Until The Thin Lady Sings

Simple Lemon Cookies for Santa! Low-Carb & made with coconut flour.

2011-12-21T11:12:00.001-05:00

I have been wanting to try some coconut flour cookies for a while.. and these turned out pretty good! These Lemon Cookies are adapted from a recipe in Bruce Fife's Cooking with Coconut Flour, one of my favorite cookbooks.
I did like them much better after they cooled. This recipe is easy to half, as well, if you just want to make a few. I hope you enjoy these! I am looking forward to getting more creative with some coconut flour cookie recipes in the future, but thought these simple little treats would be just right for your low-carb Santa! I hope you all have a great holiday.

Low-Carb Gluten-Free Simple Coconut Flour Lemon Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen. Carbs: 0.9 (effective) each, 22.2 ECC whole batch.

4 eggs
1/2 cup erythritol
1/4 teaspoon of powdered Stevia, or 1/2 teaspoon of NuNaturals Brand
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup melted butter or coconut oil
3/4 cup sifted coconut flour
parchment paper

Preheat oven to 375˚F (190˚C). Combine erythritol, stevia powder, lemon extract, salt, and butter, and mix well. Add eggs one at a time, and beat after each addition. Stir in sifted coconut flour. Let batter rest about 5 minutes to thicken it slightly. Drop batter in spoon sized mounds 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Smash with fingers a bit to flatten each one. Bake for 15 minutes.

Chuck Roast, slow-cooked, grass-fed, low-carb & gluten-free!

2011-12-11T16:47:00.001-05:00

Chuck Roast, slow-cooked, grass-fed, low-carb & gluten-free! What more could you ask for? Oh, don't worry, it's also easy. Recently, we bought a 1/4 of a cow from a local grass-fed farm. It filled our freezer promisingly... but we made quick work of it. Some of the cuts I had no idea what to do with. The Chuck Roast was one of them. Cooking grass-fed beef is a bit more of a challenge since grass-fed beef is leaner than the corn-fed beef that we Americans are used to. So, when you look for a recipe for grass-fed meat, you do have to keep that in mind. Slow cooking grass-fed beef is the best option, because it can get tough with all that lack of fat. This recipe makes almost a soup. You can strain the meat and veggies out of it with a slatted spoon and serve with just a little broth on top, or serve it like a soup.

This recipe is based on this one on myrecipes.com, but with my own low-carb and delicious additions. I hope you enjoy it! It's fairly simple, the only time you'll really spend is cutting veggies. I managed to get this done with a sick baby and husband.

A few notes: If you don't have beef broth, but you have a beef bone, you can put a cup and a half of water and your bone in the slow cooker and turn it on high while you do the chopping, etc. Then, turn it down and just leave it in there a while longer after you throw everything else in. If you buy your beef broth, check and make sure it is gluten free!!

If you are just appalled by my use of carrots- I only use two! You can leave them out. I figured it was still pretty low-carb with only 2... it adds 4 net carbs to the whole pot.

Start this VERY early for dinner or just start it any time and eat it tomorrow - that's usually what happens at my house! Safer that way, sometimes it does take more than 12 hours. I usually start a slow cooking recipe Saturday afternoon and eat it for Sunday lunch or dinner.

PS I have no idea what size my chuck roast was, please forgive me. It was BIG! So don't worry if your roast is a little bigger or smaller.

Chuck Roast, slow-cooked, grass-fed, low-carb & gluten-free!
makes 4 - 6 servings

1 (3 - 4 lb) chuck roast, grass-fed is best!
sea salt & fresh ground pepper
2 Tablespoons coconut oil, palm oil, or lard (for high heat)
1 - 2 large carrots, thickly chopped (optional)
1 cup of gluten-free beef broth or 1.5 cups water and a beef bone

1/2 cup red wine
14.5 oz can of organic diced tomatoes (or half of the big can)- Muir Glen Organic is best, they do not use BPA in the can lining.
1 cup chopped celery
2 large garlic cloves or 4 small, sliced thin-ish
8 ounces pearl onions, peeled or 1 large onion, chopped
8 ounces button or small mushrooms, cleaned and sliced in 1/2 or 1/3rds, depending on size
1 handful of broccoli florets (I used the head of one large stalk)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram

If you are using water + beef bone, put that in your cooker on high right now.

Wash and pat dry your roast. Determine if it fits in your slow cooker. If not, cut it in half. In a small dish, mix salt and pepper - start with about 2 teaspoons of each if you are not sure how much to use. Rub the roast(s) all over with the mixture.

In a large cast iron skillet, melt and heat the oil. Make sure there is enough oil to cover entire skillet. When it is hot, but not smoking, add roast(s) and turn heat up. Brown each side, including the sides, not just top and bottom. How? Let sit a few minutes, then turn with tongs or spatula(s).

If you are not already making stock with a bone in that cooker, pour your pre-made broth in. Add wine and tomatoes. Place your roast(s) in - side by side if 2 - and then add everything but the broccoli and mushrooms.

Cook on low, until the meat is tender. I had to cook mine for 14 hours, but most likely yours will be done in 12. Add mushrooms and broccoli at about 10-12 hours in, so they won't cook down to nothing. When meat is tender, shred the meat by taking it out and shredding it with 2 forks. Add back to the pot, and serve.

Two ways to serve: You can take all the meat and vegetables out with a slotted spoon, then pour just a little of the broth on top like a thin gravy OR serve like a soup. The broth mixture is divine.

salt- celery

Take the xylitol poll

2011-11-17T13:14:00.001-05:00

Hi Folks! I want to hear from you.. come over to Facebook and take the poll on whether or not you are still interested in recipes that have xylitol in them, after reading this blog post by Crunchy Betty. If you don't do Facebook, then please comment here.

UPDATE: Seems to be a BIG difference on brands. Now I think I know why some people report stomach problems with just a tiny bit of xylitol. Turns out, cheap brands can do that. Dragon Herbs Xylitol and The Ultimate Life Sweetener Xylitol are both reported to be high quality birch sugar brands. Yay!

Gluten Free Lower Carb Vanilla One Layer Cake with Chocolate Frosting

2011-10-24T20:31:00.003-04:00

This is a little cake I made yesterday for my honey and our 7 year anniversary. I made the cake low-carb and used lower g.i. coconut sugar for a real tasting frosting. You can grind the sugar in the coffee grinder. I didn't clean it out perfectly first- a little mocha flavor was a plus! So - yes, this is a quick and dirty cake. You can use coconut sugar in place of the erythritol as well- or even do half and half. I've done all versions of this vanilla cake myself. You could use erythritol for the icing and grind it the same way but I think it will taste weirdly cool, so it's your call.

I used an 8 inch heart shaped pan- didn't get a pic of the whole cake but I think you could use any shaped pan sized 7" - 9". Also, you can make this dairy free. I used a high quality expeller pressed coconut oil for the frosting since I ran out of butter, and it was fantastic. Why do I use expeller pressed? Because it has no coconut taste so it doesn't change your recipe. Also, it's a bit cheaper than the virgin coconut oil. I buy mine from Tropical Traditions, where they use the old fashioned method for extracting the oil. No chemicals. If you don't yet know the benefits of coconut oils, please go google-crazy on that topic and educate yourself. It's the only oil I use besides grass-fed butter and lard from pastured animals.
I put effective carb counts for 10 servings, but we really got a lot more than that out of this cake.

Side note: I found that Icelandic brand Smjör butter is entirely grass-fed and a little cheaper than Kerrygold. Go get you some! Score!

TIP: Coconut cakes are more moist the second day and must be kept in the refrigerator or they will get so moist, they will mildew.

GF Low Carb Vanilla Cake, one-layer

18.9 ECC entire cake made with erythritol & milk, 1.9 carbs for 1/10 slice, 8.9 ECC with frosting (coco sugar)

6 TBLS Butter, melted and slightly cooled or or High Quality Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil, semi melted or melted

6 eggs, separated

2 TBLS whole milk, half and half or coconut milk

½ cup erythritol or 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar or mix of two

½ teaspoon NuNaturals stevia or ¼ teaspoon of another brand

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ cup coconut flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

sifter

parchment paper

Line your 7"- 9" cake pan with oiled or buttered parchment paper (oil both sides). You can use a pen to mark where it touches the sides then cut it out to make it fit perfectly. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F (205 C).

Whip egg whites in a clean and dry bowl until soft peaks form, set aside. In a separate bowl, whip butter or oil. Then add the egg yolks, milk, erythritol or coco sugar, stevia, salt, and vanilla and blend.

In a [gf] flour sifter, combine coconut flour and baking soda and sift into ingredients. Mix well to ensure no lumps. Beat in a 1/3rd of egg whites to soften the batter, then fold in rest. Pour batter into a well greased muffin pan or well greased paper liners and bake for 12 - 25 minutes, depending on the size of your pan, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool.

Chocolate Frosting with coconut sugar

makes enough to cover this cake. carbs with half & half = 7g carbs per slice (1/10 cake) but lower g.i. than sugar.

3 Tablespoons [grass-fed] butter, or expeller pressed coconut oil, soft

1/4 cup cocoa

1/3 cup coconut palm sugar

2 Tablespoons whole milk, half and half or coconut milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

coffee grinder or nut grinder

Wipe out inside of grinder (a little coffee will taste good in the frosting, if you wish). Pour 1/3 cup coco sugar and grind until powdered consistency. Set aside.

Whip butter or oil until fluffy (might not happen with the oil, but give it a try). Add rest of ingredients including powdered sugar and blend well. Add more milk if it's too thick. Spread on cooled cake. Store cake in refrigerator.

Gluten Free Sugar Free Banana Cream Pie (so easy!)

2011-09-24T17:47:00.003-04:00

This is not a traditional banana cream pie. There is no custard or long period of stove cooking. It's quick, light, and easy. It has an amazing mouth feel. Sometimes you just have to have bananas. I know they are not low-carb, but I do believe they are nutritious and nice for a once in a while treat.

This pie has no sugar at all and is only made with stevia. If you think you dislike stevia, I ask you to try it again. It really is the best choice for sweeteners. If you can handle a little corn (maltodextrin), NuNaturals is completely free of any bitter taste, although less sweet, so you'd need to use twice as much (1/2 teaspoon for 1/2 cup sugar). Pies are the easiest desserts to make with stevia since they don't rise, like cake. I am going to start researching some other stevia brands that don't contain any corn, I think Sweetleaf has some.. I used to use their stevia, it is also less bitter. I'm trying to cut corn completely out of my diet and this is really the last place it lies.. so I will keep you up to date on that. In fact, for lots of up to date news - please subscribe to my FACEBOOK PAGE, it's loads of fun (for me anyway! ha!) and I link to relevant news articles and other great blogger's recipes as well. Also, I take reader's suggestions and ideas. Of course, with a little one at home, I don't get to bake as much as I used to, but he's starting to take longer naps so I am hoping all that will change very soon! Anyway, here's a banana cream pie that you can give your children and feel good about... use ripe bananas- with little brown dots on the skin- they have a lot less starch, and they taste and digest better. Please comment and let me know what you think! I love comments on this page, too!
A big thank you to all my readers, I am so glad you like my recipes and we can all journey into better health together!!!
Rachel

Gluten Free Sugar Free Banana Cream Pie (so easy!)

crust: chocolate pie crust link, regular pie crust link (I like chocolate, but you may not...)

filling:
16 ounces (2 bricks) organic cream cheese (or even better, cultured raw cream cheese from a local farmer), softened
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 - 4 ripe bananas: 2 mashed, the rest sliced
1/2 teaspoon NuNaturals Stevia or start with 1/4 teaspoon of another brand and work up to taste

Make one of the pie crusts that I link to above. When crust is cooled, place one layer of sliced bananas on the bottom.

In a medium sized bowl, whip cream to soft peaks. Add stevia and vanilla, mix well, and set aside in fridge. In another bowl, whip cream cheese and mashed bananas. Fold in the whipped cream mixture. Pour into cooled pie crust lined with banana slices and chill for about 30 minutes to an hour. You can garnish with banana slices, chocolate curls or chocolate cookie crumbs.

Gluten Free and low carb Raspberry and Cream Pie

2011-09-20T15:13:00.000-04:00

This is my favorite pie. It always gets rave reviews. And it's very simple! I used almost 2 pints of raspberries for the pie picture, because they were so big, but actually it was too many. So I recommend sticking to one pint. If you cut this pie into 8ths, it will be 5.5 effective carb count for each slice, and for 16 slices, it will be 2.75 ECC per slice. By using just stevia, it becomes completely corn free (use Sweetleaf Stevia), and it is egg-free too, for those with sensitivities to eggs.

Raspberry and Cream Pie
8 servings = 5.5 ECC per slice; 16 servings = 2.75 ECC

Crust: chocolate crust is found here. This is what I used.
regular crust found here.

Filling:
1 (8 oz) package organic cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon NuNaturals brand stevia powder or 1/4 teaspoon Sweetleaf Stevia Powder
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup organic heavy whipping cream, whipped
1 pint organic raspberries, small- medium sized

Topping:
1/2 2.5 oz bar of Green & Black's 85% chocolate bar
1 Tablespoon high quality coconut oil or butter (I recommend coco oil)

Make the crust as instructed on bottom of a tart pan and cool completely - can refridgerate.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and stevia until fluffy. Add almond extract and blend well. Fold in whipped cream. Spoon into cooled tart pan with crust. Arrange raspberries stem side down. Refrigerate.

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate and oil/butter, stirring constantly until smooth. Drizzle over raspberries and filling. Put back in refrigerator. Serve after pie has set, about 30 minutes.

Strawberries and Cream GF/LC Pancakes

2011-08-30T19:43:00.001-04:00

In my constant search for a topping for pancakes, I tried this. Pretty yummy!
This is just a simple whip cream and strawberry yogurt topping. I think you'll like it!
For a pancake recipe, I have posted an almond flour one a while back: PANCAKE LINK. The pancakes pictured are my ongoing trial for the perfect coconut flour pancakes. They didn't make the cut! But I loved the topping! It's not very sweet, so bump up the sweet factor if you need to.

Strawberries and Cream Pancake Topping
serves two

1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon NuNaturals Stevia or 1/8 teaspoon of another brand
5 medium fresh strawberries
1 Tablespoon Full Fat Greek Yogurt
hand mixer
mini-chopper

Whip the cream and stevia together in a bowl with a mixer on high speed until it starts to thicken. Add vanilla, then whip again until soft peaks form--> meaning when you turn off the mixer and lift it up. Underneath the mixers you will have little whip cream peaks whose tops slightly turn down. Set aside. In a mini-chopper, blend strawberries and yogurt until well blended. Serve

Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Oatmeal Kitchen Sink Cookies with Coconut Flour and Steel Cut Oats

2011-08-27T22:07:00.002-04:00

Sometimes you just have to fill a craving! I know oatmeal isn't exactly low-
carb but I wanted to make some oatmeal cookies with cherries and macadamia nuts (and chocolate) and I couldn't find a single easy gluten-free recipe online. I have to tell you- for me, cooking with all those GF flours is a pain. They take up too much room in the fridge and every time I find a recipe I want, I need yet another flour. Plus they are crazy high in carbs. So, this is a lower carb version... I should just say this is a healthier version. Because these cookies taste better when they have firmed up, I didn't want to make a recipe that requires them to be warm. When I use sugar-alcohol like erythritol in a cookie recipe, they taste better warm, otherwise you get that cooling effect. So, I used coconut sugar. I am not even going to post the carbs. This is a treat. I made these dairy free so they'd be great for a GFCF child you might have in your family, or yourself if you are gluten and dairy free. I was out of coconut so mine didn't have coconut flakes but I will add it to the recipe as an optional ingredient. I used Extra Virgin Coconut Oil so mine had a great coconut taste.
To make the chocolate chips low-carb, you can use an 85% chocolate bar and chop it up like this (yes that is a link to my very first post).
So I am calling these Kitchen Sink Cookies because they have everything in them except for the kitchen sink. Substitute all you want but I have to tell you it's FANTASTIC with macadamia nuts and cherries (I had some left over from the chocolate cookies).
These might have more carbs than my other recipes but coconut sugar is low g.i. So, you know, there's that. ;) These came out A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. The steel cut oats make a crunchiness to the cookie. The fridge time is important, definitely heed that. Also, you all know your oats MUST be labelled "gluten-free" (and cost more than you would like to spend) or they will make your stomach hurt (if you are gluten-intolerant)! There is some refrigerator time so better start early if you have a craving.
Update: these cookies do not need parchment paper.
You could sub 1/4 cup + 1 TBLS agave for the sugar, although I haven't tried it. Post if you do. They may make the cookie more soft.

GFCF Oatmeal Kitchen Sink Cookies
makes about 2 dozen. Make these to share, I don't know how to calculate carbs with low g.i. ingredients. It will sound like too many. ;)

1 1/2 cups high quality almond flour, like Honeyville (not Bob's RM)
3/4 cup GLUTEN-FREE steel cut oats (I used Arrowhead Mills )
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup dried cherries, or other dried fruit
1/4 cup macadamia nuts, or other nuts
1/4 cup dairy-free chocolate chips or chopped 85% chocolate bar
2 Tablespoons sugar-free coconut flakes (optional)
5 Tablespoons high quality EV Coconut Oil
1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons coconut palm sugar - I like SweetTree
1 pastured egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 medium bowls

Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Mix dry ingredients except for nuts, fruit, coconut flakes, and chocolate; and set aside. In a separate bowl, blend coconut oil and sugar together until blended. Add egg and vanilla and mix again. Add the dry ingredients a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add, nuts, fruit, coconut, and chocolate chips and mix. Cover and refrigerate at least an hour. Place tablespoons of dough on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 8 - 10 minutes until edges are brown. Cool on cookie sheet. Enjoy!!!

GF Low Carb Mini Chocolate Cherry Macadamia Cookies!!!

2011-08-21T15:57:00.002-04:00

Yes, that's right. I put everything I was craving into one cookie! Mmmmm, true decadence. These bake better when you make them small. I definitely recommend using the same brands I did- High quality almond flour and NuNaturals Stevia do make the difference, in my opinion. (That is truly my opinion, but if you happen to work for either of those companies, please feel free to contact me to put an ad on my site! :D That would help me pay for these ingredients!) If you are short on cash, remember you can always hit the bulk section of your natural grocer and get just a small handful of cherries and macadamias, it's only 1/4 cup of each.

You can chop your macadamias, leave them whole, or chop them in half. I tried to chop mine in half, which was marginally successful. I like the taste of having huge nuts in this, even if there are less.

I hope you enjoy these! Two posts in one week to make up for my long absence (especially for you Kindle subscribers!).

