Grain Free, Vegan Brownies

This was a treat for my sweet husband and he loved them!  I found this recipe HERE from Kelly of The Spunky Coconut.  The only changes I made were almond flour instead of coconut flour, cacao powder instead of cocoa powder, and coconut sugar instead of honey.  Also, I used raw cacao nibs that I sweetened by mixing them with a bit of agave in a bowl before adding them to the top.  I'm not big on the taste of stevia, but my husband likes it and these were for him.

Gluten Free, Vegan, Grain Free Bagels

These are easy and delicious!  My son loves them!  Completely grain free and vegan, these bagels are the perfect snack or meal.  I got the original recipe from The Spunky Coconut Onion Poppy Seed Bagels & Cinnamon Raisin Bagels grain-free, gluten-free, egg-free casein-free, gfcf

My son likes them plain, though.  I only made a few changes to Kelly's recipe, which include using almond flour instead of coconut flour, almond milk instead of cashew milk, agave instead of honey, and   I used coconut oil instead of ghee.  They came out a little smushy inside, but he still loved them and that's what counts!

Raw Walnuts and Dates Snack

I call this creation, The Raw Bowl of Joy because it is just so delicious.  I have a super sweet tooth, so I don't like eating walnuts plain.   Some might find this too sweet and if so, just leave out the maple syrup.  The amounts are what you like according to your taste and how much you want to make.

Ingredients (organic):
Raw Cacao Nibs
Maple Syrup
Medjool Dates
Walnuts (previously soaked and dehydrated)

Chop the walnuts in a nut grinder or food processor.  If using a food processor, you can just add all of the ingredients together and chop up.  If not, chop the dates by hand and then add some cacao nibs and maple syrup to your liking.

Enjoy!  This is delicious, nutritious and only takes a few minutes to assemble.

Tamari Cashews

YUM!  These are so simple and so delicious!  All you need is some organic (make sure it's organic to avoid GMOs) wheat free tamari and some cashews.  I use organic, raw cashews to get the maximum nutrition from the nuts.
Simply place some tamari in a pan and heat it on low if it's cold from the refrigerator.  If not, just put some in a bowl.  Add the amount of cashews you desire and mix them around to cover with the tamari sauce.  Just use enough to coat them.  Then, place into a dehydrator for a few hours until dried.  Or you can heat in the oven on a low setting.  Keep an eye on them in the oven, though.
These are a salty, savory, delicious snack!  Enjoy!

Gluten Free Casein Free Oat Pancakes

These taste just like regular wheat pancakes, or so my husband and son tell me.  They are so easy to make and the pay-off for me is my happy, happy son!  I found this recipe online here:  http://completelynourished.com/2012/02/04/oat-pancakes-gluten-freedairy-free/  

I bought the organic, gluten free oats online here: http://www.glutenfreeoats.com/

GF Harvest sells organic gluten free oats and organic, GF oat flour!  It's easy to make oat flour in a blender, though, with just plain oats.

From the recipe, the only changes I made were to use only baking soda, not baking powder.  It's really not necessary and adds only more unwhole ingredients.  Also, I used agave for the sweetener, and organic safflower oil.  I hope that you and your kids enjoy these great pancakes!

Raw Chocolate Fudge

YUM! The credit for this delicious, nutritious fudge goes to Whole Foods. My son and husband loved this!

Ingredients:
 2 cups raw walnuts
2 cups packed pitted and roughly chopped dates
10 tablespoon cacao powder (or unsweetened cocoa powder, but then it's not raw)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt (I used only a small pinch of sea salt)

Directions: Soak walnuts in cold water for 4-6 hours. Drain and place in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until chopped. Add dates and pulse to chop, stopping frequently to scrape down sides as needed. Add cacao powder, vanilla, and salt. Process until mixture is almost smooth, scraping down sides as needed to keep mixture moving. It will eventually form a ball similar to dough with some tiny pieces of walnuts remaining. Don't get discouraged, even if it seems like it's not going to work, just keep pushing it down and pulsing the food processor; it will work. Transfer to an 8-inch square baking dish (or whatever you have that is similar) and press down evenly with wet fingers. Freeze for 4-6 hours until well chilled. Cut into squares. Store in freezer until ready to serve. I think it tastes better when it's sat out a little while from being frozen. 

ENJOY! And thank you, Whole Foods for the free recipe!

Raw Cashew Dressing

This is so great and versatile! It is so simple and easy to make, too. You can use it as mayonnaise, sour cream, or mix it with olive oil and make a salad dressing.
Here's the simple recipe:

Ingredients:
1 cup of raw cashews
2 1/2 tsp of apple cider vinegar (or 2 tsp of a.c. vinegar, and 1 tsp of lemon juice)
pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup of water.

Directions:
Blend ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth. That's it! If you don't have a high speed blender, you may want to soak the cashews for 1/2 and hour first so that they will be softer for blending.

I used this as mayo on a veggie burger and it was yum! Then, I made it into a dressing for this pasta salad by mixing in these ingredients (sorry, I didn't measure): olive oil, sea salt, dijon mustard. I mixed into some quinoa pasta and added some fresh spinach and it was delicious!!