Recipes Archives - Page 75 of 113

Italian Fried Rice Recipe and * VIDEO *

I ate an excessive amount of pasta growing up. My mom prepared it about three times per week and then we usually had it also on Sundays when we went to spend the day with my mom’s family or my dad’s. Pasta was part of our heritage, not just an easy dinner and not eaten plain with butter the way I know many kids prefer it. (Coincidentally, my father is visiting this week and on Day 2 he was already asking for a plate of spaghetti!)

Ironically I don’t make pasta much for my family, and not because we don’t like it. We do! And it’s not because pasta is a processed food, because it is and I try to limit those. But, I don’t eat much pasta because I can’t stop myself from overeating it! Did you know 1 serving of pasta is 1/2 cup? Basically, I try to keep my carbohydrates to 2 servings per meal to avoid blood sugar spikes and to attempt to maintain a healthful weight. Unfortunately, overeating pasta for me is very, very easy. I think I can consume 4 cups of pasta no problem. I know I can make a dish with mostly veggies and some pasta, but I always end up eating seconds. And thirds.

Whole grains like farro, barley and brown rice I don’t overeat as easily. A few years ago I ate a fried rice dish at Ammo in LA that was a game changer. I always assumed fried rice to be Asian-inspired, but this one wasn’t. And it’s not fried, by the way. Just sautéed. It just had lots of seasonal market vegetables and brown rice all sautéed in olive oil. It made me think about all the possibilities for fried rice and I have enjoyed making versions of that dish since then. My favorite combination I came up with is this one here, which has an Itailian twist. I am crazy for it because it makes me feel like I’m eating all the yummy flavors I would put in pasta and it feels more satisfying because the brown rice has so much more fiber than pasta.

But just like regular fried rice, this is a great way to use up bits of leftover veggies or any kind of grain, for that matter. And it is super quick (as in minutes) to throw together. I probably eat a version of this recipe for lunch more than anything else if I am working at home. Now that I think about it, I am going to make this for my parents this week!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Save Print

Italian Fried Rice

Author: Pamela

Serves: 4

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons unrefined, cold pressed extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
a pinch of chili flakes (optional)
½ pint cherry tomatoes, halved
½ bunch asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 or 2 cups of shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps wiped clean with a damp paper towel and sliced thinly
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
a few leaves of fresh basil, thinly sliced
2-3 cups baby leafy greens like chard, kale and spinach or 6 stalks of kale, stemmed and leaves chopped or more
3-4 cups COOKED short grain brown rice
chicken stock, vegetable stock or water, if necessary
optional accompaniment ideas: grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino cheese, poached or fried egg, toasted, chopped nuts, hot sauce

Instructions

Warm a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and when warm, add the garlic and chili flakes. Sauté until the garlic is just starting to turn golden on the edges, about 30-60 seconds.
Add the cherry tomatoes, asparagus, mushrooms and a pinch of salt and pepper and sauté until the tomatoes just start to lose their shape and the asparagus and mushrooms are tender, about 5-6 minutes. Add the fresh basil and sauté until wilted.
Add the cooked rice, the greens and another pinch of salt and pepper and sauté until the rice is warmed through and the greens are wilted. If the rice and vegetables are sticking to the pan, add a splash of water or stock. Serve immediately with or without suggested accompaniments.

Notes

Cooked quinoa, millet or lentils can be subbed for the rice. You can also use part grain/part chickpeas. Or omit the tomatoes and basil and use different quick-cooking vegetables like thinly sliced fennel, diced zucchini, shredded carrots, blanched cauliflower florets, peas, scallions. And use different ingredients to add in later, such as cooked beets, sliced oranges, avocado, olives and so on. There are unlimited combinations!

Slow Roasted Wild Salmon with Mango-Cucumber Salsa Recipe

When I was about 10 years old, I decided I disliked beef and poultry enough that I would give them up for good. I was a pre-teen pescatarian, limiting my “animal” consumption to fish alone which created a bit of anxiety for my parents. The concern was that I wouldn’t get enough protein since I was still growing. Of course I was quite fine since I ate plenty of eggs, cheese, yogurt, legumes and nuts in addition to fish once a week. But I have always preferred seafood to animal protein, even to this day.

