With my new cookbook well under way and keeping me very busy, I’ve lined up some fellow bloggers to do guest posts for me two Saturdays a month. My autoimmune condition is heavily fueled by stress, so in an effort to stay healthy, these friends will help relieve some of the stress and keep recipes still coming your way! Today we have Maria from Maria Nutrition. She is a wellness and nutrition expert focused on grain-free recipes. Maria and her husband adopted 2 boys from Ethiopia last year and she has still managed to put out a new cookbook on top of her other three! Please give Maria a warm welcome to Against All Grain!
I first want to thank Danielle for letting me post on her beautiful blog. I can't wait to see her new cookbook! It will definitely be a book on my kitchen counter, no doubt!
For those who aren't familiar with me, I am a food blogger and author who specializes in making comfort foods without sugars or grains. My background in nutrition science has taught me what my body shouldn't be consuming which is why I have a passion for helping people live a healthier lifestyle and making healthified alternatives to the comfort foods people love. I also have a special passion for helping kids since it is so critical that they have proper nutrition in order to thrive and develop. I adopted 2 boys, Micah and Kai, from Ethiopia last year and want them to enjoy special treats, just “healthified.”
One of the treats I loved growing up was Betty Crocker Lemon Bars. In addition to the sugar and flour, they contain “Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and/or Cottonseed Oil”. This makes these bars very bad for our bodies. The trans fats that result from man-made hydrogenation methods have been proven to act as “decoys” that our body’s cells uses in place the healthy fats it needs. Since trans fats are not chemically active and evolutionary wise, quite new to our body, our cells don’t know what to do with them. So they act as metabolic massacres.
They have 3 main issues:
1. Trans fats reduce cellular integrity. This will affect the:
a. Digestive tracts causing digestive issues
b. Lungs, causing asthma
c. Internal cells, causing allergies
When this happens the digestive tract, lungs and internal cells start to allow undigested foods, viruses, and even potential carcinogens into the bloodstream. Undigested proteins causes antibodies to produce, which begin to attack similar proteins native to the body! This will cause autoimmune diseases, as well as allergies and inflammation.
2. Trans fats (Yes, Jiff Peanut Butter! And Coffee Mate!) cause you to eat 6 times as much as you ordinarily would! This happens because the body needs chemically active essential fatty acids. Our body can’t make them, we must consume them. Essential fatty acids are needed for a healthy central nervous system, hormones, brain cells, membranes as well as other organs of our body. When this begins to happen this causes obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Dr. Johana Budwig was way ahead of her time when she proved that trans fats were causing extreme harm to our body in 1950’s!!! She was silenced by the food producers.
3. When the cells reliability, the cell membranes can’t interact as they should; therefore, the immune system gets confused. Every cell in our body has essential fatty acids and proteins on the outer walls that aid as little helpers for the immune system. They identify what is good and bad for your body and cells. But if we ingest trans fats, the “little helpers” are replaced by trans fats and they are no longer present to help out the immune system…enter autoimmune diseases.
So I hope you enjoy this healthified version of my childhood favorite; without the grains, sugars and trans fat. I am very thankful for the opportunity Danielle has given me to do this guest post and share some nutrition information and this recipe.
I use erythritol and stevia sweeteners for many reasons. Most of my clients have very damaged metabolisms or diabetics and are unable to even use natural sweeteners like coconut nectar or honey. Swerve is a specific brand that I like because it uses ingredients that are GMO free, doesn't affect blood sugar, zero calories and gluten free.
Swerve has two primary ingredients, Erythritol and Oligosaccharides. Erythritol is made by fermenting glucose with Moniliella pollinis (a natural microorganism found in honeycomb) which breaks down the glucose and yields erythritol. Erythritol also naturally occurs in many fruits and vegetables like melons, grapes, asparagus as well as fermented foods. It is classified by the FDA as a zero calorie, 4-carbon sugar alcohol that does not affect blood glucose. Oligosaccharides are sweet, non-digestible carbohydrates extracted from fruit and vegetable sources. They are similar to fiber and can help stimulate beneficial bacteria in the large intestine.
