I fully disclose that as a Certified Lifestyle CoachI do, at times, receive monetary compensation as such. See The Fine Print on the “About Me” page of this blog.
I had some excitement today and I couldn’t wait to share it with you!
For the back story, I had a birthday several days ago and Pookie asked me what kind of cake or other dessert I’d like to have, but stipulated that since the restaurant they were taking me to for my birthday dinner wouldn’t allow us to bring in our own dessert, we would have to have a separate little birthday celebration just for that. Well, I’m all for celebrating twice so that was fine with me. Then, as is the way with things, stuff happened and then more stuff happened and Birthday 2.0 seemed to get bumped and bumped and bumped some more and I finally received my delicious treat today.
What did I request, you ask? As you may know, I don’t eat the SAD (standard American diet) stuff. I know, I know, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if I ate something hideously bad for me on my birthday, but I’ve learned that it’s not worth it. It makes me feel rotten (now that I know what it’s like to feel good all the time) and then there are additional portions of it in the house for days. After flipping through various Trim Healthy recipes, I suddenly remembered exactly what I wanted and told Pookie to make me the Cake of Wonders.
This recipe, from page 37 of the Trim Healthy Indulgence cookbook seemed to be the talk of social media, the podcast and all over the Trim Healthy community ever since the cookbook came out but I just hadn’t gotten around to making it.
I’m giving it an absolute 5-Star review. Even though Pookie didn’t give it a topping of chocolate drizzle and an arrangement of fresh berries on top as shown in the photo in the cookbook, I don’t see how the taste and texture could be any better. Esther Allison hit the ball out of the park with this recipe. This is fit to serve at any wedding. It is that good!
Yes, I am a Trim Healthy Certified Coach, but no, I am not a retailer of their products. When I recommend this cookbook and this recipe, I am not gaining anything from it but your smiles and happy tummies.
Also, the pie crust recipe in that book is out of this world. I think I’m going to bake one sometime and just eat it by itself! That’s how good it smells while it’s baking. Right now, Esther’s Peanut Butter Cup Cake is featured as a free recipe on the website, so be sure to print that out.
If you do need support in your journey to better health and weight loss, blood sugar control, hormonal balance, etc., head to the Contact page or my Food Freedom pages on Facebook and Mewe and let me know. I’ll give you all the info on group sessions which I conduct locally in person as well as details on private coaching in person or by phone. Share with friends and let’s see how many are ready to get Trim & Healthy!
The Trim Healthy Mama Plan is a great way to boost your immune system, reduce inflammation, and certainly to lose weight safely and sustainably if you need to do that. I know that many people want to steer away from the standard American diet because they know it’s taking a toll on their health, but they just don’t know how to be happy doing it. That’s what I teach.
If you’ve tried Esther’s Cake of Wonders, leave a comment and let me know how you liked it. I’m curious – what is your favorite dessert that you’d miss most if you decided to adopt a healthy eating lifestyle?
And (sigh), as is the way of things, I didn’t get to share my cake with Lil’ Snookie today. More stuff happened. But you know what that means? It means I’ll freeze slabs of it between slips of waxed paper and then we’ll have Birthday 3.0 in a few days. I know how to manage this birthday thing.
I probably should have passed this one on to you at the beginning of summer so you could enjoy it in the summer months, but since we enjoy it year-round I decided to go ahead and share it now that it has a name.
I’m quite a lot like Anne of Green Gables when it comes to names. I like a little romance or beauty in a name rather than something ordinary. I, like Anne, would never have called it Barry’s Pond when I could’ve re-named it The Lake of Shining Waters and what is a better name for a blooming orchard than The White Way of Delight? It’s like she’s in my head.
I gave up soda a long time ago – decades in fact. After a while, I actually grew to detest the stuff and the way it made me feel. However, I do somehow miss the bubbles and had to content myself with the occasional bottle of sparkling water because I’m way too frugal to drink it all the time.
Then I did some bartering one day with a friend who was doing a rummage sale with me. I traded her some tea tree oil I’d over-bought for a Soda-Stream. We had lots of fun with successes and fails as we tried various additives and blends to flavor the sparkling water we could now just fizz up in our own machine. (There is a cartridge that you trade in when it’s empty so after your initial purchase you pay only half price when you make the swap.)
We found it to be economical. We started our first cartridge around July 4th and didn’t run out of bubbles till the middle of September!
Flavorings seemed to be the sticking point. Smuffy is super picky on taste. I am super picky on healthy add-ins. Some of the ones you buy turn your carbonated water right back into soda!
After a while, I just threw something together one day as a “lime thing” and ended up loving it. Then I started serving it to guests and they liked it, which is good because when they come to my house I don’t stock “junk” drinks.
I knew this was ready to pass on to you when Lil’ Snookie gave it a name. All on his own, when he was still two years old, he began to say that anything with carbonation in it had “sillies” and would ask Pookie, his mama, if he could have sillies in his drink.
Now he’s grown to love my invention and almost every day asks me if he can have “Lime Sillies”.
And there you have it! It needed the perfect name and now it’s ready to share. No free printable necessary for this recipe because this is all you do –
Lime Sillies
1. Pour 1” to 1 ½” inches of Real-Lime or fresh lime juice into the bottom of your glass. (Everyone has a different preference as to how much lime they prefer.)
2. Add a tiny pinch of mineral salt (not the table salt gunk).
3. Add 1 doonk of THM Pure Stevia or any on-plan natural sweetener.
4. Add a couple of drops of pure vanilla extract.
Swirl the glass well or stir the mixture with a spoon before filling the glass with cold, carbonated water. Add ice if you wish.
