Fluffiest GF Coconut Pancakes--Without the Fluff!

I'm going to tell you how I really feel. I don't like the gluten-free craze. If you have celiac disease or a true allergy, then I understand, but I don't think that wheat in it's pure form is making everyone sick. Rather, I think refined, genetically modified wheat is what's making many ill, but if we could all stop eating that garbage, then I think we would find that good old humble whole wheat is not the culprit.  In going gluten-free, I think a lot of people are improving their health because this forces them to change their way of eating and thus consume less processed, chemical-laden foods, including refined, GM wheat.  But would we have the same outcomes if we all just cut out processed and genetically modified foods, increased our fruit and veggie intakes, and ate organic homemade whole wheat bread? We will probably never find out because the paleo diet appears to be taking over the world, just like its next of kin, the Atkins Diet, did before.

My allegiance to wheat now proclaimed, I will add that I make gluten-free meals and baked goods for my family not infrequently because I think that God has made all sorts of grains that are good for our bodies and that make for a more interesting palate of flavors and textures.  Wheat makes up much of our grain intake, but I want my family to also have a taste for the many wonderful grains given to us for our health and enjoyment.  So here is a GF pancake recipe I whipped up on a night of breakfast for dinner, with some coconut flour I had purchased out of curiosity. This recipe was inspired by Tessa's sweet potato muffins made with coconut flour--the first egg-free recipe I found using coconut four.  These pancakes are gum-free; frankly, I'm not sure how they hold together, but they sure did, and were adored by all. I think the combination of the chickpeas and coconut flour are what make for the magical fluffiness. As Abiline said, "We don't have a treat after dinner tonight because these pancakes are our treat!" As you can see from the picture, I also believe in chocolate chips.

1 cup roasted sweet potato flesh*
1/2 cup cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 cups plain or vanilla non-dairy milk + 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. coconut extract (optional)
2 Tbsp. coconut cream (You could sub oil.)
2 Tbsp. coconut sugar
1/3 cup applesauce
2 Tbsp. hemp seeds (optional)
1 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat your pancake griddle or frying pan over medium heat (about 275 on the griddle). Puree the sweet potato through hemp seeds in a food processor or blender until smooth. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry and stir until evenly moistened. The batter will be thick. Drop by 1/4 cup fulls on the preheated griddle and sprinkle with chocolate chips, if you like. After 2 or 3 minutes, check if they are firm enough on bottom to flip, then cook on the other side for 2-3 minutes more.

*To roast a sweet potato, preheat your oven to 400, line a baking pan with parchment paper, scrub the potato, and place it on the pan in the oven for about an hour. The cooked potato will be very soft and easily pierced with a fork and have golden juices bubbling from it. Do not try to steam or microwave your potato instead; to bring out the sweetness, it must be roasted.


My little helper...

This recipe is linked to Allergy-Free Wednesday Healthy Vegan Fridays Whole Food Fridays. 

Naturally Sweet & GF Chocolate Chip Cookie Clouds

Apparently, our dining table is a jungle gym. No matter how many times I say "bum down!" the kids are climbing under it, lying down on the benches, falling off and hitting various body parts. What would a meal be without a new bruise and some tears? Don't ask me. I wish each child had a seatbelt to keep them from crashing, but apparently they only make those for high chairs.  Here is snapshot of a typical seating configuration:



Snack time seems to be the most tame time at the table, probably because it seems like more of a privilege and less of a chore than dinner. Also, I don't notice anyone lying down for a snooze during dessert...

Which is yet another reason to love treats! These cookie clouds came about as I was simultaneously trying to change the banana millet muffins from Peas and Thank You to my liking (less sugar and oil) and to make a gluten-free version of the white bean chocolate chip cookies from Happy Herbivore, which my now gluten-free friend adores.  I just love the texture of these cookies, which is why I call them clouds: they are moist, but not heavy. This is one recipe that all three of my kids seem to equally love.  I give them out as snacks, treats--I would even give them for breakfast if anyone dared to ask.  To me, they do not have a strong banana flavor, but if you are adverse to any hints of banana, you could try subbing more sweet potato or applesauce for the mashed banana.  The millet gives them a nice crunch that we miss around here in our nut-free cookies, but you could omit that as well if you prefer.

  

Makes one dozen cookie clouds
1/3 cup dry millet
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup millet flour
1/3 cup potato starch
3 Tbsp. tapioca starch
1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. guar gum
3 Tbsp coconut/palm sugar
1/2 cup roasted sweet potato (white or orange-fleshed)*
1/2 cup mashed, ripe banana (not overly ripe, just yellow with not too many brown spots)
1 tsp. vanilla
2/3 cup white beans, drained and rinsed, if canned
1 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
4 Tbsp non-dairy milk
1/3 -1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat your oven to 350 and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine all of the dry ingredients (millet through coconut sugar) in a large mixing bowl.
2. In a food processor combine the sweet potato flesh, banana, vanilla, beans, melted coconut oil, and non-dairy milk and puree until smooth.
3.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until evenly moistened. Stir in the chocolate chips and drop large spoonfuls onto your prepared baking sheets.
4. Bake for 10 minutes, staggering the pans in the oven and turning them halfway through the baking time. For ultimate cloud texture, the cookies should be just barely brown on the bottom when you remove them to place on wire racks to cool.

