Hummus and Veggies



I find that I struggle to get enough veggies in my diet.  I have grown to love hummus and enjoy munching away on bagel or pita chips with a good hummus.  Lately, I have been substituting carrots, peppers, and sugar-snap peas for the chips while dipping into my favorite hummus.  Equally delicious and a great way to get another serving or two of veggies into your day.

As a side note, I noticed that my favorite hummus is made with canola oil.  I have strong feelings about eliminating canola from our diet.  While poking around the internet for a picture of hummus and veggies, I found this great picture and recipe for home-made hummus which is made with extra-virgin olive oil.  I will definitely be trying this recipe out soon.

Blueberry Muffins

We have had such a busy summer so far.  I really can't believe that July is almost over.  We have enjoyed lots of visits with lots of family members plus some fun summer activities like camp and swim lessons.  I haven't worried about my weight at all.  I have been trying really hard to stay away from any processed white sugar; however, there are times when I just allow myself to enjoy a treat that is really part of the moment.  Like the key lime custard we enjoyed after a fabulous family trip to the temple in Detroit.  It was amazing and worth every last molecule of sugar.  I am finding that one small item (like a fabulous custard cone) enjoyed once or twice a month doesn't seem to have the same effect on me anymore.  No more binges or horrible cravings.  Overall, I have felt good about my eating.  I could certainly include more vegetables; but then who couldn't?!  My weight has stabilized and has remained exactly the same the last three times I have weighed myself over the span of about 10 days.  And I mean exactly the same amount right down to the _ _ _ .7 which is really kind of crazy.  But I am thrilled with how I feel and the progress we have all made as a family.

Although it has been a cool summer, we finally have ripe blueberries to pick.  We love to pick and enjoy blueberries.  Here are two of our favorite recipes converted to use dextrose with nary a complaint from the family.

Blueberry Muffins

Batter:

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup dextrose
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup light olive oil
2 large eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Combine flour, dextrose, salt and baking powder in a mixing bowl.  Combine oil, eggs and milk in separate bowl and whisk together.  Stir oil mixture into flour mixture just until moistened then fold in blueberries.  Spoon mixture evenly into 12 lined muffins cups.

Topping:

1/2 cup dextrose
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 cup butter

Combine dextrose, flour and cinnamon for topping.  Cut in butter until mixture resembles crumbs.  Sprinkle mixture evenly over muffin batter.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Note: We try to make sure that we pick enough blueberries to keep a supply in the freezer.  When making this recipe using frozen berries, don't worry about thawing the berries, just give them a quick rinse and they will be fine.

Learning

This past week has resulted in a slight weight gain.  I have to say that I really am not at all concerned about this.  In fact, I was actually a little concerned to be losing too quickly which I feel really puts a strain on your body.  Looking back over the past week, I am realizing that I have been not getting enough vegetables and simple meals.  I am still working really hard to make sure that I keeping processed white sugar out of my diet; however, I have been eating a lot of fun things and not including any good smoothies or super nutritious salads like I was eating at the beginning of this journey.  The interesting thing is that I haven't really been hungry, but when I am, I have been choosing things like grilled cheese sandwiches and cottage cheese (lots of dairy) and happy little fructose-free doughnuts.  I can really feel that my body runs better with more vegetables.  So now, it is time to include some awesome smoothies for breakfast a couple of times a week and aim to have a salad for one of my daily meals during most days of the week. 

Doughnut Delight

My children keep asking me to take them to Tim Horton's for Timbits.  I think there must be either a doughnut in a show they are watching or a Tim Horton's commercial playing repeatedly; either way, there has been multiple requests for some sugary fried dough.

I finally told my son that when I was a kid, I remember my mom making doughnuts.  This fabulous event was followed immediately by the entire family sitting on the front porch moaning from the joy of overeating amazing homemade doughnuts.  My son didn't believe me, so on Saturday, we decided to see if it would be possible to make a satisfying doughnut with my new best friend dextrose. 

I will tell you right up front that the results were worth the effort.  I personally have never made doughnuts (the family experience from my childhood was not often repeated) so I turned to my trusty friend allrecipes.com.  I found a fabulous recipe which you can find here and made the necessary adjustments to make a fructose-free doughnut.  The result was a fabulous doughnut which we glazed with dextrose glaze and or sprinkled with dextrose powder and cinnamon.  Here is the recipe and some tips for making your own fructose-free delights. 