NOTE: You cannot add the ingredients to the water. You have to add the water to the other ingredients. For some mysterious reason, dropping the sweetener into the carbonation makes the contents of the glass explode all over the counter. Ask me how I know.
Also, with a SodaStream, you must carbonate only plain water. Adding any ingredients to the water prior to pumping in the carbonation will result in more exploding things. Ask me how I know.
There you have it – Lil’ Snookie’s Lime Sillies! Fix a glass and head for the porch on these beautiful autumn days.
I fully disclose that I am a THM Certified Lifestyle Coach and at times receive financial compensation as such.
If you need support in your journey to better health and weight loss, head to the Contact page or my Food Freedom pages on Facebook and Mewe and let me know. I’ll give you all the info on group sessions which I conduct locally in person on a weekly basis. Private coaching can be done in person or by phone. Share with friends and let’s see how many are ready to get Trim & Healthy!
The Trim Healthy MamaPlan is a great way to boost your immune system, reduce inflammation, and certainly to lose weight safely and sustainably if you need to do that.
Leave a comment after you sip your Lime Sillies and let me know how you like it. Do you have a carbonation machine of any kind? What are your favorite flavors to add that keep it healthy and make it tasty?
Now, didn’t that “Help”? Let’s push on with better grammar…
I fully disclose that as a Certified Lifestyle CoachI do, at times, receive monetary compensation as such. See The Fine Print on the “About Me” page of this blog.
I first shared these thoughts a few years ago, but I’ve decided it’s time to revisit this bit of common sense and encouragement.
I first thought to name this page of my blog “Stayin’ Alive!” Love those Bee Gees! Besides, if one doesn’t accomplish at least this much in regards to one’s health, all other attempts are pretty much useless, if you get my drift.
I soon ditched that idea. There’s more to life than stayin’ alive! What’s the point of being here if your quality of life stinks? I decided on “Thrive!”
I got serious about my health during pregnancy. Up until that point, I’d stuck strictly to the See Food Diet. If I saw it, I ate it. Tall and slim, it never seemed to affect me. My dad once told me, as he watched me eat, that someday I’d stop growing up and start growing out and then be sorry about my appetite! I ate three square meals a day – big ones! No one had better leave a box of doughnuts anywhere near me.
But now, I knew that whatever I fed myself, I also fed the baby. Yikes! I spent a lot of time at the library. The baby came (all eight pounds and three ounces of her) along with an epiphany. I needed to keep her healthy till adulthood. And, (DUH!) why feed my child one way and myself another? The adult population seemed to be made up of a bunch of sick people, anyway.
I recently read of an umbilical cord study which showed that a couple of hundred toxins were detected in the cords and the samples were not taken from moms who were addicted to drugs or alcohol or had experienced anything most people would consider hazardous. They were only moms who used foods, shampoos and body products that most in our society walk into stores and buy without batting an eyelash.
Take a look at this photo. Note your first impression.
That’s the image that came to me. We can’t run on bad fuel! Yet, we live in a country where no one seems to grasp the concept. Or, if they do, they don’t care!
Can you imagine? Your friend Gwendolyn tells you that she hates the smell of gasoline, dislikes waiting in line at the service station and once even dribbled gasoline into her brand new shoes. She’s switching. From now on, she’ll run her car on lemonade. She likes lemonade. Tastes better, smells better and isn’t quite so icky between the toes.
You stifle a snort of laughter and get down to business. Somebody’s gotta talk Gwennie out of this madness. Doesn’t she know she’ll ruin a valuable machine with a crazy notion like that?
Gwendolyn won’t listen. Her plan is good for her, she insists. She leaves. You call several friends. After howling with laughter over Gwendolyn’s stupidity, some compassionate soul in the group says, “Listen! Don’t you think we ought to call her mother or somebody? I mean, somebody’s gotta stop her!”
I gave myself a “talkin’ to”. It went something like this: “You are kind to yourself. You are smart enough to learn. You are important to your family and you need to be the best you can be.”
Poor Smuffy went kicking and screaming all the way, suffering through strange herbs drying on the kitchen counter, whole wheat everything and tinctures galore. He told me once that the thing that kept him healthy was positive confession. Each time he’d cough or sniffle, I’d come running with some form of what he termed “stump water” and he’d call out, “I’m okay. I’m OKAY!”
Despite my efforts, I got that call from the doctor nobody wants – a cancer diagnosis. I’d studied various aspects of health, but hadn’t paid much attention to what may open the doors to cancer. I had no family history and besides, I ate good stuff! With my terrific appetite, I ate the good stuff and had room left over for some of the bad stuff.
People told me I was too young for cancer. I asked myself, “How old is old enough?” The answer, I concluded, was NEVER! After surgery, I endured chemo and radiation as “insurance”, more or less, according to the doctors. I’m sure there will be a future blog post on that nasty little interlude.
People like me are called “survivors”. I rejected that term from the beginning. It left me with an image of someone emerging from a jungle – burned, bitten, half-naked and hunted – running for a lifeboat that may or may not spring a leak. By the grace of God, I’m a WINNER! I am kind to myself. I am smart enough to learn. I am important to God and my family! I’m going to thrive!
I’ve learned much over the years, and it has turned my health around. In blog posts here on my Food Freedom page, you’ll be receiving a lot of great health information to chew on so that you can make your own decisions and take charge of your health. I am not your doctor and don’t pretend to be, but only hope to share helpful information. You’re smart enough to do your own research. You may see a few posts with some foods that contain ingredients that I’ve eliminated from my diet as I’ve grown wiser and learned what the real “frankenfoods” are. I’ll be editing those to help you out as much as I can.
So…about your reaction to the photo. Did you want to scream, “Stop, you idiot!”? Yet, we, almost never stop friends when it comes to food. Cars can be replaced. You only get one body. Why treat the finest, most intricately-designed, valuable piece of machinery ever invented – the human body – as though it were disposable?
