Tag Archives: Gluten Free

Healthy ‘fried pickles’

Appetizers and Side Dishes, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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*Vegan and Gluten Free

Healthy ‘fried’ pickles:

1. bread and butter pickle’s (or any)
2. batter: in a food processor blend Brazil nuts, cashew nuts, chia seeds and shredded coconut. Add oregano, oat flour, almond flour & salt. (add intuitively. This recipe is primarily nuts and oat flour, but have fun with it and add how you feel called!)
3. transfer to a bowl and mix gently w small amounts of water and pickle juice
4. bake 400° aprx 6-8 min

Enjoy!

#healthyoptiontounhealthyfood #vegan #glutenfree #flavorful #nutritious #friedpickles #bakedpickles #cravings #improv

Seeded Baguette, gluten free & vegan

Gluten Free Baking, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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Gluten Free Dough

  • 2 cups brown rice flour
  • 3 cups tapioca flour
  • 3/4 cup oat flour
  • 3/4 cup almond meal
  • 2 tbsp yeast
  • 2 tbsp guar guar (or xantham gum)
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 2 and 2/3 cups of lukewarm water
  • 4 large egg substitue: (1 egg = 1 tbsp ground chia or flax or combo of both mixed with 3 tbsp of water)
  • 1/3 cup neutral flavor oil, i.e. avocado or olive oil
  • 2 tbsp honey

*makes enough for about 4 loaves (1 lb each) — I made two small baguettes with 1/2 of this recipe

  1. Combine ingredients for dough, dry ingredients first, then wet.
  2. Cover mixing bowl and let sit for 2 hours.
  3. Careful not to disturb the bubbles, shape dough, on wax paper, to desired shape with WET hands (not flour like when baking glutenous breads) and cover with plastic wrap, loosely, let sit for 90 min. (Refrigerate any remaining dough)
  4. Pre-heat oven with baking stone to 475 for at least 30 min
  5. Remove plastic wrap and cover with your choice of seeds, I used sesame and pumpkin, and make 3 diagonal slits.
  6. Bake at 475 for 30 min and let cool on a rack for 15-30 min.

With little experience baking I was grateful for the awesome guidelines provided by: www.artisanbreadinfive.com 

The recipe I followed and modified: Artisan Bread in Five, Baguette

 

 

 

Coconut Kale Chips

Appetizers and Side Dishes, , , , , , , ,

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Coconut Kale chips

1. Massage kale leaves with melted coconut oil (1-2 tbsp), coconut aminos (drizzled), salt (1/4 tsp)
2. Spread evenly on non stick flat cooking tray and top w shredded coconut and coconut flakes.
3. Bake 350 for 10-15 min

A real treat!

*Inspired by a recipe (crispy kale chips) in ‘Heal Your Gut cookbook’ by Hilary Boynton & Mary G. Brackett

Oat Milk, raw & vegan

Raw Food Creations, , , , , , , ,

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Simple as can be:

1. Soak 1.5 cups gluten free rolled oats in a nut milk bag overnight (8-12 hrs) with 4 cups of filtered water.
2. Squeeze all the liquid from bag, refrigerate and enjoy!

(Can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.)

*Heads up, the consistency is very gooey. If you have kids, this is a wonderful sensory activity for them to help out with. The gooey oats that remain afterwards can also be a lot of fun to play with. Hint: try adding natural food coloring and toys to the mix as well.

 

 

Banana Bread – Vegan and Gluten-Free

Gluten Free Baking, , , , ,

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In the hopes of being able to salvage bananas that had over ripened I successfully found a recipe online and created one of the tastiest breads I’ve ever had. This was actually my first attempt at banana bread, baking in general is very new for me. Learning which substitutes to use and when makes my life a lot easier. I really enjoy trying new things, going outside of my comfort zone and discovering that I am capable of more than I realized. The original recipe I found online calls for sugar, which is tried and true. I plan however, to experiment and modify this recipe to get the same satisfactory results without the added sugar. In the meantime, I am very pleased with this vegan and gluten free banana bread and encourage you to give it a try, especially if you already have bananas that have over ripened and might just otherwise get thrown away.

*Black bananas actually work great, they may look bad from the outside, but inside they are packed with flavor!

*If you want to speed up the process of ripening bananas try leaving them in a paper bag for a day or two or even leaving them in the fridge overnight.

Here’s a link to the original recipe (be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page): http://minimalistbaker.com/one-bowl-gluten-free-banana-bread/

The substitutions I made:

  • Coconut milk instead of dairy milk.
  • Substituted 1 egg with 1 tbsp (50% golden flax seed 50% chia seeds) ground in a coffee grinder and mixed with 2.5 tbsp water.

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Bites

Appetizers and Side Dishes, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sweet Potato, chickpea bites

These delicious bites turned out better than I’d ever hoped. I’m really pleased with how tasty they are.

Original Recipe:

http://cheapeatsforthegreenbean.com/2014/08/03/sweet-potato-and-chickpea-bites/

I modified the recipe to include ingredients I already had on hand. I only had one sweet potato for instance, and I used Tarragon as a garnish instead of scallions as the recipe originally calls for.

