Easy Paleo Waffles

Back to school means more planning for healthy and nutritious (but fast) breakfasts. That's where this waffle recipe comes in! It is pretty easy to make, freezes well and reheats well for those busy school mornings.

• 3 egg yolks, room temperature
• 3 egg whites, room temperature
• 1/4 cup coconut milk or water 
• 1/2 cup ground sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup ground pumpkin seeds
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
• Tallow or coconut oil for waffle iron

Directions:

Preheat waffle iron, I use cast iron so I put it on medium heat as I begin the recipe to ensure it is hot enough. In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks and milk. Add flour and salt. Combine until smooth. Add melted coconut oil. Add vanilla. Whisk egg whites until they form moist, stiff peaks. Fold about ¼ of egg whites into batter. Fold batter into remaining egg whites in three parts. Scoop 1/2 c. of batter onto a preheated and greased waffle iron depending on your waffle iron size. Close the lid gently! Cook until golden brown. If it sticks, it is not quite done (hard lesson learned). Double and store leftovers in freezer. Enjoy!

Paleo, grain, gluten, dairy, soy free pop overs (pop tart)

As my son gets ready to head off on a sleep over field trip, I am in full meal prep/planning mode. I start with breakfast. It has to be something simple, easy to eat, not require refrigeration or reheating. OK. I think through some of my recipes, especially since a new round of IgG testing have made us rethink our "normal" ingredients.

I decide to try the Fig Newton recipe I've posted in the past but with a few modifications. For lack of a better term they make a really good, healthy pop tart. I am not a fan of trying to recreate junk food just for the sake of it (I will however make an exception for chocolate chip cookies). Otherwise I like to keep things as close to nature, and besides my kids have never eaten a pop tart so it is not like they are begging for them but that helps you envision what they would replace!!

In a food processor grind 2 cups pumpkin seeds (preferably soaked/dehydrated). Add in 2 cups potato starch, 4 tbsp melted coconut oil, 1/2 cup coconut nectar or organic, grade B maple syrup, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt. ** Note - I usually add in all the dry ingredients and mix a few times to ensure that it is all evenly mixed before adding in the "sticky" stuff.

Combine until a dough forms and sticks together. Divide in half. Roll out between two pieces of parchment paper, make into a long rectangle. Spoon a layer of jam/jelly (for lower sugar content use a xylitol sweetened jam/jelly) or like I did, mashed pears with a sprinkle of cinnamon on the lower half of the rectangle so as not to over fill. Leave a border around the edges.

Fold the top half of the dough onto the lower half so you now have a long skinny rectangle. Gently pinch edges to seal. Square the edges. Using a sharp knife, cut into 6 tarts. Cook in a 325 degree oven for 12 minutes (DO NOT OVER BAKE!!). Repeat with other half of the dough! Enjoy!!

The picture above is from the blog I did on the Fig Newton style cookies using almond flour. The pumpkin seeds do have a green color and the pop tarts are much bigger than this but it gives you an idea!

Grain Free Coffee Cake

I've been asked for this recipe after sharing on FB that we make this pretty regularly and my family LOVES it! I love that it is sweetened with honey and is grain free. The moist consistency is amazeballs! But, it is NOT my own recipe, as a matter of fact, this is one of the few recipes that I follow exactly as written. So, I am going to just share the link of the original site where I got this. Go head on over to Oven Love and check it out!! The picture above IS mine! ;)

Enjoy and remember, don't recreate the wheel, use what's out there if you can!

Healthy Allergen Friendly Lunch Ideas for Back to School

 

 
School lunches....dun dun dun....nothing can strike fear in the hearts of mothers everywhere than those two words.

OK well seriously though, one of the things I LOVE about vacations and breaks is that I don't have to pack lunches!! Sometimes I feel stuck in a rut and of course, nutrition is of utmost concern. I can't just slide, I can't take the easy route. I just can't. And many of you can't either which is why having easy, batch items at the ready in your freezer is key. I'm going to share some with you now.