Since the purpose of Midwest Storyteller is to take you to a better place, I want to share what I did as a first step. I gave up soda. Why pollute my body with a non-food item? A sugary soda has as many calories as a full meal. (Sorry, but I’d rather have food.) Artificially sweetened, it’s dangerous stuff, and I want to thrive! It’s been decades since I’ve had a soda. I don’t miss it. I do enjoy, however, Stayin’ Alive!
Americans have a big problem. Take a look at this aisle in my local grocery store.
That’s an entire aisle! All soda! They don’t devote this much space to bread, meat, cheese, etc. Yes, America has a problem, but you don’t have to. We can’t fuel up on junk because we feel like it or because, like Mount Everest, it’s there. We are as capable of making the right choices with our bodies as we are with our cars.
Okay, enough tough love. I believe in you. You are kind to yourself. You are smart enough to listen to the “real you”. You are important to God and your family.
You are also strong! Here’s the challenge: Choose one thing – just one – and take that step. Stick with it for thirty days. Whether it is to give up soda, lay off the sugar, exercise for 20-30 minutes three times a week or get more sleep, you can do it! (That last one is a personal struggle of mine if you came here for true confessions.)
Since I first shared this idea with you, I’ve been introduced to the common sense, sustainable world of Trim Healthy Mama. After a couple of years reveling in not having to exclude any food groups (except for “frankenfood”), enjoying hearty fat-based meals, satisfying my muscles and hormones with carb-based meals and learning how to make yummy desserts while kicking sugar to the curb, I became a Certified Lifestyle Coach. Ooh, did I mention that I lost that last annoying ten pounds I thought I’d never lose without constantly listening to my tummy growl? The Trim Healthy lifestyle is something you can definitely do all on your own and I’d recommend that you start with the book, The Trim Healthy Mama Plan and begin your journey. It’s written so anyone can understand the science of “why” and without that, we all lose motivation.
If you do decide you’re better off not going it alone, contact me. I’m happy to coach you privately in person or by phone and if you’re within driving distance at our local weekly group sessions.
Comment, letting me know you’ve chosen one way to live a better life. Or, share something you’ve already done that might encourage others. In thirty days, comment again, letting me know that you’re not only Stayin’ Alive, but determined to Thrive!
SUBSCRIBE, because it won’t be long before I throw myself a little online party, celebrating the twenty-four years that stretch between me and that cancer diagnosis.
I fully disclose that as a Certified Lifestyle Coach I do, at times, receive monetary compensation as such. See The Fine Print on the “About Me” page of this blog.
I am super thrilled to be writing this post – and just a tad riddled with guilt. I love it when I hit a home run in the kitchen! I’ve invented many a recipe in my time and, believe me, they were not all worthy of winning three “golden ladles” such as my soup here, or of getting a 5-star review from those gathered at the table, if you know what I mean.
There’s a story behind everything here on the blog and this is where the guilt comes in. It was a dark and stormy night…just kidding.
One of the more recent additions to the Trim Healthy Mama line of products has been “No-Carb Easy Bread”, a packet bread mix that when blended with a couple of simple ingredients, is poured right into the pan to bake. When they say “easy”, they mean easy, as in whisk three things in a bowl and bake! BONUS: It’s Fuel Pull, so it can be enjoyed with FP or any other “S” and “E” meals on plan. It can be baked in a loaf or as buns.
As with everything in THM world, it will not spike blood sugar, so that makes it great for people watching that who may not even be aware of what the THM plan is all about.
I ordered a couple of packets to try and I was not only thrilled with the simplicity, but also the flavor. I knew this could easily become my “go-to” substitute for the morning English muffin, the hamburger bun, whenever I needed an on-plan bread. I could butter it up for an “S”, fill it up with lean meat and greens for sandwich and keep it FP or toast it to have alongside a delicious “E” soup like this one.
I spotted my dilemma. I’d only ordered two bags. I could see myself constantly running out of this and wishing for more. We’re budget conscious around here. Shipping costs add up and I usually make my THM orders when I have several things I need.
I set my mind to coming up with a mix of my own that would come as close to Serene and Pearl’s as possible (without having to making as many attempts in my kitchen to get it right as Pearl says she did).
I make up about six recipes of the dry mix at a time and put them into quart freezer bags upon which I’ve written the additions, oven temperature and baking time. This way, I don’t even have to pull out a recipe. I just grab, mix, pour and bake. Then, I made a discovery. After doing some number crunching with fats and carbs and realizing that I mis-read something, I found all those bags of mix were actually “E” and not “FP”!
Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t throw away perfectly good food, so I began enjoying it as an “E”, especially in bun form. Hey, we all need more “E” meals, right? I shared it with my clients and a even made up “E” sandwiches on buns and took them to a soup ‘n sandwich dinner party and they were a hit. The hostess’ hubby took a leftover sandwich to work the next day and bragged on it, saying he could eat that bread anytime!
Now I needed to work on a “FP” version because I am determined to help my clients keep their THM life simple and I never wanted them to feel “stuck” if they run out of pre-packaged items. After a few attempts that weren’t quite what I had in mind and some further crunching on the calculator, I came up with a mix that works. You may think it can’t compare to THM’s No-Carb Easy Bread, but if, by chance, you even prefer it, then I’m sorry, Serene and Pearl – I love you and I didn’t mean to show you up.
DISCLAIMER: I totally guessed at this. I haven’t been down in Tennessee rooting through dumpsters at the THM facilities. I don’t know how this happened other than to say it was a shot in the dark. I’ve no intentions of selling it, so I don’t see any reason to end up standing in front of a judge. It can’t be the same recipe, because I’ve never seen the real recipe.
