Peanut Butter Hot Cocoa

While warm winter drinks are pretty common, and usually are free of gluten and starch, this one was so yummy I just had to share.

Peanut Butter Hot Cocoa

4 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder*
1 teaspoon vanilla
dash salt
2-3 tablespoons peanut butter
Marshmallows or whipped cream, optional

Combine the milk, sugar, hot cocoa and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk well to combine, and warm over medium heat until hot, but not boiling. Remove from heat, and whisk in vanilla and 2T peanut butter, add additional peanut butter if desired. Top with whipped cream or marshmallows. Serve.

**Either regular cocoa or dark cocoa powder will work fine for this recipe.

Pancakes

Once you make these, you'll never miss starchy pancakes again. These are best in a 10 to 12 inch cast iron pan, though a heavy non-stick or a well oiled stainless steel pan also works fine. These pancakes are completely starch free too! I alternate these with the Coconutty Pancakes- my kiddos love both versions.

Pancakes
6 eggs, divided
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons flax meal
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon maple extract


Set pan over medium-low heat while you prepare the batter.

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, add egg yolks and remaining ingredients and beat for 15 seconds.

Pour into pan, cook for 5-8 minutes. Run a butter knife along the edge of pancake to release it, place a plate upside down over the top of the pan as if it were a lid. Holding plate and pan firmly together, flip, and slide pancake back into pan (you've now placed the uncooked side down).

Cook another 5 minutes or until done. Use a sharp knife and cut into 3-6 pieces, serve.

What to eat (part four)

If you are following the SCD, there are a few ingredients that are called for from time to time on this blog that you might need to substitute for. Here are some of the more common ones.

Baking Powder
Use 1/4 teaspoon baking soda plus 1 teaspoon Meyer Lemon or Key Lime Concentrate for every teaspoon of baking powder.
OR
Use 1/4 teaspoon baking soda plus 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice or apple cider vinegar.

In either case, add the acidic ingredient during the last mixing step.

Raisins
If you cannot tolerate raisins, use an equal amount of dried plums or dried apricots.

Buttermilk
I use buttermilk in many of my baked goods. Simply substitute it with an equal amount of SCD plain yogurt. In fact, you can substitute any plain yogurt for buttermilk (soy, goatsmilk, etc) if you need to avoid dairy, or you can use any plain yogurt if you don't have (or don't want to use) buttermilk.

Milk

This is not a very common ingredient in my recipes, but if it is used substitute almond or cashew milk.

Starches and flours
Only low starch, gluten free flours are ever used, and they are used very sparingly. Generally only oat flour, brown rice flour, and buckwheat flour are ever used. If you cannot tolerate these flours, or cannot have starches of any kind, substitute with 1 part coconut flour and 1 part flax meal. This may change the texture of the recipe somewhat, but it should be minimal. You may also need to add an extra egg or two, and will likely need to lower the cooking temperature by about 10%.

Flax meal

Flax meal appears in many of my recipes. If you cannot tolerate flax meal, substitute an equal amount of coconut flour. You may need to adjust the amount of liquid, likely increasing the amount of liquid somewhat.

Cookies that just might make you cry...

They are that good. They did make the kids cry a little when I said "no more" after a half dozen or so. These are soft, tender, melt in your mouth little morsels of awesome.

You just might want to bake these in batches because I doubt you'll be able to just stop at one (dozen). Light, fluffy, a little sweet and with amazing orange flavor these little cookies just might make you feel sorry for those poor wheat and starch eating people that have to make do with store-bought "cookies".

There is around 1 gram of starch in each cookie, depending on their size.

Orangey Awesomeness Cookies

Makes about 7 dozen

Cookies
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
5 eggs
1 cup oat flour
1/4 cup ground flax seeds (golden is best)
1 cup almond flour
2 cups coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon guar gum
1/2 teaspoon xantham gum
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain yogurt
6 oz orange juice concentrate
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons grated orange peel
Frosting
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, softened
2 cups icing sugar**
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 tablespoon reserved orange juice concentrate
2 tablespoons milk, as needed



In a large mixing bowl, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add yogurt, vanilla and eggs. Beat until well blended. Reserve 1 tablespoon orange juice concentrate for frosting.

Add almond flour, mix well. Add coconut flour, mix well. In a separate bowl, combine remaining dry ingredients. Alternately add the orange juice concentrate and the combined dry ingredients to the creamed mixture; mix well.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 325°F for 10-15 minutes or until edges just begin to brown. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Frosting:

In a small mixing bowl, combine all ingredients until smooth, add only as much milk as needed to make a spreadable frosting. Spread a small amount over each cooled cookie. Will keep several days in an airtight container, though they may stick together a bit if stacked.

** Icing sugar is basically confectioner's (powder) sugar without the added cornstarch. Feel free to substitute powdered sugar, though this will change the starch content very slightly.

