Flax Meal Banana Bread - Grain Free, Nut Free, Paleo, Sugar Free

Yea, so uhh it's me. Do you remember me? I know, it has been SO long since I have posted. It feels like I went to bed and woke up and BAM it was May. 
Ohh well, what can you do? 
So Of course I have a stack of recipes awaiting to be published!! (so excited). 
TODAY, I was feeling sad. I wanted something warm and kind of sweet, but low carb and of course sugar free, primal etc. 
I have been sticking to my guns and staying on the Primal track. no regrets. Especially when I can go upstairs and open the pantry and make something so delicious like Banana bread.. 
I remember the days when I used to work full time and my favorite treat, was to pour banana bread batter in the bread maker before I went to bed. Only to wait for it to be hat and warm by breakfast, so I could grab a chunk piece of it to take with me to work. 
Yep, those were the days.. I have a special relationship with my bread maker, and though I no longer am able to use it currently, I believe that I will be able to. 
It has not yet made it to my Kijiji List. HA, not sure why??
So, I of course have made Banana Bread already. I was in the mood though for something more simple though, with less ingredients. I haven't made banana bread in almost a year since I made that recipe. I also have a confessions to make, I have been out of almond flour for nearly a month (not by choice).
I buy my almond flour by the Case where it is crazy cheaper and well worth the gas to get there.
One more week without it and I will back to business! Until then, I have been having fun experimenting.

So I stumbled into my Pantry with Banana on my mind, and thought of how I could make banana bread without almond and coconut flour.
I automatically reached for my beloved flax meal.
Flax meal is not only good for you, but with all the fiber the carbohydrate count really becomes minimal.
However, I was also disappointed to notice that I didn't have enough flax meal either.
Then I remembered a bag that I brought home from the bulk store. Golden Flax meal. 

  What's the difference? I don't really know. I remember reading somewhere that Golden was much lighter tasting and could be used in places Flax meal can be overwhelming. (Golden flax on the left) --------------------------------------------->>>
I love flax meal but it can definitely be all you can taste, and if it burns, ugh it's gross. Definitely why in my muffin recipes I combine it with other flours.
PLUS, Flax meal is really quite in expensive. I am really enjoying the golden flax meal, so much so, I am going to make some delicious pancakes with it. MMMmmm.
 So, I took out my coffee grinder and started grinding the whole flax to see how it would grind.
It only took 1 cup of whole seeds to give me 2 Cups of ground flax meal. Quite economical. I ground 1/2 cup at a time for about 3-5 seconds. That's it. 
*Note You can actually ruin your coffee grinder by trying to make it finer and finer. It is very oily and will get stuck and can turn into a paste in your grinder. Not good.
 This Banana bread turned out very well. It rose in a regular size pan, it didn't crumble when it was still hot out of the oven sliced. It didn't get overly dark on top, and cooked in a regular timely fashion. Though, I greased my pan well with coconut oil, I did have a bit of trouble getting the bread to release from the pan bottom until it had cooled for almost 30 min, then it fell right out.
I will say my tastes have really quite changed in the past year. I didn't add any sugar at all to this bread, besides the bananas and the chocolate chips. In my previous recipe, I had used 1/2 cup of date syrup or puree (sub agave nectar). I really enjoyed it not being overly sweet. I wanted to taste the banana, the salty flax, and the walnuts. I plan to eat this bread for breakfast so I am not hoping for it to be a sweet dessert. Feel free to sweeten it for your tastes! 
I read on some reviews on baking with Flax that a lot of people battled with Flax Bread not rising into anything, just a flat sponge. I added in a scoop of whey powder, to lighten up the batter. My beloved whey powder also helps with keeping the bread from being crumbly. If you can't use whey powder, feel free to add extra baking soda, and perhaps beat your egg whites with some cream of tartar, then fold them in. 
I am not sure on how the bread will rise if omitted all together.