We've been transitioning to more of a paleo / SCD diet. Why? Well, as someone who has battled gut dysbiosis in my son, grains break down into sugars and feed the beasts. PERIOD. I am not here to tell you never to eat another grain but for us, this is a good idea most of the time. And if you are struggling with any blood sugar issues/diabetes, I would really encourage you to look into it. We eat LOTS of veggies, and no I do not consider corn or potato veggies, lol! But that is a talk for another time. Each lunch always includes veggies, their choice, sliced how they like them. Since tomorrow is a special day, they even got a fruit, lol. You may think that is weird but when you fight yeast, even healthy sugars from fruit can be the demon spawn. Pears do not feed yeast so they are a common fruit for us but even then we limit. So in the stainless container they have their veggies and their fruit. Then they have a paleo granola bar. You can get creative and adapt as you need to. Play around with the sweeteners. Coconut nectar, syrup or honey all work well, it just depends on what you are looking for (I do NOT use agave). You can even add a few allergen friendly chocolate chips for a real treat! I adapt the recipe here from Elana's Pantry. I use sunflower and pumpkin seeds as the base not almond. I add a TON of coconut and then some additional sunflower and pumpkin seeds. I always use coconut oil so more good healthy fats. I have also added hemp seeds, chia seeds, etc. in the past. Get creative, you know what your kids like. Double the batch and use a 9 x 13 pan, works like a charm. Bake them at the same time as your paleo muffins to save energy and time! Slice, transfer to a freezer safe dish, put wax paper between each layer and freeze for easy lunch packing!

 I have already blogged on the sandwich bread I made. It is a pretty common SCD bread with just eggs and squash, that's it. Works well with organic lunch meat or with nut or seed butters and either xylitol jelly/jam or honey! And it looks like a fast food hamburger bun which is pretty cool!

I also usually include some sort of paleo muffin, this time it is a coconut flour blueberry muffin. This recipe is also from Elana's Pantry, with just a few modifications. Once again I do not use any agave but instead use coconut sugar. Works just fine! Double the batch and they freeze really well. And, by the time lunch comes they are nicely thawed and ready to eat, or pull out to pack the night before.


Other lunch options:

Quinoa (soaked overnight of course before cooking) and black beans
Rice (same thing as above) and beans
Paleo lasagna
Hummus with homemade seed crackers or flax crackers and veggies to dip
GF pasta with mixed veggies with olive oil
Leftovers from the night before!

I don't recreate the wheel! I can't think up new recipes everyday and work and take care of my children, husband and house! We need to use the resources out there. Elana's Pantry is great, Real Sustenance is another amazing website. Google then adapt. Don't get discouraged because you can't use one of their ingredients, think of a sub and give it a shot. But use what is already out there if you need to! Pancakes are another way to make a "bread". If your child is on a special diet and you cannot find a good bread, make a pancake (I cut the sugar completely when I do this) and use it! Great shape, usually holds up pretty well, just make a plain pancake. Then freeze with wax paper between each "slice". On the weekends I usually make a double batch of pancakes so I always have some in the freezer too! Plan ahead, making double does not take twice as long and usually ends up saving you time in the long run, especially when talking about muffins. And muffins can be a wonderful form of food that your child will eat and you can add all sorts of nutrition!

Here's to a wonderful first day of school and happy, healthy, well nourished children!!

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free, SCD Legal, Paleo, Grain Free Buns/Bread

Ok this is seriously the easiest bread in the whole world! It even looks like a fast food burger bun. It tastes good, holds up well, freezes well, it is like the holy grail. And, it could not get any easier with just 3 simple ingredients.

We've used this with hamburgers and sandwiches both with all the fixings. They held up both times.

So here goes:

6 eggs separated
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup pureed squash

Whip the egg whites and salt until you have fluffy peaks. Blend the egg yolks and squash together. Once the whites are nice and whipped, gently fold in the squash and yolks. I drizzled the squash/yolk mixture from the blender into my whites while gently folding so that I kept the fluff and didn't have too much of the squash go to the bottom. This is what it should look like:

Drop by 1/4 cup fulls onto a pan lined with parchment. Here is our "buns".

 I also decided to try some hot dog buns.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes. Here's what they look like all done.

Viola! Now go enjoy that sandwich!!

Credit goes to various SCD websites, this is NOT my original recipe!

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free, Vegan Chickpea Pot Pie

 I love pot pies, I really do. And it has been a while since I have had one. I got the idea for a vegan version using chickpeas since they do really sub well (see my older post on chickpea nuggets here) for chicken in various forms. So let's start with the crust. I did use grains for this version and look for a paleo version coming soon.

