Grain-Free Groupie

Zucchini Crust Pizza

2012-03-01T07:30:00.002-06:00

It is so awesome to eat pizza. So. Freaking. Awesome.

It's also awesome to eat zucchini.

It's awesome when my husband and baby hippo eat zucchini, and other green veg, not only without hesitation, but excitedly!

It's awesome when you can make a formerly shitty food good for you.

It's awesome when you don't miss grainy, starchy, carby crap.

It's awesome to eat pizza.

The end.

Zucchini Crust Awesome Pizza

(serves 2 adults and 1 baby hippo)

-4 zuch's, pulsed in the cuisi until it's very finely chopped

-1 tsp minced garlic

-2 eggs, beaten

-1 tsp oregano

-1 tsp kosher salt

-bag of mozzarella

-half can of your preferred pizza sauce

-toppings of choice (pictured- a fried egg with pizza sauce over it, and roasted red peppers)

Preheat your oven to 425. Drain your zuch for at least 20 minutes and get as much water out as possible. Then microwave it for 10 minutes, stirring halfway through. Let it cool for a few minutes, then mix in two beaten eggs, garlic, oregano, and salt. On greased baking sheet (I did use parchment paper this time and did not have a problem) spread crust mixture out evenly using the back of your spoon. Each individual pizza was about three teaspoons and I got 6 total. You might get more or less depending on how big your zucchini, how much water, etc. I made mine pretty thin because I didn't want them to be soggy or underdone. Bake until the edges are brown, even verging on a little burnt. Bake time will differ but mine took about 30 min (my oven is weird though!)

Remove from oven and spread your sauce and cheese on top, and whatever other toppings you want. Your toppings will need to be fully cooked first because when you stick it back in the oven, you are just melting the cheese. That takes all of three minutes and you're dunzo!

Cauli pizza is great too- but some people aren't so into cauli. Plus- we tend to eat it a lot and it's nice to switch things up. However, zucchini has a lot more water and is nowhere near as starchy- so cauliflower will yield a slightly firmer, thicker crust. Whatever. This pizza is awesome.

Spinach Muffins!

2012-02-28T07:53:00.000-06:00

So this is a fun new twist on egg muffins! I once again found inspiration on Pinterest, and I'm so glad I did! I make egg muffins every weekend that everyone snacks on during the week, but once in awhile you just have to switch things up. The recipe I originally found was a little fancier than I needed it to be, I just wanted to make something nutritious and yummy that would be a good grab-and-go breakfast item for M during the week, and also an easy way to get little miss hippopotamus to eat her veggies.

Spinach Muffins

12 ounce bag of frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1 cup cottage cheese

2 eggs

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Blend everything together in your blender, then distribute evenly into 12 muffin cups. I love my silicone muffin cups, they make clean-up super fast. I baked mine for about 35 minutes in a 350 oven because I wanted them to brown slightly. As you can see this is a very simple recipe that you can tweak and adapt as you like. Serving these for din? Add parm, mozzarella, garlic, or even some chopped sun dried tomatoes! But for an easy breakfast or toddler veg, these are awesome.

Gluten/Grain-Free, Sugar-Free Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

2012-02-27T08:28:00.001-06:00

I've made a similar cookie before- these. But this time they are so very much better. I am calling them chocolate hazelnut cookies, but that doesn't mean they are nutella cookies- because they most definitely aren't. They just use ground hazelnuts rather than almonds for the base. Best of all, you use raw hazelnuts, skin on, no toasting! If you like the taste of toasted hazelnuts, by all means, go ahead! But I much prefer them raw.

Gluten/Grain-Free, Sugar-Free Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies
1 cup hazelnuts
1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
6-8 pitted dates
3/4 cup sugar-free chocolate chips (mine are hershey's but you can make your own by melting baking chocolate with some coconut oil and your sweetener of choice)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp coconut oil

In your cuisi, ninja, vita, etc, process your nuts, cocoa powder, salt, soda, and dates until you get a sticky, crumbly mixture. Melt your chocolate chips with your coconut oil and vanilla extract and combine with your crumbly mixture. Incorporate well. Bonus- you can absolutely eat this raw! (But not too much- if you're using SF choc chips beware they are probably made with some sort of sugar alcohol, malitol, sorbitol, that can give you tummy problems.)

Spoon onto parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 360 for 15 minutes or so. Check on them at 10 minutes because if these babies start to burn you won't know as they're so dark. They'll be soft when you take them out of the oven but will firm up after a few minutes cooling. They'll be pretty crumbly when cool but so so so good!

Homemade Ranch Dressing made with Yogurt

2012-02-26T08:42:00.001-06:00

AAaaarghhh I had a whole post finished and then I accidentally deleted and have to start over! Ugh! Oh well. Today's post is about a super easy recipe for homemade ranch dressing- I cannot understand why it took me this long to make some. No cooking involved, just stirring. I have been searching high and low for an acceptable ranch dressing that I could feel good about giving S, but they either have a bunch of gross preservatives, sugar, HCFS, starch, or are made with soy derivatives or some other such product. Ick.

Perusing Pinterest as I am wont to do, I found many a recipe that were almost what I was looking for, but not quite. They all called for sour cream, for one. Finally, after giving it some thought, I came up with this delightfully creamy, thick, tangy, and decadent tasting ranch dressing, that is made with YOGURT! Yogurt folks. No one would ever ever know. I promise. If I were a real rock star I would make this with homemade mayo- but I haven't gotten there yet. If you have the balls to make some, here is a great recipe.

Homemade Ranch Dressing with Yogurt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup yogurt (I used plain non-fat european style from TJ's
3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp mayo (mine is reduced fat canola oil mayo from TJ's)
2 tsp lemon juice
2 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried chives
1 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp celery salt
1/4 tsp seasoned salt

Stir to combine and pour into your jar/bottle. This makes 2 1/2 cups. My jar only held 2 cups so the rest I'm bringing to a friend. This is super tangy and tastes so.... fresh! Seriously. When I think about all that processed junk they call dressing, all I can think about is chemicals and plastic and god knows how long it was sitting on the shelf. Honestly- if the individual ingredients aren't actually food, and for some reason it can sit on a shelf at room temp for an eternity at the grocery store- how on earth do we just universally accept it as food? It's not food! It's an engineered chemical edible product. Barf. However, this probably will not last too terribly long, even in the fridge. Well, it shouldn't anyways. But no way would I throw this out in two weeks if it still smelled and tasted good. Uh uh. I made a big batch of ketchup like, months ago, and after defrosting some a month ago it's still in the fridge, and I'm still gonna use it, and I don't care. It's not bad, I think people get really super conservative about telling you when to throw stuff out. You can throw out your half-eaten perfectly good homemade condiments whenever you want! But me, I'll hang on to 'em until they start to look/taste weird.

S is starting to get a wee bit pickier about eating her veggies, so I figure this ranch should do the trick when her green beans are causing a tantrum. Spinach has become a recent new fave when I add a touch of cream cheese and some kosher salt. I do like ranch a lot, although I've never been one to slather it on pizza, sandwiches, french fries, tater tots etc, not that I eat that stuff anymore anyways. What's your favorite way to eat ranch?

Happy eating GFG's, xoxo!!

Tomato Pesto No Carb "Flat Bread"

2012-02-25T08:03:00.000-06:00

After my success with Mexican Chicken Dip, the canned chicken was once again forgotten in my pantry. There just had to be something else I could do with it right?

Maybe you're familiar with the site- Your Lighter Side. On this website there are kinds of low-carb recipes, probably the most famous being her oopsie rolls which I tried once but failed to whip the egg whites long enough- anyways- she has a few different uses for chicken that result in either a cracker-y or bread-y type finished product so I thought- what the hell, I'll try it!

It seemed too easy and too good to be true that by simply pulsing some chicken and cheese in a cuisi could result in something that would ultimately come out like a cracker- but it's true!

All I did was pulse a can of chicken with two slices of cheddar until crumbly, then press into a giant circle on a parchment lined baking sheet and baked at 425 for about 25 minutes. It was crunchy and browed like flatbread!

After slathering with some organic pesto and chopped tomatoes- it was exactly like one of those yummy flatbreads I used to order.

Try it! So easy and a great use for an otherwise forgotten food item that would probably languish in the pantry forever. I'm looking forward to trying it again with different flavors! I bet even some string cheese would work well and be mild enough in flavor to go pretty much any direction you wanted.

XoXoGFG

Tangy Slaw with Baked Lime and Cumin Spiced Fish

2012-02-24T07:28:00.001-06:00

I loooooooooooove cabbage. Napa, chinese, red, plain old green, whatever. It is so dang good. I could eat it plain. But in this tangy slaw, it's sooooooooooo much better. I wanted fish taco flavors without the taco, and this dish definitely delivers. The fish was really just a protein thrown in for good measure, the real star of this meal is the cabbage for sure!

Tangy Slaw
1/2 a head of cabbage, chopped
juice of one lime
3 green onions, sliced
3-4 tbsp mayo
1 tbsp (more or less depending on your preference) vietnamese chili garlic paste
kosher salt

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well- let it sit in the fridge a few hours if you can. Great served with this simple and no clean-up fish.

Baked Lime and Cumin Spiced Fish
3 fish fillets (tilapia, roughy, whatever mild fish you have)
zest of one lime
kosher/sea salt
sprinkle of cumin on each fillet

Place one fillet each on a square of aluminum foil and sprinkle liberally with your zest, cumin, and salt and wrap them up tightly. Bake 20 min at 400. Dunzo! Serve atop your slaw and add a few slices of avo if you have 'em. Or don't. Yum! S ate her fish without the lime zest, it's quite mild on its own so you really want a nice flavorful slaw with it.

We aren't in to Mardi Gras and we don't do lent, but this would be great for a Friday night meal if you abstain from meat on Fridays. I have a feeling there will be lots of fish recipes circulating starting about now. Any good ones to share? I usually have a boring white fish in the freezer, what's your favorite way to spice up mild frozen fish? XoXoGFG

Sugar Free Nutella Popsicle!

2012-02-22T07:20:00.002-06:00

Shopping at Target yesterday I spotted some cute heart-shaped popsicle freezy things on clearance from Vday- and I quickly snatched the last one. With spring around the corner and zillions of popsicle recipes on the interwebs, I just had to give it a shot! So easy and way better than buying those gross sugar free fudgsicles in the freezer case. You could make this just as easily with almond or peanut butter or cashew or sunbutter!

Sugar Free Nutella Popsicle
4 tsp homemade nutella
2 small overripe bananas, or one large and half of another one, etc
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/3 cup (nut)milk

Blend everything together and transfer to your popsicle thingies. Freeze for four hours. Mine need to be thawed under lukewarm water for the popsicle to slide out. Enjoy GFG's!!!

What's your favorite popsicle recipe??

MKG's Giada-Inspired Meatball Stoup

2012-02-17T08:09:00.000-06:00

S and I are lucky girls. On Tuesday night M treated us to a culinary delight, his famous Meatball Stoup. Well, it's famous now anyways. Many nights I fall asleep with Giada or Ina playing in a continuous loop, and one day last week M came in as Giada was making this. Being the thoughtful guy that he is, of course he decided to GFG the recipe. Here's what he did:

MKG's Giada-Inspired Meatball Stoup
2 lbs ground meat, half sausage half ground beef
1 egg
handful dried parsley
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tsp pepper

1/2 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
carton of mushrooms, chopped
couple cups of green beans, trimmed and chopped
15 oz drained diced tomatoes
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
S&P
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Form your meatballs and brown in a large dutch oven. Remove from DO. In same pot, throw in all your veg and cook for 10 minutes-ish. Then add broth and tomatoes and season to taste. Bring to a simmer then put your meatballs back in and cook for 20-30 minutes.

The stoup was awesome and we eventually even got the baby hippo to eat some veggies! Lately all the girl wants is cheese, meat, or fruit. Or cauliflower, or maybe some broccoli, or anything with hummus. Anyways. It was great. Good job M!!!!

Zucchini Noodle (Zoodle) Pad Thai

2012-02-16T07:54:00.004-06:00

Like Thai food? Sad you can't eat noodles, like pad thai? Have no fear, the great Zoodle is here.

This recipe is dope. Tastes SPOT on. It was inspired by this recipe. I've adapted it slightly as I eat a modified paleo diet- I'm not a full-blown cavegirl quite yet.

Zucchini Noodle (Zoodle) Pad Thai
3 medium zucchinis, julienned with your fancy shmancy julienne peeler that costs $9 from BBB and is the best kitchen gadget EVER
4 green onions, chopped
1 inch of ginger, minced (did you know you could buy fresh ginger and freeze it, and break off little amounts as you need it?)
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp fish sauce
juice of half a lime or a couple squeezes from the green lime-shaped bottle (I won't tell)
4 tsp natural peanut butter
1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
kosher salt
some filtered water nearby
*sprinkle of some stevia is optional if you want to sweeten it up just a bit like a more traditional pad thai

In a large saute pan, saute your green onions in some EVOO or coconut oil for a few minutes, then throw in your minced garlic and ginger. Add a bit of salt, then add in your fish sauce, chili garlic sauce, lime juice, and PB. At this point, I added probably 2 or 3 tbsp of water because I wanted a thinner sauce. Taste your sauce and see what it needs more of at this point, because bland pad thai would suck, and because zucchinis taste like nothing so you better have some yummy sauce! Throw in your zoodles and cook in sauce for about 10 minutes. This dish rocks. Would be great with some chicken. I was lazy and didn't make chicken.

Instead, I made M this fun kimchi and cucumber salad with a fried egg.

Weeknight dinner done in no time at all folks.

Paleo Carrot Cake Cupcakes!

2012-02-15T08:36:00.002-06:00

It's hard to believe that this is like, our seventh valentine's day together or something, and that we'll be celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary this summer. I still remember our wedding so vividly. One thing I do remember particularly well was our super yummy but definitely NOT GFG acceptable carrot cake wedding cake. So what better treat to make on Vday than some yummy paleo carrot cake cupcakes?!

As far as gluten/grain/sugar free baking goes, I am totally blown away by how these turned out. Scratch that, as far as baking goes in general, I'm totally thrilled by these. I don't think anyone would know that these are gluten, grain, and sugar free. They turned out awesome and don't have that really dense, puck-like consistency that so many paleo treats do.

Paleo Carrot Cake Cupcakes
1 cup almond flour
2 tbsp coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp nutmeg
3 room temp eggs
1/4 cup of your preferred liquid sweetener*
1 tbsp filtered water or nutmilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups grated carrot (4 medium carrots should do it)
2 tbsp oil, like melted coconut, or walnut
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat your oven to 325 and line 12 muffin tins with paper cupcake liners. In a large mixing bowl combine your flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir well with a fork and make sure to get all the clumps out! Or whisk it, even better. In a separate bowl, mix your eggs, vanilla, liquid sweetener, and oil together. Then add in your raisins, carrots, and walnuts. Pour wet into dry and incorporate. Depending on your coconut flour, you may need to add a tbsp of water or nutmilk to this mixture. Using a tbsp scoop, scoop 2 tbsp of the batter into each cupcake liner. I got exactly 12 cupcakes. Bake 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

*Liquid Sweetener Options:
1/4 cup unrefined honey
or 1/4 cup maple syrup
or 1/4 cup coconut nectar
For SF:
1/4 Sugar Free Vanilla Syrup (which is what I used)
or 1/4 cup unsweetened nutmilk with 3 or 4 packets of stevia or equivalent amount of erythritol or stevia in the raw
or about 40-45 drops vanilla creme liquid stevia mixed with 1/4 cup nutmilk

Now IMO, no carrot cake is complete without cream cheese frosting. Cream cheese is certainly NOT a paleo food but there are many many good paleo cream cheese frosting approximations out there. The easiest and best option for a yummy frosting would be to simply open a can of full-fat coconut milk, leave it in the fridge overnight, and the whip it with a sprinkle of cinnamon and sweetener. If that doesn't do the trick, there are all kinds of cashew cream cheese frosting recipes to choose from. For me personally, I wanted the real thing.

Sugar-Free Cream Cheese Icing
3 oz neufchatel or whatever you got
2 tbsp organic pastured unsalted butter
3 1/2 tsp erythritol (I use ZSweet brand)
splash of (nut)milk

Whisk everything together (I used an electric whisk) until it fluffs up a little, and spread over cooled cupcakes.

These cupcakes are divine. I shit you not. They are really really good. I think I underbaked mine a tad, I'd leave mine in for a few extra minutes next time, but they are still phenom. They certainly made for a fun Vday treat, and while not chocolate, they definitely get the job done. Happy baking and happy eating- XoXoGFG

Happy Valentine's Day GFG's!

2012-02-14T07:46:00.001-06:00

Vday was never really my thing. To me, it's right up there with Secretary's Day (or worse, Bosses Day) or Groundhog Day or something. But since having a family and a little dolly who is my Valentine 365 days of the year, I have come around a little bit.

Valentine's Day used to mean plenty of chocolates, followed by a stomach-ache. And I loooooooooove chocolate. There has got to be a way to still have some chocolate candy on Vday, right?

Right. Ok now maybe these candies don't look quite as pretty as the kind that come in a red heart-shaped box (ok so they look like ass) but who cares? They're homemade. And I suppose if I took more than three-seconds to form they'd look halfway decent. Whatever. They are chocolate, and they are candy, and I'm stoked! Here's what you do- first, make this. That gives you sugar free chocolate, which can be made into bars, bites, or even chocolate chips. Rather than use agave or stevia drops, I used my trusty sugar free vanilla syrup. Ok- got your chocolate all ready? If it's not melted already, re-melt it. Then, you'll another tablespoon of coconut oil, and another tablespoon of SF vanilla syrup. Quickly, dump in some shredded coconut, chopped pecans, and cut up dried fruit- like cherries, or apricots, or whatever. Mix everything together, then form into little shapes on a piece of wax paper. Let cool a few hours et voila! Chocolate candy.

Pecan Chocolate Candies
melted SF chocolate, recipe here
1 tbsp melted coconut oil
1 tbsp SF vanilla syrup
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup chopped dried fruit

If you wanted to make them really special- you could dust them in some cocoa powder, or shape them into little hearts. Or make a chocolate ganache to drizzle over. Super yummy, no cooking involved. Happy Vday, XoXoGFG

Sugar Free Tart Peach Frozen Yogurt

2012-02-12T08:13:00.000-06:00

As you can see, this pic is not of sugar free tart peach frozen yogurt, though equally delicious if I may say so myself. Isn't it funny that by 10AM you've already had a pretty full day, in toddler time? We took a trip downtown to a cute little kiddo exhibit, and little miss hippopotamus had a grand old time. So far it's been a pretty nice weekend, which kicked off with a relaxing shabbat dinner Friday evening. A shabbat dinner of... bacon wrapped hot dogs! Hmmmm, probably not the best thing to make for shabbat dinner, but whatever.

Have you ever had a bacon wrapped hot dog? In my former life on the CW diet, I would never in a million years have dared to eat such a thing- but now- I don't bat an eye. A little heavy on the nitrates but what the hell. So easy. Take a strip of bacon and wrap it around your dog- place on a cooling rack over a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 400 for 20-ish minutes or until your bacon starts to crisp up. Pretty yummy folks! For a veg we had:

Nothing crazy. Peppers, onions, and grape tomatoes with a little sea salt and cumin and paprika.

What was crazy, crazy good that is, was my latest experiment with the ice cream maker. OMG!!!! I am really psyched about it, and the best part is how much it makes (and for a fraction of the cost of going to the yogurt shop.)

Get to the g-store and get yourself some plain 0% Greek Yogurt now!

