My version of a Bircher-Benner muesli

A few months ago I ordered a hotel muesli breakfast while traveling for work and received one of the best breakfasts I'd ever had in my life! After some research I found out it was a version of a Bircher-Benner muesli. Obviously it was not a non-dairy version but I has happy to make an exception to experience such a wonderful dish!

Mix the following in the final serving bowl;

• 2 tbsp Coaches Oats (or quick rolled oats) 
• 1 tbsp pistachios
• 1 tbsp raisins
• 1/4 cup almond milk

Soak for 30 minutes to 1 hour at room temperature (soak overnight in the fridge if using regular rolled oats).

Stir in the following;

• 2 tbsp cashew cream I make up batches and freeze 1 tbsp lots in ice cube trays. Yogurt would also work pretty well...I may try that next!
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cardamom

Let sit for 10 minutes to let the spices soak in.

Just before serving mix in;

• 1/2 grated apple (I used an unpeeled gala apple)

Add more milk if a runnier consistency is desired.

++++++++

The original version has lemon juice and suggest using a sour apple. I decided to use a sweeter apple so I didn't have to add a sweetener. If you use a tart apple you may need to drizzle some honey or agave over the top.

What I want to see on the bar menu - Cookies

We go to a lot of bars that have a smaller snack-size menu at the bar.  We like the bar menu because the items are small, you can mix and match, change your mind and order more, chat for an hour and order even more; it's a very civilized way of grazing.

Unfortunately I have never seen a dessert item on a bar menu - why?  Why not have a mini dessert item listed.  Whenever I ask they give me the main menu....right, I'm sitting at the bar and I've just had a single slider a single order of sweet potato fries, I do not want 3 scoops of ice cream.  I don't need death by chocolate either or a loaf of bread pudding.  

It really isn't a money thing, it's a calorie thing.  I'm not trying to be cheap, I'm fighting the scales while my aging metabolism slows down each year.  If it was a money thing I wouldn't be ordering your wine by the glass?

After my 2 bar menu items and 2 glasses of house Merlot I want a cookie!!!!

Let me be specific again, I want a bar menu cookie, I don't want a 6 inch diameter Frisbee.  I want a 2-3 bite size oatmeal and raisin or chocolate chip cookie!

• If a cookie isn't available I'll take a single golf ball scoop of ice cream.
• I'll take a 1 inch square brownie.
• How about a mini fruit salad? Give me a ramekin with some grapes and mandarins.
• What about a shot of chocolate pudding?

I can't believe I am not alone in wanting a taster-size dessert.  Sometimes I'm full, but I want something sweet to finish off the evening, I need a different taste to mask the garlic, I just need a bookend to my evening meal!!!

Don't tell me to share, I've shared desserts that would have fed me for 3 meals, the amount of sugar would have made insulin drip out of my ears, taken a marathon to burn off the calories and made my teeth fall out and walk away in disgust.

What I want to see on the menu - Chia Seed Quesadillas

I need to find a restaurant for people who care about what they eat and have some dietary restrictions that generally make dinning out a challenge.  Today I had a small quesadilla and salsa for lunch...and it was just perfect. In a restaurant it would have been;

• at least twice the size
• made with flour tortillas
• made with cows milk cheese
• come with much more than salsa
• have a ridiculous amount of calories

What I want is options on all of the above;

• made with one or 2 small tortillas
• made with corn or gluten free
• made with sheep, goat or dairy-free cheese
• not come with additional food I don't need (beans, rice, sour cream, etc)...unless I ask
• be around 300 calories so I can have it for lunch and not blow my daily calorie limit

For now if I want anything that would fit into those requirements I need to make it myself.  So here's a hint all you restauranteurs who surf the internet looking for ideas, this is what I had for lunch today;

One single chia seed tortilla folded with Manchego (sheep) cheese and fresh cilantro leaves.  Lightly toasted on an iron skillet on each side until the cheese melts.  Cut into 3 pieces and served with a generous spoon of organic fire roasted corn and black bean salsa.  Yummy!

