A Few RSF Baking Tips

I wanted to jot down some of the things I've leaned over the last seven months baking without refined sugar.

1. ALWAYS taste your batter! If it doesn't taste sweet enough add some additional sweetner, the final product will actually always be less sweet than the batter. This step can help save you from throwing away a ton of money in a flop.

2. Lower fat foods don't need to be cooked as long. When using a "vegan" recipe or applesauce instead of oil, cook until the toothpick comes out mostly clean. Overcook this type of recipe and you end up with a hockey puck.

3. If you find a "vegan" recipe (often RSF too) too dense, just add an egg or two the next time you make it. It will lighten your treat.

4. Cinnamon makes things taste sweeter. Add it too cookies, pies, cakes and muffins to enhance the sweetner.

5. Mixing sweeteners will help avoid a strong taste. For example, if a recipe call for 1 cup sugar, you could substitute with 1/3 cup coconut sugar, 1/3 cup honey and 1/3 cup maple syrup. This way you just taste sweet, not honey etc. Play with the recipes to what combo you like and then you can make a lot of your favorite recipes.

6. If in doubt add some grain-sweetened chocolate chips. They make anything taste better.

Don't give up, keep baking and email or message one of us if you have a recipe success. We would love to feature you on our blog. Thanks for reading. Pumpkin pie/everything season is almost here...happy baking!

Courtney's Banana Muffins

My college roommate sent me this recipe this morning. I am posting it without trying it, but I trust her completely when she says they were yummy.

(Okay, so I finally made these and they were so tasty. I added some grain-sweetened chocolate chips, about 1/2 cup and used almond milk to cut some of the dairy. I stirred in half the nuts to the second batch of muffins only so my littles would eat them. They turned out great! Thanks for the recipe Courtney)

Happy Sunday!

Banana (Nut) Muffins

yields 12 muffins or 3 mini-loaves

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup coconut sugar

1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana (about three small bananas)
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped nuts

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with paper wrappers (or grease) and set on a silicone lined sheet. Set aside.

In a mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat until combined. Add bananas, milk, lemon and vanilla and mix until combined. Add dry ingredients (sift if you're feeling motivated) and gently mix in. Mix in nuts (or reserve to sprinkle on top). Use a medium ice cream scoop to portion batter into muffin tins (about 2/3 full). Bake for 20-25 minutes (35-40 for mini loaves), let cool, and enjo

Retro Day...Carrot Cake Muffins

My mom's carrot cake covered in cream cheese frosting was always one of my favorite desserts. Combine that with my love of pumpkin pie (one of my friend's pregnancy cravings) and these little babies were born. (pun intended)

Here is the healthy inspiration recipe if you want to see how I tweaked it:

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/RCP00197/Carrot-Cake.html

Ode to Mom Carrot Cake Muffins

2 cups of grated carrots, tightly packed

Juice of one orange

Zest of one orange (zest before you juice so you don't kill your fingers!)

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup of organic raw agave syrup

1/2 cup honey

1/2 heaping cup of pineapple tidbits in 100% juice, drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all these ingredients together well. I added the zest to add more flavor and swapped out agave for some of the honey to lighten the sweetener taste and the results are tasty!

In a separate bowl combine:

1 cup unbleached white flour

1 1/2 cups wheat flour (or just use all white if you don't have any wheat on hand, all wheat would make a very heavy muffin)

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cloves

3/4 cup of chopped walnuts (I only added this to half the batch so my littles would eat the muffins)

Add dry to wet and stir until just combined. The spice combo is the pumpkin pie inspiration and me wanting it to be fall and not 110 outside. Scoop into prepared muffin tins and bake. Mine made about 20 muffins. Bake for about 16-20 min or until springy to the touch. Depends on your oven.

If you are concerned about your waistline just make some herbal tea, sit back and enjoy the fall goodness for a snack or part of breakfast. If you are craving desert continue to the next step...

Cream Cheese Glaze

3 oz cream cheese, softened

3 Tbsp of raw organic evaporated cane sugar (you will need to put this in the food processor until it resembles tan colored powdered sugar)

3 Tbsp of milk (for non-dairy readers, coconut milk would be great!)

Whisk together and drizzle over cooled muffins. Garnish with additional chopped walnuts. Enjoy your veggies, omega 3s and good fats all packaged up in a tasty treat.

Leave a comment with your favorite back to school/fall treat.

Freezer Friendly "Uncrustables"

Sometimes easy is the most nutritious option in the morning! Pampered Chef (and I'm sure a lot of other places) make a Press and Seal sandwich maker. This way you can use your own bread and fillers. If you put some almond butter or natural peanut butter and all fruit jelly you have an "Uncrustables" sandwich that is RSF. Mass produce these babies and put them in baggies in the freezer, pull one out in the morning and your off!  My kids love the meat/cheese/mayo combo the best.

Homemade Lunchable

My kiddos loved this homemade lunchable today.  When I made the RSF rolls earlier in the week I used some dough to make mini pizza crusts to freeze for later.  You could cut the crusts into shapes and add veggies or meat to put on their pizza.  Super easy, cheap and healthy!

