Nothing is more sobering than taking a peek into the current state of our children's health. Whether you have children of your own or know and love someone else's, the startling statistics have an impact on us all. 

• 31% of children in the United States are overweight or obese
  
• 5.2 million have been diagnosed with ADHD
  
• 5 million have a learning disability
  
• 3.4 million have reported food allergies
  
• 9.4 million have reported skin allergies
  
• 7.0 million currently have asthma
  
• 1 in 110 have Autism Spectrum Disorder 
  
• 10 million have been on a prescription medicine for at least 3 months
• 1.2 billion annual ambulatory care visits
  

With these kind of statistics, it's quite likely you know or love a child who is affected by one or more of these health issues. While conventional medicine would like us to believe that our children's health is left to chance, there is a growing movement of adults who have embraced the healing power of real food as the key to not only their own health but the health of their children.

The Paleo Parents, Stacy Toth and Matthew McCarry, are leaders in this real food movement. Combined they lost 200 pounds in less than fifteen months, transforming their own health as well as the health of their children. The Paleo Parents have paved the way for families to reclaim their health and the health of their children. First, by starting the Paleo Parents website, a resource where they share their practical approach to preparing foods that aren't genetically modified, processed or commercially produced and second with the much anticipated release of their book Eat Like a Dinosaur, Recipe & Guidebook for Gluten-Free Kids.

While the book is beautiful in every way, with glossy pictures, lots of color and scrumptious recipes, Eat Like a Dinosaur (ELaD) is so much more than a cookbook, it is the personal story of how this family embraced food instead of medicine to get healthy.

ELaD is about Cole, a chubby baby turned overweight preschooler with self-control issues. Close to being expelled from school for his behavior. By removing processed foods from his diet, his behavior dramatically changed, incidents of bed wetting stopped, his asthma disappeared and his skin rashes cleared up. It was Cole's dramatic health improvements that inspired the Paleo Parents to write this book. Cole has his own special chapter in the book with a beautifully illustrated story about how he "Eats Like a Dinosaur". 

ELaD is about Finian, a high-spirited and energetic child with extreme highs and lows. At the age of two, he was showing early signs of attention deficit disorder. Like his brother, he was at the top end of the weight chart, with skin sensitivities and pet allergies. With the elimination of grains, refined sugars, legumes and dairy, not only did these things resolve themselves, no medication was necessary. Amazingly, Finian's ability to listen to directions, remain on task and be attentive has improved while his energetic personality remains unchanged.

ELaD is about Wesley, the baby of the family who was spared the health consequences that affected his older brothers. Not unlike his brothers, he was exclusively breastfed, however because of Stacy's commitment to a diet rich in real foods, free of dairy and gluten, Wesley never experienced the all too common gassy baby belly, fussiness and colic, diaper rash and weekly fevers. Instead he is a good sleeper, a good eater, an overall easy-going, happy  and healthy baby.

ELaD is about how ordinary families everywhere can revolutionize their health, by eliminating poor quality food with no nutritional value to eating whole nutrient dense foods every meal of the day. With the guidance of the Paleo Parents your kids will be in the kitchen with you helping you stir the pot, picking out fresh produce at the farmer's market and even eating broccoli and loving it.

Eat Like a Dinosaur, Recipe & Guidebook for Gluten-Free Kids
is available TOMORROW (3/20/2012) through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  

I apologize for the decline in blog posts over these past few weeks. Right now, my time is not my own. I've been helping taking care of my mother who has a progressive brain disease called Lewy Body Disease (LBD). If you are like most, you've never heard of LBD. Although the pathology of the disease is different, it is easiest to describe the disease as a combination of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Even though she is not in the end stages of the disease, she does require around the clock care and help with daily living activities. 

Currently, my father is her caretaker, which as you can imagine is quite exhausting. There are days when he is in need of a break and a little taking care of himself, and when that time comes, they come and stay with us. 

Two weeks ago, my mother had shoulder surgery to remove bone spurs. She had this same surgery a year ago on the other shoulder, so I was well aware of what to expect the days following the surgery. However, her disease has progressed significantly since last year and I expected things to be a little more challenging. To help my dad out, I invited my parents to come stay with us.

The days post surgery were quite interesting, to say the least. My mom's delicate brain is highly effected by pain medication, couple that with her lack of coping skills and general confusion and she was incapable of doing anything for herself. Prior to the surgery, the small things she could do with just a little help, like getting on her pajamas, going to the bathroom or holding a glass of water, she couldn't do at all. We made it through the week and she is now off the heavy pain medication and back to her normal confused self.
 
