Dutch Baby - A Paleo blast from the Past!

Hello Everyone! Hope all is well with you.

Sunday mornings I usually spend some time doing food prep for the week. Which I usually have to do again on Wednesdays...............5 people go through a lot of food. This morning one of the things I made was my Paleo Dutch baby. I made a full batch and I'll eat it for breakfast for a few days!!!

I started making this last spring. My mom used to make a similar "breakfast" when we were growing up and I had an overwhelming craving for this comfort food. Honestly, I didn't think it would work without the dairy and flour BUT I WAS WRONG. I was gladly wrong this time.

I've made this several times now and it works without fail.

It puffs up like crazy in the oven (its doesn't stay like that for long once you remove it except around the edges). Everyone enjoys watching it "grow". Not going to lie, its pretty cool.

Starting September 1st I have gone back to a full Paleo diet. Not an 80/20 Paleo diet. Full Paleo. No diary, no grains, no lentils. I've had very few cheats and only by accident or because I was stuck. I'll do an update post one of these days but I was getting frustrated with my mood issues, sluggish digestion, general energy and skin. It wasn't rock bottom but I knew I should be feeling much better than I was.

So far I can report that I am definitely feeling a lot better. My stomach is very happy with me (an almost immediate and remarkable change in my digestion - those damn grains do not agree with me) and my skin has started improving. I will have to go through a few cycles before I can conclude on my mood and energy but after one month I definitely have more bounce in my step.

I let myself slip into some bad habits. Taking bites of my kids food, having a piece of cake for special occasions (there are a lot of special occasions during summer), drinking decaf coffee (I actually started having some pretty severe bladder issues with that slip) and just generally being pretty loose with the food rules I know work for me. I know it will annoy some people - they will say.......just live a little, enjoy life, enjoy food. Use moderation.

But I really just don't feel good when I eat certain foods - mainly grains and dairy. My system can't handle it. I have moments when I feel frustrated and sad that I'm "weak".  But when I take care of myself I actually feel pretty darn fantastic. I'm fitter at 40 than I was at 20. I sleep better. I rarely have stomach aches. So I just have to accept it and keep working to stay on track.

Which means food prep on Sundays and lots of good food in the week ahead....................

PS - for the record, I haven't given up paleo sweets (mainly dark chocolate) which I know would probably really help my cause but I decided to ease back into things. But my cravings have improved even without trying.......................improved, not eliminated. Its a start.

Dutch Dutch Baby - Paleo

by MamaChanty

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Keywords: bake breakfast arrowroot powder canned coconut milk coconut flour egg

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Ingredients (serves 4 (large portion))

• 2 - 3 Tbs coconut oil (I actually think 2 is plenty but added a bit extra for kicks)
• 8 eggs (I use large, organic)
• 1 cup milk (I used 50% full fat coconut and 50% unsweetened cashew)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup arrowroot starch
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp Truvia or sweetener of choice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Once oven is preheated I put the coconut oil in a 9 x 13 glass pan and let it melt in the oven. Whiles its melting, I blend ALL the other ingredients together. Pour the batter into the glass pan.

Be sure to watch your dutch baby cook. Its fascinating to see how it PUFFS up like crazy. I cook for about 25 minutes.

I take it out and let it cool a bit before I cut into about 8 pieces.

I like it drizzled with a little bit of maple syrup. Yum. Yum. Yum.

Reheats very nicely for left-overs.

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Mama's Buckwheat Pancakes.......Yes Please!

Hey Folks, 

Its a new year and I'm actually feeling pretty good. Not going to lie........health-wise 2015 kinda sucked. But I worked my arse off for the second half of the year and my efforts have been worth it. I almost hate to put it in writing as it's a constant roller coaster and I never know if it's going to stick...........but I'm feeling pretty darn good this week. Not perfect. But good. Yay!  

And I'm pretty determined to keep it that way. So I have been doing a fair amount of cooking, baking and creating to try and keep my belly satisfied with clean foods so I don't start eating things I know that make me sick. I know that sounds simple for the average person but the list of foods I don't tolerate is very long so time constraints, availability and frankly hunger can make it hard to do.

I'm not going to lie, I have been eating a lot of sweets. I find it very hard to stay away from them (mainly chocolate and home-made Nanaimo bars) during the holidays and once I fire up that sweet tooth it takes a lot of work to get back on track. Instead of going cold turkey I'm trying to wean myself off............its really difficult. But I'm working on it. And by Lent I will be really to go cold turkey.

I have also been working on incorporating some buckwheat into my diet. Its actually not a grain and not related to wheat. They call it a pseudo-grain. And so far I seem to be tolerating it. Quinoa is also a pseudo-grain but I DO NOT tolerate it. No sir. Its all a matter of experimenting and paying attention.

I need some variety in my breakfasts. I love eggs..............but you can only eat so many. And I drink a ton of smoothies.........but they don't keep me full like "real food" does.

