JoAnna: GlutenFree Chef and Health Enthusiast: March 2009

The Sweetness of Sugar Substitutions: that do not include refined processed sugar or high fructose corn syrup.
OR UN-HEALTHY Dangerous Truvia , Splenda OR As pertain or Saccharine.

Agave Nectar:
Agave Nectar is a natural fructose sweetener produced from the naturally occurring "Super Fiber": insulin in the agave plant. The inulin is transformed into a simple fructose/dextrose syrup through a basic heating and filtering process. Agave syrup is 1/ 1/4 times sweeter than refined sugar, but does not stumulate the digestive insulin as do other sweeteners. Agave is la low Glycemic Index sweetener, well below 50, the level at which a weetener is considered "diabetic safe." It is slowly absorbed into the body preventing spikes in blood sugar. A perfect multipurpose sweetener, use wherever you would use table sugar.
*Many say it is a great sweetener of choice But i don't use it , I have found that the re-search i have done , your body has trouble digesting it and can to some ppl be just as harmful as High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Fruit Sweeteners (Liquid)
Made with acid-reduced clarified pineapple,pear and peach juice concentrates. It is used in the baking and confection industries. Commonly used in juice blends. 1 1/2 to 2 times more swee than sugar. In recipes substitute about 1 cup of sweetener to 1 cup of sugar and reduce a moisture ingredient by 1/4 to 1/3 cup. Very concentrated. To reconstitute, mix 1 part concentrate with 6.2 parts water in making juices.

Honey
Raw Honey in its natural state, varies in clor and flavor with each small, hand extracted batch. Why does the color change from batch to batch? The color of the honey is directly related to the kind of flowers the bees have been visiting. Clover honey is very light colored (often called "white" honey) and is very milkd. The Wildflower Berry Honey is an accurate description of just what kind of plants the bees visited-including many wildflowers and berry flowers whithin their several mile range. They may visit napweed,dadelion,roses,huckleberry flowers,or and blackberry flowers. If the bees go to the buckwheat feilds, the honey will be very dark (almost molasses like) and be stronger in flavor.

Rave Honey is kept below 120 degrees F. (below pasterization level). When honey is heated above 140 degrees, the enzymes are killed, and the nutritional value is lessend. Most honey in the store are pasterized or flash-pasterized to keep them from crystallizing, (also called sugaring). However all honey with crystalize if enough time goes by. What do I do if My honey is crystalized? to get your honey back to liquidfied form, set the container of honey in warm water --120 degrees or less (about what is comforatbley warm for you hand). Do not put the honey in the microwave, as it will have the tendency to get too hot, and then not have the benficial properties of raw honey. If the honey is not filtered, it is possible to fine specks or other small impurites in the honey.

Huckleberry Honey- is simply honey, and huckleberry Juice.
*I use Raw Honey

To be pratical I use 100% Pure Honey Kirkland Brand from Costco for my baking , if you are heating up the honey you are killing the good probiotics so i dont use my raw honey if it included heating the product .

Rice Syrup (Personally i do not use this ) but that is my personal choice.
Brown rice syrup is a sweetener dereived by culturing cooked rice with enzymes (usually from dired barley sprouts) to break down the starches, then straining off the liquid and cooking it until the desired consistency is reached. Brown rice syrup is not suitable for consumption by diabetics, as the glucose and maltose causes rapid rise in blood sugar.

Stevia *This is one I use the Most along with Xylitol &Pure Maple Syrup*
I WILL NOT USE THE TRUVIA BRAND!!!!
What is stevia? Native to Praraquay. It is a small green plant bearing leaves that have a delicious and refreshing taste that can be 30 times sweeter than sugar. Processed forms of pure Stevia can be 70--400 times sweter than sugar. Stevia is als used as a nutritional supplemet and in skin care.
In all current forms , Stevia has a taste unique to itself. Along with its sweetness there is also a bitter component. Unlike artificial sweeteners, the sweet glyconsides do not bread down in heat, so that makes Stevia an excellent sweetener for cooking and baking. Since 1/3 to 1/3 teaspoon replaces a full cup of sugar, a builking agent is requied.

Xylitol
Xylitol is a five-carbon sugar alcohol that is used as a sugar substitute. Xylitol is a natural sweetener made from corn cobs or derived from Organic Birtch Trees. (more on that below). It is a lowglycemic product that is metabolized without insulin, making it safe for diabetics.
They say that you can use Xylitol in a spoon for spoon ratio to regualr sugar, but I disagree I find it to turn items like cookies to bricks in gluten free baking so as u follow my recipes i would just use the ratios that I use. In Large amounts, Xylitol can have a mild laxative effect.

