The Daily Dietribe

10 Gluten-Free and Vegan Super Bowl Recipes plus Best of Triumph Dining Awards

2012-02-03T10:26:00.000-05:00

Living in my grad student, tv-less bubble, my only inkling that the Super Bowl was near was from recent posts on Facebook. So while I will readily admit I have no intention of watching this year, I'll happily share some what I would be making were I to have a party. When entertaining guests, I like to have options that are vegan as well as gluten-free. That way, I'm including as many of my guests as I can. Here are my top ten vegan party pleasers, including yesterday's Salted Caramel Chocolate Shortbread Bars.

In more exciting news (at least for me), Triumph Dining is hosting their first ever Best of Gluten-Free Awards! And as a thank you for voting, they're giving away a bunch of prizes, including 25 copies of The Essential Guide to Gluten-Free Baking! Seriously, 25! That's a lot of chances to win! If you were trying to decide whether to purchase a copy, here's your chance to win one... And you can also vote for your favorite products, restaurants, and bloggers (including me) while you're at it!

Happy weekend and for those of you watching the Super Bowl, enjoy!

Experiments in Gluten-Free Baking 101: Salted Caramel Chocolate Shortbread Bars (Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Refined Sugar-Free, Vegan)

2012-02-02T03:00:00.004-05:00

For today's session of Experiments in Gluten-Free Baking 101, I had my mind set on making Salted Caramel Chocolate Shortbread Bars. I had seen this recipe on pinterest, and just knew I had to make my own version. The original recipe used a regular shortbread base, with butter, sugar, and corn syrup in the caramel and chocolate layers. Not exactly the best ingredients for this sensitive crowd, but easily adapted. I already had a caramel filling in mind, with the intention of simplifying my caramel dipping sauce recipe from December. For the chocolate glaze, I would be adapting a recipe for Chocolate Glazed Brownie Bites from our upcoming cookbooks. So all I needed was a simple shortbread recipe. I just had to decide if I wanted to make a grain-based or grain-free recipe. Two factors helped me decide to go grain-free:

The caramel filling has cashews, making this a nut based recipe already. No point in making a nut-free base, so I decided to play with almond flour for this shortbread (and for those sensitive to nuts, I've included links below to similar nut-free recipes you can try).
My first try was actually grain-based and was a flop. Going with the fact that traditional shortbread calls for rice flour, I used a combination of coconut flour and sweet white rice flour. It was dry and flavorless, and didn't leave me with any desire to experiment with that recipe again. Problem solved. Grain-free was the answer!

Once I decided to make a grain-free base, I had to decide whether to come up with my own recipe or use someone else's. I have two conflicting beliefs when it comes to baking. On the one hand, it's always more fun to invent your own recipe or adapt another recipe. On the other hand, there's no point in changing an already perfect recipe just so you can call it your own. Why mess with a good thing? Keeping in mind how expensive almond flour is, I chose to find a tried-and-true recipe, and save my wallet the cost of experimentation. Brittany had recently posted this recipe for Samoas, and I knew the cookie base would be perfect for my Salted Caramel Chocolate Shortbread Bars. But of course as luck would have it, I didn't have enough almond flour and was out of applesauce, two main ingredients. So despite my best intentions to follow the recipe exactly, I had to adapt it anyway, and I needed to get pretty creative. After a quick scrounge in my fridge, I came up with a small amount of almond flour, coconut flour, and enough raw cashews to make my caramel filling and have some left for the base. Could I make it work? I think you know the answer to that! Here's what I did:

The original recipe called for 2 cups of blanched almond flour and 1 cup of tapioca starch. Tapioca serves a dual purpose of soaking up liquid and providing some extra binding power (i.e. keeps your baked goods from crumbling). I only had 3/4 cup of blanched almond flour, so I knew I had to make up the bulk of my base with coconut flour and cashews. Coconut flour soaks up liquid like crazy, so I knew a little would go a long way, and could theoretically replace the tapioca. I went for 1/4 cup rather than the 1 tablespoon of tapioca starch called for to help make up for the lack of enough almond flour. (Side note: I would not normally use a starch and coconut flour interchangeably in recipes, but I had a feeling it would work out well in this application. In general though, I wouldn't recommend it. Starches provide a lightness to baked goods, while coconut flour is quite dense.) And if I pureed the cashews in the food processor until they were more like a nut butter, that would provide some sticky binding power. Again, I was confined here to using what I had available. I had 1/2 cup of cashews left, so that's what I used. I don't always get so lucky when I'm experimenting, but when you're working with almond flour and cashews, you're pretty much going to get something that tastes great no matter what.
Brittany's recipe called for applesauce. Like tapioca, applesauce can help hold baked goods together. I was out, but since I was going to puree the cashews, I figured I could leave that out with no problem.
The original recipe called for salt, but since I was going to add sea salt to the top of the chocolate, I didn't want to use any salt in the recipe itself.
Brittany called for 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract. In addition to flavor, I'm guessing this also helped bind her ingredients together so she could roll the dough out. After processing my ingredients, I found they made a nice dough that I could press into the pan, so I didn't bother adding any vanilla. However, when I make these again, I might add 1-2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract, if only because I could tell the bars wanted to be crumbly. They held together well, but a few pieces did crumble a bit when I was cutting them. Which of course is always a good excuse to eat that piece, since you don't want to have any imperfectly shaped bars on your platter, right?
Finally, Brittany calls for butter, ghee, Earth Balance or coconut oil. I used shortening because it's what I had on hand, but most likely any of these options would work just as well. If I were making them again, I would probably try coconut oil to be healthier, but since I haven't tested that out, I'm calling for shortening in my ingredients list below. I've had disastrous results substituting shortening with coconut oil in cookie recipes, so I don't want to make any assumptions that it will work here.
I used the same amount of coconut palm sugar and baking soda as called for in Brittany's recipe.
The original recipe called for a 10-12 minute baking time at 350 degrees F. I found with the addition of the cashews, they needed to bake a little longer, and left them in for 18 minutes. Just long enough that the bars would hold together, but not so long to get crispy. I still wanted that buttery, soft shortbread texture.

Once the shortbread base was made, I took a teeny tiny bite out of the corner to make sure I liked it. I didn't want to waste my caramel and chocolate on a bad shortbread after all. It was perfect. A hint of sweetness and a soft bite similar to traditional shortbread. All that was needed was to make the caramel and chocolate, and I was done! Easy peasy, and a recipe I would take to any party with pride. No need to make excuses for this gluten-free, vegan recipe! It was gone in two days, and I'll admit to you that I savored a piece of this confection as if it were the last dessert of a dying woman. The layers of flavor and texture absolutely melted on my tongue. I'm lucky really, that they disappeared so quickly, or I would be going back for seconds and thirds.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Shortbread Bars (Print-Friendly Option)

These little goodies will leave you craving more, and with good reason. The shortbread base has a buttery sweetness due to the cashews and almond flour, the caramel filling just melts in your mouth, and the chocolate glaze provides that final delight to your taste buds as you bite in. The combination of flavors and textures will amaze you. And no need to warn everyone that these are gluten, dairy, egg, and refined sugar-free. They'll never know!

Ingredients:
Base:
3/4 cup blanched almond flour (78 grams)
1/2 cup raw cashews (63 grams)
1/4 cup coconut flour (34 grams)
3 tablespoons shortening (Spectrum Organic is soy-free)
1/3 cup coconut palm sugar (49 grams)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Caramel:
1 cup raw cashews (106 grams)
1 cup powdered coconut palm sugar (147 grams)*
4 tablespoons Earth Balance Coconut Spread (sub: shortening, butter, ghee)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Glaze:
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 tablespoons coconut oil (sub: Earth Balance coconut spread, butter, ghee)
3 tablespoons coconut nectar (sub: any liquid sweetener) *have at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Sea salt to sprinkle over chocolate (use sparingly)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit inside an 8 x 8 inch baking dish. Cut it big enough that the paper will go up the sides; you'll use this to take the base easily out of the baking dish.
Combine all of the base ingredients in a food processor until they come together into a ball. Press evenly into the baking dish. Bake for 18 minutes. While base is baking, soak the 1 cup of cashews called for in the caramel sauce in a bowl of hot water. Set aside.
Remove baking dish from oven and allow to cool to room temperature in the dish (you can place it in the fridge to speed this process up once it cools some).
While the base is cooling, rinse and drain the soaked cashews. Wash out your food processor then place the cashews, alone with the rest of your caramel ingredients in it and puree until smooth. Once base has cooled, remove from baking dish and carefully place on a flat plate. Smooth caramel onto the base. I find it's easiest to place it in large glops, then smooth it all down with a knife.
Now it's time to make your chocolate. Heat the chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring often. Once the chocolate is almost completely melted, add the rest of the ingredients and stir until a smooth consistency is formed. Drizzle over the caramel sauce and then smooth over with a knife. Sprinkle sea salt lightly over chocolate. Chill in the fridge until the chocolate has hardened. Cut with a sharp knife into 16 squares. I find it is easiest if you clean the knife in between cuts since it gets a bit sticky. Serve chilled.

* To powder the coconut palm sugar, place it in a blender. Make sure the blender is completely dry inside first. Blend the sugar until it's the consistency of powdered sugar. Time will vary depending on your blender.

Makes 16 squares

Want to make a nut-free version?

Try this shortbread base recipe.
You can use Brittany's recipe for caramel and my recipe above for the chocolate glaze.

Have a recipe you'd like me to adapt for your dietary needs for a future Experiments in Gluten-Free Baking 101 post? Drop me an e-mail at iris@thedailydietribe.com with your recipe and dietary restrictions, and I'll see what I can come up with!

Basic Cream Sauce (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Soy-Free, Nut-Free)

2012-01-30T00:47:00.003-05:00

Raise your hand if you miss mac and cheese! How about creamy fettuccine sauce? Enchiladas with cream sauce? Is your hand raised? Mine is! I'm also getting really hungry...

Not that I don't love you all, but I might have to cut this post short so I can go make dinner. I'm thinking shrimp, smothered in basil cream sauce, and served over a bed of garlic sautéed greens. Who wants to join me for dinner?

It's pretty simple. All you have to do is dice a sweet potato, a rutabaga (yes seriously, a rutabaga), and a leek, throw 'em all in a casserole dish, and pour full-fat canned coconut milk over it all. Bake for an hour at 350 degrees F and you're practically there. You can spend that hour making the rest of your meal, enjoying a glass of wine, or dancing with your sweetheart. Or perhaps watching an episode of Downton Abbey, this newfangled British show I hear is all the rage? (I watched the first episode this week and I have to admit it is thoroughly entertaining. I fear I'm hooked.)

Once your hour is up, throw (or gently place) everything in the blender, puree until smooth, and you're golden. A thick, creamy sauce that literally melts on your tongue. Eat it as is or dress it up and turn it something worthy of a fancy title. Pesto cream sauce. Cilantro avocado cream sauce. Roasted red pepper cream sauce. I could go on... But I won't. Because I have shrimp to cook, and you have cream sauce to make. Seriously. This is amazing! Even if you can eat cheese, you'll still want to make this!

Basic Cream Sauce (Gluten/Dairy/Egg/Soy/Nut-Free) (Print-Friendly Option)

Enjoy this rich sauce over your pasta, drizzle it on your enchiladas, or use it as a cheese substitute for lasagna. Alternatively, you can serve it chilled as a dip and enjoy it with veggies or chips. Or if you're like me and you just need a quick pick-me-up, grab a spoon and have a couple of bites on their own. It's seriously that good.

Ingredients:
1 large rutabaga, peeled and diced (about 2 cups diced)
1 large sweet potato, diced (about 3 cups diced) - I use the lighter sweet potatoes; the darker ones will taste just as good, but give you a deeper color to your sauce
1 leek, the white part sliced thin (save the dark green part for another day)
1 13.5 ounce can full-fat canned coconut milk
(Optional) Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
(Optional) Fresh basil or parsley, minced

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place diced rutabaga, sweet potato, and leek in a casserole dish (this fits perfectly in my 8 x 11 inch dish). Pour coconut milk over the top and stir to coat evenly.
Bake for an hour, taking the dish out briefly after 30 minutes just to stir the ingredients for even baking.
Take dish out of the oven and puree the ingredients in a blender until creamy. I prefer my sauce thick, but you can add extra coconut milk or other milk to thin the sauce out if preferred. Taste and add salt and pepper if desired (I found it was just as good without salt as with). Garnish with minced fresh basil or parsley. Serve hot, use as a base for casserole dishes, or serve chilled with chips and vegetables.

Variations:
Mushroom cream sauce: Sauté mushrooms and add them to the sauce after pureeing.
Roasted red pepper cream sauce: Puree roasted red peppers along with everything else.
Pesto cream sauce: Stir in some pesto after pureeing.
Italian cream sauce: Add in sundried tomatoes when pureeing, then stir in diced artichoke hearts.
Cilantro avocado cream sauce: Puree 1/4 avocado and a handful of fresh cilantro with everything else.
Enchilada cream sauce: Add in chopped green chiles, green onions, and fresh cilantro.

Yield: Approximately 3 cups

This recipe is linked to Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten-Free. The theme this month is Foods that Heal, hosted by Maggie of She Let Them Eat Cake.

A little about the health benefits of this cream sauce:

Coconut milk:

High in potassium
Good source of medium chain triglycerides, which are burned rapidly in the body, making it a good fat option for those watching their weight
BUT, when buying canned coconut milk, there are some disadvantages to take into account, and this article outlines them well. I personally like to buy Native Forest coconut milk, which is an organic brand that I trust.

Rutabagas:

High in vitamin C
Good source of fiber

Sweet Potatoes:

Good source of beta-carotene, which is absorbed well by the body when combined with fats (coconut milk) in your meal
High antioxidant status may reduce the risk of damage due to heavy metals and other toxins in the body (this is great for those of us with digestive problems!)
High in vitamin C, manganese, vitamin B6, and fiber

Leeks:

High in vitamin K, vitamin A, manganese, vitamin C, and folate
High concentration of antioxidant polyphenols helps blood vessels from oxidative damage

And most importantly, these ingredients work well for a lot of people with food sensitivities, making it a great addition to any dinner table!

Experiments in Gluten-Free Baking 101: Pineapple Muffins (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

2012-01-26T01:31:00.002-05:00

For today's post, I'm going to do something a little bit different. In honor of a new website called The Balanced Platter, I want to help you all find a little of that balance in your own kitchens. Which, to me, means feeling comfortable adapting recipes to work with your own needs. Having a great recipe is important, but understanding how to play around with ingredients is key to enjoying your favorite foods. I always look at recipes and think about how I would like them to be different for my diet, and I'm sure you do the same.

When Brittany and I began working on our gluten-free baking guides, it was with the knowledge that there were a lot of you out there feeling pretty confused in your kitchens. We could just hear the questions going through your heads (mostly because they were also going through our heads). "How can I make this recipe without eggs?" "What can I use instead of garbanzo bean flour?" "Can I use a gluten-free all-purpose mix in place of the flours in your recipe?" Our goal was to create a resource to answer all of those questions, and we did that. Of course, this is where I shamelessly plug our books and tell you to go pre-order both parts 1 and 2. You'll get the answers to all your questions, plus recipes for cinnamon rolls, pizza pockets, angel food cake, naan, and even a vegan, yeast-free sandwich bread recipe! Each book contains over 50 recipes, conveniently organized by main flour used. Wondering how to use up that amaranth flour you bought? Just skip to the chapter on amaranth and you'll find a bunch of recipes that you will love! Want to know how to use coconut flour without eggs? We have a number of egg-free recipes in our coconut flour chapter that will delight you and have your kids asking for more.

Now, while I know you'll benefit from having our books as a handy reference for your baking, I also want to teach you what I learn as I continue along in my own baking experiments. Perhaps a year ago, one of my readers asked me how I go about making substitutions in baking. I've been thinking about that question ever since. I knew there was no simple way for me to respond. Writing a baking guide was my first answer. This is my second one. I've decided to start a series here on how I bake. Rather than just sharing my final recipe with you, I'm going to take you through all the steps I go through to get there. I'll let you know what recipe I start with, how I make substitutions, and what my thought process is. If all you want is the recipe, it will be there for you. But if you're interested in how I got from point A to point B, I'll share all the fun details and you can learn right along with me!

First, here are some pointers on adapting recipes:

Start with a recipe you trust. Either use a recipe you've tried before or a recipe from someone you know is a good baker.
Only make one change at a time. If you change too many ingredients at once, you'll have no way of knowing how each individual change affected the recipe.
When possible, make half or even quarter batches (which is easy with muffins). That way, if you don't like your end result, you won't have wasted as many ingredients.
Use a scale. If you don't have one, buy one. A cup is a cup is a cup, right? Wrong! I have measured a cup of almond flour and gotten measurements from 95 grams to 140 grams. Just imagine how different your recipe will turn out if you measure 95 grams of flour one time and 140 grams the next time. In general, my measurements come out pretty similar, but sometimes the numbers are extremely different and it is important to keep track. When I'm testing recipes, I try to write down the weight of every ingredient so that I can be as exact as possible when retesting. It's also a lot easier to cut recipes in half when you have the weights.
Write everything down, not just ingredients. Keep notes on how your recipe looks, feels, tastes, and any thoughts you have. Don't assume you'll remember what you thought, because you probably won't. Just put everything in your notebook so you can reference it the next time you work on that recipe.

Okay, ready to start? Today we're making Pineapple Muffins. Why? Because I had a can of pineapple tidbits in my pantry that I wanted to use up. This is how many of my recipes come about, and it's as good a reason as any to learn to adapt recipes. How many times have you had to run to the store because you were missing an ingredient? Most of the time now, I just use what I have and try to make it work!

Step 1: Start with a trusted recipe. I decided to use this recipe for quick bread from my co-author, Brittany. I've used it before, and know that she tested it probably over twenty times until she had it perfect. I also know that it's a "basic" recipe, meaning that you can make a lot of changes and it will still work.

Step 2: Start adapting. Here's where you're supposed to make one change at a time. I have to be honest and tell you that I never follow that rule, even though I'm telling you to. I'm way too impatient. However, I've also had a lot of flops and that's probably why...

Brittany calls for 2 cups of gluten-free all-purpose flour. My personal favorite blend these days is a 1:1:1 ratio (in cups, not grams) of coconut flour to rice flour to starch. I've used this successfully in many recipes in place of all-purpose blends. In this case, I decided to use brown rice flour since it's more nutritious than white rice flour. I chose tapioca as my starch simply because I was running out of potato starch, and arrowroot starch is expensive. I often use potato and tapioca starch interchangeably, although there are subtle differences between the two. So for my 2 cups of flour, I used 2/3 cup of coconut flour, 2/3 cup of brown rice flour, and 2/3 cup of tapioca starch.
Brittany calls for 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum. In general, when I'm replacing xanthan gum, I start with 1-2 tablespoons of flax seed meal, chia seed meal, or whole psyllium husks (or a combination of two). Sometimes, I find it works best to make a gel by mixing the ingredient with hot water, but with muffins, you can often just add the psyllium, flax, or chia without any extra water. Muffins hold together pretty well on their own, so I decided to just use 1 tablespoon of whole psyllium husks, added to the dry ingredients. I could have gone with flax or chia seed meal, but whole psyllium husks are really good at keeping baked goods from deflating after baking. Since coconut flour is so dense, I thought these muffins might need that extra little help.
Brittany calls for 3/4 cup milk + 1 teaspoon of vinegar. The purpose of this is to curdle the milk and make a "buttermilk." However, you can replace 1 cup of buttermilk with 7/8 cup of juice in many recipes. I decided to use 3/4 cup of pineapple juice. Technically, I should have used a little less than 3/4 cup, but since I didn't add any hot water with the whole psyllium husks, I figured a little extra juice would be fine. (You'll see that I was wrong about that...)
I added 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon of ground allspice to give the muffins a little oomph.
I used 1 1/2 cups of yogurt instead of 1 1/4 cups, using So Delicious plain coconut yogurt as the yogurt called for. In all honesty, I only did this because I read her recipe wrong, although it worked out fine. But here's another tip for you. Pay attention when you're reading the ingredients list.
I followed everything else in Brittany's recipe as it was written. For the granulated sugar, I used regular old refined cane sugar. It's cheaper, so I tend to use that when testing recipes, and then test out the final version with coconut palm sugar or another unrefined sugar. I did not add in pineapple tidbits in my first version.
Brittany's quick bread is supposed to be baked at 330 degrees F for 50-120 minutes (depending on ingredients). For muffins, I decided to go with 350 degrees F and simply baked them until a knife stuck in the middle came out clean, which took a full 27 minutes.
Results? My first batch was very sweet, leading me to think I could get away with using less sugar on the second round. The pineapple flavor was tasty, but a bit too "one-note" so I decided to increase the spices and add in a little ground ginger. My testers thought they would be tasty with some chopped fruit or nuts, so I threw in some pineapple tidbits. They also took a long time to cook and even then were a tad bit gummy inside, so I used less liquid on my second try. They didn't collapse after baking, but looked like they wanted to, so I added more pyllium husks- not a lot though since I didn't want to affect the flavor at all.

Step 3: Make them again, using your notes from last time and making new changes.

I increased the whole psyllium husks from 1 tablespoon (3 teaspoons) to 4 teaspoons. This time, I added them to the wet ingredients rather than the dry so that they could begin to expand in the liquid a little sooner.
I cut the sugar down from 3/4 cup to 1/2 cup since the pineapple juice was so sweet.
I cut the pineapple juice down from 3/4 cup to 1/2 cup since the muffins took so long to bake all the way through.
I increased the cinnamon from 1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon, the allspice from 1/8 teaspoon to 1/4 a teaspoon, and added 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger.
I added in 1 cup of pineapple tidbits to give the muffins a heartier bite.
Results? These muffins were just perfect! They still took a good 25 minutes to bake, but were moist without being gummy, and had just a hint of spice. From there, the only other thing I wanted to change was to test them again with coconut palm sugar.

Step 4: Test them once last time, making any final changes.

I replaced the 1/2 cup refined cane sugar with 1/2 cup of coconut palm sugar. The result was a muffin that was darker in color, with a mildly sweet flavor. They were moist, delicious, and of course healthier than the original muffins made with refined sugar. I found that the texture was best after they had been allowed to cool completely.

My thoughts on future variations:

I would love to try these again with chopped walnuts or pecans added in with the pineapple tidbits.
It would be fun to try these with apple juice and chopped apples instead of the pineapple juice and pineapple tidbits.
Since the original recipe I started with called for 2 cups of all-purpose mix, it would likely work just as well to make these with your own all-purpose mix rather than the flours and starches called for. But I haven't tried it myself...
If I took out the psyllium husks and added an egg, they would likely rise more. I might need to reduce the amount of liquid a tiny bit to add in the egg. I would probably reduce the oil rather than the pineapple juice since both oil and eggs are sources of fat. But not having done this, I don't know if it would work. More often than not, I bake without eggs these days since more people can eat my baked goods that way.

Have a recipe you'd like me to adapt? Leave a comment or send me an e-mail, letting me know what recipe you want to change and what your dietary restrictions are. If I can successfully adapt your recipe, I'll feature it in one of my Experiments in Gluten-Free Baking 101 posts. Or if I fail, I just might include that too! It's just as helpful to know what doesn't work as what does.

