Gooey Brownies of Doom and Awesomeness

This is my favorite brownie recipe so far.  When baked just right, they are firm on the edges and gooey in the middle.  So good.  David Approved good.  Not joking (if you don't know what that means, read "Taste Test Standards").

In order to keep a low sugar content in these brownies, you will need to find a chocolate chip that is at least 70% cocoa, more if you prefer.  I get mine from Winco, and there are only 8g of sugar per serving (interestingly the bittersweet have significantly less sugar than the "special dark," which have 22g of sugar per serving). 

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Mix together:
1 cup almond flour
1/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tsp baking powder

Add in wet ingredients:
1/4 cup melted butter of coconut oil (I prefer butter)
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Add chocolate chips to your contentment.  You could also use carob chips if you prefer.

Bake for 12 minutes.  Edges should be firm, and the middle should be deliciously gooey and delicious.  Best warm, with a good cup of coffee. 

Enjoy!

Strawberry Jam

Chia seeds are all the new rage in the health food world.  They are the cure for everything.  I try not to buy into health fads, but I am always open minded about adding new things into my diet if they have health benefits.  The chia seed has many health benefits, is loaded with omega 3 oils, help balance blood sugar (which is a definite bonus for me!), and adds a fun crunch to food.  My chia seeds haven't started cleaning my house for me, folding the laundry, or sorting my mail, but they have certainly been fun to experiment with. 

Raspberry Chai Kombucha

I was first introduced to them through my mother in law, who encouraged me to try her raspberry chia Kombucha.  If you have never had Kombucha, it is a very refreshing, delicious, loaded with health benefits drink that you can pick up at most health food stores.  Nate thinks it is one of the more disgusting things on the planet, and David won't go near it.  It does taste a little bit like vinegar...or a lot like vinegar...okay, it's an acquired taste, but I certainly enjoy it.  The funny thing about chia seeds, is that they soak up the moisture around them, and create a sort of jelly bubble around the seed, very similar to tapioca.  It's a brilliant texture, and I enjoy drinking my raspberry chia kombucha more for the texture than anything.  Nate thinks it's like drinking frog eggs, but I very much disagree. 

Strawberry Chia jam and butter on gluten free biscuits

I saw a recipe for jam, using chia seeds as the thickener rather than pectin or gelatin.  I was intrigued, so I gave it a shot.

Combine:
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup juice from whatever fruit or berries you are using (you could also use another type of juice, I supposed, if you wanted to experiment with combining flavors)
2 Tbsp chia seeds

Mash 1 cup of your choice of fruit or berries and add 1-2 Tbsp of agave necter (you could completely omit the agave nectar, depending on the sweetness of your fruit), and set aside.

I used strawberries for the base of my jam, because that's what I had in the freezer.  You can use any type of fruit or berry, I would imagine.

Stir the seeds and juice gently, and let it sit for about ten minutes, letting the seeds soak up the moisture of the lemon juice.  After 10 minutes, stir the seeds again, and let them sit for another 10 minutes.

At this point, the chia seeds should have turned the juice into a pretty thick mixture.  It should be pretty close to a jam texture. 

Add the mashed berries to the chia/juice mixture, and stir until it looks appropriately incorporated. It is now ready to eat. 

This recipe is David Approved!  He thought it was delicious, and the tartness from the lemon juice was a fantastic combination with the strawberries.  When Nate got home from work that day, he was very excited when I told him I made jam.  I gave him a spoonful, and he when he tasted it, he sank into his seat with a sigh of contentment and said "Oh my word.  That is amazing."  When I told him it was made with chia seeds, I thought he was going to throw his spoon at my face.  He didn't stay mad for long though, because now he has home made jam in the refrigerator. 

The jam can store for about a week in the fridge.  I can't guarantee what it will be like after 1 week, due to the fact that it does not have any preservatives in it. 