This week and next week we are travelling back and forth to the Mayo Clinic several times for my mother's annual research appointments. When she was first diagnosed with the disease, she was asked to participate in the only research study of live patients with LBD. Historically, diagnosis of LBD was only done after someone had deceased and an autopsy performed on their brain. Because the symptoms mimic those of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, in most cases, people with LBD are misdiagnosed. My mom actually had a brain biopsy performed which was necessary in order to make the diagnosis. As part of the on going, research she agreed to annual neuropsychological testing, as well as three different scans of her brain, an MRI, PET and a new experimental research scan called a DAT scan.

Yesterday was the first of four appointments at the Mayo, starting with an MRI in the morning and then neuro-psychological testing in the afternoon. I remembered from last year, the first thing they ask (my mom) when checking in for all of the appointments, is to recall your full name and birth date. Last year, she had difficulty with this, so I decided we should practice in the car. I asked my mom, "what is your birth date"? There was silence. So I asked again, and she said, "October." I prodded a little more for the date and year, and although she was trying to think of it, she did not remember. My dad and I coached her and had her recite her birthday several times and then she said she didn't want to, "wear it out." I also had her practice saying her full name, as last year, she recalled her maiden name not her married name.

Upon checking in for her MRI, just as I remembered, they asked my mom her full name and birth date. Before recalling the information she introduced me as her sister (which she has done in the past). I think she was stalling, but the nurse prompted again. She said her first name and her birth date, correctly, but did not say her middle or last name. That was good enough for the nice nurse this time. After the MRI was done we had a bit of a break and then my mom had her neuro-psychological testing while my dad and I had a family interview.

The day ended rather emotionally as my mom was asked to both print and sign her name on three consent forms. This activity is extremely challenging for her. It is quite amazing actually to watch her attempt to write her own name, something she has done countless times. To assist her, I printed and signed her name on a post-it note for her to copy. The first attempt was better than expected, she misspelled both her first and last name, but it was mostly legible. The second attempt was a little worse than the first, although you could make out her name somewhat. The third attempt, was unbelievable, when she went to print her name she spelled it Aaetwatl, her first name is Sharon. As she often does when a task is hard, she started to cry and gave up. We let her take a break, while my dad signed a few forms and then I held her hand and helped her sign her name one last time.

We return to the Mayo on Thursday for the DAT scan, then Monday is the PET scan and Tuesday we meet with her neurologist to discuss the results of the testing.

I have lived in Minnesota my entire life, except for a short two-year detour in Houston, TX. When people ask if I liked Houston, my response is always the same, "it's not that I didn't like it, it just wasn't home." Even though Houston is a melting pot of origins, the locals knew I wasn't from their parts. It's funny the reaction people had when they learned I was from Minnesota, I might as well have been from Antarctica.

I readily admit we have some pretty brutal winters in Minnesota, heck last year we had one of the snowiest winters ever on record. It was a stereotypical snowy and cold, and I mean really snowy and cold, winter. While many believe you hole up and hunker down in the Minnesota winter months, that's just not true. When the season changes from fall to winter, and the snow and cold arrive, the outdoors is still enjoyed. We wouldn't be able to go ice skating, sledding, snowshoeing, skiing, snowboarding or ice fishing without winter. 

I recall having a funny conversation with a jewelry store security guard. His perception of living in Minnesota came from the movie Grumpy Old Men. If you haven't seen the movie, it's a romantic comedy that was filmed in Minnesota in the dead of winter. Ice fishing is a pastime the characters enjoy and several scenes are shot on the ice. 

To the security guard, a Native Houstonian, who had never seen snow, this ice fishing concept was unbelievable. I fielded question after question about how this possibly could be. He just couldn't conceive that we actually drive our cars/trucks on ice, drill a hole in said ice and drop down a line or two and catch fish. When I explained that some fishing fanatics actually have quite elaborate ice fishing houses, complete with bunk beds and propane heaters, he lost his mind.

This winter has been the exact opposite of last winter, unseasonably warm and very little measurable snowfall. In fact, the snowplow has only come to clear our driveway, twice this whole season. The snowmobilers and fishermen have had to travel further north to find safe ice and trails. A few months back, my dad, an avid fisherman, was able to escape with some buddies and haul in a nice catch. The fish have been on ice until today.