This was a delicious Grain Free Banana bread. If you sub in regular flax meal, you may want to add an extra banana to counter the nuttiness.  
Try it out and let me know. 
using pre-ground flax meal will not make a difference. Using whole, will not work.

Banana Bread - Grain Free, Sugar Free, Primal, Nut free*(sub)
In a standing Mixer bowl:
2 C ground Golden flax meal or Regular Flax Meal (if using add 1 extra banana)
1/4 C Sugar Free, Gluten free unflavored/vanilla Whey Powder* (sub beaten egg whites)
1 tbs Organic Cinnamon
1 tsp Aluminum free Baking Soda
1/4 C Organic Dark Chocolate chips
1/4 C Chopped Walnuts* (omit for nut free or sub in extra chocolate, sunflower seeds)
1/2 tsp sea salt* (3/4 tsp if using regular flax meal)

In a glass bowl mix together:
1/4 C melted organic clarified butter, coconut oil, or grapeseed oil
4 organic eggs* (separate and beat whites if you omit whey powder)
1 tbs Organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar
1 tbs real vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean scraped
3 mashed ripe (black) bananas* (use 4 if using regular flax meal)

Beat wet ingredients into dry ingredients with a stand mixer until smooth. Pour batter into a well greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes. Top will be crusty, and middle will be moist (not wet) but set. Bread will become firmer as it cools. Allow to cool before removing from the pan. 

*If you omit whey powder, fold in stiff beaten egg whites just before placing batter in the pan.

If you like your banana bread sweet, like dessert sweet, add in 2-4 tbs of agave nectar, maple syrup, honey, date syrup or Stevia. For best results, taste your batter to determine sweetness before baking.

Chocolate Chip cookies - flourless, grain free, dairy free, gluten free, sugar free

I was so excited today, I was planning on listing pancakes. However, I was really really really craving chocolate chip cookies. 

I wanted to make some but I have a hard time making them healthy.

I've been doing some research on baking pavlova cakes and pie crusts. I thought it would be a delicious alternative to grains using a meringue pie crust. 

I am planning on going crazy with making macaroons for Christmas this year. I will make them in every color! Why macaroons? 

They look great, colorful and decorative. But mostly, because then I only have to make one big batch and I can divide them per household that we go visit. No more making 10 different kinds of cookies because of all the different dietary needs and different tastes.

While I was browsing, I thought, how delicious would it be to make a cookie that was macaroon based instead of from grains. A meringue cookie, without being a shatter hard meringue. A meringue cookie without being gummy and chewy and funny looking..  A meringue cookie tasting like a cookie, looking like a cookie, and being small enough to shove one in my mouth every time I walk by type of cookie.

They are chewy, melt in your mouth tender, and simple ingredient wise compared to my other recipes. 

Honestly, I will probably never make any other kind of cookie again. They were sooooo good, and I don't feel guilty after eating them.

These are meringue cookies, or macaroons without the filling. You could fill them though, if you wanted. I could hardly stand waiting for them to cook though so I don't think I would fill them. 

They may look like ordinary cookies in the picture, but they are different. You could put them out on the table and just wait for someone to sneak one. They wouldn't even notice they didn't use flour or grains.

You can make them as difficult (by piping them out fancy) or easy (spoon) as you like. They will taste the same. 

They didn't spread, or rise. They didn't change shape or move, so put them in the same shape you want them to come out.

Chocolate Chip Macaroons - 

primal, grain free, gluten free, sugar free, dairy free

A macaroon (/mækəˈruːn/mak-ə-ROON) is a type of light, baked confection, described as either small cakes or meringue-like cookies depending on their consistency.

In a stand mixer bowl, beat until stiff peaks form:

3 organic egg whites

1/4 t sea salt
pinch cream of tartar or lemon juice

In a separate bowl mix together:

powdered sweetener to equal 5 tbs sugar (sucralose, or stevia)

1/4 C almond flour

1 t vanilla powder**

dash cinnamon

Once egg whites are stiff, sprinkle in 1/3 of dry mix over top of the whites and fold in gently. About 3 folds. Continue until all mix is combined.

