Remembering Ben

This is not about food today, but about a special day in our lives... a day of remembering a son... a gift from God who we had for a short time in our lives.  Today is the anniversary of the day he left us and went to Heaven.  It's been 4 years, yet it seems like yesterday.  I lost my sister and my son within a year from each other.  A human life is never just gone.  They are there with you forever.  You can't ever remove them from your heart, or your memories and I know I will see them both again one day.  

How strange to see a life from the beginning to the end.  How strange to see the fruit of your womb gone before you.  How blessed we were to have known him and all the Lord did in our lives through his.  

1-13-83 a brand new soul was born into the world

Ben, Micah, Jesse, Josiah in the chair

Ben with attitude

Making music with good friends

(Psalm 73:26)  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Goodbye Ben.  See you soon! We love you and miss you!

Thanksgiving Recipes

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is already upon us once again.  I thought we would not have a Thanksgiving meal this year, since my husband was scheduled for esophagus surgery the day before Thanksgiving, and my son and his new bride were not planning to be here this year with us.  It just seemed hardly worth the effort to make a Turkey with all the trimmings for the few of us left at home.  But things changed rapidly.  First my son, Jesse, let me know that Thanksgiving is his favorite holiday and he expects a turkey and all the trimmings whether or not it's only us.  My husband's surgery got rescheduled, and I got a text from my daughter in law asking if it was too late to change plans and come for Thanksgiving.  Suddenly I have a house-full!  So thankfully, I have this week off work, and am making my plans.  I thought I'd share some of my own favorites for Thanksgiving, plus a few others of friend's blogs.

Spiced Cranberry Sauce
http://ginnyslowcarbkitchen.blogspot.com/2010/11/spiced-cranberry-sauce.html

And speaking of cranberry sauce, Carolyn's recipe for Chipotle Lime Cranberry sauce looks amazing too:

Stuffing! One must have stuffing on Thanksgiving, mustn't one?  Here is a good bread you can use for stuffing.  Use it in your favorite stuffing recipe.

http://ginnyslowcarbkitchen.blogspot.com/2010/11/almond-bread-for-stuffing-or-eating.html

I love my Pumpkin Cheesecake which is so rich and creamy:

http://ginnyslowcarbkitchen.blogspot.com/2010/11/pumpkin-cheese-cake-revisited.html

  Jennifer has several other suggestions on her blog listed today as well, with more links...
http://low-carb-news.blogspot.com/2011/11/happy-thanksgiving-say-it-with-pumpkin.html
Her list:

If you want a really fun post for many Thanksgiving ideas, visit Carolyn Ketchum's website.  See Lisa'sThanksgiving in One Bite!  See Red Kuri Squash at Judy's Carb Wars Blog.  See Maria Emmerich's Green Bean Bundles.  Kent Altena's Pumpkin Muffin-in-a-Minute.  Ginny Larsen's Two Minute Microwave Coffee Cake.  Peggy's Sausage Calabacita Casserole.

Thanks for the mention Jennifer!

Her Pumpkin Cheese Pie looks terrific!

Kent's video of Pecan Pie Cheesecake looks pretty wonderful too.  Take a look at these blogs.  They have so many great ideas!  I feel small in comparison!

Whatever foods make Thanksgiving day special to you, don't forget to give thanks!  I have so much to be thankful for!  I posted this on Facebook last year on Thanksgiving... Wouldn't it be great if we had only one day a year to grumble and complain and every other day of the year we gave thanks for all God's blessings?  I know I am very blessed.  I have little to complain about in comparison with all God has given me.

May you all have a terrific Thanksgiving!

Two Minute Microwave Coffee Cake

I got up yesterday morning, wanting something more than my usual cheese omelet.  I love my cheese omelet but needed a change.  Coffee cake sounded good.  I had made a pan of coffee cake the week before but that was gone and I didn't want to make a whole pan that takes an hour to wait for.  So I tried an idea from the minute muffin recipes, and did this 2 minute coffee cake.  It turned out really good.

This actually makes 2 nice servings. You can make it in what ever shaped container you have.  I used a cereal bowl and cut it in half. 

Very nice and moist inside, topped with a delicious cinnamon topping.  Not only is it very tasty and sweet, but it is has 6 g protein and 5 g of dietary fiber, and only 3 useable carbs per serving.  And almond flour and coconut flour are both so good for you!  So you don't have to feel guilty about having coffee cake for breakfast.  Just enjoy it!!  You're truly getting a healthy start for your day.


