Tools for an optimised life

Having the right tools makes everything a little easier, right? Same goes for being on a grainfree journey. My journey is not just about being grain free, it is about making the best choices for what I expose myself to - these are the choices that will not create dis-ease and of course that means, it's about more than food choices. 

Here are some of my favourite tools that I use daily in my optimised (not just grainfree) life.

First up, something I tend to use or not use depending on my mood or the recipe requirements: a set of stainless steel measuring cups and spoons. 

Sometimes I like to wing it and just use any old spoon to put stuff together, but when I find myself needing to be precise, these are my go-to tools. Remember plastic is not just bad for the environment because we cannot seem to get rid of the waste, it is actually bad for your health. I try my best to separate my food ingredients from plastic, although unfortunately some of it still comes in plastic packaging. But I keep hoping.

Anyhow, on to the next item. I found this to be especially useful for grain free recipes that tend to need smoothing to create a perfect final finish after baking. It's a silicone spatula with a bamboo handle. These particular ones come with Lifetime limited warranty from Amazon.

The impact of using a spatula is that you save time vs trying to do it with anything else (literally) and you get a beautiful smooth surface for your baked item that makes it very picture-worthy but also a lot more enticing to look at and to want to eat. If you are afraid you do not have enough to share, better hide that thing!

Next up are the baking sheets that really help grainfree recipes to be more successful in terms of texture, baking success and their overall look. 

I use the smaller of these particular trays for this cinnamon cake recipe (grain free of course) and they turn out so amazing, people sometimes forget the cake has no wheat flour in it.

The final item for food is related to the baking trays - they go together because I want my trays to remain shiny and spotless and I want my food baked in them to stay intact instead of fall apart - thus - parchment paper is very very important!

I even use it on my silicone muffin trays - because sometimes things stick in the silicone (or maybe I am always in a hurry to taste!) and I can't rave enough. Don't ask me to choose between the rolls or the sheets - because I will take it anyway I can get it...there are upsides to both.

Something I plan to acquire as a means to weigh food when checking for my carb limits: a mini digital scale.

That's it for the food related items ...for now!

Check out these other, safe for life, items that I now use regularly as part of my optimised life.

These toothbrushes are all about being kind to the earth. Using plastic especially plastic that you have to discard every three months (that's what the recommend, right?) is just not a sustainable way to be and certainly is not an act of kindness for the earth so when I found these brushes, I immediately adopted them. If all toothbrushes came with a kindness rating, then people would see for themselves on the label, what their impact is but of course no one will willingly put a bad rating on their product. Just keep in mind, if it's made with plastic that is not labeled in a way that indicates any level of awareness or action towards sustainability, then you should keep looking. There may not be sustainable or kindness-minded alternatives for every product you use, but at least there are toothbrushes. So go get yourself some of these toothbrushes so you can be kind to the earth.

Another be kind to the earth product: Detergent

 

This detergent is not only earth friendly because it comes with ZERO plastic, it is kind to your body - approved for sensitive skin. Can you ask for more?! I luv it because it's mild enough to not cause my clothing to reek of artificial scent after washing yet my clothes have a gentle clean scent. I must say if you're used to a lot of sudsing and mounds of foam during your wash, you will be disappointed, but this clearly works well enough without being damaging to the environment and that is good enough for me.

If you are a paper towel user, consider a shift to reusable cloth ones and be kind to the environment. I have bought the ones below and they are pretty great. Not sure if they are still available, unfortunately.

I have not ordered any other kinds yet, so I am unable to recommend until I do because I see so many that have negative reviews for no absorbency or for leaving lint everywhere.

 
If you wish to see more of these recommendations, please comment below to share your thoughts.

NSNGHealthy grainfree veggie casserole

This is not a vegetarian meal, it contains eggs. It is however one of the easiest baked meals I have ever made. Read on for the recipe and my additional comments are below.

Ingredients and Instructions

2 packed cups of veggie fibre (the stuff that is left over when you use an old juicer to juice carrots etc)
1/4 cup of walnut milk (substitute any nutmilk if you like)
6 eggs
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 to 1 cup coconut flour
6 eggs
3 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)
lemon zest
salt to taste

Mix veggie fibre with coconut flour and other dry ingredients except zest. Mix eggs with lemon zest, then add coconut oil, nut milk, ACV and mix well. Line a baking dish with parchment. For the next step, there are two options.

Option 1: Place the dry ingredient mix into the baking dish then pour the egg mix over the top ensuring it soaks through.

Option 2: Add half of the egg mix to the dry ingredient mix before placing into the baking dish. Pour the rest of the egg mix ensuring the entire surface is well covered. (Use extra eggs if needed)

Bake for 20 minutes at 350 F.

