g r a i n - f r e e
c o c o n u t g r a n o l a
I don't know why I ever think I can get life "down to a science". Things may be humming along nicely for a while and I begin to think "Oh okay, I've got this." And then there's a nice little bump in that flow and I go tumbling.
Then, in the wake, disoriented, I try to figure out the what/how/when of things and how they started to go. It's not always a bad thing that happens, but these happenings mix up everything I thought I had figured out. So, I get up and go about finding the new "forward".
I ran into that issue with oats, believe it or not, among other things. In recovery from anorexia, I'd been following a very whole-foods, Weston A Price centered diet with a lot of raw milk, soaked grains, fresh eggs, good meat and fat, greens and natural carbs, which helped me gain weight and vitality without gaining fat.
About a year later, I went to have some oatmeal and got an intense bout of stomach pain right after. Maybe because I hadn't soaked them beforehand, yes. Maybe because I'd just gotten the stomach bug a few weeks before. But I was almost scared to try oats for another good two years. Tried them again, unsoaked, when I was pregnant and got some bloating and my feet swelled. I figured it might be the phytates in oats -- compounds that irritate the gut and that bind to minerals in the body like iron or magnesium and expel them from the body unabsorbed. I was already low in magnesium, so the carbs and phytates in oats weren't worth it.
It was depressing though. I love oats: my comfort breakfasts were oatmeal cooked in milk with butter and cinnamon, warm nutty granola, crumb topping on apple crisps.
So when I found this recipe for grain-free granola, I was sooo excited. Using unsweetened coconut and nuts, it would deliver nourishing fats and fiber without the huge carbohydrate content. I modified it to have a lower sugar content, bringing the net carbs to about 3g per serving. My need to avoid oats led to the delicious discovery of how diverse coconut can be. It doesn't have an overwhelming taste in this recipe, taking on a honeyed, nutty taste just like oat-based granola.
I'd been planning to post it quite a while ago, and then literally ran out of free time. With a recent promotion to manager of the coffeeshop I work at, most of my time is spent at work or commuting to work, and the rest is spent taking care of Asher. Also, free time around the holidays quickly became eaten up by special Christmas events at the coffeeshop and filling Color + Sound orders.
It was yet another occasion of something unexpected throwing me for a loop. Something tough, but causing me to need to stretch myself and learn how to keep moving forward. Changes in schedule might make me miss what I had gotten used to, but they also force me to prioritize and decide what's worth keeping.
Being a nursing, working mama, I found it's difficult to find time to take care of myself with everything going on. But it should be kind of essential, because if I'm not doing so well, it affects Asher too and how well I can feed him.
I know many people recommend oats for nursing mamas, so I decided to find out why (I tend to research the heck out of nutrition, science, and how our bodies work... kind of a hobby) Anyway, I discovered oats are recommended because they contain small amounts of B-vitamins. But given my reactions, I've decided to stay away from them and try going for other nourishing food sources-- like coconut and nuts, packed with essential fatty acids, vitamins and fiber.
This recipe is well worth the time to make-- the tweaks like adding egg whites boosts the protein and makes it taste like coconut macaroons. I'm not going to even try getting the bumps and changes in life down to a science, but I'll continue to find ways to take them in stride.
Then, in the wake, disoriented, I try to figure out the what/how/when of things and how they started to go. It's not always a bad thing that happens, but these happenings mix up everything I thought I had figured out. So, I get up and go about finding the new "forward".
I ran into that issue with oats, believe it or not, among other things. In recovery from anorexia, I'd been following a very whole-foods, Weston A Price centered diet with a lot of raw milk, soaked grains, fresh eggs, good meat and fat, greens and natural carbs, which helped me gain weight and vitality without gaining fat.
About a year later, I went to have some oatmeal and got an intense bout of stomach pain right after. Maybe because I hadn't soaked them beforehand, yes. Maybe because I'd just gotten the stomach bug a few weeks before. But I was almost scared to try oats for another good two years. Tried them again, unsoaked, when I was pregnant and got some bloating and my feet swelled. I figured it might be the phytates in oats -- compounds that irritate the gut and that bind to minerals in the body like iron or magnesium and expel them from the body unabsorbed. I was already low in magnesium, so the carbs and phytates in oats weren't worth it.
