Spoonful of Sugar Free

Registered Dietitian

Alex Curtis, RD LDN

Grain-Free Lemon Poppyseed Muffins {Giveaway}

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I’ve been very excited about this recipe. A grain-free, sugar-free, paleo muffin bursting with lemon flavor and only 50 calories a pop? Yes please. I’ll take four.

I created this recipe to test out NuNatural‘s new Lemon stevia, which I am now in love with (for my thoughts on stevia in general, check out my FAQ page). A few drops of this lemon stevia with a squirt or fresh lemon juice in water tastes like a refreshing lemonade. You can even add some chia seeds to make it even more hydrating. Chia seeds could probably even replace the poppyseeds in this recipe if you feel adventurous.

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Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Yield: 15 mini muffins (5 regular-sized)

Serving Size: 1 mini muffin

Calories per serving: 50 calories per muffin

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

~These muffins are grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, corn-free, nut-free, paleo, and sugar-free.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup coconut flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 Tablespoons oil (I like to use coconut oil when baking)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon liquid lemon stevia*see note
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon zest *see note
  • 1 Tablespoon poppyseeds

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350*
  2. Combine all dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder, salt) until well-mixed.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix together wet ingredients (eggs, oil, stevia, zest, water) until smooth.
  4. Combine wet and dry and stir until well-combined.
  5. Fold in poppyseeds.
  6. Grease or line a mini-muffin tin. Pour batter into each muffin cup to the top of the liner.
  7. Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on a cooling rack for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Notes

When using lemon liquid stevia drops, the lemon zest is not necessary if you do not have it. You can also use plain liquid stevia with the lemon zest if you have that instead.

You may double or triple the recipe as needed.

https://www.spoonfulofsugarfree.com/2012/05/10/grain-free-lemon-poppyseed-muffins-giveaway/

Health Benefits:

  • Lemons: Lemon is a great source of vitamin C and potassium. It can help lower blood pressure, strengthen immune system, and help relieve indigestion and constipation. Because of its diuretic properties, it can help cleanse the blood and flush out toxins.
  • Coconut: Coconut is widely misunderstood because of it’s high fat content; however, coconut’s saturated fat is made up of medium-chain fatty acids. These medium-chains are easy to absorb and digest, and are converted quickly into energy. This means that the body has no opportunity to store the medium-chain as fat. Coconut is also a great source of dietary fiber with a whopping 5 grams per ounce!

Eat these for breakfast, snacks, or dessert. You might want to quadruple this recipe with the amount of muffins you will eat the next few weeks.

Citrus NuNaturals Liquid Stevia Giveaway

Courtesy of NuNaturals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There will be 4 winners! 

We cannot ship to P.O. Boxes, sorry!

This giveaway is officially over. Thanks to all who entered! The winners are Alex@therunwithin, Katherine d, Briita, and Ben. 

How to Enter:

There are multiple ways to win. Please leave a separate comment below for each entry.

  1. Answer this question: Are you a fan of citrus-flavored foods? Tell me what you would use this stevia for!
  2. Subscribe to Spoonful of Sugar Free by entering your email address in the “Subscribe” box on the right. Or follow by RSS, google reader, etc. 
  3. Like me on facebook.
  4. Follow me on twitter
  5. Tweet about this giveaway. Can be something like, “I want to win @NuNaturals citrus stevia @SugarFreeAlex  http://www.spoonfulofsugarfree.com/2012/05/08/grain-free-lemon-poppyseed-muffins ”
  6. Like NuNaturals on facebook.
  7. Follow me on Pinterest and Pin this recipe.
  8. Blog about this giveaway on your blog.
Giveaway ends May 15th at Midnight.

 

Can’t wait for the giveaway to end and want to buy your own?

You can order your own stevia online at NuNaturals and enter the discount code BLG0612 to receive 15% off your entire order. Discount effective until June 30th, 2012. Continental U.S. customers will also receive free shipping if order is $35 or more.

