Baked Oatmeal

Baked oatmeal is turning into one of my favourite, go-to quick meals. It's a variation on regular oatmeal, but with a fluffier texture and a protein punch.

Begin with one half cup of dry quick oats.

Cook the oats by adding boiling water and letting it sit for approximately 3-5 minutes or until all of the water has been absorbed by the oats.

Add one over-ripened banana and one large egg.

Other non-essential ingredients can also be added at this time (e.g. vanilla, raisins, cinnamon, nuts, chocolate chips, carob chips, chopped dates, peanut butter, cinnamon, protein powder, etc.). I decided to use a teaspoon of vanilla and a handful of sweet raisins this time.

A touch of honey or maple syrup can also be added at this point, to impart additional sweetness, if desired.

Combine the ingredients thoroughly, until the mixture resembles a muffin batter-like consistency.

Spread the batter on a foil-lined baking sheet, so that it is approximately 1/4 - 1/2" thick.

Bake the mixture until it is golden brown. To achieve this, I normally use a toaster oven, set at 250°F for 10 minutes.

Spoon the baked oatmeal into a bowl, while it's still hot, and enjoy.

Paleo Pie Crust

Making a good pie crust can be quite the ordeal. However, with this recipe, the preparation for making a pie becomes an easy task. 

Combine 2 cups of blanched almond flour, approximately 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and one large egg in a bowl. Form into a dough and press into a pie container.

Bake at 350°F until it is light brown (approximately 10 min.). That's it! 

All you have to do now is allow it to cool and then pack it with a delicious filling. 

Try apples...

or sweet potatoes and dates...

or bumble berry...

 or plums...

 or with granola or ice cream.

The possibilities are endless. This type of pie crust is best used with cold applications. Once cool, the pie will slice like a dream.

Oatmeal Flavour Variations

Cold days like this that make me crave heavy foods. Often times, these heavy foods tend to be quite unhealthy.

That being said, I try to fill that craving with different variations of oatmeal. Oatmeal is a warm, heavy food that can be nutritious, satisfying and easy to digest.

For those of you who like a creamy texture in their foods, try oatmeal with coconut cream and bananas.

For people craving a spicy warmth, try oatmeal made with a dash of turmeric powder and a drizzle of honey.

For added protein, top your oatmeal with an all-natural nut butter like almond butter, cashew butter or peanut butter.

You can even make oatmeal into lunch or dinner by mixing it with a curry base and adding some pre-cooked chicken or turkey.

Eat well and stay warm!

Chickpea Muffins

This muffin recipe will allow you to make high-protein, gluten-free, dairy-free and refined sugar-free muffins.

To begin, preheat your oven to 350°F.

In a mixing bowl, combine together the following dry ingredients:

- 1 1/2 cups chickpea flour (a.k.a. garbanzo bean flour, gram flour or besan)

- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

- a pinch of salt

- 6 tablespoons lucuma powder

Side note:

At this moment, you're probably wondering, 'what the heck is lucuma powder?'. Lucuma is a fruit native to Peru. In Canada, one can by lucuma in powdered form. It is relatively expensive, compared to refined white sugar. This one-pound package cost me $18.79 at a health food store. (No one said healthy alternatives were cheap. If it's worth anything, the package below will last me for approximately 1 year.)

The fruit powder is sweet and can be used as a sugar substitute. It is low on the glycemic index, which makes it suitable for individuals with diabetes. Additionally, it has a mild maple/butterscotch flavour.

To the dry ingredients, add the following wet ingredients and mix thoroughly:

- 2 ripe bananas (mashed)

- 2 tablespoons all-natural peanut butter

- 2 teaspoons honey

- 1 container crushed apples (100 mL)

- 2 large eggs

- 1/4 cup water

At this point, add 3/4-1 cup of carob chips or chocolate chips. I used unsweetened carob chips.

Using a spoon, fill muffin papers with the chickpea batter, so that they are almost full.

Bake the muffins for 20 minutes and enjoy.

Egg Cups

If you're on a high-protein diet, these egg cups are for you.

Take 2-3 slices of deli meat and line the sections of a disposable muffin tin. I would strongly advise you to use disposable tins, as it makes clean-up very easy. Also, there is no need to grease the tins prior to use.

Try using all-natural deli meats that are made without preservatives. I find that sliced chicken or turkey works best.

Once lined, crack an egg into each of the meat-filled sections.

Bake in a 375°F oven for approximately 20-25 min.

For variations, try adding cheese (dairy or non-dairy), spices and/or herbs.

They stay well in the fridge and are very easy to heat up. These egg cups make a great addition to breakfast, lunch or dinner and they also make a fantastic snack.

Chocolate: Ready-Made

Finding dairy-free chocolate, suitable for a "no-refined sugar" diet can be somewhat difficult...especially if one is looking for chocolate that is made without artificial sweeteners. However, I've come across a few ready-made chocolate products that can help with those chocolate cravings.

Unsweetened Chocolate:

Firstly, unsweetened Baker's chocolate. This chocolate is relatively inexpensive and can be found in most grocery stores. It contains no sugar at all. It's great for use as an ingredient in desserts, cooking and baking (naturally).

Next comes chocolate made with unrefined cane sugar. Chocolate made with this type of sugar takes on a more complex flavour. Unrefined cane sugar provides some flavour details that are lost when sugar is refined. The earthy flavours of sugarcane mixed with dark chocolate work together beautifully.

