Squeaky Gourmet

In the winter I love to bake things that warm the house, create an atmosphere with the aroma and of course won’t cause the waistline to increase like Jolly Ol’ St. Nicks. Granted it is not winter in New Hampshire yet–she is working her cold way here! This past weekend I had all the kids home while my husband was out hunting and I thought–wow cinnamon buns would be so good right now. So I dug through the pantry to see what I could workout. I had some Red Mills bread mix–gluten free whole grain. I had ordered some a while ago to try out but did not like the denseness of the bread in loaf form. I figured I would give it a whirl as a baked pastry and was very happy with the results! You of course do not need to use a prepackaged bread mix–any of your favorite gluten free bread recipes will work!

Gluten Free Apple Cinnamon Buns
serves 12
1 batch of raw GF bread dough + 1 tsp cinnamon added to the dough & 2 tsp vanilla
2 apples washed and chopped
2 tsp vanilla
1 tbls Agave Nectar
1 tsp salt
Topping- 8 ounces Greek yogurt I used no fat vanilla.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees slightly grease a baking dish–I used butter as really it is a scant amount but does add a flavor to the finished product. Add diced apples, cinnamon,vanilla, agave nectar, salt and cinnamon to a bowl and mix. The salt really allows the apples to “sweat it out” and adds a unique twist to the bun when finished. Since this is a lower in fat (naturally) as well as low in sugar recipe–the salt balances out what your taste buds may otherwise feel is missing.Set apples aside. Fill a 1/4 measuring cup about 2/3 full with the bread dough and place in your baking pan–repeat to make sure you have 12 even sized raw lumps of dough.

Next wet a wooden spoon and press out a center for the apples to be placed in the buns. The wet spoon prevents the batter from adhering to the spoon and smooths the dough out perfectly.

After the bread “bowl” is created you want to fill it with the apple mix. After filling all 12 buns you want to cover this and set in a warm area and allow to rise till about double in size–this takes about 45 minutes. I just cover mine and set them on the stove top while the oven preheats. Of course since it takes so long to rise–feel free to toss some potatoes into the oven to bake for your meals later in the day!

You can see here how much the dough has risen–air pockets can be seen and the dough has a “puffy” look to it. Perfect! Go ahead now and place these in the oven and bake for 50 minutes or until they are golden brown on the tops and edges.

These were served with warm so the vanilla yogurt really just melted and filled all the crevices. The apples were caramel like in texture and really flavor filled!

Calories Per Bun- 170
Carbohydrates- 36
Fiber-6 grams
Fat-6 grams
Protein- 2 grams

Other Good Ideas:
–bake large batches for bake sales and to bring to holiday events
–double the batch and freeze half of them so you can pop them in the oven without waiting for all the work to be done.
–try pumpkin filling instead of apples

Just for kicks there are 309 calories in a traditional cinnamon bun with 13 grams of fat, 42 grams of carbs with 2 grams fiber, and 5 grams protein. So we just about halved the calories and added in some more fiber and less fat and carbohydrates.

This is a South Beach inspired breakfast that I thought I should reconsider–I am glad I did! You can make these ahead of time and freeze them–then pop in the microwave for 20 seconds and give that Jimmy Dean company a run for their money! (they could use a run by now I am sure!)
The calories in each one depend on what you decide to fill it with- each muffin is just one egg plus your own additions. Here is what I did:

12 large eggs in my stand mixer set on medium speed with 1/4 cup water added. I used water instead of milk because 1 million years ago when I worked in a diner we used water to make the eggs fluffier. ( Yes, there were diners 1 million years ago in Moe World) While the eggs were blending I cooked 3 pieces of natural smoked bacon. This bacon has such a great taste to it and really incorporates it’s power of taste into the entire dish. No need to panic those who are still in fear of bacon, it is only 3 pieces added to 12 eggs. I then prepped my vegetables; sweet onions, seeded plum tomatoes, fresh parsley, Portabella caps, and of course chooped up the crispy (cooled)bacon.

Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Take a muffin pan and line with muffin cups (or use silicon muffin cups if you have them) and add eggs without the vegetables evenly into each muffin cup–they should all be about 3/4 full. Then evenly distribute the ingredients that you have chosen into the raw muffins. Set in the oven and allow to bake until they are golden brown and puffy–about 35 minutes.

OK, let’s face it–eggs are really underrated in their versatility and they still have such a bad reputation thanks to the “anti-egg” campaign of the 1990’s. I am not sure how we came about degrading such a natural wholesome goodness of the egg–which is full of good fats, good vitamins and rich in proteins. We think of eggs as boring, additive ingredients made to make a dish more cohesive. So I wanted to rethink the egg and rethink breakfast, but in my genius rethinking of the egg I ended up with an old classic–a Fritatta. A frittata is basically an open faced omelette–once again making the egg the background scene for a main dish. Let me just emphasise, though, that the egg in this dish is as much a benefit to this dish as a 400 small block engine is to the Camaro.