True Food Kale Salad

If you've never tried Kale, this is the recipe that will convert you! It is straight from the True Food website and amazing. I skipped the breadcrumbs and used Parm and it was great. Enjoy one of the best greens for your body

Tuscan Kale Salad Ingredients

• 4-6 cups Kale, loosely packed, sliced leaves
  of Italian black (Lacinato, “dinosaur,” cavolo nero)
  midribs removed
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• 3-4 T Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 cloves Garlic, mashed
• Salt & Pepper, to taste
• Hot Red Pepper Flakes, to taste
• 2/3 cup grated Pecorino Toscano cheese
  (Rosselino variety if you can find it) or other
  flavorful grating cheese such as
  Asiago or Parmesan
• ½ cup freshly made Bread Crumbs from
  lightly toasted bread

Tuscan Kale Salad Directions

Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper, and a generous pinch (or more to taste) of hot red pepper flakes. Pour over kale in serving bowl and toss well. Add 2/3 of the cheese and toss again. Let kale sit for at least 5 minutes. Add bread crumbs, toss again, and top with remaining cheese.

Back to School Lunches RSF

We have started the new school year with homemade lunches that are nearly RSF (Refined Sugar Free).
Every now and again we will snap a pic and upload it so you can have some ideas.
I have a six year old girl (somewhat choosy) and an eight year old boy with a bottomless stomach.  They have come home every day with a good report and envious lunch buddies.

 Fruit kabobs, red pepper sticks, baked pretzel thin crackers with a healthy PB and whole fruit jelly cutout sandwich

Blueberries, blackberries, carrots, homemade roll with ham and honey mustard sandwich, natural Oreo's (Sprouts), Z bar and organic apple slices

 Sorry about the lame photo!  This one is just slightly different with baby tomatoes and a Cascade Farms granola bar (Fry's on sale with a coupon)

We got the CHEAP Bento boxes online with these little cute stick picks that my kids LOVE.

www.allthingsforsale.com

Coconut Chocolate Pudding

This recipe is sooooo yummy and very quick to make.  It's vegan and you can make it RSF (Refined Sugar Free).

Here are your ingredients:

1 1/2 cups coconut milk or 1 can

3 1/2 cups cold almond milk

7 Tbsp. cornstarch

9 Tbsp. dark cocoa

1/4 cup organic raw sugar (finely ground)

1/4 cup agave

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Pinch of sea salt

Heat up the first 5 ingredients until boiling.  Let it boil for 1-3 minutes.  By then, it should be thick.  Stir in the vanilla and sea salt.  Pour into 8 dessert bowls.  Garnish with a sprinkling of shaved coconut.  That's it!  I love this recipe because it's so quick to whip up, tastes so creamy and chocolaty, it's a lot healthier than store-bought puddings, and serves lots of people. Hope all you skinny cooks enjoy! ;)



Photo and recipe found at:

http://www.foodbuzz.com/recipes/3974896-guest-post-friday-vegan-chocolate-coconut-pudding

Best Sunday Dinner rolls

 2 c. whole milk (if you’re in a pinch, you can use 2%, but whole is best. Don’t use 1% or skim)
½ c. + 1 Tbsp. sugar, divided (I used raw organic sugar and then pulsed it in my bullet to make it fine)
1/3 c. (5 1/3 Tbsp.) butter
2 tsp. Kosher  sea salt
2 pkgs. active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp.), preferably bread machine yeast
2/3 c. warm (105-115-degree) water
8-9 c. all-purpose flour (next time I'll try using a few cups of whole wheat to make it a little healthier)
3 beaten eggs

Combine milk, 1/2 c. sugar, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter melts. It’s salty. It’s sweet. Yum.

Remove from heat. Allow to cool to lukewarm. I usually rub some ice cubes along the sides of the pan or pop the entire pan in a sink full of ice cubes to cool the mixture down because this step can take forever. This step is really important because if the mixture is too hot, it will kill the yeast.

While the milk mixture is cooling, dissolve the yeast and 1 Tbsp. sugar in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes. If the yeast hasn’t bubbled, you’ll need to repeat this step–moving on with yeast that hasn’t been activated properly will only end in heartache for you and hate mail for us.
In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 c. flour and milk mixture. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Add yeast mixture and beat on high for 3 minutes.
Add beaten eggs. Why should you beat your eggs first? Same reason you should combine your dry ingredients before adding them to moist ingredients when making cookies and cakes–it ensures everything is well-mixed and can be evenly-distributed through your dough or batter. If you add the whole eggs, your dough may not be as consistent.

Stir in as much remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough. This dough should be very soft–it will be coming away from the sides of the bowl, but it will still stick to your finger when you touch it. Don’t worry, it will firm up during the rising process. Part of what makes these rolls so good is that they’re so soft and light; if you add too much flour, they will be heavy and dense. Place the bowl in a warm place and cover with a clean towel; allow to rise 1 hour.

Punch down dough. Lightly flour your work surface and turn dough out onto surface. Divide in half. Spray 2 9×13 glass pans with cooking spray. Roll first portion of dough into a rectangle and then cut it into 12 equal-sized pieces. I like to use a pizza cutter because it has a blade on each side, so it cuts right through dough without sticking to the blade. This dough should be very easy to work with, almost like play dough. Shape each piece into a ball and place in prepared pan. Repeat with remaining dough in the second pan.
Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. When dough has about 15-20 minutes to go (depending on your oven), preheat oven to 375

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden-brown.

When done, remove from oven. Rub a stick of cold butter over the tops of the rolls. You must now eat one. Now. While it’s hot.

I got this recipe from this great website and then just tweaked it to make it work.
http://www.ourbestbites.com