Try both recipes and see if you like them. I’ve grown to love making it up into buns as pictured because it seems more versatile for our needs. There is a slight tweak to make if you do these the way I do, so be sure to read the notes and see the weird bun pan in the photo. If this bread saves you money, makes your life simpler and keeps you away from “frankenfood” breads, that’s great. You could literally whip up a batch every day and never strain a wrist. If it’s not quite your thing, then by all means go for the real thing and order up some “No Carb Easy Bread” from Trim Healthy Mama.
I’m offering you a free printable with both recipes on one sheet so that you can jump right in and make both breads.
TIP: When I made the “E” sandwiches, I used a Laughing Cow light cheese wedge to spread over the two halves of the fun. Half of the sandwiches I then drizzled balsamic glaze onto the Laughing Cow for a sweeter flavor and on the other half, I generously added the Kickin’ Dippin’ Sauce, Dip or Dressing (page 518, Trim Healthy Table) for those who like a more spicy flavor. (I added a little gluccie to the blender when making this to make it a bit thicker.) I had the deli slice my provolone cheese on the #1 thickness so that I could keep the fat on the sandwich to a minimum by using one slice. Lettuce leaves and mesquite deli turkey breast completed the tasty “E” sandwich.
Here are both recipes. Don’t forget your free printable below.
Coach Barb’s Copy-cat No-Carb Easy Bread “FP”
1 1/3 cup egg whites (I use carton type for this)
1 package of dry mix (see the mixture below)
¾ cup water
In a large mixing bowl, whisk egg whites vigorously for 60 seconds until very frothy.
Add dry mix and water; whisk until well combined.
Pour into a parchment lined 9”X5” loaf pan.. Carve a large “X” across the top. Or, pour into 6 or 7 holes of a silicone mesh 4” bun pan. Bake at 450 degrees for 50-60 minutes for bread or for 20-25 minutes for buns. Use convection setting if you have it and reduce the cooking time accordingly. (I do bread for 50 minutes and buns for 20 minutes on convection.)
Grasp the edges of the parchment paper, lift the loaf from the pan and place on a cooling rack as soon as it is finished baking. Peel away the parchment and cool completely. If using a mesh-style bun pan, allow to cool ten minutes in the pan and they should “peel” from the mesh cleanly.
Dry Mix 1/2 cup oat fiber
1/2 cup golden flax meal
1/2 cup whole husk psyllium flakes
1/2 cup unblanched almond flour
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon erythritol
½ teaspoon mineral salt
2 doonks Pure Stevia extract
Now for the version that gives you all those good carbs!
Coach Barb’s Slow-Carb Easy Bread “E”
1 1/3 cup egg whites (I use carton type for this)
1 package of dry mix (see the mixture below)
¾ cup water
In a large mixing bowl, whisk egg whites vigorously for 60 seconds until very frothy.
Add dry mix and water; whisk until well combined.
Pour into 9”X5” loaf pan lined with parchment paper. Carve a large “X” across the top. Or, pour into 6 or 7 parchment lined holes of a 4” bun pan. Bake at 450 degrees for 50 minutes to an hour for bread or for 20-25 minutes for buns. Use convection setting if you have it and reduce the cooking time accordingly. (I do my loaf for 50 minutes and my buns for 20 minutes on convection.)
Take hold of the edges of the parchment paper and lift the loaf from the pan and place on a cooling rack as soon as it is finished baking. Peel away the parchment and allow to cool completely. If using the mesh-style bun pan, allow the buns to cool ten minutes in the pan and then they will peel away from the mesh without pulling apart.
Dry Mix
4 ounces oat flour (or 1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons)
¼ cup golden flax meal
¼ cup psyllium husk flakes (add two more tablespoons if making buns in the mesh style pan – See notes)
1 tablespoon unblanched almond flour
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon erythritol
½ teaspoon mineral salt
2 doonks Pure Stevia extract
NOTES: I had trouble finding a bun pan with holes large enough for what I considered a hamburger sized bun. I ended up with the one in the photo which I found on Amazon. Even though the description said “mesh”, I was not prepared for the rolled up thing that arrived – the limp and floppy thing you see here. I had my serious doubts as to whether it could even be used for such a loose dough as this. I did end up stirring in 2 additional tablespoons of the psyllium husk flakes to make the dough thicken a little before spooning into the holes. I also thought the buns might not want to come out of the pan, but let them cool 10 minutes and you’ll be able to “peel” them right off the mesh! Strangest item of cookware I’ve ever bought! If you like a taller bun, then be sure to fill only 6 holes rather than 7. Look for something which has holes in the 4” range if you want more of a bun rather than a muffin size. Here’s the link to the one I ordered.
YIELD: 6 or 7 buns or 1 loaf of bread.
Grab that FREE PRINTABLE RECIPE!
I give full credit and honors to Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison for the inspiration for these recipes and for their great products at TrimHealthyMama.com such as No-Carb Easy Bread mix. Thank you for all you do to help others live a healthy life!
If you need support in your journey to better health and weight loss, head to the Contact page or my Food Freedom pages on Facebook and Mewe and let me know. I’ll give you all the info on group sessions which I conduct locally in person on a weekly basis. Private coaching can be done in person or by phone. Share with friends and let’s see how many are ready to get Trim & Healthy!
The Trim Healthy Mama Plan is a great way to boost your immune system, reduce inflammation, and certainly to lose weight if you need to do that.
Leave a comment and let me know how you like the bread and what is your favorite way to enjoy it.
It’s fun to try something new, especially when it’s this easy!
