Recipe #17: Paleo/ Low Carb English Muffins

 Before

After microwaving 

 Split using a fork

Toasted to perfection & slathered with butter!

A friend recently went low carb, and her 11 year old son enthusiastically joined in.  Great!  But for sack lunches, he still preferred sandwiches.  I shared with my friend a couple of solutions, like making wraps with low carb tortillas or low carb, homemade crepes or making rolls, pitas, or bread loaves from Simple Mills brand Artisan Bread mix.  
http://www.simplemills.com/products/almond-flour-focaccia-sandwich-bread-mix
But here is another QUICK, make-ahead option that can be used at lunchtime or breakfast: English muffins!  Shhh - a personal weakness of mine.  ;-)  I started with an online inspiration recipe: 
http://beautyandthefoodie.com/quick-paleo-english-muffins/ 
And this is what I came up with.  Enjoy!!!  Next I'm going to try a cinnamon raisin version! Yum.

Ingredients:

• 1 Egg
• 1 Tbsp Milk or Coconut Milk
• 1 Tbsp Coconut Flour
• 1 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed
• ½ Tbsp Salted Butter or Coconut Oil + sprinkle of Salt
• ½ tsp Baking Powder
• A pinch of Date Sugar

1. Melt the butter in a small, round, glass ramekin by microwaving for 30-40 seconds
2. In a separate bowl, beat the egg
3. Add the rest of the ingredients to the egg except for the melted butter, being careful to scrape & stir until lump free
4. After achieving a more uniform mixture, add the melted butter (this butter will have had a chance to cool off without resolidifying so as not to prematurely cook the eggs; also, the traces of butter left in the ramekin allow the English muffin to release easily later)
5. Pour the mixture back into the buttered ramekin
6. Microwave for 1 ½ minutes, until middle is firm
7. Allow the muffin to cool until it is comfortable to handle
8. To unmold, simply turn the ramekin over to allow the muffin to fall into your hand - voila!
9. Split the muffin by piercing it with a fork all around its circumference or by cutting with a serrated knife (personally, I prefer the fork method because you get a bumpy surface with nooks & crannies where butter can pool - oh, yeah!)
10. Toast in toaster oven or a wide-slot toaster
11. Butter liberally! :-D

*** One note of caution: this English muffin, my faux cornbread,  and many other low carb bread recipes are egg-based and may spoil if left at room temperature for long.  To be safe, I would pack my sack lunches with an icepack in an insulated bag and then eat them before too long - do NOT leave them to be eaten at the end of a long day!!! Also, store your faux bread in the frig inside an airtight container to prevent drying out. ***

Recipe #16 - Hot Dog IN Bun in honor of July 4th

You are FREE to Name It: Hot Dog IN Bun...Pig in a Blanket...Toad in the Hole

In honor of the Fourth of July, I present this recipe idea: Hot Dog IN Bun.  Or you could call it a 'pig in a blanket' (one of my childhood, school cafeteria favorites) or a 'toad in the hole' for you Brits.  Using Simple Mills (R) Artisan Bread almond flour mix, the 'dinner rolls' option - one of our new favorite low carb/ paleo/ primal products (see link below) - we poured the bread mixture into 4 well-buttered, 6"x6", glass molds lined with two hot dogs each.  We prefer organic, no nitrates/nitrites brands.  Bake for 25 minutes at 350degF or until a toothpick comes out cleanly from the middle of the molds.  The hot dogs in buns come out easily if you loosen up the edges with a knife prior to unmolding and cooling on cookie cooling racks.  Cut each set of twins in two to serve.  Then you will never again have the problem of too many buns for your pack of hot dogs!  ;-)  The net carbs per dog: 13.5g.  Not bad at all!  Load it up with any condiments you like: mustard, ketchup, relish, chili & cheese with chopped onions.

http://www.simplemills.com/products/almond-flour-focaccia-sandwich-bread-mix 

Recipe #15: Paleo/ Low Carb Brownies

Who doesn't like brownies?  

Lately, my husband renewed his efforts to live the low carb lifestyle after dabbling with intermittent fasting combined with a more conventional American diet.  Although his waistline stayed the course, his lipid profile went totally off course.  So, now I'm making new efforts to add variety to the family nutrition program, and, hopefully, get the kids a bit more on board this time around.

