Friday, August 26, 2011

Better Best Waffle Batter

Before I give my recipe I wanna make sure credit goes where credit is due.  I was searching for an easy Waffle recipe that I could make with whole wheat and Stevia.  I found this one:

http://tammysrecipes.com/best_waffle_batter

It is fantastic!  I'm going to let you go to her site to follow the recipe, but make these changes for a sugar / white starch free waffle.

Replace white flour with whole wheat flour.  I prefer the "white whole wheat" from King Arthur.

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/flours/

Replace the sugar with Stevia.  This comes in different forms, but just be sure you check the label to get the correct amount to equal the sugar needed for the recipe.

I like to top my waffles with cream cheese and no sugar added jelly.  I use sugar free maple flavored syrup as well.  Enjoy!

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Sugar Free Coffee BBQ Sauce

So I was complaining to a buddy at work, Russ, about the fact that all the store bought BBQ sauces all have sugar in them.  He took this as a challenge, I guess, because he went home and made an awesome Coffee and Agave Nectar based BBQ sauce.  Russ gave me permission to post this recipe here.  Keep in mind like with most of the recipes I post that this is a "give or take" kind of recipe.  He wrote it down best he could remember how he made it.  Here it is...

2 Package instant coffee
1¼  Cup water
1 Cup beef stock
1 Small can tomato paste
¾ - 1 Cup Agave nectar
1 Tbsp Liquid smoke
1 Tbsp Cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp Black pepper
½ Tbsp Salt
½ Tbsp Garlic powder
¾ Tbsp Onion powder

Heat water
Stir in instant coffee
Mix in all other ingredients
Simmer until reduced to desired thickness

I'm sure there are a million variations.  This should give you a good idea on how to start making up your own sauces!

Meatless Bean Burger Patties

This recipe is modified from one my wife found in a magazine.  It's a great substitute for a meat patty. Make a batch of these and put them in the refrigerator.  They are easy to reheat and enjoy as a quick meal or a packed lunch for work.

1 can of black eyed peas (or black beans)
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 yellow (or orange) bell pepper
2 eggs
4 slices of sugar free whole wheat bread for bread crumbs
1/2 cup cooked brown rice (optional... but I like it)
1/2 tsp dried garlic/garlic powder (or some fresh garlic)
1 Tbsp Chili Powder (more or less to taste)
Olive oil

Put your bread slices in the oven at a lower temp to dry them out completely.  Once dry, crush them to a fine bread crumb.

Rinse and strain the can of beans.  Mash beans in a mixing bowl.

Finely chop peppers and add to mashed beans.

Mix in all other ingredients.

The mix should be a nice consistency to make patties.

Spread olive oil on a hot griddle.  Place patties on the oil and let cook for about 8-10 minutes on one side.  Do not turn too soon or the patties will have a tendency to break up.  After 8-10 minutes, turn once and cook for another 8-10 minutes.  I normally add a little more olive oil around the patties after turning.

One batch makes 6 - 8 patties.  These aren't the fasted meal to make, but heating them up tomorrow is quick in the microwave.  I wrap the patty in a paper towel and heat for about 30 seconds.

Dressing the patty:  Treat this like you would a hamburger.  I like to top mine with a little mayo and BBQ sauce (sugar free of course... I'll have a recipe for that as well).  A slice of cheese, some lettuce a slice of tomato... you get the picture.  All on a sugar free whole wheat hamburger bun.

Variations:  Once you make these try to imagine some of the possible variations. Try some chopped mushrooms or different kinds of peppers.  I have even thought of possibly adding some TVP (textured vegetable protein).

Enjoy!

Monday, January 11, 2010

Stuffed Pasta Shells

My wife encouraged me to use some of the ingredients that we had to come up with something new (to us). I wasn't feeling especially creative, but I liked her idea so I came up with the following.

I mixed Ricotta Cheese with shredded Mozzarella Cheese in a mixing bowl. To that I added a little Olive Oil and Butter and fresh pressed garlic. I blended up some frozen spinach and broccoli in our Magic Bullet (not the best tool for that, but it worked ok... a food processor would have been better I'm sure). I took the blended Spinach and Broccoli and stirred it into cheese mix.

