Easter Leftovers wrapped up in a Low-Carb package! Rice Wraps!

Hello Everyone! I'm back. I took my first "break" from blogging in over 3 months to visit with family over the Easter weekend. We slept in 3 different towns/beds in four nights and didn't come back completely exhausted so it was a successful trip.  The kids had a blast visiting with their cousins and Baba's and we managed to keep it clean.

It was pretty funny packing for the weekend. I was much more concerned about what clean food I was packing in the cooler than which clothes I had in my suitcase. But the extra effort to pack my protein powder, Chia seeds, Greek yogurt, coconut milk, cacao nibs and home-made protein bars, among other things, was worth it. We managed to eat pretty clean when we were away from our own kitchen by sticking to our smoothies for breakfast, having accommodating relatives that made sure we had some clean options at each meal and staying away from the dirty stuff at the big family dinners. I indulged in a few of my wheat-full favorites but I kept it pretty limited. I'm an all or none kind of gal so I had to use all my willpower to stay away from the chocolates and noodle casserole because I can't just stop at one with those goodies. And my stomach is thanking me - this is one of the first holiday weekends that I didn't come home with a belly-ache (that often lasted for up to a week).

So now we are home and like a lot of you we came back with left-overs. The trouble with left-over ham or turkey is that its so good and convenient in a sandwich or wrap. Well, when bread and wraps are no longer an option what are you supposed to do?

Rice paper wraps. I don't normally eat white rice, but I literally had  about 4 minutes to make myself something for lunch before I had to get my daughter to school. And I still have some Vietnamese Rice Paper wraps in my cupboard from my pre-clean days that I used to use for salad rolls with peanut sauce. The brand I have (Six Fortune) are about 9 inches wide and only have 8 grams of carbohydrate per wrap. The bread in my freezer has 20 grams per slice so that's 40 grams for a sandwich. Not in line with my blood sugar control plan.

Rice wraps are made from rice, salt and water. I can pronounce all of the ingredients - check. Less than 10 grams of net carbs per serving - check. I was good to go.

You just have to soak them in hot/boiling water for a few seconds and let stand for 30 seconds. I threw some left-over ham, cheese, lettuce and Caesar dressing on it and had a "sandwich" made within two minutes. Two minutes to eat and we made it to school on time. I'm completely paranoid about having to go to the office to get a "late" slip. I guess I spent way too much time in the principals office in my school days - now I just want to stay clear of there.

So if you are desperate for a "sandwich-like" alternative this might be something for you to try. The nice thing is that they have a long shelf life and are cheap as borscht (yep - I'm Ukrainian) so you can keep them in the pantry for emergency situations. Are they as good as white bread - hell no. Will you feel guilty after - hell no. I found mine in the ethnic isle at the Super Store and I'm sure you can find them at most Chinese grocery stores.

If you got a little crazy with the Easter chocolates this weekend, don't worry, just re-group and start the reset button and try to start eating clean again this week!

Keep it Clean Mama!

My tip of the day!!! Keep your favorite toppings handy.

Today I tried to eat a clean but carbohydrate laden meal for lunch - Quinoa Sweet Potato Patties (a variation of my Hubby Approved Quinoa Cakes). Thought it would be nice to share a recipe that wasn't so low-carb and I know everyone is on the quinoa bandwagon. But I don't usually eat this many carbs. Well it was a good test because the sugar devil sat on my shoulder for the rest of the day poking and prodding me into wanting SUGAR, SUGAR, SUGAR. Every cell in my body was screaming for it.

I'm Chantel and I have a sugar addiction. 

Or a really severe blood sugar problem or candida overgrowth? I always thought it was just a lack of willpower that drove me to eat so much chocolate but its kind of comforting to know that its my body that's got the problem. So I will be back to a low-carb diet tomorrow. Other than the sugar devil taunting me for the rest of the day I also had VERY low energy. What a great reminder of how I used to always feel - crappy until my next sugar or caffeine fix. And motivation to keep trying to eat clean and low-carb even if it is a heck of a lot of work. 

So I'm not sharing my quinoa recipe. In my desperate for dessert haze I started throwing all kinds of things together to make a lemon poppy seed cheesecake type thing but without sugar and with hemp and chia. It was a hot mess. Baba M actually liked it (??), Hubby and I choked it down. I think that sugar devil was sorely disappointed. So another recipe that you are not getting today.

So I'm just going to leave you with a little tip on how to make eating clean snacks a little easier and a lot more interesting to keep you on track and from reaching for the crackers, chips or candy. 