GF Low-Carb Mini Chocolate Cherry Macadamia Cookies
makes about 40 mini-cookies, 1.5 ECC per mini-cookie, 6 g for 4 mini-cookies

2 ½ cups Honeywells Almond Flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons erythritol (could sub: 1/4 cup of coconut sugar)
¾ teaspoon NuNaturals Stevia powder (½ as much of another brand)
2 organic pastured eggs
6 Tablespoons soft or melted organic or pastured butter like Kerrygold (can sub coco oil for gfcf)
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped dried cherries
1/4 cup macadamia nuts
parchment paper

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl: almond flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, erythritol, and stevia. Make sure the stevia is well mixed in. Add in eggs, melted butter, and vanilla and mix well. Stir in nuts and cherries.

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll dough into small balls, and put on parchment paper. Make a small indention with two of your fingers to make it flat on top, but don’t smush all the way down. You want them to still have height, just not be round. They will not spread so you can leave just a little room between each cookie. Bake at 350˚F for 10 - 13 minutes until golden brown. These are better warm, so you might want to warm up any that you eat the next day.. or save half the batter for next time.

Quick Gluten-Free Sugar-Free Blueberry Pie

2011-08-18T18:55:00.003-04:00

Hi Everyone! I'm finally posting again.. thanks for hanging in there with me! My Mom picked tons of beautiful blueberries when she was visiting her sister in NC and I have been cooking with them! This is a quick recipe.. in retrospect, I should not have used such a big tart pan (10"). So, my picture is of this recipe stretched to a 10" pie pan, but I have written the recipe for an 8" pie pan. This could also be made in a square, for Blueberry Bars. This is my shortbread crust with a twist.
This can be made gluten and casein free by using coconut oil instead of butter.
According to this site, fresh blueberries have 16 effective carbs (ECC), and frozen has 14. I did these Effective Carb Counts for fresh blueberries.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Quick Gluten-Free Sugar-Free Blueberry Pie
serves 8, carbs per servingwith fresh blueberries = 8.8 ECC

shortbread crust:

1 1/2 cups almond flour, I used Honeyville
1/4 teaspoon NuNaturals Stevia powder (or 1/8 teaspoon Sweetleaf or other brand)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
6 Tablespoons organic butter, melted (or expeller-pressed coconut oil)
1/16 scant teaspoon cinnamon

Edges of crust slightly browned

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl with a fork. Press into a 8" pan and bake 10 - 15 minutes until the edges are slightly brown. (Like this pic--->).While baking, you can make the filling.

filling:

3 cups blueberries, frozen or fresh
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon NuNaturals Stevia or 1/8 teaspoon Sweetleaf or other brand
1/4 cup Erythritol
4 Tablespoons melted butter or coconut oil
2 Tablespoons Arrowroot Starch
1 Tablespoon Coconut Flour

Mix well cinnamon, stevia, erythritol, butter, arrowroot, and coconut flour together. Add blueberries. If your blueberries are frozen or your mixture clumps, put in a saucepan over low heat and mix gently until it is liquid (except the blueberries) and mixed well. Pour into pie crust and return to oven for 10- 20 minutes or until set.
Serve warm with or without low carb ice cream.

Regular Posting Will Be Back Very Soon!

2011-07-27T23:17:00.002-04:00

As you all know, I had a sweet baby boy in May.. then moved over 2,000 miles in July... JUST got all the boxes from my old place today! When I am unpacked, you can expect lots of posting from me again. I have lots of ideas for you! Thanks for hanging in there with me!!!
:) Rachel

Our bundle of joy

2011-05-21T10:57:00.000-04:00

Our sweet Robert was born 5/11. New posts as soon as recovered. Also a big state move soon... but even while recovering, recipes are brewing in the back of my mind for you...

Stevia Lemon-Lime Jell-O!

2011-04-30T18:36:00.000-04:00

I've been wanting Jell-O, but didn't want the carbs or artificial sweetener. So I thought I'd make my own low carb version. This is a tart & sweet lemon-lime flavor that I use often to make lemonade. This entire recipe is about 17 ECC (19 carbs without subtracting fiber) and probably serves about 6. So that's about 2.8 ECC a serving, pretty good! It's very refreshing.

Gelatin has been used since the time of ancient Eygpt, over 3000 years. Pretty cool, huh?

Stevia Lemon-Lime Jell-O
6 servings, 2.83 ecc per serving

1 ounce unflavored gelatin (I used 4 packets/1 box of Knox)
1/2 cup fresh squeezed organic lime juice, chilled
1/2 cup fresh squeezed organic lemon juice, chilled
3 cups hot water
1 & 1/4 teaspoons NuNaturals powdered Stevia (or half as much of another brand- to taste)

Sprinkle gelatin over chilled lemon and lime juice in a bowl, let sit for one minute (you don't need to stir). Add hot water and stir for a full 5 minutes, to make sure gelatin is completely dissolved. Add stevia and stir well. Pour into a 13 x 9 x 2" pan and refrigerate for 3 hours until firm. Cut into cubes or serve! Keep in fridge.

Low Carb Gluten-Free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

2011-04-18T13:42:00.000-04:00

Spring is here!!! Lemon poppy seed muffins are my favorite... so I made these with coconut flour.. very good! I hope you enjoy them.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
makes 6, 1.7 net carbs each

3 eggs, separated
3 Tablespoons melted organic butter or high quality coconut oil
½ teaspoon NuNaturals stevia powder (or ¼ teaspoon SweetLeaf or any other brand)
2 Tablespoons Erythritol
2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed organic lemon juice

1 Tablespoon fresh organic lemon zest
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup coconut flour

1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
flour sifter
muffin tin

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut out parchment paper circles to fit in bottom of muffin tins. Grease muffin tins & papers well with either coconut oil or butter and set aside.
Separate eggs. Whip the egg whites in a clean dry bowl until soft peaks form and put aside.
In another bowl, mix together egg yolks, melted butter, stevia, erythritol, salt, lemon juice, vanilla and lemon zest. Combine coconut flour, baking soda, and baking powder in the sifter and sift into batter, mixing well. Stir in poppy seeds. Fold egg whites into batter. Immediately spoon batter into muffin tin, filling to the top. They won't rise much. Bake for 13 - 16 minutes.

Yummy Low Carb Snack with Celery and Bleu Cheese

2011-04-15T18:58:00.000-04:00

I love low-carb snacks made with celery... they are crunchy, salty, and satisfying. We bought some Raw Bleu D'Auvergne Cheese the other day, and found it really stinky, strong, and delicious.... but a little too strong, so we've been whipping it into dishes all week in ways we can handle its strong flavor. If you use a regular blue cheese when you make this, you might want to pump up the flavor by using more blue cheese and less cream cheese. That will also lower the carbs.

This is a perfect side dish with a packed lunch. This is for 2 servings. It is easily halved, doubled, tripled, etc. For your calculations, 1 ounce creamy cheese = 2 Tablespoons creamy cheese.

Also I have to tell you that the bulk of the carbs in this recipe are from cream cheese, which I have found conflicting reports of carb info.. ranging from zero carbs to 2 carbs per ounce. I used the 2 carbs per ounce calculation.

Celery with Blue Cheese Spread
makes 2 servings, 6.5 ECC per serving

2 Tablespoons/1 ounce strong blue cheese, we used a raw Bleu D'Auvergne
4 ounces organic cream cheese
2 Tablespoons coarsely ground walnuts
1- 2 teaspoons pastured organic milk
4 medium sized stalks of organic celery, cleaned and both ends trimmed.

Place cheese, walnuts, and 1 teaspoon of milk in a food processor or mini-chopper (use food processor if doubling or tripling recipe). Combine until well mixed. Add more milk if mixture is too thick to combine. When well mixed, spread on celery sticks and serve.

GF Low Carb Peanut Butter Bread by 24/7 LCD

2011-03-31T09:51:00.007-04:00


Mr Peanut Bread with pastured butter & eggs

OK, if you are missing all the fun on my Facebook page (join! http://www.facebook.com/Untilthethinladysings), 24/7 Low Carb Diner posted this amazing Peanut Butter Bread. And I'm in love with it. It's cheaper than the almond butter bread I was making, it's lower carb, it's easier to make, and it's tastier. Yes, it has a mild peanutty flavor, but I prefer that to a mild almond butter flavor. I would imagine you could try any kind of nut butter in this recipe... let me know if you try cashew.. or hazelnut! yum.

It will make a small half loaf. Use a regular loaf pan like a 9 x 5.

http://247lowcarbdiner.blogspot.com/2011/03/mr-peanut-sandwich-bread.html is the link. I made it without the optional sweetener and with apple cider vinegar (printed below). Alo I added my directions to make it fluffier. Yummy!! So far I've had it: toasted with eggs, toasted with cream cheese and poppy seeds, made into sandwiches, LC cinnamon toast... endless possibilities!!

UPDATE: Made it with almond butter and with tahini (sesame seed paste) and it was also very very good!

Mr. Peanut Sandwich Bread
1 cup natural peanut butter, smooth
3 eggs
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Mix peanut butter with a mixer until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one, Add in remaining ingredients and mix. Pour into a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Let cool before slicing.

Ginger Apricot Scones

2011-03-23T09:18:00.001-04:00

1 scone with cream cheese and butter, cut in half

Ok folks, I know I am scone crazy lately, posting all variations... but these are yummy and don't even make me want jelly. Yes, I admit to a extreme pregnancy jelly craving which forces me to make extreme low-carb vehicles for one small teaspoon of jelly. But this one has a little apricot within, so that's not necessary. The spiciness of the ginger and cinnamon are really nice in this as well.

I'm not sure if any of you are middle of the night snackers.. I never was until pregnancy (hopefully will not be after) but one of these with grass-fed butter, organic cream cheese and a small glass of grass-fed raw milk is the perfect super-tasty protein punch to put me blissfully back to sleep. The scone with cream cheese and butter will be only 1.9 effective carbs. Well, the milk will have it's own carbs, but I believe in raw milk, despite the carbs- good protein, good flora pro-biotic, and good fats.

As always, I recommend a high quality blanched almond flour like Honeyville's, otherwise it might not turn out. And of course... if you don't use NuNatural's Stevia Powder, you'll have to start with half of what you've got and taste test- although I don't recommend any other brand except Sweetleaf is ok. Most stevia powders are bitter.

UPDATE: This recipe is featured in the book Low Carbing Among Friends

GFree LC Ginger Apricot Scones
makes 8 scones,at ~ 4.8 ECC each

2 1/2 cups Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour
2 large pastured eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, very soft or melted (5 1/3 Tablespoons) or high quality coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon NuNaturals Stevia powder (or 1/8th of another brand)
1/4 cup Erythritol
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon ginger powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 unsulphured organic apricots, diced (mine came out to 7.6 ECC for 2)

Preheat oven to 350˚F. In a large bowl, mix almond flour, stevia, erythritol, baking soda, salt, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon. In a medium sized bowl, beat the eggs until fluffy, then add the softened butter and beat until well mixed. Add wet mixture to dry and mix well. Add diced apricots and mix again. Make sure you separate all the little pieces of apricot to spread them out. Drop by heaping tablespoons on parchment paper, an inch or so apart. Flatten the top a bit. Bake for 25- 35 minutes until lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheets for another 30 minutes. Serve with butter and cream cheese! (1 Tablespoon of cream cheese = 0.4 ECC)

Low-Carb Gluten-Free Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-03-10T15:51:00.003-05:00

Low-Carb Gluten-Free Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ahhhh... chocolate chip cookies. Miss those? These came out really well.. they are the soft kind, I have yet to figure out how to make them crispy on the edges (oh I tried) but they are very good as they are. I definitely recommend using the brands I used - Honeywell's Flour, NuNatural Stevia, and Green & Black 85% chocolate bar. Otherwise, you'll have to experiment with sweetness, and they may not hold together as well with a different almond flour. If you make them without nuts or want to calculate the carbs with a different kind of nut, subtract 4g from the total batch carb number, and go from there.

These are REALLY good with a glass of fresh raw milk from a pastured grass-fed cow! I hope you enjoy these.

Low-Carb GF Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies

About 2g ECC each, depending how many you make; 50.8g ECC for the entire batch (using walnuts, G&B choc bar)

2 ½ cups Honeywells Almond Flour
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
6 Tablespoons soft or melted (see above) organic or pastured butter like Kerrygold
¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons erythritol
¾ teaspoon NuNaturals Stevia powder (½ as much of another brand)
2 organic pastured eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon blackstrap molasses
1 3.5 oz low carb chocolate bar like Green & Black's 85%, chopped like chips (instructions here)
½ cup walnuts or pecans, optional
parchment paper

Stir together the almond flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl and set aside. Whisk together in a separate bowl: butter and erythritol. Sprinkle evenly over mixture the stevia, then mix in well. Whisk in eggs. Add the vanilla extract, molasses, and stir, and then add the flour mixture. Mix in the chocolate chips (and nuts, if using).

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll dough into small balls, and put on parchment paper. Make a small indention with two of your fingers to make it flat on top, but don’t smush all the way down. You want them to still have height, just not be round. They will not spread so you can leave just a little room between each cookie. Bake at 350˚F for 10 - 13 minutes until golden brown. These are better warm, so you might want to warm up any that you eat the next day – if they last that long in your house!

Cinnamon Walnut Scones, GF, Low-Carb

2011-03-03T11:33:00.002-05:00

Another gluten free low-carb scone recipe.. I'm addicted! A low-carb vehicle for a tiny bit of fruit preserves that I've been craving like mad, here in my 3rd trimester of pregnancy! Of course, these are all based on Elana's scone recipe in The Almond Flour Cookbook which I highly suggest you buy! I don't like to use much agave anymore so I convert her sugars.

I use organic grass-fed butter in this recipe (well, all, really), which I believe is the best choice if you can have dairy. The CLA and beta-carotene alone is worth the use of grass-fed butter over regular butter (or any other type of oil). CLA is the anti-cancer fat which fights cancer, infections, and builds lean muscle. Also, of course, grass-fed butter is a source of healthy saturated fat. I try not to use any poly-unsaturated oils in my diet... and especially anything high in Omega-6. Our American diet is often way too high in Omega 6 and too low in Omega 3's. The proper balance is 2:1 (Omega 3: Omega 6) but unfortunately the American Diet is often more like 1:20. Here's a good little tidbit about that from Dr Merkin that I agree with (although I'm not sure who he is, to be honest):

Eating too much omega-6 and too little omega-3 causes clots and constricts arteries to increase risk for heart attacks, increases swelling to worsen arthritis, and aggravates a skin disease called psoriasis. It may block a person's ability to respond to insulin, causing high insulin and blood sugar levels and obesity. It increases hormone levels of insulin like growth factor-1 that causes certain cancers.

And here are some reasons to eat grass-fed butter from Tropical Traditions:

Butter is a traditional fat that has been consumed for thousands of years in cultures all over the world. When the anti-saturated fat campaign started in the US, many people stopped using butter and switched to margarines made from hydrogenated vegetable oils, high in trans-fatty acids. Trans-fatty acids are now banned in some European countries, and food manufactures in the U.S. must list all trans-fats used in their products as people seek to avoid them.
Butter is rich in short and medium chain fatty acids, including even small amounts of lauric acid. It is rich in antioxidants as well, in the form of beta carotene, vitamin E, and selenium. It is one of the best sources of vitamin A. Because living grass is richer in vitamins E, A, and beta-carotene than stored hay or standard dairy diets, butter from dairy cows grazing on fresh pasture is also richer in these important nutrients. The naturally golden color of grass-fed butter is a clear indication of its superior nutritional value. (Searles, SK et al, “Vitamin E, Vitamin A, and Carotene Contents of Alberta Butter.” Journal of Diary Science, 53(2) 150–154.)
By nature, cows are grazing (grass-eating) animals. 85–95% of dairy cows today are raised in confinement on a diet of grain, particularly corn, because it is far more cost-efficient for agribusiness. This grain-based diet can cause changes in the ph in cows, creating many abnormal physiological conditions in the cow which can increase the need for the use antibiotics. Many of these dairy cows are fed a variety of growth hormones to increase milk production. Most grocery store shelves offer the dairy products from these types of cows. Butter from grain-fed cows is very high in the omega-6 fatty acids, of which most people are consuming too much due to the high amounts of omega 6 vegetable oils and foods in the US diet. The omega-3 fatty acids in most conventional dairy products today are very low, and most people are dangerously deficient in them. Milk from grass-fed cows has a much higher content of omega-3 fatty acids.

The CLA Advantage

Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) is a naturally occurring free fatty acid found mainly in meat and dairy products in small amounts. CLA was discovered by accident in 1978 by Michael W. Pariza at the University of Wisconsin while looking for mutagen formations in meat during cooking. The most abundant source of natural CLA is the meat and dairy products of grass-fed animals. Research conducted since 1999 shows that grazing animals have from 3–5 times more CLA than animals fattened on grain in a feedlot. Simply switching from grain-fed to grass-fed products can greatly increase your intake of CLA. (Dhiman, T. R., G. R. Anand, et al. (1999). “Conjugated linoleic acid content of milk from cows fed different diets.” J Dairy Sci 82(10): 2146–56.)

Anyway, these made my house smell wonderful and were thoroughly enjoyed by my gluten-eating bakery-working husband. Since there is a little less than 4g (effective) carbs per scone, there is room for a little preserves on top of your cream cheese! I recommend Apricot preserves. I buy the Whole Foods brand of fruit sweetened preserves, it is 2.6 g ECC per teaspoon. So, one scone + 2 teaspoons cream cheese (0.26g ECC) + 1 teaspoon apricot sugar-free preserves (2.6g ECC) = 6.8 g ECC. Here's the recipe. Please post if you try it with any substitutions you like and remember I have that substitution tab up there ☝that you can always go to for subs.

I suggest an extremely high quality blanched almond flour like Honeyville, for these to turn out well.

Gluten Free Low Carb Cinnamon Walnut Scones
makes about 8, 3.975 ECC each scone

2 1/2 cups Honeyville Almond Flour
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, very soft or melted (5 1/3 Tablespoons) or high quality coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon NuNaturals Stevia powder (or 1/8th of another brand)
1/4 cup erythritol
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
parchment paper

Preheat oven to 350˚F. In a large bowl, mix almond flour, stevia, erythritol, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a medium sized bowl, beat the eggs until fluffy, then add the softened butter and beat until well mixed. Add wet mixture to dry and mix well. Add walnuts and mix again. Drop by heaping tablespoons on parchment paper, an inch or so apart. Flatten the top a bit. Bake for 25- 35 minutes until lightly browned and a toothpick entered comes out clean. Let cool on baking sheets for another 30 minutes.
I suggest serving each one with 2 Tablespoons cream cheese and one teaspoon fruit sweetened preserves which makes 3.4g Effective Carb Count per scone (if your preserves are also 1 Tablespoon = 8g).

