As you probably know, traditional scones are often rich with butter and heavy cream. Then, they’re topped with a sugary glaze. They’re good. Really, really good. But they’re not necessarily good for you.

Part of what I love to do is show people how to take classic recipes and make them healthier so they can enjoy them as a small part of a well-balanced diet.

Let’s walk through the healthy transformation these scones went through.

To make-over these scones, I started with a healthy fat. Instead of butter I opted for coconut oil, which has many health benefits:

Stop by Attune Foods to read more about these healthy, gluten-free, dairy-free scones & get the recipe!

© Amy for Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free, 2012. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us

Pregnancy is funny that way. Out of no where, I am overcome by a sensation of “I must eat now.” And when it happens, I suggest that no one get in the way of me and the refrigerator.

The kind of food that satisfies me is different, too. I need carbs and a whole lot more healthy fat. I find myself snacking on cereal, bread and cheese, avocados, and peanut butter. It’s not my normal diet.

I wish I could say that I’ve become the guru of pregnancy diets, that I’ve mastered how to eat a healthy and balanced diet while a little life is growing inside of me. That’s not the case. My cravings change from week to week. For several weeks I couldn’t eat enough black grapes. I ate 15 pounds. And loved every last one. Now I’m on a grapefruit and avocado kick. I bought 20 grapefruits a couple of weeks ago. They’re almost gone.
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Read the rest of Raspberries & Cream Parfait

© Amy for Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free, 2012. | Permalink | 21 comments | Add to del.icio.us

After the whirlwind, oven-heavy Thanksgiving holiday, I decided to make something that would free up some oven space this Christmas. I wanted a dish that was quick and simple while still tasting like I slaved over it. Is that too much to ask? Nope, I don’t think so.

It’s Week 5 of A Gluten-Free Holiday and we’re sharing Christmas Breakfast & Brunch recipes. Ricki from Diet, Dessert, & Dogs is hosting this week and she’s got two fabulous cookbook give-aways for you. More on that at the end of the post.

This is one of my favorite weeks of the event because my mom always put out the most delicious spread of breakfast foods for us to eat while we opened presents Christmas morning. She put out things like cinnamon rolls, donuts, coffee cake, and fresh fruit. It was the only day of the year I got to eat ‘junk’ for breakfast. I loved it!

One would think that any cake cooked for nearly two hours would be dry and, well, darn right nasty. Oh no. Not this cake. It’s moist and tender. The cranberries add just the right amount of tartness. You can bake this the day before.  Or, mix up the dry ingredients and the crumble topping the night before and get up early Christmas morning, mix in the wet ingredients and bake a CrockPot coffee cake.

This cake was inspired by Stephanie O’Dea’s Blueberry Coffee Cake and the topping was borrowed from my good friend Kelly at The Spunky Coconut. You can also find more recipes at Full Plate Thursday.

Do you have any Christmas traditions from your childhood that you still carry out today? What about new traditions that you’ve started?

A Gluten-Free Holiday!

Stop by Diet, Dessert, & Dogs for more Christmas Breakfast & Brunch recipes and while you’re there share your own and enter to win one of these incredible cookbooks. I have them both and love them!

Much love,

Amy

© Amy for Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free, 2011. | Permalink | 30 comments | Add to del.icio.us

If I were to use the word “love” it might not be strong enough to describe how I feel about anything made with pate a choux dough. I get all tingly inside stirring my dough on the stove top, mixing in the eggs, and then piping it onto my baking sheet.

As it bakes in the oven, my heart beats a little faster while I wait for the dough to puff. It reminds me of my Easy Bake Oven days, when I pulled a cake out of a little pink plastic oven that was baked from the heat of a light bulb. Even then the joy of baking thrilled me.

Next, I watch for the little beads of liquid to evaporate which let me know that my choux dough is almost done. The tops of each eclair caramelize to a beautiful golden-brown and I open the oven door slightly then break one open to see if it’s baked through.

I pop the hot pastry in my mouth. It’s eggy, bready, and light. Deep satisfaction runs through every part of me. So I eat another one.

Take this dough and use it to make cream puffs, cheese puffs, cheese straws, beignets, Paris-Brest, or swans.

There is more than one way to fill an eclair. I like to pipe pastry cream into the bottom of each pastry but you can also slice them in half and pipe cream in on the bottom layer and then top it off with the remaining half like a sandwich.

I sprinkled a little of my refined sugar-free powdered sugar on top for a little pizzaz.

Go ahead…try these out. I think you’ll love them as much as I do.

Dairy-free readers – You can make pate a choux dough with non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening. It works just as well.

Upcoming Cooking Class

Quick & Healthy Meals Made Simple – Tuesday, October 18th from 7 – 8 pm at The Carpenter Park Recreation Center in Plano, TX

In this class, we’re going to rethink quick and simple cooking using frugally priced ingredients that you can find at any grocery store. You’ll be able to put together a fabulous meal in less than the time it takes for the pizza delivery man to deliver dinner. Pre-made food will be available to sample.

To register: On-line or call 972-208-8087
Course Number: 128687
Cost: $15 for Plano residents; $19 for non-Plano Residents

I’d love to see you there!

Much love,
Amy

© Amy for Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free, 2011. | Permalink | 31 comments | Add to del.icio.us

Though the name ‘buckwheat’ implies that it contains or is related to wheat, it’s not. Buckwheat is naturally gluten-free and is actually a seed, not a grain. It contains important nutrients and minerals, including folate, B vitamins, manganese. magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, and selenium. Buckwheat also packs a punch with 11 essential amino acids.

I *heart* buckwheat. It’s always been one of my favorite gluten-free flours for it’s distinctive taste and ease of use in baking. When Joe and I were in Montreal last spring, I had the most incredible buckwheat crepes. Of course I replicated the recipe and included it in my book. (Joe reminded me the other night that I need to make some crepes soon. He loves them too.)

And then there’s stabilized rice bran. (Stabilized just means that the fats are kept from going rancid.) Rice bran is the layer between the outer hull of the rice kernel inner white kernel. It includes the germ and accounts for 60% of the total nutrients found in a grain of rice. It’s also high in fiber and a good source of magnesium, iron, and phosphorous. Most people on a gluten-free diet need a little more fiber.

Try adding stabilized rice bran to your smoothies and hot cereal, too.

We all know why bananas are good for us, right? In this recipe, they also add moisture which allows for a very small amount of oil.

If you don’t have any buckwheat or stabilized rice bran, you might want to add them to your stash of gluten-free flours.

If you have a question about ingredient substitutions, please check my Substitution Page before leaving a comment.

Other Gluten-Free Buckwheat Recipes

• Yeasted Buckwheat Pancakes from SS&GF
• Two Bite Sweet Potato Ice Cream Sandwiches from SS&GF
• Buckwheat Pumpkin Muffins from SS&GF
• Buckwheat Hazelnut Pancakes from The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen
• Egg-free Buckwheat
  Biscuits from The Spunky Coconut

Much love,

Amy

© Amy for Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free, 2011. | Permalink | 21 comments | Add to del.icio.us