Review: Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind (Vanessa Barajas)

Book: “Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind”
Title: Vanessa Barajas
Author Website: Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind

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I want to share some of my favorite cookbooks that have been getting a LOT of rotation lately! I know a lot of hardcore paleo enthusiasts do not believe in paleo desserts, buuuut hello – I do! While I do believe that God gave us food not only for nourishment, He also gave it for enjoyment (minus gluttony and other food abuses, of course). With that being said, first up is…

“Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind” by Vanessa Barajas. This cookbook, while published in September of 2015, is a new one for me. She calls herself a ‘dessertavore’. I can dig it! I stalked this book on Amazon for several days waiting for the price to drop (I have a hard time paying almost $30 for ANYTHING! lol) and finally found a used version offered through Half Price Books through the Amazon marketplace. While I was checking out, I noticed that it was going to be shipped from a location in my city, so I called HPB, had them put it on hold, and picked it up myself, cutting out the shipping fee and time! When I flipped through the book, I was both impressed and excited. To know that I could enjoy some of my favorite desserts again made me so happy! And not only can I enjoy them, but I can share them with my husband as well.

Some of the recipes that I have tried so far have been the better than box brownies, chocolate fudge cookies, and the molten chocolate lava cakes. Everything has been delicious, albeit a little too sweet. The brownies called for an entire cup of coconut sugar which I’ll definitely reduce when I make it in the future, potentially by a at least ½ a cup. The cookies were delicious and soooo chocolatey – no complaints there. The chocolate molten lava cakes were SO easy to make and so delicious! Oh. My. Gosh. I served them with fresh raspberries and a homemade raspberry sauce. We had guests over recently, one who also avoids gluten, and I thought it would be the perfect dessert to make for them. Later that evening, after company had left, I had a conversation with my husband that went like this:

Me – What are your favorite desserts? (I was flipping through the cookbook planning next weekend’s treat)
Him – This one!

That made me so happy! My hubby listed a paleo, grain free, refined sugar free, dairy free dessert as one of his favorites! Pow pow! We liked them so much that I halved the recipe to make 1 each just for the 2 of us and we had them again 2 nights later.

The following weekend, I made the no bake strawberry cheesecake jars. That required me to purchase some 8 ounce wide mouth mason jars. Man. They were SO good. Cashews for a cheesecake? I admit – I was super skeptical. But, super delicious! I probably needed to add a bit more lemon juice, but overall, loved it and would definitely make it again. My husband, not paleo in the least, actually liked them as well! Another win? I’d say so! I loved the addition of zucchini as well.

There are various sections full of  recipes as well:

• Meal Ticket
• Bake My Day
• Confections of a Dirty Mind
• Easy as Pie
• Let Them Eat Cake
• That’s The Way The Cookie Crumbles
• What’s The Scoop?
• Whisky Business

The thing to note about this cookbook is that a lot of the recipes, like the book states on the front, are paleo inspired, meaning you’ll see a lot of dairy ingredients, i.e. butter, heavy cream, etc. She does list subs for these in most of the recipes. For someone like me, one that is actually allergic to dairy (including ghee which made me so so sad!), I am thankful for products like Nutiva’s buttery organic coconut oil. This has been great to use in all of my various recipes as it provides the buttery flavor without the dairy component.

Many on Amazon pointed out the dairy ingredient fact, but there are so many subs and workarounds that I feel it is not a real problem, but is definitely something to be aware of when considering this cookbook. There are some recipes that do NOT have non-dairy workarounds, but those are few and far between and easy to avoid.

In the back of the cookbook, there is a recipe index which is extremely helpful, making it easy to locate recipes as well as a section on which recipes are egg free, dairy free, and nut free. However, in the nut free section, there are recipes listed with almond butter. Almonds are not considered true nuts, and are actually drupes, but they are still avoided by many that have nut allergies.

I like the conversion chart included in the back as well that demonstrates the conversion of teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, and more. Super helpful. You can also find it on her website here – Conversion Guide. She also details what you need to get your kitchen set up for baking these treats as well as types of cake tips to buy for your decorating adventures.

As I make more from Vanessa’s book, I will be sure to share my thoughts. Until then, check out her blog that shares the title of her book – Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind.

 

Recipe Review: Real Deal Cookies (Against All Grain)

Coooooooooooookiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees.

Something tells me that the Cookie Monster wasn’t thinkin’ “paleo” when he said that. But these days? I sure am.

While never positively diagnosed with celiac disease, a gluten intolerance has frequently made itself very well known to me. I used to be able to cheat on the weekends and have a bite of gluten… a bite? Sorry, a plate! I would have some Chick Fil-a nuggets, a bbq sandwich (on a REAL bun!), a cupcake, etc. Only the weekends though! The biggest side effect I’d feel was sluggishness and sometimes body aches. Was it wise to do that? No, but old habits can die hard until they have to be put to death.

