Spoonful of Sugar Free

Registered Dietitian

Breakfast

#7 Friends by Recipes: True Porridge

By

Hello, and welcome to day seven of my Friends by Recipes Challenge!

Today I am sharing a recipe from a new friend of mine. April owns a blog called the Stratheden Farm. She lived in Scotland for a while and learned exactly how to make the perfect hot porridge that keeps the whole body warm in the morning! April suggests:

“When buying oats for porridge, buy the brand that most looks like a ‘meal.’ It should look like coarsely ground grain, not flakes or hard little chunklets. (Those have other uses.) Our favorite variety is Bob’s Red Mill Scottish Oatmeal which is the real deal; stone ground in a real water mill.”

I used Oat Bran to make this. Is that okay, April? They seemed like the texture you described, and the oatmeal came oat tasting scrumptious with it!

April's Oats

 

Ingredients
1 cup oatmeal
3 cups water
pinch salt
walnuts
rasins
flax seeds
dried cherries
milk

Into a 1 1/2 quart sized pot, place your carefully measured oats and a three-fingered pinch of salt. Now take a big handful of walnuts and break them up a bit. Toss into the pot. Throw in the same volume of raisins but be sure they aren’t just a big lump. Measure your flax by thinly covering the surface of the oats. Finally, add cold water. Turn the heat on under your ugly gruel. Medium-low is best. Never stop stirring… slowly… until your oatmeal is thickened. Oats are done when the bubbles are thick and leave a hole when they pop.

Do not believe the package when it says to add oats to boiling water. You will spend all your time breaking up lumps and think making good porridge is difficult. Good porridge is brain-dead work.

My Porridge!
This was delicious, April! The raisins were nice and plump while the oats were extremely creamy. Nothing like a nighttime bowl of hot oatmeal to put you to sleep 🙂

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

Do you eat a bedtime snack?

I only do if I am hungry. I cannot go to bed on an empty stomach! But it also isn’t good to go to bed extremely full. There has to be a happy-medium.

If you do eat a bedtime snack, what do you eat to help you fall asleep?

I used to eat peanut butter toast. The whole wheat bread was nice and crunchy while the peanut butter melted as soon as it touched the bread’s surface!

#5 Friends by Recipes: Marathon Mud Pie

By

Ahh! Back to my Friends by Recipes Challenge! Today, I am sharing a new overnight oat recipe from a new friend who has a new blog! Her name is Emily Elizabeth, and her blog is called Kisses for Breakfast (cute!).

Emily suggested I try this overnight oat recipe called a Marathon Mud Pie. I jumped on this recipe because I know that overnight oats are super easy to make! Just whip it up the night before, and let it thicken overnight. This is perfect when you know you will be having a busy morning. I also LOVED this recipe because I got to be creative! I love layering oats, fruit, and peanut butter to make a beautiful breakfast parfait. The peanut butter+chocolate+banana combo ain’t too bad either 😉

Recipe: Marathon Mud Pie

Marathon Mudpie
Emily's Marathon Mud Pie

Summary: A creamy chocolate peanut butter pudding parfait for breakfast… and before a long run? Why not? Take a couple minutes to toss the ingredients together the night before and it’s ready first thing in the morning! Loaded with fiber, protein, healthy fats and a little caffeine from the cacao, it’s the perfect breakfast to sustain you through a long workout. I love to have this first thing in the morning before I head out for a long run.

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup rolled oats
  • 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup low-fat milk
  • 1/4 cup mashed banana
  • 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter (just peanuts, no sugar and just a touch of sea salt)
  • 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
  • 1 tablespoon chia seeds
  • 1 dash fine sea salt

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients and put in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight. That’s it!
  2. TO MAKE A PARFAIT (highly recommended!): After the pudding is set, spoon 1/3 of it into a fancy dish and top with a dollop of greek yogurt and 3 banana slices. Repeat 2 more times and drizzle a little peanut butter on top.

My beautiful masterpiece:

This was so good, Emily! I loved the combination! It was perfectly filling, and satisfying. I would even eat this for dessert 🙂

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

Do you ever make yourself, or someone else, healthy sundaes? I remember waking up early for my mom or dad’s birthday, and creating a yogurt parfait for their breakfast in bed! I would always layer fruit, yogurt, and grape-nuts! They are so much fun to make because you get to be creative with your food!