Good luck to everyone!

Moroccan Lemon Chicken with Olives

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Don’t you hate it when people leave you hanging?

I know just how it feels. Like when I gave you a Preserved Lemon Recipe, and then didn’t give you this Chicken recipe to go with it?

I promise I wasn’t in a bad mood! I didn’t think, “Muahahaa…I will give my readers this tasty-looking chicken picture, and then wait three days to give them the recipe! Hahahaha…”

Well, maybe part of the above was true, but not the “muahaha” part…maybe…

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Moroccan Lemon Chicken with Olives

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 2-4 servings

Moroccan Lemon Chicken with Olives

~Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Paleo, Soy-free, Corn-free, Nut-free, and Sugar-free.

Ingredients

  • Spices:
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
  • Chicken and Mix:
  • 1.5 pounds chicken pieces (may use breasts or thighs. Bone-in, Skin-on for more flavor)
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 medium-sized yellow onion, sliced
  • 1 preserved lemon
  • 1/2 cup pitted green olives, chopped
  • 1/4 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley

Instructions

  1. First, mix all spices together in a bowl. Pat the chicken pieces dry and rub with spices.
  2. Heat oil in a saucepan on Medium heat and place chicken in pan, skin down. Brown for 3-5 minutes, or until chicken's skin is well-browned.
  3. Then, add the garlic and onions to skillet and sauté until golden. Flip chicken over while onions are browning. 10 minutes.
  4. Lightly rinse your preserved lemon to get any extra salt off. Thinly slice. Place lemon, olives, raisins, and water in saucepan and cover. Let simmer for 15 minutes, or until vegetables are golden and chicken is cooked.
  5. Serve warm and spoon over desired cooked grain, and sprinkle with parsley or cilantro. In Morocco this dish is usually served over couscous, but to make gluten-free, serve over cooked millet or couscous.
https://www.spoonfulofsugarfree.com/2012/05/07/moroccan-lemon-chicken-with-olives/

The recipe looks like it has a lot of ingredients and steps, but it is actually quite simple. It only requires one saucepan,so it makes clean-up easy. For the spices, simply mix and rub. Feel free to double or halve the recipe if you are serving more or less people. I would probably make extra, though, because leftovers are great, too!

Health Benefits:

  • Moroccan Spices: The spices rubbed on this dish contain many nutrients and health benefits: paprika helps improve blood circulation, cumin promotes good digestion, ginger combats inflammation, turmeric helps fight against Alzheimer’s, and cinnamon helps regulate blood sugar levels.
  • Lemons: Lemon is a great source of vitamin C and potassium. It can help lower blood pressure, strengthen immune system, and help relieve indigestion and constipation. Because of its diuretic properties, it can help cleanse the blood and flush out toxins.

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day: 

This recipe contains a lot of spices, and the combination is the key! Do you like to use spices a lot in cooking? What are your favorites?

Preserved Moroccan Lemons

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In the mood for something different for dinner? How about having a Moroccan dinner night?

Many Moroccan recipes call for Preserved Lemons, which are actually quite simple to make. The lemons are preserved with salt and sit in their own juices for about 3 weeks before they are ready to eat and to be used in recipes.

The result is a soft, edible rind that has a slightly salty, tart, and very-lemon taste. After rinsing the lemons lightly (to take a bit of the extra salt of), you can chop or slice them to use in recipes.