Low G.I. Blueberry Pancake Syrup

2011-03-01T13:29:00.003-05:00

What to do about pancake syrup? I experimented with some xylitol- blueberry syrup and it was very good. Blueberries have a low glycemic index of 6, but still contain carbs. So use this in moderation. Here, the serving is 1/4th the mixture, roughly 1/4 a cup. You can sub other low g.i. berries, just as blackberries, raspberries, or boysenberries if you like. Also this syrup isn't that sweet. If you make it and want it sweeter, I'd advise adding a pinch of stevia.
Here, we have used sauce and whipped cream to top our pancakes. You could use half the syrup I did (effectively making this recipe 8 servings instead of 4) and use more butter and whipped cream. That is about the amount of syrup I used in this picture (1/8th mixture).
Anyway, I thought it was worth posting. Maple syrup is 107.36g carbs for 1/4 cup vs. 23.25g carbs for this sauce... so at least it's a better alternative for your family, for now. I'll keep working on alternatives. We love pancakes and bacon over here!!!
PS Xylitol can have some "adverse effects" when over 40g is consumed. That is roughly a little over 3 Tablespoons per person. This recipe is way below that, so there is no need to be concerned about xylitol use here.
Go HERE for my pancake recipe.

Blueberry Xylitol Syrup
serves 4
23.25g carbs per serving using maple syrup

¼ cup xylitol
2 Tablespoons filtered water
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons maple syrup or use maple extract, maybe 1 teaspoon (haven't tried that) [9g carbs)
1 ½ cup blueberries, pulverized in a mini food processor
¼ cup organic butter (4 Tablespoons)

Add xylitol, water, vanilla, and maple syrup to a small pot over medium heat. Stir constantly until all melted together. Raise heat to bring to a boil, stirring once or twice (watch it). Add blueberries and butter, stir, and simmer for 15- 20 minutes until thick.

Valentine's Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing.. GF and Low Carb!

2011-02-12T14:09:00.003-05:00

GF Low-Carb Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes!

Here's a great dessert you can make anytime.. but I am posting for Valentine's Day because it is my Hubby's favorite combination... PB & Chocolate. So this is the perfect dessert to make for Valentine's Day if you want to stay away from making something pink!!! If you use erythritol in both cupcake and icing, the effective carb count for each cupcake is 4.6 ECC.

This icing is VERY peanut buttery... if you like less, you can lessen the peanut butter a little and increase cream cheese - just keep it to the same measurement of pb + cream cheese = 2/3 cup. The icing also must be refrigerated. But coconut flour cupcakes do well in the fridge (they don't last more than 3 days out of the fridge at all- they will get moldy because of moisture content).

Of course, I used all raw dairy for mine, and organic everything. It's healthy that way! The erythritol keeps carb counts much lower, but you can sub coconut sugar for erythritol if you cannot have corn. The erythritol can be used in this icing... as long as you eat this cupcake cold from the refrigerator to prevent that "cool" feeling from sugar alcohols. Coconut sugar is a very nice low g.i. sugar you can use, in moderation. For Valentine's Day (special occasion), I used erythritol in the cupcake, and coco sugar in the icing.

TIP: I use NuNaturals Stevia. It is non-bitter. If you are using anything else, it might not be as good. Start with HALF the amount that I use and work your way up. Sweetleaf is ok, but use half as much for sure. ALWAYS measure stevia exactly - flat spoon measurements.

TIP: When baking with coconut flour, you MUST use parchment paper or it will not come out of the tin. I tried cupcake papers, they also stuck badly. Take piece of parchment paper cut slightly bigger than the bottom of each cupcake indention in tin, and place in bottom of a cupcake tin. Hold in place while running around the bottom edge with a pen (doesn't matter if the ink doesn't come out, you'll still see the mark). Then, take out and cut that circle out. Test to make sure it fits well. If so, use as a template to make 5 more.

TIP: Don't start the icing until cupcakes are cooled. They don't take long and are spread more easily when fresh. You can spread with a knife, silicone spatula, or icing spatula OR you can get fancy and put in an icing bag with a tip and make a beautiful presentation. I did the former.

Print Recipe Link

Chocolate Cupcakes

makes 6 cupcakes, Carbs: 1.66 ECC each

3 Tablespoons butter

¼ cup cocoa powder

¼ cup milk

3 eggs, separated

1/3 cup erythritol

½ teaspoon NuNaturals powdered Stevia

¼ teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup coconut flour

¼ teaspoon baking powder

parchment paper, cut out circles for bottom of each cupcake

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Well grease a 6 muffin pan with butter and place in each bottom a parchment paper cutout, which you want to grease the top as well as underneath. In a saucepan over low heat, stir together butter and cocoa powder until melted and blended. Remove from heat and let cool. In a bowl, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form and set aside in a cool place (refrigerate is possible). In another bowl, mix together milk, egg yolks, erythritol, stevia, salt, and vanilla. Stir together cocoa mixture and milk mixture. Combine coconut flour and baking powder and sift into batter. Then fold batter into the beaten egg whites. Pour batter into muffin pan/tins just about 3/4ths- 7/8ths full. Bake in pre-heated oven for 16-18 minutes. Let cool completely. Run a butter knife backwards (using the non sharp side) around the edge of each cupcake and they should pop out easily.

Peanut Butter Icing

for 6 cupcakes, carbs: 2.9 per cupcake with erythritol. 10.44 with coco palm sugar (7.5 of which has a low g.i.of between 35- 54).

2 ounces (or 4 Tablespoons) cream cheese, softened

1 Tablespoon milk

1/3 cup organic natural smooth peanut butter

1/3 cup heavy cream, whipped

1/4 teaspoon NuNaturals powdered Stevia

3 Tablespoons coconut sugar or erythritol (2 Tablespoons for less sweet)

Whip cream cheese, stevia, and erythritol until well mixed. Add peanut butter and milk, beat again until mixed. Fold in the whipped cream. Spread on cooled cupcakes immediately and refrigerate. You can take these out for an hour or so before serving if you'd like.. but mainly should be chilled to harden icing and kept cool because of the dairy. Put leftovers back in the refrigerator.

Lamb Steaks and Cheddar Broccoli

2011-02-01T20:17:00.004-05:00

This is another low-carb GF dinner we make - always delicious. Very simple, and easy to make. Lamb is one animal you can buy from the grocery and know it wasn't force fed grains. We bought ours from Whole Foods, which has good policies. They are expensive, ours in NY were $16.50 for 1.27 lbs (for 2). But alas, really healthy food with green practices are rarely cheap. I am not sure what kind of lamb steaks these are (where are they cut from?) but they looked like filet mignons.

TIP: If you have thick steaks, start by steaming broccoli, then go straight to prepping steaks. They can cook side by side in the oven. The lamb will probably take longer (unless your steaks are thinner).

Lamb Steaks & Cheddar Broccoli - naturally low-carb & gluten-free

Lamb Steaks

lamb steaks
grain mustard
GF flour, such as nut, millet, anything
salt & pepper
pastured lard, or butter for cooking
a cast iron or other skillet that has no plastic, and can go into oven

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Wash steaks, and pat dry. Coat each steak in a thin layer of grain mustard. Pour a little GF flour in a bowl and put your steaks in, turning to coat evenly. Place a cast iron skillet over medium heat until heated. Then add a small amount of lard/butter - enough to coat bottom. Sear the steaks just a minute or two on each side, you just want to brown the outside. Transfer into heated oven to cook until desired temperature. You can use a meat thermometer or just cut into one when you think it's done to check for redness (rare), pink (medium) or brown (well- though I personally don't recommend this on lamb). My recommendation is not to cook it over medium, these don't have much fat inside and may get tough. Click here for meat temperatures for lamb. Ours we cooked medium-rare, 130˚- 135˚F. Our steaks were very thick and took about 15- 20 minutes to cook.

floured & mustard coated lamb steaks

Cheddar Broccoli
serves 2

1 bunch of broccoli
4 Tablespoons organic pastured butter
Cheddar cheese - we used most of a block of Kerrygold cheddar (grass-fed)
1/4 cup of slivered almonds
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Wash and cut broccoli at the stems, to make smaller. Steam broccoli about 5 minutes after water is boiling- until tender. Transfer broccoli to a cutting board to cut into smaller pieces, then transfer to baking dish. Slice butter and place in slices all over broccoli. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle almonds. Slice up the block of cheddar (or grate, if you wish) and place all over the top. Bake for about 10 - 12 minutes until cheese is melted all over broccoli.

Broccoli before baking

Broccoli when done

Lunch: BLT Salad with Fresh Cream Dressing

2011-01-09T16:04:00.000-05:00

You will never again wish for toast for a BLT once you try this salad. I used fresh raw cream from the farm in my dressing, and it was amazing. You can use regular cream from the store if you sadly cannot get fresh cream, but the fresh cream will be thicker. This is a recipe for one. Increase as necessary. This is so easy, you'll wonder how you didn't think of it yourself! The only time it takes is to the fry the bacon (please step away from the microwave, that's just bacon-abuse!).

BLT Salad with Fresh Cream Dressing

Fresh Cream Salad Dressing
serves one
2 heaping Tablespoons fresh raw cream (3 flat Tablespoons store bought)
1 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar
sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Stir together. Taste and adjust- add more vinegar if you need it to be a little more tart.

BLT Salad
4 -5 leaves organic Romaine Hearts or Boston Butter lettuce, torn into pieces
5 organic grape tomatoes, sliced
4 pieces pastured bacon, fried and crumbled
more cracked pepper, if desired

Mix together in your salad bowl and stir in the dressing, covering every part of your salad. Enjoy!

GF Low Carb Spicy Bacon Shrimp & Spinach Madeline.. my 100th post!

2010-12-29T10:17:00.007-05:00

This is the yummy low carb gluten free meal my honey made me on my birthday. It is easy and really delicious!! You can make this shrimp in any quantity. I would say 1 lb of shrimp for 2 people and go from there... you can adjust the rest of the ingredients from there. And.. a package of bacon (a lb) would at least cover 2 lbs of shrimp. If you can leave just the tail tip on the shrimp when cleaning them or buying them, they will taste better.. the shell makes a little tasty stock... that is the Louisiana secret of cooking shrimp, shells on! Originally we thought we'd use a toothpick to keep the bacon on, but we couldn't find them, and it worked fine without and our bacon was very very thick.

For the spinach, we added some ground almonds to simulate bread crumbs... this is the yummy low carb gluten free version of Spinach Madeline... my favorite! It is so delicious, I eat the leftovers in the morning with my eggs... if there are any!!! :)

PS This is my 100th post!!!

Spicy Bacon Shrimp & Spinach Madeline

Spicy Bacon Shrimp
serves 2, increase as you need

1 lb cleaned Jumbo shrimp, tip of the tail shells still on if possible (better flavor)
block of pepper jack cheese
half a package bacon, pastured is best!
jalapeno slices
little coconut oil/pastured lard/butter
salt & pepper, to taste

These ingredients are approximate, you might not use it all (except for shrimp). Top each shrimp with a slice of jalapeno and wrap with a half a strip of thick bacon or wrap a whole piece of thinner bacon around a few times. Lightly oil/butter the bottom of a baking dish. Lay shrimp in dish in a single layer, bacon end down. Bake at 400˚F for 8- 10 minutes until shrimp cooks through (turns from translucent/gray to white/red). Take out pan, and turn on oven broiler. Slice small chunk slices of cheese and lay on top of each shrimp. Put pan back in and broil until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

Low Carb Spinach Madeline
serves 6

1 16 ounce bag of organic spinach, chopped
1 small sized organic onion, chopped
3 medium sized or 4- 5 small cloves of organic garlic, diced or pressed
oil for sauteing, I used pastured bacon drippings
3/4 cup [raw pastured] cream
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup ground roasted almonds - you want it small, almost like flour, but careful not to make butter.
1/2 teaspoon white pepper (optional)
dash nutmeg (optional)
sea salt & fresh pepper, to taste

Cook spinach as instructed on package. Drain all the water out with a colander - press the spinach a bit to get it out, if necessary. In a medium sized pot, sauté onions and garlic (tip: start the onions first, then add garlic, so garlic won't burn). When onions are soft, add drained spinach, cream, and grated cheese and stir over medium heat until heated through. Add white pepper, and nutmeg, then salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer on low for an additional 5 minutes. Add almonds, & stir. You can keep spinach warm by covering the pot and keeping it off the burner but close to the stove until ready to serve. Or you can make in advance and heat up before serving (actually tastes better that way).

Pregnancy No-Sugar Smoooooothie

2010-12-28T12:07:00.007-05:00

OK when was the last time I had a smoothie? Not since I went low-carb over two years ago. I have been equating them all this time with high sugar fruits, fruit juice, and honey. But, no more! If you can eat dairy carbs, or are pregnant (nothing better than pastured raw milk for pregnant ladies!), I recommend a no-sugar smoothie! In trying to add some more raw dairy in my diet for the baby, I have resurrected the smoothie, and I'm so happy. This tastes more to me like a Lassi, that delicious Indian smoothie which has more of a tang than sweetness. If you want to try this, but have no idea how to get some safe raw pastured milk in your area, visit realmilk.com for information and help on locating some!

If you have stumbled upon this blog and now saying... what? Raw eggs? Raw milk for a pregnant woman? Are you crazy? No... I am all about the diet our ancestors ate healthily. Raw milk from pastured cows (or goats) from a known source- a local farm you know has good hygiene, eggs from chickens who go outside and eat bugs and real grain, these are healthy sources of vitamins A and D, omega-3 fats, CLA, and butyric acid, another fat that fights cancer and infections. According to Nina Planck's research for her book, Real Food For Mother and Baby, raw milk and eggs from pastured organic farms were found to have a much less chance of harmful bacteria than pasteurized milk. Pasteurized milk is actually more dangerous! I have been eating raw milk, cream, and eggs this entire pregnancy with great health benefits. I'm in my 5th month, the baby is very healthy, and I have hardly gained any weight at all. Here is a link from Weston Price's advice for diets for pregnant women. (I stay away from the grains, and I don't drink a whole quart of milk every day but I do drink a glass or two.) I highly recommend all of Nina Planck's books, but especially the Real Food for Mother and Baby one if you are trying to get pregnant, are pregnant, or have a toddler. Real Food is also an amazing book.

I add a little virgin coconut oil (high quality, I use Tropical Tradition's organic gold brand) at the end, because of all the health benefits associated with it. Coconut contains lauric acid, which supports the body's immune system, and is only found in coconut and human breast milk. Medium chain fatty acids give you energy without storing fat- they are burned up quickly in the body, not stored. There are many more benefits, you can click on the link above and look for yourself if you'd like.

Here's the trick, if you would like to add virgin coconut oil (virgin has more benefits). First you need to get the oil over 76˚F to get it to an oil consistency. Do this carefully so you don't ruin the virgin state. I boil water, take the tea kettle off the hot burner, remove the top and fit a small dish on top with the oil to melt. I let the steam melt most of it, then remove it and stir until it is all melted. You will want to add the coconut oil at the end of the smoothie, slowly pouring it in as it's on a low speed in the blender. The reason for this is that the cold ingredients in the smoothie will otherwise cause the oil to clump since it hardens at lower than 76˚F. Then you would get little clumps of coconut in your smoothie, which can be a little weird.

This smoothie is full of so many good things: raw organic grass-fed milk, organic berries (frozen are sometimes cheaper), yogurt, raw pastured egg, and virgin coconut oil. That's it! You can add a few stevia grains if you don't like the tartness of plain yogurt.

Ingredients:
a little raw pastured milk
raw PASTURED egg (omit if you don't have organic pastured eggs from a known source)
a handful of low-carb berries like blackberries, blueberries, or raspberries (frozen or fresh)
Whole milk plain pastured raw organic yogurt
lightly melted virgin coconut oil, about a teaspoon to a Tablespoon, depending on preference

First blend the berries, egg, and a big splash of milk (enough to cover the berries) and blend on high, to try and get the berries all smushed up. Add the yogurt, a good portion- you want this to be mostly yogurt and blend on low until mixed. (Add your sweetener here, if you want it.) Now, while blender is on low, open the little pouring part of your lid (I hope you have one) and pour in oil until just mixed, and turn off, pour into a glass and drink up! Enjoy!

More on Blogging Break

2010-12-16T10:35:00.000-05:00

Here's the reason for my blogging break, I am happily expecting a baby in May. My husband and I are very excited! Here's Baby's sonogram, 18 weeks:

Future GF Taste Tester

Luckily, my sweet Husband has been doing lots of cooking lately, as I have also been finding myself very busy!! And.. the 1st trimester left me too nauseous to look at food long. Now that I'm in the second trimester and can go back into the kitchen again, I will post a few recipes.. I've got some in the works for you all. Hope you are having a great holiday season. I have a lot of recipes on here so do some searchin' and find yourself some good recipes!!
Take Care! Rachel C

Blogging Break

2010-11-11T12:32:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone
Thanks so much for following my blog. I am going to have to take an official break for now.. my life is going through some big changes (all good) and I am not able to update as much as I usually do. I will be back though, so hang in there. I have a LOT of recipes on here to keep you busy until then, and check out my recommendations for other bloggers at the bottom of the page.
Happy Holidays to everyone and thanks for hanging in there with me!!
Rachel

Walnut - Pumpkin Muffins

2010-10-08T15:19:00.001-04:00

This is a perfect little recipe for fall, and for lots of fiber! These little muffins are as nutritious as they are delicious. I made mine with coconut oil, but you could use butter if you'd like. I used a very little coconut palm sugar on top, you could sub regular brown sugar (since it's so little) 0r whatever you'd like. Go to my sugar subs for amounts (look up for the tab!).
I hope it's as beautiful outside wherever you are as it is here. It's a perfect fall day!
Please check out my facebook page if you don't already. I really appreciate all you out there who read my blog. Please comment once in a while, I must have the most silent blog readers out there!!!
I adapted this from the Coconut Flour BIBLE,
<---- right there. Buy yourself a copy, it is a GREAT book.

Walnut Pumpkin Muffins
makes 6,

Stevia Sweetened No Bake Cheesecake

2010-09-26T22:24:00.003-04:00

NY Style cheesecake, 3.5 Effective Carb Count per slice

I had a craving for a plain NY style cheesecake so I made this up... and surprise, it worked on the first try! I was afraid to bake it since there is no substance to the sugar sub, since I only used stevia. But I didn't want to use gelatin, I am not a fan of gelatin no-bake cheesecakes. Anyway, this came out perfectly, and I love it. You can certainly jazz it up- top with blueberries (as I did a few times) or other low-carb fruit. Of course, I baked the crust- but you know what I mean, it's a no-bake filling.

You don't have to use the expensive almond flour for this- you could grind your own, or use Bob's Red Mill, or even unblanched almonds. But I have to say, I used Honeywell's and it is the most beautiful crust ever. I almost wish I had made it twice as thick, it is so perfect.

If you use a different brand of Stevia powder extract than NuNaturals, I recommend you start with less and work up to taste. The only other brand I even suggest you try though, is Sweetleaf. Most other brands are too bitter and have too awful of an aftertaste. I tasted this at the end and wanted a little rounder flavor so I added just one teaspoon of agave nectar. This is optional- but it gave a more round sweetness and was perfect.