Then I met a cute boy in college who asked me out to dinner and I said yes and he took me to a…steak house. Hmmmmm……..A cute boy is a cute boy, so off I went. Ironically, the boy was a meat and poultry-eater, but not a fish eater. Opposites attract, I thought. Or hoped. That night I had my first bite of steak in many years and I actually thought it was delicious. Not delicious enough to turn me into a full-fledged carnivore, but I did continue to eat a little beef and chicken until very recently when I decided, once again, that I just don’t like beef at all and I only like chicken enough to have a bite. After all these years, I’m still a fish girl.

If you’ve hung around this blog long enough, you know that I married “the boy” and I’ve turned him on to almost all fish, except salmon. Once in a while he’ll have a bite to be nice, but he just can’t get into it. We tell the kids he’s “allergic.” But I absolutely love wild salmon and believe it or not, so does Mr. Picky! (“Love” might be a strong word, admittedly, but he always eats it.) We both think it’s delicious and since it’s so rich in important Omega-3 fats and a powerful antioxidant called astaxanthin, I like to find new ways to make it. (By the way, this is not the case with farm-raised salmon. Not healthy for you and bad for the environment.)

Slow roasting salmon is practically the only way I have cooked salmon in the last year. I just taught this method in my classes last month and everyone was so excited it. By cooking the salmon at a super low temperature (250 degrees) for a longer period of time, the fat just kind of melts into the fish and you don’t dry it out the way you might at 400 degrees which can cause the proteins to seize up a bit. I find wild fish to be a little tricky to get just right where it’s still moist and succulent, as opposed to tough and dry. Slow roasting is a dream and results in the most velvety salmon! Plus a bonus is that at such a low temp, you don’t damage the delicate Omega-3 fats. My son says he also likes this method because the house never smells like fish afterwards. It’s truly the perfect way to cook wild salmon!

Like I told my classes last month, this recipe is more about trying the technique of slow roasting and it’s not about the mango salsa here. I serve slow roasted salmon with lots of different salsas (try this one with corn and black beans), sauces ( I like this one with dill and cucumbers), dressings, or just a squeeze of citrus. Since it’s wild salmon season right now, I bet you can get your hands on some fantastic fish. I normally buy my wild salmon during the year from vitalchoice.com which ships it frozen on dry ice. It’s the best quality fish I can find. But starting in May, Grow in Manhattan Beach and Santa Monica Seafood have outstanding salmon and I haven’t been disappointed.

Needless to say, I will not be making salmon on Sunday for Father’s Day, but you certainly can. I guarantee, slow roasting is a game-changer!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Save Print

Slow Roasted Wild Salmon with Mango-Cucumber Salsa

Author: Pamela

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

For the salsa:
½ cup diced cucumber (If you use a variety like Persian or Hothouse, you can leave the seeds and skin on.)
1 mango, firm, but ripe, peeled and diced
½ jalapeno, minced, seeds removed for less heat
1 scallion, finely chopped or 3 Tablespoons finely diced red onion (this measurement is really according to taste)
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped (tender stems are ok)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
24 ounce fillet of wild salmon*(leave out of refrigerator 20 minutes before roasting)
unrefined, cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the salmon on the baking sheet and drizzle with enough olive oil to coat the top of the fish lightly. You can use your hands to oil the fish. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper to taste.
Bake for 25-35 minutes or until center of salmon is rare and starting to flake when you poke it with a paring knife. The amount of time it takes to cook the salmon perfectly depends on the temperature of the fish when you place it in the oven and the thickness of the fish.
While the salmon cooks, prepare the salsa. Mix all the salsa ingredients in a medium nonreactive bowl and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve salmon warm, room temperature or cold with salsa.

Notes

*If you use individual fillets, adjust cook time accordingly. 6 ounce fillets will take approximately 20 minutes.

If you’re really not sure if the salmon is done, you can roast until the thickest part registers 125 degrees on an instant read thermometer.

cilantro cucumber mango salmon

Baked Cinnamon Cake Doughnuts Recipe (gluten-free adaptable!)

I love teaching people how to cook and I love working with food, but one business I don’t see myself in is the restaurant business. That just seems like waaaaaay too much work! But if I did open a restaurant, I would have a little casual breakfast and lunch place called “He Said, She Said.” The menu would be split down the middle with dude food on one side and lady food on the other.

I’ve seen plenty of women eat just as much as a man and I am one of them. BUT it’s the food choices that men and women make that I find so interesting, and different. My husband and I are the perfect example. We have been married for almost 19 years and I don’t think we’ve ever ordered the same thing in a restaurant. And I can usually predict what he will get!

