Wheat-Free Muffins, Grain-Free and Low-Carb too!

The recipe I am sharing today is a wonderful alternative for those steering away from wheat, grain or carbs. Whether you are gluten-intolerant or whether you just want to cut down on the amount of grain in your diet, this is a great muffin to try! We call these Love Muffins... only because my husband requested them... and he almost never makes specific requests... so I consider them an expression of my love for him... the extremely loving man that he is!

Love Muffins:

Blend together 12 eggs. I use some very healthy yard hen eggs from a friend of mine. See how dark the yolks are! (I am doubling the recipe here... some for now, some for later... these freeze well.)

Add:

• 1/2 cup of melted butter
• 1/2 cup of real milk
• 3/4 cup of raw honey
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of vanilla

Then, combine 1 cup of sifted Coconut Flour with 1 tsp of non-aluminum baking powder. Add these dry ingredients to your eggy mixture and blend until there are no lumps.

Note: you really want to start with sifted coconut flour so that you don't get lumps.

Second Note: you will be really surprised at how much the coconut flour expands. I think it must more than double its bulk as it absorbs the liquids.

Pour batter into greased muffin tins. (The recipe says it will make 24 muffins, but I have always made 12 really big muffins instead.) Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until the tops are starting to brown. They burn quickly! Take it from me, you don't want to let the time escape you!

This recipe is from the book Cooking with Coconut Flour: A Delicious Low-Carb, Gluten-Free Alternative to Wheat By Bruce Fife. The recipe comes with many variations. We have tried the Orange Poppyseed Muffins and the Cinnamon Raisin Muffins. But, since these are primarily for my husband and he prefers the taste of honey, we continue to make the basic recipe... our Love Muffin recipe.

It's Strawberry Pickin' Time!

For local readers, it is strawberry picking time in North Georgia. This is where we will go to pick later this week. Hopefully, we will go three times before the season is over. We will pick several gallons each time... hopefully like 8 or 10 gallons each time! We load up our freezer when the berries are ripe, bursting with nutrients and flavor. Then we enjoy them all year round in our smoothies!

Photocredit: Allposters.com

Avocados!!!

Our family loves avocados. They are full of vitamins and minerals and are a good source of monounsaturated fats. Avocados support brain and nerve health while they contribute to healthy vision as well. They also contain beta-sitosterol, which helps maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

Avocados are a perfect baby food because they do not have to be cooked before mashing. They taste wonderfully creamy and compliment many other foods. We love them diced over fried rice or sliced into a salad. Or, on top of pita pizzas.

But, isn't it the pits to cut open an avocado only to find it black and bruised?!? Here's how I select an avocado so that my chances of finding it perfect are highest.

• First, I don't buy avocados when they are completely ripe. If I do, they are almost always bruised.
• I prefer to buy avocados when they are turning black and have little green on their skin, yet they are still firm to the touch. At this stage, they will ripen in only a day or two. And, if no child smashes them while putting them away, they usually are perfectly smooth inside.
• Cut open an avocado when it is slightly soft to the touch, but not mushy.
• If green (unripe) avocados are on sale, I set them next to bananas, so they will ripen nicely. They will ripen slower without the bananas and they don't seem to taste as divine. I have also heard that keeping them in a brown paper bag helps with ripening, but I haven't tried this method.
• I don't buy the larger Florida avocados with the "Lite Avocado" label. They taste watery to me.
• If your avocados get to the perfect ripening stage before you are planning to use them, you can store them in the refrigerator for two or three days to keep them ready.

While we eat avocados with all sorts of food, they are best known as the main ingredient in guacamole. We love good guacamole! We serve it with chips but it can also be served with vegetables for dipping as well.

AE's Best Guacamole:

1. In a large bowl, mash two or three perfectly ripe avocados.
2. Add the juice of half of a lemon. If you're using three big avocados, you might want to use the whole lemon. (I have used lime, and in a pinch, I have used orange. Each give a different flavor.)
3. Add one minced garlic clove, salt and pepper to taste. We like ours peppery.
4. Stir together until thoroughly mixed.
5. Add in one finely chopped tomato or 1/2 a finely chopped red bell pepper.
6. If possible, add in freshly chopped cilantro.
7. Store the pits in the guacamole until you are ready to serve it in order to keep it fresh and green.
8. Enjoy!