Stevia Sweetened No Bake Cheesecake, gfree & low carb of course
Serves 12
Carbs: 54.7g ECC for whole cake (with honey). About 4.6g ECC per serving for 12 servings

crust
1 cup almond meal or flour
1/8 teaspoon NuNaturals Stevia powder
1/16 scant teaspoon cinnamon
2 - 3 Tablespoons of melted organic butter

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Combine the almond flour, stevia, and cinnamon well. Pour the melted butter in a little at a time (you may not use all of it) until it becomes a dough like consistency (like cookie batter). Be careful not to make it too wet. Press into the bottom of a springform or tart pan making a crust for only the bottom, not the sides. Bake for 5 minutes, then remove and prick the crust all over with a fork. Return to oven and bake about 10 minutes more until the crust is light brown. Cool completely before filling.

filling
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon NuNaturals Stevia Powder
1 teaspoon agave nectar (optional) or honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream

Whip cream cheese, stevia, vanilla, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream with clean mixer beaters until stiff peaks are formed (directions if you don't know what this means). Now, with a rubber spatula (or wooden spoon), fold the two together. You will need to also beat it just a little- a few seconds on your lowest speed- to mix thoroughly. Now, taste your mixture to see if you need to add anything. This is where I added the agave. You will need to mix it well but again- quickly- you don't want to destroy the fluffiness of the whipped cream. Pour into cooled pan over the crust. Use a rubber spatula to even it out all over and make sure you get the filling all the way to the sides. Chill for several hours until a bit firmer, at least 2.
Serve alone or with berries or 85% chocolate on top!

Gluten Free Low Carb Parmesan Chicken Legs

2010-09-10T19:40:00.001-04:00

Baked Chicken Legs

This is a very easy and inexpensive dish. I know it's more expensive to eat organic.. this is one of those dishes that uses a cheaper cut of meat to even out the expense. I think it's my unbelievable luck that dark chicken meat on the bone is cheaper than chicken breast, which I don't like nearly as much! I served mine with thin sliced veggies (eggplant, tomato and garlic) from my friend's garden that I layered in a casserole dish with olive oil, salt and pepper and baked next to the chicken. You can also use thighs, or whatever meat on the bone you have.

My side dish of veggies

Parmesan Chicken Legs
serves 2

1 organic egg

2 Tablespoons milk/cream (soured raw dairy works too)

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne or chili powder (optional if you aren't from Louisiana. If you are, double that!)

~2 lbs of organic pastured drumsticks (about 6)

2 bowls

Your two bowls in preparation

Preheat oven to 400˚F. Rinse chicken. In one bowl, beat the egg and milk/cream with a fork or whisk. In second bowl, stir together cheese, salt, & pepper(s). Dip the pieces of chicken, one at a time, in the milk mixture, then in the cheese mixture. Try to make sure you cover as much of the meat as possible. Place side by side in one layer in a greased baking dish. Bake for about 40 - 50 minutes, depending on size of the legs. About halfway through, baste chicken with the fat on the bottom of the dish. When you think it's ready, you'll want to stab the joint of the fattest drumstick with a knife to make sure the juices run clear. If the juices are clear, it's done. If pink, or red, it needs more time. enjoy!

Dinner!

September Giveaway!

2010-09-04T10:16:00.000-04:00

Tracey at Good Life Menus is celebrating her one year anniversary by giving away one one-month subscription to her service for each blog participating. Plus the winner will have the option when the month is up to subscribe 3 more months at a discount. So one member of my blog will win the giveaway.

What is Good Life Menus? Check it out- it's menu planning for your life, suitable for Diabetic, GF, Autism/ADHD, and Low Carb eaters. Like this blog, she does not use any artificial sweeteners and concentrates on whole foods.

So how can you win? Do the following 2 things, with the option of bonus points, and then come back to this post and comment what you have done. Contest runs until September 15th. Good Luck! Depending on how many people respond to this, I might start doing giveaways again myself :)

1. Follow my Blog
2. Comment on one of my recipe posts on this site

Bonus points:

1. Join my Facebook Page or Follow me on Twitter (click on links)
2. Comment on Good Life Menus Blog
3. Join Good Life Menu's Facebook page

Low Carb Super Skinny Chunky Fudge Ice Cream!

2010-09-02T15:31:00.001-04:00

YES.. ice cream is my total weakness. Ben & Jerry's NY Super Fudge Chunk ice cream calls to me... it says "eat me, I'm gluten-free!!!". However, FULL of sugar! So. I decided to make my own version. This is really really chocolate-y and delish!

I went through the trouble of making my own chocolate covered peanuts so they'd be low carb.. but you could just use peanuts and chocolate separately. It IS a pain to do, but totally worth it. How to: melt a few squares of chocolate in a double boiler, drop in peanuts, stir well, put peanuts in a single layer on waxed paper (see pic) and refrigerate about 30 minutes until hard. break apart fast as possible (chocolate will melt in hands), and return to fridge until use.

Of course you will need an ice cream maker to do this, and make sure the insert (if you use this kind) is frozen in the freezer for 24-36 hours at least.

This ice cream will make more than the ice cream container will hold, so it would be good to have another container, slightly larger, to put it in when its done for the freezer. You will want to have it ready. As always, read through this recipe before you gather ingredients and make sure you have everything.

**Now remember.. xylitol is best eaten in small amounts. Erythritol in ice cream doesn't work (makes it really gross, been there), so it's not a suitable sub. Agave nectar would work, though it has a lot more carbs, at least it is still low G.I.

Low Carb Super Skinny Chunky Fudge Ice Cream
(variation: chocolate ice cream)

2 oz. of an 85% chocolate bar (about 3/5ths), Lindt or Green & Black's are good low carb versions
1/3 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder, sifted
1 cup organic milk (raw milk preferred, and this is a good thing to do with your raw soured milk)
2 cups organic cream (raw preferred/raw soured fine)
2 organic pastured eggs (this will be raw, so at least make sure they are fresh and organic)
1/4 c. xylitol (don't sub erythritol, but can sub agave nectar)
1/4 even teaspoon good tasting stevia powder
pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon vodka (optional, to keep from getting too hard in freezer)
wire whisk

ADD INS: you'll need about 1/2- 3/4 cup total of the following all mixed together:

peanuts, covered in chocolate (see above)
large chunks of a 72%- 85% chocolate bar - see pic -->
white chocolate chips (ok, these are not low carb so OPTIONAL or just a very few)
roasted almonds
pecans
walnuts
cashews (not originally in that NYSFC ice cream but worth the add)

Melt 2 oz. chocolate in the top of a double boiler over simmering water (turn the burner off before adding chocolate) until melted. Heat 1/2 cup milk separately. When milk is hot, whisk with a wire whisk the cocoa powder until mixed. Use a silicone spatula to press out lumps. Pour the milk slowly into the melted chocolate, while whisking constantly until all mixed. Press out any lumps again. Set aside and cool.

TIP: when working with chocolate, you never want to add hot and cold together, or it will clump. So that is why we heat the milk and add... otherwise this step is a real clumpy mess

Whisk eggs in a large bowl until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add stevia and xylitol and whisk another minute. Add vanilla and salt. Pour in 1/3 of the chocolate mix (esp if it is still warm) and mix well. Add the rest and mix. Then add the other 1/2 cup of milk and the cream. Add the vodka. Refrigerate until cooled.

When mixture is cooled, use in your ice cream maker to make chocolate ice cream. When it is done, transfer the ice cream to a slightly bigger container and immediately stir in the mix-ins until thoroughly mixed. Place in freezer to harden.

Gfree Stevia Sweetened Red Grapefruit-Coconut Cream Pie

2010-08-19T15:19:00.004-04:00

I have an excess of ruby red grapefruits, which are full of lycopene- more than a tomato! Ruby grapefruits have lots of Vitamin C and E as well. And, of course, grapefruits are allowed on a low-carb diet. On mine, anyway... grapefruits, blueberries, raspberries, and green apples are all low enough on the glycemic scale and low-carb. Of course, I used fresh juice in this, which is a little higher, but just a half cup in the whole pie so that still keeps the carb count low. This really just gives a hint of grapefruit flavor to the coconut taste of this pie.

This pie, like most of my recipes, is not that sweet. So you'll want to add more sweetener if you like a sweeter taste: maybe more stevia (careful of the brand- NuNaturals is the only one I really like in quantities over 1/4 teaspoon), or add some honey/agave/erythritol or whatever sweetener you like. I love this pie at this sweetness level, because I can really taste the sweetness of the coconut, but make it to your taste. You can always make it as instructed, then taste the filling before you bake it to see if you'd like to add something.

Coconut is a Superfood: rich in lauric acid (a medium-chain fatty acid found only in breast milk and coconut), it is anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and very good for your thyroid. There is more info if you wish.. peruse this site if you are interested or read Bruce Fife's book, The Coconut Oil Miracle.

This recipe uses no corn products (such as xylitol and erythritol), no dairy, and of course, no gluten or sugar. I know some of you have more restrictions than I do so I have been trying to come up with more allergy-friendly recipes once in a while for you! Please provide feedback here in the comments section. I really appreciate your feedback on Facebook. Anyone who hasn't joined the Facebook page, there is information at the bottom of this webpage, under the recipes. I hope you like it!

It took about 2 grapefruits to make this. Make sure you zest it before you juice it. It's easier.

PS: If anyone knows the carb content of grapefruit zest, please post and then I can post the carbs in this. It's low though, as you can see from the ingredients.

Stevia Sweetened Red Grapefruit-Coconut Cream Pie, gluten-free as always!
Printable Page

grapefruit-coconut crust:
2 eggs, pastured (that's what makes my crust so yellow, pastured orange yolks!)
1/2 cup grated coconut, organic
1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, melted over low heat to an oil state if your pantry is cold
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon raw organic honey (optional)
1 Tablespoon organic grapefruit zest, diced if necessary
1/2 cup sifted coconut flour

Preheat 400˚F. In a bowl with a hand whisk or fork, beat eggs. Add grated coconut, virgin coconut oil, salt, honey (opt), and zest, and mix. Add sifted coconut flour. Mix, then knead together with your hands, and make a ball. Press into a 9" oiled pie pan (use the coconut oil leftover in your pan you melted it in). Press on the bottom, and up the sides, then prick all over with a fork to prevent rising. Bake 12- 15 minutes until light brown. you may need to protect the edges with a pie crust shield or foil. Begin the 1st step of the filling recipe, it takes a little time.

filling:
4 eggs
1/2 cup fresh squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice
1 Tablespoon organic grapefruit zest, diced if necessary
1 teaspoon NuNaturals Stevia (or start with half as much with a non-bitter brand like Sweatleaf)
1 cup organic regular coconut milk - shake well right before opening and pouring
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 Tablespoons coconut flour, sifted
1/2 cup flaked coconut

Begin by reducing the juice in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until it is 1/4 cup (reduced by half) by keeping it at a low boil. It will take 5- 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Add juice, zest, stevia, coconut milk, salt, and baking powder. Beat in sifted coconut flour. Bake 10 minutes. Sprinkle flaked coconut on top. Return to oven, baking 8-12 minutes or until set (meaning it doesn't juggle, and a inserted toothpick comes out clean). Cool on a baking rack. Store in Refrigerator.

New Design

2010-08-19T13:07:00.001-04:00

As you can see, I have a new design! I also added a Paypal Donate button, an email link, and a few other things... :)

Gluten Free Low Carb Blueberry Lemon Bars with stevia

2010-08-17T22:23:00.007-04:00

G-free Low Carb Blueberry Lemon Bars

More blueberry recipes! I made these with Stevia only, so they contain no sugar alcohols (for those with corn allergies). And if you want to make them dairy free, just replace the butter in the crust with extra virgin coconut oil, or expeller-pressed coco oil for a non-coconut taste. My fave is Tropical Traditions and no, they don't pay me to say that! Of course, if they'd like to, I'm all for it! I'd say it anyway! I think it's the best brand and I also think they are a great company. I honestly don't trust any other expeller pressed coconut oil.
These are best served cold.

***TIP: Make zest from your lemon before you half it and juice it. If you don't have a lemon zester, then use a cheese grater.

Gluten Free Low Carb Blueberry Lemon Bars
Printable Page
8 generous servings at 6.1 effective carb count (8.9 carbs - 2.8g fiber)
shortbread crust:

1 1/2 cups almond flour, I used Honeyville
1/8 teaspoon Stevia powder (NuNaturals preferred, or Sweetleaf)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
6 Tablespoons organic butter, melted [or expeller-pressed coconut oil]
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Edges of crust slightly browned

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl with a fork. Press into a 9" pan and bake 10 - 15 minutes until the edges are slightly brown. (Like this pic--->). Cool while you make the filling.

lemon filling:

4 eggs, organic, pastured preferred
1 teaspoon organic lemon zest, finely chopped if necessary
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon NuNaturals Stevia powder, or 1/2 teaspoon Sweetleaf (then more to taste)
1/2 cup almond flour, I used Honeyville
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup organic blueberries, washed and stems removed (raspberries would be a good sub in this recipe)

how blueberries should look on crust

Beat eggs until fluffy. Add all the rest of the ingredients except the blueberries. Mix well. Set aside. Arrange blueberries over the crust as evenly as possible. (see pic--->)

Then give the lemon mix a good stir and pour over blueberries. Bake (still at 350˚F) for 25- 30 minutes until set. What does set mean? It won't be jiggly when you shake it. Or you can give it a toothpick test by putting your toothpick in the center and making sure the toothpick comes out clean, with nothing sticking to it. The edges will be slightly brown. Cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes, then transfer to refrigerator for about an hour.

done: bars are set. Cooling.

Low-Carb Blueberry Ice Cream

2010-08-16T11:04:00.004-04:00

More local in season blueberries!!! So I won't go on again about their goodness, you can read the last post if you haven't already!!! I know I post a lot of ice cream recipes, but making low-carb ice cream keeps me from cheating. And, these are all slightly different. You'll have to make this almost like a smoothie!

***TIP: This made more than my quart sized ice cream maker could handle so I had some leftover. Make sure you do not over-fill yours. Leave at least an inch on top, maybe a little more or you'll be cleaning up a huge mess. Maybe I will drink my leftover like a smoothie. Hmmm.

***TIP: NEVER use erythritol in ice cream. It's gross. You can use more stevia if you don't have xylitol, and your stevia is a non-bitter brand. If you want to use subs, the stevia and xylitol = about 1/2 cup sugar. If you use honey, use 1/4 cup and you may want to omit the vanilla.

***TIP: make sure your ice cream insert has been frozen for at least 24 hours before you start this.

Low-Carb Blueberry Ice Cream, gluten free of course!
1 quart+
printable page

1 pint organic blueberries (smaller ones are tastier)- make sure you remove any stems
1/4 c. xylitol
1/4 teaspoon Stevia, NuNaturals preferred, Sweetleaf brand is fine. anything else- your call
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 large eggs
2 cups heavy cream, raw pastured is best!
1 cup whole milk, unhomogenized or raw pastured of course
1 teaspoon vanilla

Stir carefully blueberries, xylitol, stevia, and lemon juice together in a bowl and refrigerate covered for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Pour into a blender, making sure you get all the juice/xylitol, and puree as smooth as possible.
In a separate large bowl, blend the eggs until frothy. Add milk, cream, and vanilla extract. Add berry mixture and stir well. Taste to check if you need more sweetener.
Cover and cool in fridge for 1-2 hours (important). A metal bowl (preferred) or glass bowl helps cool faster.
Pour into ice cream maker but make sure to leave 1 1/2 inches at the top. Follow the manufacture's directions. Don't overfill!
If you have the kind of maker like I do, it will probably only get to the soft serve state, so leave in the insert and freeze for a few hours to harden.

Stevia Sweetened Blueberry Lavender Lemonade

2010-08-15T19:59:00.004-04:00

Blueberries are in season and we have a big craving! So expect lots of blueberry recipes this week!! For this, I used dried lavender from my own garden that I had just dried, so it was pretty fresh, resulting in a very strong lavender taste. If you are using fresh lavender, I recommend you half the lavender but keep the same amount of water if you don't want a strong lavender taste. If you bought it from the store, or it came from a teabag, no problem. Even though the lavender was strong in our lemonade, we still love the taste.

Blueberries are a low sugar berry bursting with antioxidants, phytonutrients, fiber, and tannins -which reduce inflammation in your digestive system! What a plus for us Celiacs (especially newly discovered). Blueberries are a superfood. They are also good for your brain, and for men ... well you can look that one up ;). Blueberries are on the dirty dozen list, so try to buy them organic.

Please remember that most stevia brands are just plain disgusting. I recommend NuNaturals but otherwise Sweetleaf is pretty good and Trader Joe's has a decent brand.

This recipe is to taste, so you will have to adjust sweetness/tartness/etc at the end. Enjoy!

Stevia Sweetened Blueberry Lavender Lemonade
printable page

¼ cup dried lavender steeped in 1 ½ cups water (see below)
3 more cups filtered water
1 ½ cups fresh squeezed organic lemon juice (about 8 large lemons’ worth)
1 teaspoon (+to taste) NuNaturals brand Stevia powder (or 1/2 teaspoon SweetLeaf)
¾ cup organic blueberries

Boil 1 ½ cups water and pour over lavender to steep in a cup for 5 – 10 minutes, depending on how strong you might like the lavender in this lemonade. Strain lavender and set aside (you can put in fridge to cool).

Stir together lemon juice, remaining 3 cups water, and 1 teaspoon stevia (if using NuNaturals, ½ if not). Use 2 Tablespoons of this mixture with the blueberries and puree in a food processor or blender. Add puree to lemonade, and add the lavender tea, and stir well. Taste at this point to see if you need more sweetener (we added another ½ teaspoon), more water (if it’s too tart or strong), or even more blueberries. Pour over ice cubes and serve. Keep in glass bottle in refrigerator.

If you enjoy this blog, please subscribe!!!!! THANKS!!

Gfree Fresh Tomato Goat Cheese Tart for Two

2010-08-03T19:49:00.005-04:00

I bought these beautiful grape tomatoes at the farmer's market last week and I wanted to make a tart. I didn't have enough almond flour to make the quiche crust I made before. If you have enough almond flour handy, I do recommend that tart crust, it is amazing. I made instead a mixture of coconut flour and almond flour tart, which is still very good, but does have a little coconut-y taste. My husband, who has no food restrictions whatsoever, loved this tart. So I don't think the coconut-y flavor gets in the way. It certainly helps add fiber to the dish as well as lower the effective carb count. The almond flour you use in this can be any kind, even the kind you make yourself.

I hope you enjoy this! It's a very simple tart, just enough for two, with a salad. It also makes a great appetizer.

