Healthier Kladdkaka (grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free)

This kladdkaka, also known as Swedish sticky cake, gets a healthy makeover in this grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free and 100% whole grain version!

This kladdkaka is one of my favorites. Just like kanelbullar, you can find it in just about every other cafe in Sweden. It’s really popular and for a good reason. It’s kind of like a cross between a brownie and a cake and should, unlike my overbaked kladdkaka pictured, be super gooey!

Kladdkaka is traditionally made with all-purpose flour and butter but by using buckwheat and coconut oil, it was super easy to make grain-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free. And I swear – it’s just as good and you can’t tell any difference! If you don’t have buckwheat, whole wheat flour works just as well for a non-gluten-free version. I’m pretty sure whole spelt would also work well. If anything, it’d just be even gooier!

This is one ridiculously easy cake to make and the only way you can really mess it up is if you overbake it. I wasn’t paying enough attention when I baked the one pictured and instead of setting the timer for 14 minutes, I set it for 20. People still inhaled it, but it should look a lot moister and gooier. I didn’t really even process that internally until I was editing the pictures and had a close look at the texture. Put a chocolate cake in front of me and all thinking goes out the door, it seems. ;)

Gluten Free Kladdkaka Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup buckwheat flour, plus 2 tablespoons (141 grams), or 1 cup whole wheat flour (125 grams) for a non-gluten free version
• 1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa, sifted if lumpy (58 grams)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar, raw sugar or coconut sugar (200 grams)
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly (use coconut oil for a dairy free version) (113 grams)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 
  

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the eggs and sugar until well combined. Stir in the butter or coconut oil and vanilla. Add the dry mixture to the wet and stir just until combined.
5. Pour the batter in the prepared pan and bake for 14 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the edge of the cake comes out clean. (A toothpick inserted in the middle will come out wet.) The edges should be crisp and the middle still moist and sticky.
6. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes in the pan, and then run a paring knife around the edge of the pan. Invert the cake onto a serving plate and remove the parchment paper.
7. Serve warm, room temperature, or cold.
8. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days or refrigerate for 5 days.

Source: The Sweet Side of Ancient Grains

If you’re wondering how this cake can be grain-free and whole grain, please read the buckwheat section on my Ingredients page. :)

Make sure you guys only have this as a 'sometimes' food! It may be healthier than other cakes and such, but it still should be eaten in moderation if you want to keep the weight off. Comment below in the comments section what you guys think! If you'd try out the recipe and if you enjoyed it!! As always have a fantastic day and I'll talk to you guys again soon.


Source
http://www.texanerin.com/2015/05/healthier-kladdkaka-gluten-free-dairy-free.html

Healthy 2-Ingredient Strawberry Applesauce

Strawberries, apples and 45 minutes are all you need for this healthy strawberry applesauce! Naturally vegan, gluten-free, paleo, dairy-free and free of added sugar.

My parents used to take my brother and I to TGI Friday’s pretty often and I ordered the same thing every time – chicken fingers, French fries and strawberry applesauce. Still to this day, if I find chicken fingers on a menu, that’s what I’m getting. Menus with strawberry applesauce are a little less commonplace and not knowing how easy homemade applesauce was to make, I tried different brands of store-bought varieties but they just didn’t measure up (or at least, they didn’t measure up to my memory of what the strawberry applesauce at Friday’s was like!)

I posted another recipe for strawberry applesauce a few years ago but I broke my slow cooker and so I had to find a new way to prepare the applesauce. This recipe is different enough that I figured it warranted another post!

When I posted my first strawberry applesauce recipe, I thought applesauce needed to cook for a long time so I used a slow cooker. That’s totally unnecessary! You seriously just need 30 minutes on the stove top.

It’s so absurdly simple to make. You don’t even need to peel the apples as they break down during cooking and if you use an apple slicer / corer, this is really quick to prepare. Apple slices and hulled strawberries – you just put them in a large pot, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Cool and puree!

I also left out the apple juice, which I had previously used as sweetener. We went strawberry picking recently and came back with some almost candy-like strawberries. This resulted in strawberry applesauce that was so sweet that I can’t even eat all that much at a time. However, if you’re using some less than stellar off-season strawberries, this applesauce likely won’t be all that delicious.