I tend to graviate towards salads, vegetable-based dishes, lentils, beans, and ethnic foods and away from things that are fried, greasy and heavily sauced. He, on the other hand, will order anything with melted cheese and/or lots of tomato sauce plus a side of fries or onion rings. My husband is a meat-guy too, and doesn’t think about how he’s going to get his veggies at every meal.

Since I do all the cooking in our house, I tend to make what I like. However, when it’s my husband’s birthday or Father’s Day, I will think about his favorites and go that direction. Father’s Day is coming up, on Sunday, June 15th to be exact. And even though I would prefer a veggie frittata or a yogurt and homemade granola parfait, I know my husband would be THRILLED if I bought him doughnuts. But since doughnuts are probably one of the worst possible foods you can eat, there is no way in the world that I would ever give them to someone with whom I would like to grow old. I hate to be a party pooper, but doughnuts are completely non-nutritive, full of empty calories, high in simple carbohydrates which spike your blood sugar and are deep fried in the most damaged pro-inflammatory fat EVER. So not good.

I will, however, make baked doughnuts with some higher quality (but I didn’t say healthful) ingredients. They still taste delicious and won’t put anyone in a sugar coma afterwards! Yippee! I am giving you plenty of time to order this doughnut pan because unfortunately you can’t make doughnuts without a doughnut pan. I like this one the best because it is coated with silicone for a nonstick finish that doesn’t leach like toxic PFTE’s and PFOA’s. You can also scoop the batter with an mini ice cream scoop into mini muffin pans for doughnut holes.

I recommend making these the day you want to eat them and I am partial to serving these alongside a hearty, high fiber and high protein breakfast and not alone because even though they are significantly better for you than traditional doughnuts, they’re not health food! I kept these pretty simple with a cinnamon-sugar topping, but if you really wanted to throw in the towel, you could go for a glaze instead. Fun!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Save Print

Baked Cinnamon Cake Doughnuts

Author: Pamela, inspired by thefauxmartha.com

Serves: makes 6 doughnuts or 20 doughnut "holes"

Ingredients

⅓ cup whole milk or milk substitute, at room temperature
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
½ cup whole wheat pastry flour or whole spelt flour*
½ cup all-purpose flour or white spelt flour
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (do not omit – this is the secret ingredient of all cake doughnuts!)
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted + extra butter for greasing the pan
¼ cup cane sugar
2 Tablespoons honey
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Topping:
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 Tablespoons cane sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or less cinnamon for a more “authentic” ratio)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease the wells of the doughnut pan with some butter.
In a glass measuring cup, mix together milk and vinegar and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 5 minutes to curdle.
In a large bowl whisk together flours, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
In a small bowl, whisk together melted butter, sugar, honey, egg, vanilla and curdled milk.
Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients, taking care not to overmix.
Spoon batter evenly into wells of the doughnut pan, filling only ⅔ full.* If filled too high, there won’t be any doughnut holes. Another way to fill the wells is by transferring the batter to a quart-size Ziploc bag and snipping one corner ½inch and piping the batter into the wells. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until doughnuts spring back when pressed lightly. Allow to cool 5 minutes before turning doughnuts onto a cooling rack.
While the doughnuts are still warm, combine the 2 Tablespoons cane sugar with the teaspoon of cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Brush the tops (or bottoms) of the doughnuts with melted butter and dip into the cinnamon–sugar mixture so that it sticks. Repeat with remaining doughnuts.

Notes

*Or substitute a total of 1 cup King Arthur Multi-purpose Gluten-free Flour and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum for the white and wheat flours

**Or bake in a greased mini-muffin pan for doughnut holes.

apple cider vinegar butter buttermilk cinnamon milk nutmeg whole wheat pastry flour

Miso-Glazed Black Cod Recipe

Am I the only one who reads cookbooks like novels? Sometimes it’s embarrassing when I am asked “what are you reading?” because my nightstand is stacked with cookbooks, nutrition books and cooking magazines. Of course it’s inspiring to look at new recipes and techniques, but more than that I find it relaxing. A cooking nerd I most definitely am.

I was super excited to dig into Laurie David’s new cookbook, “The Family Cooks.” I recently had the opportunity to meet Laurie at a party for the launch of her new book. I think she is such a powerhouse and I love her message about making time to cook from scratch and eating together as a family. I’m so on her wavelength. All her recipes look good, but since she urged me to make the miso-glazed cod first, I didn’t waste any time.

