Low-Sugar Oatmeal Cookies w/Gluten-Free Version

When I make anything that traditionally calls for sugar in a recipe, I always reduce the sugar by more than half, if not cut it out all together. This recipe has less than a quarter of the typical amount called for. What enables me to do this and have it still have it taste great? Stevia. Stevia by Sweet Leaf is a natural sweetener. Not all stevia brands are pure stevia. I do not use any kind of artificial sweeteners. If you do, I suggest you google "the dangers of artificial sweeteners". I know many people don't like stevia but I believe it's just because they don't know how to use it properly.

Stevia plays off natural sugars or any added sugar in a recipe and will intensify it. It also becomes sweeter when it has completely cooled. It is possible too, to use only stevia and get a good end product that is completely sugar-free. This however is for people who have already adjusted their taste buds to eating less sugar. Don't go from eating sugar laden foods to absolutely no sugar and expect to not notice a difference. Part of the reason is the yeast living in your gut craving the sugar actually affect your taste buds and make you crave the sugar. I know this is true because when I had to go completely sugar-free and grain-free, with not even any fruit, due to food allergies, I could smell sugar in a banana my husband peeled in another room! My allergies were caused by a systematic fungal infection and the yeast in my body was starving from lack of sugar and foods that contained or converted to sugar. As a result, I had an incredible heightened sense of smell when it came to sugar. To learn more about the fungus link to a host of health problems people have, visit http://www.knowthecause.com/

So anyhow, I do eat some sugar now but everything in moderation. In this recipe I have converted it so that it will work for both those who use regular flour and those who want to do a gluten-free version using GF oatmeal of course. The pictured cookies are of the gluten-free version and were excellent! Great taste and texture. As with any gluten-free food they do tend to be a bit drier the next day but reheating will soften them up nicely. These are good enough that even those who don't eat gluten-free would enjoy them. If you are not certain about using that little sugar, trust me and don't use more than half a cup at the most. Then when you find they are plenty sweet, because of the stevia, then reduce it more next time. Using stevia in your recipes can help you to cut the sugar in your diet in half, if you make everything yourself.

1 1/2 cups flour (GF version: 1 2/3 cup GF flour)
1 tsp  baking soda (GF version: use 1 1/2 tsp GF baking powder)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup butter + 1 Tbsp, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp stevia extract powder (this kind)
1/4 tsp stevia extract liquid (this kind)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs (GF version: 4 eggs)
3 cups old fashioned oatmeal, quick will work (GF version: use GF oatmeal)

Add ins: 1 cup of raisins, or 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips, and or 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt baking soda (baking powder for GF version), and cinnamon. Set aside.

Place the butter, sugar, stevia powder and stevia liquid, and vanilla in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy. It is important that you use an electric mixer. It will not come out as nice if you do it by hand. It really does change how the cookie turns out.

Next, beat in the eggs one at a time until creamy.

Beat in, a little at a time, the flour mixture. Mix in the oats and raisins or chips by hand.

Using a small cookie scoop, drop dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet or one lined with parchment paper. Flatten slightly and bake for 8-10 minutes until light golden brown. The GF version bake 8-9 minutes and they will not turn golden brown. See GF notes below. When done, allow to cool on the sheet for a minute or two before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container. These can be frozen well.

Gluten Free Notes: If doing the GF version, be careful not to over cook. This is a mistake many people make with GF baking and it will cause baked goods to be drier and more likely to be crumbly. Also allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 3-4 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Makes about 32 cookies

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Moist Gluten Free Yellow Cake

I recently made this cake for my sister's birthday. Neither of us have been eating gluten or sugary foods. I wanted to make her something special to celebrate her birthday so I came up with this and some cream puffs. I will post the recipe for those soon. You can use regular sugar and increase the amount used but this was more than sweet enough with the frosting on it. If I were to make it again I would use powdered birch xylitol and make my own powdered sugar with it to make my frosting. Either that or do a blend of my own powdered xylitol sugar and the corn-free powdered sugar to help reduce the actual sugar in the frosting. It was DELICIOUS don't get me wrong, it was just more sugar than we want to have or are used to. The texture of the cake was great. Our husbands loved it and were surprised it was gluten free. This is definitely what I will be using for our cakes unless I make a sourdough cake using fermented spelt. Not everyone can do sourdough so this is a great option for those who can not tolerate any gluten whatsoever. It is very moist. You'll love it.

