Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

There is a recipe that I've been wanting to try for quite a while, but I never got around to it before we decided to give up eating wheat. So I decided to make my own wheat-free, gluten-free and grain-free version. Unfortunately, it is not sugar-free. I think the only way to make Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles sugar-free would be to use Splenda or stevia, but my digestive system can't tolerate either of those.

My opinion on artificial sweeteners is to stay away from them. I recently was fortunate enough to have a teleconference training with Dr. Mark Hyman for my job. He is the author of The Blood Sugar Solution. He believes that artificial sweeteners aren't good for you. When you eat something sweet, whether it has calories or not, your body prepares for the sweet by increasing insulin levels in response to the sweet flavor. Having your insulin levels go up all the time leads to insulin resistance, which leads to diabesity. To learn more about this you can read this article.

So not only can I not tolerate artificial sweeteners, but they just aren't good for me. Even "natural" sweeteners like stevia and sugar alcohols. With fructose malabsorption, I have a worse reaction with anything ending in -ol (xylitol, maltitol) than I do with fructose itself. I can tolerate just regular old cane sugar pretty well compared to artificial sweeteners.

So after all this talk about how sugar and sweeteners aren't good for, I'm sharing a sweet recipe! I just like to torture you all....But seriously, like Dr. Hyman says in this article, "Stop confusing your body. If you have a desire for something sweet, have a little sugar, but stay away from 'fake' foods." I do love my sweets, so I let myself have them, but I also limit them too. When I make something sweet, such as these Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles, I let myself have one, but that's the only sweet I eat for that day. Of course, there are some days when I do go overboard, but I've found that the more I limit my sugar intake, the easier it is to resist. Try to see if you can resist these!


Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles
makes 20 truffles                                                                                                    printer-friendly recipe

Ingredients

1/3 cup pack brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1 - 2 teaspoons water
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 tablespoons palm shortening*

Directions

1. Cream together the sugars and butter. Add vanilla and salt. Mix in almond flour until well-blended. Add water, if needed, to get dough to stick together. Stir in the 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips.
2. Measure out dough by the tablespoonful and roll into balls. Place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Freeze overnight or at least a couple of hours.
3. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips and the shortening on 50% power in 30-second intervals, stirring in between. Microwave until smooth, about 1 1/2 minutes total.
4. Dip cookie dough balls in the melted chocolate and place on wax paper. Chill in refrigerator to set. Store in the refrigerator.

* I have used coconut oil instead of shortening and it works fine as a substitute.

Nutrition Data for one truffle (calculated by MyFitnessPal.com): Calories 152, Carbs 15g, Fat 9g, Protein 3g, Fiber 1g, Sugar 12g.

Dijon Pecan Baked Salmon (Gluten-Free & Grain-Free)

You probably already know how much we love salmon in this house from my previous blog posts. We love the taste and the fact that it is so good for you. My husband was worried that I wouldn't be able to fix his favorite salmon recipe since we gave up eating wheat. No fears, it is not a problem! His favorite recipe is the Baked Dijon Salmon over at allrecipes.com. Not only did I remove the wheat and gluten, but I also lightened it up a bit too. It still tastes like the salmon recipe we know and love.

Here's where I would like to add a tip for those suffering with fructose malabsorption. I think this would be a great recipe for you. I list honey in my recipe, but I've also used glucose instead. Glucose is otherwise known as dextrose or corn sugar (no, not the same thing that the corn refiners want to change the name of HFCS to!). Regular sugar is made up of one molecule of fructose and one molecule of glucose. So, glucose is basically the sugar without the fructose. Perfect for FructMal! In fact, I've heard the you can sprinkle it over things with higher amounts of fructose, such as strawberries, to help with digestion. The extra fructose combines with the glucose and makes it easier to absorb. It is not as sweet as regular sugar and it is not low-calorie, but it is a great option. You can find it at natural foods stores or on online here: Now Foods Dextrose.


Dijon Pecan Baked Salmon
serves 4

Ingredients

4 - 4 oz. boneless, skinless salmon fillets
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons honey ~or~ 1 Tablespoon dextrose
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley ~or~ 1 teaspoon dried

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13" x 9" baking pan. Place salmon in pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. In a small saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in the Dijon mustard and honey or dextrose. Spread evenly over top of salmon.
3. In a small bowl combine the pecans and parsley. Sprinkle over top of salmon.
4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until salmon flakes easily with a fork.