I fully disclose that as a Certified Lifestyle Coach I do, at times, receive monetary compensation as such. See The Fine Print on the “About Me” page of this blog.
Here we are, Dear Readers, over halfway through January 2021. So far, I’d venture to guess that most of you who sighed with relief at midnight on December 31, 2020 are just a shade disappointed.
Having mentored people with their health for years and being an avid observer of human nature, I think all we have to do is turn on the news lately and within thirty seconds we’ve decided we’ve had our fill of human nature.
In January, you’ve probably observed a common occurrence in either your own life or someone else’s. We muddle along through the holidays, stressed and for most of us, over-blessed, promising ourselves that, come January 1st, things will be different. “Enough of this nonsense”, you say, vowing to lose weight, get organized, take better care of yourself, serve your community more, keep in closer contact with the ones you love – the list goes on and on, doesn’t it?
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again – I can’t fathom why they ever designated January 1st as the beginning of the new year! It makes no sense, at least for the Northern Hemisphere. Just when the Good Lord offered us hibernation time and a nice, long rest, the calendar screams at us to jump up, get going and conquer the world and all our shortcomings. Oh, please!
Would anyone like to join my movement to have the new year moved to the first day of spring so that we could all get a little more excited about it? I know, I know, it’s a brilliant idea! That’s probably why people in high places never thought of it.
Anyhow, here we are and we seem to be stuck with it for now. This brings me back to my original question: “How’s that workin’ for ‘ya?
One thing I stress in lifestyle coaching throughTrim Healthy Mamais the concept of “tip-toeing in”. I would far rather see someone read a couple of chapters in the Trim Healthy Mama Plan book then choose three simple recipes to fit the plan that they can make in the coming week than I would to see them do a complete pantry makeover, call a family meeting on how things will change and then wear themselves out making sure every bite that goes into their mouth is perfect!
Speaking of perfect bites, let me pause to point out that “sticking to plan” with THM does not equal suffering, as evidenced by this beauty I made last week!
“Loaded Philly Cheese Meatloaf”, page 216 Trim Healthy Table, declared by Smuffy to be the best meatloaf I’ve ever fed him.
Here’s a little nugget to chew on. Repentance is better than goals. Goals involve setting a bar and then trying to measure up to it. Repentance simply involves realizing the road you are traveling is headed in the wrong direction, then turning around and going the opposite way – to a better place. (See how I did that – I’m so clever – note the heading of this blog.)
I want you to feel blessed today and not condemned. If you’re halfway through January and all those new leaves you vowed to turn over are still stuck together, just take a deep breath, take another step on the right path and find joy on the way to a better place. Then, perhaps when someone asks, “How’s that workin’ for ‘ya?”, you won’t have to hang your head and sigh.
If you’re wanting to make your journey with Trim Healthy Mama joyful, choose three recipes that fit the plan and make those this week. Ask yourself some questions about the rest of your meals and snacks and make sensible tweaks. Let 2021 take you to a better place step by step.
I like to make out a menu plan on weekends, but I only plan out four items. I enjoy my “pleasant ruts”, so I already know what breakfasts will probably consist of. I share complete weekly menus in my coaching sessions, but I’ve been on the plan long enough that lots of meals are “freestyle” now.
I thought you might like to see what a recent plan included. We have our main meal at lunch because that’s what Smuffy prefers and supper is freestyle. You’ll have your own plan for your own household.
I take it for granted that each of these main dishes will be served up with quick-fix non-starchy veggies, salads and other sides and that snacks are ready to grab.
If you need support in your journey, head to the Contact Me page and let me know. I’ll give you all the info on group sessions and private coaching, which can be done in person or by phone. Share with friends and let’s see how many are ready to get Trim & Healthy!
For info on getting started and a few questions you can ask yourself about getting started, click here. For coaching pricing, click here.
It’s a great way to come out of social distancing a better person.
Have the events of the last several months caused you to re-think how you are fueling your body so that you can build your immune system? Leave a comment and tell me your thoughts.
I’m offering you two today with FREE printables! (I always aim to please.)
The journey toward
a good gluten-free pancake has been a frustrating one. When I started my clean eating journey, I
couldn’t help but think that all those poor dears out there in cyber-land who
posted their recipes on the internet for the rest of us were living in a state
of such desperate deprivation they no longer knew what a pancake was! If it held to a disc shape and supported a
pat of butter and a drizzle of syrup, they thought they had something.
In the beginning,
I ate no grains at all for three months to give my system a total rest.
I started with coconut flour pancakes. The best coconut flour version I found after much trial and error were made from a recipe by Dr. Bruce Fife in a wonderful book called, “The Coconut-Ketogenic Diet”. I’ve poured over that book and made many of the recipes and contacted Dr. Fife and received permission to share short quotes and recipes here on the blog. We’ll save that for another day as we are on the subject of sourdough. I mean no disrespect to Dr. Fife when I say (while I linger upon this tangent for a few more seconds) that this is a really bad title for a really great book! It should be called something like, “A Manual for the Human Body and a Bunch of Stuff About Coconuts I Betcha Didn’t Know”. You’ll learn a lot about yourself even if you never follow his weight loss plan . (I didn’t.) You’ll find it right here on Amazon.
Now, let’s take that sourdough starter and make some real pancakes. As always, I tinker with recipes until I feel like they are worthy of passing on to you. This one began with a recipe I found at www.artofgluten-freebaking.com I’ll be going back to that site for more ideas now that these pancakes are such a hit with Smuffy. He says they’re the best pancakes I’ve ever made for him. The original recipe made lots more pancakes, so feel free to double my recipe if you have a large family. I changed a few other things as well as using the Gluten-Free Flour Blend I shared here on the blog.
