Waffles have got to be the hardest thing to give up when you go off of grains, but no longer!  I’ve been experimenting with grain-free waffles for a while, but it’s really hard to find a good texture and taste that works.  But I think I’ve landed on a winner!Angela, a friend of mine (whom I met through this blog!) is the amazing mother of two children on the GAPS diet.  She shared this recipe with me, inspired by one found at Mark’s Daily Apple, another great grain-free blog!

These waffles are a great protein-rich way to start the day, with good fats and a negligible amount of carbohydrates.  Top with fresh sliced fruit, butter, a little whipped cream…..or just eat plain!

Grain-Free Waffles
-Makes 4 Waffles-
(Adapted from Mark’s Daily Apple)

4 eggs
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch cinnamon
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup coconut milk (full fat) or dary milk

1. Scramble the eggs. 

2. Add the vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, honey, and milk.

3. Add the coconut flour and mix until there are no more lumps.

4. Pour into hot waffle iron and cook for about 5 minutes, until done.

5. Enjoy!

*These freeze well; make a large batch on Sunday or Saturday and have quick, grab-and-go frozen breakfasts throughout the week!

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I had never even attempted to make Creme Brulee before I came across a great recipe for it in a Crockpot cookbook of all places!  Yes, I’ve adapted this from the wonderful Make it Fast, Cook it Slow cookbook by Stephanie O’Dea of  365 Days of SlowCooking. You can read my review of it here. 

I adapted the recipe (and doubled it) to be free of sugar and low-carb.  Oh, and I didn’t do anything involving a kitchen blow-torch on the top of it, so I guess this is not truly “creme brulee”. 

I used Truvia (a stevia-erythritol blend) instead of sugar.  By the way, I’m not 100% confident that Truvia is the best thing in the world, the jury is still out. I do trust it far more than any artificial sweetner, but if you’re concerned you can simply stick to your favorite form of stevia and add it to taste. There are lots of different Stevias out there, so go with what you prefer. In this household, right now we’re hooked on Truvia. But I don’t always trust things that are made by Cargill and white.

Creme Brulee

2 cups of heavy cream (preferably grass-fed, like Strauss)
5 egg yolks (Coscto now has 18-ct Organic, Cage Free Eggs for a little over $4! Not bad!)
1 Tbs vanilla extract
3-4 packets of Truvia (or your preferred form of Stevia, to taste)

1. Blend all ingredients together.

2. Place in individual ramekins or a large casserole dish. 

3. Place in crockpot. Fill crock with water to come up halfway around the dishes (like a hot water bath).

4. Cover and cook on high for about 3 hours.  Remove and let cool completely.

5. Transfer and chill in the fridge overnight. It will be a little “jiggly” before you chill it. Don’t worry.

6. Serve topped with sliced strawberries (preferably organic) and enjoy!

Check out some other sugar-free recipes at Naturally Knocked Up. Not all are gluten-free or even grain-free, but they are all at least free of refined sugar and look great!

Photo credit

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Sorry for the poor quality picture!

There was a time when I thought kale was just a decoration for salad bars.  Who knew it was such a nutritious green (is there any other kind?) with so much versatility.  The challege, of course, is getting kale to appeal to wee ones, or anyone else with greenophobia.   What follows is a delicious, low-carb, nourishing snack reminiscent of potato chips!

It was a total coincidence that the famed Gluten-Free Girl recently posted her thoughts on kale chips around the same time I began this blog post. As I was about to write this post, I found her recipe and thought I would halt the presses, and do more recipe development from her inspiration. 

My version differs quite signficantly; she uses slick Italian Lacinato Kale, I use regular garden-variety kale (both work!). I have not tried using Red Russian Kale, and I’m not sure the texture would hold up quite as well. If you try it, let me know.  Lacinato Kale is sleek and firm, and easy to work with.  Our CSA share last week happened to be drowning in several varieties of regular “salad bar” kale, and it worked great.