You'll see that there is the option of using your saved bacon grease- esp if it came from bacon from a healthy organic pastured pig. This certainly saves you money- and it tastes delicious! If you want to use coconut oil, I suggest using Tropical Traditions brand expeller pressed or it will be too coconut-y.

NOTE: pictures are of a half tart: this recipe can be halved as well (I made several, since they were so popular!)

Fresh Tomato Goat Cheese Tart for Two
serves two or one very hungry person

1/2 cup almond flour, any kind
1/2 cup sifted coconut flour
2 pastured organic eggs
1/4 cup melted butter or pastured bacon grease
1 Tablespoon onion, chopped fine
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper (optional)
------
~2 cups cherry tomatoes neatly sliced in half
2 teaspoons fresh basil, julienned
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
about 2.5 ounces of goat cheese or 1/2 of a 5 ounce goat cheese log (more or less to taste)
s&p (to taste)

Place tomatoes, basil, olive oil,and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Gently mix and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350˚F. To make crust, begin by beating the eggs in a medium sized bowl. Add almond flour, sifted coconut flour, oil, salt, pepper, and onion and mix until it starts to stick and you can form a dough ball. Press dough into a 9" greased pie tart pan or just press into a circle of dough on a large round baking pan. Make sure it is not too thin (that you can see through) - try to keep it uniformly about 1/8" thick. I prefer to make it without a raised edge, because you will need to cover it near the end to keep from burning if you do make one.
Prick all over with fork tines and bake for 8-12 minutes until edges are light brown. See pic for what mine looked like when I took it out:

Pull out of oven and reduce heat to 300˚F. Arrange tomato mixture on top of crust, out to edge. Include the oil. Crumble goat cheese over tart, as little or as much as you desire.
Bake for 20-30 minutes or until tomatoes start to look soft and the goat cheese is slightly melted. Cool and serve!

Please Subscribe! :)

2010-07-22T10:27:00.005-04:00

Hi Readers,
It's come to my attention that there are a lot more of you out there than I knew about. That is so nice to know. I am so glad there are more than 17 people reading my blog. I really thought I was writing recipes in a void for a while there.

Please subscribe! To the left there <--------; you will see "Follow Me" if you are a member of Blogspot, Google, Twitter, Yahoo, AIM, Netlog, or openID. And/or you can also Subscribe - which will add this page to your Google Homepage or Google Reader.

I put my Google reader on my Google Homepage and it's a great way to keep up with websites I like to look at.

I love writing this blog and putting up all these recipes. It's a great hobby. If all of you could show that there are more people looking at this blog, then I could make a little money too. How would that help you? Well, there would be a lot more recipes, and a lot more experimenting with almond flour and different ingredients that cost a lot more money. And, I could have a little more time to finish my cookbook! Don't worry there will be a giveaway or two when I get that done!

Also, please comment!! COMMENT!! Comment, I beg you. I want to know what you like, how you substituted, what kinds of recipes you would like me to explore - I hear from you on the Facebook page (you can join that as well over there on the right) but I'd love to see your comments here.

I really appreciate you all out there, thanks for reading!
Thanks, and be well!!!
Rachel

Low Carb Egg Salad served with Kale

2010-07-19T15:00:00.002-04:00

My Hubby made this great egg salad for lunch yesterday. It was great served on a leaf of kale. Hubby had his on kale and a slice of Udi's Gluten-Free Bread (that adds about 9 carbs, but is really good gf bread if you can spare the carbs).

It's a hot NY summer, so this is a great easy snack that you don't need to turn on the oven for. We boil a lot of eggs in this house... they make a great low-carb snack or breakfast. We get our eggs fresh from the farm and they are amazing. They come from pastured hens, who also roam around outside and eat grain and bugs. Chickens need to eat bugs, worms, and grubs for complete protein, and when they do, you can see the difference in their egg yolks. They become a deep orange color and just taste amazing! If you can find a local farmer, you can be sure of their practices, and buying straight from the farm saves you money by cutting out the middle man!!

Why do some store bought eggs brag they are "vegetarian" when chickens need complete proteins? Because then you know they weren't fed those disgusting things we've all heard about - I don't want to turn you off so I won't repeat them! But if you buy "vegetarian" eggs, you can be sure those hens also never went outside the barn... the door may have been left open (so they can say they were "free-range" by law) but the hens stayed inside. They need to go outside to get their proteins!

If you are worried about Cholesterol, you should know that it was powdered eggs that got the bad rap on cholesterol, and for good reason. Powdered milk and powdered eggs are liquidized, pasteurized, and spray-dried which causes oxidized cholesterol, which does cause atherosclerosis. But natural eggs do not.

Instead, pastured eggs are a great inexpensive source of protein (even my $4 a carton farm eggs are still cheap protein, considering), antioxidants (that dark yellow-orange yolk!), and help the body digest fat, protein, and cholesterol. In comparison to non-pastured eggs, they contain more monounsaturated fat, vitamins E and A, folic acid, lutein, and beta-carotene. They are dramatically richer in omega-3 fats, which prevent obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and depression. They have a perfect ratio of 1:1 of omega 6 to omega 3 oils... which is what you want. I could go on and on!!! (I got all this info from Nina Planck's Real Food).

Anyway, here is the recipe!! I hope you enjoy it.

***TIP: To boil eggs: start with cold water in a pot with a lid. Add about a teaspoon of baking soda and a teaspoon of salt and stir in. Put eggs in, and bring to a boil. As soon as you get a big bubble boil (it doesn't need to be roiling), take pot off the heat and cover for 10 minutes. Immediately pour out the water and fill with cold water and let sit for 10 minutes. Then peel.

Low Carb Egg Salad served with Kale

8 boiled eggs, peeled
1 stalk organic celery, finely sliced
1/2 small pickle (or more to taste), minced
2 TBSP mayo
1 TBSP greek yogurt (or just use more mayo if you are casein-free)
1 TBSP yellow mustard
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder and 1/2 teaspoon chili con carne powder (I used Penzey's brands of these) OR 1 teaspoon chili powder (make sure it's gluten free).
You could add some paprika too, we just happened to be out

Smash eggs with a fork, or potato masher (dust that thing off, all low-carbers! You finally get to use that gadget again!) until just chunky. Add all the other ingredients and mix carefully. Spoon onto large leaves of kale, roll up and eat! Or... place it on a piece of Udi's gluten-free bread. :)

Low Carb Gluten Free Steak Caeser Salad

2010-07-18T15:57:00.002-04:00

When it's too hot to cook indoors, grilling outside is the best answer! We grilled some beautiful hanger steak from a local pastured farm perfectly medium rare and placed it over this caeser salad. To top it off, we used 4-5 Trader Joe's brand rice crackers, they are gluten free and delicious- we broke them in tiny pieces and they did well as croutons. Just a few to keep the carbs down.

Hubby marinated the steak in a mixture consisting of a half a Bard's gluten free beer and two tablespoons each of apple cider vinegar and gluten-free Tamari soy sauce, plus some salt and pepper. It was just one big steak (there are only two of us) so you'd want to increase that if you are making more! I'm not sure exactly how marinade carbs up the meat but I suspect not much.

Of course, this uses a raw egg so you should use a high quality one. If you aren't sure if your eggs are fresh, click here to go to a site which has some great tips on how to tell. If the whole idea of a raw egg grosses you out (it's sooo good for you!), you can boil it for one minute before you open it.

Caeser Salad

slightly adapted from this recipe at make-stuff.com

2 cloves garlic

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 fresh pastured organic egg

2 – 3 anchovies

1 teaspoon mustard powder

2 TBSP lemon juice

2 dashes red pepper sauce

3 TBSP Olive Oil

a head of romaine lettuce, washed and dry

¼ - ½ cup parmesan cheese

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
4-5 small rice crackers (optional)

Press the garlic cloves in a garlic presser and rub them on the inside of a large wooden salad bowl. In a small chopper or blender, blend together the egg, anchovies, sea salt, hot sauce, mustard and lemon juice. Add to bowl with the olive oil and stir with a wooden spoon (so that you do not scratch your bowl).

Tear romaine lettuce leaves into pieces and add to salad bowl. Toss gently. Add parmesan cheese to taste.

Slice your steak and crumble your rice crackers on top, and enjoy! And then, comment! Let me know you are out there.... :)

Gluten Free Sugar Free Strawberry Ice Cream, with eggless option

2010-07-04T16:30:00.006-04:00

We made this lovely Strawberry Ice Cream, using farm fresh eggs, and raw cream and milk from pastured cows (oh, the benefits of omega-3's and CLA!). Yes, Strawberries have carbs, so it's a rare summer treat. We used less xylitol than usual for making ice cream, since the strawberries were sweet themselves. And, only a touch of vanilla so it tasted more like a sweet cream-strawberry ice cream. Delicious!!

We were out of lemons, so I substituted red wine for the lemon juice, and it was great.

**If you cannot eat eggs, you can make this recipe without.

I use a Deni ice cream maker, it's great. I hope you have an easy one too.

***TIPS: Make sure you freeze your insert (if you have that kind) for at least 24 hours before using and take it out at the last minute.

Gluten Free Sugar Free Strawberry Ice Cream
makes a little more than a quart

1 Pint organic strawberries, green removed and sliced at least in half
2 organic pastured eggs
2 cups non-homogenized organic cream
1 cup non-homogenized organic milk
1 tablespoon of lemon juice or wine
1/4 - 1/2 cup xylitol (to taste)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix the strawberries, xylitol, and wine or lemon juice in a bowl and let sit for about 20 minutes. Pour the bowl, making sure to get all the xylitol, into a food processor and pulse until the strawberries are mostly macerated, but still have lots of small chunks of strawberries in them.

In a separate large bowl, blend the eggs until frothy. Add milk, cream, and vanilla extract. Add strawberry mixture and stir/blend. Cover and cool in fridge for 1-2 hours (important). A metal bowl (preferred) or glass bowl helps cool faster.

Pour into ice cream maker until about 3/4 full and follow the manufacture's directions. You may have some left over, which you can make more ice cream later, or just drink as strawberry-milk while your ice cream is freezing!

**TIPS: don't overfill your ice cream maker, as the volume will increase as the mixture gets colder and cleanup is a mess if it overflows.

**TIPS: If your ice cream only reaches a soft serve consistency, keep the ice cream in the insert, cover (Deni has a nice little cover that fits on both the insert and the plastic dome, which is great) and let it finish freezing in the freezer. (say that 5 times fast!)

Sorry, no picture of the actual ice cream, I made this before going out of town... but it was delicious! Happy Summer!

Coconut Flour Cheese Biscuits, gluten-free & low-carb

2010-06-28T17:06:00.005-04:00

I adapted this recipe from my coconut flour BIBLE, The Coconut Flour Cookbook, by Bruce Fife. Of course, I added a little Louisiana flavor kick!! ;) And, I made mine with the leftover bacon grease from my delicious pastured organically raised bacon (naturally). If you do this, I believe you should still add the salt this recipe calls for.
I made this to do along with a wonderful duck soup I made with homemade duck stock, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and swiss chard.
I hope you enjoy them!
*** update: for breakfast biscuits, you can omit the chili and cayenne peppers.

Coconut Flour Cheese Biscuits, gluten-free & low-carb
makes 8 biscuits

4 eggs, organic & pastured is best!
1/4 cup of high quality coconut oil, butter, or pastured lard
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne powder (optional)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup sifted coconut flour
3/4 cup shredded cheese, I used a raw cheddar

Blend together eggs, oil/butter, salt, and spices. Combine coconut flour and baking powder and whisk into batter until there are no lumps. Fold in cheese. Drop batter by spoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet a few inches part- these spread. Bake at 400˚F (205˚C) for 15 minutes.

Coconut Flour Chocolate Cake with Coconut Palm Sugar Frosting

2010-06-22T20:03:00.007-04:00

I really wanted a bite of chocolate cake today so I made this little cake. It's a dark chocolate frosting, really tasty. Coconut palm sugar has a low-g.i. and I feel it's a better choice than agave. I've tried making frosting with stevia, or with sugar alcohols, and they never turn out. So, just be careful how much you eat and you should be fine, if you are maintaining a low-carb lifestyle. This is a dark chocolate cake that is not too sweet.

It's just one layer in a 7" pan. I know that's an unusual size pan. You could use an 8"x8" brownie pan, just check as it will probably cook faster. Or you could instead make 6 cupcakes with this recipe.

***You'll want to cut out a circle of parchment paper for the bottom of your cake pan so it won't stick. Cut a piece of parchment paper bigger than the bottom of your pan, then with one hand hold it to the inside of the bottom of the pan, and with the other hand, draw a line with a pen or slightly sharp object all the way around the inside circle on the bottom, so you'll know where to cut it. Then cut it along the line you made, and it will fit perfectly in the bottom of your cake pan.

Coconut Flour Chocolate Cake with Coconut Palm Sugar Frosting
adapted from Cooking with Coconut Flour

Cake:
6 Tablespoons butter or coconut oil
1/2 cup cocoa powder, fair trade
6 eggs, room temperature, 3 separated
1/4 cup coconut milk or whole milk
1/2 teaspoon stevia powder (I used NuNaturals)
1/4 cup Erythritol, or 2 Tablespoons agave nectar, or 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar (subs)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sifted coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
parchment paper cut out to fit a 7" baking pan

Butter or oil your pan under and on top of the parchment paper, as well as on the sides. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Mix in cocoa powder, set aside to cool. It is very beneficial to have all of your ingredients at the same temperature. In one large bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. If your kitchen is warm, it is okay to put these into the fridge until you need them so they don't melt. In another bowl, mix together the other 3 eggs, egg yolks, [coconut] milk, stevia, sugar sub, salt, and vanilla. Stir in cocoa mixture. Combine sifted coconut flour with baking powder and whisk into batter until there are no lumps. This is the time to taste your batter to see if it is sweet enough - you may want to add more sweetener, if it is not.
Fold egg whites (if you don't know how to, go here for tips) into mixture, starting with 1/3rds, mixing, then the rest. Pour into cake pan and bake for 20 - 30 minutes or until toothpick entered comes out clean when inserted into middle of cake. Cool.
Take a long piece of wire or dental floss and slice this cake in half and make it two layers so that you can put frosting between the layers. Or you can cut it in half with a large knife.

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, soft
1 - 3.5 ounce 85% Green and Black Chocolate bar
3 Tablespoons coconut palm sugar, measured and then powdered in a coffee/nut grinder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch finely ground sea salt

Melt chocolate in a very dry (one drop of water will ruin the chocolate) small pot or a double broiler, watching carefully, over very low heat. Stir it and watch that it doesn't burn. Remove from heat and let cool completely (catch it while it's still liquid though- don't refrigerate). Wait until after it is cooled to do the rest: In a medium - large bowl, whip together butter and sugar until creamy. Add chocolate slowly in a pouring motion while whipping. Add vanilla and sea salt and whip a little more. Frost your cooled cake!!

You can, if you wish, top this dark chocolate cake with coarsely ground sea salt or non-pareils, which are gluten free and pretty low carb but still have sugar... your choice! We did it half and half!

How to tell if the cows from your store-bought organic beef ate grass or were force-fed grain

2010-06-14T18:37:00.004-04:00

Lets talk about what grass-fed beef really means... and how to tell what kind of "organic beef" you are buying. The brand of beef you buy may be labeled organic but how was that animal treated, fed, and is it still good for you? Even if your cows were fed organic grain, they can be called organic. However, since cows were not meant to eat grain, that does not mean that the organic beef you bought is good for you. Cows were meant to eat grass. They are Herbivores.

What is the difference between Industrial Beef and Grass-Fed (also called Pastured) beef? Industrial beef is beef meat that comes from penned, grain force-fed cows. What is wrong with this method of farming, besides the discomfort and mistreatment of the cows? Since cows were not meant to eat grain, they tend to get sick when they eat it. When they get sick, they began to need antibiotics and hormones. Their stomachs become so acidic from the grain, e coli and other harmful bacteria become abundant, and the meat has to be sterilized and radiated before selling. Have you ever heard about how cow flatulence destroys the ozone layer? Only grain-fed cows have this kind of ozone-reducing flatulence, because their stomachs are not happy. I am not positive, but I'm willing to bet that pasture-raised cows do not have flatulence.

Pastured Grass fed cows eat grass on a pasture, as nature intended. Their meat is higher in vitamins A and D, omega-3 fats, CLA, and butyric acid. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and butyric acid are anti-cancer fats that are not found in industrial beef. Grass fed beef is also lower in saturated fat.

How can you tell what kind of diet your store-bought cow ate? Grain-fed cows have white fat and pastured cows (who eat grass) have yellow to green fat. I believe yellow means they were grain-fed at the end of their lives to fatten them up. A little bit of grain is not that bad, but you definitely want beef from cows who ate mostly grass.

I buy my pastured beef from a local farm, and here is what it looked like when it cooled in the fridge (this is the liquid from my pot roast). No fear! This fat is good for you. Read some Michael Pollan Books or Nina Planck's Real Food for more information on healthy natural fat if you are having some doubts.

Now you know what you are buying! That marbled white fat in your steak is bad saturated fat and that steak had to go through a lot of unnatural steps to make it to your table. Grass eating pastured natural cows are cheaper to produce and are not harmful to the environment. Their meat is healthier for you and you can support your local pasture farmer and save money by buying direct!

As you can see, the cow I got this meat from ate only grass, hence the greenish-yellow cast to the fat.

Don't throw away that Chicken Carcass!! GF Chicken Stock

2010-06-10T21:40:00.002-04:00

Sometimes it's just IMPOSSIBLE to find a chicken stock or broth at the grocery store that is fully organic, and has no gluten or sugar. In fact I've never found one without some type of sugar. So before you throw out that chicken carcass from your Roasted Chicken, use it to make an easy low carb stock! I cut mine in a few pieces, threw it in a small pot with filtered water, onions, and garlic and boiled it. That's it. There was still some of that bacon-herb rub inside it with onions (from my last recipe) which is a PLUS!

You bought that delicious farm raised organic pastured chicken from your local farm (hopefully) and now you can milk every bit of nutrition out of it and stretch your dollar too!!!

Here's how you do it. Put your chicken bones/carcass in a medium sized pot - use a pot that is slightly wider or about the same size as your chicken carcass before you cut it up. Add a little roughly cut up onions, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour enough filtered water that covers your bones plus one more inch. Cover your pot with a lid, bring to a boil, then simmer for about an hour until it is reduced by 1/3rd and looks rich in color. Strain out the vegetable and bones and you have chicken stock! Cool it and freeze it until you are ready to use. TIP** you can freeze it in an ice cube tray and then put the cubes in a ziplock bag for single servings or just freeze it all together.

I put mine in glass jars, leaving enough room at the top for it to expand in the freezer. Look at that gorgeous fat on the top! It is full of monounsaturated oleic acid, a heart healthy fat found also in olive oil. Also, it's got CLA, a the anti-cancer fat which fights cancer and builds lean muscle. This is great stuff! It's going to make your next meal amazing. :) Mine made 4 cups!

