GLUTEN OR GLUTEN FREE BAKING

WHAT IS GLUTEN; These are collective natural group of proteins found in wheat, grains, rye and barley. It is also a thickening protein agent for grains in baked goods. it has its pros and cons mostly when it comes to baking. Gluten is very important in baking mostly for the elasticity of of the dough but it also has it issues healthy wise for the people with gluten sensitivity causing an autoimmune disease called celiac disease, it can also cause inflammation if one consumes to much baked foods with gluten protein which can cause weight gain and joint pains but all this can be prevented if you follow a gluten free diet or eliminating most of the foods that include gluten like white refined food, bread, cakes, white rice and pasta.

Having said all that, so many people have started watching what they eat when it comes the carbs for example, pastas, bread or the desserts. Don't you worry, you can still indulge in all your sweet or carbs that are made out of gluten free or whole foods e.g; corn, teff, tropica/cassava flour, brown rice, quinoa, millet, nut flours(almond, coconut, potato), oat, and buckwheat.

During this quarantine time, i have been getting down in the kitchen practicing some gluten free baking myself and i have enjoyed it. i would like to share a few of my delicacies that i was able to make.

CASSAVA FLOUR PANCAKES

INGREDIENTS;
11/2 cup of flour
1 egg
2 tbsps of butter melted
1 cup of water or non diary milk
1/3 cup of honey

Mix the wet and dry ingredients to make the pancake mix. use a non stick pan to make your pancakes, you can use butter or coconut oil(organic).








MICROWAVE BANANA BLUEBERRY CAKE

INGREDIENTS;

1 cup of teff flour
1 cup of cassava flour
2 ripe bananas
1 cup of blueberries
2 eggs
2 tsps of baking powder
1 tsps of cinnamon powder
1 tsps of vanilla extract
1 tsps of bicarbonate soda
1 cup of almond milk
1/4 cup of honey
1/4 cup of melted butter
3 tbsps of coconut organic oil

mix all the dry ingredients in a baking bowl without the blueberries
Add all the wet ingredients and bananas in the blender and puree all together. Add the puree to the dry ingredients and mix all together.
Bake for 10 mins in your microwave or you can use a an oven and bake for 1 hr at 250 degrees. This recipe is very simple and quick which is vey good for breakfast or a quick and healthy snack.

TEFF BLUEBERRY BREAKFAST SCONES

These are made out of teff flour too.

INGREDIENTS;

2 cups of teff flour
1/2 cup of blueberries
1/2 cup of honey
1 tsp of vanilla extract
2 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of salt
2 tbsp of butter not melted
2 eggs
1/2 cup of soy, almond or coconut milk
1/2 cup of teff flour for kneading
orange zest for flavouring-optional

mix all the dry ingredients in the bowl add the butter cut in small cubes and mix together
Add the wet ingredients and the blueberries and then knead the dough, After kneading the dough you can cut into desirable shapes and bake at 350 degrees for a period of 1hr.

KALE BANANA GREEN  CUPCAKES.

With these i used almond flour & coconut flour

1 cups of almond flour & 1 cup of coconut flour
1 cup of kale leaves
1 ripe banana
1 tsps of cinnamon
1 tsps of baking powder
1 tsps of salt
1 tsps of vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup of honey or maple syrup
1 cup of coconut organic oil
1 cup of shredded coconut
1 cup of coconut milk

mix the dry ingredients in the baking bowl
Add the wet ingredients in the blender together with the banana and the kale and blend to make a puree.
Add the puree to the dry ingredients and mix to form a paste then add the shredded coconut.
Beste the cupcake cups with coconut oil and fill them with the cake mix.
Bake for 17 mins at a temp of 350 degrees. When ready sprinkle with shredded coconut and get ready to indulge#shelike.food.