           

             TWO MINUTE MICROWAVE COFFEE CAKE

2 tablespoons  almond flour, Honeyville
1 tablespoon  coconut flour
5 packets  truvia or equal to 3 1/2 tbsp sweetener (edited, 6/18/2014)
1/2 teaspoon  vanilla
1/4 teaspoon  baking powder
1/8 teaspoon  salt
1 large  egg
1 tablespoon  coconut oil (or butter), melted
2 tablespoons  kefir (or buttermilk, or just water)
water, (just enough for consistency)
                        Topping
1 1/2 tablespoons  almond flour, Honeyville
2 packets  Truvia, equal to 1 1/2 tsp sugar (edited, 6/18/2014)
1 teaspoon  xylitol
1/2 teaspoon  cinnamon
1 tablespoon  butter (cold)

In a cereal bowl that is microwaveable, whisk together the first 5 ingredients.  Make a well in the center and add egg, melted coconut oil (or butter), kefir (or buttermilk or other liquid), and whisk together briskly until smooth.  It will be stiff.  Blend in enough water to make a cake batter consistency.

 Topping:  Blend almond flour, Truvia, xylitol, and cinnamon together in another small bowl.  Cut in the butter with a fork or pastry blender until it is crumbly.  Spread on top of batter.

Microwave on high for 2 minutes approximately.  My microwave is 1000 watts and 2 minutes is perfect.  Test for doneness.  Cool a minute or two and serve.

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2 servings (Per Serving): 304 Calories; 29g Fat (81.7% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 8g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber

NOTES : 3 net carbs per serving

If you want a whole collection of great recipes, all low-carb and gluten free, buy all 5 volumes here: http://amongfriends.us/GINNY.php

For some food for the soul check out Ginny's Place

Creme de Menthe Pie

Well, this pie was born out of a sleepless night.  I woke up at midnight one night dreaming about food. Sometimes my most creative recipes happen in the middle of the night. 2 recipes resulted from my sleepless tossing and turning.  This was one of them.  I guess sleepless nights aren't all bad.  I don't know what it is about stress that drives me to the kitchen, but it seems to have that affect on me, but not to eat.  I don't eat when I'm stressed.  I cook.  When I was grieving I cooked.  When I was stressed I cooked.  When I was bored I cooked.  I cook and pray at the same time.  Cooking seems to be my way to work through things.  I feed everyone else.

They say dreams are our mind's way of processing things and working through them. I don't know what my mind was working through that brought this about, but it made a few people happy anyway.  I brought it to church for our fellowship meal and asked everyone for their unbiased, honest opinion.  I got several different ones from "tart" to "very rich" to just "sweet enough".  Myself I thought it was great other than I think the crust needed a little more sweetener added. So my recipe below has a little more sweetener in the crust than how I made it.

   Creme de Menthe Pie

                        Crust
1 cup  almond flour, (I use Honeyville)
1 cup  flax meal, Golden
1/4 cup  cocoa powder
10 packets  truvia
1/4 cup  butter -- melted
                        Filling
12 ounces  cream cheese, softened (1 1/2 packages)
6 drops  green food coloring, (optional)
1/2 cup  creme de menthe DaVinci SF syrup
1/8 teaspoon  mint flavoring
1 cup  heavy cream
1 tablespoon  sugar-free vanilla pudding and pie filling
1 tablespoon  creme de menthe DaVinci SF syrup
                        Topping
2/3 cup  heavy cream
8 squares  Lindt 85% Cocoa Bar, chopped into small pieces
6 packets  Truvia

Crust:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix all ingredients together in the bottom of a 10" pie plate and press into the bottom and up the sides.  Bake for 10 minutes and let cool.

Filling:  Beat together the cream cheese, food coloring, if you use it, SF syrup, and mint flavoring with an electric beater until smooth and creamy.  Whip the cup of heavy cream together with the SF vanilla pudding and pie filling mix, and the DaVincie SF syrup, until peaks form.  Fold into the cream cheese mixture until all is blended well.  Pour onto prepared crust.

Topping:  Bring heavy cream and Truvia just to a simmer, stirring constantly, and remove from heat.  Quickly stir in the chopped cocoa bar until smooth and creamy and spread on top of the pie.

Chill the pie overnight or several hours before serving.

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16 servings (Per Serving): 241 Calories; 26g Fat (84.5% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber
4 net g carbs

Mouth Watering Vanilla Cream Sandwich Cookies with Chocolate Filling

Oh oh oh!  This is...what can I say... it sends endorphins to my brain.  This is something I know I won't make except on special occasions because it would just be too hard to not eat them all and get sick.  They are rich, creamy, the kind of thing that makes your eyes roll into the back of your head and you get a delightful shock that goes through your taste buds down to your tummy.  It is heavenly good.  Ok, ok... I know I am running on here, but oh my! I just don't know how to describe them!  I am so thankful for the taste buds God gave me and the delightful foods He gave us to enjoy, and this is one of those pleasures He gave that makes you just know Heaven has got to be wonderful.  I'm not exaggerating!

