Gluten Free / Grain Free PIZZA! It tastes GREAT!

Everyone wants pizza no matter how hard core they are with their eating. Unfortunately most gluten free pizzas suck! Its a sad fact for those of us trying to avoid gluten and for those avoiding grain its been impossible to find good pizza or bread.

Luckily many great cooks are out there working to resolve this problem. One great recipe courtesy of Life as a Plate, I would like to share. This is a quick recipe and tastes great.

What you need:

• 3 c. almond flour
• 1 c. sour cream/plain organic yogurt
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan
• pinch salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• fresh parsley (optional)

What you do:

• Mix dry ingredients
• Beat egg into sour cream and slowly add to the dry mixture.
• Beat until well blended.
• Mixture will be batter-like and not dough-like, so you must SPREAD this with a spatula onto parchment paper, about 1/4-in thick.

•Bake at 350 for around 30 minutes or until brown all the way over, like this.

This recipe will make 3 pizza's this size. The dough can be hard to spread and you may have to do it with your hands. You HAVE TO USE PARCHMENT PAPER when making this pizza. It is delicious! Top it with whatever you like and throw it back in for approximately 5 minutes until the cheese melts. ENJOY!

Grain Free, Gluten Free Bread That Actually Tastes Great!

Everyone that eliminates grains is looking for that piece of bread that won't spike blood sugar but will allow them the texture and taste they crave. Look no further. Courtesy of Lifes a Plate, they have created a bread recipe that is not only tasty but healthy! They also take this even further by providing a few changes to make it dairy free as well. Enjoy.

Dairy free substitutions are added in red next to the original ingredients.

The BEST Grain-Free Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread
(In The History of Man)
What you need:

•3/4 c. coconut flour, sifted
•1/4 c. flax meal
•2 tbsp arrowroot
•1/2 tsp. baking soda
•1 tsp gluten-free baking powder (we use Rumford or Clabber Girl, but if you want to be totally “grain-free” use this easy recipe for your own baking powder)
•1/2 tsp salt (3/4 if using unsalted ghee)
•1 tsp. onion powder
•1/8 c. sesame seeds (plus 1 tbsp)
•7 eggs, beaten
•1/2 c. melted butter (1/2 c. melted coconut oil or if you’re just casein-free you can use ghee)
•2 tbsp sour cream (or Greek yogurt) (2 tbsp plain coconut yogurt plus 2 tsp melted coconut oil)
What you do:

1.Combine dry ingredients (except the 1 tbsp extra sesame seeds).
2.Combine beaten eggs, and sour cream and beat into dry mixture. Add melted butter.
3.Pour into 9×5 loaf pan, sprinkle with the extra sesame seeds
4.Bake at 325 for 40-50 minutes.
5.Make a sandwich.
6.Put remaining in refrigerator as due to its high-egg content it will stay fresher longer.

COOKIES!

You were all waiting for it. Low sugar, low carb cookies. You knew the paleo world was hard at work attempting to find a solution and someone has. These are not only delicious but as close to healthy cookies as you will get. Still doesn't mean you can eat an entire tray but you can eat a handful without doing serious insulin damage. Give them a shot.

Courtesy of Dr Davis

Try to use the darkest chocolate chips you can find to reduce sugar exposure. Using Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate chips, each cookie will contain around 5 grams carbohydrate per cookie, which can add up after a couple or three cookies. By using the darkest chocolate chips you can find (or by making your own dark chocolate chunks by melting 85% or greater cocoa dark chocolate, melting and breaking into chunks), you can reduce carbohydrate exposure to around 2-3 grams per cookie. For ultra low-carb chocolate chunks, use 100% cocoa, some butter, coconut oil, or cocoa butter, and a non-aqueous sweetener like Truvia, melted in a double-boiler setup.

I’ll bet that these cookies will even pass the taste test of an 8-year old!

Ingredients:
4 cups ground almonds
2 cups semisweet or dark chocolate chips
2 teaspoons baking soda
Sweetener equivalent to 2 cups sugar
½ teaspoon sea salt
4 whole eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons sour cream or coconut milk
4 ounces butter, melted, or 4 oz coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Mix ground almonds, chocolate chips, baking soda, sweetener and sea salt in bowl.

In separate bowl, whisk eggs, then add vanilla, sour cream, and butter and mix thoroughly.

Pour liquid mix into dry mix, mixing by hand until thoroughly mixed.

Place heaping tablespoon-sized piles of dough onto cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or greased with oil. Press each pile with large spoon to approximately ½-inch thickness.

Place in oven and bake 30 minutes or until edges just slightly browned.

Makes approximately 30 cookies.

More Pancakes

You can tell I love pancakes! Here is another recipe courtesy of Cathletics.com. They are basically paleo over there but since they train to be Olympic lifters they tend to have more carbs then those attempting to reverse diabetes. This recipe uses no grain or sugar at all and is relatively low in carbs. The real flavor comes in the toppings you decide to use. Enjoy!

