Spoonful of Sugar Free

Registered Dietitian

chocolate

Coconut Flour Winners

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The three randomly chosen winners of the coconut flour giveaway are…

Janice E. H, teabagginit, and Chrysta

Thanks to everyone who entered! The winners will receive an email from me shortly.

So sorry for my lack of posting lately. I’ve been having lots of fun with my family in town. I’ll post more about this on Friday. Until then, take a look at the top 5 coconut flour recipes I want to try!

Top 5 Coconut Flour Recipes to Try

1. Chocolate Coconut Donuts from Multiply Delicious

(already sugar-free! Uses dates to sweeten)

2. German Apple Pancakes from Civilized Caveman

I want to make this sans the maple syrup and honey (because apples are plenty sweet on their own!).

3. Banana Cinnamon Bun Muffins from Multiply Delicious

Instead of the maple syrup topping, I would substitute pureed dates like these Pecan Buns.

Chocolate cake for Valentine's Day with berries and carob chips

4. Chocolate Oatmeal Pudding Breakfast Cake from Family Fresh Cooking

Uses a mix of coconut and oat flour, and adds a dash of stevia to sweeten. Or omit the stevia altogether to make a bitter cake!!

5. Grain Free Apple Pancake Cobbler from Healthful Pursuit

Omit the honey to make sugar-free. I’m sure the sweetness of the apples is perfectly sweet!

You can find more of my favorite coconut flour recipes on my pinterest board.

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

What is your favorite coconut flour recipe? Feel free to add links!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Birthday Cake

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Happy Birthday to Me!

What better way to celebrate than with cake and presents?

Presents for you! Bob’s Red Mill sent me a few gluten-free flours mixes to try out (coconut flour,  hazelnut meal/flour, and teff flour), and to giveaway. Bob’s Red Mill is a great company, and I use many of their products for my baking.

Coconut flour has to be one of my favorite gluten-free, grain-free flours. Made from  the fiber of coconuts, it has a light sweetness without the carbs. This cake and my brownie recipe are my favorite ways to use it. Check out my coconut flour pinterest board for more ideas.

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Grain Free Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Cream Frosting

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 1-layer cake, 9 servings (double or triple recipe for a layered cake)

Serving Size: 1 slice

Calories per serving: 165

Grain Free Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Cream Frosting

~This cake is too good to be true. My whole family enjoyed it. Gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, grain-free, and, of course, sugar-free! Inspired by my Grain-Free Fudge Brownie Recipe.

Ingredients

    Cake Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup coconut flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 5 dates
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cup milk-substitute (I used unsweetened almond milk) whisked with 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar to create vegan buttermilk.
    • Frosting Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup dairy-free milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)

Instructions

    Cake Instructions:
  1. Preheat oven to 375*.
  2. Blend the dates into a paste. Add wet ingredients and stir until well-combined.
  3. In a separate bowl combine all dry ingredients and stir until lumps are gone.
  4. Combine wet and dry until well combined. Mix very thoroughly to ensure there aren’t any date chunks. The dates are the natural sweetness in the recipe. Feel free to add more dates if needed to suite your sweet tooth. The 5 dates make a dark chocolate cake, more may be needed for more sweetness.
  5. Lightly grease a round 9" cake pan (I used coconut oil), and pour batter into dish. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
    6. Frosting Instructions:
  6. Blend peanut butter and milk until creamy and fluffy. You may add dates to the frosting as well if desired. Adjust liquid to suit your frosting thickness preference.
  7. Once cake is cooled, spread frosting on cake and top with Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, like this cake. Or mix a small amount of coconut oil with cocoa powder, and drizzle on top of cake (as shown in pictures).
https://www.spoonfulofsugarfree.com/2012/03/03/chocolate-peanut-butter-cake-giveaway/

Health Benefits:
  • Chocolate: Click HERE for a post I wrote earlier about the health benefits of chocolate.
  • 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 oz.!
  • Dates: A laxative food with a high-fiber content, so it can help those suffering from constipation. They are digested quite easily and are great for when you need quick energy. Also, regular consumption of dates has been found to help the growth of friendly bacteria in the intestines.
  • Peanuts: These legumes are full of protein with 7g per ounce. They also have a great monounsaturated fat content that helps your heart and brain. Peanut is a good source of Coenzyme Q10 which protects the heart during the period of lack of oxygen example high altitudes and clogged arteries. It also has a high antioxidant and high niacin content that helps in the recovery of cell damage and provides protection against Alzheimer’s disease and age-related cognitive problem.

 

Day 24: National Peanut Butter Day

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Welcome to day twenty-four of the Sugar Free Challenge!

Did you know today is National Peanut Butter Day? Yes! My favorite food has its own holiday. So I declare today to be a day full of finger-lickin (literally. try dipping your finger in peanut butter. Tastes way better than on a spoon) Peanut butter-goodness.