Pineapple Muffins (Print-Friendly Option)
Enjoy these sweet treats for breakfast or an afternoon snack. Try adding in some chopped nuts for added protein and a nice hearty bite.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup coconut flour (80 grams)
2/3 cup brown rice flour (88 grams)
2/3 cup tapioca starch (84 grams)
1/2 cup coconut palm sugar (76 grams)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/3 cup mild-flavored oil- canola, grapeseed, extra light olive (70 grams)
1/2 cup pineapple juice (104 grams)
1 1/2 cups yogurt (I used 2 6-oz containers of So Delicious plain coconut yogurt)
4 teaspoons whole psyllium husks

1 cup pineapple tidbits (170 grams)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 12 cup muffin tin with liners or by greasing the cups.
In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the oil, juice, yogurt, and psyllium husks. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until no longer lumpy. Stir in the pineapple tidbits.
Fill the muffin tins about 3/4 full. Wet your fingertips with water or oil and smooth the tops of the muffins.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

Makes 12 muffins.

The Balanced Platter is an amazing new website devoted to healthy living and eating. It was created by Amy Green of Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free, and Maggie Savage of She Let Them Eat Cake. I have found it to be a wonderful resource and I think you will too!

Curry Braised Chicken Thighs with Apples and Leeks

2012-01-24T15:35:00.005-05:00

I made this dish three times last week. Partly because I wanted to be sure I had it right before I shared it with you. But also just because it was that good. I've been missing comfort food. You know, the kind of hot meal you eat on a cold winter night while watching a movie? With multiple food sensitivities, comfort food often goes out the door, replaced by lots of fish and veggies. Delicious, yes. Healthy, certainly. Comforting? Not exactly. These Curry Braised Chicken Thighs with Apples and Leeks gave me exactly what I was craving. Warm and mildly spiced, it made my mind and my stomach happy. And that's no easy task!

Curry Braised Chicken Thighs with Apples and Leeks (Print-Friendly Option)
Enjoy a nice curry sauce without using any starch as a thickener. Flax seed meal is a great alternative to using tapioca or cornstarch, and this makes a delicious, low-glycemic meal your guests will love.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon coconut oil (sub: ghee, butter)
1 tablespoon ground flax seed meal
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
2 organic chicken thighs
1 leek, just the white part, sliced thin (save the dark green parts for making broth or soup)
1 apple, diced
1/4 cup water
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat coconut oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. You want the pan to be hot but not smoking. Mix the flax, cumin, curry, and salt together in a large bowl. Rinse and pat the chicken thighs dry, then dredge them in the seasonings. Add to the pan and cook for 3 minutes, until chicken is browned.
Turn chicken over and pour any seasoning that was left in the bowl over it. Add the leeks, apple, and water. Put the top on and simmer for 15 minutes. Depending on how hot your stove gets, you may need to turn the heat down to medium-low. You just want the dish to be simmering, not boiling.
After 15 minutes, turn the chicken over again, stir the apples and leeks to ensure even cooking, and put the top back on for another 5 minutes. Add freshly ground black pepper to taste and serve hot.

Serves 2.

Banana Chocolate Chunk Cookies (Gluten-Free, Refined Sugar-Free, Vegan)

2012-01-19T13:03:00.011-05:00

What does the New Year mean to you? To many, it means a chance to reflect on where they've been and where they would like to go. It is an opportunity to make meaningful changes and identify those areas in their lives where they are ready to commit to something new. My friend, Hallie, author of The Pure Kitchen, understands that desire to use this time of year as a stepping off point. A bridge, not to a "better" you, but to a happier you. Because ultimately, that is the goal in life, isn't it? I asked a client recently how she wanted to live her life, and she told me, "I just want to be happy." Isn't that all any of us wants in the end?

How are cookies going to help you be happier? As part of a "New Year, New You" January event (hosted by Hallie and Lexie), I'm sharing a recipe with you today that focuses on healthier sweeteners. I want to help you step away from anything refined or chemical (e.g. regular old table sugar, splenda, equal) and find your way to working comfortably with unrefined sweeteners. What are we talking about then? I like to use sugar alternatives like sucanat, turbinado sugar, maple syrup, raw honey, coconut palm sugar, stevia and more. Sucanat and turbinado sugar are both less processed forms of table sugar, while the other sweeteners are made from different plants or trees (or bees). Today we're going to be using coconut palm sugar, a low-glycemic alternative to refined cane sugar.

Here's the basic story of what happens when you eat refined cane sugar. Sugar is released quickly into your bloodstream, causing your blood-glucose levels to rise (glucose is a type of sugar). This stimulates your pancreas to secrete insulin. You know what insulin is, right? It's that thing they talk about in relation to diabetes. Basically, insulin is your body's way of regulating your blood sugar levels. When insulin levels rise (like after eating a batch of banana chocolate chunk cookies made with regular sugar), it tells your body to get rid of all that sugar circulating around. It's sent into your fat tissues for storage, which can then lead to hypoglycemia or low blood glucose. The result is that you end up tired and craving that very thing that sent you into a tailspin in the first place: more sugar. Because your blood sugar is now way too low, your body wants a quick dose of sugar to bring it back up. You end up going back and eating more of those cookies that didn't make you feel good in the first place and then wondering once again why your cravings got so out of control.

How can you regulate your blood sugar so that you don't vacillate between high and low blood glucose levels?

Include a source of protein and/or healthy fats at each meal or snack. Protein and fat counteract the effects of insulin and slow down the absorption of sugar into your cells. These cookies contain coconut oil, a healthier fat than you'll find in most commercial cookies.
Choose foods that are low on the glycemic index. The glycemic index is a measure of a food's effect on your blood glucose levels. Refined sugar rates an 80 on that scale. Coconut palm sugar rates a 35. When I bake goodies with coconut palm sugar, my housemates tell me they feel much better afterward. On the other hand, when I bake those same recipes with refined sugar, I notice my housemates going back for seconds and thirds more often. It's that insidious nature of sugar to spike your blood sugar, drop it down, and make you want more. Coconut palm sugar won't do that.
Eat every 2-3 hours to keep your blood sugar from dropping too low. No matter what you're eating, if you go long hours in between meals and snacks, your blood glucose levels are going to drop. Once they get too low, you go from being a nice, normal person to being a crazy lunatic who will eat anything in sight. Because sugar is the fastest way to get your blood sugar up, that's what you're going to want. This isn't about willpower. This is about your body's chemistry. Give your body a steady source of energy so that it doesn't start screaming for a quick fix that you'll regret later.
Finally, keep in mind that baked goods (unless they're made with low-glycemic flours like almond flour and coconut flour) are going to raise your blood sugar levels regardless of how you sweeten them. That's because the flour itself is high in carbohydrates, which will break down to sugar in your body. Luckily, sorghum flour (which is the flour I use in these cookies) is a good source of both protein and fiber.

My recipe for Banana Chocolate Chunk Cookies is included below, but be sure to also read my guidelines under that. I've added instructions for how to make lots of substitutions to these cookies, including what to use if you don't want to make them with bananas, how to add extra protein to your cookies, and how to substitute other flours. I've played around with this recipe a lot and it's very adaptable, so don't be shy. Get in your kitchen and experiment!

Banana Chocolate Chunk Cookies (Print-Friendly Option)

These cookies are a crowd pleaser. When I asked my friend for his honest opinion, he told me they were addictive. I believe his exact words were, "I would get sick eating these. I would eat them until I vomited." Maybe I shouldn't be quoting him on that, but I couldn't help myself. I took it as a compliment.

Yield: 16 cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup sorghum flour (136 grams)
1/3 cup arrowroot starch (40 grams)
2/3 cup coconut palm sugar (104 grams)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
6 tablespoons pureed banana (92 grams)
6 tablespoons melted coconut oil (68 grams)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup chocolate chunks (104 grams)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Set out 2 cookie sheets. You can grease them, but I find it's generally not necessary with these cookies.
Whisk together the sorghum flour, arrowroot starch, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the banana, oil, and vanilla extract. Stir until completely mixed.
Stir in the chocolate chunks. I used a dark chocolate bar and just broke it up. Of course, chocolate chips would work just as well.
Roll heaping tablespoons of dough into balls and flatten slightly. If you use some of the substitutions below, your dough may be stickier and you will not be able to roll it into balls. In that case, just drop the dough onto the cookie sheets as you would any other drop cookies. Those will spread slightly.
Bake for 12 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Now for the fun part! I have made about ten different variations on these cookies, and I've included everything I've tried below. I found it was almost impossible to mess them up! Not completely impossible though...I did try one variation that resulted in a giant brittle cookie that required an overnight soaking of the cookie sheet to unstick it. Obviously, that variation is not included!

Note: With all of my substitutions, I substituted by volume (cups), not weight. I found substituting by weight often resulted in flatter cookies that spread. If you want to use weight, just keep in mind the consistency of the original batter and add small amounts of flour, if needed, to thicken it. If it's too thin, the cookies will spread more than you might want.

How to replace:
Bananas: Use an equal amount of unsweetened applesauce.
Arrowroot starch: Use an equal amount of tapioca or potato starch.
Sorghum flour: Use an equal amount of buckwheat, teff, garbanzo bean, millet, brown rice, white rice, or quinoa flour. Keep in mind that your cookies will take on the flavor of whatever flour you choose, so pick one that you like! This recipe does NOT work with coconut flour. I am pretty sure the recipe could work with almond flour, but I have not yet figured out the exact proportions. Once I have that down, I'll post the recipe for you. If you want to start playing around with almond flour, here's a tip: skip the oil completely, use more almond flour, and chill the dough for an hour in the fridge before baking.
Chocolate: Commercial chocolate bars are hard to find without refined sugar. You can make your own stevia-sweetened chocolate bars, or you can use an equal amount of something else. Try chopped walnuts, pecans, raisins, or even sesame seeds!
Coconut Oil: Use an equal amount of any type of mild-flavored oil, such as canola oil, extra light olive oil, or grapeseed oil.
Coconut Palm Sugar: Use an equal amount of sucanat or turbinado sugar. If your sugar is particularly coarse (the crystals are large), run it through your blender quickly to make the crystals smaller. If all you have is regular table sugar, you can use that too. Just don't eat too many!

How to use an all-purpose mix: Choose a mix that does not contain xanthan or guar gum. I tested mine with Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Mix. Take out the sorghum flour and arrowroot starch and substitute in 1 1/3 cups of the all-purpose mix.

How to add more protein:
As I mentioned above, having protein with your carbs will lead to a steadier blood sugar level throughout the day. For vegans, you can add chopped nuts or seeds to your batter with the chocolate chips. For non-vegans, eggs are a great way to increase the protein in your cookies:

Add 1 large egg with your wet ingredients. Cut the banana puree down from 6 tablespoons to 2 tablespoons. Cut the baking powder down from 1 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon.

To help you get started with natural sweeteners, Hallie is hosting a giveaway this week for a gift pack of natural sweeteners from Wholesome Sweeteners. Stop by to enter for your chance to win!

Other bloggers swapping out their sugar for natural sweeteners:
Amy from Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free shares her point of view on swapping sweeteners.
Diet, Dessert, and Dogs made a Low-Fat Cinnamon-Walnut Loaf using stevia powder.
Daily Bites made Soft Island Bliss Cookies using honey.
Lexie’s Kitchen made some Candied Walnuts using coconut sugar.
Maggie of She Let Them Eat Cake made Cookie Dough Milkshake using molasses and dates.

Simple Sautéed Brussels Sprouts

2012-01-08T03:16:00.001-05:00

I have a problem with brussels sprouts. It's the fact that there's an s after brussel. It took me a long time to learn this, and an even longer time to accept it. I still don't really. I think whoever decided on the spelling should be posthumously invalidated, and brussels sprouts should be spelled correctly. As brussel sprouts. Which is how we pronounce them. Apparently they were named after the city in Belgium, but since they are not believed to have originated there, I think we should take the name back.

I'm not sure why this bothers me so much. Maybe because I won two spelling bees back in elementary school, and it hurts my pride to know I've been spelling this word wrong for years. Like in this recipe for roasted brussels sprouts from 2010. Maybe I should stop taking so much pride in winning a spelling bee almost 20 years ago. 20 years? Ouch... I would say OMG, but I just suddenly realized I'm too old for that. Although the kids probably aren't even saying that anymore these days. They're saying something else that I'm too old to know about. Sniffle sniffle.

I'm kidding. At least about being upset over my impending thirties. I'm not kidding about taking too much pride in my spelling bee wins (okay, I only won one; I came in 4th the second year). However, Brittany and I have been feverishly working on our cookbooks for their deadline on January 15th, so I'm a little bit slaphappy right now. I shouldn't actually be writing a blog post because I have way too much book writing to do. But clearly writing about brussels sprouts was important and it had to happen right away.

Simple Sautéed Brussels Sprouts (Print-Friendly Option)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 pound brussels sprouts, sliced thin
Sea salt to taste
1/2 inch piece of ginger, minced
15 drops liquid stevia (or 1-2 teaspoons maple syrup for non-stevia people)

Directions:

Heat coconut oil over medium heat in a large sauté pan. You want the pan to be hot enough to sear the brussels sprouts, but not so hot that the oil begins to smoke. Add the brussels sprouts and sprinkle with sea salt. I would give you an exact amount, but I know everyone's preferences for salt are different, so just go with your instincts here. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the brussels sprouts are browned.
Add the ginger and stevia, and stir the brussels sprouts. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally if needed. Serve hot.

Serves 2.

In more exciting news - although really, what could be more exciting than brussels sprouts - our books' covers have been finalized, and both of our books are available for pre-order on Amazon! I am beyond excited! You can click on the photos below to be taken to the links on Amazon. And if you wanted to order a copy (or two), I certainly wouldn't stop you!

(p.s. The winner of the Flackers giveaway is Carolyn. She has the most hysterically funny blog, which I spent too much time reading last night! I highly encourage you to go read it!)

Flackers (Flax Crackers) Review and Giveaway

2012-01-05T01:09:00.001-05:00

Traveling while gluten-free is never easy. Traveling while gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, sugar-free (etc. etc.) is even harder. Yet I've done a lot of it this year, and I'm finally beginning to feel like I know what I'm doing (sort of). It requires planning, trips to the grocery store in every city, and fortitude. It also requires having a few snacks on hand to get you through the times when you don't have any available options. Apples will only go so far, and while baked sweet potatoes work for me, they're not the most convenient snack to carry around. There are no gluten-free snack products on the market that I can eat at this point - at least none that I've found. Except Flackers.

Flackers are raw (sprouted and dehydrated) flax crackers made with minimal ingredients, created by a company called Dr. in the Kitchen. They're not readily available in most stores yet, but I've been able to find them reliably at Whole Foods stores. I first tried them this past summer when I was visiting my sisters in California. Reading the ingredient list, I was surprised to see that they looked like they might be okay for me. So I bought a box and immediately ate a cracker. And another one. And then another one. They were delicious and tasted great on their own (no dips or spreads needed). I waited a minute to see if I would feel the tell tale puffy jaw that I get when I'm reacting to a food, but nothing happened. Woohoo! A snack I can actually buy at the store and have on hand? It's a miracle!

After I got back to Seattle, I had trouble finding all of the flavors, so their company kindly sent me a package of all three flavors to try out. Believe me though, I would be writing a review for them even if they hadn't sent me any because I am so happy to find a product I can eat. I continue to purchase them whenever I find them in stores. For those of you who avoid soy, I'll note that I am also eliminating soy from my diet right now, but that I don't seem to have any reaction to the soy in Flackers. I did notice that of the three flavors, two of them gave me mild heartburn due to chili peppers in the ingredients (I also avoid nightshades), but I had no problem with the Rosemary Flackers.

Ingredients in Rosemary Flackers:
organic flax seeds, organic apple cider vinegar, non-GMO vegetable protein from non-GMO soybeans and purified water, organic rosemary, organic sage

The Giveaway:
Dr. in the Kitchen is offering one reader a pack of all 3 flavors of Flackers: Rosemary, Savory, and Dill. To enter, you can do any of the following. You can receive multiple entries, just leave a comment for everything you do. Please make sure you leave an e-mail address or way for me to contact you!

How to enter:
1. Leave a comment. Simple!
2. Post about this giveaway on Facebook and leave a comment letting me know.
3. Post about this giveaway on twitter and leave a comment letting me know.
4. Follow Dr. in the Kitchen on twitter or Facebook and leave a comment letting me know.

Deadline:
This giveaway will close at midnight on Saturday January 7th.

How to Make a Vision Board plus Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cookies (Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free, Vegan)

2012-01-03T03:00:00.008-05:00

I've written about vision boards a lot over the past couple of years, and I often get asked how to make one, so I thought I would share my personal vision boarding process. I really don't think there is a right or wrong way to make one, but this is what works for me. Of course, you can make it at any time during the year, but I love the idea of starting a new calendar year with a fresh vision board. In all honesty, I have yet to make mine this year because the timing hasn't felt right. I've got a big board, lots of photos and magazines, but a somewhat misty vision. After being gone from home for two and a half weeks, there's a lot of emotional dust that needs to settle before I can be clear on what I want this year. But I can tell it's almost time...

Okay, so you want to make a vision board? Here's what you'll need:

A couple of hours of free time (you might be quick and do this in 30 minutes or less, but it takes me a while...)
A large piece of paper, poster board, or cardboard
Pens, pencils, markers, paint, glitter
Magazines, photos, your imagination
Glue, tape

Basically, go back to being a kid and get out as many art supplies as you can find! Then what?

Spend ten minutes getting your "meditative" brain on. In other words, rather than wracking your brain trying to decide exactly what you want to happen this year, spend ten minutes just being in your body and letting your monkey brain float around. You can try: meditation, yoga, dancing, or listening to music. Sometimes I like to grab some crayons and a piece of paper and just let the colors flow on the paper, without regard to what I'm actually drawing. The act of letting go of the outcome seems to open me up to my own creative process.
Once you're feeling the introspective juices flowing, you're ready to vision board away. No TV in the background please, but certainly put on some of your favorite music if you want! This is the fun part. Tear out pictures from magazine, cut photos, write down words or phrases that come to mind. Just make a big pile of everything that's coming to you, and don't judge or question why something feels right. If you like a photo, but don't know what it represents, put it on there anyway. If you cut something out, but then it doesn't feel right when you place it on the board, let it go. Your vision board can be all pictures, all words, it can be something you draw yourself or just photos you've cut out. It can be literal or metaphorical. It just has to speak to you in some way.

So what's the point in doing a vision board?

Once you've got all the images you want, turn your board into a beautiful collage. This is like a visual mantra for you this year. I put my board up on my bedroom wall where I can see it when I'm meditating or doing yoga. Of course, the idea is to make manifest all of the visions on your board. The cool thing is that you really never know exactly how that will happen. I like to keep past vision boards on a separate wall, where I can look at them and be reminded of where I've been and where I'm going.
Why do I make vision boards? Because they allow me to clear my mind of all the clutter and simply focus on where I'm going. When I look at my vision board, it reminds me what I'm working on, mentally, emotionally, and physically. And it is that rather than any magical power of the board that makes vision boards work. And I do believe they work.

Which is why I still need to make my vision board, and why you should make one too.

Now, for cookies.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cookies (Print-Friendly Version)

After tasting these, a friend declared that they reminded him of cinnamon toast crunch cereal. But unlike the super sweet cereal of your childhood, these cookies have a subtle flavor that can be enhanced by the sugar on top. I used coconut palm sugar on the cookies, but play around with whatever type of granulated sugar you like. If you want to stay completely sugar-free, just skip the cinnamon and sugar on top altogether. These would also be delicious as cookie sandwiches with caramel sauce!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup dates or prunes
2 tablespoons flax seed meal or chia seed meal
1/2 cup boiling water

1 3/4 cups (270 grams) sweet white rice flour (see note below)
1/3 cup (50 grams) teff flour
2/3 cup (115 grams) potato starch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon stevia

2 tablespoons coconut palm sugar (or any granulated sugar)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil or grease 2 cookie sheets.
Pour boiling water over dates and flax seed meal in a blender. Set aside for ten minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together flours, starch, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt.
After the dates (or prunes) and flax seed meal have sat for ten minutes, add the coconut oil and stevia to the blender. Blend together until pureed.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir together until well mixed, then knead until a dough forms. Roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper. You want the dough to be 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut into whatever shape you like. This dough is delicate, so I only roll out about a handful at a time and use a spatula to transfer to the cookie sheet.
Bake for 12 minutes. Allow to cool a few minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.

Makes approximately 42 two-inch round cookies. Will last for weeks stored in an airtight container at room temperature (I know this because I sent them to a friend; they got lost in the mail and arrived a month later, and were still good!)

Note: Sweet white rice flour is also called glutinous (not glutenous) rice flour or mochiko. It's usually found in Asian grocery stores or even the Asian section of your local grocery store (that's where I get mine). It is NOT the same as white rice flour, and if you try subbing in white rice flour in this recipe, I have no idea what kind of result you'll get. None. No clue. Don't even want to waste my flour to try it.

12 Goals for 2012

2012-01-01T11:56:00.003-05:00

2011 was a pretty grand year. The fearful pessimist in me wonders if 2012 is bound to be horrible, since I can't really have two great years in a row, can I? But the optimist in me says that I made 2011 what it was, and I can do the same for 2012. The optimist in me says that I can choose how I live my life, and so that's what I'm going to do. No resolutions for me. I stopped making them years ago. But I have some goals, and perhaps you'll find they resonate with you as well. So I'm writing them down and sending these intentions out into the universe. I think 2012 is going to be amazing; don't you?

Laughter. Laughter is my word for 2012. I've always been a bit too serious and lacking in the laughter department. So this year my goal is to be more like my housemates, the laughter twins. I'm not exactly sure how one learns to laugh more, but gosh darn it, I'm going to figure it out!
Don't worry about what was or what will be. Thanks mom, for this piece of wisdom. You know me. Always a worrywart. Always thinking about how things used to be or how things will be. This year I will continue my everlasting quest to focus on how things are...now.
Dance. Dancing is like my meditation. It seems to be the only thing that shuts down the wheels in my brain. So I resolve to dance every day, even if it's in the grocery store aisle and everyone's looking at me funny.
Get enough sleep. I've finally come to accept that I need 8-9 hours of sleep a night to feel good. If you're one of those lucky people who runs on 5 hours a night, more power to you. I am a cranky, miserable person when I don't get enough sleep. So for everyone's sake, I'm working on shutting down my Facebook and turning out the light earlier at night.
Post recipes I can actually eat! I have a horrible habit of making things I can't eat. It comes from my love of baking, but for right now, my gut can't seem to handle any baked goods. It doesn't seem to matter what they do or don't contain. My body just doesn't want them. So while I probably won't be able to stop myself from baking (it's a sickness), one of my biggest goals this year is to work more on recipes for the blog that won't make me sick.
Tune out the clatter. Don't we all need this sometimes? Facebook, twitter, US Weekly...my brain is all abuzz with everybody else's business. I should just ignore it all and go dance!
Tune into the world. While I'm busy checking everyone's Facebook status updates for the umpteenth time, I forget to read the news and find out what's going on in the world. There is a world outside of blogging and baking, and it would do me good to remember that.
Believe in myself. This is a constant. I am always working on renewing my faith in myself, reminding myself that no one can hold me back - except my own fear. So I just have to believe and push forward.
Replace negativity with mindful breathing. Too often, I find myself feeling annoyed/envious/angered/jealous of or by others. And when I take a step back, I know that the situation doesn't warrant the negative vibes I'm emanating. So I want to stop myself whenever I'm silently muttering hateful thoughts. Just stop and instead focus on my breath. There's nothing wrong with allowing myself to feel all my emotions, even the negative ones. But there's something right about letting the negativity go and just breathing instead.
Learn to ride a horse. I've been telling people I want a horse for years. I think it's about time I buy myself some horseback riding lessons. Nothing philosophical here. I just love horses.
Do everything that scares me. Okay, maybe not everything. Some things would be plain stupid. But in 2011, I just scratched the surface of the scaredy cat box. This year, I want to take on every opportunity that terrifies me. What's the worst that can happen? I get over my fears?
Be healthy. I've spent the last few years struggling to feel right. Even last night, I watched as everyone drank champagne while I sipped on the ginger tea I'd made in an attempt to quell my raging headache. I'm determined to go into 2013 feeling happy, healthy, and energetic. Which first requires working on the last 11 goals.