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Preserved Moroccan Lemons

Preserved Moroccan Lemons

Ingredients

  • 8-10 Lemons (Meyer Lemons work best, but regular will be fine as well)
  • 1/2 cup coarse, kosher sea salt (more, if needed)
  • Extra fresh lemon juice, if needed
  • 1 quart-sized canning jar

Instructions

  1. Scrub the lemons to remove any wax.
  2. To prepare the lemons, remove their stems and cut the tips off each end (about 1/4 inch).
  3. Then, starting at one end of the lemon, cut it in half vertically, but do not cut the lemon cleanly in half-keep it attached at the base. Repeat this cut so that the lemon appears quartered, but is still attached at the base.
  4. Place 2 Tablespoons salt in bottom of glass jar.
  5. Pry the lemons open and sprinkled generously with salt in the insides of the lemon.
  6. Pack the lemons in the jar so that the juice is extracted and squeezed.
  7. Fill the jar with your cute and salted lemons, and top with extra lemon juice, if needed, so that the lemons are completely covered with juice.
  8. Top with a couple Tablespoons of salt.
  9. Seal the jar and let it sit at room temperature for 2 days, Turn the jar upside down occasionally.
  10. Move jar to refrigerator and let sit for 3 weeks, turning upside down occasionally, or until lemon rinds are soft.
  11. Preserved lemons can be stored in refrigerator for up to 6 months.
https://www.spoonfulofsugarfree.com/2012/05/04/preserved-moroccan-lemons/

Preserved Lemon Uses:

  • Preserved lemons compliment moroccan flavors of cumin, cinnamon, ginger, and turmeric, and go well with meat, seafood, and vegetables.
  • Chop and stir into cooked grains with other aromatic herbs and spices of choice. Couscous is the Moroccan choice of grain, but substitute quinoa or millet to make it gluten free.
  • Chop and toss into salads. Try adding them into chicken salads, as well.
  • Add to sauces
  • Roast with veggies
  • Add to various stir-fries with veggies and meat.
  • Add to soups and bean mixes.
  • Place in regular or carbonated soda water for a tangy drink

Stay tuned on Monday when I share this recipe for Preserved Lemons!

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day: 

Do you preserve or can food?

I’ve never canned or preserved anything. These lemons were my first. Pickles are next!

Grain-Free Peanut Butter Apple Doggy Cake

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11 years ago…

This guy was born.

My sweet, lovable, hairy, lazy, fluffy, attention-hogging, golden retriever, Pudder!

Happy Birthday! I love you, big guy!

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Grain-Free Peanut Butter Apple Doggy Cake

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Yield: 1 large doggy cake

Serving Size: Varied. Depends on dog\'s size.

Grain-Free Peanut Butter Apple Doggy Cake

~Grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, corn-free, soy-free, and sugar-free.

Ingredients

  • 1 egg
  • 3 Tablespoons peanut butter
  • 1/2 apple, finely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350*.
  2. Mix all ingredients together until smooth.
  3. Grease a ramekin or a jumbo muffin tin. Fill with batter.
  4. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
  5. Let cool for a couple minutes, and then slide the cake out of the baking container. Cool on a cooling rack for 5 minutes before serving to your dog.
  6. You may frost with extra peanut butter, if desired.
https://www.spoonfulofsugarfree.com/2012/05/01/grain-free-peanut-butter-apple-doggy-cake/

Pudder loves peanut butter, a dog after my own heart! He also likes to eat apples, so I combined the two ingredients to make this cake. Last year I made him a similar cake, but it contained brown rice flour and no eggs. This year, I made it grain-free because he switched to a grain-free dog food. If you want to see last year’s cake, click here.

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day: 

Do you have any pets? Tell me about them!

If you do have pets, do you celebrate their birthday?

Shrimp Cocktail

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When I was around 10 years old, my family belonged to a club that had the most delicious Mother’s Day and Thanksgiving brunches. There were huge lines of spiral ham, veggies, and a dessert. What I remember most, though (beside the chocolate lava cake that was divine!), was the ice sculptures with all you can eat shrimp cocktail around. I’d layer my salad plate up with a mound of shrimp and a whole bowl of cocktail sauce for myself. I probably didn’t end up eating it all because my mom always said my eyes were bigger than my stomach!

I loved that shrimp cocktail, though. It is extremely easy to make, too, with only two ingredients: ketchup and horseradish. Now that I have a sugar-free ketchup recipe, I can eat all the shrimp cocktail I want!

