Fennel and Leek Cupcake

                                                                                                                           

2          tablespoons coconut oil
1          tablespoon raw or organic butter

1          medium onion chopped

3-4       cloves of garlic chopped
1           teaspoon caraway seeds

1           fennel bulb, finely diced

1           stalk leek, finely diced 

1           inch of fresh ginger finely
             diced
4           tablespoons fresh dill
or 1       tablespoon dry dill

1           tablespoon of a mixture of fresh  

             rosemary, thyme, and sage finely
             chopped

sea salt and black pepper to taste

1/2        teaspoon turmeric

1/2        teaspoons paprika

1/2        teaspoon cayenne pepper

3           organic free-range eggs 
1/2        cup garbanzo bean flour

1/3-1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled 

3           tablespoons organic ricotta
             cheese
pinch of saffron powder (optional)

• preheat the oven to 350.

• Heat coconut oil and butter in a meduim frying pan.  Stir in onions and saute for 3-5 minutes or until golden. Add garlic and stir for another minute.

• Add caraway seeds and toast for 20 seconds. Gradually mix in leeks and fennel. Stir in ginger, herbs and spices (except saffron) and saute until vegetables are soft. (another 10-15 minutes). 

• Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

• Beat eggs. 

• Add flour , eggs, saffron (optional) and cheeses to the vegetables. Mix until the batter is uniform. 

• Pour the batter into muffin pan and bake for 30 minutes.

Hazelnut Mini Chocolate Cake

 

 

4-5           dates soaked in water

Handful of cashews

1               cup raw hazelnuts
1/4            cup cocoa nibs
3-4            tablespoons cream cheese

2               organic free-range eggs
1/2            banana
1/3            cup quinoa flour
1               tablespoon unsweetened cocoa 
                 powder
4-5            tablespoons tahini
1/2            teaspoon vanilla powder
1/2            teaspoon baking soda
1/4-1/2     cup fig sauce
1               teaspoon orange zest
or 1/2        teaspoon organic orange flavor

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

• Grease the bottom of a mini muffin or a small silicon-baking mold pan.

• Mix soaked dates and cashews in a food processor until you get a paste consistency.

• Grind hazelnut and cocoa nibs in Vita-Mix or a high speed blender until soft and creamy.

• Mix hazelnut and cocoa mixture with the rest of the ingredients except for the date paste in a mixer and incorporate well.

• Fill half of the muffin pans with the batter and spoon date cashew paste on top then fill the rest of the cups with the batter.

• Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. 

Tip : You can insert a macadamia nut inside each mini cake before you spoon the date paste. Keep in a tight container and refrigerate.

Fig Sauce

4        medium dry figs

1/2     cup organic or raw milk

1/2     cup organic or raw cream

• Carefully cut figs in half  and make sure there are no surprises inside the figs. Also cut the hard parts of their tips. Soak  figs in milk over night.

• Puree  the mixture in Vita-Mix or food processor.

• Transfer to a small sauce pan over low to medium heat.

• Slowly  add the cream to the mixture until it starts boiling, lower the heat and let it reduce to a sauce consistency.

Raspberry Meringue cookies

 


1/2       cup pistachios

1/2       cup walnuts
1/2       cup hazelnuts

1/2       cup xylitol

3/4       teaspoon stevia powder

1/2-1    teaspoon vanilla powder

Pinch of sea salt

1          teaspoon aluminum free baking

            powder

4          organic free-range egg whites

Heavy cream as needed

Raspberries as needed

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

• Spread  nuts on a piece of parchment paper and toast for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven.

• Raise the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

• Grease a piece of parchment paper and dust with flours.

• Beat the egg whites until fluffy.

• Grind nuts along with xylitol, stevia, vanilla, sea salt and baking powder, in a food processor until they resemble a coarse sand. 

• Fold nut mixture into the egg whites. 

• Spoon the batter (about 2 tablespoons for each meringue) on the parchment paper.  

• Transfer to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake for another 8-10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let them cool down to room temperature.

• Whip the cream until firm. Spread the whipped cream over each cookie and top with a few raspberries.