The first time I had miso cod was many years ago at a very fancy restaurant in LA called Nobu. The cod is so silky, it just melts in your mouth and has a little sweet-salty thing going on which is my favorite flavor combo. This recipe is very similar although I appreciate Laurie’s use of maple syrup over processed cane sugar. It is a very impressive dish, yet it only takes minutes to prepare and uses very few ingredients. I also love that you can marinate it for a whole day if you want and then all you have to do is broil it before din

I am always looking to expand our fish repertoire with good sustainable options. We tend to eat a lot of wild salmon, wild halibut and (when my husband is not home for dinner) wild shrimp. Whenever I want to know what the current status is for a particular fish, I go to seafoodwatch.org, an organization which helps consumers and businesses make choices for healthy oceans. Their recommendations indicate which seafood items are “Best Choices,” “Good Alternatives,” and which ones you should “Avoid.” Black cod, which is also known as sablefish, is considered to be a “best choice.” The whole family (except Daughter #2 who still doesn’t eat most fish and didn’t try this) loved it. Serve with a simple steamed rice or cauli-rice, and a green vegetable and you have an easy, delicious and healthful dinner. I made it recently with a kelp noodle salad and some sautéed beet greens!

There are a few ingredients that you may not normally have on hand, namely miso, a fermented soybean paste, and mirin, a sweet rice wine. Both are easy to find in many grocery stores and they have a very long shelf life so you have plenty of time to make this recipe again!

5.0 from 3 reviews

Save Print

Miso-Glazed Black Cod

Author: Pamela, adapted from "The Family Cooks" by Laurie David

Serves: 4

Ingredients

⅓ cup white miso, preferably organic
⅓ cup pure maple syrup or honey (I like maple syrup)
⅓ cup mirin
1 Tablespoon grated fresh peeled ginger
1 Tablespoon toasted unrefined sesame oil
4 pieces (6 ounces each) skinless black cod fillet, also known as sablefish

Instructions

In a bowl or glass pie plate just large enough to hold the fish, whisk together the miso, maple syrup, mirin, ginger and sesame oil. Place the fish in the bowl and spoon the marinade on top of the fish to cover it completely. Cover the bowl with a plate and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or overnight. The longer you can do this, the better the fish will taste.
Before cooking the fish, preheat the broiler and position your oven rack about 6 inches from the heat. I place the rack on the level the second from the top.
If you don’t have a stainless steel baking sheet, line a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
Pull the fish from the bowl and shake off any excess marinade clinging to the fish. Place the fish on the baking sheet and broil until the glaze is dark and shiny and the fish flakes when you press on it, about 6-8 minutes.

ginger maple syrup mirin miso sesame oil

Strawberry-Cucumber Smoothie Recipe

Thank heavens for the smoothie. When one of my teenage daughters oversleeps and has “no time” for breakfast, I can throw in the blender an assortment of fruits, vegetables and things that don’t normally go with fruits and vegetables (like hemp seeds or almond butter) and we’ve got a balanced meal in seconds. The smoothie is something even a 10-year-old like Mr. Picky can make by himself, and he does almost daily. His favorite is a combination of frozen banana, strawberry, pineapple, yogurt, coconut water, coconut butter and a squirt of Barleans Mango Omega Swirl. He even makes smoothies for his friends when they come over. So cute.

I love making smoothies at home, because I can control what goes into them, especially the sweetener. I rarely order smoothies in restaurants because I find them to be too sweet. And I’m not falling for what Jamba Juice considers a smoothie. Anything blended with frozen yogurt or sherbet is basically a fruity milkshake and it is not breakfast material.

I saw this recipe on Joy the Baker a while back and it made me think of flavored waters which I like to have on hand in the summer. (Just take a pitcher of water and toss in some cucumber slices or strawberries or watermelon or even pineapple rinds. Mint is fun to add in, too.) I loved this smoothie instantly. It felt like something I would have at a spa, and I sure don’t go to spas often enough! There isn’t an overwhelming flavor of cucumber, it’s so subtle. The smoothie feels lightly sweet and super refreshing.

I prepare this several different ways. Almond milk makes it creamy, and coconut water keeps it light and fresh, more like spa water. I don’t usually add extra sweetener to mine, but the kids like it a tad sweeter. Honey or even pitted dates work beautifully. And if I have fresh ginger on hand, I love to add a little for an extra special kick. Ginger is incredibly anti-inflammatory and so great for digestion. Cucumber is one of the most alkalizing foods and terrific for the skin. And strawberries are rich in Vitamin C and other powerful phytonutrients. Total beauty smoothie here!

