Squeaky Gourmet

This is an excerpt right out of our book. This shows you the layout of the pages, the fact we do share the calorie and macro breakdown of the ingredients and the easy to read design.

We are on our February vacation here in New Hampshire and yesterday we were looking for a small adventure. As some of the readers know my daughter, Brighid, has Celiac’s disease. This means, in laymen terms, she has an allergy to a certain proteins called gluten.  Gluten is also the cause of the magic in most baked goods giving them their gooey sticky wonderful goodness.  So, this is why we experiment a lot with gluten free food items to try and develop a manna of baked goods for Brighid to enjoy. While we are also whole food consumers as well as health centered in our approach it makes the experiments even more challenging.  So–occasionally we like to see what others are creating with gluten free goods so we can compare ideas and try out new foods.  For some of you who already eat gluten free I am sure you have run into the same disgusting food products out there–we have bought cookies I would not feed to the dogs let alone pack in a lunch tote for my children.  We have also seen the increase in prices that people pay simply because it is gluten free. So, with those things in my mind we headed out to Buzz’s Bakery in North Hampton.

We arrived close to the closing time so our choices were limited. However we were greeted by the owner and his mother as soon as we walked in. So, first note is that Buzz’s Bakery is a family run establishment and that alone is an endearing quality for a bakery to have, don’t you think? It was like walking into a friend’s home when his mother had just finished making something homemade and wonderful–like a hug! The bakery is small and clean and everything is right there for you to see. I talked for a while with the owner, Steve, about food ideals ,ingredients, and healthy choices etc. It was like meeting a fellow foodie who had the same REAL FOOD focus. He explained he uses real butter, real sugars and also mentioned the movie Food Inc. He agrees with the rest of the real food community that people should view this movie and grasp the meaning behind it. HELLO STEVE!

After I talked for far too long (remember they were about to close when we arrived? OOPS!) we decided to make our choices. I wanted to try everything soups, pastas, breads, rolls–but we choose a few baked treats to begin with.

Inside Out Whoopie Pie, Brownie, Almond Cherry Scone

There were a lot of things to choose from and the prices were what you would expect from a normal whole food bakery–not from a specialty one–meaning great prices! They also had a few non gluten free food items for that person in your family who is not limited–and they make sure to out source for those so that there is no chance of contamination to the foods they prepare.

We selected the White Chocolate Almond Cherry Scone, the traditional brownie, and the inside out whoopie pie. The brownie in this picture I cut to fit in the shot–they give you a large piece. It was chocolaty and the texture was rich and doughy and exactly what a brownie your mom made you should be like. Perfect!

Biddy helped me set up the pastries for the picture--she adjusted the whoopie pie for me!

The whoopie pie was another win, very rich in texture and flavor–filling your mouth up with sugar and calories and delight. In fact I believe milk was invented just for these whoopie pies–do not tell the cows or their feelings may be hurt. Now, with these two items I want to also add–this is real food and your body knows real food. When I was talking with Steve we were commenting on how you do not have to over eat treats and that eating rich luxurious foods in a normal quantity is fine–we are living beings who hate to be deprived so indulging with a healthy conscious is good for the soul! So–when you eat these foods with the real ingredients you are sated and enjoy the portion they give you. It just tastes so much better than store bought artificially flavored junk that you do not feel like you are missing out on anything!

OK, the last item we tried–that scone! WOW! It was like a baking soda biscuit that your grandmother made in the summer time that she slathered whipped cream and strawberries over. The texture was so perfect, the right balance of salt and butter and almond—the cherries in it were a wonderful addition. I loved these–I want this recipe! If you started every Sunday morning off with a scone like this, there would be no need for church! What a great little cake this was!

We were thrilled with the samples we came away with and we will be heading back to try out the breads and pizza crusts. If you are in the area of North Hampton be sure to stop in–you will be thrilled!

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The Superbowl is creeping up on us real fast so I tried to steer my thoughts to making something party worthy.  Well I ended up eating this for my lunch for a couple of days so…so much for the party but it sure killed a huge craving for nachos I’d been having since I saw a monstrous plate of them at Margaritaville in Las Vegas.  So enough on the cravings and on to the deliciousness.  I love beans.  We eat them several times a week around my house.  I usually make a huge pot from the dry stage but sometimes I just used canned. Even better if I can find ones that don’t have anything added to them.  So this is a Really quick recipe that is truly yummy and worthy of your bestest of buddies.

Creamy Bean Dip
Serves 4 (or 2 if it’s your lunch)

1 can refried beans – you can get vegetarian, no fat, regular…whichever you like

1 ripe avocado

½ c salsa

½ t garlic power

2 T lime juice

No fat greek yogurt for garnish- you can omit

Salt to taste- please taste to make sure you get enough

In a medium bowl, scoop out the avocado and mash really well with a fork.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix really well.  Let sit for 10 minutes and then mix some more.  At this point I heated the dip in the microwave, topped with some yogurt, finely sliced scallions and some really HOT salsa.  But if you like, you can add some cheese, then melt it all in the microwave, then garnish as mentioned above.  Enjoy!