*To roast a sweet potato, preheat your oven to 400, line a baking pan with parchment paper, scrub the potato, and place it on the pan in the oven for about an hour. The cooked potato will be very soft and easily pierced with a fork and have golden juices bubbling from it. Do not try to steam or microwave your potato instead; to bring out the sweetness, it must be roasted.


This recipe is linked to Allergy-Free Wednesday Gluten-Free Wednesdays

 Wellness Weekend  Healthy Vegan Fridays

Sugar and Oil-Free Chewy Granola Bars

Every time I have tried to make homemade granola bars--which has been quite a few times, actually--they crumble. I just cannot get them out of the pan without the bars disintegrating into plain old granola cereal. I had pretty much given up, but then I got the idea from my cookie dough bliss balls that maybe beans and dates would make better binders then the oil and maple or brown rice syrup that are often used in vegan granola bars. Success! These came out of the pan easily in bar form and are portable if tightly wrapped and not placed where they will be smooshed. They have a crunch and toothsome texture from the steel cut oats and seeds, but they are chewy, not crispy. Perhaps, if you subbed in some brown rice cereal, you would get more of that light-airy Quaker crispiness, if that is what you want. I prefer the denser texture, though. My son ate these happily in his snack at school, and I even made some into a granola pie crust for my dairy and soy-free cheesecake by processing about half a pan with a bit of rice milk and then pressing the mixture into the pie pan.

1 cup steel cut oats
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup sesame, hemp, or sunflower seeds, or a combination thereof
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
2 scoops stevia powder (I use Trader Joe's organic)
2 Tbsp. chia seed meal, coconut flour, or vegan protein powder
3/4 cup prunes, dates, or raisins, or a combination thereof
1/2 cup cooked chickpeas
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4-1/3 cup unsweetened rice milk
1 Tbsp. molasses

1. Preheat your oven to 350 and toast the oats and seeds for 5 minutes. Add the coconut and toast for 5 mins more.  Remove from the oven and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Mix in the salt, cinnamon, stevia, and chia seed meal or alternative.
 2. Place the dried fruit, chickpeas, vanilla, molasses, and 1/4 cup rice milk in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. If necessary, add more rice milk a Tbsp. at a time to get a smooth consistency.
3. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until uniformly moistened. Line an 8 or 9 inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Pour the granola bar mixture into the pan, and then lay another piece of parchment paper on top and press the mixture down as firmly as you can. Refrigerate for about an hour before cutting. I store mine in the fridge until I am ready to pack or eat them.    

Dress up time. Seems that no matter how much they dress up, they all still look very much alike...


This recipe is linked to Allergy-Free Wednesday Wellness Weekend Healthy Vegan Fridays.

Build Your Own Breakfast Cookie

This past week I purchased carob chips for the first time in my life, as I was making a treat for a friend's dog and learned that chocolate is a no-no for pooches. I gave some of the chips to the kids on a whim, fully expecting that they would be promptly spat upon the table as my children dealt with the treachery of being given imitation chocolate. Imagine my surprise when they begged for more and continued to ask for carob chips every day since.  I was raised by a wonderful mother who was and is fiercely loyal to chocolate and all things sugar, who taught me at a young age that carob was an unpalatable chocolate imitation that only self-punishing "no-sugar moms" would eat. Who would have thought that I would so betray my roots and raise these carob-loving children and be feeding them sugar-free breakfast cookies. I hope my mother does not think of me as her own worst kitchen nightmare.

In my defense, I am not so pure as to be a "no-sugar mom," but I do always want my cookies to be healthier than everyone else in the family seems to prefer.  If I call my creations "breakfast cookies,"though, then everyone recognizes that they are not dessert cookies and is just happy that they are eating cookies for breakfast. I have seen a number of breakfast cookie recipes on various blogs, but they always seem to be more on the cookie side and less on the breakfast side to me. So, be warned: my idea of a breakfast cookie is like portable oatmeal, not a cookie that you eat for breakfast just because someone added flax seed and maple syrup to a Tollhouse cookie or some nonsense like that. Believe it or not, a breakfast-y treat like this can be tasty and kid-approved without any added sugar or oil.

Here is the basic formula, with some variations we have enjoyed. This makes 10-12 standard size cookies.

