Gluten Free Molasses Spice Cookies

I'm making a double batch of these molasses spice cookies so I can share some with my 3 year old neighbor, Eli, who is an excellent taste tester.  These he particularly loved and had asked for extras to take home to his parents.

Molasses Spice Cookies

1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup melted coconut oil
¼ cup molasses

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl
Stir together wet ingredients in a smaller bowl
Mix wet ingredients into dry
Roll into 3/4" balls then roll in sugar
Place on lined baking sheet and gently press

Bake at 350° for 8-12 minutes

Spiralized vegetables?

This is genius!  I've never heard of such a concept, but it sounds like a kitchen gadget that would be fun to use.  Using this spiral vegetable slicer, you make noodles out of just about any vegetable (zucchini, bell pepper, sweet potato - use your imagination) and use them in place of pasta.  This website is very informative and dedicated to spiralized recipes:
http://www.inspiralized.com/about

Another concept is to pulse the spiralized vegetables in a food processor to the size of rice: http://www.inspiralized.com.

What a great way to try some new recipes and get more vegetables into the day!

Chocolate Chip Cookies with coconut oil

In an effort to incorporate more coconut oil into our food,  I thought I'd experiment with the chocolate chip cookie recipe and change the ingredients.  Instead of grape seed oil, I used coconut oil (melted). Instead of agave or honey, I used some maple syrup and xylitol.  I added some protein powder to boost the protein content.

2 1/2 c Honeyville blanched almond flour
1 scoop pea protein powder, unflavored
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 c melted coconut oil
1/4 c maple syrup
1/4 c xylitol
1 c dark chocolate pieces
1/3 walnuts

Mix the dry, then mix the wet separately, then mix them together.  Bake 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes.  These need to cool completely before moving them from the baking sheet to a cookie rack, as they are very crumbly.

They taste great!  A tiny bit coconut-ty, but quite sweet with lots of flavor.  I think the xylitol and protein powder could be omitted and the maple syrup would provide enough sweetness.

Here's some recipes I might try from the Honeyville Farms blog with recipes featuring their blanched almond flour, including one for using the flour to make almond milk.

No need to feel deprived

Just because we're trying to eat healthier while eliminating gluten, soy and dairy, doesn't mean we can't indulge in sweets now and then.  And since a very special person is turning 65 soon, I'm going to make this carrot cake for the occasion.

Ingredients for the cake:

• 2 cups of carrots, peeled and grated
• 5 large eggs
• small can chopped pineapple, drained
• 1 heaping tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground ginger

and for the frosting:

• 1 - 8 oz container of Tofutti cream cheese at room temperature
• 1/4 Earth Balance natural shortening, softened
• 1/2 c powdered sugar or honey
• 1/2 t vanilla extract
• almond milk
• chopped pistachios for topping

 Prepare a bundt pan by spraying with a cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grate the carrots and set aside. Combine all of the dry ingredients.  Add the carrots and pineapple to the dry ingredients.  Beat all five eggs in a separate bowl and then add to the cake batter. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, using a toothpick to make sure it's done. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool completely in the pan before removing. To make the frosting beat the Tofutti with the shortening and then add powdered sugar, adding a vanilla extract and a little almond milk if necessary for it to be smooth and creamy. Spread the frosting over the top of the cooled cake, sprinkle with chopped pistachios.

Let's hope it's wonderful!

A functional approach to a healthy gut

I initially started this journey to lose some weight or at least maintain my weight, but it has evolved into a closer look at healthy eating and my lifestyle as a whole.  I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism over 20 years ago.  I remember the doctor questioning me about radiation exposure or other factors that could contribute to this autoimmune disease, but I hadn't a clue.  I have been on the same dose of Synthroid for all these years and even though the annual tests show it's an adequate dose, I'm learning more about the long term effects of the disease, as well as possible causes.  Some of those causes might be ddt (from living in a lake area that sprayed for mosquitoes while we ran after the fogger), mercury filled dental fillings, pcb's and a lengthy use of birth control pills.

So, this journey of eliminating foods that might be stressors, cleaning out stomach bacteria (h pylori) while fortifying my gut with some recommended products are all related to the detoxification of my system and fortification of my liver, which hopefully will improve the thyroid disease.  It's all complicated but it's all related and terms like "leaky gut syndrome", "dysbiosis" and "functional medicine" are becoming more familiar.  And why am I going this route rather than the conventional approach (which is a couple antibiotics plus beta-blockers)?  I just don't want to destroy my good flora to get rid of the bacteria so I'm choosing a gentler approach.  I feel it's worth the time and expense to give it a try.

One thing we are doing is making and cooking with bone broth.  Here's a really great site that explains much more about it: http://www.jadeinstitute.com/jade/bone-broth-health-building.php.
We will either cook a whole chicken in the crockpot without liquid, strip it of meat then fill the crockpot with the carcass and water and let it cook for 24-48 hours, or buy grass-fed beef joint bones and let them simmer in water for 48 hours.  I had some soup made with lamb bones but it was really too strong a lamb flavor for me.

Francie Killian is the metabolic therapist who has been advising me: http://www.franciekillian.net.  I first learned about her through a Register Guard article about metabolism a few years ago.

The hunt for protein-rich food

On the advice of my nutritionist, I needed to eat a lot more protein.  The ratio for my particular diet is 25% protein, 50% carbohydrates, 25% fats, which translates into about 100 gms of protein a day to strive for. It wasn't until I really started tracking what I ate on a daily basis, using an account on myfitnesspal.com that I realized how lacking in protein-rich foods I'd been.  I was also advised, based on blood work, evidence of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, and some recommendations from the blood type diet  (I'm O+), not to eat too many eggs.  In fact, I needed to restrict my egg intake to two consecutive days, once a week.