Sugar Free Tart Peach Frozen Yogurt
-3 cups plain greek yogurt, I used 0%
-4-6 containers of peach baby food (I used 4 but would use 5 or 6 next time. Or go crazy and do 3 peach and 3 banana, berry, whatever!)
-4 tablespoons or your preferred sweetener (I used Z-Sweet which is a mixture of erythritol and stevia which is amazing- from WF)
-juice of one lemon

In a large mixing bowl, combine yogurt with baby food, sweetener, and lemon juice. If you want to bump up the tartness, use the zest as well. Combine well and refrigerate for 3-4 hours so it's nice and chilled. Prepare the yogurt according to your ice cream maker's instructions and in 20min you'll have awesomely peachy frozen yogurt, or pop it in the freezer for 2 more hours and it'll be a bit harder. Just note that the next day, it'll be rock hard straight out of the freezer. You'll need to let it sit out on the counter for a bit first.

I loved this yogurt because it's packed full of protein, and has less carbs than other yogurt because greek yogurt has less lactose and carbs as the whey has been removed (right?) and it has a great tart flavor and a hint of sweet. Plus, no gross chemicals or weird ingredients like when you buy the stuff at pinkberry or wherever. You know exactly what's in there and it is GOOD stuff! And it tastes incredible. Not like some sad diabetic imitation but like the real thing- if not better! And we have tons left over. Yum!

Do you have an ice cream maker? I'd like to try plain old vanilla too. Just some erythritol and vanilla extract. What's your favorite way to make ice cream or frozen yogurt?

Fancy Crab Dip

2012-02-07T07:49:00.001-06:00

Super Bowl shmooper bowl. Honestly, who cares. The one and only reason I was looking forward to Sunday was because I wanted to try this crab dip recipe. Someone pinned a Paula Deen crab dip recipe- upon further inspection it was about a gallon of mayo and a brick of cheese. Eh, no thanks. So I improvised and came up with something much more my style. This dip was very easy to throw together- I did not use a mixer and it took only a few minutes, not counting bake time. Totally delish and a fabulous app for a party. Next time you need a quick dip recipe and don't feel like making guac, give this a try. You'll be glad you did!

Fancy Chive Crab Dip
1 16 oz. can crab meat
8 ounces (at least, I used about 9) softened cream cheese, or neufchatel
juice of one lemon
1/4 cup chopped chives
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp (give or take) Old Bay seasoning

Grease a small baking dish. Mix all ingredients together and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Serve with crudite and you've got a dip touchdown! Sorry.

Banana Vanilla Protein Pancakes

2012-02-06T08:27:00.001-06:00

I've had some vanilla protein powder in the pantry for quite awhile. I had first purchased Jay Robb vanilla, which I really liked a lot- but then got this brand as it was wayyyyyyyyy cheaper. There are only a couple completely sugar free whey protein isolate powders out there, with the minimal additives I was looking for, and this was one of them. It's ok, but not great. I really prefer Jay Robb- but I am not going to waste this stuff! But it's tough to get motivated to make an "ok" shake when I know that is basically my meal, so I hardly ever use it. Not today! These Banana Vanilla Protein Pancakes were awesome, and I felt even better about serving them to my family than usual because of the added protein punch.

Banana Vanilla Protein Pancakes
1 overripe banana
2 tbsp coconut flour
2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 scoop protein powder
3-4 tbsp milk, or water

Mash your banana then add in your eggs and vanilla and incorporate. Then add your dry ingredients. Pour a little water or milk into your pancakes until it has the nice pourable consistency you want. This made 10 small to medium sized pancakes. Yum!

A No Recipe Recipe- Chickpea Poppers

2012-02-05T07:29:00.001-06:00

I'm sure everyone has already made these, I've made them a dozen times, and they keep getting better. This doesn't really qualify as a recipe, it's just too darn easy.

Rinse and drain three cans of chickpeas and spread them out on a baking sheet. Pour 2 tbsp of EVOO over and then another 2 tbsp of sea salt, plus whatever seasonings you like. For instance, a sprinkle of cayenne, chili powder, cumin, or go herby and use some oregano and rosemary. Toss everything so that all the little duded are well coated.

400 for about 25 min should do it. I like mine crisp and crunchy, but if you want them a bit softer reduce your baking time. These make a great snack and can help you reduce your nut intake, if you're so inclined. What's your favorite way to make chickpea poppers??

Tangy Grilled Flank Steak

2012-02-04T07:29:00.000-06:00

I make a lot of flank steak, and top round. They are lean, and cheap, and for whatever reason I prefer the chewier cuts than a more tender filet for example. But they do need a nice long marinade, that's for sure. Usually I go asian with marinades but that can get redundant. This was an awesome marinade that went great with my spicy chickpea poppers. Try it out next time you need a quick marinade! And also- if you don't have a nice heavy cast-iron grill pan, get one! I must use this thing 4 times a week. It is awesome! Little smokey though.

Tangy Grilled Flank Steak
1 large flank steak
4 tbsp lime juice (i actually only had bottled which worked out great)
2 tbsp meyer lemon EVOO
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Combine juice, oil, and seasonings in a bowl and mix well. Place your steak in a ziploc bag and pour over. Don't worry that it doesn't look like very much marinade, you don't need a whole lot. Seal bag and leave it in the fridge for 3-7 hours. Grill steak 5 minutes per side and you're done!

What's new with everyone? I bet there are some awesome super bowl recipes floating around out there! I have a crab dip recipe I'm going to try. I haven't been posting too many recipes lately. One- I've been making a lot of the usual standby recipes, and two- I haven't been making any treats lately. I don't really miss them or feel like making them, although I know M wishes otherwise. If I want a treat I'll have some dried cherries, or a piece of dried mango, or some SF chocolate from TJ's. So, my pinterest board is kind of sad right now as a result. Oh well.

Have a great Super Bowl weekend everyone!

Spicy Cabbage, Chickpea, and Sausage Stew

2012-01-28T08:19:00.000-06:00

Who doesn't love a big bowl of warming, hearty, healthy, and flavorful stew? Extra points for cabbage, and double points for spicy. I'm not sure why exactly, but I used Chinese Cabbage in this stew. No matter, it turned out great, but use whatever cabbage you like. This was an eyeballed recipe, so measurements are approx.

Spicy Cabbage, Chickpea, and Sausage Stew
2 large carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cabbage, ribs removed, torn into smaller pieces
4 cans of reduced sodium stock, can be 1/2 chicken 1/2 veg, homemade whatever you have, all veg, all chicken, whatever.
1/2 can fire roasted tomatoes (this is optional- but i had leftovers from the chicken dip, so i used it)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp (or more) red pepper flakes
sprinkle of thyme and sage
1/2 tsp minced garlic
one package of your favorite spicy sausage, cut into bite sized pieces

Brown your onion in a bit of EVOO in your stockpot. Then add your celery and carrot and some kosher salt and cook for about five minutes. Throw in your cabbage, garlic, seasonings, and bay leaf, and stir well. Add in your fire roasted tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, and chickpeas. Bring to a high simmer and then reduce heat and simmer for about an hour. Yum!!! This is a great way to get in your cruciferous veg, which we could all use more of, women especially. Enjoy all you gfg'ers out there! Let me know what you think! This is a super easy, and super cheap meal. Try it in the crockpot too! Eeezy peezy. XoXoGFG

Mexican Chicken Dip

2012-01-27T08:12:00.002-06:00

I'm calling this Mexican Chicken Dip- but I use "mexican" loosely because I don't know how else to describe it. It's really good. How about that?

My mom was in town for 8 days and brought some food from home, including a few cans of canned chicken breast from costco. Canned chicken breast has never been on my list of items to buy. I don't think I had ever had it before. Canned tuna and salmon, for sure, but chicken? No. A quick google search revealed ten billion recipes for chicken dip using canned chicken- so I figured, what the hell?

This dip took two minutes to make, plus another two minutes in the microwave. S ate most of it, no joke. The girl loves meat and cheese. It's hilarious. Anyways- this would make a great superbowl app served with some celery.

Mexican Chicken Dip
1 can canned chicken breast, drained
4 tbsp cream cheese (i use neufchatel)
1/3 cup shredded taco cheese
1/2 can of fire roasted tomatoes
2 tbsp chili powder

Stir everything, then stick it in the microwave to melt the cheese for a minute. Stir, and put back for another minute. Dunzo. Makes a ton of dip- certainly enough for a party.

Whole Chicken in the Crockpot

2012-01-21T08:07:00.000-06:00

I was a little wary of trying a whole chicken in the crockpot- would it taste bland and boring like a boiled chicken? Would the skin get all oozy and gross? Would it dry out and be totally flavorless?

No, no, and no!!! Another win for team crockpot! I don't know why I was so chicken in the first place, har har. Stupid, sorry. Ok anyways- I know it seems a little strange to cook a whole chicken when you can probably get a rotisserie chicken for pretty cheap- costco has 'em for $4.99. But rotisserie chicken and homemade whole chicken that hasn't been sitting out for hours and hours under a heat lamp, and made with god knows what ingredients, are really not comparable. This is a different situation altogether. The meat falls off the bone, you really don't even need a knife to cut it- and you get the bonus of tons of chicken broth too. Does it get crispy? No. Duh- a crockpot needs moisture to work. But its great. So if you see whole chicken on sale- jump on it. Buy two and freeze them, whatever.

Whole Chicken in the Crockpot
1 whole chicken- mine was roughly 3lbs
3 carrots, halved
2 celery stalks, halved
1 lemon
1/2 an onion
2 tbsp EVOO
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp dried herb poultry seasoning (rosemary, oregano, sage)
1/4 tsp cayenne

In the bottom of your crockpot, position your carrots and celery, then throw in half of your chopped onion. Place your raw chicken on top of the veg. In a small bowl, mix the juice of half a lemon with your EVOO and mix in your seasonings. Stuff the cavity with most of the other half of your onion and your lemon. Pour EVOO mixture over chicken and rub it all over. I seasoned mine a bit more afterwards because I have a major salt-tooth, but you don't need to. Cover with lid and cook on low for 7 hours. You will have tons of food and also some great broth. The carrots are almost the best part! This is a great base recipe that you can get creative with.

M is at a bach party in New Orleans this weekend, so grammy GFG is here for awhile. The three of us enjoyed this super yummy and almost no prep dinner together. I think it took me about 7 minutes to get this ready this morning, and I did it while S was having breakfast. If you haven't tried this cooking method yet, give it a shot! XoXoGFG

2012-01-18T07:06:00.000-06:00

January 18th, 2012 is the largest online protest in history, to stop the internet censorship bills, SOPA & PIPA. Join in by blacking out your site and urging everyone you can reach to contact Congress now.

Grain-Free Sugar-Free Coconut "Rice" Pudding

2012-01-17T08:18:00.002-06:00

O. M. G. Who knew that simmering coconut milk and shredded unsweetened coconut (I actually prefer coconut powder from the indian market, cheaper and smaller flakes) for an hour could make such a yummy, filling, and satisfying dessert? Last week's coconut porridge recipe was the inspiration for this treat. I know I said I'm trying to detox a little bit right now and get away from treats, but this is just so simple and chock-full of magical coconut, I couldn't help it.

I used to love love love rice pudding. In college one year instead of a birthday cake one of my roommates actually made me rice pudding, that's how much I loved it! Knowing how thick and decadent canned full-fat coconut milk is, I thought it really shouldn't be too difficult to make some kind of coconut pudding. I couldn't decide, eggs, or no eggs? Custardy, or puddingy? In the end I decided not to use eggs, and I'm so glad! Besides being a little time-consuming, this is an awesome dessert/snack, and a great way to help you get more coconut in your diet.

Coconut "Rice" Pudding (makes 6-8 servings)
2 cans full fat coconut milk
2 cups coconut powder or unsweetened shredded coconut
1 empty can-full of water
1 1/2 tsp (or more) cinnamon
35 drops vanilla creme stevia
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions are really not necessary! Combine everything in your pot and simmer until thickened, about an hour, stirring regularly. It will get even thicker in the fridge. YUMMMMM!!!!!!!!!

Carrot Fries

2012-01-14T08:17:00.000-06:00

See previous post for a pic! Nope, those weren't sweet potato fries, they were carrot fries! Ok ok, maybe calling them fries is a bit of a stretch. But so is calling oven-baked sweet potato fries a french fry. And these carrot fries are a similar texture to sweet potato fries. I made mine pretty salty, to mute the overly sweet taste oven baked carrots can get. They were really yummy, and a nice lower-starch alternative to sweet potato fries, which I can't really eat anyways.

Carrot Fries
6-8 med/large carrots (you could use your veg peeler to get the skins off first, but I didn't) sliced lengthwise and then halved again, and then cut into very thin sticks. The thinner they're cut the crisper they'll turn out.
1 tbsp kosher/sea salt
2 tbsp EVOO
optional: 1/2 tsp cayenne, or black pepper

Preheat your oven to 450. On a large baking sheet toss your carrots together with your EVOO and seasonings, make sure they are all coated well and spread out evenly so they crisp up rather than steam. I baked mine for 30 minutes, but start checking at 25. I wanted mine as crisp as possible rather than soggy, and I ended up burning a few in the process, which is fine because this makes quite a lot!

Once again, we ate these with my homemade ketchup, but some homemade/organic ranch would be awesome too! Have fun guys! XoXoGFG

Chicken Fingers!

2012-01-12T08:50:00.000-06:00

After my huge brownie accomplishment, I think I indulged a bit too much. Which made me think about some of my other questionable choices- too many nuts, too many dried cherries. Everyone is doing Sugar-Free Challenges, Whole30, etc, and while I don't think I can detox quite to that extent, I do think a little abstaining is in order. No dried fruit, no treats, and less nuts (but not none, that would be almost impossible!) I've also recently started a new job, and my schedule has changed pretty dramatically, and I'm still trying to figure out how to fit in my daily exercise. Part of me is ok with taking a little break, things have been pretty rough lately and I just need a break. I'm not hardcore about my workouts, but 7 days a week of anything will burn you out eventually.

Wow I got off-topic there! Basically, what I was trying to say was that when you decide to do a little detoxing, reduce your carbs/sugar or even grain/sugar-free treats, you need to be sure you are getting an adequate amount of protein and healthy fat to curb those cravings! I have been craving chicken fingers and french fries for awhile now, and after seeing some interesting recipes on Pinterest, I thought, I can definitely GFGify something! And I did! So once again folks, when sh*t gets tough, you can still get in the kitchen and make a healthy meal your whole family will love, and that always manages to put a smile on my face!

Grain-Free, Gluten-Free Chicken Fingers
1 package chicken tenders, mine was about 1.5 lbs
3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, or coconut powder
1/2 cup almond flour
1 tbsp kosher salt (I wanted mine salty, so use less if you don't have a salt-tooth like me)
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 eggs
EVOO for the pan

Whisk your eggs in a small bowl. In a large dish (I used a glass pie-dish which worked great) combine your coconut, almond flour, S&P and mix well. You want to create a little assembly line so that you can get your chicken tenders in the egg, then dredge them in your coconut/flour mixture, and then lay them out somewhere easily accessible to the stovetop. I laid all my chicken fingers on a large strip of wax paper. Coat all chicken fingers well, and then heat up some oil in a large pan. You could of course also bake these puppies but I wanted them super crisp, and also didn't have the time to wait for them to cook in the oven. Cook about 3 minutes per side, or longer depending on how browned you want them. I tend to like mine pretty brown and crunchy. These chicken fingers were AWESOME! You do not need to miss out on one of the world's best bar foods anymore. Chicken fingers are back! I served mine with some homemade ketchup. Yummmm! We also had these with some carrot fries, which I'll post about soon.

Hope everyone's new year is off to a great start, and that you are happy, healthy, and grateful! XoXoGFG

Paleo Porridge

2012-01-10T08:58:00.003-06:00

I like to make a big batch of oatmeal, buckwheat, quinoa, etc, for the week on Sundays so that S can have it every morning for breakfast. Even though S is gluten, and not grain-free, I still get this twinge of guilt every morning when I give her oats or whatever. It just bothers me. She looooooves her oatmeal, I mix it with unsweetened applesauce and plain yogurt and she slurps it up, but am always thinking to myself, there's got to be something better.

So this Sunday, as I was pondering this question once again, I thought, there must be a way to make a coconut porridge/cream of wheat. This recipe is incredibly easy, and really tastes just like cream of wheat, or what I remember it tasting like anyways. I'm excited to try different versions of it. I hope you try it too!

Paleo Porridge
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp flaxmeal
1 cup liquid (water, nutmilk, or a combo, which is what I used)
1/4 tsp kosher salt (do not omit!)
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)
another 1/4 cup of unsweetened coconut, to add at the end

Add everything to a pot and bring to a simmer. Stir continuously. If you like, add more liquid to make it puff up even more, it will just take longer to cook down. I know I've mentioned I don't like flax. But you really do need it in this recipe, to bind everything together. Don't worry, you don't taste it. Once it's thickened up to your liking, turn off the heat, and dump in the rest of your coconut. This will make it super thick and give it some good texture.

Because I mix this with applesauce and yogurt, this amount yields enough for about 4 baby-sized servings. If you were eating it yourself and not mixing in all that stuff, this would be plenty for at least 2 servings. So yummy with a bit of melted butter, coconut butter, apple butter, or nothing! This would even be great for those nights when there is nothing in the house to eat and it's 8 o'clock and and I'm spent from the day. Try it out and let me know if you like it!

Grain-Free Sugar-Free Brownies That Don't Suck And Are Actually Pretty Good

2012-01-09T08:37:00.011-06:00

Please excuse the ridiculously long title. But how else could I accurately describe these brownies? If you remember, I've lamented before the sad truth that grain-free, sugar-free baking really cannot produce a yummy, fudgey, dense, chocolatey brownie. Even if you can make a delicious flourless brownie, that doesn't solve the issue of needing sugar. Stevia, date paste, banana mush, uh uh. Not going to cut it. I've seen people use honey, maple syrup, coconut/palm sugar, agave, you name it. And maybe those work out, but I don't use those ingredients. But, I think I'm finally on to something. I will keep tinkering with the recipe, but this is an AH-HAH moment as Oprah would say. This is the start of a new day for the gluten/grain/sugar free brownie-starved people of the world! Ok........... So here's what I did.

Grain-Free Sugar-Free Brownies That Don't Suck And Are Actually Pretty Good!
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/4 cup oil or melted butter, or vegan butter
3/4 cup granulated sweetener (I used a combination of erythritol and xylitol)
2 eggs
2 tbsp cocoa powder
4 tbsp coconut flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp sugar free liquid sweetener
3-6 tbsp (nut)milk
1/4 cup chopped nuts, I used walnuts
1/4 cup sugar-free choc. chips (optional)

Preheat your oven to 320 and line an 8x8 with parchment. Over low heat, melt your unsweetened chocolate with your oil or butter. Stir constantly so it doesn't burn. Then, pour in your granulated sweetener. You might be able to use palm/coconut sugar here, so try it out. Stir well. The chocolate is going to look grainy, so don't be alarmed. Remove from heat and let it cool for a few minutes. While it cools, mix your coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together. Make sure there are no lumps. Mix your two eggs into the slightly cooled chocolate, and add your vanilla, and liquid sweetener. Stir into dry ingredients and incorporate well. You can see that I put 3-6 tbsp of milk in the ingredients. This depends on a few things, how big your eggs were, how dry your coconut flour, etc. Start with a couple tablespoons and go from there. You want the batter to be pourable and wet, not spongy or dry. So add your milk little by little until it's become a pourable consistency. You could also bake this in cupcake form. You'll notice if you taste it that it's no longer grainy (but if it bothers you, you can put your granulated sweetener in your vitamix, or cuisi first to make the grains finer) and it has absolutely no discernible coconut taste to it. I baked mine for 30 minutes and removed it when it was still a teensy bit underdone, and then put it in the fridge for a few hours.

