Cranberry & Orange Bread

While I don't have a calculator to figure the carb or sugar count in this recipe, I am sure enough that it is fairly low-carb. I imagine that you could reduce carbs further if you have an orange flavoring, unsweetened cranberries, or use full-fat sour cream in place of the yogurt. I use what I have available. I am enjoying this raisin bread substitute much more than the Wheat Belly recipe for Walnut Raisin Bread. (WB's bread wasn't horrible, it just wasn't as good. Plus, I get to use coconut flour instead of almond flour which was a goal of mine!) It's great with a slab of butter or cheese, too.

Cranberry & Orange Bread
(adapted and inspired by Satisfying Eats' Cinnamon Bread)
1/2c coconut flour
1/2tsp baking soda
1tsp baking powder
1/4tsp ground cinnamon
1/4tsp ground cloves
1/4tsp ground ginger
2 packets Stevita stevia sweetener (about 1 tsp)
3 large eggs
1tsp vinegar
1/3c full-fat plain Greek yogurt, heaped
4T butter, melted and cooled
2T water
2T minced dried cranberries
1T heaping orange zest (from 1 entire orange)

Heat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients, coconut flour through Stevita. In another bowl, whisk eggs through water. Then combine the dry and wet, then stir in cranberries and zest. Taste for sweetness, add more if desired. Line bread loaf pan with parchment paper, spray lightly. Give batter one more stir, spread into prepared bread pan. Bake about 30mns, testing with a toothpick for doneness and noting that the top of the loaf should appear dry. Cool & store in fridge.


*I used a toaster oven, so heating may not have been as efficient as a standard oven. I actually put my loaf back in for nearly 10 additional minutes as the top was not completely dry. I sliced into 10 pieces. If you like spiciness, you may want to double the spices as I intend to the next time I make this. I would try making this in a paper-lined muffin pan next time, which would likely be done baking in a shorter time, too.

Banana & Blackberry Muffins and Chocolate Cake Recipes

Banana & Blackberry Muffins 
(adapted from my adapted raspberry muffins recipe)
(made 10 muffins)
2 large eggs
1/6c xylitol
1/6c Stevia In The Raw  
1 tsp homemade vanilla extract
2Tbsp full-fat plain Greek yogurt
4 Tbsp h&h
1 small banana, smashed
1c almond flour
3Tbsp coconut flour
2Tbsp golden flaxseed meal
2tsp baking powder
1/2-3/4c fresh blackberries

Heat oven to 350. Place silicone muffin cups on cookie sheet or liners in wells (sprayed). In bowl, combine first 7 ingredients. In another bowl, sift together the next 4 dry ingredients. Gently add the dry ingredients into the wet. Scoop into muffin cups. Press a blackberry or two into center and smooth over the tops. Bake about 15mns or until they begin to brown and are firm to the touch. Take out and allow to cool... or not. 

*Notes to self - I replaced the vanilla liquid stevia with just vanilla to cut back on the sweetness since there's banana which increases it. I added the yogurt to increase the moistness, considering how much coconut flour soaks it up. I changed the original xylitol amount to a 50/50 split with powder stevia as a way to cut back on the xylitol due to its cost. 

I recently made this super-duper-do-dupity chocolate cake! Giving credit to Maria Emmerich for inspiration. I did tweak it to fit my preferences and needs. Please check out her book, The Art of Healthy Eating - Sweets to find her original recipe, plus a good many more goodies! (You would also get her accurate count of 11g carbs for each of the 12 servings.)

Chocolate Cake
(adapted and inspired by Maria Emmerich's Mocha Fudge Cake recipe)
1c Stevia In The Raw
1/2c xylitol
4Tbsp butter
5 eggs
2 squares Lindt's 85% dark chocolate, melted & cooled
3/4c sour cream
3/4c coconut flour
2Tbsp cocoa
1.5tsp baking soda
1/2tsp pink sea salt  
3/4c hot coffee
1.5tsp homemade vanilla 

Heat oven @ 350. Beat sweeteners and butter until combined. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Then beat in melted chocolate and sour cream. Mix coconut flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in another bowl. Then add to chocolate mixture. Beat in coffee and vanilla. Pour and spread into a prepared 8" square pan, bake about 35mns or until done. 

*Note to self - I did not get the "mocha" part of this, so referred to it as just a chocolate cake. If striving for a mocha flavor, I would probably make a double strength coffee, use espresso, or dissolve maybe a Tbsp or two of instant coffee granules. As it is, I'd leave it in since coffee's known to add a chocolatey depth. This also tasted rather great with a gob of store bought Tiramisu Mascarpone, and equally great with a sliced strawberry or two and a glop of whipping cream! This would be perfect to use as a birthday cake - YUM!

