MY FAVORITE FLATBREAD: GLUTEN-FREE, GRAIN-FREE, DAIRY-FREE, EGG-FREE PITAS

I was trying to make egg-free, almond-free tortillas that I could eat with my newly discovered allergies, but I was pleasantly surprised with this recipe. They turned out to be thicker and softer than a tortilla and more like pita bread (except that they don’t separate to form a pocket). I made mine with cashew and coconut flour and a mixture of coconut oil and pasture lard from Fat Works®. GLUTEN-FREE, GRAIN-FREE, DAIRY-FREE, FLAX-FREE, EGG-FREE FLATBREAD Ingredients 14 tbsp. or 7/8 cup (sift before measuring*) coconut flour (98 grams) 4…

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COOKIES FOR EVERYONE

Here is my first new recipe since discovering that I am allergic to eggs, almonds, and possibly dairy products. (The jury is still out on some dairy, but for now, it’s off limits.) It cheered me up immensely that these were so good. This is my new reality, but food allergies are so common now that it is probably a good idea to include options for customizing when writing recipes anyway. So whatever diet you follow, Paleo, Primal, Atkins, LC/HF (low-carb/high-fat), gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, or almost any other plan, you can have…

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GLUTEN-FREE YOGURT BISCUITS

I am so excited about my new recipe! It came out perfect the first time I tried it. The recipe is super easy and quick to make and the biscuits taste astonishingly like the buttermilk biscuits my mother used to make, but these are gluten-free, wheat-free, and low-carb. I used Jennifer Eloff’s Gluten-free Bake Mix™ as a starting point. Isn’t teamwork great? GLUTEN-FREE, LOW-CARB YOGURT BISCUITSIngredients:1½ cups Jennifer’s Gluten-Free Bake Mix™, or other low-carb, gluten-free bake mix (see below for bake mix recipe), plus a little extra for shaping the biscuits 2 tsp baking…

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WHEAT BELLY COOKBOOK REVIEW: IS FLAX THE NEW WHEAT?

Dr. Davis has succeeded in drawing attention to the dangers of wheat and the benefits of a low-carb diet beyond what I thought possible. He builds a convincing case against this new plant that he says shouldn’t even be called “wheat,” and he documents most of his arguments with supportive research. I was already avoiding most grains and decided to eliminate wheat after reading Wheat Belly. I have been following a low-carb lifestyle and writing about it for over 13 years, so it wasn’t a radical change…

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VALIDATION: Peter Reinhart

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   Gluten-free products, recipes, and cookbooks are everywhere these days, but most of them just sub high-carb starches like potato, corn, tapioca, and rice for wheat, rye, and barley. The cookbook above is different. You can’t read the subtitle very well here, but it says, “80 Low-carb Recipes that Offer Solutions for Celiac Disease, Diabetes, and Weight Loss.” It was written by Peter Reinhart and Denene Wallace. Peter Reinhart is a world-class expert on bread and baking. Mario Batali called him the Leonardo da Vinci of bread. He has written nine books, including The Bread Baker’s Apprentice,…

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FLAX: THE ULTIMATE SUPERFOOD?

Breakfast Bites from Louise’s Foods Little bags of tasty, grain-free cereal and granola from a company called FlaxGold were included in the swag bags everyone received at check-in on the last Low-Carb Cruise. The main ingredient was, as you may have guessed, flax. Flax has become popular in diet foods where it is used to lower the calories and increase the fiber. It is also used as a zero-carb thickener and flour substitute in low-carb recipes and flax oil is sold as an omega-3 supplement. Many low-carbers are eating flax in…

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VIDEO #3: EZ CREAMY STAWBERRY PIE

EZ CREAMY STRAWBERRY PIE This luscious strawberry pie is low-carb, gluten-free, and probably the easiest pie you will ever make! Ingredients: 1 (9-inch) Almond Pie Crust, recipe below, baked and cooled 8 ounces frozen strawberries (to make 1/2 cup of cooked puree) 2 tablespoons lemon juice 10 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced 16 ounces (two 8-ounce tubs) whipped cream cheese 8 ounces plain, Greek yogurt with live cultures 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Liquid sweetener, such as EZ-Sweetz* or LC-Sweet, equal to 14 tbs of sugar A few grains of…

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COOKIES FOR CHRISTMAS

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES Ingredients: 1 large egg 1 cup natural peanut butter, crunchy or plain, brought to room temperature High intensity sugar substitute, such as sucralose or stevia, equal to 3/4 cup of sugar 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of brown sugar replacement, such as Diabetisweet, LC Sweet Brown, or Just Like Sugar Brown 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 cup sugar-free chocolate chips, optional Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large baking sheet. Directions: Beat the egg…

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IS THERE A “GOOD” GRAIN?

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Since the advent of agriculture, man has been “improving” grain crops to make them starchier, sweeter, less perishable, and easier to grow and to harvest. Now that we are seeing the consequences, scientists are starting to reverse-engineer some food crops to more closely resemble their ancient ancestors. Sustagrain barley is one of the first to become available to the consumer. For comparison, General Mills has been advertising that Cheerios® have been “proven to reduce cholesterol,” based on the amount of soluble fiber they contain. The…

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