Many kale chip recipes around the ‘net (and there are many!) use olive oil as their fat of choice.  I have tried olive oil and it certainly does the job, however after researching more about vegetable oils, I am not recommending using olive oil to cook at high temperatures. Olive oil is best used in salad dressings or for drizzling on to vegetables.  You can get by with low heat sauteeing, but even that is questionabe in my mind. The trouble is, the fat molecules in olive oil are monosaturates and polysaturates, which are much less stable in high heat.  The best fat for cooking at high heat is saturatd fat: butter, coconut oil, poultry fat, or bacon drippings.  You can even use a blend of saturated fat with a bit of olive oil, as the saturated fat helps stablize the mono- and poly-unsaturated fats in the olive oil.

These chips are flavored with salt, pepper, nutritional food yeast, and garlic powder.  Nutritional yeast is a great flavoring that also contains many B-vitamins and other essenial nutrients. 

Kale is a low-calorie, high fiber, nutrient-rich green. It is extremely high in beta-carotene and vitamin K. For more reasons than you ever needed to eat kale, go here.

Kale Chips

Ingredients:

1 bunch kale (lacinato or curly leaf, purple or green)
2 T bacon grease, or coconut oil
1 T olive oil (optional; if omitting, add 1 more T of coconut oil)
1 T nutritional yeast
1/2 t garlic powder
sea salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350. Rinse kale under running water to remove all grit and dirt.  Spin in a salad spinner or shake well to remove excess water.

2. Remove kale from stalks and cut into bite-sized pieces.  Place in a large bowl, and toss with melted oils/drippings and seasonings.  NOTE: Depending upon the size of your bunch of kale, you may need to adjust the amount of oil.You don’t want the kale too soggy; just slightly “dressed” as in a salad dressing.

3.  Place kale into a large roasting pan in a thin layers.

4. Place in oven and roast for about 20 minutes, checking and stirring every 5 minutes.  Kale will be done when it is crispy and bright green.

5. Remove from oven, let cool briefly, and enjoy!  These are tasty and addictive! Enjoy!

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As parents one thing we all face, is keeping our energy levels up, as we keep up with our children.  This month Whole Foods Market’s current podcast series suggests tips and action steps to support our energy levels naturally and safely.  

Pop over to the Whole Foods Market blog for a great health podcast series!  This week’s feature is a look a healthy energy boosters.

Pictured above, by the way, is a delicious, simple energy-boosting beverage I whipped up the other day in my Vita-Mix, with the help of my sweet daughter!

Sugarless Strawberry Lemonade

3 cups filtered water
1 whole lemon, peeled
1-1.5 cups frozen, organic strawberries
3-4 packets of Truvia or other Stevia-based sweetener

Place all ingredients, in order listed, in a Vitamix (preferably) or blender.  Blend until totally mixed. 

Enjoy this delicious low carb kool-aid alternative on a spring day. In my opinion, this tastes exactly like the expensive strawberry lemonades you can purchase at the Health Food Store or even at restaurants, and is much more healthy!

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We have come past the middle-mark of Lent, the days are getting longer. Spring is certanly in the air and all around us.  The world is renewing; apple blossoms and tulips open forth and the old, dead leaves and branches of winter are suddenly transfigured in green.  I love spring.  Lent can often be thought of as a time of depravation, especially at this point in the fast…and perhaps, if you’re like me, you’ve slipped up a little bit and had a bite or two of meat (or whatever it was you were fasting from!).

Well, there are a little over 2 weeks left, and if you’re tired of spending gobs of money on shrimp and scallops (oh, the irony!) to try and stay low-carb and nutrient dense, then I have some ideas for keeping the fast in a thrify, ultra-simple way:

This past weekend I stumbled upon an inspiring quote about fasting:

“fasting in a larger context, means to abstain from that which is toxic to mind, body, and soul.  A way to understand this is that fasting s the elimination of physical, emotional, and menta toxins from our organism, rather than simply cutting down or stopping food intake. Fasting for spiritual purposes usually involves some degree of removal of oneself from worldy responsibilities. It can mean complete silence and social isolation during the fast which can be a great revival to those of us who have been putting our energy outward.”  -Dr. Gabriel Cousens, MD

I also love the idea that fasting for spiritual reasons literally allows our lower, digestive energies to be released and move up into the heart, where our focus and energy should always remain.  As a devout “ortho-foodie”, I must confess this can be a core struggle for me.  With that in mind, I decided to take this week and really do a liquid fast with one meal per day. 