If you don't have sugar-free choc. chips then don't use 'em, or go ahead and use what you have. Walnuts in brownies I think are divine but you really don't need them either! Some yummy frosting on these would be even better, but I can't help you with that, not today anyways. After at least a half dozen attempts at some kind of SF/GF brownie, not only are these the only ones that are even remotely edible, they are seriously awesomely amazing! No shit! **Edit: These get even better after a day or two. They become much more fudge-like after a day or so. So good!!!

Spicy Mexican Chicken Stew

2012-01-07T07:19:00.002-06:00

I'm calling this Mexican Chicken Stew because really, I couldn't figure out a better descriptor. I'm kind of lazy, and don't feel like getting cutesy with the name. But it was good. And easy. And about as healthy as you can get. There are plenty of leftovers, this probably makes enough to serve 6-8. I made it in the crockpot but you cold make it on the stovetop too, no problem. It would be great served with sliced avocado, sour cream, or shredded cheese. We had none of the above and it was still great. I had planned on making this because, hey, it's January, and it's cold and wintery outside! Except it's not! It's 60 degrees! So we had some hot filling stew on a 60 degree day... oops! Oh well. Beats shoveling snow and digging icicles out of your dog's paws right?

Spicy Mexican Chicken Stew
2 chicken breasts, skinless/boneless, bone in skin on, whatever you got
1 14.5 ounce can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
8 ounces of green tomatillo sauce
2 1/2 cups chicken stock, reduced sodium, or homemade
2 cups of chopped carrots
3 or 4 celery stalks, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup salsa
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp minced garlic
squeeze of lime, or lime juice, if you have it

Throw all your chopped veg into the crockpot, then pour in your tomatillo sauce, salsa, fire roasted tomatoes, chicken stock, beans, seasonings, garlic, lime juice, and stir well. Then put your chicken in, and try to submerse it under the liquid but not so it's touching the bottom. Cook on low for 7 hours or so. When it's finished, shred the chicken with a fork and give it a big stir, and serve with whatever accoutrements you want! I actually served this with some flax quesadillas based on this recipe which I actually hated but I'll admit, having something resembling a tortilla was kind of cool. But still, I hated it. Then again, the taste of flax is very overpowering to me and I think it tastes like snot, or what I think snot would taste like. Ugh yuck, I hate flax. But if you like it, or don't mind it (then I apologize for saying it tastes like snot) then try out the recipe! Lots of fiber and all those ALA's!

So now the house smells like spicy stew and I have lots of leftovers for S to eat over the next couple days which makes me inexplicably happy. Yayy! Hope everyone has a great weekend! XoXoGFG

Grain-Free, Sugar-Free Chocolate Mug Cake

2012-01-05T08:54:00.003-06:00

Hmmm. What do you get when you combine chocolate, a mug, and a microwave? The ubiquitous chocolate mug cake that has been making the interweb rounds of course! (CCK is probably the most popular example)

I am not the first person to try making one of these bad boys. In fact, I've tried my hand at it a few times already, without much success. I blame prior failures to the wrong ratio of flour : liquid.

This time was very, very different. My only disappointment is how puny the serving size was, well, in comparison to my enormous coffee mug I guess. This super fast and super yummy treat is the answer to my chocolate-covered prayers. Make this NOW!

Grain-Free, Sugar-Free, Chocolate Mug Microwave Cake
2 tsp coconut flour (yes teaspoons)
1 tbsp, plus 2 tsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 tbsp oil
1 1/2 tbsp sugar-free vanilla liquid sweetener, or plain sugar-free liquid sweetener plus a drop of vanilla extract
2 tbsp (nut)milk
a few sugar-free chocolate chips if you have 'em, or some chopped nuts

Into a mug goes your coconut flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Mix very well. Then add your oil, liquid sweetener, and 1 tbsp of your milk. Mix well and see how wet the mixture is. You want it pretty soupy since it's coconut flour, so add the next tbsp of milk if it looks a little spongy still. Throw in your choc. chips or nuts and then microwave for one minute. Mine was still pretty undercooked at one minute, but your microwave may be stronger than mine, so check after a minute. Since there's no egg, it won't hurt if it's a little underdone! If you wanted to try it out using vanilla creme stevia, that's a great idea as well, you'd just need to experiment with the amount of nutmilk you use. The best part is, if you ruin a couple batches, it's no big deal, you've hardly used any ingredients!

Have fun with this one!

Zucchini Noodles and an awesome new kitchen gadget

2012-01-03T15:42:00.000-06:00

Today's post involved both of the above pictured items. I am quickly beginning to realize what a wonder-veg (is a zuc a veg? I know it's a squash, hmmm) zucchini is. Fabulous in pancakes, breads, and noodle-less lasagna, it really is the multi-tasker of the produce world. It's even more amazing in noodle-form, and I don't mean long wide slices, I mean spaghetti looking noodles. I thought I needed a fancy spiralizer, but nope! One of these handy julienne peelers does the trick just fine and costs less than $10! This peeler would be great for yellow squash, eggplant, carrots, cucumbers, you name it.

I was never much of a pasta girl (although I do really miss Pad See Ew, the thai-noodle dish) so missing out on linguine or angel hair or spaghetti doesn't bother me much. But what I do miss are the great sauces. Meatball, marinara, spicy seafood sauce, clam, whatever. It doesn't make much sense to eat plain sauce with nothing to accompany it. Boring. Julienne Peeler- check. Zucchini- check. Problem solved. The one and only draw back is that you do need quite a few zucchinis to feed 3 or 4 people. As with all veg, they shrink up a ton when you cook them.

Garlic Parmesan Zucchini Pasta
3 medium sized zucchinis, julienne sliced into long thin noodles
1 tsp minced garli
2 tsp Meyer Lemon EVOO (or regular EVOO is just fine)
1/3 cup shredded parm
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Heat up your oil in a large skillet, then throw in your garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add your zuc noodles and season liberally. The noodles will release a ton of water. I cooked my noodles until they had become soft and most of the water was cooked off, then I sprinkled the parm over it and stirred it together so the cheese melted. This was enough for 3 good sized servings. If this is your main dish however, I'd probably double it. This doesn't taste like zucchini, nor does it taste quite like pasta. But texture-wise and mouth-feel wise you do kinda think you're eating noodles. Without the god-awful bloat and blood sugar meltdown. Best of all, this can be the base recipe to a zillion noodle/pasta dishes. You could even use them as your noodles in soup. So give it a try if you've not already! Also, the perfect consistency for your little ones! XoXoGFG

Grain-Free, Sugar-Free Lemon Bars

2012-01-02T09:57:00.004-06:00

I'm not quite sure why, but lately I've really had a craving for lemon bars. I used to love them but for the life of me don't think I've had one in many many years. I guess when chocolates around that's usually my go to. But I kept thinking, it really shouldn't be too difficult to come up with a sugar free lemon bar recipe. And it wasn't! I still want to tinker with the recipe more, because it was incredibly tart, but it was much easier than I expected. It was also an opportunity to play with two new sugar-alternatives. I was nervous about them and not sure how our tummies would handle it, but no problems whatsoever. I used a mixture of Zsweet (from WF) and Xylitol, or birch sugar, which I picked up at Vitamin Shoppe. A lot of the online references I found regarding these sugar alcohols recommend that you pulse them in the cuisi first. This not only helps stop them from recrystallizing once your baked good has cooled, but I guess it also breaks them down further so you don't have that strange "cooling" mouth feel. For instance, when you are chewing sugar free gum and your whole mouth feels cold and it hurts to drink cold water? That is the "cooling" mouth feel, because incidentally most sugar free gums now are made with Xylitol. Erythritol (the main ingredient in Zsweet), on the other hand, supposedly doesn't cause much tummy upset but is better used in wet applications, making it perfect for a lemon bar/custard, I thought.

Are these lemon bars exactly like the lemon bars you are picturing? No. I could have made them a little bit more like traditional lemon bars by grinding some xylitol in the cuisinart to make faux powdered sugar to sprinkle on top, but I was lazy. But they are really good, and have no weird fake sugar aftertastes or anything like that- no weird consistency issues or strange textures. They are a great alternative!

Grain-Free, Sugar-Free Lemon Bars
2 cups almond flour
5 tbsp butter, melted
1 or 2 packets of stevia or your preferred sweetener
4 eggs
juice of 3 lemons
zest of one lemon
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp coconut flour
3/4 cup sweetener (or more if you aren't a fan of tart desserts. I used just a 1/2 cup total of a combination of half Zsweet and half xylitol and it was super super tart.)

Line an 8x8 with parchment and preheat your oven to 350. In a medium mixing bowl combine your almond flour, softened butter, and sweetener. You want the mixture to be crumbly, kind of like a graham cracker crust. Press the crust into your 8x8 so that it's evenly distributed and reaches all sides. Bake for about 15 minutes or until it's just starting to turn golden. While it's baking you'll make the filling, which couldn't be easier. Throw your lemon juice, baking powder, zest, eggs, coconut flour, and sweeteners into a blender and blend until it starts to thicken and the yolks lighten. Pour the mixture over the crust and bake for another 25 minutes or so or until the center is just beginning to firm up. You'll want to let it cool for at least an hour before serving.

Everyone has their own opinions on sugar alternatives, which ones are best and which ones should be avoided. I'm not really sure how I feel about any of them to be honest, except my feelings on which ones are superior taste-wise. The best option would certainly be to live your life without desserts and treats like a true paleo. Get used to tasting things in their natural state and appreciate the natural flavors without adding a bunch of enhancers. Appreciate the inherent sweetness in things and don't use a bunch of junk to make it sweeter. I sort of look at all these sweeteners the same as I'd look at a smoker who's trying to quit and using nicotine gum. It's better than a cigarette, but you still haven't kicked the addiction. You're just using a modified version of the drug. Hopefully someday I'll have the motivation and willpower to say no to sweet stuff, but even if I do, I can't expect the rest of the world to do the same, and it would be nice to know how to make a few things that both myself, and others can enjoy without quite as much guilt. Right now there are a thousand sugar-free challenges going on- and I have almost zero inclination to try any of them, although I would be wise to! Have you had success with any sugar-free challenges? Did giving up all sweeteners, even the low-carb low-cal ones have any appreciable effects? And most of all, did it lessen your cravings for sweet treats? Let me know! Maybe your experiences will inspire me!

Sugar-Free Snickerdoodles

2012-01-01T08:40:00.000-06:00

Kind of an oxymoron huh? Well, it is totally possible to make an SF snickerdoodle. I chickened out and did not use either of my new baking products, xylitol or erythritol. I still think I'm going to give some SF lemon bars a shot today though using one or both. A couple different websites provided the inspiration for these snickerdoodles, but in the end I really had to create this on the fly. They turned out great and are actually quite crisp which is what I was going for!

Sugar-Free Snickerdoodles (or Cinnamon Sugar Cookies)
2 cups almond flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar (optional)
1 egg
2 tbsp butter, softened
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon, plus more for rolling
1/4 cup sugar free vanilla flavored sweetener
2 packets of stevia, like purevia or nunaturals
2 tbsp stevia in the raw or other sweetener, for rolling

Preheat your oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, mix your almond flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cream of tartar if using. I believe using cream of tartar is the difference between a cinnamon sugar cookie, and a snickerdoodle. In a separate bowl, mix your softened butter, egg, and sugar free syrup, and packets of stevia. You could also use plain sugar free syrup and add a tsp of vanilla. Pour wet into dry and mix thoroughly. On a small plate, dump some cinnamon and stevia and mix together for rolling. Use a teaspoon to scoop out balls of dough and then roll them in the cinnamon/sugar to coat. I pressed down the cookies with a fork as they don't spread much. Bake for 10 minutes or so or until they start to brown on the sides. Many websites say to freeze them and eat them straight from the freezer for a more crisp cookie.

I love all the recipe round-ups the blogs are doing, highlighting their most popular recipes. It's such a nice retrospective. I wonder which recipes of mine I'd highlight for 2011. Gosh I have absolutely no clue. It's hard to say because even when I LOVE something I might not make it again for months and months. Do you have any fave recipes from 2011 that have been total game-changers for you? Do you have links for them? I'd love to see!

I also need to think of a round food to make for breakfast for New Year's Day. You're supposed to eat round foods for good luck, and I am one superstitious lady so you bet I'll be eating round stuff all day long! Are you making any round foods? Whatever you do, have a great New Year's Day, much love to all your families! XoXoGFG

Butter and Herb Roasted Whole Chicken

2011-12-30T09:12:00.000-06:00

Even though we all eat chicken all the time, there is something special, but comforting, about a whole roasted chicken. The way it fills your entire house with the most delicious smell, knowing you can make an awesome chicken stock afterwards, and most likely having plenty of leftovers make it such a fun dish.

This time I bought a fresh, all-natural, organic chicken from WF and I don't think I have to tell you that the taste and texture was far superior to a frozen, hormone-filled chicken. This particular birdy was a bit shy of 4lbs. I let it sit out on the counter for probably an hour or two before cooking, so it could come to room temp. I did not wash it. People have differing opinions on washing your bird first. I don't do it- do you? I don't want to get raw chicken juice all over the place personally.

I also did not use a roasting rack- rather I tossed a bunch of sliced onions and baby carrots over a foil-lined baking sheet, and placed the chicken on top of the carrots to keep the bottom of the chicken off of the baking sheet so the hot air could circulate underneath it. I didn't bother greasing the foil.

The picture doesn't do this guy justice. It may look burnt, but that's just the herbs. It was not burnt at all. In fact, it was the juiciest, moistest chicken I've ever had!

Butter and Herb Roasted Whole Chicken
1 whole chicken, giblets removed (mine was almost 4lbs) and totally DRY
One container poultry herbs (several sprigs of rosemary and thyme, plus a handful of sage leaves, FRESH)
4 tbsp all natural butter, like Kerrygold (I prefer to use unsalted) room temp
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
handful of baby carrots
half an onion, chopped

Place your baby carrots and sliced onions on your foil-lined baking sheet, then place chicken on top of the carrots. Salt and pepper the inside of the bird generously, and if you have extra herbs or onions, throw them in too. Tie the legs together with twine (I only had hemp, it worked fine!) and tuck the wings under the bird so they don't burn. Finely chop all your herbs and then throw them in a small dish. Add your room temp butter, garlic, and salt and pepper. Mix it up well. Then, with clean hands, take a glob of butter and smoosh it around under the chicken skin. Try to get it as far down as you can. Smear the remaining butter mixture all over the skin and don't skimp on the legs, thighs, wings, etc! Roast in your preheated oven at 425 for about an hour and 20 minutes. I used my convection feature and it only took one hour, so if you have a convection oven go for it! You must must MUST let the bird rest for 20 minutes at least. If you are unsure whether it's done or not- take a peek at the juices running out. Are they clear? If so, it's dunzo. You can absolutely eat the carrots, they are ridiculously insanely good. Best of all- keep the carcass and use it for the best stock ever!

I did a lot of googling before I decided to use butter. I had never ever used butter before to roast anything. EVOO all the way. But the milk solids in the butter create a fabulous crispy and browned skin that EVOO just can't. I've also seen a lot of recipes that call for Mayo- which I also think is a great idea, but was worried about trying it for the first time on company. But I'm all for it next time. On their Thanksgiving special, I noticed the Voltaggio (sp?) bros used mayo to roast something. I also am not thrilled with the mayo I have on hand. I need a really good quality organic mayo.

Make this chicken. It's awesome. Super easy. Pretty to look at. Who doesn't love a roast chicken. With butter. Duh.

More Veggie Pancakes

2011-12-28T08:29:00.000-06:00

Another pancake post. This time, savory. I've got veg latkes, or pancakes, down at this point. I've now discovered what an easy way this is to get everyone to eat their veggies. How could you not when they're in pancake form? I tried them again for Chanukah dinner with M's grandma. With the addition of crunchy shredded carrots, this batch was colorful and full of your daily beta carotene!

Carrot Zucchini Pancakes (Latkes)
2 small zucchini, grated, water squeezed out
half a bag of pre-shredded carrots (about a cup to 1 1/2 cups)
1 whole egg, 1 egg white
1/2 tsp paprika
4 tbsp chickpea flour (besan)
S&P to taste
3 green onions, sliced finely
1/2 tsp minced garlic

Into a large mixing bowl throw your grated/shredded veggies, then egg, flour, garlic, onions, and seasoning. Mix well. Try not to let it sit as the salt will draw out a lot of water and make the mixture soupy. Heat up a tsp or two of oil in a frying pan and get it sizzling hot. Using a tablespoon, drop batter onto hot pan and cook about 3 min per side. These are better crispy. They have a natural kick to them as the chickpea flour has a bit of spice to it. I like them plain but they are great with sour cream, applesauce, or even hummus! I served this with a simply roasted chicken (recipe coming soon) and a salad. A nice meal to serve to company, no muss no fuss! Best of all, for all the non GFG's out there, this feels like you are getting a nice starchy carby dish even though it's just veggies! No one misses out. Now, if you're expecting a crunchy, super crispy pancake like potato pancakes can be, you may be disappointed. These don't get crunchy. A zucchini is delicious and a great substitute, but hello, it's not a potato. M asked me, why aren't these crunchy? Well, zucchini's are full of water, and potatoes are full of starch. Water won't crisp up on you, sorry folks. But I don't miss those carbohydrate-bombs, and neither should you. I can't wait to try these with spinach and maybe some red peppers! Yum!

Protein-Packed Strawberries and Cream Pancakes

2011-12-27T08:51:00.000-06:00

Even though we don't celebrate Christmas, I wanted to make a special breakfast for M and S. It ended up being lunch because we went to the JCC this morning and then over to see our friends new house, but it was festive and very special all the same. Experimenting with coconut flour is definitely a trial and error endeavor but it very reliably will make a GREAT pancake. Here is what we had today!

Protein-Packed Strawberries and Cream Pancakes (serves 4)
1/4 cup coconut flour
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup cottage cheese
2 tbsp sugar-free vanilla syrup, or liquid sweetener of choice
3 eggs
1/3 cup strawberries, sliced
3 or 4 tbsp (nut)milk, or even water

In a large mixing bowl, stir flour, salt, and baking soda together. Add in three eggs, syrup, and cottage cheese, and mix well. You want your batter to be wet, and pourable, so add 2 tbsp of water or milk and see where you're at. If it's not the right consistency yet, add another tbsp of liquid and see what you got. Lastly, mix in your berries. Drop by the tablespoonful onto a sizzling hot frying pan. These are great on their own, with some jam, apple butter, whatever! I think S ate half of them, no joke. When we finally made her stop eating she was very unhappy. Not sure if that's good or bad. Anyways- these are a nutritional powerhouse. With the naturally higher fiber and protein content of the coconut flour, plus the eggs AND cottage cheese, these are a fantastic vehicle for a yummy high-protein breakfast. Very filling and very satisfying. I think I got about 10 large pancakes out of it. They are a little more custardy than your average pancake, from the cottage cheese, but quite good. I hope you try it!

CCK-Inspired Double Chocolate Almond Cookies and Walnut Apricot Biscotti

2011-12-26T08:21:00.000-06:00

Chocolate-Covered Katie is a great resource for "healthier" dessert recipes, and they are all vegan. Usually the recipes call for spelt or whole wheat flour and I don't normally try to GFG-adapt them, but every once in awhile she does have a grain-free recipe. This recipe in particular looked really great because she only used dates as the sweetener. That is a rare find!