Basic Recipe
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp. stevia powder
1/4 cup dried fruit (If the fruit is not particularly soft, soak it in boiling water for 10 mins. and then drain)
1 tsp. vanilla
2/3 cup applesauce, mashed banana, pumpkin, cooked sweet potato, or other fresh fruit or a combination thereof
1 Tbsp. tahini or sunflower seed butter
optional add-ins: 2-3 Tbsp. additional dried fruit, carob chips, mini-chocolate chips, hemp or sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the quinoa, oats, stevia, salt, and cinnamon, if using,  to your food processor and pulse just until combined and oats are ground up some but not quite flour. Add your wet ingredients and buzz until combined. Your batter will be a bit thinner than regular cookies but thicker than muffin batter. Stir in any optional add-ins. Drop large spoonfuls onto your prepared baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned on the bottoms. Let cool on wire racks for 5-10 mins. before enjoying.

Apple-Sweet Potato Variation
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp. stevia powder
1/4 cup raisins, soaked in hot water for 10 mins. and drained
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup applesauce
1/3 cup cooked sweet potato,
1 Tbsp. tahini
2 Tbsp. hemp seeds

Carob-Berry Variation 

1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp. stevia powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup prunes
1/2 cup blackberries and/or blueberries
1/4 cup applesauce or pumpkin
1 Tbsp. sunflower seed butter
2 Tbsp. carob powder
3 Tbsp. carob chips

My little cookie-munchers, loving life!

This recipe is linked to Allergy-Free Wednesday Whole Food Fridays Wellness Weekend Healthy Vegan Fridays

Baby-Led-Weaning with Allergies: Ideas for ages 6-8 months

My first baby loved baby food.  It never occurred to me to give him "real" food until he was around a year old and refused to swallow another mouthful of puree.

My second child barely tolerated any mush; she just wanted what was on my plate.  But I was reluctant to just let her dive in because I was afraid that if I did not follow the rule of introducing one new food at a time with a five day wait rule, I would somehow make her allergies worse, or not be able to tell which ingredient she was having an allergic reaction to.  Her whole weaning process was a battle, since she wanted to explore foods way faster than I was willing to let her.

When my third baby reached that magical time around six months of age when she started grabbing for our food and clearly wanted to take part in meal time, I was filled with dread.  Already having two children with established food allergies, I have not had much hope of number three escaping that same fate.  I found myself agonizing, "Is there some way to go about introducing new foods that will help her to have less food allergies?" Some doctors have told me to introduce highly-allergenic foods early on in order to avoid allergies; others say to wait as long as possible. After letting Emie lick a spoonful of seemingly allergen-safe pancake batter and get a rash, I threw my hands up in the air and decided that she will probably have allergies no matter what I do.

I knew I didn't want to make freezer-fulls of baby food this time around or battle with my baby who wants to grab food off my plate. Could I do baby-led weaning with a child with such high food allergy potential?  I decided to go for it: avoid the top allergens--dairy, eggs, wheat, corn, nuts, peanuts, soy--but basically let her eat whatever we are eating rather than feed her mashed banana for a week, then avocado, etc.

We are about six weeks in to our allergy-friendly baby-led weaning adventure, and I wanted to share some things that I have found to be working so far, for other moms who may be facing this same challenge. Of course, I am not an authority on baby nutrition, so my approach is by no means a plan for all to follow, but I hope it will be helpful to those searching for ideas.

Fruits: Emelise has enjoyed sucking on the inside of banana peels, mango skins, and sucking the rest of the avocado off the skin. She has not had much luck holding the actual fruit--they're all too slippery. But at least she is getting a taste for them. She has had some success with holding large pear and apple slices and gnawing them. She loves kiwi and has managed to hold and devour them all on her own.

Yogurt: She has been loving her first tastes of homemade coconut-oat milk yogurt this week. I scoop it for her and then hand her the spoon for self-feeding.

Vegetables: She loves to suck on cooked broccoli trees and sweet potato. Green beans and carrots get sucked on for a few moments and then get thrown on the ground.

Smoothies: I have been making allergy-safe smoothies that Emie likes so much she will let me help her hold the cup:

Pumpkin-Pear Smoothie: Blend about 1/4 cup pumpkin puree, with 1/2 ripe pear, and enough rice, oat, or coconut milk to get it smoothed out.

Baby Green Smoothie: Blend a couple cubes of frozen mango, 1/2 small banana, a handful of fresh spinach, and a generous slice of avocado, along with enough coconut, rice, or oat milk to get it smooth.

Grains: Crunchy rice rolls are a big hit. Much easier to hold and gnaw on than those baby rice cakes sold for $3-$4 a bag. Trader Joe's just discontinued their vegan rice rolls, but I have found some on Amazon.

Baby Biscotti: I adapted this recipe for Banana Coconut Slices, subbing coconut oil and maple syrup, grinding the oats and coconut, and using a rice flour gluten-free blend I found at Costco.  I then sliced some of the bars into biscotti-sized chunks and baked them for 12 minutes on each side in a preheated 375 degree oven. They made great teething biscuits!

