So, I just published my latest recipe fine, but now I want to share what's been going on lately. First of all, I saw my doctor last week, and she's still very pleased with how I'm doing. My bloodwork is OK, my blood pressure is perfect, and so is my weight. She's going to keep me at the lower dose of the diabetes medication, which is good.
My A1c was up a bit from what it was in May, but I told her I've been enjoying a lot of the summer fruits--peaches, nectarines, grapes, strawberries, and the like--as well as some fruit juices, so she attributes that small increase to that.
My iron count has improved a bit, but was still low. I confessed that I hadn't been taking the iron pills like I was supposed to all the time (hardly ever, if truth be known), so now I'm to take two pills a day for three months... I hope it works!
In terms of cooking and eating, I keep figuring out new things to do and have found a new place to eat.
In May my doctor wanted to try out the grain free spice cake I make, and last week she told me how delicious it was and thanked me for the recipe.
In August a friend introduced me to a wonderful tri-tip salad that a local barbecue place makes. It's addictive, and I've been back several times since!
I've been mixing cottage cheese with a couple eggs and scrambling that for breakfast. That mixture along with a grain-free banana nut muffin will keep me filled for hours!
I've also been making what I call a meat pizza. I make a mixture of ground beef (grass fed and finished), with chopped onions, bell peppers, oregano, basil, thyme, tomato paste etc., pat that into a pyrex pie plate, sprinkle smoky grated cheeses on top, and bake it at 350 for 35 minutes or so. It tastes great along with a salad or veggie of your choice, and it's totally grain-free.
Besides fruit for dessert, or spice cake or grain-free chocolate chip cookies, I have found that Trader Joe's has some good grain free ice cream. (Imagine ice cream having to be labeled gluten or grain free!) Santa Cruz Organics makes a fabulous chocolate-mint sauce that's grain/gluten free. Many gelatos are grain-free, as are many sorbets, but be careful to check the labels.
That's it for today!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Holy Cow, it's been more than a month since my last post!
I've just finished making grain-free cheese crackers. They are delicious, and I'll make them again and again!
I used the smoky cheese blend of grated cheeses from Trader Joe's rather than just shredded cheddar cheese. I love the flavor of the smoky cheeses. The one thing I didn't do correctly was roll the dough thin enough. The recipe said to roll it until it was 1/16 of an inch thin, but I didn't manage that except on the edges. Next time I'll be sure to do that because it's necessary.
One thing I did add to the recipe was a light sprinkle of salt on the crackers before they were baked. It makes them a little more Cheez-Its like.
In order to correct my mistake of not rolling the dough thin enough, after I cut the crackers apart, I baked them again for ten minutes at 310 F in order to crisp them up. (The parts that were thin enough baked up nice and crisp to begin with.)
Here's the recipe:
2 1/2 C blanched almond flour
1 C grated smoky cheeses (cheddar or a cheddar blend)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs
3 tbsp. grapeseed oil
Preheat oven to 350 F
Whisk together eggs and grapeseed oil, then pour that into the already combined dry ingredients. Work it to make a nice dough. (It's not sticky.)
Take out two baking sheets. Then cut three pieces of parchment paper the same size as the baking sheets.
Divide the dough in half.
Roll out one piece of the dough between two pieces of parchment paper. Roll it until it is only 1/16 of an inch thin.Remove top piece of parchment paper. Score the dough into the size crackers you want (1"x1", or 2" x 2"), then slide the parchment paper onto a baking sheet and bake the crackers until golden in color. (12-15 minutes or so)
Repeat with second piece of dough.
You can lightly sprinkle the dough with salt before baking if you like.
I used the smoky cheese blend of grated cheeses from Trader Joe's rather than just shredded cheddar cheese. I love the flavor of the smoky cheeses. The one thing I didn't do correctly was roll the dough thin enough. The recipe said to roll it until it was 1/16 of an inch thin, but I didn't manage that except on the edges. Next time I'll be sure to do that because it's necessary.
One thing I did add to the recipe was a light sprinkle of salt on the crackers before they were baked. It makes them a little more Cheez-Its like.
In order to correct my mistake of not rolling the dough thin enough, after I cut the crackers apart, I baked them again for ten minutes at 310 F in order to crisp them up. (The parts that were thin enough baked up nice and crisp to begin with.)
Here's the recipe:
2 1/2 C blanched almond flour
1 C grated smoky cheeses (cheddar or a cheddar blend)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs
3 tbsp. grapeseed oil
Preheat oven to 350 F
Whisk together eggs and grapeseed oil, then pour that into the already combined dry ingredients. Work it to make a nice dough. (It's not sticky.)
Take out two baking sheets. Then cut three pieces of parchment paper the same size as the baking sheets.
Divide the dough in half.
Roll out one piece of the dough between two pieces of parchment paper. Roll it until it is only 1/16 of an inch thin.Remove top piece of parchment paper. Score the dough into the size crackers you want (1"x1", or 2" x 2"), then slide the parchment paper onto a baking sheet and bake the crackers until golden in color. (12-15 minutes or so)
Repeat with second piece of dough.
You can lightly sprinkle the dough with salt before baking if you like.
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