I've started keeping my dry "toppings" in little baby food containers right next to my prep area in the kitchen. They are in a convenient spot so I can quickly jazz up a breakfast or an afternoon snack to make it more satisfying. They can make things look so good that you forget you are eating clean - remember PRESENTATION IS EVERYTHING. 

My go-to dry toppings are:

• Dried unsweetened cranberries, Raisins, Goji and Apricots - to sweeten things up naturally
• Raw Sunflower, Chia, Hemp and Pumpkin - for crunch and some nutty flavor
• Unsweetened shredded coconut - I put this on almost everything if its not savory - yum
• Organic Cacao nibs - these don't taste great on their own but they add incredible crunch
• Nuts - my favorite are pecans but I keep walnuts, almonds and peanuts handy.
• Cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice - for presentation and a bit of flavour

Probably not a bad idea to have some of these containers on your desk at work too!

Figure out what dry toppings you love, put them in an easy to reach spot in easy to refill containers and use them. It can make the difference between an apple feeling like deprivation to it feeling like a dessert. 

Throw them on grain-free pancakes instead of syrup. Put them in smoothies. Throw them on hemp and/or Chia puddings and porridge. Use them on high-protein Greek yogurt. Sprinkle them on soup and salads. Get creative. You will see in my Sunday Week in Review posts that I have them on lots of my food.  Yogurt, nut butters, apple butter and fresh fruit are the other things I keep on hand and ready to go as toppings. 

Good luck and here's to a better day of eating and energy tomorrow!

Pumpkin seeds sprinkled on Plain Jane Cabbage and Ham Soup - suddenly sophisticated!

Cacao nibs, coconut and chocolate/sunbutter on apples.  From ho-hum to oh-yum!

Banana's, Goji, coconut and cacao nibs on Chia/Hemp porridge. Hot and Tasty!

Clean High Protein Greek Yogurt anyone? Kids?

I am an all or none kind of person. I have trouble doing things in
moderation. I do things "full out" as we used to say in my Ukrainian
dancing days or don't do them at all. I'm either obsessed with working out
or completely give it up. When I used to party, I really used to PARTY, and
now I have barely had a drink in 7 years. I go on a diet and I end up
completely changing how I eat and writing a blog about it. Its my blessing
and my curse.

On top - Vanilla high protein Greek yogurt. On bottom - plan, unsweetened high protein Greek yogurt.

So what does this have to do with yogurt. Well, when you have kids,
3 kids in 5 years in my case, you have to learn to do things in moderation. Sigh. They move at their own pace, change their minds, and are sometimes totally unreasonable. And they like the comforts of their routines and don't want things just completely changed overnight. So just because I've decided to go 100 percent (maybe 95) cold turkey clean eating, I can't expect them to do the same. Especially when I had let all of our eating habits veer so far away from clean - we had a pretty refined flour, sugar and processed food centered diet. And frankly I didn't, and still don't, know enough about nutrition to just go full out right away - there is a learning process.

So I am gradually changing over their diet and trying to introduce new foods slowly. That's hard for me but its working. Slowly we are chipping away at things and their diets are improving. Their sugar consumption is WAY down. We have reduced their wheat and processed food consumption by 50 percent. Probably more. They are eating way more fruit and vegetables. They aren't running to the kitchen begging for kale smoothies (good thing because they wouldn't find one) but they also don't refuse to eat lots of things they did when we first started this - like a Friendly Frittata.

One of their, and our, staple foods is yogurt. I would love to give up
dairy completely but its just not going to happen. My goal right now is to
limit myself to one serving of yogurt and one of cheese (6 oz) a day - at
the recommendation of my Naturopath. Its good when someone sets a limit for
me - I need boundaries to do things in moderation. The kids would eat as much of the stuff as I would let them and I probably would too.

But regular stirred yogurt has a ton of sugar. Not good for someone trying
to beat a sugar addiction and really not good for anyone except in
moderation. So this is one area where I'm converting us all slowly and I'm using it as an example of how you can also make slow gradual changes to your diet to
either go fully clean eventually or at least clean things up part of the
time.

So this was my "yogurt" journey:
Step 1 - Pre-clean I was eating lots of stirred yogurt. Yum - loved it.
Feeding that sweet tooth and probably a candida overgrowth - keep it coming
baby!
Step 2 - Argh - all my clean books say yogurt isn't great, its full of sugar and I need some protein. Better switch to Greek.
Step 3 - Crap - I didn't read the label. No wonder this Greek yogurt tastes
like cheesecake - it has no more protein than stirred yogurt and it has
just as much sugar. I better switch to high protein Greek yogurt.
Step 4 - I don't know why I'm still craving sweets, I gave up milk chocolate -
this is supposed to get easier. Oh no. This stirred high protein Greek yogurt has lots of protein but it still has tons of sugar. Now what.
Step 5 - I better buy some plain, unsweetened high protein Greek yogurt like all the books said. 