Add: 1/4 C semi sweet or unsweetened chocolate chips

Fold twice. On a large cookie sheet with parchment paper, drop delicately by the tablespoon. Swirl top and flatten to size of desired cookie (You can also pipe the cookies for more elegance).

Cookies don't rise or spread so little space is necessary.

Bake at 300 degrees for 40 minutes, or until slightly golden and crisp on the outside.

The cookies should be chewy and soft in the middle but slightly crispy on the outside. I probably waited 3 minutes before trying one and it was great warm. I will have to try one cold and notice the texture change. 

For best results keep cookies cold to stop meringue from turning gummy.

* If you don;t have vanilla powder, you can use vanilla extract but adding it to the egg whites while mixing. Too much vanilla with break down the whites.

Crisp Crumble Topping - Grain Free, Sugar Free, Gluten Free

I found myself once again with a huge bag of fresh organic rhubarb ready to made into something delightful. 

I am not daring enough yet to try it as a soup or a stew. I have not come up with a recipe yet for a pie crust that follows the 17DD. 

The most recent one that I listed is my favorite and most up to date recipe so I am going to stick with that.

I suddenly was dreaming about the delicious strawberry rhubarb pie that I made a few weeks ago. The hot filling with cold vanilla cream is delicious!

I realized that I don't care if it's pie or not but the combination and the taste is what is the best. 

I had a thought that a crisp would be a good way to go. I knew I could figure out a way to make the topping without using anything I can't have. I was also glad not to have to make my kitchen all dirty making and rolling out pie crust. SO.. This is what I came up with.

A delicious crisp with a topping was crispy, golden brown, cinnamony and warm.

My only complaint is there will not be enough to last the week.

The best part about this topping is you could use it on absolutely any kind of crisp, or crumble you so desire. It will be a recipe that you can use as a substitute in any recipe needing a crumbly topping. I might actually get gutsy enough and try making it into a granola!

MMMmm I LOVE granola. Homemade granola is so good you could just shovel it in your mouth. But the oats always make it not very good for you if you shovel it in lol.

I also realized once trying it that it would work for a terrific substitute for graham cracker crumbs or a no bake graham cracker crust. 

First step, I made the topping. I wanted it to cool and dry out a tiny bit before adding it to the filling as I didn't want it to get soft.

6. Crumble Topping - grain free, gluten free, sugar free, low carb

In a large mixing bowl:

1/2 C blanched organic almond flour or ground almonds/nuts

1/2 C sliced blanched almonds or unsalted dry roasted pumpkin seeds

1/2 C sugar free vanilla/unsweetened whey powder

1/2 C xylitol with 1 t of organic mollases/breakfast syrup (for brown sugar taste)

                                                    or

           organic coconut palm sugar/ brown sugar sucralose blend

2 T cinnamon

In a separate bowl mix melted butter with vanilla and molasses(if using):

1/2 t vanilla powder or 1 t real vanilla extract

1/4 C plus 2 T melted butter or organic coconut oil/lard

Mix the dry ingredients and slowly stir in the melted butter stirring constantly until the mix begins to clump together and stick. It should look like coarse oat meal. If needed add more butter or coconut oil to until desired texture.

Set the bowl aside.

In order to make the filling 17DD compliant and starch and grain free you are going to have to use a fabulous alternative to traditional corn starch. Konjac powder. If you don't have this you can definitely substitute gelatin or regular tapioca starch.

I love how it's 0 calories, 0 carbohydrates and thickens 10 times stronger then corn starch. GREAT for diabetics or anyone wanting to avoid the regular high glycemic index of starches. 

This recipe usually needs 3 Tablespoons of flour or corn starch. I used 1 tsp on Konjac and I found it to be exactly right. 

