Is there a current grain free support thread?

[lil_earthmomma]

I'm so new to being grain free, and would love to chat with other mama's who are grain free.

[lil_earthmomma]

Really?!? No other grain free mamas?

[crunchy_mama]

look down the page away someone started a new paleo thread-

[nym]

I'm grain free!!

[FairyRae]

I'm not grain free but am gluten (and dairy, soy and corn free), and tend to feel better on a low/no grains diet. My ds and dh love their grains, and I tend to eat whatever we are all eating iykwim! But I may, at some point, really try to go grain free as it does *feel* so good when I do it...

Have you seen the thread in the allergies section about pumpkin seed flour? I've been obsessed w/ it lately and it's totally a grain free way to bake!

[lil_earthmomma]

Originally Posted by FairyRae

I'm not grain free but am gluten (and dairy, soy and corn free), and tend to feel better on a low/no grains diet. My ds and dh love their grains, and I tend to eat whatever we are all eating iykwim! But I may, at some point, really try to go grain free as it does *feel* so good when I do it...

Have you seen the thread in the allergies section about pumpkin seed flour? I've been obsessed w/ it lately and it's totally a grain free way to bake!

I'm totally intrigued with pumpkin seed flour!!!

I'm not paleo (I love my dairy) so I don't know if that would be the right place for me...

Hi Nym! I didn't put two and two together till your psyllium husk thread!

[3boobykins]

DH and I have been grain free for about 2 months. My dh had been trying to loose his belly (not a huge amount of weight, but too much for his very narrow frame). He came across a blog called mark's daily apple. Mark Sisson calls his "diet" the "Primal Blueprint." It is grain-free, high protein, tons of veggies, some berries, and limited dairy. My dh has lost weight easily and steadily and feels great. I didn't need to lose weight at all, but I feel so good--no more bloating, and no more blood sugar issues or yeastiness. We also do high-intensity weight training, and I'm getting some nice, defined arm muscles. I have no desire to go back to grains. We eat meat, salmon, tons of huge salads, and mostly leafy green veggies, plus nuts, coconut oil, bacon (and we cook with the fat, yum!), lot of water, eggs daily, grass-fed beef about once a week. We also make kiefer and kimchee.

For treats, we bake with almond or coconut flour. I use stevia to sweeten, with a touch of honey. I'm intrigued by the idea of pumpkin seed flour and am going to try making some in the Vitamix. Pumpkin seeds are so much cheaper than almonds!

[lil_earthmomma]

Originally Posted by 3boobykins

DH and I have been grain free for about 2 months. My dh had been trying to loose his belly (not a huge amount of weight, but too much for his very narrow frame). He came across a blog called mark's daily apple. Mark Sisson calls his "diet" the "Primal Blueprint." It is grain-free, high protein, tons of veggies, some berries, and limited dairy. My dh has lost weight easily and steadily and feels great. I didn't need to lose weight at all, but I feel so good--no more bloating, and no more blood sugar issues or yeastiness. We also do high-intensity weight training, and I'm getting some nice, defined arm muscles. I have no desire to go back to grains. We eat meat, salmon, tons of huge salads, and mostly leafy green veggies, plus nuts, coconut oil, bacon (and we cook with the fat, yum!), lot of water, eggs daily, grass-fed beef about once a week. We also make kiefer and kimchee.

For treats, we bake with almond or coconut flour. I use stevia to sweeten, with a touch of honey. I'm intrigued by the idea of pumpkin seed flour and am going to try making some in the Vitamix. Pumpkin seeds are so much cheaper than almonds!

Oh will you PLEASE PLEASE PUUHLEAASSSEEEE share some of your almond flour and coconut flour recipes?!? I'm having some trouble.

[ruthmg]

I am contemplating going grain free. Did you find it hard, or did you feel better immediately?

[FairyRae]

Originally Posted by lil_earthmomma

Oh will you PLEASE PLEASE PUUHLEAASSSEEEE share some of your almond flour and coconut flour recipes?!?