Here's to 2012! To following your dreams and making them reality. (And to Elise, because I believe in your dreams too.)

11 Lessons From 2011

2011-12-31T03:00:00.011-05:00

Listen to your gut. Literally and figuratively. When you eat something your body doesn't like, your stomach will tell you. Too often we ignore those little signals, telling ourselves it's not a big deal. But over time, those small pains become bigger and bigger, until you can't ignore it any longer. Don't wait until it gets to that point. If you know something isn't sitting well with you, cut it out of your diet. At least until you figure out why's it causing you a problem. Same goes for life problems. If your instincts are telling you something isn't right, listen. Ignoring it won't make it go away.
Don't let history repeat itself - unless you want it to. When I'm faced with a problem, I ask myself how I've responded to similar challenges in the past. Then I ask myself if I got the desired result in the past. If I did, great. I know how to handle it. If not, I do the opposite of whatever I did last time. I've been doing a lot of the opposite this year.
Vision boards work. Make one. No, seriously. I made my first vision board in January of 2010. I made my second one in January of 2011. Today, I'm making my vision board for 2012. When I look at my vision boards from the last two years, I see that everything on them actually happened, including the words and pictures that didn't even make sense to me when I first glued them on. Okay, in all honesty, there's one thing on my vision board from this last year that hasn't come true...I never finished the romance novel (it's okay, you can laugh) I started writing way back in college. It's still one chapter away from being finished. Unless I get motivated and finish it tonight?
Our bodies hold a lot of buried emotions. From the time we're born, we begin to take on emotions. They settle deep in our bodies, in the cricks in our necks, the headaches behind our eyes, and the dull throbbing behind our breastbones. When you begin to move in new ways (yoga, dancing, etc.), those emotions can pop up. It can feel painful or amazing, but the more you let those emotions out, the more open your body will be to new, joyful emotions to settle into those now empty spaces.
The best things in life are not planned. Remember when you were little and you had a life plan? I was going to be married and having babies by the time I was 24. I hated NYC and never wanted to live there. And there was no way I would ever live on the West Coast. Oh yeah, and I was going to follow in my mom's footsteps to be a daycare provider. Turns out the world had a different plan for me. Thank God.
There are no animals in this world that sit and stare at a computer screen for hours on end. None. Sometimes I'd rather be a monkey. My shoulders would probably hurt a lot less. But then I'd miss out on all this fun blogging business...
If you have thyroid problems, you're not supposed to eat a lot of cabbage and brussels sprouts. Of course, this would be the year I discovered I love both of these vegetables and could happily eat them every day. And most of the time, I still do.
Applegate Farms beef hot dogs rock my world. They're made from organic, grass-fed beef, have no sugar, and are one of the few processed foods I can eat with no reaction. None. Nada. Yes, my world has been rocked.
There's no point in being in school if you're not in the right frame of mind to learn. Everyone has something that comes easily to them. School has generally been that thing for me. But I can get A's without actually learning, and it took me a year to realize I was going to waste my degree (and money) if I continued in that vein. So I took a quarter off, wrote a cookbook instead, and am now ready to actually appreciate my classes. I'm just taking it a little bit slower this time.
Taking the easy route is bound to be...well...easy. And you might look successful to the people around you, but you're probably not going to feel all that proud of yourself. When you take on a challenge that you're not sure you can do, you'll learn more than you ever have in the past. You'll grow in ways you couldn't imagine. And you'll feel truly proud because you know you worked harder than you ever have.
When all else fails, there are two things that can make me feel better: talking it out or dancing it out. Either way could end with tears or laughter, and in both cases I'll feel happier.

My 11 favorite recipes from 2011

See you in 2012! Happy New Year's Eve!

Gluten-Free Curried Spinach and Chickpeas For a January Detox!

2011-12-29T20:17:00.009-05:00

Oh January. Month of new beginnings. Month of bitter cold. Month of getting back on the diet band wagon. I know how it works...I used to work for Jenny Craig, remember? January is the month when you tell yourself everything will be different and you'll make a permanent change.

Right.

Let's not talk diets. Let's not talk extremes. Let's not talk about "willpower." Let's talk about digestive health instead.

The 2012 Core Values Detox is a 10-day program that you can do from home, beginning on January 9th. I've been working with Andrea Nakayama for the last few months to develop recipes for her program that will have you feeling satisfied and keep those annoying carb cravings at bay. Andrea is a functional nutritionist whose programs are designed to help each individual discover how to eat right for his or her body. With the Core Values Detox, you might lose weight as a side benefit, but that's not the main purpose. This is:

ditch the routines that make you feel disheartened, deprived and defeated
determine where your digestion is preventing you from looking and feeling your best
develop healthy habits that will feel so good you'll be inspired to make them last a lifetime
dive into delicious and nutritious options that appeal to your cravings and your waistline

To join in on the Core Values Detox, click on this link (or any of the others in this post), and scroll down to the Core Values Detox bar. The class begins on January 9th, but you can get started today with a survey once you sign up. This will help Andrea to understand what your personal needs are for this program. And don't worry, you won't be alone. Although I already have the recipes (I designed them), I'm excited to sit in on Andrea's classes and learn from her, so I'll be doing the detox right along with you!

And just to give you an idea of what some of the recipes will be like, here's a vegan recipe I designed for the program (which will include a mix of vegan, vegetarian, and chicken/fish recipes).

Curried Spinach and Chickpeas
(Print Friendly Option)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ medium yellow onion, diced

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 5-ounce package frozen spinach

1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk

1 15-ounce can organic garbanzo beans (or 3.5 cups cooked beans)

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons curry powder

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

¼ teaspoon sea salt

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Heat oil in large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the rest of the ingredients (except black pepper) and turn heat up to medium-high until the coconut milk begins to boil. Turn heat back down to a gentle simmer, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add black pepper to taste. Serve hot.

Serves 4.

Now onto 2012! What would you like to see more of here in the new year? I'm in the mood for some fun changes, so let me know what you like and what keeps you coming back!

Apples with Caramel Dipping Sauce (Gluten-Free, Refined Sugar-Free, Vegan)

2011-12-17T23:49:00.001-05:00

I'm sitting on a bus headed to New York City. I left Brittany's house about seven hours ago, armed with my bags, my lunch, and a box filled with baked goods. Last Saturday, I flew to Massachusetts, where my parents picked me up; On Sunday I took a train to Rochester, NY to spend the week working on my cookbook photo shoot. After five straight days of working from 8am 'til midnight, Brittany, our photographer, and I have a beautiful portfolio of shots for our books. I wish I had some on my computer to show you, but in the meantime, if you want you can see some of the images on my Facebook page.

Now, I'm headed to the city to spend a few days with friends before going back to Massachusetts for the holidays. I haven't been back to the city since I left over a year ago, and I'll admit to equal parts excitement and sadness. I'll spend the next couple of days catching up with old college friends, my roommates from grad school, and friends from Jenny Craig. It was hard enough to leave that I haven't been ready before now to go back. I'm still not quite sure I'm ready.

I have the tendency to compartmentalize my life into segments. New York (and by New York, I really mostly mean Brooklyn) feels like a different part of my life. I made a decision to move and start fresh in Seattle, and the universe has been telling me since that it was the right choice. And yet it's difficult not to feel my heartstrings pull at the thought of being back in my old world, at seeing how it's changed, how people have changed, and how life has moved on.

I've moved on. And that is both glorious and heartbreaking.

I always thought life was black and white. I think I read too many books of the "happily ever after" variety. It turns out that life is seldom so simple. Our parents were right when they told us that things only get more complicated. But as a good friend recently told me, sometimes all you can do is make a decision. And then keep going. The universe will do the rest.

And so I'll visit my friends in New York, laugh at old memories, probably cry over a few as well, and make some new ones. Then I'll go back to Seattle and take a walk over the bridge near my house and watch the sunset.

While the universe is spinning with the force of all of our energy, let us enjoy this wonderfully crazy time of year. And while we're at it, delight in the simple pleasure of fresh fruit dipped in caramel sauce.

Caramel Dipping Sauce (Print-Friendly Option)

Ingredients:
1 cup coconut palm sugar
2 tablespoons tapioca starch or arrowroot starch
1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4 hours to overnight
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
4 tablespoons shortening (I use Spectrum Organic Palm Shortening)

Directions:

Start by making your powdered sugar. Place the coconut palm sugar and starch in your blender. Make sure the blender is completely dry inside first. Blend the sugar and starch until it's the consistency of powdered sugar. This takes me a few minutes. Once it's ready, set it aside.
Rinse and drain the cashews, and puree them in a food processor with the lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt. Continue to process them until the mixture is a thick, smooth consistency, scraping down the sides as necessary.
Add the shortening and process, then add the powdered sugar a little at a time, until you've reached the consistency you like. This is great for dipping with fruit or can be thickened with more powdered sugar to make a filling for cakes, cookie sandwiches, or whoopee pies.

Home For The Holidays: Cream Cheese Cookies (Gluten-Free, Soy-Free, Vegan) Plus 3 Book Giveaways

2011-12-12T00:56:00.006-05:00

I'm very excited to be joining you today as part of Home For The Holidays, a special event created this month by one of my favorite bloggers, Shirley Braden, of Gluten Free Easily. Every day until December 23rd, a different blogger will be sharing a favorite holiday dish (gluten-free of course). Yesterday, Ricki at Diet, Dessert and Dogs shared her recipe for Chocolate Mint Truffles. Tomorrow, Stephanie at Gluten Free By Nature will be bringing us a special holiday treat. Three prizes will be given away each day, and thanks to Shirley and the generosity of this event's sponsors, there are three crazy awesome grand prizes. Yes, not just awesome, but crazy awesome (it's okay, you can roll your eyes at me for that). What are they?

A VITAMIX blender. I almost wish I wasn't participating as a blogger so that I could win this!
$150 Shopping Spree at Free From Gluten. Again, feeling a bit jealous over here.
A gift package from Caveman Cookies worth $89. I've heard tell that those caveman cookies rock.

So how do you win these goodies? Every time you enter to win one of the daily prizes, you are automatically entered to win the grand prizes. Which means what? Today is the 12th and this event continues until the 23rd. So if you enter every day, that's at least 12 entries...plus there are multiple ways to enter, so you could get even more entries than that. And with close to 100 prizes in total, your chances of winning something fun is pretty high.

Now, before we get to the giveaways, I want to share my holiday recipe with you. I've been baking a lot of cookies for my upcoming gluten-free baking guides with Brittany Angell. But today, I wanted to make something close to home. My grandma always made cream cheese cookies for Christmas. For those of you who have never had a cream cheese cookie, they're soft and buttery and have just a hint of that sour cream cheese flavor. I wish I could describe them for you better, but that's the best I can do. Suffice it to say, if you've never had a cream cheese cookie, you're missing out. But now you don't have to! These cookies taste remarkably similar to my grandma's, and are free from gluten, dairy, eggs and soy. They can also be made without refined sugars. I made them a few times with different types of sugar, and I'll admit I preferred the cookies made with refined sugar...they tasted more like my grandma's cookies. But I also loved the cookies made with coconut palm sugar. Coconut palm sugar has a deep flavor with molasses undertones, but while I love the texture and flavor of those cookies, the palm sugar has a tendency to overwhelm the more subtle flavors of the cream cheese. So if you want a "cream cheese cookie," I would use regular sugar or perhaps something like xylitol. But if you like to use coconut palm sugar and just want a tasty cookie, go ahead and use palm sugar.

Cream Cheese Cookies (Gluten-Free, Soy-Free, Vegan) (Print Friendly Option)

Ingredients:
1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4 hours to overnight
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 cup Spectrum Organic Palm Shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar*
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
zest of one medium lemon

1/3 cup coconut flour (40 grams)
1/3 cup white rice flour (52 grams)
1/3 cup tapioca starch (40 grams)
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons psyllium whole husks**
6 tablespoons boiling water

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets.
Rinse and drain the cashews, then blend them in a food processor for about 30 seconds. Add the apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, shortening, sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest. Blend until smooth.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, white rice flour, tapioca starch, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
Pour boiling water over psyllium husks in a small bowl, whisking the whole time to prevent clumping. Pour quickly into the food processor and blend. Add the flour mixture and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides if necessary.
Drop by the scant tablespoon onto the cookie sheet about 2 inches apart or use a piping bag to shape cookies. Bake for 12 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet. They'll be softer when warm and need to cool before they can be moved.

Makes 24 cookies (or more depending on the size of your cookies)

*You can use any granulated sugar in this recipe, such as regular refined cane sugar or coconut palm sugar. Coconut palm sugar will darken the cookies to a caramel color, as shown in some of the photos above. The palm sugar also gives them a caramel undertone in flavor, much like brown sugar does. If you prefer the white color of traditional cream cheese cookies, you can use any white granulated sugar or sugar substitute, such as cane sugar or xylitol. Regular white table sugar will make them taste more like the cream cheese cookies you remember. Your choice...they're delicious both ways!

**Psyllium Whole Husks are different from psyllium husk powder. Make sure to purchase the whole husks, which can usually be found in your grocery store or drug store in the supplement aisle. The brand I buy is Yerba Prima. I would have tried these with ground chia seeds as well, but I ran out. I suspect that they would work fine with 2 tablespoons of GROUND chia seeds, but I can't say for sure. If you end up trying this, I would love it if you came back and left a comment letting me know how they turned out!

Now, for today's giveaway, we have three great books for you!

Dangerous Grains by James Braly and Ron Hoggan

Sugar Nation by Jeff O'Connell

Gluten Free Goddess E-Book: Best Loved Recipes by Karina Allrich

To enter to win these books (and be entered into our grand prize drawing):

Leave a comment telling me what your favorite holiday dish is.
Share this post on Facebook, twitter, or your blog. Leave a separate comment for each way you share it.
Stumble this post. Leave a separate comment letting me know you did so!

This giveaway will be open until Wednesday, December 14th at 11:59pm. Shirley will announce the winners at Gluten Free Easily next week! Note that you must leave an e-mail address so we can contact you if you win! Update: this giveaway is now closed.

How else can you join in on the holiday fun? Share your own favorite gluten-free holiday recipe on your blog! Grab Shirley's Home for the Holidays badge and play along with the rest of us!

DAY 1 Shirley Braden at gfe–gluten free easily … Nutmeg Shortbread Flats
DAY 2 Diane Eblin at The WHOLE Gang … Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Toffee
DAY 3 Heidi Kelly at Adventures of a Gluten-Free Mom … Gluten-Free Fritters
DAY 4 Ali Segersten at The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen
DAY 5 Sunny Busby at And Love it, Too!… GF, DF Chocolate Pecan “Toll House” Pie
DAY 6 Stacy Toth at Paleo Parents … Paleo Monkey Bread
DAY 7 Maggie Savage at She Let Them Eat Cake … GF, DF Candy Cane Ice Cream
DAY 8 Melissa McLean Jory at Gluten Free For Good …Red Chile Enchilada Casserole
DAY 9 Kim Maes at Cook IT Allergy Free … Cinnamon Bun Cake
DAY 10 Lexie at Lexie’s Kitchen ..Chocolate Pomegranate Clusters
DAY 11– Brittany at Real Sustenance... Gluten Free Babka Bread.
Friday, 12/9–Elana Amsterdam at Elana’s Pantry
Saturday, 12/10–Kelly Brozyna at The Spunky Coconut
Sunday, 12/11–Ricki Heller at Diet, Dessert and Dogs
Monday, 12/12–Me! Cream Cheese Cookies
Tuesday, 12/13–Stephanie Fourie at Gluten Free by Nature
Wednesday, 12/14–Jules Shepard at Jules Speaks Gluten Free
Thursday, 12/15–Silvana Nardone at Silvana’s Kitchen (and Easy Eats)
Friday, 12/16–Heather at Gluten-Free Cat
Saturday, 12/17–Carol Kicinski at Simply…Gluten Free
Sunday, 12/18–Alisa Fleming at Alisa Cooks
Monday, 12/19–Linda Etherton at The Gluten-Free Homemaker
Tuesday, 12/20–Gigi Stewart at Gluten Free Gigi
Wednesday, 12/21–Zoe at Z’s Cup of Tea
Thursday, 12/22–Lillian Medville at Lillian’s Test Kitchen
Friday, 12/23—Shirley Braden at gfe—gluten free easily

December Sanity Challenge

2011-12-08T04:22:00.001-05:00

It's December 8th. Do you know where your sanity is?

Mine flew out the door a long time ago, and I've only just begun to accept that this is simply the way I operate. I used to think, "When I'm not in school, I'll be more relaxed," or, "Once this cookbook is done, I'll stop stressing out," or how about this one? "Once I'm married and have kids, my life will be simple." Um...right. I see all you moms and dads out there with kids...your life is anything but simple. My parents were right when they said that life only gets more complicated the older you get. But I'm also realizing that I make things complicated. I was talking with The Assistant on the phone last night about my short-term life goals, and I could hear the sigh in his voice as he asked, "Wow. Is there room for me in there?" Mind you, I was baking bread even as we spoke, prompting his query of, "Are you beating something?" Why yes. Yes, I am. I'm beating this gluten-free, yeast-free, gum-free, vegan bread batter into submission.

Why? Because I like taking on too much. I mean, I must enjoy it, right? Because I do it all the time. Even as I'm telling people, "No, no, I need to simplify," I add on another task, job, or plan. I told The Assistant that once the cookbook was done, I would have a life again. And then I laughed and said, "Who am I kidding? I'll just find something else to take over my life." And you know what? I'm not complaining. It feels good to take on a project and tackle it full-force. Kind of like when I used to play rugby, except without the bruises. And my health has taken a little upswing lately, which means I'm no longer working constantly through the dense cloud of brain fog and fatigue.

But here's the caveat. Because I have a tendency to be Ms. Go-Go-Go, I can also be Ms. Stress-Stress-Stress. My new doctor called it at my recent appointment, when she said my stress test showed that despite my outward appearance of calm, I simply don't relax. I could have told her that. Right now, I'm in the final stretch of recipe testing for my cookbook. On Saturday, I fly to the East Coast where I'll be spending 5 days with my co-author, Brittany, baking up a storm for our book's photo shoot. Then off to NYC for a few days to see friends, then home for the holidays. My mind is a whirl and I wake up every morning wondering how I'm ever going to get everything done. By all rights, I should be a basket case. And don't get me wrong, I have my moments and plenty of them. But overall, I'm handling it all pretty well. And I have Cheryl Harris and her December Sanity Challenge to thank for that.

You were wondering where I was going with this, weren't you?

Cheryl, of Gluten Free Goodness, decided she didn't want to spend December being all "Ahhhhh!" so she came up with the idea of a Sanity Challenge. What is it? In Cheryl's words:

"The challenge—post on what you plan to do to make your holidays sane, happy and healthy. Make it specific! Not just “I’ll get more sleep," but “I’ll get at least 7 hours of sleep, 5 days a week”. Not just “I won’t go crazy making desserts," but “I’ll make a maximum of XX desserts, and space them out over XX time”. You know what you need to do to keep this doable, and writing it down will help you get there!"

So here's what you do. Write a post on what your goals are for this month and link back to this post (or any of the co-hosts listed below). Leave a comment with your link. Make yourself accountable by putting it in writing! Anyone who joins in on the December Sanity Challenge will be entered into a giveaway for a $50 gift certificate to Nutsonline.com (they are not sponsoring, Cheryl is just that awesome).

See what the other Sanity Challengers goals are:
Dec 1st Cheryl of Gluten Free Goodness
Dec 15th Valerie of City Life Eats
Dec 22nd Carrie of Ginger Lemon Girl

My goal? I kept it simple. Of course I wanted to make a whole list of goals. I will exercise for 30 minutes every day, I will meditate every day, I will eat tons of vegetables every day, and so on and so forth. But I decided to pick a goal that I would actually stick with. Something so easy and yet with a big payoff. I asked myself for 5 minutes a day. 5 minutes in which I set my timer, lie down, and breathe. That's all. I can't put music on, can't text or go on Facebook; I just lie there. I don't tell myself I'm meditating because then I'll give up in disgust when my mind jumps all over the place. I just tell myself I deserve 5 minutes a day of doing nothing. The rest of the day I can jump through my own hoops. But for those 5 minutes (and I seriously kept it that short because I knew I wouldn't stick with anything longer), I'm on vacation. Honestly, even giving up those few minutes is hard for me. Sometimes I lie there and think about everything I should be doing. And then I realize that that's exactly why I need to be lying there. Doing nothing.
When the timer goes off, I go about my day. But I like to think that those 5 minutes are making a difference. And I'd like to think that after December, I will continue to give myself a few minutes every day to simply be sane in this insane world.

Tangy Cilantro Dressing

2011-12-01T18:11:00.002-05:00

There's a strong love-hate kind of thing going on in the world with cilantro, isn't there? There's a whole blog devoted to the hatred of cilantro (and the author just happens to be a friend from Brooklyn).

Me?

I love cilantro. It's the perfect garnish for soup, takes salsa over the top, and makes an awesome pesto. Plus, it's supposed to be helpful in ridding your body of heavy metals. At an appointment this week with my new doctor, I was told a large portion of my health issues are being caused by an overabundance of aluminum in my body. Yikes! But not that surprising, is it? It's in our deodorant, our baking powder and baking soda, our pots and pans, and who knows what else! It's hard to avoid. But I, for one, won't be quite so complacent about it from now on. Deodorant with aluminum? Throwing it out! Already bought aluminum-free baking products. And no more using the aluminum cookware in our house. But what about getting rid of the stuff already mucking around in my body? Well, I need to wait for next week's doctor's appointment to get a better handle on that. But in the meantime, I see no reason not to eat cilantro whenever I can! And since I love it so much, it's certainly not a hardship...

My favorite way to eat this dressing is over a salad of raw kale and roasted sweet potatoes. It can also be used as a dressing for meat or fish. Which is exactly what I'll be doing tonight with the sole I have in the fridge...

Tangy Cilantro Dressing & Marinade print-friendly

adapted from this recipe

Ingredients:
½ cup packed cilantro, stems removed

4 dates

1/3 cup fresh lime juice (2 limes)

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

4 large garlic cloves

½ teaspoon sea salt
1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

Blend cilantro, dates, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, garlic, sea salt, and cilantro in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add olive oil in a steady stream, continuing to blend. Store in an airtight glass container in the fridge.

Makes 16 ounces

In other news...

Cheryl of Gluten Free Goodness is hosting a December Sanity Challenge to motivate us all to be kind to ourselves this month! I'll be posting on the 8th about what my goals are for myself this month, and I encourage you to join in! Read Cheryl's post for more information...

Shirley of Gluten Free Easily has been hosting Home For The Holidays, a whole month+ of special holiday recipes and giveaways. I'll be posting a recipe and hosting a giveaway (via Shirley) on December 12th, but until then, stop by Gluten Free Easily to see what you could win each day!