I Love Saturday Pancakes (Paleo-Style)!

It's Saturday. It's the Saturday after I found out I am still cancer-free (six years now). Time to celebrate! What better way than with one of my favorite weekend treats: Saturday pancakes! Pancakes are one of my most favorite foods ever. I do miss them since giving up wheat. We ate at Perkins recently and while I enjoyed my omelet and bacon, all I could think about was those wonderful fluffy pancakes dripping in syrup. Woe is me....

I've tried a couple of gluten-free and paleo pancake recipes recently and actually came up with one of my own: Paleo Banana Almond Pancakes. These pancakes are great for when you have that one lone overripe banana in the basket that no one wants to eat. Woe is the banana..... I know these pancakes aren't as good the real thing, but they are still pretty darn tasty. Plus, if I don't put too much syrup on them, I don't feel so full, bloated and tired the rest of the day. Regular wheat pancakes always tended to do that to me. I loved to eat them, but I didn't love how they made me feel.

Gluten-free and paleo pancakes are different than regular wheat pancakes. They don't have as much structure, so they must be made smaller in order to not fall apart. I have an eighth-cup measure that I use to pour the batter out. It works great, but you could also pour them out by the heaping tablespoonful. I have a well-seasoned non-stick griddle, but I still find it very helpful to oil the griddle. Trust me - oil the surface well! I just dip a paper towel in the oil and lightly wipe it across the griddle surface. These are wonderful served with a little maple syrup and some crisp bacon. It's a wonderful treat that won't have you regretting it later.

Paleo Banana Almond Pancakes
makes 10 pancakes

Ingredients
1 large ripe banana, mashed (about 1/3 cup)
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon walnut oil (plus more for oiling the griddle)
2 - 3 tablespoons almond milk (or milk of your choice)
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar or lemon juice
1 cup blanched almond flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed meal
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Heat griddle to 350 degrees F (or heat a skillet over medium heat).
2. Combine the banana, eggs, walnut oil, milk and cider vinegar in a large bowl. Mix well. Add the almond flour, flax, cinnamon, baking soda and salt and stir until well combined. Batter will be thick.
3. Lightly oil griddle or skillet surface with walnut oil. Pour batter onto griddle using an 1/8 cup measure or a heaping tablespoon. Pancakes are ready to flip when bubbles pop on surface of pancake. Continue cooking other side until golden brown.

Nutrition Facts per pancake (calculated by MyFitnessPal): Calories 103, Carbs 6g, Fat 8g, Protein 4g, Fiber 2g, Sugar 2 g.

Restaurant-Style Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Let me tell you, with a crazy week last week and another hectic week coming up, I really need a break. When I'm worried about life and have a lot on my mind, the last thing I need is to try out a new recipe and not have it turn out. That's why I like to turn to my old stand-by recipes. The ones that are tried and true and I don't even have to think about.

My pug Stanley has been sick this past week. He came down with a bout of pancreatitis. He's been having accidents all over the house, to the vet numerous times, and just not feeling his usual self. The vet is sure he will be fine, but it has been really stressful. We have him on antibiotics, a low-fat diet and medication to help with the pain and nausea. Poor little guy. In addition to that, I have my annual Mayo check-up next week. Wow, it really helps to write it all out. No wonder I feel stressed and unsure about the world right now! Thanks for listening, my blog friends.

As you can see, I haven't really been in the mood to try anything new lately, in terms of recipes. That's why I just wanted to make something simple and easy, but delicious, for dinner tonight. I immediately thought of Parmesan Herb Chicken and garlic mashed potatoes. My garlic mashed potatoes was one of the first recipes I came up with myself, "way back" when we lived in Rochester. I have since perfected the recipe (at least in my mind) over the years. I made these once for my sister and she said they tasted just like something you'd get at a restaurant. That's why I'm calling them Restaurant-Style Garlic Mashed Potatoes. I think the key is boiling the potatoes in salted water. It really gives them a depth of taste.

