Tag Archive for: paleo

Type 1 Thursday – How to Low Carb with T1D

Join me for another episode of Type 1 Thursday – ahead of our diabetes. by The Low Carb Universe even in June!

Today, we’re talking about how to get started with low carb as a T1D. There are different methods that work for different people. Listen in and learn more:

What was your biggest take away from this episode? Let me know in a comment below!

Type 1 Thursday – Why Low Carb with T1D?

What are your burning questions on Type 1 Diabetes? Perhaps even in conjunction with a low carb lifestyle? Then Type 1 Thursday is the place for you!

In this new series, I will discuss a specific topic every week to answer you using all the knowledge, tips and tricks I’ve collected throughout the years. All this, of course, ahead of our groundbreaking diabetes. event in Stockholm, Sweden, June 19-23! More info here!

And what’s even better – you can join me during them, because they are originally streamed LIVE on The Low Carb Universe’s Facebook and Instagram pages! Don’t miss out, I’ll be live every Thursday at 6PM CET.

This is the first episode, I’m talking about the basics of why low carb is good for T1D’s.

What was your biggest take away from this episode? Tell me in a comment below!

Seed Crackers GrainBrain Style

Have you ever tried seed crackers?

All you wanted was a little crunch in your life, but all you got was disappointment.

Were they a little… papery? Or were they full of chemical stuff, or stuff that you can’t/don’t want to eat?

I’m making you a very happy bunny today.

Almost everyone who has tried these seed crackers has asked for the recipe. I’ve even ended up selling quite a lot of it!

So today I’m going to be super nice and share it with you so that you can make it yourself! ! It’s safe to say that this will be the only crack(er) recipe you’ll ever need.

And, what’s fantastically awesome about these is that they are completely allergen free! No grains, no gluten, no dairy, no egg, no soy, no funky chemical stuff. Well, unless you’re allergic to seeds (sesame?), or crunchy seed crackers!

The recipe is actually super simple, and can be tweaked exactly to your liking.

GrainBrain’s Seed Crackers

3,5 dl (1,5 cups) sunflower seeds

1 dl (0.4 – 0.5 cups) flaxseed

1 dl (0.4 – 0.5 cups) sesame seeds (can be swapped if you’re allergic, see below)

0,5 dl (0,2 cups) pumpkin seed

3 tbsp psyllium seed husk

a pinch of salt

2-3 tbsp olive oil

4-5 dl (1,7 – 2 cups) water

  1. Mix all the ingredients carefully. I like to mix all the dry ones first, then add the olive oil and mix again. Lastly, I add the water. Mix!
  1. Let it rest for 10 minutes. Put the oven on 150 degrees celsius (300 fahrenheit).
  1. Bake half of the mix out between two sheets of parchment paper. Use a rolling pin to flatten it out. The mix gives you two baking sheets, depending on the size of your oven, of course.
  1. Remove the upper layer of parchment paper, and cut the dough into cracker sized pieces before putting it in the oven.
  1. Let it dry in the oven for 55 minutes each.

Et viola! Enjoy with some butter and your favourite sandwich topping.

Nutrition Info:

(Whole batch)
Carbs: 55 g
Protein: 36 g
Fat: 114 g

(If you divide the crackers into 24 pieces per baking sheet, 48 pieces total)
Carbs: 1 g
Protein: 0,75 g
Fat: 2,4 g

These are super filling and contain so much good stuff, like fibre, Vitamin B, Vitamin E, Calcium, Iron, Copper, Magnesium, Manganese and Zinc.

The only problem you’re going to have is to stop eating these…!

Customise it (or Pimp my Crackers)

You can add all kinds of herbs and spices to it to make it your own and to add variation.

Here are some ideas: chili flakes, Italian/French herb mixes, sea salt, pepper, paprika spice, taco spice mix (make sure it’s a clean one), fresh garlic, rosemary, oregano or basil, or even cinnamon or cardamom to put a sweeter spin on it.

I’ve also played around with adding and removing different seeds to the mix. I’ve added chia seeds and whole psyllium seeds, for example. This gives it a completely different taste and texture.

I’ve also used a chili-garlic infused olive oil instead if the plain one. There were some sparks flying off of that one! J

Please try this out, it’s definitely worth the longer time it takes to make it than just picking any old crap up from the store. And don’t forget to leave your comment below of what you think of it!

 

Paleo Scones

Going grain free = going bread free.

In the very most cases, at least. The “bread” you do eat won’t be the factory produced, refined stuff you find at the super market.

Bread is usually one of the things I hear most often from my clients that they miss when they are getting healthier. Which nowadays really surprises me, actually, although it didn’t use to… I was just as much of a bread addict as I’m sure you are, or have been, too.

But I’m very proud of you that you’re willing to make this change for yourself; to go at least gluten-, if not grain free!

So, you know those mornings (or lunches, or evenings), where you just wish there was a simple, yet healthy, thing you could throw together and have fresh out of the oven?

These wonderfully nutritious and yummy paleo scones you can whip together in under 5 minutes. And they’re done in 10 in the oven.

Paleo Scones

You’ll need:

3 dl almond flour

0,5 dl chia seeds (can also be changed to sunflower seeds or linseeds, depending on your taste and preference)

2 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp psyllium seed husk

A pinch of salt

You can also put some seeds on top of the scones, making it more into a type of bun than scones. Variations are endless!

Do this:

  1. Put the oven on 180 degrees Celsius
  2. Mix all ingredients
  3. On an baking sheet covered with parchment paper, make 6 socnes/buns with a spoon
  4. Put in the oven for about 10 minutes
  5. Enjoy with butter, cheese (if you can handle it), vegetables, ham, or unsweetened jam, or almond butter.

