Cranberry and Carrot Muffins

1/2 cup ground almonds

1/4 cup coconut flour

1 cup whole oats

1/4 cup tapioca starch

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1 Tbsp. ground flax seed

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 cup grated carrot

3 eggs

1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

1/2 cup cranberries

Preheat oven to 350'C. Line 9 muffin tins with parchment.

In a medium bowl combine all of the dry ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, apple sauce and grapeseed oil. Fold in the grated carrot.  Combine the wet ingredients with the dry (add half the liquid mixture first, then fold in the rest).  Finally, stir in the cranberries. 

Fill each muffin tin about half full with the muffin mixture. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.  Remove and allow to cool on a cooling rack.  

Banana and Raisin Muffins

2 eggs
3 mashed bananas
1/4 cup grapeseed oil

1 Tbsp. ground flax
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1 cup whole oats
1/2 cup ground pecans
1/2 cup coconut sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins




Preheat oven to 350'C. Line 9-12 muffin tins with parchment.

In a medium bowl, combine the flax, rice flour, tapioca starch, oats, pecans, sugar, baking powder and soda, salt and cinnamon. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, mashed bananas, and grapeseed oil. Pour half of the liquid into the dry ingredients bowl. Using a spatula, gently combine the ingredients. Add in the remaining liquid and fold over to fully mix.

Place 1/3 cup of the mixture into each muffin tin. Place in the preheated oven for 20-25 muffins. Allow to cool, then enjoy!

Saskatoon Berry Upside Down Cake (GF)

Topping:

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/3 cup palm sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups Saskatoon berries (or blueberries)

Cake:

3 eggs

1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup unpasteurized honey

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups almond flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Coconut Cream Topping
1/2 can premium coconut milk (refrigerated to harden)
1 Tbsp. organic sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350'C. In a small saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter and palm sugar together. Whisk in the vanilla extract. Pour the mixture into a 9" round cake pan.  Set aside. 

In a medium bowl, shift the almond flour, salt and baking soda.  In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, butter, honey and vanilla extract.  Pour liquid mixture into shifted almond flour.  With a spatula, fold the ingredients together until blended.  Pour and smooth the cake mix on top of the berries. Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middles comes out clean. Let cool completed, then flip unto a flat serving plate.

In a small bowl, add the hardened coconut milk (do not pour liquid in the bowl), sugar and vanilla extract.  Using a hand mixer, whip the coconut milk until smooth.  Spread the topping on the cooled cake. 

No Noodle Wonton Soup

I love Asian flavours!  Whether it's the spicyness of garlic or ginger, or the freshness of lemongrass, Asian flavours have a unique taste and aroma.  While eating gluten-free, I have missed Wor Wonton soup.  I remember going out for Chinese food with Michael one night and watching him eat only the meat part of the wonton while setting aside the noodle wrapper.  Sometimes it is a lot of work to enjoy something we love.  This week, I decided to create my own wonton soup without the noodle wrappers. Easy enough?! Actually, it was. :)


No Noodle Wonton Soup 

Broth
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. minced/pureed ginger
1/8 cup shaved lemongrass (how to cook with lemongrass)
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
900 mL beef broth (low sodium)
900 mL chicken broth (low sodium)
1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup Bragg's soya sauce

Meatballs
2 lbs. grass fed, grass finished ground beef (or pork)
2 finely chopped green onions
2 tsp. pureed ginger
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tsp. Bragg's soya sauce

Other Ingredients
1 cup baby bok choy
10-15 sugar snap peas
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup broccoli florets
1 can baby corn
10-15 uncooked shrimp (remove vein and shell if needed)


Directions
In a large soup pot, sautee the oil, ginger, lemongrass, and red onion over medium heat. Once the onion is translucent, add the broths, rice wine vinegar and soya sauce.  Turn down to simmer.

In a medium mixing bowl, thoroughly combine the meatball ingredients.  Create small meatballs by rolling the mixture between your hands.  In a medium frying pan, heat some butter over medium heat.  Brown the meatballs on either side and set aside.  Make sure they are cooked enough that they will not fall apart once placed in the broth. 2-4 minutes on each side should do the trick.




Chop all the vegetable ingredients into bite sized pieces.  Place the meatballs and shrimp into the broth and slowly bring the heat up to low-medium heat.  Let simmer for 5 minutes.  Add in the vegetables for about 5 minutes right before serving.  Do not simmer the vegetables too long as they will become soggy and limp.  The best part of wonton soup is the crisp vegetables!

Coconut Granola

One of Michael's clients brought in some homemade granola a few weeks ago.  I am still not sure all the ingredients in that granola, but I tried my best to make something similar.  We really need to get that recipe because we ate it all within a week or so. It was a nice snack with goat's milk or as a side to my breakfast.  I wouldn't just have this for breakfast because it doesn't have enough protein to get me through my morning.  It is definitely a nice change from the usual berries for breakfast.

