Blueberry Almond Muffins

http://gfmum.wordpress.com/2010/02/19/almond-blueberry-muffins/

Blueberry Muffins (Coconut Flour)

Like I said, I am loving coconut flour. Here is another winner. Grain free, gluten, dairy and sugar free. Probably relatively low carb although I haven't calculated it out. I have already made these 3 times in the last week. They go fast. Again, they get the kid stamp of approval.

Blueberry Muffins

3 eggs, room temperature

2 T coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup agave nectar (honey would work fine)

1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (if frozen, defrost them and dry them in paper towels)

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line muffin tin with paper or oil. Whisk together eggs, oil, and agave. Add salt, vanilla, nutmeg, coconut flour and baking powder. Whisk until smooth. Gently fold in blueberries. Try not to mix too much or your batter will be blue. Spoon into 6 muffin tins and bake for 15 minutes.

Low Carb Banana Nut Muffins

My new favorite thing is coconut flour. Do you know about this? I had seen a few recipes with it and I had seen it at the store but I had disregarded it because it was a bit pricey and I already have approximately 3 dozen different flours. How many flours must one have, right? Well, this one is a must. I started reading about it's benefits. When I got to the part that said it was seriously low, low carb and was considered a nut flour, I was sold. I ordered some right that minute. I got mine here. It arrived quickly and I have been baking nearly everyday for the last week. When I was pregnant with my first and third babies, oddly not the second, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. This was really unfair. I have absolutely no family predisposition, I am white, and my BMI is on the low side of normal. My only risk factor was being old, 32 at the time. The first time I had it I even had to take insulin shots. That really sucked. I was told at that time that since I was insulin dependant that there was a 50/50 chance that I would become a type II diabetic within 5 years. Well, lately I have noticed that I just can't tolerate high carb meals. I feel that familiar lethargy and thirst. Combine that with that video I posted a week or so back about how sugar effects the brain.... Anyway, I have to change the way I eat. Even more so than I already have. So, I made these this morning. They are gluten free, dairy free and sugar free. With my calculations I think these muffins are about 9 carbs a piece. If someone comes up with a different number please let me know. Additionally, they got the kid stamp of approval.

Banana Nut Muffins


3 mashed over ripe bananas
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

6 eggs
4 T coconut oil melted
3 packets Truvia
1 tbsp agave nectar
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup cashews chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin liners with paper or oil pan. Mix first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl. Then mix next 8 ingredients in large bowl. Then whisk in coconut flour. Whisk until smooth. Fold in bananas and cashews. Fill 12 muffin tins nearly to the top. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Gluten and Dairy Free Pancakes

You know how it is, whatever you try not to think about is the only thing you can think about. That is me with carbs and dairy right now. I would appear to be on a quest to see how much weight I can gain in the shortest amount of time. But it does make for some great eating. I found this recipe in the magazine "Living Without." I had never seen this magazine before but it has been around for 11 years. It is full of recipes that are gluten and dairy free. I can take no credit for the following recipe but want to pass it along because it is so good. These pancakes are light, fluffy and moist - and dairy free!. They also happen to be made with nothing but the bad kind of carbs but like I said, I can think of nothing else lately. Besides the kids all love them and they are quick and easy. I usually don't bother with making flour mixes but since I have made these pancakes 3 times in the last week it is saving me time to premake the mix.

Pancake Flour Mix

2 cups white rice flour

3/4 cups tapioca flour

3/4 cups sweet rice flour

1/2 cup potato starch

2 tsp xanthan gum

Pancakes

2 cups pancake flour mix

1 T baking powder

1/4 t salt

1/4 t nutmeg

1 1/2 cup milk of choice

3 large eggs

2 T agave nectar, honey or sugar

4 T melted coconut oil

Mix all dry ingredients well in large bowl. Mix wet ingredients in medium bowl. Pour wet into dry and stir until just combined. There should be small lumps. Cook until golden brown.

Wicked Good, No Guilt, Kid Loving, Whole Grain Breakfast Cookies

Since I have gone back to work Ron is having to step up and be Mr. Mom on those days. He is really doing a great job. However, he does hate to cook. His idea of nutrition and mine are very different. He will give the kids meals based on it's ability to get them to stop saying "I'm hungry." I offered to give him some suggestions to make it easier to decide and I even have stuff in the fridge and freezer that would be easy to get together quickly. I had another idea this morning. What if I made something healthy that the kids would like so much they would ask for it and there would be no preparation or planning necessary? Breakfast cookies! I just whipped these up with the girls and the second batch is already in the oven. Rori who usually senses when something might be good for her and then will subsequently reject, it has already asked for seconds, as has Sage. Even Justus could eat these. They are whole grain and have no refined sugar. Of course they are gluten and dairy free, as always. These are downright healthy, guilt free "cookies".

Breakfast Cookies

Dry Ingredients:

1/2 cup amaranth flour

1/2 cup quinoa flour

1/2 millet flour

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 cup teff flour

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1/2 cup teff seeds

1/3 cup sesame seeds

1/3 cup flax seeds

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cloves

Wet Ingredients:

2 eggs

3 very ripe mashed bananas

1/2 cup apple sauce

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup brown rice syrup

1/3 cup honey

1 TBS vanilla

optional

1 cup chocolate chips

1. Combine all dry ingredients

2. Combine all wet ingredients

3. Mix all together and add chocolate chips if you wish. (Difficult stuff, hey!)

4. The dough is very thick and muffin like. Scoop large tablespoon balls onto parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for 13 minutes at 350 degrees or until the edges are starting to brown.

