Healthy Brownie Waffles

I was going to post this tomorrow but it's too good not to share.  Healthy.  Brownie.  Waffles.  Three words that most people love.  So can brownies be healthy?  Waffles?  Sure, why not!  This is the same recipe I posted earlier with a slightly different method.  Mark thought it was a totally different recipe even though I only added cocoa.

I was asked to share this with the blog Food With Kid Appeal and I am more than happy to!  While I am always interested in things that I like to eat, I am always on the hunt for things that the kids will like.  It is even more challenging now that we are doing our gluten free trial.  Waffles are one of those things that are quick to put together and are always good.  Chocolate adds an extra specialness to them.  Ethan loved them and for him to love something makes me very happy :).  Shaylee said she liked the other ones better but I suggested making marbled ones some day and both the kids cheered.  Yay!

Chocolate Brownie Waffles


1/3 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp cocoa powder
3 tbsp maple sugar or honey (mix sugar with dry and honey with wet)
6 eggs
1tbsp vanilla
4 tbsp  melted butter or coconut oil (or a combination of the two)

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Add the eggs, one by one, mixing thoroughly between each egg. Add vanilla and melted butter (and honey, if using) and continue mixing until well combined.  Let sit 5-10 minutes to allow the coconut flour to absorb the wet ingredients.  Let your waffle iron heat during this time.  Cook as per iron instructions or to desired doneness.  Serve with your favorite toppings.  We used real maple syrup but whipped cream and/or berries would be a nice addition.  So would a chocolate sauce or banana slices, or a combination of all of the above!  It would make a nice dessert as well as a main dish.

Enjoy!

Part of It's a Keeper, Simple Lives Thursday, Real Food Wednesday and Pennywise Platter

Coconut Flour Waffles

My kids love waffles.  They are easy and delicious.  Going gluten free, I wondered how I would make them.  I looked at tons of recipes and to be honest, I don't want to be cooking with lots of different starches and flour of this and that.  I want simple.  Many gluten free recipes call for a ton of ingredients and aren't very nutritious due to all the starch and type of flours used.

I saw a coconut flour recipe before but lost it so I googled and found one here.  It certainly looks really good so I gave it a try.  It was spectacular!  It rose to fluffy proportions, it got slightly crispy on the outside and best of all, the kids loved them!  Ding ding, we have a winner!  Best of all, it has lots of eggs, which are sometimes hard to get into the kids.  I want them to have more fat and protein since they are always hungry and those two things help with that.

So here is my take on the recipe:

Coconut Flour Waffles

4 tablespoons melted butter 

6 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2tbsp vanilla (I love vanilla!)

1/3 cup maple sugar or honey

1/3 cup coconut flour plus a tablespoon or two to thicken if too runny

Blend these ingredients well.  I used beaters but a blender would work well too.  Let sit for 5 or so minutes while your waffle iron is heating up to help thicken.  If it is still runny (mine was), add another tablespoon or two of coconut flour.  Cook on the waffle iron until risen and cooked to desired texture.  Serve and enjoy!  Makes 6 square waffles.  Note, I do not have a picture since they got gobbled up so fast, but they looked like normal waffles.  Also, this could be low carb with the subtraction of the sweetener.  Yum!

I am going to try a chocolate version.  I read how some people replace 1/2 cup of flour with cocoa powder in their waffle recipes but since you don't use much coconut flour, I will probably just add a couple of tablespoons, maybe instead of the extra coconut flour.  It is meant to be like a brownie.  Sounds yummy!

Low Carb Gluten Free Bread (banana bread version too!)

I debated about putting both these recipes here since I rarely post recipes but why not.  I am too excited not to share.  Anyone who low carbs know how hard it is to get a good bread, especially those not filled with fakey things.  I like my food real, thank you!