Here is today’s Peanut Butter-Filled sample menu:

Breakfast: Bitter Chocolate Waffles topped with Peanut Butter and Banana Slices. Also try High Protein Cookie Crisp Cereal and PBC Bars.

Lunch: How about a good ol’ PB&J?

Snack: Apple Crisps with Peanut Butter Hummus Dip

Dinner: Homemade Spring Rolls with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Dessert: I have plenty of peanut-butter filled options for this course. Above, the Grain-Free Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Cream Sauce is a for sure winner. Also try Peanut Butter Cups and Banana Cream Pie with Peanut Butter Crust.

Exercise Option: For those of you who chose to take part of the exercise challenge, your challenge today is to do 50 crunches, 10 squat jumps, 15 pushups, 20 1-legged calf raises (10 each leg).

Personal Note: Today I get the stitches out of my mouth, so hopefully I will be able to move my mouth more easily. I feel better and better each day, and was able to do a bit of light exercise yesterday. I’m still on a liquid diet, but hopefully having the stitched removed will help me be able to eat more.

THOUGHT-PROVOKING, MIND-PRODDING QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Do you love peanut butter as much as me? What are your favorite ways to eat it, and what are your favorite recipes?

Remember that you can track what you eat on the printable Challenge Checklist. 

Day 5: PBC Bars

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Welcome to day five of the Sugar Free Challenge!

My favorite food combination is Peanut Butter, Banana, and Chocolate. You can find many, many recipes with this combo in my recipe page. However, it is rather long to say, “Peanut Butter, Banana, and Chocolate (name food),” so I shortened it to simply, PBC.

Today’s sample menu will focus on my favorite flavors, and give you my new favorite recipe at the end! (Please note that I don’t suggest eating PBC all day long for all your meals. Although it is tasty, it is better to balance your menu with food other that PBC! Here are some ideas to eat on different days).

 

Breakfast: High Protein Cookie Crisp Cereal topped with sliced bananas.

 

Lunch: Open-Faced Chocolate Pancakes with Bananas and PB

 

Snack: If Elvis Liked Chocolate Bites

Dinner: Chocolate Banana Cream Pie with Peanut Crust –ok, fine. This really doesn’t qualify as a “dinner,” but in it’s defense, it is made with only whole food ingredients! 

Dessert: PBC Bars

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PBC Bars

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

PBC Bars

~These Peanut Butter, Banana, Chocolate Bars are gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, vegan, soy-free, and sugar-free!

Ingredients

  • 4 large, ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 6 Tablespoons ground flax
  • 3 Tablespoons chia gel (mix 1 teaspoon chia with 3 tablespoons water and let sit for 15 minutes so it can “puff up”)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/3 cup peanuts
  • 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • pinch salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350*.
  2. Mix all ingredients together until well-combined.
  3. Lightly grease a 8×8 inch baking dish. Pour batter into dish and bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  4. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving (because the bars contain no flour, this rest time is essential for proper setting).
https://www.spoonfulofsugarfree.com/2012/01/05/day-5-pbc-bars/

 

These are incredibly easy to make. Simply mix the ingredients and bake. I have made them probably 5 times already since I created the recipe-they are that addicting! They make a great snack, breakfast on-the-go, or dessert. They are made with only whole ingredients, so they’re healthy for anytime of day!

 

Health Benefits:

  • Chocolate: Click HERE for a post I did about all the benefits of chocolate.
  • Peanuts: These legumes are full of protein with 7g per ounce. They also have a great monounsaturated fat content that helps your heart and brain. Peanut is a good source of Coenzyme Q10 which protects the heart during the period of lack of oxygen example high altitudes and clogged arteries. It also has a high antioxidant and high niacin content that helps in the recovery of cell damage and provides protection against Alzheimer’s disease and age-related cognitive problem.
  • 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!

 

*This recipe is linked to Wellness Weekend February 9-13.

Exercise Option: For those of you who chose to take part of the exercise challenge, your challenge today is to do 10 crunches, 5 squats, 5 pushups, 10 calf raises. 

THOUGHT-PROVOKING, MIND-PRODDING QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Do you enjoy PBC combo as much as me? If not, what is your favorite food combo?

Remember that you can track what you eat on the printable Challenge Checklist. 

Healthy, Homemade Gifts

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I’m glad everyone loved my Holiday Gift Ideas. Now, as promised, are my favorite homemade, food gifts for the holidays:

Chocolate Mint Crinkle Cookie Dough Bites

The favorite holiday cookie turned healthy! No-one can resist these because they taste just like Girl Scout Thin Mints!

Pumpkin Bars with Coconut Cream Frosting

A new favorite of mine that combines the flavor of pumpkin pie with a creamy non-dairy frosting. Perfect for pumpkin pie lovers.

Pecan Sticky Buns

A Pecan Roll made without grains, sugar, or dairy. A great gift to bring to brunches.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough Bites

Peanut Butter and Chocolate. No more needs to be said.

