So listen up, I am pretty much
Paleo/
Primal. There is one vice that is holding me back, which I won’t go into detail about right now. I am extremely active and so I freely enjoy eating Okinawa purple sweet potatoes and pumpkin. One thing I miss being a gluten free, primal Jew is all the food. I sometimes long for the days when I freely enjoyed Challah bread with honey, along with Matzoh at Passover and so forth. I have hypothyroidism and I avoid gluten because of this, my under active thyroid is the main reason why I turned to the paleo/primal diet in the first place. I also don’t think grains are essential, but when I want a bagel with lox or some matzoh ball soup, grains start looking a lot more essential.
Naturally I had to come up with an alternative. A way to have my bagel and eat it too. A way to have some challah. Most of the baked goods I make are visually unappealing. They look like something you would build a house out of (aka a brick), not something edible by any means, but they still taste good. I often look at traditional Jewish recipes and try and find a different way and a better way. Below are my recipes for Challah style bagels and Everything Bagels, which are perfect substitutes. The Challah style bagel is pretty much Paleo friendly, but the Everything Bagels do contain Millet and Garbanzo bean flour. I live alone so all of my recipes yield 2-3 servings at the most.
As far as categorizing myself as Paleo or Primal, I really don't care much for doing that either. I think there a lot of people out there that feel their way of eating is the only way and is the most right way and I disagree. I feel that putting grains in my body is like putting poison in my body, but I will never expect anyone to feel the same way. Everything in life is about balance and I too am beginning to learn that.
Mock Challah (In Bagel Form), makes two small bagels
-1 jumbo egg
-31g (1/4c) coconut flour
-1 tsp guar gum
-1 1/2 packets stevia
-1 tsp sesame and poppy seeds
-3 TBSP coconut milk
-1/2 tsp non aluminum baking powder
-water (as needed)
-Coconut oil spray
-Foil
Preheat oven to 400 F and boil a large pot of water with salt. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray with coconut oil cooking spray. In a bowl mix all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl combine the egg and coconut milk. Combine with the dry ingredients, add the apple cider vinegar and water as needed. If the mixture is too dry add more water. The consistency should be doughy. Spray your hands with the coconut oil cooking spray and separate the dough into two even balls. Roll the dough into balls, put them on the pan and insert finger to make a hole. Drop the bagels into the boiling water, boiling for 15-30 sec per side. Put them back on the pan, sprinkle each bagel with sesame and poppy seeds. Bake until hard on the outside and slightly browned.
Sun dried Tomato Everything Bagels
-1 TBSP artichoke flour (optional)
-3 TBSP coconut milk
-1 tsp golden flaxseed meal
-1 jumbo egg white
-1 packet stevia
-1tsp each sesame, poppy seeds, caraway seeds
-1 tsp each garlic and onion powder
-2 pcs sun dried tomatoes, sliced into small pcs
-1/2 ounce artichoke hearts (optional)
-2 roasted garlic cloves, diced
-Water, as needed
Same exact directions as the Mock Challah, except mix in the caraway seeds and leave the sesame and poppy seeds for the end
