Cinnamon raisin bread tastes sweet with coffee
Each time I start a sugar fast, I start breakfast with Ezekiel 4:9 Cinnamon Raisin bread. I love that this bread has no added sugar at all, and still tastes a little sweet with my morning coffee.
| Ezekiel 4:9 Cinnamon Raisin Bread |
A slice of this bread is so nutrient-dense: 80 calories; total fat, 0; sat. fat 0; cholesterol, 0; sodium, 65 mg.; total carbs, 18g; fiber, 2 g; sugar, 5g; and protein, 3 g.
For the first 15 days of my fasts, whether it is a 15-day fast or 30 days, I start and include only this bread. It's very satisfying to a "sweet tooth." You can find it in the frozen section of organic foods.
Apple Walnut Muffins
I love these muffins sweetened with just a half cup of maple syrup. They make a great "dessert" during a sugar fast, but I also enjoy them with my morning coffee.
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| Apple Walnut Muffin |
3/4 cup all purpose or bread flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon ground flax seed
1/3 cup whole milk plain yogurt
1 egg
1 apple, chopped
2 1/4 ounces chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
Blend together all the dry ingredients. Add the egg, coconut oil, maple syrup and yogurt. Stir in the apples and walnuts. Pour into paper-lined muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Test for doneness with toothpick inserted into middle of muffin.
Nutrition info: 1 muffin, 146 calories; Total fat, 5 g; Sat. fat. 0.9 g; Cholesterol, 15.9 mg; Sodium, 130 mg; Total carbs, 23.9 g; Fiber, 2 g; Sugars, 11 g; Protein, 3.5g.
~B~
Chocolate Oatmeal No Bake Cookies sweetened with date sugar
At the beginning of a sugar fast, I stay in strict mode and don't even use sugar substitutes, nibbling on a piece of fruit for a bit of sweetness. But by the third or fourth week, I'm thinking of a real treat and usually something chocolate.
During my last fast, which was 30 days, I was approaching the last week before I gave in to looking for a sugar substitute for a treat. In the past, I've looked at Forks Over Knives recipes for
ideas for treats made with sugar substitutes. One of their muffin recipes, in particular, is a favorite of mine.
But I wasn't in the mood to do a lot of chopping and cleaning up from all that. I had been thinking about trying date sugar to see if it worked as well as chopped dates. When I asked the clerk at the health food store the difference between chopping dates and using date sugar, she said the chopped dates probably had more fiber. She did caution me not to use the date sugar in any recipe or drinks, such as coffee, that needed the sugar to liquify.
I was planning to use the sugar in my favorite FOK muffin recipe, but I was out of several ingredients. Since I didn't want to make another trip back to the store, I wondered if the sugar would work in the Chocolate Oatmeal No Bake Cookies, a favorite in my family.
Thankfully, I didn't end up throwing away a recipe with an expensive ingredient...date sugar. Yes, it is a little expensive, and I wouldn't buy it to use on a weekly basis. I thought the cookies turned out pretty good. They were not as sweet as those made with regular sugar, but the unsweetened coconut added a slightly rich layer to the texture. Although coconut is not in the original recipe, my husband I both like coconut, and I sometimes reduce the oats by 1/2 cup and add 1/2 cup coconut.
With this recipe, the unsweetened coconut helped absorb some of the extra moisture of the date sugar. As soon as the mixture began cooking, the date sugar returned to its original form as fruit and began thickening quickly. On the fly, I quickly added water to get the mixture to the 3-minute cooking time, constantly stirring and occasionally removing from the heat to prevent scorching. Somewhere between the 2-3 minute mark, I removed the mixture from the heat and stirred in the vanilla, oats and coconut. With a tablespoon, I dropped them on wax paper and waited to see if they would set up.
They did set up nicely, but they are not as firm as the cookies made with regular sugar.
My husband and I both liked the cookies, and between us, we finished the dozen in a few days. Although, they are not as sweet as the original recipe, they do have a clean taste. I did make a second batch and noted the amount of water I added when the date sugar began looking fruity and thick. I would definitely make these again.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup date sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 ounces milk (I used whole milk.)
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup coconut, flaked and unsweetened
3/4 cup water
Cooking instructions:
In a heavy pan, melt butter and add milk and cocoa. Stir in date sugar, blending with liquid mixture and cook on medium. As soon as mixture is thoroughly heated and begins thickening, add the water and let the mixture cook for about three minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla, oats and coconut. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto wax paper. Allow cookies a few minutes to set up on the wax paper. Makes about 12 cookies.
Nutritional info:
Serving: 1 cookie
Calories: 120
Total Fat: 5.4 g
Sat. Fat: 3.7 g
Cholesterol: 5.8 mg
Sodium: 4.1 mg
Total Carbs: 17.5g
Fiber: 2.1g
Sugars: 6.5g
Protein: 2.1g
~B~
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