The only missing from this smoothie is protein, so I wouldn’t consider this a meal. But if you did want to include protein, I would throw in protein powder (keep in mind most are sweetened), hemp or chia seeds, or use yogurt instead of the almond milk. Yogurt is more tart than almond milk, so you might need to add a little sweetener to balance it out. If you’re tired of your same-old-same-old smoothie, give this one a try and get glowing!

Save Print

Strawberry-Cucumber Smoothie

Author: Pamela, adapted from Joy the Baker

Serves: 2, but if you are serving younger kids, you could get 4 smoothies out of this

Ingredients

1 cup cold coconut water or unsweetened almond milk (click here for how to make your own)
1 ½ cups frozen strawberries (click here for how to freeze fruit)
1 Persian cucumber, unpeeled, cut into large chunks or ½ an English (hothouse) cucumber, seeds removed, cut into large chunks
1 Tablespoon raw honey or sweetener of choice (optional)
1 teaspoon minced, peeled ginger (optional)

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth.
Add more almond milk as necessary, depending on your desired consistency.

Notes

Note: you can substitute frozen blueberries or blackberries and add ground flax meal, hemp seeds or protein powder.

almond milk coconut water cucumber ginger strawberries

How to Cook Whole Artichokes VIDEO

Watch this video to see how easy it is to prepare artichokes. The tomato-basil salad is optional, but very tasty and a lot more healthful than a traditional mayonnaise-based dipping sauce! I am excited to share more videos soon!

Whole Steamed Artichokes with Tomato-Basil Salad Recipe

I remember the first time I ate an artichoke, I really ate the artichoke. Or at least I tried to. I had no idea that I was supposed to scrape the meat off of the leaves with my teeth and not (attempt) to eat the entire thing. Ooops. I just kept chewing and chewing and chewing and thinking, “why on earth do people love artichokes so much? This is terrible!” Fortunately, I was taught how to properly eat an artichoke before I swore them off for good.

But for many years I thought artichokes were too intimidating to cook at home, and were only a special treat to be ordered in restaurants. Until one day I saw my grandmother making stuffed artichokes and I quietly stood by and took mental notes. I’m sure you know what I am about to say. So easy! Really, once you learn how to trim an artichoke, the rest is a piece of cake. I am hoping these photos can help you get past any artichoke anxiety you might have.

Artichokes are so versatile. You can eat them hot, warm, room temperature, even cold. It’s fun to dip the leaves into a sauce or a vinaigrette before nibbling the tender meat on the bottom of the leaves. Mayonnaise sauces are probably the most popular, but I prefer to keep things lighter and fresher. I love this artichoke preparation which I first had at the Ivy Restaurant in LA. I could eat tomato-basil salad on most anything, from fish and chicken to pasta and toast. On artichokes, this classic combo is just as delicious, with the juice from the tomatoes creating a vinaigrette of sorts with the olive oil. Love it!

Artichokes are a good source of folate, fiber, and vitamins C and K. Artichokes are also packed with antioxidants; they’re number 7 on the USDA’s top 20 antioxidant-rich foods list. I also read somewhere that artichokes used to be considered an aphrodisiac. Well now.

I was advised by my produce friends at Grow in Manhattan Beach that artichokes are more tender when the leaves are more closed and tighter than more open. A little frostbite on the outer leaves is completely fine, just check to make sure the stems don’t have any evidence of rot. They’re in season now, so get them while you can!

Save Print

Whole Steamed Artichokes with Tomato-Basil Salad

Author: Pamela

Serves: 3-6

Ingredients

3 whole artichokes, washed
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 bay leaves
1 lemon, halved
1 ½ pints cherry tomatoes, quartered (you can also use an equivalent amount of whole fresh tomatoes, diced, when they are in season)
⅓ cup fresh basil, chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced (or crushed for a more subtle garlic flavor)
2 Tablespoons unrefined, cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Trim the artichokes: Remove the outer layer of small, tough leaves from the stem end. Trim the stem to create a flat bottom and discard cut stem. With a very sharp serrated knife, cut off the top 1 inch of each artichoke. Use scissors to snip the thorny tips of the remaining leaves. Artichokes should fit into your pot so that the lid fits tightly.
Cook the artichokes: Fill a large saucepan with 2 inches of water and add the garlic, bay leaves and lemon. Arrange the artichokes in the saucepan STEM SIDE UP. Bring water to a boil, cover and lower to a simmer. Steam artichokes for 30-45 minutes (depending on the size) or until stem can be pierced easily with a knife. Remove artichokes from the saucepan and set aside until cool enough to handle. I like to put them in a colander stem side up to cool.
Make the salad: In a medium bowl combine tomatoes, basil, garlic, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.
Remove the chokes: Pull out the center leaves of the artichoke. They are the ones that are closed together and light purple at the top. Underneath that you will see the spiky, lighter leaves around the heart. The fuzzy choke is hidden underneath. With a spoon, scoop out the spiky leaves and the choke and discard. Take care not to remove too much of the meaty heart which sits just underneath the choke. Repeat with remaining artichokes.
Arrange artichokes on a platter and spoon tomato salad into each of the cleaned out artichokes.