Before I talk about the recipe, I want to go back to the word "healthier" in quotes. What is healthy, or healthier? Five years ago, even two years ago, I would have had a totally different answer for you. And who knows, a year from now, I may say something else. I know I used to characterize healthy as primarily something that was low-fat. Funny how now my nutrition is made up of mostly protein, and fat! Browsing recipes on Pinterest, I'm always struck by how many people use the word "healthy" to describe something that is anything but. Sugar-filled pastries that use veg oil instead of butter, a high-carb pasta dish with some vegetables thrown in, or something with a reduced number of eggs, etc. I always want to comment and be like, "what makes this healthy?" which of course would be incredibly rude, judgmental, and condescending. But all the same, it makes me think about what my definition of healthy is. I'm still in the process of defining it. But what does a "healthy" diet mean to you? Has your opinion of healthy foods changed? Do you have foods you eat now that used to be off-limits? I know I do. Fat used to terrify me. Meat used to be something I only seldom indulged in. It's just so interesting to experience such a marked shift in food perception. Tell me about how your perceptions have changed? What are some food myths you used to believe that you have now "unlearned"?

On to the recipe. Here it is in its original form. The post is actually a good read because the commenters get into a discussion about gluten-free as a fad or food trend. A lot of folks on the thread start getting pretty preachy and judgy, talking about their opinions on whether it is truly a fad or not, making some assumptions and generalizations, and so on. I am not about to chime in over there- but will say that while I do believe that gluten-free is becoming something of a more popular choice, I don't think you can call it a trend, or that I am following a trend by adopting a grain-free, and thereby gluten-free lifestyle. There are some theories that I wholeheartedly believe to be true. I believe that for many many people, maybe even all people, gluten is a toxin. I believe that over time, many people will probably develop an intolerance to it, depending on how much of it you consume and what your genetic predispositions are. I believe that the effects of your intolerance will aggregate over time and eventually it becomes systemic. I believe that the ways it shows itself outwardly can be hard to pinpoint. Maybe its GI issues, maybe its migraines, rashes, erratic blood sugar, and so on. I believe that due to genetically modified crops in the US, that the amount of gluten in our grains has skyrocketed, which contributes to the huge rise in celiac disease we are seeing. European countries that have been eating grain-filled diets for much longer than us have even higher rates of celiac disease- take a look at Italy, and Denmark, for example. But they are theories, and they are my beliefs, not fact necessarily, and even if they were, we are all entitled to think whatever we want. I just hope we can refrain from looking down on people who don't share the same belief system as ourselves, and that goes for all things, not just food!

I got off on a tangent. It just irks me when people make sweeping generalizations. So to end on a lighter note this holiday weekend, make these. I made them with sugar-free chocolate chips and grapeseed oil (does anyone else's coconut oil smell/taste kind of spoiled? I think from now on I'm going to use refined coconut oil.) making them 100% sugar free. I also decided to round out my sugar free baking with a few new ingredients, xylitol, erythritol, and some sugar-free vanilla syrup which I'll occasionally use in recipes that call for agave. I already used it in a sugar-free, grain-free biscotti (recipe below), and some yummy protein-packed strawberry pancakes. Recipes coming soon! The xylitol I'm a little nervous about, but the reviews on amazon and iherb make it sound like the greatest thing since sliced (grain-free) bread!

Sugar-Free, Grain-Free, Vegan Walnut Apricot Biscotti

1 1/4 cups almond flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup sugar-free vanilla syrup, or your liquid sweetener of choice
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup (or more) chopped apricot
1 tbsp arrowroot (or 1 1/2 tbsp corn starch if it doesn't bother you, but check to make sure it's gluten free)

In your cuisi, pulse almond flour, salt, and baking soda just a few times, then add in your syrup. Process until it forms a ball. Depending on what liquid you use, it may be wetter or drier. Transfer to a bowl and add in your nuts and fruit. Form into a big ovally looking log on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Take it out and let it cool for at least 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 300 and cut log on diagonal into strips. Bake for another 20 minutes or so until it's browned and starting to crisp up. Et voila! Yummy sugar free biscotti!

Thai Shrimp and Snowpeas

2011-12-23T07:54:00.000-06:00

Are you an "eyeballer?" Or do you measure everything meticulously? Do you read the directions on a recipe before you start or do you just jump in without preparing? Yeah. I am both an eyeballer and a jumper. I rarely measure when cooking and never read through the directions fully. That's what I love about cooking as opposed to baking. I can get away with both.

I had pinned a shrimp recipe awhile back and after finally picking up some Thai Red Curry Paste last weekend I was ready to give it a shot. I am not going to post a recipe because it was so dang easy. Takes 10 minutes to prepare.

Thai Shrimp and Snowpeas- Saute four sliced scallions in a little oil and add some minced garlic and salt, let cook for a few minutes. Then add a tbsp of thai red curry paste and cook for another minute. Add your shrimp and cook for three minutes. Pour in coconut milk, between half and one cup, and a few liberal dashes of fish sauce. Stir and cook for a minute, then throw in your snowpeas. Cook until veg are heated through and shrimp is done. Super easy, super fast. M and I ate ours with chili garlic sauce to give it some heat, but S scarfed hers down happily without it.

I need to get some recipes together for this weekend. We aren't all that into hannukah and we have no family in town so this weekend is going to be long and pretty uneventful. Lots of cooking, hanging out, and family time, just the three of us. I'm just kind of sick of baked goods. Sick of almond flour, coconut flour, flour in general. Maybe it's time to play with my ice cream maker again.

I hope you all have wonderful, fun, and happy plans for this holiday weekend and for New Years as well. However you spend your time, and whoever it's with, may it be pleasant, joyful, healthy, and happy. Much love to you all and your grain-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, whatever-free families! XoXo GFG

No Sugar, Grain-Free Flour-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

2011-12-22T07:33:00.000-06:00

I am having a slight sugar issue. Everywhere I turn there are sugary treats, candy, and chocolate, and it's slowly making me crazy! Cookies and pastries and snacks I don't have much trouble ignoring, but chocolate, that is my weak spot. I have the hardest time turning down chocolate. And I always find myself justifying it in some way. I've had enough though! I need to cut it out NOW. It's making me feel tired, sluggish, and gross. I really need to amp up my protein and fat intake and cut out the crap. Well, crap to me anyways. That leads me to my next point. The blogosphere is swimming with posts about sugar substitutes, sugar swaps, unrefined this and refined that, maple syrup vs. honey vs. molasses vs. sorghum, you name it. And people get into crazy heated arguments. Stevia is a natural zero calorie sweetener! No it's POISON! Splenda gives you cancer and is made of Chlorine! Agave will shut down your pancreas! Ahhhhhhhhh! It's really insane. I personally used to bake with splenda and quite liked the taste, but have since moved on to stevia, which I'll admit, can taste bitter and have a strange aftertaste. I haven't tried erythritol, not because I have some moral opposition to it, but because it really only works in wet applications and that just seems like a pain to me. And then the other natural sweeteners, no matter their glycemic load whether its coconut sugar or date syrup, agave or honey, I just won't do. It's still sugar, and I'm still not interested. I felt like making something completely free of any added sugar or sugar substitutes today. The result was a somewhat cakey cookie and very very subtly sweet, barely a hint of sweet at all actually, and if I hadn't been having so much chocolate lately I probably would have appreciated it much more.

I don't eat bananas anymore but I still hoard them for baking. A nice brown banana is like gold to me. If for no other reason than I love to make banana bread as hostess gifts. So today, while contemplating how much stevia I'd need for these PB cookies, I decided, what the hell, lets try it with just a banana.

No Sugar, Grain-Free Flour-Free Peanut Butter Banana Cookies
1 cup all natural PB preferably unsalted, or try Sunbutter if PB is a problem
1 egg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
sprinkle of cinnamon
1 overripe banana, mashed

Combine mashed banana with egg and vanilla, then stir in PB, cinnamon, and baking soda. Drop by the teaspoon-full onto parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350 for 20min or until browned. Usually these recipes call for 1 cup of sugar instead of a banana, which in turn yields a much drier, more crumbly cookie. I would have definitely preferred a crunchy crumbly cookie but using a cup of stevia in the raw would have been disgusting and there really is nothing like real white sugar for getting that chewy but still crumbly texture. If you want a very subtly sweet cookie and like PB and banana together this will be a really nice treat to have around. Best of all, it's got folate, potassium, protein, and good fats. I could give one to S with breakfast and not feel guilty about it. Is it the best cookie ever? No. Will it satisfy your after-dinner snack-tooth? Yes. And maybe it will help me pass up a piece of sugar-laden chocolate too.

How do you feel about sugar substitutes? Do you use them? I've read that using erythritol and stevia together is a good combo. Have you baked with agave? Coconut crystals, or nectar? I'd love to hear what you guys use, what you like, what you don't like. It seems that different brands of stevia can taste totally different too. I've heard NuNaturals is good, and then there are those that like Truvia, and others still who say it's the devil. People get really nutty about sugar.

No Recipe Recipe for a Protein Packed Yogurt Dessert

2011-12-20T09:24:00.005-06:00

Kalyns Kitchen is a great blog for anyone following South Beach Diet or Atkins or whatever, which in some ways can be closely related to the GFG diet. She has tons of low carb dishes. One recipe caught my eye last week and I was excited to give it a try. MKG isn't the biggest fan of chocolate and sometimes I get tired of baked goods. He loves fruity desserts and this looked simple enough. I am not even going to bother with a recipe, it would be too ridiculous. Go to Kalyn's blog and check it out if you need to!

This dessert is so easy, S could probably do it. And packed with protein.

Here are instructions for this Protein-Packed Yogurt Fruit Pie.

Combine two small packages of sugar free lemon jello with one 32 oz container of 0% fat plain Greek yogurt. Zest one lemon and add zest to bowl. Stir well to incorporate everything. Microwave for about 90 seconds, and then stir. Microwave another minute or two, and stir again. Pour the heated mixture into a greased pie dish and let set for about 4 hours. Before serving, top with sliced berries. How easy is that? And so yummy. This is a dessert you really do not need to feel guilty about. Kalyn suggests serving with whipped cream or topping, but honestly, why bother? It's awesome just like this!

Edited: I've also done this with strawberry SF jello and a container of ricotta- has a cheesecake-ish texture to it!

(Cheese)Burger Soup

2011-12-19T16:23:00.000-06:00

Pinterest is truly the best invention of 2011. Well, who knows when it actually rolled out but I discovered it in 2011 and am eternally grateful. I just love the darn thing so much. Scrolling through my favorite categories and boards is always an inspiration. I see recipes I want to try, tricks for the home, products I'm interested in, articles, books, you name it. So this soup recipe was inspired by Pinterest as well. As usual, I see a recipe, like the premise, but end up changing most of the ingredients. Same goes for my (Cheese)Burger Soup. Weird name, great taste!

(Cheese)Burger Soup (serves at least 8)
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 32 oz carton reduced sodium beef broth
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
2 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 package ground meat, lean turkey or beef (about 1 1/2 lbs)
1 cup of grated sharp cheddar
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
3 or 4 large carrots, chopped
1 tbsp celery salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
seasoned salt, salt, and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot, brown your onions in a bit of EVOO. Add ground meat and brown the meat. Pour off your fat once the meat is browned. Add celery and carrots and sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook for 7 minutes or so. Then add broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and season generously. Since your broth is reduced sodium you'll definitely need to season the soup up. I didn't want to overspice it but some cayenne or a dash of red pepper flakes would be awesome. The longer you cook this the better but 45 minutes is really the minimum. Before serving, reheat and then add your rinsed and drained beans. This will of course be better on day two! Sprinkle the top with cheddar to make it a cheeseburger soup! Yum!! S had a bowl, and then M and I each had quite a bit, and there was still more to fill two containers. Enjoy!

Grain-Free PIZZA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-12-15T07:56:00.002-06:00

Is there anyone alive that doesn't like pizza? I'll admit, even before adopting the GFG-lifestyle, I stayed away from pizza because it was just one of those off-limit foods to me, but oh man, I sure liked it! I'm a Chicagoan so a nice slice of deep dish pizza will always make me salivate. Lou Malnati's, you know what's going on.
So, ok, my pizza above may not look like the aforementioned Lou's pizza, but I'm telling you, it is a very very good approximation of some seriously good thin-crust. MAKE THIS PIZZA ASAP PEOPLE! It is crazy good. There are lots of grain-free pizza crust recipes floating around the interwebs. And plenty more of gluten-free crusts. You need to buy several different flours, combine them in the right amounts, knead them, add this and that, proof 'em, etc. Not this recipe. Even better, this is a great way to "hide" veggies. The crust is cauliflower. No kidding. It does NOT taste like cauliflower either, yummy as it that little white veggie is, if you didn't make it yourself you would have no clue it was cauli. Try it. You will LOVE it. Promise! And google this recipe, you'll see there are quite a few variations. I think my technique proved superior, but the ingredients are all roughly the same.

Grain-Free Cauliflower Crust Pizza (Gluten-Free, of course!)

1 head of cauliflower
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp minced garlic
1 can of pizza sauce, like Muir Glen organic
1 bag of part-skim mozzarella
toppings, like turkey pepperoni, sauteed mushrooms or spinach, tomatoes, olives, green peppers, whatever!!!

Preheat your oven to 450 and spray two cookie sheets with non-stick spray. Cut your head of cauli into florets and throw them in the cuisi. You will probably need to do this in two batches. Pulse the cauli until it's at the "rice" stage and transfer to a glass microwave safe bowl. Microwave the cauliflower for 10 minutes or so. You want to cook out some of the moisture and get the little grains a bit drier so your crust isn't watery. Don't skip this step! You'll probably have about three cups of cauli rice at this point. If you use all three cups of it, you can probably make 9 individual pizzas, 2 per person. Depending on how many you're feeding, make all 9, or save the third cup for another time. I sauteed one cup and will give it to S for lunch.

With the other two cups, I added a tsp of garlic, 2 tsp salt, 2 tsp oregano, and 2 eggs. Mix thoroughly. Using a large spoon, drop even amounts of the wet crust onto your cookie sheet. (Warning- do not used a parchment-lined baking sheet unless you want to start a fire in your oven... yeah...) This made 6 individual pizzas for me, three per sheet. Spread the crust out evenly using the spoon and try to get it as flat and thin as you can. Bake the crusts for 25-30 minutes until the edges are crisp and the whole pizza is brown. Other recipes tell you to make one big pizza, which leaves the centers underdone and soggy. This technique works muuuch better. While the crusts are baking, sautee up some veggies or chicken or whatever toppings you want. Once the crusts are nice and browned, pull 'em out and set the oven to broil. Spread pizza sauce onto the crusts, then top with about a 1/4 cup of cheese, and your preferred toppings. Get creative and try funky combinations, like goat cheese and thyme, feta and red peppers! Or stick to the basics like pepperoni. Put your baking sheets into the broiling hot oven for just a couple minutes, until the cheese is melted. That's it!

Don't worry if your edges are burnt, that's ok! It'll be great, and that way you know the bottom is well-cooked. You CAN pick these up and eat them like a regular old slice of pizza! If you choose to make one large crust, I don't think you can.

I promise, these do not taste like cauliflower. It tastes like pizza. Maybe a floppy pizza, but a damn good floppy pizza. And instead of a bunch of starchy gluten filled carbs, you're eating veggies! Yeah buddy! Great recipe for those tough to please toddlers.

I have to say, this is one of those recipes that has really gotten me excited! Every once in awhile you make something that just totally blows you away, and this is one of those recipes. Please give it a try! You'll be so glad you did!

Totally on a different subject, last month I mentioned I was going through a rough patch. The last six weeks have been pretty trying. I don't want to bore anyone with the deets, it was work related, and I'll leave it at that. But I am so so so so so pleased that things are really looking up. I am so grateful to this goofy little blog of mine for giving me purpose, giving me a positive outlet, and giving me something to do that was rewarding for me and always makes me smile. Some days, when everything is going wrong and you feel like a failure, at the very least I know I can get in the kitchen and create something healthy, wholesome, and GFG-approved that I can be proud of. If nothing else, I know that is one thing I am good at. Sharing that with whoever is out there is a privilege and a joy.

In my little fantasy-world I've concocted, I have a small nutritional empire comprised of a brick-and-mortar store selling all manner of goods for all of us on special diets, whether its a diabetic diet, grain-free, primal/paleo, gluten-free, SCD, GAPS, anti-candida, etc, where you can get quality ingredients at a fair price (can you believe what they charge for "gluten" free products in that sad little gluten-free aisle at the grocery-store? UGH!) maybe some cooking classes for the newly initiated, and nutritional counseling from holistic nutritionists, that can shop with you, cook with you, clean out your pantry if needed, and just work with you on your new lifestyle. Maybe this blog is the first step in my little fantasy, maybe not, but it's fun to dream, right?

Do you have any business ideas you'd love to make happen? However goofy our outlandish? What are they? Any tips for a risk-averse wannabe entrepreneur like myself?

Thanks for reading, and thanks for eating! XoXoGFG

Easy Grain-Free, Sugar-Free Strawberry Cream Cheese Bars

2011-12-14T09:28:00.002-06:00

A jar of sugar free or no sugar added preserves or jam can be a big help if you need a quick dessert. So can some cream cheese, or neufchatel if you're so inclined. This entire recipe from start to finish took about 35 minutes, including bake time. Try it next time you're in a pinch! Best of all, you can jazz it up any way you like- different jams, dried fruit, chocolate, dried coconut, whatever! They remind of when I was little and those lucky days I'd get a strawberry and cream cheese sandwich, yum!!!!!!!!

Grain-Free, Sugar-Free Strawberry Cream Cheese Bars
1 jar no sugar added fruit preserves or jam. I mixed cherry and strawberry together so I could use up the cherry. Microwaved for one minute.
1 egg
1 1/2 cups almond flour
2 tsp oil
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 packets of sweetener, like Purevia or whatever you like (optional)
3 tbsp cream cheese, microwaved for 30 seconds or so

Line a 9x9 baking dish with parchment and preheat your oven to 350. In a bowl, mix your almond flour, baking soda, salt, and sweetener. Mix your oil and egg together, then add to almond flour mixture. Press your crust into the baking dish and push with your fingers until it's reached all the sides. Now pour your melted jam over the crust, and then your cream cheese, or neufchatel. Using a fork or spatula, spread the jam and cream cheese around until it covers the crust completely. This would be the time to add chopped nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, what have you. Bake for 25-30 minutes and then let cool for a few hours before serving.

Grain-Free, Sugar-Free Cranberry Orange Muffins

2011-12-13T09:37:00.004-06:00

We all know I regularly lament the lack of unsweetened dried cranberries in the markeplace. Sooner or later I'll just get a dehydrator and do it myself, but until then, there's always fresh, right? Well, wrong actually- aren't cranberries only in stores this time of year? Anyhow- I picked up a bag and figured whatever I didn't use could be frozen. Back in the day, when I was still on the SAD diet- I used to loooooooove S'bucks cranberry orange scones. Never mind they had like 500 calories and 3000 carbs. I felt like trying to recreate those flavors with this muffin. Next time I would add much more liquid, but the flavors were spot on. (Recipe amended for more liquid)
GF/SF Cranberry Orange Muffins
3/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/3 cup sweetener
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
zest of one orange
1/4 cup oil
1 cup buttermilk or soured nutmilk
1 cup fresh cranberries, chopped, and macerated in 1/4 cup of OJ and a packet of pure via/stevia
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Combine coconut flour, almond flour, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and baking soda, incorporate well. In a separate bowl, mix your oil, sweetener, egg, and vanilla. Add your buttermilk and stir, then add wet to dry. Add orange zest, then add cranberries and mix evenly. Pour into greased muffin tin and bake 35-40 minutes in a 350 degree oven. I sprinkled cinnamon over the tops of the muffins too.

