Happy New Year everyone!

I wanted to share a simple and kid-friendly snack that I made with my mom when I was a kid.  It is one of my fondest memories from childhood;  one of those images that just stick out to me when I think about being a kid.  But we used peanut butter instead of tahini and dried milk powder instead of coconut.  So I’ve made a couple changes but the essence of the recipe is the same:  Bees you can eat.  What more can a kid ask for as a snack?

You can use any kind of nut butter that works for you.  They could be Sunbutter Bees, Peanut Butter Bees, Almond Butter Bees, Cashew Butter Bees.  The list is endless.  And why not add cocoa powder or cinnamon?!

And how about having your kids help out with making these?  They are really fun to make and easy for most kids 2 and above to participate in.

I have to say that I prefer almond, cashew or sunflower butter over the tahini (and my son wasn’t crazy about the tahini taste).  But the picture above is of bees made with tahini.  And if you’re looking for nut-free recipes, tahini and sunbutter work really well.  I haven’t tried coconut butter, however I do think it would work.  You may just have to play with the temperature and the amount of honey so that the coconut butter can be made into balls.

Here’s the recipe:

Tahini (or Sunbutter) Bees Recipe:

1/2 cup sunbutter, tahini, or other nut butter of your choice (sunflower butter or nut butter best for kids)
3-4 tablespoons honey
2/3-1 cups unsweetened shredded coconut meat *(see note below)
pumpkin seeds or almonds, soaked and dehydrated

Steps:

1.  Combine the tahini (or other nut butter), honey, shredded coconut together in a mixing bowl.  Stir until well combined.

2.  Add more coconut if mixture is too wet.  Form mixture into small ovals.  Place on a plate.  If you are using almonds, cut them in half lengthwise.  To make wings for the bees, push pumpkin seeds or halved almonds into either side of the bee.  I used 2 pumpkin seeds for each side but only 1 almond half for each side of the bees.

3.  Place in the fridge to harden before enjoying.

Tip:

*If you do not like grated coconut, you could try using a small amount of coconut flour to thicken the mixture.

*Update:  I have recently been mixing sunbutter with honey to make it sweeter for my son, and after it is mixed, and sits in the fridge, it is hard enough to roll with your fingers so your really don’t need the coconut or flour.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie with Coconut Crust

It’s that time of year – again!  And although it is still October, the Canadian Thanksgiving is coming up this Monday October 10th.  I can hardly believe it is October – this year has flown by.  And I regret that I have not been able to blog very much this year – I very much miss it.  I just spent some time looking back on my old blog posts and hope to get back to regular blogging in the New Year.

So without further ado, I’d like to give you some links to some delicious holiday recipes that are allergen-friendly.  All are gluten, grain, sugar and dairy-free.   There are some egg-free and some nut-free recipes as well.  Enjoy!

Ground Turkey and Apple Stuffed Winter Squash

Healthy Traditional Green Bean Casserole (gluten, dairy and grain-free)

Pumpkin Pie – gluten, grain, dairy, sugar, nut and soy-free

Egg-free Pumpkin Pie from GNOWFGLINS

Walnut Torte with Lemon Whipped Cream Icing

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Cinnamon Walnut Raisin Egg-Free Cookies

Vanilla Bean Macaroons

Carob Macaroons (egg-free)

Looking for a gluten and grain-free menu planner for the Holidays? If you’re looking for an easy way to to plan your allergen-free Thanksgiving menu this year, you may want to try out our Thanksgiving Menu Planner.

Oh my.  I can’t believe it has been since Memorial Day weekend since my last post.  I sincerely apologize for my absence in the cyber world.  I’ve been very busy working on the membership site so I simply haven’t had much time for blogging.  I have also been out enjoying the summer activities as much as possible.  On another note, my camera cord broke (again) so that is why I haven’t had any photos of my own food lately.  The above photo comes from Corbis.com.

So I woke up Saturday morning and decided to make a peach crumble type of thing for breakfast.  The night before I had combined a very ripe peach with some cinnamon and chunks of coconut butter.  It was extremely tasty and reminded me of a messy looking crumble.  I wanted it to look a bit more “presentable” and have a bit more crunch, so I came up with the following recipe.  (Which was gone by noon by the way.)  My husband even said he liked the crumble topping better than the kind you bake.

