Tag Archives for sugar free

What I Love vs. What I Eat, vol. 6.1: MOAR BISCUITS

Wheeee! I made more biscuits! And I totally confirmed my suspicion that the coconut flour (and prevalent coconut flavor) can be pushed in one direction (sweet and delicious!) or another (coconut, what?!) depending on the additional ingredient combinations.

Here’s your starting point.

For savory biscuits, I swapped out the coconut oil for unsalted butter, removed the stevia and doubled the kosher salt. I added a CSA jalapeno pepper (very finely chopped) and some fresh CSA parsley, and baked for 17 minutes.

I also got 13 biscuits out of the batter, and they’re only 45 calories a piece. “Coconut, what?!”, indeed.

Nutritional information for one biscuit, approximate: 45 calories, 4.1 grams fat, 9.4 mg cholesterol, 1.9 grams carbohydrates, 1.3 grams fiber, .2 grams sugar. .5 grams protein.

For sweeter, coconuttier biscuits, I added finely shredded unsweetened coconut to the batter (made with coconut oil) and tiny bit of vanilla. I also topped the biscuits with larger pieces of unsweetened shredded coconut.

Next time I’ll probably use vanilla flavored liquid stevia for the whole batch so I can calculate the nutritional information and ingredient amounts. This was part of a larger experiment (you’re not seeing the complete failure of forgetting to sweeten unsweetened cocoa before mixing it in….right) so I can’t quite do the math with this tiny batch of four. It was just enough to whet my appetite to make some more this evening.

MOAR BISCUITS.

What I Love vs. What I Eat, vol. 6: Egg Salad & Biscuits. (No, really.)

(For more on this once-and-future series, see this post. Or find all the harebrained episodes via tag in the sidebar.)

Alternate title: What I’m Eating For Lunch Today (with homemade gazpacho) That Is Rocking My World.

There’s no need for exposition, the food speaks for itself.

We’ll start with the eggs. Plenty of people have done healthier, non-mayo-based egg salad. Most involve mustard and yogurt, but since I’m avoiding dairy the yogurt is a no go. Straight mustard doesn’t lend itself to creaminess very well, and the dijon mustards all have added ingredients I’d rather not use. I decided to go the mustard route but made two changes to get the consistency and creaminess that egg salad should have. I picked a “creamier” root vegetable, and I added an unconventional liquid.

I may have eaten this yesterday for lunch, too, with heirloom tomatoes and brocolli sprouts.

Very simple. Hard boiled eggs, celery, leeks (the creamier root), cilantro (favorite herb, though your mileage may vary), yellow mustard, kosher salt, pepper and…unsweetened almond milk. Weird, I know. But it worked. I made it for a baby shower and even non-x diet eaters thought it was great. I hard boil eggs almost weekly, and this could very easily be whipped up in single serving portions without the vegetables – though I highly recommend them for the texture. Heck, this may even become part of my weekly lunch repertoire.

But alas, with no grains (they’re an x) it is difficult to eat an egg salad sandwich.

I’ve been baking with raw almond flour, garbanzo bean flour and coconut flour. All have their uses, thought nothing really caught my eye as a suitable staple alternative until I came across this recipe on a gluten free site. I made it as written, with coconut oil not butter, and used this chart to convert to stevia powder. I also made my biscuit drops a little smaller, getting 11 to the batch. Ideally next time I’ll get 12. I prefer even numbers.

Guys, they’re so fluffy! It’s amazing. They taste like bready biscuits!

I think the batter itself will be a wonderful base for further experimentation. It’s very subtly sweet, almost like corn bread, which made me think immediately of adding chili powder or jalapeno peppers. I want to punch up the coconut in a future version as well, maybe with coconut extract and flakes. What a find. High five to Andrea Bijou for the recipe.

Soooooo back to my lunch.

Non-dairy egg salad + gluten free/sugar free biscuit =

daaaaamn close to an egg salad sandwich! And with my chilled soup and ice tea, I can eat like the weather is just warming up for summer instead of cooling down for fall.

As long as I don’t open a window or look outside.

But we were on a break!

Dammit, August. I was trying to simplify. Relax. Enjoy the moment. Stop recording life and try living it.

But then you had to go and be awesome, and I have no record of it for The Posterity.

There was great cooking (despite the so-called x diet), family vacations, beautiful beer money (what?!) and of course, Batman. All in a day’s work.

So here’s August:

I’ve been baking, sans gluten or grains of any sort. Raw almond flour is my new favorite ingredient, followed closely by raw, unsweetened coconut. These are delightful, x-friendly and even passed muster with non-x friends at a dinner party.

I also turned these

into these

with the same raw almond flour. Fried green tomatoes a la x. Or something.

Meanwhile, these came

signifying our official “membership” in the Good Beer Investor Program at East End Brewing Company. We were number 21, if I recall correctly. A good omen? Really looking forward to drinking and spreading the Good Beer Cheer (Scott, that should totally be a thing) with these (dare I say?) beautiful beer monies.

Midway through August was vacation time, but before we left for the  beach we had to deal with the snow in Pittsburgh.

As Batman filmed downtown, we were treated to all sorts of vehicle and star-sightings as well as a lovely dusting of prop snow for several days. I missed most of it because I was on campus, but caught a bit at the end. Crazy weather juxtapositioning, since approximately twelve hours after I took that picture, I got to see this

We had a wonderful time at Bethany Beach again this year, due to the fabulous generosity and awesomeness of family. The weather was mostly perfect

and even when it wasn’t, it was beautiful. Exactly what we all needed before the start of the school year(s), since I indeed came right back to this

and this

(Can somebody *please* explain to me the significance of the panda??)