It was depressing though. I love oats: my comfort breakfasts were oatmeal cooked in milk with butter and cinnamon, warm nutty granola, crumb topping on apple crisps.
So when I found this recipe for grain-free granola, I was sooo excited. Using unsweetened coconut and nuts, it would deliver nourishing fats and fiber without the huge carbohydrate content. I modified it to have a lower sugar content, bringing the net carbs to about 3g per serving. My need to avoid oats led to the delicious discovery of how diverse coconut can be. It doesn't have an overwhelming taste in this recipe, taking on a honeyed, nutty taste just like oat-based granola.
I'd been planning to post it quite a while ago, and then literally ran out of free time. With a recent promotion to manager of the coffeeshop I work at, most of my time is spent at work or commuting to work, and the rest is spent taking care of Asher. Also, free time around the holidays quickly became eaten up by special Christmas events at the coffeeshop and filling Color + Sound orders.
It was yet another occasion of something unexpected throwing me for a loop. Something tough, but causing me to need to stretch myself and learn how to keep moving forward. Changes in schedule might make me miss what I had gotten used to, but they also force me to prioritize and decide what's worth keeping.
Being a nursing, working mama, I found it's difficult to find time to take care of myself with everything going on. But it should be kind of essential, because if I'm not doing so well, it affects Asher too and how well I can feed him.
I know many people recommend oats for nursing mamas, so I decided to find out why (I tend to research the heck out of nutrition, science, and how our bodies work... kind of a hobby) Anyway, I discovered oats are recommended because they contain small amounts of B-vitamins. But given my reactions, I've decided to stay away from them and try going for other nourishing food sources-- like coconut and nuts, packed with essential fatty acids, vitamins and fiber.
This recipe is well worth the time to make-- the tweaks like adding egg whites boosts the protein and makes it taste like coconut macaroons. I'm not going to even try getting the bumps and changes in life down to a science, but I'll continue to find ways to take them in stride.
g r a i n - f r e e
coconut granola
Dry
2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
1-2 cups chopped nuts
1/2-1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1-2 tbsp powdered stevia like Sweetleaf or Pyure (do to taste)
Optional: 1 scoop plain/vanilla protein powder
Wet:
1/4 cup coconut oil + grassfed butter, melted
2 tbsp honey/maple syrup
2 egg whites, whipped till stiff
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 350
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, set aside.
Whip egg whites with electric mixer till stiff, add the dry ingredients, then add in the wet ingredients. Spread on a big pan and bake for 13-17 minutes.
Makes roughly 12 small servings or 6 bigger ones.
Might wanna double the recipe!!
g r a i n - f r e e
p i e c r u s t
In the autumn months all I want to do is bake-- usually sweet, nostalgic things that greet me when I come in from the cold. And then all the delicious comfort foods that roast and toast and leave you full as a baby.
I am all for eating till complete satisfaction. However-- no matter how delicious the food, it's never pleasant to eat till one becomes uncomfortable.
Within the last few years I've found that even a little bit of wheat, corn, potato, and even rice makes me quite uncomfortable and inflamed, resulting in water retention, bloat, sluggishness, cravings and acne. Even if it's delicious going down, the unpleasantness that sometimes follows makes it sadly not worth it.
Instead of completely nixing baked goods, I began researching low-starch, grain-free, non-inflammatory baking methods that would be easy to make and taste delicious. Of course they wouldn't taste exactly the same as the wheat/corn/etc filled goodies, but they'd fit the bill nicely if I HAD to have pizza crust/muffins/toast/pie/you name it.
If you are at all interested in forgoing any uncomfortable bloat, inflammation and weight gain from the often carbohydrate-heavy menu this Thanksgiving, I highly recommend the Urban Poser's recipes of standard patisserie items with an anti-inflammatory goal, or Briana Thomas' wide variety of desserts and meals, all of which have a very low glycemic impact and taste like the real sugar-filled deal.
For a low-starch, grain-free pie crust alternative this fall, I highly recommend Briana Thomas' pie crust recipe.
It has a comforting, pleasantly browning, delicious crumb. I've used it for quiche and for cheesecakes and find it flexible and easy to modify. It'd work well for shepherds pie or a berry crumble-- whatever your favorite might be!
Find the full recipe for Briana's baking mix here.
I am all for eating till complete satisfaction. However-- no matter how delicious the food, it's never pleasant to eat till one becomes uncomfortable.
