Bake it Happen: Paleo Pumpkin Brownies

Yes, the look decent but read on...

Last night, I was on my way home from work tired and hungry. I’ve had a couple travel days and as a result my office days are packed which isn’t a problem until the end of the day. I knew the boys would be getting home from hockey and they’d need dinner and I also had brownies to bake. My friend Shari started a campaign called Bake it Happen where you bake one of her mother’s recipes and in the process raise money for breast cancer research. One of the recipes is Judy’s pumpkin brownies.I had the tired thought “do I have to do this tonight?” and quickly reminded myself of Shari’s work and Judy’s battle. I was going to bake.

 I would’ve had an easier time if I stuck to Judy’s recipe but no, I insisted on making a gluten free/paleo version. I expressed to Shari my conflict with unhealthy (Minute Made pink lemonade on my recent Delta flight) in the name of disease research. Shari explained she wasn’t looking at things through the lens of healthy she just got such pleasure knowing everyone was making her mom’s recipes. Duh- of course.

Last year I somehow had an easy time Foodtrainers-ifying the banana bread recipe. Things were different this year. On Monday, I gathered a bunch of healthy pumpkin brownie recipes. The boys were off from school and we gave one a whirl. Pumpkin and cocoa and coconut flour, how could it be bad, right? When the consistency and flavor isn’t right, that’s how. The boys gave me the “they’re ok”. So last night was make it or break it. I didn’t have time to experiment so I used this recipe from the jaybird blog. 

The photos looked beautiful, the comments were positive and I liked the idea of the pumpkin and chocolate being separate.  As I prepared to bake the cocoa powder was on the tippy top shelf on top of a jar of almond flour. Rather than getting the stepladder, I attempted to pull down the almond flour with the cocoa tin on it. Of course there was a massive cocoa spill.  Half laughing, half crying I cleaned the cocoa mess and the cocoa out of the grout of every tile. When I finally got to work I thought about Shari saying no matter what Judy cooked every night. 

Ugly photo, messy counter I didn't have time to food style

I measured and I whisked. I followed the instructions or so I thought. 

When it came time to assemble the 2 batters something was off. I was to layer the chocolate and the pumpkin and “repeat” but I only had enough batter for 1 layer of each.

 I swirled the top with a chopstick (as directed) and felt pretty fancy.

When the brownies came out of the oven the pumpkin layer seemed a little moist. 

Ugh. I let them cool on the drying rack and cut them up. The boys were now asleep but my husband came in from hockey (yes everyone plays) and grabbed a brownie. I asked for his review and received “well I’d eat them”. He’d eat anything. I can’t even blame the recipe because clearly I am the only one who messed it up. Maybe my baking powder (which I never use) is old? Was I not meticulous enough with my measurements? I’m not sure.

You can try these (and let me know) or try Judy’s delicious version. It almost felt like Judy was trying to tell me something. I didn’t know her well but “just stick to my tried and true version” entered my mind.

Any idea where my brownies went wrong? Do you bake? Do you do gluten free or paleo baking?

On another note, earlier this week I saw a friend with advanced cancer and talked about breast cancer awareness month. Her concern was the percentage of funds that actually go to research, toward a cure not just awareness. She told me of an organization called METavivor that focuses on metastatic breast cancer. This is what Judy had and this is what my beautiful friend has as well. Please check out their site and Bake it Happen.

With food (and only food), guy-like is the way to go

While I like to think my messaging and posts are unisex, weight loss advice tends to be female-centric. Male clients who read LBT give me a hard time  “the book is great but did you need to have a dress on the cover?” Or “I’m not wearing a bikini any time soon.” With Father’s Day approaching our plan was to focus on Dude Foods for our June Newsletter. Then, as we dove into the research on this dietary gender divide something occurred to me…when it comes to weight loss, should we all be more manly with our methodology?