So instead of telling my clients that they can no longer have desserts, I like to help re-create some favorites for them. I find that they stay on track better and heal faster.
From Danielle: Note that she does use alternative sweeteners than what we normally use on this site. While I haven't tried it, I imagine you could sub in honey or maple but you may need to reduce another liquid just a bit.
| Ingredients CRUST 3/4 cup blanched almond flour 1/4 cup coconut flour 1/2 cup coconut oil or butter 1/2 cup Swerve (or erythritol and 1 tsp stevia glycerite) 1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt
FILLING |
Directions
CRUST: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 8 x 8 square glass pan. In a medium bowl, mix ingredients. This will be a thick cookie crust; press onto bottom of pan. Place in oven to pre-bake the crust. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
FILLING: In a medium bowl, beat the ingredients for the filling until well combined. Pour the mixture evenly over the pre-baked crust and bake again for about 15-20 minutes or until set. Let cool. Store in fridge or freezer in an airtight container. Makes about 16 bars.
NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per bar)
Traditional Lemon Bar = 160 calories, 8g fat, 1.9g protein, 19g carbs, trace fiber
“Healthified” Lemon Bar = 112 calories, 10g fat, 3g protein, 2.5g carbs, 1.2g fiber
Maria Emmerich is a wellness expert and best selling author of several books. The latest edition of her book “Secrets to a Healthy Metabolism” has the foreword written by New York Times #1 Best Selling author of “Wheat Belly” Dr. William Davis. She has a passion for helping people start a healthier lifestyle. Weight loss is often a side effect of helping treat any number of problems including diabetes, cholesterol issues, alopecia, hashimoto's, autoimmune diseases and much more. Maria has also authored a handful of other grain-free cookbooks – find them here on her website!
Find Maria on Facebook and Pinterest
Vivian
These are fantastic! I make them all the time and I half the sweeteners (finding they are plenty sweet to me). This is one of my go-to recipes when I want a great dessert! Maria’s recipes are the best! 🙂
Amy Sikes
I LOVE lemon bars! I’m excited to give this recipe a try (though I will try the honey substitution for the Swerve).
Kate N.
I made these lemon bars a couple of weeks ago when Maria posted them on her FB page. The are SOOOOOO delicious. When you are a single person, as I am, and you make a recipe that yields 16 servings……the biggest problem is that every time you open the fridge…your hand just reaches for another lemon bar! 🙂
Zosia
Hi there 🙂
Great post.
I have a few questions:
1) Why do some people find that erythritol and/or oxylitol upsets their digestion? What is it about these substances that causes this reaction?
2) What is glycerine and why/how is it sweet? (Is glycerite the same thing?)
3) Could pure (powdered) stevia be replaced for the stevia glycerite?
Thank you and Merry Christmas!
Maria Emmerich
Thanks Zosia!
1) Erythritol is a sugar alcohol or polyol. It is found naturally in some fruits and fermented foods. The typical manufacturing process involves using yeast to ferment glucose (typically from vegetables), which is why those same people have problems eating cabbage, they have a compromised digestive system. When using good non-GMO vegetables, this process is no less natural than distilling maple syrup.
2) The glycerite form of stevia is a non-bitter form of stevia. It is a little less sweet than pure stevia.
3) Pure powdered stevia is fine, but I don’t recommend STEVIA IN THE RAW:
Stevia is 600 times sweeter than sugar so some brands add maltodexterin as a bulking agent so it can be used in place of sugar.
Dextrose – Dextrose is simply a form of glucose. Food companies like to use “dextrose” on their packaging instead of “glucose” because consumers have negative associations with glucose. Dextrose is derived from starchy food ingredients like wheat, rice or potatoes but it is most likely GMO (Gentically Modified Organism) Corn.