Crust:
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup coconut oil
1 cup of nut milk or water - added by the tablespoon, mixing well after each tablespoon

Start by greasing a 9 inch pie plate. Mix your dry ingredients together. Cut in the coconut oil (you will have chunks, that is OK). Once it is crumbly then begin mixing in the milk/water. I used coconut milk but you can use whatever nut milk you want or even water. Add one tablespoon at a time until the dough sticks together and can be rolled out. Divide the dough in half, roll out. Put the first crust in the bottom of the pie plate. Save the other for the top.

Filling:
3 tbsp coconut oil
6 tbsp rice flour
4 cups water
2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups veggies (use what your family likes, I chose organic corn and organic green beans)
2 cups chickpeas soaked

Start a roux by melting the coconut oil in a pan (I used my cast iron). Sprinkle in the rice flour and mix until absorbed and crumbly. I planned poorly and did not pull my stock from the freezer so I just used water. If you use your stock then you may want to adjust your seasonings to compensate. You don't want it overly salty. Add in the water and whisk. Remove from heat when thick and bubbly.

 

Now, I was using frozen veggies so I threw them into the hot, bubbly gravy to thaw. Then I added the chickpeas. Once again, I did not pre-plan this meal so instead of using dried chickpeas that I soaked I used canned. If you use canned, make sure you drain and rinse them. And one can was perfect for this recipe.

Pour everything into the crust. Lay the top crust on top, cut slits in the top to allow steam to escape. Pinch the top and bottom crusts together. Don't judge mine, I was in a hurry, lol. Bake for 10 mins at 400 degrees then reduce the temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 40 mins. There was nothing left, no left overs to saver, I felt like the dad on Christmas Story with the turkey. I had hoped for something the next day. This was so good it was gobbled right up. Next time I will make two.

Like I said, a grain free version is next on my list but if you want a hearty, flexible meal without meat (or with, you could just add in the 2 cups chicken instead), this one is for you. And if you do make it, please leave me a comment with how it turned out and whether it was a hit at your house too!

Gluten free, dairy free, soy free chocolate crinkle cookies

Well, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Season's Greetings and all that fine stuff. We are rolling into the new year and I am way behind on blogging. So, although the holidays are over, these cookies are great for just about any time you want a cookie. They taste like little mini chocolate cakes, who doesn't love that?!? They should be eaten within a few days of baking (they get hard over time) and they are best right from the oven.

I adapted this recipe from the Betty Crocker's Cookie Book a few years ago. I can't believe I haven't blogged this before.

1/2 cup coconut oil
4 oz unsweetened chocolate (each ounce consists of 1 tbsp melted coconut oil mixed with 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder)
2 cups crystallized coconut sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups gluten free flour blend
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Powdered sugar for rolling cookies in

Mix oil, chocolate and sugar together in a mixer. Add one egg at a time until each is thoroughly mixed. Add vanilla. Add in flour, baking powder and salt into mixture. Chill overnight. Heat oven to 350 degrees, roll by the teaspoonful into balls. Drop into a small bowl with powdered sugar, roll to coat, place on baking sheet with parchment. Place about 2" apart and bake 10 - 12 minutes. Do not over bake. Makes about 6 dozen.

Fourth of July healthy treats

Are you looking for some cute, healthy, quick and easy treats for the July 4th holiday? Well check these ideas out.

Flag Fruit Skewers

 We made a flag out of blueberries, strawberries and bananas. This has been going around the internet for a while, super cute and easy. I had some little helpers who did quite a bit of the work. They sliced the strawberries and bananas for me and even helped put them on the skewers. Tasty, patriotic and healthy!

Star Skewers

The next idea is also super easy and looks totally cute. I remembered that I had some American Flag ribbon so I wrapped it around an empty jar and put a little hot glue to hold it. Then we started cutting 2 sizes of stars out of watermelon slices. Again, kids LOVE helping with this and it was so simple yet delish! Simple cookie cutters work wonderfully here and then you just angle the stars a bit, each one a little offset of the previous and viola! Cute treat ready for any party or gathering!

Whatever you may be doing today, from my family to yours, have a happy and healthy 4th of July!!