So, enjoy this lovely no-bake, raw and extremely tasty Raw Peach Crumble.  Oh yeah, it is GAPS, SCD and Paleo friendly.  It also has no refined sugar, just dates and peaches for sweetening.  Also free of eggs, dairy, and gluten.  If you can’t eat nuts, you can try it with just the coconut butter like I did at first but you’ll have to play with it if you use the dates.

Raw Peach Crumble Recipe:
Servings: 6
20 minutes
This is great for the peach season – you do not even need to bake it which is great for summer!

* 4 peaches, sliced
* 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, divided
* 2 teaspoons lemon juice
* 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked and dehydrated
* 1/4 cup Artisana coconut butter
* 4 dates, pitted
* 1 pinch sea salt (optional)

Steps:

1.  In an 8 x 8 casserole dish, add the peach slices, 3/4 – 1 tsp cinnamon and lemon juice.  Stir to combine.  Using a spoon, evenly distribute the peaches in the baking dish.

2.  In a food processor, add the cashews and pulse until coarsely chopped.  Add the coconut butter, dates, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and a pinch of salt.  Process until well combined and crumbly.

3.  Pour the crumble evenly over the peaches.  Enjoy!

Tips:

You can use almonds or any other kinds of nut in place of the cashews.  You could also try sunflower or pumpkin seeds.

This will also work great with ripe plums, berries, mango and any other fruit which is soft.

Tropical Traditions also makes a coconut cream concentrate which you could use in place of the coconut butter.

Everything on the menu is picnic-friendly and is all reminiscent of summer coming, as well as being GAPS-friendly and free of many common allergens.

This week’s menu is gluten, grain, dairy, soy, seafood, peanut, sugar and starch free.  There are a couple recipes with nuts and eggs, but with the new member site, it is easy to swap out recipes if you don’t like or can’t eat something on the menu.

Here is this week’s Memorial Day Weekend menu plan that will be posted on the membership site by Friday afternoon:

1.    Barbeque Chicken and Veggie Kabobs
2.    Turkey Lettuce Wraps with Cashew Cheese and Mock Potato Salad
3.    Nutty Vegetable “Pasta” and Minty Spinach and Sugar Snap Salad
4.    Mushroom Meatloaf Muffins and Carrot Raisin Salad
5.    Spinach Timbales  and Garden Tomato Salad
6.    Barbeque Sauce
7.    Dill Pickles
8.    Lemonade
9.    Strawberry Shortcakes with Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce

I can’t guarantee it, but I may even add another dessert for people who are egg-free.  It would be a Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp with Pecan Topping.

And like all the other menus on the member site, you can access this menu planner as well as all of the other Nourishing Foods and Allergy Free menu planners on the website.  This is already Week 11 of the Spring Menus, so the menu planner archives give you a great selection of recipes to choose from.

Enjoy!  And have a great Memorial Day weekend!

• Anti-Candida
• Elimination
• GAPS 
• SCD
• Paleo

Plus, you can recieve a FREE copy of the first Elimination and Detox Menu Planner! Click here to receive your FREE copy!

All dishes in these planners are free of the following:

• Dairy-Free
• Grain-Free
• Wheat-Free
• Gluten-Free
• Soy-Free
• Sugar-Free (only stevia and berries are used in the menu)
• Egg-Free
• Tree Nut-Free – seeds and coconut are used in the planners
• Nightshade-Free (potatoes, eggplant, tomatoes, hot peppers, bell peppers)
• Beet-Free and limited carrots
• Starch-Free (quinoa, amaranth, potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, and parsnips)
• Corn-Free
• Peanut-Free
• Shellfish-Free
• Pork-Free
• Preservative-Free and MSG-Free
• Limited in beans and lentils

Here is the list of the recipes in the FREE bonus planner:

Basics:

• Crispy Nuts and Seeds – How to soak and dehydrate nuts and seeds
• Homemade Nut or Seed Flour
• Cabbage Wraps

Breakfasts:

• Egg and Grain-Free Breakfast Burrito
• Turkey Sausages
• Coconutty Avocado Sunflower Bowl

Lunches:

• Pumpkin Seed Avocado Wraps and Asparagus Soup  
•  Seed Flatbread and Italian Veggies with Artichoke Hearts
• Green Pea Soup and Green Salad with Pumpkin Seeds

Dinners:

• Lemon Herb Chicken with Zucchini Relish
• Coconut Ginger Salmon and Steamed Broccoli with Herbs
• Slow Cooked Rosemary Beef and Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
• Coconut Fried Chicken and Mashed Cauliflower
• Saffron Lemon Chicken and Lemony Green Beans

Dessert:

•  Cinnamon Sunflower Seed Cookies

So, if this looks good to you, get your FREE copy here. You can also subscribe to the additional four weeks of planners on the membership website.  Have a great day!

Once upon a time, it was a warm and sunny day in the middle of March in Maryland.  Ah, boy did it feel good after the long and cold winter we had experienced.  It gave us hope that spring was here and that the ridiculously cold winter had decided to finally give up its firm grip.  We opened the windows and let in the fresh air.  When dinner came, I looked in the fridge and remembered something I had been thinking about – gluten free pasta salad made out of zucchini noodles and anything else I might have on hand.  It turned into a zucchini AND carrot noodle salad because I only had one zucchini.  But this made it all the more colorful.  I added black olives, tomatoes and fresh parsley, some cooked chicken and a simple salad dressing. 

Yes, spring was here and it felt wonderful.  Well, for a couple of days that is.  I am really trying not to be a grump about the fact that it is freezing outside (maybe not litterally, but it feels like it!)  But I am really not happy about it!

But I can at least share my recipe with you in case you already have some nice warm weather, or you simply want to have some hope that someday soon we will be enjoying pasta salads and other warm weather meals!

The great thing about this salad is that it is very versatile.  If you can’t eat tomatoes, you can use veggies like cooked green beans, sugar snap peas, or cooked asparagus. 

Recipe for:  Zucchini Pasta Chicken and Vegetable Salad (grain-free, rice-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free)

You will need a julianne peeler for this recipe to make long, thin noodles.  But you can also use a regular vegetable peeler to make wider noodles.

Ingredients:

1-2 zuccchinis

2-3 carrots

1 tomato – or other veggie of your choice, diced

1-2 cups olives – sliced or whole (make sure they are preservative-free.  I like the Santa Barbara Company olives)

1 lb chicken, cooked and chopped or shredded

1/4 cup fresh parsley or other fresh herb of your choice, chopped

Dressing:

1/3 cup olive oil

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 lemon, squeezed

1/2 tsp dried basil

1 tsp mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

1.  If you need to cook the chicken, place in a medium saucepan and cover with water.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.  Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.  Drain and let cool.  Set aside.

2.  Using a julianne or vegetable peeler, make noodles out of the zucchinis and carrots.  (You can also just use zucchinis).  Rotate the vegetables as you peel them.  For the zucchini, peel until you reach the seeds.  Keep the zucchini cores for soups or other dishes. 

3.  Steam the zucchini and carrot noodles for about 5 minutes or until tender.  Remove from heat and drain.

4.  Cut up the tomato and chop or shred the chicken with your fingers. 

5.  Combine the noodles, chicken, tomatoes, olives, and parsley.

6.  Make the salad dressing by combining the dressing ingredients.  Pour over the salad.  Enjoy salad warm or chill for a few hours before serving. 
I hope you enjoy this salad!  In the meantime, I am going to try to make the most of our never-ending winter!

Artichoke and Leek Risotto

You know the routine.  You wake up, look in the fridge and make the same breakfast you had yesterday.  Or maybe you simply don’t know what to eat because you just found out you can’t eat a list of foods such as gluten, dairy, corn, soy, eggs and nuts.

You go about your day, wondering if there were a simple solution to the problem you face every time you open the fridge:  what to eat on a limited and allergen-free diet?

I know this problem all too well myself.  I have allergies and food sensitivities to a list of foods such as grains, starches, dairy, soy, egg whites, corn, beans, almonds, salmon, MSG and artificial additives, hydrogenated oils, and probably other foods I am forgetting about at the moment.  My son has almost the same allergies as well and is now three. It is almost impossible to eat at a restaurant so I end up cooking almost everything.

It’s been quite a journey but part of my process in being able to survive all of our dietary changes has been to explore and create new recipes in the kitchen.

After creating the first set of Allergy Free Menu Planners, I started working on a membership site about 10 months ago.  And now, with a lot of planning, hard work and with the help of an awesome web programmer, the membership site is now available!

Here are some things you can now do with the member site that will make menu planning for an allergen-free and limited diet extremely easy and simple:

• A new, seasonal and allergen-friendly menu will be available every week of the year
• View ALL available menu planners and recipes on the site
• Choose a menu planner or change it by searching for new recipes
• Easily search for recipes free of your allergens
• Add your favorite recipes and custom menu planners to your Recipe Box
• Print your PDF with the menu, recipes and shopping list easily from the website
• Receive email reminders every week to login and print a menu planner

It’s really very simple.  So far there are over 180 recipes stored on the database.  I will be adding a minimum of 45 a month and my goal is to reach at least 600 by the close of the year.

If you want to know more about the new member site please contact me or leave a comment.  You can read more about it here too:

http://allergyfreemenuplanners.com/our-menu-planners/about-the-new-member-website/

This site was really designed with you in mind so any feedback I receive usually leads to positive changes in the menu planners.  Have a great day!

Once, again things have been very busy.  But I thought it was time to give a brief update about the new membership site.  Some people have had questions so I will answer them here.  Then, check out the new soup recipe below.  I created this a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it!

When will the membership site be ready?

Our scheduled launch date is next Monday the 31st of January.  At this point I am not sure if that means people will be able to login that day or if everything will be done and ready for people to login on the 1st of February.  My web designer is doing everything possible to get it done by Monday, but I will know more by the end of this week if for some reason we need an extra few days.

UPDATE:  February 2: So, we weren’t able to meet the deadline unfortunately because of the snow storm last week.  My web programmer is a mom to a little one and she can’t work when the daycare is closed due to weather.   We have also had quite a few other snow days this season.  So, as of now, launch date is still to be determined.  However, you can still pre-order and receive the Substitutions for Allergy-Free Cooking e-book for free before the launch.

I pre-ordered a membership.  How do I login to the new site?

You will be receiving an email about how to login either this week or early next week.  You’ll receive a password and that is how you’ll login to the member site.

If you pre-ordered, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for trusting in the project without seeing the end product.  Please know that you have helped to make this dream possible.  I’ve been working steadily on this project since last June so it has been a long process, but one that I believe will truly help so many people with food allergies.

I hope you enjoy this soup!  Have a great day!

MEXICAN BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND CHICKEN SOUP

Servings: 4
Prep + Cook = 30 minutes
This is a delicious and hearty meal that is suitable for even the GAPS Intro diet.  It’s also a great way to use up left-over roasted chicken.  Enjoy!

* 1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
* 1/2 onion, diced
* 2 cloves garlic, minced, or 1/4 tsp garlic powder
* 1 quart stock, preferably homemade, more if needed
* 2 cups butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
* 1 pound chicken breast, or thighs
* 1/2 lime or lime, squeezed
* 1 teaspoon cumin
* 1 teaspoon oregano
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, freshly chopped, or 1-2 tsp dried

1.  In a small saucepan, add the chicken and 2 inches of water.  Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook for 15 minutes, or until no longer pink in center.  Drain and put chicken in a bowl to cool.  Set aside.  Shred when cool to touch.

2.  In a large soup pot, heat the coconut oil to medium heat and sauté the onion until soft and translucent.  Add the garlic and sauté briefly.

3.  Add the stock, butternut squash chunks, lime juice, cumin, and oregano.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until squash is soft. Add the shredded chicken, salt and pepper and heat through.

4.  Add chopped cilantro and serve.

I’ve been on a bit of a cauliflower kick lately.  I never used to touch the stuff.  Now I love it.  And this past week (yes, during Christmas!) I’ve been “attempting” the Intro GAPS diet so I’ve been eating lots of soups.  I seem to have slipped off the wagon the past couple of days with going back to work, but I’m going to try to keep on it.  It takes a lot of planning, shopping, chopping and cooking!