Avi’s hockey practices with his first official team started this month, also. He is very excited.

No really, he is. And we are, too. SHAHA is amazing.  More than worth the lengthy drive to the South Hills several times a week. Also: my hair is so long. Wow. Also also: I was not driving when this picture was taken. But! I can’t wait to see how quickly Avi continues to develop with this sport his whole family loves. His skating skills are really impressive and we can actually see him putting it all together on the ice. So much love!

Yeah, so that was August. I also took my absolute favorite picture of Avi ever (so far) during this month, so even though I’ve shared it with The Entire Internet already, I would be remiss if I didn’t share it again here. He’s so freakin cute, it slays me.

Told ya so.

Bring on September!

What I Love vs. What I Eat, Vol. 5: “Toastless” French Toast

(For more on this once-and-future series, see this post. Or find all the harebrained episodes via tag in the sidebar.)

It’s a new dawn of eating and food preparation in our household. Cynically I call it the x diet, where x is anything I want but can’t have. Dairy free, gluten free, sugar free. There are other x’s but those are the big ones. Tons of fresh vegetables, many courtesy of our CSA, and lean protein. We feel great, and I can’t begin to express (without digressing more than I have already) how much easier and – dare I say it? – fun this is to do with your partner than attempting it on your own.

But of course I miss fancy desserts and sweet things in general, although honestly not that often. I sometimes crave them in the morning, and an egg white omelet loaded with spinach or kale and broccoli, tomatoes and white beans is pretty solidly in the savory camp. I found myself wanting the spiced, nutty, lightly sweet taste of good French toast – although never with syrup. Gross.

Now, how to capture that cinnamon-y, vanilla-y goodness without, um, the toast part?

Almond Egg White Rollups, or “Toastless” French Toast

1/2 cup liquid egg whites
1 large egg
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
8 drops clear liquid Stevia
1/2 teaspoonish vanilla extract
Cinnamon
2 tablespoons raw almond butter, unsweetened & creamy

Whip the egg with the egg whites and almond milk. Add Stevia, vanilla and cinnamon. Heat an egg pan over low-medium heat (on our stovetop, that’s about 4). Pour a thin, crepe-like layer of egg mixture into the pan. This recipe makes 2, so be mindful of how much you pour.

Be patient. Seriously. You want it to be almost done before you flip it, with no little egg droolies leaking out the sides. And when the time comes to flip, sometimes you do a great job, and sometimes you don’t.

You can usually rescue it when you slide the whole thing onto a plate. Place about a tablespoon of raw almond butter on one side of the egg, or smooth a thin layer across the whole thing. Gently roll it up.

I eat it plain, others prefer a garnish.

It’s just sweet enough to take the edge off, and the vanilla, cinnamon and almond are welcome flavors that I miss in a world of vegetables and lean proteins. The fat content might make you balk, but it’s healthy fats from the almonds so don’t be afraid of that number.

Gluten free, dairy free, sugar free. x diet, bring it on.

Nutritional info for 1 rollup (recipe makes 2): 178 calories, 11.1 grams fat, 46.5mg cholesterol, 3.3 grams carbs, 2.3 grams fiber, 1 gram sugar, 13.3 grams protein.

(It’s especially nice paired with a light kale and bean salad. For breakfast. I know, right?!”

What I Love vs. What I Eat, Vol. 4: Fish Tacos & Tomatilla Salsa

(For more on this once-and-future series, see this post. Or find all the harebrained episodes via tag in the sidebar.)

I love fish tacos. My friends love fish tacos. My friends still eat fish tacos (or any tacos, actually), but alas, I do not. Too many empty calories in the common taco delivery system, be it wheat or corn based.

But! (with a finger pointing, I think)

It turns out what I love about fish tacos is the fresh, crisp flavor combinations inside, not outside, the taco. Authentic delivery system be damned.

Oh, the old lettuce trick, you say. Probably skeptically. But take a closer look: thick, crunchy, stalky lettuce with a nice center rib much like a taco shell. Black beans. Fresh salsa (often homemade, but this time Trader Joe’s did the work for me). Scallops. Homemade tomatilla salsa on top.

Wait a second, you cry. Did you say ‘scallops’?! I did indeed. Lightly seared, and perfectly distributing fish (okay, shellfish) throughout my taco.

Tell me more about this tomatilla salsa, you say. Pshaw, it’s easy. And we put it on everything. Every. Thing.

Tomatilla Salsa

6 or 8 tomatillas (Farmer’s Market)
1 green pepper (Farmer’s Market)
1 jalapeño pepper
1 leek (CSA)
1 small bunch of kale (CSA)
About a half T. Of kosher salt

Remove the papery coverings on the tomatillas and boil them for ten to fifteen minutes (depending on size and quantity). They’ll turn a richer green. Immediately throw them into a powerful blender or food processor and smash them to smithereens. Add the rest of the ingredients, or modify to your liking. Garlic and/or onion is good. Additional jalapeño is, too. Fresh cilantro or other herbs, whatever. Blend the hell out of everything, transfer to a container and chill in the fridge for several hours so the salsa can set.

Enjoy with fish (or shellfish) tacos or anything else you eat. Or just eat it by the spoonful. I won’t judge.