• I made the chia seed tortillas using this recipe from The Spunky Coconut, but they are commercially available, a simple Google search will prove that.
• I got the Manchego from Costco, 'cause we eat a lot of it!
• I bought the salsa from Whole Foods

 This is what I want to see on the menu!

My Favorite Gluten Free Products

There's a ridiculously large variety of GF products out there, some are good and some are not so good.  With all the products on the market I think we are going to see a a Darwinian reduction in the next few years as the best products succeed, but for now we're stuck being beta-testers.  I decided to list some items that have made me happy.

COOKIES
As I age, my metabolism dips and my muscle mass reduces, so has by reduction in sweet snacks. I never totally deny myself, so when I just need something sweet, this is what I like to eat.

Kinnikinnick Foods, S'moreables, Graham Style Crackers
I give these an OMG rating! These are better than the originals.
The first time I bought S'moreables was to make a GF graham cracker base for a pumpkin pie last Thanksgiving.  I don't think anyone paid attention to the pumpkin part, but the base was to die for!
Bonus - They are dairy-free, nut.free and contain no preservatives!
Honorable Mention
Newsman's Own Gluten free and Dairy Free Oreo Cookies
Some people say they are not as good as the originals...I say, they're in my pantry, they're gluten free and I can eat them!

BREAD
Bread is the most difficult area to find something French-bread-crunchy, chewy-fresh and satisfying.  I don't think I have found anything GF that is better than the real thing, but I have found some good substitutes.

Udi's Bagels
I know there are purists out there who will disagree, but I'm not comparing to fresh bagel shop versions. I'm comparing GF Udi's to wheat off the shelf prepackaged bagels.  I think Udi's had done a fantastic job...they are not so dense, they're lightly chewy (unheard of in GF land), they freeze well and they make me forget I can't have warm bagel shop versions.

Honorable Mention
Julian Bakery Smart Carb GF #3
This is nothing like wheat gluten bread. It's a small brick; exactly what you would expect for a GF bread product.  But this loaf has a wonderful bready smell, and when toasted and spread with butter (or Natural Balance) it is crunchy and wholesome.  I toast slices and use it like a cracker for lunch!  When toasted and eaten with soup, it is comfort food. This is one of those products that I would eat whether I needed gluten-free or not....I just like it and it makes me happy!
Bonus - It is the lowest carbohydrate bread out there, it's also yeast free and organic!

Udi's GF Bread
This is not bad, it can be used for sandwiches and works okay for grilled cheese.
Disappointing
I haven't found any burger buns that I really like (not even Udi's), most are dry and fall apart. The best I have found is an Udi's bagel without a hole!  You have to rummage through the display to find what some people call rejects :-)
I've started making my own with coconut flour and almond flour and will continue to do so until I find a commercial product that that doesn't crumble the second you bite into it. C'mon guys, get with the program!

PASTA
Nothing compares to fresh pasta, but given the choice of brown rice or Quinoa (keen-wa), I'll choose Quinoa every time! 

Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta
It lakes a little longer to cook and looks a little darker than regular pasta...but when it's coated in pesto or smothered in marinara it's pretty darn close to the real thing.
Bonus - It has more protein and fiber than regular pasta. 
Disappointing
I haven't been able to find a Quinoa Ravioli, or lasagna sheets.

MEAL SUBSTITUTE BARS
By bars I mean power bars, fruit bars, those items you pick up when you're on the run, traveling and don't have time to stop and eat or don't know when you'll have the chance to eat (not candy bars). I rely on nuts and bars a lot when I'm traveling.  I'm not a fruit bar (fruit roll-po) kind of girl so I'm not sure I really have a favorite bar. I've listed a selection of the ones I like and can tolerate;

Enjoy Life - Chewy on-the-go Bars
They are very allergy friendly and have saved my life in Airports where burgers and pizza are the only choices available.
Odwalla Nourishing Food Bar (not GF)
These are not gluten free, due to the fact they are made on equipment that is used for products that contain wheat, milk, eggs and tree nuts.  However, many of their bars do not contain any wheat products so I can tolerate them.  If you can tolerate oats these may be okay for you too.  Their Choco-walla is a favorite of mine...I have frantically searched though my luggage after many a post midnight hotel check-in to find this life-saving midnight dinner treat.