The only trouble with Konjac I find is if you add more before it has completely thickened you can pretty much turn anything into jello. lol. Watch your gravy turn into a jello mold, (don't laugh it happened to me ok). 

Konjac powder is also used to make Noodle and "rice". Of course don;t expect them to be the same as traditional pasta but they hold together like a regular noodle and do the job. They just don't taste like anything, konjac is tasteless. I am really beginning to love these noodles. I see lasagna in the future! it's 17DD friendly!!!!

Strawberry Rhubarb Filling - sugar free, starch free

Feel free to reduce the sweetness to what suits you best. I like it slightly tart if you want it sweet add the full 2 C equal to of sugar.

In a large bowl toss together well:

3 C chopped organic rhubarb

2 C sliced organic strawberries

1 t konjac powder or 3 T tapioca/arrowroot/corn starch (not 17DD compliant)

Mix the konjac well with the fruit until it is evenly spread to reduce any clumping.

Stir in:

1 T real lemon juice

1/4 C egg whites or 1 organic egg

1 1/2 C xylitol, stevia  or sucralose (any sweetener equal to of sugar)

Mix well until filling become sticky and well combined. Pour half of the filling into a grased 9x9 square baking dish. Stir your topping and using your hands drop crumbles of half of the topping over the filling.

Add the rest of the filling over the topping. Crumble remaining topping over the filling.

Cover with tin foil and bake 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover, increase heat to 400 degrees and bake uncovered for 20 minutes until rhubarb is tender and the topping darkens and becomes crisp.

Meet me back here tomorrow for pancakes!!!!!!! :)

Chocolate Lava Cake - Sugar free, flour less

I always have trouble with my chocolate cravings following cycle 1. I like chocolate, but since we don't buy sweetened chocolate anymore it's really not good alone by itself.

I love chocolate desserts, but not just melted chocolate gobbed onto fruit.

So, I was searching through my delicious grain free cookbooks and found a great option for a chocolate Lava Cake.

One of my most favorite desserts when we would go out for dinner was chocolate lava cake or toffee pudding.

Nothing is really more delicious in my book.

Of course the trick right now is to avoid any kind of starches or grains or flour. So luckily I was able to figure out a recipe for lava cake without any kind of flour whatsoever. 

If you have ever made a flour less chocolate cake I am sure this is very similar. 

The addition of whey powder causes them to puff up and be more cakey then traditional flour less cake.

They are only partially baked so the inside is soft and warm still like lava. The best part was they fell after baking and left a delicious hole in the center just waiting to be filled with something creamy. If you eat them directly out of the oven they will still be puffed up like the picture above. Thats how they looked right out of the oven. After about 10 minutes they looked more like this.

<---------------------------------------------------

I had this thought of coffee ice cream that I usually order and I figured I would be able to get the same flavor out of whip cream without added sugar. 

Ice cream is not allowed on 17DD and neither is caramel sauce right now.

So coffee whip cream!

It turned out fluffy, creamy and coffee delicious. I hope you use this as a great recipe to fall upon on any kind of diet as they are significantly low in carbs and delicious. This brings me to recipe number 5 out of 17. I hope your having as much fun as I am.

5. Chocolate Lava Cake - Grain free, sugar free, flour less

In a mixer whip together until creamy:

3/4 C melted butter/coconut oil

3 organic eggs

1/4 C egg whites or 2 egg white

1/4 C heavy cream/cashew milk/coconut milk

Blend dry ingredients together:

1/2 C xylitol, date sugar, or date syrup (my recipe) (palm sugar or sucralose may be substituted)

1/4 C unsweetened whey powder

1 t baking soda

splash organic apple cider vinegar

Slowly scoop dry ingredients into mixer bowl while spinning. 

Once well combined slowly pour in chocolate so that it doesn't seize.

4 oz unsweetened bakers chocolate or 1/2 C melted

Slowly pour the chocolate in a steady stream into the batter and beat for 1 minute.