And make sure to use sweet apples and nothing tart! I honestly just use whatever cheap apples I have around. This isn’t an apple pie or a fruit dessert where you need to worry about the texture so just go with whatever you have – except Red Delicious! Your apples should have at least a little taste to them. ;)

Whenever I find myself with too many strawberries, I make up a big batch of this strawberry applesauce, fully intending to eat it all by myself within 5 days, but then I get nervous and freeze whatever I have left after 4 days. If it sits in there for too long, you’ll know by the smell. If it smells funky, you’ll need to throw it out, which is as sad as it sounds. I recommend measuring out a cup per day or whatever you think you’ll eat over the next 4 days, and immediately freeze the rest. Sometimes it keeps well for a full week, sometimes not, so I just err on the side of caution and stick to 4 days.

If you want to make a different sized batch, the proportions are approximately 1/3 strawberries and 2/3 apples by weight. So 1 pound strawberries and 3 pounds apples. Simmer until soft, puree and enjoy. :)

Healthy 2-Ingredient Strawberry Applesauce (naturally vegan, gluten-free, paleo)

• Prep Time: 15 min
• Cook Time: 30 min
• Ready in: 45 min
• Yield: 6-8 cups

Ingredients

• 3½ pounds (1587 grams or about 7 large apples) unpeeled sweet apples
• 18 ounces (510 grams or about 4 cups) sweet and ripe strawberries, rinsed and hulled

Directions

1. Core each apple (do not peel!) and cut into about 6 pieces. Add the apples and strawberries to a large pot. Add about ½" of water. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes. Check about halfway through to make sure there's a little liquid on the bottom of the pot (to ensure that they don't stick). The apples should be very soft now. If they aren't, simmer in 5-minute increments until they are.
2. Remove from the heat and let cool for about 20 minutes and then use an immersion blender to puree the applesauce. You can also use a blender or food processor but an immersion blender is quickest, easiest and the least messy.
3. Cool completely and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Freeze any remaining applesauce after that.

Enjoy! Comment below what you think! I love to hear your feedback!

Source
http://www.texanerin.com/2015/07/healthy-2-ingredient-strawberry-applesauce.html

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls (grain-free, vegan)

These healthy chocolate peanut butter balls are loaded with protein and are vegan, grain-free, gluten-free and dairy-free.

Yesterday I set out to make a cinnamon raisin version of this raw peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough. I wasn’t feeling overly ambitious (meaning I didn’t feel like actually baking anything) and it sounded easy enough. Just use almond butter instead of peanut butter and add cinnamon and raisins! But no. That was gross.

Then I decided that double chocolate peanut butter cookie dough sounded even better than the cinnamon raisin idea, but after adding additional peanut butter and doubling the maple syrup and still not being in love with the recipe, it became clear that that wasn’t in the cards, either. So I finally decided just to go with protein balls. These are delicious but they don’t taste like cookie dough. They do actually taste like grain-free cookie dough but that’s not what I was going for! If I’m going to make raw cookie dough, I want it to taste like it was made with all-purpose flour.

What we have here instead are some chocolate peanut butter protein balls! They don’t really taste like dessert, but they’re great for a quick, healthy, late-night chocolate craving. To be honest, I prefer the peanut butter cookie dough because it’s straight up peanut butter goodness. Once you add cocoa powder (with chocolate chips being an exception!) to something peanut butter flavored, it’s just not quite as good.

I haven’t tried it but I imagine almond butter would work in these if you want a paleo-friendly version. But after my cookie dough experiments, I don’t say that with 100% confidence.

Nut butters are weird. I always thought that they were mostly interchangeable but lately I’ve been playing around with them and the end product doesn’t always come out the same texture-wise! Sometimes they’re really different.