Summer Frittata
serves 2
4 whole large eggs
1/2 cup shredded zucchini
1/4 cup shredded peppers
2 cloves garlic pressed
1/2 small onion shredded
1/2 sweet red pepper shredded
1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped finely
2 fresh basil leaves chopped finely
2 ounces feta crumbled

Preheat a non stick skillet on medium heat. In a mixing bowl beat eggs until frothy. Add in the rest of the ingredients except the feta. Pour the Frittata batter into the pan, moving the mixture around to ensure there is no pan showing. Cover and cook until egg is firm–about 7 minutes.
Invert egg onto a serving platter and top with feta cheese. Serve warm.

Calories Per Serving: 235
Protien: 17 grams
Carbohydrates: 7 grams
Fat: 15 grams

Other Good Ideas:
- You can vary the vegetables in this depending on the season. Shredded potato, squash, peas, brocolli etc
-You can serve this cold making it an excellent ( I wanted to say egcelent I admit it) luch box menu item

When I was a younger woman I worked at a deli and we sold muffins called “Morning Glory” muffins. Wow-were they ever tasty! They had carrot pieces, zucchini chunks, walnuts, raisins–they had delicious goodness in them. At the time I did not realize the fact that they gave me heart burn and coated my hands with a shiny film was a bad thing. I just loved the taste of them. So, I was inspired by that love when I picked up the fresh Zucchini from a local farmer–hence my lovely pancakes with dots of green and orange in them this morning.

A few new cool things I tried with these little flat cakes I thought were so great they needed to be shared with you. First, I used rice flour to keep them gluten free, but this time I soaked the rice flour in warm water for 30 minutes. You see, a few weeks ago a woman asked me how to make gluten free items not have the texture of corn bread because her husband did not like that. (Hi Marci!) So yesterday while surfing new recipes I saw a blog post about soaking the rice flour overnight and I thought CRAZY-I must try this! Given that I have low attention span and lack of impulse control, I managed to soak them for 30 minutes. As an aside–I do have some more soaking right now and will wait to prepare perhaps some biscuits or something at a later time.

I also used coconut cream in the batter, just 2 tablespoons so no one needs to close the page and run from the computer. Little tidbit about coconut cream–like avocado fat–this is good for you fat. This is the stuff which helps your body work, smoother skin, faster brain functioning etc. You can purchase it at your local market or pick it up at your Asian marketplace–where I buy mine.

Zucchini Carrot Pancakes
Serves 10
1 1/2 cups rice flour soaked in 3/4 warm water
1/2 cup finely grated zucchini squash
1/2 cup finely grated carrots
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 Agave or Honey
2 fresh eggs
1 tbls Vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of Salt

Soak the rice flour in warm water for at least 30 minutes. It reminded me of the recipe for making slime with water and cornstarch. When you moved the fork around the flour had a firm texture but when you let it sit, it appeared to be liquid. It was magic flour!

While the flour is soaking you can shred the vegetables (fruit?) into a glass bowl. Then add the rest of the ingredients aside from the sodas.

Set a pan on medium heat and grease lightly with butter. While that is heating blend the wet ingredients with the wet flour and add in the sodas. I let this sit for about 5 minutes so everything could meet and meld and agree to taste fantastic.

Adding one ladle of mixture to the hot pan allow to cook until the edges are dry–then flip and cook for a few more minutes. Serve while hot!

Calories Per Serving-145
Fat-3 grams
Carbohydrates- 26
Protein-4

Other good ideas–
– add chopped cranberries and orange zest
– omit sweetener and serve with a savory dish
-make ahead and freeze

It is blueberry season! Did you know blueberries have their own organization supporting their health benefit message across the planet? They do- Blueberries Health check that link out to read up on the benefits of this berry added to your diet. I try and include seasonal vegetables and fruits into our menus anytime I can–right now it is blueberry time!

Here is a fantastic alternative to the fast food, over processed crappy muffins that have been over marketed to us. You can make these up ahead of time and freeze them for those winter months when the berry bushes are dormant and so is the sun.

Oatmeal Apple Blueberry Muffins

Serves 3

1 ½ c old fashioned oats
1 c applesauce- I use natural no sugar
1 c blueberries
3 eggs
4 egg whites
1 t cinnamon

Mix everything in a bowl and let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes to let the oats swell a little. Preheat oven to 400 deg. Spray regular size muffin tin with no-stick spray or better yet use a no stick tin. Fill holes almost full as these don’t rise much at all. Cook for 25 minutes. If you want the tops browned, put under the broiler for a minute or less. Voila! This makes 12 muffins which is 3 servings.

Calories Per Serving: 308
Carbohydrate: 44 grams (6 grams fiber)
Fats: 8 grams
Protein: 16 gams

Other good ideas: try this with other seasonal fruits like raspberries or peaches! You can also substiture the blueberries for a cup of diced apple.