I pulled the cleaned fish from the freezer first thing this morning and let them defrost in a bowl of cold water. Meanwhile, I set out to make my own version of Shore Lunch, it's what Minnesotans use to bread fish with. I was unable to find the ingredient information online, so I e-mailed the company and they quickly responded: 

ENRICHED BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN AND/OR COTTONSEED OIL, SALT, LEAVENING, DRIED WHEY, GARLIC POWDER, SUGAR, BUTTERMILK SOLIDS, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, POTATO FLOUR, ONION POWDER, SPICES, DEXTROSE, NATURAL FLAVOR, CORN STARCH, HYDROLYZED SOY PROTEIN, EXTRACTIVES OF PAPRIKA.

You can have delicious breaded fish without these unhealthy ingredients. Coconut flour and coarse ground almond meal make a fabulous breading spiced up with a little garlic, onion, salt and paprika. I oven-baked some of the fish as well as pan-fried with ghee and both methods were successful, although we preferred the pan-fried fish. If you don't have access to Walleye, try this breading on Tilapia, or panfish like Sunnies or Crappies, you won't be disappointed.

Almond Crusted Walleye
Recipe by Healthy Living How To

Printable Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20-25 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. Palm-Size Fish Fillets
• 1 c. Coarse Ground Almond Meal
  
• 1/4 c. Coconut Secret Raw Coconut Flour
  
• 1/2 tsp. Organic Garlic Powder
  
• 1 tsp. Organic Smoked Paprika
  
• 1/2 tsp. Onion Powder
  
• 1 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt
  
• 1 Large Organic Egg
  
• 1/2 c. Native Forest Organic Coconut Milk
  

Directions

1. In a nut grinder, coffee grinder or high-powered blender, make coarse ground almond meal by placing a cup of nuts in canister and pulsing until coarse.

2. In a glass pie plate, mix together almond meal, coconut flour and spices.

3. In a second glass pie plate, scramble together egg and coconut milk.

4. Rinse and pat dry fish fillets. Dredge through egg wash and then place in breading mix completely coating.

5. Pan fry in ghee on medium heat about 3-4 minutes per side or oven bake at 400°F  in a glass dish greased with ghee for 20-25 minutes.

I've had it in my mind for some time to come up with a recipe for healthy tamales. A Christmas tradition for many Mexican families and ours was no different. Tamales are traditionally made with corn or masa, mixed with lard, filled with pork or chicken, wrapped in corn husks and then steamed. The process can be quite laborious, however, the end result is worth the few hours it takes. In my family, several of my aunts will get together and devote an entire day to tamale making. While my aunts will make hundreds in an afternoon, we will be making only a dozen or two. A couple tamales paired with my Mexi "Cauli" Rice and you have a delicious, healthy and very filling meal.

My Mexican grandmother passed away when I was in the 4th grade. Although my memories of her making tamales are quite vivid, there is no record of her recipes. She couldn't read or write and spoke very broken English, she didn't own cookbooks or have access to the Food Network. Instead, she measured with her hands and cooked from her heart. I regularly have lunch with one of my aunts, who has been able to help me with my Mexican cooking. Last week, we talked about tamale making over a burger which was just the inspiration I needed to bite the bullet and get in my test kitchen.

Step 1. Masa or Corn "Dough"

Traditional masa or tamale dough is made from masa harina, which just means corn flour. Some Mexican markets sell fresh masa as well. We are using neither as both are higher in carbohydrates than I would prefer. While the tamale filling and sauce are simply healthy protein, fats and a little vegetable matter, the masa was needing "healthifying". In order to reduce the carbs, which, by the way, I was able to significantly, I had to devise a dough that tasted similar using something other than corn flour. Imagine my surprise while wandering Whole Foods, when I stumbled on Native Forest Organic Cut Baby Corn. Not only is the can BPA-free, the corn Non-GMO, the whole shebang is <8 g carbs! The recipe as written makes enough masa for one dozen tamales. Incidentally, each tamale is 2 g net carbs, woot, woot!

Low-Carb Masa

Ingredients

• (2) 14 oz. Cans Native Forest Organic Cut Baby Corn
  
• 1/2 c.  Coconut Secret Raw Coconut Flour, Sifted
  
• 1 oz. Non-Hydrogenated Lard, Melted
  
• 1 tsp. Onion Powder
  
• 1 tsp. Cumin Powder
  
• 1 tsp. Ancho Chile Powder
  
• 1/2 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt
  

Directions

1. Drain corn. 
2. In food processor or Vitamix, process corn until no chunks appear.
3. Scrape corn mush into medium mixing bowl.
4. With a spoon, mix in sifted coconut flour as well as spices and then finally lard.
5. Refrigerate masa until ready for use.  

