Trim Healthy Mama Tuesday - Cinnamon Rolls (E)

Last week for Trim Healthy Mama Tuesday I shared my Refrigerator Rye Bread recipe. In that recipe my jar wasn't big enough for all the dough, so I would put a little bit aside in another container. It wasn't a big enough amount to make a 2lb loaf so I had to find another use for it.

One of our favorite treats before we started Trim Healthy Mama was Cinnamon Rolls. I had an amazing recipe for this, but it seriously broke all the Trim Healthy Mama rules. It was delicious, but it also had almost a lb of butter between the bread, the filling and the frosting. So I decided to experiment with my rye bread dough to see if I could make something that would taste as good as traditional Cinnamon Rolls. This recipe is the result.

You will need:

1 grapefruit size piece of Refrigerator Rye Bread ( or you could use Gwen's Easy Bread Recipe if you prefer a white bread.)
Ground Cinnamon
Sweetener ( I use Kal Pure Stevia Extract Powder)
Greaseproof paper

Place the dough on a lightly floured or greased piece of greaseproof paper

With wet hands flatten out the dough

Add a light dusting of Stevia pure extract powder evenly over the dough

Sprinkle the dough with ground cinnamon

Starting at the wide end nearest you begin rolling the dough

My dough got stuck a little so I helped it roll with a spatula

Cut into 2inch slices and arrange on a lightly greased baking sheet

Allow to rise before baking at 450f for about 15 min

Cool on a wire rack

Cover with a low fat cream cheese frosting*

It won't have the usual visual swirl, but it tastes just as good

*Low fat cream cheese frosting
1 tablespoon low fat cream cheese
3 tablespoons of 0% Greek yogurt
dash of vanilla
pinch of Stevia pure extract powder
Mix everything together until smooth, then use to top the still warm Cinnamon Rolls

This post is shared on the Trim Healthy Tuesday link up over at Stacy Makes Cents, where you can find other wonderful Trim Healthy Mama recipes shared by some wonderfully creative ladies.

For more information about Trim Healthy Mama visit their website here.

Trim Healthy Mama Tuesday - Refrigerator Rye Bread (E)

I remember the first time I tried to make sourdough bread. Serene's sourdough recipe was included in the Above Rubies magazine. It was a lot of a disaster. I was still relatively new to Florida. I was also still struggling to bake successfully with all the "seems so familiar, but not really" ingredients. So I gave up on sourdough.

Fast forward to the end of last year, and the start of my THM journey. Once again it looked like a good idea to try sourdough bread. It was after all one of the only real plan approved breads I could bake myself at home. I had figured out most of those early baking adaptations, so it seemed like a good time to try again. This time I even bought a 25lb sack of rye flour so that I could copy Serene exactly as her recipe was written.

It was a disaster.

The bread wouldn't rise properly. It was like trying to slice cement. Sourdough just wasn't going to work for me.

Then I read about Gwen's easy bread dough, that Pearl had approved as an E bread. It was very similar to a refrigerator bread dough recipe I had that used wholewheat flour.

But I still had most of that 25lb sack of rye flour. Maybe I could convert the recipe I had into a rye bread.

The first time I used a mixture of white bread flour, wholewheat flour and rye flour. It worked really nicely. So I ditched the white bread flour and just used wholewheat and rye. Then I increased the rye content. It was still a really nice bread. So now I'm ready to share the recipe after several successful batches giving me the same tasty result.

Easy Rye Bread (E)

4 cups rye flour
3 3/4 cups wholewheat flour
1/3 cup vital wheat gluten*
2 tablespoons of yeast
1 tablespoon of salt
4 1/2 - 5 cups of hand hot water

* Gluten is added to this recipe to help with a good rise. Whole grain flours have less gluten content than white flour because the bran is taking up some of the volume/weight. If the flour doesn't have a high enough gluten content then the bread won't rise properly and you will be left with a dense bread, no matter how good your yeast is, or how much yeast you use.

Whisk together all the dry ingredients.

Add the dry ingredients to the water in a large bowl or container.

(I use a large glass jar so I can store it in the same container I mix it in. I also found adding the dry ingredients to the water helped me get a better mix, as adding water to the dry ingredients made it difficult to get all the flour mixed in completely.)

Mix it all thoroughly with a wooden spoon until there is no dry flour left.

Cover loosely and leave at room temperature for about 2 hours to prove.

Once the dough has risen well and flattened out a little on the top move to the fridge. Keep it covered loosely to stop it drying out on top, while allowing the gases that form to escape. (Who wants to clean exploding bread dough from the inside of their fridge?)

Leave it in the fridge for at least 24 hours if you want to get rid of the phytates. If you are using it as a THM plan bread leave it in the fridge for a minimum of 3 days to reduce the glycemic index and have a nice fermentation going. It will stay fresh in the fridge for about a week.