Yummies

I have eaten these Yummy cookies at Christmastime since I was little. They are still a favorite, and happily, they are still okay! You can use any puffed rice or puffed millet cereal that you like to ensure that they are gluten free. When made with Rice Krispies there is approximately 1 gram of starch per candy, though I don't think these can be made sucrose free very easily.

Yummies

1/2 cup peanut butter
1 package butterscotch chips, 12 oz
2/3 cup Spanish peanuts
3 cups Rice Krispies®

1. Melt first 2 ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl on low heat, stirring every minute.

2. Meanwhile, combine Rice Krispies and peanuts. Once melted, add butterscotch chips mixture to Rice Krispies. Working quickly, drop onto waxed paper in teaspoon sized balls, let cool. Store in an airtight container. Makes at least 4 dozen candies.

Chocolate Puddle Cookies

3 cups walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts
4 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla


1. Preheat oven to 325°. Toast walnuts, cool and coarsely chop. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Sift together the confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder, and sea salt. Stir in the walnuts, then add the egg whites and vanilla. Stir until well combined.

3. Spoon the batter onto the prepared sheets in mounds of about 2 tablespoons each, allowing for PLENTY of room between cookies. These cookies are like reverse Shrinky Dinks - they really expand. Don't try to get more than 6 cookies on each sheet, and try to avoid placing the batter too close to the edge of the pan.

4. Bake until they puff up. The tops should get glossy, and then crack a bit - about 12 -15 minutes.

5. Slide the cookies still on parchment onto a cooling rack, and let them cool completely. They will keep in an airtight container for a couple days.

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Carrot Cake.... scones?

I'm not sure what to call these. Scones? Cookies? Biscuits? Any of those labels could fit, but not perfectly. Send me your name suggestions so these little bits of carroty goodness can finally have a name!



Carrot Cake Scones
(working title, to be changed when I have a better name)

4 eggs
1 cup raisins, divided
5-6 carrots
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Place eggs and 1/2 cup raisins in a food processor. Puree.

Peel and grate carrots. Squeeze as much liquid as possible from the grated carrots. Add 1/2 cup of the grated carrots to the raisin/egg puree, puree completely.

In a mixing bowl, combine grated carrots, remaining raisins, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Add puree, mix well. Place about 1/2 cup of batter onto parchment lined baking sheets, bake at 325° for 15-20 minutes or until they are no longer sticky to the touch. Let cool about 5 minutes before serving.

These are delicious served plain, but they would be yummy with a simple cream cheese glaze.

Peanutty Kisses

This recipe was inspired by one of our family's favorite Christmas cookies: Peanut Blossom Cookies. I hope you love them as much as we do!



Peanutty Kisses

2 eggs
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar (plus more for rolling the cookies)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
Hershey kisses (about 2 dozen, maybe more depending on the size of your cookies)

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Combine the first five ingredients, mix well. I just dumped it all in to my stand mixer and mixed it until the Hershey kisses were unwrapped, but you could certainly do it by hand.

Unwrap Hershey Kisses.

Roll dough into about 1" balls. Roll in granulated sugar.

Place cookies on parchment-lined baking sheet, do not flatten. Bake for 8 minutes. Quickly place a Hershey kiss on the top of each cookie, bake another 2-3 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before placing cookies on a cooling rack.

Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Pork Chops

A comforting dish on a cool autumn day, this is a favorite of the kiddos.

6 boneless pork chops, 3/4-inch thick
Vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons brown sugar, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon ground mace
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter
3 granny smith or jonagold apples, cored and sliced into 1/2-inch wedges
1/4 cup chopped pecans

1. Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat with a small amount of oil. Salt and pepper chops to taste and cook 3 chops for 5-6 minutes, turning occasionally, until evenly browned on both sides. Remove to a serving platter,keep warm. Repeat with remaining chops.

2. In a small bowl combine brown sugar, cinnamon, mace and nutmeg. Add butter to skillet; stir in brown sugar mixture and apples. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes or just until apples are tender. Remove apples with a slotted spoon and arrange on top of pork chops; keep warm.

3. Continue cooking remaining sauce in skillet, uncovered, until sauce thickens slightly. The sauce is not intended to be very sweet, but especially if you are using granny smith apples you may find that it is not sweet enough. Taste as add additional sugar or seasonings as desired. Spoon the sauce over the apples and chops. Sprinkle with pecans.

What to eat (part three)

There are several flours that make a frequent appearance in my kitchen. Here is a list of the most common ones, and why they are chosen. The starch amount listed is per 100 grams, which is just a bit shy of 1 cup.

Almond flour
5 grams of starch (blanched)
6 grams of starch (unblanched)
One of my favorite flours, this is sometimes called almond meal. The main difference is whether the almonds have been blanched before grinding. This has a rather subtle flavor, and I often use it in savory or strongly flavored dishes. This, or any nut flour, can be made by grinding the nuts in a coffee grinder if you can't find it commercially. Just be careful not to turn it into nut butter.

