Catalyz Nutrition

Want a scrumptious whole foods based carrot cake that is healthy enough to serve kids without guilt as an after-school snack -- or to eat as part of a healthy breakfast for yourself?   If you're trying to cut back on grains, this recipe can serve as a staple for you.   If you're not, try it anyway -- as it draws rave reviews and is highly nourishing.  

I bake this carrot cake batter in a flat pan (like I'm making brownies) because I find the texture doesn't hold up in a loaf pan.    Make sure the batter is only about half an inch thick in the buttered baking pan.   After the cake cools, cut into small squares like brownies and store in the fridge.     If desired, sprinkle with a dusting of powdered confectioners sugar for decoration before serving...no one will miss the frosting!

Ingredients:

3 cups almond flour (other nut flours work, too)

3 cups finely shredded carrots

2/3 cup honey

3/4 teaspoon stevia (or skip this sweetener and add an additional 1/3 cup honey)

4 eggs

1 cup raisins (I like the tiny currents, but regular raisons will do)

1 cup chopped walnuts

2 teaspoons baking soda (aluminum-free is healthiest)

1 cup butter

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla

3/4 teaspoon salt

Add honey, eggs, and vanilla to softened butter and blend well.   Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl (nut flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and raisons).    Finely shred carrots and walnuts (quickly done in a Cusinart).   Mix everything together.  Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking pan (the kind you make a sheet cake or brownies in) and pour in batter.   Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.   (It should be lightly browned -- peek at baking cake a couple times toward the end to be sure it doesn't burn.)

In the interest of saving time -- once you determine you like this recipe, bake a double batch, cut into squares, put squares in a plastic freezer bag, and freeze.   It is easy to pull out a few squares at a time (they thaw quickly) to use for snacks, breakfasts, or desserts.

Especially if you're greatly reducing grains in your diet, this bread tastes miraculous!  If you're not -- it's still good, as banana breads go.     It is worth adding "bananas" to your grocery list this week to try this recipe.    (Don't forget to hide two bananas until they're very very ripe.)

The trick to making this banana bread is to spread the batter only a half an inch or an inch deep in a buttered, flat baking dish -- like you'd bake brownies.   This helps prevent a common issue with grain-free breads:  that they remain too wet (and not really bread like) when cooked in a loaf shape.

If made this way, this bread tastes remarkably similar to regular banana bread recipes.

In a blender, toss the following and blend:

3 cups nut flour
3 eggs
1/3 cup melted butter
3-4 Tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 VERY ripe bananas

OPTIONAL:   1/2 cup chopped walnuts, stirred in AFTER blending.

Pour batter into a well-buttered rectangular or square sheet pan.   Batter should be 1/2 to 1 inch deep.   Bake at 350 degrees until the top springs back to the touch (about 35-40 minutes). 

NOTE:  This makes a great, nourishing breakfast food for children OR adults.   If you are trying to cut back on sugars, gradually cut back on the honey with each successive round of baking this bread.

Who knew that eggs, nuts, berries, and butter -- could add up to pancakes that aren't far from the real thing?

For those of us seeking to cut back on carbohydrates, balance blood sugar, AND increase nutrient levels without sacrificing favorite comfort foods -- these pancakes are a real triumph! Unlike whole wheat pancakes, they don't have a "bitter" edge at all. They're very low carb, and nut flours are far more nutrient-dense than even 100% whole wheat flour. These pancakes are richer tasting than most (read: you'll need fewer to fill up) but are surprisingly light in texture.

Be sure your nut flours are fresh -- and always store in the fridge. They can be bought economically at most health food stroes or online for $4-$7/ pound, depending on quantity purchased and whether you buy nut flours that are organic or conventional (just buy the best you can afford, and by all means avoid brands that are over $10/ lb). You can buy whole nuts and grind your own in a food processor, if you like.

To save time on busy weekday mornings, make this batter on Sundays and tuck in a glass jar in the fridge. Then just pour onto a hot buttered griddle on a school or workday morning, and you'll have a hot meal in less than 10 minutes.

Recipe serves 3-4 people.  (These are rich, so people tend to eat fewer pancakes.)

Ingredients:

1 cup almond flour (or other nut flour)
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla (or almond extract, for a change of pace)
2 Tablespoons honey
OPTIONAL: 1/2 cup chopped fresh fruit or berries (fresh or frozen)

Mix dry ingredients. Blend wet ingredients. The fold together, and stir in fruit, if desired. Pour batter on a griddle or pan with ample melted butter to prevent sticking. Don't put on "high" -- and watch them carefully -- as they can burn quickly (nut flours are delicate). They take a suprisingly small amount of time to cook.Smaller pancakes are easier to flip than large ones. (Hint: don't wait for bubbles before flipping -- unlike normal batter, batters made with nut flours never bubble.)