Xylitol Dreived From Birch Trees (http://www.globalsweet.com/) (I use this all the time)Smart Sweet® xylitol is produced in America from organic hardwood trees, not corn, and therefore it's guaranteed to be free of any genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Smart Sweet® is produced in a state-of-the-art facility under strict GMP guidelines resulting in the best and purest product available anywhere. But what really sets Smart Sweet® xylitol apart from the rest is its great taste. Smart Sweet® has an unsurpassed cool, clean sweetness with no bitter or metallic aftertaste.
You've come this far, so don't you owe it to yourself and your familty to choose the very best.......Smart Sweet® (this was copied and pasted from the globalsweet website). It is the best Xylitol available Ever!! They even have a "Powdered Sugar" made out of Xylitol its is so wonderful you can have icing again and make things look beautiful again with this wonderful added product!

Palm Sugar or Coconut Sugar:
(this info is taken from wikipedia.com)

The Glycemic Index of coconut sugar is 35 and is classified as a low glycemic index food.^[4] It is considered to be healthier than traditional white sugar and brown sugar. It can be used as a 1:1 sugar substitute for coffee, tea, baking and cooking.

Coconut sugar has high mineral content, a rich source of potassium, magnesium, zinc and iron. In addition to this it contains Vitamin B1, B2, B3 and B6. When compared to brown sugar, Coconut Sugar has twice the iron, four times the magnesium and over 10 times the amount of zinc.^[5]

The coconut sap which coconut sugar is derived from contains 16 amino acids. The amino acid which has the highest content in coconut sap is Glutamine. Glutamine lutamine has been studied extensively over the past 10–15 years and has been shown to be useful in the treatment of serious illnesses, injury, trauma, burns, and treatment-related-side-effects of cancer as well as in wound healing for post-operative patients. It is known to reduce healing time after operations. It is essential in states of illness or injury even requiring intake^[6]

Coconut Sugar is also rich in Vitamins. Inositol has the highest amount of all the vitamins found in the coconut sap. Among the reported benefits of inositol in clinical settings are a reduction in the need for pain medication when patients are given inositol, a reduction of edema in treatment of scald burns, and in relieving the symptoms of diabetic neuropathy. Because of its beneficial effects on the central nervous system and its role in the development of healthy cells, Inositol is recommended as a treatment for anxiety, depression, bipolar mood disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and panic disorders. In addition, there is evidence to suggest that inositol may be useful in treating other mood disorders and neuro-psychological disorders.^[7]

I use Organic Palm sugar allot and in place of Brown Sugar in many recipes.

MAPLE SYRUP

I use Maple Syrup, Organic Allot there is much information on it so im just going to supply the Link, If you can Get Organic Grande B or lower its definelty less processed and more healthier but thats only if you live near a farm and such to be able to get a local supply! :D Which I do not btw hhahah.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple_syrup

Well folks here is some information on some nice sweeteners! Enjoy and take care all!!
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Lemon Dill Drop Biscuits

When I made these biscuits it was late and I had no bread made. I am a huge dill fan and anything with Fresh ingredients is right up my alley. As many of you know I cannot use much rice so I try to use other flours. I make all my recipes according to my food allergies but I will suggest other substitutions.

2 Cups gluten free flour

( I used ¾ cup sorghum flour, ¼ cup flax seed meal, ¼ cup millet flour, and ¾ tapioca starch).

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon dry dill (optional I like allot of dill flavor)

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper (black)

1 Tablespoon Fresh Dill

1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Zest (depending how lemony you like your food)

1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar (or apple cider vinegar) add to 1 cup goats milk . *SEE NOTE ON BOTTOM OF RECIPE
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil or Grapeseed Oil
¼ cup green onions

Directions:
Preheat Oven to 400 Degrees. Grease baking sheet with non stick gluten free cooking spray. In a large bowl Shift flours, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, dill(s) fresh and dry if using, salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine milk, vinegar oil, green onions. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry, using a spatula mix just until combined, do not over mix. Drop by tablespoonfuls 1 ½ inches apart in the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes. Best served warm.

Makes 8 Large Biscuits

Note:
*(Don’t use Goat milk? then use one cup of the following suggestions
*Cows Milk or Buttermilk
*Soy Milk
*Almond Milk
*Hemp Milk
*Rice Milk (not recommended due to it being so thin.)

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Wednesday, March 25, 2009

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Thursday, March 19, 2009

Lets Talk about Sugar Substitutes

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Lemon Drop Dill Biscuts

Okay what a day, Sunday March 1st 2009