Pecan flour
0 grams of starch
This is also a favorite flour. I usually use it with chocolate, stone fruits, and poultry.

Walnut flour
4 grams of starch
I don't use this that much because it often becomes too oily. However, it works well in naturally moist things like banana bread, zucchini bread or pumpkin bread.

Coconut flour
1 gram of starch
This is another common flour, especially in baked goods. It doesn't have a strong coconut flavor at all, and is useful in just about any kind of baked good. The main trick to using this is to let any batter rest for 5-10 minutes to ensure that it doesn't become grainy. I have the best results with Bob's Red Mill brand coconut flour, and this is the brand that I've used unless noted. If you use another brand, you may need more or less liquid than called for in the recipe, so please keep this in mind.

Flax meal/ground flax seeds
0 grams of starch
For appearance I prefer golden flax meal, but I haven't noticed much difference in the quality or texture of baked goods, so feel free to use either variety that you have on hand.

Buckwheat flour
58 grams of starch
Because this is somewhat high in starch, I use it sparingly. However, occasionally it is well suited for the recipe in very small amounts.

Oat flour
59 grams of starch
Again, this is somewhat high in starch so it is used sparingly. It has a much more mild flavor than buckwheat flour, so it is my flour of choice when I need a small amount of starch in the recipe.

Better than Sweet Potato Casserole

We love sweet potato casserole. Not the one made with mini marshmallows, but the one that appeared in a previous post (originally it was made exclusively with sweet potatoes). mmmm, sweet potatoes....

Recently I created- mostly by accident- a new casserole that will absolutely be a Thanksgiving sweet potato stand-in, and I expect it will appear on the table at other holiday meals too. The kids loved it, I loved it... it's fantastic. I hope you love it too! Best of all, this has only about 3 grams of starch per serving, and no maltose.


Sweet Squash Casserole

3 acorn squash (or squash of your choice
2 bananas
1 egg
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup flaked coconut (optional, but highly recommended)
2 tablespoons oat flour
2 tablespoons butter, softened


Roast the acorn squash at 350° until tender. I like to simply stick them in the oven in a pan until done. Let them cool for a few minutes, then cut open and remove seeds. Peel skins off squash (they will come off very easily).

While cleaning the squash, roast the bananas at 350° for about 10 minutes until skins are black and bananas are done. You can roast them in the same pan to save time in clean up.

Smash squash, banana, white sugar and egg together until mostly smooth. Place mixture in a 8x8 (1.5 quart) casserole dish. Combine remaining ingredients and sprinkle topping over casserole. Bake at 350° for about 30 minutes or until topping is browned and squash is slightly bubbly on the edges.




Easy Sunday Dinner Version:

This version uses just four ingredients of the casserole, and is super yummy with less prep time.

3 acorn squash
2 bananas
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup coconut

Roast squash the same as above. While cleaning the squash, roast the bananas as above.

Smash the squash together with the banana. While you are doing that, toast the coconut in the oven. You can use the same pan, and watch it carefully as it will only take a minute or so to toast.

Add the toasted coconut and the brown sugar to the squash/banana mixture. Mix well, serve.

Open-faced Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Apple

My kiddos call these sandwiches "Applies" for short. They are much more filling than they first appear, and quite delicious. It's important to cook these on parchment paper or a silicone mat to prevent them from sticking to the pan.

Open Faced Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

"Bread"
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
pinch ground cloves
2 eggs
1-2 tablespoons milk, more as needed

Toppings
1 Granny Smith Apple, cored and thinly sliced
4 oz. Cacique Quesadilla cheese, white cheddar cheese, or other cheese of your choice, diced


Preheat oven to 250°, line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Combine all bread ingredients, dough should the consistency of mashed potatoes. Divide into thirds, spread thinly on prepared pan- each circle should be approx. 6 inches in diameter.

Bake for 20 minutes or until bread is firm to the touch and very lightly browned. Remove from oven, set oven to broil.

Spread one third of apples and cheese over each bread circle. Place under broiler just until cheese is melted and beginning to brown, 1-2 minutes (watch extra carefully if using parchment paper).

My children especially love this when I serve it with strawberry yogurt for dipping.

"Sweet Potato" Casserole

We love this casserole, especially at thanksgiving, but sweet potatoes (yams) are quite high in starch. By substituting pumpkin for most of the sweet potato you can still get the essence of sweet potato casserole without all the starch.

I'm calling this "low starch" but it is still a treat with 7 grams of starch per serving. I also cook my own pumpkin because that cuts down on the starch content- if you use canned pumpkin or canned (drained) sweet potato just try to get close to 4 cups of pumpkin and 1 cup of sweet potato. This recipe also works really well when substituting Stevia instead of sugar.

There are about 780 mg of maltose per serving, so this is definitely a treat if you are on a low-maltose diet.

If you choose to use fresh pumpkin, and if you plan to make pumpkin pie, you can use a larger pie pumpkin and reserve some for the pie.


