Well....it sounds pretty yummy and it is! We have been working on several ideas for sugar free deserts for months now. Add to that gluten-Free and you have a truly rare occasion, one that you do not get often, especially in the baked format. So this cake is something special and we would love to share some with you.
So Here is how to make it:
Gluten & Sugar Free Ginger-Orange-Carrot Spice Cake
Combine 2 cups fresh ground amaranth, 1 cup fresh ground millet, and 1 cup fresh ground oat groats (a coffee grinder works great for this if you do not have a grain mill) with 1 cup plain, cultured yogurt and 1.25 cup water (or, 1tsp acidophilus powder or any live probiotics mixed with 2 cups water works to culture the flour as a dairy-free alternative to yogurt). Mix until just blended and let sit covered at room temperature for 24 hrs.
You see, the yogurt cultures (probiotic bacteria) neutralize the phytic acid in the whole grain flour (so it can't bind with minerals in your intestines & inhibit their absorption) and they break down the complex carbohydrates which makes the grain's nutrients more assimilate-able and much more digestible.
Okay, the next day, in a saucepan combine 1 cup melted coconut oil, 2-T vanilla extract, 1.5 tsp. Nu Naturals liquid vanilla stevia, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. sea salt, 1/2 tsp. allspice,
1-heavy tsp. pumpkin pie spice.
Mix well and stir into cultured flour mixture. Next add 3 beaten eggs, 1.5 cups grated then lightly chopped carrot, 1 cup finely diced fresh ginger root, 1/2 cup orange zest, and 1.5-2 cup fresh walnuts, 1.5-3/4 cup small or chopped large organic raisins and Pour into a buttered cake, spring-form pan or loaf size baking dish. Place in a 425-degree oven, then turn down to 400-degrees and bake 50 minutes or until done in the middle. Sometimes this particular cake can take as much as an hour and 60 min to cook! These are dense grains, Be patient and check for doneness with a wooden skewer. ALSo this cake tastes amazing the next day. So if you decide to make it for an event, make it the day before and wow will you be happy you did.
We hope you all enjoy this amazing Gluten and Sugar Free Cake.
Feel free to adjust the ginger and orange aspect as you wish. It originally started as a ginger bread with no carrot or raisins so this is where the full cup of fresh finely dices Ginger came from.
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And now for more then just a word about refined sugar:
Refined sugars
Okay, now for my soapbox talk about refined sugars. Most people want to know why refined sugars and spiking our blood sugar is so bad for us. That’s when I say, “don’t get me started!” Refined sugars are considered toxins by most alternative health practitioners today. Once in our bodies, they rob us of valuable vitamins and minerals. Also, our hormones, body chemistry and brain chemistry are all directly affected by blood sugar. When we are spiking our blood sugar throughout the day, our hormones and body chemistry are jumping around to extreme ends of their spectrums too. Over time, this is disastrous for our health. No wonder so many of us are out of whack! We’re raised on processed foods and don’t even want to get off the roller coaster of spiking our blood sugar because it’s extremely addicting, and because we become only satisfied with the extreme flavors of refined sugars and MSG, etc.
There are different levels of food’s capacity to spike our blood sugar. Refined sugars push it the highest - way too high for good health. Studies of people who live close to the earth (indigenous people) have found that these people have far fewer diseases than modern Americans. They don’t eat processed foods which spike the blood sugar. They eat regionally, with whole grains, beans and vegetables as the basis of their diets. They use animal products when needed medicinally, for building strength and warmth. And, they soak & sprout or ferment their grains (more on these practices and why they benefit the body in future newsletters). The whole foods diets of indigenous people also means their bodies aren’t getting assaulted by the many other detrimental factors of processed foods like; rancid & refined vegetable oils, refined salt, the stripping away of the natural vitamin and fiber-rich bran of grains, the adding of nutrient void fillers, chemical preservatives, anti-caking agents, antibiotics, hormones, etc. Processed foods are a major road to sickness, it’s just a matter of how fast, as different people have different constitutions (more on this in future newsletters).
The various names for refined sugars which spike the blood sugar dangerously high are: white sugar, cane sugar, organic cane sugar, evaporated cane juice, high-fructose corn syrup, fructose, white grape or fruit juice concentrate, and commercial honey. Honey is refined by bees and spikes the blood sugar just as much as refined sugar, just not quite as fast. Pasturized honey which is sold at mainstream grocery stores is bad for the body, whereas raw honey (preferably from a local source) is beneficial for the body and easier to digest because of the minerals and live enzymes in it. But any honey is still very high-glycemic, so try to use no more than 1 teaspoon at a time. Agave syrup or agave nectar is now being found to be nearly as high-glycemic as refined sugar, and in many cases, has been found to be nothing more than corn syrup with a little bit of real agave for flavoring.
Okay. Here’s the list of unrefined (unprocessed) sugars which haven’t been stripped of natural minerals - minerals which slow the sugar’s absorption into the bloodstream and are lower on the glycemic index. “Sucanat” or “Rapidura” are granular (looks like sand) and can be used for baking. I’ve heard great things about Yacon powder & syrup, but haven’t tried it yet. The other unrefined sugars are barley malt syrup, brown rice syrup, small amounts of raw honey, grade B maple syrup and organic molasses. For those on candida diets (no kind of sugar whatsoever) stevia leaf extract is a natural, no-sugar, no-calorie sweetener (the best I’ve found with no bitter aftertaste is Nu Naturals brand liquid vanilla flavored stevia). Xylitol and Maltitol are made from sugar alcohol and are sugar substitutes which act like sugar in baking recipes, but which have a low-medium reading on the glycemic index - often used in “sugar-free” products like chocolate, etc.
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