How to Make Gluten-Free, Vegan Pancakes and Waffles

2011-11-26T17:15:00.005-05:00

(Most of my pancakes came out fluffier than the ones in this picture...but they got eaten before I could take a picture...the pancakes in this picture were actually my failed pancakes)

In June, I decided to take on a challenge I felt completely unprepared for. Writing a guide to gluten-free baking. Thankfully, my co-author was much more adept in the kitchen, and I just prayed I would catch on. I had asked The Assistant at the time if he thought it was a good idea. I believe my exact words were, "Do you think I'm crazy?" And he told me that taking on any project was a wonderful thing because no matter what, I would learn. And learn I have. Through trial and error, and lots of flops, I've created over 40 gluten, dairy and soy-free recipes since June. Almost 6 months later, I am astounded at how much I've learned. When I started making recipes for the book in June, I spent days and days on each recipe, often giving up in disgust and accepting a mediocre result. Now, I can go back and look at those recipes, and immediately pick out what I did wrong and how to fix it. I know how to avoid gums in recipes now, I know which flours work best with eggs and which work without, and I know that my waffle how-to guide that I wrote last year was not perfect. I also know that a lot of the recipes on this blog need reworking, and I plan on spending time this year updating my older recipes.

The first recipe I wanted to rework was indeed my waffle guide. After realizing my ratios were slightly off (and I apologize to anyone who used that guide and was unhappy with the results!), I decided I wanted a recipe that would work for ANY flour, that was vegan, and that could be used for pancakes AND waffles. Three days and over 24 batches of pancakes/waffles later (seriously...), I have a recipe that makes me happy.

I tested this recipe out on:
Blanched Almond Flour
Millet Flour
Teff Flour
Buckwheat Flour
Quinoa Flour
Sorghum Flour
Amaranth Flour
Garbanzo Bean Flour
Sweet White Rice Flour
White Rice Flour
Brown Rice Flour
Coconut Flour
Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Baking Mix

I tested it on potato starch and tapioca starch.

I tested it using cups and using grams.

I have never seen so many pancakes in my life. But the last thing I wanted was to post another guide only to realize it wasn't right! So I got out my OCD tendencies, made a chart, and went to work. Here's the recipe, and please read below for my notes on which flours have the best texture and flavor, and which ones weren't so pleasant. Take note that this recipe WILL NOT work for coconut flour. Don't even try it...I did, and it was a huge waste of flour.

Gluten-Free, Vegan Pancake & Waffle Recipe (Please scroll down and read the tips before making these!) (Print-Friendly Option)

1 1/4 cups or 158 grams flour (or mix of flours)***
1/2 cup or 86 grams starch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons oil
1/2 to 1 3/4 cups liquid

*** I know that cups and grams are different for each flour. HOWEVER, I tested this recipe out with EACH FLOUR with cups AND grams. Whether you measure your flours by cups or the gram measurements given, your pancakes/waffles will work. If you use almond flour, you'll only need about 1/2 cup of liquid. If you use a thick liquid like full-fat coconut milk, you'll need more (up to 1 3/4 cups). Otherwise, you'll need about 1 cup of liquid (milk, water, juice, etc.) regardless of the flour.

1. Whisk together your dry ingredients.
2. Whisk together the applesauce, oil, and 1/2 cup of liquid. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet, and stir. Add more liquid slowly (I do it by the tablespoon so as not to pour too much) until you've reached the consistency of a thick pancake batter. Always start with less liquid and test the batter on one pancake or waffle first. If it's too thick, you can add more liquid, but you can't take liquid away once you've added it!

To make waffles, make sure to oil the iron frequently and keep the batter thick. It won't spread on the iron, but you can use a spoon to spread the batter out evenly on the iron. If the batter is too thin, it is much more likely to stick.
To make pancakes, you can use a little more liquid than with waffles (about 2-4 tablespoons more), depending on how thick you prefer your pancakes.

Tips (Read These Before Making):

Potato starch is the best starch to use in these recipes. You can use tapioca, arrowroot, or cornstarch, BUT potato starch makes the insides fluffier.
Almond flour makes the best pancakes, hands down! They taste buttery and sweet. The batter should be equally thick for pancakes or waffles. HOWEVER, this recipe DOES NOT work with only almond flour. You have to use the starch, and you'll get amazing pancakes. If you try using just almond flour without starch, your pancakes will be horrible excuses for pancakes that will make a mess of your pan. If you can eat almonds, I highly recommend you make this your go-to pancake mix.
Millet flour pancakes taste somewhat like biscuits, and are my second favorite flour to use. However, millet does tend to have a bitter aftertaste, so beware.
I love the flavor of buckwheat and teff. For a hearty mix, try either one or both.
Coconut flour DOES NOT work. AT ALL. BUT, you can add a few tablespoons to your mix if you want. You'll just end up increasing the amount of liquid needed.
Sweet white rice flour, amaranth flour, and white rice flour all tended to be a little gummy inside, so I wouldn't recommend using these. Brown rice flour had a nice texture and was good for a basic mix, although a bit bland for my liking.
Quinoa, sorghum, and garbanzo bean flour all made pancakes and waffles with great textures. The flavors aren't my personal favorites, but they can be jazzed up with the addition of other flavors.
If using an all-purpose mix like Bob's Red Mill, skip the starch (the mix already has starch in it), and use 1 3/4 cups of mix or 244 grams. I didn't use an all-purpose mix with xanthan gum in it, so I can't say how it will work if your mix has gums. I recommend buying a mix without gums, or better yet, skip the mix and just buy your favorite flour and starch.
For the sweetener, you can use 2 tablespoons of any granulated sugar. OR you can use 2 tablespoons of a liquid sweetener. Just add it to the wet ingredients instead. I personally thought the granulated sugar gave the best texture to the pancakes though.
For the applesauce, you can try using any puree...try banana, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, etc. I liked applesauce best in terms of texture though.
I tested these recipes with water and I liked the flavor. But any liquid can be used. If you use something like full-fat canned coconut milk (which I like to do), you'll need more liquid than if you use water or milk. Using water or milk, almond flour only needs about 1/2 cup of liquid, whereas most of the other flours need closer to 1 cup.

That's all! If you test this out and like it, I'd love for you to come back and post how you made your pancakes/waffles in the comments for other readers to try!

Cinnamon Chocolate Cookies (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Refined Sugar-Free)

2011-11-22T00:52:00.002-05:00

This was not the recipe I meant to post today. I meant to post this one.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cookies. But despite having made these cookies many times, I apparently have never written down the complete instructions. So I'll have to make them again to be sure I tell you everything exactly right. In the meantime, I'm going to leave you with a new recipe that only came about because I ran out of sweet white rice flour. I was planning on making my vegan snickerdoodles, but didn't have enough flour. So I improvised. I used less sweet white rice flour, added in some unsweetened cocoa powder, and took out the gums. The results were a hit. My friend actually told me she lost her taste for her favorite Pamela's chocolate cookies after she had mine. She also said they reminded her of chocolate teddy grahams. I think that's a pretty good reason to give these a try, don't you?

Cinnamon Chocolate Cookies (Print Friendly Option)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
1 tablespoon whole psyllium husks
6 tablespoons boiling water

1 cup sweet white rice flour (156 grams) (see note below)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (60 grams)
1 cup potato starch (153 grams)
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup shortening (sub: coconut oil)
1 cup liquid sweetener (I used half brown rice syrup, half coconut nectar; you can use honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup, all of which will yield a slightly different flavor)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets.
In a small bowl, stir the boiling water into the flax and psyllium mixture. Let sit for 5 minutes.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, starch, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sweetener. Whisk the flax and psyllium mixture in completely (don't leave any clumps or your cookies will come out in weird shapes). Pour the dry ingredients into the wet, stirring until completely mixed.
Drop by the spoonful onto cookie sheets and bake for 9 minutes. Let sit for a minute before removing to a cooling rack.

Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies.

Note: Sweet white rice flour is also called glutinous (not glutenous) rice flour or mochiko. It's usually found in Asian grocery stores or the Asian section of your local grocery store (that's where I get mine). It is NOT the same as white rice flour, and if you try subbing in white rice flour in this recipe, you'll end up with something more like a chocolate biscuit. Which could be tasty if that's what you're going for, but since I haven't done it myself, I can't vouch for it.

Squash Pie (Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Nut-Free, Sugar-Free, Vegan)

2011-11-14T21:59:00.003-05:00

With Thanksgiving around the corner, and having recently realized that I feel best on a grain-free diet, I've been a bit of a curmudgeon. A grump, if you will. Although I'm hosting a Thanksgiving potluck on Sunday, I really haven't been in the mood to attend the holiday festivities on Thursday and watch everyone else eat. Oh, I know the holidays are about family, friends, and being together. And of course, giving thanks. And I give thanks every day for these crazy health problems that have fueled my passion for nutrition. Seriously, I do. Even when I'm simultaneously cursing them.

But. Yes, there is a but. But, I really want to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal that I, being now grain-free, nut-free, sugar-free, egg-free, and dairy-free, can eat! Is that too much to ask? (Did you hear the whiney little curmudgeon come out there for a second?)

While Thanksgiving is fast approaching, I've been busily holed up in my kitchen baking for the cookbook. This hasn't left a whole lot of time for nourishing myself, but I'm doing my best. And this week, that meant taking the time to make myself a pie. A butternut squash pie, to be exact, with pumpkin pie spices and a hint of orange zest. I loved it. In fact, I ate almost the whole thing in just a couple of days. I had to give away my last piece today after I decided enough was enough. Despite the lack of sugar in this recipe, it's extremely rich and chock-full of healthy fats, like coconut oil and chia seeds. Is it as good as the original? Well, it certainly did the trick for me, but then again I'm an avid fan of stevia. If it had an aftertaste, I couldn't tell you since I don't really notice that anyway. Those of you who don't love stevia might want to choose your own sweetener for this, perhaps honey, coconut nectar, or maple syrup. You'll have to play around with the amount and just add a little at a time until the flavor is right for you. As for the crust, I can't say I was elated. I found this idea on allrecipes.com, and while I like it okay, I definitely want to play around with it. But considering my restrictions these days, I was still pretty stoked. After all, when's the last time I ate pie, felt like I was eating something sinful, and didn't suffer a reaction afterward!? I don't even know...

Squash Pie (Print-Friendly Option)

I made this pie with a butternut squash, but you can easily use any type of squash, pumpkin, or sweet potato. If you use pumpkin, you may need to add more stevia, while sweet potato would require less.

Ingredients:
Crust:
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

Pie:
3 tablespoons chia seed meal
1 cup full fat canned coconut milk
2 cups baked squash (canned or homemade both work)
3 tablespoons coconut oil
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
20 drops liquid stevia
Zest of half an orange

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a pie pan. Process your crust ingredients in a food processor for a few minutes. When the coconut sticks to the side of the food processor (you'll know when this happens), it's done. Press into the pan pie and bake for 20 minutes. It won't cover the sides, just the bottom of the pan, and it's difficult to press since it's so sticky (use some melted coconut oil or light olive oil on your fingers to make it easier).
While the pie crust is baking, make your pie filling. Start by putting your chia seeds and coconut milk in the food processor and letting them sit for a few minutes. Then put the rest of the ingredients in the food processor and blend until it's completely smooth. This will take a few minutes, and when you think it's blended enough, give it another minute. It gets creamier the longer to blend it.
Once the crust is done, allow it to cool completely before pouring the filling into the pan. Chill overnight or at least a few hours in the fridge. It will hold up within a couple of hours, but is best if allowed to set up in the fridge overnight.

This post is linked to:

Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten-Free at Real Sustenance

Chocolate Sweet Potato Smoothie

2011-11-10T19:24:00.003-05:00

The world is supposed to end in 2012, right? Or the world as we know it. Some people think it will be some sort of catastrophic disaster. Others believe humanity will enter into a higher level of consciousness. And many believe it's all hogwash. With all of the political shifts and Occupy movements, I think it's easy to feel a sense of excitement. That there's change in the air. I certainly feel it.

But then again, it's November. I feel a shift with every season. And I wonder if every generation feels that something big is coming. I'd like to believe this movement in our internal psyches is happening right now, that the collective unconscious is undergoing a subtle grinding of gears that will leave us facing the world with a new understanding.

On a personal level, this past year has been a tumultuous upheaval of all I know and I have on occasional felt literally pushed into my present. In the last two years, I started a tradition of making a vision board in January. Everything I want in that year, I put smack dab in the middle of that board. I tack it to my wall. I stare at that board, during yoga or meditation, and focus on a word. This year, the words that have popped out at me the most have been "let go," "release," and "expand." And in the crazy way that only comes from a place of deepest desire and simultaneous fear, I have seen my vision boards come to life. Yesterday, I took out my 2010 vision board and stuck it on the wall next to my 2011 board. Side by side, it's like seeing a metaphorical storyboard of the last two years of my life. Well, the triumphant parts at least. What is missing is all the heartache that sits in the valleys when you try to climb mountains. But it's there, and I feel it as deeply as I feel the joy.

This is simply to say, whatever happens in 2012, I'm rooting for the shift in consciousness. Call me an optimist, a dreamer, or a romantic, but I feel the movement. I'm ready. And I have a feeling you are too.

What's coming for me this year?

Brittany and I officially signed our cookbook contract with Triumph Dining yesterday. Triumph Dining is the publisher of my favorite gluten-free dining out guides (see the link on my sidebar?), so being a part of their "Essential Gluten-Free" series is beyond exciting. By the end of December, I'll be done with this project that has taken on a life of its own this year, and I could not be more proud of anything I've done in my life. (So far...?)
I'll be following my passion and going back to my first love soon by taking on private weight-loss clients. I'm waiting until the cookbook is finished and sent off to the printers, but then I'll be pumped to start the new year doing what I love: helping women get back to the place they're meant to be; feeling awesome and loving themselves and their bodies. Why not take on 2012 from a fabulous place of peace and happiness!
In January, I'll be starting classes at Bastyr again, this time around taking it slow and not worrying about rushing through classes. Instead of graduating in 2012, I'll be finishing in 2013, which gives me time to pursue my other loves: this lovely little blog, weight loss counseling, and a few other projects I've got up my sleeves.

Let's take 2012 by storm, beautiful people!

This chocolate Sweet Potato Smoothie is for the shifter in all of us. It's a nutrient-dense breakfast that leaves you feeling light...which is exactly what you need to be present and ready for whatever comes.

Chocolate Sweet Potato Smoothie (Print-Friendly Option)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons raw hemp seeds
1 cup ice cold water
1 cup pureed sweet potato
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa*
1 tablespoon coconut oil (room temperature)
1 tablespoon ground chia seeds
1/2 cup packed fresh kale (or spinach)
10 drops liquid stevia
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus extra for sprinkling on top
unsweetened coconut flakes for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Blend the hemp seeds and water first, until they look like milk (about 30 seconds). Add in the rest of the ingredients and blend until completely smooth. Sprinkle cinnamon and coconut flakes on top if desired.

* Extra cocoa can be used if you want a stronger chocolate taste. I only use a small amount because cocoa is high in amines, so I need to tread lightly. If you add more, you might need to add more stevia to counter the chocolate bite! And if you can't do chocolate, just leave it out. It will taste just as good!

Perfectly Cooked Onions

2011-11-07T21:02:00.004-05:00

That's quite a claim, isn't it? I was going to call this post "Caramelized Onions," but after looking at a number of pictures online, I decided my onions aren't cooked long enough to be caramelized. But I did cook up an onion with kale for lunch today, and after eating it, was so in love that I immediately sliced another onion, cooked it and ate it on its own. I also walked around with my bowl, asking all my housemates, "Want to taste a perfect onion?" Silly, I know...

But I'll tell you something about onions. If you cook them on a higher heat with extra virgin olive oil (as I'm often guilty of doing), the olive oil will smoke and create free radicals, which are highly inflammatory. Not so good for a gal with an autoimmune inflammatory disorder like Hashimoto's. Not so good for anyone really. Cooking onions at a lower temperature with fats that can withstand heat is a much better option. Butter would be my fat of choice since it gives onions a wonderful flavor, but I can't do dairy these days. However, ghee (clarified butter) seems to be fine for me. Coconut oil is another fat that can handle heat well. But I don't love the taste of vegetables cooked in plain coconut oil or ghee. Vegetables with coconut oil taste too much like...coconut. And ghee tastes like I'm almost having butter, but not quite. It just tastes a little off. But mix coconut oil, ghee, and olive oil together, add salt, and you get the perfect flavor, slightly sweet and salty, just like butter. If you prefer not to cook with olive oil at all, you can always use just coconut oil and ghee, but I like the melding of all three flavors. And since I'm cooking at medium-low heat, I don't worry too much about the olive oil.

Health Benefits of onions:

High in anti-inflammatory phytonutrients, like quercetin
May help protect against certain cancers and heart disease
High in vitamin C
May promote bone health (so important for women!)

Perfectly Cooked Onions (Print-Friendly Option)

I sprinkle my onions liberally with salt. Since I don't really eat processed foods, I don't worry about consuming too much salt. If you need to watch your salt intake, use less. And if you can eat dairy, go ahead and just use 2 teaspoons of butter instead of the ghee, coconut oil, and olive oil here!

Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon ghee
1/2 teaspoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small to medium yellow onion, sliced
sea salt, to taste

Directions:

Heat ghee, coconut oil, and olive oil in a pan on medium-low heat. Add onions, sprinkle liberally with salt (I use about 1/4 teaspoon) and allow to cook for about 8 minutes, until the onions become translucent.
Turn the onions, and cook another 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serves 1

Halloween Treats Giveaway Winners

2011-11-05T03:25:00.000-04:00

Thank you to everyone who entered last week's Halloween Treats Giveaways! I wish I could send you all treats, but alas, I only have eight to give away. For those of you who didn't win, I'll be back soon with something much better...a recipe I can actually eat! I just have to come up with one first...

My goal for November is to only post recipes I can eat - as opposed to my cherry pie, which tasted amazing, but wasn't exactly headache friendly for me. So this means no gluten/grains/dairy/eggs/peanuts/tree nuts/nightshades... I'm sure there's more, but you get the picture. Time for me to get creative again!

The winner of the Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil is:
Heather Collea

The winners of the NuNaturals Stevia are:
Cassie
The Mommy Bowl
aliw515
Fartygirl

The winner of the Kettle Cuisine Soup giveaway is:
Amy

The winner of the Gluten-Free Goodie Box and Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cookies is:
Seeks

The winner of Go Dairy Free is:
Adrienne

Detox for a Good Cause!

2011-11-02T13:30:00.001-04:00

My mom is a family day care provider, and playing with the kids after school was always one of my favorite activities. When I was in college, my friends and I drove home one week to spend a few days with my family. While my best friend and I thoroughly enjoyed convincing our guy friends to play my old Sweet Valley High board game (and taking pictures for future blackmailing purposes), we had the most fun playing with the kids.

This little one in particular stole all of our hearts.

Baby Gwen charmed all of us from the first moment. When my mom called and told me she had suffered a seizure, of course we were both worried. It took many hospital trips and sleepless nights for Gwen’s family before the doctors were able to diagnose her. And that was just the beginning of a long journey, one only made possible by the love and care of Gwen’s parents and sister, and Gwen’s own optimism and bright spirit. Diagnosed with Mitochondrial Disease, Gwen was not able to eat and had to receive IV nutrition. She has spent as much of her young life in the hospital as out, and was the recipient of a multi-organ transplant, which included a new stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas, and spleen. Today, as always, she and her family are fighting to help her live a healthy life and allow her to do as many of the things young kids like to do as possible. A while back, my mom told me how excited Gwen was to be able to have a bite of banana. As a food blogger, I live and breathe food, and I realize that Gwen will never take for granted the ability to enjoy a piece of fruit or a bite of cake. Her delight in something as simple as being able to taste a banana for the first time reminds us all of the power of food, and of the strength we all have within us to live each day with love and happiness.

D-Tox e-Cookbook Now on Sale!
One cold January, 20+ bloggers came together for 31 days to share 31 nourishing and detoxifying smoothie, juice, and soup recipes. The blogosphere buzzed with great new ways of increasing the intake of fruit and vegetables to start the year off right.

This January D-tox event was so well received that these 20+ bloggers decided to write and publish an e-cookbook—capturing these fantastic recipes, tips and tricks in one place. You’ll find one of my smoothie recipes in the book!

And so without further ado, we announce the release of Eat Fresh and D-Tox Your Life: A Collection of Smoothies, Juices, Soups and Tips for the Whole Family. Not only will this book provide you with inspiration to increase your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables, but it also benefits others. All proceeds from this e-book go directly to MitoAction.

MitoAction and Their Mission.
MitoAction is a Boston-based nonprofit helping children and adults with mitochondrial disease navigate the complex journey of managing the disease. MitoAction’s mission is to improve the quality of life for everyone affected by mitochondrial disease through support, education, outreach, and advocacy initiatives. You may read more about MitoAction here.

What is Mitochondrial Disease?
Mitochondrial disease is a genetic, neurodegenerative disorder that occurs when the mitochondria fail to produce enough energy for cell or organ function. More common than cystic fibrosis, mitochondrial disease can develop in both children and adults and is often misdiagnosed. Mito symptoms are varied and progressive, and can include stroke, muscle pain, extreme fatigue, and organ failure. Mitochondrial disease is related to many other conditions, including autism, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s.

Download Your e-Cookbook Today!
To download your PDF e-cookbook Eat Fresh and D-Tox Your Life and support the efforts of MitoAction, click here.

In this e-cookbook you will find:

Tips like “How to Hide Greens” & “Smoothies and the Color Wheel”
9 Kid-Friendly and Beginner Smoothie Recipes
19 “Now I’m Feeling Braver” Smoothie and Juice Recipes
A handful of soups, Detox Tips and More!
Personal stories from, and hyperlinks, to each blogger’s website
$10 suggested donation. Click here to download.

Dedicated with love to Gwen

Thank you to Lexie and Nicola for putting this book together!

Join the Effort.
If you would like to promote and sell this e-cookbook on your site, please feel free to do so. Use the content of this post freely (copy and images) and grab the badge below and link it to this url. And THANK YOU for your support!

Halloween Treats: Giveaway #5 (Go Dairy Free Cookbook)

2011-10-29T00:15:00.003-04:00

Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook for Milk Allergies, Lactose Intolerance, and Casein-Free Living

As the title suggests, this is more than just a cookbook. It's a guide for anyone eating dairy-free or even just considering reducing the amount of dairy in their diets. Alisa Marie Fleming, author and creator of www.godairyfree.org and www.alisacooks.com, wrote Go Dairy Free as a resource for those of us wondering what to do once we say goodbye to dairy.

The best thing about Go Dairy Free is not, in my opinion, the recipes. Don't get me wrong...the recipes are awesome (I never knew you could use hemp seeds to make milk at home!), but Go Dairy Free also has information on the science of milk - What is it? Do you need to buy organic? What about the calcium conundrum? How can you make sure you're getting enough calcium in your diet? I might be in school for nutrition now, but I honestly learned so much from reading Go Dairy Free that I never learned in my classes!

As for the recipes, I literally wanted to try every recipe I saw. But due to my various sensitivities right now, I'll have to hold off until I can eat more foods. I did, however, make the Quick & Creamy Bean Soup, and it was a hit at a recent dinner. I also really want to try the Spiced Autumn Soup, which I will be able to eat! Not all of Alisa's recipes are gluten-free in Go Dairy Free, but many are and those that aren't could be easily adapted.