There are good recipes out there to be sure but many are filled with things I am trying to avoid.  Vital wheat gluten comes to mind.  A variety of low carb mixes with things I can't pronounce nor get without an expensive order over the internet.  Why can't there be a recipe with ingredients I can get at the store?  Is that so hard?

Apparently not because here we have an easy bread recipe that is low carb, gluten free and has simple healthy ingredients I can get at the local health food store, grocery and/or bulk food store.  Bread!  See:

Slices of nice warm bread, very good with butter.  Not only that, I was able to adapt it to make banana bread for the kids.  That isn't so pretty in pictures but sometimes very ugly things are very, very good.  This isn't as low carb but low enough that I feel comfortable eating it (just so you know, there were 6 muffins when I made them and I am home along. Just saying).

So where did I find this great recipe?  Well, I was cruising blogs having to do with paleo and primal blueprint diets and recipes and came across one called "Primal Journey" where she had a recipe for Grain Free Bread. She got it from a blog called "Joyful Abode " (found here) and now I'm sharing it :).  Recipes sure can travel around the internet and I'm sure its been seen in other places too.

Low Carb, Gluten Free Bread

• 1 cup coconut flour, sifted
• 1 cup flax seeds, ground and sifted 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 11 eggs 
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/3 cup plain full-fat yogurt
• 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  Mix together dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, coconut oil, yogurt, and vinegar.  Pour  the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in small amounts to incorporate well, mixing after each addition.  Let sit for about 10 minutes to allow the coconut flour to soak up the wet ingredients.  Turn into a greased loaf pan or a silicone pan.  I used a silicone bundt pan for the bread.   Bake until a toothpick comes clean (this depends on what kind of pan you are using.  It took about an hour and a half for mine to come out)  Cool 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a plate, wire rack or a cutting board. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

For the banana bread, the biggest difference is I used one less egg and I added 5 mashed very ripe bananas, 1 tbsp vanilla and 1/3 cup of honey to the wet ingredients.  I also used 1/2 cup of lard left over from when I recently made donuts instead of the coconut oil since I'm being frugal with it (the fat still had a donut flavor and scent to it).


It could of used more sweetening and possible more bananas if you like a strong banana taste.  I found even with 5, the banana taste didn't carry as well as I had expected.  With the chocolate chips, it was delicious!   I will probably only make them as muffins for the kids from now on.  Oh and I baked this in a silicone loaf pan and used a silicone muffin pan.  I love silicone as you do not have to grease it and things pop right out.


I really recommend giving these recipes a try.  I look forward to seeing how my kids like them since I can put them in their lunches.  So many low carb recipes call for nuts as a base and their school is rigidly nut free.  


Part of Kelly The Kitchen Kop's Real Food Wednesday!

Promised Recipes

Here I promised recipes last week and I didn't come though.  Well, today I will finally post a couple since I am feeling better and I want to do something other than clean the house and do the dishes I keep putting off, lol!

White Castle Hamburger Pie is one of my favorite recipes.  I found it on Linda Sue's website ages ago and it is a staple when I low carb.  I always add a lot more eggs to it and use real onion because I'm not too picky about vegetable carbs.  Here is my version:

White Castle Hamburger Pie

• 1 pound ground beef 
• 1 medium onion, grated (or you can use a seasoning packet or onion powder and dried onion flakes to taste)
• 6 eggs 
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise 
• 1/4 cup heavy cream or full fat yogurt
• 8 ounces cheddar cheese, grated 
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Brown the hamburger with about half  onion or seasonings and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add remaining onion, stir and place into a casserole dish (a deep dish pie plate works well or an 8x8 baking dish). Stir in half of the cheese, then top with the remaining cheese. Whisk the eggs, mayonnaise, cream and a dash of pepper well; pour evenly over the meat. Bake at 350º for 30-35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.


