Tag: breakfast

A Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe

Today I’m sharing a Chocolate Chip cookie recipe.

A friend of mine put me on to it. These cookies have a surprise ingredient and are healthy enough to eat for breakfast. They taste great, are gluten free and keto friendly (so low in carbohydrates).

The recipe is from a site called Sweet as Honey and the cookies are really quick and easy to make.

I started to get my ingredients measured out and I realised that I was short on Almond flour. So, I made a small change and have shared the recipe with my changes.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

makes 16

Ingredients

1 large egg – at room temp. & lightly beaten

75 g unsalted butter – melted

100 g Monkfruit sweetener

60 g zucchini – finely grated and with excess water removed

85 g almond flour

85 g buckwheat flour (for added fibre & protein)

½ teasp baking powder

1 teasp ground cinnamon

¼ teasp ground ginger

¼ teasp ground nutmeg

¼ teasp salt

1 teasp vanilla extract

50 g chopped pecans

80 g sugar free chocolate chips

Method

* Preheat oven to 160’c. and line baking tray/s with parchment paper and set aside

* Finely grate the zucchini with skin on. Then placing the grated zucchini in the centre of a clean tea towel, wrap and squeeze bundle to remove all water. (This is important so as to avoid soft cookies)

* In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg with the melted butter and sweetener.

*Stir in both of the flours, zucchini, and baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt and vanilla.

* Once thoroughly combined, stir in the chopped pecans and chocolate chips.

* Use a tablespoon to scoop balls of the mixture onto the trays.

* Wet your hands and lightly press down on the balls of mixture to flatten and shape the cookies.

* Bake in the centre of the oven for 15 minutes or until slightly golden on the edges.

* Cool on a cooling rack for a least 30 minutes before eating. They will firm up at room temperature.

* The cookies should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. The cookies can be frozen in zip lock bags to keep for longer if necessary.

I hope you enjoy these cookies as much as we do.

If you want to try more keto friendly baking, check out the Sweet as Honey website for more ideas.

Till the next post,

 

Live clean n Prosper.

Is Quinoa really good for us?

Today’s topic is Quinoa.

Over the past couple of years we have included this food into our diet. It is another one of the so-called ‘super foods’ that have become popular with foodies. We were aware that it was meant to be better for us than rice, however it was only recently that I looked into how and why. (Sources – Wikipedia, Grains & Legumes Nutritional Council of Aust. )

So what is Quinoa?

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) originates from the Andes and is a staple food of the indigenous people there, the Quechua. It was domesticated 3,000 to 4,000 years ago for human consumption in the Lake Titicaca basin of Peru and Bolivia. Archaeological evidence shows livestock uses 5,200 to 7,000 years ago.

The ancient Incas called quinoa the “mother grain” and revered it as sacred. However, technically, quinoa isn’t a grain at all, but the seed of the Goosefoot plant. The goosefoot plant is not a grass, but rather plant botanically related to spinach and amaranth. It’s considered a ‘pseudo-cereal’. Loosely grouped with other grains due to being similar nutritionally and used in ways similar to ‘true’ grains.

To help ward off insects and birds, quinoa has a bitter residue of saponins, a natural occurring plant-defence. This makes it easier for farmers to grow the food organically. After harvest, the seeds are processed to remove the bitter-tasting outer seed coating.

It is still a good idea to thoroughly rinse the seeds under running water prior to cooking.

 Is Quinoa a ‘Super food’?

Quinoa is gluten free and provides protein, dietary fibre, B vitamins, and dietary minerals in rich amounts, above those of wheat, corn, rice, or oats.

It is considered to be a complete protein due to the presence of all eight essential amino acids needed for tissue development in humans. Our bodies don’t make all of these amino acids all by themselves, so we rely on our diets to supply them. Usually, only animal products like meat and eggs are able to provide all at once.

In regards to protein, Quinoa has twice the amount compared to other grains like barley, wheat, and rice.

It is a low G.I. carbohydrate, relatively low in fat, most of which is omega-6 polyunsaturated fat and is high in dietary fibre. One cup of cooked quinoa contains 40 fewer calories than the same amount of white rice, but the real benefit is in the carbohydrates. White rice contains almost 15 times the amount of carbohydrates than quinoa. Quinoa also provides more grams of fibre.

Quinoa is high in anti-inflammatory phytonutrients, which make it potentially beneficial for human health in the prevention and treatment of disease. It is definitely is good for us, I will leave you to decide if it’s ‘super’.