Also, did you ever make your mom/dad/grandparents/siblings breakfast in bed for their special day?

 

Hallow-Excuses

By

Hello all! I know I haven’t been keeping up with my Friends by Recipes posts over the weekend, but give me a break! It was Halloween 😉

I promise, I am in the kitchen right now baking all of your wonderful recipes! I will start posting them again as soon as I can!

But for now, how about a recap of Halloween?

My little brother received his new belt!
Made a fruit monster for breakfast! Grrr! Hiss!

Carved Pumpkins. Mickey Mouse was my sister’s, and Jack (the Pumpkin King) was my little brother’s. Ok…I didn’t carve a pumpkin because I wanted to roast mine 🙂 Or maybe make a pie…
Helped my little brother go Trick-or-Treating! I mean….I helped Harry Potter go Trick-or-Treating 😉
He got a load of candy! (Some were King-Sized!) And no, they were not sugar free 🙂

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

How did you spend Halloween??

Oh yeah, and Happy November!

#4 Friends by Recipes: Muffins that take the Cake

By

Welcome to day four of my Friends by Recipes Challenge! Today, I am sharing a recipe from my new friend from eat move love.

Her Muffin Pics!

 

Oooo...Yum...

Blueberry Muffins-That-Take-The-Cake…Look ;)

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup oats (optional)
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup applesauce
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • cinnamon to taste
  • 1/2 mashed banana
  • 1/2 cup blueberries
  • raisins (honestly, I don’t measure – just throw them in ;) )

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2) Mix all wet ingredients thoroughly in a bowl.

3) Add dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, oats, cinnamon. Mix thoroughly.

4) Add in blueberries and raisins.

5) Pour batter into muffin tin (with liners or lightly oiled).

6) Bake at 350 degrees for ~20-25 minutes.

Makes ~ 8-10 muffins (depends on the size you prefer).

7) Let cool. Then, EAT.

I used brown rice flour instead of regular flour to make them gluten-free, and they turned out great! They do taste cake-y!

I made my muffins mini! I also used frozen blueberries, and made them “bleed” on purpose to make them Purple muffins!!! Fun, Fun!

These were really yummy! I loved the cake-like texture! Who says you need sugar to eat cake? 🙂

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

Halloween is coming up! What do you plan on doing? Are you going to dress-up? Maybe I’ll wear this hat…

Also, do you get a lot of trick-or-treaters? I used to get a good number, but since we moved I don’t know if we will get any! Do you give out candy? Or do you just shut off the lights?

 

#1 Friends by Recipes: Anita’s Oatmeals

By

Hi everyone! Here is the very first post for my Friends by Recipes Challenge. The challenge will last about two weeks, so come back every day to see a new, tasty recipe!

Anita suggested:

“You know what I started thinking this week ? Why not make a savory oatmeal ? Take the oatmeal and add a mashed sweet potato that has been roasted. I read on cara’s cravings, I think she put shredded zucchini into her oatmeal. I’ve also been thinking about pineapple and some of that coconut butter, like a pina colada oatmeal. As for savory oatmeal, I think almost any vegetable would work as a topping, maybe add some olive oil, salt, pepper. Some of the macrobiotic people eat vegetables for breakfast, why not?”

So, Anita, I made some Savory oatmeal:
Oatmeal cooked with shredded zucchini, and topped with a dollop of butternut squash puree, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper!
And some Pina Colada Oatmeal:
Pina Colada Oatmeal cooked with coconut milk/cream. Chunks of Pineapple mixed in. Topped with shredded coconut (and a maraschino cherry for decoration-don’t worry, I threw that High Fructose Corn Syrup-soaked fruit in the garbage as soon as I finished taking the picture!) I also placed the oatmeal in a glass, and decorated it with a bendy-straw and a slice of lime. I think this oatmeal would taste best chilled, or “Overnight Oat Style”
Together, they make the perfect Oatmeal Meal!
Ahh...Relax by the pool...

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


What is your favorite oatmeal mix-in? I tend to change from day to day-I like to keep things fresh!
Also, what is the weather like in your part of the world? Here in Florida it was 90* today!!! As you can see, it is still pool weather here 🙂

A Grain-Free Bread?

By

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!

Print
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!