Everyone love this grain free option for the classic chocolate chip cookie. It is one of the most popular recipes in our house. It is lower in calories than the average chocolate chip cookies. This recipe uses almond flour instead of traditional flour. This reduces the carbohydrates that turn to sugar and fat in the body. Almond flour is not only low in carbohydrates but high in protein, vitamins, minerals, and good fats. This recipe replaces refined sugar with pure maple syrup. Some type of sweetener is necessary to make the cookies sweet, but maple syrup is lower on the glycerin index. This means that it affects your blood sugar less than regular, refined sugar. Plus, it contains up to 24 antioxidants. This makes the cookies nutrient dense and a much healthier option.

Ingredients:

1 egg

3 tablespoons for organic pure maple syrup

2 cups almond flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips (I love the Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips but if you are really wanting to cut your sugar intake, Lilly’s brand uses Stevia to sweeten their chip.)

1 teaspoon real vanilla extract

2 tablespoons coconut oil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375.

Combine melted coconut oil and syrup and mix together.

Add the egg and vanilla into the mix and whisk.

In a separate bowl, combine almond flour, baking soda, and salt.

Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix then together.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Grease the cookie sheet with coconut oil

Scoop cookie size amounts of batter on to cookie sheet

Flatten for easier baking

Bake 8 or 9 minutes until edges begin to brown

Let cool and enjoy!

16 Cookies

Calories: 74

Total fat: 5g

Carbohydrates:8g

Sugar: 7g

Protein: 1g

COMPARE TO THE AVERAGE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE

Calories: 245

Total fat: 12g

Carbohydrates: 32.2

Sugar: 19

Protien: 3g

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We, also, encourage you to use grass-fed, organic ground beef in this recipe as well. It can be purchased at many grocery and specialty stores. It is only a dollar or two more than the regular ground beef but without the added hormones and antibiotics. Grass fed beef has less fat than regular beef and usually fewer calories because of it. The big difference, however, lies in the levels of Omega-3 fatty acids. Grass feed beef has as much as 5 times the amount of Omega-3 than other ground beef. This is important because Omega-3’s are an important part of a healthy diet. They reduce inflammation in the body, lower the risk factors for heart disease, and reduce blood pressure levels. Some studies have shown that Omega-3’s can reduce the symptoms of ADHD and Alzheimer’s. Regular beef has an unbalance ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3. An imbalance of a higher rate of Omega-6’s can increase inflammation instead of counter it.

This dinner made with spiraled zucchini used as noodles has been a huge hit at our house. It is quick and easy to make. It is a familiar dish for those who are trying to switch to grain free eating because it uses regular spaghetti sauce and ground hamburger meat like traditional spaghetti.

The recipe does require the use of a vegetable spiral slicer. They come in a wide range of prices, but many are available for under $15. The inexpensive ones work just fine. We found ours at Big Lots for about $15.

Ingredients

1 small zucchini per person

1 pound of Grass Feed, Organic ground beef

1 jar of organic, no sugar added pasta sauce

*Read your labels. Many pasta sauces have added unwanted ingredients. Look for sauces that are as natural as possible and GMO-free.

Coconut oil

Grass fed Mozzarella or Parmesan cheese, grated

Putting It Together

Grate Cheese and set aside.

Brown the meat.

Combine with pasta sauce in a saucepan. Let this simmer on low while spiraling the zucchini.

Lightly sauté the noodles in coconut oil. They still should have a slight crispness to them. The zucchini must be spiraled and sautéed quickly. If allowed to sit the noodle can become mushy.

When the noodles are at the desired texture, drain and serve topped with pasta sauce and ground beef mixture and grated cheese.

Enjoy!

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Thanksgiving is all about the food. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we eat more sugar and carbohydrates than our bodies can manage. We end up with weight gain, upset stomach, bloating, and a lack of energy.