The Cabbage (un)Roll casserole came about because I used to love cabbage rolls.  It was actually the meal I ate on our 10th anniversary at the Steak and Stein restaurant in Halifax.  When I was a child, one of my neighbors would often make it and I didn't know I wasn't supposed to like it (the stereotype that kids won't eat that kind of thing).  This is more of a flinging it all together thing as I wanted something without egg as the structure of the dish.  My only complaint is it didn't have a strong enough tomato taste and I wasn't sure how to season it.  So you can season it to taste and maybe add some tomato paste if you want a stronger tomato flavor.

The Cabbage (un)Roll Casserole 

• 1 lbs hamburger
• 0.5 lbs spicy italian sausage
• 1/2 head thinly sliced cabbage
• 1 cup grated raw cauliflower
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)
• 1 large can tomatoes
• seasonings to taste

Remove the sausage from the casing if applicable and brown with the hamburger until cooked through.  Add remaining ingredients and place in a baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until the cabbage and cauliflower is cooked through.

Very easy recipes.  They freeze well and are great for lunches.  I think we'll be having the cabbage casserole for lunch with some more tomatoes added and a salad on the side.  I love me some veggies lately!

The Big Cook

Ha, ha!  I just saw a double meaning in my post title.  The big cook had a big cooking spree on Monday.  I've been putting off writing about it because I have a ton of pictures to post and for some reason, I hate posting pictures.  I would love to be one of those people who could do step by step tutorials of everything, with lovely pictures. I do what I can.

So I spend most of the day on Monday cooking.  I prepped all my vegetables and browned meats while watching La Bamba on Netflix.  Then I baked, baked, baked.  It is a fun process where you are constantly making something.

Last Friday I made a turkey.  The first thing I did was strip the meat off and freeze the bones.  Then I cup up the veggies.  Next I sauteed the veggies with sausage for the turkey casseroles.  I put them together and baked while I browned the hamburger for the hamburger pies and cabbage casseroles.  I took out the hamburger for the pies and baked those with the meatloaf muffins while I sauteed the cabbage and other veggies for the casserole.  I assembled the muffins and they went in the oven with the cabbage casserole when the second batch of oven goodies came out.  When I had spare moments, I whipped up the ketchup, assembled the extracts and drained the soaked almonds.

I broke down and bought 5lbs of lean ground beef at the grocery store because it was on sale for $1.99/lbs and we are nearly out.  What a waste.  I doubt I even got 3lbs of meat out of it due to waste and shrinkage (they say its lean but there sure is a lot of fat in it!).  When I was able to present the evidence to Mark, I think he finally saw what I meant when ground beef from the farmer is a much better deal at $2.50 or even $3.00 a pound as there is no waste.  It is not injected with water and it is pretty much the same volume when done, not to mention it tastes so much better and is way healthier, better for the planet and local economy too!

I forgot to mention in my previous post that I also finally made my extracts.  I don't know why I put it off.  It was so easy.

So without further ado, here's the fruit of my labour:

Here is a wide view of everything I made.  Lots of delicious, yummy low carb food for the freezer and immediate use.  Don't mind my messy kitchen as I had so much stuff on the go (as you can see).  To the left are the cabbage (un)roll casseroles.  Then the white castle hamburger pies are in the front. In the large pan to the back of the fridge is the turkey and "stuffing".  The row next to it are my extracts, salmon muffins and tuna muffins and my soaked almonds.  Finally, the mushroom turkey and stuffing casserole and the meatloaf muffins.  The ketchup I made isn't in the picture.



This is a close up of the white castle hamburger pie.  I've probably mentioned it tons of times as it's my favorite low carb casserole.  So good!  Yes, I took a little bite in the corner.  Quality control, you know ;).  I made one pan this size and four small ones which are each about a serving size.

Too lazy to turn picture

Here is a close up of the cabbage (un)roll casserole. I will be posting the recipe soon as it was very good.  I would of liked a stronger tomato taste but that is easy to adjust.  These are the little baking dishes I mentioned in my previous post.  They remind me so much of the Le Creuset petite stoneware baking dishes that I had to buy them.  They were $2 each at the dollar store and are perfect for a single serving and heat up great in the toaster oven!

