Sweetened with Stevia: Mazzou's Super healthy Orange Raspberry Sourdough Coconut Muffins for Valentines!

Mazzou's Sourdough Coconut Flour Stevia Muffins!

Start your sourdough starter TODAY if you want to make these muffins for Valentine's 2016! :)

My diet is getting stricter and stricter but I refuse to let it become boring. I no longer eat any unsoaked grains or nuts and like to stick with rye especially. Which makes desserts few and far between...unless I come up with a miraculous creation, that is!
When I was 8 years old, I was dubbed Marjo the muffin girl and I am loathe to give up that title! My family eats regular muffins, so I finally perfected a sourdough version for myself! You can do the flour-soaked-overnight thing like I used to but this sourdough version sure wins for the least amount of phytic acid! Enjoy.

2 eggs, preferably fresh free range- room temperature.
1 cup sourdough starter past the ''bubbly'' stage. (if you are in a hurry to make this recipe, don't worry about letting your starter sit the usual recommended amount of days- 4 days should be fine for these muffins.)
1/3- 1/2 cup coconut flour (or ground unsweetened coconut!)
1/8 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. powdered stevia (we buy ours in a lb. bag from Vitacost.com. click on that referral link to get $10 if you are a new customer!)
1/4 cup coconut oil (or butter if desired)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
Zest of 1 orange (or a half if desired)

Beat both eggs until doubled in volume. Add coconut flour, stevia, coconut oil, baking soda, vanilla and orange zest.

Bake at 300 until set and a toothpick comes out fairly clean
Makes about 6 muffins. I have not yet tried to double this recipe; it may work better to do two batches if you wish for more muffins as the smaller the batter the lighter it is.

Tip: This batter also makes lovely pancakes!

Sourdough Coconut Flour Muffins with Stevia 

Confession: After I beat my eggs, I often just dump the ingredients in as I think of them. ;) And the muffins come out delicious every time. Just make sure you don't have any baking soda lumps!

Optional: fill each muffin cup half full, place a whole fresh or frozen raspberry in the center; top with remaining batter.
Or, do 1/2 a raspberry and a previously chilled coconut carob ball (click on link for recipe)- delicious!

New recipe! Mazzou's Maple Granola-Crusted Chicken breast or Salmon filet

Maple granola-crusted chicken breast served salad-style

Maple granola-crusted chicken or salmon

  I first fell in love with cooking when I was just seven or eight years old and it didn't take me long to begin experimenting and creating my own recipes.  Now,  several years later I am known for my love of  dreaming up new ways to present the most classic foods. I find that chicken and salmon are two of the best foods to experiment with new and unique flavors and seasonings!

Maple granola-crusted salmon filet

 One of my more classic creations which is sure to please a variety of taste buds and which can be enjoyed year-round, is my newly-invented and perfected maple granola-crusted chicken breast or salmon filet....I promise you, from the first bite you will be delighted by the combination of flavors! I owe my inspiration to Golden Girl granola who provided the tasty granola which is the crowning touch to this dish!

Ingredients: 
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (6.4 oz each) or 4 four-six ounce wild alaska salmon filets
1/4 plus 1/8 tsp. salt (or to taste; the goal is to sprinkle evenly over each piece of meat) 
1/4 tsp. pepper or to taste 
1 large clove garlic, crushed
2 Tablespoons melted butter (or olive oil)
1 Tablespoon tamari soy sauce
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 cup Golden Girl Forest Maple granola
3 eggs
1 Tablespoon butter or oil for browning meat. 

   Prepare meat 1-8 hours ahead: 
1. Gently pound out chicken breasts to about 3/4 inch thick, focusing mostly on the thick portion of the chicken breasts (skip this step if using salmon).
2. Sprinkle each breast or filet evenly with salt and pepper. Place meat in a 4 cup capacity glass dish or container. 
3. Mix together the garlic, butter, soy sauce and maple syrup. Pour over chicken breasts or salmon and cover dish tightly. 
4. Let chicken marinate at least a couple of hours; preferably overnight. Only let salmon marinate 1-3 hours.
   To cook meat: 
1. Prepare granola by separating 6 Tablespoons from the cup of granola; place in a plastic baggie and crush with a rolling pin. 
2. Pour the entire cup of granola (crushed and whole) in a shallow dish. 


