Spoonful of Sugar Free

Registered Dietitian

Recipes

Calories, Fat, Carbs, and Protein

By

Hello everyone!

You may have noticed that I don’t post the Nutrition Facts for all of my recipes. The only reason I don’t is because I don’t count calories or carbs, and it is just a bit more time-consuming. However, I completely understand those who need the calorie information due to Diabetes, weight loss, weight gain, etc.

For those who need the nutrition data, please feel free to ask me. Just leave a comment or send me an email at spoonfulofsugarfree@gmail.com. Tell me which recipe(s) you are interested in, and I will get the data calculated for you right away!

Now onto something fun. Like raw flax crackers!

I have never made raw flax crackers before, but they looked easy enough. I threw a bunch of stuff in my magic bullet, and Voila! Crackers that taste good and are good for you.

Raw Bloody Mary Flax Crackers

~These crackers are gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, vegan, raw, and, of-course, sugar-free! 

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flax seeds
  • 12 oz. tomato juice
  • juice of one lemon
  • 1 tsp hot sauce
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 clove garlic
Blend all ingredients. Spread mixture thinly on a Parraflexx sheet, plastic wrap, or parchment paper in your dehydrator. Dehydrate overnight or until crispy. Each dehydrator is different, but mine took about 24 hours to rich desired crispiness. Half way through dehydrating, I took the crackers out to cut into desired shapes. You may also break into pieces after they are done drying-your choice.
These taste delicious with Homemade Hummus! They are sure to satisfy your crunchy cravings.

Health Benefits
  • Flax: Full of healthy Omega-3’s to help your heart stay strong. It is also a great source of both soluble and insoluble fiber to keep your gut healthy and help you stay full. Flax also contains lignans which have both plant estrogen and antioxidant qualities. These lignans help protect against cancer by blocking enzymes that are involved in hormone metabolism and interfering with the growth and spread of tumor cells.
  • Tomato: This fruit is full of the antioxidant, lycopene, that fights against cancerous cell formation as well as other kinds of health complications and diseases. Free radicals in the body can be flushed out with high levels of Lycopene.

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

How will you save money on feeding your family tonight? Save some money on your meat order with ProteinPromo’s offers.

What is your favorite seed/nut?

If you don’t like seeds and nuts, your crazy. My favorite changes from time to time, but right now I am really loving my almonds 🙂

Use up that White Flour!

By

No, I am not suggesting you eat white flour. I am suggesting that you play with it!

 

Homemade Modeling Clay

~This is not like play dough, but this is the type of clay that dries into shapes. Keep leftovers in a air-tight plastic bag to keep from drying out.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup salt
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • optional: food coloring or paint

Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Feel free to adjust wet or dry amounts to create the desired consistency of a tough, yet workable clay.

 

Shape into anything you like! Make beads, animals, letters, shapes. Then, put in a dehydrator over night or until dry. If using an oven, turn on low temperature, preferably 200*, and bake for a few hours or until dry. The bigger the shape, the longer it has to cook and dry.

Beads!

Then, paint it if you wish!

Awwww! A teddy bear 🙂

This is a great way to use up all that yucky white flour, white salt, and gross vegetable oil you might have lurking in your cabinets. Then you can replace them with fun stuff like coconut flour, garbanzo bean flour, himalayan salt, olive oil, or coconut oil!

Did you see that I didn’t paint any of them yet? Well…..I’ll leave that up to you! What colors should I paint my new creations???

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

Were you a big artsy kid growing up?

My mom is an artist, so I always had markers, paper, felt, fabric, beads, buttons, you name it! I loved craft time!

$96 a Smack!

By

Oh. my. goodness. gracious.

At Katie’s Online Bake Sale to help Japan, my Smacaroons sold for $96! Katie did such a great job with this bake sale, and she raised thousands of dollars for Japan! I can’t wait to make another batch of my Smacaroons to send off to the generous donor.

For those of you who don’t get Smacaroons sent to your door, you can make your own! Seriously, try them. They are amazing! You’ll need some coconut oil to make them…

Coconut Oil makes me feel tropical!

Alison from Kelapo was so kind to send me a jar of their Extra Virgin Coconut Oil to try. If I haven’t told you already, I am a huge fan of coconut oil! Not all coconut oils are the same, though, because some are more processed than others. I like my coconut oil to taste extra coconut-ty, and Kelapos does! It is also very smooth

“Harvested from exclusive coconut palms in Sri Lanka, this 100% organic, trans fat free oil can be used as an all-natural, flavorful, and energy packed, butter alternative.”