Want to know more about the chia seed?  Here is more information than you ever wanted to know:
http://www.living-foods.com/articles/chia.html
10 benefits of the chia seed: http://mychiaseeds.com/Articles/Top10ChiaBenefits.html

More info on Kombucha:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kombucha (sorry to refer to Wikipedia, but this article actually does have really good information)

The Ginger Shot

It seems like the times that we can least afford to get sick, we get sick.  In September, it was a Wednesday, 3 days before a wedding in which I was highly involved and the day before I was launching a new middle school outreach program at work.  I couldn't afford to get sick, but I had a sore throat, and my entire body ached.  I could tell I had a fever coming on.  I had recently obtained a juicer, so I immediately googled "cold and flu juicing remedies."  I read several recipes, and started to notice a lot of people were recommending ginger, so I picked on of the recipes and went with it.  The recipe was as follows:

1oz fresh ginger juice
A squeeze of lemon
A dash of Cheyenne pepper

It didn't seem too bad, and I was desperate, so I gave it a try.  I was home alone at the time, with just my two dogs to keep me company.  I downed the shot of ginger with the lemon and Cheyenne pepper, expecting a little bit of a kick.  I was not expecting the intensity of the kick that I got.  It burned.  It was the mother of all that burned.  When I could finally speak, the first words out of my mouth, were "Holly balls batman."  No idea what that means, or where that came from, but apparently that's what I say when I am experiencing a burning sensation greater than anything I had thought possible.  It burned for about twenty minutes, and every time I burped it tasted like ginger.  Everything I ate tasted like ginger.  It was miserable.  But when I woke up the next morning, I felt totally fine.  Not just rested, but no fever, no congestion, no aches and pains, no sore throat.  I was totally fine. The program launch was a hit, and I survived the wedding just fine. 

The results were so fascinating, that I told all of my friends and family how amazing it was.  No one came to me begging for a shot of ginger, but one day a friend stopped by who had a terrible hangover.  I really had no sympathy for him, however I did offer him a shot of ginger to help ease the agony he was in.  At this point, I had no idea if the ginger would worsen his situation or help him.  I was just curious to see what would happen.  I convinced him to take it.

Funniest. Thing. Ever.

He curled up in a ball and didn't move for a very long time.  His face was scrunched in a way I had never seen before.  I believe he eventually uttered phrases such as "I hate you...trying to kill me...what did I ever do to you..."  To this day he still says that it didn't help his hangover at all, but it actually took away his headache and soothed his stomach a little. 

Recently however, Nate got a really bad cold, and was desperate to get better, so he could survive going to work the next day.  He asked me to make him a ginger shot.  It might possibly have been one of the happier moments of my life (not really, but I was pretty excited).  I really do have total faith in the ginger shot.  It's also just really entertaining watching people drink it.  I gave Nate the ginger, complete with lemon and Cheyenne pepper, and watched him take it. 

New. Funniest. Thing. Ever.

Contrary to the silent route our friend had taken after consuming the ginger, Nate was much more vocal.  He chose a particular word, and said it very loudly a few times.  Then a few more times.  And then a few more times.  On and off for about twenty minutes, he just kept repeating that same word.  I almost died laughing.  When Nate woke up the next day?  He felt almost 100% better.  He still had a little congestion, but other than that was back to normal.  He was much farther along in his illness than I had been when I took my ginger shot, so that may have had something to do with the speed of the recovery.  Nate was sure to complain about how terrible the ginger was, but two days later, asked me to make another one for him, to give his cold a final kick in the butt.  I took a small shot of it too, just to make sure I wasn't going to get sick.  It wasn't nearly as terrible as I had remembered it being.  Maybe it was that I just wasn't expecting it the first time.

I now tease Nate about being addicted to the shots of ginger.  He'll never admit it, but secretly, he likes them.

We still haven't gotten David to try it.  The ginger shot doesn't even make it onto the scale for the taste test, but I do highly recommend it if you are sick, or feel like you are getting sick.  Just a warning, it burns a little on the way down.

