Sugar-Free

Lots of food experiments going on here. As noted in my last post I've been sugar-free, dairy-free, wheat-free, yeast-free, etc. by necessity for a couple months now. After cutting every easy and/or convenient food out of my diet (even fruit,) every day was a constant struggle to find something to eat. In case you find yourself in a similar situation, or are just trying to be uber healthy (three cheers for you!).... here are some ideas that work for me.

BREAKFAST:

OR 7 eggs fried in CO & a tomato (I was nursing, remember??)

 In the absence of bread/fruit/dairy, it is always some variation of cereal. Since I am only allowed rice and oats I eat them a lot. But Rice Bubbles has added sugar, so I go with puffed organic brown rice and steel cut oats with add ins. Coconut oil gives good moisture, or  use rice/oat/almond/goat milks.

Without sugar or dried fruit, you have to get creative (I cheat with blueberries on occasion.) Plain cinnamon gives you the illusion you're tasting "cinnamon sugar" and I always need a crunch factor: almonds, pecans, chia seed, linseed (flax), sprouted sunflower seeds, pepitas, etc. Usually sprinkle LSA mix or oat bran atop as well.



LUNCH:

 Tuna without mayo/yogurt/relish is nasty, but I found smashed butternut squash a fair alternative. When rice cakes get old I cough up the $8 for a loaf of Sourdough Oat bread (no yeast or wheat/grain) and load as much on that baby as possible.

Always toasted with a thick layer of coconut oil then a hefty sprinkle of cinnamon and salt and a chunky smear of pumpkin (a very sweet veggie!) or avocado or squash, topped with nuts or LSA mix. It's really good actually - definitely a keeper even when I'm back to normal food. Nut butter would be great too, (I'm just not allowed peanuts and haven't ground my own alternative.)

SNACKS:

If you're a tea/coffee/cocoa drinker and need that hot drink, warm almond milk is a pretty good sub, with a dash of cinnamon. But don't get it too hot because it does curdle.

 Nuts and seeds are my friend - double the benefits if soaked/sprouted, even for just 30 minutes.

Hummus, despite having vinegar, was my saving grace when veggies lost their appeal. Lots of goats cheese and rice crackers (watch for added sugar.) Frozen peas are really sweet (ask Summer and Des.) Good old plain sweet potatoes.

And of course green smoothies.

 DINNER:

This is usually where I have to get my creative juices flowing. While the fam can scarf down pizza or pasta, burritos or quesadillas, I might sit down with a glorified "snack" plate.

But there's always bean&veggie soups, chili, and curries - they've been my go-to. This first one was pumpkin, spinach, chick pea with yogurt over quinoa (before those two were out.) I eyeballed it all, but it's similar to this recipe.

I eat lots of rice noodles and fish/chicken/meatloaf boosted with tons of veggies.

This salad is definitely a keeper - I make a version of it every week:

spinach/rocket/greens, roasted pumpkin, feta, chia/sunflower/pepitas, almonds, onions, 

crushed garlic, pinenuts, avocado, 

cukes, walnuts, chicken, etc. 

Drizzle with flaxseed oil, half a lemon and s&p and you've got a smashin' meal.


My other fave concoction: Coconut Lime Chicken Curry - inspired by a few different recipes, D calls it "restaurant-worthy" and I'm slightly addicted.

1 chicken breast (or can of chicken, undrained)
1 C snow peas or green beans
1 C zucchini, sliced
1 onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1.5 inch fresh ginger, minced
2 T coconut oil
1 t mustard seeds
2 T (or stalks) of lemongrass 
(or 2-3 drops lemon oil or rind of one lemon)
2-3 Kaffir lime leaves
2 cans coconut milk
2 T fish sauce
3 T lime juice
1/2 t salt
fresh cilantro for garnish

Fry seeds in coconut oil until sputtering. Add garlic & ginger for a couple minutes. Then onion, then zucchini, then beans or peas, then chicken - frying for a couple minutes each. Finally add coconut milk, lemon, and lime leaves and simmer 10-15 minutes until all is tender and slightly thickened. Add fish sauce, salt, lime juice and stir through. Serve over brown rice. (Amazing leftovers!)

There's a whole lot of alternative food out there - just look in the health food shops. This "rice chia pizza base" was pretty sad compared to real pizza crust, but at least I didn't feel so deprived that night.