Step 2. Meat Filling

While there are many different variations of tamale filling, my grandmother preferred shredded pork shoulder with ancho chile sauce. I regularly make pork shoulder roasts, as Carnitas are a staple meal around here. If you don't regularly cook shoulder roast, you've got a couple options for how to do so. My preferred method is in the pressure cooker. If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can use a Crock-Pot as well as the oven. However, be prepared, these two methods take several more hours. If the shoulder roast is cooked properly, you will be able to shred easily with a fork. This will make enough filling for one dozen tamales with plenty leftover to accompany your morning eggs or atop a bed of lettuce taco salad style, minus the chips.

Pork Shoulder Roast

Ingredients

• 2-3 lb. Boneless Pork Shoulder Roast
  
• 1 c. Water
  

Directions

Crock-Pot
Add water to Crock-Pot. Do not trim or cut roast, instead place whole roast in Crock-Pot, cover and cook on low 8 hours.

Oven Method
Add water to a casserole dish Do not trim or cut roast, instead place whole roast in dish, cover and cook at 275°F for 8 hours.

Pressure Cooker
Add trivet to bottom of pressure cooker along with water and then the steamer basket. Trim roast, cut into large chunks and place in steamer basket. Cover cooker, bring to high pressure then reduce temperature and cook for 50 minutes. Remove pressure cooker from heat source and release pressure. 

Step 3. Soften Corn Husks

Corn husks are easy to find in the Mexican section of your local grocer. They will cost you about $5 for a bag large enough to make several batches of tamales. The corn husks are softened in hot water, making them pliable enough to wrap your tamale in. It is best to start soaking the corn husks while you are working on your ancho chile sauce. It's real simple, count out your corn husks plus a few extras and put in a large stock pot. Cover with hot water and place on burner at medium-high heat. We're not boiling the husks, just keeping the water hot and the husks softening. The husks will float to the top of the water, so weigh it down with a plate or a lid smaller than your pot. The husks should be soft and pliable in about 30 minutes or so.

Step 4. Sauce

Ancho chile sauce is what my grandmother used to flavor the shredded pork. It gives it a lovely red hue as well as heat. I enjoy a little heat in my Mexican dishes, but if I want my kids or husband to enjoy them, I have to keep it to a simmering. This sauce is quite mild as written, however if you want to turn it up a notch or so, just add more of the reserved seeds.

Ancho Chile Sauce

Ingredients

• 3-4 Dried Ancho Chile Peppers
  
• Water
  
• 1 Organic Garlic Clove
  
• 1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
  
• 1/8 tsp. Ground Cloves
  
• 1 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt
  
• 1 tsp. Ground Cumin
  
• 1 tsp. Black Pepper
  
• 2 Tbsp. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
  
• 1/8 tsp. Ancho Chile Seeds
  

Directions

1. Remove stem and seeds from peppers by simply slicing across the top and down the middle.
2. Reserve some of the seeds to add back in for "heat".
3. Place peppers in small saucepan and cover with water.
4. Bring to boil and then remove from heat. Let sit 15 minutes.
5. Add softened peppers, spices and 1 cup of soaking water to blender and process until smooth.
6. Sprinkle in 1/8 tsp. of seeds, process and test for heat.
7. Pour sauce back into saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes.
8. Remove from heat and whisk in olive oil.
9. Pour sauce over cooked and shredded pork. Mix thoroughly. 

Step. 5 Assembly & Steaming

Let's do a quick recap before the final step of assembly and steaming.  At this point, your masa should be in the refrigerator, the pork is cooked, shredded and swimming in sauce. The corn husks are softening in hot water and you are now starving! Let's assemble. First things first, remove corn husks from water one at a time and gently dry off with a towel. Spread with masa, fill with meat, fold and place in steamer or pressure cooker seam side down. Steam for 45 minutes or pressure cooker for 15 minutes. 

Now, before I could share this recipe with YOU, I had to test it out on my Dad, after all he is where I get my Mexican heritage from. I called him earlier in the day to tell him I had a special dinner prepared for him. I knew, if my low carb tamales passed his taste test, then they are most definitely blog worthy. He polished off a plate of three tamales along with some Mexi "cauli" rice giving it two thumbs up! That my friends, means a lot to me as he grew up eating authentic Mexican food. Special shout out to my Dad who is following my directive and eating low-carb. He lost 10 lbs. in just four short weeks. I am proud of you DAD!

