Chocolate Nirvana! -- Gluten free, sugar free, brownies!

Sometimes, you just gotta have chocolate! (Men, you may need to avert your eyes for a few moments) Seriously, when my "monthly gift" comes around, chocolate becomes as important as breathing! Ladies, you know what I am talking about! (unless of course you don't like chocolate, but then you will have some other treat that you absolutely MUST have at "certain times")...Ok Men, you can start reading again, just thought I would try to spare you some of the estrogen-laced commentary =)

That being said, it has been very difficult to find a recipe for brownies that is gluten free AND sugar free AND actually tastes like the chocolate heaven I need! But today, my fellow cocoa cravers, our prayers have been answered!

The Whole Pan of GF and SF Brownies I made today

Gluten Free, Sugar Free Brownies

Ingredients:

10 ounces Hershey's Sugar Free Chocolate Chips 

(or for added richness, substitute grated unsweetened 60% cacao chocolate bar)

1 cup olive oil

2 cups coconut sugar                                                

1 cup almond meal

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 organic free-range eggs, beaten

1 tablespoon bourbon vanilla*

Optional:

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, if desired

More chocolate chips for the top, if desired

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a 13x9-inch baking pan with parchment paper.

Melt the chocolate chips and oil in a saucepan over low heat, gently stirring. (Or melt in a microwave safe measuring cup and stir together to combine.) 

In a mixing bowl whisk together the sugar, almond meal, sorghum flour, fine sea salt and baking soda. Make a well in the center and add the beaten eggs, vanilla extract and melted dark chocolate mixture. Beat on low-medium for at least two minutes, until the batter begins to come together. At first it will seem thin, like cake batter, but keep beating until it thickens and becomes glossy. It's ok if the batter seems grainy.

If you are adding nuts, stir in the nuts by hand and spread the batter into the prepared baking pan. Even out the batter with a silicone spatula.

For added yum, stud the top with some more chocolate chips and press in slightly.

Bake in the center of a preheated 350ºF oven for 45 to 47 minutes, or until the brownies are set. The top will crack, like a flourless chocolate cake.

Cool on a wire rack; and remove the cooled brownies from the pan by gripping the parchment edges and lifting the brownies out as a whole.

Chill for an hour before cutting. (Though warm and gooey is really divine, if you don't mind them falling apart.)

*For chocolate-mint brownies use 1 teaspoon peppermint extract and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Read more: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2006/01/dark-chocolate-brownies.html#ixzz2MnuKtaT0

This recipe was modified from www.glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com
(seriously, that girl is AMAZING! So grateful that she shares her wisdom with us newbies!) I tweaked it slightly to make it refined sugar free and doubled the recipe in order to make the familiar 13x9-inch size that you're used to from boxed mixes.

They even "crackle" on top like regular brownies!

These are ABSOLUTE HEAVEN!!! They are fudgy and chewy, rather than cakey, and oh-so-wonderful! Enjoy, and as always, don't hesitate to post questions or comments!

Tacos Locos -- These are CRAZY good!

Before we went GF, one of our favorite dinners (and extremely easy, too) was meat burritos/soft tacos on flour tortillas. I was never a big fan of the ready made crispy taco shells from the grocery store. I though they tasted like cardboard even when I followed the directions for heating them and they usually had many more ingredients than just corn and salt. And of course there were no guarantees that the corn used was non-GMO but that is for another blog post =)

When I first began this journey, it was laughable how naive (and uninformed) I truly was. Part of the problem was, of course, that my family did NOT have a diagnosed ALLERGY to gluten, but rather were asked to try removing it along with sugar for the sake of our adrenal glands. If our problem had been an allergy, I am sure I would have been given a much more comprehensive list of foods to avoid, but as it was, I had to figure things out, for the most part, on my own.

So when we first started this journey, I thought that flour tortillas had "less" flour in them and so therefore had "less" gluten...go ahead and laugh. I know. It seems so silly to me now, too. But at least now you all understand how truly I was walking blind at the beginning!

Long story short, I eventually discovered that my reasoning about tortillas was dead wrong and mourned what I thought was the loss of my all-time favorite, quick, last-minute meal. Then, through a sweet friend, we discovered the wonder of soft corn tortillas! The first time I had them, all I could say was, "Why have I never had these?" They were soooo good! And a quick perusal of the ingredients told me all I needed to know: corn, water, salt, lime. Wahoo!!!! Taco night was back and, in my opinion, better than ever!