Chickpea chocolate chip cookies

Photos courtesy of my 14 year old aspiring photographer ;)

Say what?? I read the recipe and I was all in. A healthier cookie?!? Yeah baby!! The 14 year old gave me a look like "What you talkin' bout mom??". The 8 and 6 year olds are used to my wacky recipes, they tuned everything out except chocolate so I had their buy in. 14 year old made me read the comments, "Well they all say these LOOK really good, no one says what they taste like". Hmmmm, scroll some more "Here's one!! They say they taste delicious". Tentative buy in, because after all, it does have chocolate in it.

I got the recipe from Texanerin. I made just a few mods.

• 1 1/4 cups canned chickpeas, well-rinsed 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons natural sunbutter
• 1/4 cup combo of part coconut nectar and part coconut sugar (low on honey)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup mini Enjoy Life chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Combine all the ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, in a food processor and process until very smooth. Make sure to scrape the sides and the top to get the little chunks of chickpeas and process again until they're combined. Put in the chocolate chips and stir it. The mixture will be very thick and sticky. With wet hands, form into 1 1/2" balls. Place onto a piece of parchment paper. If you want them to look more like normal cookies, press down slightly on the balls. They don't do much rising. Bake for about 10 minutes. Yields about 32 1 1/2" cookie dough balls. The original recipe said 14, ours didn't look a lot smaller than hers but we sure got a lot more than 14!

Enjoy and either divulge that these are healthier (or not)! Now off to grab another before they are all gone....

Quinoa breakfast cake

I adapted this recipe from the Whole Food's site found here. This is the original recipe with my adaptations in blue.

Cocoa-Almond Baked Breakfast Quinoa

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups unsweetened hempmilk, soymilk or almondmilk, I used homemade coconut milk
1 cup pitted dates (about 5 ounces)
1/2 cup hulled hemp seeds
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce, I used one pear, sliced and thrown into the blender to reduce yeast feeding

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 cup almond meal, divided, my second time baking this I omitted completely and it was fine

Method

I soaked my quinoa overnight first. Rinse quinoa in a fine sieve until water runs clear, drain and transfer to a medium pot. Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until water is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside off the heat for 5 minutes; uncover and fluff with a fork.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper; set aside. In a blender, purée hempmilk (or whatever nut milk you choose), dates, seeds, applesauce (or pear), cocoa and salt. Transfer to a large bowl; stir in quinoa and 1/2 cup almond meal. Transfer to prepared pan, scatter remaining 1/4 cup almond meal over the top and bake until firmly set, about 1 hour.

Set aside to let cool for 1 hour, and then carefully run a paring knife around the pan to loosen the edges. Turn out onto a flat surface, remove parchment paper, cut into squares and serve.

To freeze, wrap individual squares tightly and store in the freezer. Thaw in the refrigerator or microwave (do your health a favor and get rid of your microwave and buy a toaster oven! They work great without the negative health effects of a microwave).

Quinoa Buckwheat Cookies

Quinoa buckwheat chocolate chip cookies (adapted from the Gluten Free Goddess, found HERE). Below is her recipe with my adaptations in blue.

1 1/4 cup organic quinoa flour (Her recipe called for quinoa flakes and quinoa flour. I just combined the two amounts and used ground organic quinoa)
1 cup buckwheat flour (I used soaked/sprouted/dehydrated that I ground fresh)
1/2 cup tapioca flour or potato starch (not potato flour – I used Tapioca)
1 1/2 cups organic light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup light olive oil (I used grapeseed instead)
3 tablespoons real maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 large organic free-range eggs or Ener-G Egg Replacer (I used replacer)
Warm water, as needed
1 cup dairy-free dark chocolate chips (or less, see note below)

Instructions:

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flours and dry ingredients.

Add in the oil, maple syrup, vanilla and eggs/egg replacer. Combine the wet and dry ingredients with a sturdy wooden spoon until you get a thick, sticky batter.

If you need to, add 1 tablespoon of warm water at a time, as needed, to achieve a (cookie style) dough that sticks together when you pinch it. As you may know from working with buckwheat, it tends to soak up liquid, a lot. I ended up adding 8 TBSP of warm water to get it to cookie dough consistency.