Ingredients I used:

  • 1 large sweet potato
  • equal amount chickpeas as sweet potato (I used frozen, thawed)
  • Kale, fine chopped
  • Garlic
  • Coconut Milk
  • Coconut Oil
  • Seasoning: paprika, cayenne, red chili flakes, curry powder, nutritional yeast, salt & pepper
  • Fresh Herbs I used: Thyme & Tarragon

 

Directions:

  1. Boil sweet potato & prepare chickpeas (frozen, thawed on stove)
  2. Sautee garlic (briefly, until fragrant)
  3. Add Kale and reduce heat to low, cover and steam (very briefly)
  4. Season with: Paprika, cayenne, red chili flakes, curry powder
  5. Add thawed chickpeas and stir well.
  6. Combine in a large bowl with sweet potato mash, 3-4 tablespoons of coconut milk and nutritional yeast.
  7. Add S & P and any additional seasonings. I added fresh Thyme and Tarragon from the garden.
  8. Bake in a greased muffin tin (coconut oil works well for greasing) –  20 minutes at 450 degrees.

Voila !

 

 

Don’t forget to soak your nuts

Educational, , , , ,

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It’s widely known that nuts in general are very healthy for us and full of protein, vitamins and nutrients. They are especially essential in vegetarian and vegan diets, working as an amazing source of protein. However I have found that it is not as prominently known that soaking our nuts before eating them is important in order to digest more easily and to fully absorb the nutrients with-in.

Look for example at how the skin of almonds separates when soaked. The skin of almonds can cause a great deal of bloating and discomfort when trying to digest, and gets in the way of the best part of the almond.

The same thing goes for walnuts for example, again the skin separates some when soaked, but a bit more work is required to get it all off. Give it a try! And notice how different they taste. So much sweeter, because the bitterness comes from the outside layer.

I recommend soaking nuts for a day or two at most, usually a couple of hours is sufficient, cashews requiring the least amount of soaking time I find. An hour or two for cashew nuts should suffice, they will become a bit softer.

If you plan to leave nuts in the fridge, over night works great but if you plan to leave them in the fridge longer, just be sure to change the water at least 2-3 times throughout the day to keep it fresh.

Enjoy, and feel free to leave me a comment to let me know what you think. Is this something you’ve done before? Is this something you’d be open to trying, or have tried with success and enjoyed? I’d love to hear from you.

Have a great day and enjoy!

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Quinoa and Mung Bean Soup with Kale

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Quinoa and Mung Bean Soup
A wonderfully comforting dish for a chilly winter day or anytime.

Ingredients:

  • Quinoa
  • Mung Beans
  • Onions
  • Garlic
  • Kale
  • Ghee
  • Nutritional yeast
  • Seasonings: mustard seeds, curry powder, cayenne, and S & P

Directions:

  1. Prepare Quinoa and Mung Beans together, 1/2 C Quinoa with 1/2 C Mung Beans and add 4 C of water or broth. (I used half water and half broth and the flavor is wonderful!)
  2. Prepare Vagar (Ghee with seasonings): adding mustard seeds first, and once they pop add curry powder, cayenne or spices of choice, then saute onions, adding garlic towards the end.
  3. Once mung beans and quinoa are cooked fully, texture should be a soft consistency (about 20 minutes) add onions and chopped Kale, cover and let simmer on low for an additional 10 minutes or so.
  4. Add extra seasonings if needed and top with nutritional yeast before serving.

Enjoy!

*Note: Before adding water/broth I like to allow quinoa to rest for a moment on the hot surface of pot to enhance it’s toasty flavor.

A sweet hello from a beautiful friend this morning.
A sweet hello from a beautiful friend this morning.

Quinoa with Fruit and Nuts

Breakfast, , , , , ,

Quinoa with Fruit and Nuts

The last breakfast quinoa dish I created was so well received that I wanted to go ahead and share another wonderful creation. When I prepare food, I know that I am still learning as I go and I can’t even begin to express the amount of joy I am filled with when I am able to successfully create a healthy dish that tastes as wonderful as this, and it was so simple to make!

Ingredients:

  • Quinoa
  • Raw cashew pieces
  • Dried cranberries
  • Fresh sliced mango
  • Ghee and Coconut Oil
  • Seasoning: Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Coconut Sugar

Directions:

  1. Prepare quinoa, 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water.
  2. Add Ghee and coconut oil, and seasoning, sparingly at first and then to taste.
  3. Mix in raw cashew pieces, cranberries and top with fresh mango.

Simple and delicious!

Breakfast Quinoa

Breakfast, , , , , , , ,
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An ensemble of ingredients on hand.

Ingredients:

  • Quinoa
  • Organic dried cranberries
  • Organic raw cashew pieces
  • Banana, thinly sliced
  • Organic Raw Pecans
  • Coconut Oil or Ghee
  • Unsweetened Vanilla Almond milk (or other milk substitute)
  • Seasoning: Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, coconut sugar, pink Himalayan sea salt, maple syrup
  • ‘The Perfect Snaque’ coconut almond quinoa crunch (optional)

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Directions:

  1. Cook quinoa: 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer until water is absorbed and quinoa is a soft and fluffy texture, about 20 minutes.
  2. Add coconut oil (or ghee) generously, almond milk, maybe 1/4 cup only, a little at a time, and seasonings: a generous amount of cinnamon, a dash of clover and nutmeg, just a hint of salt to balance the sweet from a dash a maple syrup (or agave) and coconut sugar.
  3. Once seasonings are mixed, add any ingredients you’d like. I used raw cashew pieces, dried cranberries, halved pecans, and thinly sliced banana.

This recipe came together this morning when I was craving something warm and soothing, a dish high in protein and nutrients and not too heavy on the digestive system. This is what I came up with and I’m very pleased with the results. If you decide to give it a try, I’d love to hear from you, see how you liked it and what other ideas you may have come up with.

Thank you for your continued support,

Spiritual Foodie  ~  Brooke Ridgeway

Enjoy!