Herbed Bacon and White Bean Soup

2011-12-12T09:30:00.003-06:00

Are you a Top Chef fan? Have you noticed how when a chef has either kinda crappy ingredients, not a lot of time, or is just a little stumped on what to make, they'll make soup? Soup is great for those situations. Maybe you don't have anything fresh, maybe you don't have much time or you don't want to dirty a bunch of pots and pans. Make the soup, let it sit for a few hours on or off the heat, and you're dunzo. This soup is a great example of that. On another note, if you do like Top Chef, how do you feel about Padma? I hate her. I don't often say I hate someone, and it's really not a habit of mine to throw that word around, but I hate her. She's awful, and makes my stomach turn. She practically ruins the show for me, and often does. Two weeks ago, the rodeo episode, when she rode in on a horse, I think I gagged audibly. She is just the worst. Sorry, moving on.

Herbed Bacon and White Bean Soup
4 or 5 strips of bacon (I used turkey but use whatever you prefer)
1 can rinsed and drained white beans/cannellini beans
1 carton of low sodium chicken broth
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
3 large carrots, chopped
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 bay leaf
3/4 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried sage
salt and pepper

Heat up your pot with just a touch of oil, and once it's hot, add chopped bacon. Cook until starting to crisp up, stirring frequently. Add your onion, pinch of salt, and cook for another few minutes or until onion is starting to brown. Then add garlic, celery, carrot, bay leaf, sage, rosemary, and another pinch of salt, and some pepper. Cook for about 7 minutes or so, until veggies are softening. Then throw in your beans, and cover with chicken broth. Cook for 45 minutes. The longer you let it sit, the better it will be. If desired, use immersion blender to make a creamy soup! Yum!

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cherry Double Almond Cookies

2011-12-11T17:12:00.000-06:00

It's really too bad that SF/GF cookies are usually so un-cookie like in appearance. They may taste amazing and have great texture to boot- but typically you just don't get that nice round spread to them, they don't seem to flatten out, puff up, or brown like you want them to, or like you imagine a proper cookie would. The "flours" are heavier and denser, and there is just no approximation for real sugar. But that's ok! Pretty they aren't, but yummy all the same. And you don't have to feel quite so bad for eating them!

I've baked with coconut flour quite a few times, and I make S coconut flour pancakes every Saturday, and I'm slowly figuring out how best to work with it. It is just so stinking good for you, has tons of fiber, protein, but wayyyyyyyy less fat and calories than almond flour. I won't lie, I've had some issues with the stuff. It can be alternatingly mealy, cakey, eggy, or spongey. Yuck yuck yuck and yuck. It needs tons of liquid. When you think you've added enough, add more. These coconut chocolate chip cookies came out really good. They are really more like little balls than cookies- I need to remember how little they spread and to press them down next time. But if you want a chocolate chip cookie and don't want to use almond flour- check these out. You'll be glad you did!

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten/Grain-Free)
1/4 cup coconut flour (room temp)
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, or coconut powder
1/4 cup sweetener, like stevia in the raw
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil (coconut, grapeseed, etc)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1/4 cup chocolate chips (I used 365 brand 72% dark chocolate chunks)
1/4 cup nuts (optional)

Preheat your oven to 375. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Mix your oil, eggs, sweetener, and vanilla together. Add coconut, coconut flour, salt, and combine, then adding in chocolate chips and nuts, if using. Don't overmix. If your batter is looking too dry, add some (nut)milk. Using a tbsp scoop, form balls and drop onto cookie sheet. For a more cookie-like appearance, press them down with your palm. They will not spread in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are starting to turn golden brown. To make this completely sugar-free, sub nuts/dried-fruit for chocolate chips, use SF chocolate chips, or create a SF chocolate ganache for dipping. Makes about 12 small cookies.

My Cherry Double Almond Cookies were a good excuse to use up some blanched slivered almonds I'd had for awhile. I don't really like almonds all that much and wasn't sure how to use them. The dried cherries are nice and plump and are totally unsweetened (oh how I wish I could find unsweetened cranberries!) so these are truly SF. MKG is in loooooooove with them! They are very crunchy and crumbly and while a bit messy, have a great cookie texture.

Cherry Double Almond Cookies(Gluten/Grain-Free, Sugar-Free, Vegan)
1 1/4 cups almond flour
1/4 cup sweetener
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup oil
2 tbsp (nut)milk
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup dried cherries

Preheat your oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment. In one bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, mix oil, sweetener, and vanilla. Add wet to dry. At this point, you'll most likely need to add some liquid. Try 2 tbsp of (nut)milk first and see how easily it comes together. The mixture will be crumbly, but you want to be able to form into a ball with your hands. Once it's reached the right consistency, add your cherries and nuts, or whatever fruit/nut combo you want! Bake for roughly 20 minutes or until golden brown.

If anyone has any tips for how to give your GF/SF cookies some spread, or some chew, like a regular cookie, let me know. I've noticed even Elana's cookies don't appear to be much different than mine. They certainly don't look like normal cookies. I'd love to hear your GF baking tips, suggestions, and thoughts! It's tricky isn't it? But pretty rewarding too!

Have a great night, XoXoGFG

Grain-Free Zucchini Pancakes (Latkes)

2011-12-10T11:48:00.002-06:00

Traditionally during Chanukah a dish called latkes are served, which are basically potato pancakes, to remind us of the miracle of a single container of oil, lasting the Maccabee clan 8 days around 165 BCE when Judaism was outlawed in Jerusalem. The latkes are fried in oil which stinks up your entire house for at least 8 days, again reminding you I guess of story of the Maccabees haha. Many cultures have potato pancakes and they basically taste like a big round fried tater tot- how could that be bad? But low-carb and GFG-friendly they are not! So behold my Zucchini Latkes- Jewish or not- these are delish and also a great way to get kids to eat zucchini.

Grain-Free/Gluten-Free Low-Carb Zucchini Pancakes (Latkes)
2 small zucchini, or one very large zucchini, grated and water squeezed out
1 egg
1/4 cup parmesan
2 tablespoons chickpea flour (besan)
1/4 tsp paprika
salt and pepper
1/4 tsp minced garlic
EVOO for pan

Using your shredder attachment for your food processor, shred your zucchini. Place in a large clean dishtowel and wring out as much water as possible. Place in large mixing bowl. Add to bowl one egg, salt and pepper, paprika, garlic, chickpea flour, and parmesan, and combine well. You want it to have a thick batter consistency and stick together well. If it's a bit watery, add a tsp more of your chickpea flour. In a hot frying pan, add a tablespoon of EVOO and drop using tablespoon scoops onto hot pan. You want the pan to be sizzling at this point. With a spatula, spread the pancakes out evenly. Flip after about 2 minutes, making sure each side is browned and crispy. Serve with sour cream, applesauce, or eat plain! They are really delish.

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Breast

2011-12-08T10:57:00.001-06:00

We all know how boring, bland, and dry plain boneless skinless chicken breast can be. Especially if it's been sitting in your freezer for awhile. But, it's nothing some bacon can't fix! Many recipes call for first pounding out your chicken, and rolling up some kind of elaborate stuffing into it- smoked gouda, swiss cheese, herbs, all kinds of things. By all means, if you have the extra time and ingredients, go for it. But if you're looking for a quick and budget friendly meal, this version is it!

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Breast (Serves 2)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, patted dry
1 tbsp mayo
2 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper
5-6 slices of bacon, depending on how big the breasts are

Preheat your oven to 365. In a foil lined baking dish, spray a little cooking spray to ensure nothing sticks. Mix mayo and dijon in a small bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Slather may mixture onto chicken breasts liberally. This will keep them moist and flavorful. On a clean surface, lay your bacon strips down horizontally, then put your chicken breast down over them perpendicular to the bacon. Wrap the strips around the chicken breast. You don't really need to put toothpicks through them to keep them in place, but if you want to, go ahead. Repeat for second chicken breast, or however many you're doing. Now, I would not recommend using turkey bacon, as there is really not enough fat for them to crisp up nicely, and you'll end up with something more like smoked turkey wrapped chicken, which is fine, but not really what we're going for. If that's all you have on hand, you could try brushing some EVOO or butter over the turkey bacon to help it crisp up in the oven. Bake chicken breasts for 30 minutes or until the bacon is starting to brown. Let it rest for a few minutes before slicing. Served with some kale chips and salad, this was Wednesday night's dinner in a flash. Best of all, clean up is easy- just remove the foil and you're done!

Bacon is sure getting ample time in the spotlight these days. I'd say we are experiencing full-on bacon fanaticism. Don't get me wrong, I love bacon, but people are really going all out nuts. One awesome result from the bacon craze is that people are really starting to seek out sustainably raised, organically fed heritage pigs, and going back to nose-to-tail eating. Utilizing every ounce of protein and fat from the animal humanly possible. And why not? If you have to kill an animal for food, do it with honor and respect for the animal, and use every bit of it you can.

What are your favorite bacon recipes? Bacon pancakes? Bacon chocolate-chip cookies? Bacon milkshakes? I just recently made some egg muffins with bacon too. Share your fave bacon recipes!
XoXoGFG

Crockpot Beef Stew

2011-12-06T11:51:00.001-06:00

I finally did it! Pulled out my ginormous crockpot I've had since one of my bridal showers over three years ago. I don't know why but I was always a little hesitant to use it. Maybe because it's such a beast. Takes up a lot of space on the counter that's for sure. Most beef stew recipes call for potatoes, which I left out. I think that with plenty of vegetables (throw them in frozen even) you'll have a hearty meal all the same. I made this recipe last Friday- but have had a not-so-fun stomach flu the past few days and eating/cooking has not been high up on my list of priorities. Anyways- I will definitely be trying out many more recipes in the crockpot as this turned out great. Just beware, if you've never used your crockpot before, don't assume the cooking time on the recipe will be true for your crockpot, and the size of the pot will also alter cooking speeds and how much liquid you need.

Crockpot Beef Stew (Serves 3)
1 1/2 lbs beef stew meat
1 can of tomato paste
2 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tsp rosemary
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp pepper
1 package sliced button mushrooms
2 cups baby carrots
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 cup beef broth, vegetable broth, or water
1/2 tsp minced garlic
add frozen veggies as desired, green beans, asparagus, spinach, etc.

If you have time, brown your stew meat first in a bit of oil with S&P. If you don't, no worries. Into your crockpot, toss your beef, veggies, balsamic vinegar, seasonings, tomato paste, and broth. Stir so tomato paste is well distributed. If adding frozen veg, add these last. Set your crockpot either to high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8, depending on how big your crockpot is, how old it is, etc. Super easy, and dinner done with almost no effort and NO DISHES! Yeah!

Parmesan Broiled Tilapia

2011-12-01T14:18:00.001-06:00

I'm pretty sure there was once a rule mandating that fish and cheese were not to be combined. Maybe some old school Italian rule. But paremsan and tilapia, or any mild white fish for that matter, go incredibly well together. And it couldn't be easier. Sprinkle some seasoned salt over your fish, heat up some EVOO in a pan, and cook 2 or 3 minutes per side, while your oven is preheating. This entree takes about 15 minutes top to prepare.

Parmesan Broiled Tilapia
2 large tilapia or white fish filets
2 tsp seasoned salt (I used Curt's from Door County WI but use whatever you like!)
2 1/2 tbsp shredded parm, freshly grated or pre-grated, though fresh is preferable
2 tsp EVOO

Set your oven to broil. While it's heating up, coat your fish on both sides with your seasoned salt. Pour EVOO into saute pan and cook fish 2 or 3 min per side depending on how thick your fish is. Transfer fish to a baking dish and sprinkle generously with parm, a sprinkle of black pepper would be great too. Place in broiler for 3-5 minutes or until parm is starting to brown and bubble. So delicious! With a big helping of lemony asparagus, dinner is dunzo in minutes!

I actually like to buy frozen fish from Trader Joe's so I always have a healthy and super easy protein ready to go. What's your favorite way to cook frozen fish? I get sick of salmon pretty easily and am always looking for a nice flaky, mild white fish. Let me know your favorite way to cook fish, and what your favorite kind of fish is!

Bitter Chocolate, Cherry, and Sea Salt Coconut Bars

2011-11-30T15:27:00.002-06:00

I am always looking for ways to incorporate more coconut into my diet. I love the almost instant metabolism boost I seem to get from it and all those awesome medium-chain saturated fats. Plus, I can get huge bags of unsweetened coconut powder (really just shredded coconut but a bit finer) at the Indian market for next to nothing. I was a little skeptical about how these coconut bars would turn out, I had intended for them to be cookies but the mixture was so dry I decided to go for a bar instead. What a happy accident it turned out to be! With only a few ingredients and totally ridiculously yummy, you have got to get in the kitchen and try these out asap!

Bitter Chocolate, Dried Cherry, and Sea Salt Coconut Bars
2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
1 whole egg and 1 egg white
1/4 cup sweetener, like Stevia in the Raw
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup dried unsweetened cherries
1/3 cup unsweetened chocolate chunks, or dark chocolate chunks if you can tolerate a little sugar, or sugar free chocolate chips if you can find them
Optional- 1/3 cup white chocolate chips if you can have a little sugar, chopped pecans or walnuts, or other dried fruit
Sea Salt, for finishing

Preheat your oven to 350. Grease a 9x9 pan. In a large bowl, combine coconut, egg, vanilla, oil, and sweetener and mix well. Add in cherries and chocolate and whatever else you're using. Transfer to 9x9 and press down firmly to distribute in an even layer. The mixture will be on the drier side but that's ok- the egg will pull it together. Sprinkle sea salt over the top and bake for 25 minutes or so or until the top is golden brown. Another idea would be to spread sugar free preserves over the top. These bars easily fulfill all my requirements for the perfect homemade dessert. One bowl, a handful of ingredients, hardly any clean-up, and soooooo yummy. Do not omit the sea salt- that clean salty taste you get when you first bite into it is the best part! I personally used 72% dark chocolate chunks but if you want to go sugar free all the way- use chopped unsweetened chocolate or sugar free chocolate chips, or even better, cocao nibs. Enjoy!!

How was your Thanksgiving?

2011-11-29T17:18:00.000-06:00

GFG just got back from Chi-town yesterday and barely made it to the g-store so no new recipes for now- but I'd love to hear how YOUR holiday was! Any fun new recipes to share? Healthy eating strategies you tested out? We all like to indulge over the holidays and I am certainly no exception. I had so much fun visiting with old friends, family, and watching S gobble up all the new and different foods she encountered. We didn't end up having much time to shop but kept busy with lots of activities and exercise. I also got to try uber-trendy restaurant The Publican for brunch on Sunday which was a rare treat. They are huge into the nose-to-tail movement which I wholeheartedly applaud. If you're around the West Loop, Greek Town, or find yourself in Fulton Market, check it out! You won't be disappointed.

While Thanksgiving has always been my fave holiday and by far, IMO, has the best food, the highlight of my trip was definitely all my adventures with S. The Kohl's Children's Museum in Glenview, cabbage soup at The Bagel, visiting her namesake at the cemetery, running around Old Orchard, and meeting up with my best friend HJP to play at the park. I hope you all had an awesome Thanksgiving! I have pinned about a thousand recipes over the past week or so, and have a lot to do in the kitchen! Have a great night, XoXoGFG

Sweet Potato Pie and Two No-Recipe Recipes (Cauliflower Puree and another yummy steak marinade)- Plus tips for navigating the holiday dinner table

2011-11-20T15:48:00.001-06:00

The blogosphere abounds with pumpkin pie recipes right now- vegan ones, paleo ones, low-carb, high-carb, no sugar, unrefined sugar, you name it. I wanted to make one myself but have also had some organic sweet potato puree in my pantry for some time, thinking maybe I'd give it to S one day in a pinch, and I thought it was time to use it. So GFG Sweet Potato Pie was born!

No Sugar Sweet Potato Pie
2 1/2 cups nuts (I used a mixture of blanched almond, walnut, and pecan)
4 dates
2 tsp coconut oil
pinch of salt

1 can sweet potato puree
2 eggs
1 cup whole milk
40 drops vanilla creme stevia
1 1/2 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350. Pulse first 4 ingredients in a food processor until mixture is starting to come together but still crumbly. Press firmly into pie tin. You'll want to make sure you get the crust up the sides of the tin. Bake for 15 minutes and remove from oven. While crust is baking, beat eggs in a bowl and add milk, and stevia. In separate bowl, mix puree, salt, and pumpkin pie spice until well incorporated, then add wet mixture and combine well. When crust is finished, pour filling into crust and bake for about 50 minutes or until the middle is just starting to set. Let cool for at least two hours before eating. If you're in the mood for a fall-ish dessert and are tired of pumpkin, this is a great alternative. I can't eat very much, as sweet potato is kind of a carb train-wreck, but it's great for a party and can be dressed up with pretty pecans, some coconut whipped cream, or regular whipped cream.

Another recipe making the rounds right now is mashed cauliflower. This time of year many of us have a hankering for mashed potatoes. I can't say I miss mashed potatoes too much, I miss french fries and potato chips much more, but if you want that creamy, buttery taste, this is an awesome option for you, and is incredibly easy. You really can't call it a recipe. Steam a whole head of cauliflower until very tender, then mash with whatever you have on hand. Pour in some whole milk and a tablespoon of butter, salt and pepper, and you're golden. Great for babies too!

We have become big fans of top round steak. Number 1, you can't get much cheaper, and #2, very very lean. You do need to marinate these suckers because they are pretty tough. My latest marinade consisted of:
1 1/2 tsp Vietnamese garlic chili paste
1/4 cup Worcestershire
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 green onions, chopped finely
1/2 tsp black pepper

After 4-6 hours marinating you'll have a very tender steak. All it needs is 4-5 minutes per side on the grill/stove top and you're dunzo.

With Thanksgiving only days away, I'm reminded of the usual weird mix of emotions it used to stir up. Excitement to see my family and go home, looking forward to all the yummy home-cooked dishes and annual "I'm thankful for..." game we played at the table, the craziness and utter chaos of my entire enormous, ridiculous, neurotic, and utterly insane Jewish family all at the same place at the same time, but also, trepidation and anxiety about the food, overeating and feeling gross, gaining weight, etc. Last thanksgiving I was nursing so didn't much care what I ate or how much because it hardly mattered, but in previous years it was always a minefield. I'm sure many of us still feel like that. In fact, any event where eating was the main attraction used to make me go a little nuts. Too many obstacles, too many opportunities to overindulge and then deal with the requisite guilt that surely followed. Ugh and that god-awful overstuffed feeling, ick!

Is this ringing any bells? Who else has felt like that? Have you found a way to deal with it? There is no right or wrong answer. I know that for me, I never ever have those anxious, fearful feelings anymore. Doesn't matter what the occasion or how many temptations there will be. I have finally found what works for me and can breathe easily in these situations now. Eliminating grains and sugar has literally saved my mind. Many people just don't get it. One of my friends in particular cannot get it through her head that I just don't eat grains, sugars, and starches. The idea is totally unfathomable and she thinks that I subsist on lettuce and chicken. And even though I eat more now than I ever have in the past, some people are convinced that I starve myself. A lot of people are just never going to understand. And that's fine, who cares! Here is how I navigate the shark-infested waters of an EATING EVENT.
-If necessary, do some preparation before-hand. I do it for S anyhow so it's no extra trouble. Do you need to bring any extra veggies? Dip? Cheese? Nuts?
-If possible, try to figure out what will be served to ensure there will be a couple options for you. If you truly have to avoid certain foods like wheat/dairy/gluten/soy/eggs or have blood sugar issues, perhaps a few minutes on the phone with the host would be best.
-Offer to bring a dish that you know will be a crowd-pleaser but is also appropriate for your diet. For instance, if you are helpless against dessert, bring your own GFG-approved delicacy to share.
-I prefer to arrive hungry so I can enjoy eating a nice big meal just like everyone else. I know a lot of people will conversely suggest you have a snack before arriving so you don't risk chowing down on a bunch of crap you shouldn't eat, but this is counter-intuitive to me. I want to feel like a normal person and I don't like drawing attention to my special diet. The fastest way to ensure people are hounding you about your diet, asking stupid questions, and making uninformed remarks, is to stick out like a sore thumb and nibble on celery all night while everyone else is indulging. So I prefer to go in with a big appetite and go in for seconds if I feel like it.
-The key to going in with a big appetite is creating a game plan once you see the spread. Thanksgiving is actually super easy if you're grain/gluten free or on a primal or modified primal diet. Duh, as much turkey as you want. There is usually a couple green veggies to choose from, you may have to eat around some of the accoutrements (fried onions, croutons etc) but for the most part, you should have some decent veggie options. Certainly squash and sweet potatoes aren't off limits (unless you've got glucose issues) and you may even get lucky and have some kind of salad available too. Usually there will also be nuts and cheese as hors d'oeuvres that you can load up on as well. That is quite a lot of food. So check out the spread, and visualize your plate from there. If you eat until you're satisfied, you'll have less temptation to "try" a bunch of sugary shit afterwards. And honestly, most of it you've had a million times before. It's not like this year's cheesecake would be mind-blowingly spectacular and unmissable.