Hence, BROWNIES!  Taste & texture are really key.  Using this inspiration recipe: 

http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2012/08/peanut-butter-swirl-brownies-low-carb-and-gluten-free.html

I concocted my own tasty, chocolatey goodness.  The only thing that could make them better is some walnuts or no sugar added chocolate chunks!

For the requisite dark chocolate, I used a combination of Ghirardelli 100% cacao unsweetened baking chocolate (4 oz) & Simply Balanced (Target brand) 85% cacao dark chocolate (3 oz).  

And instead of erythritol or an artificial sweetener, I used a combination of date sugar (which is simply ground dates!!! totally paleo-compliant) & monk fruit.  Date sugar is a particularly good choice because it's got fiber, vitamins, minerals, & antioxidants, in addition to a more complex flavor that works well with chocolate.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter (LOW CARB) or coconut oil (PALEO)
• 7 oz very dark chocolate (85 to 90% cacao)
• 1/2 cup date sugar
• 4 packets of monk fruit sweetener
• 5 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 1/2 tsp non-aluminum baking powder

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 deg F and butter an 8x8 inch baking pan.
2. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and chocolate while stirring until smooth.
3. Add the date sugar & monk fruit sweetener and stir until well combined.
4. Let cool 10 minutes.
5. Whisk the eggs & vanilla in a separate bowl.  Then temper (add a little bit with continual mixing) the eggs with the cooled chocolate mixture until all the chocolate is mixed into the eggs.
6. In another bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together to break up lumps.  Then stir the dry ingredients into the chocolate & egg mixture until the batter is smooth.
7. Spread batter in prepared baking pan. 
8. Bake 18 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
9. Cool, then cut into squares.  ENJOY! :-)

Recipe #14: Banana Pancakes

Banana Pancakes - before & after

Sometimes, a girl's just gotta have pancakes with lots of syrup!  There are some awesome low carb pancake recipes out there.  This is my version.  I wrote it for my friend who gave me a giant bunch of bananas left over from fresh fruit Friday at school.  :-)  

The addition of ground flaxseed gives these pancakes an omega-3 fatty acid punch which has a myriad of health benefits.  And if you use omega-3 enriched eggs, even better!  Unlike omega-6 fatty acids, which are so easy to come by in the typical American diet, omega-3s are sometimes neglected, especially if one does not like seafood or cannot eat walnuts.  These fatty acids are termed 'essential' because our bodies cannot manufacture them; they must be absorbed from our diet.  Omega-3s reduce inflammation, benefit heart health as well as joint health, and even contribute to proper blood clotting and brain function.  http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/omega-3/  So, eat up!

2 frozen bananas, defrosted
3 jumbo eggs or 4 large eggs
2 tbsp ground flaxseed
dash of cinnamon

Squeeze out the banana from its skin into a large bowl, being careful to get the 'tail' out, which is hard & unappetizing.  :-P  The bananas are so mushy at this point that you don't have to do any work of mashing them.  They slip right out of the skin, and you only have to use your whisk to break them up while mixing in all the remaining ingredients.  It's that easy.  Cook the batter as you would normal pancakes.  I use a cast iron skillet with olive oil. Instead of forming bubbles when the pancakes are ready to flip, this pancake will get slightly dry and browned at the edges.  Makes ~8 pancakes.  Enjoy with your favorite low carb syrup or with a dusting of xylitol powder.  I like to use a touch of agave nectar.

Inspiration recipe: http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/06/20/ec/0620ec30a89e904eae2ce55ac080ab25.jpg

Recipe #13: Cranberry Cherry Almond Muffins

Cranberry Cherry Almond Muffins - before & after

It's been a while since my last posting.  In the interim, we went through an unrelated cancer surgery & treatment with my mom and a series of shoulder surgeries & treatments for my husband...three deaths in the family, one of which was related to diabetes.  Then a friend's news of health challenges.  All this together woke me up again.  Or rather, it all restoked the fire of looking after my own health.

