Birthday Cake

March is birthday month in our family, so I'm just preparing.....here is a healthy cake for all.

200 grams of amy ruth's baking mix
1/4 cup of sugar replacement
1/3rd cup of oil (1/2 cup if you don't want the potential of someone saying it's dry)
1/2 cup of yogurt
1/2 cup of pear puree
1/3rd cup of agave syrup
2 eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Mix the dry and wet ingredients together. Bake in your favorite cake pan for 30 minutes at 350/180 or until toothpick comes out clean

Fill with whipped cream or frosting if you'd like!

Gluten Free Granola Bran Muffin

Here is a bran muffin without any "bran" so those who are true coeliacs don't have to worry about cross contamination from oats. I use more flax and chia to make up for bran. I wanted a muffin that was strictly for breakfast, something that was healthy tasting with breakfast texture, so this muffin isn't like a cupcake.

2/3rd cup of amy ruth's baking mix
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/3rd cup of gluten free granola
1/4 cup of ground flax seeds
1/3 cup of ground chia
2 eggs plus one egg white
1/4 cup of soy milk (or any substitute)
1/3rd cup of sugar substitute
1/4 cup of oil

Jake, do you like these so much that you want to share with elmo or are you trying to get rid of them?? This was my husband's last muffin batch before a 5 day juice fast so these didn't last 2 days in my kitchen. Good luck my dear:)

Mix wet and dry ingredients together, Bake in muffin tins, makes approximately 8 full muffins,
at 350/180 for twenty minutes.

Brown Teff Bread

EXCITING NEWS! I'M HOPING THAT I'M JUST A FEW WEEKS AWAY FROM THE LAUNCH OF MY BAKING MIX! Since I've mastered the mix for muffins and quick breads, etc. I'm still working on different kinds of bread when I can't sleep.

We all make mistakes, sometimes they end up in the trash and sometimes they end up being something completely different than you what you expect. Since I ran out of quinoa and a base flour like sorghum and brown rice, I decided to make a bread purely out of Teff (and tapioca starch to balance it out.) It came out as a light pumpernickel/brown bread, one that would be good toasted with butter. It didn't end up in the trash. I ate it happily. But next time I'd trade out 1/3rd cup of teff and add brown rice. Teff is a brilliant tiny grain but unless I tweak the rest of my bread recipe, it needs a little robust friend like brown rice. Here is a picture of my 3 little friends. So yes, you can make do with just one, but mixing different gluten free flours together always yields a better result.

1 cup of teff flour
1 cup of tapioca starch

1 1/2 teaspoons of xantham gum
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspooon of unflavored gelatin
2 tablepoons of sugar or sweetener. (I use erythritol and I use 3 to make a sweeter bread)
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/4 cup of dry buttermilk powder
2 Tablespoons of ground flax
2 1/4 teaspoons of dry yeast granules
1 egg plus 1 egg white
1/2 teaspooon of cider vinegar
1 cup of water
3 tablespoons of oil

Chocolate with Chia please

When I'm in the mood for a chocolate fix ANY time of the day, these work perfectly.

Add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and 1/3 cup of shredded coconut if you want to make them more of an afternoon treat....

1 1/2 cups of amy ruth's baking mix (source of the chia!)
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
1/2 cup of sugar or sweetener
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/4 cup of oil
1/4 cup of pear puree
1/3 cup of almond milk (or soy)
1/4 cup of coffee (room temperature)
2 tablespoons of agave syrup

Mix the dry into the wet ingredients, makes 10 muffins
Bake at 350 degrees

for 20 miniutes

Superfood Green Smoothie

So what else do I eat besides my own muffins??

This is the shake I whip up every morning before I chow down on one of my muffins.

1 cup of berries or papaya
1 teaspoon of lecithin granules
1 tablesopon of flax or milled chia seeds
1 heaping tablespoon of protein powder
1 packet of green vegetable powder
2 to 3 cups of water

You may say,...YUCK...but I'm half asleep and thirsty when I drink this so I actually enjoy it. The reward......my muffin and a coffee:)

SUPERFOOD MUFFIN with ancient grains and seeds

Finally, I've been up nights and early mornings with my new quest to have my baking mix include superfood grains and seeds. Now my muffins are a source of omega 3's. Until this morning, my muffins were too dry with the new addition of flax and chia. I got it right this morning with a little more mashed banana!!

250 grams of Amy Ruth's mix (includes all raising agents, superfood grains and seed)
350 grams of mashed bananas (approximately 3 large bananas)
180 ml of pear puree (1/2 cup)
70 ml of vegetable oil (1/3 cup)
2 eggs
60 grams of a sweetener like stevia or xylitol
and a splash of vanilla extract and cinnamon

These fill up 12 muffin tins and bake at 350/180 for 20 minutes.
This is my breakfast with a huge superfood smoothie! (and a cup of coffee...)

Maca Chia Loaf! What to do when your toddler turns vegan.

To my chagrin, Jake turns up his nose to any kind of meat, fish or egg. Since he's my first, of course I'm worried about his omega 3's and protein intake. I can't sneak in fish oil, his taste buds are too smart for that. So my refrigerator has turned into a powder laboratory, from maca powder, to chia and flax seeds, then add the probiotics and green powder that I put in my morning smoothies....it's absurd. Here is a picture of some of them...

So why not add a few of my potions for a treat with tea and make them even heather! Chia is loaded with omega 3's and are becoming a new superfood. And Maca is packed with vitamins and minerals.
Here it goes...THE MACA CHIA LOAF! My baking mix includes chia but this gives it an extra shot of this super seed. For those of you just reading my blog, my flour is mixed with quinoa, teff and brown rice, so these are some pretty healthy treats.

1 and 3/4 cup of amy ruth's baking mix
½ cup of goat yogurt
2 eggs
¼ cup of oil
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
½ cup of pear puree
1/3 cup of sweetener or sugar to taste
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/8 cup of maca powder
1/4 cup of chia seed gel (take 1/8 cup of chia seeds and mix with 1 cup of coconut water) keep in fridge for a few hours, this will yield a small bowl of gel) just use 1/8 of a cup and you can put the rest in smoothies for the next week.
1/2 cup of blueberries (I used frozen)

Mix all ingredients together, throw in blueberries at the end and bake in a 9 by 5 loaf pan for 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. (180 c)

Oh Jake, why can't you eat a steak!