 

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins (lower-carb)

Sorry, can't tell you what the carb count is on each of these. (Anyone got that fancy software that figures this sort of thing out?) But I figure that as long as I make proper substitutions, they have to be better than the King Size pouch of mini Kit-Kats that I have laying around for "an emergency" (i.e. uncontrollable PMS, DMS and  AMS cravings - pre, during and after). I didn't want to turn on my oven this morning. We've now entered summer and are to hit about 70-74 all week... Heat wave, folks. Well, for northern MN. But I have been thinking about homemade cookies and store bought cupcakes with mile-high gobs of frosting for days now and needed to enjoy something baked. I don't know how others do it really. I often read low-carbers stating that they don't even miss this or that. While I don't miss actual bread, I certainly still crave homemade treats like cookies, bars or muffins. Yes. Muffins it is.

So while I was out in the garden yesterday I noticed the rhubarb is growing vigorously, per usual. I thought about a couple of recipes that use plenty of rhubarb that I used to make. But they also include a whole lot of sugar. While I like xylitol as a 1:1 substitute, it's darn expensive! This morning I went out to the garden again and decided to use just a small amount of rhubarb, thereby only needing a small amount of xylitol. I was glad to see they are tender, young stalks yet. Then I started worrying that they still may bake a bit too sour and decided to add a few strawberries to help sweeten them naturally. In my opinion, they turned out perfectly. Wonderfully light and sweet... especially delicious with a slab of butter and a cup of coffee. I ate two for lunch and am contentedly full.

Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins
(adapted from my adapted raspberry muffins recipe)
(made 10 muffins)
2 large eggs
1/3c xylitol
1 tsp vanilla liquid stevia
1c almond flour
3Tbsp coconut flour
2Tbsp golden flaxseed meal
2tsp baking powder
4-5Tbsp h&h
1/4-1/2c chopped fresh rhubarb*
1/4-1/2c chopped frozen strawberries*


Heat oven to 350. Place silicone muffin cups on cookie sheet or liners in wells. In bowl, combine first 3 ingredients. In another bowl, sift together the next 4 dry ingredients. Gently add the dry ingredients into the wet.  I then add enough h&h to make it moist enough to be able to then fold in the rhubarb and strawberries, though I'm approximating because I didn't measure. Scoop into muffin cups. Bake about 15mns or until they begin to brown and are firm to the touch. Take out and allow to cool... or not. 

*I used 4 tiny stalks of rhubarb. Once diced I had over 1/4c but not 1/2c. I used about 4 frozen strawberries that I coarsely chopped that looked to be about the same amount as the rhubarb.

Raspberry Muffins Recipe

 

Raspberry Muffins
(adapted from ? which I think was adapted from George Stella's Raspberry Scones)
Serves 6-8, depending on muffin size
2 large eggs, beaten
1/3c Xylitol
1/2tsp vanilla liquid stevia
1c almond flour
3Tbsp coconut flour
1 & 1/2tsp baking powder
3Tbsp h&h
1/2c frozen raspberries

Heat oven to 350.  Place silicone muffin cups on cookie sheet.  In large bowl, combine first 3 ingredients.  In another bowl, sift together the next 3 dry ingredients.  Gently add the dry ingredients into the wet.  I then add enough h&h to make it moist enough to be able to then fold in raspberries, though I'm approximating because I didn't measure either time that I'd made these.  Scoop into muffin cups.  Bake about 15mns or until they begin to brown and are firm to the touch.  Take out and allow to cool.  If you can.  They are good warm, too, ha ha.

3/11/13 - Editing to add that I made these today... sort of.  I reduced the xylitol and stevia in half, then replaced the raspberries with a small smashed banana and added a handful of walnuts and about 1/4tsp cinnamon.  Oh, and I experimented by adding 1/4tsp xanthan gum to see if I noticed anything texturely different.  I didn't.  But they sure were tasty!

Tried a new muffin recipe - Super Yummo!

A couple of days ago I finally tried making a muffin recipe that sounded absolutely wonderful from Caroline, on her blog, All Day I Dream About Food.  I did make a couple of minor tweaks.  The recipe posted is as Caroline makes hers and I've just added my adjustments at the end.  Aside from sticking a little to the liners (which we can fix by using silicone cups next go round), they are absolutely wonderful!



Chocolate Pecan Pie Muffins
(from All Day I Dream About Food)
3/4c Swerve Sweetener or granulated erythritol*
1c almond flour**
1c pecans, coarsely chopped
pinch salt***
1/2c butter, softened
2 large eggs, at room temp
1T molasses (optional)****
2.5oz 90%cacao chocolate, chopped, gluten-free if possible*****

Heat oven to 325 and line 12 muffin cups with liners.  In medium bowl, whisk together granulated erythritol, almond flour and salt.  In another bowl, beat butter, eggs and molasses together until smooth.  Stir in dry mixture just until combined.  Stir in chopped pecans and chocolate.  Divide batter into muffin cups.  Bake 26-28mns.  Let cool in pan.  Makes 12.  Each muffin has 5g carbs and 1.7g fiber.