Restaurant-Style Garlic Mashed Potatoes
serves 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds red potatoes (about 8 small), quartered, skin left on
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions

1. Place potatoes in a large pot or dutch oven. Add enough water to cover the potatoes. Stir in 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer about 20 to 25 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, place the remaining 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, pepper, garlic powder, sour cream, Parmesan cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.
3. When potatoes pierce easily with a paring knife, remove from heat and drain. Add potatoes to the bowl with the other ingredients and mix on medium speed until mostly smooth (there may be some lumps, but we usually don't mind that). Serve.

Double Chocolate Almond Banana Muffins (Gluten-Free, Grain-Free)

I just have to say that I love baking with almond flour. Now that I've gotten a better feel about how it works, I've been making up almond flour recipes left and right! (I order my almond flour from Honeyville Farms.) I'm very happy with how these muffins turned out. You can probably tell from past blogs that I'm a little obsessed with banana bread and banana muffins. These muffins do not disappoint and satisfy my cravings for both banana muffins and chocolate. We are already on our second batch and I know I will be making them again again.

I guess you could call these muffins "Paleo." I call them amazingly delicious and low-guilt. I wasn't aiming to make them Paleo, I just wanted a treat that was gluten-free, grain-free and low sugar. I think the Paleo diet is great. It's based on real food. It focuses on eating healthy meat and protein, vegetables and fruit, nuts and seeds. As a sufferer of fructose malabsorption, it's a lot of the foods I can eat. However, I don't follow a strict Paleo diet. I eat chocolate, and drink wine and coffee. I also eat dairy, such as butter and cheese. I could probably live without butter, but I don't want to live without cheese! It just so happens to be one of my favorite foods. Give me a chunk of extra-sharp cheddar or some blue cheese crumbled on my salad and I'm happy. Cheese is low-carb, a good source of calcium, plus it's one of the few foods my stomach has no problem tolerating.

I don't have anything against butter either (in moderation!) and I use it in this recipe. Coconut oil would be a tasty alternative. It would also make it more Paleo-friendly. Still, I grapple with calling these muffins "Paleo." While the sugar in these muffins is greatly reduced compared to standard muffins, there is still sugar, which the paleo diet eschews. Plus, can you imagine Paleolithic people baking muffins? Me neither. That's just silly. So I'm calling these muffins what they are: a much healthier alternative to the wheat- and sugar-laden muffins of the typical American diet. And yes, one of these muffins is delicious as it looks!

Double Chocolate Almond Banana Muffins
makes 12 muffins
Printer-Friendly Recipe

Ingredients
2 large ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cup blanched almond flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners or lightly grease.
2. Mash bananas in a large bowl. Stir in eggs, butter or coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla.
3. In another bowl, sift together the almond flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Add flour mixture to banana mixture and stir until thoroughly combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full and bake 25 to 30 minutes, until muffins spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick comes out clean.

Greek Tuna Spinach Salad

I suppose after my last blog of super-sweet and indulgent brownies, I should blog about something a little more healthy. Actually, this salad is a lot more healthy. This Greek Tuna Spinach Salad is what I eat for lunch most days. I'm surprised that I haven't gotten tired of it yet. I tend to be a picky eater at lunchtime and a lot of times I'm hungry, but nothing sounds good. This salad usually sounds good to me. While I love salads, I used to find them not very filling, especially as an entree for lunch. I finally figured out that I needed to add lots of protein. Protein and a little bit of fat satiate me. That's why salads like this have helped me and my weight loss.

The dressing is a scaled back and slightly altered version of a great recipe I found on allrecipes.com. It goes great with the olives and feta and is very healthy, using good-quality olive oil. I eat this salad with a cup of fresh-brewed green tea and I feel like I'm doing something really good for my body.

Greek Tuna Spinach Salad
serves 1

Ingredients
1 plate-full of organic baby spinach (just pile it on!)
1 hard-cooked egg, sliced
1 - 5 oz. can tuna in water, drained
2 Tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
2 Tablespoons sliced olives
2 Tablespoons Greek Herb Dressing (recipe below)

Directions
Arrange ingredients on plate and drizzle with dressing.