I love all these recipes because they are strictly gluten and dairy free and mostly very healthy for snacking or early or quick breakfast for both the adults and kids. I started baking with gluten free flours and i have never gone back to eating anything with gluten because trust me once you get used to it you realize you are not missing any thing with all the wheat products and thus preventing a lot of digestive issues for and your family
Hope you get to try out some of them👌👌👌

EASTER DINNER

                                                             HAPPY EASTER!!!!! 🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣

Today i decide to go with a new dish, it is first time to try it. This is recipe from New Orleans it is one of their traditional dishes.ladies and gentlemen let me introduce to the CAJUN NEW ORLEANS JAMBALAYA. I  found this recipe on pinterest and was hooked once i read through the recipe so i decided to  prepare it for dinner. They are so many different ways you can make you just have to put your own touch to make it the way you desire.

INGREDIENTS;

Chicken sausages or andouille sausages
2 tbsps of olive oil
1 tsps of garlic powder
1 red onion
2 stalks of celery
3 bell peppers red, green and yellow
Mushrooms and okra if you desire
2 tsps of cajun powder
2 tsps of dry oregano
2 tsps of dry tyrme
2 tsps of paprika
1 cup of thai organic rice
1/3 cup of worchester sauce
1 piece of breast chicken cut in small chunks, you can also use shrimp if you desire.
1 cup of tomato paste
2 cups of chicken, vegetable broth or water

PREPARATIONS;

Start by adding tablespoons of olive oil to a large cast iron pan
Add the cut vegetables and saute on a medium heat until the veggies start to become tender for 4minutes.
Marinate the chicken  with some salt and pepper and then add together with veggies and the sausages and saute everything together till the chicken stops appearing pink
Then add chicken broth or vegetable broth, tomato paste, rice and seasonings. Stir everything together until well combined. cover the pan with a lid  and let it cook on a medium heat.
You can also use a slow cooker if you do not what to use pans. let it cook till the rice is tender stirring every five minutes to all the ingredients to simmer very well this also prevents the rice from sticking at the bottom.
If you are using the shrimp, once the rice is done fold in the shrimp, cover the pan and let the shrimp to cook till it's no longer pink. once shrimp is ready, you can serve your lovely meal with spring onions garnishing.

I fell in love with this dish because it has the components of a balanced plate, you get to have all the portions for example, proteins, vegetables, fats, and carbs.....

Hope you get to try it out, i really enjoyed making and eating it too....😘😘😘😘😘😘
# NEW ORLEANS TRADITIONALS
# GETTING CREATIVE AND TRYING SOMETHING NEW.....

CLEANING EATING

What is cleaning eating? One might say it's a way of eating whole foods in their most natural state and avoiding processed foods. Another will say is a way of eliminating all the foods that are not good for your body in terms of losing weight or maintain a certain kind of weight.

Well i would say, Eating clean is about being empowered with knowledge, making the best choices you can for yourself, going easy on ourselves and doing the best we can can do from day to day by putting primary food (food of the soul)first and then secondary food (food on the plate).


BASIC PRINCIPLES OF CLEAN EATING

KEEP IT WHOLE; Whole food are those foods that occur in their most natural state and have not gone through lab testing for example; fresh vegetables and fruits, free range meats and dairy, whole grains, nuts and seeds.

GET IN THE KITCHEN; When you cook for yourself your are at most guarantee to keep up the nutritional value of your food because you're in control. Restaurant food is more processed, less fresh, and often over seasoned. Always keep it simple and then build your own recipes as you learn more.

ELIMINATE REFINED SUGAR AND CARBOHYDRATES; Eliminate all the white foods from your diet, like the white sugar, white flour, if you are aiming at eating clean then all standard desserts containing white sugar or white flour must go, white rice, pasta, bread and pastries must be eliminated. instead replace that with gluten free flour( teff, torpica, almond, coconut flour), replace the white sugar with natural sweeteners like honey, organic maple syrup or nectarines, bee pollen.
Replace the wheat, white rice and white pastas with whole grains like quinoa, black rice, brown and wild rice, teff, whole grain pastas.

MAINTAIN BLOOD SUGAR; Don't wait too long to eat in between meals e.g ensure you eat whole foods every 3-4 hours

REMEMBER THE MAGIC COMBINATION OF PROTEIN, FAT AND CARBOHYDRATES;
You should always aim to get a serving from each group. This will create optimal blood sugar levels and stop all your cravings and brain fog bring me to a balanced plate, stay tuned for our next topic involving a balanced plate 😘😘😘

LET'S EAT AND LIVE HEALTHY FOR OUR BLOOD TYPES

As per James D’Adamo; one man's food is another man's poison, hence different people react to food differently based on their blood types.