Save the World By Eating Local Pastured Meat! Gluten free Bacon & Rosemary Roasted Chicken

2010-06-05T12:57:00.010-04:00

Yes, it's true. The two most important things you can do to save the planet are:
1. Work close to home and drive a fuel-efficient car, like a hybrid
2. Eat local organic foods and pastured organic meat & dairy

Listen folks, we cast the most powerful votes with our wallets! If we were all to eat locally, think of all the fossil fuels that would be saved from shipping. Also, all the health benefits! And supporting your local organic pastured farm who is supporting the environment. If we all ate locally, then that would reduce the amount of Industrial Farming that is ruining this country.

And don't forget how healthy it is for you! Your food is fresh, still bursting with the most nutrients possible. You are eating seasonally, which is cheaper and more natural. Yes, my meat costs more from the farm, because of the way it is raised. There is nothing comparable at the market - I have no guarantee of how these animals are raised and how long the cows actually ate grass... or what was actually fed to the chickens (did they eat grubs and insects as is natural?? Or were they fed organic soy and fish meal in a dark barn?). Also, hey, it just tastes better. Seriously. It tastes so good. Eating cheap is costing this country a LOT of money. Industrial farms are not profitable, they ruin the environment with pesticide run-off, and raise our taxes. From Real Food, by Nina Planck:

Industrial cattle eat corn, wheat, soy, and cottonseed oil because this feed is subsidized. From 1995 to 2004, taxpayers spent ninety-one billion dollars on these four crops alone.

Today a [industrial] farmer spends thirty-five calories in fossil fuels to produce just one calorie of feedlot beef and sixty-eight calories for a calorie of pork.

So cheap meat isn't really cheap. And it costs us in health as well. But, just a note, my local eggs are cheaper and way better than the store's "organic" eggs. Yes, some things are cheaper. I bet I spend less on my food budget each month than other organic eaters.

I know where my chicken comes from, and what it eats (soy-free!) and I feel good about eating it. I know it led a happy chicken life and was prepared for our table with care. I will post soon about ways to save money while eating healthy real food. It is full of monounsaturated oleic acid, which lowers LDL. It is full of CLA, the anti-cancer fat which fights cancer and builds lean muscle. And it boosts immunity! And where is most of this good stuff? In the mostly un-saturated fat of the chicken. Yes, in the FAT! (of course, I have nothing against pastured or coconut saturated fat, but all kinds of natural fat is good for you!)

I know it is not bleached with chlorine like regular chicken at the store, to kill harmful bacteria, because it doesn't need to be. The risk of harmful bacteria in pastured meat is very very low. That comes from feedlots and chickens stuck in a barn standing in their own waste.

OK, on to the yummy chicken recipe! Thanks for reading. I'm passionate! If this interests you, read Real Food and Omnivore's Dilemma. Those are my two favorite books on this subject.

Okay folks, don't be scared. This took me only 15 minutes to prepare before I had any coffee. And to be honest, I hardly ever make a roast chicken, because I always think it will be hard. But, it wasn't!! It was EASY! Try it!!!

You can use any veggies you want... if you don't have a roaster pan and you don't have asparagus, you can use celery in the same way. If you don't have bacon, you can make this mixture with butter. I would have used more but I just didn't have that many lying around. I did add some potatoes for my husband.. not very low carb, I know. I'll try not to eat them. ;)

Bacon & Rosemary Roasted Chicken with Asparagus & Tomatoes
adapted from this recipe

about a 4 lb organic pastured chicken
4 slices pastured pork bacon, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary or a heaping 1/4 teaspoon dried (technically 1/3rd teaspoon)
1 teaspoon fresh basil or a heaping 1/4 teaspoon dried
a teaspoon each of sea salt & pepper, plus a little extra (or to taste)
2- 3 garlic cloves
one small onion, peeled and quarted
one bunch of organic (local!) asparagus
a handful of organic grape tomatoes
4-6 Tablespoons grass-fed pastured butter/lard, or EVOO or Coconut/Palm oil
roaster pan or baking pan
baster, or use spoon
meat thermometer

Preheat oven to 450˚F. Rinse off your chicken and pat dry. Make sure there is nothing in cavity (if you bought it from the store). In a food processor, blend bacon, rosemary, basil, garlic, s&p until it becomes finely minced or has a paste like consistency. Put your fingers between the skin and meat of the chicken breasts and legs, loosening skin. Spread the minced bacon mixture under the skin, pressing and working it towards the back and towards the legs so it is evenly over the meat. Place any extra inside the cavity with the onion.

Wash and cut the ends off your asparagus and place them side by side in the bottom of the pan (especially if you don't have a roaster pan, like me). Place the chicken breast side down on the asparagus. Sprinkle extra s&p on top of the chicken. Place pats of butter or pour your oil on top of the chicken and roast for 10 - 15 minutes. Baste with butter from bottom of pan. Turn heat down to 350˚F and baste every 20 minutes. Roast for about 17 to 20 minutes per pound, or until an instant-read thermometer reads about 165 to 170° when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh and juices run clear (not bloody). It should be very brown, not just light brown on top. Let sit for 10 minutes without cutting when you remove it from oven.

Real Food by Nina Planck

2010-06-02T12:50:00.002-04:00

I am not even all the way through this book and I have to recommend it! It is really great. Of course, she talks about whole grains, which we Gfree-ers cannot eat, but all the same, I just love what she says and all the scientific evidence she quotes to back up why PASTURED (and natural) saturated fat is SO GOOD for you!! She talks about Cholesterol myths, and many other myths we are so brainwashed to believe by outdated information!! She is also a great writer.. and she started farmer's markets in London, isn't that cool??
I love it!!
Great excerpt:
p.33

* Grass-fed beef is rich in beta-carotene and vitamin E (both fight heart disease and cancer) and CLA, the anti-cancer fat.
* Grass-fed milk, cream, butter, and cheese are rich in vitamins A and D, omega-3 fats, CLA, and butyric acid, another fat that fights cancer and infections.
* Pastured pork and lard are rich in antimicrobial fats and the monounsaturated fat oleic acid- the same fat in olive oil, which reduces LDL.
* Pastured eggs are rich in vitamin A and omega-3 fats, which prevent obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and depression. Egg yolks contain lecithin, which helps metabolize cholesterol.

Substitutions - the page where you figure out how to substitute your preferred ingredient

2010-05-29T13:39:00.013-04:00

Here is a page for substitutions. I know we all do well with different sweeteners and many of you cannot have dairy. In the past I have just written in the post what I used but from now on assume that what I write in the ingredients list is what I used or what is a very easy sub. Anything else, I will direct you to this page to make like easier for us all. When you sub, you are testing my recipe in a different way, so I don't guarantee it will come out, so use your own judgement.
Just keep in mind these things - I don't use maple syrup. You are on your own there. Also, if you sub liquid sweetener for dry it may come out a whole other way... Or it may come out perfectly. Also, I wouldn't substitute more stevia than what I recommend... in some recipes, it just won't come out. BUT, I usually use as much stevia as possible, so I don't think that will be a problem. And sometimes I mention "to taste" because not all stevia powders are the same, or perhaps you are using liquid (I don't use it so I am not sure how to sub for that).
Please post on the recipe in the comments page when you substitute something and how it came out. Thanks!!

Milk - you may substitute full fat coconut milk mixed with a little water (if using over 1/4 cup, otherwise full fat is fine) or even almond milk
Cream- coconut milk, full fat.
Half and Half - full fat coconut milk is more of this consistency so it works well in ice cream recipes.
Butter - High Quality Coconut Oil or High Quality Palm Oil, organic preferred

SWEETENERS:
1 cup sugar =

1 cup coconut palm sugar - works well for almost any sugar sub use except coffee.
1 cup xylitol - great for cold things like ice cream
1 + 1/3 cup Erythritol - only good for baking, IMO. NOT for ice cream (yuck!)
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/3 cup honey
1 + 1/4 cup maple syrup (plus add baking powder. I don't use this so... you are on your own here)
1/4 teaspoon Stevia

OTHER GF FLOURS: Don't do it. It won't turn out. That's a WHOLE other recipe!

Low Carb Cherry-Almond Ice Cream

2010-05-27T22:26:00.007-04:00

Hi all! I love ice cream! Can you tell!?!?
This recipe can be made egg-free, if you can't eat eggs. Also, if you are not eating cherries, you can use anything else or just make it almond ice cream without the cherries.
I just used regular almond flour for the ground almonds... obviously in this case any brand will do! That is not true with baking, if you have been keeping up with my posts. :)
Lots of ice cream recipes lately - sorry GFCF peops, but you can always try this recipe with full fat coconut milk (3 cups)! I'm sure it would be very good. If you do, please post!!!
Make sure you use the healthiest eggs you can get for this, as we will be eating them raw!!
If you substitute, don't use erythritol in ice cream!
**WARNING: This overflowed at the end in my Quart sized ice cream maker. So maybe you want to do it in batches.

Low Carb Cherry-Almond Ice Cream
2 organic pastured eggs (optional)
2 cups non-homogenized organic cream
1 cup non-homogenized organic milk
1/2 cup almond meal or ground almonds
3 Tablespoons almond extract
1/2 teaspoon of stevia (I used NuNaturals.)
Or 1/4 teaspoon stevia + 1/2 cup xylitol)
1 teaspoon agave nectar if using straight stevia (optional)
1/2 cup chopped cherries

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, stevia, and agave (or just add sweeteners to the milk if you are not using eggs). Add milk and cream and stir.
Add almond meal, and extract and stir well. Add cherries.
Cover and cool in fridge for 1-2 hours (important). A metal bowl (preferred) or glass bowl helps cool faster.
Make according to your ice cream maker's directions. Yummy!

Low Carb Vanilla Custard Ice Cream

2010-05-24T18:30:00.004-04:00

Wellllll, I tried to make rum raisin several times but it was just a no-go. I suspect you either have to put up with the strong alcohol taste of rum, or use chemical laden rum extract. Not for me! But the good news is, I learned how to make a delicious custard ice cream. One of the reasons mine is so good is that I buy fresh eggs from a local organic and pastured farm (meaning the chickens run around for real). These yolks are dark orange and taste SO GOOD!! This recipe is only for one pint, because I couldn't bear to part with 8 eggs for one recipe. But you can double it, easy shmeasy.

What will you do with all those egg whites left over?? I found an excellent use for mine, and I encourage you to do the same!! Go over to Random Teaspoon for Allie's Oeufs à la Neige au Chocolat... mmmmmm!!!

**ICE CREAM TIP: After you make the ice cream, if you have the type of ice cream maker like I have where the ice cream bowl is frozen instead of using rock salt and ice, transfer the ice cream to a different container so it doesn't get too hard.

Please, my loyal readers, I know you are out there- leave me a comment! You can also join me on Facebook and Twitter.

**Sugar subs: Instead of the xylitol and stevia mix I used, you can sub:
1/4 tsp of stevia powder (make sure you taste this during the thickening process for desired taste)
OR
1/2 cup xylitol
OR
1/4 cup agave nectar/honey
OR
1/8 tsp stevia + 1/4 cup agave nectar
OR
1/2 cup equivalent of sugar.
I still recommend the extra 1 teaspoon of agave with any sub that includes stevia.

Low Carb Vanilla Custard Ice Cream

makes one pint. Recipe is easily doubled.
one pint = 4 servings at about 7 carbs each.

4 large organic egg yolks from pastured chickens
1/8 tsp stevia (I used NuNaturals)**
1/4 cup xylitol**
1 teaspoon agave nectar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups organic non-homogenized milk
3/4 cup organic non-homogenized fresh cream or heavy whipping cream
pinch sea salt
optional: 1/4 cup toasted nuts or fresh cherries or anything you want to add!

In a large sized bowl, whisk together egg yolks, stevia, xylitol, agave, and salt. Set aside. In a large heavy saucepan, bring milk and cream to a boil over medium heat. Gradually pour this mixture into the egg yolk mixture while whisking the entire time. Whisk a little more, then return to saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, without letting it boil. It should be thickened. Strain custard into a bowl. I poured it through a metal strainer. Pour back into bowl and put into refrigerator to cool, around 2 hours.
When cool, add the vanilla extract. Transfer the custard to your ice cream maker according to your directions. In the last few minutes, you can add any add-ins you desire- like nuts! Enjoy! Freeze until hard for an hour and then place in a separate container so it doesn't get too hard and lose it's creaminess.

Post a comment and tell me if you liked it!!

Low-Carb, Gluten Free Lemon Pecan Scones (Scones Part 2)

2010-05-10T19:44:00.007-04:00

OK, you caught me... I was going to make them with blueberries but it seems I'm out! And I happen to have lots of lemons and pecans... so I am sort of mixing 2 recipes here - the flavor of the Lemon Pecan Muffins and the recipe of The Strawberry Walnut Scones, which is a version of Elana's Pantry's recipe in her Almond Flour Cookbook. You can use your own subs- make Orange Walnut Scones or something... just please use organic fruit when you use the zest - otherwise you are zesting pesticides right into your mix!!
The reason I am posting a Scones Part 2 Recipe is because of the feedback I got from you, dear readers, on Facebook (join!), I decided to try them with different sweeteners to see if it would work-so here are my results.
So, here we go... Scones Part 2! If you are corn-free, you can substitute 2 Tablespoons agave nectar for the erythritol... or honey. I've decided I have no more problem with agave... better than sugar and I find it doesn't bother my insulin. Plus I don't use much of it.. but I did make mine with erythritol since it has less carbs.
I use NuNaturals Stevia- which means I have to use more, it seems - it has no bitter taste but seems to be less sweet to me. So start with 1/8 tsp and work up if you are using another brand. These came out even better than last time! I am so happy with them!!

Low-Carb, Gluten Free Lemon Pecan Scones
(Scones Part 2)

2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour (Honeyville's recommended)
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, soft or 1/3 cup high quality coconut oil
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon Stevia (1/4 for NuNaturals)
1/4 cup erythritol
(alternately: 2 Tablespoons Agave Nectar/Honey or 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar or sugar sub)
1 teaspoon organic lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
parchment paper

Preheat oven to 350˚ and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Blend well in one big bowl: almond flour, sea salt, baking soda, erythritol (if using)& stevia. In a separate small bowl mix: butter, agave (if using), eggs, and vanilla.
Blend together, then add pecans and mix well.
Place heaping tablespoons (scone size: see pic) of mixture on parchment paper and bake 25-35 min until browned and cooked through, or almost through (see pic below). Allow to cool for 30 minutes on baking sheets. Even better to wait until completely cooled after that to eat them.

Serve alone or with butter or cream cheese- or both! Or with something non-dairy if you don't do dairy... jelly?

Low Carb Kheer Ricotta Pudding, Gluten Free

2010-05-07T21:01:00.002-04:00

I have been craving an Indian rice pudding, called Kheer. But, rice pudding has a lot of carbs! So.. I made it this way. I used half as many raisins, and chopped them up. You could use more - 1/4 cup if you don't mind the carbs. I estimate that 1/8th cup chopped golden raisins have about 16 net carbs. But I don't think you could eat too much of this pudding anyway! I found some recipes that called for saffron, but I tried it in a small separate batch and I didn't care for it. Grapes are definitely one of the "Dirty Dozen" 2010 pesticide watch, so use organic raisins.
I used Ricotta cheese, but I believe it might even have a better consistency with Cottage Cheese, if it comes in Whole Milk.
If you don't like Stevia, you can use 1/4 - 1/2 cup of sugar or sugar substitute of your choice. I used NuNaturals so if you are using a different brand, start with the lower amount and work your way up. Also, my cardamom is not that fresh, so you will want to experiment there, too. You may need to use less. Start with the lower amount and work your way up to preference.
Finally, this can be eaten on it's own, but it also tastes great with pears. I don't have a picture but you can slice a pear from top to bottom, hollow out the seeds and place a dollop inside the middle and serve that way.

Low Carb Kheer Ricotta Pudding, Gluten Free

1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons Cream
16 oz (1 lb) whole milk ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon of good tasting stevia powder (I used 1/4 teaspoon NuNaturals)
1 teaspoon agave nectar, maple syrup, or honey (optional)
3/4 - 1 teaspoon ground cardamom (depending on freshness/potency of your brand and taste)
1/8 - 1/4 cup organic golden raisins, chopped (1/8 cup = ~16 net carbs)
1/4 cup chopped pistachios or blanched almonds
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
pinch nutmeg

Blend cream, cheese, stevia, agave/honey, cardomom, sea salt, and nutmeg. Stir in raisins and nuts. Serve.
Or.. serve in halved ripe pears.

Lemon Pecan Muffins- gluten-free & low-carb of course!

2010-04-28T00:26:00.003-04:00

Well, I've had a hard time getting lemon extract lately but I found that you can substitute twice as much lemon zest for it.. and I had all these lemons left over from my Stevia Lemonade, so I made these yummy muffins. I used a light colored muffin tin and buttered it well, and to my surprise, they came out easily after I ran a butter knife around each one and turned the tin upside down! You can eat these plain, with cream cheese, or butter!

I love to make an easy, fast, low carb breakfast ahead of time. Then I know my Hubby eats something, even if he's running late. These have 2 net carbs per muffin.

Lemon Pecan Muffins- gluten-free & low-carb of course!
makes 6, 2 net carbs each

3 eggs, separated
3 Tablespoons melted organic butter or high quality coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon stevia powder
2 Tablespoons Erythritol
1 teaspoon fresh organic lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup pecan pieces
flour sifter
muffin tin

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease muffin tins well with either coconut oil or butter and set aside.
Separate eggs. Whip the egg whites in a clean dry bowl until soft peaks form and put aside.
In another bowl, mix together egg yolks, melted butter, stevia, erythritol, salt, vanilla and lemon zest. Combine coconut flour and baking soda in the sifter and sift into batter, mixing well. Stir in pecans. Fold egg whites into batter (directions here). Immediately spoon batter into muffin tin, filling to the top. They won't rise much. Bake for 13 - 16 minutes.

Scoring Good Prices At Whole Foods

2010-04-28T00:16:00.001-04:00

Just wanted to tell you guys that I found Coconut Palm Sugar and NuNaturals Stevia Powder (considered the best brand) at Whole Foods for a fraction of the online price. Coconut Palm Sugar was $5 & Stevia was $6! MY GOODNESS what I have spent on shipping alone. If you have a Whole Foods, you've got to check it out!! My honey works there now, so I had him look for me, and I was so excited. Of course, if you don't live near a Whole Foods, I put some links to Amazon below...