For more Works For Me Wednesday Posts, visit www.wearethatfamily.com

Photo Credit: Allposters.com

Pita Pizzas

Last Friday my husband was with us all morning long. Since he is content to eat the same breakfast and lunch every single weekday, when he is home I really like to bless him by preparing something more exciting. So, Friday morning we had omelets and honeydew melon for breakfast. Then, for lunch we ate pita pizzas with avocado slices on top. They were absolutely delicious. Each of my children love avocado, which I will post about next.


I know that some of you readers are on wheat-free or strictly-soaked-wheat diets. I totally see how that is beneficial. However, we do eat whole wheat pitas when we have no homemade bread available. (I like to always be prepared, but alas, I am no supermom... even though I aspire to that!) I do hope to share some more wheat-free recipes soon, but today I would like to post a simple pita pizza recipe for those readers who can eat whole wheat.


It is wonderfully simple. Here goes:

• Lay six uncut pitas down on a cookie sheet.
• Spread a spoonful of salsa over each one.
• Layer cheddar cheese over the top.
• Bake until the cheese is melted.
• Serve with thinly sliced avocados on top.

Is that too simple? It is quick and easy and breaks the regular sandwich routine... so I thought it was worth sharing.


A note on ingredients: You will want to read the labels in order to select pitas and salsa that contain only real ingredients and no added sugars.

Repercussions of Baby Food?

My youngest daughter, Tickle, is 20 months old. She is gifted with a unique sense of compassion and mercy. If anyone in the house displays sadness, she is the first to give out hugs. If anyone leaves something when they get up, such as shoes or a pencil, she will quickly return the item to us. It has been a joy to see her personality blossom. However, she is our pickiest eater. Hmmm.... Here's what I have been thinking...

Each of the older three were fed real foods from the time they began solids. I cooked and pureed everything they ate. I started with fresh mashed avocado and banana. Then, I began to give them cooked vegetables like carrots and peas. Bit by bit I added more fruits and vegetables until they were eating just about every vegetable available. I gave them lots of plain homemade yogurt. Then I added in some soaked oatmeal and some brown rice. If a child didn't like a flavor the first time around, I kept giving it to them in small quantities. Soon they ate everything I served them. I waited until they were each a year old to give them ate any wheat, eggs or nuts.

When Tickle, our fourth, was ready for solid foods, I prepared some for her myself, but often fed her store bought organic baby foods. She had a very slow digestive system and these seemed to move through her better. She was nearly a year old before her digestive system "caught up" to eating the same diet as her older siblings had. Until that time, she ate only six or seven vegetables, a few fruits and a few mixed foods. There isn't a lot of variety in organic baby foods! And, at that point, it was slow going in incrementally introducing new foods, wheat, eggs and nuts into her diet.

As we started introducing foods to her, she was much slower to accept them. Often, it was just more convenient to give her the baby food so that I could feed her more quickly. Now that she eats only what we eat, there are several things at which she turns her nose up. Could it be because she didn't get used to these foods until too late?

I have read that children's taste buds are very weak when they are babies. They will tolerate a wider variety of flavors because foods taste more mild. If introduced to them early, the flavors will be tolerable to them as their taste buds develop. On the flipside, if a baby is "older" the first time he tastes an avocado, the drastic flavor might not be tolerated.

Could this be what happened with Tickle? I could be speculating. However, I wonder if her taste preferences are a result of her limited diet as a baby. She only ate mild tasting baby foods until she was old enough to really balk at the more developed flavors. Just a thought...

Photo Credit: Allposters.com... not a photo of Tickle

And the Winner Is...

And the winner of Green Goes With Everything: Simple Steps to a Healthier Life and a Cleaner Planet, by Sloan Barnett is... Shaka. Hoooraaaay!!!


(I will email you with the details, but if for some reason you don't get the email, please email me: ae at healthbeginswithmom dot com.)


Thank you to each of you who entered your name in my blog giveaway! I really appreciate you guys... I mean, where would I be without readers!

A Quick Note

Hello Weekend Readers!

For some very crazy reason, my internet browser has not been willing to open any Blogger or Blogspot pages today. Very puzzling. It might have even been frustrating, except that I went on a walk with my girls and sat outside to play in the sandbox with Tickle.

I had two composed posts in my head, but was not able to publish them due to the computer glitch. Next week, I will post about avocados... health benefits and how to select and prepare them... and about a current thought of mine specific to children's health. I am sorry the posting has been delayed!

In the meantime, please don't forget to enter your name in my very first giveaway... and spread the word to your friends as well! I will be giving away Green Goes With Everything: Simple Steps to a Healthier Life and a Cleaner Planet, by Sloan Barnett. Click here to enter.

Have a great weekend! Enjoy some vitamin D, I mean sunshine...
Amy Ellen