Another
aggravating situation one finds oneself in when walking away from most grains
is the agony of the unfulfilled pizza craving.
Yes, I know all those people out there are mushing cauliflower together
and calling it pizza crust, but sometimes you just want real pizza – pizza you
can pick up in your hands and bite into its crispy crust instead of forking it.
Again, I found a recipe and started tweaking. This great version of Gluten-free Sourdough Pizza Dough, originally given by Emily at www.fermentingforfoodies.com got me off to a great start. With a few changes to align it with my commitment to clean eating, I’m really pleased to be enjoying pizza again.
Pizza and Pancakes – isn’t life grand? Let’s get that sourdough out of the refrigerator and let it poof up on the counter for a couple of hours and get started!
1 tablespoon refined coconut oil, melted and cooled
1 extra-large egg,
beaten
Instructions:
The night before (or at least 2 hours before)
make a “sponge” by mixing the sourdough starter, ¾ cup milk and half the flour
in a large bowl, stirring until combined.
The mixture may have lumps and that’s fine.
When
you are ready to make pancakes or waffles, preheat the griddle to medium-high
or heat the iron.
Mix
the remaining flour, salt, soda, and baking powder together in a bowl and
stir. Add to the sponge, along with the
remaining ingredients and stir until well blended, adding more milk if needed.
For
pancakes, oil the surface of the griddle with coconut oil and pour 1/3 cup
portions of batter onto the surface, cooking until edges appear dry and bubbles
form over the surface. Flip and cook for
an additional minute.
For
waffles: Grease the iron with oil before
making each waffle. Follow your iron’s
directions, which likely require a cup of batter and five minutes cooking time
for deep pocket waffles.
YIELD: 8 or 9 pancakes.
I’ve actually not made these up into waffles yet, so I can’t testify
as to how they turn out.
Now that we’ve had a fabulous breakfast, let’s move on to pizza!
Mix all ingredients together in a large
bowl. You want a fairly firm dough, so
you may have to add a bit more flour depending on the feel.
Allow
to rest, covered, in a warm place for 2-4 hours.
Divide
into two balls and roll out onto parchment paper. Crusts will be very thin. If you prefer a thicker crust, you may not
want to divide the dough. If you like
thin crust, but don’t want to bake them both at once, wrap one of the dough balls
in parchment paper and then in plastic wrap to freeze until needed. Thaw overnight or for several hours prior to
rolling out for baking.
Pre-bake
the crusts in pre-heated 425° Fahrenheit (or 200° Celsius) oven for ten minutes
by placing the parchment directly on the oven racks or on a preheated pizza
stone, whichever way gives you the crispness you desire.
Remove
crusts from the oven and top with your favorite ingredients. Return the pizza to the oven and take an
additional ten minutes or until the cheese is melted and crust is beginning to
brown.
When it comes to pizza, Smuffy is in love with the pizza sauce I make it with my homemade tomato paste from the tomatoes in our garden. Did I mention that Smuffy is the local Tomato King? At least he was last year! Take at look at his tomato patch. It actually got quite a bit bigger than this!
You must know,
however, that while tomato paste is as easy as putting the little darlings in
the food processor, making a puree and then simmering them on the stove until
they are as thick as the paste you buy in the store, there is a down side. It takes a good long while. San Marzano paste tomatoes are ideal, as they
have little juice and speed things up a bit, but still, you’ll need to do it
when you are going to be around the house for a while. Also, I’ve found that two pounds of tomatoes
yields 1 cup of paste – so there’s that to consider.
Once I’ve
slathered my pre-baked crust with ½ to ¾ cup of pizza sauce, I love to go crazy
with the veggies. I mound the pizza high
with fresh spinach (but only my half as Smuffy doesn’t care for it) and then
follow with thin-sliced onions, green pepper, sliced mushrooms, turkey pepperoni
and six ounces of shredded mozzarella.
We prefer turkey pepperoni as it tastes the same to us, yet doesn’t leave a giant grease puddle under each slice. Use anything you like. Here’s one I made with chicken.
If you’ve been
looking for gluten-free options for pancakes and pizza, I think your family
will really like these recipes. Please
comment and let me know! Happy cooking!
Soon I’ll be
sharing a faux-carb pizza dough along with my recipe for home-made pizza sauce
with no sugar or artificial sweeteners. (Try to find that in the stores!)
What’s all the fuss about eating healthy? We shouldn’t just survive, we should thrive! Check out my Thrive! page.
There’s still that
Smuffy story brewing and I think Phoebe June has some thoughts on spring she’d
like to share, so stay with us!
Be sure to
SUBSCRIBE, so you’ll receive an email reminder each time Midwest Storyteller
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READERS TAKE NOTE: Although I am a THM Certified Lifestyle Coach, not every recipe on this blog reflects this or fits the Trim Healthy Mama eating plan. This is an earlier post prior to my THM days. I am currently working on adapting some of these recipes to fit the plan.
A couple of months ago, I shared these photos of my homemade gluten-free sourdough bread on social media and immediately people began asking for a tutorial.
I am well aware of
the reasons for that. We all love the
authentic taste of real artisan breads.
I do have one close friend who is not a bread lover. It hasn’t broken up the friendship or
anything, but I do confess to wondering at times what on earth is the matter
with her!
The other reason,
I believe, is that, at the sight of that fresh slice of bread curled up in my
hand, people gasped and exclaimed, “You mean it’s possible – it’s really possible to have soft, wonderful,
gluten-free bread that doesn’t shatter to dust when you bend it?”
Yes, it is! I will confess, however, that it didn’t come quickly
for me and it didn’t come easy. Now that
I’ve blazed the trail, so to speak, you can skip all the trial and error and
have much more fun on a reasonably quick road to enjoying your bread.