Some weeks ago, my husband and I went to get some BBQ with some friends. I know that a lot of BBQ sausages contain gluten, but I thought I’d be okay. I wasn’t. Not to mention, the previous night, I’d added some jalapeno crisps to my salad and had IBS-like symptoms the next morning. After this situation, I knew that I couldn’t even cheat with gluten anymore! One of the catalysts to pursing paleo, I decided that I needed to learn more methods of making gluten free treats. I usually replace the all purpose flour in a recipe with gluten free flour, but those gluten free flour blends often contain potato and rice flours. I also wanted to use alternative sweeteners. I like coconut sugar and would sub that cup for cup as well, but I really wanted a new method of doing things. More about that later.

I discovered this cookie recipe in Danielle Walker’s “Against All Grain: Delectable Paleo Recipes to Eat Well & Feel Great”. The first time I made them, I added some leftover pecan pieces. The cookies were different than the textures I was used to. They were really light, so much so that my husband jokingly called them ‘air cookies’. I only wished they were a little more moist & chewy. The second time I made them, I added a little more palm shortening and omitted the pecans. I also used a mix of dark chocolate & mini chips from Enjoy Life. Baking time was decreased by 30 seconds as well. This was a better batch! I love how the coconut sugar mimics the smell and taste of brown sugar.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWyO8aFF-8Q/?taken-by=jgrcreates

I think this recipe is a great base to play with. Maybe some cocoa powder for some chocolate cookies? Peppermint extract for mint chocolate cookies? Macadamia nuts and white chocolate? Unsweetened coconut? Definitely something I am planning to get creative with!

All in all, I do recommend this recipe and look forward to manipulating it. She does have a 2.0 version of this recipe in her “Against All Grain: Meals Made Simple: Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, and Paleo Recipes to Make Anytime” book that includes tahini (not sure how I feel about that!) and only uses egg whites. Her notes state that she wanted to create a nut free, coconut free alternative that everyone can enjoy. As I do have friends with more severe allergies and intolerances than myself, I will try my hand at these in the future.

Budget Bytes – Ground Turkey and Kale Soup

One of my favorite recipe sites is Budget Bytes. It is a great site that contains tons of recipes that can easily be made on a budget. Whether you’re looking for soups, sandwiches, seafood, poultry, Mediterranean, gluten free, vegetarian – whatever you’re in need of, you can find it at Budget Bytes. I have discovered some favorites and new staples over the past several months such as:

Unstuffed bell peppers
Homemade chicken noodle soup
Tandoori chicken dinner
Yellow rice chicken skillet
Easy oven fajitas

Every time I create my 2 week meal plan, you can bet that there will be at least 3 or 4 recipes from Budget Bytes. The latest recipe I tried was the sausage & kale soup. However, since I am not a fan of cooking with pork (or Italian sausage, in general), I decided to sub a pound of ground turkey which I browned with a little cracked red pepper and kosher salt. Yum!

A side note on prep – on my last grocery trip, I purchased spinach, spring mix, and kale for use in green smoothies. I’d rinsed them and stored them in our freezer for easy use in the mornings (and to prevent it from going to waste!) My kale was already rinsed and ready and frozen. In addition, I’d spent part of my Saturday and part of my Sunday soaking, cooking, and storing beans in 2 cup portions (approximately the size of a can). I’ll post more on that in the near future. In the recipe, Beth at Budget Bytes also suggested chopping and freezing carrots and celery which I did as well!

Now here I must admit – I really enjoy hand chopping my veggies. I don’t always love it, but most times, I do. I just got a new food processor back in December, but sometimes I just want larger, more uniform pieces. I chopped my carrots, celery, onion, and minced my garlic and I was ready to rock.

Minced garlic, chopped garlic, onion, & celery

Ground turkey and veggies sauteeing in olive oil

Frozen kale and my cooked & frozen great northern beans

Adding that delicious frozen kale!

Adding the white beans

Now, she does note in the recipe that you can use vegetable or chicken base, and I opted for vegetable since it’s predominantly veggies & there was no chicken in the recipe. I love using Better than Bouillon’s bases and I have their vegetable, chicken, and beef bases.

Better than Bouillon organic vegetable base

They are so flavorful and really save me money! Instead of paying for cans of broth, or sodium & MSG laden cubes, I have these organic bases! Good for the wallet and the body!