Some other great ideas…

Chopped tomatoes, lots of diced scallions, make your own tortilla chips

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Squeaky Gourmet educates the reader on carbohydrates, fats and proteins–explaining the importance of each of these food groups. Food knowledge along with fantastic recipes, Squeaky Gourmet includes fantastic tips on how to effectively cook to save time and prepare healthy meals all week long for your family.

Buy Your Copy Today! Available in all book stores both online as well as in stores. If you do not see it on the shelf, ask the store to order it for you!

• • Squeaky Gourmet advocates healthy fats that improve your overall health.
  • Each recipe includes natural, wholesome foods that are easy to purchase in your local store.
  • The protein choices are not limited to strictly low fat chicken breast boredom, instead we have included ingredients like wild game and fresh caught fish.
  • Squeaky Gourmet includes menu items that you can share at an office party, offer to dinner guests or even share as a holiday food gift.

Good Morning from a remote location in the desert of Southern Utah. This is Jamie, Moe and I both post to this blog as we are co-authors to our new cookbook “Squeaky Gourmet.” I’m also a Geologist in my other life (which brings me to Utah) but I thought the collision of my two lives might make for some entertaining and hopefully helpful reading.

How do you eat healthfully while traveling? Let me be the first to tell you that it can be REALLY DIFFICULT for me to maintain healthy choices. First, I’m staying in a motel in a very small town. I’m in the friendly town of Green River, Utah just 70 miles North of Moab. My room has a microwave and a small fridge so that is really helpful. I also usually have a cooler with me but since it’s not too warm outside this trip I left it at home. It’s working for me so far. I’m not quite sure where to start so I guess I’ll start with breakfast.

Breakfast–I’m really lucky my motel serves a good hot breakfast. I really love this place, they know me by now as I’ve been here many times for work and they go out of their way to help me eat really good stuff. So I usually have a veggie omelet and oatmeal or some of the locally grown melons. This week we had an Israeli melon—delicious. However, if you don’t have a really nice guy cooking you breakfast it’s still easy to make old fashioned oats in a microwave and you can cook eggs there too. Add some fresh fruit and you are ready for the day.

Lunch–I’m in my truck all day watching drilling rigs so lunch is made in the am before I leave. Here is a picture of the salad I’ve been eating for a few days. It’s pretty basic but yummy and I bought all of the ingredients here at the little grocery store. It’s just greens with black beans, baby carrots, 3 oz canned chicken, ¼ c shredded cheese and some Italian dressing. To get 3 days of salads I buy 2 bags lettuce, bag carrots, 1 can beans, 3 small cans chicken w/ pull tops, cheese, and some dressing. I would have loved to buy organic but it doesn’t seem to exist here yet so I do my best.

Snacks–This week I bought some string cheese and some really great apples. I knew I would want something crunchy so I brought a mixed nut trail mix and also some dry roasted soybeans. I really like the soybeans and a ¼ c of them really cuts the “hungries”. Oh and I almost forgot I have a tub of local melon all cut up that the breakfast guy gave me. Nice huh?

Dinner–This is the hardest meal of the day for me. I am usually exhausted and starving so my mind typically drifts to a cheeseburger and fries. I will have a meal equivalent to that maybe twice a week but I get a homemade burger from the restaurant next door. Can’t do much about the fries but to enjoy them. I’ll also go to that same restaurant and get the salad bar and soup. If I’m too pooped to leave the room I usually have some tuna with Italian dressing, a cut up cucumber and some whole wheat crackers. Kashi makes some great ones.

The biggest challenge to this whole travel thing is not buying junk at the gas station everyday when I fill up. Stay out of the junk food isles when you are dragging and needing to eat. Just a bit of advice from a die hard traveler.

My garden is now overflowing with fresh produce but the nights are getting cooler and we have come close to a frosty night a couple of times all ready. So with that being said, I am starting to think of new things to do with all of this produce besides sell it Saturday mornings at the local Farmer’s Market. I live in a rural community which values the availability of fresh produce. People around here really do a lot of canning and preserving. It’s impressive really, this is my first summer to try my hand at any sort of pickles but I’m pretty happy with the quick ones I did so I know you will like them too. I mean, what better way to insure you are giving your family the best produce into the winter months but to ‘put it up’ (preserve, pickle, can….) yourself.

If you don’t all ready eat beets, please try them. These are by far my favorite vegetable so if you haven’t tried a fresh boiled or roasted beet in ages, DO.

Here is another good thing to do with beets and it’s easy and really pretty.

Simple Marinated Beet Salad

5 medium sized whole beets

Clean the beets and put them to boil in a large pot of water until they are fork tender. This takes about 25-30 minutes for 2” beets.

