Spoonful of Sugar Free

Registered Dietitian

Health

#11 Friends By Recipes: Kiki’s Toasted Coconut Crust

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I don’t have an excuse this time for not posting. I didn’t have coconut? I didn’t have cashews? Well, those are true, but I just didn’t feel like posting 🙂 I had a vacation 🙂

Well, this is my last day for my Friends by Recipes Challenge. This post features an idea from a frequent reader, Kiki:

“Hi Alex! I really love the new ideas I learn about on your blog site! I especially love coconut. Could you try to make a coconut crust for your “cheescake”? I think that would be really tasty!”

I have a confession. This commenter is my mom! She has been begging me to do a coconut-crusted cheesecake, so she took her opportunity in the Friends by Recipes Challenge.

First, I mixed 1 egg white with 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut shavings. Then, I pressed the mix into a muffin pan. Finally, I baked it in the oven at 350* for 5 minutes. Then broil until golden. After this, I used THIS RECIPE

The crust after being toasted.

Voila!

If you want a completely raw cheesecake try mixing coconut shavings and coconut oil together, and then freezing it. It should solidify nicely in less than five minutes!

Thanks for the great idea, mom! I love you 3>

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

What are you doing for Thanksgiving? I will be playing in a tennis tournament out of state…Too bad because my favorite holiday is Thanksgiving! You all know how I love to cook! What is your favorite holiday?

Also, I may not be by my computer a lot this week, so I probably won’t be posting for a while again 🙁 Unless someone would like to do a guest post?? Anybody? If you do, email me at spoonfulofsugarfree@gmail.com. Thanks! Have a Happy Turkey Day!

#10 Friends by Recipes: Adobo-Rubbed Pork

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Welcome to day 10 of my Friends by Recipes Challenge! Debpieper sent me this wonderful recipe for Adobo-Rubbed Pork from Clean Eating Mag.

 


This was extremely easy to make, and I love the addition of the black bean pico de gallo. I am so sorry, but I did not get a picture of mine this time! Thursdays are my busy days, and I made everything in the morning so that it would be ready for me to throw in the oven when I got home.

Little did I know that I would be having a 5 hour tennis camp workout with a 15 minute break thrown in instead of 2 hours, 1 hour break, and another 2 hours of tennis. You could say that I was hungry and exhausted.

As soon as I got home, I threw the pork in the oven, took a shower, put some pj’s on, and devoured the meal without taking pictures! Oh well, you can see what I ate on these pictures provided by Clean Eating Mag:

 

Thanks, Deb, for giving me this nourishing, tasty meal when I needed it!

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

What is the most tiring workout you’ve ever done? One that you just felt so tired from that you just wanted to crash? I always think that sledding is so exhausting. It takes 5 minutes to clamber up a snow-filled, steep hill, and then only 15 seconds to sled down it! What would snowy, bitterly-cold winters be like without sledding, though?

 

#9 Friends by Recipes: Whole Wheat or Bust!

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Day 9 of my Friends by Recipes Challenge, I give you one of Lauren‘s delightful recipes! Lauren‘s blog, Whole Wheat or Bust, is one that I visit very frequently. She is such a great gal, and her plethora of delicious recipes are so creative and innovative! She also recently went to Tibet, so it was fun to learn about what she learned in that country.

So anyway, she told me to look through her recipe page, and choose a recipe that was one of her “fave’s.” Soooo….I chose one that went she made recently. It goes with the season, and it is one she suggested for me (since she made it sugar-free!)

Spicy Sweet Potato Apple Bread

Lauren's Bread

So pefect for fall.

Recipe: Makes 1 loave

Dry ingredients –

1.5 cups whole wheat flour (Lauren, I substituted Brown Rice Flour to make it gluten free, and it turned out fabulously!)