Stir in the dark chocolate chips with a wooden spoon. You may want to consider using less, especially if you use the Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips. I know, ME saying less chocolate?? But seriously, anyone who has ever made chocolate chip cookies with these knows they can make the cookie very crumbly (and hey, when cooking GF who needs additional crumble??). Towards the end there were so many chocolate chips it was hard to mash together enough dough. Lucky kid who gets that one eh? Cover and chill the dough for 30 to 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

 Round 1, not very flattened

 Round 1, much "taller"

So, the 2^nd batch I flattened them quite a bit more and cooked for 10 minutes. Perfection! They remind me of Chips Ahoy and boy have I missed Chips Ahoy!

 

Round 2, slightly wider but flatter

Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool for a few minutes; then carefully remove the cookies with a thin spatula and place them on a wire rack to continue cooling. I removed them immediately onto a cooling rack.

Lovely warm and melty. Store in a covered container for up to a day or wrap cooled cookies in recycled foil, bag and freeze for longer storage.

Makes 24-30 cookies. My batch made about 4 dozen.

Gluten free, rice free, soy free, dairy free, egg free, nut free chocolate chip cookie.

GFCFSF Thin Mint style cookies

We made these little gems recently and all I can say is dang they were good. As I write this I think that I may even whip up another batch. I love the Nourishing Our Children site and that is where this recipe came from. You can find the original recipe on their site HERE.

But as usual I made some modifications to suit our family's needs so here goes:

Ingredients:
½ Cup Coconut Oil Softened
1 Organic Egg
¼ Cup Coconut Nectar (SEE HERE)
3/4 Cup Coconut Flour (sifted)
1 teaspoon Non-Aluminum Baking Soda
¼ Cup Organic Cocoa or Cacao Powder
Several drops of organic Peppermint Essential Oil.

Directions:
Blend together the softened butter and the coconut sugar with a hand held mixer. Add the egg and beat to make a soft batter. Mix in the flour in small increments. You want it to be soft and pliable. Mix in the cocoa powder until combined and add the peppermint essential oil. Roll the dough into a log and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice dough from the chilled log approximately ¼ thick and place the rounds on the parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 7 – 9 minutes. Let cool completely then freeze.

Take some Enjoy Life allergen free chocolate chips and melt them down. Take each frozen cookie and place on a fork. Spoon the melted chocolate over the cookie. Hold cookie over melted chocolate chips so the excess drips back into your pan/bowl. Place back on the parchment and allow to set. Using frozen cookies will help the chocolate set much faster. Store in the freezer, trust me they are even better frozen! You can see that we do deviate from the original recipe quite a bit in terms of sugar. We do not eat refined sugars on a regular basis, but these are more of a true cookie so the coating does have evaporated cane juice. We do lots of healthier cookies so I don't feel bad about doing this version once in a blue moon. Plus, if you are like us, the kids won't end up getting too many! ;)

GFCFSF Chickpea "Chicken nuggets"

I posted a picture of these chickpea "nuggets" that I whipped up today and got a few requests for the recipe so here it is. I adapted it from THIS blog. I decided to leave out some things, add in others so here is MY rendition;

Wet ingredients
3 C cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained (I used canned chickpeas because I decided pretty last minute that I wanted to try this. I used 2 cans, rinsed them then cooked them in water on the stove until tender, about 30 mins)
4 T toasted sesame oil
Juice of 1 small lemon, or ½ of a medium or large lemon
1/2 of an onion, diced

Dry ingredients
1 C brown rice flour
2 tsp xanthan gum (you can use either chia or flax seed and water but I have heard they fall apart unless eaten really quickly. I made plenty for leftovers so I used Xantham gum)
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp rubbed sage
½-1 tsp smoked paprika, to taste
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1/2 tsp black pepper

Mash the chickpeas in a large mixing bowl. Add the oil and lemon juice. Mash again a couple of times to mix in the liquids. Chickpeas should be pretty mashed, some smooth, some still partly whole.

In a small bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients together.

Add the dry ingredients into wet and stir until fully mixed. It may be crumbly at this point. Add some water until you get to a thick, almost bread dough consistency. It should be wet enough to mix well without crumbling but not soupy. I added the onions in at this stage (they were not in the original recipe but I think many things are better with onion!).

Form into little balls or patties and brown on each side in a cast iron skillet with a little coconut oil. Salt a little more once cooked.

I let the kids eat them with their fingers with a healthy (No MSG, HFCS, etc) ketchup to dip into. They loved them! Now if only they would eat their chard :/

I also see us making these with some mashed potatoes and gravy, YUM! So for a meat alternative, I think this one is a hit!