So I played with making some buckwheat pancakes and I was pretty happy with the result. Something to throw in the rotation to keep things interesting. I've been topping them with fruit and a tiny, tiny bit of maple syrup. Yum.

Here's to a very healthy and happy 2016! Happy New Year (I'm not that late - Ukrainian New Year was just yesterday).......................

Buckwheat Pancakes

by MamaChanty

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Keywords: fry breakfast dairy free grain free almond flour buckwheat flour coconut flour egg

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Ingredients (16 pancakes)

Dry Ingredients

• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1 Tbsp arrowroot starch
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda

Wet Ingredients

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk with 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp grape seed oil or melted coconut oil
• 1 Tbsp sweetener of choice
• 1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

Combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately and then mix together. I fry them over medium heat in grape seed oil. Ensure they are bubbling through before turning over.

I cool and then freeze my extra's. I reheat them in the toaster and they taste almost as good as fresh.

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My Go To Snack - Paleo Chocolate Zucchini Loaf - No grains!

My go-to snack. I literally eat this everyday. I freeze it in individual servings (two slices wrapped in piece of parchment and tied with twine) and take one out for my lunch kit each day. Sometimes I eat it straight up. Sometimes with a little bit of almond or peanut butter with jam. When I was being bad I used to top it with cool whip and strawberries (but my tummy didn't like that very much so I gave it up).

I've swapped out the zucchini for pumpkin puree and it works just as well. Since I've made this recipe at least 100 times I would say its pretty fail-proof.

Warning - its not overly sweet. Feel free to increase the sweetener factor or switch it up with another sweetener if Truvia is not your thing. I seem to tolerate it better than almost any other sweetener so that's also my go-to. If you can handle some extra sugar I'm pretty sure adding in a few chocolate chips couldn't hurt the taste factor either.

Make sure you let it cool completely before you slice it (using a serated knife).

Hope you enjoy it  rely on it as much as I do. You've got to make this clean eating/allergy avoidance thing as easy as you can. This is my secret weapon for keeping my hands off of the sweets/grains...................

Paleo Zucchini Bread - Grain & Dairy free

by MamaChanty

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Keywords: bake bread snack dessert candida-diet friendly dairy free paleo almond flour arrowroot powder chocolate zucchini

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Ingredients (1 loaf ( but I usually do a do)

• Dry Ingredients
• 1/3 cup blanched almond flour
• 1/3 cup organic coconut flour
• 2 Tbsp ground golden flax (I grind whole flax in my coffee grinder)
• 2 Tbsp arrowroot starch flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3 Tbsp cocoa powder - 100%
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• Wet Ingredients
• 3 free run eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup pure pumpkin puree or 1/2 cup shredded zucchini
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted or grape seed oil
• 2 Tbsp applesauce
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 Tbsp Truvia (Stevia/Erythritol blend or sweetener of choice)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I usually grease a glass loaf pan with grape seed oil and then put a strip of parchment paper on the bottom and it never sticks.

Fully combine wet ingredients and dry ingredients in separate bowls.

Mix wet and dry ingredients until fully combined.

Bake in oven for 50 minutes.

Remove from heat and let cool fully before slicing.

I always make this as a double batch. I slice the loaf and freeze in individual servings.

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Wow - A Grain Free Vegan Pizza Crust the Whole Family Can Enjoy!

This pizza crust has made me very happy..............a pizza crust the WHOLE family can 1) eat - yay - no eggs, dairy or grains and 2) enjoy. Even my hubby loves it. My gluten-dairy pizza loving hubby!

I know I haven't been blogging much lately. I promise to be back with an honest to goodness update REALLY soon. Things are good...............I'm feeling good. Life is good. But I'm continuing on my journey and part of that has been working on slowing down. S.L.O.W.I.N.G.D.O.W.N. Which means a lot less blogging..................

But I have still been cooking and sticking to my diet (no grains, no diary and low sugar) since it works for me. I don't experiment as much as I used to but I did play with this pizza crust recipe that I got from Primally Inspired to make it vegan and to work for my families tastes. It is incredible given all the restrictions.

I've tried several pizza crusts since changing my diet. I loved pizza crust #1 from the Wheat Belly cookbook but, unfortunately, that one contains dairy and eggs. Since I no longer eat dairy and my daughter doesn't eat eggs it didn't last long.

I've also experimented with cauliflower crust pizza on several occasions and it never worked for me.

Well, I've made this one now at least 5 times and it seems to be fail-proof. Consistent. Delicious.

I'm pretty excited about this recipe. So I thought I better get blogging and get this recipe in the archives.......because I think we will be eating this for years to come.

PIZZA NIGHT IS BACK BABY!!!!!