Dairy Alternatives

I stopped drinking cow's milk because my husband didn't snore so much when he avoided dairy and it was so much easier if we drank the same milk and creamers.  When I made that decision I had no idea that I was embarking on an alternative milk  fiesta….

As with non-meat substitutes and non-wheat/gluten substitutes, there is not just one replacement.  There is a myriad of choices and an explosion of nut milks that come in a variety of calories and flavors; unsweetened, regular (sweetened) and vanilla.  There are also shelf stable and refrigerated versions of both.  Generally the refrigerated versions taste better than the shelf stable one, but having a few shelf stable ones handy is really nice...I hate running out of milk!

So far I have not found a single milk replacement that I would use for everything, some are better than others for different uses...and to be honest I'm relishing the variety!

Soy Milk 

This has a high protein content. The unsweetened version was my husband’s milk of choice when he was on a low carbohydrate diet.  This also seems to be the non-dairy standard in coffee shops and restaurants. Personally I hate soy milk, I can’t get used to the taste and it gives me gas.

Rice Milk

This milk has been a secondary choice to soy for quite a while, however it is a very watery milk and does not cream coffee very well.  It is also naturally sweet and not appropriate for cooking savory sauces.  It works fantastic in hot cocoa and oatmeal…and you don’t need to add any additional sweeteners. Rice milk sugars do not contain fructose, so this is a good milk to use when you want to use a natural sweetener.

Almond Milk

Now we’re talking!  In the last year or so I have seen more and more almond milk varieties on the shelves; it's not just in health food stores. I just love this in coffee or to make a vegan eggnog!  There is an unsweetened Vanilla version that has less than half the calories of skim milk..it is great with your morning granola or cereal.

Hemp Milk

Good for sauces and batters.
A friend used Hemp milk to make Yorkshire pudding and we couldn't tell the difference.

Coconut Milk

I'm not talking about canned coconut milk, I mean the refrigerated version in cartons. It tasted greate in breakfast granola.  I'm starting to use this more in vegan cheese sauces or as a replacement for cow's milk in baking.The So Delicious unsweetened version has 1 carbohydrate!!!!  I haven't used it to make ice cream (yet!), but there are some fantastic coconut ice creams that taste so good I cannot tell they are non-dairy! 

Cashew Milk

I've never seen commercial cashew milk, but it's the type I make when we run out of something to pour over cereals or add to morning coffee. You can easily make cashew milk if you have a blender; 1 cup cashews plus 4 cups of water, dash of salt, dribble of honey or stevia,  turn on the blender for a minute or two and voila la!  No need to sieve it, you can drink it right out of the blender...though I would recommend chilling it first and using a glass :-)

I get annoyed when people say that I could be calcium deficient if I don't drink cow's milk.  That is totally untrue!  In terms of equivalent serving sizes, there is more calcium in kale than cow's milk! A handful of almonds contains more calcium....and all the commercial non-dairy milks I have seen have been fortified with calcium.  What you should be comparing if the protein and sugar content - many non-dairy milks have less sugar, less fat and more protein!

Since becoming dairy-free I have seen a lot of articles about the bad effects of cow's milk, the most recent is this one http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Milk-Controversy---Is-Cows-Milk-Good-For-Us?&id=6179781  It wasn't the reason I changed, but I do think it is interesting to see the emerging research.

Quick Gluten/Wheat Free Burger Bun

I don't mind lettuce wrap burgers, but sometimes I just want to blend in and look like I'm eating the same as everyone else; I really don't want to be the picky little princess.