Search Amazon.com for le creuset petite stoneware

Soaked Almonds that I shelled myself

For these meatloaf muffins, I just filled the muffin cups with ground beef that I worked a bit.  These were level to the top when I baked and they shrunk a lot!  It is very easy to add extra ingredients.  I like them with spinach and feta cheese or you could put a piece of cheese in the middle or wrap in bacon.  Seasonings add endless variety.  I was going for simple though :)

This is one of the turkey stuffing pies I made.  The only difference between the two is one has cauliflower and the other one doesn't.  See, not much difference.  They are very good and it was a good way to use up the leftover turkey I had on hand.

Again, too lazy to turn picture.  I'm too used to face book where you can just rotate pictures after you upload them.  Some day I will remember.  So the top half are salmon muffins, just using salmon instead of tuna in the recipe.  I decided to put some in large ramekin dishes which would be enough for a good sized meal, easily heated and add a veggie or salad.  The bottom ones are a half batch of tuna muffins.

These are my lovely extracts.  I have two vanilla, one lemon, one star anise and one waiting to be turned into orange.  I would like to make some mint but I think I will wait until it is fresher.  I have dried but I am not sure how it will turn out.  After 24 hours, the lemon and the anise smelled amazing!  You could barely smell the alcohol.  I especially love the anise one!  Yum :)

Sitting on the stove until I can find room in the cupboard

 I had a lot of fun doing all this cooking.  I love it because you can reuse pots and bowls and there aren't many dishes when you are done.  It is also good for saving energy as you can cook several things at a time and save time by doing everything in big batches.  What I love most about it is there is lots of food for me to eat when I don't feel like cooking something low carb for me.  It makes it easier to stay on plan.

I will be posting recipes for the new things soon.  I linked most to Linda Sue's site in my previous post but as always, I made some alterations.  That's the best part about cooking; it's pretty flexible!

Monday Ramblings

I wrote a while back how I was going to try root cellaring in our apartment basement. This is the second time I tried and the second time I've failed due to unseasonably warm weather. I live on the south western tip of Nova Scotia, Canada and although it has been snowing in other parts of our province, it has been rather warm here. The basement is retaining a lot of heat.

Because of this, things are rotting and fast! Our carrots turned to mush in a few days (I have completely given up on them as I bought more to try again and they went bad right away), our squash is rotting faster than we can keep up with it and everything else is just going. Sigh. It was a noble attempt but I guess you can't fight mother nature. I hope to go to the valley soon to get more cheap squash and keeping it under the deck in a large tote. We love squash and I'd hoped it would at least last until Christmas. I will probably have to bake it all and try to cram it in our overstuffed freezer!

Well it is a new month and a new try for the Monday Market Report starting today! I didn't keep tally last week. I am fighting a bit of depression related shopping lately and I seem to spend more than I planned. I did stock up on butter on sale for $2.88 a pound (we must have about 20lbs floating around between the freezer and fridge!), 3 bags of 1.5kg (roughly 6lbs) local frozen wild blueberries for $5.99 each, eggs $1.88 a dozen (of course after I bought them, I read Joel Salatin describe store bought eggs in his "Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal") and some other things that aren't coming to mind. The kids and I went to the Farmers Market on Saturday but all I bought were a big bag of organic leeks I plan to dehydrate ($2.50) and a bag of organic beet greens ($2). I only had $5 otherwise I would of bought more.

I struggle a lot between what we can afford and what is optimal. We have no options at all for local butter or grass fed and raw dairy is totally out of the question (we have no where to pasture a cow!). Organic is shipped in from far away but what we do buy is produced rather locally (within province). Eggs are impossible to find locally lately. I know (now) they are a seasonal food and while the eggs are from within my province, they are still factory eggs and I don't know if the conditions are better than what I see are going on in the United States.