This is the way they hit my taste buds... I'm just sayin'.  I came home from work dead tired, after chasing a room full of 12 to 18 month olds around, and though they are really truly delightful and fun and cute, I know why God gives us children when we are young.  At 57, 4 hours of that is about all I can handle.  And those cute little kiddie songs go through my head in my sleep now.  But baking cookies really was the last thing on my mind when I got home.  Taking a good long nap was actually what I was longing for.  But I was looking through my recipes, none-the-less, (that is what I do in my spare time), and I got an idea and I'm glad I did.

So I made them, and was revived.  I think they sort of brought out the kid in me. :)

So here they are...


               Vanilla Cream and Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

                        Cookies
1/2 cup  butter, softened
1/4 cup  Torani (or DaVinci) vanilla flavored SF syrup
12 packets  Truvia (or sweetener equal to 1/2 cup sugar in sweetening power)
1/4 cup  xylitol
1 large  egg
2 teaspoons  vanilla
1 1/2 cups  almond flour, (Honeyville is what I use)
2 tablespoons  coconut flour
1 teaspoon  baking powder
1/4 teaspoon  salt
                        Filling
1/3 cup  heavy cream
6 packets  Truvia
8 squares  Lindt 85% Cocoa Bar -- chopped into small pieces

Cookies:  In a medium mixing bowl add butter, vanilla sugar free syrup, Truvia, xylitol, egg, and vanilla.  Beat with electric mixer on low until creamed together.

Add the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder and salt and beat again until it is well blended.

Drop by 1 Tbs fulls on parchment lined cookie sheet and flatten with the back of a spoon sprayed with non-stick spray.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 15 to 18 minutes and cool on the pan.

Filling: Add heavy cream to a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add 6 packets of Truvia.  Bring just to a simmer, stirring.  Remove from heat and add the Lindt 85% Cocoa Bar and stir with a wire whisk until well blended and smooth.

Spread on a cookie and top with another cookie.
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11 sandwich cookies (Per Serving): 211 Calories; 23g Fat (77.6% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 7g Dietary Fiber

NOTES : 3 net g carbs per cookie

Wheat--Allergy, Intolerance, or Sensitivity?

I'm learning more about the differences between gluten intolerance, wheat allergy, Wheat or gluten sensitivity.  It all seems very confusing.  The more I read the more I seem to fit in the category of wheat allergy.  I found this site helpful.

"Even though it occurs as a reaction to protein in wheat, Celiac Disease is not specifically a wheat allergy. A wheat allergy — like most well-known allergies — is the response of white blood cells called basophils and mast cells to something called Immunoglobulin E (or IgE for short). In laymen terms, this is a traditional allergy where you develop antibodies to an allergen, in this case wheat. Believe it or not, you can have a wheat allergy and not have Celiac Disease (or gluten intolerance), and you can have Celiac Disease and not have a wheat allergy. They’re two completely different responses in your body.
In a vast majority of cases, gluten intolerance symptoms will be systemic and will be a result of consuming gluten over a period of time. But symptoms of wheat intolerance will instead manifest themselves more like you perceive a typical allergy: quickly and with single exposure. Being gluten intolerant can be frustrating as this autoimmune disease can be subtle and insidious."

 My #1 symptom is sinus inflammation, and it happens quite soon after exposure.  In fact, yesterday I had lunch with a friend at Subway.  I didn't eat there.  I ate my own gluten free sandwich made from coconut flour and gluten free meat.  As I sat there, very soon I noticed I was feeling the congestion begin.  I walked in there and if you've been in Subway you know what I mean... it just wreaked of the smell of freshly made bread. For some reason much stronger a smell than at any bakery or any other restaurant I've ever been to.  I know they make their rolls right there in their oven.  I couldn't believe just the smell of the bread was causing me to have a reaction when I didn't even eat any!  I mean, come on!!!

I also discovered I cannot handle the play dough where I work with preschool children.  I used to make the play dough and sure can't do that anymore, but I cannot even handle it without using gloves and then washing my hands after, because if I touch my face while handling it I get a reaction.  I don't have all the digestive issues that people with Celiac have, but have had problems with IBS.  I can't tell if that is improved with giving up wheat or not because at that same time I began taking L-glutamine and drinking kefir again.  I think what ever improvement I have had has been due to that.  Because when I stop doing that, it comes back, regardless of having no wheat.  It's so hard to know these things!

