What do you do when you need a "reset"?

Last week, we had a really grey day. It wasn't just cloudy--it actually hailed and snowed before the clouds gave way! It left a heavy feeling on everything: spring's first daffodils sagged to the ground, people moved slowly, and my pep, which often correlates with sunny weather, settled at ho-hum levels.

Often my "reset" button is going for a run. When I'm in a rut, running is like mediation for me. The practice of mediation usually emphasizes not thinking at all, but I struggle with that. The meditative state I find while on a run is different. It's quiet so that I can reflect, but I can't think too hard. Instead my mind just wanders in an unconstrained stream of consciousness.

I love the freedom that comes with running, so when I awoke to that grey, grey day last week, I was sort of bummed. Not only was the cloud cover leaving me feeling "blah," it was keeping me from enjoying springtime on the trail. I needed something to make the morning brighter. The answer: a Paleo Carrot Cake Coconut Smoothie.

The color of this smoothie was enough to get me excited. And then I took a sip, and left that grey-mood on the floor. It was creamy and luscious (thank you, coconut milk!), and bright and fresh (an you too, fresh ginger and pineapple!). I used coconut water, which is great for hydration--this smoothie probably would makes a great post run gulp, but hey--sometimes you wake up to hail and you just have to take life as it comes. Packed with Vitamins A and C, this smoothie is a powerhouse in a glass and totally brightened my week. I hope it can do the same for you!

Paleo Carrot Cake Coconut Smoothie

Published March 15, 2015 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 2 | Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

2 medium-sized carrots, roughly chopped
1/2 cup coconut water
1/2 cup milk of choice (dairy, nut milk, coconut milk, etc)
1/2 cup pineapple, fresh, frozen or canned
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 banana, frozen
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch teaspoon cloves
Pinch teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup crushed ice
1 tablespoon toasted coconut, for garnish

Directions:

Add all ingredients aside from toasted coconut to blender and puree until smooth.
Pour into two glasses, and garnish with toasted coconut. Serve cold.

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Tangerine Dream Smoothie

Grapefruit, Pomegranate & Ginger Smoothie

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie Bowl

Update 1/12/2017: I have been playing with photography more, and wanted to reshoot the images for this recipe. The images here are new, the recipe is the same!

Paleo Cinnamon Coconut Crumble Coffee Cake

Mmm... can you smell that? Wafts of warm cinnamon? Melodies of toasting coconut? Hints of vanilla? That's what leisure smells like. At 7am it smells dreamy, like you're not quite awake yet. This is what our house smelled like this week, letting everyone know it's official: winter break is here!

On the last day of school, my usual mid-semester stress was already beginning to lift, and with no cramming left to do, I spent my morning making cake. This coffee cake, a Paleo makeover of one of my grandmother's recipes, has a soft crumb and is lightly sweet.

My grandmother's secret ingredient in coffee cake was sour cream, but I wanted to keep this recipe paleo-friendly, so I used bananas, which add a similar amount of moisture, and keeps it dairy-free. The banana flavor is subtle, and after a bite or two it's lost between the cinnamon and coconut, but that fruit provides a gentle sweetness that is the perfect match to a cup of chai. Hooray for natural sweetness! Really have a sweet tooth? The cakey part of this coffee cake is only subtly sweet, but you can add 2 tablespoons of honey if you’re sweet tooth is begging for it.

Another twist that my grandmother’s recipe didn’t call for — coconut on top. Most crumbs call for just a few ingredients: flour, sugar, butter, cinnamon. Sometimes oats. But, since none of those ingredients (aside from the cinnamon and maybe the butter, depending on your definition) are Paleo, I improvised. Toasted coconut adds the “crunch” I was looking for with out adding grains or flour. GF, DF (though you can use butter over coconut oil if you prefer), and NF (nut-free, for anyone that needs it!).

Now who has the coffee??

Paleo Cinnamon Coconut Crumble Coffee Cake

Published December 12, 2014 by Caitlin Sherwood

Yields: 8 | Active Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

4 eggs

2/3 cup canned full fat coconut milk

2 ripe bananas, peeled and roughly chopped

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the Crumble Topping:

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2/3 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut

4 tablespoon coconut oil or butter, melted

4 tablespoon honey, melted or coconut sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9-inch by 9-inch glass baking dish or cake pan.
Whisk together in coconut flour, baking soda, and salt, getting rid of any chunks of coconut flour as you do. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas well. Add the eggs, and vanilla to the bank mixture, folding together until incorporated. Slowly fold the dry ingredients into the wet, stirring until a smooth batter forms. **If you own a blender, you can skip the mashing and stirring and throw all of the batter ingredients in (eggs, banana, coconut flour, coconut milk, salt, baking soda and vanilla) and blend until smooth.
Spread the batter into the greased baking dish or cake pan.
In a small bowl, combine melted coconut oil, honey, cinnamon and coconut. Stir with a fork until a loose crumb forms. Use your fingers to sprinkle the crumble evenly over the top of the cake batter.
Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes, or until golden brown on top and a tooth pick comes out clean when inserted into the middle. Set on a wire wrack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature with your normal breakfast beverage.

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