Ingredients Archives: Almond flour

Gluten-Free Brownie Pudding Cake

By Ami on May 17, 2017 in Guilt-Free Treats

When I was a kid, my mom would make brownie pudding cake on cold, wet days. It was so comforting topped with a big scoop of whipped cream that melted into the gooey chocolate. It really doesn’t get more comforting than that. One bowl of that and every problem would disappear. It was basically unicorn tears topped with whipped unicorn tears. Tears of joy that is. There’s no room for sadness here. Best. Thing. Ever.

A few weeks ago we got one of those miserable spring snow storms. Snow in winter is expected, but snow when I’ve spent the last week in skirts and flip flops? Not cool. I needed some warm gooey comfort. But I didn’t want the next day sugar/gluten hangover I get. So I set out to make a grain-free, low sugar version. I was so pleased with the results, the unicorns and I cried together.

This brownie pudding cake is super rich and dark. If you don’t like it that dark, up the sugar and down the cocoa powder. But I can’t image finding comfort from chocolate that isn’t dark chocolate. That’s just me though…

The reason this is so good is that it’s a moist rich cake with a gooey, smooth inside. I topped it with whipped coconut cream that melted into the warm cake just like the version from my childhood. It was so nostalgic I felt like putting on my rainbow bright leg warmers.

This cake comes together in three layers that all come together to make a gooey bowl of joy.

The cake layer:

The topping layer:

The boiling water which makes a crispy top and a gooey middle:

You can’t look at this without smiling.

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Grain-Free Chicken Parmesan

By Ami on April 26, 2017 in Main Dishes

My daughter has eczema. She comes by it honestly. She inherited it from me. I inherited it from my mom. My mom from her mom; her mom from her mom, etc, etc, etc. We may be able to trace this back to Eve. Two years ago I gave up grains because my joints are awful and I found a grain-free diet helped a lot. I also noticed that after over 30 years, my eczema cleared up significantly. YAY!!

So when my daughter was on the ground sobbing because her legs were bleeding I decided she should try to go gluten free. A month later, her legs looked completely different. I was shocked at the improvement. I think they’d clear up even more if she gave up dairy, but I want it to be her choice and she said she’d stick with giving up gluten for now.

The point is, with her dietary restrictions and mine, we’ve had to get creative. A few weeks ago she and I were watching The Pioneer Woman (one of our favorite bonding activities) and drooling over her chicken Parmesan. My daughter asked, “Can we please make that?!” I couldn’t let her down so we gave it a try. I wanted to make a grain-free but delicious version of this classic comfort food. We were all pleased with the results.

The process was similar to classic chicken Parmesan. The only difference was the mixture.

Rather than use bread crumbs, I made a mixture of almond flour, tapioca flour, Parmesan cheese and spices.

After I coated the chicken in eggs, I dipped it in the “breading” and fried it in a skillet with a little coconut oil. I used chicken thighs because I like them better than breasts, but use what works for you. The process is the same.

Here is where you have to make a decision. If you like your chicken Parmesan crispy, remove it from the skillet top it with hot marinara sauce and sprinkle the cheese on top. If you want it softer, pour the marinara over the chicken and sprinkle the cheese on top while the chicken is still in the pan. Let this heat until the cheese melts.

My husband and daughter prefer this over gluten-free spaghetti noodles. I serve mine over a huge handful of spinach. The heat from the chicken wilts the spinach a bit but it gives it great flavor and crunch. Plus it’s a great way to add in some extra vegetables.

A word about marinara sauce. I’m happy to report that it’s becoming much easier to find a marinara sauce without sugar. But be sure to read your labels! The cheapest I’ve found is the Trader Joe’s brand that comes in a can. No sugar, low price and delicious. If you want to save even more money, make my No-Sugar Marinara Sauce.

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The Best Pumpkin Dish You’ll Make This Fall

By Ami on November 4, 2016 in Guilt-Free Treats

Excited doesn’t really cover how I feel about this recipe. I made it on a Sunday and literally dreamed about it the night before. Yes, I am that big of a loser and yes, it did live up to my dream.

I used to make a pumpkin dump cake that made my heart happy. It was creamy and warm on the bottom with a crunchy, sweet top. I LOVED it! The problem was, it was loaded with both white and brown sugar and was topped with a cake mix…. which you had to add even more sugar to. I thought about cheating and just making the darn thing (Yes, it would have been worth it), but before I sold my soul I decided to try to make a healthier version.

I’m SO glad I did. The pumpkin layer is warm, creamy, sweet and bursting with fall flavors. The topping contrasts nicely with the creamy base and the flavors work perfectly together. This is a perfect dessert for a cold night. Though since this dessert is so good I almost cried, I’ll probably make it for my birthday… in April.

So if you believe all men (and women) are entitled to the pursuit of happiness, make this… now. No really. Go do it.

A few tips first (sorry for the false alarm. Hopefully you aren’t running to grab your slow cooker).

