Cashew Vanilla Ice Cream

 

If you can't have dairy, but can have sweeteners, do not despair because you can still enjoy delicious ice cream! Made from cashews, vanilla, and agave (or whatever sweetener you want, really), it is easy, protein packed, and delicious!
Ingredients:
tsp of vanilla extract - use two vanilla beans to make it RAW
2 cups raw cashews or pieces
2 cups purified water
1/2 cup maple syrup or agave - add the amount of sweetener to your liking

Directions:
Simply, combine ingredients in a blender.
Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to instructions. Or, if you are like me and don't have an ice cream maker, just stick it all in a container and put it in the freezer. Take it out and give it time to defrost a little before you eat it, or run it through the blender again to make it creamy.

Gluten Free Coconut Flour Bread

 

Here is a great gluten and casein free coconut flour bread! I found several versions of it on different websites. I didn't have enough coconut oil, so I cut the recipe in half. It still turned out great! Here is my version with notes of how you can modify:

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1/2 cups coconut oil, either expeller pressed or unrefined (for dairy can use ghee or butter)
5 drops of vanilla stevia (recipe calls for 1-2 tablespoon honey, depending on taste)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup coconut flour

Preheat your oven to 350. Mix all ingredients and blend until lumps are gone. Grease a bread pan with butter or coconut oil or line with parchment paper, and place batter inside. Bake for 40 minutes.

My son, who usually will not eat anything made with coconut flour really enjoyed this bread!

Grain Free Cheese Bread

 

I was originally trying to make a pizza for my son, but it turned into a delicious cheesy bread instead. He was going to a social event where pizza would be served to the other children. One of the other mothers there kept commenting on how good his pizza bread smelled and how she wished she had some of it, too. :)
The ingredients I used were:
2 cups of blanched almond flour
parmesean cheese - anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 cup
1/2 tsp baking soda
enough almond milk to make a dough consistency
dash of salt
organic cheddar/monterrey jack cheese for topping

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a bowl. Don't add too much almond milk, just enough to make it stick together and be doughy.
Spread the dough out on a parchment lined baking sheet as evenly as you can. You can use a rolling pin if you cover the top with another piece of parchment paper to avoid sticking.
Bake in the oven until it is no longer wet feeling and slightly firm. Basically until it seems just about finished baking.
Add shredded cheese of your choice on top and melt in the oven for a few more minutes.

Cut into pieces and serve! You can store leftovers in the refrigerator if there are any. :)

GFCF Lasagna

 

This was absolutely delicious! It turned out even more tasty than I thought it was going to when I set out to make it. My son and I gobbled it up!
Ingredients:
organic brown rice lasagna noodles
1 package mozarella Daiya "cheese"
1 jar organic pasta sauce (I used Whole Foods 365 Fat Free Pasta Sauce because it has no sugar or oil added)
organic garlic powder, oregano, basil

This is just like making regular lasagna.
Preheat the oven to 350.
Boil 9 noodles for 14 minutes.
While boiling, put sauce in a pan and add some garlic, oregano and basil. Let it simmer.
Drain and rinse with cold water.
Put 1/3 of sauce on bottom of baking pan.
Add layer of three noodles on top.
Add another layer of sauce.
Add 1/3 of Daiya on top of that.
Add layer of noodles, top with sauce and another 1/3 of cheese.
Add layer of noodles and top with rest of the cheese.
Bake in the oven until bubbly on the sides.

 

We had these beautiful organic berries along with it, and some organic cashews for some extra protein. What a fun dinner!

Gluten Free, Sugar Free Peanut Butter Granola Bars

 

Here's something I put together the other day that was a big hit with my son!
Ingredients:
organic peanut butter (just plain, nothing added)
one ripe organic banana
gluten free oats

I was in a hurry and not sure how they'd turn out, so I didn't write down measurements, but basically just take some oats in a bowl, then add some peanut butter, enough so that they are coated and will really stick together. Smash a banana and add to the mixture. This will add sweetness without having to add any more sweetner to it. You could add a few drops of stevia if you want them sweeter. My son isn't big on sweet flavors. You could also add raisins or dates to them to make them more sweet.
Form into bar or circle shapes and either bake in the oven until just browning or put in a dehydrator on 105 for a few hours.
I had no idea how simple it was to make granola bars until I did it.

Not Quite Mac N Cheese

 

As something different from the traditional heavy dairy laden macaroni and cheese, I made this for my son the other day. It's brown rice penne with shredded carrots and parmesan cheese. That's it! Just make the pasta, and then shred some carrots and parmesan over it and serve! It was the first time my son has been willing to eat carrots, so I call it a success. Maybe it's because they look like cheese!

Shrimp, White Beans, and Greens

 

Here's a new dinner creation I came up with today that was so simple and so delicious! At my house, I'm the only one who eats my dinner creations, so I just make them for one person. Of course, everyone likes the desserts and breads! You can use as much shrimp, beans, and greens as you want depending on how many are eating.

2 tblspns coconut oil (the yummy kind, not expeller pressed)
3 or 4 green onions
shrimp
white beans
sea salt
pepper
collard greens

Melt the coconut oil in a pan. Add some chopped green onions, mostly the white parts. After about two minutes, add desired amount of shrimp.
Cook for a few minutes over medium low heat. Then, add some white beans. I cooked my own beans, but you could use canned.
Cook together for a few minutes. Add some sea salt and pepper. Then, add some chopped collard greens and cook for two or so minutes more.

That's it! It's delicious, healthy, fast and easy! Enjoy!