Greek Herb Dressing
serves 8

Ingredients

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. dried basil

¾ tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. onion powder

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

Directions
Place all ingredients in a container with a tight-fitting lid and shake vigorously. Serve. Dressing may be stored at room temperature.

Gluten-Free Dark Chocolate Turtle Brownies

These brownies are so not good for you. Oh! I've been doing so well staying away from baking sugary treats, but I just broke down last weekend and created these incredibly indulgent brownies. The plus side is that they are wheat, gluten and grain-free. Sugar-free they are NOT!

I've been really proud of myself and the changes I have made in my eating and cooking habits. In fact, I've officially lost 15 pounds now! However, we recently went to a charity banquet and I had a really hard time passing the dessert tray without taking anything. Turtle brownies were one of the desserts and I became obsessed with them. I told myself that I could have a piece of dark chocolate when we got home, and I did, but the wheels were already turning. I started thinking about how I could make a gluten-free version of turtle brownies.

I know that I can't avoid sweet treats forever, and it's important to indulge every once in a while. So I did indulge. I indulged my need to create a rich chocolaty recipe and my sweet tooth. I ate about two brownies myself and savored every single bite. The rest I served to my niece, sister- and brother-in-law who were up for the St. Cloud MS Walk (we raised $1100 - go team!). They couldn't even tell that they were gluten-free. Brownies are actually pretty easy to convert since they usually require very little flour in the first place. Almond flour is a great choice, helping to keep the brownies fudgy and moist. So, I hope you enjoy these brownies. But be warned, you may not be able to eat just one!

Gluten-Free Dark Chocolate Turtle Brownies
serves 16

Printer-Friendly Recipe

Ingredients

1 (10 oz.) package dark chocolate chips
   (such as from Nestle), divided
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup blanched almond flour

20 caramels*, unwrapped
3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8"x 8" square baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
2. Combine 1 cup of the dark chocolate chips with the butter in a large sauce pan. Stir over low heat until melted. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Stir in the sugar and vanilla. Stir in eggs, one at a time. Finally, stir in the almond flour and mix well. Pour half of the batter (about 1 cup) into the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, melt the caramels with the cream in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring often. When the bottom part of the brownies are done baking, pour the melted caramel mixture over top and spread out evenly. Sprinkle with the remaining dark chocolate chips and chopped pecans. Drop the remaining brownie batter by tablespoon-fulls over top. Return to oven and continue baking for 20 - 25 minutes, or until top brownie is puffed up and tests clean with a toothpick.

* I have read that Kraft caramels are gluten-free, but I suggest you do your own research to see what will be safe for you!

Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala Stew

This creation of mine was inspired by a recipe I found several years ago in the newspaper. I love Chicken Marsala and I love stew. How does combining the two taste? Delicious! The recipe in the newspaper was for the stove top and had a lot of steps. I decided to make it easier and just throw everything in the slow cooker. Easy-peasy! I also decided to add some cream to thicken it up and make it creamier and to use chicken thighs, since they stay more moist than breasts in the slow cooker.

This recipe is not low-fat, but that's OK. What it is is lower in carbs. After doing so much reading and research into what causes weight gain, I believe that it is consuming carbs and not fat that makes us fat. Still, if you are still concerned with fat, you can replace the chicken thighs with breasts and leave out the cream. The flavors will still be delicious. I used dry Marsala wine for this, but you could use sweet instead if that is what you prefer. Also, I used just plain white button mushrooms, but you could go fancier and use a different variety like cremini. My Cheddar Bay Almond Flour Biscuits were the perfect accompaniment to this stew.

Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala Stew
serves 4

Ingredients

1 lb. chicken thighs, cubed
2 cups halved baby carrots
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup chopped onion*
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup Marsala wine

1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp. corn starch

Directions

1. Place the cubed chicken thighs, carrots, mushrooms, onion and garlic in a slow cooker. Sprinkle in salt and pepper. Pour in chicken broth and Marsala wine and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours.
2. After cooking 7 to 8 hours, increase the slow cooker to high heat setting. Stir in the peas. Whisk together the cream and corn starch. Slowly pour the cream mixture into the stew while constantly stirring.  Cover and cook until thickened, about 10 minutes.