So does it matter if it's an allergy, sensitivity, or intolerance, or celiac?  I suppose it would help me to know, but no matter, I have to stay away from wheat.  What I don't understand is that I seem to be more hyper-sensitive to wheat after being off from it for a year than I ever was when I was actually eating it.  So very little gives me a very big reaction.

So I'm still learning about all of this and striving to find hidden wheat wherever it may show up and be careful.  Almost impossible to eat out.  Every time I do, no matter how careful I think I am, I get a reaction.  It sort of scares me in a way.  I don't know where this will go, or how bad it can be, or if it could develop into even stronger reactions.  In that sense I suppose it's important to know if it is truly an allergy or a sensitivity.

If you're out there also struggling with this do read the site above that I linked to.  It has a lot of helpful information!  I have just started reading and I know I need to read more.  If anyone has any other helpful information please let me know.

One advantage I have is that I have been low carbing for about 5 years already so going from that to taking away wheat was not so huge and overwhelming.  I already knew how to make breads and baked goods for myself with low carb non-wheat flours.

So that's where I'm at for now.  I hope you all have a happy wheat-free low-carbing journey!  I'm doing my best to make it that for myself and whoever else I can help along the way.  :)

Pumpkin Chili

I have so many chili recipes.  Each one has its own uniqueness.  Lately, being Fall, and having pumpkin on my mind a lot, as well as chili, I decided to try a pumpkin chili.  I never had pumpkin in chili before but as I was browsing the internet for recipes and reading reviews, I decided on a combination of several ideas for one.  I didn't know if I should lean more on the pumpkin type spices or the chili type spices.  But I ended up using a little of each and the result was great!  I asked my family on a scale of 1-5 what would they rate it.  My son said, "A million!"  My husband and my son both do not do low carb or gluten free.  So I consider their opinion pretty weighty when it comes to how a non-low carber will like something.

                      

                              Pumpkin Chili

2 lbs ground beef

4 oz mushrooms, chopped

1/2 cup onion, diced

6 oz green chili peppers, diced

16 1/2 oz tomato juice (3 - 5.5 oz cans)

14 1/2 oz diced tomatoes, (1 can)

1 cup  canned pumpkin puree

2 teaspoons  pumpkin pie spice

1 tablespoon  cumin

2 tbs chili powder 

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp salt

1 tsp Splenda

Brown the beef, add mushrooms and onions and stir and fry until tender.  Add green chili peppers, tomatoes, tomato juice, pumpkin, spices, and Splenda.

Stir and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 30 minutes.  

Makes 6 1/2 cups, Each serving is slightly more than 1 cup.

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6 servings (Per Serving): 459 Calories; 32g Fat (63.4% calories from fat); 29g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber

Filled Turkey Roll

I thought I'd try something a little different tonight.  I wanted to make a filled meat loaf.  It did not turn out as a nice firm pretty loaf but more like a casserole. I was inspired by a recipe I saw for a filled turkey loaf, which I can no longer find.  It had rice, cheese, and red peppers for a filling.  In spite of how it looked when finished, it was wonderfully good in taste.  My non-low carbing husband and son both gave it a 5 star rating and said it was wonderful.  

I started out with a turkey loaf that I make using                       

  2 lbs ground turkey

  1 large egg, beaten              

 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

  1 tsp onion powder

  1 tsp garlic powder

  1 tsp salt

  1/4 cup  low carb ketchup

  1 tbs prepared mustard

  2 tbs soy sauce, gluten free (

  2 cups  Cauliflower rice (cauliflower shredded in food processor, or chopped fine)

  1 cup  fiesta blend shredded cheese (or any other kind of shredded cheese you like)

  1/4 cup  chopped red bell pepper

Mix all of the first 10 ingredients for the meat loaf together well.

On top of a mat, or cookie sheet, spread out the meat on a piece of waxed paper to a rectangle (as wide as your loaf pan so that when you are done it will fit in the pan).

On top of this, spread the cauli-rice, leaving about an inch on each side.  

Top with shredded cheese, and chopped red bell pepper.  Make sure to leave 

enough room on the sides to seal.  

Roll it up carefully, seal the edges, and place in a greased loaf pan, by placing the pan on top of the loaf and holding the sides of the waxed paper, and the mat underneath, and carefully turning it over into the pan.  

Bake at 400 degrees F. for approximately 1 hour.  Place a meat thermometer in the center to test for doneness.  Drain the juice and turn out onto a platter.  I could not pick it up out of the loaf pan.  It does not hold together.  

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8 servings: 1 Serving: 257 Calories; 15g Fat (53.7% calories from fat); 26g Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber