Author: paleogirl99

Tamarind Lime Dressing

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I always say if you don’t love salad you are either not putting enough goodies in there, OR you don’t have a good dressing. Here is my favorite. I make it fresh every time. Comes together in just a minute or two. So tangy and flavorful thanks to the tamarind and lime. Bonus option includes beautiful bright pink hibiscus powder. BOOM.

Look at that bright pink hibiscus powder! Pink magic dust!

Here’s how to make it:

I start with a small glass pinch bowl and add the following.

6 gm olive oil (about 1 tsp)
5 gm toasted sesame oil (about 1 tsp)
5 gm walnut oil (about 1 tsp)
1 T aquafaba (liquid from chickpea can is optional but nice emulsifier)
10 gm fresh lime juice (about 2 tsp)
7 gm tamarind paste (about 1 tsp)
1/4 tsp tamarind powder (optional)
1/4 tsp hibiscus powder (optional), I use burlap and barrel brand

Give it a good stir and enjoy.
I measure using a scale since I track macros. The total oil adds up to about 1 Tablespoon and can be all olive oil, or a combo of the 3. I even rotate pistachio oil in sometimes.

Pro tip 1:
Aquafaba can be frozen. Don’t toss that liquid from your canned garbanzo beans. It is so useful. If you aren’t using it right away freeze in small cubes and you can use the cubes in your dressing.

Pro tip 2:
I make lime cubes every week. I squeeze 2 bags of organic limes and make 2 sizes of cubes.
The larger is from my daily red drink and I use this mold.
The smaller is for this dressing and I use this mold.

Affiliate links:

I appreciate when you use affiliate links, which help support this blog. Most things I share about here I purchase myself, but I do occasionally receive sample items from vendors to be able to test out new things. I also have affiliate accounts with a few brands that I truly believe in. Rest assured I will not share about anything I don’t use myself and totally love!

Banana Bread: Gluten, Dairy & Egg Free

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We grow bananas in our yard, and I love working them in to shakes and banana bread. The trees were gifted to me by a friend and the bananas they produce are better than store bought! I do also use store bought bananas in between our harvests which also work well. I have modified this recipe quite a lot over time and I like it better with every tweak. The original recipe called for only Bob’s Red Mill all purpose gluten free flour, but one day I ran short and subbed in tapioca and chickpea to make up the shortfall. That batch had a more cake like texture which I preferred and so that became my new version. I also have cut the oil over time and omitted any added sweeteners, as the ripe bananas are PLENTY sweet. I have been asked to share my updated recipe so here goes.

Since I love to tweak recipes I plan to try swapping cassava flour for the tapioca in the near future and will add that version when I perfect it. I expect it will be an easy substitution. I bake by weight using a food scale as it is more reproducible AND it requires less dirty dishes. I use 2 bowls and a 1 tsp measure for this recipe. Less to clean up. I bake right in my Souper Cubes trays which are food grade silicone. I then cool, portion and freeze the bread. This is my favorite pre-workout snack.

Preheat your oven to 325.

Banana bread baked right in my 1 cup Souper Cubes trays!

In the first bowl blend:
160 gm Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour (red pkg)
30 gm tapioca flour
70 gm chickpea flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthum gum
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon, I use Royal Cinnamon by Burlap and Barrel

In the second bowl mash and mix:
540 gm ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
150 gm Almond milk, I like Califia Organic Unsweetened 3 ingredient
1 tsp vanilla extract
40 gm oil, I use avocado oil by Chosen Foods

Dump the dry in to the wet and blend.

Spray Souper Cubes trays with avocado oil spray.
Portion in to the trays. This usually makes just shy of 2 full trays. I like to bake in the 1/4 to 1/2 cup size for single servings, OR the 1/2 to 1 Cup for little mini loaves. You can also use the 1-2 cup size for larger loaves you can slice.

Bake at 325 for a total of 35 minutes. Rotate the tray mid way through baking.
Test for doneness with a bamboo skewer.
Cool IN the trays for about 20 min. Then flip on to cooling racks to finish cooling. I like that you can pop the loaves out of the trays. I will run the edges with a knife first to make sure they pop out cleanly.
Wait until thoroughly cooled before slicing to avoid crumbling/breakage of the loaves.

The aqua IS the 1/4-1/2 cup Souper Cube tray. Those are my favorite as each is a cute mini loaf with edges!