*See my Tips on Cooking with Onion for Fructose Malabsorption

Tips on Cooking with Onion for Fructose Malabsorption

Update 4-9-2013: There is a lot of information out there and unfortunately some of it is not correct. When I first started researching for my low-FODMAP recipes, I read in several places that simmering onion and garlic in broth did not result in fructans leaching into the broth, that the fructans are in the flesh. It turns out that this is not true. Fructans are water-soluble, which means that they do leach into the cooking water and are found in broth made with onions and garlic (source: IBS-Free at Last by Patsy Catsos). But that’s not to say that some people aren’t able to enjoy broth made with onion. The method I describe below works for me. I tend to be much more sensitive to the actual flesh of the onion and garlic, and not the liquid. Do some experimenting and see if it works for you!

I'd like to share a little tip on cooking with onion. Onion is in so many recipes and it's hard to avoid. There's not much you can do to avoid it when you eat out, besides trying to pick it out, or asking the chef to not use it at all. However, if you do most of your own cooking at home, you may still be able to use onion!

Some people can't eat onion because it contains fructans. Fructans are a fructose polymer ending in a glucose molecule. Foods that contain fructans are wheat, onions, garlic, brown rice, asparagus, artichokes and (my personal arch-enemy) chicory/inulin. Since I've started not eating wheat and really watching what I eat, I've noticed an increased sensitivity to certain foods. For instance, I thought that I could eat asparagus, but the last time I did I felt like crap for the next few days. For some reason, I can tolerate garlic just fine, especially if it's cooked. I have noticed an increased sensitivity to onion lately, so that's why I started employing this technique of cooking with it.

Large pieces of onion in a slow-cooker stew.

Simply cut the onion in large pieces. I cut it in quarters lengthwise, cutting root to tip. I then take the largest pieces and add it to my recipe where it says to add the onion. Because the pieces are big, it's easy to pick them out before serving. This technique works really well with soups, stews and slow cooker dishes. You can also use it when browning ground beef. It might be a little tough with casseroles though. 
You can also use this technique with garlic. Just give the clove of garlic a good smash (keeping it in one piece) and throw it in. Remove the clove of garlic before serving.

Another way to flavor your food with onion and garlic is to saute it with cooking oil, then remove it before cooking the rest of the dish. This flavors the oil with onion and garlic, but does not transfer any of the fructans to the oil. I hope this helps and happy eating to you!

These methods certainly reduce the amount of fructans in your food, but it does not eliminate them. Do some experimenting to see how much you can tolerate!

Cheddar Bay Almond Flour Biscuits (Gluten-Free!)

I'm so excited to share this recipe because of how well it turned out. It was an experiment and I got it right on the first try! I'm sure everyone knows about the beloved Cheddar Bay Biscuits at Red Lobster. I've been making a copycat recipe for several years now, and since giving up wheat, I've really missed them. I came across biscuit recipes made from almond flour on Elana's Pantry and the Comfy Belly websites. Both are very similar. This is my version of the recipe. I'm not really on a Paleo diet since I still eat dairy, such as butter and cheese, but I do love baking with almond flour. I was amazed at how closely they taste to the 'real thing.' These biscuits went perfectly with a chicken stew and I think they would go great with an entree salad, or cut in half to make sandwiches. I wonder if they would notice if we smuggled these into Red Lobster the next time we eat there?


Cheddar Bay Almond Flour Biscuits
makes 8 biscuits                                                                                                  Printer-Friendly Recipe

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups almond flour
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, minced or 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
1/4 tsp. dried parsley


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
2. In a large bowl, stir together the almond flour, shredded cheddar, salt and baking soda. Cut in the butter using a fork or pastry blender until crumbly. Add the egss and mix to form a dough.
3. Using your hands, divide the dough into 8 balls. Place each ball on the parchment-lined cookie sheet and flatten slightly.
4. Bake at 350 F for 15 - 20 minutes, until lightly browned and a toothpick tests clean. (I used insulated cookie sheets, so mine took about 20 minutes to bake. Watch biscuits closely if using a non-insulated sheet.)
5. While biscuits are baking, melt the 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in the garlic (or garlic powder), Old Bay seasoning and dried parsley. Once biscuits are done baking, evenly brush the tops of the biscuits with the garlic butter mixture. Enjoy!