Dark Chocolate:

One of my favorite dark chocolates, made with raw cane sugar, is by a company called Vivani. The packaging is horrible, but the chocolate is divine.

Note: You can find this product, as well as the other chocolates featured on this blog entry, in health food stores across Toronto.

This product by Giddy YoYo is made with simple ingredients and has a good, smooth flavour.

Alter Eco makes this product called "Blackout". The chocolate includes vanilla beans in its ingredient list. The chocolate is rich, but lacks the smoothness of the above two products. However, I'll still take it paired with a black coffee.

Flavoured Chocolate:

Alter Eco also makes an amazing product with rice crisps and puffed quinoa in it. It taste like a better version of Nestlé Crunch.

High End:

If you can find this product by Leone, its definitely worth its high price. This particular version is made with hazelnuts. Delicious.

Banana Oatmeal "Everything-Free" Cookies

This all natural cookie recipe will meet mostly everyone's dietary needs. It gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free and contains no refined sugars. Even if you don't have dietary restrictions, you'll probably like these healthy treats.

They are also ridiculously easy to make.

Ingredients:
3 ripened bananas (mashed)
2 tbsp natural peanut butter
2 tsp honey
1 container (110 mL) crushed apples
2 cups quick oats
Optional: unsweetened carob chips (my preference), chocolate chips, chopped dates, or raisins.

Combine all of the ingredients together in a mixing bowl and spoon onto a lightly greased baking sheet (greased with olive oil).

Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Allow for the cookies to cool before removing them from the baking tray.

It's that simple.

Banana Bread (Dairy-free with No Refined Sugars)

I've always had a good recipe for banana bread. However, it contains dairy and refined sugars. (To view that version of the recipe, you can click here. It's delicious.)

After doing a little bit of kitchen experimentation, I've come up with an amazing recipe for banana bread that is made without the use of dairy or refined sugars. I have to say that it tastes great!

You will need the following dry ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup white rice flour

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Combine all of the above ingredients, in a mixing bowl, using a whisk.

Add the following wet ingredients:

2 over-ripened, mashed bananas

½-¾ cup loosely-packed, softened date paste (cut into small cubes/pieces)

1 egg
½ cup unsweetened almond milk
1 container (100 mL) pureed apples

1 teaspoon honey

Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes, in a greased baking pan (greased with olive oil).

This banana bread is guaranteed to please anyone's palate.

Homemade Gianduia

Gianduia (also spelled gianduja) is a chocolate-hazelnut spread. You may have heard of an Italian product called Nutella. Well, Nutella is actually the brand-name for a type of gianduia.

If you have tasted Nutella, you are probably aware that it is awesome. Well, for those of you who have dairy and refined sugar restrictions, you definitely will not be able to enjoy the Ferrero version of the spread.

However, what if I told you that you could make your own dairy-free and sugar-free gianduia, in a matter of minutes?

Please note that the no measurements are required for this recipe.

You can work with a double boiler, in order to not scorch the ingredients, but feel free to work directly on the stove top if you feel that your skills are advanced enough. Note, chocolate can and will burn easily if you don't know what you're doing.

Begin with melting a desired amount of unsweetened Baker's chocolate.

Once melted, add carob powder to sweeten.

(Carob powder is derived from the fruit of the carob tree. It is also known as St. John's-bread or locust bean. Carob powder is used as a substitute for cocoa powder and can be found quite easily in bulk food stores. Simply put, carob powder is very similar to cocoa powder, except that it does not contain any stimulants, like caffeine. Additionally, it contains some carbohydrates, making it naturally sweet. To me, it tastes a bit like "caramel meets maple syrup".)

Add enough carob powder to meet your desired level of sweetness.

Your mixture may become clumpy at this time.

To the mixture, add enough hazelnut butter to equal approximately 1/3 of the amount of melted chocolate and carob.

(Gianduia normally consists of approximately 30% hazelnut paste. I use hazelnut butter, because in Canada, hazelnut butter can be found easily in major grocery stores.)

The natural oils in the hazelnut butter should smooth out the clumps and bring the mixture to the consistency of a spread. If the mixture has not loosened up enough, feel free to add either some olive oil or coconut oil in order to get it to the desired consistency.

At this point, your dairy-free, refined sugar-free gianduia will be ready to enjoy.

Banana "Ice Cream"

People love ice cream. I don't care if you can digest dairy or not. It's delicious. However, for those who cannot consume dairy or refined sugars, it can be quite difficult to satisfy an ice cream craving.

Making banana ice cream is actually quite simple, as it requires only one ingredient. Bananas. That's all.

Take sliced pieces of a frozen banana and blend until smooth. It's as simple as that. The texture of the banana will become smooth and creamy, just like real ice cream.

Personally, I like to add a few other ingredients to impart some awesome flavour. Try adding a dollop of all-natural peanut butter and some crumbled baker's chocolate (unsweetened) to the mix, before blending. It's delicious.

As a word of warning, you will want to consume this "ice cream" immediately. It does not freeze or keep well after it is made. However, with a frozen dessert made this quickly and easily (and being tasty to boot), you won't have any leftovers to keep.

Almond Milk Lattes

Try making lattes by substituting the cow's milk for unsweetened almond milk.