Great. I was there. No sugar added. One big problem - its TASTES LIKE SOUR CREAM. The kids aren't going to eat this. I'm not going to eat this. 

So here is what I've done:

For me - I add some liquid Stevia and vanilla extract or organic apple butter to my plain, unsweetened high protein Greek yogurt to sweeten it up. Then I usually top it with some dried fruit, fresh fruit, cacao nibs, nut butter, coconut, whatever. Or I just use it as a topping for my Chia Pudding. And I treat it like a dessert now not just snack food. 

For the kids - They aren't ready for straight up plain yogurt yet. So instead I am mixing theirs half and half. Either 1/2 stirred regular or stirred Greek yogurt with 1/2 plain unsweetened high protein Greek yogurt. So now they are getting some protein, a lot less sugar and they still like it. They don't even notice the difference. 

Read your label. They both have the same amount of protein but the sweetened version has 2 1/2 times the amount of sugar. You can sweeten it up yourself. The regular sweetened non-Greek version in my fridge has even more sugar than that. 

So some tips on yogurt if you are keeping it in your diet.

• Costco sells a 3-pack of 500 gram plain, unsweetened high protein Greek yogurt for a good price and it has probiotics in it. You can sweeten it like I do or use it in lieu of sour cream and then you are getting some protein;
• Wherever you buy it, why not buy some with probiotics in it. Jury is still out on whether they really do their job in this form but maybe they do. 
• Read your labels. The yogurt isle is a confusing place. If you are paying for Greek yogurt make sure it is high protein. It should have 14 - 18 grams of protein per serving. And compare the carbohydrate/sugar on the labels between brands and types.
• Gradually add the unsweetened kind in with the sweetened kind to let yourself and your kids get used to less sugar. I can't believe how sweet, too sweet, the regular stuff tastes to me now. 

There might eventually be a Step 6 in all of this where I learn to make my own organic yogurt. One of the books I'm reading now even has a recipe for Hemp yogurt but I'm not there yet. And I'm okay with it for now. We are in a lot cleaner place than we were in Step 1. And I have to do some things in moderation.

Hope this helps you skip a couple of those steps.

Hemp...........A super food I can get behind and a little Apple Nacho Afternoon Snack!

A great afternoon snack - Apple slices topped with a warm sunbutter/flax/dark chocolate mix, sprinkled with coconut and hemp seed hearts!

So I'm still on the Chia seed train. Really enjoying my Chia puddings and Chia porridge in the mornings. The only problem with the Chia seed addiction is that there isn't enough protein to meet my requirements for a snack or breakfast on its own...........enter Hemp Seed.

I feel really good about hemp because I felt really guilty about all my bad feelings towards wheat......my grandfather would be appalled that I CHOSE to give up wheat. I grew up on the farm, surrounded by fields of the stuff. I come from a long-line of grain farmers. I don't want any of my "farming" friends and family to know about his blog - I might be shunned. But its okay now - I have a big bag of Manitoba grown Hemp in my pantry - they can grow that and we can all be friends again. 

That's my bag of hemp hearts - raw shelled from Costco - $14.99 for almost 2 lbs. You can also get these in bulk at Bulk barn and I've seen them at most major grocery stores. Watch your prices - they can get expensive. This Costco bag is the best deal I've seen at about $8 per lb.

Why are hemp hearts so awesome - well, just like Chia Seeds they have a long list of health benefits including being full of nutrients (including vitamins A, B1, B2, D and E as well as the minerals calcium and iron), Omega 3 and 6,  both soluble and insoluble fiber and protein. What little carbohydrates they have (3 grams in 3 tbsp's) are completely offset by an equivalent amount of fiber for net carbs of 0. Yay - so they can provide you with energy that won't cause a spike in your blood glucose. 

And 3 tbsp's of these have 10 grams of protein. Yay - another clean and convenient way to get protein without having to rely on protein powders. 

These little hemp hearts have a very mild nutty flavor so you can basically sprinkle them on anything without offending anyone's taste buds. And they have a normal texture (as opposed to gelled Chia which everyone is not necessarily a fan of).  And they are filling......I make Chia and hemp puddings and porridge for breakfast and you seriously can not eat a whole lot of this stuff. It fills you right up which should help control your appetite and keep you on the clean eating path. Yes, they are high in fat but its healthy fat and if they do their job of filling you up you will make up for it by eating less empty calories and fat the rest of the day. Just don't sprinkle them on a Big Mac - then you're in trouble.

