These lime and coconut cookies are the ideal mid-day snack for any day, but make for a particularly festive complement to the upcoming Cinco de Mayo celebrations. They are not only delicious but also paleo, making them easier to digest and a lot lighter than, say, a white sugar and flour-packed alternative.

Based in almond meal and shredded coconut, these coconut cookies are dense and chewy enough to fill you up without weighing you down. Sweetened with honey and accented with fresh lime juice and zest, they are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth in a uniquely wholesome and celebratory fashion.

Because these cookies are paleo, they are free of white flour and white sugar (aka empty nutrition), and instead based in simple, pure, gluten-free ingredients, such as almond meal, tapioca flour, and coconut. While honey is the listed sweetener in the recipe, feel free to use coconut nectar or maple syrup in its place. Otherwise, keep the recipe as it stands, which for all intents and purposes, is perfect. Enjoy!

Paleo Lime and Coconut Cookies Recipe

Makes 12 to 15 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups almond meal
• ½ cup tapioca flour
• 1 ½ cup shredded coconut
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoons lime zest
• ¼ teaspoon Himalayan salt
• 2 free-range organic eggs
• ¼ cup honey
• 3 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lime juice
• 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a bowl, stir together the almond meal, tapioca flour, shredded coconut, baking soda, lime zest, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, lime juice, honey, and coconut oil until smooth. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and fold together until it is well combined and forms a dough on the wetter side in terms of consistency.

Scoop tablespoons of the dough onto a baking sheet, each about two inches from one another. Flatten each of the cookies lightly with a fork so that each is about once centimeter high.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake the lime and coconut cookies for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Related on EcoSalon
Vegan White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Cookies
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Vegan Gluten-Free Chickpea Thumbprint Cookies

The post Dig Into These Gluten-Free Paleo Lime-Coconut Cookies appeared first on EcoSalon.

Get tipsy without tipping the scale.

A lot can go wrong in the preparation of a cocktail. The most common culprit – sugar. Whether it be by way of corn syrup, an artificial fruit blend, or straight up white cane, it is very difficult to get a forgiving cocktail when out on the town. And who wants to fuss at the bar? Going out is a time to let loose and relax, not bring a subtext of conditionality with every drink order.

But when you’re at home, the game changes – you have complete control! The trick is now to bring your hard-earned buzz the flavor, not the kill. A standard restaurant or bar mojito will contain upwards of 200 calories. Replace the sugar with a calorie-free alternative and you can cut the calories by nearly half. This recipe is a fun twist on a mint mojito. It uses fresh peaches for summery sweetness and stevia to replace the otherwise pound-packing cane sugar.

Enjoy!

Skinny Peach Mojito

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1 peach
• 6-8  mint leaves
• Juice of half a lime
• 3-4 drops liquid stevia (1 small packet powder stevia)
• 2 ounces rum
• Large handful of ice cubes
• Club soda

Directions:

Skin and then puree the peach. Pour it into the bottom of a cocktail glass. Add 6 mint leaves, the stevia, and the lime juice. Muddle the ingredients to release the mint’s flavor as well as distribute the sweetness from the stevia.

Add the rum and ice cubes. Top off the remaining space in the cup with the club soda. Garnish with mint leaves and serve. If you want a virgin peach mojito, nix the rum altogether. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and serve.

Bottoms up!

Photo Source: DavidKenny

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

The post Nutritional Breakdown: Lightening Up Your Cocktail’s Calories appeared first on EcoSalon.

What’s in a name? Probably a Swedish cake.

Like several other countries Sweden celebrates name days, which means that every single day of the year has a specific name of a person. For some people (for example, my mother in law), the name day is more important than their own birthday. For others it’s just an ordinary day.

In the middle of July, Swedes celebrates fruntimmersveckan (the week of the ladies) which is a week when there are six women’s names in a row. This week is especially interesting if you are into cakes. Traditionally you need to bake a different cake for each woman who has their name-day this week. As I’m one of the six ladies I will celebrate as follows:

Cherry & Almond Clafoutis with Cognac for Sara on the 19 July

Red Currant Tart for Margareta on the 20 July

Lime & Ginger Tart for Johanna on the 21 July (see below)

Rhubarb & Meringue Cake for Magdalena on 22 July

Lemon & Strawberry Cake with White Chocolate for Emma on 23 July

Chocolate Caramel Tart for Kristina on 24 July

Johanna’s Ginger & Lime Tart

This Ginger & Lime cake has a nice combination of a sweet cookie like pie shell with a sour ginger-rich filling. It can be served as is or with freshly whipped cream.

Dough
1 ¼ cup (170 g) flour
100 g (3.5 oz) butter
4 tablespoons Sucanat
A splash of cold water

Filling
3 eggs
2/3 cup (150 ml ) sugar (works with either white or brown)
7/8 cup (200 ml ) cream
Grated peel from one lime
Juice from 2 limes
1 inch (2 ½ cm) piece of ginger

Decoration (optional)
Powdered sugar

Mix together butter, flour and sugar with your bare hands. When the butter is well divided, add a splash of water and work the dough well. After the dough has rested for half an hour in the fridge, line the dough in a 9 ½ inch (24 cm) springform or similar. Bake the tart shell at 400ºF (200ºC) for about 15 minutes. The shell should start to get some nice color.

Let the pie shell cool while you whip together egg and sugar until fluffy. Add the cream and blend well together before adding lime and ginger. Adjust the flavor with more or less ginger and lime to your liking. Pour the filling into the pie shell and bake in the oven at 400ºF (200ºC) for about 20 minutes. The filling should have set. Let the cake cool down before dusting some powdered sugar over. Enjoy!

Illustrations by Johanna Kindvall

The post Swedish Fruntimmersveckan Recipe: Ginger & Lime Tart appeared first on EcoSalon.

Better than popcorn.

There has been a lot of talk about the benefits of popcorn, but what about other worthy snacks that are quick to make and pack some taste? Start with these roasted chickpeas. The recipe is simple and straightforward and the end result is easily transportable, perfect for outdoor spring adventures.

Spicy Roasted Chickpeas with Lime

Ingredients

• 1 15 oz. can organic garbanzo beans
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• zest of one lime

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400F.
• Drain and rinse chickpeas.
• Mix all ingredients together in bowl until chickpeas are evenly covered.
• Bake for about 30 – 40 minutes, tossing a few times with a wooden spoon to ensure chickpeas are evenly baked.
• Let cool and store in an airtight container.

Every month on Sunday Recipe, we bring you a new theme of recipes, perfect for whipping up on a Sunday. For April it’s all about food that’s easy to travel with, perfect for your spring outings. Enjoy!

The post Sunday Recipe: Spicy Roasted Chickpeas with Lime appeared first on EcoSalon.