lower sugar berry crisp

 I've been carefully avoiding sugar for a few months now, and I'm trying to strike a balance with a small enough amount each day that still allows tasty treats.  Aiming for less than 10 grams per day, which means A LOT of label reading and avoiding processed foods.  I've found Blue Stripes and some other dark chocolates are a great bang for grams, with like 3-4 grams added sugar for half a chocolate bar.  That's like than a slice of Dave's Killer Bread or less than a tablespoon of ketchup, and it's way more satisfying to my sweet tooth.  I allow a half tablespoon of jam on a muffin made with no added sugars (sweetened with mashed dates) or slice of whole wheat sourdough toast.  Or hot chocolate made with 1 teaspoon of maple syrup.  These are satisfying still.

But I've stayed away from making other desserts, as I do not want to use fake sugar.  I'm thinking of making a sweet potato pie for Thanksgiving with whole wheat crust and maybe 1/4 cup maple syrup.  That's a whole lot better for me than what else will be served.  

And I have a heap of berries frozen from picking this summer, including a mix of blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries.  (I keep my strawberries for chia seed pudding with no sweetener.)  

HEre's what's in the oven now and I hope it's great!

• 5 cups (or so) of mixed berries
• 1 Tbsp corn starch
• 1/2 Tbsp white sugar
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon/cardamom/whatever sounds good
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Combine berries, corn starch, and white sugar in a baking pan.  Then in a bowl combine the rest of the ingredients, mixing by hand and sprinkling over the berries.  

Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes.

Eat with yogurt! 

summer squash scramble

 I keep struggling with what to prepare for breakfast, and I also struggle with what to do with the vegetable bounty from my garden.  

Finally, after a week of staring at an identified summer squash (not what I planted, but what grew), I realized I can just saute it with eggs and add parmesan that I shredded too much of, and make it a meal.

I can do this with most vegetables, adding whatever cheese or other thing is about like salsa.

Not sure why I keep forgetting this, but putting it here to remind me. 

- Chop up squash or whatever vegetable is lurking

- heat cast iron skillet, add olive or whatever oil

- saute vegetable

- mix in bowl: eggs (I usually use two smaller), salt, pepper, seasonings such as onion and garlic powders

- add egg mixture to vegetables and cook to desired doneness

- top with cheese, salsa, or whatever else needs to get used up

whole wheat sourdough flatbread

 I'm super grateful that Trader Joe's has whole wheat flatbread with no preservatives, etc.  I'm eating it daily as I avoid refined sugar/grains/seed oils.  

Someone on Facebook posted this with a tasty photo so I'm adding it to my to-do list when I want from scratch, which is of course always better.

Flat bread

Farmhouse on boon

Ingredients

* 260g or 2 cups flour I use freshly milled hard white wheat

* 250g or 1 cup starter

* 5g or 1 tsp salt

* 135g or 1/2 cup milk

* Olive oil for cooking (optional I don’t use it)

 

Instructions

1. Mix sourdough starter, flour, milk, and salt together. Knead for a few minutes.

2. Cover and allow to rise for for 2-4 hours (or overnight for long fermentation). I leave 24 hours!

3. Divide into 8 equal pieces.

4. Roll flat (about 1/4” thick) on a lightly floured work surface.

5. Add a small amount of olive oil to a cast iron skillet and preheat over medium. I don’t use oil, just put straight on the pan.

6. Cook each flatbread for a minute or two on each side until it starts to brown a bit.