Make sure you grease your slow cooker. If you don’t, instead of talking about how much you love me, you’ll be cursing me to the depths of Hades. Grease that sucker!

Yes, this has a lot of ingredients, but it truly is a dump cake. Two bowls and a slow cooker. That’s it. You don’t even have to beat the pumpkin layer in stages. I really did just throw everything in a bowl and beat it.

Make sure you distribute the topping evenly when you sprinkle it over the pumpkin. This is basically going to cook up like a cake layer, so you want it as even as you can get it. Though since it is a dump cake, you really can’t ruin it. This just makes it better.

The same goes for the butter. This provides a lot of the liquid for the cake layer, so you’ll want it even. But again, you can’t ruin this. The moisture from the pumpkin and the steaming affect of the slow cooker will get any spots you miss.

As far as the pecans go, they are totally optional. If you hate pecans or they kill you if you eat them, you should leave them out. I love the flavor of pecans with pumpkin and fall spices so I left them in. You can even substitute them with another nut if you like. Not peanuts though. I like peanuts as much as the next squirrel, but that just sounds wrong.

Lastly, this is a dish that is amazing on its own, but is even better topped with something cold and creamy. While ice cream would be amazing, we decided to go with something a little healthier and use coconut cream. Don’t worry. If you can hold a hand mixer, you can make coconut cream. Click here for instructions from The Pioneer Woman. We sweeten ours with honey.

Okay. Now you are armed with what you need so go and make it. Now. It’s not a false alarm this time…

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Guilt-Free Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits

By Ami on July 8, 2016 in Breakfast

As a kid, I always got excited when I heard the ice cream truck. Since it was summer, I was generally in my black and rainbow striped swimsuit running through the sprinklers with half the kids in my neighborhood. We’d hear the music and run toward the truck with all our might and quarters. Aside from that, there was another truck that brought joy to my heart: the Schwan’s truck. We’d get so excited when the “Schwan’s man” would come each week. My mom always bought two things (she bought more but I wasn’t really interested in raw chicken breasts and salmon patties). One, push-up ice cream pops. Remember those? I can still taste of that delicous peach ice cream combined with the taste of plastic and cardboard as I licked the tube trying to get every last drop. The second things she always got; cinnamon raising biscuits. These things were so addicting. Many a Sunday morning, I’d wake up smelling those delicious biscuits. The fact that they came with a tube of frosting made them that much better.

Maybe I was feeling nostalgic because it was close to mother’s day, but a few weeks ago, I was craving these biscuits, but didn’t want to eat something that I’d regret later. Then I realized, since I know how to make healthy biscuits, I could easily recreate these!

I started with my healthy drop biscuit recipe. To them I added cinnamon, vanilla and raisins. As with the drop biscuits, I was way too lazy to roll and cut them, but you certainly could if you had the motivation. Since I wanted them to have that round look the ones from my childhood had, I rolled them and shaped them with my hands.

We ate these before I could get a picture, but to simulate the frosting, we drizzled a bit of coconut butter of the top of a few of them. These were so good, I considered putting the black and rainbow swimsuit back on and running through the sprinklers eating one. But then I’d be the neighborhood freak. Oh well. They tasted just as delicious as they did when I was 7.

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Healthy Grain-Free Biscuits

By Ami on April 15, 2016 in Side Dishes

I’m the youngest of three kids. The oldest is my brother. While he was a fabulous big brother (no really, he was) and is still one of my heroes, he was still a big brother and had to mock and tease me without remorse. In fact, now that we’re grown, he still feels it is his duty to mock me. It’s alright. I can take it.

So when I was a kid, whenever I did something I was particularly proud of and announced it to my family my brother would respond with, “Want a biscuit?” So now whenever anyone in our family tells us something they did, we respond with, “Want a biscuit?”

Hey speaking of biscuits; aren’t they delicious!? Yeah they are. A few nights ago we had soup for dinner and I thought “Yes. I DO want a biscuit!” But biscuits aren’t that fabulous for you. Because they are so dense, they are really loaded with processed, white flour which doesn’t provide any actual nutrients. I took the challenge to make a delicious, healthy biscuit and am happy to say, was very successful.

Plus these come together quickly which is great since I usually decide I want bread 20 minutes before dinner.

My mom used to make biscuits by sifting the dry ingredients in a large metal sifter with a turn handle. I take the lazy way out and just whisk everything together.

Then add in some butter. Since the butter has to be cold, I cut it into small cubes before I add it. To cut it in you can use an actual pastry cutter, but I don’t have luck with pastry cutters. They seem more like medieval torture devices, so I just stick with smashing the butter in with two forks. For those of you who are wondering, “What in the world is she talking about with ‘cutting in?’ ” All this means is incorporating the butter into the dry ingredients. Rather than softening it and beating it in like you do with cookies, you want to still see bits of butter. Your dough will look a bit like small pebbles when you finish this step.

Traditional biscuits don’t always call for eggs, but since almond flour has no gluten, you really need the eggs to bind the biscuits together. As far as milk goes, I used almond milk but you can use coconut milk, cashew milk or regular milk or cream. Just use what you have and what works for you.

