What are your most popular recipes?

I can tell which recipes are "big hits" by the activity on Pinterest.  
Comfort foods always win!

Super Easy Homemade Tortillas
​These gluten-free, grain-free tortillas are as easy to make as pancakes! They can be used for Mexican night dinner, a breakfast burrito, or as a wrap for a sandwich. Yummy-licious!

​Stix: Shortbread Cookie Bars 
Similar to store-bought Twix (TM) , they contain 3 layers: shortbread cookie, caramel, and chocolate.  But, nothing artificial, no additives, and no refined sugars.  Just pure YUM!

​White Chicken Chili
This is probably one of the easiest dinner recipes you'll ever make.  The flavors are rich and it's ultra-healthy. It will quickly become one of your family’s favorites! 

​Strawberry Vanilla Muffins
Oh, how wonderful it would be if every morning started out with muffins this delicious and healthy! 

​Biscuits
Who needs McDonald's or KFC's biscuits when you can improve upon them at home?  ;-)
They're great as a dinner roll or as a breakfast treat!

​Zucchini Noodles!
Do you eat gluten free, low-carb, or just avoid inflammatory grains, but miss eating pasta?  You can make noodles from zucchini and other veggies. How fun!

​Applesauce Spice Bread
​A thick slice of this applesauce spice bread is a great way to start your or your kids' day off just right.  Make a loaf or two this weekend and enjoy it all week long!​

Where do I buy coconut flour, almond flour, flax meal, tapioca flour, & cashew meal?

These flours are used as gluten-free alternatives.  Thinking about going gluten-free yourself?  Read my series on gluten starting HERE.

Your local grocery store probably carries these flours in their health food section or aisle.  They may be cheaper if you buy them in bulk.

• I like Honeyville Almond Flour the best.  It has a perfect texture and just the right amount of moisture.
• Coconut flour is just ground up coconut meat & is YUMMY!   I usually buy Bob's Red Mill brand.  Tropical Traditions also has a great product.  High in protein & fiber! 

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• Flax meal is ground-up flax seeds.  I prefer the "golden" variety because it's much lighter in flavor than the regular dark seeds. I also spend a little extra $ and order the "sprouted" flax meal because it contains less phytates (therefore you absorb minerals better).
• Tapioca flour is more starchy of a flour.  It helps make bread recipes like the consistency of gluten breads.  It's the main ingredient in my awesome recipe for pizza crust.
• I use delicious Cashew Meal in lieu of almond flour in many recipes.  Some people, like me, have allergies to almonds.

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I can't eat eggs.  Is there a good substitute in baking recipes?

​Yes!  Eggs are a very common food sensitivity.  Sometimes the people who are sensitive to eggs are actually sensitive to the food the chickens ate. These individuals may have better luck only eating free-range eggs that haven't been fed GMO corn or soy feed.

​However, if you're completely egg-free, try using these two healthy substitutes:

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​1.  Try flax eggs in your baking recipes!  This works for both a leavening agent and binding agent in baked goods.

​To make 1 flax egg: 
Mix 1 Tbsp of flax meal + 3 Tbsp of water.
 
Let it sit until it thickens, then use like a regular egg in your baking recipe.  You can use ground chia seeds in the same way.
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Note:  This doesn't work for recipes calling for only egg whites. Or, for recipes calling for lots of eggs.

I always use Sprouted Flax Meal/Powder.
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​2. Try using 1/4 cup mashed fruit or puree' in lieu of 1 egg in baking recipes.

This could be applesauce, pumpkin, avocado, or banana.  They will add moisture.  The banana probably has the best binding capability. For leavening, try adding an additional 1/2 tsp of baking soda.
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Can I substitute coconut flour 1:1 for wheat flour?

Unfortunately, no.  
Coconut flour is my favorite (and definitely the most healthy) gluten-free flour to bake with.  However, it expands greatly with moisture and can even be used as a thickener. There's really nothing else like it. It's often best to use a "tried & true" recipe designed specifically for coconut flour.  

However, if you have a recipe you absolutely love and want to try making it healthier by using coconut flour, use this chart for the conversions for baking. 

You'll have to experiment until you find the right proportions particular to your recipe. But, in general, use 1/3 the amount of flour, double the eggs, and add more liquid (like coconut milk).  

