Gluten-free, Sugar-free Millet and Bread Puddings

Millet Pudding

All foods can be categorized under the five broad flavors of sweet, sour, salty, bitter and pungent. Therefore, when making a dessert the foods that are naturally sweet can be used, but to use only the sweet would give it a sickly sweet flavor. Some other flavor complement or two must be present to accent the sweetness and perhaps heighten it. If you consider the ingredients, millet, coconut oil, and zucchini are all naturally sweet. As for the spices, while cinnamon is both sweet and pungent, the other spices are primarily pungent. The cranberries are sour, which makes sense since they are a very low glycemic fruit. And to make a "tasty" dish, three of the five flavors must be utilized ... and they are in the millet pudding - sweet, sour, and pungent, and so using three flavors when blending is a formula for making tasty but simple foods.

My "desserts" have been enjoyed by people with a sweet tooth, and most acknowledge that while it could be made better with processed sugar or sweeteners, the desserts were surprisingly satisfying.

Millet Pudding

2 1/2 cups hot cooked millet
1/2+ cup coconut oil
1/2 zucchini, sliced
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2/3 teaspoon coriander
1/3 teaspoon cardamom
1/3 teaspoon cloves
sea salt
1 cup walnut halves
1 1/2 cups fresh/frozen cranberries
water as needed

In a blender, blend the hot millet, coconut oil, zucchini, and water as needed. When the coconut oil is creamy, add the spices. In an 8"x8" baking dish, put a tablespoon or two of coconut oil, and heat in the over for 5 minutes. When the oil is hot, oil the baking dish, leaving the remaining oil. On the bottom of the baking dish, spread the walnuts. Then pour the millet batter over the walnuts, and over the batter lay on the cranberries. Dust with cloves. Bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

Bread Pudding

To make bread pudding, some kind of leftover muffins are necessary. I used Quinoa Cranberry Muffins here. I also needed to whip up some almond milk to pour over 3 muffins after they were broken up, but of course before pouring, I added some coconut oil and extra spices (cinnamon, coriander, cardamom, and cloves) and a little salt to the "milk". I tossed a handful of almonds over the broken muffins, poured enough "milk" over everything to cover the muffins, dusted the top with cloves and/or cinnamon, and baked the dish on 350F for 35 or so minutes. It came out quite creamy!