My gallon glass jar for mixing and storing my bread dough

Adding the dry ingredients to the water

Mixed thoroughly with a wooden (bamboo) spoon

My jar isn't quite big enough so I put a bit in another tub

After an hour

After 2 hours

The flattened top shows me it is ready for the fridge

To use:

Take the container out of the fridge and immediately remove the amount of dough you want to use. There are 2 methods for this. You can use some extra flour over the dough to stop it from sticking to your hands, or you can make sure you keep your hands nice and wet to stop it from sticking.

Quickly form the bread into the desired shape. (I'm lazy and don't like messing with free forming a loaf, so I use 2lb loaf tins for baking my bread.)

Leave the shaped bread out on the counter for 90 minutes.

If free forming the bread you might want to invest in a bread stone for the oven. If using a bread stone you will need to start the oven 30 minutes before you bake the bread so that the stone has time to get up to the right temperature.

If using loaf tins (like I do) you will only need to heat the oven up about 5 minutes before baking the bread.

Bake at 450f

For 1lb free form loaves it will take about 30-35 minutes to bake.
For 2lb loaf tins it will take 45-50 minutes to bake.

Cool on a wire wrack.

Enjoy one or two slices of this bread as an E, but remember that means less than a teaspoon of butter between the slices if you have butter with it. I really enjoy it with just the Slim Belly Jelly (page 411) on top.


(Next week I plan to share an awesome way to make Cinnamon Rolls using this recipe, so stay tuned for next week's recipe.)

This jar is 4 days old dough, notice that it has sunken a little bit

All the dough from the glass jar split between two 2lb loaf tins

90 minutes later and ready to bake

Fresh out of the oven

Nice fluffy homemade rye bread

 This post is linked up on Stacy Makes Cents for Trim Healthy Tuesday

For more information about Trim Healthy Mama visit the website here.

Trim Healthy Mama Tuesday - Key Lime Cheesecake

In celebration of my birthday today I made cheesecake at the weekend. Although there is a recipe for cheesecake in the book I thought I would try my hand at THMing a wonderful cheesecake recipe I already had, and knew worked really well.

I did make two different flavors, but the chocolate one isn't going to be tasted until tonight, so I'll post a recipe for that one separately at a later date (and I didn't take photos of the chocolate one as I went through making it.)

Key Lime Cheesecake (most definitely an S)

For the crust I chopped some Pecans and stirred in 2oz of butter. I then pressed the pecans into a 9inch spring form pan and baked at 350f for 10 minutes

1lb cream cheese, at room temperature

1 teaspoon of pure Stevia extract powder (I used KAL brand)

2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup Greek Yogurt

1/4 cup heavy/whipping cream

3 tablespoons of Almond flour

4 eggs, at room temperature

1/2 lb Key Limes, juice & zest

Combine cream cheese, stevia and vanilla.

Add yogurt & cream, beat slowly just until smooth.

Mix in almond flour.

Add eggs one at a time, beating in between each egg.

Beat in Key Lime juice & zest.

DO NOT OVER BEAT as it will make the cheesecake sink in the middle.

Pour cheesecake mixture onto the crust.

Place in the center of middle oven rack, with a pan of water on the lower rack.

Bake at 350f for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 300f for 70 minutes.

Turn oven off, but let the cheesecake stand in the oven with the door slightly open for 30 minutes.

Completely cool on a wire rack.

Refrigerate for 12-24 hours before serving.

Enjoy

 
This post is being linked up over at Stacy Makes Cents for Trim Healthy Tuesday. Check out the link up for more ideas and recipes from Trim Healthy Mamas.

For more information about the Trim Healthy Mama eating plan visit the website here.

Trim Healthy Mama Tuesday - Quick Lunch Size Pizza

Just a quick post today with one of my new favorite lunches.

You will need:

1 Joseph's Lavash Bread

 

2-3 tablespoons of crushed tomatoes

shredded low fat mozzarella cheese

half a skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded

preheat the oven to 425f (240c or Gas mark 7)

Place the Lavash bread on a greased baking sheet (I used a piece of parchment paper to make it easier to remove after baking.)

Spread the crushed tomatoes over the Lavash bread.

Add the chicken and cheese, spreading evenly over the whole bread.

Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes.

Cut into 6 pieces and split with someone else. 

A big green salad goes really well with this.

If you only add a small amount of cheese this will stay in Fuel Pull territory, so could be served with either a S or an E salad/dressing.

Enjoy

This recipe is being linked up on a Trim Healthy Tuesday link up over at Stacy Makes Cents.

For more information on Trim Healthy Mama check out their website here.