I've really only just touched on all the reasons why any kitchen would benefit from having Go Dairy Free in it. To check out more of Alisa's recipes, check out www.alisacooks.com. She actually has a really awesome giveaway up on her blog right now too!

Update: This giveaway is now closed.

Today's Giveaway: Alisa is sending one copy of Go Dairy Free straight to your door! (continental U.S. only)
How to Enter:

Leave a comment! That's all. :)
For a second entry, post about it on your blog.
For a third entry, post about it on Facebook.
For a fourth entry, tweet it.

This giveaway will stay open until November 4th.

And that's all she wrote! Happy Halloween! Safe tricking and treating, y'all!

Fall Harvest Lentil Soup and Halloween Treats Giveaway #4

2011-10-27T18:36:00.003-04:00

Fall ushers in a gust of cold, a dash of cozy, and a sprinkling of spice. This Fall Harvest Lentil Soup incorporates all three. Banish the cold with a good book and a warm fire while sipping on this sweetly spiced soup.

And while you're at it, scroll down past the recipe for today's giveaway!

Fall Harvest Lentil Soup (Print-Friendly Option)

The sweet potatoes in this recipe can be replaced with any winter squash (butternut, delicata, etc.). Just peel the squash and dice it. Lentils can also be substituted with any other bean that’s already been cooked. Because this makes 8 hearty servings, it’s great for dinner parties, or can be frozen and reheated.

Ingredients:

1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced (3/4 cup)

1 carrot, diced (1 cup)

3 large garlic cloves, minced

1 small jalapeño, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 large red pepper, diced (1 ½ cups)

1 large sweet potato, diced (2 cups)

¾ teaspoon sea salt (or more to taste)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon ground coriander

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 cups water or vegetable broth

3 medium tomatoes, chopped

½ cup dry lentils, rinsed

Directions:

Heat oil in a large pot on medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, garlic, oregano and basil. Sauté for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the pepper and sauté another 2-3 minutes.
Add the sweet potato, salt, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil, add tomatoes and lentils, then turn heat down to a simmer. Cook, covered, about 35 minutes (until lentils are cooked through). Serve hot.

Makes 8 servings.

Update: This giveaway is now closed.

Today's giveaway is a mish mash of gluten-free samplings I picked up at the Gluten & Allergen-Free Expo in Dallas earlier this month. Not one to ever turn down anything free, I gave some of the goodies to my friends and family, but the rest I saved for you! I'll send a Halloween goodie bag of these treats to one winner (sorry, continental U.S. only!), plus a batch of my gluten-free, vegan, stevia-sweetened cinnamon toast crunch cookies (recipe to be posted in December). Contest open until November 3rd.

To enter:

Leave a comment! That's all. :)
For a second entry, post about it on your blog.
For a third entry, post about it on Facebook.
For a fourth entry, tweat it.

Happy Thursday, and tune back in tomorrow for the final day of Halloween Treat Giveaways!

Halloween Treats: Giveaway #3 (Kettle Cuisine)

2011-10-26T12:02:00.002-04:00

Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil Giveaway open until October 31st
NuNaturals Stevia giveaway open until November 1st

Kettle Cuisine soups are unfortunately something I've never been able to try. I'm a soup girl myself, so if I could eat these, I would. But as you know, I can't eat much of anything and blah blah blah. Right. You know the story. So back to Kettle Cuisine. They offered to let me try their soups recently, and as much as I wanted to, I knew I had to turn them down. But I asked if they'd be willing to extend that offer to my readers, and they were more than happy to do so.

The giveaway: 3 free Kettle Cuisine Single Serving Soup coupons, 3 $1.00 off coupons, and 3 $0.50 off coupons. All packaged in a cute little cooler pack (they did send me the cooler pack as a gift and it's great for packing lunch!)

The company: "Our founder Jerry Shafir's daughter Kate was diagnosed with Celiac Disease over twenty years ago as an infant and when the FDA finally announced a proposed definition of gluten free for prepared foods Jerry jumped at the opportunity to serve the Celiac Disease community with great tasting, wholesome, real food offerings."

The food: "We are proud to offer ten chef-inspired varieties that are all natural and all gluten free. Our savory soups, hearty chilis, and rich chowders are available in convenient, single serving bowls and can be found in your grocer's natural food freezer." Rest assured that I looked at the ingredients of their soups, and these are all foods I would eat myself if I were not on a super strict diet.

Update: This giveaway is now closed.

How to enter: You can do any one of the following, or more than one for multiple entries. This giveaway will be open until November 2nd. Leave a comment for every entry and leave your e-mail address with your comment!

1. Tell me which soups you would like to try from Kettle Cuisine.
2. Like Kettle Cuisine on Facebook.
3. Follow Kettle Cuisine on Twitter.
4. Sign up for the Kettle Cuisine newsletter.

I have two more giveaways to go! Stop by Thursday and Friday to finish out the week!

Halloween Treats: Giveaway #2 (NuNaturals Stevia)

2011-10-25T09:00:00.003-04:00

Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil Giveaway: Open until October 31st

Last February, I received a generous sampling of products from NuNaturals. I often have to turn down offers for review samples because I can't eat most of the products I'm offered. But in this case, I was delighted to give the NuNaturals stevia a chance. I had heard from other bloggers that it was the best brand, and had only tried Sweetleaf before that. Now, I hate to play favorites, and in all honesty, I really love Sweetleaf stevia as well, but the NuNaturals stevia truly does have the best flavor of all the brands I've tried so far. Their vanilla stevia is my particular favorite, which is why I'm happy NuNaturals is offering a giveaway of their vanilla stevia and their white stevia packets to not one, but four of my readers! The vanilla stevia is delicious in hot breakfast cereals, like my quinoa porridge. And while it may seem like a tiny little bottle, you can be assured that it lasts for a long time! I was sent the original sample nine months ago, and only recently ran out. In fact, I was about to go buy more when I was sent another bottle from NuNaturals, along with a generous sampling of their other products, including their Cocoa Extract, which I have to tell you will transform any hot cereal into something amazing.

Update: This giveaway is now closed.

Now what's the deal with the giveaway? Here's how it goes. Four readers will receive one box of NuNaturals NuStevia Packets (50 count box) and one bottle of NuNaturals Vanilla Stevia Liquid (2 oz. bottle). (Sorry, open to continental U.S. addresses only, no P.O. boxes.)

Here's how you enter:

Leave a comment telling me if you've tried stevia before, and if so, what your favorite use is for it.
Post about this giveaway on your blog, on facebook, or on twitter. You can tweet daily for more entries.
Follow NuNaturals on Facebook, twitter, or both.

Lots of ways to enter, 4 winners in all! Leave a comment for every entry so that I can count them all! This giveaway ends on November 1st, 2011.

What else? NuNaturals also has a FREE SAMPLES program for continental U.S. addresses. To receive free samples of their NuStevia packets, you can send a self-address, stamped #10 envelope to:

NuNaturals, INC
2220 West 2nd Ave. # 1
Eugene, OR 97402

AND

If you order through the NuNaturals website between now and December 31st, you can receive a 15% discount on your order using this code: BLG1211. Any orders over $35.00 will also receive free shipping (continental U.S.)

Still trying to decide if you want to give stevia a chance? See this little guy here? That's my Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cookie, a recipe I'll be posting for the December holidays. It's gluten-free, vegan, and completely stevia sweetened. If you win this giveaway, you'll be able to make these cookies!

My Stevia Recipes:
Baked Fruit Pockets
Sweet Coconut Biscuits
Coconut Quick Bread
Banana Chocolate Bread
Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Pear Walnut Muffins
Salmon and Cabbage with Kelp Noodles
Sweet Parsley Glazed Roasted Vegetables
Summer Fruit and Herb Salad with Cucumbers
Spring Mint Salad
Creamy Sweet Curry Salad Dressing
Carrot Cream Soda
Cherry Pie
Mini Blueberry Pies
Lemon Cake with Raspberry Syrup
Raspberry Orange Mint Sorbet
Orange Zest Cake

Disclaimer: NuNaturals provided me with a free sample of their products to review, and I was under no obligation to review them if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Halloween Treats: Giveaway #1 (Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil)

2011-10-24T09:00:00.003-04:00

Coconut oil is the new olive oil. Next year, I think ghee might become the new coconut oil. And then we're going to come full circle, and eventually butter will be the new...butter. Just a guess. But for now, everyone is suddenly in love with this most fabulous of dairy-free alternatives. Personally, if I could eat butter, I would happily do so. But since I can't, I'm happy to have a substitute that works in so many ways. I use coconut oil to replace butter, shortening, or oil in my baking. I coat sweet potatoes and butternut squash in melted coconut oil and roast them for the most delicious fries you've ever had! And it's an easy butter alternative for toast and muffins (for those of you lucky people who eat such things).

I was more than happy to receive a free quart of Tropical Traditions virgin coconut oil this last week. I practically cried when I broke down and bought a 54 ounce jar of coconut oil earlier that week. Mostly because I go through it so quickly... So when a 32 ounce jar arrived on my doorstep, I was ecstatic. More coconut oil for my recipes?? Heck yes! This is why I was able to make my High Fiber Pear Walnut Muffins over and over again last week!

Tropical Traditions is well known for their amazing coconut products, as well as their great sales. In fact, I'm pretty sure I first heard about them from another blogger when they were having a big sale. I'm not going to tell you all about coconut oil. You can read all about their virgin coconut oil here. I'm just here to tell you that it's the best butter substitute I've found, and I know many people actually prefer the light taste to butter. If you're already a coconut oil fan, you know how wonderful it is. And if you've been deterred by the high price, now's your chance to give it a shot. Tropical Traditions is offering one of my readers their own quart of coconut oil, delivered straight to your door! All you have to do to enter the giveaway is one of the following (you can do all three for 3 entries):

Update: This giveaway is now closed.

Follow Tropical Traditions on twitter @troptraditions
Like Tropical Traditions on Facebook
Subscribe to the Tropical Traditions e-mail sales newsletter.

Of course, come back and leave a comment letting me know what you did! And please please please leave an e-mail address. I won't pick your entry if I don't have a way to contact you! I'll choose a winner on Monday, the 31st! Until then, enter the giveaway, then come back tomorrow for day #2 of the Halloween Giveaways!

Want some more coconut recipes? Check out the Tropical Traditions Free Recipe Site!

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

High Fiber Pear Walnut Muffins (Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free, Vegan) plus Halloween Treats Ahead

2011-10-23T17:03:00.004-04:00

Because I shouldn't eat most of my baked goods these days, the best way I have of knowing if something is tasty is by how long it lasts on the kitchen counter. These particular muffins disappeared, one by one, every morning. I had to make a couple of batches to be sure I had them exactly as I wanted them, and I had assumed that no one else would like them since my goal was to make a "healthy" muffin, meaning hearty, dense, and sugar-free. But disappear, they did, and I was assured that they were indeed a delicious and filling breakfast. In fact, with the addition of dates, flax seeds, and chia seeds, my housemates told me they were satisfied for hours after eating these muffins. They also told me that the best way to eat them was to toast them and add a pat of coconut oil or Earth Balance.

Since I'm such a fan of making recipes your own, you can easily sub in 4 cups of your own gluten-free flour blend for the flours and starches in this recipe. This particular mix of flours was chosen for its hearty nutritional profile, but if you prefer a lighter muffin, feel free to increase the amount of starch and decrease the other flours accordingly. Just make sure your blend doesn't include xanthan or guar gum, as this recipe doesn't need them.

Now, before I get to the recipe, I have some fun news for you all! Since we're gearing up for that most delightful of holidays, I thought it would be nice to send you all some Halloween treats. No, it's not a big bag of gluten-free candy (although that would be cool too). I've just been sitting on a number of giveaways, too ~~lazy~~ busy to post them for you. So this week, I'm making it a Pre-Halloween Giveaway Week of Treats! Two of them are actually ingredients in this recipe... Want to know what they are? Stop by tomorrow for the first giveaway of the week!

High Fiber Pear Walnut Muffins (Print-Friendly Option)

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups pitted dates

4 tablespoons flaxseed meal

2 tablespoons chia seed meal

1 cup boiling water

2 cups garbanzo bean flour

1 ½ cups amaranth or buckwheat flour

½ cup arrowroot starch or tapioca starch

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 ½ cups unsweetened nut or seed milk (hemp, almond, etc.)

½ cup coconut oil (room temperature)

2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon liquid stevia

½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 cup diced pear (1 large pear)

½ cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
Place dates, flaxseed meal, and chia seed meal in a small bowl. Pour boiling water over them and let sit while you prepare the other ingredients.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, starch, spices, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together milk, oil, vanilla extract, stevia, and apple cider vinegar.
Pour the date mixture into a blender and puree until smooth. Add the wet ingredients (milk, oil, etc.) and continue to puree until completely smooth. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir until just combined. Fold in the pears and walnuts. Scoop into the muffin tins. The batter will overflow the tins. You can wet your fingers with water to smooth the batter so the tops are nice and round. Bake for 28 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

Makes 12 muffins. You can store these hearty muffins in an airtight container on the counter for a few days or put them in the freezer.

This post is linked to Wellness Weekends at Diet, Dessert and Dogs, a love fest of vegan food!
Visit this month's Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten-Free at For the Love of Food.

Seared Chicken Breasts with Pear Sauce

2011-10-21T02:24:00.002-04:00

On Faith

I grew up in a non-religious (although not necessarily non-spiritual) house. At some point as a child, I remember asking myself what I would want God and heaven to be like if they existed. I made up my own idea of what the perfect religion would be. It went a little something like this:

Up in the sky, there was a head God, the GOD of all Gods. Below "him" (I've got the male image in my head because that's what we grew up with, but I'll reserve the right to assume that God is neither male nor female) were all these smaller Gods, Gods in training if you will. And each lower God was assigned to an individual. Which meant every person had his or her own God, sitting in a chair with a telephone, just waiting to be called upon. The image in my head was literally that of a telethon.

For years, this image stuck with me. Not that I told anyone I secretly thought my God was hanging out in a big room full of phones with lots of other lower deities. Okay, I didn't really think that, but it didn't stop me from mentally dialing the heavenly 911 and praying when I needed to.

Today, my image of God has grown, changed, morphed as I have. Whether I call it God, the collective unconscious, a higher power, or simply the power of the universe, the one thing that has remained the same is my deep conviction that something (someone?) is watching out for me. I've felt this my whole life, a belief that I feel physically more than I intellectually understand. In fact, the only time the feeling disappeared was during the months a few years back when I first became depressed, before I cut out gluten.

It was this belief that held me together when I moved to Seattle, and the same belief that has carried me this last year as I've consciously gone against my "better judgment" all year and instead followed my gut. It's led me to take on projects I've had no clue how to do (like write a cookbook), take time off from school, and make decisions about my future that scare the bejesus out of me.

Some would call it faith.

Writing a cookbook is no small task. It's time consuming and it's expensive. I can't eat most of what I make these days, so I give it all away. Just pass it along to my housemates or give it to a friend who brings it to Food Not Bombs. Sometimes I think about my school loans and then I look at my checkbook, and wonder how it will all work out. On those days, I begin to crunch numbers, to obsessively write down all the pluses and minuses, something I've done so many times there's truly no need to do it again. Recently, I asked a good friend how she handles the uncertainty of a life following her passion without knowing where the money will come from. In the end, it all comes down to one thing, she told me: faith.

I took that to heart. I've always budgeted myself well and been careful with my money. No amount of tedious jotting down of numbers will make more money suddenly appear under my pen. But for the first time in my life, I've let love and passion be more important than money. For the first time in my life, I don't know where my next paycheck is coming from. And I can honestly say I feel more fulfilled than I ever have. One housemate just left on a trip to Paris, and while my initial instinct was to think, "Man I wish I could do that," my second thought was the realization that I want nothing more than to be where I am, doing exactly what I'm doing. I'm not sure I've ever felt that way before. All I want now is the ability to continue doing what I'm doing.

Today, I stopped myself in mid complaint. About to utter the same old tired, "I'm broke," I just halted. And decided to have faith. Faith that I'm following the right path, and that God/The Universe is in my corner. My 911 to heaven would be heard and the money would come, somehow, someway. Not money to travel around the world or buy fancy clothes. But simply enough to live on, enough to bake, to buy quality ingredients and feel healthy. Just enough to be myself.

That was this morning. This afternoon I came home from an expensive cookbook grocery shopping trip, ready to tackle another recipe. And then the FedEx man came. With three packages. Containing a 32 ounce jar of Tropical Traditions coconut oil, a whole box of NuNaturals stevia products, and a $50 Bob's Red Mill gift certificate. The first two to review on the blog here, the last one a gift for participating in the Spar for the Spurtle contest a few months back. All free. All ingredients I need for the cookbook and blog.

The universe works in its own unique way. It's like my God was dialing down from the telethon to tell me, "Hey Chickadee, I got your back. Just have faith."

Seared Chicken Breasts with Pear Sauce (Print-Friendly Option)

Ingredients:

4 teaspoons olive oil

1 cup packed parsley, minced (or substitute with 1 tablespoon dried parsley)

1 tablespoon arrowroot starch (sub: tapioca)

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground mustard

½ teaspoon ground cloves

4 boneless skinless organic chicken breasts

4 pears, diced (leave peels on)

¼ cup raisins

2 inch piece of fresh ginger, zested

4 cups chicken broth

Fresh baby spinach (enough for 4 plates)

Directions:

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir together parsley, starch, cumin, mustard, and cloves in a shallow dish. Rinse and pat dry chicken breasts with a paper towel, then dredge in the spice mixture until completely coated on both sides. Place chicken breasts in the skillet and sear for 3 minutes on each side.
After searing the second side, add pears, raisins, and ginger to the skillet. Turn heat down to medium low and pour in chicken broth. Adjust heat to a gentle simmer and allow to simmer for 15 minutes, covered.
After 15 minutes, check your chicken breasts (pierce with a knife to make sure they’re no longer pink inside) and remove to a serving dish. Cover with a top or tin foil to keep warm. If you have large chicken breasts and they’re not fully cooked, leave them in for five more minutes of the next step, then remove to a serving dish.
With the top off the skillet, turn heat back up until broth reaches a gentle boil (medium to medium high). Allow broth to reduce until almost gone (about 10 minutes).
Serve chicken on top of a bed of spinach and pour pear sauce over the chicken.

Serves 4.

Cherry Pie With My Favorite Pie Crust (Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free, Vegan)

2011-10-16T23:14:00.002-04:00

I find that as the weeks cycle, so does my willpower. From Sunday to Monday and back around again to Sunday, I find myself living in circles. It seems about once a week, I cave and eat something I shouldn't. Then I spend the rest of the week eating perfectly (perfectly for me, which would seem imperfect to someone without my particular health problems), only to succumb to something once again by the end of the week. Of course, when I began writing this cookbook, I had no idea I would have to give up all grains, making it pretty much impossible to eat anything I bake. As it stands now, my housemates and friends eat everything I make, and for the most part, I can sit back and eat my own food, hoping that eventually I'll be able to eat the baked goods from my own cookbook. But I have some weaknesses, and I've definitely learned what they are. Pie is a weakness. I cannot seem to make pie without eating it, and so I'll have to stop baking pie. Well, pie that includes traditional crust, that is. I have every intention of recreating this apple pie without the rice! But as for the more traditional pies, I guess this will be my last one for a while. It wasn't even for the cookbook, to be honest. I made this crust months ago to use up the tart cherries in our backyard, and I was so enamored, I had to make it again so I could share it with you all. I really hope you get a chance to try this because I'll tell you, if this was my last pie for a long time, it was worth the ~~two~~ three slices I ate. Even if it did make me feel yucky, and I'm still recovering.

The cherry filling here is delightful and if you've only ever had store bought cherry pie, you must make it from scratch! It's super easy, and I can't even describe the difference! I don't even like store bought cherry pie...

The real star here though is actually the crust. It has cinnamon and ginger to give it a hint of sweet flavor, and a flaky crunch that is reminiscent of my mom's traditional pie crust, yet stands on its own. Without a doubt, it's the best pie crust I've had in years, and if I could eat it without feeling sick, I would certainly make many a pie with this crust. Don't be afraid of the long ingredient list. It is the longest list of ingredients I've ever seen for a pie crust, but it's truly worth it. And it's really very easy to make, especially since you don't have to roll it out. Just pat it in place, add your filling, bake, and enjoy!

Pie Crust (Print Friendly Option)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
3 tablespoons boiling water
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sweet white rice flour (135 grams)*
1/3 cup potato starch (57 grams)
2 1/2 tablespoons teff flour (25 grams)
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup Spectrum Organic Palm Shortening**
1/4 cup any mild flavored oil (e.g. extra light olive oil)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 teaspoon liquid stevia

*Sweet white rice flour and rice flour are NOT the same thing. Sweet white rice flour (a.k.a. mochiko or glutinous rice flour) can be found at Asian grocery stores if you can't find it at your regular store. This is necessary for the pie to turn out right, so make sure you find sweet white rice flour and don't just sub in another flour.
** I use shortening and oil here because it's more affordable, but I'm pretty sure you could sub in 1/2 cup of coconut oil for the shortening and oil.

Directions:

Pour boiling water over flaxseed meal in a small bowl or cup. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flours, starch, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
In a second bowl, whisk the shortening, oil, applesauce, and stevia together. Whisk in the flaxseed meal and water.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir together. Use your hands to knead it into a ball. Press the dough into a 9.5-10 inch pie pan. You want the pie crust to be no thicker than 1/4 inch, so if you use a smaller pie pan, you might have a little dough left over.
Place plastic wrap over the crust and put in the fridge while you make the filling.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Once you've made the filling, pour it into the crust and bake for 45 minutes. At 35 minutes, place tin foil over the crust to keep the edges from browning too much.
Remove from oven and cool completely. Eat room temperature or chill in the fridge (I like my pies cold).

Cherry Filling
Ingredients:
6 cups pitted cherries (fresh or frozen and thawed)
1 tablespoon potato starch
10 drops liquid stevia

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a sauce pan. Turn heat to medium-high until the cherries begin to bubble. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.

Made with tart cherries from our backyard

Vegetable Frittata (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)

2011-10-14T08:23:00.004-04:00

I've been sitting here for about thirty minutes now, trying to figure out what to write. My problem is not that I don't have enough to say, but rather that it's sometimes hard to know what you want to hear. I could ramble on and on about anything, but let's be honest... Unless I have something important to say, you're probably just going to skip to the recipe and pictures, right? That's what I do.

I could go on about how delicious this frittata was, but I'd feel like a liar if I didn't also admit that I didn't eat it. I made it for my housemates, who proclaimed it my best yet, but didn't eat it myself because I'm avoiding eggs. If you're wondering how I can post recipes I've never tried, trust me that my friends have learned to be honest with me when it comes to recipes. If it's no good, they let me know. Mostly by their silence.

I could tell you how I'm really hungry and wishing I hadn't already brushed my teeth. For that matter, I'm wishing it wasn't 10:30 because that means it's already past my bedtime. And that means I have to decide between getting enough sleep tonight and doing morning yoga. Which is it going to be?

I could tell you how money's been on my mind (with Occupy Wall Street, I guess it's been on everyone's mind), and I feel this constant battle in my head between the security of financial stability and the standing-at-the-edge-of-a-cliff feeling of stepping outside my boundaries and being my own boss.