Maltodextrin – It is produced from corn starch, rice, or potato. And often contains MSG, yet it doesn’t need to be labeled. I thought this would get your attention: Consuming MSG triples the amount of insulin the pancreas creates…excess insulin = obesity. Maltodexterin is also known to affect blood sugar levels and cause tooth decay.
Sarah
I would recommend that you research FODMAPS. In contrast to what was stated above, research out of Australia, Univ. of Virginia, and elsewhere has found that oligosaccharides and other indigestible short-chain carbohydrates have the opposite effect of promoting beneficial bacteria and can cause digestion problems. My daughter was prescribed a low-FODMAP diet by her pediatric gastroenterologist, which is how I learned about this. She is on a fairly strict regimen and cannot (or can only minimally) tolerate almost anything with an -ol. I am part of several support groups, one with an international scope, so I know she is not alone in this intolerance.
Katie
Erythritol is a ‘sugar alcohol,’ as is oxylitol. According to Jim Earles, “Sugar alcohols are not broken down in the stomach, so they make their way intact into the bowels. It is here in the bowels that “passive diffusion”… takes place, meaning that the presence of the sugar alcohols draws water into the bowels. This leads to the fermentation by undesirable bacteria and a resultant partial degradation or “metabolism” of the sugar alcohols. (This fermentation of intestinal bacteria can lead to or exacerbate problems with candida and other yeast problems.) The direct result of this chain of events is the severe stomach cramping and diarrhea that many people experience after ingesting too much sugar alcohol.” There’s an article about this on the Weston A. Price Foundation website called “Sugar-Free Blues: Everything you wanted to know about artificial sweeteners.” Click the part about sugar alcohols. Definitely worth a read.
Greenmama
lemon bars were one of my favorite pre-GAPS baked goods. I was just brainstorming yesterday about coming up with a GAPS safe lemon bar for Christmas, so it was so nice to get this recipe in my inbox this morning, thank you! I subbed honey and included the zest from the lemons that I juiced for the recipe. The filling did have to bake a bit longer (I’m guessing due to the honey). They are so good warm from the oven, can’t wait to see how they are after the cool down and once they are chilled! Thanks for the perfect timing on this great recipe!
Rose
How were they once they cooled?
Paula
I cannot eat eggs. Is there a substitute for the eggs?
Maria Emmerich
Hmmm, I usually suggest doing the flax and water substitute, but in this case, I recommend using more lemon juice instead! Happy Baking!
Sandy
Hi I really love your site , but I am trying to bake the crust
And it is very wet, your other readers have made them so
I do far have had it in the oven 20 mins and still soupy
Brenda
I wish I had read these comments before making it. I used Stevia In the Raw. It tastes terrible! Wasted some expensive coconut and almond flour….sigh
Paolo
I made these tonight with honey instead of the swerve, and they turned out great. The honey is definitely noticeable, but not over powering. However, the filling was very liquidy so instead of pouring it right onto the crust, I cooked it in a saucepan over low heat to create a custard, just like you would with normal lemon bars. After it thickened I pressed the custard through a sieve, poured it over the crust, and popped it back in the oven for 20 minutes.
@Sandy. My crust was also wet when I pulled it out of the oven after its initial 15 minutes. But after letting it cool while making the filling and the second 20 minute cooking time, it turned out a lovely golden brown. Did yours finish baking OK?
France
Congrats on your feature Maria, you have changed the way I look at food (and specially GRAINS!) and I’m glad you got featured here as it’s one more good site to have on my list!
Maria Emmerich
Thanks France!
Lisa
Is it possible to substitute only the stevia instead of using Swerve? If so, how much stevia would you recommend. Thanks!