Grease 6 ramekins or 6 large muffin cups with coconut oil.

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 8-12 minutes at 400 degrees until the center is still moving when you shake the ramekin.

Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Dollop with coffee whip cream just before serving.

Coffee Whipped Cream - sugar free

1 C of whipping cream

2 T strong coffee

1 t real vanilla extract

1 t stevia

2 T fresh ground coffee

Whip whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Fold in coffee, vanilla and stevia. Sprinkle coffee grounds and fold in.

Dollop whip cream into centers of each lava cake. Eat while warm. Sprinkle with more coffee if so desired.

Breakfast Egg Muffins - grain free, gluten free, starch free

It was a very nice long weekend and I realize when I come back home and get back to routine how much my baking is missed.

When it comes to lunches if I haven't been making anything there is really nothing to eat besides carrot sticks and canned fish.

It's difficult being Grain Free and eating breakfast on the go, especially when you get down to 17DD as the regular grain free indulgences all of a sudden become non existent.

Your main source of breakfast food becomes eggs and yogurt in Cycle 1.Yogurt is fine but eggs on the go? Boiled eggs are only fun for about a week. 

I make a fair bunch of fritatta and egg casseroles but even those can be troublesome to eat when you're driving to work with a delicious hot steaming coffee.

SO ... I had a VISION!

What if I was able to make a delicious breakfast muffin! Not just a muffin like all of my other recipes, but a BREAKFAST muffin.

We're talking Eggs, cheese, turkey bacon, scallions oh yum.

I looove my lemon, cranberry, whey powder muffins. They are great. But sweet muffins with sweet yogurt and sweet coffee is not for every day.

Here is a fabulous way to eat a balanced breakfast, grain free, starch free, and without additional carbs.

I love how you don't need a mixer or a food processor, to complete these. 

You can obviously pick many different savory flavors to complete these muffins.

I stuck to my basics. 

I used the silicon and the paper baking cups to make them easier to remove from the pan without sticking. You could omit these by using coconut oil or butter to grease the muffin tins.

I added some whey powder to the recipe to make them more "cakey" other than "eggy" and I quite liked it. You may need to adjust seasonings accordingly to make up for flavors, and sweetened or unsweetened whey powder.

Using the whey powder in the muffin will also cause them to "rise" similar to a regular muffin. Without the whey powder you will probably have fairly flat muffins.

If you want to omit the whey powder completely it will be totally fine. To substitute the whey powder I would recommend coconut flour.

This brings me to my 4th 17DD safe recipe!!!

4. Breakfast Muffins - grain free, starch free, dairy free, gluten free

In a glass bowl scramble together:

6 organic eggs/whites equal to

1 C coconut Milk/Dairy Milk/Cream/Almond Milk

1 t sea salt

1/2 t garlic powder

1/4 t black pepper

1/4 t onion powder

dash of paprika

Add to egg mixture:

 

1/2 C finely chopped vegetables.

• scallions, bell peppers, pimentos, mushrooms, tomatoes etc.

4 slices turkey/chicken bacon fried crisp and diced (ham, bacon, sausage etc)

1 cold 4 oz cream cheese brick chopped into pieces (1 C old cheddar cheese)

Mix the filling into the egg mixture and scramble as you would an omelet. You want to leave the cream cheese in pieces as it will melt in the oven.

Slowly scoop in 3 T unsweetened whey powder or 2 T coconut flour

Mix all ingredients together and pour into greased or paper lined muffin cups. Fill 2/3 full and bake.

Bake at 400 degrees for 13-18 minutes. Just until the top is firm, and starting to brown.

Let cool for 10 minutes before eating.

Oopsie Rolls - Grain Free, Wheat Free, Starch Free

So... I am getting excited about summer food. Steak, ribs, hamburgers, baked beans, hot dogs, potato salad, Greek salad, Cole slaw, BBQ corn cobs, baked potatoes, planked fish.. MMMm seriously how can you resist? 