We also experimented with grinding our own flours (quinoa/buckwheat/millet - before I had to eliminate most grain) and tried making some "soda bread." While this looks nice, it was pretty gross. Crumbly, dry and frustrating. But I'm sure you could get good at it - there are tons of recipes online if you need to avoid yeast.

When you're going for milks, skip the oat and rice (blech!) and go straight to almond milk. (make your own - so easy) Or goat milk if you like your cereal tasting like goat cheese...

(Soak almonds for up to 2 days, rinse, blenderize for a few minutes with double the water, then pour through cheesecloth lined strainer, squeeze out excess and refrigerate! I even stir the pulp into my oatmeal and it's great.)

 It's all a bit of a lifestyle change, and while I don't intend to keep these dietary restrictions forever (just until my body comes back into balance) I have learned a valuable lesson about my addiction to sugar. And how sweet some natural foods are. Once you eliminate it your tongue goes back to appreciating the real taste of food! Can't wait for the sugar rush from real fruit again~

I'm also better at reading labels (so much crap in everything these days) and will definitely keep incorporating nuts and seeds into way more of my meals. It has been good. I'm still looking forward to a chocolate after dinner or splurging at a party. (Another thing I learned about myself: I'm fine abstaining at home but lose all self-control when I go out!)

And if your wondering, no I haven't dropped a bunch of weight, but that's my nursing body I guess. I certainly haven't been perfect either. I'll eat half a banana Des leaves or take a bite of sandwich - but I've certainly gained a measure of self constraint. (Please let me bring on the cheese again!)

Anyway, maybe this post will make it easier for someone who's struggling to find stuff to eat too. Feel free to share what works with you - I'd love to hear it!

Healthy Habits & Some Recipes

I'm always on the look out for good healthy snack foods (since the after school snack routine around here is more and more like a stampede at the feeding trough and I don't even have teenagers yet!)  The two recipes below have been big winners this week.

I've also finally got some spirulina as I mentioned back in this post. I'm pretty sure it's kept me functioning through the last 6 weeks of the nastiest chest cold of my life. Mornings aren't pretty 'round here as I desperately try to eject the junk that's eternally rattling around in my chest. I feel like I've tried just about everything in the book now.

Incredibly, D hasn't caught it - maybe it's cause he drinks this every day... Honey & Apple Cider Vinegar - there's definitely something to that.

Anyway, enjoy some healthy snacks this week! (And a quick dinner idea for that leftover steak you don't know what to do with.)

xo

Date-Nut Bran Muffins (adapted from Grandma's recipe)

2 C boiling water
2 C All Bran (little twiggy cereal)

1/2 C vegetable oil
1/2 C coconut oil (or applesauce)
2.5 C sugar
4 eggs

5 C whole wheat flour
4 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t salt

1 quart Greek yogurt (original recipe calls for buttermilk)

4 C bran flakes (didn't have so I used part quick oats & wheat germ,  plus more All Bran)
1-2 C chopped dates
2 C walnuts (or pecans)
1 C coconut

Combine and set aside All Bran and boiling water. Beat oil, sugar & eggs. In separate bowl combine flour, soda, powder & salt then add to oil/egg mixture alternately with yogurt/buttermilk. Mix in soaked bran. Add flakes, dates, nuts & coconut & mix. Pour into greased muffin tins, filling almost to top then bake at 400 F for about 18 minutes. (Huge recipe. Store covered in fridge for longer freshness.)



Almond Granola (adapted from Keeping Up cookbook)

1/4 C brown sugar
1/3 C honey
1/3 C oil
1/4 t salt
1 t vanilla
3/4 - 1 t almond extract
4 C old fashioned oats
1/2 C flax/linseed
1/2 C coconut
1 C slivered almonds

Whisk together sugar, honey, oil, salt, vanilla & extract until well combined. Fold in remaining ingredients. Spread onto rimmed baking sheet and bake at 300 F for 10 minutes. Stir well, then bake 10 more minutes until lightly browned. Remove, stir again and cool completely before storing in covered container.

Thai Beef Salad 

1-2 leftover steaks, frozen
Salad (lettuce/spinach, tomatoes, red onion, cucumber, peppers, etc.)
Dressing (mostly sweet chili sauce, with fish sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, sesame oil and white wine/rice vinegar to taste)

Thin slice steak and stir fry it in some hot oil until warmed (I caramelized a sliced onion and some celery right before throwing in the steak) then lay it on the salad and apply a generous amount of dressing. We ate ours with a scoop of white rice as well. Scrumptious! 

