The Autodidact

 Want to dive into mostly guilt-free chocolate goodness? Here you go: Melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips and set aside. I used sugar-free chips. Mix together 1/4 cup butter with 1/3 cup xylitol until well blended. Add 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla and a tablespoon of coconut oil, and melted chips. Add 1 1/4 cups Almond flour, 1/2 teaspoon each of baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add an additional handful or two of more chocolate chips. Blend, then transfer to a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Let sit in pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a plate or cutting board. But wait, the chocolate goodness is NOT over. Melt about 1/2 cup chocolate chips and a tablespoon or so of butter. (I did use regular chips for this part because I just felt like it). Drizzle over the bread, and lick the bowl. Pour a cup of coffee and enjoy a (mostly) sugar- and gluten-free treat!

 After the success of the   Banana Bread  recently, I thought I'd try a variation. It did not disappoint. Combine in one bowl: 5 eggs 1 1/2 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar 1 Tablespoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 3 cups almond flour 1/2 cup xylitol or monk fruit 1/4 cup melted coconut oil 4 Tablespoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon cloves 1/2 cup chopped pecans Stir until blended, put in a greased loaf pan and bake at 300° for about an hour and 15 minutes. Don't forget to add the coconut oil after you melt it in the microwave, like I did. It was quite good without the oil, surprisingly not too dry, and reminded me of Irish Soda bread. Next time, I will add the oil, and I am sure it will be even better. 

Here's a tasty bread that satisfies your craving for banana bread and has no gluten! It is still hot out of the oven and butter is melting on my slice as I write. Preheat oven to 300°. In a bowl combine: 3 smashed bananas 4 eggs 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 3 cups almond flour 1/3 cup sweetener (I used xylitol) 2 Tablespoons melted coconut oil 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 cup or so of chocolate chips if desired. Nuts would be nice too. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for about an hour and 15 minutes or when a knife comes out clean when inserted. Let cool a few minutes before removing from the pan. Slather with butter and enjoy! My plate is empty, so I'm going back to the kitchen for more.

Look no further for a satisfying, sweet, chocolate chip dessert. These are easy, and similar to the real pan cookies! The basic recipe was found on the back of the bag of almond flour, but I changed it up to suit me. Beat together 2 tablespoons of butter with 1/2 cup monkfruit granules. Add 1 egg, then 1/4 cup of any milk-type product. I used real cream, but almond or coconut mill would do. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add 1 cup almond flour, a pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder and mix well. Then add 1/4 cup chopped nuts of your choice and 1/4 cup chocolate chips. Mix until just blended. Spread in a greased 8x8 pan and bake for 30 minutes at 350°. For extra chocolate, you can add 1/4 cup of cocoa powder, and have more of a brownie. I could not get to them fast enough to take a picture of the entire pan, and as you can see, the 9 year old's fork was flying back and forth from the plate to her mouth. She did say that the added whipped cream was a nice addition. But it's totally ...

  Whipped up this delicious salad today. Chopped honeydew melon and cucumber make the base of this salad. A drizzle of avocado oil and a squeeze of lemon add a nice depth. Some shredded mint, a dash or more of crushed red pepper and some sliced red onion add spice. Feta cheese mixed in gives added richness. Oh, and bacon. I had some left over from breakfast and figured it would be good. It was. Salt and pepper to taste, and you are done. It was filling and refreshing.

Poking around in an interesting keto cook book, I stumbled across a lamb stew. I did tweak it quite a bit to suit my tastes and pantry supplies, so I do consider this my own. 1 large red onion, sliced or diced to suit you 2 T coconut oil 1-2 t crushed red pepper flakes 3 garlic cloves diced or run through the press 1 T freshly grated ginger root 1 T Chinese five spice (see recipe for homemade below) 2-2 1/2 pounds lamb cubes (I used leftover lamb roast, and I highly recommend it) 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes 4- 4 1/2 C chicken broth (have roast chicken the day before and boil the carcass to use in this!) 4-5 diced prunes 1/4 C fish sauce (I found some on Amazon, but an Asian store should have it) 1 T Miso (same as above) 1/4 C soy sauce 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped Salt to taste Saute the onions in the oil until shiny, add the pepper, cloves, ginger, and five spice. Cook on high for a minute, then add the lamb and stir. Lower temp to low. Add the tomatoes, prunes and br...

Recently, I tried some expensive keto granola bars from Costco, and they were delicious. But at a buck 25 per bar, I felt a bit guilty. I looked at the ingredient list, and realizing I had all the ingredients in my pantry, I sought to recreate them. I looked at a few on line recipes (which were not very helpful) to get my bearings and came up with this recipe. I cooked them in small batches, playing with the fat and sweetener, but now that I found something as good as the store bought, I will double this recipe in the future. 1 1/4 cups of nuts (I used a combination of almond, pecans and walnuts, but use what you have on hand) 1/4 cup EACH: sunflower seeds flax seeds (I used whole, but I imagine ground would be OK too) pumpkin seeds (pepitos) or pistachios 1/2 cup shredded coconut (I use unsweetened, but use sweetened if that's what you have) 2T hemp hearts (soaked chia seeds would work too) 1/2 cup coconut oil (generous) 1/4 to 1/3 cup maple syr...