I didn't think I could top Chia Seeds as a super food but Hemp is awesome. And its grown in Manitoba.  It's my new favorite. But don't worry Chia - I still love you! Plus the combination together is fabulous.

You can basically eat hemp Hearts as is (by the tablespoon), sprinkle them on anything you are eating, put them in smoothie - get creative. Just get eating them. I sprinkle them on an Apple Nacho plate for an afternoon snack. There is no magic to this recipe - just something I threw together quick one day - mix up the toppings to whatever you have/like. Kids even like it.

A delicious way to get some hemp hearts into your diet and into your kids!

Simple Apple Nacho's

One apple, cored and sliced into wedges

1 Tbsp Sunflower butter with flax (I bought at Bulk Barn) - or you could use natural peanut butter or almond butter

1/2 Tbsp dark chocolate chips (preferrably over 70% cacao and organic)

unsweetened shredded coconut

hemp hearts

Layer your apple wedges on a plate. Put Sunbutter and chocolate chips in a small microwavable glass bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave again for about 20 seconds. Adjust to your microwave strength but the chocolate chips should be just melted - don't overcook. Stir mixture again and drizzle on apples. Sprinkle with coconut and hemp hearts. Enjoy!

Clean Paleo Tomato Carrot Meat Sauce with Roasted Kabocha Squash - with Wheat-free alternatives to spaghetti

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone. Originally I was going to take the night off from cooking for Valentine's Day but baby was super co-operative this morning so I ended up making the girls favorite - "spaghetti" and meat sauce. My old self used to make this all the time by throwing a can of Ragu in with some browned meat and serving with white pasta. Well, now that processed food and wheat is literally off the table I have had to start making my own sauce from scratch and have come up with some alternatives for the wheat pasta I used to serve.

Tonight's Valentine's Dinner - clean, low-carb, wheat-free roasted kabochi squash with carrot and tomato meat sauce. Sprinkled with a bit of Parmesan!

Spaghetti Alternatives & Ideas
If you are also interested in moving away from the traditional wheat filled spaghetti here are some options for you:

Wheat-free and Gluten-free Brown rice pasta and corn spaghetti or Wheat-free Low-carb Shirataki noodles.

1) Brown Rice Pasta or Corn Pasta - these are wheat and gluten-free and seem to be kid-friendly (i.e. my picky eaters eat it and like it). Although you get away from the wheat, you don't get away from the high carbohydrate load so this isn't a great option for someone trying to stabilize their blood sugar and/or lose weight. But kids can handle more carbohydrates and love noodles so I serve these to my little ones.
2) Shirataki Tofu Noodles - they sell spaghetti shaped ones at Safeway. These are both low-carb and wheat-free so a great alternative to wheat pasta. My five year-old has tried and liked them.
3) Squash - there are all kinds of squash to try out there. Squash makes a great alternative to wheat-pasta because it is naturally low-carbohydrate and super nutrient dense. Traditionally people use spaghetti squash to replace spaghetti but today I decided to roast a Kabocha squash to have with our meat sauce. I'll post the roasting instructions here tomorrow.

That's a Kabocha squash cut in half.  In some cultures its revered as an aphrodisiac. Ahhhh - perfect for Valentine's Day!

Clean Carrot & Tomato Meat Sauce - low carb, low sodium, wheat-free 
I have tried to sneak more veggies into my kids foods on more than one occasion, often unsuccessfully.  The last time I tried to add shredded carrot to meat sauce my three year old picked it out and then claimed the whole dish unworthy of her palate (same goes for chunks of tomato). So today I put the sauce through the food processor before adding to the meat - problem solved??? Kind of..........my 5 year-old loved it but apparently my 3 year-old wasn't interested in supper after OD'ing on Valentine's treats at daycare - big sigh!!! I will keep trying.

1 tbsp coconut oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3/4 cup carrot, shredded (I used my cheese grater but the food processor works awesome when baby isn't sleeping)
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
pepper to taste
5 drops liquid Stevia (optional)
28 oz/796 ml can Diced tomatoes
1/4 cup tomato paste (you could throw in the full can if you want)

1 lb lean ground beef, browned and lightly seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic powder

Fry the oil, garlic, and onion for a couple of minutes until softened. Add carrot, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and fry over medium heat for about 10 minutes (until carrot is softened), stirring occasionally.  Add Stevia, diced tomato's and tomato paste. Mix well, and let simmer for about 10 minutes. If you want to make it a smooth texture for the kids put this mixture through the blender or food processor (let cool or use caution if its hot). Add browned ground beef. At this point I put the mixture in the slow cooker and cooked on high for 1 hour and low for 3 hours (simply because we had to leave for swimming lessons). If I were at home I would have probably let it simmer on low for about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes to let the flavors blend. Serve with a spaghetti alternative and sprinkle with Parmesan if desired.