Within the last few years I've found that even a little bit of wheat, corn, potato, and even rice makes me quite uncomfortable and inflamed, resulting in water retention, bloat, sluggishness, cravings and acne. Even if it's delicious going down, the unpleasantness that sometimes follows makes it sadly not worth it.
Instead of completely nixing baked goods, I began researching low-starch, grain-free, non-inflammatory baking methods that would be easy to make and taste delicious. Of course they wouldn't taste exactly the same as the wheat/corn/etc filled goodies, but they'd fit the bill nicely if I HAD to have pizza crust/muffins/toast/pie/you name it.
If you are at all interested in forgoing any uncomfortable bloat, inflammation and weight gain from the often carbohydrate-heavy menu this Thanksgiving, I highly recommend the Urban Poser's recipes of standard patisserie items with an anti-inflammatory goal, or Briana Thomas' wide variety of desserts and meals, all of which have a very low glycemic impact and taste like the real sugar-filled deal.
For a low-starch, grain-free pie crust alternative this fall, I highly recommend Briana Thomas' pie crust recipe.
It has a comforting, pleasantly browning, delicious crumb. I've used it for quiche and for cheesecakes and find it flexible and easy to modify. It'd work well for shepherds pie or a berry crumble-- whatever your favorite might be!
Find the full recipe for Briana's baking mix here.
g r a i n - f r e e p i e c r u s t
For 8-inch pie (double to fill a 8x13 dish)
1 cup Briana's baking mix or ~1 cup THM baking blend.
(If you don't have the baking blend, use 1/3 cup coconut flour, 1/3 cup flaxmeal, and 1/3 cup oat fiber or unsweetened whey protein.)
1 egg
1/4 cup cold butter or room temp Coconut oil
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp powdered stevia like Truvia or Sweetleaf
2 T greek yogurt
2 T water
For a no-bake version of the crust, add in almond butter instead of an egg.
What are you making this Thanksgiving? Do share your ideas and stories!
More on grain, anti-inflammatory diets, and eating for optimal health in a later post!
For 8-inch pie (double to fill a 8x13 dish)
1 cup Briana's baking mix or ~1 cup THM baking blend.
(If you don't have the baking blend, use 1/3 cup coconut flour, 1/3 cup flaxmeal, and 1/3 cup oat fiber or unsweetened whey protein.)
1 egg
1/4 cup cold butter or room temp Coconut oil
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp powdered stevia like Truvia or Sweetleaf
2 T greek yogurt
2 T water
- in a mixer, beat the butter with the baking mix, sweetener and salt until coarse crumbs form.
- add in the wet ingredients
- roll the clump of dough between two pieces of wax paper to form a pie crust, or press the dough into a pie pan as is.
- pre-bake at 350 for 5 minutes before adding filling.
For a no-bake version of the crust, add in almond butter instead of an egg.
What are you making this Thanksgiving? Do share your ideas and stories!
More on grain, anti-inflammatory diets, and eating for optimal health in a later post!
c h o c o l a t e
When it comes to at-home snackies, comfort foods, or everyday indulgences, everyone has their "thing", and I love hearing about other people's.
When I say "their thing" I mean the kind they make just so, and love it every day exactly that way. Whether it's their favorite breakfast, the way they take their coffee, their usual wine of choice or their after-dinner sweet, little elements of people's personalities show through with these little choices.
I love saving room at the end of my evening meal for something creamy-- either a warm, cozy drink getting me all ready for sleep, or a bit of cheese enjoyed slowly, or a fat bomb or two.
Fat bomb? Oh that sounds positively wicked, you might think.
That sounds like "fat bum" and there's no way I want that going anywhere near mine, you might say.
But contrary to how it sounds, it's
not wicked in the least. It's actually part of my beauty/selfcare routine. There is no sugar and no inflammatory vegetable oils in these little fat bombs, just nourishing fats, antioxidants, vitamins and omega 3s.
It's actually carbohydrates that are converted into fatty acids by insulin that send fat to your rear for storage for later. It's not fish, but rather honey and berries that bears eat when they need to put on a lot of insulation for their winter sleep.
Huh! So... Maybe craving chocolate isn't a bad thing? Our brains need fat to function well. Our hormones will be all out of whack without it. But how to get enough without the added sugar that often comes along in commercial products?
