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Z’s Low Carb Bread

I’m a Sucker

If you were stranded on an island and could only have one kind of food…which would you choose? I would choose bread. Yes, you heard right. I would choose bread. Not the stale, old kind of bread…but the warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven kind. Oh Baby! I’m a sucker for bread. There, I said it.

If you stuck a bowl of ice-cream in front of me, and put some fresh homemade bread next to it…Id choose the bread. Every time! I think I might just have a love affair with bread. The only problem with said affair is a whole host of non-nutritious nutrition.

Don’t get me wrong…there is NOTHING wrong with some bread here and there. Especially homemade. But, when your obsession becomes a daily thing, it can quickly become bad. Real bad.

You see, after I got married and learned how to cook and bake (learning how to cook and bake kind of came later in life for me), I got the itch to bake a lot. I mean A LOT. And guess what? I learned how to bake the crap out of bread! Oh, I could bake bread so so good. I started making homemade bread of all kinds, about 2-3 times a week. I mean, we had Honey White bread, whole wheat bread, sweet bread, cinnamon swirl bread. Bread was starting to come out of our ears! Just kidding, but seriously. My husband and I were bread-eating-crazy people! And guess what? We definitely gained a lot of weight in those days! I even saved a picture of our “bread eating days”. Lol. (Mind you, I was very pregnant in this picture).

My husband and I actually like to look at this picture and remember those bread eating days. It really gets us to remember what NOT to do. Luckily, we eventually both discovered the Trim Healthy Mama way of life, and discovered how awesome it is to eat healthy foods, and reap the benefits of a slimmer waist line.

Different beach, same two bodies.

Again, there is nothing wrong with an occasional slice of fresh homemade bread, or a warm roll at a restaurant, or a glorious gooey cinnamon roll. Anyways, I digress. But you know what I mean! “Everything in moderation”, right?

Once I understood how detrimental starchy carbs were for our aging metabolism, I began to dream of breads that were good for us. I began to look for healthier choices. Now, if you’ve ever been to a health food store, they will always have a bread section. They may even have healthy breads. Ones with good carbs. But when you look for the “low carb bread”, usually it will be a tiny little section that you would never find, unless you had a magnifying glass.

You see, about 2 weeks ago, I went into Sprouts to get my usual groceries, and I decided to look for the low carb bread section. It literally was one choice. One brand. I won’t name the brand, cause I don’t want to get in trouble, but lets just say, I was shocked at the price! $7.80! For one loaf of low carb bread! Geez! I bought it with the sole purpose to try it and see if I could make something similar.

So I tried it. It wasn’t too bad. It was great that I could have it with a couple of eggs and bacon (thats the THM way…fats with fats. Carbs with carbs.). However, as I studied the ingredients, there really wasn’t anything significantly healthy in it. It was low carb, and it didn’t have sugar, so technically it was on plan. But it didn’t have health benefits. Here’s the nutrition label from said bread. As you can see, it is “on plan”, but not much in the way of nutrition.

Secretly, I wanted to make it BETTER. I wanted to create my own low carb bread that was beneficial for health, WHILE fulfilling the desirable texture that bread has. Thus started my “quest” to make a better low carb bread, one that actually had health benefits!

Enter Z’s Low Carb Bread

I wish I could tell you that I just threw a bunch of ingredients in the blender and got it perfect the first time, but I would be lying. I can tell you numerous stories of blender “mishaps”. Like full on goo on the walls and cupboards, chopped up spatulas in the mix, horrible looking flat loaves, nasty tasting crumbly messes. Need I say more?

But then, after a couple years (really) of hot and miss, I think finally got the trick down! I think I nailed it! Fluffy, yummy bread with none of the guilt! I mean, look at that crust! Where’s the BUTTAH!?!?

And holy crap…I made this in the BLENDER!?!?! Did I mention BLENDER? The crust came out beautiful, and the texture in not “eggy” or mushy.

The amazing thing about this bread is that you can have this wonderful concoction WITH butter, or WITH peanut butter, jelly, or anything else you would like to add to it! And it’s ON PLAN! Very little carbs, full of protein, and chock full of nutrition!

In this recipe, I added collagen, chia seeds, oat fiber and protein powder. So many good things! I’m working to get a plugin on this site that will show the nutrition of my recipes. Sorry about not having one. I’m still learning techy stuff. But until I do, feel free to try this recipe and tell me what you think! I love feed back! I hope you love this bread as much as I do!

Enjoy!

God Bless!

-Zaneta

Z’s Low Carb Bread

A delicious way to eat bread. With none of the carbs!!!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Servings 22 servings
Author Zaneta Francis

Ingredients

  • 1 Carton Egg Whites (I get mine from Costco)
  • 2 Eggs
  • 2 tsp Xanthan Gum
  • 2 Cups Cottage cheese
  • 2 1/2 Cups Almond Flour
  • 3/4 Cup Oat Fiber (NOT to be confused with oat flour)
  • 1/2 Cup Protien Powder (I Use the vanilla flavored to give it a slight sweetness)
  • 2 Tsp sweetner of choice (I use Pyure blend)
  • 2-4 scoops Collegen Depending how much collegen you want. I use 2 scoops.
  • 3/4 Cup Chia seeds
  • 1/8 Cup Bread Flour
  • 3 Tbs Vital Wheat Gluten
  • 1 Tbs Baking powder
  • 1 Tsp Salt

Instructions

  1. First: Add egg whites, eggs and xanthan gum. Blend on high for 1 minute, or until light and fluffy.

  2. Then add the rest of the ingredients and blend on high until well mixed.

  3. Sometimes you have to use a spatula to get the flours or whatever off the side of the blender. I kind of mix it around until it all get blended and fluffy looking. (just be careful not to stick your spatula in too far. That is how i chopped up a couple of spatulas in my day:).

