Crackers Made Me Want to Cry

I'm trying to stay away from the high-calorie, high-fat snacks I was so addicted to, like sour cream and onion potato chips or Fritos. It's been difficult to find alternatives. Sometimes I crave something salty and crunchy. The baked Lay's aren't too horrid and the barbecue ones are tolerable.

Last night I went to Costco with my daughter and found wheat-free, gluten-free crackers. I almost wept right there in the aisle.

My daughter said, "Better get two boxes."

You know how big the boxes are at Costco. I started loading two of them into the cart, and she cracked up.

"Mom! I was only kidding!"

Well, I wasn't! I have enough crackers for weeks!

Image: Robert Cochrane / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Peer Pressure

Source: applebees.com via Donna on Pinterest

I've told everyone about the no-wheat lifestyle I've adopted, but I'm still being told that 'one bite won't hurt ya' when yes, it does!

After church Sunday, we went with another couple and my mother-in-law to one of our favorite restaurants, Applebee's, for soup and salad. So far, so good. No bread. Lots of salad.

Then came time to leave and Mother, who's about 100 pounds soaking wet, decided she wanted a blondie. It was really funny. She sat at a table with two men who won't eat much sugar because they are watching their triglycerides, a woman who's pre-diabetic, and me. Mother's always eager to share, but she couldn't get another person to take a bite. She ribbed me one more time, and I finally took two spoonfuls of the ice cream and nuts. Needless to say, I think she thought WE were all nuts not to have some of that deliciousness.

Okay, really. I'm too old for peer pressure. And especially from my sweet, li'l 90-year old mother-in-law!

Garbanzo Bean Flour Pizza Crust

Since I've gone wheat free, I've really missed pizza. I tried one recipe I had that used coconut flour and it was awful - like eating pizza off of a cookie. Yuck.

Last night I surfed around the 'net trying to find an alternative. I stumbled upon a blog with a recipe for "Socca Pizza for One" using garbanzo bean flour. It's different than a regular flour pizza crust, but it satisfied my longing for pizza.

Now, I'm still playing around with this, but here's what I did today:

I have a baking stone, so I put that in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Mine is well-seasoned, but if your isn't, be sure to grease the stone. If you don't have a stone, you can use an seasoned iron skillet, and of course, you can always just use a well-greased baking pan.


In a bowl, mix:
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons garbanzo bean flour
1/8 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/8 teaspoon salt (I used Garlic sea salt.)
2 tablespoons Parmesan 

Stir in: 

1/2 cup cold water
Drizzle of olive oil (I had some flavored olive oil from Tastefully Simple that's delicious.)

After you mix well, the batter will be about like pancake batter. Today I was eager to get my pizza crust made, but next time, I will let this set for a bit in the fridge.

With my pizza stone nice and hot, I poured the batter on and spread it out. Today I left it a bit thicker, like a normal pizza crust. Next time, I intend to spread it out a bit thinner. I like a crispier crust.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. Watch it to make sure the top isn't getting too brown. I took it out of the oven and used a spatula to lift it up all around to make sure it wasn't sticking, then topped it with organic pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, green olives (my spurge!), and imported Parmesan. Then I sprinkled the entire top with pizza seasonings. Play around with it. Add meat (I don't eat very much of that.) and veggies. Put it back in the over for about 10 minutes until the cheese is melted. 

Yum!

*Updated recipe 3/09/12: Last night when I made the pizza, I added 2 tbsp. of Parmesan to the crust mix. I let the mix sit for a few minutes and spread it very thin on my bigger pizza stone. What a difference! Totally changed the crust and it crisped up better, too.

Grain-Free Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze

 
I made carrot cake last night using new (to me) ingredients I've found to replace wheat. The recipe can be found here: Grain Free Carrot Cake.

I used dates, pumpkin, and added walnuts. The next time, I'm going to try raisins, applesauce, and pecans. It was really good!

I got all the way to the bottom of the recipe and discovered I didn't have any plain honey. I did add 1/4 c. dark brown sugar. I know - sugar's bad, but I didn't want it to be bitter and there are a LOT of ingredients that could have gone to waste. And really - a quarter cup for a cake that's 13 x 9? Wow. My husband even had a big piece and loved it.

I thinned the icing down to more like a glaze. I baked it in one of my broiler pans, so it was actually bigger than 13 x 9, so I turned my convection oven to 325 degrees and baked for one hour. Try it! I think you'll like it.

Image: Sicha Pongjivanich / FreeDigitalPhotos.net