*I used 1/2c Xylitol and 1/4c Stevia In The Raw.
**I added an additional 1T of coconut flour when adding the almond flour.
***I omitted the salt.
****I added an additional 4T of Half & Half when adding the molasses.
*****I used 1/4c Hershey's Dark Chocolate Chips.

So my reasons for the changes, in order made, are merely because I prefer the sweeteners that I used, I didn't think the batter looked "bulky" enough to give me a full dozen, I don't usually add salt to baked goods, I needed the extra moisture since I added coconut flour, and the chocolate chips are what I have in the freezer.

1/3/13 - Dad went to oncologist.  Apparently all looks okay and they don't want to see him again until May. 

Another week down. Link to wonderful zucchini muffins!

Sunday, Sept.16
B> fried eggs w/diced garden tomato & cheese, leftover strawberries & nectarine bits, coffee w/h&h and stevia
L> 1 bunless hotdog, coffee w/h&h and stevia
S> Taco Toss
Snacks> hot tea, 1 mini sugar-free cheesecake w/low-sugar jam, 1 low-sugar almond coconut chocolate

Taco Toss is just using up the taco leftovers.  But rather than everyone using shells or chips, I made some Dreamfield's pasta and mixed that with the seasoned ground beef.  We then pile on the cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, etc.  This was just as good, maybe even better, than last night's taco supper!  To the right is a link to The Belly Fat Cure...Purple Rosy Style blog and if you do a search for cream cheese muffins you will find the recipe that I started with and altered a little to my tastes.


Mon., Sept.17
B> 1 mini sf cheesecake w/low-sugar jam, 1 egg, chai
L> leftover Taco Toss, cottage cheese, couple strawberries
S> bbq chicken, sweet & sour cabbage, tomato w/mozzarella, basil, olive oil & vinegar
Snacks> chai, 1 mini sugar-free cheesecake w/low-sugar jam, 1 sf raspberry chocolate, part of SoBe


Tues., Sept.18
B> scrambled eggs w/bacon, chai, 1 Ezekial toast w/butter & low-sugar jam
L> 1 mini sf cheesecake, 1 peach slice, small bowl chicken wild rice soup w/cheese
S> Culver's beef roast, small mashed potatoes & gravy
Snacks> chai, last 2 low-sugar almond coconut chocolates , Zero water, few strawberries

Wed., Sept.19
B> eggs w/cheese, 2 strawberries, coffee w/h&h and stevia
L> taco salad w/about 2oz rice, cottage cheese, few bites pineapple
S> pork chops, sauerkraut, few tiny garden potatoes w/butter and s&p, two bites applesauce
Snacks> half a tiny apple w/pb, several mini low-carb chocolate chip cookies, chai, Zero water

Yeah, yeah.  I see it.  Too much snacking going on.  Too much fruit, too.  Oh, and a note regarding the chocolate chip cookies (recipe in previous post or two): Once in the fridge for about a week and poorly covered, they start to get crisp.  Ha ha ha.

Thurs., Sept.20
B> 2 mini sf cheesecakes w/several strawberries, coffee w/h&h and stevia
L> leftover Taco Toss, cottage cheese, pickles, 2 bites watermelon
S> turkey "noodle" soup, coconut "cornbread" biscuit w/butter
Snacks> hot tea, last 4 mini low-carb chocolate chip cookies, Zero water, 1/2 apple w/pb

The turkey "noodle" soup was made using a spaghetti squash from the garden.  I steamed it in the microwave, used a fork to drag out strands and added them to the soup.  Not the same as noodles, but didn't miss the noodles either.  I made a cornbread for everyone else and a coconut biscuit for myself.  I knew I'd really want the cornbread so I replaced a half Tbsp. of the coconut flour with corn meal.  It actually ended up tasting the same as when I make a regular coconut muffin.  What a waste of carbs...

Fri., Sept.21
B> eggs w/cheese, 1 Ezekiel toast w/butter & jam, coffee w/h&h and stevia
L> 1 chicken fillet, tiny crab apple off tree in garden
S> 2 salmon patties, 1/4c hashbrowns, 1/2c beet salad, sliced cheese
Snacks> 2 zucchini banana muffins, 1 cheesecake w/jam, sf mocha shake

Oh my.  But those muffins are delicious.  I had a very brown banana to use up so I squished it into the batter.  The muffins aren't nearly as low-carb as the original recipe, I suppose.  But I did get three more servings than what the original poster did when she'd made them.  So that's good, right?!?  I'll find and link to the recipe... HERE, at Your Lighter Side it is, though I altered it by adding the banana, pecans instead of walnuts, some dark chocolate chips and used xylitol instead of splenda and stevia in place of the xylitol.  Perfect moist texture when you consider it's made with coconut flour.  Not sure if the original would have the same texture or if the banana made that much difference.  The beet salad recipe came from Everyday Paleo.  I altered it by omitting the parsley (actually, I forgot it) and using much less cumin, probably about 1/4-1/2tsp.  We liked it well enough but agreed we like beets better with just butter and s&p.