On a side note, I am a huge advocate for non-gmo foods. It was a bit tougher to try and find corn tortillas made with non-gmo corn (85% of America's corn crop is now genetically modified in some form or another) but I am a determined woman, and after some digging, I found what I was looking for! =)

Here is a link to purchase my favorite brand if you can't find it in your local grocery store: www.amazon.com/La-Banderita-Yellow-Corn-Tortillas/dp/B00BCNPRTS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1362590945&sr=8-3&keywords=la+banderita+corn+tortillas

Note: They are in the process of getting certified as non-gmo/organic, which means it is not on their labels yet, but I have been assured by one of my other blogger friends who wrote an extensive letter to their company, that they responded back to her with an affirmative "yes we are exclusively non-gmo corn users"


Taco Night:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
12 to 16 soft corn tortillas (small taco size)

1 lb. ground meat of your choice (or vegetable protein for you vegetarians out there)
1 16oz. can/jar kidney beans, drained and rinsed
McCormick Taco Seasoning (my fave because it has no MSG)
4 to 6 Tbspns. fresh chopped cilantro (for small amounts to sprinkle on tacos)
1 12oz. can sliced black olives, drained (for small amounts to sprinkle on tacos)
1 to 2 cups shredded cheese of your choice (for small amounts to sprinkle on tacos)
Sour Cream (I like Daisy brand, it has 3 ingredients: milk, cream, and salt)

Optional:
Diced Tomatoes
Shredded Lettuce
Sliced avocado or guacamole
Green or red taco sauce

Heat olive oil in small skillet on medium high until it crackles when you drip a drop of water into it. Using tongs, slide a single tortilla into the hot oil and count to 2 seconds. Use the tongs to fold the tortilla in half while it is cooking in the hot oil. Count to 7 seconds. Use the tongs to turn the folded tortilla onto it's other side to ensure even cooking. Count to 5 seconds. Remove the tortilla from the hot oil, being sure to drain excess oil back into the skillet before placing on paper towels (or brown paper bag) to drain and cool. Repeat until you have cooked enough tortillas to serve your family. (12 to 16 will feed a family of 4 depending on how many teenagers there are, lol!)

Brown ground meat in large skillet until fully cooked. Drain fat and rinse. Add kidney beans to ground meat and stir until fully incorporated. Do not mash the beans. Leave them whole. Add taco seasoning and a small amount of water until you get your desired amount of flavor and moisture and mix thoroughly. Remove from heat. 

Build tacos using the cooked shells/meat and as much or as little of the remaining ingredients as you please! But, for an absolutely knock out taco, try at least one with a little bit of everything listed, even if you are leery of some of the ingredients. They truly are FABULOUS!

Note: this is just a stock photo of tacos made with the ingredients listed above. I will post an actual photo of one of my own tacos the next time I make them =)

Sugar-less Shopping

As you know, this blog was meant to help others who struggle with trying to eliminate BOTH gluten and refined sugar from their diets. So far, I have posted mostly about gluten-less options. But today, I would like to talk about NATURAL sweeteners.

Rather than go into the history of sugar or the molecular structure of various sweeteners, I would rather cut to the chase and talk about the glycemic index (the GI) and what to purchase at the grocery store. The following excerpt and table were taken from http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com

Foods ranked low on the GI scale release glucose slowly and steadily without a sudden spike of glucose in the blood.  A spike in glucose results in a large insulin release, which is more likely to store glucose as fat rather than use it as fuel. Plus a high release of insulin often results in a rapid drop in blood sugar, causing hunger. So you eat candy. Your blood sugar spikes. Insulin is released. Your blood sugar drops. You eat more candy. The sugar rollercoaster ride begins.

It is important to remember that the GI scale is simply a comparative scale; it compares one food’s blood glucose response to another. There are many other factors to consider when choosing your food. Start with the basic question. Is this food dense with nutrients?

