Grain Free Dairy Free Almond Flour Chia Biscuits

I bought some great looking fruit preserves on sale the other day and I really wanted to try them, but I didn't have anything to spread them onto!  So, I made these biscuits!  They were really good by themselves, but with the sweet topping, they were AMAZING!  Yum!  With the strawberry on top, it tasted like a dessert - with no sugar at all!  Oh, and they smelled fantastic while they were baking - like fresh bread!

I found the biscuit recipe from Elana Amsterdam's, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.  I made a few changes and I'll share those with you:

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
2 large organic pastured eggs
3 tsp apple cider vinegar
3 tsp chia seeds ground and mixed with 1/4 cup water (forms a gel)
2 tsp water if needed

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (I use bleach free)
• Grind the chia seeds (I use a coffe/nut grinder) and then mix together with 1/4 cup water in a medium bowl.  Let sit to form a gel while you do the next step.
• In a larger bowl, mix together the almond flour, sea salt and baking soda.
• Whisk together the eggs, melted coconut oil, and apple cider vinegar.
• Stir the wet ingredients into the dry in the large bowl until combined.  If there isn't enough moisture to thoroughly combine, add a little bit of water.
• Place the batter in small scoops on the parchment paper.  You can reshape with your hands if you wish.
• Bake for about 20 minutes until they are golden.
• Let them cool briefly and then enjoy!

You can slice them carefully in half and eat with jelly or add ghee or any other topping you like!  Or just eat them plain.  You could substitute ghee for the coconut oil.  The coconut oil adds a bit of sweetness that I like!  Delicious!

Vegan Carob Brownies

These are AMAZING!  And they only have 3 natural ingredients!  And you don't have to bake or cook them at all!  My son and husband gobbled these right up - couldn't get enough of them!  I've decided after making several batches that they actually taste like tootsie rolls!  Yummy!!   I have not eaten chocolate in over a year and I was really, really wanting it, so I used carob, which, unlike chocolate is caffeine free and alkalizing!  Hooray!

All you need is:
10 - 12 large medjool dates (Use soft ones.  If they aren't soft, soak them in some water first.)
Two giant, heaping spoonfuls of almond butter (plain, no salt or oils added)
Three tsp carob powder (You can find this at natural food stores or online)

Directions:
Place everything into a food processor.  Process until it starts to form a unified ball.
Everything should be smooshy and there should be no separate date pieces.
Use your hands to shape into a large square.  Then, cut into four squares with a knife. 
That's it!  You can eat it right away or put into the refrigerator - it's just as good cold. 
Or you can just start eating it right away and forget about the whole shaping and cutting thing.  It tastes like candy, anyway!  Enjoy!!

Grain Free, Paleo Gingerbread Men

My son and I think that these are the best grain-free cookies we have ever had!  Yum!  And they were fun to make, too!

I got the original recipe for "Gingerbread Men" from Elena Amsterdam's, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.  Then, I made a few tweaks to suit our needs.  Here's the recipe I used:

Ingredients:
3 cups blanched almond flour
1 tbspn ground cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp ground ginger
pinch of sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 cup coconut oil (If it's cold and solidified, melt it down first.)
scant 1/2 cup honey (If using raw like I do, soften on low heat first.)
1 tbspn vanilla extract
1 egg
Little things like raisins, cacao nibs or chocolate chips, goji berries, cranberries, etc. for decorating

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper
In a large bowl, mix together the almond flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt, baking soda and cloves.
In another bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, honey, vanilla extract, and egg.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix until combined.
Cover the dough and place into the freezer for at least 2 hours.
Remove from freezer and roll the dough to 1/2 inch thickness between two sheets of parchment paper.  If sticky, dust with almond flour.  Remove the top sheet and parchment paper and cut the cookies using a cookie cutter (I got mine at Bed, Bath and Beyond).  Roll the dough again and repeat until you have used all the dough.
Place onto the cookie sheets and leave space between each cookie.
Decorate with your toppings of choice - this was a blast for my son!
Bake for 8-12 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges.  Let the cookies cool on the sheets and then enjoy.

Note: I accidentally baked my first batch too long, but they turned out amazing with a little crispiness around the edges, so don't worry if this happens.  The other batch was delish, too!

Grain Free Bagels and Dairy Free Creamy Cheese

It's the time of year for traditional Jewish foods, and I've been getting lots of great ideas from Elana at Elana's Pantry!  My family and guests especially loved her Honey Cake and Tsimmes (I made with dates instead of prunes), which I didn't take pictures of because we devoured it all so quickly!  I also learned by making the cake that substituting ghee for palm shortening works just great!

Today I made her bagel recipe and everyone loved them!  I used chia seeds (ground in a nut grinder first) instead of flax and I left out the poppy seeds.  You can see the recipe here:  Elana's Paleo Bagels.