Sprouted Quinoa with Cinnamon Apples and Coconut

Since going gluten free we nearly always have a hot breakfast. We usually have eggs or our 9 grain breakfast cereal. Last night I had trouble sleeping and I laid here thinking of all the things I wanted to make today in the kitchen. I then remembered a breakfast I haven't made in a long time. I ended up getting out of bed way too early because of it. I just had to start it. I was starving. I started the quinoa soaking long before the sun was up. When it was finally ready to eat the house had filled with the scents of coconut and cinnamon. I like to soak quinoa instead of just rinsing it. If you have the time to soak it long enough for it to start sprouting it is even better. The flavor is mellow and nutty. This morning I made a huge pot so I could have some leftovers. The weather here has been cold and this is the perfect start to the day.

Sprouted Quinoa with Cinnamon Apples and Coconut

2 cups whole quinoa (soaked for at least a couple hours then well rinsed - this helps remove the bitter coating and any grit)
4 cups of water
pinch of salt
2 diced apples
pinch of cardamom
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 t cinnamon
1 cup of coconut milk
1 t vanilla extract

Bring water to a boil. Add all ingredients except for the coconut milk and vanilla. Cook on medium for approx 20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed and quinoa is tender. Remove from heat. Add coconut milk and vanilla. We like to eat ours with some maple syrup or agave nectar. YUM!

Crepes!

I woke up this morning feeling great and happy to have the life I have. I chatted with my sister online for a bit and then went outside with the kids to check on the chickens. 3 eggs this morning. This just doesn't get old. It is so exciting to see these eggs just materialize. It is really cool. The weather was beautiful, finally it is cooling off here. So the girls played outside and I nursed Justus while we waited for Ron to get home. After being outside for about an hour we came inside for breakfast. I figured I would make an attempt at crepes. Crepes are something that I love and have been missing since being GF. But this morning I decided to wing it and give it a try. Unbelievable they turned out perfectly and I had no recipe that I was working with. Here is what I did.

Crepes

3 small eggs (yes the ones we got this morning)

1/2 cup sweet rice flour - give or take

plain hemp milk

pinch of salt

splash of vanilla

I mixed it all up playing with the flour and hemp milk to get the right runny consistency. I melted some margarine in a large non stick pan with rounded edges. I poured in about 1/3 of the batter and swirled the pan to get a thin layer. I let it brown slightly and flipped it. For the filling I defrosted some mixed berries and added some sugar. A couple spoonfuls of that, fold the crepe over and sprinkle with powdered sugar. This was really really good and still gluten and dairy free! I honestly can't believe it. What a great start to an already great day.

9 Grain Breakfast Cereal

Never in my life have I had or cooked so many hot breakfasts. In years gone by I was quite happy with toast or cereal. Actually, I craved toast. I could eat bread with every meal and in excess. Now that I make my own gluten free bread - which is really, really good if I do say so myself, I don't eat bread to excess. I really do think that those things that you absolutely love and can't imagine life without and crave with every fiber of your being are those things that probably aren't any good for you. So now that we are gluten and dairy free, breakfasts are almost always hot. Our most frequent breakfast is our homemade hot cereal. Because gluten free grains are ridiculously expensive (and I have to say that that really really picks my ass!!) we buy in large quantity bulk. From those whole grains we make breakfast cereal, aka porridge, and all the flours I use for baking. One of my favorite web sites has detailed information on the nutritional profile of all sorts of grains and beans and it is also where we bought a bunch of our storage stuff from. All these grains together pack so much more nutrition than most other breakfasts possibly could. Best yet, we all love it. Yes even the kids.

1 cup multi grain wild rice blend (a mix we purchased that has wild, red, brown, black etc etc)
1 cup millet
1 cup buckwheat
1 cup quinoa
1 cup dried corn
1 cup flax seeds
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup Teff
1/2 cup amaranth seeds

We grind the first 5 ingredients until we get a course texture. The last 3 go in whole. Yes, you should grind at least some of the flax seeds in order to break them open to get all the nutrition out of them but leaving them whole gives some extra crunch. Mix it all up and store in the fridge. To cook: bring 3 1/2 cups of water to a boil, add 1 t salt. Add 1 cup cereal and reduce the temp to med low. Simmer while stirring frequently for about 20 minutes or until desired consistency.

This is really high in fiber, protein, iron and B vitamins. And with some brown sugar, agave nectar or fruit it is really satisfying. As a kid I always had porridge with milk. With this we eat it plain with sugar but my mom and dad liked it with milk. Hmmm I wonder how it would be with coconut milk??? I will have to try that.

I will try to get around to posting my bread recipe too. I made it yesterday but with this cereal blend ground into flour and subbed that into the recipe. It was really good.

Our Usual Pancakes

When we first got the diagnosis of CD, Ron was sad about losing pancakes. So the search was on for some decent gf recipes. I think I have tried probably a hundred. The first several came out with the consistency of "snot" - Ron's description. The next ones graduated to the consistency of raw egg whites. Finally we have one that is really good. I make it often. Actually, since CD, I have never had so many hot breakfasts. Since most boxed cereals are out (why must they put malt in everything?!) that certainly changes what our mornings would otherwise look like. I have added blueberries to these as well as pureed pumpkin or banana slices with pumpkin pie spice. All are really good. Here it is.

GF, DF Pancakes

1/2 cup multi grain rice flour (we grind our own but subbing brown rice flour would be fine)
1/2 cup millet flour (you could sub any flour here)
1/3 cup potato starch
2 T sugar
3 T ground flax seeds
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 t xanthan gum
2 eggs
3 T oil
enough water to get desired consistency

Just mix all together. Yum!