Milk, well my whole family agrees that the local dairy tastes better. The last few cartons of organic milk I bought were terrible and I'll never buy it again. Truly disgusting. I don't know what they did to it but it used to taste fresh and delicious but the last few times, it tasted burnt and old. The organic chocolate milk is always curdled and after throwing away a couple of cartons, I said no more. We do sometimes buy it from another dairy from the province, but I always feel guilty that I do it to save some money (local milk doesn't go on sale but milk shipped in from other parts of NS does).

I sometimes drive myself crazy trying to be food aware. Once you start, it's hard to stop. I want to know where everything comes from and from under what conditions. We are what we eat and I don't want to be an amalgamation of chemicals and artificial junk.

I am seeing how Halloween candy is affecting my kids and I have been pointing it out to them. Hyperactivity, sensitivity, melt downs, ect... Halloween managed to be stretched over a week because everyone felt bad we weren't Trick or Treating due to the Sabbath. Well, the kids made up for treats in spades. I struggle because the kids don't want to give up their treats and I don't expect them to. I know what it's like to be a kid and have lots of goodies. They are good and ask before they eat though. They ask to do everything anyway and while it sometimes drives me crazy, I also appreciate they are respectful enough to ask, even if they are cranky when I say no, lol! No need to eat junk right before a meal.

Well, those are some of my ramblings. It is 2am and I couldn't get back to bed so I thought I'd write. Last week I wrote up a bunch of posts and scheduled them so I wouldn't have to write every day. I'm glad I did. I will probably do this until I get through all the things I wanted to post, even though I'll have to start coming up with more new recipes soon!

Egg Salad Sandwich

Last week, I was really craving fast food. I wanted to go to KFC so bad! I live practically across the street and can always smell it when the wind is blowing. I know it smells better than it tastes so I tried to resist.

Instead, I decided to make an old favorite, an egg salad sandwich. I had some fries with it to kill the fast food crave (it is on a little plate so it looks like more food than there is! The ketchup is in a silicone mini muffin liner).

I love eggs. I really love egg sandwiches. At an event where there are sandwiches, I always go for the egg. I especially love onions in my egg salad. I know many people don't but that yummy crunchy biting taste is just so good!

For this sandwich, I mashed a couple of eggs, a heaping tablespoon of real mayo, a couple teaspoons of drained salted onions and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. I mounded what I could on a slice of homemade bread (then I ate the extra), put the top piece of bread on, cut in half and served with some fries and ketchup. Simple but good!

Off Track

I kind of fell off track with this blog again. It's too bad. It has been a delicious time of year. I take the kids weekly to the Farmer's Market . There are always lots of goodies there. I let the kids get a treat and they always go to this one lady who is selling cupcakes and donuts. Last week, Shaylee dropped her donut and the lady gave her another one for free. Everyone is so nice there :)

I lucked into a dozen eggs last week. Someone was dropping off a load just as we got there. They go so fast and we never get there early. If you look at the carton, one was a monster egg in comparison to the others. The carton would hardly close, lol! Ethan got to eat it for supper tonight :). My yolks were the darkest, but honestly, they weren't much darker than the eggs we get in the store. They were yummy though.

Last week we went to the Valley for an overnight trip. I think I hit every single farmers market there was, lol! Forsythe's, a couple Averys, Stirlings, Noggins Corner, Hennigars and a bunch that I can't even remember. We got lots of good food. It tastes so good when it's farm fresh. I am really appreciating fresh food this year.

Something good I made last night was I sliced a couple of little zucchini and the greens off a bunch of onions plus a handful of garlic scrapes. I sautéed it in butter and it smelled so creamy. I was going to add a can of tomatoes but it smelled so creamy that I just topped it with cheese and let it melt. It was so yummy and gooey good!

I bought some more beets with the greens and onions with the greens. I'll have to think of something creative to do with them :)