Pumpkin Custard

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I LOVE pumpkin pie, but usually only eat it at Thanksgiving. What a shame! After making pies this year I thought, why not make a crustless custard and enjoy it any time as a side dish or dessert! Winning idea! It is a great way to get a little more squash in to your diet, with all of its healthy goodness.

A veggie side that tastes like dessert. Yes please!

Here is what I do:

1 15 oz can of pumpkin, I like Whole Foods 365 brand which is organic
8 oz of almond milk, I use Califia 3 ingredient unsweetened
3 T of arrowroot flour
1/4 cup monkfruit golden sweetener
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

Mix all of the ingredients well.
Spray 4 ramekins* with oil spray, I use avocado.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour.
Let cool before refrigerating.
Must chill in refrigerator after baking to allow the custard to firm up.
I eat mine cold. Delish.

* My ramekins are about 4 inches in diameter and hold a little over 8 oz. I have also used glass weck tulip jars for baking these when my ramekins were in use.

Affiliate links:

This post contains some amazon affiliate links. I appreciate when you use affiliate links which help support this blog. Most things I share about here I purchase myself, but I do occasionally receive sample items from vendors to be able to test new things. I also have affiliate accounts with a few brands that I truly believe in. Rest assured I will not share about anything I don’t use myself and totally love!
Everything used in this specific recipe I purchased myself.

Hotlogic Plug-in Lunch Bag

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The Hotlogic mini comes in some stylish designs. I need this one!

It was a game changer moment when I discovered the Hotlogic mini oven. I love this little device. It is a compact lunch bag with a heating element at the bottom. You plug it in and it heats your food in about 1-2 hours depending on the food’s starting temperature. I tend to bring my food to work frozen since I have concerns about histamine levels, so my heat time is on the longer end of that range. You can even cook food from raw which can be handy for travel. I love bringing it on vacation for airport or hotel meals. My husband uses his to heat dehydrated trail meals and oatmeal when he travels. I even used it for a road trip where I brought meals for the entire trip on dry ice, see my blog post here. There is a car adapter so you can heat while you drive and in some car models even with the engine off. Many of my instagram followers and work colleagues have jumped on this bandwagon and all have given it rave reviews.

Look at all of those color options!

So ditch the microwave and treat yourself to a Hotlogic mini! It makes a great gift!
You can always use my affiliate code Paleogirl99 to save 20%.

Affiliate links:

I appreciate when you use affiliate links, which help support this blog. Most things I share about here I purchase myself, but I do occasionally receive sample items from vendors to be able to test out new things. I also have affiliate accounts with a few brands that I truly believe in. Rest assured I will not share about anything I don’t use myself and totally love!

Solidteknics Pans Review

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If, like me, you are very careful about what food you put in your body, you should be equally careful about what pan you put your food in!
Years ago I ditched all teflon non-stick pans and migrated to stainless and cast iron. Once I discovered Solidteknics pans they became my favorite go to every day pans! They actually live on my stovetop. I don’t even put them away because they get used that much.
Here is why I love them. Continue reading →

Superfoods to Feed My Microbiome

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In 2013 I discovered the autoimmune protocol and started a long journey of tremendous gut healing. It was all about REMOVING/EXCLUDING inflammatory foods and allowing my body to repair and restore my gut lining. I benefited a great deal from following that protocol for a number of years, perhaps lingering longer than I needed to, but eventually working in a fair number of reintroductions. There are still foods I avoid like nightshades and lectins.
But currently I am moving in to a phase where I am intentionally INCLUDING new superfoods to feed my microbiome Continue reading →

Breville Sous Chef 12 Food Processor Review

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The Breville Sous Chef 12

I have had the Breville Sous Chef 12 for about a month now and I am really happy with it. Just about everything I didn’t like about the Cuisinart Pro Custom 11 it replaced is solved by this Breville model. Here is why I love it. Continue reading →

Evolvh Haircare Review

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Evolvh Healthy Hair Trio

I cleaned up all of my home, hair and body care products a few years ago to reduce my overall toxin load and I am so happy to report that I continue to find products I like BETTER than the ones I used to use. Last year after Continue reading →

Sauna Space Near Infrared Sauna Review

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Hello Sunshine indeed! My Sauna Space Near Infrared Incandescent Sauna.