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Shrimp Cocktail

Total Time: 5 minutes

Shrimp Cocktail

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Simply mix the two ingredients together and serve with boiled shrimp. You may adjust the amount of horseradish used to suit your tastes. Some horseradishes are stronger than others, and some prefer a stronger or weaker horseradish taste. Personally, I enjoy shrimp cocktail with a high amount of horseradish!
https://www.spoonfulofsugarfree.com/2012/04/29/shrimp-cocktail/

Shrimp Buying Tips: 

  • Unless you are buying the shrimp fresh, right off the boat, it is usually best to choose frozen shrimp because it is frozen right after catching.
  • Make sure “shrimp” is the only ingredient listed on the package. Some manufacturers add STPP (sodium tripolyphosphate) which is a dangerous chemical preservative.
  • Buy wild, not farmed.

Health Benefits:

  • Horseradish:The glucosinolates in it have powerful antioxidant properties and can also be used to reduce thyroid function and to relieve aching joints. Glucosinolates also act as natural antibiotics against different types of infections because they increase blood flow in the infected area and remove the waste products from that region of the body.
  • Tomato: Best known for its high lycopene content. Lycopene is a carotenoid that may reduce incidences of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and macular degeneration. Tomatoes are especially high in vitamin C and A as well.
  • Shrimp: Shrimp is low in calories and loaded with protein. Shrimp contain astaxanthin, a carotenoid that gives them their pink color and that can act as a potent antioxidant and protect the skin from premature aging. Also the omega-3 fatty acids in shrimp provide antioxidant protection. It contains shrimp that plays an important role in the production of new cells, including hair cells and skin cells.

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day: 

What is your favorite way to eat and prepare shrimp? (links welcome)

 

11 Ways to Have an Exciting Run

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I’ve never been much of a runner.

I remember P.E. class in first grade, and it was time to do “physical testing.” Ugh. I was good at sit and reach (touch your toes), but not the dreaded 1-mile run. It was the first time I had ever run a mile. My time? 16 minutes.

I’ve come a long way since then, but I still don’t particularly like running. I’d rather take a bike ride, do some weightlifting, or jumping jacks.

But…sometimes you have to do what you don’t want to do. Here are some tips and things to do while running to keep you from boredom. You might actually have a…(dare I say it?)…exciting run!

11 Ways to Have an Exciting Run:

  1. Pick a wildflower bouquet on your run to give to a friend, teacher, or your mom! (Your mom will love you forever if you do this.) Please make sure there are no ants or bees in the flowers, though. It is no fun to run along with ants crawling up your arm and bees stinging your wrists!
  2. Create a story in your head. “Once upon a time there was a girl running through the woods with legs as fast as lightning…” -I never said the story had to be true!
  3. Bring your camera and snap some fun shots of nature, cars, people, or animals along the way. I wear something around my neck that holds and protects the camera, and put the camera strap around my wrist so I don’t drop it.
  4. Recite poetry or quotes in your mind or out loud. “Twas bryllyg, and the slythy toves Did gyre and gymble in the wabe” –The Jabberwocky
  5. List things you are thankful for. You’ll come away from the run feeling refreshed both physically and mentally!
  6. Make a mental list of things you need to do. Ok, so maybe this one isn’t exciting, but it will prepare you for the week.
  7. Wear cute new clothes. New running gear can make me more excited to exercise in general. Hover here for a review of the best running socks, and hover here for a review of the best running gloves.
  8. If you have woods or a nature trail nearby, run there (if it is safe). I find it much more entertaining to run in nature with animal calls everywhere than to run on cement. Grass is also easier on your joints.
  9. Pray. Running is a great time to meditate and pray about anything or anyone who needs prayer.
  10. Get a running partner. You can talk with them and not even think about running!
  11. Count things. The number of Bugs, trees, blue cars, whatever. This is sort of like an “I-Spy Running Game.”

 Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

How do you keep from being bored while running (or exercising in general?)?

Let’s expand this list with your ideas!