Homemade cough drops/throat losenges

Yes, it is that time of year....the dreaded bugs are circulating schools and homes. As we got hit with colds this week, I remembered this blog I stumbled across a while back. I knew I wanted to try and make this. My son woke http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifup on Wednesday complaining of a sore throat. So, I figured it was a good time to give this a try! So here they are, I am linking back to the original blog, and please look around. I found this blog when homeschooling through the Waldorf style. This blog had so many wonderful ideas and when I came across it yet again for these losenges, I knew I had to promote them even more! You can click HERE to find the recipe. I have to warn you though, your kids will not understand these are actually medicinal. They are yummy and I do find myself having to limit them or they would eat them all day. I love that there are no refined sugars in them like in most commercial losenges, and you can tailor them to your needs, adding or reducing whatever herbs you need to.

GFCFSF Newton style cookies

This post is a long time coming as I first attempted it back in September. But hey, life has been a little hectic lately so here it is! I have to warn you, these make wonderful treats for lunches or after school but once you get your hands on one, YOU will be the one who needs to be told "Just 1 more!". I could seriously eat these all day. And with a few tweakings, you can make these very low on the glycemic index so they won't feed yeast like other cookies may.

In a food processor grind 2 cups almonds (preferrably soaked/dehydrated). Add in 2 cups potato starch, 4 tbsp coconut oil, 1/2 cup coconut nectar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt. ** Note - I usually add in all the dry ingredients and mix a few times to ensure that it is all evenly mixed before adding in the "sticky" stuff.

Combine until a dough forms and sticks together. Divide in half. Roll out between two pieces of parchment paper, make into a long rectangle. Spoon a layer of jam/jelly (for lower sugar content use a xylitol sweetened jam/jelly) leaving a border around the edges.

Fold the dough in half so you now have a long skinny rectangle. Gently pinch edges to seal. Square the edges. Using a sharp knife, cut into 12 cookies (or to your size preference). Cook in a 325 degree oven for 12 minutes (DO NOT OVER BAKE!!). Repeat with other half of the dough! Enjoy!!

GFCFSF BBQ sauce

So this one is especially for Julie Matthews, I have owed her this for a while now! :)

Our move has been so amazing but has left very little time to blog unfortunately. We will be moving again soon and so the process is not quite over but for now, I will take whatever moment I can grab.

So, we have some grass fed, organic beef in the freezer from a local rancher and I just had a craving one day for BBQ beef. So I started searching the Internet for a recipe and this is one that I adapted from a few different places. I stuck this roast in the crock pot and man did my house smell good!!

Put your roast in the crock pot with about a 1/2 - 3/4 cup of water and turn on low for a few hours.

BBQ Sauce:

1/2 cup coconut oil
1 chopped chile pepper
1 medium onion grated
1 cup bourbon or whiskey (distilled alcohol is gluten free)
1/2 cup diced tomatoes, tomato paste or tomato sauce
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup molasses
2 - 3 tbs crystallized coconut sugar
salt

Melt the oil. Add the grated onion and pepper, heat over medium heat 3 - 4 minutes or until the onions are clear. Take pan off heat and add the bourbon/whiskey, return to stove and turn up the heat medium/high. Boil for 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste/sauce, lemon juice, vinegar, molasses and sugar. Mix well. Return to simmer for a few minutes. Pour over meat in crock pot and let cook down another couple of hours. And be prepared to have your mouth water for those next few hours!! Enjoy!!

Puffed Amaranth homemade GFCFSF cereal

Here's my first video blog, please tell me what you think!! Thanks to my awesome videographer aka my 13 year old!! - gotta put them to work over the summer, right?!?

**Blogger's note - My husband took offense to me referring to the cyclist's cold sore as herpes (even though it IS a herpes virus that causes cold sores along with causing both chicken pox and shingles!!). So, just to clarify, the cyclist suffered from COLD SORES (which are caused by the herpes virus) and my comment in no way referred to any sort of genital herpes!!! Ugh, such a guy!!