Rocket Bagels

Bagels are amazing. I love them. I wish I could find more of them here. Occasionally I make them. I use THIS bagel recipe.

It's delish. DE-LISH. And fun. Who knew you could boil bread? I usually make my bagels into a rocket (salad) sandwich.

Kinda like I eat a Costco cheese pizza - with a pile of greens on top. Can't eat it plain - just too much choking on globs of bready cheesey goodness.

Anyway, try out the bagels. They're nice.

Don't forget to share!

Energy Balls

These are the best snack and I can't make them fast enough! My daughter who HATES muesli bars (and honey) is my biggest fan of these, which are virtually the same idea...

ENERGY BALLS

2 C oatmeal

1 C coconut

1 C chocolate chips

1/2 C flax seed (pulse in blender first for more accessible nutrients)

1/2 C chia seed

1 C peanut butter

1 C rice krispies

2/3 C honey

2 t vanilla

Mix all ingredients together, then refrigerate for 30 minutes. Form into balls. Store in fridge.

* I soften my PB and honey together in the microwave first for easier mixing. Would probably be great with coconut oil for half the PB as well. Mix/match or opt out of whatever you don't have and use more oats. Throw in some dried fruit even. Possibilities are limitless. Recipe inspiration HERE.

Try This

Back when we were newlyweds and I used to work in D.C. I basically had to put horse blinders on while heading for my train home each night. Why? I had to walk right by an Auntie Anne's Pretzels booth. It just about killed me. Those delectable, crispy, salty, melt-in-your-mouth buttery delights were my favorite thing in the world.

Well, I found a pretty darn good substitute today. And if I had dunked them in melted butter at the end, I'm convinced they would've been just as good. But short of that, they're pretty darn amazing. I surprised the kids with these after school and man, we sorta died and went to heaven. Just thinking of those dry, nasty cardboard box frozen versions that have been sitting in a 7-11 warmer all day makes me want to dry heave after eating one of these babies. Never again.

Chewy on the inside, crispy on the outside. Sweet or savory. Gorgeous. Try it. Recipe here (discovered through our old friend Pinterest.)

I have about 4 other soft pretzel recipes pinned to try as well, so I'll keep you posted if they top this one.

(Eat 'em hot because it's a crime to miss out on that melty, mouthwatering perfection factor the next day.)

And hey, if you're looking for a less time intensive but impressively easy and tasty (and healthier than store bought alternatives) snack. Try making potato chips in the microwave. It totally works. Here's a pic of ours (kids loooooved them) and here's the Recipe.

(We shook them up in a ziploc bag with oil, garlic salt and pepper, but I bet a packet of ranch or some vinegar would be great too.)


POST EDIT:
Alright, I tried a couple more soft pretzel recipes and here is our favorite. This other recipe from Our Best Bites was beat out by the slimmest margins. I did them both in a night and we've discovered the secret to resurrect the leftovers. Just pop 'em in the toaster and they're almost as good as fresh out of the oven. The kids have been stealing them for lunches and I dunk mine in anything from icing to pasta sauce to butternut soup - divine!

I Sprout

Sometimes I find myself prematurely turning into an old lady. I like nuts in my brownies and grains in my toast. I can't handle full strength juice and insist on diluting everything else too (much to my husband's chagrin.) I can hardly keep my eyelids open past 10pm. My cooking is increasingly plant based and beans are my friend. I find this to be an acceptable and even imperative beverage most days.

I no longer care what I look like in public or use makeup regularly (not that this was ever my strong point.) Our candy bowls are filled with nuts and dried fruits and I pour chia and flax in everyone's cereal. I make our yogurt, admit to wearing what Darren calls "ninja shoes" on occasion and I smell like a walking coconut.

While not all of these things may be considered positive I certainly am making us all pretty darn healthy. Perhaps it's less of a "grandma" thing and more of a "granola" thing? (Researching the how-tos and benefits of dehydrating, encapsulating and consuming my own placenta after birth certainly is...) But I digress. Onto the point of this post: SPROUTING.

Does anyone else sprout?

Do you have any idea how easy and nutritious it is?

(Are you laughing at these questions because 2 posts ago we ate Lucky Charms for dinner??)

