Gluten Free Pizza Crust

INGREDIENTS

• 2/3 cup warm low-fat (1 percent) milk (about 105°F to 115°F on an instant-read thermometer)
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 2 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons potato starch
• 3 tablespoons sorghum flour
• 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for coating the parchment paper and brushing on the crust
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
• 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
• White rice flour, for dusting

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the bottom third. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and generously coat the paper with olive oil; set aside.
2. Place the warm milk in a small bowl and sprinkle in the yeast and sugar. Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.
3. Place the yeast mixture, potato starch, sorghum flour, tapioca flour, measured oil, vinegar, xanthan gum, and salt in a food processor fitted with a blade attachment and process until a sticky mass forms around the blade, about 30 seconds.
4. Scrape the dough out into the center of the prepared baking sheet. Dust the top of the dough liberally with the rice flour. Dusting your hands with rice flour as needed to prevent sticking, gently push the dough into an even 12-inch circle that is slightly thicker at the edges.
5. Bake until lightly browned on the edges, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush the top all over with olive oil, then flip the crust over. It is now ready to be topped and baked, or you can cool it completely and store it in the refrigerator until ready to use.
6. When you’re ready to make your pizza, heat the oven to 425°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Add your desired sauce, cheese, and toppings to the pizza crust and bake until the cheese is brown and bubbling, about 15 minutes.

Super Low Calorie Banana (No Sugar Added) Muffin Recipe

Super Low Calorie Banana (No Sugar Added) Muffin Recipe! 

Makes 30 "Mini" Muffins at 19 calories apiece OR 10 "Larger' Muffins at 57 Calories apiece 

Ingredients: 
3/4 cup skim milk 
1 egg white 
2 ripe bananas 
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (75 grams) 
1/2 tsp baking soda 
1/4 tsp baking powder (I used sodium free) 

Directions: Preheat Oven to 400 degrees 
1. Peel and mash the two bananas in a large bowl. 
2. Add in the milk and egg white and combine slightly with a fork. 
3. Using an electric beater/mixer, beat the liquid mixture for 1 to 2 minutes until foamy. 
4. Measure out the flour, baking soda and baking powder in a small bowl. Sift together with a fork. 
5. Fold in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine until it creates a creamy batter (don't overmix) 
*** The mix might dilapidate a little bit from mixing, but that's okay 
6. Spray mini or regular sized muffins pans. 
7. Measure in a slightly overfilled spoon full of muffin batter into mini muffin pans, or 3 spoonfuls into regular muffin pans (mine are shorter than normal however, so you might want to use 4) 
8. Place the muffin pans in the oven and bake for 10 to 25 minutes or until golden brown (depending on size and oven temperatures). Mine were done in about 15 minutes. 
9. Take the muffins out, let cool and transfer to a baking rack. ENJOY! 

Calories per spoonful: 19 
Calories per "mini" muffin: 19 
Calories per "larger" muffin: 57 

Nutrition Facts for Entire Recipe: 

Total: 
Calories- 560 
Carbohydrates- 123
Fat- 3 
Protein- 16

Per Serving: 
Calories- 19 
Carbohydrates- 4 
Fat- 0 
Protein- 1 

Honey Banana Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 6 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 cup golden raisins

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Combine the eggs, banana, applesauce and honey; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the raisins.
2. Coat muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray; fill two-thirds full with batter. Bake at 375 degrees F for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Footnotes

• Nutritional Analysis: One muffin equals 119 calories, 1 g fat (trace saturated fat), 30 mg cholesterol, 142 mg sodium, 27 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 3 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1 starch, 1/2 fruit.

Granola Muffins

Granola muffins

Adapted from the New York Times

Makes 12

Ingredients

• 90g granola
• 120ml semi-skimmed milk
• 115g whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda/baking soda
• 2 large eggs
• 60ml agave nectar
• 120ml low fat yogurt (I used vanilla) 
• 60ml extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/375F. Line a muffin tin with paper cases or grease it well.
2. Combine the granola and milk in a bowl and leave to stand for 30 minutes.
3. Beat together the eggs, agave nectar, yogurt, oil and vanilla.
4. Add the dry ingredients and fold until just combined.
5. Finally fold in the granola mixture.
6. Fill baking cases 3/4 full and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
7. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Zucchini Muffins

Zucchini Muffins (12 Muffins or 24 Mini Muffins)

1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Eggs, whisked
1 Tsp Vanilla
1/3 Cup Vegetable or Canola Oil
2/3 Cup Agave Nectar
1 1/2 Cups Zucchini, shredded (about 2 small zucchini)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
3. Place the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk to combine.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and stir just until the ingredients are combined.
5. Pour the zucchini mixture into large or small muffins cups (I like to use a small ice cream scooper to make spooning into the muffin cups easier).
6. Bake 15 minutes for small muffins and 20 minutes for large ones.
7. Cool and serve.