Chocolate Pudding

One of my biggest pet peeves, is when people eat anything as long as it's labeled "non-fat" as an attempt to be healthy.  I'm not a nutritionist, but I have done research, and it is becoming more and more well known that good fat is an important part of our daily diet, particularly fat that comes from dairy products, avocado, and oils such as olive oil and coconut oil.  In fact, certain fats, such as the fat found in avocados and coconut oil, actually helps your body burn more fat.  Also loaded with other nutrients, avocados should be a common part of your diet.  I have no problem eating an entire avocado in one sitting or devouring an entire bowl of guacamole.  Not everyone likes avocado, however, I have found the utmost enjoyable way to consume this healthy fat.  And it involves chocolate.

I was skeptical at first.  I had heard rumor of people using avocados as the base for pudding, which sounded to me like a waste of good chocolate and a waste of good avocado.  But I decided to give it a try...

Ingredients:
4 avocados
3 Tbsp unsweetened baking cocoa
1/4 cup agave nectar (less, depending on how sweet you want your pudding)
1 Tsp vanilla extract

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, and use an electric mixer (or a food processor if you have one) to beat it until smooth.  It might take a while to get all of the lumps out.  Beat until all of the lumps are gone.  It is ready for immediate consumption, but will store in a sealed container in the fridge for several days (it's been 3 days and I still have some in the fridge, and it's just as good as it was on the first day). I served mine in a wine glass with some whipped cream on top. Don't be afraid of the fat content in this dessert - it's all good fat!  The pudding is sweet but still very low on the glycemic index, and there is less than 1g of sugar per serving in most store bought whipped cream.

So what did this score on our taste testing scale?  I didn't tell David what was in t
he pudding when I made him try it, but he was suspicious.  As he ate the pudding, I could tell that he was torn.  Something inside of him knew he shouldn't like it, but his reaction was "it tastes confusing!"  He swore he could taste something "different" but he couldn't tell me what it was.  He said it was good, just "confusing."  I translate this into he liked it, but knew it was healthy, so he had to pretend he didn't like it.  When I gave some to Nate, his eyes got wide and he said "wow, that's really good!  What's in it?"  He couldn't believe it when I told him it was made with avocado.  His next sentence was "that's really good, you should give some to David and not tell him what it's made out of."  We still didn't get David's full approval, so we will rank this recipe as "Delicious."

No Bake Chocolate Tarts

Okay here we go.  The first recipe. 

This recipe scored as "David Approved." You know it has to be good.

Yesterday I spent the day experimenting with recipes from my new cookbooks that Nate got me for Christmas (at my request, don’t worry).   Almost all of the attempts were a success!  I was particularly excited about the No Bake Chocolate Tarts, which were texturally, aesthetically, and tastefully pleasing.  This is particularly rare when you don't use sugar or wheat.  They were easy and delicious, and will satisfy any sweet craving. 

For the Crust:

1 1/2 Cups Almond Flour

1/4 Cup unsweetened cocoa Powder

1/4 Cup melted coconut oil

1 Tablespoon agave nectar

Dash of salt

 

Mix together all ingredients in a small bowl.  Press dough into mini-tart tins, or muffin tins, whichever you prefer.  Press dough in firmly, along the bottom and part way up the side.  Chill the shells in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until they seem very firm.  You should be able to take them out of the mold without them falling apart.

For the filling:

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoons agave nectar (you can use more or less, depending on your desired sweetness)

Spoon filling into the shells immediately; the coconut oil will begin to harden quickly, and it is much easier when the filling is still very runny.  Put the tarts back in the fridge for about an hour.  Tarts should be completely firm, and easy to remove from their shells/tins. 

 

The feedback I got was positive enough that I would take these to a social gathering, or offer them to guests in my home, which is saying a lot.  This recipe, however, is "David Approved."  And that's hard approval to get in this house. 

Taste Testing Standards

Who determines if these recipes are actually good?