It's definitely harder on a grain free diet as we hardly eat potatoes, no bread, and if I do make bread it doesn't go with hamburgers..

So, in anticipation of getting our fire pit outside I have been planning ways to get through the delicious hamburgers cooked over the fire. Also we love to do day trips to the mountains on the weekends and the less crap we have to take with us the better. You have to have forks and everything... lol

Hamburgers with lettuce leaves are also kinda boring sometimes because I want bacon and mushrooms and onions and tomato and cheese and it's weird without a bun.

SOOOOOOooo I was a little worried as we are coming up to our day 1 of the 17 and I wanted to make all recipes compliant.

I was doing some research as usual with using Whey Powder to cook with as that is relatively new for me. 

Well, good news I came across a few recipes that were posted all over the Google. 

"Oopsie Rolls". 

 

Yes they are flat, unlike traditional rolls. However we all know that around here nothing is traditional.

They are soft, fluffy, and neutral so whatever taste you have it will become! 

I checked over the ingredients and I was a little worried as Kyle does NOT like meringue in any way, shape or form.

The main ingredient in these is eggs, whipped eggs to be exact so I was worried after all of my work and planning he wouldn't like them. So I just didn't tell him.. I put out extra lettuce just in case it was needed.

I have a delicious pancake recipe (soon to be posted) using very similar ingredients and I LOVED  the pancakes so I was ready to embrace the yumminess.

Here it is.. My delicious hamburger!

Trust me the rolls are perfect. They are a vehicle from the plate to your mouth. End of story.

But they are very useful, as they are easy to make savory, or sweet.

What I like best about them is they are not full of starch or carbs like my bread rounds, coconut buns, biscuits etc. They are not going to fill you up and make you unhappy. They will only help you enjoy the experience that your mental relationship plays in your life. 

I hope you have time to make these one night. They are great.

They can be a little tricky so please follow the recipe exact. You may need to adjust according to climate in order to the texture just right. 

Also ovens may vary. I cooked mine in my mini oven with the element close to the pan so they kept there shape fairly well. It may help to cook them in the same place in your oven or increase the heat if your having trouble with keeping them separated. 

Work quickly, the faster the less liquid you will end up with that will not be useable.

#2 Oopsie Rolls - Gluten Free, Grain Free, Sugar Free, Dairy Free, Starch free

this is my version of an original which can be found @ the lighter side of low carb :)

In a stand mixer bowl beat on high until stiff peaks form:

4 organic egg whites

1/8 t cream of tartar or organic lemon juice

pinch of sea salt

In a separate stand mixer bowl beat well until thick:

4 organic egg yolks

1/4 t organic lemon juice /organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar

1/4 t aluminum free baking soda

1/2 C organic cottage cheese/organic cream cheese room temperature

3 T unsweetened/vanilla whey powder

Spices needed for sweet or savory (recipe follows)

Prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Move oven rack to top half of oven and set to 300 degrees.

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. In a separate bowl beat yolk mixture until pale yellow and thick. VERY delicately fold yolk mixture into white mixture without crushing whites. Mix should look like fluffy yellow meringue.

On prepared baking sheets use your spatula and dollop mound circles without flattening  the mix and leaving generous space in between. Divide into 12 mounds. 

Immediately place pan into oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.

They need to become browned or they are going to be too soft to do anything with.

Bake until set enough to handle and cool completely. 

Leave them out on the counter until use, closing them will cause them to get soft and mushy. 

You can toast them lightly just before eating in the toaster oven to firm them up.

For savory rolls:
1/8 t onion powder

1/4 t sea salt
pinch dry mustard

sprinkle with sesame seeds once on sheet pan

For sweet rolls:

1 xyliol/stevia/sucralose/raw agave nectar/palm sugar

1 real vanilla extract

dash cinnamon