Celebrate Like a Diva! Grain-free Irish Soda Bread
Celebrations are an important part of our emotional health. The emotions around these events can raise (or lower) our endorphins and alter our mood. Often, these celebrations involve dairy and gluten-packed traditional foods. St. Patrick’s Day is no exception. I grew up loving this holiday and the feasting that went along with it. Unfortunately, some of these traditional foods (beer, soda bread, and Shamrock Shakes) would leave me sick for days. Now that I maintain a PCOS Diva lifestyle, I still celebrate and indulge, but now I do it Diva style!
Irish Soda Bread
Irish Soda Bread was an important part of the St. Patrick’s Day celebration growing up in my Irish neighborhood – a staple of the feast.
However, the traditional recipe would leave me feeling ill for days. Unwilling to give up the tradition, I have developed a grain and gluten-free PCOS Diva-friendly version. Now I can savor the tradition, enjoy a slice and celebrate like a Diva. I still slice an X in the top to ward off the devil! I prefer substituting pumpkin seeds for caraway and cranberries for raisins.
Ingredients:
2 cups blanched almond flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
¾ cups coconut flour
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. xanthum gum
2 T coconut sugar
2 T unsalted Kerrygold butter
1/3 cup dried cranberries or raisins
¼ cup pumpkin seeds and/or 1 tsp caraway seeds
1/3 cup coconut milk
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
2 eggs
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, add almond flour, coconut flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, xanthan gum, coconut sugar and whisk until well combined. Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut in butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Stir in seeds and cranberries or raisins into the dry mixture.
In a glass measuring cup, add coconut milk, vinegar, and egg and lightly beat. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture; pour the wet mixture into dry ingredients and mix together with a rubber spatula just until the dough pulls together into a soft ball.
Shape dough with hands into a rounded loaf and transfer to a lightly greased cast-iron skillet or parchment-lined baking sheet. Using a sharp serrated knife, score the top of the loaf with “X-shaped” 1/2-inch deep slashes.
Place in a 350 degree F oven and bake until golden brown, about 30-35 minutes. If additional browning is desired, reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake approximately 5 minutes longer. Bread is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes; transfer bread to a wire rack to cool.
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If you enjoyed this recipe, you will love my Spring Meal Plan. It is packed with more recipes that will satisfy your cravings while nourishing and healing your body. Spring is upon us, and it’s time to start enjoying the fruits of the season! You will enjoy Mint Mojito Smoothies, Spring Minestrone Soup, Cajun Grilled Shrimp, Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp, and much more.
Amy Medling, the best-selling author of Healing PCOS and certified health coach, specializes in working with women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), who are frustrated and have lost all hope when the only solution their doctors offer is to lose weight, take a pill, and live with their symptoms. In response, Amy founded PCOS Diva and developed a proven protocol of supplements, diet, and lifestyle programs that offer women tools to help them gain control of their PCOS and regain their fertility, femininity, health, and happiness. | Read More on PCOS Diva