I'll get back on the wagon with this recipe for cranberry cherry almond muffins.  Cranberries are well known anecdotally to benefit your bladder & kidneys.  Additionally, they have a two-fold benefit in fighting cancer.  Cranberries have been shown to decrease DNA damage to start with, which is the defect that can lead to the formation of cancer cells of all types.  Then once cancer is started, substances in cranberries can help decrease cancer proliferation while supporting healthy cell function.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nalini-chilkov/cranberries-health_b_2308526.html   Cherries similarly fight cancer cell proliferation while decreasing inflammation and supporting healthy cell function.  http://www.aicr.org/foods-that-fight-cancer/tab-content/cherries-research.html

Readers of my blog may notice that this recipe includes coconut sugar rather than an artificial sweetener.  I've been personally moving away from artificial non-caloric sweeteners and trying out natural alternatives that are either no calorie or low glycemic.  You could very easily, though, sub in Splenda for the coconut sugar and reduce the stevia & monkfruit packets to 3 each.

Don't have cranberries or cherries?  Toss in a cup of frozen blueberries!   These tiny, brightly colored fruits are now famous for their many health benefits.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23387969

Dry:

2   cups almond flour

¼ cup ground flaxseed

1/3 cup coconut sugar

4 packets monkfruit

4 packets stevia

2 tsp baking powder

Wet:

1/3  cup water

1/4 cup dried chopped cranberries reconstituted in the water

2/3 cup chopped frozen cherries

3 jumbo eggs or 4 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp almond extract

1 stick salted butter melted and cooled slightly

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line 1-12 muffin pan with paper liners or grease an 8"x8" square pan with butter. 

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients.  Use a spoon to pulverize any baking powder clumps.  Add the wet ingredients save for the butter.  Mix until combined.  Then drizzle the melted butter into the batter while stirring to prevent the hot butter from cooking the raw eggs.

Pour batter into the muffin tin/pan.  Bake for 16 minutes until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 15-20 minutes.  Have them as is or serve with more butter or Melt organic buttery spread if you like!  :-D

Recipe #12 - Holiday Cookies

Holiday Cookies - Before & After

My friend was in a quandry.  She started a low carb nutrition regimen right as the holidays began.  A smart move, in my opinion, to avoid holiday waist inflation!  ;-)  But her usual holiday MO was to make copious quantities of baked goods to give away.  And in the process, much cookie dough was also consumed.  What to do?  This one is for you, friend!


Ingredients for the cookie base (vanilla shortbread)

• 2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup Splenda
• 7 packets stevia powder
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) room temperature salted butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For almond cookies:  add 2 teaspoons almond extract

For pecan sandies: add 3/4 cup chopped pecans & roll dough balls in powdered xylitol (Ideal Confectionary Sweetener) before baking & do not press cookies

For chocolate cookies:  add 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

For snickerdoodles:  add 1 teaspoon almond extract + 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

For chocolate chip cookies:  add 3/4 cup sugar-free chocolate chips or 3/4 cup raw cocao nibs

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line a muffin tin with paper liners (makes ~20 cookies).  Combine all ingredients using a fork. Form dough into balls using two teaspoons (form 'quenelles' for you chef wannabes). Bake for 7 minutes. Press the dough balls down lightly with the back of a spoon to fill the bottom of the muffin cup (makes a nice round cookie).  Continue baking for another 17 minutes or until just browned on the edges.

Inspiration recipe: http://www.lowcarbluxury.com/recipes/recipe-cookie02.html

Recipe #11 - Spaghetti Squash



Spaghetti Squash - before & after


I have my dear college roommate from junior & senior years to thank for this recipe.  She introduced me to this unusual vegetable.  It looks like any old squash on the outside but cooks up into a crispy noodle facsimile which you pull out from the shell.  Amazing!  I typically serve it with bolognese sauce, but spaghetti squash noodles would work with almost any sauce, even including a chow mein/ lo mein preparation.  The recipe to prepare the noodles is this simple:

1) wash the outside of the squash
2) slice the squash in half across the shorter diameter
3) use a spoon to scrape out the seeds & stringy gunk from the middle
4) place the squash cut side down in a microwave-safe dish, then fill the dish with water 1 cm deep (that's 1/4 of an inch, y'all)
5) microwave 4-7 minutes (depending on size of the squash) on full power
6) carefully remove the squash from the dish (it's so cool - the water gets 'sucked up' into the squash cavity while cooking, & the dish will look dry when you take it out; but when you pick the squash up, the hot water gushes back out of the squash into the pan)
7) use a fork to scrape out the spaghetti squash strands, fluffing any chunks to separate the 'noodles'