See those white specks in the balls? If you use a finely ground almond flour, you shouldn’t have those. I ran out of my favorite brand, which is uniformly finely ground, and had to buy something else. Only now when looking at these pictures did I realize how badly this other almond flour was ground! Do almond flour brands vary that greatly in the US? It almost looks as if I dumped some coconut flakes in there! Anyway. Enjoy the protein balls. :)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls (vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free)

• Prep Time: 10 min
• Cook Time: min
• Ready in: 10 min
• Yield: 20 balls

Ingredients

• ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (224 grams) salted natural peanut butter (the kind with just salt and nuts)
• ¼ cup (60 milliliters) maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ⅔ cup (66 grams) almond flour
• 3 tablespoons (22 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 6 tablespoons mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (use dairy-free / vegan chocolate chips, if necessary)
• a pinch of salt if your peanut butter is unsalted

Directions

1. Mix everything together and roll into balls by squeezing together tablespoon-sized balls of dough. The dough should be a little crumbly, but not so crumbly that you can't form balls easily. If it's too dry to squeeze into balls, add a little extra water.
2. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to one week. These also freeze well.

Source
http://www.texanerin.com/2015/04/chocolate-peanut-butter-protein-balls.html

Homemade Chocolate Hazelnut Butter

his naturally sweetened chocolate hazelnut butter spread has just four ingredients and only takes minutes to make!

I already have a chocolate peanut butter spread recipe up, but this one is a little different (other than the whole nut type thing). This chocolate hazelnut spreaduses Dutch process cocoa powder for the chocolate flavor and coconut sugar to sweeten. (You know what’s lame? I just realized I threw some chocolate in the background of these pictures. Haha. Yeah. Ignore that! It’s just representative. ;))

The chocolate peanut butter uses a little cocoa powder, but mostly chocolate chips to flavor and sweeten it, meaning this hazelnut butter is technically a little healthier. Sugar is sugar but if you like to naturally sweeten stuff, this is your recipe! It also means that this version is naturally dairy-free and vegan. And like the peanut butter, naturally gluten-free!

I originally wanted to call this “Healthy Homemade Nutella” but Mr. Texanerin, the Nutella fiend that he is, heard of my plans and his response? “NO! Absolutely not!” Apparently this is just chocolate hazelnut butter. I hope you can cope. ;)

To be honest, he’s correct in that this chocolate hazelnut butter doesn’t taste much like Nutella. Or okay – at all. It’s not as smooth and not nearly as sweet, but it is chocolatey. And much more hazelnut-y. Chocolatey using cocoa powder and not that much sugar. I used a range of amounts for both of those ingredients, just because I have quite the sweet tooth and don’t like dark chocolate, so the amount of sugar I use might not (and hopefully won’t be!) what you need.

Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Spread

♥♥♥♥♥

Rated 5.0 by 7 readers

• Prep Time: 5 min
• Cook Time: 15 min
• Ready in: 20 min
• Yield: ~1½ cups

Ingredients

• 18 ounces (500 grams) hazelnuts
• 3 tablespoons – ¼ cup (22 – 29 grams) Dutch process cocoa powder
• ¼ – ½ cup (50 – 100 grams) coconut sugar or granulated sugar
• ⅛ teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C) and place the hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet. There should only be a single layer. Use more baking sheets, if necessary.
2. Roast the nuts for 15 minutes, stirring after every 5 minutes. The hazelnuts will be fragrant when ready and the skins will start to crack. Place the nuts in the center of a spread-out clean kitchen towel. Bundle it up and then rub the nuts together to remove the skin. This should remove about half of the skin and that's enough. The nuts should still be warm but not super hot at this point. If they are hot, wait for a few minutes, until they're just warm, before placing in the food processor. Also be sure not to let the nuts cool down completely – it'll process quicker if the nuts are still warm.
3. Transfer the roasted nuts, being careful to not include the skin, to a food processor and process until it’s very creamy like peanut butter. It’ll depend on your food processor, but it took mine about 3–5 minutes.
4. Add 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder, ¼ cup sugar, and the salt. Add more cocoa powder and sugar to taste.
5. Spoon the butter into a glass jar and refrigerate for up to 2 months.

Let me know what you guys think of this amazingly delicious homemade Nutella! Comment below your thoughts! Use wisely and again DON'T over-indulge. I hope you enjoy this healthier alternative to a sweet snack and keep going on your weight loss journeys'! your doing amazing!

