Gluten-Free, Basically clean, Mocha Cheesecake

I think it’s about time I acknowledge that I have a problem. An “unnecessary baking” problem. This weekend my roommates went on a couples retreat with their boyfriends, leaving me with an empty apartment. And, while I do relish the rare solitude, I also found myself with absolutely nothing to do.. Solution: I baked vegan cinnamon rolls AND gluten-free cheesecake purely for the sake of occupying my time. That, and I happened to have some cream cheese left over from making cream cheese icing.

Gluten-Free Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

But, this is not where the problem lies. The problem is, I didn’t have anyone to share them with. Granted, the vegan cinnamon rolls were a little too strange for me to consider sharing.. I like eggs in my pastry dough, thank you. Though, I give major props to the baker who invented the recipe. On the other hand, my cheesecake came out much more delectable, in my humble opinion, and I would have been happy to share the love. I guess sharing the recipe will just have to do! As always, I made this recipe up as I went along so, these measurements are approximate. I recommend tasting the batter before baking.. Here are the details:

GLUTEN FREE, BASICALLY CLEAN, MOCHA CHEESECAKE:

Crust:

1 1/2c. Gluten free oats, ground

1/4c. Brown sugar (or stevia with 1/2-1 Tsp molasses)

1/4c. Stevia

1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon

5 Tbsp. Coconut Oil

Filling:

8oz. Tofutti Mock Cream Cheese

8oz Neufchael Cheese

1/3 c. Stevia

2 Tbsp. Agave

2 Eggs

1c. Fat-Free Greek Yogurt

2 Tbsp. Espresso Grounds

1 Tbsp. Coco Powder (add more if you want it to be more chocolaty)

Directions:

1) Mix crust ingredients in a bowl and press into a 10-inch springform pan

2) Bake at 350 F for about 7 min. Allow to cool while mixing filling. Keep oven at 350F.

3) In a large bowl, mix together cheeses, stevia & agave until creamy.

4) Beat in eggs one at a time.

5) Stir in Greek yogurt, espresso grounds & coco powder until blended well. This is the part where you taste test! :d

6) Pour batter over the cooked crust and shake pan to spread evenly.

7) Bake for 20-25 min. or until center jiggles slightly

8) Let cool for about 20 min then store in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Makes 8-10 servings.

10 Healthy Baking Tips & Tricks

Being my stubborn self, I have to try everything on my own before accepting it as fact. Whilst experimenting with healthy recipes, this attribute has lead me to make numerous mistakes and a few discoveries, most which could have been avoided if I did my research first.. and actually believed the subjective opinions of others on the internet. Anywho- I have decided to put together a quick “Tips & Tricks” list, from my personal experiences, for anyone who has a desire to give healthy baking a try 🙂

1. Density Matters: When using gluten-free substitutes for flour it is important to know the difference between almond meal, gluten-free oats, coconut flour, and your typical gluten free flour blend (usually some combination of rice and tapioca flour) as each has it’s own density, which can make or break your recipe:
   1. Gluten-Free Flour Blend: This is probably the lightest of the bunch & most closely resembles all-purpose flour. It is great for making cookies and pastries and pretty much anything else you dream up; however, it has the least nutritional value, in my opinion.
   2. Gluten-Free Oats: Second to lightest, this flour substitute is great for really flavorful cookies like peanut butter or pumpkin spice cookies (i.e. not chocolate chip cookies or sugar cookies), pie crusts, and pancakes/waffles. Of course, gluten free oats have somewhat of a “wholesome” taste to them so the less flavor in your recipe, the more wholesome your food will taste.
   3. Almond Meal / Coconut Flour: I am lumping these two together because they are both very dense flours and are, therefore, both suitable for super dense cakes. I have used almond meal for pie crusts before and found it to be quite tasty. These flours absorb a lot of moisture. So far, I have only found this attribute to be useful for the crumb topping of my apple pie…
2. BEWARE BAKED PROTEIN: Especially baked casein. It tastes terrible. While it is possible to get away with adding some to pancake batter- some brands are better than others- it should, as stated, be added, not “instead off”. Otherwise just save it for your “room temp or colder” recipes.
3. Identify your main ingredient: Healthy recipes are more likely to be successful if you can actually use the main ingredient or have a very close substitute. This is why you don’t see many healthy recipes for sugar cookies, butter cookies or pastries; and you are up to your ears in banana pancake & peanut butter cookie recipes.
4. Coconut Sugar is not for baking: I have used coconut sugar in some of my recent baked experiments and they all have one thing in common: they are slightly tacky in texture. I don’t know what the chemical process is that causes it, but it is not cool. While I consider it tolerable in some circumstances, I’m sure others do not. I think it would be good in a gluten-free granola bar recipe though..
5. THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR BROWN SUGAR: I’m sorry, I said it. I don’t care what your co-worker’s super fit friend’s blog says, if your recipe depends on the amazing flavor that is brown sugar, you’re S.O.L.
6. BEST BUTTER SUBSTITUTES: I find it best to go half “solid” half liquid
   1. Almond Butter & Coconut Oil
   2. Avocado & Coconut Oil
7. Bake in small batches: There’s a lot of “hit and miss” when it comes to healthy baking, so naturally one would want to limit the amount of waste.. Or you’re like me and pinching pennies so you eat it no matter what. I tried to make protein cinnamon banana oatmeal this morning. Kids, refer back to #2 and do not try it at home.. And, yes, I ate it all……..ew.
8. Better N’ Peanut Butter should never be baked: It ends up having the same tacky texture as coconut sugar. If you are trying to reduce fat cals for your peanut butter orgasm recipe, try PB2 first; however, refer back to #3 before deciding to use all PB2.
9. When using butter substitute, press cookies down with a fork before baking : I’m not sure why this always happens, but even if I use all coconut oil as my substitute, my cookies always end up needing to be pressed down like a peanut butter cookie. What is that about ??
10. Always write your recipes down: Even though you think you will still remember after you try your new creation, you won’t.