2 tbsp dried sour cherries (optional, but awesome)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2-1 tbsp fresh grated ginger

Wet ingredients –

1 egg

1 cup 1% milk

50 drops liquid stevia

1 cup baked sweet potato, mashed

1/3 of a large, sweet apple, chopped into little pieces

1 tbsp real butter

Directions –

Place the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another. Mix each separately. Pour the dry over the wet and stir with as few swoops as possible. Pour into a greased 9×5 inch pan.

I had a really hard time with the baking times. I baked it for 80 minutes at 325 and it was still not quite done yet, so I turned it up to 350 and baked it for another 15. You could either do that or possibly just bake it at 350 for an hour or so. Follow your heart?

My Bread...I threw some pumpkin seeds on top for some decoration. Why not?

The insides…oooo…Yes, I used raisins, and not dried cherries. Don’t scorn me! That’s all I had!

Bravo, Lauren! Bravo! This was amazingly delicious, and it was a perfect breakfast for the next morning.

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

If you live in the North, have you seen snow yet? Down here in Florida,  snow is definitely not on the ground, but the mornings and evenings are quite chilly! It is a brisk 50*, and there is a slight wind chill. I’m bundled up in sweats and am drinking some hot tea while I write this post!

 

 

#8 Friends by Recipes: Chocolate Covered Katie

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Welcome to day 8 of my Friends by Recipes Challenge!

Today, I am going to be featuring someone who inspired me to start this blog in the first place, Chocolate Covered Katie!

Katie is such a great girl, and she has the most amazing recipes. All of her recipes are so easy, that I decided to make a few of them. (Just one recipe wouldn’t do her justice!)

First, I tried a recent recipe of hers:

“One lil Pumpkin” Muffin

(covered in chocolate)

  • 1 T canned pumpkin
  • handful chocolate chips
  • pinch pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 3T flour
  • sweetener of choice
  • heaping 1/16th tsp salt
  • 1 1/2T water, nondairy milk, or oil (such as coconut), or a combination

Procedure: Follow the directions for a Single Lady Cupcake, subbing pumpkin for the applesauce and adding the chips and spice. Also, sub the oil for water or nondairy milk if desired.

The insides....mmmm....

I used cacao nibs for the chocolate chips (I still haven’t found those 100% dark chocolate chips yet, Katie! I’m going to have to look in another Whole Foods), and used 2 drops of stevia to sweeten. I then topped it with another dollop of pumpkin and some cacao nibs.

Yum! Yum! I think these would be great to prepare while making dinner, and just pop them in the oven before you eat dinner. Then, the cupcake will be done by the time you are done eating.

Then I made some Better-n-Rice Pudding

So comforting on a cold morning...

2 cups non-dairy milk
2 servings cooked oatmeal (i.e. start with 80 grams uncooked)
2 tsps cinnamon
2 Tbs vanilla extract
up to 1 cup raisins

Combine all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Then turn down to low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pudding is the desired consistency.  Cooking the oats twice makes them even fluffier and gives the recipe a real pudding-like taste.

The recipe makes 2-4 servings, depending on how big the eater’s appetite is and whether the pudding is being consumed as a meal or a snack.

And finally, her famous Fudge Babies!

Rolled in Cocoa powder and coconut shavings!

Fudge Babies

Ingredients:

  • 1 c walnuts (120 grams)
  • 1 and 1/3 cups pitted dates (230 grams) (If you want a sweeter result, up the proportion of dates.) (If you’re unsure as to what dates to use, or you want measurements in cups, not grams, see fudge baby FAQ post)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3-4 tablespoons cocoa powder, depending on how chocolatey you want the balls to be (I used 4T extra dark)

Directions:

1. Chop/blend all the ingredients, using a food processor, Magic Bullet, etc.  (No need to blend the dates first; I just blend everything all at once.)

2. Roll into cutey-pie little balls.  (Use plastic wrap if you need to.)

 

Thanks for all of this recipe-making fun, Katie!!

