Spoonful of Sugar Free

Registered Dietitian

Health

Looks Like a $20 Eggplant to Me

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Hey all! I am so glad you enjoyed the Grain-Free Pumpkin Spice Bread Recipe! I am so glad that so many of you have already tried it and enjoyed it! A big shout out to Heather for making it so quickly and creating a yummy-looking vanilla-peanut butter variation:

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Heather's Grain-Free Bread

 

Also, I only have a few more spots left to fill in my Friends by Recipe Challenge. So hurry and send your recipes in so you can be included!

Now onto more colorful things….like eggplant! There really aren’t many purple vegetables out there.

Honestly, I had never really eaten or cooked an eggplant until about a month ago-when I fell in love with it! Eggplants are just so meaty, tender, and juicy. They can also be completely versatile and be cooked into many different dishes like baba ganoush, Eggplant Parmesan, or Stuffed Eggplant. It can even be used as a meat replacement!

Their vibrant purple color isn’t just for looks, though. The eggplant also holds truckloads of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. In particular, the eggplant skin has a anthocyanin phytonutrient called nasunin. Nasunin is a potent antioxidant and free radical scavenger that has been shown to protect cell membranes from damage.

It’s good for you and it tastes good! What can be better than that?

Plus they are in season right now! So get them before October ends.

I have been enjoying my eggplant stove top style:

Using a cast-iron skillet (or any other type of skillet or pan), preheat the stove to medium heat. Drizzle a bit of olive oil in the bottom of the pan. Then, slice the eggplant into slices. I probably sliced mine at about 1/4 inch thick.

Then, place the eggplant on the skillet and drizzle more olive oil over the eggplant. Sprinkle as many herbs as you want! Have fun! I used a combination of salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika.

Serve by itself:

Served with steamed spinach, guacamole, red peppers, and garbanzo beans

Or….Create your own masterpiece by layering the grilled eggplant with grilled tomato slices:

Beautifully topped with fresh basil. Doesn’t it looks like it could be served for $20 at a fancy restaurant?

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

What are your favorite uses for eggplant? Or have you ever tried it? If you haven’t, I strongly suggest you pick up one of those babies at the store today!

P.S. Katie is having a Coconut Butter Giveaway! Check it out!

A Grain-Free Bread?

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While I wait for the recipes to add up, (Comment on my last post to submit a recipe!) I want to give you this recipe I have been very excited about the past few days.

Remember when I said I was going to go gluten-free for a while? Well, I have one-upped that, and have made a bread that is totally grain-free.

No spelt, no rice flour, no coconut flour, no peanut flour, no crazy substitute flours at all! Yet, it still tastes like bread-Pumpkin Spice Bread, that is 🙂

First, I started by making a butternut squash bread. I threw some things together into a couple mini-loaf pans, and the result was extremely good, but I knew I could do better. Thus I created the Grain-Free Pumpkin Spice Bread!

Finally I have a pumpkin recipe published! After seeing all of the other bloggers’ delectable –looking pumpkin recipes, I wanted to make my own!

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Grain-Free Pumpkin Spice Bread

Grain-Free Pumpkin Spice Bread

~This recipe is gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 cup almond butter
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 Tablespoons Ground flax
  • 3 Tablespoons Chia Gel (For each tablespoon of chia, mix 2-3 tablespoons of water and let sit for 15-20 minutes. The chia seeds will puff into a gel)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (or 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1/4 cup water

Instructions

  1. Mix together the ingredients.
  2. Pour into a lightly-greased bread pan.
  3. Bake for 1 hour at 350*. The bread will rise while in the oven, but will sink when taken out.
  4. Let the bread cool for fifteen minutes in the pan (this is necessary for the bread to set since it has no flour in it), and then plop it onto a plate or cutting board.
https://www.spoonfulofsugarfree.com/2010/10/18/a-grain-free-bread/

Mixing…

 

Before baking…

 

I may or may not have licked the mixing bowl clean…

 

Bake for 1 hour at 350*. The bread will rise while in the oven….

 

But it will sink a little bit when it is taken out…

 

Let the bread cool for fifteen minutes in the pan (this is necessary for the bread to set since it has no flour in it), and then plop it onto a plate or cutting board.

 

It is extremely moist, and no-one will ever guess that it is sugar-free or that it doesn’t have flour in it!

 

This bread will be perfect for Halloween or Thanksgiving!

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

What is your favorite way to eat pumpkin? Or do you even like pumpkin?

I used to LOVE pumpkin pie when I ate sugar! Seriously, I would eat it all day long if I could! The way it melts in your mouth as the crust crumbles and the custard-y filling squishes…oh man it is heavenly. I’m going to have to make a sugar-free pumpkin pie recipe!

Project Friends by Recipes

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Hi all! When I started becoming involved in the “blogging world” earlier this year, I didn’t know where this blog would take me. Well, I have met so many new people, and have learned so much! I love the community that surrounds the “healthy blog” world, and I love learning about new recipe ideas. However, I feel like there are so many more good recipes out there, and there are so many new people to meet.

Solution: Meet more people through recipes!

How? For the next two weeks I will be trying a brand new recipe everyday, and post about it.

Where will I get the recipes? From you!!!! Send me your favorite recipe, or link to the recipe, and I will try it out. Comment below with the link, or email me at spoonfulofsugarfree@gmail.com.