I will share my favorite list of ideas for healthy liquid fasting and simple, thrifty meals.  I don’t advocate imposing this on small children or unwilling spouses, however.  I’ve found that by not worrying about what I’m going to eat at each meal that’s “kosher” for Lent, I can allow my energy to focus on that which my children need to eat (which usually involves lots of eggs, dairy, and meat) and I just drink my liquids or eat very simple meals. Here are my thrifty meals during the fast:

Liquids

*Fresh juices in the blender or vita-mix: 1 avocado, a few handfuls of fresh greens such as dandelions, turnip, collards, or kale, 1/2 of an apple, 2-3 cups of filtered water, juice of 1 lemon, and a 1/2 cup of  berries.  This is a little bland and somewhat bitter, but I’m going for low sugar. Very filling and cleansing.

*Green Tea or Herbal Tea with a spoonful of melted coconut oil to provide nourishing fats and help regulate metabolism.  Herbs to consider drinking in the springtime include dandelion root, nettle leaf, peppermint, or your favorite!  Green tea is especially high in antioxidant and has calming properties that cancel out the effects of the caffiene to some extent.  During the day, when I’m feeling the need for something warm and filling, I turn to tea with coconut oil instead of food first.

*Kombucha is one of my favorite cleansing drinks, made by fermenting sweet tea.  Kombucha totally curbs my hunger cravings, provides energy and vitality, and is a great liver detoxifier.  Kombucha can be made very simply at home for about $0.50 per gallon.  Check out my resources page to invest in a starter and get brewing! If you prefer to purchase kombucha, Fred Meyer(a Kroger affliate in the NW) has them on sale 2/$5 this week!

*Miso Broth: My hubby makes the absolute best simple, miso soup in the world. He begins with a hefty tablespoon of miso, 1/4 tsp of  thai red curry paste, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and some seaweed flakes.  He places the ingredients into a bowl and pours boiling water over all.  This is pure comfort food, and mineral-rich, low carb comfort food at that!

*Master Cleanse Lemonade- Take 8 oz of filtered water and add the juice of 1-2 lemons.  Add 1/4 tsp. of cayenne pepper and 1 tsp. of Grade B maple syrup (or more to taste).  This is said to be very helpful for liver congestion and has even helped people to shed some unwanted pounds!

Sensible Dinners:

To break the “fast” (either in the morning or evening, or to bookend the days) I chose simply prepared, in-season vegetables such as asparagus, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, or squashes and either roast the veggies and eat them alone, or cook them in a soup.

I’ve also been doing a lot with navy beans and lentils.  Sprouted, especially, these GAPS-friendly legumes can be eating lightly steamed on salads, in soups, or pureed and cooked as “patties”.  But I especially enjoy a simple soup of navy beans, garlic, and wilted greens. Laden, of course, with my favorite spices and chopped seasonal veggies. 

Here are some other simple ideas:

*Roasted Vegetables: Seasonal veggies are always the cheapest, and frozen works just fine too. I love to toss cauliflower or asparagus with olive oil, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast and roast in the oven at 400 for about 15 minutes.  The kids LOVE it and devour their veggies when made this way!

*Simple salad: I love to take lettuce and top it with creamy chunks of avocado and sprinkle with baby shrimp. I also top it with a bit of my homemade PurpleKraut (available to Portland area folks to order!)

*Almonds or Pistachios with Raw Veggies and Hummus:  Nuts alone can be a simple meal for me, but with some fresh raw veggies (carrots, peppers, celery, etc.) dipped in a lima-bean hummus (if you’re on the GAPS diet, otherwise the traditional will do, just substitute cooked lima beans for garbanzos).

*Apples and Nut Butter: Is a delicious and simple meal or even dessert, due to the extra sweetness.

*Sauteed Scallops with Garlic and Green Beans is utterly simple and delicious.

*Shredded Veggie Stir-FryThis involves simply shredding cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, and onions and whatever else suits your fancy and sauteing in a bit of oil and herbs of choice. I even add a few Tablespoons of hummus to make it “creamy”. 

What are your favorite simple, real-food Lenten meals that you can fix easily without much stress? 

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