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Healthy Zemlbaba Recipe (WEM/FM)
Recipes | March 30, 2017
This is a healthy spin on one of my favorite childhood desserts that grandma used to make. Zemblbaba is typical Czech baked dessert made with apples, white bread, milk, butter, sugar and cinnamon. It’s a total comfort food and also the easiest thing to make. This is how my grandma would make the use of a stale bread – she would revive it by soaking it in milk and then make a dessert. She would never waste food. Food was scarce back then. It’s not like today, especially here in the US where food is everywhere. The only difference is that the prices for fresh produce went way up and the cheap, junk food is what most people can afford. If I can give you advice on how to save a little bit of money – keep your healthy sprouted whole grain Ezekiel bread sliced in the freezer. You can have a fresh toast any time you want. If you don’t do that, then you’ll either end up throwing out the stale remaining of the bread, or force yourself to eat it before it goes stale even if you’re not hungry. I’m talking from a personal experience.
I have substituted the milk for coconut milk, used grass-fed butter and ditched the sugar all together. Remember that you can buy Swerve Sweetener (and other non-perishable food) for cheaper at Thrive.
If you’re really carb sensitive, then you can earn this meal with a workout (just make sure you do a high intensity workout on the same day). The Ezekiel bread is way better than any regular bread you find in the store. Sprouted whole grains are healthy for us and have a positive effect on our insulin and blood sugar levels. That’s why this recipe can also be considered a free meal.
*Yields about 6 portions.
Ingredients
2 eggs
5 slices of Ezekiel toast with raisins (if you have regular Ezekiel bread, add 2-3 tbsp raisins to this recipe)
2 large sweet apples (I used Envy) peeled, and cored
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp lemon zest, finely grated
3 tbsp Swerve Sweetener (powdered)
1 tbsp Swerve Sweetener (granulated)
2 tbsp grass-fed butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees
- Shred the apples coarsely and mix them in a bowl with 1/4 tsp cinnamon and 1 tbsp granulated Swerve. Set aside.
- If you’re keeping your sliced Ezekiel bread in the freezer like me, you want to toast 5 pieces but only lightly. The toast shouldn’t be dark, only crunchy and soft. Tear up the bread into small pieces and place them into a round 8 inch (or a similar size equivalent) baking dish.
- Open a can of coconut milk, mix well until smooth and then pour 1 cup of the milk over the pieces of bread. Let the bread soak in the coconut milk.
- Crack the eggs and separate the yolks from the whites.
- In a small dish, mix 1 tbsp of cold butter with the powdered Swerve until smooth. Use a fork. Then add the yolks and mix again until smooth. Add the grated lemon zest and mix well.
- Add the smooth yolk mixture into the dish with soaked bread and mix well. Add the apples to the baking dish as well and mix again.
- Beat the egg whites until you create a really thick foam. Add the foam to the dough in the baking dish and mix well for the last time.
- Slice the remaining tablespoon of butter very thinly and place the slices on top of the dough in the baking dish.
- Place the dish into the preheated oven and bake for about 45 minutes until golden brown on top.
- Garnish each portion with little bit of ground cinnamon and crushed walnuts. Serve warm.
Macros Per Portion:
Calories: 169.3
Carbs: 25.6 g
Net Carbs: 21.5 g
Fat: 6.8 g
Protein: 4.6 g
Private Member |
Oh wow, it sounds delicious!
Private Member |
switzerland/, france
we have something similar in Switzerland (and maybe France too?) called “pain perdu”, like “wasted bread”, but it is just beaten eggs and milk, soaking the bread and frying in a pan. then you put some sugar and voilà.
will try your version too, though Essene bread (a local version of sprouted grains bread) is very sweet already, so maybe no need to added sugar.
I would love to hear a version of TORTILLA with almond flour, to make wraps to bring a meal on the go.
this is so convenient (especially breakfast).
Private Member |
seattle, washington
And we call that French Toast here in the USA!
Private Member |
Just need to get coconut milk! The one that is in carton like almond milk? Or can of coconut milk?
