Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl, whisk together the egg and coconut milk. In another shallow bowl, combine the almond meal/flour, Parmesan, garlic powder, and onion powder. Season with salt and black pepper. Dip each pork chop into the egg, coating both sides. Then dredge both sides in the ground almond–Parmesan mixture.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, then add the pork chops and cook just until nicely browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
After the vegetables have been roasting for 20 minutes, remove the baking sheet and place the pork chops on top. Top the pork chops with the lemon slices.
Return the pork chops and vegetables to the oven and bake, uncovered, until the pork chops are just cooked through (they should be slightly pink in the center or a thermometer inserted in the center should reach 160°F) and the vegetables are very soft, about 30 minutes.
THREE-CHEESE EGGPLANT BAKE
If you love cheese, you’ll love the combination of flavors in this three-cheese casserole. It is substantial enough to serve as an entree, or in smaller portions as a side dish with a simple grilled steak or fish fillet. Leftovers are great for breakfast.
SERVES 6
1 eggplant, cut crosswise into ½-inch-thick slices
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow or Spanish onion, chopped
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
3 to 4 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes
4 to 6 cups spinach leaves
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)
4 to 5 fresh basil leaves, chopped
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese (2 ounces)
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Place the eggplant slices on a baking sheet. Brush both sides of the slices with most of the oil, reserving about 2 tablespoons. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the eggplant but leave the oven on.
In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, then add the onion, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and spinach, and cook until the onion softens.
Scatter the tomato wedges over the eggplant. Spread the spinach mixture on top. Top the spinach with the tomato sauce.
In a small bowl, mix the ricotta and mozzarella cheeses. Spread the cheese mixture over the tomato sauce and sprinkle with the basil. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top.
Bake, uncovered, until it is bubbling and the cheese is melted, about 30 minutes. Let cool and serve.
SPINACH RICOTTA PIZZA
Using cheeses in the pizza crust gives it better structure and chewiness.
Choose your preferred form of mozzarella cheese. Though shredded is easiest, be careful of cornstarch, natamycin, and additives. (Cellulose is acceptable as an anti-clumping agent, as it is inert in the human body.) Of course, choose all full-fat products, including the ricotta, never low- or non-fat.
SERVES 6
CRUST
1 cup mozzarella cheese
4 ounces cream cheese
1 cup almond flour/meal
TOPPINGS
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup fresh spinach, coarsely torn or cut
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet or pizza stone with parchment paper.
TO MAKE THE CRUST: In a small saucepan over low heat, heat the mozzarella and cream cheese until they are melted (or in a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, microwave in 30-second increments). Mix in the almond flour/meal vigorously until a thick dough forms and all the ingredients are combined.
Transfer the dough to the lined baking sheet or pizza stone and form into the desired shape by hand, approximately ¼ inch thick, thicker at the edges. (Dip your hands in water every minute or so to make it easier.)
Bake the crust for 15 minutes or until it just begins to turn golden brown. Remove from the heat.
Spread the mozzarella, ricotta, and spinach on the crust.
In a small bowl, combine the tomato paste and olive oil and mix, then distribute over the top of the pizza.
Bake the pizza for 25 minutes or until the spinach is cooked. Let cool and serve.
MOROCCAN-SPICED PORK TENDERLOIN
Here’s a simple and quick way to spice up pork tenderloins. While the recipe calls for baking in the oven, grilling yields a great end result as well.
SERVES 6
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground cloves
2 pounds pork tenderloin
4 ounces butter, sliced into thin pats
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
In a large bowl, combine the cumin, coriander, ginger, cinnamon, red pepper, cardamom, and cloves.
Roll the tenderloins through the spice mixture to coat them thoroughly. Place the tenderloins on a baking sheet, distribute the butter slices on top of the tenderloins, and transfer the baking sheet to the oven.
Bake for 30 minutes, turning once halfway through, or until the interior of the pork is minimally pink or a thermometer inserted in the center reaches 160°F.