Notes

These can be served warm, room temperature or cold. Artichokes can be prepared a day in advance and refrigerated. After removing the choke, they can also be quartered, brushed with oil and grilled.

artichokes basil bay leaves garlic tomatoes

Grain-free White Bean Coffee Cake Recipe

Trust me that this cake is so good! It does NOT look like it has white beans in it, nor does it taste like white beans (which may I remind you taste like nothing.) And lest you think I am a genius coming up with blending white beans to make a high-protein, downright delicious cake, I will come clean and tell you this is nothing that hasn’t already been done about 16,7000,000 times, according to google. Even my idol, Martha Stewart, has made cupcakes with white beans! If it’s good enough for Martha, it’s definitely good enough for moi.

I thought this would be such a different, delicious and healthful cake for your Mother’s Day brunch, and what a conversation-starter! It’s always fun to quiz your family and friends — “Can you guess what the secret ingredient is?” I would never suggest making this for Father’s Day because most dads I know would rather have doughnuts than a cake with nutritional benefits. Moms are different. We’re always looking to have our treats without the guilt!

This cake was a huge hit in my classes last year. I first told everyone to open their minds because this would not resemble a classic coffeecake. Most people that come to my classes are pretty open-minded anyway. In fact a few ladies said, “Ah, of course. Black beans in brownies, white beans in coffeecake.” I agree, it makes perfect sense. But I would never make any dessert or any recipe for that matter just because it’s kind of healthful. Of all things, dessert should be enjoyed, and you will love this cake! It’s very moist, just sweet enough and light. I ate quite a bit of this cake last year and I never felt uncomfortable or sick after eating it. That’s an indication of a pretty clean dessert.

I normally encourage you to make your beans from scratch, but for this recipe it is very important that your beans be nice and creamy soft. So if you want to be on the safe side, just used canned. I love Eden which doesn’t use BPA in its can liners. The one ingredient which might throw you for a loop is the coconut flour, although I do have a great muffin recipe on my site that uses almond flour and coconut flour. At my Whole Foods, you can buy coconut flour from the bulk bins, which is nice if you just need a little bit. Most recipes which use coconut flour only call for small amounts of it because it is so absorbent. Don’t go thinking you can substitute regular grain flours for coconut flour! They are completely different!

If you decide you don’t want to make this coffee cake with the faux streusel topping, just make the cake with your favorite frosting or serve it with fresh fruit and whipped cream or whipped coconut cream. Either way, moms deserve a treat on Mother’s Day, so indulge or do something generous for all the special moms in your life! Happy Mother’s Day!

4.9 from 7 reviews

Save Print

Grain-free White Bean Coffee Cake

Author: Pamela, adapted from The Spunky Coconut

Serves: makes one 12X9 or 13x9-inch cake

Ingredients

Crumble Topping:
3 cups walnuts
2 Tablespoons coconut oil or butter
¼ cup coconut palm sugar or brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (optional)
2 cups cooked white beans (make sure they’re soft and not crunchy), such as cannellini or Great Northern, drained and rinsed if canned (cold or at room temperature)
6 eggs
¾ teaspoon vanilla liquid stevia or plain stevia and add an extra ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ cup melted coconut oil, plus extra for greasing pan
⅓ cup honey
⅓ cup coconut flour
½ teaspoon sea salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 12 x 9 or 13 x 9 baking dish with coconut oil or butter.
To make the topping, place the walnuts, coconut oil or butter, sugar and cinnamon in the food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse until combined and the texture resembles a crumb topping. Remove from food processor and set aside.
In the same food processor (no need to clean it) place the beans, eggs, stevia, vanilla coconut oil and honey and puree until smooth.
Then add the coconut flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder to the white bean mixture and process until smooth. Pour into the greased pan.
Spread the topping over the top of the batter and use a fork to swirl into the batter, then pat down to set.
Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator where it will stay good for up to a week.

coconut flour coconut oil eggs honey stevia vanilla white beans