Kabocha squash topped with "spagetti" sauce.

Nuts.com Delivers to Winnipeg / Canada

I had an awesome day! Apparently the combination of baby only being up 3 times last night and 3 days of eating Chia seeds has taken my energy to a whole new level. I was flying at the gym this morning. Really - I kind of felt high. And then baby let me shop at all my "old" favorite haunts - Rona, the Habitat for Humanity Restore and the EQ3 Warehouse - which I haven't frequented lately because I have been too busy scouring Winnipeg for "clean" ingredients.

My Nuts.com order - it came in the cutest box. All the packaging is awesome and they threw in a sample of Goji berries - nice!

When we got back I had a knock on the door and was very excited to find my Nuts.com order had arrived. I feel kind of bad that I keep mentioning Costco and Bulk Barn products all the time knowing that some people don't have access to those stores............so I'm hoping this could be a good option for you rural folk. Plus I would hate for someone to think they can't start eating clean because the ingredients aren't accessible or they are too expensive.

I mainly placed an order with Nuts.com (a US family owned company) to get blanched almond flour at a significantly lower price than I could find here in Winnipeg. There are two kinds of ground almonds generally used in cooking/baking: Almond Meal and Blanched Almond Flour. The Almond Meal can be made by grinding raw almonds in a food processor. If you buy almonds at Costco, for instance, you can get them for $12.99 for 3 lbs so your Almond Meal is about $4.29 per pound. Pretty reasonable, but unfortunately almond meal can't be used for all recipes. Especially if you are doing a lot of baking where you need a lighter, finer flour. I'm in that camp plus I kind of like the convenience of it being ground for me. So I still need to buy blanched almond flour. Problem is that it's hard to find - I went to three different health food stores and they were all sold out and its expensive - $11.50 per lb at Bulk Barn.  I just can't handle that price - I'm too cheap.........which is why I hang around places like the Habitat for Humanity Restore.

Baby loved this box and the colourful bags. Kept him entertained for at least a half hour. I am smitten with that kid!

So I decided to place an order with Nuts.com. I ordered a 25 lb box of almond flour (sharing some with another Wheat-free friend) and it came to about $6 per lb including all my shipping, duties and taxes. Yay - half the price. I know 25 lbs sounds like a lot, but you only get about 4 cups per pound and you can keep it in the freezer for at least 6 months. Given how much flour you can go through in one recipe (3 cups for pancakes) its actually not that crazy to think you can go through that much in 6 months.

That's 25 lbs of blanched almond flour. I repacked it in tupper-ware containers. I have lots of room in my freezer for it where my bread, egg rolls, pizza, etc, etc, etc used to be! No problem.

I also ordered a few other things that I can't find in Winnipeg such as 100% cacao nibs and Peanut flour.  For you rural folks they also carry lots of other items you might be interested in such as raw nuts, dried fruits, flours, seeds, etc. Shipping worked out to about $2 per pound and I believe they ship anywhere in Canada. Hey - and why not convince your friends to go clean and then you can put in a big order and share in the shipping costs.

If you are interested in more recipes using almond flour, the Elana's Pantry website has a ton. Also, one more plug for the Wheat Belly Cookbook - buy it, read it, live it! You will thank me when you feel awesome!

Chia - the Cool Seed!! Mama eats Pumpkin Chia Protein Pudding!

Mama's dessert tonight - Pumpkin Chia Protein Pudding topped with high protein Greek yogurt, chopped pecans, California raisins and coconut. OMG - I have a new OBSESSION!

A big bag of Chia Seeds from Costco and a little bag from Bulk Barn! A little goes a long way so test it out before you invest in a 2 lb bag.

I bought a gigantic bag of black Chia seeds at Costco - at the time I didn't have one Chia seed recipe so I have no idea why I thought I needed two pounds (about $5 per lb by the way - I think that's pretty consistent with most places) . I also got some at Bulk Barn but I think they are pretty much available anywhere.

Chia seeds are one of the hottest "super foods" out there. The list of health benefits goes on and on and on and as such they are often regarded as one of natures most perfect foods. I don't normally go into the details but here are a few of the benefits because they are so awesome:

• Has higher protein than any other grain (yep - I compared to quinoa - 5 g for quinoa versus 6 g for Chia);
• It is super high in fiber so it will no doubt keep you regular and help naturally detoxify your system;
• It has higher antioxidant values than even blueberries;
• Its a source of Omega 3 and 6; and
• It helps stabilize blood sugar by slowing the conversion of carbs to sugar - AWESOME.