"Sweet Potato" Casserole

* 1 large sweet potato
* 1 small-ish pie pumpkin (don't use a jack-o-lantern pumpkin from your local mega-mart)
* 3 tablespoons butter, softened
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 1 cup chopped pecans
* 1 cup flaked coconut (optional, but highly recommended)
* 1/3 cup oat flour
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1/4 cup milk
* 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Poke holes in the sweet potato with a fork, arrange the sweet potato and pumpkin on a cookie sheet. Grease an 11x7 inch glass baking dish.
2. Bake sweet potato (and pumpkin, if using) for 1 hour. Let cool, remove skins and seeds, and mash in a large bowl. There should be approximately 1 cup of mashed sweet potato and 4 cups of mashed pumpkin.
3. Combine softened butter with brown sugar, nuts, coconut and flour; stir with a fork. Set aside.
4. Combine sugar, eggs, milk, orange peel, butter, vanilla, salt with the mashed sweet potatoes. Beat the mixture with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the brown sugar-nut mixture over the top of the mixture.
5. Bake for 35-45 minutes.

Crustless Pumpkin "Pie"

This is a pie so delicious that you won't miss the crust. We like to have pumpkin pie and cranberries for breakfast the morning after Thanksgiving but the topping is a little much for breakfast, so I make two pies and omit the struesel topping on the second pie. It's great both ways, and there are less than 3 grams of starch per serving, making this not-so-indulgent for those who have to limit their starch intake. You can decrease the starch amount even more (by about half) by using freshly baked or steamed pumpkin instead of canned.

Crustless Pumpkin "Pie" with Spiced Whipped Cream
pie
* 2 cups mashed pumpkin (or one 15oz can)
* 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
* 2 egg yolks
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 egg whites
topping
* 2 tablespoons oat flour
* 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 2 tablespoons butter, chilled
* 1 cup chopped walnuts
spiced whipped cream
* 1 cup whipping cream
* 2 tablespoons white sugar
* 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg


1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, and egg yolks. Stir in 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold into pumpkin mixture. Pour filling into a 1.5 quart casserole dish.
3. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. While the pie is baking, prepare the streusel topping: In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Blend in the cold butter with a fork or pastry blender until the mixture is crumbly. Mix in the chopped nuts. Sprinkle the topping over the pie.
4. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake an additional 40 minutes, or until set.
5. Combine whipped cream ingredients in a clean metal or glass bowl. Whip until soft peaks form, serve over cooled pumpkin pie.

Roasted Root Vegetables

This is a great side dish for just about any fall or winter meal, and one of the kids' favorite winter veggie dishes. The turnips add a negligible amount of starch to the dish, and can be left out if you are on a strict no-starch diet.

Roasted Root Vegetables

4-6 medium beets, peeled and quartered
3-4 medium turnips, peeled and quartered
3-4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1" lengths
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
salt and pepper to taste (I prefer a garlic-pepper blend instead of plain black pepper)
1/4 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare veggies, place in a single layer on one end of a long sheet of aluminum foil (about 24" long). Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with spices. Fold other end of aluminum foil over, crimp ends and sides to make a packet. Place packet on a cookie sheet, and bake for 40-60 minutes, or until done.

What to eat (part two)

My child is lucky and can tolerate ordinary table sugar (sucrose) just fine, but I know that many children can't. Here are some simple ways to convert the recipes found on this blog so they can work for you.

Substitutes for granular sugar
1 Tsp Stevia=1 Cup Sugar
1/2 Tsp Stevia=1 Tbsp Sugar
A pinch of Stevia=1 Tsp sugar

Substitute for brown sugar
Substitute as for granular sugar. Additionally, add 1/8 teaspoon maple or anise extract for every 1/2 cup of sugar replaced.

Substitute for powdered sugar
1 Tsp Stevia + 1 tsp cornstarch =1 Cup powdered sugar

Substitutes for molasses
Use an equal amount of dark corn syrup plus 1/4 teaspoon maple or anise extract. Depending on the recipe, you may find that you need to increase the amount of other spices in the recipe. You may also use liquid creme Stevia if you prefer.

Substitute for honey
Although there is very little sucrose in honey (on average less than 2%) many people can't tolerate it at all. In this case, use an equal amount of light corn syrup.

Breakfast cookies

Mmmm, when you have cookies for breakfast how can you go wrong? These are relatively healthy, about as healthy as any of the muffins or pancakes you'll find here (and much healthier than any "store-bought" muffins). They are also a great snack or addition to a lunch meal- slightly sweet and very satisfying.

For these cookies, a stand mixer is nice, but not a necessity. However, a food processor or a blender is a must. There are about 2 grams of starch per delicious cookie.



Yummy Breakfast Cookies

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey or molasses or agave syrup
1 cup raisins
5 eggs, divided
3 cups almond flour
1/2 cup flax seed meal
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon guar gum
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
1 cup dried coconut (non-sweetened works best)
1/2 cup craisins (dried sweetened cranberries, any dried fruit works well)
1/2 cup chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 275°, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cream butter and sugar in a stand mixer until fluffy. Add honey, 3 of the eggs and the flax seed, beat well.

