#polarvortex have been the
bane of my existence this winter. By now, my plan was to have my bike tuned up,
and be biking to midtown each day as a way to increase my exercise and split my
subway ride in half. Instead, I have become a connoisseur of the Toronto Path
system downtown, the lovely underground walkway that literally connects you
everywhere and anywhere without having to go outside. I can tell you the
location of each Starbucks, Tim’s, David’s Tea, Longo’s and Subway within the
downtown core without ever putting a jacket on. To help get into the spring
mood, I did some baking the other day, throwing together delicious lemon cranberry
scones that remind me of warmer weather. The combination of coconut and almond
flour makes for a yummy high fiber, low-carb and protein rich snack. Side note:
gluten-free does not mean low-carb when it comes to baked goodies; most are worst
then their gluten filled counterparts as companies use truckloads sugar and
cheap white rice flour to make them taste good. This recipe at the bottom of
this post, an exception, was adapted from this recipe posted on a great
food blogger website, http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com. I didn’t mean to make so many substitutions to
the original recipe, but had to do with what ingredients I had on hand during
my post-midterm baking fest on Friday.
This recipe turned into
inspiration for this blog post, making cranberries the March Superfood of the
month. Cranberries are an excellent addition to any diet, these high fiber
berries are powerful antioxidants, rich in vitamin C, E and K, and have long
been touted for their ability to prevent (not treat) urinary tract infections.
This is where is gets tricky because most version of cranberries sold on the
market are not the healthiest form. You are likely to find cranberry juice
cocktail, which isn’t even real juice and chocked full of sugar (Mean Girls
anyone?) and dried cranberries coated in cheap vegetable oil and sweetened with
white sugar. I buy whole frozen cranberries from Loblaws, which work well in
muffins, loaves and even oatmeal recipes. If you do buy dried cranberries, look
for organic cranberries that are sweetened with fruit juice and contain no
added sulfites. For women who suffer from UTI’s but don’t want to drink gallons
of sugary cranberry juice each day, try taking a D-mannose or a whole cranberry
extract supplement to help prevent the adhesion of bacteria to the walls of the
urethra, and also drink LOTS and LOTS of water on a daily basis.
Recipe
FYI, this recipe is not
paleo friendly because off the Greek yogurt. You could try subbing coconut
yogurt or coconut cream at your own discretion. Also, I list the details for
each recipe item to give you an idea of what products I used, but don’t feel
obligated to have the EXACT same ingredients!
·
1/3 cup Let’s
Do Organic coconut flour
·
2/3 JK
Gourmet’s almond flour
·
¼-1/3 cup
coconut sugar (depending on desired level of sweetness)
·
2 tsp baking
powder
·
1/4 tsp sea Salt
·
1/2 cup Liberte
Organic 0% Greek Yogurt
·
2 Free run
Omega-3 eggs and 2 ‘flax’ eggs (or 4 large eggs total)
·
1/4 cup fresh squeezed
organic lemon juice
·
1 Tbsp Artisana Coconut
Oil, melted
·
2 Tbsp grated
lemon Zest
·
1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla
Extract
·
1 cup unsweetened
frozen whole cranberries
Preheat oven to 350°F and
line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk
together coconut flour, almond flour, sweetener, baking powder and salt.
Add Greek yogurt, eggs, lemon
juice, coconut oil, lemon zest and vanilla extract and stir vigorously until
well combined. Stir in frozen cranberries
Drop by large spoonful onto
prepared baking sheet. You should get 8-10 large scones in all. Bake approximately
25 minutes, until firm and light brown
Remove and let cool 5 minutes
on pan, then transfer to a wire rack until completely cooled
Store in refrigerator for a few days
or freeze.
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