When the beets are done, drain and run under cool water until they are cool enough to handle. Hold a beet in your hand and squeeze the skin off. It peels off very easy and is fun to do. Slice the beets into thin slices and put into a med sized bowl.

½ of a sweet onion – sliced thinly

3 T olive oil

5 T cider vinegar

Pinch sea salt

Pepper to taste

½ t Dijon mustard

Combine everything in with the beets and refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.

I was thrilled with how this recipe turned out. The cakes are very versatile and could be seasoned with most anything. The cakes are very fresh tasting due to the wonderful salsa and have a nice satisfying crunch. Enjoy.

Quinoa Cakes With Fresh Salsa
Serves 4 ( 8 cakes total)

CAKES

½ c quinoa rinsed and drained (red or white varieties work)
1 c water
1 egg beaten
½ c corn kernels
2 scallions finely chopped
¼ c cheddar (Mexican) shredded cheese or any cheese you like
¼ c whole wheat flour
2 T 1% milk
¼ t sea salt
3 shakes hot sauce
1/8 t pepper
2 T canola oil

In a medium sauce pan bring water to a boil then add the quinoa, reduce heat and simmer for 15mins. Allow to cool when done. Combine quinoa and the rest of the cake ingredients except the oil. Set aside while you prepare the salsa.

Use a ¼ c measuring cup to scoop the mix into the oil. (I could make 4 cakes at a time) Flatten with a spatula. Cook approximately 3-5 minutes per side making sure it is browned before flipping. If you are using a red quinoa, it doesn’t change color much when it browns. The color just deepens a little bit

SALSA

1 c pinto or black beans or substitute 1 diced avocado
1 c chopped tomato
2 T green chilies (hot or mild, you pick)or a fresh jalapeno is great too
3 T finely chopped basil or parsley
4 scallions finely chopped
1 T olive oil
½ lemon- juice only
1 T white wine vinegar
Dash garlic powder
1 t honey
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of the salsa ingredients in a medium bowl. While it is marrying flavors you can cook the quinoa cakes. Heat canola oil in a large skillet on medium heat.

Serve cakes topped with salsa YUM!

Other good ideas:

–add slice avocado

– cook cakes a head of time and use all week

Ok I have heard the hype about the black bean brownies. There are recipes all over the internet about this “secret ingredient” brownie. All have declared it delicious, amazing, rich, glorious–I do not need to go on, right? We all know how people describe chocolate and frankly, it is a little embarrassing!

Though in my desire to open the door of gluten free possibilities to my daughter I decided –Why Not, let’s give this brownie a go!

Black Brownie
serves 12
modified from Whole Foods Black Bean Brownie
15 ounces canned black beans-rinsed and drained
3 eggs
3 tbl butter-melted
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 raw sugar
1 1/2 tsp instant coffee
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp vanilla
dash of salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 8×8 pan.Blend beans into a paste using a blender or food processor. Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix thoroughly. Pour brownie batter into pan and bake for 30 minutes or until the sides start to pull away from the pan.

Family feed back: My husband thinks he hates black beans, he tasted the brownie and said they were very good, rich in texture and he asked me if the secret ingredient was coffee. However, the coffee in this is no secret! The taste to me was like those \dark chocolate covered espresso beans you can get in gourmet candy stores. For me the flavor was a good combination because I do not like chocolate but I love coffee which made them tolerable for me.
My children who love chocolate were asked to rate the brownies by a 5 star rating system–one declared 19,000 stars–but she really loves chocolate. The other children all gave the brownies 4 stars.

You cannot taste the bean in this at all–but they add a texture which pleases the palate much like dove chocolate does. These are a rich dessert with some added fiber.

Calories per brownie-146
Fa- 6 grams
Carbohydrate- 18 grams
Fiber- 2 grams
Protein- 4 grams

Other good ideas:
– shave off some calories and substitute butter for applesauce
– cut sugar in half by using stevia
– serve hot with a tablespoon of peanut butter and sliced bananas

OK, harvest is here as well as school starting. So let’s keep those lunch box snack ideas rolling in! Here is a modified version of our Zucchini Apple Muffins we have in Squeaky Gourmet. These were so wonderful and delicious–we shared them with athletes at the NAS Nationals and received rave reviews on the flavor, texture and the fact they did not weigh you down!

Zucchini Banana Bites
makes 12 small muffins
1 cup oat flour
1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal
1 large egg
5 large egg whites
1 medium banana-mashed
3/4 cup shredded zucchini
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon zest
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray your Muffin pan with non-stick spray. Add all the ingredients to the mixer and blend thoroughly. Fill each muffin tin about 2/3 full and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Other Good Ideas-
–use pumpkin instead of banana
–add in raisins or other dried fruits
–add in walnuts

These are so good and so easy to prepare you can make them ahead of time and freeze for the winter snacks. Also makes an excellent zucchini loaf!

Calories Per Muffin- 60
Carbohydrates- 9 grams
Fat- 1 gram
Protein- 4 grams