Meanwhile, combine the raisins and the remaining 2 eggs in the work bowl of a food processor or a blender, and puree until a paste is formed (it does not need to be completely smooth, but the smoother the better). You can add a small amount of water or milk to the paste during this step if needed, but don't add more than about 1/8 of a cup.

Add raisin paste to the butter/egg mixture, beat well. Add next 8 ingredients, mix for 2-5 minutes until well combined.

Add final 3 ingredients, mix well.


Drop 1/4 cup batter onto parchment lined pans, flattening slightly, and spacing cookies at least 3" apart. Bake at 275° for 25 minutes (250° for 30 minutes if using agave) and remove to a cooling rack. Cool for at least 5 minutes before serving. These cookies will only keep about 24 hours in a tightly sealed container, and are best eaten the same day.

My kids haven't found this to be a problem. :)

Monster Eyes

Serve these spooky eyes as a sweet Halloween treat!

1 1/2 cups all natural creamy peanut butter or sun butter
16 ounces superfine sugar or 1/2 tsp stevia
2 ounces pecan flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
16 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, or chocolate of your choice
3 ounces mini m&m's or dried blueberries

Using a stand mixer or a food processor, combine the peanut butter, sugar and vanilla. Mix well, chill until easy to handle. If you opt to use stevia instead of sugar, increase the pecan flour to 3-4 ounces.

Using a #100 ice cream scoop (disher) or method of your choice, measure out approximately 1 teaspoon of peanut butter dough. Roll into a ball, place on a wax or parchment paper lined baking sheet and freeze for an hour or until firm. It's much, much easier to use a scoop than to do it by hand as the "dough" is very soft.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Take peanut balls and dip in chocolate, leaving an opening for the cornea. Return to refrigerator on lined baking sheet with the cornea-side up, freeze until firm.

Place a mini m&m into opening, this becomes the iris. Serve your spooky monster eyeballs frozen (and freeze any leftovers).

Witches Fingers

These are fantastic party favors for any Halloween-themed party. They are based on Cheese Crackers, and everyone- including starch and gluten will ooh and aah and love these! There are about 1.7 grams of starch per "finger".




Witches Fingers

6 ounces butter
4 eggs
10 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated (white or orange)
½ cup oat flour
½ cup coconut flour
1 cup almond flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Pepperoni slices or sliced almonds
½ teaspoon rosemary (optional, for a more grown-up version)

Preheat oven to 300°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Beat butter in a stand mixer until soft. Add oat and coconut flour, beat on medium speed 1-2 minutes. Add eggs, beat until fluffy (at least 2 minutes). Add almond flour, salt, baking powder, and cayenne if using. Mix on medium another 1-2 minutes, add cheese and mix another 1-2 minutes. The slow incorporation of ingredients and the long mixing time really helps to ensure that the crackers aren’t dense, so it is important not to skip these steps.
Take 1 tablespoon dough and roll it loosely into a finger shape. Don’t roll it perfectly because real fingers have knuckles, of course. Take 1 slice pepperoni and cut it into sixths, place a sliver of pepperoni onto the tip of the “finger” as a fingernail. Or, you can take slivered almonds, dye them red with food coloring, and use those as the "fingernail". Place a few leaves of rosemary on the knuckle if making the grown-up version. Bake 15-17 minutes or until done, make 3 dozen fingers.

Coconutty Pancakes

These pancakes are O-M-G good. I grew up on Bisquick pancakes, and these pancakes put the yellow box to shame. They are better than any pancakes (starch free, gluten free, or "regular") that I've ever made.

But the real test....

I made these for my carb-loving "weird" food disliking picky husband.

And he loved them.


I have one comment about these before you get started: Without the starch helping to hold these together they are a bugger to turn over. It helps to have the temperature low so they cook slower, it helps to have a wide spatula, and it helps to have a lot of space between them as they cook. But the biggest thing that helps is to have a metal spatula instead of a non-stick one, and to work fast. Think of that trick with the magician pulling a table cloth off a table without disturbing the place settings- you're doing that in reverse. And non-stick or coated spatulas tend to get caught up, so try to use a thin, flexible, metal spatula.

Something like this Spatula (brand doesn't matter, of course).

Anyway, on to the recipe!

Coconutty Pancakes

1/2 cup coconut flour
1/8 cup brown rice flour
5 eggs
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2/3 tsp guar gum (1/2 tsp plus a scant 1/4 tsp, if you don't have this size measuring spoon)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/4 tsp vanilla creme stevia
OR
1 Tbsp sugar plus 1 tsp vanilla extract


Combine all ingredients except buttermilk, mix very well, ideally with a whisk. Add half of the buttermilk, mix very well. Repeat with the remaining buttermilk. Even if you are using a stand mixer, adding the milk slowly will help prevent lumps and the batter becoming too thin as a result.