I put a penny next to a fresh slice to give you an idea of the size of the loaf.
When I say
“authentic”, I mean authentic and
when I say from scratch, I mean really
from scratch.
I’m sure you can use this same sourdough in any conventional bread recipe. You’ll be able to find lots of recipes online for that. I use it in my tried and tested, yummy, gluten-free version and I don’t feel cheated – not one bit!
IMPORTANT: Rye flour itself DOES have a certain amount of gluten, but the sourdough process breaks down that gluten, making it much more gut-friendly. However, if you have been diagnosed with celiac disease, please consult your doctor before using rye flour.
I know some people run from the notion of gluten-free eating because they either think it’s going to taste “yucky”, or it isn’t “real food” or just because they think it’s the latest weird fad and they prefer not to jump on that bandwagon. I’ll put my two-cents in on the topic of gluten-free in a nutshell and you can take it or leave it.
I promised myself I’d keep this post shorter and simpler than all the ones I read about sourdough when I started, but sourdough takes some explaining. Also, I am the storyteller, so here goes –
I want to live the longest, healthiest life I can live and I’ve had my share of ups and downs with health. You can catch a glimpse into some of that here.
After decades of
self-study (because it didn’t take me long to figure out that what the
“orthodox” medical care folks knew about nutrition would fit in a thimble), I
had it boiled down to this: I needed
veggies – lots of ‘em – and they
didn’t need to be potatoes, corn and other starchy ones. They needed to be yellow, green and
leafy. I needed to get away from white
flour because, inside my body, it turned into something similar to that paste
we used to see a few classmates eating in first grade – not a good thing for
the intestines. I needed to keep
desserts to a minimum but, I actually thought that my great love of fudge
brownies and glazed donuts could be indulged as long as I ate the veggies and
whole-wheat, non-GMO stuff first. I thought fat made you fat – silly me – having
falling for that advertising myth. I
fed my family lots of homemade goodies made with the best ingredients our
budget would allow.
I had some health
issues that seemed minor. You know what
I mean – it comes under the category of “a million little things”, but it
wasn’t cancer, heart problems or some auto-immune disease, so I tolerated
those.
Help came with the
addition of a balanced, whole-food supplement that helped resolve a lot of the
issues because – let’s face it – we can’t eat balanced meals every single day
and donuts do happen.
Then came about a
three-year period of high stress for me.
Some overly demanding stress can be the good kind (months of wedding
planning for my daughter), but some is the bad stuff (I lost my mother) and the
list goes on. The result? Stage 3 adrenal fatigue arrived and refused
to go away.
Now I will
fast-forward to a point where, after I chose a new family practice M.D. who
specializes in functional medicine (or that holistic stuff you hear people
talking about), the doc informed me that adrenal fatigue such as I had could be
beat – and then she handed me a big binder, saying, in essence, “Welcome to
your next one to three years.”
I decided to show her I was hot stuff. I’d knock her socks off in six months! I’d be the best patient she ever had (and I think I actually might be) ‘cause I’ve got grit. We started a treatment plan. She advised me not to tax those pooped little adrenal glands any more than they already were. Certain foods do that. After three solid months of no sugar (even the “hidden” stuff in packaged foods) and no grains, we could talk again about whether I could add brown rice, quinoa and a couple of other things back into my diet. If I behaved nicely and received her seal of approval, she might let me have sourdough bread.
You’d think, wouldn’t you, that by the time I reached the end of that first three months my yearning for glazed donuts and fudge brownies would have reached a fever pitch? Nope. I’d been so diligent at removing all the inflammatory, gland-stressing baddies from my diet that sugar cravings left me around the second week! Only one thing kept calling my name – ONE THING saddened me about this clean eating plan. I. Must. Have. TOAST!
When I asked the
doctor if she remembered telling me I could someday have sourdough bread, she
nodded and informed me that, lest I be thinking of a trip to the bakery, I’d
best be prepared to put on my big girl panties once again and start from
scratch.
All store-bought
sourdough is fake sourdough. I was to
start with rye flour and water only, growing my own little bowl of funk on the
kitchen counter as the “natural process” (which is a nice term for something
that causes you to shrink back when you lift the lid) drew yeast from the air
and eventually became, just as the name implies, sourdough.
Once I’d achieved
this, I could bake bread with the gluten-free flour blend of my choice.
I headed for Natural Grocers to purchase rye flour and then frustrated myself for countless hours on the internet trying to find the perfect instructions for not only the sourdough starter, but the bread to follow. There are a lot of bad recipes on the internet, especially in the gluten-free or “clean eating” categories, put there by poor souls who are trying to help others before they’ve found their own way.
The instructions
for starting your own sourdough ranged from long and complicated to short and
vague. I treated the whole thing like
rocket science and had great success. One
day, however, a half dozen or so loaves later, common sense arrived and said,
“Do you really think your great-grandma over-thought the whole deal like
this?” That’s when I relaxed and started
doing the whole process by eye and by feel.
Since it will take
a week or ten days, depending on the amount of “good stuff” (we can laugh about
this later) in the air in your kitchen, I’ll give you the instructions today
for the sourdough starter only. In a
week or so, we’ll talk about bread.
The photo below shows what I use to mix and store my sourdough.
You’ll need to
gather these four items before you start:
Rye Flour (I use the non-GMO Natural Grocers brand pictured. I can get a two-pound bag at my local Natural Grocers for around $2.00.
Water – tap water is FORBIDDEN
here. Use distilled, reverse osmosis or
some other form of water that does not have chemicals that will kill the
natural yeast that is trying to form.
Non-reactive container with a
resting lid for mixing and storing.