More savory

Women tend to have more overall cravings than men. Ninety-seven percent of women report food cravings (no surprise) while for men it’s under seventy percent. Women also tend to crave sweet foods more often (and chocolate is the number one craving, yup) while men crave savory. So, what should you do? I love chocolate (good, dark, 70% chocolate) but after three days quitting sugar I am not looking for it. You can quit sugar with us for the remainder of the month or add non-sweet foods to your diet.  Start with breakfast I’m loving eggs with hot sauce, paleo bread with coconut butter and plain yogurt with cinnamon and cardamom.

Fewer Snacks

 It was interesting to see research supporting the fact that men snack less. Men, on average, have about two snacks a day whereas women have over three. Two is indeed the magic number We have some of our favorite savory snacks in our Dude Food Kit. Brussels sprout chips and the most amazing nuts in the world are not to be missed.

Less Fat Phobic- this is a big one. I still see clients who are petrified to skip their “skim” or look at me as though I secretly want them to gain weight when I suggest nuts or coconut oil. Men are not afraid of fat in their diet (and do not necessarily eat the good ones) but the right fats will make you thin. Think fish, avocado, seeds and coconut.

Eat Less Fruit- I am not anti fruit. I know many people were surprised that I suggested one fruit per day in the book. Nothing is going to happen if that one becomes two some days. Something is going to happen if you love summer fruit a little too much and have four a day, every day justifying it by saying “I eat only healthy, clean foods.”

Booze is OK but not girly booze

 Men drink more alcohol than women, men also metabolize alcohol differently than women (a topic for another day). I’m not here to tell you to booze it up. I am saying to be less “girly” in your drink choices. “On the rocks” will do much more for you than tonic ever has.

If I’m going to be totally honest, when you look at all the studies men are not necessarily eating healthier than women. The stereotypical dude foods they are far from a nutritionist’s dream however, while women may know where it’s at with so, so many things (this goes without saying) men’s overall approach to food that’s more fuel oriented and less guilt-ridden, less snacky and less sweet is probably the way to go.

From the criteria above are you more manly or girly in your food choices? Do you believe men and women fall into these catergories when it comes to food? If you’re quitting sugar with us how’s it going?

Team Crunch: Top 10 Healthy, Crunchy Snacks

We usually divide snacks into team salty and team sweet. I don’t know where that leaves my favorite salty-sweet. Regardless of the flavors you prefer, most of us like to crunch. In LBT, I explain that crunchy is stress relieving (provided of course we are crunching on the right things). In honor of the Super Bowl, my crunchy lineup:

Dang Chips

We cannot keep these salted caramel coconut chips in stock. Yes, coconut oil is an immune booster and good for our “good” cholesterol but these are just about the most delicious chip around.

Halo Chips

Our snack queen brought these for me to taste- seaweed chips hmn. I tasted one and went back to my office and then I wanted more and more. Fortunately the bag was small. These are gluten free, the ingredients are great and a portion of the proceeds goes to help the oceans, nice.

Mary’s Gone Jalapeño

We’ve loved Mary’s Gone products for years. Gluten free with good ingredients quinoa, sesame and brown rice, now we love that Mary’s gone spicy.

Quinn Popcorn

I’ve written about Quinn before but it’s great for when you have people over. We have a shelf in our pantry for Quinn in Vermont. Now there’s a new Quinn, pre-popped Kale and Sea Salt

Food Should Taste Good

Aside from fantastic ingredients, Food Should Taste Good makes the best flavored chips. I adore the Kimchi but there’s still a place in my heart for lime oh and another place for The Works.

Greenola

You’ve heard of granola but what if you swapped the grains for greens? Yup Greenola, pretty great.

Way Better Chips

Perhaps you’re familiar with sprouted bread? Well these are sprouted chips. And they’re delicious too, try the sweet chili tortilla chips. 

Hail Merry Pecans and Bhuja

I’m always on the lookout for nuts and seeds for my beloved nutcase. I fill it with something different every day.  Two new favorites are Hail Merry rosemary pecans and these amazing Bhuja Peas.

Natures All Strawberry

These remind me of Crunchberries, you know Captain Crunch Crunchberry?

A healthier version, these are freeze dried berries. Great for all ages in fact a client’s baby was enjoying the banana flavor during our session.

What do you reach for when it’s “crunch” time? Have you tried any from my crunchy lineup? Which sounds best?