Search Amazon.com for coconut palm sugar

Stevia Sweetened Lemonade

2010-04-27T23:53:00.011-04:00

Well, it's sort-of Spring. Here in NY, it feels like Spring every other day. To hasten the feeling, I made this Stevia sweetened lemonade. I finally bought some NuNaturals brand Stevia Powder... I seem to have some notes that when I made this before with Sweetleaf brand, I used half as much. That doesn't seem right, it really should be the same. So, if you are using that brand, or another brand- start with half as much and work your way up. Then, please post for the rest of us!!
This lemonade is actually good for you!!! Organic lemons and Stevia- which is good for your teeth and digestive tract! So, enjoy!! 4.6 net carbs for each 8 oz.

**New: variations below

Stevia Sweetened Lemonade
4.6 carbs per 8 oz.

3/4 cup freshly squeezed organic lemon juice (about 3-4 lemons)
2 1/2 cups of filtered water
1 teaspoon NuNaturals powdered Stevia or 1/2 teaspoon Sweetleaf powdered Stevia

Mix lemon juice and stevia until blended, then add water. Serve! Store in a glass bottle in the refrigerator.
**IMPORTANT: stir the Stevia as soon as you put it in the lemon juice, so it doesn't clump.

VARIATION: Raspberry Lemonade
6.4 ECC per 8 ounces

3/4 cup lemon juice with one lime mixed in (squeeze lime first)
1/4 cup pureed raspberries
1/2 teaspoon NuNaturals Stevia (1/4 Sweetleaf)
2 cups filtered water

Stir lemon/lime juice, raspberry puree, and stevia until well blended, then add water. Serve! Store in a glass bottle in the refrigerator. I use used Perrier bottles so I don't have to scrub out every lemon pulp to re-use - I just recycle them!! :)

adapted from:

How I Cured Myself from GERD: Acid Reflux "Disease"

2010-04-20T20:15:00.009-04:00

I send this out all the time to people who ask me how I cured myself from acid reflux. And I just thought... I should post it here! Although, you, my dear readers, probably don't have this problem.. since most of you who follow this blog already know if of any food intolerances, which is one of the biggest causes. But anyway, I have this blog, so it's a good place to put it! :) Here it is...

PRINTABLE PAGE- click here

How I Cured Myself from GERD

I was diagnosed with acid reflux (also called GERD for Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease) in 1999. My doctors put me on medication, and then stronger medication, then the strongest medication, then increased my dosage to twice a day. Still it got progressively worse over the course of four years. Finally my doctor told me the only option was surgery or I would ruin my voice, and ultimately, my career as an opera singer. Also, I was afraid of Esophageal Cancer, which can happen with the constant acid wash in the esophagus. My reflux was so bad; I could get it from just drinking water! Believe me, my case was not mild. So, I talked to a few singers who had had the surgery, and did some research. Turns out, the surgery is quite severe. Essentially, the doctor twists the upper stomach around the esophagus and stitches it into place. This keeps your stomach sphincter from opening and washing acid into your esophagus. The effect is like having your stomach stapled. Side effects include diarrhea for a year or more, and surgery failure occurs in 85% of patients within 15 years. You should know that when your stomach is made smaller by surgical means, your body could easily suffer from malnutrition. You have to be very, very careful about what you eat. So, I set out to read everything I could and to find out how I could cure myself naturally. And, the results were really surprising! I found the cause, and I cured myself, and since then (beginning of 2002) I have had no problems. I’ll tell you what I found through reading and my own experience. I used these methods to cure myself from all acid reflux symptoms (and keep them away) and then 2 years ago, my doctor cured me from the root cause, which can be different in each case.

What causes Acid Reflux?

I found that there are many things that can contribute to acid reflux. One is emotional. I believe every physical problem is caused by an emotional one. Stomach acid is sometimes caused by stress, or more accurately, fear. I suffered from this in great detail… Luckily, I cured my reflux way before I tackled most of these fears, but it is something to think about.

Many people find that their acid reflux is simply a symptom of a food allergy or some other problem that causes food not to digest properly. I “cured” my symptoms of acid reflux for 9 years but found later the root of the problem was that I cannot digest gluten. Any stomach problem that inhibits digestion can cause acid reflux because of undigested food. We’ll get to that in a moment.

How did I find out I couldn’t eat gluten? Well, I failed the Celiac Disease test- so I am not a Celiac (Celiacs cannot digest gluten at all). Also my allergy test came back negative for everything. I went to a doctor (an Applied Kenesiologist/Natural Doc) and he diagnosed me quickly, easily, and cheaply. I lost weight I had been unable to lose for years, and am healthier than I have ever been. Acid Reflux is just one problem of many that I am now free of. That’s the thing- acid reflux is a symptom of some other problem. So this paper can tell you ways of controlling acid reflux as a symptom – but you’ll need an alternative doctor to find the cause. You’ll need a doctor who finds causes instead of throwing prescriptions at symptoms, which is unfortunately the American Way. I can find you an A.K. doc in your area if you contact me.

How fast do you eat? Do you sit and enjoy each bite of food? Or do you scarf down your lunch in front of your computer while working, or while driving somewhere? Some people have completely cured their acid reflux by simply sitting down and concentrating on what they are eating when they are eating it. If you are not doing this, you must begin now.

It Could Be Something Physical

First make sure that the acid reflux is not just a side effect of another condition you may have. Hernias, especially, can cause acid reflux until they are corrected. After the hernia is corrected, the patient is usually cured of the reflux. I’ve also had a hiatal hernia corrected by a chiropractor (my A.K. doc), so they don’t always need surgery.

It could be as simple as a bacteria infection in your stomach called H. Pylori. That is cleared up with antibiotics.

Another condition could be a side symptom of thyroid disorder. Check the web for more information if any kind of thyroid diseases run in your family or if you have a waking temperature under 97.2 degrees consistently, and fatigue.

Also, you could have a problem with Candida albicans, an overgrowth of yeast in your stomach caused by antibiotics, birth control pills, too much sugar/yeast containing foods, pregnancy, or anything else that disrupts your body’s natural flora. There is a test you can do at home to check if you have this (see www.candidasupport.org ) which is free and easy. Symptoms include heavy cravings for sugar, carbs, and/or alcohol; white coating on the tongue; and fatigue. In my own life, I have found that heavy Candida overgrowth can appear as all the same symptoms of a thyroid problem. So, test yourself for this first before you take the expensive tests for thyroid diseases. Untreated, Candida can lead to Fibromyalgia, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and finally Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. If so, see a naturopath for relief from this.

Enzymes and Colon Cleansing

What else causes food to be undigested? Overly processed foods are hard to digest (white sugar/flour, unfermented tofu, foods with a lot of chemicals like frozen foods, or foods that don’t agree with you). If you eat a lot of these foods, I would recommend you take a high quality enzyme supplement to help them digest for now. You can get them from your health food store- try to get one that has all the different kinds of enzymes (different enzymes break down different foods). And work towards eating a healthier diet of natural foods – naturally raised organic meat, vegetables, and fruits without chemicals and preservatives will make a world of difference in your life.

Most importantly, clean out what is stuck in your colon now. This step is what completely eradicated my acid reflux until I found the root cause. Do yourself a favor and do a high quality colon cleanse (I strongly believe everyone should do this). I only recommend Dr. Schultze’s products (1.800.Herb Doc). His colon cleanse is a two part series (Intestinal Formula #1 and #2). This insures that when your body releases its toxins, it doesn’t get held up in a constipated colon and cause nausea, with very little success. His products are amazing, and inexpensive. You can call for a free brochure and tape. Please remember that a colon cleanse is a time to abstain from alcohol and heavy foods like red meat and dairy. This will help the cleansing product work it’s best (so you don’t have to repeat it!). When you order these products, make sure you ask for the catalog or anything that has all the steps and instructions. The instructions on the bottles are not complete. I don’t believe in most of the things Dr. Schultze believes in but his products are the highest quality herbs I have found.

HCI

Try taking an enzyme with Hydrochloric Acid (HCI). Many times the problem is actually that you don’t have enough acid in your stomach to break down your food (works like enzymes) especially if you are a vegetarian or vegan. So to test for this, do the following.

Buy some HCI tablets from the health food store (or betaine hydrochloride) plus enzymes. Take half a tablet before the last mouthful of a main meal. Burning or indigestion means you have plenty of hydrochloric acid. Don't take any more tablets. Use antacid or teaspoonful of bicarbonate to relieve discomfort. If no burning or indigestion, next day take 1 tablet in the same way. If still no burning or indigestion, next day take 2 tablets in the same way. If still no burning or indigestion, then you need more acid. So if you need more acid, then you take 2 betaine hydrochloric acid tablets with main meals and 1 tablet with small meals.

How Prescription Medications Make GERD Worse

Here is something very interesting that I learned. Remember how I told you my story and how it got worse each year, so I had to take stronger and stronger medications? Well, it turns out that the prescriptions were making it worse. The prescription works by stopping the hydrochloric acid from being released in your stomach. Maybe this sounds like a good idea if you are trying to stop the acid from splashing in your esophagus, but it’s not. The hydrochloric acid is being released in your stomach for a reason. Your body needs it to break down proteins in your stomach. Without it, you will have even more undigested food rotting in your stomach, and eventually your colon. So, it starts all over again. Also, your GERD could be caused from too little HCI in the first place, as you have already read.

After I did Dr. Schultze’s colon cleanse, I was able to get off my prescription for the first time in four years. I was able to gradually get off (cutting down my dosage slowly to nothing), and I improved more and more as time went on.

Solutions For The Interim

Of course, I did do a few other things to help stop the acid when it’s already there (like maybe now as you are reading this). Get some high quality peppermint oil, mix a few drops with water, and drink it, it should neutralize the acid. Drinking organic raw apple cider vinegar- 1 tablespoon with a glass of water- will neutralize the acid in your stomach as well. Also, there is a product at the health food store called Herbal Melange. It’s scary looking but has no taste, and works well to help heal your stomach. You can also buy Aloe Vera juice for ingesting (not the same as topical) from the health food store, but just take a little shot of it a few times a day, not too much! Can have undesirable side effects… which can be counteracted with applesauce.

Stevia (natural replacement for sugar) helps digestion as well.

Virgin Coconut Oil is an excellent digestive aid (more on that in the next paragraph), 1 tablespoon for each 50 lbs of your weight (1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons) a day. Juicing fresh vegetables and fruit can also make such a difference that you will feel immediately. More on that later… If you have reflux away from home and can’t get to anything… you can drink some lemon juice in water.

Coffee, Alcohol, Juice, and Sodas

I gave up coffee, alcohol, and all bubbly products until my stomach was healed, and then I had them again. It’s only temporary. However, when I started drinking coffee again, I drank less.

“Acid” Foods

I gave up cooked tomato products for a while. Believe me, not easy - especially with my Italian background. Now, I can eat them once in a while. Please know that tomatoes, oranges, and other “acid fruits” are actually alkaline (non acid forming) while they are raw. Once cooked, or pasteurized, they are acidic. But, if your stomach is in severe condition, I would suggest laying off these foods (even raw) for a month or two, until your stomach is healed, then you can resume them. But contrary to what my doctors told me, natural raw foods are always alkaline. Cooked foods are acid forming. Remember that. So, fresh squeezed orange juice will be alkaline. Pasteurized orange juice (pasteurization is a heating process, WAY over 118 degrees- which kills all enzymes) is acid forming. Pasteurized dairy products are too. (See www.realmilk.com for more info.) I only drink raw milk, and love the healthy raw cheeses, cream, and yogurts that are coming available more and more. If you are allergic to cow’s milk, you can also find raw goat’s milk, an excellent source of nutrition (and great for asthma sufferers), on this site.

A note about tomatoes: Grocery store tomatoes are acidic because they are picked before they are ripe, then gassed to make them turn red. But if you try organic vine-ripened tomatoes (when your stomach is a bit better), and eat them raw, you will find that they are alkaline.

Alternative Healing

You can also visit a qualified Acupuncturist or Energy Worker. This will help ease the symptoms of acid reflux. Also Rolfing is amazing for singers. It’s a little expensive but amazing body work! www.rolf.org for more info. Applied Kenesiology doctors can really cure you of anything. I had one reverse a hernia I had once and also help me get my thyroid working and lose weight (which was impossible for me for many years). Even Bikram Yoga can heal you from the inside out and is great for digestion.

Acid Reflux and TMJ

Have you ever wondered why so many opera singers suffer from Acid Reflux Disease? Well, I believe it is because many singers also have TMJ. There is a link between them. There is an acupressure point in between the jaw joint (way in there), which causes stomach problems, and specifically acid reflux. So please see an alternative healer, massage therapist, or even massage the joint yourself if you have TMJ. When your TMJ acts up, then your stomach will correspond, so please have your TMJ treated. See a Rolfer, an Acupuncturist, a Chiropractor, an Energy Worker, or Massage Therapist to help you with your TMJ problems.

Maintenance

Curing yourself of anything is an amazing thing. But remember that if you go back to your old habits, it could come back. Also, just eating an American diet can cause it come back, so maintenance is important. I recommend that you keep on the lookout for classic symptoms. The most classic symptoms are:

*A gag reflex in the back of your throat (this is the biggest one. You will find it disappears when your reflux is truly gone).

* Finding yourself clearing your throat often. Acid reflux can make you feel like there is phlegm on your vocal cords that you just can’t clear off. Believe me, I’ve had allergies in the past. If you can’t clear it off, it’s acid reflux. If you find yourself doing it constantly, it’s acid reflux.

*Any burping is related to acid. Any.

*Heartburn

*Taste of vomit in the back of the throat

*Hoarseness not related to any virus, illness, or thyroid disorder.

To keep maintenance, you should do a colon cleanse once or twice a year. You will need to do it more often if you eat well-done meat, pasteurized dairy, tofu, refined sugars, and refined flours. If you have the symptoms above, then it’s time to do it again. A quick note on soy: tofu is a highly processed food, and soy in general is not a natural food source for humans. (Fermented is ok.)

Also, keep up with your enzymes, probiotics, and juicing. These are things to do forever!

I also recommend you see a natural doctor, a Naturopath. All these things could be a side effect of pancreas/liver/insulin dysfunction, which is not that difficult to fix naturally, with herbs.

Conclusion

I have written this based on my own experience and research. I am not a doctor. Although I found my doctors to be misinformed on the subject of GERD, I am not claiming to have any medical background. I have written this because I hope to help anyone avoid what I went through. There was a time when I was afraid that my career would be over if I did not get my acid reflux under control. I am glad to report that I have no problems at all now, and my doctor has told me there is no evidence at all of reflux when he looks at my vocal cords.

Quick Reference

Avoid until you are better: Pasteurized foods (juices and dairy), cooked tomatoes, coffee, alcohol, sodas, chocolate, late night eating.

Take: enzymes with HCI (take the test in the HCI paragraph), probiotics, fresh juiced juices, Dr. Schultze’s colon cleanse.

Relief for burning from now until it is healed: peppermint oil, lemon juice in your water, organic raw apple cider vinegar.

See a natural doctor if you can: Applied Kenesiologists – my first choice… or a nautropath, an acupuncturist, etc. There are probably more things at play inside your body than you realize.

References

The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil by Bruce Fife

Eat Fat look Thin by Bruce Fife

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Fasting by Eve Adamson and Linda Horning, R.D.

Dr. Richard Schultze (1.800.HerbDoc)

www.mercola.com

www.thedoctorwithin.com

http://rheumatic.org/hcl.htm

Gluten Free Low Carb Strawberry Walnut Scones

2010-04-03T11:41:00.010-04:00

Hi All! I am very busy in rehearsal for a Merry Widow right now.. so here's a post to keep you busy until I can return to cooking at the end of April.

These delicious strawberry scones are a twist on a recipe for chocolate chip scones from Elana's recipe book: The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook. They are so delicious! I replaced most of the agave with erythritol. You could certainly substitute any fresh (as in not frozen) berry or even dried berries for the strawberries.. but they are in season. And, of course, any nut for the walnuts.
The only caveat is that the scones got soft after the first day. I just re-toasted them but they were still very moist in the middle- which I didn't mind, but they weren't very scone-ish that way. I would suggest you just bake them as needed if you have time... or just eat them re-toasted, they were still delicious, and moist is not always a bad thing!

You may use coconut sugar or agave or the mixture that I provided. You may sub honey for agave.. there are many subs. I was out of stevia so I didn't get to try it this time but I may try it next time and I will let you know. (**UPDATE: they were great!! See Scones Part 2)

Gluten Free Strawberry Walnut Scones

2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour (Honeyville's recommended)
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, soft
1/4 cup erythritol
2 Tablespoons coconut palm sugar
1 Tablespoon of Agave Nectar (Search Amazon.com for agave nectar)
(alternately: 2 Tablespoons Agave Nectar or 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar)
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract, gfree
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup diced strawberries (~ 3 large)
parchment paper

Preheat oven to 350˚ and line baking sheets with parchment paper
Blend well in one big bowl: almond flour, sea salt, baking soda, erythritol & (if using) coconut palm sugar
In a separate small bowl mix: butter, agave (if using), eggs, and vanilla
Blend together, then add walnuts and strawberries and mix gently
Place heaping tablespoons of mixture on parchment paper and bake 12- 17 min until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for 30 minutes on baking sheets.
Serve alone or with butter or cream cheese- or both! Retoast leftovers when ready.

Gluten-free Crème Brûlée with Stevia & Coconut Palm Sugar

2010-03-16T11:04:00.013-04:00

I made this easy easy crème brûlée and even bruléed it with coconut palm sugar- came out great!! I used mostly stevia for the custard, with a touch of agave - from a decent brand... you could probably leave out the agave, or use honey... or use erythritol or xylitol (use twice as much for these two)- I am out of a lot of ingredients so that is what I used.
Those of you who also use raw milk and cream (I highly recommend!), this is not a recipe you can used slightly soured milk for. Use it fresh. And, save these egg whites, we can put them to use in something!!

ALTERNATIVE: You could use a thin layer of melted Lindt 85% chocolate (which is low carb) on top and refrigerate. It will crack like a crust if you make it thin enough. . if you don't want to use coconut palm sugar.

I adapted this recipe from Martha Stewart's website.

Gfree Crème Brûlée with Stevia & Coconut Palm Sugar

serves 4

1 1/4 cups organic heavy cream
1 1/4 cups organic milk
2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon high quality stevia extract powder
2 Tablespoons Blue Nectar agave nectar or honey
~2 teaspoons coconut palm sugar

Preheat oven to 300˚F. Make sure there is a rack 1/3rd the way up from the bottom. Choose a roasting pan big enough to hold 4 six-ounce dessert cups and fill with enough water to go halfway up the cups. Place the pan in the oven, without the cups.

Combine cream and milk in a medium sized saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat as soon as it boils.

Whisk together well the egg yolks, stevia, and agave. Slowly whisk in the hot milk mixture. Add vanilla and combine well. Pour mixture into cups and place them into the pan of water. Bake 30 - 40 minutes until custard is set and is no longer liquid when lightly touched in the center. It may crack under your finger but as long as your finger is not breaking through to liquid, it should be cooked. Remove from oven, and place cups on a wire rack to cool if you are serving warm, or cool off then place in fridge to serve later. These are great cold, but are delicious warm as well if you are short on time.