Trim Healthy Mama Tuesday - 10 weeks postpartum

After stalling for several weeks I finally started losing weight again in the last two weeks. I am down another 3lb in the last fortnight, 1 lb the first week and 2lb this last week. After slacking off in the first 6 weeks after Megan’s birth I knew I needed to get back to sticking to plan to get my weight moving again. 

While I was getting used to nursing a newborn and running after 2 preschoolers I found myself slipping back to my old ingrained ways of eating. Breakfast was my biggest issue. I’d wake up in the morning after several night feeds with a need to eat straight away. On top of that we had moved the boys from cribs to beds so there was no more sneaking downstairs to the kitchen without them. I started making toast for a quick breakfast to keep me going until I could get more than a minute or two in the kitchen. Inevitably a bad start to the day with food led to other “cheats” when the hunger pangs would strike within a few minutes of nursing.

I knew the only way to break the bad cycle I’d slipped into was to get myself more organized. As the initial “newborn fog” lifted at about 8 weeks postpartum I finally felt ready for more planning and structure to our food again. I put a few things in place to help me conquer the early morning munchies. First I set up our little four cup coffee maker in our master suite. That way I could get that important first cup of coffee to kick start my day before I had to cope with the demands of our preschoolers. After the 6am (or thereabouts) nursing I could enjoy a mug of hot black coffee in bed along with my devotional time and my sleeping baby lying beside me in bed. Then I decided I really needed to make sure I never ran out of skinny chocolate in the freezer ready to eat. Right now I’ve been enjoying it with whey protein powder and salted peanuts. This let me have a quick snack that was on plan while getting the boys their first breakfast. (They always start the day with a banana and a cup of milk while they wait for me to make the real breakfast.) Then I finally tried the Muffin in a Mug recipes.

Cinnamon Muffin in a Mug

I had avoided Muffin in a Mug until this point because we don’t use the microwave for cooking. We do have a microwave as part of our fitted kitchen, but we use it to store baking trays and cake pans. Neither Rob nor I like the idea of microwaved food, but it was the perfect size for my baking trays. Since it was mentioned in the book that 2 smaller muffins could be made from the recipe, and Serene had mentioned baking them in the oven instead of the microwave I decided to try the oven method. Since I have 6 muffin sized trays I started with tripling the ingredients and using paper cupcake cases in the muffin tray. I made the cinnamon version first, then next time I made the chocolate version. I also made the cream cheese frosting with Greek yogurt for a nice tangy topping. Now I had a quick and easy muffin that was perfect for a quick breakfast instead of toast. I could freeze the muffins ready frosted in pairs. Then when I had a morning where I couldn’t wait long for breakfast I could take 2 muffins out of the freezer and they would be ready to eat by the time the big pot of coffee was ready. No more off plan toast for this Trim Healthy Mama.

An added bonus of having Muffin in a Mug always available is now I have something I can feed the boys when they are having a “picky about food” day. They are particularly fond of the chocolate version (like their daddy) and think they are getting a chocolate cupcake. Now if they won’t eat anything else I can feed them a nice healthy muffin that won’t spike their blood sugar and lead them to a sugar crash meltdown. Since there is protein in both the muffin and the frosting I also don’t have to be too concerned that they haven’t eaten anything else that day after their initial banana.

Chocolate Muffin in a Mug

The most exciting part for me is that not only have I not held on to my 10lb first trimester gain for the first time, but I have also lost 27lb of the 30lb I had kept from the previous 3 pregnancies. Only 3lb more to lose and I’ll be back at my “before any pregnancy” weight. Being so close to my first loss goal is definitely motivating me to find more ways to help keep myself on plan. If I can stick to the plan right now when I only have little ones and run around all day with an infant in my arms, then I can stick to the plan no matter what is going on in my life.

Trim Healthy Mama Tuesday, week 26

Week 26, how did I get here so quickly. That's half a year I've been on plan now.

I can explain my absence from the blogosphere by announcing the safe arrival of our first daughter on May 9th. I'll be adding her birth story to the blog just as soon as I've got enough time to type it up. Meanwhile here is a few pictures of our new blessing.

2 days old

Daddy and his new daughter (3 days old)

2 weeks old

Almost 3 weeks

My final weight gain for the entire pregnancy was just 12 lbs, largely thanks to eating the Trim Healthy Mama way. Megan was 7lb 7oz at birth, my smallest baby yet, but certainly not a tiny baby.

At almost 4 weeks postpartum (it'll be 4 weeks on Thursday) not only have I lost all my pregnancy weight, but I am also down another 12lb, taking me to 2lb below my starting pregnancy weight with our oldest son. Now I've just got 8lbs of pregnancy weight from our miscarriage baby to loose and I'll be back at my before any pregnancy weight. This also puts me at 50-55lb to go to reach my goal healthy weight, which I now hope to reach by Megan's first birthday.