Buckwheat-oat pancakes:  Take your favorite vegan pancake recipe and sub the regular flour with 1/2 buckwheat flour and 1/2 oat flour. Crumble into small bits for baby to pick up.

Pumpkin Quinoa Breakfast Cookies: I saw a recipe for something like this and liked the idea, although the egg whites, flax seed, and white flour were a no-no, so here is my version:

2 1/2 c. cooked quinoa
1/3 c. homemade coconut milk yogurt (You could sub banana, applesauce, or more pumpkin.)
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
3 Tbsp. melted coconut oil
dash of salt
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, or plain old cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together and form into about 12 little cakes. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15-20 mins. Check them frequently, as you don't want them to get too crispy for baby.

These cookies are crumbly, which Emie liked because she could squish them and pick up tiny pieces to gum on.  If you want them firmer, then experiment around with adding some baby cereal or gluten-free flour. Admittedly, I ate most of these cookies, with Emie just doing small bites. At this stage, it seems that she only needs a few tablespoons of food over the course of the day to supplement her breastmilk feedings.

Oatmeal made from oat-milk pulp: When you make home-made oat milk (I describe the process simply in my yogurt post), the pulp is already processed finely for baby--just be sure to blend it long enough!  I thin it out a bit and add some applesauce, pumpkin, or smooshed banana. I find this to be the best way to make baby oatmeal: it's much cheaper than buying packaged baby food and is just as lump-free.

Protein: Just breastmilk at this stage! We are not doing nuts or soy, of course, and at this point I am still avoiding beans and seeds until between 10 and 12 months, as my other daughter had a reaction to lentils when I gave them to her early on.

I would love to hear your ideas and recipes you have found to work for your baby!

This post is linked to Allergy-Free Wednesday.

Lemon Poppyseed Secret Squash Quinoa Muffins

Today was not the happiest day in Mommyville: lots of hitting by one eldest child, some serious tantrum action by the second, and I'm starting to tire of the baby-weight from number three.  I don't feel like I accomplish much more than constant chastising on some days. Which is why I think I keep writing this blog even though I'm certainly never going to be blog-famous--it makes me feel like I did something productive. At least I managed to nourish these dear children that are nearly impossible to feed!

I have posted a squash lemon poppyseed bread before, but this new edition is more nutritionally dense with the addition of chickpeas and quinoa. They are low in sugar as well!  The kids ate them without complaint, and I felt like I had at least had one small victory this day...

 


1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. stevia powder
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1/2 cup plain non-dairy milk
1/2 Tbsp. lemon extract
zest and juice of 1 medium lemon
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 small yellow squash, finely grated
1/3 cup poppyseeds

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line 12 muffin cups.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and stevia.
3. In a food processor or blender, blend together the quinoa, chickpeas, non-dairy milk, lemon extract, lemon zest and juice, coconut oil, and maple syrup until smooth.
4. Add the wet ingredients to dry and stir just until completely combined. Fold in the poppy seeds and squash. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool on wire racks before serving.

Here are some of our happier moments recently...

This recipe is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Allergy-Free Wednesday,  Whole Food Wednesday and Wellness Weekend.

Sugar-Free Pumpkin Caramel

Oh, you mean to tell me that it isn't fall anymore?  Well, while this post is a bit late, and pumpkin is not all over the stores in February, I didn't want to wait another year to share this recipe. My kids don't wait until Halloween to play dress-up, so why wait until autumn-time to enjoy the magic of pumpkin caramel? This makes a great filling for ridiculously simple oatmeal bars, or you can use it as a fruit dip, or just eat it out of the pan like Abiline did.  It is thick, creamy, and sweet, with no butter or sugar. And easy to make, too!



1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup, packed, pitted dates
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Combine all ingredients except vanilla in a small saucepan, bring to a simmer over medium heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the dates are very soft.
2. Add the vanilla extract and transfer the mixture to your food processor or blender. Puree until totally smooth. Enjoy!



Now that I've got you in the mood, I'll take this opportunity to reminisce about our autumn adventures. It doesn't seem that long ago, considering that we just finally threw out our pumpkins last week.   Happy Halloween in February, everyone!

  This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Allergy-Free Wednesday, Gluten-Free Wednesday, and Wellness Weekend.

Still Alive and Cooking...A Little

So, my "farewell to food" has lasted much longer than anticipated.  Suffice it to say, I have never really gotten over my nausea with this pregnancy.  I do not know how my poor family has survived the many regrettable meals that I have thrown together over the last few months. I do not need to go into detail about the green sludge from Saturday night: I'm not sure who cried more about having to eat it--me or the kids. The good news is that, hopefully, in the next two to three weeks, my baby "bun" will be out of my oven, and food will become good again!