Sat., Sept.22 
B> eggs w/bacon & hot pepper sauce, coffee w/h&h and stevia
L> 1 chicken fillet, 1 zucchini banana muffin, 1/2 apple w/pb
S> 1/2c roasted baby potatoes/broccoli/red pepper/garlic mix, pork loin slices, 1/2c beets, tomato/mozzarella/basil
Snacks> buttered popcorn, chai

Put the last few cheesecakes in the freezer so I wouldn't keep eating them.  Out of sight, out of mind.  Off to do the same with the zucchini banana muffins.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Muffins (low-carb)

Have you ever had Herman Coffee Cake?  It's one of those batters that you mix and feed over the course of days.  It builds up such a wonderful yeasty flavor... Mmmm...  I digress.  Anyway.  I've been craving something sweet and baked for about the past week or two (PMS, of course... and then into PPMS, which is Post Premenstrual Syndrome... ha ha ha).  I thought about what I had in the cupboards/freezer/fridge and what I could make to temper that craving while looking through my binder of recipes.  I came to a slip of paper that a friend had handwritten a Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin recipe on.  Her recipe is nut free and egg free, but heavy on sugar and white flour.  I'd made these a couple of times in my previous life as a sugar junkie and knew they were excellent.  So I decided to play around with her recipe by first cutting it in half then making substitutions and adding the cream cheese filling.  Oh, and where I was heading with the Herman Coffee Cake bit was that these remind me of that wonderful treat my mother made when I was a child.  It was loaded with spice and studded with chocolate chips & walnuts then topped with a good soaking from a milk, brown sugar and butter combination.  It stayed moist for days.  This recipe yielded 12 muffins, which I store in the fridge and some in the freezer. 

















Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Muffins
(adapted from friend's recipe)

Mix A:
1/2c pumpkin puree
1/4 + 1/8c almond milk
1/4c canola oil*
1/4c coconut oil
1/2c xylitol
1/4c stevia

Mix B:
1/2c coconut flour
1/2c flax meal
1/2c almond meal
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
4oz Hershey's Sugar-Free Choc.Chips

Mix C:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp sweetener**
1 egg
1/2 Tbsp coconut flour

Heat oven to 400.  Line 12 muffin wells with paper cups.  Make each mix in 3 medium mixing bowls.  Add Mix B to Mix A and combine well.  Divide batter evenly into muffin pan.  Make an indent in middle of each muffin with back of spoon.  Drop a scoop of Mix C into each indent.  Pop into oven for 15-20mns.

*Once I combined Mix A and Mix B, I realized that the coconut flour was making the batter extra thick.  I have a small amount of canola oil to use up, so I chose to add this to add more moisture.  Reason being that the original recipe from my friend actually called for 1c of oil and since I cut the recipe in half here, I figured a 1/2c total for oil.  I recall having made the original muffins with 1/2 the amount of oil called for and they'd turned out well then, too.  So the next time I make these I will replace that 1/4c canola with either an additional amount of fruit puree or almond milk.  Made as posted above, these are extremely moist.

**Use sweetener of choice.  While I realize that the use of artificial sweeteners is not something that Jorge Cruise advises (actually, he totally doesn't want you to do it), I used Da Vinci's French Vanilla Sugar-Free flavored syrup so that I could use what I've got on hand and get both sweetness and a little flavor from one ingredient.

Berry-Kissed Muffins

Yummy addition to breakfast or snack-time. I experimented with another muffin recipe to come up with this sweet & lightly flavored muffin a couple of days ago:















Berry-Kissed Muffins
1 - 3/4 c flour
1 c sugar
2 - 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1/4 c milk (I used 1%.)
6 oz low-fat blackberry yogurt
1 T homemade vanilla
6 T butter, melted & cooled to room temp

Preheat oven to 400. Prep muffin pan. Mix first 4 ingredients in bowl. In another bowl, mix remaining ingredients well. Then add the wet to the dry ingredients, combining just until all's moistened. Scoop into muffin pan. Bake 15 mns.

*Notes: I use paper muffin liners, then spray lightly with oil. I also use an ice cream scoop to scoop my muffin batter into the liners, which gives me 10 muffins total rather than a dozen. Additionally, I have found my oven to be a little too hot, so I actually had mine set at between 375 and 400.