SNACK BREADS AND DESSERTS
Adapting recipes for main dishes and side dishes is typically a matter of just replacing awful grain-based or sugar ingredients with healthier alternatives. But, when it comes to snack breads and desserts, we need to change the rules of preparation altogether to accommodate the very different baking characteristics of non-grain meals and flours. Done successfully, you can indeed enjoy snack breads, muffins, and rich desserts such as cheesecake and cakes with none of the problems of their conventional counterparts.
APPLE WALNUT BREAD
Many people who embark on a wheat-free journey occasionally need to indulge a craving for bread. This fragrant loaf is just the ticket. Apple walnut bread is wonderful spread with cream cheese; peanut, sunflower seed, cashew, or almond butters; or regular, old-fashioned butter.
Despite the inclusion of carbohydrate sources like applesauce, the total carbohydrate gram count of a slice amounts to a modest exposure of around 5 grams per slice. Applesauce can be omitted without sacrificing the quality of the bread.
Think of this recipe as a template for quick breads and loaves, such as banana bread, zucchini carrot bread, etc. Replace applesauce, for instance, with 1½ cups canned pumpkin puree and add 1½ teaspoons ground nutmeg to make pumpkin bread—great for the winter holidays.
SERVES 10 TO 12
½ cup avocado oil, extra-light olive oil, melted coconut oil, or melted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
2 cups almond meal/flour
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons ground golden flaxseed
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 large eggs
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
¼ cup sour cream or coconut milk (canned), plus more as needed
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Coat a 9 × 5-inch loaf pan liberally with oil. (Coconut oil is ideal for this purpose.)
In a large bowl, combine the almond meal/flour, walnuts, flaxseed, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt, and stir until thoroughly mixed.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the eggs, applesauce, oil, and sour cream. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir just until incorporated. If the mixture is too stiff, add 1 to
2 additional tablespoons of sour cream or coconut milk. Press the “dough” into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick withdraws clean, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the bread to cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then turn out. Slice and serve.
BANANA-BLUEBERRY MUFFINS
Like most recipes made with healthy non-wheat ingredients, these muffins will be a bit coarser in texture than those made with wheat flour. Banana, a fruit known for its high carbohydrate content, gives the muffins some of its sweetness, but because one banana is distributed among ten to twelve muffins, carbohydrate exposure is kept low. Blueberries can be replaced by the equivalent quantities of raspberries, cranberries, or other berries.
MAKES 10 TO 12 MUFFINS
¼ cup melted coconut oil, avocado oil, or extra-light olive oil, plus more for greasing the pan
2 cups almond meal/flour
¼ cup ground golden flaxseed
Sweetener equivalent to ¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
Dash of sea salt
1 ripe banana
2 large eggs
½ cup sour cream or coconut milk (canned)
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with coconut oil.
In a large bowl, combine the almond meal/flour, flaxseed, sweetener, baking powder, and salt, and mix with a spoon.
In a medium-sized bowl, mash the banana with a potato masher until smooth. Stir in the eggs, sour cream, and oil. Add the banana mixture to the dry mixture and mix thoroughly. Fold in the blueberries.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them halfway. Bake until a toothpick withdraws clean, about 45 minutes. Cool the muffins in the pans for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn them out of the pan and transfer them to a rack to cool completely before consuming.
PUMPKIN SPICE MUFFINS
I love having these muffins for breakfast in the fall and winter. Spread one with cream cheese and you will need little else to fill you up on a cold morning.
MAKES 12 MUFFINS
¼ cup melted coconut oil, walnut oil, or extra-light olive oil, plus more for greasing the pan
2 cups almond meal/flour
1 cup chopped walnuts
¼ cup ground golden flaxseed
Sweetener equivalent to ¾ cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
Dash of sea salt
1 (15-ounce) can unsweetened pumpkin puree
½ cup sour cream or coconut milk
2 large eggs
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with coconut oil.
In a large bowl, combine the almond meal/flour, walnuts, flaxseed, sweetener, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt, and stir together. In another large bowl, combine the pumpkin, sour cream, eggs, and oil, and stir together.
Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and mix thoroughly. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them about halfway. Bake until a toothpick withdraws clean, about 45 minutes.
Cool the muffins in the pans for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn them out onto a rack to cool completely before consuming.