You could roll these out and cut them into nice circles but that’s an extra step I’m not willing to take. That seems like far too much effort so I did these “drop biscuit” style. Sorry about the picture. I forgot to take one before I put them in the oven. Thank goodness I’d cleaned my oven earlier that week…

After these cook, you definitely want to let them sit for a bit to cool. This helps them set a little better so they don’t crumble.

And now you can have bread with your soup without guilt.

Want a biscuit?

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No Sugar Chocolate Banana Muffins

By Ami on January 8, 2016 in Breakfast, Guilt-Free Treats, Healthy Snacks

Every morning my son’s breakfast includes a mini muffin. This is my way of cramming a bit more protein and nutrients into him in an unprocessed way before sending him off to second grade to solve the world’s great problems. I always look for muffin recipes heavy on nuts and/or eggs and low on sugar. We generally stick to banana muffins, but to keep things interesting, I’m always trying to find something else. I found this recipe from Yummy Mummy. It looked delicious, but since I was giving it to my son every morning for breakfast, I wanted something without added sugar or sugar substitutes and without chocolate chips. So using Yummy Mummy’s recipe as my base, I came up with a version without sugar. We’re all very pleased with the results and I can continue to give my son a muffin every morning without feeling guilty. Luckily as a mom, there are still plenty of other things I get to feel guilty about every day.

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Healthy Orange Cherry Breakfast Scones

By Ami on September 11, 2015 in Breakfast

Growing up, there was a Village Inn about two miles from our house. Sometimes on Saturday mornings, my BFF and I would walk there for breakfast, indulge in a sweet breakfast pastry (aka pie) and then walk back to my house. We felt like we were so healthy, walking the four miles it took to make the round trip. Little did we know, we were packing on enough sugar and bad carbs to require us to walk about 50 miles to break even.

Even with the knowledge I have now, I still have that taste for delicious pastries branded in my brain. Luckily, there’s a much healthier way to indulge.

These scones are sweetened only with dried fruit, cinnamon and orange zest; and made with a combination of almond flour and coconut flour. This keeps the protein high and the processed carbs low. These scones have less than 5 grams of sugar each.

This easily comes together in a food processor. This is my ancient food processor my grandma found at a garage sale for $10. It’s one of my favorite tools and even though it’s death will mean I get to buy a newer model, I hope this one lasts forever.

Combine everything but the cherries in a food processor. Let everything process until the dough forms a ball.

Add the dried cherries and process again. These are the only dried cherries I’ve found without added sugar. This is one of my pet peeves. Fruit is so full of natural sugars, why do we feel the need to sweeten them. I found these at Walmart of all places.

I like to let the cherries process for a bit to break them into small pieces. This distributes the sweetness throughout the scone. If you like bigger chunks of cherry, mix these in with a spoon.

I bake these in my awesome scone pan, but you can pat this in a round disk and cut into eight triangles, cut them into squares, or roll this out and cut them with a circular biscuit cutter.

These bake quickly so you don’t have to wait long. Rather than top these with frosting, we just drizzle melted coconut butter over the top. The kids think I’m the cool mom giving them frosting for breakfast. They’re such lucky kids.

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Healthy Twist on a German Pancake

By Ami on August 14, 2015 in Breakfast, Main Dishes

For years, we’ve had breakfast for dinner every Friday night. That often meant huge grocery-store muffins, sugar-loaded cinnamon rolls and French toast made with processed bread. Yum… I knew when we switched to a healthy lifestyle, my family would not be okay nixing the Friday-night breakfast tradition. Nor would they accept omelets every Friday. I quickly realized that with a few tweaks I could revamp some of our favorite recipes. That’s my favorite part about eating healthy; finding ways to still eat the foods we’ve always loved but in a healthy way. This German pancake is packed with protein, comes together in just a few minutes and lets us still have our Friday-night breakfast tradition.

Rather than melting butter in advance, just stick the butter in a 9×13 pan and put in in the oven while it preheats. I always love the chance to cut out a step.

Whisk the eggs and almond milk together. Then add the almond flour and whisk the heck out of everything until it’s totally smooth. You can also use an immersion blender or a stand blender to get a really smooth consistency. I just don’t like extra dishes, so I stick with the whisk.

Once the butter is melted just pour the batter into the pan and bake it for about 20-25 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when it’s golden brown and puffy in spots.

My husband and kids like to eat this with pure maple syrup but you can also use peanut butter or honey. I like to just toss some berries on top and eat it all together. That’s a great way to get in some added nutrients.

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Ingredients Archives: Almond flour

Gluten-Free Brownie Pudding Cake

Grain-Free Chicken Parmesan

The Best Pumpkin Dish You’ll Make This Fall

Guilt-Free Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits

Healthy Grain-Free Biscuits

No Sugar Chocolate Banana Muffins

Healthy Orange Cherry Breakfast Scones

Healthy Twist on a German Pancake

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