Coconut Starfruit Upside-Down Cake with Blueberry Explosion!

I was given a couple of fresh starfruit (aka: carambola) and since I don't normally have an opportunity to work with them I wanted to make something fun.  So, here it is: Coconut Starfruit Upside-Down Cake with Blueberry Explosion (you can see), inspired by the beauty of starfruit and a recipe for Pineapple Upside-Down Cake in the book "Cooking with Coconut Flour" by Bruce Fife, N.D.  I just LOVE the star pattern along with the colorful blueberries.  The coconut batter gives a gluten-free and low-carb exotic twist on the classic cake and I have made several modifications such as making it sugar-free.  A beauty, that's for sure!

Ingredients:

Topping:
2 starfruit
handful blueberries
juice 1/2 lemon
2-3 tbs unsweetened shredded coconut

Batter:
1/4 cup butter, melted
6 eggs
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
juice 1/2 lemon
stevia, to taste
1/2 cup sifted coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking powder



Directions:

Grease a 8x8 or 9x9 round cake pan or spring form pan.  Trim the brownish edges from the 5 points of the starfruit.  Next, cut off the two sides, then slice the rest.

Arrange the starfruit on the  bottom of the pan.  Add blueberries evenly in between starfruit.  If you have more starfruit arrange a second layer or eat it and share it with your dog.

Sprinkle shredded coconut across fruit then drizzle lemon juice evenly across.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Whisk together the eggs, then add the melted butter, salt, vanilla, lemon juice, and stevia.  Mix thoroughly with wire whisk or electric beaters.  Mix together coconut flour and baking powder in a separate bowl then combine with the liquid-mix and mix thoroughly until there are no clumps left.

Use spatula to carefully scoop out batter onto fruit topping.  VERY carefully spread the batter evenly across the fruit, being careful not to move the fruit below (you can see in my photo one of the blueberries came through when I did this... do it carefully!).

Bake at 350 for 30-34 minutes or until a knife comes out clean when stuck through middle of cake.

Remove from oven and allow to cool  enough to handle.  While still warm, turn on to a plate.

Serve warm or place in the fridge to serve later.  You can let it warm to room temperature before serving if storing in the fridge.

Super Moist Carob Cacao Sweet Potato Goldies

Here is an easy recipe that produces VERY moist "brownies" (or cake!) with quite a delicate taste.  They are very lightly flavored with carob so as to not cover up the sweet potato flavor and the cacao nibs add a flavor BITE to the mix, separate from the moistness (you could even choose to leave the nibs out).  This one doesn't require any electric  devices such as food processors, either.  To mash the sweet potato you can use a fork or a potato masher utensil.  Since this recipe is naturally sweet from the sweet potato and carob you might choose to leave the stevia out (I add it, because I have QUITE a sweet-tooth!).  

Ingredients:

3 eggs
2 cups steamed or baked mashed sweet potato
1/4 cup sesame tahini
1/4 cup almond meal (simply grind almonds in food processor or blender)
2 tbs carob powder
2 tbs cacao nibs (plus more for optional garnish)
dash of salt
stevia powder, to taste (optional)



Directions:


Begin by whisking together the eggs in a medium-large bowl.

Add the other ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Pour batter in a greased 9x9 baking pan and sprinkle on additional cacao nibs, if desired.  Alternatively, you could also bake in a circular pan and turn this into a cake!

Bake at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

Allow to cool, then cut, serve, and enjoy!

You could try adding vanilla extract and spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg to the recipe.

Festive Cranberry Pecan Brussel Sprouts

I had some brussel sprouts in the fridge and, after making cranberry sauce and snacking on pecans, I was inspired to put them together in this delicious combination!

Ingredients:

1 lb brussel sprouts
2-3 tbs olive oil
handful chopped pecans
handful fresh cranberries
salt, to taste
cracked pepper, to taste
cranberry sauce, optional (recipe on this blog)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Wash brussel sprouts and be sure to drain all water off.  Cut them in quarters and place them in a large caserole baking dish.  Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Add pecans and cranberries.  Mix to coat with oil.

Bake for approximately 20-30 minutes or until the brussel sprouts can be poked thru with a fork but not too soft. 

Eat by itself or serve with quinoa.

Try adding some cranberry sauce on top!

A link to this recipe may also be found here, along with other wonderfully delicious and nutritious recipes: Wellness Weekend December 20-24. 

Baked Almond Flour Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients:

- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 egg, whisked
- 3/4 cup ground almonds
- spices of choice (I used italian seasoning, turmeric, mustard powder, cayenne pepper, salt), to taste


Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Using kitchen scissors, cut up chicken into evenly sized pieces and place in a separate bowl.  Whisk the egg in another bowl, and mix the ground almonds with the spices on a large plate. 

Dip the chicken, one piece at a time, in the egg, then roll in the almond mixture, coating completely with the almond flour.  Place chicken in a greased oven dish, leaving spaces between each piece.

Place in oven and bake for approximately 17 minutes.  Serve with a side of veggies and enjoy (these are so yummy!)!!