My friends Stacy and Matt, aka Paleo Parents, are hosting a Valentine's Day Recipe Round-Up. Click on the link below and we can all drool together over the beautiful healthy recipes. In the meantime.....The Paleo Parents, Stacy and Matt, are phenomenal role models of healthy living. Together they lost a combined 180 lbs in ten months following a paleo diet and have completely changed their life. In addition they are raising three adorable boys with this healthy approach to life. Please take some time to explore their beautiful site and while you are at it like their Facebook page as well!

Share the healthy love this Valentines' Day by making these healthy Not Sugar Cookies for your friends and family. While you can certainly make substitutions, like butter for the coconut oil or coconut sugar for the erythritol, the original recipe is dairy-free and sugar-free, including the frosting. They are also low-carb and could be considered primal or even paleo. All three of the boys, my handsome husband and our two teenage sons, give these their stamp of approval.

Not Sugar Cookies
with Almond Cream Cheese Frosting
Recipe by Healthy Living How To

Printable Recipe

Prep Time: 90 minutes (includes chill time)
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Makes: 28 Cookies

Per Frosted Cookie:
90 cals, 8g fat, 3g carb, 2g fib, 3g pro

Ingredients

• 1 c. Homemade Unblanched Almond Flour
  
• 1/2 c. Coconut Secret Raw Coconut Flour
  
• 1 tsp. Rumford Aluminum-Free Baking Powder
  
• 1 tsp. Baking Soda
  
• 1/4 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt
  
• 1/2 tsp. NOW Guar Gum Powder
  
• 1/8 tsp. NuNaturals Pure White Stevia Extract Powder
  
• 1/2 c. Smart Sweet Non-GMO Erythritol Granules
  
• 3 Large Organic Cage-Free Eggs, Room Temp
  
• 1 tsp. Organic Vanilla Extract
  
• 1/3 c. Coconut Oil, Melted
  
• 1 Recipe Almond Cream Cheese Frosting
  

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, sift together all dry ingredients. Set aside.

2. In a small bowl, scramble eggs, vanilla extract and coconut oil.

3. Add wet to dry and mix well with a spoon. With your hands form dough into a large ball and chill for 30-45 minutes covered.

4. Roll out dough between two pieces of parchment paper and cut into desired shapes. With a spatula, transfer cutouts onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

5. Bake at 350º F for 12 minutes or until lightly brown. Completely cool, then pipe with almond cream cheese frosting. 

6. Store cookies in freezer or refrigerator. 

Recipe Notes

We invested in a Vitamix this past summer and ever since, I've been making my own almond flour. You can certainly use store bought almond flour in this recipe. The presentation could be improved with a blanched almond flour, if that's important to you. If you haven't used guar gum in your baking, it is recommended by those in the know when baking without gluten. I keep some on hand and throw it in recipes when I remember. Not everyone is on the same page when it comes to baking with erythritol, and because I haven't put up my own post yet regarding it's health safety, I am sending you to Mark Sisson's post regarding this sugar alcohol. Personally, I like to keep the carbs low, which is why I use this alternative sweetener. There are a few different brands of this sweetener on the market and I recently switched to a verified non-GMO source. It's slightly below freezing here in Minnesota, and I kept these cookies in my garage overnight. They soften up just right in about ten minutes at room temperature. Finally this recipe was inspired by it's unhealthy counterpart, The Best Rolled Sugar Cookie as well this healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie.

This weekend was my husband's birthday. We celebrated by doing exactly what we love to do, spending time together. Oh yeah, and eating cupcakes, very moist and delicious chocolate cupcakes. If you don't mind, before I get to the cupcake recipe, I would like to gush a little over my handsome hubby. He is my best friend and confidante and I truly believe he is the most awesome husband in the world!

1. Hard Working, thank you for being the hardest working man I know. You work hard to support our family and to provide a respectable living for us. You never seek recognition for the work you do, always humble and modest.

2. Integrity/Honesty, thank you for being a man of great character. You do what you say you are going to do, you have high standards and you would never tell a lie.

3. Goal Setting, thank you for being self-driven and self-motivated always setting goals to reach and strive for.

4. Supportive, thank you for always supporting me and believing in me. You allow me to be me and love me the way I am.

5. Discerning, thank you for being the one to take time before making a decision and holding your ground even when I try to convince you otherwise.