1 3/4 cup GF Pantry All Purpose Flour

1/4 cup arrowroot flour

1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
3 packets Wholesome Organic Stevia
2/3 cup birch xylitol or sugar of choice
1/3 cup coconut sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup vanilla hemp milk or milk of choice
2 egg whites, beaten until stiff peaks form
3 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease and flour three 8.5 x 4.5 loaf pans (one 9x 13 cake pan can be used). Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the flours, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, stevia, xlyitol, and coconut sugar. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix the melted butter, vanilla, milk, and 3 eggs. Add mixture to the flour mixture and beat on medium high with electric mixer for 2 minutes. Now fold in the egg whites. Divide the batter evenly between the three loaf pans. Bake for 23 to 28 minutes until done. Cakes should be golden and edges should pull away slightly from the sides of the pan. If using a 9x13 pan baking time will need to be adjusted some.

Butter Cream Frosting

2 sticks salted butter softened
3 3/4 cup or 1 pkg of Wholesome Organic Powdered Sugar (it's corn-free)
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 to 2 Tbsp vanilla hemp milk

The natural sugar has some clumping and you may want to sift it if you are fussy about texture. I didn't bother but it's up to you. In a medium to large bowl, combine the butter and the sugar and blend on low speed until combined. Then add the vanilla and the hemp milk and blend on medium speed until smooth. Store unused frosting in the refrigerator. Refrigerated frosting will become very stiff. Simply allow to come to room temperature before using. Add a little hemp milk if it needs to be thinned.

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Stefanie's Moist Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have been experimenting with coconut flour lately. I like the idea of being able to make gluten-free, grain-free and nut-free goods. Many recipes that are grain-free happen to be made with almonds which can be an issue for many people. Anyhow I've had some bummer recipes made with coconut flour. Too dry. Coconut flour really absorbs the liquid and many recipes out there are very eggy. Yuck! So anyhow I have made some pretty good snickerdoodles but they were more of a biscuit/shortbread kind of cookie. I wanted soft, melt in your mouth chocolate chip cookies. So, I experimented and came up with an amazingly moist, soft, oh so good chocolate chip cookie made with only coconut flour. My sister came to me after I had made these and said, "Those cookies are horrible." I asked why and she said, "Because I want to eat them all!" LOL they really were that good. I laughed and told her it was ok because they were really diet cookies... due to all the fiber in them they're sure to help you go and won't stick with you. ha! ha! I hope you will give them a try and find you like them just as much. Enjoy!

1 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup coconut sugar or birch xylitol for sugar-free
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
1/2 cup hemp milk or milk of choice
5 oz (half a 10 oz bag) Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Soften butter and coconut oil. Cream together butter, coconut oil, and sugar. Add the vanilla and eggs one at a time until mixed well. Combine the flour and baking soda in another bowl and mix well. Add the wet to the dry and mix well. Add the milk and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips. Use a cookie scoop or a tablespoon to make balls of dough and flatten on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 375 for 14 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool on cookie sheet for 1 to 2 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

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Homemade Yogurt

Making homemade yogurt isn't as involved or as hard as you would think. It's also a good way to save money. I found that for the cost of one 32 oz. container of organic yogurt, I can make two. That is a big savings. Also I know exactly what is going into my yogurt. Yogurt is a great source of probiotics which are important for overall health. Probiotics are especially important to load up on when taking anti-biotics and other medications that destroy healthy natural flora in the gut.

There are a couple of ways you can make your homemade yogurt. Buy a container of plain yogurt, no thickeners or additives, just yogurt and cultures. If it has any additional ingredients, it will not thicken as well. I found that out the hard way. The second way is to buy a ready made yogurt culture. At Cultures for Health, you can choose from 9 varieties of yogurt starter, including heirloom varieties. They even have a dairy-free yogurt culture. I haven't tried making dairy-free but it might be worth looking into if you have dairy allergies and want to save some money making your own dairy-free yogurt. I have heard it doesn't seem to thicken like other yogurts. Perhaps adding some arrowroot powder to the milk when it is still warm, but not at the highest heat. Then it should give it a pudding like texture. I'll have to experiment with that and get back to you.

You can choose to make the yogurt in a double boiler, which requires very little stirring, or you can make it in a heavy bottom pot, which requires constant stirring. You will also need good digital thermometer. For the fermentation process, you will need a heating pad or a cooler with a tight fitting lid. You will also need 3 wide mouth, 1 quart canning jars with their lids. So, here's how I do it using plain store bought yogurt. Note: Once you have made your first batch, you will not need to buy store bought yogurt again. Just simply save some of the batch of yogurt and add it to the next for your yogurt culture. Also, you can freeze yogurt culture for at least a couple months to keep it for making future batches.