It is available in different forms
  • Quinoa grain/seed – cooks in around 15 minutes and when cooked, reveals a small white tail (the germ of the kernel). Great as a light, fluffy side dish served instead of rice. It can also be added to soups, salads and baked goods.
  • Quinoa flour –  has a tasty, nutty flavour and is often used in gluten free baking. This flour can also be used as a thickener in sauces, soups and other dishes, especially in cases where additional protein may be beneficial.
  • Quinoa flakes – are simply steam-rolled to create a quick cooking flake. The flakes can be used for a hot breakfast similar to porridge, added to pancakes, waffles or smoothies. Use them as a coating instead of breadcrumbs, or they may be used as an alternative to rolled oats in muffins or cookies.

Quinoa flakes are also great for thickening sauces, curries or casseroles. I actually add the flakes to my yoghurt at breakfast, increasing the fibre and protein content. They seem to disappear into the yoghurt and are virtually tasteless.

I hope that this information answers any questions you may also have had about this particular food. If you haven’t tried quinoa, give it a go, you may find you really enjoy it.

Till the next post,

Live clean n prosper.

Spotlight on Breakfast Drinks

In todays post I am looking at Breakfast drinks.

Last week I wrote about the food industry and processed foods. I mentioned that the industry as a whole was driven by profit and questioned what was in our food.

During the week I was doing some research into ‘Energy drinks’ and a friend asked about ‘breakfast drinks’. So, after our discussion and a bit of research later, this is what I came up with.

I decided to do a comparison between an Up ‘n’ Go breakfast drink and a homemade smoothie.

Let’s look at the Up & Go ingredients

Choc Ice, 250ml Breakfast drink

Filtered water, skim milk powder, cane sugar, wheat maltodextrin, soy protein, vegetable oils (sunflower, canola), vegetable fibre, hi-maize™ starch, corn syrup solids, fructose, cocoa (0.5%), oat flour, mineral (calcium), acidity regulator (332), flavours, vegetable gums (460, 466, 407), stabiliser (452), salt, vitamins (C, niacin, A, B12, B6, B2, B1, folate).

Labelling laws in Australia require the ingredients to be listed in order of quantity. So the first ingredient, therefore the most, is water. Followed by Skim milk powder.

Then there is the third most ingredient, the first of the sugars ‘Cane Sugar’.

Followed by another sugar -Wheat maltodextrin, made from wheat starch. Maltodextrins are considered equivalent to sugar but not as sweet.

Then there is Soy protein, Vegetable oils, Vegetable fibre, Hi-maize™ starch and Corn Syrup solids.

Corn syrup solids are made from concentrating corn syrup, a liquid sweetener made from corn. Studies show that the body metabolises corn syrup and corn syrup solids in the same way, and they may contribute to health issues such as obesity, diabetes and liver disease.

Then there is more processed sugar, in the form of fructose. Commercially Fructose or fruit sugar is frequently derived from sugar cane, sugar beets, and corn. The primary reason that fructose is used commercially in foods, besides its low cost, is its high relative sweetness.

Then there is the cocoa, oat flour and the added vitamins, minerals and chemicals required to keep the product on the shelf.

This product is advertised as a ‘healthy’ breakfast option.

I think that we can make healthy breakfast drinks at home. Using fresh ingredients. I have done the research on a quick, Choc-Banana Smoothie, a home made ‘Breakfast Drink’ alternative.

To be fair, this comparison uses Pauls Smarter White milk (as the Up n Go uses skim milk powder).

The Numbers

Milk 250ml Banana 50g

Raw Cacao Pwdr 10g

 TOTAL Up n Go  250ml
Calories 162 44.5 47 232.5 196
Total fats – g 9 0.15 1.9 7.05 3.8
Sodium – g 110 0.5 110.5 161
Potassium – g 179 179 514
Protein – g 8 .55 2.1 12.65 8.3
Total carbohydrates – g 12 11.5 5.3 31.8 29.7
Dietary fiber – g 1.3 1.3 4
Sugars – g 12 6 0.2 18.2 19.2
COST .50 .24 .40 1.14 1.53

For the record, 50g of banana, is approximately ½ an average banana and 10 g of Cacao is a generous tablespoon. Now, I know that the homemade version has 36.5 extra calories and some extra fat. It does however have a little less sugar and more protein.

The most important thing to remember about this comparison though is that the homemade recipe uses 3 real food ingredients. You can also choose to reduce your chemical footprint by buying Organic ingredients.

You will also have some ingredients left over to use in other ways.

Now the choice is yours, but I hope I’ve got you thinking about what you and your family eat.

Till the next post,

Live Clean n Prosper