Let the batter rest a minute or two while you preheat the pan.

Preheat pan to medium-low.

Pour about 1/4 cup batter into pan, cook for about 5 minutes before turning. These pancakes will not be dry-looking or be covered with bubbles like regular pancakes, so you'll just have to make a few to determine the best cooking time for your particular stove.

Flip (see note about flipping these pancakes above) and cook another 3-5 minutes. They should be golden, just like a "regular" pancake.

Serve, ideally with my mom's peach cobbler syrup... if you can get some. :)

Makes about 1 dozen pancakes, each pancake has 1.17 grams of starch.

Pancreatic Glucoamylase Deficiency

ummm... what?

I still vividly remember the day that I first heard those words. It was the end of an extremely trying time when two children had to have surgery (albeit minor) in the same week while I was by myself half the country away from my family, trying to survive grad school at KUMC while also homeschooling my three boys while I also kept it together, and the whole time my AF husband was deployed to the Middle East.

It sucked.

However...

It was also the end of an extremely trying time in my life. My youngest child's surgery was a total success, and we no longer needed to worry about complications with his eyesight. It was his second surgery, and we were thrilled that it was also the last. My oldest now had answers. He'd always been extremely thin, in about the 5th percentile for weight while in the 90th percentile for height. However, he was starting to falter on the growth charts, and we'd had a succession of broken bones and injuries stemming from falls/incidents that seemed quite minor and illnesses that became more serious than they should have. Generally speaking, he was just off. Of course, he'd also been suffering terrible gastrointestinal distress for his whole life- think what it would be like to have severe lactose intolerance plus fair amount of food poisoning at every single meal for every single day of your life.

It sucked.

And now, we had answers. Because my beloved (yet extremely picky) DH was away for several months, I had some time to try to figure out what we could now eat before he came home.

Youngest kiddo was now fine.

Middle kiddo decided that he wanted to be a doctor.

Oldest kiddo would now be fine. He grew 4 inches and gained 20 pounds in the first two months after we eliminated starch from his diet, and grew a couple additional inches in the following months.

I figured out how to feed my family without resorting to broccoli for breakfast, which we love and DH decidedly does not.

And my husband came home tanned and handsome as always.

Cheese Crackers

Long ago, my kids and I discovered a recipe for cheese crackers that were shaped like Pac-Man, and having to give up these (and other) crackers was very sad when we had to eliminate starches from our diet. After all, things like cheerios and goldfish crackers are practically a staple for small children! Although these crackers aren’t shaped like Pac-Man or a goldfish, they are so tasty that any kid (or grown-up) won’t care. There are about 1.7 grams of starch in each cracker.



Cheese Crackers

6 ounces butter
4 eggs
10 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated (white or orange)
½ cup oat flour
½ cup coconut flour
1 cup almond flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, for a more grown-up version)

Preheat oven to 300°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Beat butter in a stand mixer until soft. Add oat and coconut flour, beat on medium speed 1-2 minutes. Add eggs, beat until fluffy (at least 2 minutes). Add almond flour, salt, baking powder, and cayenne if using. Mix on medium another 1-2 minutes, add cheese and mix another 1-2 minutes. The slow incorporation of ingredients and the long mixing time really helps to ensure that the crackers aren’t dense, so it is important not to skip these steps.

Drop small mounds of batter onto pan, about 1 tablespoon’s worth for each cracker, flatten slightly. Alternately, use a #50 ice cream scoop. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until done, makes 3 dozen crackers. Try this with tomato soup... delish!!!

FAQs

What is Glucoamylase Deficiency?

The best answer is really here (the official, wordy answer). But basically it means that the person lacks the enzyme that breaks down starch. That person is "starch intolerant", but the symptoms can be very severe, and starch needs to be eliminated from the diet.

Most people are familiar with lactose intolerance- the person is missing the enzyme that breaks down the milk sugar Lactose. Once the person develops it, it's a life long problem. The only "cure" is to avoid diary products, or to take an enzyme replacement like Lactaid. The missing starch enzyme works kind of the same way, but the symptoms are usually much more than just than the tummy ache that one would get from lactose intolerance.

A similar enzyme deficiency is Sucrase-Isomaltase deficiency. This is not the disorder that my kiddo has, but they are similar conditions. I try to address the need to eliminate sucrose for these kiddos in many of my recipes, just because I know how tough these diets can be.

What kinds of recipes do you have?

All kinds. My main focus is on creating starch free baked goods, both sweet and savory. However, there is a pretty wide variety of recipes that I post.

What does "starch free" or "low starch" mean?

For the purposes of this blog, I define "low starch" to mean less than 10 grams of starch per serving. I define "starch free" to mean less than 1 gram of starch per serving, unless there is known starch from added flour in the recipe. I usually state how much starch per serving is in the recipe so you can make informed choices.