If you don't eat dairy and you are wondering about toppings, I usually use a combination of Daiya (non-dairy cheese) and nutritional yeast for my kids. For myself I usually use a combination of goat cheese and nutritional yeast. I find the goat cheese goes better with non-traditional toppings so I like to use a sun-dried tomato pesto for the "sauce" and toppings like chicken, leafy greens, cilantro, red onion or whatever happens to be in the fridge. Its pizza. You can't go wrong.

I hope you enjoy this recipe! Looking forward to catching up soon!

Grain Free Vegan Pizza Crust

by MamaChanty

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Keywords: bake entree dairy free vegan gluten-free wheat belly chia seeds chickpeas coconut flour arrowroot powder

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Ingredients (12 inch pizza crust)

• 3/4 cup arrowroot powder
• 1/4 cup garbanzo bean (chick pea flour) - I get it at Bulk Barn
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 tablespoons Nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• ⅓ cup grapeseed oil (or other oil)
• ⅓ cup vegetable broth or water
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1/4 cu warm water mixed with 1/2 tbsp ground Chia seeds and 1/2 tbsp ground golden flox
• ⅓ cup coconut flour

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, combine your flours, spices and nutritional yeast.

In a small pot bring the oil, broth or water, apple cider vinegar and minced garlic clove to a low rolling boil. Just let it boil for 1 minute or so before removing it from the heat. Let it cool for a few minutes.

Add boiled mixture to flour mixture and mix thoroughly until fully combined - it will be really thick and pasty. Don't worry if its not completely smooth.

Add in the water/Chia/flax mixture. Stir well.

Add in your coconut flour. Stir to fully combine. It will start making a dough as the coconut flour absorbs the moisture. I find it best to take it out of the bowl and gently kneed it on a piece of parchment paper. It should form a ball.

I use a rolling pin to roll the dough out on the parchment paper. I usually make it about 12 inches in diameter. I then transfer the dough (on the paper) to a pizza pan.

I bake the crust for about 10 minutes.

Then I remove it from oven to add toppings. Depending on the type of toppings I usually bake it for an additional 8 - 10 minutes and then use the broiler to crisp it up for 2 minutes.

Then we eat...........yummy!

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Fall is Here........and so is a Silkken Pumpkin Pie Slice - Grain fee and Vegan

Hey Folks!

I know I haven't been around much lately. Sorry. I've been focused on getting the family back into a routine with back to school (and activities) and doing a lot of self care. Yoga, yoga and more yoga. Dry brushing. Steam room. Massages. Chiropractor. Supplements. Adrenal pills. Magnesium oil. Clean food. Ya-da, ya-da, ya-da. Its all very time consuming.

But its working. After a VERY rocky monthly cycle (beginning of September) when I had been trying to go off my adrenal support, I think I have things back in balance. Thank goodness. I was really not a fan of Crazy/Grumpy/Moody/BrainFog MamaChanty. This month was MUCH better, not perfect, but better.

In the meantime, I continue to have to feed my family and satisfy my never ending hunger.

So I have been doing some baking and continue to experiment with Silkken tofu. I love this stuff - low calorie, high protein, creamy, non-dairy. What's not to love. Yeah - I know all about the phytoestrogens and negativity surrounding soy. I don't go crazy on the stuff and I always stick with non-GMO/organic so I think its okay in moderation.

Anyway - with Fall here and those gigantic pumpkin pies tempting me at Costco I thought I better come up with a pumpkin pie alternative for Thanksgiving. And every weekend. And sometimes for breakfast. Its high protein. Its okay.

This recipe is super easy. And guess what. Costco is now carrying Silkken tofu at a crazy cheap price. So no excuses...........try it. You will be pleasantly surprised.

Vegan Grain Free Silken Pumpkin Pie

by MamaChanty

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 70 Minutes

Keywords: bake blender dessert candida-diet friendly dairy free gluten-free vegan almond flour pumpkin silkken tofu

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Ingredients (1 8" pie)

Crust

• 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, ground fine (I use my coffee grinder)
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1 Tbsp ground golden flax
• 2 Tbsp coconut flour
• dash fine sea salt
• 1 Tbsp sweetener (I used Truvia)
• 4 Tbsp Coconut oil
• 2 Tbsp unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger or pumpkin pie spice

Pie Filling

• 1 14 ounce can pure pumpkin puree
• 1 12.3 ounce package of Silken tofu (firm) - Non GMO/Organic
• 1 1/2 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice (more if you like it spicy)
• 4 Tbsp sweetener of choice (I used 2 Truvia and 2 Maple Syrup) - add one more if you wish
• 1 Tbsp arrowroot
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix together all dry ingredients. Add coconut oil and almond milk and combine until crumbly. Press into a 8 inch glass pie pan or 8" square baking dish.

Bake in oven for 6 minutes.

In the meantime, put all the filling ingredients in a high powered blender (or food processor). Pulse/blend until fully combined.

Pour into pie shell.

Bake for 25 minutes at 425. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 30 - 35 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature before putting in fridge to chill before serving.

Serve with whipped coconut milk.

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