Over the last few years I have tried a few GF burger buns and they're usually very dry and flaky and get drier as they sit in my fridge. They also tend to be made with little fiber and have a lot of carbohydrates - not good for my middle-aged metabolism!  Gluten free bread is also pretty heavy, so normal size buns are dense wee guys that could damage a toe if you dropped one. 

My requirements for a bun are;

• Low carb (low glycemic)
• Some fiber and protein would be nice
• Not so dense
• Not so flaky

I pondered flours and raising agents to try and find a way to add some air into a mixture without gluten.  Then I made a horrendous mistake while trying to make muffins and as I was cleaning up the mess it came to me - use a modified muffin recipe and why not make the 2 bun halves separately?

Ingredients for one single bun 
1 egg
1 Tbsp coconut flour
1 Tbsp blanched almond flour
1 Tbsp coconut oil (olive oil or melted butter)
Pinch of salt
1/4 tsp baking powder

Optional
1 tsp nutritional yeast (for a more bready taste)
1/4 tsp poppy seeds, chia seeds, sesame seeds

Method
Add all ingredients together and blend in a small food processor or hand blender.

If the batter is runny, leave it a few minutes to thicken.  It should be like a thick pancake batter, if it is runny add another half tablespoon of almond flour. It is is too thick, add a teaspoon of water.

Divide the batter into two and drop onto oiled parchment paper and bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes until they are lightly browned.

Note, for the top of the bun, I added chia seeds to one side.

I generally throw the burger on the grill while the bun sides are baking, the buns will be ready by the time it is cooked.

The batter likes to spread to about 3 inches in diameter so this does not work for slider buns.  I thought I could just divide into 4, but the batter spreads and makes 4 thin 3 inch halves that are no good for sliders.  I plan to play around with this recipe and will post my slider bun recipe when I figure it out.  For now, enjoy fitting in with the rest of the crowd :-)

Coconut Deodorant!

A few months ago I read that due to it's antibacterial nature coconut oil could be used as an underarm deodorant.  Yes, seriously, I kid-you-not coconut oil slathered under your pits will protect you from dreaded BO!  The scientist part of me was intrigued. The earth-friendly, chemical hating side of me was excited....and the guinea pig inside me was ready to try it out :-)

I had just got a freakishly large tub of Tropical Traditions Gold Label unrefined, super duper coconut oil so I took a small amount and placed it in a jar in the bathroom in preparation for my grand experiment.
My negative control was to go au naturale for a day.  Since I have a desk job, work from home and it's still Spring I felt it wouldn't be too traumatic.  By the afternoon I was a little ripe but not bad...I am a girl after all!
My crude calibration was basically to see how close I had to get my nose to my pits.
- lunch time no smell
-3pm I had to poke my nose under my t-shirt before I got the slightest of smells
- 9pm I still had to remove clothing before I could smell anything, but it was stronger than 3pm

The next day I stood in my underwear and giggled as I put about half a teaspoon of 100% unrefined coconut oil under each pit.  Coconut oil is not a thick oil, so it felt a little watery and not sticky at all.  I had some concern about marking my clothes and how would I explain big oil patches under my arms, but that turned out not to be a problem.  Within minutes the oil had soaked in under my arms and my skin felt dry and baby soft!
- lunch time no bad smell, just a slight sweet smell, more vanilla than coconut
-3pm I poked my nose under my t-shirt - nada!
- 9pm I removed clothing and did a weird yoga-like pose to get my nose as close as I could to the potentially offending area.  I really couldn't smell anything.  Holy crapolli, it worked!

I have continued to use coconut oil to make sure my experiment wasn't a fluke!
When I exercise and lift weights it doesn't work as well, but still I have to lift my arm before other humans (husband) could smell anything bad.  One weekend when I used wax that wasn't warm enough and irritated my skin, I was a little worried about using a deodorant, so I used coconut oil.  No sting, no problem...and my irritated skin was fine in 2 days!

It's not an antiperspirant, so when the Summer heat arrives I may switch to something less clammy, but for now it's nice to use something natural.  I also found out it's pretty good on preventing smelly feet too!
No negative control required for that one :-)