  4. Once everything is blended, get two bread laof pand and grease them. I use Pam baking spray.

  5. Cut the mixture in to two portions and divide into both of the pans.

  6. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. The tops should be golden brown when done. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting.

  7. Enjoy!

Breads

Z’s Spelt Rolls

Sugar-Free, THM-E, Low fat

That Crazy Bread Lover!

If you were to set a bowl of ice cream and a fresh loaf of homemade bread in front of me, at any given time… I’d choose the bread every time! Yes, I am one of those crazy bread lovers! I love bread!!!!

It truly is hard for me to resist a good fluffy bread. Bread-sticks, pizza crust, toast, cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls….you name it! I can hardly resist! Bread is seriously my favorite!

I mean, seriously…who wouldn’t want a warm fluffy roll, straight out of the oven?

These rolls are made with sprouted spelt flour, so the flavor is amazingly nutty, and oh so delicious!

I make mine in a muffin tin, so they are pretty easy to throw together :). Win, win!

 

The Goodness of Sprouted Flours

I love using sprouted flours because of how nutritious they can be. Although they are often more expensive, and harder to find in regular stores, they have many health benefits that regular flours just  do not have.

Health Benefits of Sprouted Whole Grains. Sprouting grains increases many of the grains‘ key nutrients, including B vitamins, vitamin C, folate, fiber, and essential amino acids often lacking in grains, such as lysine. Sprouted grains may also be less allergenic to those with grain protein sensitivities. –https://wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/…grain…grain/sprouted-whole-grains

“You’ve heard about whole grains, which are simply seeds that have not germinated yet, covered in the protective layer called the husk. When they are intact, grains contain a series of compounds that inhibit growth (for practical purposes a seed wouldn’t want to start growing until the proper time). But when environmental conditions are right, the seed begins to germinate, the husk cracks open, and the growth inhibitors are deactivated.

 Sprouted grains have partially started this growth process. The deactivation of anti-growth enzymes leads to a greater availability of vitamin C, folate, and minerals like iron. The sprouting process also results in a reduction in carbohydrates along with an increase in protein. Finally, they also have lower levels of gluten and up to three times the amount of soluble fiber found in non-sprouted grains.” –https://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/diet-tips/ask-diet-doctor-benefits-sprouted-grains

The Art of Making Bread

I would love to say that bread is super easy to make, but it honestly took me over 6 years to perfect it! I had to learn the art of making bread.

There are a lot of tricks that I learned while learning to make bread well. I had a lot of failures and a lot of flops. There is an actual art to the right texture, just the right amount of rising, the perfect temperature of the water when you add the yeast, and the “wetness” of the dough. All those things you learn about making bread just come with time.

I do think, however, that this bread is easy to make. If you have a stand mixer, it will be a lot easier than doing all the kneading by hand. It usually takes me about 10 minutes to whip this together, and about 30 minutes to rise (if you let them rise on the top of your pre-heating oven).

There is Just Something Homemade Bread…

I think my daughter Addie got my love for bread!

I like to make bread for my kids. Not only are they ALWAYS hungry, but they just can’t eat the way that my husband and I do. They are growing kids of course! We eat “on plan”, which is the THM way, but for growing kids, they need to have a healthy balance of healthy fats and carbs. Their growing little bodies need to have “crossovers” (eating carbs and fats together).

Luckily, my kids love all the stuff I make. But, they especially love any kinds of breads that I make.

If I had written down all of the dozens of bread recipes that I have created over the years, I would have a TON of bread recipes on this site for you, but alas, I never did write them down (I know, husband! lol).

So, now, I am having to re-create a lot of the bread recipes that I have learned to make through the years. It’s ok though…I am learning to adapt them for our style of eating (THM), which is a good thing!

Look at that little face! She loved this bread!

These spelt rolls are so yummy, and can be paired with most THM-E meals. They are also great for the kids when you have a THM-S meal and need them to have a “crossover”. I especially love them fresh out of the oven with some of my homemade sugar-free Berry Jam as a yummy E snack.

I hope you get to enjoy these as much as my family and I do!

God Bless!

-Z

 

Recipe Image

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups lukewarm water (not too hot)
  • 3 tsp yeast
  • 1 1/2 Tbs Honey (to activate yeast)
  • 3 cups sprouted spelt flour
  • 1/3 cup flaxseed meal
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbs butter (melted)
  • 2 2/3 cups whole wheat flour (sprouted is best) (also, more if needed)
  • 2 tbs super sweet blend

Instructions

  1. Put the lukewarm water, honey and yeast in stand mixer bowl.
  2. Whisk together until blended well.
  3. Let sit for 10 minutes or until little froth begins to form on top of water
  4. Attach bowl to stand mixer
  5. Add in the flours, salt and butter
  6. With dough hook attached, turn on low and just let mix for 5 minutes.
  7. If more flour is needed, add in whole wheat flour.
  8. Once the dough begins to "come away" from the sides of the bowl, and is not sticky to touch, it's ready
  9. Place on floured surface and roll into a long roll (about 3 feet long)
  10. Cut into equal portions (about 24)
  11. Place in greased (I used Pam Baking Spray) muffin tin
  12. Place on top of warm stove (while preheating the oven)
  13. Let rise for at least a half hour (or until almost double the size)
  14. Bake at 350 for 17 minutes.
  15. Enjoy!
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https://zhealthyhousewife.com/2018/03/14/zs-spelt-rolls/

Nutrition

Calories

2977 cal

Fat

31 g

Carbs

558 g

Protein

113 g

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