~Rummy

Banana Bread Pancakes: The Recipe

Due to the increased number of requests on Instagram and Facebook, I now present the detailed recipe for my gluten-free, dairy-free Banana Bread Pancakes. Preface: I literally just threw some ingredients in a bowl, so these measurements are more “guesti-ments” than anything. I have added some “what if” advice below, but honestly, how hard is it to mess up pancake batter??

Ingredients:

3/4c. Ground Gluten-Free Oats

1/3c Almond Milk

3 Tbsp Egg Whites or 1 egg

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Tbsp Coconut Oil, extra for cooking

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

2 Tbsp Stevia

1-2 Super Ripe Bananas, mashed or sliced

1/2c. Chopped Walnuts

“What If Tip”: If batter is too thick, add more almond milk. If batter is too thin, add more GF oats.

Directions:

1) In a large bowl mix gluten-free oats, almond milk, egg/egg whites, vanilla & coconut oil until well blended. Add baking powder, salt & Stevia. Fold in banana and walnuts.

2) Heat 2 Tbsp of coconut oil in a frying pan or skillet over medium heat.

3) Pour batter into pan to form pancakes of a size to your liking. Once the pancakes begin to bubble, flip and cook for a few more minutes until golden brown.

Personally, I think these pancakes taste great on their own, but if you really want to go above and beyond, here are some add-ons:

Add Ons:

1. Can’t have enough banana walnut? Slice a banana and/or sprinkle extra walnuts on top.
2. Super sweet tooth? Pile some vanilla almond-based ice cream on top
3. Chocolate cravings? Add some dark chocolate chips to the batter OR make your own chocolate sauce with almond milk, coco powder, stevia & coconut oil.
4. My personal favorite? Vanilla almond-based ice cream with bananas fosters (rum, coconut oil & banana), drizzled with homemade chocolate sauce. Go big or go home, right?

Enjoy! 🙂

What happened to week 5? -Wait pie!?

Oops.. If it’s any consolation, I did in fact complete my 5 week Muay Thai challenge and have continued training four times a week since. My updates are below.

Now, onto more exciting news…. PIE🙂 🙂

Being the start of fall aka pie season, I thought it only fitting to make a gluten-free, butter-free almond plum pie with an almond butter crust. And when I say butter I mean the nut butter- not almonds and butter.

Ingredients include the following:

Crust: crunchy salted almond butter, coconut oil, stevia, egg whites & gluten-free flour blend, vanilla extract

Filling: Plums, chopped almonds, crunchy salted almond butter, egg whites, coconut sugar, cinnamon

One thing I love about pie is that it is incredibly easy to make healthy/clean -and it’s fun to eat :p So, you can expect to see a plethora of sweet and savory pie recipes in the weeks to follow. “Excited” doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel right now 😝

~~~

Muay Thai result analysis:

Pros:
– My punches and kicks are stronger
– My obliques are as well
– My muscular endurance has improved
– The people I train with are awesome

Cons:
– My abs are not as strong as they used to be
– I’ve lost mass in my shoulders, despite gain in strength
– Though still fit, I’m not as lean as I used to be

In the end of the day, I love training Muay Thai. Period. Since that’s not going to change, I want to bring back some weight training into my weekly routine. So here’s the plan:

Monday: Boxing
Tuesday: Muay Thai
Wednesday: Weights: upper body
Thursday: Muay Thai
Friday: Rest Day
Saturday: Muay Thai
Sunday: Weights- lower body

Give me two weeks for trial and I’ll get back to you.

Until next time!

-Red Rumson

Bacon

wrapped maple cookies. Literally no words can describe whats happening in my mouth right now.

Homemade

Gluten-Free

Egg-free

No Butter

What is this magic, you ask? Let me enlighten you

• Almond Butter
• Brown Sugar
• Almond Milk
• Vanilla
• 100% Pure Maple Syrup
• Rice Flour
• Baking Powder
• Salt
• BACON

Now, if you will excuse me my roomie and I have some serious work to do on this batch 🙂

 

-Red Rumson