Here is another necessary summer recipe!  If you love to grill and if you can’t eat gluten, soy or sugar, you may be looking for a great barbecue sauce you can use on your grilled vegetables and meats.  I ended up making this recipe a few days ago when I wanted to make a Barbecue Meatloaf recipe.  I couldn’t find a barbecue sauce that was free of sugar, starch and gluten, so I made my own.

I am now in love with this sauce and found myself putting it on my zucchini noodles in place of pasta sauce last night.

I started with Ali’s Chipotle Barbecue sauce and just changed a few things.  I made it GAPS friendly by changing the maple syrup to honey and I just deleted the black-strap molasses.  I also used regular chili powder instead of chipotle because it is really too spicy for me and my son.  I also added a tsp. of paprika like Ali suggested.  In the end, I added 2 Tbsp mustard.

I too love the strained tomatoes that Ali talks about in her post, made by Bionaturae.  I buy the tomatoes along with their glass-jarred tomato paste to make most of my tomato dishes like spaghetti sauce.  This is because we are trying to avoid the BPA found in most cans of food.  Why the companies use this chemical to line their cans is beyond me!

I used my blending wand to blend it up, which I was surprised to see didn’t quite blend all the onions up.  But I actually like it a little chunky.  If you like your’s very smooth, use a regular blender for this recipe.  Here it is:

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My son has discovered something that he really loves – “lemon juice,” or otherwise known as lemonade.  It all started when he got sick a few weeks ago and started coughing.  The natural medicines I was using weren’t helping so in the middle of the night, I made him some hot lemon water with honey.  It not only helped him with his cough but he now asks for “lemon juice” everyday.  My husband also loves it so we’ve been drinking quite of a bit of this stuff.  (I am however a little wary that drinking this everyday is hard on his teeth…)

And even though it’s not “officially” summer yet, it has sure felt like it lately here in Maryland.  We started getting some cooler weather a couple days ago but before that, it felt like the middle of July.  So having lemonade has been a very refreshing and yummy drink to enjoy on these hot days.

So if you’re like us and can’t drink the regular sugar-sweetened lemonade available at the store, here is a simple and delicious recipe for lemonade made from fresh lemons.  I vary it a little bit each time and don’t usually measure.

Sugar-Free Lemonade

For 1 serving – multiply by the number of people you want to serve to make more

Ingredients:

1/2 lemon (preferably organic), squeezed

1 cup water (part boiling water to help dissolve honey)

1-1/2 Tbsp. raw honey, to taste

ice cubes, optional

Steps:

Depending upon the kind of honey you’re using, you may need to dissolve it in warm water first.  So I usually do this and then add ice cubes at the end.  Basically add just enough boiling water to the cold water to make it warm enough for the honey to dissolve (don’t put the raw honey in boiling water).  Add the lemon juice, stir, taste, and then add more honey or lemon, depending upon taste.

Add ice cubes, serve, and enjoy!

See?  Very easy!  Enjoy!

Sometimes when I’m experimenting, something doesn’t turn out how I expected but it does turn out as something that is very delicious.  For this recipe, I was trying to adapt the Devil’s Food Cupcakes from the Valentine’s Menu Planner into an egg free grain-free version.  At first, I thought it was a disaster because it was taking a lot longer to bake and it was bubbling.  It looked like bubbling chocolate hot lava and I really wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out.

I ended up baking it for about 50 minutes and it was still bubbling when I took it out of the oven.  But as it cooled, I had hope that it was still going to be edible.

What it turned into is an awesome batch of grain, egg and gluten free brownies.  Moist, very rich and very yummy.  It was so good that I decided to add the recipe to the Valentine’s Day Menu Planner for Limited Diets.  But I’m also going to give you the recipe here:

Devil’s Food Chocolate or Carob Brownies (Egg, Grain and Gluten-Free)

Dry:

1 2/3 cup almond flour

1/2 cup cocoa or carob powder, sifted

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 Tbsp flax meal mixed with 6 Tbsp. boiling water

Wet:

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup coconut oil or melted butter

1 cup coconut milk

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp lemon juice

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.   Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.  Mix the wet ingredients together in another bowl.  Mix the dry into the wet and mix until it is thick cake batter consistency.  Add a little flour if too runny or add a little milk if too thick.

2.  Grease an 8.5 inch square cake pan with coconut oil or butter.  Pour batter into pan and bake for 45-50 minutes .  Brownies will be soft and bubbling but should be done after 50 minutes.  Let cool for at least an hour or overnight before serving.  They will be very soft and moist.

Note about GAPS: This recipe is not GAPS-legal because it uses chocolate.  Also, carob is also not on the allowed list.  I have to confess I ate WAY more than I intended to, as I am trying to stick to GAPS.  I tested it for the menu planner but didn’t have the will power to just eat a nibble…

I did notice a slight increase in irritability, which is a good sign for me that chocolate doesn’t work for me.  I still don’t know exactly why this is though.  Anyone?

The Valentine’s Menu Planner for Limited Diets is now available! Don’t miss this awesome meal planned specifically for people with multiple food allergies, the GAPS diet and gluten-free diets.

Have a beautiful Valentine’s Day!