Purslane and chicken meatball salad

Purslane and chicken meatball salad

Chicken meatballs (serves 3-4)
- 1/2 zucchini, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 600g chicken fillet, diced
- 1 tbsp paprika powder
- black pepper
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 tbsp thyme

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. In a food processor, chop the zucchini, onion and garlic.
3. Add spices, egg, almond flour and chicken and process until a smooth paste forms.
4. Drop tablespoon sized balls on the prepared baking tray, and bake for approx. 30 minutes until browned.

Purslane salad (serves 2)
- 1 kohlrabi, peeled and grated
- 2 cups purslane, washed and coarsely chopped
- 1 cup red cabbage, chopped
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp salad herbs of your choice

1. In a bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice and salad herbs, let them soak for a while.
2. Divide vegetables over 2 plates and mix with your hands. Drizzle with the prepared dressing and hussle with 2 spoons (or your hands).

Serve the salad with some chicken meatballs on top, and enjoy!

Baked Banana w/Cinnamon & Honey

Ingredients:

• 1 banana (nice and ripe)
• 2 teaspoons honey
• cinnamon

Directions:

1. 1
   Pre-heat the oven to 200c (or get your BBQ nice and ready if you're BBQing).
2. 2
   Either slice the banana up into bite-sized pieces or cut it in half lengthways if you're looking for a smarter presentation or are having an ice cream banana split.
3. 3
   Place the banana on an over-sized square of tin foil and sprinkle with cinnamon (to taste).
4. 4
   Drizzle 2tsp of honey evenly over the banana and gather up the corners of the foil to create a little banana parcel.
5. 5
   Place the parcel in the oven (or on the barbie) and bake for approximately 15mins.
6. 6
   NB. Baking time depends on how you prefer your bananas - the more you bake, the more soft and gooey they get and the more the honey caramelises onto them. Personally I don't like mine too over-baked as I prefer the banana to still be a bit hard and the honey to be liquid.

Rutabaga Bisque with Smoked Paprika

Rutabaga Bisque with Smoked Paprika
from Chow.com

3 T. butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 medium celery stalks, chopped
1 1/2 lb. rutabaga, peeled and coarsely chopped
4 c. low-sodium vegetable stock
2 c. half and half
1 t. ground white pepper
2 1/2 t. smoked paprika

Melt butter in a large soup kettle. Add the onions and celery, season with salt, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add rutabaga and stock, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes until rutabaga can be easily pierced with a fork. Add half and half, white pepper, and smoked paprika then stir to blend. Puree the soup until smooth with an immersion or regular blender. Garnish with a bit of smoked paprika. Enjoy!

Deep Dark Chocolate Tart (Gluten, Grain, Dairy, Refined Sugar free)

Deep Dark Chocolate Tart

Because it’s so rich, it’s nice to serve this with something to cut the richness. Raspberry sauce, like pictured above works well, as does orange segments (which is how we serve it in the winter). You can also easily vary the sweetness of this tart. I love it bittersweet, but you could certainly sweeten it more.

I’ve made this in tart pans, pie pie pans and springform pans, but have found that pans with removable bottoms work the best. So use either a tart pan with a removable bottom, or a springfrom pan.

Crust: Grease a springform pan with coconut oil, and set aside.

2 cups of almonds (or choice of nuts)
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
1/2 cup of arrowroot powder, or sprouted wheat flour (only use wheat flour if you can have gluten)
2/3 cup of coconut oil softened (or butter)
1/4 cup of coconut sugar, honey, rapadura, maple sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (make sure it’s gluten free, if needed)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Place almonds in a food processor, and process until a coarse flour, add the rest of the ingredients and process until it forms a uniform dough. Press down into the greased pan and bake for 8-12 minutes or until the top is slightly browned.