While overall I have been completely uninspired in the kitchen, there have been some rare occasions when I created something worth making again. These gluten-free, sneaky ingredient chocolate chip cookies were a big hit with the Sawyer and Abiline crowd, who, as you can see below, are as cute and nutty as ever.  I even liked these little treats.  It's a funny thing--while most food has been unpalatable, chocolate has kept its appeal for me. Good ol' chocolate: a pal through thick and thin!

 

Beanie Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies (makes about a dozen cookies)

1 1/4 cup buckwheat groats, ground
1 tsp. baking powder
rounded 1/4 tsp. sea salt
2 Tbsp. coconut sugar
1/2 cup pitted medjool dates (about 6)
1 cup white beans (rinsed and drained, if canned)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/3-1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat your oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Grind your buckwheat groats in your food processor. Measure to make sure you have enough to equal the 1 1/4 cup, then add the baking powder, salt, and coconut sugar, and buzz to mix them all together.
3. Add the dates, beans, vanilla, and coconut oil to the dry ingredients in the food processor and pulse until well incorporated and evenly moistened. Mix in the chocolate chips with a spoon.
4. Form into a dozen balls, place them on the prepared pan, and flatten them slightly with your palms. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden on the bottom.

Did I say the kids are nutty? I take it back; Abiline is very serious about her chap-stick. (This one from Grandma was a bit too much like lipstick...)

This recipe is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Allergy-Free Wednesday, Whole Foods Wednesday, Gluten-Free Wednesday, and Wellness Weekend.

Flourless Chocolate Pumpkin Seed Cookies

So many flourless baking creations use almond flour, so I set out to try to use a seed as the base instead. These cookies are so simple and delicious and make a nutritious, but still indulgent, snack. I have baked these a few times recently on days when nap time is almost over and I need a snack pronto before I have hangry kids roaring out of bed.  Chocolate cookies just have such a nice way of getting eaten without complaint.

 

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds (I have also used sunflower seeds with yummy results.)
1/4 cup coconut milk (I've used both light and regular.)
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/8 tsp. sea salt
1/4 cup allergy-friendly chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and spread the seeds out in an even layer on the prepared pan. Roast for 8 minutes, then stir them around and bake for 7-9 minutes more. Watch them closely so that they brown without burning.
2. While the seeds roast, in small saucepan heat the coconut milk, coconut sugar, salt, and chocolate chips until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
3. Let the coconut-chocolate mixture and the seeds cool for a few minutes just to avoid danger of totally burning yourself. Then add all of the ingredients to your food processor and blend until you have a thick, uniform paste. There will be a few little bits of seeds--no problem.
4. Form the dough into about 10 cookie dough balls. Dampen the tines of a fork and make a cross-hatch pattern on each cookie. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and then remove them from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.



This recipe is linked to Allergy-Friendly Friday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Allergy-Free Wednesdays, Whole Foods Wednesday,  Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Tastetastic Thursday, Happy Lil' Loves Are Baking, Fit and Fabulous Friday and Wellness Weekend.   
 

Amazing Coconut-Cannellini "Cream Cheese": Soy, Nut, and Dairy-Free

Making my own non-dairy cream cheese has been a bit of a holy grail quest for me.  When I found out that my son Sawyer was allergic to dairy products, I just started using the Tofutti cream cheese substitute, which tastes pretty good, but is not exactly full of healthful--or even identifiable--ingredients.  Plus my daughter Abiline would not tolerate the soy protein in it.  I did not have a clue how to go about making my own allergy-friendly "cream cheese," as the only homemade recipes I have been able to find are ones that contain cashews.  Then inspiration struck after I made my chickpea cheese: coconut and white beans, in the right fat to protein ratio, fermented to brilliant, spot-on cream cheese impersonation. I admit that I started crying when I tasted it.  And then I proceeded to make bagels to slather it on. And then no-bake cheesecake.  Maybe it sounds weird, but trust me folks: I think this is my best kitchen creation ever. 

1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup (heaping) cooked cannellini beans (Or navy beans work fine, too.)
2 Tbsp. plain coconut milk yogurt (I used homemade.)
1/2 Tbsp. chickpea miso
6-8 Tbsp. water
2-4 Tbsp. coconut milk (The kind in the carton or full-fat both work, but use full-fat if you are going to use this for cheesecake.)

1. In a food processor (or Vitamix/Blentec, if you are lucky enough to have one of those!) blend the coconut, white beans, yogurt, miso and 1/3 cup water until smooth. Add additional water a tablespoon at a time if necessary to get a really smooth, creamy consistency.

2. Scrape the mixture into a small bowl and cover completely with cheesecloth. It will look like this:


Set the bowl in warm place and let the "cheese" ferment for about 12-16 hours. Start tasting it after 12, and then if it is not tangy enough yet, keep checking back every hour. You will know when it's done because you will think to yourself, "Ohmygosh, this tastes like cream cheese!"