Now, I didn’t get a picture of the soup when it was done, but it was pretty good. I had to adjust the seasonings by adding kosher salt, white pepper, and some onion powder. I would not put it in my frequent rotation, but I can see myself making it again & would definitely play with the seasonings more! However, I do like that it was very quick & easy to put together, naturally gluten free (watch your broth ingredients always to make sure!), very nutritious and chock full of delicious vegetables. Our bodies appreciated it and our budget did too.

 

Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten Free & Delicious!)

One of my favorite go-to recipes for my husband, for friends, and for events is Tollhouse’s chocolate chip cookie recipe. I cannot tell you how many batches upon batches of cookies I have made in the past several years with that recipe! It always gets rave reviews and I always have to confess that it is no recipe concoction of my own! After I decided to bid gluten adieu, I tried the recipe using King Arthur’s GF multi purpose flour (& no xanthan gum, mind you) and ended up making some flat cookie patties! Ha! They tasted great, but sorely lacked dimension.

A close friend of mine, Enrica, sends me a lot of great gluten-free dessert pins, for which I am so thankful! One of the recipe pins she recommended a while ago was a recipe for chewy gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. What!? I was hesitant for a moment, breaking away from my tried & true Tollhouse recipe (I am still determined to make it work!), but I’d decided to try it. I purchased some gluten free oats, put them in my Ninja blender, and decided to try these out.

Note: Bob’s Red Mill does make a gluten free oat flour, but once I found out that oat flour is just oats ground into a powder, I decided to do it myself. It ended up being much less expensive & more economical for me to purchase a 2 pound bag of oats versus a 1 pound bag of oat flour. Tip: Bob’s Red Mill offers a $1 off coupon. Click here to access it!

The recipe was certainly easy, didn’t call for other flours, and required no xanthan gum. And the taste of the cookies – outstanding! The texture was assuredly different from the Tollhouse cookies due to the oats, but I didn’t care – they were delicious! They passed the husband test too! I brought some to our church for our staff and they enjoyed them as well. I have made them a few of times since the first, sending some to my family and they were a hit with them too. These cookies are not ‘good for gluten-free’; they’re just good!

The only thing I would do different is refrigerate the dough, but that’s it! Even without chilling the dough, they came out wonderfully!

• To access the pin & repin it to your boards: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/472666923364064406/
• To access the recipe: Yammie’s Glutenfreedom: Simple, Chewy, Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Going Gluten Free! Again!

I am not really good at blogging frequently. One look at my blog and you have probably figured that out. Now that school is out for the Summer, time looks different, so hopefully my posts will be more frequent. (And by frequent, I am hoping at least 1 weekly!)

About 3 months ago, I decided to get back to my ‘gluten-free roots’, haha! I was gluten-free in 2010-2011. I’d noticed that when I ate certain items with wheat, I’d have some strange reactions so I decided to eliminate that from my diet. I had blood work done to test for celiac sprue, which came back negative at the time, but I knew how consuming gluten made me feel. When I moved to Austin in late 2011, I let go of my gluten-free diet and started to consume it again. I didn’t have the same reactions so I thought that maybe I was in the ‘clear’ and it was just a temporary intolerance. Breads, cakes, and cookies were my friends again! Or… so I thought.

Due to several reasons earlier this year, I decided to do some research and conduct my own personal experiment. I went gluten-free for a couple of weeks. I attended small group during that time where spaghetti and bread was being served. I decided to partake, thinking I’d be okay. Not even! Later that night, I felt horrible. I felt sluggish & exhausted for days, nauseated, and my body ached pretty badly. Those were just a few of the things happening to me! I thought to myself, If this is how I feel after eating gluten now, how has my body been reacting internally all this time? I decided at that moment to completely go back to being gluten-free.

Has it been difficult? Yes! Some of the restaurants that my husband and I enjoy have some amazing bread! Hello, Olive Garden! Hello, Longhorn Steakhouse! And oh, how I miss eating naan when we have Indian food. However, I know that this has been the better option for my health. I do feel a lot better these days, and I can tell when I’ve been ‘glutened’. Because I have been gluten-free these past few months, my body has a strong reaction when I do eat it. I have been finding new ways to make the foods & sweets that I have enjoyed. One thing my husband and I like is homemade spaghetti. In addition to wheat pasta, our local grocery store offers corn pasta. I have been using this when I make spaghetti and it has gone over well.

What about chocolate chip cookies?! Thankfully, I have a recipe for those that uses oat flour. Slowly, but surely, I am finding healthier, gluten-free ways to enjoy the things I miss. For any of you that are considering going gluten free, I thought I’d share some of my favorite substitutes and recipes that have been in frequent rotation. I’ll also share some of the not so great substitutes! Look out for those in my next post!

Are you gluten-free (or considering it)? What have been your experiences?