Banana Flax Muffins

I wrote a recommendation for The Allergen Free Bakers Handbook on this post on my sister's and my gluten free blog. I am posting another recipe from it that we really enjoy at the request of a couple people. The recipe for the Basic Gluten Free Flour Mix that the recipe calls for can be found here.

Banana Flax Muffins

1/4 cup canola oil (I use coconut oil)
1 cup light agave nectar
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup golden flaxseed meal
2 1/2 cups Basic Gluten Free Flour Mix
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins (I use mini chocolate chips :-) )

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin pan with 12 muffin liners. (also makes nice mini muffins)
2. Mix together oil and agave, mixing on medium speed for about 20 seconds.
3. Add the mashed banana, lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and mix for 20 seconds. Add the flax meal and mix until combined.
4. In a separate bowl, combine flour mix, xantham gum, baking soda, and salt.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix on low until just combined, about 20 seconds.
6. Fold in the raisins (or chocolate chips :-) )
7. Fill the liners to the rim with batter. They will be heaping.
8 Bake in the center of the oven for 25 minutes, or until lovely golden brown on top, rotating the pan halfway through.

Cherry Oat Scones - Gluten Free/Egg Free

Scones! I have been craving them lately but had not found a recipe that was both gluten free and egg free. The other day I was at a grocery store and saw a book that caught my attention. I came home and looked it up on Amazon - (it was $9 cheaper) The book is The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook by Cybele Pascal She has a basic flour mix that she uses for most of her recipes. I will give you the basic flour mix and the recipe for these scones.

Basic Gluten Free Flour Mix

4 cups brown rice flour (she says you need super fine but I used Bob's Red Mill and it worked fine)
1 1/3 cups potato starch (not potato flour)
2/3 cup tapioca flour (also called tapioca starch)

1. To measure flour use a large spoon to scoop flour into a measuring cup, then level it off with the back of a knife or straighedge. Don't scoop it with the measuring cup as this will compact the flour and you will have to much for the recipe.

2. Combine all the ingredients in a gallon size ziploc. Shake until blended. Store in refrigerator.


The book is allergen free so besided gluten and egg free there is no dairy, soy, nuts or sesame. She says not to substitute but I did and it turned out fine.
****Update****
I made these again and substituted palm sugar for the granulated sugar and butter for the shortening and I believe they were better. My sister made them as well and thought they were a little dry still so thought she would add a couple Tbsp of coconut oil next time.

Cherry Oat Scones
1 cup plus 2 Tbsps rice milk (I used regular milk)
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 cups Basic Gluten-free flour mix (see above)
3/4 tsp xanthan gum (if you live in pdx area buy bulk at Bob's Red Mill - much cheaper)
2 Tbsps double acting baking powder
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 1/4 cup gluten free old fashioned oats
1/3 cup dairy free, soy free vegetable shortening (I used regular shortening)
1/2 cup dried cherries (I used cranberries)
Sanding sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
Whisk together 1 cup of the milk and the cider vinegar. Set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together flour mixture, xantham gum, baking powder, granulated sugar, salt and cinnamon.
Add oats and toss. Add the shortening in pieces, and work in with pastry blender or two knives until you have pea-sized crumbs.
Add the cherries, tossing until combined.
Add the rice milk mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until combined but still clumpy.
Flour a work surface lightly with a little gf flour mixture, and turn out the dough. Lightly flour your hand. Sprinkle the dough with a little flour mix.
Divide the dough in half. The dough will be sticky. Shape into two 6-inch disks. Cut the disks into 6 pie shaped wedges. I put the dough on to the parchment paper before I patted it out and cut it. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons rice milk, then sprinkle with sanding sugar.
Bake in the center of the oven for 17 minutes, or until lightly golden.
Serve warm from oven :-)

If there is anything that I don't like about gluten free baking is things are usually drier than baking with flour and eggs. These are little dry but with a nice cup of tea they are great. Troy and Anna both ate one and enjoyed it :-)

Peanut Butter Granola Balls

I found this little snack in a magazine and thought it would be a good snack for all of us - but lo and behold when checking out ingredients - rice krispies are NOT gluten free! They have barley malt and barley has gluten. Looks like some of the health food brands might have one that is gluten free - will have to research this a little further. Anyway, even though they are not gluten free they make a great snack for the kids - and they love them! If you find a gf rice krispie cereal you can easily make them gluten free by using gf oats as well.

****Update****
I did find gluten free rice krispies and made these and they were yummy

Peanut Butter Granola Balls

1/3 cup honey (I use local, raw honey)

1/4 cup natural peanut butter (I use Adams)

2 Tablespoons butter

1 cup crisp rice cereal

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking) and if you are making it gluten free be sure and use gluten free oats

1/4 cup dried fruit (I use cranberries)

Place rice cereal, rolled oats and dried fruit in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium, heat honey, peanut butter, and butter. Stir until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and pour over cereal mixture.