Cool and serve with your favourite savoury sauce, peas or beans or with a side of eggs and bacon for breakfast.


My thoughts

I luv this because it embodies the spirit of zero waste by allowing me to use the fibre that came out of the juicer that most people would unthinkingly dump to create amazingly delicious and grain free food/snacks. The best part about this though is that it can be re-purposed even further to make a delicious grainfree stuffing. Thanksgiving is coming up! If you ever wondered about making your entire Thanksgiving meal grain free, there's a guide for that!

NSNG No Bake Chocolate Cheesecake

For this recipe, I present a No Bake Chocolate Cheesecake done the NSNGHealthy way. Bear in mind, almost any dessert you make can be redone the NSNGHealthy way with a few minor modifications.

Ingredients and Instructions

200g NSNG chocolate cookies (Recipe coming soon - substitute this gluten free cookie)

100 g butter - melted (not margarine)

200g dark chocolate (80%)

150 ml heavy cream (room temperature)

300g cream cheese (no fillers/additives)

150g xylitol or erythritol

45 g cocoa powder

Line a baking tin/dish with parchment paper.  Process the cookies into crumbs. Put crumbs in a bowl with better and stir well. Press crumb mix into the bottom of the baking tin/dish. Chill for 30 minutes

Melt chocolate and cool. While chocolate is cooling, whip cream to soft peaks and set aside.

Process cream cheese and sweetener until combined. Add the cool melted chocolate, cocoa powder and process until mixture is smooth - ensure these are room temp before next step.

Fold the chocolate mix into the whipped cream and stir until smooth then pour the mounds of healthy deliciousness into the cookie base, smooth out the top and chill until firm to touch

Slice, share and enjoy for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert or a snack! When it's NSNGHealthy you can literally have it anytime of day or night!

Thanksgiving is coming up! This is a wonderful dessert idea that can be made with a Thanksgiving twist! And...if you ever wondered about making your entire Thanksgiving meal grain free, there's a guide for that coming soon!

Optional extras: sprinkle with cocoa nibs before final chill step or dust with cocoa powder after chilling.

Recipe notes: Sweeteners can be perceived differently by different people so keep in mind and get to know the one you are using and how it will be received if you are creating an item that someone else will be consuming. Sometimes trial and error is the only way forward. Good luck and happy healthy eating!

NSNGHealthy Bread

Let's get right to the recipe. (Feel free to read on afterwards to get some insight into why I choose this as my go-to grain free bread.)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon Psyllium husk powder
3 tablespoons coconut flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoons sea salt
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon Apple cider vinegar (ACV)

Instructions
Add the first four ingredients to a bowl, mix, then make a well for the liquids.
Pour the coconut oil in the well with half of the boiling water mixed with the ACV.
Mix and add additional hot water until you attain a dough that is moist and soft. If the dough is not moist, keep adding additional water in small amounts and knead well.
Allow dough to rest for 10 minutes.
Cut the rested dough into 2 or 3 portions (or more according to the size of the bread you wish to have.)
Use a bit of the water to keep dough moist as you work with it.
Form portions of the dough into balls or half-spheres.
Place parchment paper on a baking tray and put oil on the parchment
Place dough balls on the parchment paper and moisten the surface of the dough with more oil.
Bake ~50min at 350 F
Turn off oven and leave bread in oven until cool.

This is a very simple bread recipe that produces a nice spongy textured bun, providing it rises well, which is sometimes a challenge when baking, or after the oven has been turned off. I generally leave the buns in the heat of the oven after turning off the oven heat source to help it maintain the risen shape - that's the reason the above pic was taken with the door closed! 

The taste of psyllium husk, an important ingredient for the texture, is somewhat prominent so I try to add other things to the recipe to help mask (cinnamon or nutmeg, for example), but I have not quite found anything that does it remotely well, so I usually just smother the taste (post baking) with avocado or cheese or whatever I choose to use with the bun as a sandwich and that works well. 

I really like this recipe because it is both dairy-free and egg-less while most grain free bread recipes tend to call for eggs. Not that I don't love eggs, but I prefer to save them for other yummy delicacies like this awesome grain free cake. And I do also consume dairy but we do not have a lot of cows here so guess what, dairy (of the kind I prefer) is not easily affordable. Also, some people have health issues related to dairy so I like to have recipes that can function without it. 

This recipe has been easy to double or triple. Sometimes I use a cup instead of a tablespoon to measure the coconut flour and psyllium husk powder then adjust the other amounts to match to get larger buns or to make hot dog bun sized rolls etc. Drop me a message if you want more exact measurements for a larger batch although the recipe is fairly forgiving so you can't really fail even if you don't get things exactly right - another reason I luv it!

