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!

For those of you who may be looking for a healthier chocolate for Halloween and the other holidays coming up, here is an amazing recipe that you can use as a base for just about any recipe that calls for chocolate.  It’s gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free.  The best part is it is very simple and very easy.  I use honey for sweetness but you could use maple syrup or another preferred sweetener.

You can add nuts, dried fruit, extracts such as vanilla, almond, or peppermint, or anything else you can think of.  Or you can simply enjoy it as is.

To make bars or shapes out of the chocolate, you can use any kind of flexible mold.  I used a flexible ice cube tray that I got at IKEA for the above picture.  You can also buy molds in many different shapes and sizes at craft stores or online.

The only downside of this chocolate is that it will melt at room temperature so it needs to stay in either the fridge or freezer.  I hope you enjoy it!  Happy Halloween!

Homemade Chocolate Recipe (gluten, dairy, and sugar-free)

• 2 cups raw cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup coconut oil, melted on low heat
• 1-2 tablespoons vanilla extract (optional)
• 1/2 – 3/4 cups honey, raw if possible, to taste (how much it really up to you and how sweet you want it)

Steps:

1. Heat oil slowly over low-medium heat in a saucepan.  Mix in the honey and vanilla.  Then mix in the cacao powder.  Make sure it never boils or gets above medium heat (or 110 F).

2.  Pour mixture into an 8 x 8 pan and put it in the freezer or refrigerator to harden.  Cut off chunks of chocolate and enjoy.  You can also use flexible molds as mentioned above to make it easier to remove as well as make it look like special candy treats for kids.

A note about GAPS:  My understanding about cocoa is that once you have been on GAPS for while, you can experiment with cocoa and see if you can tolerate it.

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.

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!

First, a small announcement about the member site launch.  We are hoping to get the site done by Monday, February 14th for pre-ordered customers, and hopefully within a week after that for new customers.  So if you’re anxious to get started, the best thing is to pre-order.  Also, if you pre-order, you will receive 5 different pre-made menu planners for different diets immediately in your email for you to use this week.  Onto the recipe…

If you’re looking for an amazing treat this Valentine’s day that doesn’t have the normal allergens such as dairy, wheat, nuts, sugar and eggs, try these yummy macaroons!  I made them this week for Elijah but have since found I have very little will power to resist them.  And while the honey gives me a headache since I haven’t been eating it for over a month, this has been the only mild side affect I’ve had from eating them.

Please note that they are not GAPS legal, though I can’t really remember why carob and cocoa are not allowed on GAPS.  I have read though that after one has been on GAPS for a while, cocoa may be okay depending upon the person.  On another note, my husband loves them and hates coconut.  Mmmm?

Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day.  If you’re looking for a menu planner for a special evening with your loved one, check out the Valentine’s Day menu planner.  Here is the recipe:

CAROB MACAROONS (egg and nut free)
Servings: 18
Prep + Cook = 45 minutes

* 3 cups unsweetened coconut meat
* 1 cup carob, or cocoa or cacao powder
* 2/3 cup honey, melted on low heat
* 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted on low heat

1.  Combine the coconut and carob together in a medium mixing bowl.

2.  Melt the coconut oil and honey over low heat until melted.  Do not over heat.

3.  Add the oil mixture to the coconut and stir well until combined.

4.  Form into walnut sized balls.  You may need to squeeze the balls with your hands to make them stick together.

5.  Place balls on a pan or a plate and place in the fridge.  They will harden within 20-30 minutes, but you can put them in the freezer to harden more quickly.  If you choose to keep them in the freezer, let them sit out at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before eating.

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.

Welcome to the new website! I hope you find it even easier to navigate and enjoyable to look at.  Also, check out our new video if you haven’t had the chance yet!  You can find the link on the sidebar…  For some reason I can’t figure out how to link to it and will have to ask my wonderful web programmer.

The site was supposed to launch on the 15th so if you’ve been waiting, I apologize for the delay.  After Thanksgiving we’ll be diving into working on the member site portion which will hopefully be done sometime in January.

I am feeling a need for a break from the more technical areas of my work, so I thought I’d post a new recipe for you today!  I am very excited about this one.  I am finding that the cauliflower rice is very versatile and works in so many wonderful dishes you’d normally use regular rice in – like Chicken and Rice Soup.  So I thought I would give Risotto a try and I ended up loving it.  I believe my son would have loved it had I not put so much garlic in it!

If you’ve never made regular risotto with Arborio rice, it is really quite easy and not as hard as it may seem.  The main trick is the heat the stock apart from the rice in a separate pot, and then slowly add it to the rice as it cooks, stirring very frequently.

I used the same idea in this recipe, however I didn’t use nearly as much stock as you’d use in regular Risotto. I didn’t really consider this to be a Thanksgiving recipe but I am sure this would make a lovely addition to the table!

So here you go:

Butternut Squash “Risotto” with Cauliflower Rice (grain-free and rice-free)

Time (about 45 minutes)

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp coconut oil, or olive

1/2 sweet onion, chopped

1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed (use very little or garlic powder instead for small children)

1 head of cauliflower, grated or chopped very finely in a food processor so that it looks like rice bits

about 1 cup or more chicken stock (preferably home made) – I ended up using 1 1/3 but start with 1 cup because the size of cauliflower heads can vary.

1 1/2 cups butternut or other sweet winter squash, cooked and mashed

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup nutritional yeast – optional (you can also use Parmesan cheese if you can eat it, also optional)

Steps:

1.  If you don’t have cooked squash on hand, bake some ahead of time.  Then let cool,  scoop out and mash.  Prepare cauliflower.

2.  Heat the stock in a medium saucepan until it is boiling. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover.

3.  Meanwhile, saute the onion in the oil over medium heat.  You’ll want to use a large saute pan with a lid or a large pot with a heavy bottom and a lid.  Saute until translucent and soft.  Add the garlic and and saute for a minute or so, stirring frequently to prevent burning and sticking to the pan.

4.  Add the cauliflower “bits” to the pot with the onion.  Add about 1/2 cup of stock to the cauliflower and stir.  Heat should be at about medium so that it starts to cook the rice but not too quickly.  Stir frequently until the stock is absorbed and rice starts to cook.  Add another 1/2 cup and continue stirring.  You can cover the pot for a couple of minutes to let it cook.  If it is boiling, turn down the heat to a simmer.  The rice should cook about 7-10 minutes, or until the bits are cooked through.  Add more stock if you think it needs more liquid or time to cook.

5.  Once the rice is cooked, add the mashed butternut, salt, pepper and parsley.  Stir to combine and turn off the heat.  If you want to add nutritional yeast or Parmesan, do so at the end.  Then cover for a couple of minutes to let the flavors meld and the cheese melt.  Enjoy!