Of course you cannot control how every single dish is prepared. The sweet potatoes may have brown sugar on them, the cranberry compote will have some sugar too. You cannot control these things. You are going to have to decide for yourself how important those indulgences are. I think you'll find that once you're accustomed to not eating sugar, that sugary foods you used to like don't taste the same anymore. Now, the sugar is overpowering and it's all you can taste, yuck. You might not care if you don't eat the sugary stuff. Or you might really miss it. So have a little. Will it kill you? Nope. It's up to you to decide. I know I used to loooooooooooove stuffing. I was a carb addict, and that was a biggie. Thinking about it now- ew. All those starches turning into glucose instantly- no thanks. But we all have to weigh the pros and cons and be accountable. All I can say is that you have free rein to load up on turkey and veggies to your heart's content. Do that, and you probably won't have room for anything else.

Tell me how you cope with the holidays and abundance of carby, stachy, sugary treats? What are your tricks? And by all means, put links to your recipes in the comments! Have a great holiday and enjoy! We all have much to be thankful for. XoXoGFG

No Sugar Creme Brulee Ice Cream

2011-11-14T14:52:00.001-06:00

Just because you no longer eat sugar doesn't mean you can't find a way to indulge every once in awhile- and I don't mean the odd piece of fruit here and there either. While real creme brulee at home is not something I'm too interested in- I was successful at making some awesome creme brulee flavored ice cream at home! If you have an ice cream maker- definitely give this a try.

Creme Brulee Ice Cream
6 egg yolks
4 cups whole milk
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
8-10 packets of stevia (I used purevia)
pinch of salt

Separate egg yolks in a mixing bowl and whisk with electric whisk/beater until the yolks are a light yellow color, will take a couple minutes or so. Empty contents of stevia packets into yolks and incorporate well. In a saucepan, heat up milk until it's just simmering, and remove. With a ladle, slowly and carefully pour milk into yolks, stirring continuously. Go really slow and take your time, this part is a bit tedious but better to go slowly than get scrambled eggs! Once all the milk has been added, pour mixture back into saucepan over med heat. You'll want to keep stirring and wait for the mixture to thicken, and coat the back of your spoon. It will start to resemble a custard. Once it has thickened, remove from heat and add cinnamon, pinch of salt, and vanilla. Stir to combine, and then strain to make sure there are no solids. Pour into a large bowl and refrigerate over night. The next day, prepare according to your ice cream makers instructions, and you'll have delish softserve creme brulee ice cream in about 25 minutes. If you'd like it to harden a bit more, place in freezer for about 2-3 hours. Overnight, it will harden quite a lot, so you'll need to leave it out on the counter for 30 minutes or so before eating. Enjoy!

No Sugar Turkey Sloppy Joes

2011-11-11T20:10:00.001-06:00

After realizing I had basically no ingredients to prepare any of the ground turkey recipes I googled, I decided to try my hand at sloppy joes. I might be the only person in America who has never actually had sloppy joes, but they've always looked pretty good. MKG has had plenty of sloppy joes and was slurping up the juice. S also enjoyed them. Once again, super easy and super fast. I even managed to make most of it one-armed, as S is teething pretty badly and wailed every time I put her down.

No Sugar Turkey Sloppy Joes
1, to 1 1/4 lbs ground turkey
1 cup ketchup (I used my homemade version but I hear WF has no sugar ketchup)
1 can diced tomatoes and juice
2 tbsp Worcestershire
3 tsp yellow mustard
2 tbsp raspberry balsamic vinegar
S&P to taste

Most Sloppy Joe recipes call for a few key ingredients. Ketchup/tomato sauce/paste, onion, and vinegar. Then there are varying degrees of sugar and/or barbecue sauce, or even grape jelly. I didn't want to use conventional ketchup and also did not want to use any sugar, so instead of regular vinegar, why not raspberry balsamic?! It worked out GREAT! I would definitely recommend it in place of sugar. If you have an onion, by all means, dice it up and brown it in your saute pan, then adding in the ground turkey. Once the turkey is browned (I poured some of the fat out, I don't like how the grease looks in the bowl!) add in your ketchup, diced tomatoes with juice, mustard, worst, balsamic, and salt and pepper. Make sure the seasonings are to your liking, and add more liquids if you desire. Then bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced and thickened. By now, we are so accustomed to breadless meals that we really don't miss buns at all, and happily, this is a great meal in a bowl. I threw in some spinach at the last minute to bulk it up a bit, or you could serve this over a bed of lettuce.

GFG has been having a tough couple of weeks. I am trying to roll with the punches and maintain good spirits and stay positive, and remind myself that things always have a way of working themselves out. I am a control freak though, and nothing scares me more than the unknown. I think of what's going to happen and obsess over how things are going to play out, creating endless scenarios in my head. I think too much. I've always been jealous of people who just are. There are just a few too many unknowns for this crazy-lady to handle right now, and I am having a difficult time managing. But then I think, gosh if my problems I'm having right now are the worst I'll ever have, then I have ZERO to complain about. Based on the fact that I actually am spending time writing about sloppy joes, I'd have to say I can't be doing too bad. I guess that's what I truly love about cooking and nutrition. How it can transcend a bad day, a bad week, a bad month, bad whatever. You can control the ingredients and cooking preparation and create something totally original and unique and be proud of it. Even better when it's good for you. That's pretty cool, and I feel a lot of gratitude that I found something I love that is so rewarding for me. I hope it's that way for you too! Have a great weekend, XoXoGFG

Ina-Inspired Chicken Piccata with Lemon and Wine Sauce

2011-11-11T08:01:00.001-06:00

As we all know, I love Ina Garten. I adore her. She seems like such a fun, sweet, happy person, and is usually no muss no fuss in the kitchen. She's not overly fancy and she seems to generally enjoy life. Although, with a life like hers, how could you not?! Her husband is only home on weekends, and the rest of the time she's entertaining her fabulous group of Hampton notables and a steady crew of her gays! Anyways- you'd be surprised how many of her recipes are paleo, or can easily be adapted to paleo. Vegan, not so much. The other day I pinned a chicken piccata recipe of hers and was excited to give it a try. Even though I was using frozen chicken breasts, it worked out great. Another win for Ina! I've had a half-full bottle of wine in the fridge for awhile and wanted to get some good use out of it- so decided to make the sauce too. Here is the original recipe. Don't let the fact that you need to pound the chicken first scare you. It takes all of two minutes and you don't need any special equipment. I used a heavy plastic cup.

Ina Inspired Chicken Piccata with Lemon Wine Sauce, Grain-Free
2 chicken breasts, dried very well, and pounded out so they're equally thick, about 1/4 inch
2 cups almond flour
1 tsp each sea salt and pepper
1 room temp egg, beaten
2 tbsp water
2 tsp EVOO or butter
If you have any fresh herbs they'd be great too
Juice of one lemon
3/4 cup wine

Make sure your chicken breasts are the same thickness and very dry. Beat your eggs with the 2 tbsp of water in a bowl. On a plate, combine almond flour with salt and pepper. Get another plate to put the chicken on once they're coated. Dunk your chicken into the beaten egg and then coat it well on both sides with almond flour. You'll want the chicken to be nice and crispy so don't be stingy with the coating! Place the coated chicken breast on the empty plate, and repeat with second breast. In a large skillet or saute pan, melt your butter or oil until it's sizzling. Put both pieces of chicken in the pan, you want to hear it sizzle immediately. Cook your chicken breasts 3 or 4 minutes per side, until the it's nice and browned, then flip. Once the chicken is finished, remove it so you can start the sauce. Add your white wine (something dry) and lemon juice, then put the rinds in too. Cook for a few minutes until it starts to thicken, then spoon over chicken breasts. This is an easy recipe that seems quite complicated and fancy, but it's not! And for those of us who miss fried chicken, this is very slightly reminiscent. A great choice for little mouths too because the chicken gets very tender from pounding. With a salad, this was dinner done in less than 20 minutes.

Tonight is Friday night, and we usually stay in and do shabbat. I have a bunch of frozen ground turkey. What to make???? Any fun new recipes with ground meat you've tried lately???

Happy Friday! And happy pinning! I am loving being able to pin all my fave food bloggers recipes I want to try. You can follow my pins at http://pinterest.com/gfg/. XoXoGFG!

2-Minute Grain-Free Coconut Cookies

2011-11-08T20:21:00.001-06:00

These cookies took all of 2 minutes to throw together, one bowl, and only a handful of ingredients. 20 minutes in the oven, and you're done. Try them!

2-Minute Grain-Free Coconut Cookies
2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut (I used powdered, but flakes will work too)
2 tbsp oil (grapeseed, coconut, whatever)
2 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
25 drops vanilla creme stevia, or use 1/4 tsp vanilla and 2 stevia packets

Beat room temp eggs, then add in oil, stevia, cinnamon, and salt. Once incorporated, add coconut in a little at a time until the mixture can be formed into balls easily. Using 1 tbsp scoop, drop onto parchment lined baking sheet. I sprinkled the tops of mine with extra cinnamon. 20 minutes later, you're done! Enjoy!

Curried Pumpkin Soup

2011-11-07T13:40:00.001-06:00

As I've said many times, GFG does NOT waste food! That extends to the squash assortment I purchased for a fall centerpiece! I had some sugar pumpkins lying around, and knowing they'd go bad soon, I figured- pumpkin soup! why not?! Even better, more crunchy salty pumpkin seeds!

First, you'll need to roast your pumpkins. The pumpkins should be the smaller pumpkin pie pumpkins, or sugar pumpkins, not the big carving ones. Cut a circle around the stem and then pull the stem out, then halve down the middle, and proceed to scoop out the stringy guts and seeds. The seed are awesome, don't throw them out! Once you've cleaned them out, place skin side down on a foil lined baking sheet, and preheat the oven to 350. Rub the insides with EVOO and sprinkle with sea salt. Roast for about 70-80 minutes or until a fork will pierce it easily. The soup is easy peasy from here.

Curried Pumpkin Soup
Flesh from two roasted pumpkins, or two cans of pumpkin puree
4 cups chicken stock
1 can light coconut milk
4 strips of turkey bacon (optional)
one small onion, diced
1 tsp minced garlic
Salt and Pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp garam masala

In a large pot, saute onions until yellow. Add in bacon (if using), garlic, and stir for another minute or so. Add seasonings, and stir for 2 or 3 more minutes. Now, add pumpkin, coconut milk, and chicken stock, and stir. Check your salt and pepper and adjust accordingly. I love salt and salty foods so I added quite a bit, and also quite a lot of pepper, because I like things spicy. My roast pumpkin was a bit on the bland side, so needed a lot of seasoning. At this point, bring to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes. Then, use your immersion blender to puree until it's nice and creamy, or pour into a blender if you don't have an immersion blender. Et voila! S ate a huge bowl of it, mixed with yogurt for some protein. Personally, I think some Curried Pumpkin and Bacon Soup would have been even better! So if you have some, dice it up and throw it in with the onion for even more depth of flavor. Yum!

Are you getting pumpkin'd out yet? I'm on the verge. But really, who can resist all that orange squashy goodness!? XoXoGFG

Salmon with Asian-Inspired Sauce, Snap Peas and Water Chestnuts

2011-11-05T12:34:00.002-05:00

This has been a pretty horrible week- not going to lie. I made these recipes I'm not sure what day, the whole week kind of runs together in my head. Some weeks are going to be like that though right? Good news is, I just went to an insanely hard Bar Method class, it was free as the studio has just opened up, and all that hard work released some major endorphins, so definitely feeling a little better now. What do you do when times are tough? Cooking is always therapeutic for me, but when I'm really upset, the thought of it irritates me!

I had some frozen salmon and snap peas and some water chestnuts that I wanted to use. On a recent epi of Barefoot Contessa, my fave, she made a super quick side dish with snap peas and water chestnut. And I had pinned an asian sauce preparation I was anxious to try. The meal was ready in about 15 minutes, super easy, and really yummy.

Salmon and Asian Inspired Sauce
2 large salmon fillets, grilled, broiled, or seared to preferred doneness
1 bag frozen snap peas
1 small can of water chestnuts
2 green onions, chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
3 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
3 tbsp soy sauce
4 tsp peanut butter
1 tsp sriracha
1/4 cup water

You'll need one saute pan and one small pot. In the saute pan, with a bit of oil, begin sauteing chopped green onions and garlic. After a few minutes, toss in snap peas. I was lazy and threw them in frozen. Let cook for a few minutes, then add 1 of the teaspoons of sesame oil. After 3 or 4 minutes, toss in drained water chestnuts. I wanted the veggies to brown, so I sauteed mine for quite awhile. In your pot, add 2 tsp remaining sesame oil, soy sauce, water, rice wine vinegar, sriracha (or vietnamese garlic chili paste) and peanut butter. Stir to incorporate, and bring to a low boil. Turn down to simmer for a few minutes, before pouring over salmon, and vegetables. So easy, and really delicious.

Fall has truly arrived, and it's time to get a few more visits to the park in before it's too cold. Fresh air and crisp leaves can cheer anyone up- so I'm off! Have a great weekend, XoXoGFG!

Spaghetti (Squash) and Meatballs, Apple Crumble Bars

2011-10-30T20:19:00.002-05:00

Living GF has its ups and downs. I would say, 98% ups. The 2% downs mostly are due to my regularly occurring baking disasters. Thursday night was the latest in a long string of these unfortunate wastes of perfectly good ingredients. At this point, I have tried at least 4 different grain-free brownie recipes and it seems, it really is not going to happen. I am done trying to create a yummy, chocolatey, fudgy brownie. My favorite dessert, ever. No matter what, it's either too dry, too cakey, too bland, too bitter, or too nutty tasting due to all the nutbutters. This final and last attempt involved using "date-paste" as the sweetener and needless to say, turned out horribly. I really am so upset about this. But cocoa powder alone cannot create the consistency I'm looking for and an almond flour brownie just sounds wrong. I had intended to bring said brownies over to our friends for dinner Friday night- and instead had to show up empty-handed, although that certainly was better than the alternative!

Anyways- I am happy to report that I redeemed myself today with two successful GFG approved creations.

Go get yourself a spaghetti squash and make this NOW! I have to say I never cared much for pasta but I absolutely love marinara, every single kind of it- so this was a great opportunity to use quite a bit. I was skeptical about the taste of squash and marinara together, and the texture too. I was soooooooo pleasantly surprised. This dish was incredibly easy and did not dissappoint in any way. Seriously- try it!

Spaghetti (Squash) and Meatballs
1 squash, halved lengthwise, seeded, and drizzled with EVOO and S&P
1 jar of your fave (homemade, store-bought, whatev) marinara
Prepared meatballs (click here for my Giada-inspired Meatballs)

Preheat oven to 350. On a foil lined baking sheet, place both halves of squash cut side up. Drizzle with olive oil and sea salt and pepper generously. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Once it's finished, let it sit for 10-20 minutes so it can cool enough to handle. Into a bowl, use a fork to scrape out all the "noodles." If you want, sprinkle with some parm, EVOO, more S&P. At this point, I dumped the warmed marinara and meatballs into the bowl and tossed everything together. These days, there are great frozen, pre-cooked turkey meatballs at the store. I got some from TJ's that I really liked, and they are a great quick protein for S. Dinner was a breeze. Of course, if you are planning on making meatballs anyways- why not make a double batch and freeze a bunch?! Same goes for sauce. It freezes great. If a nice big plate of pasta and sauce sounds good to you, seriously try this. It was hearty, filling, and a fun new take on spaghetti.

We had a few too many apples lying around so I decided to make a quick crumble. Thanks to my new convection oven I was able to roast the squash, bake the crumble, and roast pumpkin seeds at the same time. Awesome!!!!!!!!!!! The recipe for the crumble originated at Chocolate-Covered Katie. I changed it significantly and while I'm sure it pales in comparison to hers (which uses flour, brown sugar, and maple syrup) this version is really not bad at all! I also recently made an Apple and Cherry Crumble that was quite good too.

Apple Crumble Bars (Vegan, grain-free, sugar-free)
1 1/2 cups almond flour
2 tbsp nut milk
3 tbsp vegan butter, like earth balance
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup stevia in the raw
2 cups chopped apple
15 drops Vanilla Creme Stevia
3 tbsp Orange Juice

Grease a 4x7 baking dish or casserole. Combine flour, nut milk, cold vegan butter, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and stevia in a bowl. Spread 2/3 of the mixture on the bottom of the dish. In another bowl, toss apples with OJ (or just more nut milk) and Vanilla Creme Stevia. Pour apples into the dish and then sprinkle remaining crumble mixture over the apples. Bake 45-50 minutes until the top is golden. No question- the addition of brown sugar and maple syrup is going to have a superior "crumble" taste. The almond flour I can promise though, is a welcome addition. I personally never bake with sugar anymore so wouldn't even try it- but for those of you watching your sugars, this is a fabulous approximation! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend, and have a fantastic Halloween tomorrow! XoXoGFG

Spinach and Feta Salmon Patties

2011-10-27T08:35:00.001-05:00

I am a big fan of HEAB, especially her baby-friendly recipes, and recently she mentioned salmon balls or salmon dip that her baby really liked. This got me thinking of some ways to use this giant can of salmon I've had in the pantry for awhile. I also had half a block of feta in the fridge, leftover from feta egg muffins, and wanted to throw that in too. These salmon patties were super simple, and best of all, S scarfed it up. It was a great way to get a protein AND veggie in at the same time.

Spinach and Feta Salmon Patties
8-10 oz of frozen, thawed and drained chopped spinach
4-6 oz of feta, crumbled
1 14 oz can of salmon (if you get the kind with skin/bones like I did, you can leave it all in for added nutrients, although I tried to pick most of it out)
1 beaten egg
juice of one lemon
sea salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp mayo

Combine everything except the egg in a large bowl and make sure you have the seasonings right. Once it's to your liking, add in a beaten egg and combine. Form into patties about the size of your palm and place on foil/parchment lined baking sheet, and bake for 30-35 minutes at 375, or until the top is starting to brown. This made 6 patties for me- but may make more depending on how much spinach you use. Enjoy! XoXoGFG

Chicken Adobo and Kale Chips

2011-10-25T13:41:00.002-05:00

I am the latest convert to Kale Chips! I was soooo pleasantly surprised by the taste, texture, and ease of preparation. I'm looking forward to trying them again some time with nooch! This version of chicken adobo is probably an abomination of the traditional Philippine dish but it was easy and tasted great.

Kale Chips
1 bunch kale (I prefer curly) ripped/chopped into bite sized pieces
1 tbsp EVOO
salt and pepper to taste, garlic powder, onion salt, whatever spices you like

Preheat oven to 300. Place kale on baking sheet and pour EVOO over, then sprinkling spices. Coat kale evenly and bake for about 30-33 minutes. Start checking at 25 min or so and see how you're doing. You do not want these suckers to burn!

