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Oh no, holiday goodies! 

 December 15, 2015

Amy White, Functional Nutritionist

It’s that time of year, all my favorite goodies just begging to be eaten. I have absolutely ZERO will power when presented with tasty treats. I LOVE desserts. I know I have a problem with sugar. It took me years to realize it but I finally have clarity about sugar. I love it and once I start eating it I can’t stop.

This knowledge makes the time between Halloween and New Years a particularly scary time. For years it was just a big blur that left me feeling gross and ready for some kind of fitness odyssey by mid January. Never good.

Over the last handful of years, I have started regaining a bit of control. Here’s what I do:

  1. Acknowledge the fact that I AM going to eat treats
  2. Don’t panic and give in to constant treating just because of a particularly sweet day or days
  3. Have my candy on Halloween and then make sure it’s gone the next day
  4. Make sure I have good food cooked and in the fridge so it’s easy to grab. This limits pantry foraging and accidental treat snacking.
  5. Embrace the fun and family around Thanksgiving and enjoy the holiday goodies
  6. Pull myself together by eating well and getting back on my typical schedule for as many days as possible between Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Years – this usually works because I feel better when I don’t eat sugar so that’s a great upside.
  7. Once the holiday festivities really set in, enjoy but try to take control of some treats – make the dessert for parties
  8. Remember that I love the sugar and treats but that I always feel better when I don’t eat them.

That’s pretty much it. The two big take aways, remember how good GOOD feels and bake with ingredients you want to eat.

We were at a friends for dinner the other day and I immediately said I would bring dessert. I was in the mood to bake and I had a couple of recipes I wanted to try.

My brother has been baking gluten-free treats for the family for quite a while and they are always delicious. His secret, America’s Test Kitchen – How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook. Yup, that’s the secret. Guess what, that cookbook is available at Costco. Guess what else, I am now the proud owner of that very cookbook.

I don’t bake often. I think I made the reason why very clear – yum.

The authors of this cookbook have developed a flour blend that they refer to as the ATK flour blend. This stuff works for everything. My brother made cupcakes for my daughter’s wedding shower – BEST CUPCAKES EVERY, gluten-free or not.

IMG_1509The other day I made the Raspberry Streusel Bars and the Fudgy Brownies for the party we were going to. Both were huge hits. I made the Raspberry bars especially for my husband. He can’t eat chocolate or eggs and he loves fruit things – bars, pies, compotes whatever. The raspberry bars were amazing. Huge success. The brownies were good too but the raspberry bars took the prize.

If you like Raspberry Bars the recipe is below. If you like to bake and you are gluten-free, you should get the book. You won’t be disappointed.

Keep in mind, the bars and brownies are gluten-free, they are NOT sugar-free or in any way a healthy treat. Let’s be real, treats aren’t healthy, they’re delicious and should be eaten occasionally if at all. If you can’t tolerate rice then the ATK flour blend won’t work for you. It’s got white rice flour and brown rice flour. O.k., now for the recipe.

Raspberry Streusel Bars

  • 6 ounces (1 1/2 cups) ATK Gluten-Free Flour Blend
  • 2 1/3 ounces (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
  • 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, softened
  • 2 Tablespoons packed light brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup pecans, chopped fine
  • 1/4 cup gluten-free old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 6 ounces (1/2 cup) raspberry preserves
  • 2 1/2 ounces (1/2 cup) fresh raspberries
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice (fresh if possible)

Method:

  1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. While oven is heating make a foil sling for an 8-inch square baking pan. Once sling is made and in place, lightly grease foil (I forgot to do this and it didn’t make a bit of difference).
  2. Using a stand mixer, mix ATK flour blend, granulated sugar, salt, and xanthan gum on low-speed until combined, about 5 seconds
  3. Continue mixing and add the butter pieces 1 at a time until the dough forms and pulls away from the side of the bowl – about 2 to 3 minutes
  4. Measure out a 1/2 cup of the dough and put it aside. Distribute the remaining dough evenly into the 8-inch prepared pan. Press the dough firmly and evenly across the bottom of the pan, all the way to the edges and into the corners. You can use the bottom on a measuring cup to evenly press out the dough.
  5. Place the pan with the bottom crust into the oven on the middle rack. Bake until the edges begin to brown, 14 – 18 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through baking.
  6. While the crust is baking, add the brown sugar, pecans, oats and reserved 1/2 cup of dough to a mixing bowl. Use your hands to mix/combine the ingredients until well incorporated then set aside.
  7. Combine preserves, fresh raspberries and lemon juice in a small bowl. Combine using a fork, allowing some berry chunks to remain.
  8. Spread filling evenly over hot crust; spring streusel topping evenly over the raspberry filling – do not press the streusel into the filling.
  9. Return the pan to the oven and bake until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbling, about 22 to 25 minutes.
  10. Remove pan from oven and place on wire cooling rack. Let cool completely for 1 to 2 hours. Using the foil over hang of the sling, lift bars out of the pan. Cut into squares and serve.

The recipe says that the bars are best served the day they are made but that you can keep them in an airtight container and store them at room temperature for up to a day. The crust and streusel will soften. Ours were gone the day I made them so I have no idea how they would be the next day. I’m guessing yummy. I actually thought they would do well in the freezer and be easy to take out when a dessert was called for. I bet they would even be good eaten frozen.

If you get the chance to make these let me know what you think. I think you’ll love them.

IMG_0708Here’s a picture of the Sunflower cupcakes from my daughter’s wedding shower – my brother made the cupcakes and I frosted. There were 3 flavors, vanilla, chocolate and red velvet. We also used the cream cheese frosting recipe from the ATK cookbook.

Eat well, feel good, have fun!

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