and enjoy!

Check out these cooking spray. They do have a little non-paleo ingredients (soy), but for a cooking spray they are pretty good.