Homemade Yogurt

1/2 Gallon of Organic Milk
3/4 cup plain yogurt brought to room temperature

Start by sterilizing all your equipment. I simply add all my lids with their rings, a whisk, and a ladle in a large bowl and cover it with boiling water. I then cover the bowl and allow it to set for ten minutes or more. I also fill the glass canning jars with boiling water, cover the tops with foil, and allow to set for ten minutes or more. I once put my lids on the jar to stand for ten minutes and they sealed. I couldn't get the lid off until the jar cooled. Once they have set for a bit just dump the water. You don't want your equipment to be too hot when you add the yogurt later.

Once you have everything sterilizing, fill your sink about a third of the way with cold water and maybe even add some ice. You will need this to cool down the milk to 110 F after you have heated it. This is so you can add the culture without killing it. This is also the temperature the cultures reproduce at. You don't have to do this step but it will save time in waiting for the milk to cool.

Next, add the milk to a clean, large, thick bottomed pot. Place on the stove top over medium to medium high heat. You need to be sure you stir it constantly, do NOT walk away, or the milk will burn and the yogurt will be ruined. If you are using a double boiler you will not have to worry about stirring constantly because of the water jacket, though you should still stir it. The water should come half way up the side. If you have too little water you will not heat the milk properly. However, if you have too much water, the pot will want to float. Once the temperature gets hotter you will want to begin to stir it more frequently, even with the double boiler.

Bring the temperature of the milk up to 185 F. Using a digital thermometer, check the temperature ever couple minutes. Once it has almost reached 185 F, you need to monitor it closely. They say if you can hold the temperature at 180 - 185 for twenty to thirty minutes it will make a really thick yogurt. I haven't held it any longer than ten minutes and was fine with the out come.

Once your milk has been thoroughly heated, transfer the pot to the sink of cold water. The water should come about half way up the side. If there is too much water the pot will float. If that happens, just let a little water out of the sink. Monitor the temperature of the milk as it cools. It will not take long for it to drop to 110F. Once the temperature has dropped to about 112 F, I ladle a little of the warm milk into a bowl with the 3/4 cup of yogurt. I whisk it well to blend and add more milk to make it runny. This will help it mix in better to the batch of milk and distribute evenly. By now, the milk should have reached the 110 F. Once it reaches 110 F, remove it from the ice water onto a clean towel and dry the sides. You don't water from the sink dripping into your yogurt when you pour it from the pot.

Now, add the yogurt/milk mixture to the pot of milk and whisk well to blend thoroughly.

Cooler Method:
Next, pour the yogurt into the sterilized canning jars and tighten the lids good and tight. Place in a cooler that has been filled half way with hot water. The water should be from 120 F to 130 F. Place the jars in the cooler and close the lid tightly. Allow to set up for 7 hours or more. The longer you leave the yogurt the thicker it gets and the more tart it gets. Note that it will thicken more once it has cooled overnight in the fridge. So, don't be discouraged if it doesn't look supper thick at first. Note: You may need to add some more hot water to the cooler half way through to keep it warm enough. Try to do this as gently and quickly as possible. If you have too much water in the cooler scoop some out with a small pot or large cup, until there is room to add fresh hot water.

Heating Pad Method: (I think this yields better results)
Next, cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and place a towel over the top. Then place on a heating pad, set to medium heat, for 7 hours or more. The longer you leave the yogurt the thicker it gets and the more tart it gets. Note that it will thicken more once it has cooled overnight in the fridge. So, don't be discouraged if it doesn't look supper thick at first. Important: Make sure you have your heating pad on a heat stable surface. A marble counter top or a cutting board is a good choice.

Important for any method of making yogurt: Do NOT disturb while it is setting up or this will effect how it comes out. It needs to be left alone so the cultures can reproduce properly.

After 7 hours you should now have some yummy, homemade yogurt. Just put it in the fridge to cool over night. The yogurt should keep in the fridge for a couple weeks.

If you used the heating pad method. You will need to mix up the mixture, liquid on top is fine, that is the liquid whey. Great for using in fermenting veggies. Fill your canning jars with the thickened yogurt and place in the fridge overnight.

Once your yogurt has cooled you can now use it anyway you like. You can add sweeteners and fruit. Turn it into frozen yogurt, cream cheese, or a sour cream. I will post the recipes for those soon. If you feel your yogurt is not thick enough, just place it in a strainer that is lined with a tea towel, set over a bowl to catch the liquid, cover and place in the fridge for two to three hours. Save the liquid that you strain. That is good liquid whey you can use for other recipes.