The principle is different blood types  dicates how differently we all react to food and each blood type has certain strengths and weakness. This promotes the concept of Bio-individuality bringing me back to the concept that diets don't really work since are bodies are engineered differently.

Food is divided into three categories based our blood types; beneficial, netural, and void,under the four basic blood types A, AB, B and O.

BLOOD TYPE A;

People with blood type A tend to be very sensitive with an immune system that thrives well with a vegetarian diet of whole grains, vegetables, fruits. 
Foods that are usually recommended for type A people are; seafood, soy products, occasional poultry and fish, herbal teas, nuts and seeds, vegetables, fruit, some beans, olive oil, buckwheat, and gluten-free grains. Foods to avoid include processed meats, dairy, and excess gluten. supplements to take, folic acid, b12, vitamin C&E and calming exercises like yoga is good for them.


BLOOD TYPE B;

People of blood type B tend to be very balanced, torelate, flexible and creative people, they have strong immune system, strong nervous system but have a tendency towards autoimmune breakdowns and rare viruses. They are prone to type 1 diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome. They are omnivores, meat eaters, dairy, grains, and beans, Eat more; of greens, eggs, liver and licorice teas or herbal teas. Eat less; of the  corn, peanuts, sesame seeds, buckwheat,and any kind of wheat.
supplements to take; Magnesium, ginkgo and lecithin.
Practice moderate exercises like, hiking, tennis, and swimming.

BLOOD TYPE AB;

These are extremely rare, enigma, mysterious and highly sensitive people. They adopt well to modern life, have a sensitive digestive tract, high risks of cancer, heart disease and anemia.
They work well with a mixed diet in moderation, like seafood, dairy, tofu, legumes, beans, grains, vegetables and fruits,they eat less; of red meat, kidney beans and wheat,caffeine and alcohol.
supplements to take; vitamin C and they exercise well with yoga, cycling and tennis.

BLOOD TYPE O;

Blood type Os are the original hunter-gatherers and are said to thrive on a high-protein diet, light on dairy, beans, and grains,very susceptible to wheat and corn allergies.
They have a hardy digestive tract, strong immune system, natural defences against infections, efficient metabolism, short small intestines and usually less chances of cancer.

Have low intolerance for new diets and new environments. Baked goods causes a tired and foggy feeling.
Usually have low thyroid, subjected to inflammation, arthritis,blood clotting disorders, anemia,ulcers.

Foods to eat; should include, red meat, light protein(seafood, breast chicken), vegetables and fruits, kelp, spinach, broccoli, pineapples,liver,salt.
Foods to reduce; wheat/corn, baked foods, kidney beans, lentils, Brussel Sprouts, cauliflower and dairy.

Supplements to take; vitamin A,B12,D, calcium, iodine, licorice, iron, magnesium,selenium, probiotics(this helps to break down the food since these type of people with this blood group have small intestines that's why they have a lot of digestive issues)and zinc.

Form of exercising for them is very intense physical exercising, such as running, aerobics, martial arts and power yoga.

As you can see, all this relates to bio- individuality to a certain extent, honoring the notion that different types of individuals require different food and lifestyle approaches, but lets not forget practicing a balanced life for example incorporating in our primary food( Exercising, spiritual practicing, love and relationships, career)

Lets all think back at the time your just balanced all that you do for you and your body in the rightfully way and good it made you feel..... have a lovely week ahead of you and please share your views with me am always open to learning something😘😘

GET CREATIVE IN YOUR KITCHEN

You don't have to go hungry under the lock down, just become creative with what you have in your fridge or pantry. it doesn't have to be new or old, turn your leftovers into a new meal.

Alright my friends brunch is severed. oven baked leftover pasta accompanied with egg stuffed bell peppers, served with baby kale.

simplicity is the key in having a good and healthy meal.let us practice the concept of cooking once and eating twice.

Have a lovely day....😘😘😘😘😘😘