How do you figure out what the starch content is?

My main resource is Nutrition Data. Keep in mind that the starch content can vary slightly depending on measuring variances, serving sizes, and because most of these ingredients are natural foods. A medium apple has 2 grams of starch, but if you were to misjudge it and decide that your large apple was actually a medium one the amount of starch you'd consume would be slightly more. Also, most fruits and vegetables naturally convert their sugars to starches during storage, so older apples will have a higher starch content than their freshly-picked counterparts (and this goes for the rest of the fruits and vegetables you'll see here). I try to give you as much information possible regarding starch content, and you can help keep the starch numbers low by using the freshest produce available.

Can I request a recipe?

Sure. Simply Contact Me and let me know what you'd like to see. I'll do my best.

This is a cooking blog. Why aren't there a million pictures like some blogs have?

There are several reasons for this. First, it makes it easier for people who subscribe to the blog to read.

Second, the majority of these recipes aren't nouveau French cuisine. Most people know what a muffin or a cupcake looks like, after all. I know how to "add next three ingredients to mixing bowl", and I'm pretty sure that the vast majority of other cooks out there do too. We don't need a picture to show us how.

For that reason, I personally dislike having to scroll through photo tutorials with a lot of unnecessary pictures. I'll add pictures when it's necessary or helpful, but my posts will not (generally) be full of photos.

I love these recipes! Can I share them?

Sure, I'd love for you to share these recipes! However, these are all my own recipes, not things I've cobbled together from the internet. So if you share them, please just share the blog link and do not copy/paste or otherwise post them.

Almost Oatmeal

There is no need to give up oatmeal just because you can't have starch. This recipe falls between traditional oatmeal and rice pudding, and it's just plain delicious.

Almost Oatmeal

2C TVP granules
1/4 cup flax seed (optional, makes it more creamy)
1 quart milk or water
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon maple extract (or to taste)

Optional add-ins:
raisins
craisins
dried blueberries
chunky applesauce (our favorite, decrease the liquid by up to one cup)


Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a simmer and reduce heat to med/low. Simmer about 40 minutes, until done. Add more milk and stir more often during cooking if you prefer your "oatmeal" creamier. This can be made the night before by putting all the ingredients in the crockpot and setting it on low, though I've only used this method with water. The longer and slower it cooks the more it resembles "regular" oatmeal.

Ridiculous Chocolate Chip Muffins

These are totally starch free. These are totally fantastic. They taste Just Like Regular Muffins.

Seriously.

I'm not kidding.

They are ridiculously good.



Chocolate Chip Muffins

1/2 cup butter
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup flax seed
2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour (Bob's Red Mill works the best)
3/4 cup sugar*
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon guar gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk or plain yogurt
1 cup mini chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 300°.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter, add eggs, vanilla, and flax seed.

Add almond flour and sugar, mix until slightly fluffy.

Add baking powder, baking soda, sugar, guar gum and salt. Mix very well.

Add buttermilk alternating with coconut flour, beat until fluffy. Add chocolate chips, mix well.

Spoon batter into paper-lined muffin cups. Bake 20-30 minutes or until done, rotating pans after 10 minutes. Let cool in muffin pans 5-10 minutes before enjoying. Makes 3 dozen.

* We prefer our muffins on the not-so-sweet side. If you prefer your muffins sweeter, increase sugar (or stevia equivalent) to a generous cup. Follow all other directions as written.

** If you read this recipe in the first few days of its posting, you might notice that I made a small change to the directions. After another dozen batches, I decided that it would work better if I added the coconut flour later. The ingredients are exactly the same.

"Witches"

Why "witches"? Because these are sandwiches with out the "sand", of course. I think the boys thought it just sounded better than "bread-free sandwiches".

If you don't need to avoid starch, you can use your favorite gluten-free bread to make amazing open-faced toasted sandwiches. However, if you can't have starch, or if you simply want to make them without the bread, they are just as amazing.

Steak Marinade:
1/2 cup tamari
1/2 cup olive oil
4 1/2 tablespoons honey
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 pounds flank steak

Chipotle Mayo:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (7 ounce)
pinch of salt

Topping:
1/2 onion, caramelized (optional)
sliced smoked provalone cheese

1. Combine soy sauce, olive oil, honey, garlic, rosemary, pepper, and salt in a resealable plastic bag. Add the steak, and turn to coat with the marinade; press out excess air, and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, or overnight for better flavor.

2. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat. Discard marinade.

3. Lightly oil the grate. Grill the flank steak for 7 minutes per side, or to desired doneness. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 140 degrees F (60 degrees C). Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing very thinly against the grain.

4. Drain the chipotle peppers reserving 1 teaspoon of the adobo sauce. Finely chop the chipotle peppers. Stir together the mayonnaise, chipotle peppers, and saltin a medium bowl. Add adobo sauce until sauce is as spicy as you'd like. Serve the sauce with the steak.