TAGS - puffed amaranth popped GFCF cereal gluten free

Strawberry cake/cupcakes

So for the 4th of July holiday, I wanted to make some red, white and blue cupcakes using REAL fruit. Most of the recipes I found called for boxes of "strawberry" gelatin with just a handful of real strawberries and they were that very unnatural pink color. Now I will say I did cheat, normally I would make the cupcakes from scratch using my GF flour blends I mix at home. But hey, it was a holiday and mom needed a shortcut. So I grabbed the Betty Crocker yellow GF cake mix. What I did was sub in pureed strawberries instead of the water. Viola, real strawberry cupcakes with no dyes or artificial flavors to give it that strawberry taste. I topped them with homemade strawberry "buttercream" frosting and let the kids decorate them with frozen blueberries. They were a hit, even with the non-GFCF friends we had over. I hope you and your family had a very happy and safe 4th of July!

Sugar free raspberry coconut milk (frozen) yogurt

Well the heat is certainly here in the southwest. It is 97 degrees at 10:00 am and the kids wanted a snack. So, I whipped this up and it came out really good so I figured I would share.

Yesterday I made a batch of homemade coconut milk yogurt. I am not a fan of the commercial version, they have evaporated cane juice and some other ingredients that I don't like to give to my kids. I used the recipe from Julie Matthews' presentation at DAN! 2009 which goes a little something like this (although not verbatim so don't quote me on it!):

Take any nut milk (I used homemade coconut milk, thicker than usual which is 2 cups water, 1 cup shredded coconut without additives, blend and strain) and heat to 160 degrees. Let cool to at least 105 degrees. Whisk in a little less than 1/16 tsp GI Pro Health non dairy yogurt starter (recipe called for 16 ounce:1/16 tsp starter, I had about 13 ounces so I used just a tad less). Put in yogurt maker for at least 8 hours. Refridgerate at least 5 hours, preferrably overnight before serving.

So, this recipe makes good yogurts but mainly for smoothies and such because it does come out thin. That is why I tried to make the milk thicker. I started with a 1:1 ratio of coconut to water but that was a little too thick so we added another cup of water. It was still pretty thin when I looked at it this morning so I threw it in the blender with a couple of handfuls of frozen raspberries and two heaping spoonfuls of Stevia (yes, we like things sweet around here). What resulted was very similar to a frozen yogurt and very sweet and tasty with that wonderful coconut milk flavor! But, it has none of the additives, sugars, etc. that can be problematic for many kids on the spectrum. So, I hope you can use this recipe and enjoy!!

Homemade popsicles

Do you want to give your kids some cool treats this summer but none of the guilt? So many premade (and I daresay even the ones marked "all natural") popsicles and treats have lots of sugar or corn syrup, colors and preservatives that many of us want to keep out of our kids' diets. There is an easier way! Fruit smoothies are a great way to get veggies and fruits into your kids without them knowing! These are kid tested (and mom approved).

In a blender combine:

8 ounces of water
1 cup blueberries
1 cup strawberries
1 handful spinach (optional but your kids will not know it is in there!)
3 scoops of KAL brand stevia (use the tiny scooper they provide in the container - add more or less depending on how sweet you want it)

Blend then pour into popsicle molds and freeze.

Your kids will be getting whole fruit, and if you add spinach, veggies too and the best part? They will LOVE it. My kids beg for these, yes even my 12 year old step-daughter who has had commercial popsicles before. She wanted to take the recipe back home with her after the first summer I made these. I get flak from people who say "sure, you get your kids to eat healthy because that's all they know, it is harder when they have eaten the other stuff with corn syrup, etc.". Yes it CAN be more challenging but eating healthy does NOT have to taste bad. Many of the raw food desserts and snacks I make are devoured by my step-daughter who is not used to raw foods at all. It can be done, with a little imagination anyone can eat healthier and like it. And this recipe can be modified to fit your tastes by switching the fruits. Spinach is so mild tasting raw that it makes a good addition. A few summers ago I used the green super foods powder, almond or coconut milk and a frozen banana and strawberries and called it "shrek ice cream" because it was green from the green super foods powder. The texture of the frozen banana is similar to ice cream and the kids LOVED it. And, I could feed my kids "ice cream" in the morning with NO guilt. What kind of cool mom was I??? :) So as the heat approaches, you can find cool ways to feed your kids healthy!! So go ahead, let your kids eat ice cream or popsicles for breakfast, because with these recipes, you know they are getting whole food nutrition at the same time, and YOU get major brownie points!