Private Member |
ellijay, ga, united states
That kind of sounds kind of similar to bread pudding, but with apples! It sounds DELICIOUS! I wonder if that could be made up in a pinch as a small portion in a mug in a microwave. Mmmmmmm!
Private Member |
Sounds good, but for some reason Ezekiel bread gives me massive heartburn. Like nauseated burning in the pit of my stomach. 🙁
Private Member |
johannesburg, south africa
In South Africa we call it bread pudding, recipe is similiar but no apples and we spread jam and butter on one of the bread. 🙂
Private Member |
liverpool, uk
Does anyone from the uk knows where to buy Ezekiel bread? I bought sprouted bread in the health shop but it’s very dense and looks like a black brick!
Private Member |
toronto, on
Zuzko, you’re from Prague, which is the “Cechy” region of the Czech Republic. I am from a small town (Moravske Budejovice), which is near Brno, and the “Moravian” part of the Czech Republic…I suspect that is why I grew up knowing this dish as “Zemlovka” 🙂 “Zemlbaba” sounds so harsh, something from a fairytale! <3 lol
Thanks for this twist on it, I'll share it with my mum.
Private Member |
czech republic
My ex-husband was from Prague and he also knew this as “zemlbaba” 🙂 I am a Moravian gilr knowing this as Zemlovka 🙂 it’s like “naberacka” and “sufanek” 😀
Private Member |
salem, or, usa
No matter what you call it, it’s DELICIOUS!! I made it this morning and left it to bake while I went for my run. It was a little bit of extra motivation knowing that I got to come home to it. 😋 It was a big hit with my whole family!
I had a question for @ZuzkaLight: I was wondering if you had any low-carb options/recipes for Mac and cheese? It’s the one thing I can’t seem to live without on a low-carb diet. 😜
Private Member |
florida, usa
Hey Aleta 🙂 Regarding the low-carb mac and cheese, I immediately thought of a spaghetti squash as a substitute for pasta! I suppose you could also try some sort of other low-carb spiralized veggie such as rutabaga. It won’t be quite the same but I suspect the spaghetti squash mac and cheese would be delicious. You could even just replace half the pasta with that and add in veggies and it would be much lower in carbs. Now I’m craving mac and cheese, hahah…
Private Member |
salem, or, usa
Great ideas! I’d already considered the spaghetti squash. I use that for spaghetti any time we have it for dinner. My husband makes the most fabulous spaghetti sauce with tomato sauce that we canned from our garden, lots of veggies, lean ground beef, and spices. Nothing else. It’s phenomenal! I also considered a quinoa pasta and just make it a WEM. I’ll have to experiment I guess. Lol!
Private Member |
florida, usa
That sounds fabulous! A simple, homemade tomato sauce is like nothing else (especially from tomatoes you grew yourself). Quinoa pasta would be a lovely substition. Hey, you gotta have your mac n’ cheese somehow 🙂
Private Member |
salem, or, usa
😋😉
Private Member |
Have you tried pasta zero or miracle noodle? I’ve also seen some recipes online using cauliflower as a noodle substitute. Personally pasta zero fettuccini cut into small pieces was the best immitation I have tried.!
Private Member |
salem, or, usa
I haven’t heard of those. I will have to look for them. Thanks! 😊
Private Member |
Does anybody from Czech Republic know, if it is possible to get there the Ezekiel toast? 🙂
Private Member |
You can make your own sprouted grain breads. Just need wheat berries and the ability to grind the sprouted grain. Alternatively you can buy sprouted grain flour. Here is a recipe I found online: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/7106/essene-bread/
I seldom eat bread but when I do I make my own. That way I control the quality and ingredients. I also always, always knead the bread by hand. It’s my upper arm workout buyout for eating the bread! I love the smell of the yeast and how warm it feels in my hands when I knead, almost a spiritual experience. Making breads are easy once you figure out that you can’t over knead if you do it by hand versus hard bread is possible with bread makers which can over knead if you don’t follow the recipe closely.
Because I don’t use preservatives in my bread they do grow stale easily, so now I have a use for my stale bread! I’m going to try this recipe with mangoes instead to make a tropical treat.