Spread the word!!! I want to meet more people in the blogging world! Ask them to send me a recipe, too.

Don’t have a blog? No worries! I want to meet you, too! Send me a recipe, and tell your friends, too!

There is a small catch, though. The recipes have to be sugar-free since I cannot eat sugar. Or you can send me your recipe that has sugar in it, and I will convert it to sugar free! I love a good challenge, and this is a great opportunity to have your favorite recipes made sugar-free!

What will you have me make, eat, bake, create, saute, boil, chop, freeze, or enjoy???

I'm so excited to try your recipes!

 

Faux Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabars

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My family has been really enjoying the new Peanut Butter Chocolate chip Larabars lately. 

They like them so much so that we go through a costco sized pack of them every few days! Their favorite is the peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. But at the rate my little brother and sister snack on these little bars, the money can really add up (even when we buy them at costco’s discounts). Usually they are around $1.50-$2.00 each, just in case you wanted to know 😉

Solution: make my own Peanut Butter Chocolate Larabars! Simple enough, since there are only four ingredients: Dates, Peanuts, Chocolate Chips (unsweetened chocolate, sugar, cocoa butter and vanilla), and Salt. Also, when I made my own I can eliminate the unnecessary sugar from the chocolate chips.

By the way, I love that the Larabars try their best to have fair-trade certified ingredients, and high-quality bars with minimal ingredients. What they do is great, and the bars are a perfect snack when you are on the road.

But, back to my Larabars!

I knew I could make my own larabars, after all, Katie makes her Fudge Babies, and Angela has made a plethora of different larabars, too!

If they can do it, I can do it!

Soooo….I did do it! And I am so glad I did!

Chocolate-Peanut Truffles

~This is a recipe I made on my Bake Night. The truffles are vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, and of course, sugar free! Try to restrain yourself from eating too many, though, because if you are like me, you can get a sugar high from the dates!

Ingredients

Makes about 2 dozen truffles

How-To Picture Tutorial:

 

Ingredients

 

Using a food processor (I have also had success with a magic bullet), chop the dates first into a date-paste. Then add nuts and chop. Finally, add cocoa powder and mix. If the dough is too powdery, add a small dash of water. If it is too sweet, add more peanuts. If it is not sweet enough, add more dates. The recipe is extremely versatile. Note: It is best when the peanuts are chunky, so don’t over-chop the peanuts!

 

Finally, roll into balls and enjoy!

I served these to some of my tennis friends, and they were a hit!

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

Have you ever tried a larabar? I’ve tried them, but I can’t really eat them. I think the date:nut proportion favors the dates too much. They are too sweet for me! I also can’t bring myself to buy a bar for $2 when I know I can make my own for less than 50 cents. (My brother and sister can, though!)

 

Attack of the (Sugar Free) Monsters

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Hey all, remember when I told you all about my Bake Night a few days ago?

Well, remember the Chocolate Chunk Monster cookies I told you about?

No? Well, here’s the recipe anyway. These cookies are extremely delicious, and naturally sweet!

Teenage Health Freak had suggested that I try this recipe before. Well, I finally did (and added a few changes, of course). Boy am I glad I finally tried them 🙂

 

Well...Not the prettiest cookies, but definitely one of the tastiest!

 

Chocolate Chunk Monster Cookies

~This recipe can be gluten-free if using gluten-free oats. It is also vegan, dairy-free, and of course, sugar-free! Makes about 30-35 cookies

Ingredients

  • 3 very ripe bananas
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 Tablespoons coconut oil (or olive oil works, too)
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 3/4 cup finely chopped almonds
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 4-5 ounces 100% dark chocolate bar (Found in the baking section in the grocery store. I suggest Baker’s chocolate or Ghiradelli unsweetened)

Preheat oven to 350*. Mash the bananas, and mix in the other wet ingredients. Then add the dry ingredients and mix until well-incorporated. Next, chop the chocolate bar into small chunks and mix into batter. Drop Tablespoons-full of dough onto a cookie-sheet about 1/2 inch apart. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown.

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

Have you tried unsweetened chocolate yet????

Bake Night!

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One boring Wednesday evening I had the itch-the itching desire to bake! I baked for 3 hours straight and had a blast!

On the menu:

I even wore a dorky fruit hat to bake in:

My mom bought the hat for me at IKEA.I have to say that I do love it! My family teases me, and my brother steals it sometimes…All for good fun! Plus, it is very comfy.

My creations of the night:

I gave them to my mom’s bible study group, and brought the leftovers to my tennis practice. They were a hit!

Want the recipes?

Click HERE for the Carrot-Apple Bran Muffins.

For the mini-cheesecakes I used the recipe found HERE. But instead of freezing it in a glass container, I put them into mini-muffins liners and froze them in the muffin tin. I made some strawberry cheesecake (mix with frozen strawberries and topped with a raspberry), blueberry cheesecake (mix with frozen blueberries and top with blueberries), and Key Lime Pie cheesecake (mix with lemon and lime juice and top with lime wedge).

The Peanut-Chocolate Fudge Balls and the Chocolate Chunk Monster cookie recipes will be coming soon! So stay tuned!

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

Do you ever have the urge to bake? I do a lot. I think it is very calming, and stress-relieving!