2 (.25 ounce) envelopes active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk
3/4 cup dextrose
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup shortening
5 cups all-purpose flour

1 quart vegetable oil for frying

GLAZE:
1/3 cup butter
2 cups dextrose
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 tablespoons hot water or as needed

Directions (As Per Allrecipes.com)

1. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water, and let stand for 5 minutes, or until foamy.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the yeast mixture, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups of the flour. Mix for a few minutes at low speed, or stirring with a wooden spoon. Beat in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Knead for about 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a greased bowl, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise until double. Dough is ready if you touch it, and the indention remains.
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and gently roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a floured doughnut cutter. Let doughnuts sit out to rise again until double. Cover loosely with a cloth.
4. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in hot water one tablespoon at a time until the icing is somewhat thin, but not watery. Set aside.
5. Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large heavy skillet to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Slide doughnuts into the hot oil using a wide spatula. Turn doughnuts over as they rise to the surface. Fry doughnuts on each side until golden brown. Remove from hot oil, to drain on a wire rack. Dip doughnuts into the glaze while still hot, and set onto wire racks to drain off excess. Keep a cookie sheet or tray under racks for easier clean up.

 My Notes:

• I did use shortening in the dough and vegetable oil for the frying.  My concern over shortening and vegetable oil is growing; however, I stuck with them for this recipe.  I will keep you posted if I try lard for the dough and a different oil for the frying.
• This is a great dough to knead in a stand mixer as it is soft and won't put a strain on your mixer.  I used my Bosch mixer (which can handle anything) and let it knead in the machine for five minutes.
• Oil your hands to get the dough out of the mixer without needing extra flour.  Using too much flour at this point can lead to a tough dough.  I also oiled the counter and my rolling pin to keep from needing extra flour.
• I did use a doughnut cutter for half of the dough.  Then it started to hurt my hand and I didn't want to waste any dough so I rolled out the dough in a big rectangle to 1/2 inch thickness and sliced it with a pizza cutter into roughly 1 inch rectangles.  This created beautiful doughnut pillows that were fabulous - a lot like a French doughnut or beignet.  I fried them for approximately 1 1/2 minutes on each side.
• It is really a must to use a thermometer.  I started frying when the oil temp got to around 325 degrees and adjusted the stove to keep the oil below 350 degrees.  This worked well to make sure that the doughnuts were golden brown and cooked all the way through.  The temperature of the oil is a delicate balance between being too cool which results in the dough absorbing a lot of oil and being too hot which will result in a burned outside and a raw inside.
• I personally liked the doughnuts best with a sprinkle of dextrose powder mixed with cinnamon.  I did make the glaze as noted above with dextrose and it worked well.  My kids loved it but I thought it was a little sweet.  (I know - crazy.)
• Baked goods made with dextrose are best enjoyed the same day.  We did have a few left the next morning and they were still good but I don't think you can wait much longer before they will start to go stale.  As a side note, I think it is a testament to the fact that sugar is addictive when I realized that there is no way there would have been any doughnuts left for the next day if they had been prepared with regular white sugar.  Without the addictive draw of sugar, we ate until we were uncomfortable and then were easily able to stop and move on with life without feeling the need to really gorge ourselves. 
• And finally, this is a great recipe for making sure that you don't feel deprived of life's normal joys.  That said, it is not a recipe that should be used on a daily basis.  There is nothing low calorie about it, all that has been removed is the processed fructose.

 

Pop Pop Popcorn!

One of my family's favorite snacks is popcorn.  My kids learned to make themselves microwave popcorn as soon as they were old enough to reach the microwave.  Of course, being a sugaraholic, I always bought the kettle-corn variety.  Most days after school, my 8 year old son would down an entire bag and still claim to be hungry which was completely frustrating to me as a mom.

Around the same time that I was deciding that we needed to drastically reduce the amount of sugar in our diets, I also read a few articles about the dangers of microwave popcorn.  Everything from the chemicals in the oils to the chemicals in the bag itself scared me.  Not to mention that the added sugar was causing my kids to be constantly hungry.