A lot of people who make "healthy desserts" like to use the phrase "your friends won't ever know the difference."  Okay, let's be honest.  My friends know the difference between real cookie dough and cookie dough that has puréed garbanzo beans as the base.  There came a point where my friends would ask if something had sugar and gluten in it before they would try it.  I then began to realize that they probably though I was trying to poison them.  I had had them taste so many weird baking attempts, that they were scared to eat at my house.  I began to only serve things that I considered to taste good, but their behavior towards any food at my house did not change.  I am able to tolerate some pretty questionable tasting food.   I realized that I was not a reliable taste tester, as it was obvious that my taste bud have become corrupted due to sugar and gluten deprivation.  Nate became the new taste tester, and I would only serve things that he deemed to be acceptable.  It worked great...until we realized that because he had tasted so many of my failed attempts, that now his idea of "good" was still not even in the "edible" category for most people. To save ourselves future embarrassment, we developed a new method.  The goal is for food to be "David approved."  David is a hard sell on food.  He likes things sweet, and he likes things that are unhealthy.  A good portion of his food pyramid consists of Skittles and Gummy Bears.  It's hard to get David to try something, let alone admit that the taste is tolerable.  I usually end up spending an unreasonable amount of time trying to convince him that something is good, as he tries not to gag on what I just fed him.  So here is our official taste testing scale:

"It's edible" - this means that I will eat it, probably just because it has some sort of amazing health benefits.  Nate will only touch things in this category if it is extremely necessary.  David won't even touch anything in this category

 "It's not bad" - If I'm starving, I'll eat it, even if it isn't a superfood loaded with health benefits.  Nate will occasionally eat things in this category, but only if there really isn't anything else in the house that is easily accessible.

"It's good" - I like it, and I'll eat it if it's there.  Nate will usually eat things in this category, but won't necessarily crave it, or request me to make it.  David will sniff it, maybe taste it, but he won't like it.

"Delicious!" - I will make it on a regular basis, because it's the closest thing to sweet and delicious as I will ever get.  Nathan will admit that it's good, and eat it if it's there.  David will taste it, and if he's starving, he will eat it if nothing else is around.

"David Approved" - this is as high as we have ever made it on the scale, while maintaining some level of nutriton.  This means it's healthy, and David will willingly eat it.  This usually means that Nate and I consider it a special treat. 

"Off Limits Delicious" - I occasionally bake things for Nate and David form my Macrina Bakery cookbooks that my mom got me for Christmas.  Everything in these books is loaded with sugar and gluten.  Everything in these books is literally off limits to me.  Everything in these books is also so delicious, that sometimes I try to justify eating it, even though I know it will make me sick.

There you have it.  Each recipe will be judged on this scale, in order for you to make the most informed decision as to whether or not you are brave enough to try it. 

About US

Nate, Bethany, David

Nate and I have been married about 3 1/2 years.  We have 2 dogs and a roommate.  David, our roommate, is my little Brother.  Well, maybe he isn't so little.  He's 20 years old, and about a foot taller than I am.  He moved in with us a few months ago, and has been a very fun addition to our household.  He is an aspiring professional juggler (the Oddball Juggler, look him up on YouTube) and street performer, and is one of the most genuinely nice and hilarious guys you have ever met in your life.  He also tolerates our two dogs very well.  Gibbs is our little Schipperke, and Zena is our German Shepherd/Anatolian Shepherd puppy.  They are always full of energy, in to everything, and are each other's best friends.  They are particularly cute dogs, and can always seem to get out of trouble by using their adorable puppy-dog eyes on us. 

Gibbs and Zena

As I briefly discussed in the introduction, Nate has a genetic muscle disease, resulting in his body being unable to burn carbs for energy.  He burns protein for energy, and has to consume 160g of animal protein each day.  Just to put that into perspective, that is about 23oz of meat, or 1.42lbs of meat.  This could also translate into 2 dozen eggs, 23oz of cheese, 184oz of whole milk, etc.   You get the idea.  It's a lot.  A LOT, of food.  He can eat carbs, he just technically shouldn't eat a lot of bad carbs, sugar, bread, etc., but that rule is bendable.