One of the reasons I am so pumped about this little seed is that the net carbohydrate exposure is so low. Net carbs are grams of carbohydrate less grams of fibre per serving. I checked my pantry for net carbs for each of the following: Chia - 2 g, Quinoa - 26 g, Oats - 16 g. I guess Chia is so high in fibre (which slows the absorption of sugars and starches) that it almost eliminates the effects of the carbohydrates on your blood sugar.

Having tried them a couple of times now, I must say these little bad boys fill you up. Seriously. I have a huge appetite and I could barely eat supper tonight. Warning - these seeds are a little weird. They absorb a ton of water when put in wet liquids and the pudding I made looked a bit like tapioca. So it might take some getting used to. But give it a try or get over it because these seeds are worth it.

Okay great - but what are you supposed to do with them. Well, you can add to smoothies or sprinkle them on just about anything. Or you can make a pudding......this next recipe is what I invented for breakfast this morning. And the best part was I actually made it last night before bed so I just had to throw it in a cup, layer in some toppings and my breakfast was ready to go (with no blender mess to clean up). I also had some for dessert tonight (see picture above) because I wanted more. Yum.

My high protein, high fibre, low carb breakfast. Chia pumpkin pudding topped with high protein Greek yogurt, raisins and coconut. So good!

Pumpkin Chia Protein Pudding (makes about 1 serving)

1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (I buy it prepared -its basically cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice & cloves)

1/2 cup milk - I used unsweetened Soy but use what you've got

1 1/2 tbsp black Chia seeds

1/2 serving Vanilla Whey Protein Powder  - if you don't have or like Protein Powder you can try it with hemp instead - see my Chia and Hemp Pumpkin Pudding recipe

1/4 cup pure pumpkin puree

Toppings - Optional - I really liked the combination of all four I had for dessert

Vanilla high protein Greek yogurt

Raisins

Unsweetened shredded coconut

Chopped pecans

I just mixed the pudding ingredients all together really well. I left it on the counter for about an hour, stirring it about every 15 minutes before I put it in the fridge for the night. In the morning just give it a stir and layer it with whatever toppings you choose and enjoy! So filling, so good, so very clean!

I just don't know whether these should go under breakfast or dessert in my cookbook????

Coconut Milk in Creamy Zucchini Gratin - Wheat Free

Coconut beverage (left) and Canned Coconut Milk (right)


I've had a couple of questions about coconut milk so thought I would do a quick post to clarify what  you should be looking for when shopping if you are trying a recipe with coconut milk. In the left hand side of the picture is coconut beverage (Coconut Dream) which comes in a carton. It is like milk - thinner consistency/less fat used more for drinking or where milk would normally be used in a recipe. So it would work good in smoothies. The coconut milk I would most likely be referring to in a recipe is full fat canned coconut milk - right hand side of picture. It is more like cream or sour cream.  It generally comes in a 400 ml can and can range in price from $2 to $4 per can. The only place I have seen "organic" coconut milk is the Native Forest Brand at Organza Market (here in Winnipeg). Its at the high end of the price range.  However, I think this is the only brand in North America to be organic and supposedly not have BPA in the can.

Did you know most canned goods  have BPA in the lining? Unfortunately all full fat cooking coconut milk available comes in cans so there is no way around it unless you get the organic Native Forest brand.  So you need to weigh the risks of using a non-organic brand with the many health benefits of coconut milk. These include, among other benefits: helps with weight management and appetite due to it being so high in fiber, is a good dairy-free alternative for those with lactose intolerance, helps control blood sugar and is easier to digest than cow's milk .

You can also get "light" canned coconut milk which has less fat, but we aren't scared of fat so no need to go light.

I posted twice today so make sure you also check out my other post on the "Week in Review".

Here's another recipe that uses canned coconut milk.

Creamy wheat-free zucchini gratin!

1 tbsp butter

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 small onion, finely chopped

4 small young zucchini sliced - I get mine at Costco

1/4 tsp fine sea salt

pepper to taste

ground nutmeg - just a couple pinches

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/2 tsp arrowroot powder as thickener

1 tbsp ground golden flax

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese - divided

Fry garlic and onion in butter over medium heat in a saucepan until softened. Add zucchini, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and fry until tender crisp - about 10 minutes. Turn occasionally.  Mix coconut milk and arrowroot powder together thoroughly before adding to saucepan.  If you don't have arrowroot you can also thicken with coconut flour. Add coconut milk and arrowroot mixture to zucchini and cook for about 5 minutes until thickened. Mix in half the Parmesan cheese. Transfer the zucchini to a small greased (with coconut oil, olive oil or butter) casserole and top with remaining Parmesan and flax. Put in the oven under broiler for a couple of minutes. Done. I think next time I might also top with a bit of Mozzarella cheese. 

