Political Nutrition

Always trying to improve upon a necessary breakfast food, here's another tweak to the muffin. Some of the ingredients are not ordinary staples in your pantry, I understand that. But if you live a grain free life, and eat low carb foods, these are new pantry essentials that will turn a low carb diet into a fabulous new way to eat. Diet is an ugly word. It's restrictive. It is something you can go "on" and "off" which is awful for you. Just learn to use a few new kitchen essentials and you won't miss a thing. Except maybe corn. Cannot help you there. Remember, if you are unfamiliar with some of the ingredients, send me a note and I'll let you know where to find them! Now, muffins aren't fussy. So you can make these in a bowl with a mixing spoon, no fancy electric mixers or dough paddles required. Just a few minutes to whisk and stir. 1 cup peanut flour 1 cup less 3 tablespoons almond flour 3 tablespoons maca powder   2 teaspoon...

Sometimes competition gets the best of you. Sometimes you just need to prove you can. Whatever it is, you can. So, in my quest to be this all put together adult member of an ever increasing family preparing for the eldest of the next generation's marriage to another large family I somehow declared that during the chaos of the wedding weekend I would in fact bake a cake for my daughter's birthday. There was some nobility behind this. We don't eat traditional birthday cake and I certainly wanted to make things special. But then I realized that what we consider delicious and wholesome and healthy even may not be suitable for everyone else. That whole judgement thing started creeping in. What if my cake sucks? What if someone runs out to the nearest grocery store to get an emergency cake because they think mine is somehow fake cake? Well, I figured I better practice. Make sure my cake can be made quickly and easily amidst all the chaos. I know my muffins are good. And my la...

After a week of dipping fresh Strawberries in homemade chocolate dipping sauce, we were ready for something totally different. Still healthy of course, just different. Cookies. Buttery, sugary cookies. We also thought it was time to break out the new fruit extracts. When you first go low carb you discover that you can dress up anything with a good extract. Not artificial flavors and not sugary syrups. Just a little extract can change up a recipe in a heartbeat. Which is what you'll have many more of if you eat right. Lose the grain, lose the sugar... and ultimately gain your health back. The great thing about these cookies? You can change up the flavor of the cookie, and change up the flavor of the icing. Ultimately there's no end to the combinations you can make.  And they are the perfect recipe for a summer day, since they don't take long to bake. Plus, in the summertime when your children are home? You can get them to do the baking. Now mine are grown, but I b...

So I love all things Maple. Seriously. I would almost trade chocolate for maple sugar candy. Almost. It was a favorite treat growing up. Finding out you are diabetic is hard enough. Learning Maple sugar candy is out? Oh my goodness. But wait. What is this I have found on Amazon? Maple Extract? Can it be? Can I make something totally Maple and delicious without the sugar? It was a gamble to be sure. Especially with our current houseguest being a native Vermonter with his own affinity for Maple. But my daughter and I had our sights set on it. Well, truthfully, we figured out how to make a Maple glaze icing. You know the kind at the donut shop? We also figured out how to make a Cherry. And about 6 other flavors. What can I tell you, it was mother daughter bonding time. Fill a bowl with powdered sweetener, add a little cream, then divide into little dishes and add different extracts for flavor. The Maple was so good we wanted more. We just didn't have anything to glaze. She did sug...

So I'm not running a bagel shop and I don't happen to poppy seeds laying around. And thinking that's a good thing. I love a good bagel. But way off topic. Back to poppy seeds. I have none. What I do have are Hemp Hearts. The heart of the Hemp seed which tastes pretty much like a sunflower seed. Almost exactly actually.  Now I also have Lemons. It is Arizona after all. And today's a big day for the Millers. Our daughter comes home. Now among all the chaos this brings (suitcases, boxes, all the things she's accumulated over the last 5 years including a significant other and 2 bunny rabbits and all their belongings.. whew. yeah. But I realized the brownies I made the other day unfortunately flopped so I couldn't in good conscience offer them. I used cashew flour mixed with Almond Flour and that's a totpic for an all too different blog. So I decided I'm tired of Blueberry Muffins and my Mocha Java doesn't go well with the sugar free apricot p...

I had this urge for boston baked beans. No, not the kind in a can, the kind in a bag in the candy section at the store. I thought hmmm. How how how???? So I looked up recipes for them. And found a number of them. Very simple really. Cook some peanuts in sugar water. Except I don't do sugar. I Swerve . And Swerve I did. And they were crunchy and crispy and sweet and incredible. I know because my husband, who for those who aren't aware, is as physically fit as you can be. An athlete, he can eat anything. He says these are amazing. You will too.  So here goes. Use 1/2 cup Swerve per cup of raw spanish peanuts and 2 to 3 tablespoons water and a pinch of salt. Mix the Swerve, water and salt till blended (no heat), then, add the peanuts and heat the mixture till simmering stirring constantly. Keep cooking until the liquid is mostly evaporated, and then spread mixture out on a parchment lined tray. Bake for about 15 minutes in a 300 degree oven, remove and let cool fo...

Today's blog isn't a blog. Well, it is. But it's not my recipe. It's from a genius named Carolyn Ketchum who turns living a low carb diabetic life into a culinary adventure. Today I made her donuts. I was skeptical, sure. I mean donuts without flour? or Sugar?  So, head over here:  http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2011/07/chocolate-donuts-with-peanut-butter-glaze-low-carb-and-gluten-free.html That's where you will find the miracle recipe. She used a peanut butter glaze, so here's my chocolate glaze. Sorry, I'm a chocoholic. 1 oz unsweetened chocolate 2.5 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 tablespoons Confectioners Swerve. Melt the chocolate and butter and stir until smooth. Add the Swerve and stir until creamy and pourable, and then pour it over the donuts.  I can't say enough about these. Except there's something so appealing about tonight's dessert being  tomorrow's breakfast. What could be better.