Aluminum will not work and I find ceramic or glass to be best. The lid must keep moisture in while letting
gasses escape. A round bottom, such as
pictured in the photo, allows for ease in mixing. A snap-on lid will not work. I found a lid from a small dish at a flea
market that fit my bowl just right without sliding off. Be sure your container is large enough to
allow for comfortable stirring.
Spatula and a ½ cup measuring cup.
Now for my
super-simplified instructions and more than honest observations to keep you
from over-thinking the process or throwing out your sourdough before you’re
even finished. You might want to read
all my observations before you even start!
Choose a starting time. You need to decide on a time of day when you are usually always home and preferably, when you’re usually home twelve hours later – you’ll have a few days when you’ll feed the dough twice a day later on. (Example: 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. if you are working and your schedule allows you to give things a quick mix before and after work.)
Using the ½ cup measure, add two scoops of rye flour to the bowl.
Fill the ½ cup measure with distilled or reverse osmosis water to the bowl.
With the spatula, work the mixture together into a paste-like consistency, leaving no dry spots – every bit of flour must be moist. If it seems too dry to incorporate the flour, add an additional tablespoon or two of water until you achieve a thick but totally moist paste.
Scrape the mixture from the sides, pressing it into the bottom of the bowl and leveling the top with the spatula. This will help to keep the whole mixture moist and help you to see exactly how much rising has occurred.
Cover with the resting lid and leave on the counter for twenty-four hours.
The following day, at around the same time, take your spatula and “slice” through the middle of the paste mixture, scooping out half the mixture to discard. (I place a square of waxed paper on the counter and deposit it onto the center of the paper, then fold all sides in before plopping it into the trash to avoid icky smells in the kitchen. I don’t know if other people run this down the disposal, but it might be a bad idea and you’ll see why as we go.) Add two measures of flour and one measure of water. Mix as before and leave on the counter.
Now you’ve arrived at Day 3. Repeat the process, discarding half the mixture and adding more rye flour and water. Repeat this again on Day 4. You’re probably starting to notice some changes occurring in that bowl.
Now it is Day 5. It’s time to repeat the process twice a day now. Happy mixing and tossing! Continue the twice-a-day process for Days 6, 7 and 8, or until your sourdough starter is doubling in size in between each time you toss out half and mix in more.
Now your sourdough starter has been properly fed, is poofy and bubbly and is ready to use in breads, pancakes, pizza dough and all kinds of other yummy recipes!
Now it’s time for tough love, folks. The awful truth that most of us, as modern day germaphobes who wrinkle our noses and pull the bleach wipes out of our holsters faster than Marshall Matt Dillon drawing on yet another Bad Bart, must face is that sourdough is good for you and isn’t going to kill you or your kids. It is, however, going to be disgusting.
Embrace a little logic with me and admit that back before those tidy, little yeast packets appeared in stores, your ancestors grew their own. These pioneers of sturdy stock survived making sourdough and so will you!
Having read what seemed like the entire internet to learn all the technicalities of how sourdough works and what’s really happening in that bowl, lest I mess the whole thing up and end up without toast or, even worse, kill us all, I’ll share my gleanings and eye-witness testimony.
After the first day or two, depending on the warmth of your kitchen and the amount of natural yeast in the air, you’ll see changes occur in your bowl of starter and they won’t be pretty. It’ll get gray, then grayer, then disgusting to the point where you’ll be holding your breath when you remove the lid to go through your toss and mix routine.
Now, which of our ancestors looked into this pot of stench and thought it would come to a good end had more faith and optimism than I’ve ever possessed. We can add sourdough to the list of things, along with octopus and artichokes, that will go down in history as head-scratchers, making us wonder what poor, starving soul decided to give that a try.
There are two kinds of bacteria growing in there. One is the yeasty, fruity-smelling kind we associate with fresh baked goods. The other is an unspeakable horror. What you are doing as you daily toss and mix is removing some of the horror and giving the yummy-yeasties a chance to take over. It’s a jungle in there and we want the right critters to be king! Around Day 5, you should notice a change in the look and smell. It will be doubling in size each day as the horrible smell fades and the yeasty smell grows stronger and stronger, causing you to say to yourself, “Mmmm…when can I make bread?” rather than, “Please, can I just scrape this all off into the garbage?”
Speaking of
scraping, another thing I’ve observed is that the word “paste” couldn’t be more
applicable. However, upon drying, a more
appropriate term is “concrete”. Immediately after using your spatula (or
if you should transfer the starter from one bowl to another), submerge your utensils
and dishes in water because, if it dries – Honey, it is on there!
Once your sourdough has turned into the real deal, you can keep it forever as long as you “feed” it at least once a week, which means scooping out a cup or so to use it in a recipe, share with a friend or toss so that you can add more rye flour and water. If you neglect this, it will go funky on you and you’ll be starting over and who wants to go through the icky part again? Once fed, leave it on the counter for a couple of hours to get it going before refrigerating it and when you pull it out again to use or feed, give it another couple of hours on the counter first to “poof”.
I’ve not tried to
freeze or dry my starter in order to take a break for vacation or other
reasons, but I’ve heard it’s possible to do that and “wake it up” when you need
it again.
Get your starter started and in a week or so, we’ll make bread!
If you’d like to be ready for this yummy gluten-free bread, here’s your shopping list: Brown rice flour, tapioca flour and arrowroot powder (you’ll need at least a cup of each), cream of tartar, a small amount of honey, kosher salt, yeast, refined coconut oil, milk or milk substitute.
And don’t forget the butter!
Please feel free
to ask any questions in the comments during your process and I’ll try my best
to answer. I know I had lots of them
when I started!
Share this post with your friends who’ve been frustrated with bread making or who are searching for gluten-free, dairy free or just plain healthier food options.
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