I have a lot of blood sugar problems, which go away when I don't eat sugar, bread, and white rice.  Basically anything that I eat that has sugar or converts to sugar as soon as I eat it, makes me miserable for days on end.  I recently cut gluten out of my diet, which has resulted in more energy, less moodiness, no more stomach aches and headaches, and my hair isn't falling out anymore.  I'm pretty sure I'm not Celiac, however I just feel significantly better if I'm not eating anything with wheat in it. 

Nate and I are both shameless coffee addicts.  Drip coffee with a little bit of whole milk or half and half please, none of those sugary drinks that cost $4.00 at a coffee stand.  Just a cup of good, strong, hot coffee and we are happy.  Please don't stop by on the day we run out of coffee…you won't like us, and we won't like you.  Show up on our doorstep with hot coffee, and we will be best friends forever.

Here's to Choices

Choices.  If I had my choice every day, I would choose a big fat cheeseburger, huge pile of fries, and a chocolate shake for dinner.  Every day.  For breakfast I'd eat some sort of cream cheese filled pastry, or a morning roll from Marcina Bakery with my coffee.  I would snack through the morning and afternoon on fruits and veggies, and maybe have a sandwich on some sort of heavenly bread, and maybe a chocolate chip cookie.  At ten o'clock every night, I'd dig into a pint of Ben & Jerry's.  Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of eating those things ever, let alone every day.  I can't eat any gluten or sugar.  My life sucks.  That's not true.  Some days, it feels like my life sucks.  My life is actually very healthy, now that I have eliminated those two things from my diet, and I have every reason in the world to be grateful for my health, my life, and the heaps of blessings I receive every day. 

 

But here's the deal.  Sometimes, all I really want is ice cream.

 

My husband, Nate, has a genetic muscle disease, and his body is unable to burn carbs for energy.  His body burns protein for energy, requiring a diet of 160g of protein per day.  Animal protein, nonetheless.  Other than making sure he gets enough protein, he can eat whatever he wants.  It's super complicated, but that's all you need to know right now.

 

As you can imagine, choosing what to eat isn't as easy for us as we would like it to be.  But we make it work, and I am constantly striving to be more creative in the kitchen, and add some sort of flavor to our lives.  We eat a lot of meat, dairy, fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds.  The result is a very healthy diet.  A side effect of this healthy diet, is days where nothing sounds good, all I want is chocolate chip cookies or Ben & Jerry's, and a big fat burger on a gluten saturated bun with a large chocolate shake. 

 

On those days where all I really want is ice cream, I can get really grumpy about my dietary restrictions.  Sometimes to the point where if I see someone walking with ice cream, I really just want to hit them with my car.  Okay, not really, but you get the point.  A lot of health fanatics say that once you eliminate processed foods (especially sugar) from your diet, you no longer crave unhealthy things.  Okay, I'm going to hit those health fanatics with my car (again, not really).  The truth is, for the most part, you get used to the fact that you can't eat anything with sugar.  But there are always days when you really just need something sweet, and an apple just isn't going to cut it.  So what do you do?  I can tell you what I've done.  Sometimes, I've just eaten the sugar, and felt terrible for days.  Sometimes, I just refrain, and remain really grumpy about the fact I can't eat what I want.  But there are occasions, where I find a happy medium.  There have been many experimental failures, a few tolerable  options, and occasionally something that makes me feel like I am normal human beings with a normal diet. 

At the end of the day, it's all about choices.  We can choose to eat the right way.  We can choose to give in to cravings.  We can choose to be happy about it, or mad about it.  And today I chose to start sharing our experiences so that maybe you might be able to laugh at some of the humorous happenings in the kitchen, and maybe even give you a few more choices, to make your life a little bit easier. 

 

Here's to choices.