Here are the suggestions I've compiled to help me eat a variety of protein-rich foods:

• almonds
• macadamia nuts
• smoked salmon
• chicken 
• fish
• beef
• natural deli meats
• hummus
• bean dips
• Zing bars (check label for those that are gluten/soy/dairy free or whatever your needs are)
• Kind bars
• beef jerky
• eggs, egg whites
• chia seeds
• pea protein

Your suggestions are welcome!

Gluten-free baked goods

So, one thing I've learned in this journey is that I need to get a bit more creative with cooking so that I don't feel deprived.  Initially I was missing the occasional baked good, but I've found some items that are proving to be a great substitute.

For example, in trying to eat more protein for breakfast, I found a bread at Costco called Gluten Free Super Seed Bread from the Essential Baking Company.  The two loaves are well packaged so one can be stored in the freezer while the other is kept in your refrigerator.  It toasts well, tastes great and with a tablespoon of almond butter, provides 6 gms of protein.  You don't have to give up warm, crunchy toast just because you gave up gluten!

For many gluten-free baked goods, almond flour is the key.  And I had been making my own almond flour with my Vitamix, which worked quite well for baking these molasses cookies, the flour being just a bit coarse and the almonds unblanched.  This video gave me the tips on how to make my own almond flour.

But for that wonderful taste of homemade chocolate chip cookies, I was delighted when I found
Blanched Almond Flour from Honeyville (also at Costco).  I discovered this flour from Elana's Pantry's Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.  This blanched almond flour is seriously worth buying if you want the taste of a traditional chocolate chip cookie without the gluten!  And since I'm not eating dairy, I used chocolate from Enjoy Life.

Last night's Savory Swiss Chard Tofu Pie was a big hit and the concept of using meat for the crust was well received and even copied a few times with lamb as the meat crust.  But there were some pies made with Bob's Red Mill gluten-free crust mix and the crust was tender, flaky and flavorful.  I avoided the pies with cheese, but the spinach and egg savory pie made with the gf crust mix  was wonderful.

So I hope these recommendations help you discover new ways to cook familiar foods as you explore the gluten-free life.

Musings and discoveries along the way

In August, 2013, when my nutritionist suggested I revise my diet to eliminate gluten, soy and dairy, I hadn't a clue where to start or what that would mean to my lifestyle.  I was so naive and also a bit freaked out.  Here I was, over 60 years old, just trying to get some advice to solve a few health issues, and now I'm being advised to eliminate many of my favorite foods!  Well, sure, I can do that, it's only temporary, right?  After more than four months on this new way of eating (not a "diet"), I'm discovering some subtle and mostly pleasant effects from paying so much attention to what I'm consuming.  And now I feel I'm ready to share some of the resources, recipes, and other types of guidance that I've found so far.

My husband and I have tried to eat as healthy as possible, seeking local foods when available, organic when affordable.  And initially, giving up a wholesome, crusty, kalamata olive chiabatta bread from the farmer's market was painful.  Or whole grain oat scones!  Or pizza - that was tough, really pretty tough.  But this led us to explore alternatives and though we found local stores and restaurants somewhat lacking in alternatives to gluten, soy, and dairy (especially combined), we either learned to do without or make our own substitute.  I should mention that my (retired) husband eagerly jumped right in with the food eliminations and helped research alternatives as well as cook foods for us both.  Now that's true love.

Now let's talk beer.  I'm married to a brewdude,  and beer is made with barley, and barley has gluten.  Years ago I learned to love home brew and living in Oregon, the land of wonderful craft breweries, I felt that giving up on good beer would be tough.  But I discovered that there's a really pretty good gluten-free beer from Widmer Brewing, called Omission.  They make three styles (pale, IPA and lager) and can be found in most grocery stores.  For those very occasional times that I want a local beer (there are so many great breweries in Eugene), I take two digestive enzymes (Enzymedica Digest Spectrum), which provide digestive support.  This is my cheat, and I try not to abuse it.  I also use them for the occasional pizza, though I order gluten-free crust but I just have to have a little mozzarella cheese to feel like it's a pizza.

Tonight we are going to a savory pie party!  The invitation was a challenge for me and creativity was encouraged.  I glommed together a couple recipe ideas and had fun developing a Savory Swiss Chard Tofu Pie. As the name implies, there is soy in this pie (tofu), but I needed something like ricotta so I will use my digestive enzymes tonight, just to keep on track.

Here's the ingredients, modified from a recipe found on http://www.ibreatheimhungry.com:

6 cups swiss chard, well chopped
1 T coconut oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup onion, chopped fine
3 eggs, beaten
1/8 t nutmeg
salt & pepper
1 lb mild turkey sausage
1 1/2 cups Vegan ricotta cheese substitute   (make this ahead)
1/2 cup Daiya mozzarella style shreds

Saute the onion and garlic in the oil until soft, then add the swiss chard and cook about 5 minutes, until the stems are soft.  Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper and remove from heat to cool.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl, then add the vegan ricotta cheese substitute and the Daiya shreds, then stir in the cooled greens.

I made this both in muffin tins for an easy hand-held party food, and made one small pie with the leftover.  I pressed the sausage between plastic wrap, rolling it flat with a beer pint glass then used that glass to cut out the round sausage, which I put into the muffin tin, lining it gently in the tin then adding the filling.  This does puff up some so don't overfill.  Bake in a 350 degree oven about 30-35 minutes until firm.  It's a good idea to put the muffin tin or pie plate on a baking sheet, just in case any juice from the sausage leaks out.




Voila!  The finished product - nutritious and very tasty.  Let's see what the judges say tonight but I feel this was a fun recipe to make and would be a great breakfast or brunch dish.