GFG's Chicken Adobo
4 pieces chicken, split breasts, thighs, etc
1 cup water
1 cup soy sauce (if you have gluten sensitivities make sure you are using gluten free!)
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar (or white wine)
cracked pepper
3 bay leaves
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 large onion, sliced

I marinated my chicken for a few hours in the fridge. Take them out 30 min before cooking to let them cook to room temp. Brown each piece of chicken in your skillet/dutch oven, about 4 min per side, and then pour marinade over and cover for about 20 minutes. To make life easier, I also through a bunch of frozen vegetables in the dutch oven. Use what you got! Simple and tangy!

Grain-Free, Sugar-Free Raspberry Cookie Bars!

2011-10-23T14:45:00.001-05:00

Totally switching gears- we had plans last night to go to dinner with two other couples and then head back to casa GFG for drinks/dessert. Yes GFG has a drink once in awhile and no it's not the end of the world, though I do usually regret it the next day. Oh well. Anyways- we had to schelp S along with us to dinner and we probably should have guessed how it was going to turn out. She is teething pretty bad and at this point we know better than to make her wait even a minute passed 6:30pm to eat dinner. Combine the two and it's a recipe for a meltdown. Soooooooooo MKG ended up taking her home while I stayed and hung out with our friends! Don't ask me how that ended up happening! Anyways- I wanted to have a few choices for dessert and made one regular dessert and one GFG-approved dessert.

Grain-Free, Sugar-Free Raspberry Cookie Bars
1 cup almond meal/flour
2 egg whites
2 tbsp butter
1 can coconut milk
10 drops vanilla creme stevia
3/4 cup raspberry just fruit spread (or strawberry, or whatever you have)
3/4 cup chopped pecans, or walnuts, or hazelnuts etc
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
3/4 cup chopped sugar free chocolate covered almonds (they sell these at TJ's)

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9x9 with parchment. Combine almond meal with egg whites and butter and then spread mixture evenly on parchment to make a very thin crust. Bake for 10-12 minutes until it starts to turn golden. While it's in the oven, pour your coconut milk into a pot and add stevia. Cook for 25-30 minutes until it's realllllly thick and condensed. Once you've removed the crust and let it cool for a minute, sprinkle coconut, chopped nuts, fruit spread, and chocolate covered almonds liberally. Pour condensed milk over toppings, then sprinkle a bit more coconut over the top. Bake for about 30 minutes. The cookie bars are killer! Really delicious with a thick cookie crust. I personally really liked the strange combo. This would be awesome too with apricot spread, dried cherries, and chopped almonds. If you are lucky enough to have sugar free choc chips on hand, throw those in too! Or some peanuts and blobs of PB. Go crazy!

Taking the First Steps to Better Nutrition

2011-10-23T14:20:00.001-05:00

So my best friend in the world since I was 3 YEARS OLD (!!!!!) also has some gluten intolerances and asked me yesterday,"how do you do it?"

There are a million sites out there that will, in excruciating detail, pinpoint every single product you should avoid when going gluten free. But that to me immediately gets you started off on the wrong foot. (Though it can be super helpful once you've really decided to go all out. Here is a helpful link once you're really ready. But if you aren't ready yet, this will only deflate you! So don't look yet in that case! http://www.balancedbites.com/PDFs/BalancedBites_Gluten.pdf) Your nutrition should not be about avoidance and denial. It's not about what you can't eat. It's about how eating certain foods can actually make you feel better, look better, and improve your overall mental and physical health, and focusing on mainly those foods. If your diet previously consisted of mostly carbs, it may be a difficult transition at first. I know it's hard to convince yourself that eating fat is ok, and even healthy! So, how do you do it?

As with anything else, this is mostly a mental, rather than physical hurdle. You have to mentally prepare yourself to completely reverse your way of eating and be ok with it. We have been told since birth to eat a high carb, low fat diet. Eliminating most carbs and incorporating fat into your diet is going to sound insane at first. So give yourself a few weeks to just think about it. Eat the same foods you've always eaten, and start paying special attention to how you feel after. If you eat a big starchy carby meal, think about how you look and feel after a few hours, the next day. If you eat a bunch of sugary snacks, ask yourself if you feel sleepy afterwards, and then almost instantly hungry and thirsty again shortly thereafter. Don't change anything, just evaluate what you eat and how it makes you feel. Sounds simple enough, but it's amazing how many of us simply ignore how the food we eat makes us feel, and the fact that there's a correlation at all. After you've done this for a few weeks, and given yourself a chance to realize that "hey this crap really is making me feel terrible," I bet you'll be able to start changing your diet pretty easily. But make changes before you're ready, and you risk giving up too soon.

So it's been a few weeks, and you've begun to realize maybe you could feel better, maybe the lethargy and bloat is pretty annoying, and you want to feel cleaner, leaner, and lighter. What should you do?
1. Drop packaged foods from your diet. Cookies, chips, crackers, snacks, bars, cereals, junk. Stop buying it. You'll save money that can be put towards quality produce and lean proteins. If you have a ton of junk in your kitchen, start getting rid of it. If you love snacks and treats, well you're in luck, because this blog as well as thousands of others have a trillion awesome recipes that are grain-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, you name it.

2. Start reading food labels, if you don't already. Don't just look at calories. How many grams of sugar does it have? Unfortunately labels don't distinguish between natural sugars (fructose in fruit, lactose in dairy) and added, but normally I shoot for 0 grams of added sugar. How many grams of protein does it have? How many carbs does it have? Are the carbs from dietary fiber, or sugar? One serving of protein is about 7 grams. Shoot for at least 45-50 grams of protein a day, if not more. That should really be the bare minimum. What is the first ingredient listed? Is it sugar? Wheat? Soy? Corn? Don't eat it! If you're going gluten free, you'll be surprised by just how many products contain wheat.

3. Think ahead with respect to meals. Don't leave it until the very last second, once you're starving, to get your meal together. At least in the beginning. You want your plate to be colorful, and consist of about half produce, half protein. Everyone says you should shop the grocery store perimeter, which is a good tip. But not always the most practical. Instead, my freezer is STOCKED with frozen veg/fruit. Like, overflowing. Nowadays frozen veg can be even fresher than what's in the produce section, owing to it being flash frozen right after harvesting. Don't shy away from it. A few seconds in the microwave and you're good to go. Meals don't need to be elaborate to be filling and satisfying. Yesterday I had an organic turkey hot dog with some melted cheese and some defrosted green beans with oil and S&P. Took all of 4 minutes. No big deal! With an apple after, you'll be set for three or four hours. Concentrate on splitting your plate in half. One half of the plate vegetables (or fruit, or some beans) and one half lean protein. Make as much as you can ahead of time too. Big pots of chicken chili, a batch of egg muffins, and a big container of cooked lentils will get you through the week. Canned chickpeas and cannellini beans are my best friends, and so is tuna packed in olive oil, light string cheese, yogurt, hummus, turkey bacon, and eggs. A couple minutes of planning can translate to multiple meals/snacks that are ready almost immediately. And that is the key to staying on track and not snacking mindlessly on crap. The freezer section at TJ's is my mecca. Frozen pre-cooked turkey meatballs, every frozen veg imaginable, fruit for protein smoothies, cheap frozen fish, honestly- there's not too much else you need!

4. Get used to spending some time in the kitchen, especially to do a little prep-work to save yourself time later. I happen to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, but that's because I enjoy it. If you don't, no big deal. If you have a free hour just one day a week, get in the kitchen and try roasting a whole chicken to eat all week. (Don't want to? Costco has big roasted chickens for $4.99.) Save the bones for stock later on. Make a batch of lentils, bake some egg muffins, make some chili or stew, or even roast a ton of vegetables. When you're strapped for time all week or tired at the end of the day, and have a couple different options ready to go, you'll feel like a million bucks. Other awesome alternatives are bagged salads (I know I know they're not ideal) that you can quickly add some roasted red peppers, capers, olives, and carrots to, all from the fridge. Whatever you do, just try to take a little bit of time in the beginning of the week to do some planning. You'll be glad you did.

5. Try to change your perception of what a "meal" is. A meal can look like many things. It might be a green apple with peanut butter and some carrots. It might be cottage cheese and berries with a salad. Turkey and sliced cheese rolled up and sweet potato. Whatever! It's not weird. Your taste buds are going to change, and so will your cravings. Sunflower and pumpkin seeds and some spinach with lemon juice? A protein shake with blackberries and coconut milk? Food doesn't need to come out of a package or look "normal" to be good. And keep in mind "normal" is why most people are sick, and fat. If you can honestly look at a burger and fries or a bowl of sugary cereal and tell me that looks better, then take a minute to reflect on why you're even reading this I guess!

6. Understand that the quantity of food you might want is going to change. Do not feel guilty making a huge salad and eating the whole thing. They say a serving of chicken/meat is about 4 ounces. Um, no way. Try twice that, at least. Not sure what to have for dinner? There are nights I throw an entire bag of frozen veggies in a saute pan and have the whole thing. And don't be afraid of fat. Use some olive oil, enjoy egg yolks, have a little butter, cook with whole milk, eat some nuts or coconut butter and relax knowing you're going to be full and satisfied for awhile. The only thing I'd watch out for is how much fruit you eat. Better to treat fruit as a dessert or treat for the end of a meal. But if you have a snack attack, certainly an apple or bunch of grapes is better than pretzels or chips.

To me, these things aren't a big deal. I have a family so even if I didn't want to think ahead for myself, I'd have to so I could feed M and S for the week. That makes it easier for sure. But there's no getting around it. Changing your nutrition and your life takes some effort and takes some thought. You simply cannot grab a granola bar, a sugary drink from starbucks, a muffin, or a sandwich anymore. You need to give yourself a few minutes in the morning to plan out your day, and leave as little to chance as possible. Once you have fully realized that the way you're eating is detrimental to your health, and you've decided that it's time to start feeling better, that's when you're ready to start making these changes. Until then, don't even bother! If you are still lamenting all the foods you'd have to give up, or how it might change your social life, you're probably not ready. And that's ok. You'll come around when the time is right. Until then, even making a few small changes can do a world of good. Try having a handful of nuts instead of a bag of chips, or an orange instead of a sweet. It makes a difference, and it adds up over time. Most of all, cut yourself some slack, and don't beat yourself up. There's no perfect diet and no one right way to do something. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. Do the best you can most of the time and you'll be in great shape. XoXoGFG

Egg Muffins and Grain-Free Choc. Chip Blondies

2011-10-17T10:58:00.002-05:00

Whew! Whirlwind weekend for us! Because we had so much going on I feel like I barely got to spend any time with S. She is really walking up a storm and much more comfortable on two feet. Still crawling quite a bit but it's clear she prefers standing to sitting.

Since we are still on two naps I did have some spare time yesterday to try a few things I'd had in mind. If you're familiar with Kalyn's Kitchen you've no doubt seen her Egg Muffins. She is big into the South Beach Diet so she created egg muffins as a quick, easy, make-ahead breakfast or snack. It is so simple that no recipe is needed. I sprayed a muffin pan with non-stick spray and then sprinkled some colby jack and sliced green onions into each cup. In a large bowl I cracked 12 eggs and then mixed in 2 tsp of seasoned salt, use whatever brand you like. Mix the eggs up really well or else you'll have gross streaks of egg white in the muffins. Pour egg mixture into each cup about 3/4 of the way and bake at 375 for about 35 minutes. Mine puffed up considerably, but then fell when I took them out of the oven. They aren't that pretty but they are delish, and make a great lunch for S too. I let them cool for a bit before putting them in a ziploc bag. Take a peek at Kalyn's website and check out all her variations. You can put any veg/meat/cheese you like in them! Bacon, tomatoes, cheddar, broccoli, whatev! Herbs would be great too.

Edited: I've now been making egg muffins once a week for a few months and have some new input. First- get yourself some silicone muffin cups, makes clean-up much easier. Second, I no longer crack a bunch of eggs into a bowl and mix everything up. I just put whatever add-ins (cheese, green onions, mushrooms, bacon etc) into the little silicone cup, which is inside the muffin tin, and then crack an egg into the cup. Way easier, and more fun to eat I think. Sprinkle some S&P over the top and bake.

I think we all go through different phases of what we're in the mood for. For awhile, I couldn't get enough of the raw bites with dates and walnuts. Thinking about it now, ew. Then it was freezer fudge. Then coconut flour breads. Now I'm on to blondies. These came out AWESOME!

Grain-Free Blondies
1 3/4 cup almond flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon (you know me and cinnamon!)
1 egg
1/4 cup oil (grapeseed, coconut, melted vegan butter etc)
35 drops of Vanilla Creme Stevia
1/4 cup nutmilk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk) and perhaps another tbsp or two depending on how wet your mixture is
1/2 to 3/4 cup choc. chips (or chopped walnuts, dried fruit, whatever!)

Preheat oven to 350 and line an 8x8 with parchment. Mix flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda together. In a separate bowl, beat egg and add in oil, nutmilk, and stevia. This does not make a sweet blondie so if you want it really sweet add a bit more stevia. Pour wet over dry and incorporate, then adding in choc. chips or nuts. I used semi-sweet choc chips from TJ's and I realize this makes the recipe not totally sugar-free. If you wanted to make it totally sugar free then use nuts, or leave out the choc. chips altogether. If you realllllllllllly want some chocolate, I'll post my suggestion below. Once the mixture is well-combined, pour into your 8x8 and spread out evenly. Bake 35 minutes or so or until the top is starting to turn golden. You want to underbake these a bit so they stay chewy!

So- I have given this a lot of thought. After scouring the internet and g-stores and coming up empty-handed, I have a few chocolate options for those of us who want to stay 100% sugar free. The first option of course would be to just chop up some unsweetened baking chocolate. There is also malitol-sweetened choc bars at TJ's that aren't bad, but they do have a somewhat grainy consistency. If you don't have any of those- try this. Melt two squares of baking chocolate in the microwave with some cream, milk, or coconut milk. Add in your sugar substitute slowly and to taste, depending on how sweet you want it. This will create a quasi-ganache. After you've baked the blondie, you can pour the ganache over the top so they'll have a chocolate coating. Or you could cut up into individual bars and dip the whole thing in the ganache! Not bad right? I have made this ganache a few times and it's pretty good- just beware that it will be slightly gritty as nothing dissolves in chocolate quite like sugar.

What did you guys make over the weekend? I'd love to take a peek! Put links in the comments so we can all look! XoXoGFG

A Post on Supplements

2011-10-13T17:34:00.000-05:00

Today's post doesn't have a recipe because honestly, last night's dinner wasn't that great- it wasn't inedible or anything but just not anything worth writing home about. I made tilapia that was way too spicy for MKG and S and a meh salad. It happens. My post today is about supplements/vitamins. There seem to be two distinct camps. The "I get all my vitamins from my varied diet" and then the folks who feel they could always use a little more. It doesn't help that there really are no clearcut daily amounts that we should all be getting. We know the bare minimums we should get to avoid different illnesses and deficiencies (iron for anemia, vitamin c for scurvy, etc) but what are optimal amounts of each vitamin? To make it even more confusing, most likely we all need differing amounts depending on genetics, where we live, what health issues we have, and so on.

I have started taking quite a lot of vitamins. I've always taken a multi or pre-natal and one or two others for good measure- but in efforts to help increase my insulin sensitivity and get my hormones on track, I've added a bunch of new supplements to the mix and I can't help wondering if it's doing anything at all. It's only been a month or so- but it's a lot of pills everyday and it can make me a little naush, especially on an empty stomach, and then of course it's an addtional expense too.

Right now I'm taking cinnamon, chromium, biotin, manganese, vitamin D3, magnesium, plus a multi, something called DCI, and now metformin. That's a lot! Plus my daily protein shakes. Ironically, many times I find myself wishing for a protein pill too, to make it easier to get enough in everyday. Do you "believe" in supplements? If so, what do you take, and do you feel like it does anything?

It's hard to say if any of these are helping to increase my insulin sensitivity. I don't keep track of my blood glucose levels so I'd just be guessing. Hormonally nothing really feels any different either- except that I feel like my temperature has maybe gone up a little bit. Normally I'm always cold, but lately I've been feeling much warmer and sometimes even too hot. I have noticed my nails are also quite a bit stronger, probably from the biotin. Other than that- nothing to report. Honestly, if anything, I am feeling super crampy lately which I'm not thrilled about.

I know that in a perfect world we'd all get adequate nutrition and the right mix of vitamins and minerals from our colorful, varied, non GMO, macrobiotic, locally-grown and all organic diet. Obviously that is not the case for the vast majority of us. And I have to wonder, could you even stomach all that food you'd really need to eat? Myself personally, I just don't think my appetite is big enough for all that food! I am still struggling with trying to get more protein.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on vitamins and supplements! Let me know what you think! XoXoGFG

Apricot Walnut Almond Flour Cookies, and, ummm, how to handle meddling loved ones?

2011-10-09T22:55:00.001-05:00

It's a bit of a buzz kill when Yom Kippur falls on a weekend. It's a very solemn holy-day and kind of sucks the fun out of whatever day/s it happens to fall on. Sooooooo being on Friday night/Saturday day makes for a less than stellar weekend. Anyhow- as usual we made the most of it and it turned out to be a lovely and productive weekend. I got a couple gifts for some upcoming showers and we had a blast at S's little friend's 2nd Birthday Party! The party was at My Gym which is a great place where babies/tots can run around and go absolutely berserk playing on slides, jungle gyms, swings, whatever. We had a couple great walks outside, although at this point, and I feel crazy for saying it, I would not mind if it was a teensy bit cooler out. It's October after all! 85 degrees still? Really?

Point of the story- yes, we got tons done so I had some time to spare today during naptime to experiment with some cookies. I had ordered a couple items from iherb, including some Vanilla Creme stevia drops and was psyched to try it out. I'm so glad I did!

Apricot Walnut Almond Flour Cookies (Grain-Free, Vegan, Sugar-Free)
1 1/4 cups almond flour
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/3 cup apricots, chopped
1/4 cup oil (coconut, grapeseed, whatev)
1/4 cup almond milk or other nut milk
25 drops vanilla creme stevia
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Combine almond flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and stir well. Add in coconut, apricot, and walnut. In separate bowl, combine oil, stevia drops, vinegar, and nut milk. Add wet to dry and incorporate well. Roll into 1 inch balls (or bigger if you like, these make teensy little cookies which I happen to prefer, but make whatever size you want!) and place on parchment lined cookie sheet. I baked mine for 20 minutes- which I know seems crazy long for tiny cookies. I have a theory that my convection oven, while it does cook/brown very evenly, actually takes longer than a regular oven. So check them at 10 minutes and see what you think. These cookies are not very sweet at all. Tasting the batter, I was a little worried- so I rolled the dough in a mixture of Stevia in the Raw and cinnamon, they looked pretty too. They don't really need it- but I'm aware that not everyone in the world likes their sweets unsweetened like I do. Once again this is a good base recipe that can be adapted to whatever you have on hand- dried cherries and almonds, chocolate chips and peanuts- whatev!

We had some other yummy eats this weekend- balsamic marinated steak and some sliced avo on Friday, chicken fajita salads tonight- but honestly nothing that you'd actually need a recipe for. Super simple, super fast, and big flavors.

***The rest of this post is really long- and probably too personal, annoying, redundant, and self-absorbed. So be warned!*** S is growing up so fast. Her vocabulary is expanding so quickly, it's staggering. She is such an opinionated, strong, outgoing and FUN little girl. It is extraordinary watching her become a child instead of a baby. I know this kind of talk is nauseating to anyone other than myself so I'll get to the point. I want to do the best job I possibly can raising her. I want to be not just a good mom, an ok mom, but an awesome mom. And not by someone else's account- I don't care what anyone thinks or what the other moms say when I'm not around. But I want S one day to say, or just think even, that she has a great mom. I want to be the best mom in the world, for her. And it starts now. Of course it started already- but when they're newborns and little infants, it's like- feed them keep them warm and clean and for gods sake try to keep the purple crying to a minimum. But now- it's a whole different ballgame. She watches everything I do and wants me to watch everything she does. She notices everything. She remembers everything. She is learning at light speed.