Protein Power- Vega One Nutritional Shake Review

Vega One all-in-one nutritional shake - this mornings breakfast!

I'm probably a broken record but I need protein, preferably within one hour of waking up, or I'm a hot mess for the rest of the day. My blood sugar gets messed up, I'm starving all day and inevitably I get really grumpy between 10 and 1 and then just want to nap from 1 till 3.  But eating protein within one hour of waking up is nearly impossible with 3 kids (especially if one little adorable 6 month old decides 5:30 is a good time to wake up). So although it isn't unprocessed I have to rely on protein shakes for breakfast lots of days if I am going to get my protein before we leave the house (it literally took me nearly 2 1/2 hours to drink my shake this morning but at least I "started" within an hour of waking up).

 If you're like me and never had a protein shake  in your life you probably don't really have the first clue on what to buy, where to get it, etc. So I decided one day in the fall I was going to start using protein shakes and went into Popeye's supplements. OMG - had no idea there were THAT MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF PROTEIN. Hundreds of them. I felt like a complete idiot. The guy says "What are you looking for?" and I dumbly reply "I have no idea". He immediately got off his chair and probably realized this was going to take a few minutes. Ya-da, ya-da, ya-da, I ended up leaving with Vega one all-in-one nutritional shake - French Vanilla flavor. Poor guy - I talk lots when I'm uncomfortable and I said way to much about breastfeeding to a complete male stranger.

Anyway, Vega One all-in-one is a plant based protein that is dairy, gluten and soy free with no sugar added. All positives (especially the no gluten or sugar part). In addition to protein, it also has Omega 3, probiotics, antioxidants, fiber and the equivalent of 3 servings of greens. This is definitely more than your normal protein powder - it is more like protein powder, omega 3, probiotics and a multi-vitamin all wrapped into one (with only 135 calories and 5 net grams of carbs). So although its a bit expensive (works out to about $2.50 per serving) you get a bunch of benefits and feel good that you got your serving of veggies out of the way (especially if you have a day where you already know your lunch and dinner are going to be pretty bad). So its a great product and is very convenient (just mix with juice, ice, milk - whatever) for moms on the run.

The only downsides for me (other than the price) have been that 1) it only has 15 grams of protein in a serving which isn't enough for me for a meal, especially breakfast, and 2) I'm undecided on the taste. The first time I tasted it I didn't love it. But in an attempt to boost the amount of protein I added some high protein Greek yogurt, soy milk and ice (see picture)  and I actually thought it tasted alright.

So overall I will be saving this protein powder for either mid-afternoon snacks or breakfasts on days when I know I won't be getting much "real clean" food for my other meals.  On other days I use Whey Isolate Protein (Vanilla or Chocolate) that I get at Costco (got it on sale for about $.90 per serving). My hubby uses the Whey Protein from Costco (got it on sale for about $.50 per serving) because he is not lactose intolerant. Watch for a post on that coming soon. Hope that helps if you are looking for a protein option.

The Almond Meal Experiment

Today was a great day – we made it to church, went to a birthday party, and I took the girls tobogganing (two days in a row). And I REALLY enjoyed it both days. For those of you that know me I normally hate being cold and avoid the outdoors at all costs. But this -10 degree weather feels almost balmy after the cold spell we've had. And it’s another testament to the fact that this new clean lifestyle has given me energy I never had in years. The old me would have dreaded trudging up and down the hill ………….but I was having a blast. Went head over tea kettle a couple of times and may have broken my arm but it is all good. I love not feeling tired all the time – what a concept.  

Test Batch #1 - Wheat Belly Basic Biscuit made with Home-made Almond Meal. Delish!

Test Batch #2 - Wheat Belly Basic Biscuit made with blanched almond flour. Also Delish!

We were so busy that I didn't really make a proper meal so no new recipes but I did do a test batch of biscuits as a follow up on my almond meal/flour post yesterday. Saturday I made my first fresh batch of almond meal so I thought I better test it out today. I made the same batch of Basic Wheat belly biscuits (the recipe is in the Wheat Belly Cookbook - at Costco for $14.99 - get it): one time with bought blanched almond flour from Bulk Barn and again with home-made (half the price) almond meal. The result – they look almost identical other than the almond meal version being a little darker, they taste almost exactly the same (the blanched might taste a wee bit lighter) and they are both really delicious. Okay - this is really a good wheat-free/sugar-free biscuit. OMG - yummy.  So the verdict - at half the price I think I will be using almond meal as much as I can unless the recipe specifically asks for "blanched almond flour". 