Sugars & Substitutes with their Glycemic Index

Stevia	0	Though it is 200-300 times sweeter than table sugar, stevia is not a sugar. It is a plant extract. Opt for pure stevia instead of mixtures.
Xylitol	7	Xylitol is a natural sugar alcohol sweetener found in the fibers of fruits and vegetables
Agave Nectar	15-30	A sweet syrup made from the Blue Agave plant
Fructose	17	Though fructose has a low glycemic index rating, fructose consumption should be limited. Fructose is linked to heart disease as it raises triglycerides and cholesterol. It is devoid of nutrition.
Brown Rice Syrup	85	It is not recommended for diabetics, since its sweetness comes from maltose, which is known to cause spikes in blood sugar.
Raw Honey	30	With antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, enzymes, carbohydrates, and phytonutrients, raw, unprocessed honey is considered a superfood by many alternative health care practitioners and a remedy for many health ailments. Choose your honey wisely. There is nothing beneficial about processed honey.
Coconut Palm Sugar	35	Made from the sap of coconut palms. It’s often called “coconut nectar sugar” or “coconut sugar”.
Apple Juice	40	Fresh apple juice is good for you. Concentrated apple juice (sometimes used as a sweetener) is closer to refined sugar than fresh apple juice.
Barley Malt Syrup	42	Barley malt is made by soaking and sprouting barley to make malt, then combining it with more barley and cooking this mixture until the starch is converted to sugar. The mash is then strained and cooked down to syrup or dried into powder. This is NOT gluten free
Amasake	43	This is an ancient, oriental whole grain sweetener made from cultured brown rice. It has a thick, pudding-like consistency. It’s not easy to find in the U.S., but it is a great alternative to refined table sugar.
Sugar Cane Juice	43	Sugar cane juice has many nutrients and other beneficial properties and is said by some health practitioners to be almost as medicinal as raw honey.
Organic Sugar	47	Organic sugar comes from sugar cane grown without the use of chemicals or pesticides. It is usually darker than traditional white sugar because it contains some molasses. (It has not been processed to the degree white sugar is processed).
Maple Syrup	54	Maple syrup is made by boiling sap collected from natural growth maple trees during March & April.
Evaporated Cane Juice	55	Though better than turbinado, cane juice (unevaporated) is a better choice as a sweetener.
Black Strap Molasses	55	White refined table sugar is sugar cane with all the nutrition taken out. Black strap molasses is all of that nutrition that was taken away. A quality organic (must be organic!) molasses provides iron, calcium, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and zinc, and is alkalizing to the body.
Turbinado	65	Turbinado sugar is partially processed sugar, also called raw sugar.
Raw sugar	65	Raw sugar is not actually raw sugar. It is processed, though not as refined as common white table sugar.
Cola (and most other sodas)	70	Though cola has a lower GI ranking then some might expect, there are many other reasons to avoid cola, or any type of soda. There is nothing beneficial to the human body
Corn Syrup	75	Corn syrup has very little nutrition and should be avoided.
Refined, Pasteurized Honey	75	The nutrition is gone, and there is often high fructose corn syrup added to processed honey. Refined pasteurized honey is no better than white table sugar.
Refined Table Sugar (From Cane or Beets)	80	Conventionally grown, chemically processed, and stripped of all beneficial properties
High Fructose Corn Syrup	87	Many health advocates believe that high fructose corn syrup and refined sugar are the two biggest contributors to health ailments in our society. High fructose corn syrup is a combination of sucrose and fructose.
Glucose (AKA Dextrose)	100	White bread was the benchmark, but for consistency glucose now holds the rating at 100.
Maltodextrin	150	Foods that have maltodextrin often say “Low Sugar” or “Complex Carbohydrate”, but this sweetener should be avoided!

Please note that the glycemic index numbers here are estimates. There are many variables that help determine how quickly a sugar is absorbed. These numbers represant an average of many different respected studies. In addition, it is very important to note that the glycemic index does not define what is a healthy sugar and what is an unhealthy sugar. There are many other variables.

We have been using stevia and 100% maple syrup as our go-to sweeteners for quite some time. But within the last few months I have discovered that our local warehouse-type grocery store (the one I have mentioned in past posts that has a very large health-food section) carries organic coconut sugar in their bulk section. This has been quite a boon for me, as it is in granular form, making it easier to make gluten free cookies, cakes, and baked goods which require creaming a granular sweetener with butter. It can also be used to make sweetened whipped cream (raw, of course!) and frostings!

It is much lower on the glycemic index than maple syrup yet does not have the bitter aftertaste of stevia that my hubby hates so much! Is it expensive? No more so than the liters of organic maple syrup I have been buying at Costco.

For those of you who do not have a local source for coconut sugar here are some links where it can be purchased in bulk: http://www.znaturalfoods.com/Coconut-Palm-Sugar-Organic

http://www.wildernessfamilynaturals.com/category/natural-sweeteners-coconut-sugar.php

For Oregon and Washington state residents: http://www.azurestandard.com/shop/product/14046/  you can purchase 6 lbs. for $23.35 (it comes in 6 one pound packages)

That being said, you should use the GI to decide for yourself what sweeteners will be best for your family. There are several resources available for 100% maple syrup and I will post those if anyone is interested. Check back with my blog often as I will be posting many more GF and SF recipes and will be posting the different ways to use alternative sweeteners and how they interact when used for baking, etc. In the meantime, here's to having MORE!