Take out of the oven and cool. Once the crust is cool, making the filling.

8 ounces of unsweetened chocolate
2 tablespoons coconut oil (butter can be substituted)
1/4 cup of coconut sugar, plus two tablespoon honey, or more coconut sugar (all honey can be used as well. Honey will be sweeter than coconut sugar. Rapadura or maple syrup/sugar are also options).
1 1/2 cups of coconut cream (if you can’t find coconut cream, you can use a full fat coconut milk and skim the fatty top of the top. You will need two 14 ounce cans for that. Cream can be substituted.)
Dash of salt
2 tablespoons brewed coffee or espresso

1-Finely chop the chocolate and place it in a medium size, heatproof bowl. Add the coconut oil and the sweetener, mix it into the chopped chocolate a little.

2-Heat the coconut cream on the stove until very hot. Pour over the chocolate and tap the bowl on the counter to settle the chocolate. Let this sit for about one minute to start melting the chocolate. Using a rubber spatula (heatproof), slowly stir in a circular motion, starting from the center of the bowl. Stir for about two minutes (the mixture should be melted and the temperature 90 degrees, though I never check the temperature).

3- Add the coffee and stir until incorporated. Pour this over the crust and carefully place it in the fridge to set. It will take about an hour to set. Cover with plastic wrap once all the way cool. Will keep at least three days in the fridge (if you can resist that long!).

Tuna Cakes

Tuna Patties

• 1 1/4 pounds tuna steaks
• 1/4 cup finely chopped scallions
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce, (see Ingredient Note)
• 1 teaspoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preparation

1. To prepare tuna: With a large chef's knife, chop tuna using quick, even, straight-up-and-down motions (do not rock the knife through the fish or it will turn mushy). Continue chopping, rotating the knife, until you have a mass of roughly 1/4-inch pieces.
2. Place the tuna, scallions, onion, ginger, 2 teaspoons fish sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Gently combine, without overmixing, until evenly incorporated. Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the rest of the salad or up to 12 hours.

Tips & Notes

• Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate the dressing (Step 4) for up to 1 week. Cover and refrigerate the tuna mixture (Steps 1-2) for up to 12 hours.

• Ingredient Note: Fish sauce is a pungent Southeast Asian condiment made from salted, fermented fish. Find it in the Asian section of large supermarkets and in Asian specialty markets. We use Thai Kitchen fish sauce, lower in sodium than other brands (1,190 mg per tablespoon), in our nutritional analyses.

Dad's Scones

Hot Oven 475

8 oz flour   3 oz marg.or lard.  pinch of salt.  1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda.

2 level tsp. cream of tartar   1l2 pt milk.

Mix all dry ingrediants, rub in fat then mix, roll out until 1l2 thick, and cut shapes

cook for 8/10 miutes. watch them carefully.

Good luck. Dad.

Green Goddess Dip

Green Goddess Dip from Prevention

Makes 1-1/2 cups

Ingredients

1/2 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise

1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream

2 cups baby spinach

1-1/2 cups fresh herbs (pick any of your favorites like tarragon, chives, basil), coarsely chopped

2 scallions, green parts only, chopped

1 tablespoon anchovy paste

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Taste and season with salt and pepper, as needed.

Chill before serving.

Toni's Granola

Granola 
1 cup coconut 
4 cups oats 
1 cup raw sunflower seeds 
1 cup wheatgerm 
1/2 - 1/3 cup raw sesame 
 1 cup pine nuts 
1 cup honey 
1/2 cup vegetable oil 
1 tbsp cinnamon 
350o for 30 minutes 
Check 10 mins, 10 mins, 7 mins 
Will continue to cook, so take out early.

Warm Crostini with Blue Cheese and Walnuts

Sliced bread
4 ounces Roquefort, Maytag, or Danish blue
3 tablespoons butter at room temp
1 teaspoon cognac
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Freshly milled pepper
Finely chopped parsley

Toast the bread under the broiler until nicely browned on one side, then a little less on the second. Cream the cheese and butter until smooth, then work in the cognac and three-quarters of the walnuts and season with pepper. Spread on the paler side of the toasts, then broil until the cheese is bubbling. Remove, dust with the remaining nuts, and garnish with parsley. Serve warm.