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Just like Reese’s cups, but with no added sugar. Give this homemade version to a friend and I guarantee they will love it.

Grain-Free Pumpkin Spice Bread

It’s a bread with no grains and no flour. Can you believe it? Wow your guests with this.

Breakfast Bread

Forget the fruit cake and make this tasty bread instead. Full of whole grains, nuts, fruit, and spices.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Granola

This granola combines the favorite flavors of the season: pumpkin, cinnamon, and coffee. It also takes less than ten minutes to prepare.

Ways to Package Treats for Gifts:

  • Save your leftover glass jars to pile in granola or cookies (see the pumpkin spice latte granola above for the idea). Tie a ribbon around the jar and create a homemade label with paper and colored pens.
  • Buy “Chinese Takeout Cartons” (can be found at Michael’s Craft Store). They come in different colors and patterns and can be filled with tissue paper before adding the treats.
  • Paper Bags can be decorated with tinsel, ribbons, and paint.
  • Re-Use small decorated boxes. Fill with parchment paper to line the box.

Extra Package Decorations:

  • You may wish to print off the recipe for the homemade treat you are giving, and then attach the recipe to the gift along with a card.
  • Instead of making the treat, make the “Gift in a Jar.” Layer all the Dry ingredients of your recipe in a jar and attach directions on how to add the wet ingredients. Decorate the jar with ribbons.
  • Make a gift basket that combines homemade treats with fresh fruit (like pears and pomegranates), nuts, coffee, tea, cute mugs, fuzzy socks, or any other stocking-stuffer you can think of.

THOUGHT-PROVOKING, MIND-PRODDING QUESTION OF THE DAY:

What are your favorite homemade treats to give? Feel free to provide recipes below!

Also, what are your favorite ways to package them?

 

My Nutcracker Ate My Cookies!

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Once upon a time there was a little girl who was baking cookies for Santa. It was Christmas Eve, and the stockings were hung by the Fireplace. The tree was decorated and the smell of chocolate drifted through the air.

 

The little girl was making chocolate-mint crinkle cookies, and she had just finished making all the dough. She turned around to turn on the oven; but when she returned to her cookies dough, the bowl was empty! In it’s place was a wooden man, with her cookie dough in his mouth.

There’s the culprit:

 

She was furious with the wooden man for eating all her cookie dough! Now she had no more cookie dough to make cookies for Santa! There were only a few minutes left until Santa arrived, and there was no time to make another batch. She started to cry.

Then the clock struck Midnight and a clatter came from her living room. It was Santa coming down the chimney! He came over to the little girl to see what was the matter; after all, how could she be sad on Christmas Eve?

The girl told Santa Claus the whole story, and showed him the wooden man who ate her cookies.

 

Santa popped the cookie dough out of the wooden man’s mouth and placed it into his own mouth. He declared it was the best cookie dough he had ever tasted.

However, since the wooden man simply took the cookie dough without asking, Santa condemned him to only cracking nuts and never eating cookies again.

So that is how Chocolate Mint Crinkle Cookie Dough came to be, and how wooden men became Nutcrackers.

Don’t believe me? Ask Santa himself!

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Chocolate Mint Crinkle Cookie Dough Bites

Chocolate Mint Crinkle Cookie Dough Bites

~These cookie dough bites are unbaked. Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Soy-Free, Dairy-Free, Vegan, Paleo, and Sugar-Free.

Ingredients

  • 5 dates
  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/8-1/4 tsp peppermint extract
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. First, process the dates in a food processor or strong blender until smooth.
  2. Then add all other ingredients process. I like the walnuts to stay a bit chunky, but this is up to you. Shape the dough into balls or cookies and enjoy!
https://www.spoonfulofsugarfree.com/2011/12/10/my-nutcracker-ate-my-cookies/

Whatever you do, keep it away from wooden men.

 

Health Benefits:

  • Walnuts: This nut is a rich source of Omega 3’s. It can help lower cholesterol and protect the heart. Full of vitamin E, B, and fiber.
  • Mint: Besides simply freshening your breath, mint can help aid in digestion and remedy nausea. The strong aroma is also very helpful in clearing congestion and relieving sore throats.
  • Chocolate: Click HERE for a post I did about all the benefits of chocolate.
  • Dates: A laxative food with a high-fiber content, so it can help those suffering from constipation. They are digested quite easily and are great for when you need quick energy. Also, regular consumption of dates has been found to help the growth of friendly bacteria in the intestines.

 

THOUGHT-PROVOKING, MIND-PRODDING QUESTION OF THE DAY:

What is your favorite Christmas cookie?

When I was little, I loved making sugar cookies for Santa. Although they weren’t my favorite flavor, I liked making different shapes and decorating them.

This post was a part of my Operation Beautiful Food. Original recipe here: Christmas Cookies