Anyway, here is a soup that I really enjoy.  It tastes just like Broccoli Potato Soup to me but doesn’t have any starch in it.  And it’s great for the Intro diet or for anyone who just loves a nice bowl of healthy soup.

A secret ingredient is in the soup – beef bone marrow – and if this grosses you out, well, just ignore it.  But it is extremely healing for the bowels.  And you don’t taste it at all, really!  From Gapsdiet.com about bone marrow:

“The gelatinous soft tissues around the bones and the bone marrow provide some of the best healing remedies for the gut lining and the immune system; your patient needs to consume them with every meal.”

Here’s the recipe:

Broccoli Cauliflower Soup (starch-free)

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, crushed, optional

1/2 head cauliflower

2 small heads broccoli – I ended up with a 1 to 1 ratio between the cauliflower and broccoli, but you can do less cauliflower.

4 -5 cups homemade beef or chicken stock – how much depends upon your desired consistency – use less if you want a thick soup.

cooked bone marrow from 2 beef bones, optional (you would retrieve this from the bones after your homemade stock is cooked)

salt to taste – about 1 tsp

pepper to taste – about 1/2 tsp (not sure if this is actually okay on the Intro diet – I’m still learning)

1 Tbsp. dried parsley

Steps:

1.  In  a large soup pot, combine the stock, onions, garlic, cauliflower, broccoli and bone marrow.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and let cook for 15 minutes, or until the veggies are cooked through.

2.  Add the salt, pepper and parsley.  Using a hand blender or regular blender, puree the soup until very smooth.  Taste, add any additional seasonings to taste.  Enjoy!  Super easy if you have homemade stock on hand.

By the way, the avocado tastes lovely with the soup.

A couple weeks ago I decided to try something different with the regular Saturday morning pancakes my son normally eats for breakfast.  I think it all started when my husband said that his grandmother used to make pancakes in all sort of different shapes, like Micky Mouse and such.

From there, I thought of using cookie cutters and round biscuit cutters to make shaped pancakes.  I wasn’t really sure how I was going to do it, but here is how it went:

I got my batter ready and heated up the skillet with coconut oil.  I use a good amount of oil – not so much the pancakes are swimming in it, but so that they definitely won’t stick.

I placed a couple of cookie cutters on the skillet and poured enough batter into them until they were a normal pancake thickness.

I really didn’t know what I was going to do next.  But once they were cooked on one side, I used a towel to pick up the cookie cutter because it was hot.

Then I used a butter knife to cut around the edges of the pancake next to the cookie cutter.  They gave away pretty easily and dropped down.  I flipped them over and cooked them briefly on the other side.

The next time I decided to grease the insides of the cookie cutters, making it easier for them to plop out.  They really weren’t that hard, just a little time consuming to make.  I ended up only getting a picture of two because they were being eaten too fast by my son.

The biscuit cutters actually worked really well because they had a handle and were easier to pick up.  However it was more difficult aiming the pancake batter into them because of the handle.

You could use any kind of shape you like – but I have found that simpler ones are much easier.  Large gingerbread men would be great I think!

Below is the pancake recipe I almost always use.  My son gobbles them up and they are easy as can be to make as long as you have ripe bananas and eggs.

BANANA PANCAKES
Adapted from: grainfreefoodie.blogspot.com (She uses almond butter in the batter but I have made them many times without and they turn out great.)

Ingredients:
1 very ripe banana, mashed
3 eggs
coconut to grease pan
Steps:
1. Heat a medium to large skillet to medium with coconut oil or other fat of choice.

2.  Blend all of the ingredients together in a blender or with a blending wand.  I like to blend them until the eggs get fluffy.

3.  Pour pancakes onto the greased skillet that’s been preheated to “medium”. Cook until done on one side, flip and watch carefully as second side seems to cook more quickly.

4.  I always have to turn the heat down to about low-medium towards the end of making these, otherwise they burn.

5.  Serve with butter, honey, homemade jam or homemade fruit syrup. Or, sprinkle with cinnamon.