Blueberry Breakfast Cake (and the joys of Menopause!)

 

I'm sure you are scratching your head, wondering how in the world a blueberry breakfast cake can relate to menopause. Am I right?

Let me explain.

I like to think of menopause as a game of Whack-a-Mole. One weird symptom comes up, you face it and find a way to deal with it, and give it a good whack. And then a little while later, another weird symptom will come up, and you are playing the game all over again.

I've been having issues with bloating for many months now. We're talking "Drink a cup of coffee or have a glass of water, and a short while later, looking like I'm six months pregnant" kind of bloating. It is very annoying and uncomfortable. I've taken to wearing lots of flowy summertime tunic tops to try to cover it up.

So once again, I've started looking at my diet and wondering if there are certain things that could be triggering this reaction.

For the past month, I've been eliminating dairy from my diet, and I think it's making a difference. I've gone back to almond and oat milk for coffee creamer, and only using cheese sparingly, usually feta. Goodbye, summertime ice cream. 

I'm also eliminating wheat flour products, like breads and pastas, and pastries and crackers and such. I'm trying to use more gluten-free products: gluten free oats, rice flour, almond flour. I also think this is helping.

Which brings me to today's recipe!

Ha! You knew I'd get there eventually, right?

I had a large quantity of Michigan blueberries from my farm subscription and needed to do something with them. I looked for an almond flour blueberry recipe on Pinterest, found one, and modified it to suit my tastes.

And how did it taste? Delicious!

Blueberry Breakfast Cake

3 eggs

2 t. vanilla extract (or 1 t. vanilla and 1 t. almond extract)

juice from half lemon

zest from half lemon

1/2 c. melted butter

2 1/2 c. almond flour

1/2 c. pure cane sugar

1/2 t. sea salt

1/2  t. baking soda

1 c. fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8 inch square pan with non-stick spray. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla extract, lemon juice, zest and butter. In another bowl, whisk together almond flour, sugar, salt and baking soda. Gradually add dry ingredients to egg mixture, stirring until combined. In a separate bowl, toss blueberries with a tablespoon of almond flour. This will prevent them from sinking to the bottom. Fold the blueberries gently into the mix and pour into pan. Gently press a few extra blueberries on the top. Bake for 30 minutes uncovered, then remove and cover with aluminum foil and bake for another 15 minutes until set (test with a toothpick). Let cool and enjoy! Great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (if you are okay with dairy!). 

Mmm! Is there anything better than warm blueberries? 

As a side note, I purchased almond flour from Walmart (their Great Value brand), but I've also purchased it from Aldi. I think I will also try using Bob's Red Mill gluten-free 1-1 flour soon.

Staying healthy seems like a full time job some days! Hope you are enjoying the fruits of summer!