3.  During the fermenting process, the "cheese" loses moisture and becomes crumbly, so once it is done fermenting, you need to put it back in your blender or food processor and blend in the coconut milk, starting with two tablespoons, and then adding more--a tablespoon at a time--if necessary to get a spreadable consistency.

4. Store it in the refrigerator. It is best when eaten within the first 3-5 days.

No, I didn't try to ship the kids off. They were pretending to be robots. Very happy robots.

This post is linked to Fit and Fabulous Fridays, Breakfast Ideas Mondays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, and Allergy-Free Wednesday and Wellness Weekend.

Sugar-Free Coconut Banana Lime Cookies

I use pure stevia powder for sweetening lemonade and to add a bit of extra sweetness to homemade yogurt, but I have not used it in baked goods very much.  Overall, stevia seems a bit too good to be true, so I have been wary of overusing it.  I have seen it used in a lot of recipes lately, though, which made me wonder, "Can just a small amount of stevia really take the place of the sugar in a cookie recipe?" I decided to experiment with developing a recipe that would also get natural sweetness from banana and coconut. (The banana-coconut-lime combo is one that my best friend from college and I fell in love with in a sugar-laden banana bread recipe we discovered back then.)  I was impressed by how well these turned out.  While getting something sweet without sugar still seems suspiciously like getting something for nothing, I guess I will just enjoy my freebie and indulge in sugar-free treats like this every once in a while.
    

3/4 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
3 Tbsp. lime juice
1 medium very ripe banana
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
generous 1/4 tsp. pure stevia powder (I use Trader Joe's organic one.)

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a food processor, pulse the rolled oats until you have a fine flour.  Empty the oats into a medium bowl and mix in the baking powder, salt, and stevia powder.  Add the  coconut, oil, lime juice, and banana to the food processor and blend until smooth.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix just until evenly moistened.  Drop the dough by spoonfuls (I got about a dozen cookies out of this recipe) onto the prepared cookie sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, until the cookies are lightly browned on the bottom. Let cool on wire racks before eating.

During quiet play time yesterday (aka Abiline's nap time), Sawyer decided to take up spelling:

This recipe is linked to Fit and Fabulous Friday,  Allergy-Friendly Friday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays , Allergy-Free Wednesdays, Whole Foods Wednesdays, and Wellness Weekend.                  

Lemon Poppyseed Streusel Bars with Strawberry-Lemon Yogurt Filling

My so-sweet Abiline is approaching two years of age and has turned into the tantrum monster. Every day this past week I have been caught off guard by yet another raging blow out.  Given her performance the last few days, I am not sure why I deluded myself into thinking that running errands with the kids this morning was a good plan. I made the mistake of taking them to Ikea to get a new, higher bathroom stool so that Sawyer can wash his hands by himself.  It seemed so simple, but the task was complicated by the incessant squabbling, hitting, whining, and then me clutching to my cool while seething through my teeth.  In the future, when I have to put my child[ren] in time out as we are leaving for an outing, I should probably reconsider even going.  Or is that too drastic?  I need to be able to get things done, but today I just had one too many days of being the public spectacle interrupting the tranquility of everyone's shopping trips. Why is it that everyone else's kids always seem so mellow? Ugh. And I still have to do the grocery shopping today after nap-time....

I suppose every day is a struggle in its own way, and I can either get all sour about it, or make lemonade.  I have tried going to the store by myself after the kids go to bed at night, and you know what? I usually feel lonely; I don't like it anymore than when I tackle the job with my two bundles of loveable chaos. So what is the key to an enjoyable shopping trip? Not well-behaved children, or no children--just patience, I think. Oh how I wish I had more of it!

But on to the recipe, perfect for a day when I am trying to make lemonade out of this lemon of a morning!

 

For the lemon-poppy seed crust/streusel:
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup oat bran (Or more rolled oats. I have not seen gluten-free oat bran, so using more GF oats may be your best bet if you're going for a GF treat.)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
3 Tbsp. poppy seeds
zest of 2 lemons
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 c. agave nectar or maple syrup
1 tsp. lemon extract

For the strawberry-lemon yogurt filling:
1 1/2 c. plain non-dairy yogurt (I used homemade.)
3-4 strawberries
1-2 Tbsp. sweetener of choice, or stevia to taste
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
3/4 tsp. guar gum (optional, for thicker filling)

1. Preheat oven to 350 and oil a nine inch square pan.
2. In your food processor, grind the rolled oats into flour. Add the oat bran, baking powder, and salt and pulse to combine. Add poppy seeds and lemon zest and pulse a few times to mix them in to the rest of the dry ingredients. Then add the oil, agave, and lemon juice, and pulse again until the mixture is crumbly and evenly moistened.
3. Press 1/2 of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan, and reserve the other 1/2 in a bowl. Clean out the food processor work bowl and add the filling ingredients; blend until smooth and then spoon the yogurt filling evenly over the bottom crust.
4. Sprinkle the remaining streusel evenly over the filling. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 mins. Let the bars cool completely before cutting, or else they will be messy.  