If desired, experiment with baking these. Pour into small pancakes in a generously buttered glass baking dish, and put in a 300 degree oven, flipping with a spatula when one side looks done.

As a topping, use honey, fruit, jam, honey smashed together with fruit, or the classic: maple syrup. Or consider trying just with butter, as they already have a little honey baked right in. Especially if you eat these without extra sweeteners, these make a very comforting and nourishing alternative to eggs for breakfast -- and shouldn't leave you famished by mid-morning!

Breakfast is the MOST important meal of the day to "get right."

Why?  

First of all, most of us eat fairly repetitively at breakfast, bouncing around between just 2 or 3 staples (unlike at lunch or dinner.)   I know many who eat the same breakfast every day.    So ensuring the breakfast foods you sleepily go through the motions of preparing/ eating are highly nourishing can have a disproportionately positive impact on your health.

Secondly, our bodies tend to be in great need of nourishment after 12 or more hours without food.    Often we're not ravenously hungry in the morning (due in part to blood sugar levels that have stabilized overnight)...yet it is critical to eat something, nonetheless.    Most studies show higher health and lower body weights to be associated with regular breakfast-eating habits.

So what makes a great breakfast, from a health perspective?    Not cold cereal.   Most commercial cold cereals are low in natural nutrients (due to "extrusion" manufacturing process) and high in proteins that have been rendered unrecognizeable to our bodies by high heat/ pressures.    They also contain phytates, which impede mineral absorption in our digestive tract.   Many people find they feel much better when they cut back on grains, which are hard for our digestive systems to handle.    

Granolas are usually not made with an extrusion process -- but are often quite high in sugars and unhealthy polyunsaturated vegetable oils.

But cold cereal is so wonderfully FAST and easy -- it is hard to consider "doing without.".  Hence I was happy to find a wonderful recipe for homemade granola on www.organicthrifty.com -- a website I highly recommend for both recipes and nutritional advice.    I've put my own spin on the recipe.    Enjoy!

Grain-Free Granola
(Makes 1/2 quart -- double or triple this recipe once you are sure you've got a blend you like)

1/2 cup of crushed nuts (unsalted/ raw are best -- we love walnuts -- just put in a plastic bag and pound to break into smaller pieces, if you've bought them whole)
1/2 cup of raisins (or dried figs chopped into small pieces for a "fig newton" like effect!)
1/2 cup of sunflower seeds (raw or roasted)
1/2 cup of unsulphered, unsweetened, shredded coconut (found online or at most natural/ health food stores)

OPTIONAL:   blend together 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 tsp vanilla, and 2 Tablespoons honey, then drizzle over other ingredients and stir well to coat.    For kids, especially, this can be a good way to accustom their tastes slowly to a less sugary cereal....you can gradually cut back on this extra sweetness over time, or stick with it.

Store in the refrigerator.  Serve topped with milk and fruit, as desired.

Note:  dried blueberries or other dried fruits (cut small) make a great alternative to raisins.

Austrian Linzertortes are famous for their rich nutty crusts topped with ruby red fruit preserves.   These cookie balls are a fast-to-make American cousin of Linzertorte, and make a great grain-free snack for kids and adults alike.   (By the way, you may want to rename them "Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies" for the kids, since labels seem to matter!)

1 cup peanut butter (or ground almonds or walnuts, alternatively)
1 cup jam (fruit-only, if controlling sugar matters to you)
3 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
3/4 teaspoon salt

Set aside 1/2 cup of shredded coconut in a bowl to roll cookie balls in later.  

Mix the rest of the coconut with the salt, then add in the peanut butter or ground nuts and the jam -- and blend well.    Form the dough into small balls, then roll the balls in coconut for a "snowy" coating.    (By the way, if dough is too dry to form balls, add more jam or peanut butter.   If too sticky and wet, add a little extra coconut.)

Put in a container in the refrigerator to eat "as is" (no cooking needed!)...or if you prefer to firm these up a bit, bake them at 275 degrees for 30 minutes -- or put them in a dehydrator at 110 degrees overnight.   

Nutritional note:    unsweetened coconut is a true nutritional powerhouse.   Not only is it a rich source of vitamins and minerals -- but it helps modulate blood sugar and insulin levels, and is one of our best sources of lauric acid, which has strong anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties.   It raises metabolism, which translates to less weight gain.   It is revered as a miracle food for health in many cultures.  As traditional Island diets around the world fell prey during the 20th century to industrial foods, diets very high in coconut often were replaced by diets very high in flour, canned goods, and other Western processed foods.  Within about 10 years, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease (which were often rare in those cultures) usually set in.