6. Trustworthy, thank you for being a man of your word, I know I never have to doubt you and will always trust you.

7. God Loving, thank you for pursuing a relationship with our Heavenly Father and for being the one all those years ago to encourage me to read my Bible.

8. Health Conscious, thank you for taking care of your health and your body, I love your muscles and your heart.

9. Self Improving, thank you for always looking for ways to improve yourself and always seeking to learn more.

10. Committed, thank you for being committed to everything you set out to do. You finish what you start and don't give up or give in.

My go to recipe for birthday cakes comes to you via Lauren at Healthy Indulgences. She took a flourless chocolate cake recipe (shhhhh, it's made with black beans) and turned it into a HEALTHY gluten-free, sugar-free & low-carb masterpiece. In the past I have made the recipe with butter, but this time, since I am now dairy-free, I used coconut oil for the cupcakes and NON-hydrogenated (very important as hydrogenation = trans fat) organic shortening for the frosting. I also used Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder for very deep and rich chocolate cupcakes. The end result is delicious, moist and oh so chocolatey! If you have a special celebration coming up, give this recipe a try.

We are waaaay up north in Minnesota, about 15 minutes from the Canadian border, spending time with Tom's family. We're all here, his parents, Cathy and Warren, his brother and sister-in-law, Bob and Michelle, Tom, myself and our boys Jacob and Brodrick. And the DOGS, all five of them. I will be back on Tuesday with more Healthy Living How To, in the meantime, I wish you and yours a very Happy & Healthy New Year!

Growing up my mom would bake loaves of gumdrop spice bread to give away to neighbors and friends for the Christmas holiday. There was always a loaf or two leftover for our family to enjoy. The days leading up to Christmas we would eat slices of the spice bread slathered with butter. The combination of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves along with molasses not only made the bread smell wonderful it tasted heavenly.

This fall I came up with a pumpkin muffin recipe, using coconut flour, that was divine. And each time I made it, I was reminded of my mother's spice bread. With a little tweaking I thought I could get a little closer to the taste of tradition of my childhood memories. The spice bread appeal as a kid, was the red, green and white gumdrops, as an adult it's the ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. My mother also added walnuts and dates and used applesauce to keep it moist.

In giving this recipe a healthy makeover, I knew I would have to forgo the gumdrops.  I skipped the dates as well as the walnuts (although they both could be added) and used pumpkin instead of applesauce. The result was very reminiscent of the gumdrop spice bread I remember.

I may play with this recipe a little more, or maybe not, but either way the end result was a very moist and dense spice bread that was worthy of gift giving. And best of all it is healthy, gluten-free, low-carb and low-sugar. Not completely sugar-free as I used a touch of molasses to give it a little brown sugar flavor.

Unlike refined white sugar, which has been stripped of virtually all nutrients, unsulphured blackstrap molasses is a good source of calcium, iron, copper, manganese, potassium and magnesium. 

Christmas Pumpkin Spice Bread
Recipe by Healthy Living How To

Printable Recipe

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30-35 minutes

Makes 1 Mini-Loaf

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. Coconut Secret Raw Coconut Flour
  
• 1/4 c. Bob’s Red Mill Organic Golden Flaxseed Meal
  
• 2 Pinches Celtic Sea Salt
  
• 1 tsp. Rumford Aluminum-Free Baking Powder
  
• 1 tsp. Ginger
  
• 1 tsp. Cinnamon
  
• 1/8 tsp. Nutmeg
  
• 1/8 tsp. Ground Cloves
  
• 56 drops NuNaturals Pure Liquid Vanilla Stevia (sweetening power of about 1/4 c. sugar)
  
• 2 Large Organic Cage-Free Eggs
  
• 1 Tbsp. Organic Butter, Melted
  
• 1/2 c. Fig Food Co. Organic Pumpkin or Organic Unsweetened Applesauce*
  
• 1 tsp. Organic Unsulphured Blackstrap Molasses
  

Optional Add Ins

• 2 Tbsp. Chopped Walnuts
  
• 1 Date, Chopped*
  

*Using these ingredients will increase the amount of carbohydrates in this recipe.

Directions

1. In a small mixing bowl, mix together dry ingredients.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, with electric beaters on medium speed, mix together wet ingredients.
3. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until well incorporated.
4. Spoon batter into greased mini-loaf pan.
5. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.