GINGER SPICE COOKIES
These wheat-free cookies will satisfy your occasional craving. Replacing wheat flour with coconut flour yields a heavier, less cohesive cookie. But once your friends and family become familiar with the different texture, they will ask for more.
Like several of the other recipes here, this is a basic cookie recipe that can be modified in any number of delicious ways. Chocolate lovers, for instance, can add semi-sweet chocolate chips and leave out the allspice, ginger, and nutmeg to make a healthy wheat-free equivalent to chocolate chip cookies.
MAKES ABOUT 25 (2½-INCH) COOKIES
1 cup melted coconut oil, extra-light olive oil, melted butter, or avocado oil, plus more for greasing
2 cups coconut flour
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
¼ cup shredded coconut
Sweetener equivalent to 1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sour cream or coconut milk (canned)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a baking sheet with coconut oil or line the sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine the coconut flour, walnuts, shredded coconut, sweetener, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and baking soda.
In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, oil, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla, and almond extract. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until just incorporated. (If the mixture is too thick to stir easily, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it is the consistency of cake batter.)
Drop 1-inch mounds of the batter onto the prepared baking sheet and flatten. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick withdraws clean. Cool the cookies on a rack before enjoying.
CARROT CAKE
Of all the recipes here, this one comes closest in taste to the wheat-containing original to satisfy even the most demanding wheat-lover’s craving.
SERVES 8 TO 10
CAKE
½ cup coconut oil, melted, plus more for greasing the pan
1 cup coconut flour
Sweetener equivalent to 1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
1 tablespoon ground golden flaxseed
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
Dash of sea salt
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
½ cup coconut milk (canned)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups finely grated carrots
1 cup chopped pecans
ICING
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Sweetener equivalent to ¼ cup sugar
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 9 × 9-inch or 10 × 10-inch baking pan with coconut oil.
TO MAKE THE CAKE: In a large bowl, combine the coconut flour, sweetener, orange zest, flaxseed, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt, and mix with a spoon.
In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, coconut oil, sour cream, coconut milk, and vanilla. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Using an electric mixer, beat until thoroughly mixed. Stir in the carrots and pecans by hand. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan.
Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick withdraws clean. Let cool.
TO MAKE THE ICING: In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, lemon juice, and sweetener, and blend thoroughly with a mixer.
Spread the icing over the cooled cake, slice, and serve.
CLASSIC CHEESECAKE
This is a cause for celebration: cheesecake without undesirable health or weight consequences! Ground pecans serve as the wheatless base for this decadent cheesecake, though you can easily substitute ground walnuts or almonds.
VARIATIONS
The filling can be modified in dozens of ways. Try adding ½ cup cocoa powder and top with shaved dark chocolate; substitute lime juice and zest for the lemon; or top with berries, mint leaves, and whipped cream.
SERVES 6 TO 8
&nb
sp; CRUST
1½ cups ground pecans
Sweetener equivalent to ½ cup sugar
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ cup butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
FILLING
16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
¾ cup sour cream
Sweetener equivalent to ½ cup sugar
Dash of sea salt
3 large eggs
Juice of 1 small lemon and 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
TO MAKE THE CRUST: In a large bowl, combine the ground pecans, sweetener, and cinnamon. Stir in the melted butter, egg, and vanilla, and mix thoroughly.
Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and 1½ to 2 inches up the sides of a 10-inch pie pan.
TO MAKE THE FILLING: In a medium-sized bowl, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, sweetener, and salt. Using an electric mixer, beat at low speed. Add the eggs, lemon juice and zest, and vanilla, and beat at medium speed for 1 minute.
Pour the filling into the crust. Bake until nearly firm in the center, about 50 minutes. Cool the cheesecake on a rack. Refrigerate to chill before serving.
CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE
Minus sugar, grains, and other unmentionables, we turn fudge into a health food! And, because it’s loaded with healthy fats, you will find it exceptionally filling, while not fiddling with blood sugar.
Keep a supply of this decadent dessert handy to satisfy those occasional cravings for chocolate or sweets.
SERVES 12
FUDGE
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
8 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 cup natural peanut butter, room temperature
Wheat Belly (Revised and Expanded Edition) Page 36