Now, we no longer have microwave popcorn in our home.  Instead, we make popcorn the old-fashioned way -- on the stove.  I am amazed at how quickly a batch of popcorn can be whipped up and it tastes so much better. 

Here is how we make our popcorn:

Start with a nice sturdy pan 5 to 6 quart pot.  My favorite pan for making popcorn is this fabulous 5-quart  pot with lid that I purchased at Ikea for a great price and is pictured above.  The pan is nice and sturdy on the bottom and has a light-weight lid that is perfect for popcorn because it easily bounces around letting the steam out.  And you really can't beat the price.

Into the pan I add 2-3 tablespoons of a light olive oil and 1/2 cup popcorn kernels.  Cover the pot and turn the temperature on the stove to medium-high.  Using potholders, I give the pot a quick shake every couple of minutes.  Once you start hearing the kernels pop, keep giving occasional shakes and leave on the burner with the lid on until the popping slows down.  Once the popping is down to a pop or two every couple of seconds, then remove from the burner (just like the sound you listen for when making microwave popcorn).  I like to dump my popcorn into a separate bowl and then drizzle with butter and shake in salt.  For an added treat to satisfy my sweet tooth, I sometimes shake a little dextrose powder over my own bowl. 

We have tried various different types of corn kernels with universal success.  We started with a jar from our local grocery store and recently purchased some monster mushroom kernels from our local bulk food store that are fabulous. 

Seasoned Salt = Favorite Dinner

I am not a big fan of making dinner.  Luckily, I have found that the change of removing sugar from our diet has actually made it easier to fix dinner.  Yay!  Now, dinner is pretty specific:  some type of lean meat (fish, chicken, or beef) along with a large amount of vegetables.  All I have to do is select a meat and some veggies and away we go.  I have been amazed at how well my children are doing with this change.  Because the younger two are picky eaters, they are glad to find a plain piece of fish or chicken on their plate.  They still complain (a lot) about the vegetables, but I provide them in the hope that they will give up and eat them some day.

I really like using Lawry's Seasoned Salt.  It is great on hamburgers, chicken, and vegetables just to name a few.  Unfortunately, when I was cleaning out my cupboards to remove anything that contained sugar, I discovered that my favorite Lawry's Seasoned Salt contains sugar.  I toyed with the idea of using it anyway - how much sugar could possibly be in there?  And then, just for fun, I googled recipes for a copy-cat seasoned salt.  To my surprise (and relief) there was an easy replacement.  After a little tweaking, here is the recipe that I am now using.  I am sure that it would be fine without the dextrose.  

Seasoned Salt:

4 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons dextrose powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon celery salt

Wisk together and store in a tightly sealed container (I use an old spice container with a shaker top).


My favorite dinner right now is:

Chicken tenderloins, cooked in a skillet with seasoned salt and a tiny drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil (I keep a bag of frozen Tyson chicken tenderloins in the freezer for quick dinners.  I have tried to buy the store brand of frozen chicken but the chicken was often dry and tough.  I like the tenderloins because they cook quickly and evenly.)

Veggies (zucchini, summer squash, onion, mushrooms, and asparagus) cut into bite size pieces, spread onto a baking sheet then sprinkled with extra-virgin olive oil and seasoned salt.  Stir around (I use my clean hands) to mix and then bake in a 400 degree oven until done (approximately 8-10 minutes)

Sometimes I will add a baked potato for my kids.  For a speedy baked potato, scrub your potato, cut two slits through the skin on both sides, place on a microwave proof plate (like Corelle) with a microwave proof bowl on top.  Cook on high for 3 1/2 minutes on each side.  

Sanity Saving Snack

I love a challenge and have enjoyed finding ways to make life as normal as possible while still removing as much processed sugar from our diets as I can. 

I have a deep love for peanut butter, chocolate, and peanut butter together with chocolate.  When I am feeling a little stressed and need a quick snack, I have found that one square of Lindt 70% Cocoa chocolate smothered in natural Smuckers peanut butter is a perfect option.  This is some pretty seriously dark chocolate and really is not sweet at all.  The peanut butter has only two ingredients:  peanuts and salt.  An added bonus is that both items are easily found at my local grocery store. 

Where there is a will, there is a way.  :)