I'd be interested as well.

I've loved some of the recipes I've tried from elanaspantry.com using home ground pumpkin seed flour to replace the almond flour, but I have really been wanting to try replacing the sweetners (I use honey) with mostly stevia...I've got some ideas in mind for how to modify the current recipes I've been using but would love to try some already-been-taste-tested recipes!

[lil_earthmomma]

Originally Posted by ruthmg

I am contemplating going grain free. Did you find it hard, or did you feel better immediately?

I felt better the next day!!!

[nym]

I feel awesome. I have been completely grain free for a month now, and I feel so so so much better!

[lil_earthmomma]

So I had such a great success I just had to share:

Coconut flour brownies:

Ingredients

1/3 cup TIANA Organic Virgin Coconut Oil or butter, melted (I used butter)
½ cup cocoa powder
6 eggs
1 cup white sugar (next time I want to try maple syrup or honey)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup Coconut Flour
1 cup nuts, chopped (optional) I didn't bother.

Method

In a saucepan at low heat, blend together butter and cocoa powder. Remove from heat and let cool. In a bowl, mix together eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla. Stir in cocoa mixture. Whisk coconut flour into batter until there are no lumps. Fold in nuts. Pour batter into a greased 8x8x2 inch pan. Bake at 175C (350F) for 30-35 minutes.

These had delicious flavor and a great texture, although I think it was more like a dense cake then a brownie. So yummy, full of fiber and goodness and decadent! I iced them with a homemade fudgy chocolate buttercream, but they would have been good on their own or with a simple melted chocolate ganache.

[FairyRae]

Have you seen this thread on being low carb? There are some SWEET links to recipes that are totally grain free (and pretty low carb as well).

I made some cauliflower 'rice' today, which was pretty good, and am longing to try a cauliflower pizza crust! (The recipe calls for cheese, so as someone who is dairy free, I've got to think on this...sounds delicious though!)

And another link w/ recipes from the low carb thread: http://genaw.com/lowcarb/

Plus, http://paleofood.com has lots of grain free recipes too (the pie crusts look interesting to me! YUM!)

I'm all about substitutions--finding substitutions/replacements for my old favorites so that I never feel deprived when avoiding a food or 'food group'...

[crunchy_mama]

earthmomma- so glad you had a recipe success! Sounds great! I made some bean brownies the other day, but they ended up more cake like as I substituted so many ingredients- the taste was good though!

I made Elana's flapjacks yesterday into waffles of course- I am running so low on nuts- I had a crazy mix of everything in the pantry- cashews, brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, pecans- they were still as yummy as ever!!!!

I have always eyed that cauliflower pizza crust, but being df also I don't know how to make that work. I have done a crust before w/ almond flour that was edible- but certainly not great. And have recipes for another one made w/ nuts and seeds, but have yet to try it.

[FairyRae]

I found this recipe for mashed potato pizza crust (I bet cauliflower might work in place of the potato, and I'm going to try it w/ a seed or nut flour--and probably add an egg for binding purposes--I like to play it safe after many mushy gluten free outcomes! I'm going to make it tonight w/ potatoes, and I'll lyk how it turns out!

Mashed Potato Pizza Crust


3 cups cubed potatoes (Russets are nice)

1 cup flour (organic or un-bleached, if possible)

Herbs/seasonings of choice

Toppings of choice (for example, bell peppers, rinsed olives, IC friendly cheese, grilled vegetables, cooked IC safe meats, or cooked seafood)


Preheat oven to 400 degrees (or a little less if your oven is very hot). First boil the potatoes until they are done and then mash them, but don’t add extra liquids or fats. Next, slowly add in the flour, about ¼ at a time, until everything is well incorporated.

Add any herbs or seasoning that you like. Spread the mixture into a shallow tart pan (grease lightly or use non-stick) or onto a non-stick cookie sheet – you want a layer that is about a quarter of an inch thick or so, but you can make it higher if you want.

