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Showing posts from October, 2013

Chemical reactions can be a thing of beauty

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I always have trouble when a recipe calls for honey. Can't use it. But it's liquid not solid and some "experts" say no worries, sugar melts into liquid. Same thing. Others say whoa not so fast, add some liquid and extra sweetness. I don't pay attention. I half read it, nod and figure, I'm gonna throw something together and see if it explodes. Which would be somewhat humorous and all that, if in fact my bread batter didn't do just that today. My intention was to make almond butter bread. I'd seen a headline saying Almond Butter Bread... and thought hey I can do that. It was paleo, and filled with weird things like flax seed and chia gel. But it seemed to me that almond butter is nothing more than almonds ground so fine that they become butter and I bake with almond flour all the time. I'm smart. I can figure this one out. Since I'd already determined I wasn't going down those roads, chia street and flax boulevard, (but certainly if t

Burger and Fries, hold the carbs

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It's amazing how some of our most cherished comfort foods are really horrible for us. Really really horrible. And even knowing this, we somehow crave them.  Your basic burger and fries for example. I am just not into a veggie burger, with apologies to my veggie friends... I just am not. And somehow, eating a bunless, tasteless burger with kale chips just doesn't send me.    So I gave in. Buckled under pressure. And served up a good old burger and fries for supper. So yum. But how you wonder? Must be 100 carbs on that plate. No my friends, only a handful. I don't know, 3? See these fries are made of Jicama . A fabulous replacement to the potato. Actually it technically is a tuber, and known as a Mexican potato. So it counts. It's glycemic load is negligible. The bun. Oh the bun. I've heard people speak of this magical bun. Known as the Oopsie bun. Somebody's wonderful mistake. You'll find it here at YourLighterSide . I believe that's t

Low Carb Grain-free Cinnamon Muffins

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Low Carb Grain Free Gluten Free Muffins Baking is what I do now when I've had a bad week. There are lots of reasons to have a bad week, just no excuses. I didn't need to get caught up in office drama. It happens daily and I usually stay out of it. Lapse of judgement. I didn't need to get caught up in my kid's drama. She's an adult. And I certainly didn't need to give a flying fig (do people really say that?) about the drama in the Kardarashian family. I don't even know who the key players are. Ugh. So I bake.  It helps. I bake healthy. Easy. A few substitutions from the normal routine. Because contrary to what ignorant blowhorns out there tell you, being diabetic, or having serious food reactions doesn't call for simple will power or 8 hours daily of spare time in the gym. It calls for problem solving. Here's a problem. You know the terrible cravings. You get up and after a long night of rest your body wants something really tasty. Willpowe

Why does a McDonald's full time employee need federal assistance?

Are you kidding me? Still want those fries and a shake? Maybe you ought head over to In and Out Burger. Better yet, how about heading over to the farmer's market and buying some fresh wholesome food. And then sharing some with the modern day slaves over at Mcdonald's. If ever there was a reason not to eat this crap, this is it.

Easy Low Carb Pie Crusts

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You want a crust that holds together. You want a crust that holds up to your filling. You want a crust that tastes yummy not like somebody forgot to remove the cardboard box.  But you can't have sugar. Or maybe you need gluten free. You can't have wheat... or grains. Can't have carbs. Ooooh what to do. I'll tell you what to do. Grab some nuts. You're favorite kind or those that are perfect for your filling. And take your mind out of the gutter... you know who you are....  How about a pecan crust with a maple cream filling. Or a Walnut with Apple Cinnamon. Mine tonight was a yummy hazelnut with Mocha Latte cream filling. The recipe is the same  no matter what.  For a 9" pie crust, use 2 cups of nuts, 2 tablespoons of sweetener (whatever you use that equals 2 tblsp of sugar) and 3 tablespoons of melted butter (or Ghee), hopefully organic.  Grind the nuts to almost powder form, leaving a few lumps for taste. You can use a food chopper, but I u

Low Carb Lemon Bars even my grandmother would love.

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I pulled out my grandmother's lemon bar recipe, courtesy of my sister who keeps all these things. One look gave me the heeby jeebies. 2 CUPS of sugar. And of course that wonderful butter pastry crust. So, absolutely not going with Almond Flour on this one. Sorry, but I could not fathom making a mockery of something my taste buds have always had a soft spot for. And hubby not liking coconut, which is of course the perfect choice, left me in a quandary. You can't make a half-assed Lemon Bar. So I went with the coconut anyway. Hubby's not the diabetic one, so he can live with it. I am only sharing this recipe because I've changed it enough that it isn't actually my grandmother's anymore, and I also assume... rather this is an educated guess... she got it from a cookbook anyway. Sugar Free Grain Free Gluten Free Lemon Bars This isn't in a cookbook yet. But if I ever publish one it will be cause these are that good. Really. Lemonlicious Lemon Bars G

Low Carb Chocolate Topped Almond Butter Mousse Pie

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So I'm out of ideas, and in the mood for something akin to a miracle pie. Something to make everyone's palates desperate for a bite. So desperate they'll go face first into it instead of delicately sampling with a fork. Something to make us forget that we so totally abused our most cherished national treasure... our vote... that the inmates have taken over the asylum. We're gonna take it back. At least for a moment. Here's what I'm thinking... now be advised I have no idea what the end result will be.  We're looking for an awesome pie. That entails an awesome crust. Being GGS Free (my new catch all phrase for Grain/Gluten/Sugar Free foods, which by definition are gonna be low carb, I need to start with fresh wholesome ingredients. I'm diabetic type II, so knowing the source of everything I eat is important.  Unsweetened coconut always makes a good crust. But it's ordinary. I'm thinking, let's add some chopped Pecans and perhaps a