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

Have you gone over to this Chocolate-Covered Vegan‘s blog yet? If not, go now!

 

 

 

Another Excuse!

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This is kind of a repeat of my Hallow-Excuses Post…But I have yet another excuse for not making more of your wonderful recipes!

Excuse: I’m out of Town!

No, my little hotel room does not have a kitchen. Just a mini-fridge! Sometimes it is nice to not have to cook your own meals…but I prefer making my own food because I then know exactly what is going in it!

But, I’ll take it as it comes and eat some hotel food once in a while 🙂

Hard Boiled Eggs...
Tomato Juice...
and a banana from those 'great', free, hotel, continental breakfasts!

I was also extremely lucky to have a Whole Foods nearby to stop for a quick lunch or dinner. I love their hot and cold bars, and their warm soups do wonders on a chilly day (like today!). I just tried their Pumpkin soup, and I highly recommend it! It was a creamy, non-dairy soup that warmed my toes 🙂

On another note, Spoonful of Sugar Free now has a Facebook fan page! All of my posts will be linked to the fan page, so you won’t have an excuse to miss any of my posts 😉 I’m not being pushy or anything….

Look on the right to see the Facebook button. Please click on it to access the fan page. Or CLICK HERE.

Another page I’d  like to bring you to is Udi’s Gluten Free Bread. They are giving away a year’s worth of free bread! Check out my entry, and sign up yourself HERE. I hope you like my “Bruschetta Burger Bagel” or “BBB.”

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

What do you usually eat on the road? I usually try bringing snacks, and sticking to proteins and fruits and veggies. I have an upcoming post planned to address this topic of eating on the road, so stay tuned!

Also, are you plugged into Facebook? Honestly, I rarely update my status, and almost never log onto it. I will start logging on more now because of the new fan page!

 

#7 Friends by Recipes: True Porridge

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Hello, and welcome to day seven of my Friends by Recipes Challenge!

Today I am sharing a recipe from a new friend of mine. April owns a blog called the Stratheden Farm. She lived in Scotland for a while and learned exactly how to make the perfect hot porridge that keeps the whole body warm in the morning! April suggests:

“When buying oats for porridge, buy the brand that most looks like a ‘meal.’ It should look like coarsely ground grain, not flakes or hard little chunklets. (Those have other uses.) Our favorite variety is Bob’s Red Mill Scottish Oatmeal which is the real deal; stone ground in a real water mill.”

I used Oat Bran to make this. Is that okay, April? They seemed like the texture you described, and the oatmeal came oat tasting scrumptious with it!

April's Oats

 

Ingredients
1 cup oatmeal
3 cups water
pinch salt
walnuts
rasins
flax seeds
dried cherries
milk

Into a 1 1/2 quart sized pot, place your carefully measured oats and a three-fingered pinch of salt. Now take a big handful of walnuts and break them up a bit. Toss into the pot. Throw in the same volume of raisins but be sure they aren’t just a big lump. Measure your flax by thinly covering the surface of the oats. Finally, add cold water. Turn the heat on under your ugly gruel. Medium-low is best. Never stop stirring… slowly… until your oatmeal is thickened. Oats are done when the bubbles are thick and leave a hole when they pop.

Do not believe the package when it says to add oats to boiling water. You will spend all your time breaking up lumps and think making good porridge is difficult. Good porridge is brain-dead work.

My Porridge!
This was delicious, April! The raisins were nice and plump while the oats were extremely creamy. Nothing like a nighttime bowl of hot oatmeal to put you to sleep 🙂

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

Do you eat a bedtime snack?

I only do if I am hungry. I cannot go to bed on an empty stomach! But it also isn’t good to go to bed extremely full. There has to be a happy-medium.

If you do eat a bedtime snack, what do you eat to help you fall asleep?

I used to eat peanut butter toast. The whole wheat bread was nice and crunchy while the peanut butter melted as soon as it touched the bread’s surface!