Ezekiel Feta Wrap

1     package Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain

       Tortillas

Feta cheese, chopped walnuts and walnut oil 

       as desired 

A handful of fresh mint and tarragon

• Mince mint and tarragon leaves.

• Spread feta over the Ezekiel tortilla.

• Sprinkle walnuts and herbs over the feta and drizzle walnut oil on top. 

• Roll up the bread.

Stevia

Stevia does not raise your blood sugar

Stevia is derived from a plant (daisy family) 

Stevia and  citrus fruits work much better together

Stevia and cinnamon complement each other’s tastes

Stevia and cocoa powder with the help of other sweeteners can be a great match.


Stevia is great with dairy products  such as  yogurt and kefir

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There are different forms of stevia:

• Liquid

• White powder (concentrated)

• Dried leaves or dried leaves powder 

• Spoonable ( less concentrated form) 

   Depending on the way stevia is processed, its bitterness and its aftertaste can vary. Some brands claim that they have eliminated its bitter aftertaste. You will be the judge!

Don’t give up on stevia because it  does not have the same taste as sugar. Stevia is sweet but it is not sugar. It may take time and effort to begin to use stevia as a sweetener but it is well worth it.

   You can make your own liquid stevia. In general, whether you buy liquid stevia or make your own, liquid stevia is easier to use. Since tiny amounts of stevia can make a significant  change in a recipe, using liquid dropper to measure and add stevia to your other ingredients is much safer.

    To make your own liquid stevia from stevia powder, for every teaspoon of stevia powder use 3 tablespoon of purified water and mix well until dissolved. Pour in to bottle with a dropper cap.

   Some known brands of liquid stevia and their websites are:

sweetleaf

superstevia

inkanatural

nowfoods

   Of course you can find other brands at Amazon.com.  Make sure that you read the label and avoid unnatural preservatives and additives like maltodextrin.


   Some of the information above  was taken from the book  "the Stevia cookbook"
By Ray Sahelian, M.D., and Donna Gates

Preview

http://www.inkanatural.com/en/

Mixed Quinoa bulgur pilaf with chicken breast

3-4  pieces of free range chicken breast
1     medium onion chopped into four 
       sections
1     bay leaf
sea salt and pepper
1/2  teaspoon turmeric
Pinch of saffron powder
Sea salt and pepper to taste

• Put together all the ingredients except for saffron into a pan on medium to low heat.  Lower the heat even further after 5 minutes to let the chicken breasts cook slowly in their own juice. 

• Mix saffron powder with 1 tablespoon of hot water to dissolve and pour over the chicken after it is cooked.

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Quinoa and bulgur



1      tablespoon raw or organic butter
1/4   cup bulgur
1      cup quinoa  (black, white or red) washed
        and drained
3      tablespoon tomato sauce or strained 
        tomatoes
1 and 1/2  cups vegetable or chicken broth 
Sea salt and pepper to taste

• Melt the butter in a heavy sauce pan.

• Add bulgur and saute for about 3-4 minutes.

• Mix quinoa, tomato sauce, broth, sea salt and pepper with bulgur in the pan.

• Cover and let it cook for about 15 minutes or until all the liquid is evaporated. Stir occasionally.

Cheese Pizza with SooFoo and Quinoa Flour Crust

Dough


1       package gluten free yeast
1/2    cup lukewarm milk
3       organic free-range egg yokes, beaten
1       cup SooFoo flour (grind SooFoo in 
         Vita-Mix)
1/4    quinoa flour plus some extra flour for
         shaping the dough later
1/4    cup fava or garbanzo bean flour
1        teaspoon sea salt
2        tablespoons olive oil

Topping

3-4           tablespoons tomato sauce or puree

1 and 1/2  cups any combination of shredded 

                 organic or raw cheeses, 

                 Mozzarella, Monterey Jack, 

                 Cheddar, Feta, Parmesan

1/4 cup     diced olives (green or black)

2               tablespoons chopped tarragon and 

                 rosemary (optional)

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees . When the oven reaches 200, turn it off. You want to have a nice warm oven for the dough to be placed in later.

• Dissolve milk and yeast  and leave for 15 minutes.

• Sift SooFoo, Quinoa,  garbanzo flours together with sea salt and baking powder.