More tips:

• The amount of liquid to add is usually equal to the amount of coconut flour you used.  
• Allow the mixed batter to thicken for at least 5 minutes, then determine if it's a good consistency.
• Never over-mix a batter containing coconut flour. Because of the fat content, if you over mix it, the batter will start to separate.

In fact, now you can eat all the delicious breads and baked desserts you want by Mastering The Art Of Cooking With Coconut Flour!

This book will help you discover tips & tricks for success with this high-protein, super food flour. Learn to easily convert your favorite baked goods recipes!

What do you use for sweeteners?

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​I do like to bake, which is a great way to be creative.  But, remember... Sugar is sugar!! Eating excess sugar is not good for your health (especially added sugars). However, a sweet treat every so often makes life enjoyable.

My #1 go-to sweetener is Raw Honey.  Or, you can use Grade B Maple Syrup, too.  Both are whole foods and contain vitamins and minerals. Every so often I'll use some Organic Coconut Palm Sugar.  Lastly, if you're strictly watching your carb intake, I like either non-GMO birch Xylitol or Swerve Granulated Sweetener, which is erythritol.  Both are sugar alcohols that don't cause stomach upset (in moderate amounts).

Check out my Guide to Carbs to better understand naturally occurring sugars vs. added sugars.

What the heck is "ghee"?

​Glad you asked!  Ghee is also known as clarified butter and it is pure butterfat.  It tastes delicious and is common in Indian cuisine. 

When ghee is made from good grass-fed butter, it retains the yummy fat-soluble vitamins, but does not  contain the milk proteins (casein and whey) that cause problems in individuals who cannot tolerate dairy well. Ghee is great to cook with at high temperatures and can be used just like butter. You can buy ghee, but it's very easy to make; see my recipe post HERE.

Why do some recipes call for room-temp eggs?

The recipes that call for room-temp eggs also have coconut oil as an ingredient.  Coconut oil's melting temp is 76 degrees.  That's why it's often solid in the cooler months and a liquid in summer time.  Cold eggs right from the fridge will cause the coconut oil to solidify in your batter.  Not good.  ;-(

To bring eggs to room-temp quickly, just put them in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes.  Easy peasy!

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Why real sea salt?

All salts are not the same!! Regular table salt is heavily processed, generally devoid of trace minerals, and commonly contains undesirable additives such as anti-caking agents like sodium silicoaluminate or sodium ferrocyanide.  Say that 10 times fast! ​

Sea salts (harvested from the earth and unprocessed) have been shown to contain a higher trace mineral content than refined table salt.  They often contain natural calcium, potassium, magnesium, sulfur, zinc, and iron. They taste excellent, too!  (Read much more about sea salt.)

Put sea salt in your salt shaker at home!  I like Redmond RealSalt & think it's the very best! The Spice Lab's Pure Himalayan Salt and Celtic Sea Salt: Flower of The Ocean are great, too.

Which oils are best to cook with?

This just might be the most important dietary question I get, so I wrote a whole post about choosing healthy fats and oils  HERE.  

​When it comes to choosing fats and oils, as a general rule, the more processing it requires to be produced, the less healthy it is.  ​The omega 3 content (versus omega 6) really matters, too.

For an easy printable "Guide to Fats & Oils" to keep in your kitchen, CLICK HERE.  You'll know which are good for high heat, at room-temp, and which to avoid completely.

For baking in the oven, I use butter, ghee, Coconut oil from Tropical Traditions, yummy Avocado oil, and Macadamia Nut oil, which is virtually tasteless.

What is a "silpat"?

I like to use a non-stick silpat when baking because NOTHING sticks to it.  A silpat is made from fiberglass encased in silicone. It never needs greasing, wipes up with a paper towel, you can bend it, and they seem to last forever.  It can go in the freezer, too.  You just don't want to cut it or cut anything on a silpat.  For stability, I put it on top of a cheap cookie sheet when baking in the oven.

Can you recommend a type of cookware?

​My personal favorite is Le Creuset enameled cast iron cookware.  

The cast iron heats evenly, and the enamel makes the cookware more non-stick.  It's awesome!
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Le Creuset can be expensive, so for the basics I suggest a small frying pan, a large frying pan, a sauce pan, and a dutch oven.  Don't forget to cover the handles (which do get hot) with a nice handle grip.
​Note: some find their cast iron cookware too heavy for delicate hands.

(Affiliate Disclosure)

Jenny

Holistic Wellness Educator,
MS in Health and Nutrition Education

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