Maria Emmerich
I think that would be fine for the filling, but I am afraid the crust would lose some bulk and the texture may be off. 🙂
Summer
i made these with high hopes (love lemon bars!) but i don’t think the recipe is successful using honey. the proportions are off for the crust and when i added the filling mixture to the cooked, cooled crust — when it came out of the oven it was 1 big mess — the layers had sogged together and there was no visible lemon layer. I am an experienced scd/gaps baker and made several adjustments to compensate for the honey with no success.
Rashelle
I made these and they were great, but that sweetener did a number on my tummy….I will try a different sweetener next time….YIKES!
Dani
I made these with coconut cyrstals. I used 1/4 cup in both the crust and the filling. They were a little sweet for me, so next time I will use 1/8 of a cup of the crystals, or maybe none at all in the filing. I really like the tartness of lemons. The crust was rather dry and the filling rather liquidy, but I poured on top and baked. They looked nothing like Maria’s but were really good nonetheless. The result of the dryer crust and more liquidy filling was that the filling filled in the spaces. It was not as “two layered” as the picture. Will definitely make again. Ono!!
Heather
Hi there! This looks amazing. I am new to this lifestyle and I notice so many recipes call for honey. I was just wondering if anyone can recommend a specific brand or type of honey I should be using. I imagine the little bear that I have in my cupboard isn’t acceptable thanks!
Elizabeth
I use raw honey because it has the most natural nutrients However, not everyone likes raw honey when baking because it’s a little thicker and the heat kills off some of those nutrients anyway (although not as many as you lose in processed honey). I measure out the honey and put it in the oven as it preheats if I really need liquid honey, and that works well for me!
Nissa
We made these today! Amazing! The kids are in love.
The only things we did different were we subbed out coconut palm sugar for the Swerve. That does make the topping more caramel color, but the taste is wonderful. I also did what Paolo said above: after mixing the filling, I cooked it on the stove top to thicken it. Waiting for the crust to cool as directed ensured both layers staying separate. . Great recipe! Thank you.
Katie
Made these with some fresh Meyer lemons from my husbands farm, they were delicious. Oh and I also used honey as my sweetner. I used half of what it asked for both with the crust and filling. I love this recipe it’s going down as a perminate favorite in my household.
Christian
I made these this weekend and while delicious, I think the recipe is definitely too sweet for anyone who is paleo. I would suggest leaving the swerve (or other sweetener) completely out of the crust…I think it would still bake up fine. I would also recommend doubling the filling so there is a higher ratio of lemony goodness to crust. The swerve has a similar “cooling effect” to other sweeteners like xylitol that I don’t find pleasant, so next time I’ll use pure stevia and compensate for the bulk of the sugar in the filling with 1-2 extra eggs. I try not to use even honey (that sugar monster is easily awakened in me), and I have found that substituting 1 egg for each 1/4 cup of honey with stevia to taste works out just fine.
Erin Walker
Oh my goodness!! These look to good to eat. What a beautiful picture! I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Kirsty
This lemon bar is fantastic! I use less sweetener as the lemon is enough flavour for me.
Tamra Nosnirb
I only used half the amount of sweetener called for and used maple syrup instead as well. These turned out so fantastic.
Kathy
My crust is not a “thick cookie crust” consistency. It’s very liquidy, more like cake batter. I left out the sweetener completely, as mentioned in one of the comments. I then added more of each flour to thicken it up and stuck it in the oven. It’s been in the oven for over 20 minutes. Do you think it will come out as a crust when cooled?
Sarah
Can I use xylitol (granuated) in place of the sweeteners in the recipe? Would I switch them 1:1?
Monique
These lemon bars are delicious! You would never know they are sugar/grain free. I am wondering if Maria doubled the crust recipe in her picture because mine was thinner?
Ross
hello,
I just made these bars and followed the directions to a tee. I used Anthony’s erithrytol because I didn’t have Swerve.
I regret to say that all I could feel was the erithrytol. Not even the slightest hint of lemons : (
Having said that, the presentation was good.
just trying to be honest. Thank you.