I could tell you how I'm writing a cookbook, during which I have discovered an obsessive love of baking that has also coincided with a diagnosis of Leaky Gut/Hashimoto's/Can't Eat Much of Anything Itis. Yes, that's a medical term. I could tell you how I should be coming up with recipes for the blog that I can actually eat, recipes with fish, meat, fruits and vegetables. And I will, I swear. But I have this insatiable need to bake. Which is why I made a cherry pie tonight that I have no intention of eating. And also why I made crispy gingerbread cookies. The good thing is that I get to share them with you. The bad thing is that I'm torturing myself. Why? I honestly don't know. There's just something so magical about putting something in the oven and waiting to see what it turns into.

Okay, clearly there's a lot I could talk about. But seeing as how I've already turned this post about nothing into a long post about nothing, I'm going to stop. I need to go to bed so I can get up and do yoga. And you really just want to check out the recipe and see if it's something you might want to make. So please enjoy, and let's meet back in a few days when I will hopefully write a long post about something.

Vegetable Frittata (Print Friendly Option)

This makes a beautiful dish for company, and is especially appealing if you use more than one color of tomato. If you can have dairy, I highly recommend adding a sprinkling of cheese when you add the tomatoes. Serve it with a side of roasted asparagus for a light breakfast. If you don’t have an oven-safe skillet,you can cook your vegetables in a skillet, then transfer them to a lightly oiled pie pan, and bake it in that.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

½ medium yellow onion, diced

1/2 medium sweet potato, grated (leave the skin on)

1 carrot, grated

1 zucchini, grated

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 large eggs

1 cup unsweetened nut or seed milk (hemp, almond, etc.)

½ teaspoon dried oregano

¾ teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon packed fresh basil, minced

2 large tomatoes, sliced in thin rounds

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Heat a large oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and sauté the onions for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
Add the sweet potato, carrot, zucchini, garlic, and 1 tablespoon of water. Stir briefly, then turn heat to medium-low and put a top on the skillet. Allow to cook for 15 minutes, adding 2 more tablespoons of water about halfway through.
While the vegetables are cooking, whisk together the eggs, milk, oregano, and salt. Mince the basil and slice your tomatoes so you’re ready to add them as soon as the vegetables are done.
After 15 minutes, take the skillet off the heat and pour the egg mixture evenly over the vegetables. Sprinkle the basil evenly and layer the tomatoes on top. Add freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
Put in the oven and bake for 40 minutes. Serve hot.

Serves 6.

Pumpkin Spice Waffle Cookies (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Refined Sugar-Free)

2011-10-10T00:53:00.002-04:00

I tried not to bake today. I really tried. I told myself it was my day off and I was not allowed to bake. Why? Because when I bake, I want to eat. And eating baked goods, no matter how healthy they are, is not going to help my leaky gut!

I still baked. And I may have eaten a cookie or two. (All right, I admit it! I had cookies for dinner.)

I just get on these kicks sometimes and can't stop myself. I made four batches of waffle cookies today: two of them pumpkin spice and two of a "trailmix waffle bite" that still needs a lot of work. Yesterday I baked two batches of chocolate chip waffle cookies and a batch of chocolate pecan waffle cookies.

Out of all of these cookies, I only came up with two so far that I've liked. The chocolate chip waffle cookies are for the cookbook. But the pumpkin spice are for you. They're for your afternoon tea after a walk in the autumn mist. They're for a cozy night curled up by a fireplace with a good book. They're for little ones who want a treat before bed. They're for big ones who want a treat once the little ones are asleep. They're for late nights studying with your biostats book or early mornings cramming for an exam. They're for any time. Because they're small enough that you can eat a couple without feeling guilty. Because they're chock full of fiber and make you feel really satisfied. Because they're actually a lot healthier than most commercial breakfast cereals, so why not just have one for breakfast?

Pumpkin Spice Waffle Cookies. Because I just couldn't help myself...

Pumpkin Spice Waffle Cookies
Print-Friendly Option

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
1 1/2 teaspoons whole psyllium husks
1/3 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree
3/4 cup quinoa flakes
1/8 cup teff flour
1/8 cup coconut flour
1/8 cup potato starch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
1/4 cup shortening (pretty sure you could sub butter/Earth Balance/coconut oil, but haven't tried it)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Whisk together the flaxseed meal, psyllium husks, and pumpkin puree in a small bowl and set aside.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk the quinoa flakes, flours, starch, and spices. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the sugar, shortening and vanilla. Beat in the pumpkin mix, then gradually beat in the dry ingredients until completely mixed.
Turn your waffle iron to the highest setting, spray with oil to prevent sticking, then drop batter onto iron by the tablespoon full (one cookie per waffle segment). I find it's helpful to let the cookies bake about 30 seconds longer than when the iron says it's done. Put the cookies on a cooling rack and serve warm or keep in an airtight container at room temperature.

Makes about 20 cookies.

Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten-Free September: Chinese Dishes Made Allergen-Free

2011-09-30T03:00:00.001-04:00

Does anyone else feel that this has been a really long week? Thankfully it's Friday, and we can go home, kick up our feet, and relax! But what's for dinner? Who wants to cook? No? No? How about you? Well, neither do I. I know! The old American standby. Let's order Chinese! We'll get all our favorites, and we'll order them gluten-free just for us!

Let's start with appetizers. I think some spring rolls sound good, but how about we bake them instead of frying? My stomach doesn't handle all that fried food very well. And let's make 'em vegetarian since we'll be having a lot of dishes with meat and fish for the main meal. Baked Veggie Spring Rolls it is, then!

Baked Veggie Spring Rolls from Amber at The Tasty Alternative

And then I'm thinking scallion pancakes. That was always one of my favorites. Although, to be honest, I usually felt a bit sick after eating them. What about these scallion pancakes? They'll make you feel wonderful! They're baked in coconut oil and made with quinoa for a high-protein, high-fiber whole-grain pancake.

Scallion Pancakes from Valerie at City|Life|Eats

Now onto the main meal. Wait! What about side dishes? What's Chinese takeout without fried rice? Well of course we're having fried rice! You didn't think I'd forget that, did you? And I'll do you one better...we're having two different versions. Bell Pepper and Mushroom Fried Rice and Skillet Fried Rice. Now, make sure you get a slice of red bell pepper in your serving. The red is for good luck!


Fried Rice from Kalinda at Wheat Free Meat Free

Skillet Fried Rice from Shirley at Gluten Free Easily

Now onto the main meal-

But what about dumplings? We must have dumplings! But of course... The dumplings, you see, are part of the main course. Ginger Beef and Dumplings. It's a perfect pairing. I'm salivating at the thought. When's the last time you had dumplings? Before you went gluten-free? Me too! Finally! Dumplings and I will meet again!

Ginger Beef and Dumplings from Christine at Without Adornment

Oh wow. Those dumplings had me at hello. But I think I need something a bit lighter next. It's getting close to that time. You know what I'm referring to...the surreptitiously unbuttoning my top pants button under the table time. I'd rather avoid that if possible, so can we please pick a figure friendly dish next?

Figure friendly you want? Figure friendly you get! But I refuse to skimp on flavor. I want something bold, something with pizzazz, something with...lettuce. Well then I present you with pizzazzed Asian Lettuce Wraps. They boldly go where no lettuce wrap has gone before. Where's that? Shrug. Gluten-Free Land, I guess.

Asian Lettuce Wraps from Tessa at Domestic Diva

Gluten-Free Land? Where's that? I want to go! Oh, it's a beautiful place: filled with gluten-free goodness at every door. They've even got Sweet and Sour Chicken for you, my dear! Sweet and Sour Chicken? Be still my beating heart! I'm not walking to Gluten-Free Land, I'm running!

Crockpot Sweet and Sour Chicken from Lauren at As Good As Gluten

Well, I want to go to Gluten-Free Land too, but I don't eat meat or poultry! Hmm...do you eat fish? Oh yes, I love seafood! Well no worries then! Gluten-Free Land has Shrimp Lo-Mein! Just to be certain, when you say Gluten-Free Land, you are talking about the Chinese restaurant we're ordering from, right? Oh right...umm...yes, that's exactly what I mean!

Shrimp Lo-Mein from Iris (um that's me) at The Daily Dietribe (here)

Sigh. What about me? I'm vegan. Oh my dearest, don't you worry your pretty little head. I'm gluten-free after all...I know what it's like to eat differently. I wouldn't leave you out. For you, we have a Ginger and Sesame Stir Fry with Kelp Noodles! Kelp noodles? Mmhmm. They're like regular noodles, only better!

Ginger and Sesame Stir Fry with Kelp Noodles from Noosh at For the Love of Food

Ahh...after all that, would anybody like dessert?

(Silence)

Personally, I'm so full I'm just going to go ~~unbutton my pants~~ lie down.

Me too.

Me three.

Yeah, I'm pretty full myself. Maybe I'll save room for dessert next time. But I'm feeling like I might be in the mood for some spiced desserts. Tune in next month for the roundup of Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten-Free, when the theme is spiced desserts at For The Love of Food.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope to see you all in Gluten-Free Land soon!

xoxo

Guest Post: Living the Vegan Life

2011-09-28T11:59:00.000-04:00

Today, we have a special treat. While I'm on vacation in Southern California visiting my sisters, one of my classmates is taking over to share her thoughts about veganism and the gluten-free lifestyle. I'll be back on Friday, but until then, here's Katy:

Hello, beautiful readers! While your host is away, I thought I would entertain you with a different perspective on a gluten-free lifestyle. And I start with a warning—I just may be everything you fear and/or loathe: a vegan! And I didn’t become one for health reasons, either. I will spare you the tree hugging and animal activism and all the crunchy reasons I decided to eliminate all animal products and by-products from my life. What I really want to say is that the health benefits of being vegan just sort of showed up on my proverbial doorstep, and only then did I adopt health as a ‘reason’ for being vegan (and whole-heartedly so)!

Granted, I was determined not to be a sickly, anemic vegan or an obese junk-food vegan, stereotypes that seemed all too prevalent, at least in Berkeley, where I was living at the time of my conversion. And I found it no different in San Francisco or Seattle, other places I have called home since becoming a vegan. There are vegan bake-sales around every corner, selling cupcakes and brownies and pies and muffins that even omnivores buy because they think they are somehow healthier than the rest, and just the variety of sugar-laden, 450-calorie vegan cookies stocking the shelves of convenience stores and coffee shops makes me want to cry a little. There are whole cookbooks out there dedicated to replicating the omnivore’s baked goods and treats—even whoopee pies! It’s like we, as vegans, want our risk of developing diabetes to surpass the norm or something…

I digress, but just know I did put in a lot of time researching the nutrition aspect of becoming vegan—figuring out just how much protein I needed, and where the hell I would get it, determining which vitamins and minerals I would need to find alternate sources of, and, oh yes, learning to cook, among other things… In the end, this meant swapping out some of the fun but crappy food I knew and loved and replacing it with the less beloved (at the time) nutrient-dense, whole foods centered around beans, grains, and, of course, veggies!

This change I made—it was no easy task. And I’m not going to pretend that there were no transitional tofutti cuties involved. Overall, it was quite a drastic change. But let me tell you—it sorta rocked my world! By the end of my first year, I found I actually LIKED…no, I LOVED this food, this way of eating, this DIY power I suddenly felt in the kitchen, and I was thinner, my skin looked younger and brighter, my moods were evening out, my energy was soaring, my brain was working, and I hardly ever got sick anymore! Sound familiar? I’m sure you have discovered similar changes as you cut out gluten and other allergens from your diet. Although the “allergen” may be individual to our own quirky bodies, this is just further confirmation that what we put in our bodies has a tremendous effect on our health, happiness, capability and overall well-being.

I could go on and on, but I figure this audience is expecting some gluten-free insights, and, happy days, I have some of that to share with you, too! Since this transformation, I became super-nerdy-interested in nutrition, and I even decided to go ahead and get my masters in the subject! (In fact, I am in the same program at Bastyr as your lovely host). So here I am, learning about all these chronic diseases of our modern age, and the role that refined grains and sugars play in their etiology, and I decided, what the hell, I’ll cut out refined grains, too! That means (to me) no bread, no cereal, no baked goods, and definitely no sugar (fortunately, I love me some stevia!) Sounds a little sadistic, I know. But… would you guess—I don’t even miss them? I feel even better since that last change—my weird food cravings (especially for sugar and tortilla chips) and my irritability have decreased dramatically, and my energy is even greater.

So what does this have to do with gluten? I decided that since many of my future patients will have to give up gluten for various reasons, I better know what that is like. So I embarked on a gluten-free diet, expecting the worst. But then – and I’m sure you’re on to me now—I realized that if you cut out refined grains, it’s not really so hard to avoid gluten! After giving up refined grains, my diet was already 95% gluten-free. So then testing out the gluten-free lifestyle became about details, like tamari instead of shoyu, certified gluten-free oats, and cross-contamination. The worst of it for me was giving up the irresistible, chewy delight that is emmer and the earthy goodness of a bowl of barley soup with beans and mushrooms.

Now, I must say I feel even healthier when I’m not eating refined grains. But whether or not my feeling of improved health has to do with significantly cutting down on my gluten consumption remains up in the air. I have to say, after experiencing the gluten-free lifestyle for a month or so, I did go back to eating the occasional bowl of barley soup or conventional oatmeal, and I felt just fine. I guess I just don’t have a gluten intolerance.

So what is my point? It is this: I eat a 95% gluten-free diet based solely on my own personal preferences, even though I don’t have a gluten intolerance to speak of. To you, who may be afflicted by the nastly gluten intolerance or Celiac Disease, you are already living on the greener side of the fence! I mean, look at these pictures of the meals and snacks I’ve eaten over the past couple days. Do you see any gluten? No!

Look at this peach—it’s delicious! Do I need to make it into a muffin or cobbler or pie? No, thank you—I will eat it sloppily over my sink and enjoy its divinity.

This stir-fry is composed of the sexiest vegetables I could find at the farmer’s market, along with some boiled edamame (for the protein factor).

And I can eat giant salads like this every day and not feel a bit like a deprived rabbit, because beets and chickpeas are anything but mundane together in a bed of local, seasonal greens, fresh basil, chopped dates, minced ginger, mineral-rich kelp noodles and some homemade sesame scallion dressing. Yum.

Gluten? I said, “Good Day!”

Gluten-free & vegan recipes everyone will love:
Quinoa Porridge
Roasted Acorn Squash and Brussels Sprouts
English Muffins
Cheese Filled Onion and Olive Bread
Grain-Free Lemony Almond Pancakes
Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Muffins

Katy is currently pursuing her Masters of Science in Nutrition at Bastyr University in Seattle, WA. Her background includes a BA in Literature and Writing from UCSD, and a long line of meandering careers in between-- Assistant (fill in the blank), Data Modeler, Clinical Research Associate for Big Pharma, etc., none of which filled her with passion the way healing through food does. In her spare time, she loves to explore the natural world from different perspectives-- from a bike, on foot, climbing walls, flying through air, through a lens, by herself, with a stranger, listening to different soundtracks, and/or writing poetry in her head as she goes. Aside from the craggy mountains and narrow rivers of the greater Seattle area, this crazy exploration includes the farmers market, the blackberry bushes, and the kitchen, too!

Dallas Gluten & Allergen-Free Expo

2011-09-27T15:45:00.001-04:00

My middle name is Austin.

I was born in Austin, Texas. But I grew up in Northampton, Massachusetts, and as far as I know I've never been to Dallas. Well, that's about to change. This weekend, I'll be speaking at the public forum at the Gluten & Allergen-Free Expo in Dallas. If you're in the area, I would love for you to come, check out all the awesome speakers and cooking classes (Brittany, my cookbook co-author, will be making her famous English Muffins for attendees to sample), and join in on my talk on food and inflammation.

Food and inflammation, you say? Oh yes...fun fun stuff. I know you know a lot about it. You know I know a lot about it. (Anyone with a food sensitivity want to stand up?) And yet, there's always more to learn. Despite not always following my own advice perfectly (although I'm trying), I've learned so much in the last year of nutrition classes at Bastyr, from my professors, my fellow classmates, and through my own research in trying to get back to optimal health. I want to share that all with you in the hope that together we can sort through all the muck and buzzwords, and determine what actually works!

And don't worry. If you can't make it to Dallas, I'll be posting a recap of my talk once I get back to Seattle. In the meantime, if you missed my post on healing through foods back in May, you can read it here.

To read more about the Gluten & Allergen-Free Expo, go to their website here.

Tomorrow, I'll be sharing a special guest post from one of my classmates, who is vegan and is learning a lot about eating gluten-free. On Friday, I'll post all the amazing entries from this month's Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten-Free event. And after that? It's October! You know what that means...time for pumpkins! Plus a special announcement from me and a giveaway for all of you!

Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten-Free: Shrimp Lo Mein

2011-09-22T14:19:00.002-04:00

This month's theme for Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten-Free was the Chinese Lantern Festival. The goal was to make a favorite Chinese dish that worked for your own food sensitivities. I had so many ideas for dishes I wanted to create, but alas, they all contained ingredients I shouldn't be eating right now. In the end, I decided to stick with my own guidelines and make something I could eat without feeling uncomfortable later.

I created a simple dish based on my love of Lo Mein. Shrimp Lo Mein, or to be more precise, Shrimp Stir Fry with Sweet Potato Noodles. Sweet Potato Noodles are made from sweet potato starch and can often be found in Asian grocery stores or can easily be ordered online. Alternatively, you can use any type of noodle you like in this meal. One of my favorite aspects of this meal is that it can easily be made to suit your whole family's palates. The vegetables I used here are just suggestions, and you can add in or substitute vegetables your family likes. Like I said, the noodles can be swapped out for a different type of noodle. For a slightly different taste, try Thai Basil instead of regular basil. And you can use a couple teaspoons of honey as your sweetener if you prefer that to stevia. Finally, my flavorings are minimal here because I can't add much in the way of condiments. But make yourself a pretty little condiment tray with tamari, fish sauce, or any other sauces you enjoy, and each family member can tailor their plate to their taste buds.

Shrimp Stir Fry with Sweet Potato Noodles (Print-Friendly Option)

Ingredients:
12 ounce package sweet potato noodles
1 pound cooked jumbo shrimp
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 head cabbage, thinly sliced
handful fresh basil, chopped
15 drops liquid stevia
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds

Directions:

Cook noodles according to package. Drain and set aside.
Heat a large skillet or wok with the olive oil on medium-high heat. Add onion and saute for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the garlic, pepper, and cabbage, and put the lid on the wok. Leave on for 5 minutes.
Take the top off and add basil, noodles and shrimp. Stir for a minute to heat everything evenly.
Take off heat and add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Serve with a variety of condiments (tamari, fish sauce, etc.).

Serves 4-6

The deadline for Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten-Free submissions is September 25th. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Carrot Cream Soda, A Diagnosis, and Listening to My Symptoms

2011-09-18T23:28:00.001-04:00

Before I share my favorite new drink with you, I need to give a giant thanks to all of you who read my last post, commented, and e-mailed. The response was overwhelming, and knowing how much support I have has been immensely helpful. More than that, knowing how many of you are dealing with similar issues gave me the encouragement I needed to get back to eating the way I should be. I've spent the last three months not knowing where my motivation went, and feeling simply unwilling to follow my strict diet. Not surprisingly, my health and mood slipped back to where I was when I first moved to Seattle a year ago. But since my last post on Tuesday, I've followed my eating plan, and while I don't feel perfect, I feel much better and know I'm headed back in the right direction.

Reading all of your words reminded me that my symptoms are not my body's way of turning against me. Rather, they're its way of trying to wake me up to the life I'm missing. You see, I have a tendency to believe that no matter what I do, it's not enough. To compare myself with others and think I'm always a step behind. So I throw balls up in the air and I start to juggle. Three, four, five, six...before you know it, I'm stuck in one spot, terrified to move or look down for fear all of the balls will tumble to the ground. My arms begin to ache and I get a crick in my neck, but I just keep juggling. Instead of choosing which balls are the most important and letting the others drop, I continue to juggle, all the while secretly hoping to trip and fall, leaving every single ball behind. This is how I felt when I left New York (which was almost exactly a year ago), and in many ways I literally did drop all of my balls. I left everything I knew and started fresh.

This time, I'm not going to do that. I've made a home and a life here that I love, and all of those balls in the air? They kick ass. One ball is a cookbook. Another is a master's degree in nutrition. A third is this blog. There's one for The Gluten and Allergen Free Expo in Dallas October 1st-2nd, where I'll be giving a talk on food and inflammation (you think I have enough personal experience with that?!). Yep, I'm pretty psyched about all of the balls up there. This time I'm determined to keep juggling. And yet, there are a few balls scattered on the ground by my feet. My health, my friends, my yoga practice, The Assistant. Not gone, but they need a little help getting back in the air. When I get stressed, I focus on what's in front of me to the detriment of everything else. I've been ignoring the warning signs, the headaches and fatigue, the weight gain, the frustration I can feel from my friends. The ever increasing sense of panic, the sense that I'm missing the point. Missing out on what life is really about.

Last week, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's, an autoimmune condition that affects the thyroid gland. My cookbook co-author, Brittany, was recently diagnosed and urged me to get tested. To my surprise (although not hers), my tests came back positive. I still have some more bloodwork to get back, another appointment with my doctor, and a lot of research to do so that I know what I'm dealing with. But here's what I'm taking away from all of this: I haven't been taking care of myself.

And not just in the last few months, but for a long time. For as long as I can remember really. I fake it and I put on a good front. Occasionally, I get in a groove and handle everything really well. But most of the time, I'm just plain stressed out and anxious. My massage therapist (and yes, I now have a massage therapist...this is part of my new plan to treat myself right) says working on my back is like working on a man. Meaning I'm a tense collection of knots. Not that I needed her to tell me that. My body hurts most of the time. I don't think it's supposed to be this way. In fact, I'm sure it's not.

It's time I start listening to my symptoms. So I'm making some changes. I'm prioritizing, and rather than dropping any balls, I'm just going to put some down for a while. I have this new goal. It's called, "putting my happiness first." Novel idea, isn't it? It starts by taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture. It starts with deciding what truly matters to me, right now, and knowing how to prioritize that. It starts with trusting myself, and allowing delight back into my life. It starts by believing that success is being me, with all my weird and silly idiosyncrasies; success is not blindly following a path simply because it's in front of me.

So my first step is to cut back and make time. Cut back on what isn't my priority right now, and make time for what is. With that said, I'm happy to say I've decided to take some time off from my graduate program at Bastyr. While I have every intention of finishing my degree, I've got to set that ball aside and focus on what's most important to me right now. My health, this blog, my cookbook, my family and friends...and laughter.

I don't want to miss out on any more of my life.

As always, thank you for listening. And here's one more way for me to thank you: Carrot Cream Soda. An antioxidant filled alternative to orange soda. Makes me happy and fills my cells with delight. Or something like that.

Carrot Cream Soda

Ingredients:
3 carrots
1 1-inch slice of fresh ginger
1/2 cup sparkling water
5-10 drops liquid stevia

Directions:

Juice the carrots and ginger. Add more or less ginger depending on your personal preference. Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties, so I use more when I have a headache.
Stir in the sparkling water and stevia. Add ice if desired.

Serves 1

Does She Really Have a Food Sensitivity or is it an Eating Disorder?

