Cheddar Biscuits

I adapted a recipe from this wonderful cookbook, Pecans: From soup to nuts. The very first time I made them I stuck fairly close to the recipe, just altered the type of flour I used. The next couple times I went wild with experimentation and came up this recipe:

8 oz. finely shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese, room temperature

1 cup finely grated zucchini and/or yellow squash

2 carrots, finely grated

3 eggs, beaten

4 TBSP unsalted butter, melted

4 TBSP virgin coconut oil, melted

splash hot sauce

2 tsp low-sodium wheat-free soy sauce

4 TBSP coconut flour

1/2 cup flax seed meal

5 TBSP unsweetened shredded coconut

1 tsp onion powder

sprinkle of cayenne pepper

salt, optional

pecans, optional

1. In a medium bowl combine cheese, carrots, zucchini and squash thoroughly.

2. Separately, mix together eggs, butter, coconut oil, hot sauce and soy sauce.

3. Separately, mix together all dry ingredients.

4. Add egg mixture to cheese mixture and combine thoroughly. Add in dry mixture and combine thoroughly.

5. Oil hands with coconut oil. Take ~1 TBSP of dough and roll in hands to form a ball. Place on cookie sheet about 1.5-2 inches apart from each other. Depress with a fork twice(like you would with a peanut butter cookie; see pic above). If you want to add pecans to the tops, do so now. I actually never added them.

6. Bake at 280 degrees F for 30 - 35 minutes. Let sit a couple minutes, then remove from sheet and place on rack to finish cooling. Keep in airtight container in fridge. Yields ~46.

An alternative to hand mixing is to place all ingredients in a food processor. If you choose this option the butter and coconut oil can be room temperature, not melted.

Rooster loves these - well, we all do. I'm thinking there are many other vegetables that can be added or substituted for carrots, zucchini, etc. Next up is to try spinach, kale, and bell peppers (though not all together).

Sugar

Really, there is no place for it in your diet. Here is a good article to read about how to cut back on sugar.

I cut it out of my diet back in October and then proceeded to have some every once in awhile over Christmastime. Every time I had it I could tell - bloating, mild headache, cravings for more, fatigue, etc. If I had a bunch of sugar in the evening I woke up the next morning feeling like I had a hangover - yes, that bad.

Since the end of December I have switched back to no sugar, and even took it a step further - no grains. Why no grains? First, I get plenty of carbohydrates from vegetables, some fruits (apples, berries, bananas), and some dairy products (yogurt, heavy cream). Second, even complex carbohydrates turn to simple sugars once your body digests them, sure it takes longer but the end product is the same whether you are ingesting simple sugar, refined grains or whole grains. Last, but not least, the body doesn't need grains for any nutrients; I can get everything I need from vegetables, fruits, meat, fat, fish, nuts, seeds, and dairy.

I have been reading a lot recently about grains, sugar, etc., and their response in the body. I will be posting more on this but to touch briefly on the negative reactions within the body:

1. Sugar is toxic within the bloodstream
2. Sugar, when in excess, gets turned into triglycerides (fats in blood)
3. Insulin in high levels (a response to high sugar consumption) causes inflammation in the body
4. Sugar ruins your teeth (internally not just by it's physical presence on your teeth)
5. Sugar interferes with absorption/utilization of nutrients

A list of books I have read/currently reading:

Diabetes Solution by Dr. Richard Bernstein
Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes
Living Low Carb by Jonny Bowden, MD
Suicide by Sugar by Nancy Appleton, PhD
Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson
*I like to link to amazon; I don't receive any compensation from them

Please don't try substitutions for sugar, either. They are just as toxic to the body.

I am so amazed at what I have learned in the past year about health (particularly my health or lack thereof). Conventional wisdom has it's place but so much of it is wrong. I look forward to learning so much more and sharing it with you here. Thanks for reading!