Category Archives: nutrition

Savory Grain-Free Bread Recipe

OK, this savory grain-free bread recipe is a winner!

Since Dr. Daren and I have been going Primal, I’ve been experimenting with so many grain-free recipes for breads, crackers, muffins etc. and they are sometimes good (sometimes), sometimes edible (sometimes), and sometimes funky, weird, and yucky (eeew!).  Some grain-free baking uses bean flours, such as chick pea, but beans are not part of the Paleo/Primal diet.  I have discovered I am not a fan of coconut flour, one of the alternatives to wheat in   grain-free baking.  I do however love almond flour, but it lacked the holding (binding?!) properties of other flours…in comes arrowroot powder.  So, this bread is by far my favorite grain-free bread recipe.  It tastes great, has a very “bready” texture, toasts well (hello breakfast toast!) and is not a complicated recipe.

Savory Grain-Free Bread Recipe

1 1/2 cups almond flour (also called almond meal)

3/4 cups arrowroot powder (you can sub tapioca starch)

1/4 cups + 1 Tblsp pumpkin seeds, ground (ok if you don’t have a grinder, just put them in whole!)

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup pecorino or parmesean cheese

2 Tblsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

5 eggs

1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 325F.  Line a loaf tin with parchment paper.

Place the almond flour, arrowroot powder, 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, sea salt, baking soda, cheese, rosemary and pepper in a medium sized bowl, mixing together to break up any lumps.  In a seperate bowl, lighly beat eggs and apple cider vinegar.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry bowl and mix together. Pour the mix into the lined pan and sprinkle 1 Tblsp of pumpkin seeds on top.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Please try this savory grain-free bread recipe, you will like it!

Yes! Mason Jar Salads!

I should have a “where have I been?!” category (you saw my epiphany over almond milk right?)  Once again in my perusing of food blogs I find a brilliant idea that sadly isn’t mine-

Mason Jar Salads

These salads are as beautiful as they are convenient.  Apparently they stay fresh for days (although I haven’t tested that theory out for myself…yet) & they look good enough to eat!  The basic build is dressing on the bottom (vinaigrette, creamy herb, homemade ranch…your favorites!) next you put in items that can stand up to soaking in dressing such as cucumbers, carrots, beans, radishes, onions-again, your favorites…then, above them you layer in anything else you want in your salad, and pack in some greens on top!  You can google Mason Jar Salads like I did and search images.  I only look at the ones that caught my eye-but there are so many out there I’m sure you’ll find ones that appeal to you!

These were the prettiest ones I found, thanks to Kathy at Healthy Happy Life and her blog post here .  Pretty right?!  Makes you hungry for salad right?!

There are some great tips I found here at another blog for keeping crunchy things (croutons, nuts…) crunchy, and stinky things (blue cheese) from smelling up your whole jar.

I’m so sad I already ate lunch today because now I really want a salad…a pretty, pretty salad!  Well, I guess I’ll just have to prepare some Mason Jar Salads tonight and see which one I get tomorrow!  (bet it’s pretty!)

Really, Homemade Almond Milk is super easy!

OK, I consider myself a good cook, an informed cook even, and someone who has been on a path to better health through nutrition for years now.  So, when I was watching a show on PBS about healthy cooking (I think the show had Michele Beschen of b. organic on it but I’m not sure, oops!), how surprised was I when the very lovely lady (who I can’t name, again, oops!) made her own Almond Milk I was dumb struck!  And to learn people have been doing this for a very long time-what?!-duh, where did I think the people who make commercial Almond Milk got the idea from?!  You may remember from a previous post how much I love Almond Butter, and that still remains one of my favorite things, however, I have a new obsession in making

 Homemade Almond Milk!

It is seriously so easy you’re going to wonder why every single one of your neighbors isn’t doing this- everyday.  Oh, and have you read the label on the packaged Almond Milk?  You want to know what is in mine?!  Almonds and water. (I know!!)

Now, there are as many recipes for Homemade Almond Milk as there are almonds…well, maybe not that many, but some people put stuff in theirs that I don’t find necessary, like sweetners, emulsifiers, flavors.  I like to keep mine plain.  If I want to make a sweet drink with it, I’ll sweeten it then, I also want the option of putting it in something salty, again, adding salt to it then.  Some people insist on using blanched almonds so the skins don’t dirty the milk…I don’t find that a problem and I’m sure part of the good stuff is in the skins!  Basically the only rule I have is 1 cup of nuts to 4 cups of water.

So, make your own-here’s how:

Homemade Almond Milk Recipe  

Step 1: soak 1 cup raw almonds in water overnight

Step 2: drain and rinse almonds and put in blender

Step 3: put 4 cups clean water in blender and blend for 1 minute

Step 4: pour mixture into a nut milk bag  (or save yourself a few dollors and get a grain bag!) over a bowl to drain

Step 5: squeeze all of the delicious milk out of the pulp (and reserve the pulp for later…I’ll have a recipe for you!)

That’s it!  viola!  Ta da!

Homemade Almond Milk!

Warning! I’m going to blow your mind again…you can make nut milk with other nuts!  I’ve made Walnut Milk too! (had to use 2 cups of walnuts per 4 cups water because 1 cup was too watery)  And plan on making cashew milk (actually cashew cream-as I hear it’s divine…basically to make nut cream, you use a tighter ratio-more like 1:1 or 1:2 nuts to water) in the very near future.  Did I mention I’m obsessed?