Nutty Protein Bread

One of the greatest challenges I face as a nutritionist is getting my clients off bread. As one of the world’s oldest prepared foods, bread has over time devolved from a whole grain, fiber rich staple into a refined, processed and genetically modified loaf that has nearly no nutritional redemption. In fact, eating bread regularly may be contributing to weight gain, inflammation and other serious health concerns.

In his groundbreaking book, Wheat Belly, cardiologist Dr. William Davis discusses the very first prescription he offers his new patients: the elimination of wheat from their diets. Over the course of his career he has found wheat to be the biggest contributor to out of control cravings, an insatiable appetite, the accumulation of belly fat and the prevalence of heart disease. By eliminating wheat, his patients begin to lose weight and get a better handle on their health.

Yet bread is difficult to give up. It is right up there with warm chocolate chip cookies (also made of wheat, I will point out) and milk as the classic comfort food. And many people struggle to eliminate it. I know I did. I used to love making homemade breads and would experiment with different kinds of flours and flavors. Whether it was used to make sandwiches or as a side with a bowl of soup or just to dip in olive oil, these homemade breads were an absolute staple in my house. Yet the benefit of eliminating wheat was impossible to ignore. I simply felt better without it.

On a recent Sunday I decided to revisit my old culinary friend and have a go at a high fiber and gluten free bread. Made with almond and coconut flours, eggs and loads of nuts and seeds, this version is also high in protein and essential fatty acids. You can use it for sandwiches, as part of breakfast, or in my case, dipped in herbed olive oil. God, is there a better thing in the world than bread dipped in olive oil? And this bread did not disappoint. It was absolutely delicious!

If you’ve been thinking of eliminating wheat from your diet but were afraid you’d miss the bread, I encourage you to make this recipe. It is not only gluten fee but it is also low in carbs, therefore it will also help your waistline.

Enjoy! And then let me know what you think~

Have a great Monday!
xo
B

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Nutty Protein Bread

Yield: One loaf

Ingredients

  • 2 cups almond flour
  • 2 tbsp coconut flour
  • ¼ cup ground flax seeds
  • ¼ teaspoon Himalayan salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ cup chopped, assorted nuts and seeds (I used Brazil nuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, almonds and pine nuts)
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon organic coconut oil
  • 1 tbsp raw honey
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1/3 cup hemp seeds
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
  • Grapeseed oil to grease the pan

Directions

  • Pre-heat the oven to 350’
  • Place almond flour, coconut flour, ground flax seeds, salt, and baking soda in a mixing bowl and with a fork or whisk, blend the ingredients together well.
  • In a small food processor, pulse-blend the assorted nuts and seeds (NOT the hemp and chia seeds) until they become small, almost powdery. Add these nuts to the mixture above.
  • In another smaller mixing bowl, blend the eggs, coconut oil, honey and cider vinegar until mixed well.
  • Add liquid mixture to the powder mixture and using a rubber spatula blend ingredients well until you have a nice batter. Batter should be on the liquidity side, not like a standard bread dough.
  • Mix in the hemp seeds and chia seeds.
  • Use grapeseed oil (or olive oil if you can’t get grapeseed) to grease a bread loaf pan. Grease it well.
  • Pour in batter and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. Test with toothpick to see if the inside is done. I found that I had to reduce the heat to 250 for an additional 10 minutes to finish baking the inside without burning the outside.
  • Remove from pan and place on a cooling rack.

Slice and serve…
Enjoy~

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