Yes, this was another tumultuous outing--what made us ever think that the kids would ride quietly in a bike trailer together? Luckily, we still have a baby seat on my bike, so we can separate them when things get ugly back there. 

 

This post is linked to Allergy-Friendly Fridays, Fit and Fabulous Fridays , My Meatless Mondays,  Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays , Allergy-Free Wednesdays, Whole Foods Wednesdays, and Wellness Weekend.   
 

Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Black Bean Brownie Ice Cream

So....black beans in your ice cream probably doesn't sound delicious.  But, it is. Trust me on this one; you have to try this combo. This improbable ice cream recipe began with me trying to make the chocolate pumpkin pudding from The Everyday Vegan without looking at the recipe.  The texture wasn't quite right, I'm sure due to me trying to throw it together from memory after looking over the recipe a few days earlier.  So I decided to try adding some black beans to thicken it up.  Black bean brownies work, so why not black bean pudding?  And why not black bean pudding turned into ice cream with black bean brownies in it?!  Why not indeed.  And there you have it: the thought process that led to this successful marriage of healthy and indulgent.

There are many, many black bean brownie recipes out there. The one I use here is my favorite so far, which I put together after seeing a number of flourless black bean brownie recipes posted recently, but finding none without sugar and without eggs.  I have been giving these to Abiline and Sawyer as a good-for-you treat. Good-for-you treat? These recipes certainly show that those two things really can co-exist.
 

For the brownies:
1 1/2 cups black beans, or 1 can drained and rinsed
2 Tbsp. sunflower seed butter
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 cup pitted dates, soaked for a few hours to soften them, and then drained
(or microwave them for a few minutes covered in water and then drain them)
1/2 cup cocoa powder

For the ice cream:
1 16 oz can pumpkin puree   
1/2 cup (heaping) of black beans
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup coconut sugar (Or try subbing dates!)
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp. guar gum (optional, but really gives homemade ice cream a good texture. I got this tip from Dreena Burton's latest cookbook, Let Them Eat Vegan.)
1/3 cup chocolate chips, chopped
2-3 black bean brownies, crumbled or chopped into small chunks

1. To make the brownies, preheat the oven to 350 and oil a 9x9 inch baking pan. Blend all of the ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pan and smooth it out with the back of a rubber scraper. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the brownies cool completely. This makes way more than you need for the ice cream, which means lots of brownie sundaes.
2.  To make the ice cream, in a blender or food processor whip together all of the ingredients except for the chocolate chips and brownie chunks.  Make sure you get the mixture totally smooth.  Pour into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.
3. Near the end of the freezing time, right before the ice cream is all set up and ready, gradually pour in the chopped chocolate chips and brownie chunks. Let the ice cream maker stir them in until evenly distributed. If you don't eat all of this ice cream right away, then be sure to take the leftovers out of the freezer 15 minutes before you want to eat them, to soften the ice cream up and make it scoop-able again.

If you think this recipe is a bit off the beaten path, well check this out:

Have you ever seen a man riding a bicycle with a giant remote-controlled shark balloon tied to the handlebars?  The mask just completes the look (thanks polluted Southern California air.). Well, if you saw him--that was my husband.  No further questions please.

This post is linked to Fit and Fabulous Fridays,  Allergy-Friendy Fridays, My Meatless Mondays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Allergy-Free Wednesdays, Whole Foods Wednesdays, and Wellness Weekend.

Maple-Cinnamon Quinoa Pudding (Un)Birthday Breakfast Cupcakes

Friday was Sawyer's fourth birthday. I wanted to make him something special for his breakfast, but he has pancakes and waffles all the time, so I wondered what I could make that would be a treat for him. Then I remembered the mini ice cream cones in our cupboard, and how once I had made him cupcakes cones that he found pretty thrilling.  Why not make breakfast "cupcake" cones?  Using what I had on hand at 6am this morning, I whipped up a maple-cinnamon quinoa pudding and some sunflower seed butter frosting, added a dash of sprinkles to please the birthday boy, and got both Sawyer and Abiline eating seconds of a protein-rich, refined-sugar free breakfast.  So whether it's your birthday or un-birthday, go ahead and dig in! The quinoa pudding is gluten-free, and you can keep the whole thing gluten-free by just subbing some gluten-free cones (although I don't think those come in miniature size).  Keep in mind that the cones get a bit soggy after a few hours if you don't eat these right away, so I recommend that you make some in mini- or regular-sized muffin cups if you mind a soft cone and anticipate leftovers.  

