Say no to this four letter breakfast food!

 Just say no to oats, the four letter breakfast food that has been shown to contain alarming levels of Chlormequat, an agricultural chemical with safety information that reads, "contact poison control immediately" following ingestion.

Apart from the above danger of consuming oats, you should also be aware of the blood glucose impact of oats. If you have never tested this, be sure to check and prepare to be amazed at how high your blood glucose levels go after consumption of oats. Do not take my word for it, test yourself and believe!

Add to above, the fact that persons consuming oats for supposed heart-health effects will be very disappointed because anything that causes your blood glucose to spike will not have a positive effect on your heart health because blood glucose spikes lead to the negative heart health effects, not positive ones.

What to eat instead? If you crave something with the texture of oatmeal, make a noatmeal breakfast bowl using the following recipe, cooked on a stove top for a few minutes:

Noatmeal Quick Bowl

1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp Hemp hearts
2 Tbsp Almond flour
2 Tbsp Unsweetened shredded coconut
1 Tbsp Flaxseed meal
1 Tbsp Chia seeds
1/4 tsp (or to taste) of your favourite sweetener or add half a ripe banana to sweeten after removing from heat

Method: Heat all ingredients on stovetop or microwave until thickened to desired consistency

Alternatives
If you prefer a meal on-the-go, try one of the following breakfast options paired with fruit:

Organic Raw Crunch Goji Berry bar

Larabar: Peanut butter chocolate chip

Larabar: Apple pie

Fat Snax crackers with almond butter

Sweet potato chips with a side of cheese

Still looking for ideas? Check out these previous posts with recipes for Grainfree breakfast crepes and grain free bread!

Biscuits

This ABC Grainfree eats original recipe is a fried version of biscuits - you may bake if you wish.

Ingredients

2 eggs
3 tablespoons coconut flour
2 tablespoons coconut oil 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed (optional but recommended)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons sorrel tea (optional, replace with water/other natural "tea" if desired)
1/2 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
Additional coconut oil for frying

Instructions
Mix ingredients well to form a slurry or soft dough - add more coconut oil to get the desired consistency. Spoon small amounts into a skillet with coconut oil to fry until golden brown on both sides. 

Enjoy with all natural peanut butter, cheese or your favourite bean sauce.

Substitutions: almond flour can be used instead of coconut flour or a blend of the two can be used. 

GrainFree Crepes

 A simple but oh so delicious breakfast or snack or dessert option: crepes!

Ingredients: 2 oz cream cheese 2 eggs 1 tsp cinnamon/other flavouring

Mix crepe ingredients thoroughly (an electric mixer is recommended: try this mixer or a more traditional mixer). Apply a generous amount of coconut oil to a warm cast iron skillet. Put 1/4 - 1/2 cup of batter in the warm skillet to cook. Flip after a minute or two and cook some more. Add some fruits and compote (nsng), or uncured meat or your favourite cheese. Slather in butter. Roll and enjoy! Makes 3-4 servings.

Calorie count: does not matter! Carb count: low but depends on the fillings

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!

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