Artisan Garlic & Herb Loaf (Paleo)

Hey all,

During my Saturday off, I decided to try my hand at gluten-free bread. Not surprisingly, I’ve been missing bread in my (almost) gluten-free diet lately. There’s something so delicious about a fresh slice of bread with butter, right? It doesn’t help that I had bread for the first time in a awhile yesterday….and it was so delicious. Loved every bite. After that, I knew I had to get down to business and get some bread in this household!

Baker bread ad

Inspired by a divine olive oil artisan bread yesterday, I searched for a Paleo herb bread recipe. I found Multiply Delicious’ Paleo Herb Bread recipe, and decided to use their delicious recipe as my inspiration for an Artisan Garlic & Herb Loaf. First, I made a half loaf in a 20 ounce, round ceramic manikin to test the recipe. In my savory mix, I changed the flour ratio a bit, used less egg, and mixed in a combination of garlic-infused olive oil and coconut oil. I also added a mix of dried herbs (rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder, all-purpose seasoning, cracked black pepper) and Parmesan cheese in the mix and on top.

Wow, I really should have made a full loaf, everyone. This is IT. So easy and simple. And SO full of flavor. I cannot recommend this enough. Of course, it’s more crumbly and dry than “real” fluffy, chewy loaf bread. But gosh darn’t, if this isn’t a good, oh-so-flavorful alternative, I don’t know what is! Ron and I polished off half of this baby with grass-fed butter in no time.

 

Coffee Alternatives (for Paleo Girls and Wannabes!)

Hey Burlesquers,

I figured out recently that I have to cut down my sugar consumption and enjoy a little less caffeine in my life. That doesn’t mean, however, that I still can’t have fun! I read a great new post called How to Kick Your Caffeine Addiction and Actually Enjoy Your Coffee Again on the blog LifeHacker (an offshoot of Gawker media). The article gives multiple tips and techniques on how to lower or completely eliminate your caffeine/coffee consumption. They also give examples of multiple coffee alternatives, and that included an herbal tea that supposedly tastes similar to coffee called Teeccino. Teeccino is a gluten-free beverage, too.

I thought, “No way could herbal tea taste anything like coffee,” but I was intrigued. I found Teeccino “medium roast” Java on Amazon. com and ordered it for 10 bucks. Could it work? I decided to give it a whirl. I got my favorite mug and single cone filter ready. Apparently, you even brew this like you would coffee!

As I poured the tea out of the canister, I noticed a strong mocha chocolately scent that was very similar to coffee. I also saw how dark the tea looked as it brewed in my single serving filter. Wow!

And then I tasted it….Wow! Teeccino is great, everyone! I completely recommend this as an alternative. My mom tasted it and thought it was a cup of mocha cocoa.

For those of you that have more technical knowledge of tasting, Teeccino has similar undertones of Mocha Java coffee–nutty, chocolately, and medium roast–but you don’t have the same acidic mouth feel as you would when taking a sip of coffee. This means a cup of Java teeccino tastes like a non acidic, more chocolately and smooth cup of slightly weak coffee. Coffee is acidic and sometimes even vibrant (depending on the bean), and you can feel this acidity in your mouth. Teeccino has none of the acid that is rough on your system, but retains all the undertones of coffee. Brilliant! I love it!

Almond-Chocolate Chip Thumbprint Cookies (almond flour, gluten free, low sugar)

Hey all,

I did it. I jumped on the Almond Flour bandwagon. I had to! I was so curious! Plus, as a woman with a sedentary job, I do try and watch my carbohydrate-intake. I’m not a crazy low-carb person… I just try to not have bread, pasta, and rice at every meal! I also am not going to be “grain-free” just for the hell of it.

In fact, here’s an academic tidbit from me that teases the new Paleo, grain-free Diet craze: many of the recommended foods on the “Paleo” plan are in fact relatively new foods to western civilization. Many of these foods weren’t available around the globe. Tomatoes, peppers, squash, potatoes, avocados, pecans, cashews, and blueberries are all New World crops, while grains have been around for more than 20,000 years. And the racket about humans not being “adapted” to eat grains because of lectins, but able to eat lentils and kale? And no fermented foods on the diet, like wine? That’s snake oil, too, my friends. Humans’s adaptability to food–no matter where you live and what climate produces the crops available– is the hallmark of the species. Cavemen lived off of fermented foods (people picked rotting/fermenting produce off foliage on a daily basis—this isn’t hard to imagine!), and there is solid evidence that different tribes of cavemen ate grains 30,000 years ago. Different tribes also consumed different crops depending on their location (wow! read up on your anthropology, folks.). Also, lectins are in multiple food groups–not just grains–and you typically denature lectins through cooking, such as in cooking beans. There is nothing “old”, ancient, or “Paleo” about this diet plan. I do like this diet, though, and I think it has its merits. You’re eating less caloric grains—-essentially following a low carb, higher protein, and high healthy fat diet. This diet is a smart choice for people who have sedentary jobs.

BTW, here’s a hilarious quote from an anthropologist describing an actual Paleolithic diet if tried today:

You really want to be paleo? Then don’t buy anything from a store. Gather and kill what you need to eat. Wild grasses and tubers, acorns, gophers, crickets- They all provide a lot of nutrition. You’ll spend a lot of energy gathering the stuff, of course, and you’re going to be hungry, but that’ll help you maintain that lean physique you’re after. And hunting down the neighbor’s cats for dinner because you’ve already eaten you’re way through the local squirrel population will probably give you all the exercise you’ll ever need.
—Dr. Britta Hoyes

(Funny, right?)

Anyway, I love nuts and OF COURSE, a flour actually derived from nuts would taste delicious in the form of a cookie! Why not try Almond flour? I spotted this recipe for “Grain free” Chocolate Chip Cookies (The Urban Poser blog) on Pinterest, and decided these were just too cute not to try! Well, I can officially say these cookies are Ron and BB-approved!

I made these tonite after eating some leftover Peruvian food from a dinner we went to last night. (I’ve told you my dad is half Peruvian half white, right? I’m a 1/4 Latin American, love it!) And Ron and I liked them alot! These cookies are dense, crumbly, nutty, and sweet. They’re definitely a different “taste” than regular cookies—but in a good way! Like always, I made some changes to their recipe. I swapped the coconut oil and coconut milk for vegetable oil and cow’s milk, and I used a combination of oat flour and almond flour (rather than all almond flour). I also used a combination of stevia and honey with dark chocolate chips. (You could definitely make these completely no sugar added cookies (aside from the chocolate chips) if you use all stevia.) Finally, I added a pinch of cinnamon in the recipe with cinnamon and sugar on top! I really like that these cookies don’t use eggs or butter and are relatively low in sugar (for a cookie!)

As I mentioned though, they are a bit too crumbly, but that’s because my particular brand of Almond Flour isn’t ground fine enough for baking (it’s an almond meal/flour). I might try adding an egg to hold them together more? I also read on multiple blogs that Honeyville Almond Flour is the way to go for more fine almond flour that’s proper for baking. They sell bags of their almond flour online! I might have to invest.