Remember those school days of our youth when we have mom pack our lunches with a gooey PB&J? The peanut butter so thick and dry going together perfectly with the sweet juicy jam. That white bread was so malleable you could form balls with it and chew them right up–giving us the sensation of YUMMY! I am not sure about you but every once in a while I want that same flavor and texture but don’t want that white bread (who still eats wonder bread–anyone know?) I also would rather have a more balanced trio than that mixture of youth that so many Americans can look back on warmly. So–I got to thinking and creating!
Here for your eating pleasure we present to you:

A Mouth Full of PB&J
Serves 12
5 tbls chunky natural peanut butter
1/2 cup coconut flour*
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
6 scoops protein powder ( I used banana for this recipe but use your imagination!)
1 tsp Vanilla
1 cup powdered milk
1 1/2 cups water

Mix the dry ingredients with the peanut butter and blend till a meal like texture is formed. If you have made pastry dough before you know what I am talking about here. Slowly add the water while the mixer is on low allowing a dough to form.

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Pack dough firmly into a 1/4 cup measuring cup and tap out onto a clean plate. While these “rest” you can prepare the topping.

Topping:
1 tbls peanut butter
2 marshmallows
1 tbls Agave syrup
1tbls paraffin (canning wax-food grade of course)

Microwave on high until the wax has melted. Don’t be worried about the wax as this is the same technique used to make those chocolate covered treats you are always tempted to buy! Blend the mixture till the marshmallows are swirled but not completely blended into the mix. Flip the measured out rounds over and add 1 teaspoon of the topping to each peanut butter round.
Add 1 tsp of your favorite sugar free jam to the top of when you serve them.

*I chose coconut flour because of the fiber rich content of this flour. You can substitute it with Oat flour just as easily.

Calories Per Serving- 150
Fat- 8 grams
Protein- 16 grams
Carbohydrate- 12 grams
Fiber- 3 grams

A good friend of mine as well as a successful weight loss coach and fitness expert, MariAnne a.k.a “Built” shared her wonderful protein waffle recipe with me years ago. I decided I would try it out this weekend on the kids with a slight modification of substituting the artificial sweetener with Sucanat. Success!

The best part was handing this plate of food (as pictured here) to my son and his delight with it. Marianne shares that these waffles also freeze and toast up well–so you can make a few batches and store in a container in your freezer for a great on the go breakfast–lunch–dinner–snack food!

Protein Packed Waffles
serves 8
1 cup Gluten Free flour
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup low fat cottage cheese, drained of the whey
5 egg whites
1/2 tbls Vanilla extract
1 heaping tsp baking powder
1 tbls butter

Blend all ingredients with a stick blender until a batter consistency is formed.Lightly butter the waffle iron. Cook on medium high until the waffle is done. Garnish with fruit and serve.

Calories Per Serving- 188
Carbohydrates- 33 grams
Fats- 2 grams
Protein- 8 grams

Seen in the photo above served with 2 slices of low fat turkey bacon, fresh fruit and 1 slivered almonds:
Total Calories- 296
Carbohydrates- 52 grams
Fats- 6 grams
Protein- 16 grams

So, thank you MariAnne for your wonderful addition to the Squeaky Gourmet blog! To read more about MariAnne, her own success as well as see her advice on dieting and fitness please check her out here: Got Built?

The crisp autumn air carries the smell of dried leaves and ripe apples. Pumpkins are sitting on almost every porch in my neighborhood street right now and the cool night air covers our lawns at just about dinner time now. It is Fall in New England.
When I think of comfort foods for fall i think of pumpkin pie, baked apples, and roasted turkey. This recipe is perfect comfort food for the fall. great for Sunday breakfast or a warm dessert after dinner.

2 c. Old Fashioned Oats — Put into food processor to make smaller but not till texture of flour.

4 Eggs

8 Egg Whites

1 c Pumpkin Puree

2 t Cinnamon

½ t Nutmeg

½ c Vanilla Rice Milk or Skim Milk

1 t Vanilla

Combine all ingredients and blend well. If your batter is too thin for your liking, let it just sit for 5-10 minutes and the oats will soak up some of the liquid. Heat a large nonstick skillet to med heat, coat pan lightly with no stick oil spray and add ¼ of the batter. Spread the batter out with the back of a spoon if it’s thick to make a big pancake. Cook pancake on both sides until golden brown. While the cakes are cooking make the topping.

2 Apples cored and thinly sliced (I use a crispy tart apple for this like a Fuji, Braeburn or Honeycrisp)

3 T Honey

2 T Shredded or Flaked Coconut

1 t Cinnamon

2 T Orange Juice, Apple Juice or Water

Mix all together and cook in microwave for 2-3 minutes. Use as the syrup for the pancakes. Put ¼ of the apple mixture on each cake. You can also add a little maple syrup or sugar free syrup.

Per Serving:

Calories– 388

Fat– 10 g

Protein— 20 g

Carbohydrates– 58 g

20% protein/ 23% fat/ 56% carbs

If you want less fat, substitute two egg whites for a whole egg and for a little variety, substitute ½ of the pumpkin with mashed sweet potato, applesauce, or banana. This meal is so flexible as far as flavors and additions. Use your imagination and make it your own. Enjoy the season and the comforting flavors that come with it.