5. Makes Fabulous Sandwiches (crustless or otherwise). While steak is marinating and cooking, carmelize some onions. Divide sliced steak into several piles on a foil-lined pan (for crustless sandwiches) or divide into rolls of your choice. Top sliced steak with carmelized onions, chipotle mayo,and smoked provalone. Place under broiler to melt cheese.

S'mores Cookies

These have been a favorite cookie for many years, long before we had to eliminate starch and gluten. They taste just like s'mores, and they are really easy to make.

Keep these in a tightly covered container and they will last several days, depending on the humidity.

Triple Chocolate kisses
2 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 ounce semisweet chocolate, grated***
24 milk chocolate kisses
baking cocoa or cinnamon


1. In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar, beat until soft peaks form, about 6 minutes. Gradually beat in sugar, beating until stiff peaks form, about 6 minutes. Beat in extract. Fold in grated chocolate.

*** You can easily omit the hershey kisses if you like, simply increase the amount of grated semisweet chocolate to 3-4 ounces.

2. Insert a medium open star tip into a pastry bag. Fill with meringue.

3. On well greased or parchment lined baking sheets, pipe 24 1 inch rounds. Press a chocolate kiss into the center of each one. Pipe meringue around each kiss in a continuous spiral, beginning at the base, until each kiss is completely covered. Dust with cocoa or cinnamon.

4. Bake at 325° for 15-18 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Immediately remove to wire racks to cool.

Cherry Hazelnut Muffins

mmmmm, cherries and chocolate. What can be better? These are just as good for dessert as they are for breakfast. When we have them for breakfast we often pair them with a bowl of fruit and nuts, and with all the protein it's a satisfying way to start the day. These muffins are really low in starch, with less than 2 grams of starch per muffin.

3 cups almond meal
1/2 cup flax seed
1/2 cup oat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 cup butter, melted
1-2 cups cherries (frozen or fresh, pitted and thawed if frozen)
12 tablespoons nutella

1. Line or grease tins. Preheat oven to 300°. Whisk flours, baking powder and salt. Seperately whisk egg until lemon colored. Add sugar, whisk vigorously until thick, slowly add butter until combined. Add sour cream until combined. Add sour cream mixture to flours, fold until combined (don't overmix).

2. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full, let rest for 10 minutes. Add 1-2 cherries to the center of each muffin. Bake 25-30 minutes until golden. Top immediately with 1 teaspoon of nutella, serve.

What to eat (part one)

I am going to have periodic posts that include some of the resources that have been the most helpful for me.

Nutrition Data
This site has been fantastic to help me determine how much starch is in a particular ingredient, allowing me to make smart choices while I'm cooking.

Honeyville Grain
The cheapest almond flour I've ever found.

Surratt Farms
I prefer pecan or walnut meal when making cookies, and this is the best place to get pecan meal.

Kraken Crunch

Cereal! So nice to have where there is a household of hungry kids, especially before I've brewed my first cup of coffee. It's also impossible to find when there are a lot of dietary restrictions.

So I decided to make my own.


The Basic recipe is a maple/vanilla flavor, but it would also work well with other flavors. Think strawberry, lemon, orange and you have quite a Tricky cereal! Mini chocolate chips would make a cookie crunchy cereal- really, the sky is the limit.

Kraken Crunch Cereal

2 cups almond meal
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 cup flax seed
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
6 eggs
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon maple extract

1. Preheat oven to 250°.

2. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, add remaining ingredients except for extracts and beat well for at least 2 minutes, until batter is fluffy. Add extracts and combine well.

3. Place batter into a ziploc bag, cut tip off bag and pipe little dollops (about the size of a nickle) onto a parchment lined pan and bake for 30-40 minutes until desired crispness. Makes about 8 cups.

Amazing Coffee Cake

There is no need to miss sweet breakfast treats, even when you are on a low starch or gluten free diet. There are approximately 8 grams of starch per serving, and it is also gluten free. Best of all, it's delicious!



Coffee Cake With Chocolate Crumble Topping

Coffee Cake Topping:
1 cup walnuts or pecans
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon oat flour

Coffee Cake:
2 cups almond meal
1/2 cup flax meal
1/2 cup oat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup sour cream or plain yogurt


1. Coffee Cake: Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until fragrant and lightly browned. Let cool and then coarsely chop. Set aside.

2. Coffee Cake Topping: In a small bowl stir together the sugar, chopped nuts, chocolate chips, ground cinnamon and flour. Set aside.

3. Butter and flour (or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) a 9-inch (23 cm) spring form pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment paper.

4. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

5. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter until softened (about 1 minute). Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture (in three additions) and sour cream (in two additions) alternately, starting and ending with the flour. Mix only until combined.

6. Spoon batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula. Sprinkle the nut topping on top of the batter. Bake for about 60-75 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let rest for about 10 minutes before releasing the sides of the pan.

7. Serve warm or at room temperature.

8. Makes one - 9 inch (23 cm) cake.