My son wanted some cream cheese and since we don't eat dairy, I had to be creative.  I found a recipe here http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2012/12/how-to-make-soy-free-vegan-cream-cheese/ and then I did my own thing with it:

"Dairy Free Creamy Cheese"

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cashews
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
around a 1/4 cup water (enough so that the blender will work, but not so much that it is runny)
sea salt

Directions:
I don't plan ahead for recipes well.  When I get a taste for something, I want to make it right away.  So, I didn't have 24 hours to soak cashews.  But, I do have a high speed blender.  So, I just placed the first 3 ingredients into the blender and blended on really high until smooth.   Then, I mixed in sea salt to taste.

At first I thought that the apple cider vinegar flavor was too strong.  But, after I placed it into the refrigerator for a few hours, the taste was perfect!  And the texture was also just right for spreading or even dipping.  I had to make myself stop eating!  My son and husband ended up enjoying their bagels with organic strawberry preserves, and everyone was happy!

Shrimp and Broccoli

An easy to make dinner that my son loved!

Ingredients:
Fresh or frozen broccoli florets
Wild, peeled and deveined shrimp
Onion
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
Ghee or coconut oil - will provide different tastes in the end, and either is great!
Sea Salt

Directions:
Steam broccoli until soft, but still bright green
Saute onions and garlic in ghee or coconut oil in a pan
Boil shrimp in water until curled up and able to be poked through with a fork
Add cooked shrimp and broccoli into pan with onions and cover with more ghee
Add some salt to taste
Enjoy!

Grain Free, Sugar Free Muffins

I have been on a sugar free, grain free muffin kick for about two weeks.  I took some recipes I found in different places and changed them to be sweetened only by fruits and stevia.  All were delicious!  Above you see Date Pecan Muffins.  Below, Apple Cinnamon Walnut Muffins.  And last, Strawberry Banana Muffins!

Now that I've been cooking for a few years (I used to only eat pre-packaged food or take-out from restaurants), I feel much more confident about changing other people's recipes to suit my family's personal needs.  I'd share the recipes I used for the above, but I was creating them on the fly and not completely measuring everything.  All three are made from almond flour and eggs, use about 10-15 drops of vanilla stevia, and contain some amount of coconut milk and unsweetened applesauce.  I usually look for recipes from Elana Amsterdam of Elana's Pantry, or Danielle Walker of Against All Grain, and then modify them.  Also, Kelly of The Spunky Coconut shares creative ideas, too.

I encourage you to do this, too.  Don't ever feel limited by a recipe you find.  Paleo recipes are especially open to change.  For instance, when you see palm oil as an ingredient, you can substitute with ghee and sometimes coconut oil for more nutrition and less damage to the rainforest.

Happy Baking!

Nutrient Density and Superfoods

We know that we are supposed to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.  However, not all fruits and veggies are created equally.  That is, they don't have the same quality of health-promoting nutrients.  Here are some of the ones that we make sure to get into our diet so that we are getting plenty of colors (these different vibrations are important and beneficial to the body), antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

• Superfruits:  Gogi berries, mulberries, golden berries, blueberries - Berries are the key!  They are lower in sugar, come in a multitude of colors, and are so healthful.
• Green Veggies:  From leafy greens to broccoli, green is vital to life.  You can blend or juice green veggies, break them up and add them to soups, or use them a little wraps for sandwiches.  My son adores eating broccoli with ghee and a little sea salt.  Make green a daily habit for everyone in your family.  Be creative to find ways to get it all into everyone's bodies.
• Yellow and Orange Veggies:  Squash and sweet potatoes are a good source of carbs and beta carotene.  They are especially wonderful to enjoy as carbs in diets that exclude grains.
• Nuts and Seeds:  Soaked and dehydrated pecans, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and almonds provide nutrition, good fats, and proteins.  It is nice to enjoy them with some superfood berries!

If you fill up on corn, peas, and white potatoes as your veggies, there is no room left for the ones that are more nutritious and less sugar-dense.  Likewise, grapes, watermelon, and bananas are so fun to eat, but their sugar content is very high.  Peanuts are not even actually nuts, and don't contain the nutrient density of other nuts, in addition to being a common allergen.  If you can get your nutrients from other sources, like superfruits and berries then you are doing your body a great service.  Try to make these sugary fruits and veggies a sometimes food, while eating the superfoods everyday.

Go For Nutrition When You Eat

Make everything you eat have a purpose toward nourishing your body.  Nutrient dense foods can be really delicious.  Adding a little coconut oil or ghee with some sea salt to your veggies can bring in beneficial fats and minerals, while making them taste great!  Our bodies aren't designed to utilize empty calories for the purpose of being able to thrive.  If you want a snack, think about what nutrition your body is needing in the moment and then put that food into it.  Not a grain cracker or cereal fortified with vitamins, but pure vitamins right from the natural source.  If you need protein, don't opt for some kind of overly processed protein powder drink or bar, eat some pure protein from an organic source.  And yes, despite what marketing will tell you, your body can tell the difference.