Source
http://www.texanerin.com/2014/05/homemade-chocolate-hazelnut-butter.html

Cranberry Almond Loaf - Gluten Free

I am thrilled to let you all know that I am working with the Almond Board of California to promote healthy and delicious eating.

Why am I doing this?  As you can imagine, I love almonds.  They are a superfood and of course one of my favorite things to nibble on.  I like almonds so much that I wrote an entire book about them.  The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook uses almonds in all of its recipes and is a wonderful symbol of my love for that most nutritious of all nuts.

In my work with the Almond Board, I have written 4 recipes just for them (and you all, of course).  Here is the first one for a Cranberry Almond Loaf.

Photo courtesy of Almond Board of California

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Cranberry Almond Loaf

Serves: 1 loaf

Ingredients

• ¾ cup creamy roasted almond butter, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 large eggs
• ¼ cup arrowroot powder
• ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ cup dried apricots, chopped into ¼ inch pieces
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• ¼ cup sesame seeds
• ¼ cup sunflower seeds
• ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
• ¼ cup sliced almonds, plus 2 tablespoons to sprinkle on top
• olive oil for greasing
• blanched almond flour for dusting

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, blend almond butter, olive oil and eggs with a hand blender until smooth
2. In a medium bowl, combine arrowroot powder, salt and baking soda
3. Blend arrowroot mixture into wet ingredients until thoroughly combined
4. Fold in apricots, cranberries, seeds and sliced almonds
5. Grease a 7.5 x 3.5 magic line loaf pan with olive oil and dust with almond flour
6. Transfer batter into loaf pan and sprinkle remaining sliced almonds on top
7. Bake at 350° for 40-50 minutes until a knife inserted into center comes out clean
8. Let bread cool in pan for 1 hour, then serve

Slice this Cranberry Almond Loaf and enjoy it as a jazzed up base for your Turkey Club Sandwich. Or toast it and dip in olive oil for a delicious breakfast or after dinner treat.  Personally, I like mine toasted and smothered in goat cheese.

Source
http://elanaspantry.com/cranberry-almond-loaf/

MYTH: If You Want To Slim Down, Go Gluten-Free

The Truth: Only about one percent of the American population needs to be gluten-free because of an autoimmune disorder called celiac disease. Most people do not have to worry about gluten and should eat whole grains as part of a balanced diet.

Recent reports state that the gluten-free market in the United States was $4.2 billion and on the rise and many reports out there indicate that healthy people are spending their hard-earned dough on gluten-free products that they probably don’t need. You’ve seen the products everywhere, but you may be wondering what gluten is and why it might be the culprit for why you’ve packed on the pounds over the last few years, as some have claimed.

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, and it’s a common protein source and processed food filler. In fact, you’ll find it in many foods, medications, and everyday items — not just your bread and cookies. Other foods like cereal, soy sauce, whey products, alcoholic beverages, such as beer, and even beauty products, such as lip balms, may also have gluten in them too. There are some people — about 1 in 100 — who suffer from an autoimmune disorder called celiac disease whose small intestines cannot process gluten properly and it causes a serious response in their digestive system. Unless you have celiac disease or are allergic to gluten, going gluten-free will not give you any additional health benefits. There are also some people, who experience gastrointestinal bloating, cramping, headaches, or other discomfort after eating foods that contain gluten and may have a non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Many of these folks and those with gluten allergies will choose to eliminate or avoid gluten. The average person won’t get any additional health benefits from foods with the “gf” labels and these new products may even be less healthy. In addition, one Canadian study compared the costs of 56 ordinary grocery items and found that on average, the gluten-free products were 242% pricier than the gluten-containing versions.

Gluten is not harmful to your health and is not making you gain weight. Since so many foods now come in gluten-free versions, it’s easy to think that they are a better alternative — which would be wrong. Gluten is found in many whole-grain foods that have an array of vitamins, minerals, and fiber and are vital to a healthy diet. People who eat three servings of whole grains a day are 30 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes. The right mix of healthy carbohydrates, like whole-grain products, is the best way to control your blood sugar and avoid diabetes — plus they help to keep you full throughout the day. Whole grains are also the vehicle for many of nature’s disease fighters, like phytochemicals. Without these foods, we’d be sitting ducks for cancer, heart disease, and more. So when you’re cutting out gluten for no real reason, you’re losing all of the nutritional benefits found in foods with gluten.