Time: 10 minutes

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 C unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 C nut butter (not peanut butter! - almond/cashew/macadamia nut butter works well)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• coconut oil

Mix all of the ingredients except the coconut oil in a bowl. Stir well, until you have a uniform batter. Next, use a bit of coconut oil to grease a non stick skillet. Spread some of the batter into the skillet to form a pancake, then cook over low/medium heat. Flip after 1 to 2 minutes, being careful not to burn them!

Once you've cooked all of your pancakes, you can serve them with a variety of toppings. A few that I like: chopped apples and cinnamon; heated blueberries; real maple syrup; and unsweetened applesauce.

A tasty soup with fatty meat to quench your taste buds.

This recipe is courtesy of ivillage. Although many people may have a problem with cured meats due to the level of nitrites and nitrates there are alternatives. Using an "uncured" product like Applegates Organic sausages allows you minimize your risk for nitrites. Applegate Farms products can be found at any WholeFoods and they use nitrites derived from celery juice and sea salt instead of synthetic nitrites. The chicken broth may be more of an issue for some but as long as you go Organic your risk is minimal. Look for a broth with the least amount of ingredients. With only 2 net carbs per serving you can eat away on this dish.

1 small spaghetti squash (about 3 pounds)
12 ounces sausage, casing removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup dry white wine
1 medium white onion, cut into small dice
10 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 cloves garlic minced
6 ounces baby spinach washed
Salt and ground black pepper to taste


1. Using a sharp chef’s knife or cleaver, remove stem from squash. Peel tough outer skin and cut squash in half. Remove seeds and cut into large 2-inch-long pieces.

2. Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to brown. Add garlic and season with salt and pepper; cook about a minute more and then add sausage. Break sausage into small pieces and cook until browned, about 6 minutes.

3. Add squash, season again with salt and pepper, and cook until squash becomes soft around the edges, about 6 minutes. Add wine and scrape up any browned bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add broth and thyme and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until squash is soft, about 45 minutes.

4. Using the back of a spoon, press squash against the side of the pot to break it up into pasta-like strands. Remove thyme stems; season with more salt and pepper to taste. Stir in spinach leaves and serve.

Almond Flour Pie Crust

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups almond meal or almond flour
3 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoons sugar 18-27 drops liquid stevia extract or 3 pinches to one packet of stevia powder (you will have to work on the taste. I would start small and taste periodically as you add the stevia).

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350 F. Melt the butter (if the pie pan is microwave safe, melt the butter in it) and mix the ingredients up in the pan and pat into place with your fingertips.

Bake for about 10 minutes until the crust is beginning to brown. After 8 minutes, check every minute or so, because once it starts to brown it goes quickly.

Nutritional Information: The whole pie shell has 11 grams effective carbohydrate plus 17 grams fiber and 30 grams protein.

You can fill this crust with any flavor of sugar free pudding, by whipping together 1 cup heavy whipping cream with 1 cup of water then adding in pudding mix. Whip till creamy and pour into pie crust and refrigerate.

Carrot Flaxseed muffins

Courtesy of Wheatbellyblog.com

2 cups ground almond meal

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup chopped pecans
Sweetener equivalent to ½ cup sugar (e.g., 3 1/2 tablespoons Truvia)
1 cup shredded carrots
2 tablespoons orange zest

¼ cup sour cream
 or coconut milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup walnut, coconut, or extra-light olive oil
Optional: 1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 325º F. Grease muffin tin with oil.
Mix almond meal, flaxseed, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pecans, and sweetener in bowl and mix.
Mix in carrots, orange zest, sour cream or coconut milk, eggs, oil, optional raisins and blend ingredients thoroughly.
Spoon mixture into muffin pan (fill each about ½ full). Bake for 40 minutes or until toothpick emerges dry. Cool and remove. Makes 10-12 muffins.
Serve with cream cheese or as is.

Carrot Cake - Wheat Free

Courtesy of Wheatbellyblog.com



Ingredients:
Cake:
2 cups carrots, finely grated
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup coconut flour
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons freshly grated orange peel
Sweetener equivalent to ½ cup sugar (e.g., 4 tablespoons Truvia)
½ teaspoon sea salt
4 eggs
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup coconut milk
6 ounces sour cream
Icing:
8 ounces cream cheese or Neufchâtel cheese, softened
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Truvía or 1/8 teaspoon stevia extract powder

Preheat oven to 325° degrees F. Grate carrots and set aside.
Combine coconut flour, flaxseed, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, orange peel, sweetener, and salt in large bowl and mix by hand.
Put eggs, butter or coconut oil, vanilla coconut milk, and sour cream in mixing bowl; mix by hand. Pour liquid mixture into dry pecan/coconut flour mixture and blend with power mixer until thoroughly mixed. Stir carrots and pecans in by hand with spoon. Pour mixture into greased 9- or 10-inch square cake pan.
Bake for 60 minutes or until toothpick withdraws dry. Allow to cool 30 minutes.
Place Neufchâtel cheese in bowl. Add lemon juice and sweetener and mix thoroughly. Spread on cake.