Enter: fat bombs. Essentially, you take coconut oil and grassfed butter, add some mix ins (cocoa, cream cheese, nut butters) sweeten with stevia (or a tiny bit of honey/maple syrup) and pop the mixture into little molds and place them in the freezer.
My go-to recipe for chocolate fat bombs is simple:
To make 12
• 12 tbsp (6 oz) cocoa
• 6 tbsp butter (or cocoa butter when I have it)
• 6 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• sea salt to taste
• Sweetleaf Stevia to taste (usually 1-2 tsp)
Melt all the ingredients together, stir smooth, and place in cupcake-liners in a muffin-tin (or chocolate mold) and put into the freezer.
Using Baker's Unsweetened Chocolate as a base works as well, but I usually just keep the basic ingredients at home so I can always customize.
Adding a dollop of natural peanut butter in the center makes them into a homemade (sugarless) Reeses!
For someone wanting to nourish their skin, hair, cells, thyroid/adrenal gland, and brain, getting enough fat (without added sugar) in the diet is essential, but can be difficult. Buttering veggies and sautéing things in coconut oil helps, but what about when you want that little something after your meal?
These fat bombs make it easier, and more enjoyable, to eat enough fat without having to have it with carbs or more veggies (not that there's anything wrong with veggies. Love me some brussel sprouts. No really. With butter). So, it's kind of the norm for me to go to the freezer after dinner and pull out a few fat bombs for me and the hubby. It's sort of our thing.
Want more fat bomb recipes? Or any recipes in general? Comment on my Instagram! @ skylark92
When I say "their thing" I mean the kind they make just so, and love it every day exactly that way. Whether it's their favorite breakfast, the way they take their coffee, their usual wine of choice or their after-dinner sweet, little elements of people's personalities show through with these little choices.
I love saving room at the end of my evening meal for something creamy-- either a warm, cozy drink getting me all ready for sleep, or a bit of cheese enjoyed slowly, or a fat bomb or two.
Fat bomb? Oh that sounds positively wicked, you might think.
That sounds like "fat bum" and there's no way I want that going anywhere near mine, you might say.
But contrary to how it sounds, it's
not wicked in the least. It's actually part of my beauty/selfcare routine. There is no sugar and no inflammatory vegetable oils in these little fat bombs, just nourishing fats, antioxidants, vitamins and omega 3s.
It's actually carbohydrates that are converted into fatty acids by insulin that send fat to your rear for storage for later. It's not fish, but rather honey and berries that bears eat when they need to put on a lot of insulation for their winter sleep.
Huh! So... Maybe craving chocolate isn't a bad thing? Our brains need fat to function well. Our hormones will be all out of whack without it. But how to get enough without the added sugar that often comes along in commercial products?
Enter: fat bombs. Essentially, you take coconut oil and grassfed butter, add some mix ins (cocoa, cream cheese, nut butters) sweeten with stevia (or a tiny bit of honey/maple syrup) and pop the mixture into little molds and place them in the freezer.
My go-to recipe for chocolate fat bombs is simple:
To make 12
• 12 tbsp (6 oz) cocoa
• 6 tbsp butter (or cocoa butter when I have it)
• 6 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• sea salt to taste
• Sweetleaf Stevia to taste (usually 1-2 tsp)
Melt all the ingredients together, stir smooth, and place in cupcake-liners in a muffin-tin (or chocolate mold) and put into the freezer.
Using Baker's Unsweetened Chocolate as a base works as well, but I usually just keep the basic ingredients at home so I can always customize.
Adding a dollop of natural peanut butter in the center makes them into a homemade (sugarless) Reeses!
For someone wanting to nourish their skin, hair, cells, thyroid/adrenal gland, and brain, getting enough fat (without added sugar) in the diet is essential, but can be difficult. Buttering veggies and sautéing things in coconut oil helps, but what about when you want that little something after your meal?
These fat bombs make it easier, and more enjoyable, to eat enough fat without having to have it with carbs or more veggies (not that there's anything wrong with veggies. Love me some brussel sprouts. No really. With butter). So, it's kind of the norm for me to go to the freezer after dinner and pull out a few fat bombs for me and the hubby. It's sort of our thing.
Want more fat bomb recipes? Or any recipes in general? Comment on my Instagram! @ skylark92