Hope you enjoy making this recipe and eating the results! Leave me a message with pics if you can, to tell me if you tried and what was the result. (Will update with pics when I can.)

Breakfast the NSNGHealthy way: Plantain porridge

In case you're wondering NSNG is no sugar, no grains. Breakfast has traditionally been a meal composed of mainly grains (breakfast cereals) or rice or oats, all stuff that has been deemed to have potential (or real) negative impacts on health - no wonder oats never helped my mom! This is health washing at its finest. I don't know about you but I would rather not wait to find out if it's true - especially when elimination is easy and the end result is yummier breakfast options!

To that end, I present an excellent breakfast option that uses no grains and also no sugar that can be made in two flavours variations with potential for more experimentation based on how adventurous you are. Here we go! I've linked ingredients here that I use myself so I can recommend them for their quality and flavour.

Plantain "porridge"

Ingredients

Half of a boiled plantain*
1-3  tablespoons Hemp hearts
1 -2 tablespoons Coconut oil
Milk (Almond or other nut milk can be substituted) or heavy cream
Water (as much or as little to control liquidity to preference)
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
Sweetener to taste (optional) such as xylitol or erythritol or Stevia
1/8 teaspoon Salt

Instructions

Mash/puree the boiled plantain (with a fork or other kitchen tool) but leave some chunks if this is preferred. Blend in coconut oil, milk/cream, sweetener, salt and water. Warm the mixture gently over medium heat and whisk if needed to smoothen the texture. Once the mix is well blended and warm, add cinnamon and Hemp hearts, stir and remove from heat. Allow to cool if needed before enjoying.
May be made ahead and re-heated as needed. Sprinkle cocoa nibs to the final product for an added crunch and flavour boost.
Flavour variations
1. Add nutmeg instead of or in addition to cinnamon
2. Use boiled sweet potato instead of plantain as the base
3. Use boiled cassava tuber instead of plantain as the base

*Choose well ripened plantains for smooth final product or less ripe for a chunkier texture

Cinnamon sheet cake

Sheet cake seems to have the best adaptability for the NSNGHealthy lifestyle. You can have your cake the grain free way! I have found many recipes online in my searches but none that I love more than this version of a "Texas sheet cake" made with mostly eggs, almond flour and cinnamon. It's sweetened with either honey or maple syrup and erythritol. The taste is wonderful and the knowledge that it's not wrecking your health has to have some amazing positive impact, I am sure.

 

Go check out the recipe here.

Grain free - the only way to be

Grain free eating is not a fad, but a legitimate way of eating that will guarantee a healthy body. Look up Dr. William Davis and his Wheat Belly group on Facebook for full details. Here you will find some of my tried and tested recipes for creating delicious grain-free healthy food. Enjoy!

For other info on following a grain free lifestyle check out these resources:

Book a Discovery call with a consultant who can share her successes and help you start on this journey to health.

Chocolate chia pudding

1 cup milk (Substitute half and half or cream to add more whole fat)
Milk alternative: sunflower seed milk, almond milk
2 Tbsp cocoa powder (or half to 1 cup 75% chocolate chips/shavings - without added sugar is best)
3 Tbsp Xylitol or other approved sweetener (Adjust amount to your taste - less perhaps may be ok)
2 Tbsp butter (Alternative: coconut oil or avocado oil)
1 Tbsp chia seeds

Warm milk over medium heat and stir in cocoa powder, (chocolate chips), sweetener and butter. Stir until well combined and keep stirring to reduce liquid as much as preferred. Remove from heat when ready and pour into a serving container (medium ramekins work) then stir in chia seeds. Leave to cool overnight.

Enjoy as a make-ahead breakfast recipe.

For more info on following a grain free lifestyle check out these resources:

Book a Discovery call with a consultant who can share her successes and help you start on this journey to health.

Cocoa nibs banana medley

Ingredients
1 tablespoon cocoa nibs (I recommend HFFTT honey glazed options)
2 tablespoons chopped or whole pecans/walnuts
1 tablespoon sliced almonds
Half or whole banana sliced
2 tablespoons shredded coconut (optional or use to replace nuts to make it nut free)
1 tablespoon hemp hearts (optional)

Instructions
Mix all ingredients, drizzle with xylitol, or erythritol or one tablespoon of honey and enjoy without or without a dollop of pure whipped heavy cream or peanut butter.

For more info on following a grain free lifestyle check out these resources:

Book a Discovery call with a consultant who can share her successes and help you start on this journey to health.