And to answer the question of what do you eat for breakfast if you don't eat toast............here's an example!

Mama eats a delicious wheat-free egg Mc Muffin. So good, so clean. That's a Wheat Belly Basic Biscuit, a free run egg, nitrate & gluten free turkey bacon and cheddar cheese.  High protein, low carbs!

Mama makes Almond Meal

Almond Meal made from grinding raw almonds with skins on. 

I decided today to try and make some almond meal and it seems to have turned out just fine. At least it looks fine - I'll do some baking with it tomorrow to test it out.  

There are basically two kinds of almond flour that you might come across in many gluten-free recipes: almond meal or blanched almond flour. Almond meal is basically just raw almonds finely ground with the skins on - I haven't actually seen this in the store but I made my own (see above). Almond flour is generally the kind you would buy in the store and it is made from blanched (skins removed) almonds. They do some further processing to it so it is a lighter flour to use in baking - not sure if you make your own  flour from blanched almonds if it will work in all recipes but feel free to give it a shot. You can get blanched almond flour in bulk at Bulk Barn or order it online. 

Blanched almond flour from Bulk Barn.  Skins are removed.

Almond flour/meal is a great alternative to wheat flour in cooking and baking because not only is it gluten/wheat-free, but it is high in fiber and protein and low in carbohydrates (which is what makes it really stand out from other gluten replacements which are generally high in carbohydrates). Also, it is moist, flavorful and easy to work with. The big downside is that it is significantly more expensive than wheat flour. That's why you should use almond meal (which is significantly cheaper to make from bulk almonds - I like Costco ones best) when you can.  I should have some recipes made with Almond meal coming soon since I have a fresh batch.

Mama makes Almond Meal

To make almond meal I just put 1 cup of raw almonds in my food processor (I have a very basic Black and Decker model but you could also try a coffee grinder). I pulsed the almonds until they were like fine sand. It took a couple of minutes. I stopped it every so often to check on how fine it was getting to make sure I didn't over process it and end up with almond butter. It should still look like dry sand. If it starts getting gummy you are grinding too much. If your food processor isn't getting it fine enough for your liking you might want to put it through a flour sifter and put the larger particles back through the processor until they are fine enough. Like I said I have a pretty basic food processor and I didn't have to do this so hopefully you won't. Voila - almond meal. 

Low Carb Shirataki Noodles

Macaroni Tofu Shirataki Noodles from Safeway. Grain free and low carb!

I was able to find these Shirataki Noodles at my local Safeway. They have next to no calories (20 per half a package) and only 3 grams of carbs. Compared to regular pasta that could have up to 300 calories and 60 grams of carbs per serving. That's crazy. I haven't looked in the Asian markets yet but they likely carry them there as well. 

Shiratake noodles are made from the root of a plant (Amorphophallus Konjac) found in Asia. They add tofu to the noodles to improve the texture.  They contain a fiber known as glucomannan which can play a role in blood sugar control. Most importantly it can replace other starchy noodles such as wheat, brown rice and corn noodles.

These noodles come packed in liquid and will be found in the refrigerator section of the grocery store. You need to rinse them thoroughly and I cook them in olive oil to warm them up. They don't have much flavour on their own so they can be seasoned/sauced like you would regular pasta.  When contemplating going Wheat-free and/or low carbohydrate most people panic at the thought of not having pasta - especially those with kids that have spaghetti and meat sauce as a staple meal. These noodles offer an awesome alternative so you don't feel like you are missing out and maybe even your kids will enjoy. My husband and daughter both enjoyed these with a stir fry - and they can be a tough crowd.  

Yay - Costco Winnipeg gets Organic Coconut Oil

Virgin Coconut Oil arrives at Winnipeg Costco!

My hubby officially thinks I'm weird. At Costco today I spotted organic coconut oil and squealed - I knew they would get it soon. The price is awesome - about $5 per lb. You can also buy it at most grocery stores (although it can be tricky to find as its not necessarily with the other oils), health stores and bulk barn for about $8 per pound. The Costco one is a big jar but if you start using it as much as I do you will go through it or you can share it with someone. 

Why do I cook and bake with coconut oil? 

Coconut oil is made of medium chain fatty acids that are easily digested and converted to energy versus the long-chain fatty acids in polyunsaturated oils which are stored as fat. It significantly improves metabolism, slows digestion, prevents blood sugar fluctuations, and detoxifies your body. Basically it can help you lose weight, control your cravings and improve immunity. Apparently it has other uses as well - skin care, etc but I have yet to try it out. 

Now - if only they would get some Almond Flour at Costco I would be happy.