You can read more about their company at www.kelapo.com. I was excited to learn that Kelapo was based out of Florida (where I live!), and that organic, cold-pressed. I use coconut oil in a lot of my recipes because it has some very healthy fatty acids in it to help your brain stay smart, your eyes stay sharp, and your skin stay clear! Thanks again, Kelapo!

Now go make yourself some Smacaroons so you can be healthy, too 😉

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

Do you like the taste of coconut?

I L.O.V.E it! Seriously, it is one of my favorite flavors, along with chocolate and, of course, peanut butter.

Have a great week everyone because I am going to Washington DC for the National Cherry Blossom Festival tomorrow! I’ve been gone so much lately that I haven’t had time to create more recipes, or post on my blog more regularly! So sorry 😛

 

 

 

Do You Like Green Eggs in Ham?

By

Yes, I like them Sam I Am!

But not as much as I like pistachio butter…

This is amazing! It may hurt your fingers, but it is definitely worth it. It is a funny green color, but I think it looks neat-o. Feel free to buy either salted, unsalted, or raw. You can even buy them without the shell, but they are usually more expensive. Therefore, I just hunkered down, watched some tv, and shelled some pistachios!

Ingredients

  • A whole bunch of pistachios, shelled-as much or as little as you like
  • optional: salt and/or pepper to taste

Just throw the pistachios into your food processor or strong blender and blend away! I used my handy dandy magic bullet, and it turned out well. Sometimes my magic bullet can’t turn the nuts into a nice, creamy nut butter without adding oil, but for someone reason the pistachios worked well. I think it’s because pistachios are softer nuts compared to most.

Say!

I like pistachio butter

I do!! I like it, Sam-I-am!

And I would eat it in a (celery) boat!


And I would eat it with a goat…

And I will eat it in the rain on a cracker.


And in the dark.

And on a train banana.


And in a car.

And in a tree apple.


It is so good so good you see!

So I will eat it in a box on a slice of grain-free banana bread .

So I will eat it in a box.

And I will eat it with a fox more bananas.



And I will eat it in a house on ants on a log.

And I will eat it with a mouse some oatmeal.

And I will eat it here and there on another banana with chocolate.

Say! I will eat it ANYWHERE!

Not only because it tastes good, but because it:

  • Has lots of good monounsaturated fat for a healthy heart
  • Decreases bad cholesterol and helps the good
  • Contains carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin that help protect the eyes
  • Contains copper to help form connective tissues
  • Contains vitamin B6 to help you have a healthy immune system
  • Lowest calorie nut! 40 pistachios are only 120 calories! And it takes longer to peel each one, so you will eat less!

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

Did you read Dr. Seuss books as a kid?

I love Dr. Seuss! I remember dressing up for his birthday in elementary school. We had green eggs and ham for lunch, and we read his books all day long. In fact…I went to Seussland this weekend…

My brother likes green eggs and ham, too!

Psst! Check out Chocolate Covered Katie’s Bake sale today! I am donating a batch of Smacaroons to help Japan!

Carob is Not Chocolate

By

But it is rather tasty nonetheless.

My first recipe with carob started with the Healthy 7-Layer Bar. I decided that I love the taste of carob then and there. When I saw my local health food store also sold unsweetened carob in powder form, I had to buy it!

To me, carob has a rich butterscotch taste. It is extremely sweet (of course, my sweet buds are rather sensitive) without adding sugar. Some say it has a tootsie-roll taste. I don’t know. I just like it. Don’t take my word for it, though, go buy some yourself and make some yummy carob recipes!

My first experiment with carob powder turned out wonderfully. I took my Bitter Chocolate Cake for One and simply substituted carob for the cocoa powder. Yum. This cake is no longer bitter!

Flourless Carob Cake for One

~This cake is meant to serve one person, but feel free to double, triple or quadruple the recipe. The cake is gluten free, grain-free, dairy-free, nut-free, and, of course, sugar-free!