WOW. I cannot believe it has taken me this long to write about my beloved Sauna Space near infrared sauna! I bought it on Black Friday in 2019 and it has become part of my “can’t live without” routine. As someone with several SNPs that limit my detoxification pathways, my body needs a little nudge to release toxins. Infrared sauna is a gentle but effective way to aid your detox pathways. Initially I was reluctant to give it a try as I have been historically very heat intolerant related to Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, but the Sauna Space has 4 near infrared incandescent bulbs and you can turn them on individually which allows you to work your way up. Because near infrared penetrates deeply into the tissues it heats you up from the inside and I can sweat in there even under 100 degrees. These days I use all 4 bulbs. I usually preheat while I ride the peleton or use my vibration plate so the sauna is typically between 104 and 118 degrees by the time I use it. It did not take long to work my way up from 1 to all 4 bulbs. I am in there almost every day of the week for 20 minutes and I am dripping with sweat by the end of my session. I like to use the app “Repeat Timer” so it chimes every 2 minutes for me to rotate a 1/4 turn. That way no part of my body gets short changed during the session! I shower immediately after my sauna and give my skin a good scrub to remove any toxins I have purged so they don’t get reabsorbed.

We recently converted an unused bedroom in to a home gym and the sauna fits perfectly in that space along with my Peleton and my vibration plate.

Things I love about my Sauna Space…and there are so many!

  • Sauna Space uses incandescent red near infrared light, NOT LED. That means no flickering blue light which can be stressful on the body. Sauna is all about relaxing and releasing toxins and stress.
  • You get the benefits of near infrared, plus full spectrum infrared sauna AND red light therapy. When I was first shopping I was torn between sauna and red light panel options, but this is both. Win win!
  • ZERO EMF stress. Faraday cages and an organic bamboo grounding mat eliminate any EMF emission from the device itself. They even offer a fully 5 G shielded “Faraday” enclosure….GOALS! It’s on my wishlist! I currently have the Firelight version.
  • The organic cotton enclosure cover is commercial laundromat machine washable, and we have washed it several times. As someone who is super careful about mold I was happy to not have a permanent wood cabinet enclosure which could get damp and musty over time.
  • The enclosure is easy to assemble and take apart to store or relocate. My Sauna Space lived temporarily in my garage, living room and dining room before finding its permanent home in my older college graduate son’s room which is now our home gym. I didn’t really have room for the sauna when I bought it, but we made it work because I felt sauna therapy was just that important. It certainly was a conversation starter when it lived in my dining room!
  • Organic toxin free materials with no off-gassing. Organic cotton fabric. Organic bamboo mat. Zero VOC untreated basswood frame and stool. Untreated stainless steel faraday guards for the bulbs. All the good stuff and none of the bad.
  • No tools or skills needed to set it up. My husband has put this up and taken it apart several times. It is well designed and well made. My husband says now that he knows how it goes together he could put it up in about 15 minutes, with the most time required for draping the organic cotton over the basswood frame.
  • 100 day free trial with free shipping both ways! This was HUGE for me when I was initially ordering as this makes trying this out totally risk free. If you don’t love it, it goes back with zero cost to you, but trust me…you WILL love it! I honestly can’t imagine not having it! It is such a part of my fitness and health routine.
  • 10 year warranty. That is legit. It is a hand crafted product made in America with high quality sustainable and durable materials. Our experience with customer service has been excellent.
  • Use my code PALEOGIRL to save 10%. Coupon codes stack on sale prices so you can save even more. Click here to check it out.
What it looks like out of the box when it arrives. Organic cotton enclosure materials. The long box contains the basswood frame. Ingenious design.
A peek inside with all 4 incandescent bulbs turned on. I always hydrate well when I am in there!
At one point when it didn’t have a permanent home we had to take it down temporarily. It’s compact design allows for easy storage.

If a full sauna is not in your budget…yet, check out their single light Photon. Affordable and portable. We have one as well and it is great for spot treatment My dog is intrigued by it. Guess he knows what is good for him!

The single bulb Photon.
My dog getting his red light therapy on!

Affiliate links:

I appreciate when you use affiliate links, which help support this blog. Most things I share about here I purchase myself, but I do occasionally receive sample items from vendors to be able to test out new things. I also have affiliate accounts with a few brands that I truly believe in. Rest assured I will not share about anything I don’t use myself and totally love!

COUPON Codes and Affiliate Links for My Favorite Things

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Do you love to save as much as I do?!!!

I get DMs on instagram asking me for my coupon codes and affiliate links so I thought I would just park them all here in a blog post and keep it up to date with whatever new comes along. If you find one is not working please email or DM me on instagram and I will try to fix it. Deal? Here goes! Continue reading →