I am still struggling with how to handle her nutrition. Sugar is a no-brainer. I do not give her anything with added sugars, period. Fruit is probably her favorite thing in the world besides Elmo and that's fine with me. No sweets or junk food or candy- nada. Obviously this will eventually no longer be something I can control- but hopefully by then we'll have taught her that it's best to avoid sugars. Will it work like that? Who knows. But I can do my best in the here and now. What I have more trouble with is how to limit empty and nutritionally void carbs. I just don't want her to have empty starches and refined garbage. How do I regulate this and how do I communicate it effectively? And once I decide, how do I explain it to the army of meddlers? It's not like I can say, she has an allergy to crap. I do not want her to have empty, refined, overly processed, starchy junk. I need a more effective way to communicate this though, and I DO NOT want to have to argue with people about it. Suggestions? The only thing I can come up with is "I've spoken with S's doctor about her nutrition and we agreed that this is best for her.." or something like that. I wouldn't be lying either- we did discuss it. Saturday night- at break-the-fast dinner- I did not want her eating a bagel. Please- do not get me started on the terribleness that is a bagel. Besides a baked potato, I'm not sure there is a worse glucose bomb out there. Table sugar would be better than a bagel. Anywho- NO BAGEL for S. Not now not ever. Do you know what would happen if I ate a bagel? Well- I'd probably get into a wreck from the drunken haze of high blood sugar, and then faint afterwards once my blood sugar plummeted to 45. But MIL wanted to give her a bagel- or some blintz, etc etc. So I said- S is not eating wheat. I realize, to most Americans who are on the Standard American Diet (SAD) or common wisdom diet (CW, depending on what other blogs you read haha) that saying you don't eat wheat sounds ludicrous, unnecessary, and perhaps even dangerous. But what am I going to do? I am not going to be some grain-free evangelist trying to convert people to my line of thought. I don't care! Eat what you want- no judgement from me. I am no one to judge anyone on anything. I just don't care to to explain to people what my choices are. It's just not what I'm into. I'd rather keep my choices to myself (or whoever's interested!). I don't expect anyone to care about my personal choices and I don't want to bore anyone with that kind of thing. If they're interested- great. If not- no big deal. So anyways- when I said no wheat- of course I was met with a WHY? I didn't know what to say. Again- what is there to say? That I believe grains are unnecessary? That I believe we are not evolved to digest the amount of grain that the SAD suggests? Seriously? I'm not going to get into all that. I don't care to- and I think in most cases, the person to whom you are speaking cares even less. So I said- "because I said so," and was immediately annoyed, irritated, and flustered by my totally half-assed response. Ugh. I have GOT to do better than that. This issue is divisive. It's scary, and huge. What do you do- when the some of the biggest crops in the world, the most farmed, most subsidized, and profitable commodities, are on your do-not-eat list? Wheat-corn-soy-sugar. How do you explain, when asked, WHY that is your choice, without getting into an argument, without having to go into lengthy detail, without coming off like a judgmental, condescending hippie?

Whew- that was intense. Sorry in advance for anyone I might have offended- just because this is my personal choice doesn't mean it's any better than anyone else's. What is right for me is not going to be right for everyone else. XoXoGFG

Liebster Blog Award!

2011-10-09T09:31:00.001-05:00

So exciting! GFG received the Liebster Blog award from Mrs. Ed's Research and Recipes blog! The Liebster award goes to blogs with 200 followers or less and means "dear, sweet, kind, nice, good, beloved, lovely, kindly, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome," in German. I am really honored that anyone at all takes the time to read my ramblings and even more so to get this fun award. The best part is- you pay it forward! Now I choose 5 blogs that I also feel should receive this award :)

Diary of a Nutritionist: Lauren is a 20-something nutritionist navigating the world of healthy eating incorporating vegan, raw, whole, clean, and unprocessed foods. She has an interesting perspective as she also prepares many meals for her family, who are not necessarily raw/vegan. I like to read all kinds of different blogs, not only GF blogs, and I love Lauren's emphasis on fresh produce and fun, easy meals.

What Katie Did: Katie is another fun blogger in her twenties who enjoys GF cooking, getting outdoors, photography, and all manner of healthy living. She was also nice enough to tag my blog awhile back. I think it's so important that bloggers focus not just on recipes, but what it means to lead a whole, clean, FUN, and fulfilling life. Life is not ticking things off on a to-do list or constantly analyzing your diet. It's about choosing nourishing foods AND activities that fuel your mind and body so that you can get the most out of every second. And Katie is a great example of that.

What You're Missing KC: Switching gears big time- my next blog is Sharmin's What You're Missing KC! I am proud of my adopted home, Kansas City, and I am a big proponent of the burgeoning foodie community here. I may not be able to actually eat a lot of what Sharmin talks about, but that isn't the point. The point is that local cuisine here is going through something of a renaissance and I love that people are just as excited about as I am! Sharmin is doing great things for the community (and we hope to lean on her once Kansas City Restaurant Week 2012 rolls around!) so big thumbs up to you Sharmin!

Paleo Parents: This mom and dad team have undergone major transformations, including together losing over 200 pounds on the paleo diet! They have successfully transitioned their whole family (3 young boys!) to a paleo lifestyle and make it look fun, appetizing, and accessible.

Vagablonding: Switching gears again, to travel, my other passion. Ariel is a young budget traveler from the Pacific Northwest who has documented her world travels with awesome photography. She navigates the world on practically pennies a day, which reminds me so much of my experiences backpacking. These days world travel isn't really on my radar, but a girl can dream right?

If you were tagged and would like to participate, here's what you do:

1. Mention who tagged you.

2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.

4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love to others.

Thanks for reading, XoXo GFG!

15 Min Tomato Basil Soup

2011-10-06T10:08:00.001-05:00

Wasting food is NOT allowed in the GFG household- so when I had half a can of diced tomatoes left over from my Spinach Chana Masala, I knew I had to do something with them. I hadn't used any basil and my little plant had tons of new leaves, so what better than some super simple Tomato Basil Soup?

Tomato Basil Soup
1 tbsp EVOO
14 ounces of diced tomatoes
half onion, chopped
3/4 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
S&P to taste
big handful of fresh basil

Saute onion for a few minutes until starting to brown, then add in garlic and cook for another minute. Season with salt and pepper to your liking. Add in red pepper flakes and saute for another minute or so, then pour in chicken broth and milk. If you'd rather use cream, go ahead and use it, or leave it out all together. Stir to incorporate, then adding in tomatoes. Cook down for five minutes, seasoning if necessary. Blend using a handheld mixer or pour into blender, throwing in as much basil as you like. Blend to your preferred consistency and serve! Yum!

S is going to be in a fashion show tonight! The show is benefiting an awesome local cause, Back in the Swing, which helps women get "back in the swing" of life after breast cancer. It's a phenomenal cause that helps women with medical care, diet and exercise, counseling, you name it. I'll put up vids when we get them, but I can't wait! October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so do your self-exams and encourage your moms, sisters, cousins, friends, and anyone else you know to do the same! Early detection is the best weapon in the fight against breast cancer. XoXoGFG

Easy Spinach Chana Masala, and 2-minute chocolate candies

2011-10-05T14:28:00.001-05:00

My absolute fave dinners are ones that can A)be whipped up using only pantry/freezer ingredients and B)one pot/pan meals! If you want a quick, easy meal that meets both of the above requirements, you've got to try this!

Easy Vegan Spinach Chana Masala
2 tsp EVOO
1 box frozen spinach (about 10 ounces, although I actually used a 16 ounce bag) thawed and drained
1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained
1 10 ounce can diced tomatoes
half onion, chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp curry
1/2 tsp garam masala
S&P to taste

Saute onions until they are starting to brown, seasoning with a bit of kosher salt to help release their moisture. Add in garlic and saute a moment more until fragrant. Pour in tomatoes and juice, then adding in spices. I did not have any coriander, so simply used a bit more of all the other spices. Cook for a few minutes until sauce comes together. At this point, add in drained chickpeas and cook for a few more minutes, finally adding in thawed spinach. You'll want to taste everything and see if it needs more spices. The whole dish only takes about 15 min. from start to finish. It's so easy and super delish. So S could eat it more easily, I blended some up in the cuisi for her and she ate every bite. Makes about 4 servings.

Did you ever have only unsweetened baking chocolate in the house and had a craving for a few bites, but aren't too keen on plain unsweetened chocolate? Try this- melt a square of bakers chocolate in the microwave with two tablespoons of milk. It only needs about 30 seconds, followed by some stirring. Add in a packet of stevia and continue mixing. With a teaspoon, drop small spoonfuls of chocolate onto a parchment lined baking sheet and stick in the fridge. A few hours later you'll have yummy chocolate candies with no artificial sugars! They aren't very pretty- but who cares?!

Big week for S. She has started saying her name, and now she says it constantly and for no reason, which cracks me up. Also, my little pumpkin has officially started walking! She has been taking steps for awhile already, but this is actual honest to god walking! She is still crawling, I don't think she quite understands what she's capable of yet, but my little peanut can walk! Yay! It is so incredible watching her develop and learn more about her world. Her favorite show is Super Why and the kid can't get enough of it. I know TV is the devil I'm a horrible parent I'm rotting her brain etc etc. But it's actually a pretty great show and very educational. Do you let your kids watch TV or am I truly the worst mom?

Greek Inspired Roast Chicken with Cauli Rice

2011-10-03T11:01:00.002-05:00

Chicken gets pretty boring if you don't switch up your flavor profiles- and as much as I like to use powerful spices in cooking, especially with chicken, even that can get tired if you're always doing the same thing. I was looking through an old Real Simple for inspiration for yet another chicken recipe and came across a souvlaki recipe with tzatziki. I love chicken souvlaki so decided to make my own interpretation.

Having a whole chicken to use, and no indoor grill- I was stoked to use the convection oven. I had never used the convect feature for a whole roast chicken and had heard they come out so much juicier and more evenly browned. Yay! Another win for my convection!

Greek Herb Roasted Chicken
1 whole chicken, marinated in red wine vinegar, lemon juice, S&P, rosemary, and oregano for a few hours. (I cut out the backbone and butterfly it, roasting it on a cooling rack over a tin foil lined baking sheet to catch all the grease.)
1 tbsp EVOO
additional S&P to season the skin
1/2 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tbsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Arrange your butterflied chicken on the rack and make sure legs are both facing outwards and wings are tucked under for more uniform cooking. Slather EVOO over skin then sprinkle with salt and pepper (I used sea salt) and rosemary, oregano, and garlic. I roasted mine for 50 minutes in a 425 degree oven. Make sure to let it rest for at least an extra 10 minutes! Serve with TJ's tzatziki! So delish! I contemplated making my own but reading the ingredients on the store-bought version, I didn't see any reason to. The ingredients seemed natural and fairly unprocessed. I served this with plain slices of cucumber, and cauliflower rice.

Cauli rice is a super popular recipe on all the food blogs. I was happy with it's couscousy texture and it was super easy to prepare. And no steaming or boiling either!

Cauli Rice
1 head of cauliflower
1/2 med onion
1 tbsp EVOO
S&P to taste

Cut cauli up into large chunks and place in bowl of food processor. Pulse until it looks like small grains of couscous. In a large saute pan, brown onion in EVOO and season to taste. After onion is nice and brown (maybe 7 min) add cauliflower. By now you've noticed I rarely cook with garlic, I really cannot stand it, but feel free to add at this point. Stir cauli regularly and cook until starting to brown. This took another 7 minutes or so. Since S was going to be eating this, I didn't add anything spicy. But some red pepper flakes would be awesome if you aren't concerned with spiciness. This makes quite a lot of cauli rice. We all ate large portions and had more to spare. Perfect for babies too.

Are you an NY Times reader? If not- you must check out the Food & Drink Issue of the Times Magazine. It is amazing. It has fun interactive features and answers some very interesting questions. Play around with it. There's an even a separate link to stress-free dinner party recipes. I really applaud the NY Times' effort to familiarize more people with the business of agriculture, and the sad state of food policy in the U.S. Rather than being completely downtrodden and pessimistic however, they encourage readers to become their own food advocates and seek out locally sourced, non GMO and organic foods. The more we buy from these sources, the more available higher quality food becomes. One person really can make a difference. And for gods sake, start reading food labels and ingredient lists! Don't just look at the calories, look at what you're actually eating! Is sugar the first ingredient? DON'T EAT IT! Are there ingredients that aren't actually food? DON'T EAT IT!

I could go on and on but I won't- just read the piece instead, and enjoy! I'm contemplating sharing a non-GFG pancake recipe- I feel like it wouldn't be appropriate to post it since it's mainly oatmeal- but S eats oatmeal for breakfast most days and I wanted to switch things up a little. It wasn't quite what I was imagining, so perhaps once I perfect it I'll put it up. Have an awesome day, XoXoGFG

Grain Free, Sugar Free Apple and Cherry Crumble

2011-09-28T20:14:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year to any MOT out there! As you know, I was trying to come up with an apple-y dessert for Rosh Hashanah. It is customary to ring in the new year with apples and honey. RH is definitely one of my favorite holidays so this was a challenge I was pretty excited about! With fall in the air, what better dessert than an apple crumble (or crisp? what the diff?) I was really pleased with the outcome and best of all, it can really be modified for any kind of fruits- pear and cranberry, peach blueberry, whatever!

Grain Free, Sugar Free Apple and Cherry Crumble (and vegan too!)
3 apples, chopped into small bite sized pieces
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups almond flour
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup dried unsweetened cherries
3 tbsp sweetener, like stevia in the raw
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8th tsp nutmeg (use more if you want it spicier!)
pinch salt
2 1/2 tbsp vegan butter, like earth balance

Toss apples and cherries with 1 tsp of vanilla and pour into greased 8x8 baking dish. In separate bowl, combine flour, chopped walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and sweetener. Add room temp butter and incorporate until the mixture is crumbly. Crumble over the apples and cherries evenly, and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven, covered, for about 50-55 minutes, then uncovering for 5-10 min so the top can brown.

In other crumble recipes, I've tossed the fruit with a bit of cinnamon, sweetener, vanilla, and orange juice so the fruit doesn't oxidize, then crumbling the mixture over. This would give you a juicier result. This version is not juicy, so it just depends on what you're in the mood for.

Dinner was nothing special- asparagus mushroom tomato and onion stir fry with spinach chicken sausages. S ate an entire sausage by herself and all her veggies. She is a little veggie monster! And yes, once again I am going to tout the amazingness of TJ's frozen veggies. I never knew that frozen asparagus could be so good. I am consistently amazed by the quality of their frozen veg.

Completely OT, what new fall shows is everyone watching? Did anyone see New Girl?? Really cute and funny! Although Zooey's nasal-y Peewee Herman voice may get a bit irritating if she doesn't tone it down. We are also big Boardwalk Empire fans and I watch a ton of other reality garbage. What's your new fall fave?? XoXoGFG

Use (up) What You Have Tuesday, or Kitchen Pantry Salad

2011-09-28T12:02:00.001-05:00

Sometimes the only fresh ingredient you really need for a great salad is lettuce. With a well-stocked pantry you can make a quick, easy, and delish salad in no time at all.

Kitchen Pantry Salad
1 head of lettuce, chopped
1 can of tuna, packed in oil preferably
3 tbsp roasted red peppers, chopped (I like the ones in brine, not oil)
3 tbsp green olives, chopped
1/4 to 1/3 cup of Italian Gardiniere pickled veggies, I used Mezzeta, chopped
1 can of rinsed and drained garbanzo beans, or cannellini
Throw in a handful of cherry tomatoes if you have 'em!
3 tbsp red wine vinegar

I threw everything in a bowl as well as the oil the tuna was packed in, then drizzled some red wine vinegar over the salad for some acid. This was a super fast, delicious, and healthy salad that was plenty filling. The pickled veggies worked really well with the garbanzo beans and tuna. With a bag of lettuce on hand you can throw this together in under 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Catching Up: Pesto Chicken, Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies...

2011-09-26T12:21:00.002-05:00

Wow! It has been a busy past 6 days. As usual work is nutty, and with MKG out of town over the weekend I didn't have much time to spare. S and I had an awesome time together at the Plaza Art Fair, OP Fall Fest, and we even got our first pair of shoes! These cuties:

I even got to sneak out to a cocktail party and see The Help, which I had been wanting to see for awhile! I loved the book, and the movie was really great too. All in all, a busy and fun fall weekend. S got to wear lots of new outfits too!

I can barely think past to last week at this point but I did have a few minutes to whip up some Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies on Saturday- the texture was amazeballs. I'm not sure if it is because I've been using my convection feature or what- but they were crunchy and had a good snap, not cakey or sconey like past cookie attempts have been. Super simple recipe.

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies, Grain-Free & Sugar-Free
2.5 cups almond flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon (I love cinn and choc together but this is optional)
1/2 cup oil (coconut, grapeseed, canola etc)
1/2 cup sweetener like Stevia in the Raw, I used a smidge less
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup choc chips. I had a few bars of partly eaten choc chips laying around so I combined them all and cut them up. Takes more time than opening a bag of choc chips but it allowed me to combine three different types of chocolate. 72% cocao- 85% cocao, and 90% cocao. This created different layers of flavor that I really liked!

Combine flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon thoroughly. In a separate bowl, combine vanilla, sweetener, and oil. At this point I added a few tablespoons of nut milk because I had a feeling the mixture would be too dry. Probably 3 tablespoons or so. This depends on what sweetener you are using, so you'll have to experiment with the amount of liquid. The batter should end up being wet enough that you can form it into little 1 inch balls. If it's too crumbly, you may want more liquid. Add dry to wet and mix, then adding in chocolate chips. This would also be a great time to add in 1/2 cup of walnuts, dried cherries, etc. Place balls of dough on parchment lined cookie sheet. I got 20 cookies total. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top. I used my convection oven and was very happy with the texture.

Yesterday- after the cukoo weekend, we all decided to stay in for dinner. And I was itching to make some pesto after this latest purchase:

Yay! I don't know why I waited until now to buy basil. It's my favorite herb and I never have any of it on hand. Next I need to get some rosemary. Anyways- I never measure out pesto- I eyeball it and add more ingredients as I go along, tasting as I "pulse." We had a simple dinner of pesto chicken breast and spinach salad. Suuuuuuuuuuper easy.

Walnut Pesto Chicken Breast
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
      Marinade: (2 hrs in the fridge'll do it!)
      1 lemon
      1/4 cup red wine vinegar
      2 tsp salt
      1 tbsp Meyer Lemon Olive Oil (or reg EVOO)
Pesto:
1 cup basil
1/3 cup walnuts
2 tbsp EVOO
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp grated parmesan
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Pulse pesto ingredients in cuisi until a thick paste forms, you may need to scrape the sides down once or twice. If you want this to be more saucy, add more oil as you pulse the mixture until you reach the right consistency. You'll need to add more salt most likely. I wanted mine to be more spread-like than saucy. Remove marinated chicken and place in baking dish, pour remaining marinade over chicken. Spread pesto over chicken and bake at 415 for about 45 minutes or until cooked through and juices are clear. Let sit for 5 min before eating!

I'm so glad MKG is home and we can all have a great Rosh Hashanah together this Wednesday night. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year and typically you welcome it with apples and honey- so I'll need to come up with a special apple dish that is GFG appropriate! Stay tuned! XoXoGFG