Gluten-free foods aren’t better for your health. Don’t be fooled — gluten-free doesn’t automatically mean “low calorie” or “healthy.” In fact, gluten-free foods are not only more expensive, but full of extra calories and sugars to make up for taste and texture when alternative products are swapped. They also tend to have less fiber than their gluten-containing counterparts. Unless people are careful, a gluten-free diet can lack essential nutrients since a lot of the gluten-free products tend to be low in B vitamins, calcium, iron, zinc, and magnesium. Another rule of thumb, don’t confuse “gluten free” with “low carbohydrate,” some gluten-free pastas are actually higher in carbohydrates than regular pasta.

Weight loss comes from balanced, healthy diets — gluten free or not. When you’re trying to lose weight, the key is to make conscious choices about eating whole, real foods and getting produce without pesticides, and meat without hormones and antibiotics. If you need to go gluten-free, consult your doctor or a nutritionist to determine the best eating plan for your lifestyle, but in general, select more fruits, vegetables, lean meat and more naturally gluten-free grains, like brown rice or quinoa. Also, keep in mind that some gluten-free foods can be processed in factories that also process gluten foods leading to cross contamination.

Source
http://www.jillianmichaels.com/fit/lose-weight/myth-gluten-free

The Truth About Gluten-Free Food and Weight Loss

Gluten-free diets are the latest craze for those looking to lose weight, but what’s the truth? Is gluten responsible for my love handles?  The answer is no, but let’s clear the air of any confusion.  

What is gluten and Celiac disease?

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and countless processed foods including pasta, breads and cereals.

Some people avoid gluten because they have Celiac disease. Celiac disease is an auto-immune disorder. The body’s immune response to gluten damages the small intestine lining. This results in abdominal pain, bloating, nausea and diarrhea.  Celiac disease prevents absorption of vitamins and minerals and promotes weight loss.

Other people avoid gluten because of gluten intolerance. Gluten intolerance mimics symptoms of Celiac disease without the immune response. 

Why do people avoid gluten to lose weight?

There’s absolutely no evidence that simply getting rid of gluten will result in weight loss.

However, eating gluten-free often may cause you to eat more whole, unprocessed foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes and lean meats. These diet changes are often healthier and lower in calories.

People eating gluten-free also tend to make healthier food choices because they are more aware of the need to read food labels.

Ditching the double cheeseburger and fries for a gluten-free meal of salad, chicken breast, and sweet potato is choosing a meal that is much lower in calories. That can mean weight loss over time.

Aren’t all gluten-free foods healthy?

Gluten-free does not necessarily mean healthy because all gluten-free foods are not equally nutritious.

An apple and a gluten-free sugar cookie are both gluten-free, but their nutrients vary drastically.

Grocery and health food stores are full of gluten-free cakes, cookies and sweet treats. These foods often are high in sugar and fat, making them dense with calories.  Be sure to read those food labels!

I don’t have Celiac disease or gluten intolerance. Is it safe to avoid gluten?

Absolutely! Some people choose to follow a gluten-free diet merely because it provides structure to eating healthier and adopting a healthy lifestyle.

Just remember to consume a varied diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and legumes to avoid vitamin/mineral deficiencies and promote a healthy weight and lifestyle.

The bottom line

Gluten-free diets are typically consumed by those who are unable to tolerate gluten on a biological level.  However, some people choose to follow a gluten-free diet for more healthful eating.

There is no harm in avoiding gluten, but remember to consume a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables and legumes. Make sure your gluten-free choices are still 100 percent whole grain, such as buckwheat, quinoa or brown rice.

You lose weight when you expend more calories or energy than you consume – not by avoiding gluten.  Diet and exercise are both important components of weight management and a healthy lifestyle.

Have you tried the Gluten-free diet? did you find the restrictions helpful in losing weight? what do you think of the diet?

Source
http://health.clevelandclinic.org/2014/04/the-surprising-truth-about-gluten-free-food-and-weight-loss/