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.