Coconut Granola

3 cups gluten free rolled oats
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup flax seeds
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 cup unpasteurized honey
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

Preheat oven to 350'C.  Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  In a large measuring cup, whisk together the honey and coconut oil.  Pour liquid mixture over the dry ingredients and stir to coat evenly.  Spread it out on the cookie sheet.  Bake for 25-30 minutes stirring every 5 minutes or so.  The granola will be soft when you remove in from the oven, but will crisp up as it cools.  Break the mixture up and serve with goat's milk or high fat organic yogurt. Store the rest in a airtight container.
*add your favourite ingredients to this recipe.  I think adding some slivered almonds would be yummy.

Gluten Free Banana Bread - Serious Comfort

After a two month break from teaching, it is the eve before I return to school.  I had hoped to post more recipes in the summer, but did not get around to writing down any new recipes or even taking pictures.  Perhaps I was simply enjoying the food and not thinking about writing a new blog post! I definitely enjoyed some good food this summer.  From the Paleo food trucks at the CrossFit Games to the fresh lobster in P.E.I., this summer did not fall short in the food department.  I feel very lucky to be able to afford to travel and eat great food in many different places!  This food was usually shared with family or friends, which made it all the more delicious.

I had some frozen bananas and decided to make my ultimate comfort food - banana bread.  After searching for recipes, I decided to combine almond flour and coconut flour to see what would happen.  I guess my reason for shying away from a totally almond flour recipe or a coconut flour based recipe was due to my lack of ingredients.  The coconut flour recipe called for 6 eggs - no complaint here about eating eggs (I eat them almost every day), but we did not have that many left.  I also did not have 3 cups of almond flour to make the other recipe I found.  So after some brief thinking, I made up my own recipe based on what I had.  Best part of making this bread was looking over at Michael and asking if I should put dark chocolate chips in it.  The answer was a quiet yes.

Banana Bread

1 cup almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 Tbsp. unpasteurized honey
1 cup mashed banana
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350'C.  In a medium bowl, combine the almond and coconut flours with the salt and baking soda.  In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, melted coconut oil, honey, and bananas.  Add the wet ingredients into the dry and fold to combine.  Line a bread pan with parchment paper and grease with butter or grapeseed oil.  Pour the batter into the pan.  Bake at 350'C for 40-45 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the middles - if it comes out dry, the bread is done. Let it cool completely before removing from the pan.
 

For the Love of Pizza

I think I crave or think about pizza at least 3 times a week.  In the past, I have asked my students what their favourite food is, and the reply is almost unanimously pizza of some kind.  What is it about pizza that we love so much?  Why is it the go-to food when we watch sports or for children's birthday parties?  It is very easy to pick up the phone, order pizza, and have it delivered straight to our house.  Someone out there made a brilliant business decision when they decided to make it easy for us to order pizza right to our doorstep.

Last night, I had my mom, brother, sister-in-law and their three boys over for supper.  I wanted to make something that was kid-friendly.  Pizza was the answer, but I did not want to have regular pizza.  I bought some Udi's gluten-free crusts and a variety of toppings (cheese, chicken, sausage, ham, pineapple, tomatoes and bacon). http://udisglutenfree.com/view_product/1017/PIZZA_CRUSTS/Pizza_Crusts_2_Pack

This would not be something we would eat everyday, but it was a great meal and was super easy to make (and less expensive than buying pre-made gluten-free pizzas that include toppings - these usually retail for $13-15).  Two Udi's crusts were $7.99 at Co-op and I found them in the frozen, specialty food section.


Here are the types of pizzas I made:

Ham, pineapple and bacon
Spolumbo's sausage and tomato
Cheese and basil
BBQ chicken and bacon

I used Saputo mozzarella and some marble cheese.  It only takes 10 minutes to cook the pizza once they are topped and the toppings can be anything that you like.  That is what I love about pizza; it is so versatile and -always delicious.  So the question is, when are you going to make gluten-free pizza for your family instead of doing what is easier and ordering it delivered right to your door?

Chocolate Coconut Macaroons

After four very long days of school, I was exhausted.  When I came home last night, I wanted to make a delicious treat, but really challenged myself to make something without any sweetener.  Most baking recipes, even the gluten free ones, include some kind of sweetener, whether it's agave nectar, honey or something else.  I did some research and decided to go with macaroons knowing that coconut is naturally sweet and dark chocolate also has a bit of sweetness.  Once I completed the recipe, I worried that these treats would not be sweet enough, but they received Michael's approval (and I liked them too).  I am proud to say that I created this baking recipe and it turned out great!

Chocolate Coconut Macaroons

1/2 cup dark chocolate (chopped)

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 tbsp. vanilla
4 egg whites
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 cups unsweetened medium shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350'F.

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate, coconut oil, coconut milk and vanilla.  Remove from heat once melted.  Separate the egg whites and whisk in a small bowl until stiff peaks form.  In a large bowl, combine cocoa powder, salt and shredded coconut.  Pour the melted chocolate into the dry ingredients and combine until evenly coated.  Gently fold in the egg whites.  Drop batter one tablespoon at a time onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  I used my 1/8 measuring cup (you could also use an icecream scoop).  Bake for 15 minutes.  Let cool and enjoy!