Nutritional info (per scone):

Carbs 5g, 3g fibers
Calories (kcal): 198
Fat: 16g
Protein: 7.5g

I’ve based this recipe on the fantastic Annika Sjöö’s original recipe. She’s a truly inspiring swede who is fully into eating Paleo and training CrossFit, and won Swedish “Let’s Dance” (“Dancing with the Stars”) a couple of years ago. If your Swedish is any good, check out her inspirational blog here!

 

Let me know what you think of this recipe! Do you have another favorite (grain-free) bread recipe to share with me? Post it in the comments!

Saffron Coconut Macaroons

I know just how busy you are today.

So today’s post will be very short and to the point.

A few people have asked me about the recipe for the Saffron Coconut Macaroons that I shared in my Diabetes Advent Calendar.

And because I’m feeling the festive spirits (no, I don’t mean the rum), I want to share it with you here on the blog today!

(If you don’t like saffron (gasp!), they’re absolutely delicious if you leave it out, too)

 

Saffron Coconut Macaroons

Makes about 10

You’ll need:

25 g butter

1 egg

1.5 dl (0.6 cups) desiccated coconut

1 tbsp. stevia or agave (or honey, if you can take it)

1 pinch vanilla powder

1 packet saffron

Do this:

Put the oven on 175 degrees.

Melt the butter with the saffron.

Whisk together the egg and sweetener of your choice.

Add all the other ingredients to the mix.

Let the mix rest for a few minutes.

Make “peaks” on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.

Each peak has 4 grams of carbohydrate.

 

saffron coconut macaroons

Saffron Coconut Macaroons

 

These yummy treats are gluten-, grain-, treenut-, soy- and (almost) sugar free, so they suit most people.

Let me know how yours turned out in the comments below!

ENJOY!

Paleo Restaurant, What’s on the Menu?

The most difficult part when you want to eat healthily are restaurants.

But what if there is an option to keep eating healthy whilst eating at a restaurant?

About two weeks ago, my husband and I had something a little special to celebrate.

And although we’re not dogs, we decided to treat ourselves to some really good food. I had heard about this Paleo restaurant close to Zürich, and as we had an occasion to celebrate, we went there. And, only for you, I took pictures of every single dish we had. And there were many…

The restaurant is stylish and modern, despite its ancestral menu. And the service was great, couldn’t have asked for better and more attentive service staff.

Anyway, as we’re not here to lollygag, we’re here to party, on to the FOOD:

 

Restaurant Feinwerk

Restaurant Feinwerk

 

Elegant and stylish menu, filled with good, healthy courses. At this restaurant, you can freely choose how many of their seasonal courses you want, 3, 4 or all 5 courses that are on the menu. We thought we should “go big or go home”, so we took the 5 course option. All the courses follow the idea of Paleo eating, wild caught fish, wild meat, seasonal vegetables and all of it, of course, organic. No gluten, dairy or processed foods fit in the Paleo framework either, which is GREAT for someone just like me. 🙂

 

Paleo bread

Paleo bread

 

At “normal” restaurants you usually get a breadbasket before your meal. So also at the Paleo restaurant, although the bread here was made from things like almond flour and walnuts, spiced with saffron and herbs. Delicious!

 

Amuse bouche: quail egg on root vegetables

Amuse bouche: quail egg on root vegetables

 

A small greeting from the kitchen, with a fried quail egg on root vegetable chips.

 

Starter: cedar graved lake trout and river crab on beetroot

Starter: cedar graved lake trout and crayfish on beetroot

 

The first starter was lake trout that had been graved with cedar wood and crayfish that had been slightly sweetened with honey on top of beetroot. Crayfish and beetroot was a new and fantastic combination for me!

 

2nd Starter: artichoke and herb soup with rabbit

2nd Starter: artichoke and herb soup with rabbit

 

The second starter was an artichoke and herb soup with a meatball of rabbit. The tastes combined amazingly well, and just look at the decoration!

 

Main: forest dove with wild asparagus

Main: forest dove with wild asparagus

 

Onto the main courses: first up was dove from the forest with wild asparagus and beechnut. A lot of new flavours and tastes were presented to me during this dinner, and this is one of them – I had never had dove before. The combination of flavours were, again, knocked out of the park.

 

2nd Main: fallow deer with roots, nuts and mushrooms

2nd Main: fallow deer with roots, nuts and mushrooms

 

With the second main dish, we got locally caught fallow deer with roots, nuts and mushrooms. As you can see, the main focus is on the meat and not the roots, bringing the carbohydrate count down, making it easier for diabetics like myself to calculate dosages.

 

Dessert: chocolate tart with forest berries and herb jus

Dessert: chocolate tart with forest berries and herb jus

 

This feast was finished off with a yummy, rich chocolate tart with berries from the forest and herb jus. For a chocolate lover like myself, this dark chocolate tart was the perfect end to a beyond amazing dinner.

 

The taste combinations that were on these plates were definitely out of this world! For me, it was so nice not to have to change the ingredients in any of the courses, as well.

And, more importantly, had we had this many courses in any other restaurants, we would have felt too full to get home. Sure, we were full and very satisfied after this meal too, but it was really not as bad as perhaps expected. It should probably be noted that eating a fully packed menu like this is nothing my husband and I do often.

The whole experience was a true delight, and I can definitely recommend Restaurant Feinwerk if you’re in or ever around Zürich!

 

How is it where you live? Do you have truly healthy restaurants, and not just those that try to disguise bread and sugar as healthy? Share your recommendation in the comments below! 

 

(NOTE: I’m by no means affiliated with Restaurant Feinwerk, and we paid for the dinner ourselves. These opinions are completely my own.)