For the maple-cinnamon quinoa pudding:
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup pitted dates
1/2 cup (packed) cooked white beans
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. maple extract
2 Tbsp. melted coconut oil
2 Tbsp. maple syrup

For the frosting:
1/4 cup sunflower seed butter
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
1/4 cup pitted dates
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. maple extract

1. Soak the 3/4 cup dates that you need for both the pudding and the frosting in boiling water for 7-10 minutes, until softened. Alternatively, you can cover the dates with water and microwave them for about two minutes until softened.
2. Preheat the oven to 350.  Place 18 mini cupcake cones or 9 regular-sized cones on a baking tray. (Or you could just line the same number of mini or regular-sized muffin cups.) Place all of the pudding ingredients in your food processor work bowl and buzz until smooth. Spoon the pudding into the prepared cones or muffin cups and bake them in the preheated oven.  The mini cones took 12 minutes to bake, and I made one large one that took 20 minutes to bake.  When they are done, a toothpick inserted in the middle will come out clean.
3. Allow the cupcake cones to cool while you whip up the frosting.  Blend all of the frosting ingredients in your food processor until smooth. Slather the cooled cones with the frosting; top with sprinkles, if you are feeling in the birthday spirit.

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As for Sawyer's birthday cake, he wanted a dinosaur cake. I was pretty proud of this one, the idea for which I found here. But when I brought it out, the cake got almost no reaction from him so I though he didn't like it.  Anthony said Sawyer must have just been overwhelmed with all the birthday festivities at the time because in his prayers that night he gave thanks at length for his cake.  Phew! I was glad to not disappoint after he had talked about the cake for weeks beforehand!

This post is linked to My Meatless Mondays, Made From Scratch Monday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays ,Allergy-Free Wednesdays, Whole Foods Wednesdays,and Wellness Weekend.

Sprouted Wheat Berry Smiley-Face Crackers

It is not often that Sawyer takes a bite of something and tells me it is "delicious," but he has done that twice with these crackers that I made on the spur of the moment at snack-time last week when I needed to do something with the over-sprouted wheat berries hanging out in my fridge.  I had found that when I made my secret ingredient almost sugar-free cut-out cookies that over-sprouted wheat berries work great in cookies, so why not try crackers? Abiline preferred the dough because the crackers came out really crispy, so next time I think I would roll some of them a bit thicker and leave others really thin for Sawyer who loves ultra-crispy.  It is hard to please both children at once!

The smiley-faces are optional, of course, but they were fun for Abiline.  Every time Sawyer sits down to draw in his sketchbook like his daddy, Abiline wants to color, too, but quickly gets bored, turns to me, and urges "Draw face, Mommy! Draw face!"  I then scrawl a shamefully primitive version of a face while she giggles in delight.  Great artist is not currently on my mommy resume, but luckily my children are generous art critics.

1 1/2 cups sprouted wheat berries (with sprouted tails about twice the length of the berry)
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. melted coconut oil
2 Tbsp. brown rice syrup
1/4 cup white whole wheat flour

1.  To sprout your wheat berries, place about 1/2 cup dry wheat berries in a glass jar with a lid, and add enough water to cover them plus fill the jar a few inches above the berries. Place the lid on, but do not screw it on. Soak the berries overnight, then drain them in the morning in a fine mesh sieve and rinse them with you faucet turned all the way up, to really blast those berries with the water. Shake them around to get the excess water off and then put the wheat berries back in the jar with the lid placed on top. Rinse them again at night, about 12 hours later. Continue to rinse them morning and night until they are sprouted and their tails are 2-3xs as long as the wheat berries. Be careful to catch them before they sprout leaves, as then it is too late to use them for baking.
 2. Preheat your oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. You should start with wheat berries that look like this:



Place all of the ingredients and your food processor and pulse until you have a smooth paste. You want to crush the wheat berries completely because any whole chunks will become hard when you bake them.
3. Transfer the paste to a small mixing bowl and stir in the flour until a soft dough forms. You may need to add an additional tablespoon or two of flour if your berries had sprouted a bit farther than mine, as that may make the dough even moister.
4. Roll out the dough on a floured work surface, 1/8 inch for crispy crackers, almost 1/4 inch for less crispy.  I cut mine out using a really small biscuit cutter and poked the holes for the face with a toothpick, but you can make whatever shapes you want. Place the crackers on the prepared baking sheet; I made about two dozen.
4. Bake the crackers in the preheated oven for 12 minutes, turning the pan 180 degrees half-way through the baking time.  Check them at this point,and if they aren't looking browned on the bottom, bake them for a few more minutes, checking frequently so they don't burn.

This recipe is featured on Allergy-Friendly Lunchbox Love ,Melt in Your Mouth Monday , Whole Foods Wednesdays, and Kids in the Kitchen.

These made great snacks at the beach this weekend!