When ready to serve, make sure there is a oven rack near the top and turn the oven on High Broil and let it heat up. Sprinkle a little (1/2 tsp each cup) coconut palm sugar on top of each dessert cup. Place under broiler for one minute or until it looks wet, boiling, and about to burn. Take out, let cool a few minutes, then serve.

Gluten Free Lemon Cupcakes with Coconut Flour, two ways

2010-02-25T15:43:00.020-05:00

Lemon cupcakes today!!! I used coconut flour and I made them two ways. Chocolate coated for the lowest carb count, which can be made GFCF; and one with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting. You can combine them both if you like a lemon cupcake with a chocolate layer, just be sure you put the cupcake in the fridge to harden the chocolate before you frost it. My recipe makes SIX, but can be easily doubled.

I used agave for the frosting... all I can say is, better than sugar. I cannot find another way to make edible frosting. I think agave is ok in small amounts, but basically I would say, eat the chocolate topped one and give the kids the frosted ones!! This frosting is REALLY sweet with 4 Tablespoons so you can reduce the agave to 2 if you like.. I made them that way because that is what people really seem to like in a cupcake.

NET CARB COUNTS: Add them up however you are making them: 1 plain cupcake using butter/cream: 1.8 carbs. Chocolate topping using Green & Black's 85% bar: 2.25 each cupcake. Lemon Frosting using 2 TBLS agave: 5.8 each cupcake. So, a cupcake with just chocolate is 4g, and a cupcake with less-agave-lemon frosting is 7.6 .. and all three is 9.85.
More-agave-lemon frosting: 11g per cupcake
GFCF version (coconut oil/coconut milk) with chocolate: 4.9 carbs each

DOUBLING TIP: make sure you write out all the doubling measures out to the side on your recipe page or you can easily mess it up. Same thing goes ESPECIALLY if you half a recipe. Make sure you read this through before you start, as some actions may require time sensitive actions (the chocolate).

Coconut flour cupcake TIP: Do not use cupcake papers with these, because it is impossible to grease them enough and you will lose most of the cupcake in the paper.

Important UPDATE: Tip for getting these cupcakes out of the muffin tin in one piece: Cut out parchment paper circles for bottom of cupcakes, and be sure to butter/oil them. Then when cupcakes are cool, run the back of a butter knife around each cupcake and then try to lift them out with the parchment paper attached. Coco flour cupcakes stick a LOT. They also stick badly to cupcake papers, which are impossible to butter well. I haven't tried foil cupcake liners, mainly because I don't think it's that healthy to bake with foil, but let me know if you try that, that might work better.

Gluten Free Lemon Cupcakes with Coconut Flour
makes 6

3 fresh eggs, cold, separated
3 Tablespoons melted & cooled organic butter or high quality coconut oil
2 Tablespoons organic cream or coconut milk
3 Tablespoons Erythritol
2 teaspoons lemon extract
1 teaspoon of grated organic lemon rind - approx. one small lemon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon good quality stevia, measured exactly, sharp knife! --->
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Whip egg whites in a clean and dry metal (glass 2nd choice) bowl until stiff peaks form.
Place in refrigerator. Preheat oven to 400˚F. In another bowl, blend together butter (coconut oil), egg yolks, cream (coconut milk), erythritol, lemon rind, salt, and lemon extract. Sift together coconut flour, stevia, and baking powder (you can sift it right into the batter if you remove the blender whisks) and add to mixture. Whisk until there are no lumps. Fold egg whites using this method. Grease a muffin tin with coconut oil or butter very well. Fill muffin tins almost to the top. Bake for 12- 15 minutes until set and a little golden brown on top. Remove from oven, and use the back of a butter knife (as in backwards) to loosen the cakes from the baking pan. Run the knife around the edge of the cupcake and try to get underneath it too (these really stick!) to really loosen it. Take them out to cool on a baking rack or on a plate if you are topping with chocolate.

GFCF Low Carb Chocolate Topping
Half of Green & Black's (or Lindt is low carb too) 85% chocolate bar (or a little less)

Chop the chocolate coarsely. As soon as the cupcakes are out, place on a plate and put the chopped chocolate on top. Let it melt a bit, then spread. Let it cool.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
2.5 Tablespoons softened organic butter (7.5 teaspoons)
3 ounces of softened organic cream cheese
2 - 4 Tablespoons agave nectar (4 is really sweet, so go to taste)
1 1/2 teaspoons organic lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon organic lemon rind, about half a small lemon

Beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy. In a separate bowl, mix together agave, lemon juice and rind. Pour the liquid mixture into the cream cheese mixture while beating on high. Frost your cupcakes when they are cool!

Gluten Free Apple Crisp

2010-02-22T15:35:00.013-05:00

This is a YUMMY version of apple crisp that I made for a party. I am going to give you two choices with both the filling and the topping. One is lowish carb, if you are, say, bringing this to a party or Diabetic. And the other is if you really want to keep your carb count very low (Version 2). Sorry, I did not add up the carb counts but it should be easy to do (please post!)... I am very low on time lately! The second version of topping is just to use coconut instead of oats. I did a mix for myself - the lowest carb filling but I used oats on top, and it was gooooood. :)
By the way, I did not use any kind of cooking apples for this. We had too many apples, so I made apple crisp. No big deal. I used pink lady and gala.
Also- if you use oats, MAKE SURE they are LABELED gluten free, because if not, they are not!
My picture here is of an individual one I made later... the big one was consumed before people started asking me the recipe...
UPDATE: When I say 4-5 medium sized apples, that can be 8-9 small ones (I used granny smith once and they were small) - or just anywhere between 4-6 cups - loosely measured after slicing.

Gluten Free Apple Crisp

Filling version one:
4 -5 medium sized apples; peeled, cored, and cut into about 3" chunks
2 Tablespoons of melted butter or coconut oil
1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 Tablespoon arrowroot starch
1 Tablespoon Almond Flour or nut flour

Stir until mixed. Cover and cook over low to medium heat until apples are soft, stirring occasionally (15-30 min depending). The sauce will thicken. Pour into a medium sized baking dish. I used a 8" deep round pottery dish but you could use a rectangular baking dish easily.

Filling version two:
4 -5 medium sized apples; peeled, cored, and cut into about 3" chunks
3 Tablespoons of melted butter or coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon stevia extract
2 Tablespoons coconut palm sugar
1 Tablespoon Erythritol
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 Tablespoon arrowroot starch
1 Tablespoon Almond Flour or nut flour

Stir until mixed. Cover and cook over low to medium heat until apples are soft, stirring occasionally (15-30 min depending). The sauce will thicken. Pour into a medium sized baking dish. I used a 8" deep round pottery dish but you could use a rectangular baking dish easily.

Topping:
3/4 cup nut flour or chopped nuts (I used almonds)
3/4 cup coconut palm sugar
1/2 cup sifted coconut flour
3/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil
1/3 cup of gluten free oats OR 1/3 cup grated or flaked coconut
dash of salt

Mix dry ingredients together, and stir well. Add melted butter and stir until clumpy. Layer on top of filling. You may want to crumble it with your hands. Bake at 375˚ until top is browned and filling is bubbly about 35 minutes. Enjoy!!

We ate ours with an agave-sweetened Vanilla Coconut Milk ice cream called "Purely Decadent" , which was very good, but takes a long time to defrost, beware!! :)

Chocolate Oblivion Truffle Torte

2010-02-21T11:59:00.003-05:00

Since I haven't had time to post lately- thought I'd tell you about the Chocolate Oblivion Truffle Torte recipe in The Cake Bible. My sister, Luci, who is also Gluten Free, made it for me for my birthday, and it was INCREDIBLE. And, the only sugar in it is in the bittersweet Chocolate, not bad. She uses Lindt's Bittersweet bars for hers.

Here's a link to another Blog which has the recipe: 101 Cookbooks

She makes this with the raspberry topping, and strains out all the seeds, and uses very little sugar. You can easily substitute that yourself with any kind of sweetener on hand. Let me know how it turns out!!

Update

2010-02-18T10:06:00.001-05:00

Sorry All... been really really busy singing lately... will update soon. I have so many recipes floating in my head right now and I have to make them!!! Also I made a lovely Apple Crisp recently.. will share recipe soon.
xo

Butternut Squash on a low-carb diet??

2010-02-05T14:46:00.012-05:00

Hi All! I know most of you probably already know how to cook a butternut squash (just in case.. recipe follows). But the point of this post is options/ideas and portion control. And, can one EAT butternut squash (oh so healthy and delicious) on a low carb diet? I believe you can, once you are maintaining (maybe not at the beginning) if you use portion control and eat with a low carb meal.

Butternut squash is so delicious, and is one thing I usually eat when my Hubby has to have potatoes (all the low carb/gluten free cooking doesn't bother him, but he misses his potatoes! Must be the Irish in him). It's inexpensive, and easy to cook. Really what you have to watch out for is portions. One cup of butternut squash weighs in at 18.4 net carbs. I suggest 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup as a side dish of a low carb meal.

From nutritiondata.com: It is a good source of Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium and Magnesium, and a very good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Potassium and Manganese. Yellow/Orange foods are a great source of anti-oxidants too. I looked up the G.I. and it came in at 75, which worried me a little until I read this, and I agree:

From ginews.blogspot.com:
Have you done a GI study on winter squashes (pumpkins) such as hubbard, acorn, butternut etc? There’s only been one published result for winter squash (it is listed as pumpkin) and it had a high GI (75). The actual variety tested isn’t given. But a typical serving of say 80 grams cooked winter squash is only going to have around 5–6 grams of carbohydrate, so the glycemic load will be quite low. That’s why we classify these healthy vegetables like winter squash and swedes etc. as ‘everyday caution with portion foods’ as we want people to eat plenty of vegetables (at least five servings a day) on a low GI diet. It’s only the starchy, carb-rich potato with a high GI that we suggest people cut back on.

So, decide for yourself. This squash I had looks to be a normal size (they were all about the same at the market). I didn't slice it in half evenly, so when I measured the bigger half, it was more than 1/2 cup. Please measure your at least once so you can learn to eyeball how many carbs are in a portion. I ate this with a small stuffed pepper (recipe will be in my cookbook!), and green beans. Really, I couldn't even eat my 1/2 cup. So try 1/4 cup!

Roasted Butternut Squash

one butternut squash
2 Tablespoons of butter, or olive oil
sea salt
optional: sprinkle of cinnamon & nutmeg

Slice your squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out with a spoon the seeds and strings. Place both halves in a baking dish (now you get to see what we call "the bucket" around here, in the photo!) face down with 1/4" water and pin prick a few holes with fork all over.

Bake at 375˚ for about 20 minutes or until soft. Flip the squash halves over in the dish. Make sure there is still 1/4" of water, you will probably have to add more. Put a tablespoon of butter or oil on each half. I usually put it in the hole where the seeds where, then use a pastry brush to brush a little over the rest after it melts a little. Sprinkle a little sea salt and bake again for about 5- 10 minutes. At this point you can measure out your portion. If you wish, you may sprinkle cinnamon (one little sprinkle) and nutmeg (hardly a sprinkle!) and mix in. I don't do this very often, but sometimes it's nice.

Dinner in a Bucket

2010-02-01T10:22:00.001-05:00

Ok, so this is one of those days- you get home late, it's time to make dinner and you have no time! What do you do? Can't order pizza because you are GLUTEN FREE, and you don't want to eat a bunch of carbs and mess up your insulin levels. Ordering out, if you are a celiac, is a minefield.. and if you are, say, a household of 5, very expensive! So, this is what I call Dinner in a Bucket. Now, we are only two people, so increase accordingly.

So here it is. Preheat the oven to 400˚ - 425˚, grab a casserole dish or bread pan (what I usually use, hence the bucket term) - whatever size fits your household... and layer it like so:

1st layer- chopped onions (can be loosely chopped like in rings) and sliced garlic
2nd- a green vegetable
3rd- a quick cook meat like chicken breasts, precooked sausage or sausage quickly broiled/browned and sliced down the middle to increase cooking time, or cubed beef. (If cooking boneless chicken, you might want to reduce to 375˚ and cook a little longer).

Now sprinkle liberally with s&p and pour some olive oil (or organic bacon grease) to coat everything.

Optional: throw some small halved tomatoes on top, and favorite spices (oregano?)...

Toss it around a bit to ensure everything is touching oil about halfway through. And.. cook until meat is done.

This is quick and delicious. The secret is the oil... but if you are low-carb, you already know that healthy fats (mono-unsaturated, organic pastured saturated lard or tropical virgin saturated oil) are good for you!!

Ours is broccolini and andouille chicken sausage - with garlic powder and chili flakes, at 425˚ for 20 minutes. If you can cook longer, do so, the onions get better and better..

Everything Chicken Salad - gluten free, low carb

2010-01-25T16:00:00.001-05:00

I love this easy recipe. Lot's of Omega-3s and very very yummy. I make the chicken like I used to eat bagels (once upon a time when I ate gluten) with "everything". This is totally an "eyeball" recipe. You really can't mess it up, so it's good practice for you beginning chefs out there- just trust yourself and mix it how you think it will taste best. Follow the link to my favorite salad dressing recipe, or make your own.

Easy Baked Chicken Salad

organic free range chicken breasts
organic lettuce
avocado
tomatoes
walnuts
salt & pepper
almond flour, or some type of nut flour or gf flour
mustard powder
garlic powder
poppy seeds
sesame seeds
chili powder
olive oil
Rachel's salad dressing

Wash the chicken breasts and pat dry. Preheat oven to 350˚. In a bowl, mix the spices together, according to taste. I use just one sprinkle stripe of chili powder, garlic and mustard, and lots of s&p, poppy & sesame seeds. Then I add a handful of nut flour- you just want to thin out the spices a bit to stretch it out so not more than 1/2 the size of the spices- maybe aim for 1/3rd the size.
Now, grease a baking sheet with a thin layer of olive oil. Then take each breast, rub a bit of olive oil, then drag it through the spice mixture so both sides are coated. Lay each breast on the greased baking sheet side by side until done - about 15 minutes depending on thickness. Cut the fattest part of the biggest breast to see if cooked through (no pink) but don't overcook, it will taste better tender. Set aside to cool a little.
Salad: mix lettuce, sliced tomatoes, avocados and walnuts together and toss with salad dressing. Place chicken on top, add a little fresh pepper, maybe a little sea salt, and serve.

More Agave debate!

2010-01-18T15:49:00.002-05:00

HOLY. MOLY.
Ok, I was totally wrong about Madhava Agave, its G.I. is 46!!!!
From now on, the only brand I am using is Blue Agave Nectar. Why? Read this LINK. It's the only brand that has a true low G.I. I mean, the other stuff is still better than sugar or honey! But it's truly not low G.I. So, make your own decisions.
Also know that if you eat agave nectar after eating high g.i. foods, it is a higher g.i. count because then it acts like sugar... (um, weird!).
In other news, I haven't been posting that much lately because I have been very busy singing and getting into Bikram Yoga! It's fantastic! Totally recommend.
:) Rachel

A reprint of Sugars and their G.I. counts:

Sugar 60 - 65

Pure Maple syrup 54

Honey 58

Coconut Palm Sugar 35

Agave Nectar 27- 46 or higher, depending on the brand!

Erythritol 0

Stevia 0

PS I finally got a new camera so new pictures will be beeeaaautiful!!!

Chicken & Apple Crockpot Stew

2010-01-11T19:18:00.007-05:00

I made this with an organic whole roasting chicken, or old hen. It is tougher, and therefore cheaper, but then cooks down in the crockpot to become more tender. I tried non-crockpot recipes for hens and they were still tough, but not in the crockpot!!

This was so much better the second day. Of course it is gluten free and still low carb with 3 small apples (3 small apples = ~ 40 carbs but it serves six large meals).

I still am not sure how to cut up a whole chicken, but I cut off legs, wings, neck, large chunks of meat off the rib cage, and left the rib cage together. Then when it was done, I took out the rib cage and cut off any meat left on it, so that there would be less bones in the soup. Save the bones if you wish- to make a stock at a later date- freeze them!

This is a crockpot recipe!! (get one! so fab! saved me so much time already!!) If you find this recipe needs more flavor, add more chili powder and cumin but keep the ratio the same. I also added one single drop of hot sauce, which only gave it flavor- this dish is very mild, and on the sweet side.

Read through before trying and remember - this dish takes about 7½ hours to cook, and about 20 minutes to chop & prepare. Start it in the morning and finish it 45 minutes before dinner! I served mine with cornbread.

Chicken & Apple Crockpot Stew

1-3 Tablespoons of high quality coconut oil, palm oil, or lard
1 roasting hen or whole chicken, cut into large parts
1 onion, coarsely chopped
2 sticks of celery, coarsely chopped
1 ½ Tablespoons of arrowroot starch (1 Tablespoon = 3 teaspoons)
1 ½ cups organic chicken stock
½ cup water
3 small- medium apples, cored and cut into eighths, I used gala
2 bay leaves
1- 2 teaspoons agave nectar or honey
1 organic yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
1 Tablespoons chili powder (no, it won't be spicy)
2 teaspoons cumin
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken in batches and brown it all over but don't cook it - be especially careful on the breasts- just brown it for a few seconds, turn over, and take out immediately and put into you slow cooker.

Measure the stock and water (can add together) and keep next to the stove, in preparation. Add the onion and celery to the skillet and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, until softened. Sprinkle in Arrowroot starch powder and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in water and stock slowly and bring to a boil, stirring the whole time. Stir in apple, bay leaves, agave, and seasonings (chili, cumin, nutmeg, s&p).

Pour mixture in crockpot over the chicken and cook on low for 6 ½ hours. At that point, test to make sure chicken is done by piercing the thickest part (maybe the leg near the bone) with a knife- it's done when the juices run clear- no pink or red. Stir in yellow bell pepper, re-cover, and cook on high for 45 more minutes.

Before eating, take out bay leaves. You can also remove the rib cage, but take the meat off of it and put it back in like I talked about above. Taste to adjust seasonings. Serve & enjoy!!!

Little Blogging Break

2010-01-02T13:42:00.000-05:00

Sorry guys- I have a LOT of music to learn so I have not been making any new recipes lately. I've been re-visiting some up here already, like pork chops, ice cream, cornbread, etc. Please check out some of my older recipes or visit Elana's or Lauren's blogs for some good recipes in the meantime.

I'll be back very soon with some recipes and some information about acid reflux... something I used to have about 7 years ago (not anymore!) and researched endlessly.. I know a lot about it!! A horribly misunderstood symptom - yes, not a Disease, but a symptom!

Thanks for watching my blog - keep in touch - I'll be back in a week or two. :)