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Gluten-Free Whole Grain Pancakes

Here is a pancake recipe I made up with a blend of Brown Rice flour and Oatmeal Flour. We have limited income and I have to make things as cheaply as possible. Most of the recipes out there tend to have you cooking with many different flours in one recipe and other added ingredients that just aren't really necessary.

My husband and I both like these much better than the ones I have tried in the past, that frankly, were a pretty yucky. These taste pretty close to wheat flour pancakes but without the heavy feeling after. I also make mine thinner so that they aren't the thick stick to your ribs kind...though you could make them thicker if you wanted.

It's a good way to get a whole grain pancake without wheat. Very very easy. I use both brown rice flour and oatmeal flour to make cookies, cakes, breads etc. It works great. I am going to work on getting more of those together with exact measurements. Eating gluten-free and healthier can be budget friendly. Some people are concerned about small amounts of gluten in oatmeal, you can get ones certified to be gluten free or just substitute buckwheat for the oatmeal. It might need a little tweaking with the amount of buckwheat used but it would work.

Gluten-Free Whole Grain Pancakes

1 1/4 C Whole Grain Brown Rice Flour

3/4 C Gluten-free Oatmeal Flour (could use buckwheat for those concerned about trace amounts of gluten)

3 tsp Baking Powder (gluten free)

1/8 tsp sea salt

4 Eggs beaten

2 Tbsp Sunflower Oil (if using melted coconut oil, mix in last and quickly or the cold milk and eggs will cause it to harden and you will have hard clumps of oil)

1 1/2 C Milk or Substitute (Goat, Almond, Rice...Water can be used but will not be as tasty)
*note reduce milk by 1/4 cup for thicker pancakes

Instructions:

Mix dry ingredients. Add eggs, oil and milk; adding milk a little at a time mixing until well blended. Batter should be fairly smooth and runny.

Pour desired amount onto hot cast iron griddle and cook until golden on each side. Beat batter a little before pouring each new pancake. If batter should thicken, add a small amount of water or milk to thin.

These can be cooked in several batches and frozen for later use. Freeze in freezer bags and label. Label a sticker and not the bag itself or the marker can leach chemicals into the bag and into your food. I would probably use within 3 months of freezing for best quality.

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Homemade Granola

My husband and I both liked this. It's something different for breakfast and it's cheaper and healthier than what's in the stores. It's good with a little milk. We used organic dry milk and it was good. I prefer to use dry milk so that we don't waste milk since organic milk tends to be expensive. I like being able to just mix up whatever I need at the time. If you don't want to use cow's milk you can always do goat milk (takes time to acquire a taste for it) or sub with almond, rice, or coconut milk. This can be made gluten-free by simply buying certified GF Oatmeal. Note: You can add other seeds if you would like. For example, sunflower or pumpkin would be good. For even more additional protein, you can add a tablespoon of rice protein powder, which I have done and we liked it a lot. Granola can be pretty much whatever you want. These ingredients were what I wanted in mine. We are trying to cut out sugar or just use simple ones like I have in this recipe. If you don't really care to have sweetened granola or you want a sugar-free version, then just a little stevia would be fine. However, if you can have a little sugar, a little honey or syrup will give it a nice flavor.  


Homemade Granola

6 cups uncooked oatmeal (I used old fashion)
1 cup chopped walnuts or nut of your choice
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup to 1 cup ground chia seeds
2/3 cup melted coconut oil + 3 Tbsp
3 to 4 Tbsp honey (can use rice syrup or maple)
2 Tbsp coconut sugar (or maple or brown...your choice)
1/2 to 1 tsp liquid stevia extract
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 to 4 tsp cinnamon (we like a lot)
1 Tbsp rice protein powder, optional

Preheat oven to 275. In a large bowl mix the oats, nuts, chia, and coconut and protein powder. Set aside. In a small pot melt the coconut oil, honey, sugar and bring to a boil. **Note that if you use coconut sugar, it will not become liquid. It will be a very thick syrup like texture just sitting in the oil. Once it has melted the sugar and honey, remove from the heat and add the vanilla and the stevia. Pour the hot mixture over the dry and mix until well coated. Spread onto two parchment lined cookie sheets or two large greased casserole type dishes. I prefer to use casserole dishes since I can easily stir the mixture without losing any of it or making a mess.

Bake for 60 minutes or until brown and pretty well dried out. Every 15 minutes remove from the oven and stir. When you place the casserole dishes back in the oven it is good to switch the side they were on and turn them. When the granola is done, and cooled some, add the raisins if using them. Once completely cooled store in an airtight container. If there is more than you will use you can freeze the extras. I usually cook up two batches and freeze the extra for later.

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