Bake for 12-15 minute, until the top begins to turn golden yellow.

Remove from the oven and cover with the toppings and sauce of your choice (a cheddar cheese sauce with pieces of broccoli and cauliflower is one of my favs, but not every ICer can tolerate cheddar so you may want to try mozzarella or Monterey Jack instead), quickly place back in the oven for a few minutes, or just flash under the grill (broiler) to melt the cheese (if using cheese).

ETA: This is another potato crust recipe--here are the ingredients for the base:

4 potatoes, shredded
1 medium onion, grated
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

And these make a tasty appetizer--I've topped w/ bruchetta in the past (yum!)

[FairyRae]

So, I think I'm really going to do this--you ladies are so inspiring! I know I feel better when grain free (from my past experiences trying it for short periods of time).

I'm making a list of substitutions for the grains I currently use here, in case it might be helpful to any of you (and to get myself organized!) I think that will make it an easier transition for me...

kelp noodles or mung bean noodles in place of rice pasta

nut/seed based baked goods (breads, muffins, crackers, cookies, cakes, etc.--based on recipes from paleofood.com and elanaspantry.com with minor substitutions--I've found them to work well so far!)

(possibly) potato or cauliflower pizza crust (we are gluten free, and pizza has not been something we've made a lot of b/c of lack of crust, so this is not a real big deal--something I'd just *like* to make in a tasty manner!)

riced cauliflower in place of rice

taco salad when ds and dh have turkey quesadillas on br. rice tortillas

Thanks again for the inspiration ladies! I'm sure I'll be back here for all the good ideas and support!

[ruthmg]

I went grain free yesterday (although the leftovers I just ate had a little wild rice in it, so not entirely grain free...) My belly is already smaller! I was wheat free already, just eating oatmeal in the morning and a millet/flax flatbread at lunch, but I didn't miss them. I just steamed some zucchini to eat with my meatsauce last night!!

I am thinking about this as semi-paleo, although I am eating coconut oil and goat cheese. Plus, I'm not doing baking substitutions yet. Just seeing how my body reacts and hopefully resets itself. I do like using chick pea flour to make veggie pancakes. Do you include legumes in the grain free as well?

[FairyRae]

Originally Posted by ruthmg

I am thinking about this as semi-paleo, although I am eating coconut oil and goat cheese. Plus, I'm not doing baking substitutions yet. Just seeing how my body reacts and hopefully resets itself. I do like using chick pea flour to make veggie pancakes. Do you include legumes in the grain free as well?

I think coconut is ok w/ paleo...on paleofood.com there are recipes including CO...

In defining grain free I don't include legumes--I think paleo is no legumes but not 100% sure...

From paleofood.com:

Recipes are: grain-free, bean-free, potato-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free.
Ingredients used: meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, nuts, and berries.

(I'm sure there are other paleo sources that might conflict w/ this, but this is where I've gotten info on what is/is not paleo--not that I *am* paleo--I'm just really interested in it as the recipes usually work for us since we've been gluten/dairy/corn and soy free for some time...)

[crunchy_mama]

I definte grain free just as grain free. Paleo is generally defined by no legumes as well- including chocolate- peanuts- carob- some even restrict peas and green beans as well and all nightshade plants- including tomatoes , peppers etc. However, for me the most important thing is being grain and sugar free.

Today has been a good day eating wise:
breakfast- eggs- sausage and veggie hash
lunch- chicken breast w/ lemon pepper- panfried w/ grassfed tallow - romaine- baby tomatoes- sunflower seeds - sesame seeds- and a quick dressing made of a bit of raw honey- mustard- sesame oil- sea salt and a pinch of cayenne

super will be something w/ the rest of the chicken I cooked- I have a sweet potato I will likely bake and mash and some broccoli as well.

I am craving some kind of snack as well but will have to think on that one!