Here are some fun facts:
 - sprouted seeds/grains/nuts are whole foods full of living enzymes
 - vitamin content of some sprouted seeds increases 100% - 2000% in just days (!!!)
 - grown quick, year-round, indoors, without sun/soil, in limited space, generating no waste
 - sprouting breaks proteins into amino acids and starches into simple sugars allowing vitamins/minerals to be absorbed/digested twice as easily/quickly with less carbs than dry grains
 - sprouts are considered life generating, Bio-genic superfoods
 - a powerful source of antioxidants (minerals, vitamins and enzymes), fibre & fatty acids
 - assist in protecting our cells against damage from free radicals
 - can protect against disease/cancer, lower cholesterol, regulate blood sugar & slow effects of aging
 - easy to store and just pennies per serving (think emergency food storage...)
 - rivals meat, veggies and fruits in nutritional quantity
 - a garden in your kitchen: virtually free, very fast and super easy!

I snapped a few photos lately that can give you the idea, but really all you need to do is purchase a sprouter (the old nylon over a tilted jar technique always fermented my sprouts, don't put yourself through it!) and check out a couple websites. Many garden/health stores have sprouters for about $20 or plenty online. And my favorite site for ALL things sprouting related: Sproutpeople

All it takes is a few tries and you'll be a pro. As long as they haven't been "treated" for planting, you can sprout virtually any seed or grain, just look up its specifics at Sproutpeople and give it a go. Here are some of the ones we do...

nuts, lentils, soy/black/adzuki/mung beans, buckwheat, chick peas, barley, quinoa, wheat, peas, sunflower/alfalfa/mustard/pumpkin seeds, brown rice, etc.

 Generally, you start out with a good soaking, usually overnight, to unlock the enzyme inhibitors and make them come "alive."

Then you rinse and throw them in your sprouter, individually or in a funky awesome "mix" for kicks.

 Most seeds/grains like to be rinsed once or twice a day, (even though with this "Sproutamo" sprouter design, rinsing is less imperative.) If you've got a bunch of smallish seeds or are doing a big batch, 10 swings in an old oranges net uses centrifugal force to keep them from being waterlogged.

You can see the sprouts starting to bud out the very next day.

This stackable sprouter makes rinsing/draining a breeze...

Taste 'em each time you rinse, but generally their nutrition/taste peaks at just a cm or two long.

You'll learn things along the way: Adzuki and mung beans like to be sprouted under pressure (place something heavy atop the seeds), almonds/pepitas/sunflower seeds are actually best just "soaked" for a while, chick peas are a complete protein and don't like to be rinsed, buckwheat makes for very cloudy water and needs multiple rinses, flax/chia are gelatinous and should be planted, not sprouted, etc.

Here's my mix at days 2 and 3...

 And the stacker at days 2 and 3. Below you see day 5 or 6 (alfalfa and certain beans take a while.)

Okay, so you successfully sprouted a couple cups of goodness - now what?

They're so versatile.

Throw them in or atop pretty much anything and you've got yourself a brand new fresh taste. Obviously, raw will maintain their amazing power punch of nutrition, but still great stirred into stirfries, soups, stews, etc. Some people dry/dehydrate them and grind them for breads. Sprinkle them on your sandwiches, salads, wraps, burritos. Blend them into dips or smoothies. Sprouted chick peas make your hummus immeasurably healthier. Sprouted beans/grains cook faster. Sprouts add crunch to your baked potato, scrambled eggs, quesadillas or curry... Get my point? Our weirdest favorite: on peanut butter toast with honey drizzle. Don't knock it til you try it - DEElish!

liked it on poached egg on toast

* Warning: kidney beans will sprout, just don't eat them raw - make sure to cook them once sprouted due to a potentially dangerous chemical found within.

 These are actually some samples I brought home from a raw foods demo, but you could certainly make crackers from sprouted grains or this "eggless" cashew based dip with sprouted nuts. I made a cream cheese sunflower seed ball version of this raw chocolate dessert that was an awesome snack.

Look up some recipes online and experiment - just get them into your diet. They're fast, easy, super healthy and think of the great skill you'd have if you ever find yourself in an emergency without access to fresh produce. No digging, no planting, just fresh greens in 2 days! Do it.

(Here's a quick reference/good visual CHART for soaking and sprouting.)