Serves 1

Ingredients

  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup carob powder
  • 2 Tablespoons of squash puree, like pumpkin, sweet potato, or butternut squash
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
  • water

Preheat oven to 375*. Mix all of the above ingredients together. Then add a splash of water until it reaches the consistency of a thick pudding. Pour batter into a mini bread pan or a muffin tin (It makes about 4 muffins). Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I actually substituted almond butter for the squash in this cake (because I was out of squash puree!). It made a more dense and rich cake. Reminds me of a brownie....mmmm....

More Ideas: Try mixing in nuts, dried fruit, or carob chips! Add a little almond or coconut extract for extra flavor.

Or make a delectable strawberry and cream stack! I baked the cake in a mini loaf and cut it into 3 pieces. Then, I stacked it with strawberries and topped it with coconut cream!

Each gargantuan cake is only about 115 calories.

Carob Health Benefits: Unlike chocolate, carob contains no caffeine and it contains a number of nutrients, including vitamins A, B, B2, B3, and D. It also contains a good dose of Pectin that helps to eliminate toxins from the body.

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

Do you like carob? Have you ever tried it?

When I was younger I tried a bite of those carob energy nuggets, and I didn’t like. Consequently, I didn’t think I liked carob. Boy am I glad I tried it again!

 

Smacaroons

By

I am not lying when I say these smacaroons are awesome. Everyone who has tried them has loved them, and they ask, “These are healthy?!”

Yes. They are extremely healthy.

I have been snacking on these like crazy! They are a great on-the-go breakfast, dessert, or snack; or for serving on a lazy Sunday brunch.

My inspiration for making these came from Heather’s fantastic Grain & Sugar-Free Scookies. You all know how much I love grain-free and sugar-free foods, and her scookies looked amazing! Seriously, Heather, you are a genius!

My little bites of goodness ended up being more like a mix between a scone and macaroon instead of a scone and cookie, so the smacaroons were born!

Scones+Macaroons=Smacaroons.

Print
Smacaroons

Yield: 18 Smacaroons

Smacaroons

~These smacaroons are grain-free, gluten-free, vegan, soy-free, peanut-free, dairy-free, and, of course, sugar-free!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups raw almonds (or 2 cups almond flour)
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
  • 1 cup chia gel (3 tablespoons chia seed+1 cup water. Let sit 20 minutes.)
  • 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
  • 1 banana, mashed
  • 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375*.
  2. Blend raw almonds in a food processor or strong blender until almonds turn into almond flour. Don't blend too long or else it will turn into almond butter.
  3. Mix all ingredients together until well-combined. Batter should stick together.
  4. Take an ice-cream scoop (or your hands!) and form into balls.
  5. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. I like to broil it for the last minute or so, so the macaroons get a nice crunchy edge.
https://www.spoonfulofsugarfree.com/2011/03/21/smacaroons/

 

I love the coconut+banana+chocolate combo. The coconut replaces the peanut butter in my favorite combo that I can no longer eat due to lent! The Smacaroons have a somewhat tropical taste with the banana and coconut, but it is comforting, too. They are soft and fluffy in the middle, but nice and crispy on the outside. They taste delightful straight out of the oven because the chocolate is nice and melty!

You can omit the banana if you want to make it completely sugar-free; but it tastes so good with the banana and bananas are good for you! Natural sugars are a-okay in my book!

 

Health Benefits

  • Almonds: Almonds are a major superfood, and they are full of monounsaturated, good-for-you fats. It contains many nutrients that benefit the brain, and regulate cholesterol. The monounsaturated fats and vitamin E reduce the risk of heart disease.
  • 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. Coconut is also a great source of dietary fiber with a whopping 5 grams per oz.!
  • Chocolate: Click HERE for a post I did about all the benefits of chocolate.
  • Bananas: Rich in potassium, bananas help the body’s circulatory system deliver oxygen to the brain. This also helps maintain a regular heartbeat and a proper balance of water in the body. It also contains tryptophan to help relax you and lift your spirits!
  • Chia: Click HERE for a post I did about all the benefits of chia.

 

I calculated the nutrition facts for the smacaroons because I was interested to see the calorie content for something made out of mostly almonds. Each Smacaroon is only about 100 calories! I would take one of these over those artificial, bland, cracker-like 100-calorie packs any day!

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

Do you follow recipes?

I never follow recipes really. I always change something in my food! I may glance over the ingredient list, but I always end up throwing whatever I want into the mix. I also rarely measure my ingredients. If it is the right consistency, it is probably fine!