3. In another bowl, whisk the eggs. 
4. Remove chicken breasts or filets from marinade, reserving marinade. Dip each chicken breast or filet first in the egg mixture, then in the granola mixture, pressing the granola into the meat (with the salmon, press into the pink fleshy side, not worrying too much about the skin side).

5. Heat olive oil or butter in a shallow frying pan on medium heat; gently brown each chicken breast in the oil. Add more oil to pan as needed to keep meat from sticking. Fry for about 2 minutes per side. Follow same directions for salmon, only fry skin-side down for 3 minutes without flipping.

(chicken breasts)

(salmon filet)

(chicken breasts browning)

6. Place golden-browned meat in a 9x13 baking dish, drizzle reserved marinade over and bake at 350° Fahrenheit  for about 20 minutes or until chicken temperature is 165° Fahrenheit. For salmon: bake at 350° Fahrenheit for 7 minutes or until meat flakes easily when cut with a fork.

pictured: 1 filet of salmon hot out of the oven!

 To serve: 
The maple granola-crusted chicken breasts or salmon filet can be served warm from the oven, drizzled with a honey mustard dressing and accompanied by a salad and roasted potatoes. Or, let chicken cool a little more and slice. Serve chicken slices on a bed of fresh green salad and drizzle with a honey mustard dressing.

(ready to eat: maple granola-crusted salmon!)

(hot and ready: one maple granola-crusted chicken breast with honey mustard sauce)

All-raw sugarless Cheesecake or baked sugarless cheesecake

Mini version: I halved the recipe,

which made two small ones like this. One I kept raw in the fridge- shown above- and the other 

I cooked for the next day! 

Finally: a healthy cheesecake made by Mazzou for Valentine's Day 2013! (thanks to Sally Fallon's book Nourishing Traditions for the original recipe!)
2016 update: this doesn't follow my current strict health code (Sweetened with Stevia) but it's fun for the person just beginning a healthy diet! :)

• Ingredients:
• 2 cups nuts (I used almonds and walnuts)
• 1 cup pitted dates and/or raisins (you could even use figs or apricots- whichever you prefer/whatever is cheaper! I used dates and raisins)
• 4 cups cream cheese softened
• 4 organic or free range eggs, separated, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups milk, preferably raw milk
• 2 tablespoons gelatin
• 1/2 cup raw honey (I used about 1/4 cup because I'm trying to eat a very minimal amount of sweet things.)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla (sugarless; preferably homemade!)
• pinch sea salt
• some raspberries (to taste!)
• unsweetened dark chocolate or pieces of an organic chocolate bar (to taste!) or carob coconut balls, frozen

In a food processor, process dates (and/or raisins) and almonds (and/or walnuts) until they form a sticky mass. (if not sticky enough, you could add some melted butter and/or honey! Also consider flavoring your crust with lemon zest or cinnamon...) Press into a buttered 9 inch by 13 inch pyrex pan to form a crust. (Next, I did bake my crust for 10 minutes in a 325 F degree oven just for fun, and then cooled it in the freezer while I prepared everything else!)

Put egg yolks and milk in a sauce pan, beat lightly, sprinkle with gelatin and warm slightly until gelatin is dissolved. In a food processor (or mixer), combine cream cheese, honey and vanilla and process until smooth. Add yolk/milk mixture and process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and place in refrigerator while beating egg whites. Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff, fold into cream-cheese mixture along with your desired amount of raspberries and chocolate pieces/crumbles and pour into crust. Chill several hours before serving. Garnish with extra raspberries and chocolate pieces.

Optional, but not as healthy: I cooked my second mini cheesecake in a 325 F degree toaster oven until it was set and golden on the top. Pictured above is the raw version.
With the minimal amount of honey which I put in the recipe, the raw version was sweeter than the cooked version, which was more like an Italian cheesecake appetizer!

DO ENJOY! :)