Choose Sweeteners Wisely

It is possible to have seasonal and holiday treats that won’t make you feel worse. Choose recipes that are grain free, and use natural sugars. This recipe is sweetened with maple syrup. Sweeteners like honey and maple syrup are lower on the glycemic index than most sugars that are in our pre-made foods today. For example, Maltodextrin has a glycemic rating of 110, honey is 50, and Maple syrup is 54. The lower the number on the glycemic index, the less it effects blood sugar and body fat. It is also important to choose quality products. Look for 100% maple syrup that is organic. You don’t want pancake syrup that has a lot of additives and more sugar. Organic maple syrup and honey also offer the benefit of containing other vitamins and minerals that contribute to your body in a positive way. In contrast, refined sugar does not contain any beneficial nutrients. If you are having to watch your sugar intake for health reason, these should still be eaten in moderation, but are a great alternative to the holiday sugar-fest.

Grain-free Coconut Flour Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients

½ cup of coconut flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon cloves

¼ teaspoon of allspice

Pinch of salt

4 eggs

2/3 cup of pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup coconut oil melted

6 tablespoons maple syrup

¼ cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Grease or line a muffin pan

2. In a medium bowl whisk together coconut flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. In a large bowl whisk together remaining wet ingredients (except for nuts) until smooth.

3. Add the flour mix to the wet mixture and stir until all lumps are gone

4. Divide batter into 12 muffin cavities and top each with chopped nuts.

5. Bake for 23-25 minutes

For Those Who Are Counting Carbs, Sugars, and Proteins

Carbohydrates: 11.3g

Sugar: 7g

Protein: 3.2

We are not professional chefs or bakers. We did not create these recipes. We are just sharing the recipes we love. This recipe was originally taken from leelalicious.com

The post Healthier Pumpkin Spice Muffins for the Holiday Season appeared first on ArtFit |Lubbock, Texas | For Fun...For Art...For Fitness.

Most of you who attend classes at Artfit or follow our social media and blog, are somewhere on the continuum between mildly interested in health and fitness to completely obsessed, because of this we want to share well-rounded information about health and wellness. It is important to realize that physical activity is only a small portion of being fit and healthy. In fact 80% of maintaining a lower body fat percentage is what you eat.

Recipe Blog

This is why we are introducing a recipe blog.  We will give you food related information explaining the why’s of what we recommend along with recipes. This way you can learn how to make the best choices for yourself and test out some great new recipes.

Eliminate Grain

The first thing that we recommend is eliminating grain from your diet. This sounds extreme, but we plan to show you how to eat full meals, enjoy baked goods, and not be hungry without eating grains.

Why shouldn’t you eat grain? All carbs control insulin and insulin controls fat storage. Unused carbohydrates will turn to fat in the body. Most people consume too many carbohydrates on a daily basis to be burned off.  Grain also increases insulin production. Over the course of time, high insulin levels can make our cells become insulin resistant. This leads to more weight gain and many health problems down the road. Try to limit your carbohydrate intake to 50 to 100 grams per day for weight loss or 100-150 grams a day to maintain current weight.  Remember this includes your veggies and fruit so they need to come first!

Grain Replacements

There are many options to use in place of grain. Almond flour and coconut flour are two of the most popular grain subsites.  You can bake with them. They will not affect your blood sugar and insulin levels like grains will and will be better used by the body.

Grain Free Flat Bread

Here is one of our favorite recipes. This is a flat bread that we use for pizza crust and tacos. It does not take long to make, and I will share with you my short cuts.

Ingredients:

2 cups of almond flour

2 eggs

1 tsp. Coconut oil

½ tsp. sea salt

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350

Combine all of the ingredients except the coconut oil in a bowl. (When using coconut oil be aware that when combined with cold eggs it will harden. To avoid this, make sure it is warm enough to be liquid before you add it in.)

Drizzle in the coconut oil on top then mix it in. (Adding the oil after everything is mixed also helps to eliminate the problem of it hardening.)

Separate evenly and roll in to balls. Smaller balls can make up to 6 personal pizza or tortilla size crusts.

Place wax paper on a baking tray.

Place the balls on the wax paper.

Use a rolling pin to roll them to desired thickness

Cook 6-8 minutes. I always check the bottom of the dough, because it will brown quicker.

For Pizza:

After it is fully cooked, top with pizza sauce, your choice of toppings, and cheese.

Place it back in the oven until the toppings are warm and the cheese melts

For Tacos:

Top with meat, vegetables, and cheese

We recommend an organic pizza sauce with no added sugar. We also recommend cheese that is organic and from grass fed cows.

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