While I was mixing all that up I was boiling some whole wheat pasta shells. These were the smaller ones about the size of a quarter. The pasta was then strained and cooled for a few minutes.

In a 9x11 baking pan I rubbed a little olive oil on the bottom to prevent the pasta from sticking. I put the cheese mixture in a gallon size baggie and snipped a tiny corner off of it so I could squeeze the mixture into the shells (like icing on a cake).

I lined the bottom of the pan with these little stuffed shells. Then, I poured over them some "no sugar added" marinara sauce. Topped it all with a light layer of shredded Mozzarella Cheese. Bake at 350 for 2o minutes (or so).

I'm sure there are cooks out there that can tell me a better way to do this recipe, but it turned out nice. I thoroughly enjoyed this with two slices of sugar free whole wheat toast with butter and garlic salt.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Breaded Fish

Ingredients:

Egg (2)
Milk (1 cup... could be more or less... I guessed)
Whole Wheat Flour (1 cup)
Flaxseed Mill (1 cup)
Dried Parsley (not sure how much :) just shake some in there)
Salt (season to taste. I put mine on after cooking)
Fish (5 Fillets, we used Tilapia)
Vegetable Oil

Preparation:

Whip up the egg and milk together in mixing bowl. Soak fillets in egg mixture.
Heat oil in a skillet (about 1/2 inch deep).
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl that has a lid.
Drip excess egg mixture from one fillet at a time. Place single fillet in bowl with dry mixture and put the lid on. Shake bowl until fillet is uniformly coated. (doing more than one fillet in the dry bowl at a time won't allow for uniform coverage)
Place coated fillet in heated oil. Cook for about 4-5 minutes, flip and cook another 4-5 minutes.

This was tasty and fun. With the sugar/starch free diet it feels like you can't enjoy "breaded" items, but this fish recipe will allow you to have that pleasure. I'm sure this can be done with Chicken as well. Play around with the seasonings in the dry ingredients to come up with some unique flavors. Just keep in mind that pre-mixed seasonings often have sugar in them.

Monday, July 27, 2009

French Toast

French Toast for me was a way to eat "pancakes" even on this crazy plan of mine. I know they aren't the same, but I get the same satisfaction out of them. When I was formulating my sugar free plan a while back I was sitting eating pancakes and thought "These could be the last pancakes I ever eat". That was tough... I love pancakes. With this simple French Toast recipe I can enjoy that same sweet breakfast any time.

Frech Toast is simple and really not much of a recipe, but...

This is good for 2-3 pieces of French Toast (serving for one)

Beat one egg in a bowl.
Dip your sugar free whole wheat bread in to coat both sides.
Lay the coated bread on a hot griddle (with butter or non-stick cooking spray)
Cook both sides to desired "browness" (I like mine pretty brown)

Topping Ideas:

Butter and sugar free syrup (simple, but delicious)
Sugar free peanut butter and sugar free syrup (My favorite!)
Cream cheese and sugar free syrup (and maybe some fresh blueberries or fresh strawberries :)

If the sugar free syrup isn't working for you so much, try adding a bit of Agave Nectar. It helps it to be a bit sweeter and syrupy. Enjoy!

Friday, July 17, 2009

Lasagna Ideas

Lasagna is a great meal and it's easy enough to do sugar/starch free. I don't have a recipe really because everyone has their own idea of what lasagna should be. Here is an idea of how it could be.

Use whole wheat lasagna noodles. Layer some sugar free tomato pasta sauce (Classico Tomato and Basil for example... keep in mind that it's not "sugars free", it's no sugar added. Tomato's naturally have some sugar content... read the ingredients list for added sugars.). Use Cottage cheese as a layer and maybe some mushrooms, spinach, black olives, ground turkey and Mozzarella cheese.

Take it easy on the cheese so you aren't overloading on the dairy and fats. I prefer reduced fat cheese, but not fat free cheese. Reduced fat cheese is still just cheese without all the extras they have to put in fat free cheese to make it hold together and have some flavor.... again, read the ingredients list.

A lot of people like to have some garlic bread with their lasagna... I do too. Take some sugar free whole wheat hamburger buns, add some butter and garlic salt. Toast in the oven. I like the hamburger buns because it feels more like a thick slice of garlic toast instead of another boring slice of bread loaf.

Experiment with lasagna and let me know how it went!