Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins, Grain/Gluten Free

These muffins feel like dessert, but they're not!  No oil in these, no refined sugars at all, no grains, no gluten, and can easily be dairy free too.

PB&J Muffins, Grain/Gluten Free
1 3/4 cups peanut flour (mine is 12% fat, light roast, Protein Plus! from netrition.com)
2 tbsp coconut flour
2 eggs
1 6 oz container yogurt (I used plain full fat yogurt, but you can use greek, coconut milk yogurt, etc)
35 drops alcohol free liquid stevia
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup (nut)milk
about 1/2 cup no sugar added, just fruit jam

In a large mixing bowl, combine your flours, baking soda, salt and whisk well.  In a separate bowl, combine your eggs, yogurt, (nut)milk, stevia, and vanilla extract.  Pour wet into dry and spoon into lined muffin pan.  With a teaspoon, drop dollops of jam onto each muffin, and mix into the batter just a bit with a toothpick.  It's up to you how much jam to put in each cupcake, but don't overdo it.  A little goes a long way!  Bake at 350 until golden brown, about 25 minutes or so.  This made 9 cupcakes for me.  For a sweet, protein filled muffin, this is definitely a winner.  If you enjoy and can tolerate peanuts, give this recipe a try!

XoXoGFG

Paleo Egg McMuffin! Grain and Gluten Free

The outcome of this experiment truly shocked me.  I cannot get over how this super lazy recipe came out!

Last night as I was browsing pinterest, I saw some paleo blogger put up a recipe for a grain free english muffin.  Her recipe called for 1/3 cup of almond flour, plus one tbsp of coconut flour.  I don't know about you, but the thought of ingesting 1/3 cup of almond flour just didn't sit well with me, and since I'd be making this for S, it just grossed me out entirely.  But what if I could make an english muffin in the microwave with just coconut flour?  Could it be done?

YES.  Yes it can folks.  I also microwave a beaten egg for some extra protein.  With a little smear of jam on the muffin, this little mcmuffin was a big hit with my little one.  This is so super easy, it's almost embarrassing to post.  But what a wonderful trick to have up your sleeve for a quick meal!  Throw some carrots on a plate and you've got lunch in like, 5 minutes.

Paleo Egg McMuffin
1 1/2 tbsp coconut  flour
1 egg
1 1/2 tbsp of milk, water, or nutmilk
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp honey

1 additional beaten egg
jam for spreading on the muffin, if desired
some oil, for oiling your glass/porcelain microwave safe bowls

In a microwave safe glass or porcelain bowl (like a ramekin), grease it lightly, and pour in your beaten egg.  Microwave your egg until fully cooked, about 90 seconds.  (depends on your microwave though, watch it carefully!)  In another bowl, mix together your coconut flour, egg, salt, honey, and milk.  Pour your batter into another greased ramekin and microwave for about 2 and a half minutes.  You want this to be cooked through and firm to the touch.  Add another 10 seconds or so if need be.  When fully cooked, slide it out of your ramekin and cut in half with a bread knife.  Toast in your toaster oven and then slather with jam, and top with your fluffy microwaved egg!  Crazy crazy.  S scarfed it down, which is miraculous because she will rarely eat an egg, or any protein other than bacon or cheese.  I think it was the jam that did it.

Did you ever eat mcmuffins growing up??  OMG I loved those nasty little things.  They were a very special treat on some weekends after we went to the orthodontist.  Gross right?  I know, awful.  But luckily, with these little guys, you can enjoy a mcmuffin once again.  Lots of protein, fiber, and very little carbs.  Did you know that 2 tbsp of coconut flour only has 62 calories?  And 6 grams of fiber?  Pretty wonderful stuff.  So if your diet will allow for a baked treat, please give this a try.

Enjoy GFGs! xoxo

Peanut Flour Banana Muffins, Grain/Gluten/Sugar/Oil Free

These muffins are definitely a departure from my usual coconut based recipes.  But sometimes you just have to switch it up!  Especially if you have some brown bananas hanging around.  And peanut flour you really dont't know what else to do with.  Since I no longer eat peanuts, just about the only thing to do with it is to bake muffins, since I don't eat those either, haha.  This is a useful recipe though, because it's gluten and grain free, is only sweetened with bananas and stevia, and is also oil free and can easily be dairy free by using any kind of nutmilk.

Peanut Flour Banana Muffins

1 3/4 cups peanut flour

pinch of salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk of choice

2 small bananas, mashed

1 tsp vanilla extract

30 drops SweetLeaf English Toffee Alcohol Free Liquid Stevia, or your preferred liquid stevia

Use a fork or whisk to combine your dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl, combine your mashed bananas, eggs, milk, extract, and stevia.  Pour wet into dry and mix, but don't overmix.  Pour into paper lined muffin tin and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until the tops are just starting to darken.  This made 10 muffins for me.  

These muffins have a decent amount of protein for such a small snack.  Almost 6 grams!  They'd be a decent choice for breakfast or for a snack, that is if peanuts don't bother you.  Certainly this recipe could be easily adapted with almond flour or using almond butter.  Chocolate chips would make this a great dessert too!