• Beat egg yolks in the mixer and gradually add yeast mixture, then olive oil. Change the speed to low and add the flour mixture. You should be able to turn the dough into a ball.   If the dough is sticky use 1/2 teaspoon of quinoa flour on your palms to help in shaping the dough into a ball.

• Place the dough into a bowl.  Drizzle olive oil on top, cover and put in the warm oven for 1 and 1/2 hours.  It should double in size.

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

• Carefully divide the dough in half. Work with each piece separately.

• On a piece of parchment paper sprinkle some quinoa flour and place the dough over the flour and roll out the dough into 1/4 of an inch thick layer. If the dough sticks to the rolling pin sprinkle some quinoa flour on top and knead the dough briefly to fix the problem.

• Spread the cheeses then olives evenly on top of the dough. Add tomato sauce or puree and herbs on top.

• Repeat for the second piece of dough.

• Place pizzas with parchment paper on the bottom of them over a baking tray and transfer to the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

http://maximizednutrition.blogspot.com/2011/04/soofoo.html

Asparagus Bread

1     tablespoon raw or organic butter
1     lb asparagus 
4     oz  raw Cheddar cheese or 
       your favorite kind of cheese
5     organic free range eggs, separated
3/4   cup SooFoo 
1/3  cup almond meal
1/3  teaspoon chili powder 
1     teaspoon aluminum free baking powder
1     teaspoon caraway seeds
Sea salt and pepper to taste

• Preheat the oven to 380 degrees.

• Grind Soofoo in a high-speed blender like Vita Mix until it turns into flour. It roughly yields 1 cup of flour.

• Line a 10-inch pan or dish with parchment paper. (If using a non-stick non-Teflon pan skip the paper.)

• Melt butter and spread over the paper.

• Wash asparagus and cut off the hard pink ends if any exist.

• Place asparagus over the melted butter so that it covers the whole area. Cut the asparagus into smaller pieces if necessary. Cut the cheese into thin slices and  layer the cheese slices on top of the asparagus until the whole area is covered.

• Beat egg whites until hard peaks appear.

• Beat egg yolks until a pale yellow color.

• Mix egg whites and yolks until you get a uniform mixture.

• Set mixer on low speed and add Soofoo flour, almond meal, chili powder, baking powder, caraway seeds, sea salt and pepper.

• Pour the batter on top of the cheese and bake for 45-50 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn bread upside down.

Chocolate Pistachio Bar

1/3        cup cacao butter (grated)
1/3        cup coconut butter 
1/4        cup walnut oil                                     

1/3        cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
scant 1/3 cup  date syrup

1           teaspoon vanilla extract 
1           cup pistachios shelled                                                              
                           

• Mix cacao butter, coconut butter and walnut oil in a bowl and place it on top of a slightly steaming pan ( double boiler). The mixture only needs a small amount of steam to melt. 

• After you get a smooth  and uniform mixture add vanilla, date syrup and cocoa powder. Mix well.

• Add pistachios, mix again for a few seconds and remove from the heat. 

• The mixture should still be creamy with the pistachios in it. (If  the chocolate seizes, just add a little bit of water and mix very well again to get back to the desired consistency). 

• Transfer to a silicon chocolate mold or any dish suitable for freezer. In  case you use a dish other than a silicon chocolate mold make sure you place  parchment paper on the bottom of the dish so that you can unmold the bars easily after they have set.

• Place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes (or 1-2 hours in the fridge).  Once set, unmold and cut into smaller pieces. Keep refrigerated.

Apple Omelette

1      teaspoon raw or organic butter

1/2   teaspoon stevia

2      tablespoons lemon juice (1 medium
        lemon)

1      tablespoon fava or garbanzo bean
        flour

1/2   teaspoon cinnamon

2      cups chopped organic Granny 
        Smith apple with skin

3      eggs (beaten)

• Dissolve stevia, cinnamon, and flour with lemon juice in a small bowl. 

• Heat a small frying pan on low. Add butter and let it melt.  Add apples to the butter, stir well. Pour stevia mixture in the pan and mix well with apples. Cover and  simmer for 6-7 minutes or until apple pieces are soft and tender, stirring occasionally. Don’t let the apples become too soft and mushy.

• Add eggs and cover again until set.