I'll be waiting another 2 weeks to get back to full plan mode, this time with the addition of some exercise. I have a lovely new set of kettlebells waiting for me in the garage. And I'm looking forward to toning up as well as slimming down. I will also try to get a good before picture and post it here on the blog as it will be a good way to show progress as I work towards my target weight.

Baby is beginning to stir, so I have to keep this short today. I am looking forward to beginning to full weight loss mode part of this plan and sharing it with you all.

Trim Healthy Mama Tuesday, Week 18

Part of me can hardly believe I've been on the Trim Healthy Mama plan for half this pregnancy. It seems to be going by so quickly thanks to the wonderful energy I've had eating this way.

So just a few days shy of full term (37 weeks) this is where I am at:

My total weight gain has gone up over that last few weeks. As of my weekly weigh-in this morning I am now up to 13lbs gained for the entire pregnancy. Come Friday the baby can arrive anytime in the next five weeks and my goal of a total gain of about 15lb looks achievable.

My body is continuing to slim down, even with the extra few pounds of weight. Once again I could do with changing down a size in my bra. I haven't been below the size I'm currently wearing since before I got married, so it would involve a rather expensive shopping trip. (How I look forward to finally being small enough to be able to purchase reasonably priced under garments.) With the birth of this baby so close, and knowing that I may go back up one size when my milk comes in I'm trying to make do with what I have. It has also curbed my urge to buy nursing bras, as I do actually need to wait and see what size I will need once my milk supplies establishes.

I was talking to Rob about this issue last week and remarked that becoming a Trim Healthy Mama is costing us a small fortune as I keep changing shape. If the trim part keeps going I'm going to have to replace all my clothes at some point too. Then if we are blessed with another baby in the future I'll have to replace my already getting too big maternity clothes. I am happy to have the problem of my clothes getting too big rather than too tight. Since I can sew and tailor clothes I will always have the option of altering my current clothes down a size or two before I have to replace them completely. I seriously think that I should probably give myself some goals before I allow myself to spend any more money on clothing (other than the essential under garments.)

We have also talked about goal setting for after the pregnancy. In my previous postpartum periods I've lost all but the first trimester 10 lb within four weeks of giving birth. So we have agreed together that I need to wait until I'm a full four weeks postpartum before I check my weight and look at setting goals for loosing the extra weight. I love that I have a husband who is interested in this journey I am on, and who is glad to provide me with support and accountability in an encouraging way.

Rob is continuing to see multiple benefits to his THM journey too. He has lost another 1lb this past week and is fitting back into pants that he hasn't worn since becoming a father to be. He jokes that he is finally back at his pre-pregnancy weight, as he gained a few pounds with each of our pregnancies while helping me eat enough protein by making protein milkshakes and then finishing what I couldn't. His blood pressure continues to regulate to a more normal reading, which is even more exciting news than his weight loss. All that is left for him is to get back to more exercise within his week and rebuild some of the lost muscle tone. Hopefully once I start working out more after the baby arrives he'll join in and find time to get some short workouts in too.

Trim Healthy Chocolate Cups.

I mentioned back around St. Valentine's Day that I was making Peanut Butter Cups for my darling husband Rob. I also promised to share the recipe. After some experimenting I came up with three chocolate cup flavors, and even remembered to take photographs of them too.

Peanut Butter Cups

1 1/2 of the Skinny Chocolate recipe in Trim Healthy Mama (page 371)
2 dozen mini cup cake paper cases
1 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil.

Use half of the Skinny Chocolate to put a layer of chocolate into the 24 paper cups. Freeze until set (5-10 minutes should be good.)

Mix the peanut butter and coconut oil in a stand mixer until light and creamy. Split it between the 24 paper cups with the frozen chocolate in the bottom.

Top the 24 paper cups with the rest of the Skinny Chocolate. Return to the freezer until set.

We like to keep them in the freezer in a Ziplock bag, but they will also keep in the fridge too.

Tangy Lemon Cups

As per the Peanut Butter Cups only this time the middle filling is as follows:
1 cup cream cheese
3 tablespoons of coconut oil
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
3 small shakes of Nustevia Pure Extract

Again mix in a stand mixer until light and creamy, then split between 24 mini cup cake cups between 2 layers of Skinny Chocolate.

Coffee Lovers Cups

As per the Peanut Butter Cups only this time the middle filling is as follows:
4oz unsweetened Baker's chocolate, melted
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup strong coffee
dash of vanilla
1/8 teaspoon Nustevia Pure Extract

Add the butter to the melted chocolate, stir until it also melts. Slowly add in the other ingredients while whisking carefully to prevent it from separating. Then as before split it between the 24 mini cup cake cups. This time put in the freezer to set before adding the top layer of Skinny Chocolate.

And here is two photographs of Rob's Valentine gift all nicely boxed up.