Enjoy folks.  XoXoGFG

Protein Pumpkin Pancakes

So yeah this is a dumb picture, it was taken mid-bite as MKG was eating, sorry.  But these are some damn good pancakes for toddlers and adults and best of all, they are devoid of sugars, grains, gluten, dairy, and anything processed.  Great way to sneak some squash into your family's diet too.

Protein Pumpkin Pancakes (serves 3)
1/4 cup pureed pumpkin
2 eggs
1/4 cup nutmilk of choice
1 tsp maple extract
20 drops vanilla stevia
1 tbsp coconut flour
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder (guessing this is 2 tbsp)
2 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

Mix your pumpkin, eggs, and nutmilk and add your extract and stevia drops.  In a separate bowl mix your baking powder, coconut flour, protein powder, spices, and salt, and stir well to get out any lumps.  Add wet to dry and stir well.  If the batter is too thick simply add a tad bit of water or nutmilk.  I had no trouble flipping these at all and they were quite substantial.  To serve, top with cinnamon and butter, or SF syrup, coconut cream, or just eat plain! 

Chia Protein Pancakes

Please excuse the weirdly shaped pancakes pictured- I was too lazy to get a bigger tupperware so just squeezed them into this one.  Luckily, S does not care what shape her pancakes are in, or how I store leftovers.  I made a big batch of these today so she'd have pancakes for the next few days.  If it were up to her, I think S would eat pancakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

These are of course also suitable for the adult pancake eater.  M did not have any of this particular batch, as he was playing basketball at the J and getting into "verbal altercations" with his little brother.  His words, not mine!

Make these!
Chia Protein Pancakes
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1/4 cup coconut flour
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup water, or (nut)milk
1 tsp baking powder
10-15 drops vanilla creme stevia (optional)
1 1/2 tbsp chia seeds

Mix your protein powder, baking powder, chia, and coconut flour together.  Stir well to get out any clumps.  Pour your beaten eggs into your bowl and stir.  Add half of your water/liquid and stir.  Add the rest slowly as needed.  Then add your stevia (which you totally don't need, S eats this plain or I wouldn't use it) and give it a last stir.  Cook as you would any pancakes.  This made 12 small-medium pancakes which should last us awhile!

This is a great way to get some omega's into your diet from the Chia seeds.  Also a nice dose of protein in the morning when you probably don't feel like eating much.  Speaking of protein, I'm really stoked about the Local Pig.  This is a brand new charcuterie/butcher that is soooooooo my thing.  Everything is grassfed and pastured, free-range, hormone/antibiotic free.  Hello people!  This is maj.  They cure, smoke, and butcher everything 100% in house.  They use the entire animal and are getting as much of locally sourced as they can.  If that is not something to get super excited about I don't know what is!  I chatted with the owner for awhile and was so impressed by their dedication and commitment to the slow-food anti-corporate GMO processed crap establishment.  It was late afternoon and they were already out of a ton of stuff but we'll be back.  I was lucky enough to get the last dozen pastured organic eggs though, which I can't wait to try.  I suspect I won't be going back to caged chicken eggs fed a steady diet of grains, antibiotics, recycled chicken parts, and hormones any time soon.  Chickens are meant to eat grass and bugs, not corn and chemicals. 

Ok sorry for the rant.  Please try out this awesome new joint in the East Bottoms.  It makes for a fun little excursion, and maybe you can even hit up Vietnam Cafe afterwards like we did!

Now goo eat some pancakes! XoXoGFG

Paleo Porridge

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!

Protein-Packed Strawberries and Cream Pancakes

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!

Egg Muffins and Grain-Free Choc. Chip Blondies

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

Two Quick Grain-Free Breakfasts/Snacks!

This recipe has been posted all over the place, at Elana's Pantry, Diet Dessert and Dogs, and originally, at Replenish PDX.  It's for a grain-free, gluten-free hot cereal, or cream of wheat if you will.  Looks really good!  I'd actually love to eat without blending and add some yogurt and fruit.  But here is my version:

Grain-Free, Gluten, and Sugar Free Porridge

• 2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
• 1-2 tablespoon flax seeds (beware what happens to flax when it mixes with water!  If you're not expecting it, um, you might be in for shock.  Admittedly, the snot-like consistency is not the most appetizing thing in the world.  Leave it out if it's too icky for ya!)
• ¼ cup walnuts
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup boiling water (I just put a cup of water in the microwave for 2min)
• pinch of salt
• optional- chia seeds, sliced blanched almonds or other nut, sunflower seeds, but TBH, you won't need it- this is incredibly filling.  I did like it with some sliced strawberries though.  Use what you have!

1. Combine all dry ingredients in the dry container of blender
2. Blend until finely ground
3. Transfer mixture to a bowl
4. Pour hot water over mixture, stir, then let sit for 5 minutes to thicken
5. Serve with fruit and a bit of yogurt mixed in!

Another great, quick breakfast option that I actually had for dinner last night was just a bowl of berries, with sunflower seeds (I got a huge bag of unsalted sunflower seeds at TJ's and am obsessed!) and yogurt.  Throw in some flax, almonds, and unsweetened shredded coconut for more filling meal.  Yum!  Try it!  Especially now while you can get amazing berries at the store!