2011-09-13T02:21:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting here eating sautéed salmon with cabbage and kelp noodles. Except it's sautéed sole, which doesn't taste nearly as good to me, but is more affordable than wild salmon. What I really want to eat is pizza. Thick crust pizza with pesto and tomato sauce, oozing with mozzarella... I actually have a slice of gluten-free pizza with my own crust in the freezer, but it's in there so that someone else can eat it. It's next to the homemade gluten-free chive bread. Again, waiting for someone else to eat it. My freezer is full of things that I've baked, but can't eat. There's a loaf of molasses brown bread on the counter. Gluten and dairy free. It's good. Really good. It's sitting in a container that says, "Please help yourself." It's a recipe I'm working on for the cookbook, but I can't eat it. In the fridge is a $7 container of sunbutter. I bought it so that I could have a quick snack on hand for those days when I'm running short on time. Actually, I bought it so I could have a quick snack, period. A snack that doesn't take work. But after eating it for three days, I can't deny what's going on. I'm having a reaction to it.

What happens when I have a reaction to food? What doesn't happen? It changes all the time. Sometimes I get bloated and gassy. That's the least of my problems. I've been dealing with that my whole life, and I always thought it was just normal. If that was my only problem, frankly, I would eat whatever I wanted. But it's not. I also get itchy around my jawline. I get this strange feeling like I've suddenly developed a double chin. For the record, trying to explain that feeling to a doctor is very difficult, and the only two people I've ever met that knew exactly what I was talking about are gluten-free friends who also have various food sensitivities. What else? I get headaches, deep, pulsing pain in my temples. My jaw becomes tight and I find myself grinding my teeth more at night. I know this because I wake up with teeth clenched and a creaking jaw. This relented in the five months from January to May when I was eating an extremely strict diet, but has gotten worse as my willpower has waned. And there's more. I get depressed. I have intense mood swings that leave me in tears. I feel like it's hard to think straight and my thoughts are being pushed in every direction through a crowd of juggling clowns. Just thinking about it makes my brain hurt. Simple tasks suddenly seem like monumental hurdles. And I get tired. So tired I can barely keep my eyes open. So tired I need to take a nap at 6pm or I fall asleep waiting at the curbside while I pick up a friend at the airport.

Both of these things happened to me today. I struggled to stay awake while driving to the airport, fell asleep in the car waiting for my friend to get her bags, and promptly took a nap when I got home. I had to force myself out of bed at 7pm to eat dinner. Maybe it was the sunbutter I ate. Maybe it was the slice of molasses brown bread I allowed myself to have last night. Maybe it was the mooncakes I attempted to make today for Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten-Free. They were gluten-free, vegan, nut-free, sugar-free, and xanthan/guar gum free. I thought they would be fine. But as I finished eating one, I could feel my jaw tense up and begin to tingle. Within minutes, I felt like I was going to fall asleep. I slept a full eight hours last night and did yoga this morning. I was feeling good. It wasn't stress or not taking care of myself. It wasn't in my head, and it wasn't psychological. It was something I ate.

Sometimes my reactions happen immediately as they did today. Sometimes it happens a few hours later. Sometimes the next day. That's what makes it so hard to pinpoint what I'm reacting to. Although at this point, there are so many things on my list, it's almost not worth trying to figure it out anymore. Now it's more about making sure I stock up on the items I know I can eat, and pray I don't develop sensitivities to those as well. These days, it's a lot of fish, grass-fed beef (because the thought of eating factory farmed beef is worse to me than the thought of being broke), vegetables, fruit, and seaweed. Luckily for me, I can eat tons of kelp noodles, nori, and seaweed salad, and feel great. Even luckier is the fact that I love and crave these foods.

So why am I telling you all this? I'm in a bit of a catch-22 these days. I've never hidden the fact that I struggle with bingeing. Bringing that to light was one of the reasons I started this blog. If I begin to fall back into old patterns of bingeing, I talk about it. I go to counseling. I journal about it or write about it here. I don't try to hide it. Down that path lies only more bingeing, and I've dealt with that long enough to be sick and tired of it. I will be the first to admit that I am recovering from an eating disorder. Binge eating may not be as understood as bulimia or anorexia, but it's equally destructive and possibly more prevalent (but underdiagnosed). One of the things I've learned is that when I restrict a food, I begin to crave it. I know this. I want what I can't have. The problem right now? There are a lot of foods I can't have. My naturopathic doctor wants me to go back on the diet I was on for five months. I felt amazing. But I couldn't eat anything. No gluten, dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, high-amine foods (like bananas, chocolate, avocados, tomatoes, and more), dried fruit, sweeteners in any form other than stevia...the list was long, but I'll leave it at that. There were foods I had to avoid that were traditionally "binge" foods for me, like cheese and sugary sweets. But there were also a lot of healthy foods I had to cut out like avocados, tomatoes, and bananas. I want to eat everything in moderation because I know that's what's best to keep me from bingeing. But I can't. Because that's not what's best for my body, and when my body is out of whack, my mind gets out of whack. And when my mind gets out of whack, it all begins to spiral downward...

People ask me if I've ever tried just eating what I want and not worrying about it. People ask me that a lot. Sometimes I can see the question just hovering in their eyes, but they refrain from saying anything. Yes. I've tried that. That's actually what got me where I am right now. From January through May, I stuck strictly to my diet, and I was feeling better every day. For a number of reasons, I decided to try a few foods I'd been avoiding, healthy foods like almonds and avocados. I felt okay, so I allowed more foods in. Before I knew it, I was eating everything again (except gluten). Before I knew it, my headaches were back, and I had a few new symptoms as well. Sore throats, ear aches, and yeast infections (actually that last one wasn't new, I just forgot about it earlier). Oh and did I mention weight gain? Seven pounds in a month. And believe me, I wasn't bingeing. I was just eating foods that caused inflammation in my body.

I've been feeling worse and worse, but continuing to eat foods that I shouldn't. I still eat healthier than most people I know. I'm eating gluten and dairy free. I don't eat any processed foods. All baked goods I eat are homemade. To most people, my diet looks unnecessarily strict. Yet in my eyes, I'm failing because I've been eating eggs, nuts, and unrefined sugars like honey. I've been eating high amine foods like canned tuna. I know these are healthy foods, but my body can't handle them. And as long as I continue to eat foods that I'm reacting to, I won't be able to calm my gut inflammation down long enough to heal.

Here's the thing. Being on a strict diet is difficult for anyone - and I'd like to make clear that when I use the word diet, I am not saying that I'm trying to restrict the amount I eat, simply to avoid foods I'm reacting to. Being on a strict diet as a food blogger, cookbook author-to-be, and graduate nutrition student is especially difficult. Add to that my history of binge eating, and I can only tell you that it's exhausting. I want to go out to dinner with friends. I want to be able to go to a friend's house for dinner and know I won't pay for it later. I want to be able to come home after a tiring day and grab an Amy's meal from the freezer. Hell, I want to bake a loaf of bread and be able to eat a slice without feeling sick later. But I can't. At this point, the best thing I can do for myself is work my way back to my strict diet, and hope that my doctor can help me to heal my leaky gut. The best I can do is hope that I can eat a more normal diet someday.

So now, here is the real reason I'm writing this. Yes, eating like this is hard. It's a struggle to stick to the foods that make me feel better. It's even harder when I start getting looks. If you have a food sensitivity, then I'm sure you know the look I'm referring to. The one that says, "Oh come on. It's all in your head." The sideways questions that are really trying to ask, "Are you sure you don't have an eating disorder?" Well actually, yes I do. And I'll happily talk with you about it. But that's not what's going on here. My food sensitivities are real. My symptoms are real. And my struggle to deal with it is real and not helped by your belief that it's in my head or that I'm being silly by refusing to use the same cutting board that's been used to cut regular bread. I try not to get angry. Because I know how it looks. I can see from the outside how crazy my diet must look, and sometimes I even have to ask myself if it's in my head. Then I eat something, have a reaction, and am reminded of the truth. It's not in my head. And then I do get angry. And I get sad. And I feel even more isolated.

I tearily confessed my concerns recently to The Assistant. He admitted that more than one person had asked him if I had an eating disorder. I wasn't surprised, but I was frustrated and upset. This was about a month ago. I'm still frustrated. I'm still upset. It still makes me cry to think about it. It bothers me that I can't make people understand what's going on in my body or how I feel every time I eat something as innocuous as an egg. Frankly, it sucks to have to tell a friend, "Sorry I can't eat that," and then watch the look on her face that tells you she thinks you have an eating disorder. It sucks to not be able to eat the food, it sucks to have to watch her eat it, and it sucks to know what she's secretly thinking. It sucks equally hard to give in, eat the food to feel normal for a few minutes, and then pay for it the next day by waking up depressed, bloated, gassy, or any other of my reactions. Take your pick as to which one I'll end up with. Maybe one, maybe all.

I've noticed there are two prevailing beliefs about eating disorders and food sensitivities. One is that food sensitivities don't really exist and that the best way to heal from an eating disorder is to allow yourself to eat whatever you want in order to take the supposed power away from that food. This is the view espoused in Intuitive Eating, a popular book that I both agree and disagree with. The other view is that certain foods can be physiologically addictive in the same way that alcohol can. This is why we crave them, and the only way to stop that craving is to stop eating the food. Of course, there are shades of grey in there, but those are the two ends of the spectrum as I've seen them.

When I first started really dealing with my bingeing, one of the ways I learned to deal with it was to allow myself to eat whatever I wanted in moderation. If I wanted dessert, I had dessert every night. I stopped telling myself that there were "bad" foods or that I was bad if I ate something rich and decadent. It worked. Sort of. When it came to certain foods, especially those with sugar, the cravings didn't go away just because I stopped restricting those foods. If anything, the cravings got stronger the more I ate them. It was around this time that I began having headaches and suffering from depression. Since then, I've started to believe that "everything in moderation" only applies to some people. The people for whom the cravings are purely psychological. But for a lot of us, I believe there's something else going on. Something real and something insidious. Something that can only be cured by abstaining from the food altogether. Now, I know some of you will agree with me, and some won't. And the literature is inconclusive at this point. But right now, here's what I believe for myself:

I believe that I have a "leaky gut" and until it's healed, I will continue to be sensitive to a large number of foods.

I believe that eating those foods causes a myriad of symptoms, not the least of which is depression. This is not in my head, and no matter how much yoga I do, how much sleep I get, or how much I smile, eating foods I'm sensitive to is going to lead to emotional problems.

I believe that sugar (and for me, that includes honey, maple syrup, and most other sweeteners other than stevia) is the major cause of my mood swings, and abstaining completely is the only way they will stop. I've seen this happen. They've gone away when I stopped eating sugar, and always come back within three days when I start up again.

I believe that I simply have to learn to ignore what other people think and do what's right for me. But I urge you, if you know someone who has to eat a certain way for her health, to have compassion and help her follow her plan. To have faith that she knows her body best. To think twice before assuming that her problems are in her head. I know that disordered eating is real and can often be masked as food sensitivities. But I also know that food sensitivities are real, and can be confused for disordered eating. If you're reading this, you probably know that too. I realize I'm preaching to the choir. But I felt it needed to be said, or at least I needed to say it. To stand up for myself before strengthening my resolve to get back on my strict diet and back on my road to health and healing.

I realize at this point that there's so much more I have to say, but this post is long enough as it is. But there's more: my thoughts on stress and inflammation, Intuitive Eating, Women Food and God, orthorexia, and more about my own health and recent testing and bloodwork I've had done. I'll let you all go for now, and just to throw another thought out there, I'm leaving you with a link to something I read while in the middle of writing this post. Despite everything I just wrote, this helped me to put it all in perspective... Remembering 9/11.

Apple Crisp

2011-09-09T21:31:00.001-04:00

I'm sharing my recipe for apple crisp today at The Spunky Coconut. Stop by to check it out and say hello to Kelly, who's spending quality time with her family and new baby girl!

And here's a sneak peak of a recipe I've been working on for you all. I still need to play around with it a bit...it's a great sandwich bread and even better bread for toast, but still has that "dry" gluten-free thing going on. Personally, I don't mind all that much, but I want only the best for all of you! A few months ago, I would have been content with it as it is, but I've become a bit of a perfectionist with my baking these days (I blame Brittany). Oh well. That can only be a good thing, right?

Birthday Noodles for Laura: Sauteed Salmon and Cabbage with Kelp Noodles

2011-09-06T01:01:00.000-04:00

Happy birthday, Laura! Since I'm not there to celebrate your birthday with you, I'll send you lots of love and a recipe in your honor. It's not a snack designed to keep your blood sugars even, but it works as a delicious meal that will satisfy you without that post-meal crash. I'm guessing you might not have stevia at home, but it's a great sweetener to have on hand (you'll get used to the taste pretty quickly) that doesn't raise your blood sugar. And in my opinion, it works better in savory dishes than sweet!

Salmon + cabbage + kelp noodles = A meal that will satisfy you AND make your body feel good.

Sauteed Salmon and Cabbage with Kelp Noodles

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 pound salmon
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/8 teaspoon powdered stevia
1/4 cup water
1/2 head of green cabbage, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
2 ounces kelp noodles
Mixed sea vegetables (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

Directions:

Heat olive oil in large pan on medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, add salmon, skin down. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste on top of the salmon. Let cook for a minute before turning heat down to medium.
Stir the stevia into the water and add to the pan. Add the cabbage, garlic and ginger. Add a sprinkling more of salt and pepper, and stir the cabbage around to mix in the garlic and ginger. It will likely cover the salmon, but that's fine.
Cover the pan and leave the salmon in until cooked. This will depend on the thickness of your salmon. Mine took 10 minutes. When the salmon is pink all the way through and just beginning to flake, it's done.
Every couple of minutes, take the top off the pan and stir the cabbage around to keep it from burning. It can get a little browned on the bottom though. It adds great flavor!
In the meantime, rinse off half a container of kelp noodles (2 ounces) and a small handful of mixed sea vegetables. The sea vegetables can be VERY salty so rinse really well. When you have a few minutes left for the salmon to cook, add the kelp noodles and sea vegetables to the pan, stir and put the top back on.
Once the salmon is cooked through, take off the heat and serve.

Serves 2-4 (depending on how hungry you are...this usually only lasts me two meals)

September Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten-Free: Mooncake Festival

2011-09-01T13:31:00.000-04:00

Welcome to September's Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten-Free! In June of 2009, I joined in on this monthly blog event for the first time with my BBQ Enchilada Tofu Bake. Today, I'm honored to be hosting the event which was created years ago by Naomi Devlin, and is still my favorite blog carnival.

This month's theme is The Chinese Lantern Festival (which falls on September 12th) a.k.a. Mid-Autumn Festival a.k.a. Mooncake Festival. When I lived in Brooklyn, I loved taking the subway to Chinatown and buying Chinese pastries. Red bean buns and mooncakes were two of my favorite choices, but I haven't had either in years because of my dietary restrictions. So for this month's GAHIGF theme, I encourage you to make one of your favorite Chinese dishes or desserts in a way that suits your own dietary needs. Of course, it has to be gluten-free, but that's the only stipulation. Need some ideas? Here are some gluten-free takes on traditional Chinese dishes that have been inspiring me lately:

Sweet Sesame Noodles at The Daily Dietribe
Scallion Pancakes at Diet, Dessert and Dogs
Green Tea Mochi Cake at Mochi Thoughts

Want to join in? Here's how:

Come up with a recipe for a gluten-free version of your favorite Chinese food. Post your recipe by September 25th, linking back to this post. Send me an e-mail with the link to your post and a photo of the recipe. Extra points if you do a mooncake recipe! Double extra points if you have your recipe ready and posted on September 12th, the actual day of the Mooncake Festival.
If you don't have a blog, that's fine! Just e-mail me your recipe and a photo, and I'll add it to the round up of recipes at the end of the month.
Submissions are due to me at iris(at)thedailydietribe.com by September 25th for a round up of all the recipes at the end of the month.
Please be sure to let me know if you have any questions – you can ask them in the comments section or find me on Facebook!

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Tomato-Free, Nut-Free, Yeast-Free Pizza Sauce

2011-08-28T10:01:00.006-04:00

If you're gluten-free, you're in luck. Tomato sauce and cheese are naturally gluten-free.

If you're dairy-free, nut cheeses are amazing! I used to make them all the time before realizing nuts were a problem for me.

If you're tomato-free, you can still have the cheese. Which is really the best part of pizza, right?

And if you're nut-free, once again, you can have tomato sauce and cheese. Lucky you!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, I try to avoid yeast too, hence the lack of nutritional yeast... (Ignore the fact that I'm eating this on a pizza crust made with yeast. Sometimes I do things that don't make sense.)

What if you try to avoid all of these things? (Note I said "try" because the only food I avoid at all costs, all the time, is gluten. The rest I do my best not to eat on a regular basis, but it still happens.)

For the gluten-free, dairy-free, tomato-free, nut-free, yeast-free crowd, there's got to be something other than Daiya! Don't get me wrong, it's been long enough since I've had real cheese that Daiya has started to taste pretty good to me. But the truth is, I don't seem to digest it any better than I do other processed foods. In fact, I'm not digesting much of anything well these days, but that's a post for another day...

Today is all about pizza. About pizza and not feeling left out. I've been making pizza crust like you wouldn't believe. I'm determined to uncover the secret of gluten-free pizza dough. I've made vegan pizzas, yeast-free pizzas, yeast pizzas, pizza with egg whites, you name it. And I've watched while my friends smothered their pizza crusts in tomato sauce, cheese, peppers, mushrooms, and all other sorts of melty, cheesy, ooey gooey goodness. I've been jealous. I've felt left out. I actually had to leave the room one night because the smell of melting cheese in the oven was more than I could handle.

But no more. I finally kicked myself in the butt and said, "Well geez Iris, stop whining about it and make yourself some sort of pizza topping that will make you happy!"

And I did.

Now, I make large batches and freeze them so that I have this on hand any time there's pizza. It's ooey. It's gooey. It's not cheese and I'm not going to try to tell you it is. But it's pretty damn good. And when I'm having a slice of pizza with this sauce, I don't feel so left out.

And the best thing is, it only contains four ingredients, is so easy as to not even need a recipe, and is a simple base that you can play around with to your heart's (or stomach's) desire.

I like to call it: Iris's Pizza Sauce.

What? You were expecting a more creative name? I'm sorry, I'm too busy eating pizza.

Iris's Pizza Sauce (Gluten, Dairy, Tomato, Yeast, Nut-Free)
This sauce is really too simple to have a recipe, but here you go.
Play around with it to suit your taste buds.

Ingredients:
Zucchini, cut into chunks (enough to fill an 8 x 8 inch baking dish)
5-8 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
Olive Oil
Salt, to taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Fill your baking dish with zucchini, garlic, a generous drizzling of olive oil, and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Keep it simple, or sprinkle on any other herbs or spices you think might taste good (suggestions: basil, oregano, marjoram, and thyme; paprika and chipotle pepper).
Bake for 1 - 1 1/2 hours, tossing the zucchini about halfway for even roasting. You'll know they're done when the zucchini and garlic are both easily pierced with a fork. Let cool for a few minutes before pureeing in your blender or food processor. Make sure to add the liquid at the bottom of your pan too!

Can be kept in the fridge for days or frozen for future pizza/lasagna nights.

More pizza sauce ideas from around the blogosphere:
Red Onion and Squash Pizza Topping from Straight into Bed Cakefree and Dried
Apple and Onion Marinara at Low-Amine Recipes

Have a recipe you love? Leave the link in the comment section and I'll add them here!

This post is linked to Seasonal Sundays at Real Sustenance.

Back to School Breakfasts: Gluten-Free Quinoa Porridge

2011-08-26T03:56:00.002-04:00

I went through a period of loving quinoa. I was obsessed with it. Quinoa pizza crust. Quinoa salad. Quinoa porridge. Then I came down with a 24-hour bug the same day I'd eaten a lot of quinoa. Haven't been able to stomach the stuff since! In fact, it was so bad that my cookbook co-author, Brittany, took on all of the quinoa recipes so I wouldn't have to experiment with it!

Luckily, my taste for quinoa is slowly returning just in time for the back-to-school craze. I've been sitting on this quinoa porridge recipe for a while because I wanted to be sure I had the ingredient amounts down (which seems silly seeing as how there are only two ingredients). Today I had my first quinoa porridge in months. I'll admit, I still think the taste of quinoa is very strong. I added blackberries, strawberries, gluten-free rolled oats and stevia to mine. If you like the flavor of quinoa, you can just eat it plain. If, like me, you think it's a bit much, you can add a little sweetener and a variety of nuts, fruits, seeds, and more. Like oatmeal, it's really just a background on which you can paint your own flavors.

Quinoa Porridge

Ingredients:
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, soaked in water overnight
2/3 cup unsweetened milk (dairy, soy, almond, hemp, etc.)

Directions:

Drain your quinoa and rinse thoroughly.
Blend quinoa in a food processor for about 20 seconds, scraping down the sides if necessary.
Add quinoa and milk to a small pot on the stove. Turn heat up to medium-high and let milk come to a simmer. Once milk begins to bubble, begin stirring and stir continuously until porridge is thickened to a consistency similar to oatmeal (3-5 minutes).
Take off heat and stir for a few more seconds. Add in any suggested toppings you like.

Makes 2 servings

Suggested Toppings:
Sweetener of choice (honey, stevia, coconut palm sugar, etc.)
nuts/seeds or nut/seed butter
fresh or dried fruit
coconut flakes
flax seeds/chia seeds
gluten-free rolled oats
pureed pumpkin or sweet potato
cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice

Have some more topping ideas? Add them in the comments below!

Back to School Breakfasts: Gluten-Free Baked Buckwheat Pancakes

2011-08-22T16:47:00.001-04:00

I haven't had a TV for the last year, and I can tell you one thing I definitely don't miss: Back to School commercials. As a kid, I cringed every time those awful JC Penney commercials came on. You know, the ones with happy kids dancing around in their cool new clothes. I didn't like shopping in the first place, and I certainly didn't want to shop for school clothes, or even worse, new notebooks! Today, I still feel a sinking in my gut whenever I hear that phrase.

Back to School. Shudder.

Back to school means summer is coming to a close - which doesn't seem fair to those of us in the Northwest who are only just now getting summer weather. On the other hand, it also means butternut squash will be back in season soon and apples will be ripe to make pies. It means I'll start craving warm breakfasts and hot soup for dinner. It means pancakes.

On a hot summer day, I want fresh fruit for breakfast. But when the weather starts to turn cool, pancakes beckon once again. However, when I'm getting ready for work (or when you're getting the kids ready for school), I don't want to stand at the skillet flipping pancakes. With a little preparation the night before, these pancakes can be put in the oven while you're busy with your morning routine. They're so simple, they barely need a recipe. And once you've got the basic ingredients down, you can play around with making your own variations. They're made from raw buckwheat groats that are soaked in water overnight. In the morning, you rinse them well, drain them, and can put the batter together in five minutes. They take 25 minutes to bake in the oven, which is the perfect amount of time to get dressed (or get your kids dressed) and be back at the table for a hot breakfast.

Baked Buckwheat Pancakes print-friendly option
These dense, baked buckwheat pancakes have the hearty taste of traditional buckwheat pancakes, and are a perfect canvas for a number of toppings. With no added sugars in the recipe, you have a little wiggle room for combining it with something a bit sweet. Try melted butter and maple syrup, dip them in yogurt, or spread a layer of almond butter and honey on top.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups raw buckwheat groats, soaked in water overnight, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
2 tablespoons coconut oil (substitution: any mild flavored oil, butter, Earth Balance)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Add all of the ingredients except the coconut oil to a food processor. Puree for 30 seconds, until a batter is formed.
Add coconut oil to two 9-inch round cake pans (1 tablespoon in each) and put in the oven until the oil is melted.
Take pans out of the oven and pour batter evenly into both pans.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Take out, turn over with a spatula (it might take a little finessing, but should come out pretty easily) and bake another 5-10 minutes. 10 minutes will make it a little crispy, but I prefer it that way.
Serve hot with suggested toppings.

Makes two 9-inch round pancakes.

Variations:
Try pureed pumpkin, pumpkin pie mix, or pureed sweet potato in place of the applesauce. If using unsweetened pumpkin, add in a little sweetener of your choice.
Add 10-20 drops of liquid stevia for a sweetened sugar-free version.
Add in cinnamon, raisins, and a sprinkling of sugar for "cinnamon raisin" pancakes

Suggested Toppings:
Yogurt
Nut or seed butters with jam or honey
Butter and maple syrup
Fresh fruit with whipped cream/coconut cream

For more "so simple they don't even need a recipe" recipes, check out Gluten-Free Easily for the August edition of Go Ahead Honey It's Gluten-Free.

I've Missed You

2011-08-17T19:40:00.000-04:00

Before I say anything else, I have to say one thing: I've missed you. And by you, I mean all of my readers and also the space that this blog occupies in my brain. Does that make sense? Let me explain. I started The Daily Dietribe as a mental respite, a creative play space for when I was feeling drained in other areas. While it has become so much more than the online journal it originally began as, it is still in many ways a place for me to come and rest. Despite having more readers now than just my mom, there is still something wonderfully "anonymous" about writing a blog. While you may know who I am, may in fact be friends with me on Facebook (or might be a good friend or relative), I can still pretend that I'm writing these words into a great abyss. Thoughts magically leap out of my brain and onto the computer screen, a button is clicked and something called a post is published. Simple. Yet there is so much power in that little orange button that says, "publish post." With the click of a button, I can choose to share my thoughts with the world or erase them from your eyes. I have the ability to write the truth of my life or to sugarcoat it and top it with a pretty bow.

Although really, the truth of my life is quite wonderful. I don't need a lot of sugar to coat my stories. They're actually very sweet as they are, even the sticky and somewhat salty ones. The story that has been weaving its way into my tapestry these days has perhaps been more salty than sweet. But I've been experimenting with sucanat, coconut palm sugar, maple syrup, honey and stevia, and I think I'm learning the balance of flavors. It's a lesson I've learned over and over again, when a loaf of bread is baked too long and the crust becomes dark and bitter. When an apple crisp turns to mush and begins to boil over in the baking dish. There is a balance - in life, in baking, in blogging. I'm learning it. Again. I'll probably be learning it again a year from now. Hopefully I'll get a bit wiser each time.

Hopefully.

Here's what I've learned in the past few months about writing a cookbook, about blogging, and about life:

Writing a cookbook is not easy. Anyone who says differently is selling something.
Gaining weight is inevitable when writing a cookbook. Again, anyone who says differently is selling something. Probably their cookbook.
No matter how healthy your baked goods are, there is nothing healthy about eating (ahem...taste testing) three or four muffins a day. I might say differently when my cookbook comes out and I'm trying to sell it.
You can't please everyone. If three people test a recipe, one of them will say it has too much salt, one will say not enough salt, and one will say it has just the right amount. If you're lucky, all of the testers will agree on one point. But that rarely happens.
Sometimes someone will tell you they threw your food into the trash because it was so bad. Then someone else will send you feedback that they loved the very same recipe. This is when it's time to take a break and go for a walk.
Recipe testers are amazing. Without their feedback (~~even~~ especially the negative feedback), I would never know what direction to go in or when to cut out half of the oil in my recipes.
There will be days when everything you bake turns out bad. This is another sign that it's time to take a break and go for a walk.
There is nothing like the pride of making a recipe and knowing it will be a hit. These recipes are few and far between, but they make all the tweaking and retesting worth it.
Writing a cookbook is exhausting and time consuming - and one of the most exciting things I have ever done.
There's a good chance I'll want to write another cookbook after this one. There's an even better chance my friends and family will disown me if I do so.

And now for non-cookbook lessons:

A life without yoga is no life. At least not for me.
My health is non-negotiable. I learned this from Christine Kane. Regardless, I continue to try to negotiate.
The bestest of friends can be made through the internet, but there's still nothing like sitting at the table with a girlfriend and a glass of wine and talking into the dark of the night.
Wine is high in amines and will likely give me a headache. Every once in a while I decide to ignore that fact. Same goes for chocolate.
Saying goodbye to canine friends can be just as hard as saying goodbye to two-legged friends. Sometimes harder.
The grass will always be greener on the other side, and if you camp out in a tent for the week, the grass under it will turn yellow. Then the grass is really greener on the other side. I'm not sure what point I'm trying to make here.
If you take a break from life, life will just go on without you. So will your friends. Daily mini-breaks are probably a better idea than one giant break.
Some friends will always be there, no matter how much of a basket case you are.
Your sisters will always be there. No matter how grumpy you are.
Your mom will always be there and she'll be grumpy with you if it will make you feel better.
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Unless you're on a low-amine diet, in which case you should probably trade them in for limes.
As I'm sure you all know, appearances can be deceiving. Case in point? That strawberry muffin looked really pretty. It tasted like mush. Don't judge a muffin by its appearance and don't judge yourself by what you see in the mirror on a bad day. In fact, just stay away from all mirrors if you're having a bad day.

I'm not sure what the purpose of this post was. Partly to let you know I'm still here and I have recipes to share once I find the time to retest them. Partly to let you know, in some strange way, the thoughts that have been swirling through my monkey brain. And partly for myself, just to let that monkey swing through the branches of my brain and peer into the fascinating jungle that is The Daily Dietribe.

V's Reviews: Bakery On Main's TrueBars

2011-08-05T14:31:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday Lovely Readers! Today, we have our monthly gluten-free review from V. She was lucky enough to get to try out Bakery On Main's new TrueBars, and here's what she thought:

Snack bars have become a convenient staple for many of us who lead busy lives and occasionally work or play through meal times. With so many bar options on the market it can be tricky to select a bar that is right for you and your mood. Connecticut’s Bakery on Main recently added to their repertoire a line of health conscious, gluten-free bars to spice up the competition, especially with their Apricot Almond Chai flavor!

Truebars are available in six flavors – Hazelnut Chocolate Cherry, Walnut Cappuccino, Fruit & Nut, Raspberry Chocolate Almond, Coconut Cashew and Almond Chai. Part healthy snack bar and part candy bar, Truebars satisfies the sweet tooth while being a good source of fiber, naturally occurring vitamins and minerals, and Omega-3 fatty acids. Plus they have many low-GI ingredients (agave, brown rice syrup, chia, and nuts) so are gentler on the blood sugar than many other bars. I love the sticky sweetness followed by the crunch of almonds or cashews, and the flavors such as raspberry, dark chocolate, coconut, and chai. Yum!

Truebars make for really quite a delightful 150 to 190 calorie snack to keep in the purse or backpack for whenever hunger strikes whether on the trail, at work or school, or braving the long commute home. Sampling these bars happened quite naturally as the inkling for a snack arose; the Truebars seemed like just the thing to hold me over! My favorite thing about Truebars is that several of the flavors are quite a good source of naturally occurring vitamin E! My favorite flavor Raspberry Chocolate Almond has 15% DV, and the Fruit & Nut and Apricot Almond Chai (second favorite) flavors have 10% DV! The Apricot Almond Chai in addition to being the most exotic flavor is also the most nutrient dense with 15% DV of vitamin A, 4% DV vitamin C, 6% DV calcium and iron, and 10% vitamin E. Not bad for a simple little 160 calorie, unfortified bar!

Since so many Daily Dietribe readers are gluten-free, you’ll be happy to know that Bakery on Main takes food safety and contamination seriously with ingredient quality controls, full product traceability, in-house gluten testing, metal detection, and standardized allergen and sanitation cleaning procedures.

Thank you to Daily Dietribe readers for reading my review and to Bakery on Main for the tasty snacks!

Visit Bakery on Main’s website for more information.

Self-Care Retreat for July: Nourishment Through Creativity

2011-07-31T19:44:00.001-04:00

This virtual self-care retreat is to inspire you all to make July a month of reflecting on self-care and the many ways to nourish ourselves. We encourage everyone to participate in this event in a way that feels appropriate to them, whether through personal reflection, journal or other self-care. If you would like to share your experience with self-care, we would love to include you in the experience, whether you join us for one week or every week. You can write generally about self-care, or focus on one of the themes (movement, food, family/friends/pets, creativity and meditation and mindfulness), or write every week about each of the themes. We ask that you link back to this post so that more people can learn about this retreat, and leave a comment for the weekly theme host, too! If you would like to be included in our roundup, please email a link to your post, along with your name and blog name, to us at selfcareretreat at gmail dot com by July 31, 2011. Feel free to use the badge in your posts. Non-bloggers who would like to contribute, please email the full text to the same address and it will be included in the roundup.

I dance. I do it without judgment. Without fear or thought that someone will find my movements awkward. When I dance, I twirl like a child and jump around. I pretend I'm a master of modern dance, and I throw my body in whatever direction my soul is calling. I become a lady in red, waltzing to the tune of Frank Sinatra. I listen to my body, and hear what it needs. Sometimes this isn't to go to the gym, take a walk, or do yoga. Sometimes it needs to move the way it used to as a child. With abandon.

I draw. I throw my emotions into my arm and allow my fingers to draw what's in my heart, my head, my body. I release my frustrations onto the page. My crayons draw hearts, stars, soft curves, and angry zig zags, depending on the day. I stop telling myself that art has to look a certain way. I stop telling myself that I'm creating art at all. I just look at the page, and let my fingers move. The results are often childlike. And when I'm done, I feel at peace.

I write. I sit and I write until my hand can write no more. Until I must shake my wrist to get the tightness out. I admit everything I've been holding in, all the thoughts I've been too ashamed to admit. All the judgments I've made and felt guilty over. All the confusion and fear that cause tightness in my chest. I also write to let happiness come and perch on my shoulder. I write poems, though I am not a poet. I write the beginnings of stories, knowing I'll never finish them. But they're not being written with a purpose in mind. I'm simply writing because there's something in me that needs a way out. Sometimes I write blog posts. Sometimes I publish them. Sometimes I erase them. In the end, it doesn't matter. It simply matters that I get the words out.

I take photos. I tune out the world and focus on a blur of green and blue, searching for a new angle, a softer light, a different way to see the world. I think for a moment that all there is in the world is what I see in front of me. My worries disintegrate. I don't try to take a great food photo. I simply play. I let time stop.

In order to take care of myself, I must be creative. And when I pursue creativity in the art of self-care, there is one thing I must do above all else. Let go of judgment. Self-care through creativity is not about creating art to display for the world. It's about letting yourself be in the moment without pursuit of anything. Without pursuit of perfection, completion, accomplishment. By letting go of the desire to produce something "worthwhile," I can let go of my fears. I can just be.

How do you nourish yourself? If you're not sure, put on some music, grab crayons and paper, or pick up your camera and talk a walk. Be with yourself without judging the results. Draw with the intention of throwing the paper away after, or erasing your photos. Dance as you might after having one too many glasses of wine. Be you. Without judgment.

Last month, I was invited by Valerie and Cheryl, creators of this virtual Self-Care Retreat, to be a host. They asked me to write a post on self-care through creativity and to post it on the 30th for the last post of the month. You'll notice that the 30th was yesterday. I missed my deadline, and I hate missing deadlines. But I have been stretching myself so thin lately that I haven't had time for any self-care, much less doing something creative. And in letting go of my self-care routines, I can feel my health slipping backwards, both physically and emotionally. So I'm using this post as a reminder to myself, as well as for all of you, that self-care is not like a vacation. It's not something we do when we have the time and money saved up. It's something we need to do every day, just as we brush our teeth or eat dinner every day. It's something we need to see as non-negotiable. We need to care for and nourish ourselves just as we would our loved ones.

Check out the rest of the posts for July's Self-Care Retreat:
Self-Care Through Movement
Self-Care Through Food
Self-Care Through Reflection
Self-Care Through Family, Friends, and Pets

I'm Doing Something I Never Do

2011-07-28T02:47:00.002-04:00

No, not talking about my deepest, darkest secrets of food and bingeing. I do that plenty.

I'm doing something I really don't ever do. Willingly putting myself on video camera. And asking for your help. You see, I have a secret (not a secret at all) obsession with Scotland. I spent a semester there during my junior year in college, and I've always hoped to go back. Now, with your help, I could have a chance. Bob's Red Mill is holding a contest to send one lucky cook to Scotland for the Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship. Didn't know there was such a thing? Neither did I, but being the strange duck that I am, I jumped at the chance to enter.

Did you know I also love Bob's Red Mill? (I swear I took this photo way before I ever heard of this contest.) That bag of sorghum flour is already halfway gone.

So I hate to ask, which is why I normally wouldn't, but today I'm shamelessly asking you to go to the Bob's Red Mill Spar for the Spurtle page and like my video. You'll have to ignore the fact that my video isn't exactly perfect...it is my first ever, after all. Learning to edit it was not as easy as I expected!

As an added bonus, if you check out my video, you'll get my recipe for Savory Oatmeal with Dried Cranberries and Toasted Pecans. You can eat it for breakfast, as a side dish, or even better, as a substitute for your regular turkey stuffing. This stuff is good...and seriously good for you too!

Okay, ready? Set... Like my video! And I'll love you forever if you tell your friends too! (Yes, shameless I know...)

Gluten-Free English Muffins (Vegan, Yeast-Free, Sugar-Free)

2011-07-24T21:51:00.003-04:00

"I don't care what you call them. You can call them pancakes for all I care. They just taste like biscuits." He said this with his cowboy accent, which is completely affected as he doesn't have an accent at all.

I am referring of course to the assistant, who was in turn referring to my English Muffins. In truth, I couldn't decide what to call them. They remind me of English Muffins, with their tiny little craters that are perfect for melted butter to find their way into (of course I'm not eating butter these days, so that image just makes me sad). The assistant swears they have the taste and texture of biscuits. And this morning, when I toasted one with tuna, I decided it would make the perfect hamburger bun. Which suddenly leads me to think that if shaped differently, they might also make wonderful hot dog buns. (Hmm...)

Whatever they're called, they work. And they work without gluten, dairy, eggs, sugar, or yeast. Yeast was the big one for me here...I miss bread and rolls, but when I recently tried to make yeast bread for the cookbook, I could tell immediately that my body couldn't handle it. An instant head-cold, puffy face, cloudy head feeling came on. You know that feeling, right? It's not fun... So I've been leaving the yeast breads to Brittany, and focusing on yeast-free breads myself. Call me crazy, but I think this is one recipe where you won't even miss the yeast.

This particular recipe is a spin-off of another recipe you'll find in my book. I've been having so much fun with it that I couldn't wait for the book to come out to share it with you all. So I've adapted the book recipe into English Muffins (er...biscuits...hamburger/hot dog buns) for you all.

Give them a try. I think you'll be very happy.

Gluten-Free English Muffins (print friendly option)

Ingredients:
180 grams unblanched almond flour (1 1/2 cups)
115 grams potato starch (3/4 cup)
30 grams Bob’s Red Mill Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal (3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon)*
2 1/2 teaspoons xantham gum or guar gum**
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup oil***

*I love the texture that Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal gives, but corn meal would work fine here too.
**I don't think this can be made without gum, but if you make it work, please let me know!

***I use olive oil, but any mild flavored oil would work fine. Olive, grapeseed, canola...

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.
Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Stir water and oil in a small bowl. Pour into dry ingredients, stirring until completely mixed.
Grease a cookie sheet and scoop the batter up into heaping 1/3 cups. Makes 6 scoops. Bake for 40 minutes. You want the edges to begin to turn golden brown to make sure the insides are cooked thoroughly. Let cool for a few minutes before cutting in half.

Makes 6 English Muffins. I save rice cake bags to put them in, and leave them out for a few days or freeze for weeks. Like most gluten-free baked goods, they do get dry, but microwaving and toasting works great for reheating. The microwave especially helps restore moisture, and I would recommend that if you're using them as a hamburger bun, whereas the toaster oven works better if you want more of an English Muffin like texture.

This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Gluten-Free Wednesdays.

Baked Fruit Pockets (Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free, Vegan Optional)

2011-07-18T10:32:00.001-04:00

The Daily Dietribe family has been growing. Earlier this month, I introduced you to V, my new gluten-free product reviewer (and beautiful housemate). And today I'm introducing you to someone that I've been bouncing ideas off of for months. I have to tell you in all honesty that since I'm a bit of a control freak when it comes to my recipes, I usually ask for his advice and then promptly ignore it. Yesterday, I finally let go of some of my legendary control in the kitchen and asked him to help me create a recipe.

It started with a batch of cherry scones. I thought they were okay, but needed work. He and V (he needs a name, doesn't he?) really liked them. In fact, at one point he asked me, "Is it bad that I keep eating these?" I'm pretty sure he meant, are they bad for me, and I assured him that he could have another one guilt-free.

He decided they reminded him of fig newtons, and that we should make them again as little fruit pockets. After some thought, we determined they needed a tad more maple syrup (the scones only had 1 tablespoon), a little more rise (enter an egg and baking powder), and some sort of fruit filling (he made a cherry filling and a raspberry filling). I had to take a deep breath and a leap of faith when I decided to ask him to work on the filling rather than making it myself.

Letting go of control around food is one of my goals for this year. As you might know if you've ever had problems with disordered eating, there's a tug of war inside you for food control. Letting go of that control helps me with eating normally more than anything else does. Writing a cookbook is the ultimate exercise in control. You have to have extreme control over all of your recipes, ingredient amounts, baking time, etc. You pretty much have to be a little OCD. On the other hand, you're faced with baked goods on a daily basis and if you're facing down the binge monster with your iron control every day, you're going to exhaust yourself really fast. A couple of years ago, there's no way I could have handled this. Even now, I can't deny it's difficult. But I'm learning to let go. Let go of my fear that there will not be enough food and I must hoard it all. I do this by literally letting go (i.e. giving away my baked goods). Let go of the fear that there will not be enough money to buy more supplies and food. Again, I do this my giving my food away and remembering this quote: If you continually give, you will continually have. Let go of the need to be perfect and the fear of showing my flaws. I do this by giving away baked goods that aren't up to my standards yet rather than eating them out of fear of someone knowing all of my recipes aren't amazing.

Yes, writing a cookbook is an exercise in control and the art of letting go. So is sharing your blog. I started The Daily Dietribe at an extremely difficult point in my life. During a time when I was feeling lost, I found a part of myself I never knew existed. Out of that, this baby blog was born and has grown into a nice upstanding, adult blog. It's giving birth itself to a cookbook (will that make me a grandma?), and I've started my journey towards a career and life that I love. I don't think it's exaggerating to say that none of this would have happened if not for a random day when I started eating gluten-free and wrote my first entry in this blog. So of course it tugs at my heart strings a bit to invite others to be a part of it. But it also makes me happy that I've created something that others might want to be a part of. It's all a part of letting go. Which of course allows me to simply be, without all of those inner battles tugging me in one direction, then the next, and ultimately leaving me tied to one spot.

And now back to my original point...

As is often the case, it was not my intention to write so much here. I simply wanted to introduce you to someone new. Someone who has the same passion for food that I do, but comes at it from a different angle. He challenges me to try new things and isn't afraid of my evil eye when he tells me he doesn't like something I've made. This is occasionally annoying, but good for all of you since it means I have to work even harder to create recipes that your average non-gluten-free person will like. Of course, there will always be recipes that I'll love and post even if he doesn't like them. After all, I'm an artist right? I can't be a slave to the masses! (Um... Iris, get ahold of yourself here.) And for the most part, The Daily Dietribe will still just be me, dancing around in my kitchen and baking to my heart's content. But don't be surprised if there's mention of someone new helping me out here and there.

Perhaps we shall just call him: the assistant.

Did I mention that the assistant has been gluten and dairy free for the last three days? Are you wondering how long that will last? So am I... (I'm hoping it sticks!)

So without further ado (because there's been a lot of ado here already), I give you Baked Fruit Pockets. They look like pop tarts, but I won't call them that because the assistant nixed the idea. They also don't taste like pop tarts, as they have a much heartier (and dare I say, healthier) flavor. They would, however, be a perfect pop tart substitute if you're looking for a sweet breakfast. This recipe makes eight fruit pockets, and while I haven't experimented with freezing the leftovers yet, I'm guessing you could freeze them and then grab one and toast/microwave it for a quick breakfast. Or take your time and enjoy it for an afternoon snack with tea.

I also have to be completely honest here and say that I think these would be amazing made with melted butter or melted coconut oil rather than extra light olive oil. I made them with oil because I'm not doing dairy right now and coconut oil is a tad expensive to be using all the time. But now that I've got the recipe down, I'll probably try these with coconut oil the next time I make them. In the meantime, if you make any adaptations to these, be sure to come back and let us know what you did and how they turned out! If I had all the time and money in the world, I would test my recipes with a number of variations because I love for you to be able to make them no matter what your dietary restrictions are. As it stands, I've made these egg-free and sugar-free, and I've included variations in the instructions.

Happy baking!

Baked Fruit Pockets
Print-Friendly Option

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour (275 grams)
1 cup brown rice flour (130 grams)
1/3 cup tapioca starch (40 grams)
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup extra light olive oil (subs: grapeseed oil, melted butter or melted coconut oil)
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:
3 cups chopped fruit or berries (cherries and raspberries both work great)
3 tablespoons water
1/8 teaspoon salt
(optional) 1-2 tablespoons honey or 10 drops liquid stevia

Wash:
1 tablespoon unsweetened milk
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet.
Start by making the filling. In a medium saucepan, bring the fruit, water, and salt (and honey or stevia if using) to a gentle simmer on medium heat. Let reduce until thickened (about 20 minutes), stirring occasionally. Once done, set aside to cool.
While the fruit is reducing, whisk together the almond flour, rice flour, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
In a smaller bowl, whisk the egg, applesauce, olive oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract. *
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until well combined.
Form dough into a ball with your hands. Place the dough in between two large pieces of wax paper. Roll the dough out until it’s about ¼ inch thick. Cut rectangles about 3 x 7 inches. Place a large spoonful of the fruit filling on one end of the rectangle. Fold the other side of the dough over it and pinch the sides closed with your fingers so it makes a square pocket. (Don't feel you have to be too precise with the sizes here. You can make them exact, give them a more rustic appearance, or even play around with making different shapes like the assistant did. A fun baking project with the kids, perhaps?)
Place each square on a greased baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. At 20 minutes, take the baking sheet out and brush the pockets with the maple syrup/milk wash. Place back in the oven for 2 minutes. Take out and put on a cooling rack. Let cool before eating.

Makes approximately 8 pockets.

* To make these egg-free: In step 4, pour 3 tablespoons of boiling water over 1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal. Let sit for a minute, then add the rest of the wet ingredients and continue with the recipe.

** To make these with stevia, leave out the maple syrup, add 1 1/2 teaspoons of liquid stevia to the wet ingredients, and increase the olive oil from 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup. Add stevia to the filling as noted in the ingredients instead of maple syrup. Skip the maple syrup wash or simply do a milk wash.

Roll the dough and cut out rectangles. Put a large spoonful of fruit puree on one side.

Fold over your squares and pinch the ends closed. Pretty, aren't they?

Ask the kids to make fun shapes. Be aware baking time will differ...

Let cool, then gobble up. Or let go and give them away.