Drop mixture by tablespoon (I use my smallest pampered chef scoop) into mini cupcake liners placed in a mini muffin pan. Refrigerate about 15 minutes until set. To store, refrigerate in an airtight container up to 1 week (if they last that long)

Makes about 24

Homemade Lara*Bars and other Healthy Snacks

In my attempt to cut out all "white" sugar from my diet I looked for a healthy, gluten free bar that I could grab when I needed something to tide me over or something to grab before I go walking in the morning or when I don't have time to make my breakfast first thing. The bar that I found and love is the Lara*bar. It is made totally of fruit and nuts - there is nothing else added except the occasional spice like cinnamon in the Apple Pie version.
Last time my sister was visiting I offered her one and she told me she had bought an e-book on a blog that had 14 recipes for variations of the bar. I immediately looked it up and bought the ebook. It was only $6.95 and worth every penny to me as the bars in the store can add up quite quickly. The ebook is available at Kitchen Stewardship . Right now there is a link near the top of her page but the link can always be found in the right hand column. There are also many other healthy recipes and some of them are gluten free. All are well marked and she gives suggestions on how to make some of the non-gluten free ones, gluten free. She also has another book about real food for camping that looks like a great book for any serious campers that still want to eat healthy away from home.
Some of the ingredients that are called for are dates, peanuts, cashews, raisins and chocolate :-). Not all of these are in the same bars but these are the kind of ingredients that are used. Buying all the ingredients can be a little spendy to start with but most will do several batches of the bars. Each batch makes about 5 bars. She gives different ideas for forming them but the way I have found and really like is to put regular cupcake liners in a cupcake pan, roll the dough into 5 even balls and then press them into the liner. After they are formed I take them out and wrap each one individually in plastic wrap and put each kind in a separate bag with the name and ingredients listed on the outside and then refrigerate. If I am making more than one kind or double batches I reuse the same liners over again.
I got a Kindle for my birthday and I was able to email the PDF to my Kindle so I have it right there with me in the kitchen in a handy form and don't have to worry about printing it out. (I keep my kindle in a quart size ziploc bag when I have it in the kitchen to protect it)

Soooo - bottom line - if you are looking for some frugal, healthy snacks I highly recommend this e-book!

Flourless Pumpkin Pecan Cookies - Fruit Sweetened

I am so excited about this blog, Daily Bites, my sister found recently. Today they posted this recipe for Flourless Pumpkin Pecan Cookies. We just made them during our break from school and they are soooo yummy. I did put the chocolate chips in instead of the raisins so mine are not totally fruit sweetened but still very good for you. I found the quinoa flakes at Fred Meyer in the gluten free section. You can order them online as well. I was thinking about my wonderful pumkin gingerbread recipe that I will miss so much this year but these make up for it and are almost just as tasty! Enjoy!
**** Update ***** I was not to thrilled with the quinoa flakes - they tend to make it a little bitter so I used gluten free oats the next time I made them and they were really good! Even my non gluten free friends liked them :-)

Shepherd's Pie (Gluten and Dairy Free)

One of Troy's absolute favorite dishes is Shepherd's Pie. With all of our eating restrictions it is one dish that I had avoided making. I have been thinking about it for a few days and decided to try it tonight. Since I last blogged Troy and Anna have gone off of dairy. So now most things I make are gluten, dairy, egg and bean free :-)

I have been using a lot of coconut oil and coconut milk in my recipes. I use virgin coconut oil as opposed to the hydrogenated kind. I order it here.

So here is the recipe:

Filling:
4 Tbsp virgin coconut oil
2 1/2 Tbsp sweet rice flour
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste
dash of garlic and onion powder
splash of gluten free soy sauce
1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey breast)
Peas or other veggies (about a cup)

Topping:
4 Yukon Gold Potatoes
coconut oil
coconut milk

Wash and cut up potatoes (I leave the skins on). Place in cold water and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and cook until potatoes are tender. Drain and mash with beaters adding a little oil and milk until they are the consistency you like.

While the potatoes are boiling make a white sauce. Melt the oil in a saucepan or skillet over medium heat. When it is melted added the rice flour and whisk together. Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes stirring constantly. Slowly add coconut milk and whisk together. Add seasonings. Bring to a boil. Add the cooked ground beef and the veggies you desire. I used to use green beans but they are on my don't eat list so I substituted peas. You could use frozen mixed veggies as well. Heat through and then put in a 9x11 baking pan. Spread the mashed potatoes over the top and bake in a 350 degree oven until bubbly (about 20 minutes) If you are not dairy free a little cheese on top is very good.

Next time I would probably add some onion as well if I was cooking the beef as I was making it. I had already cooked meat and it was in the freezer so didn't think about the onion.

We all enjoyed it and there is some left for the kids lunch tomorrow.

Check out my sister's dairy free Mounds Bar Ice Cream recipe on her blog.

Strawberry Pie - Gluten, Egg and Dairy Free (and Good!)

I found this recipe this week and decided to try it. On our way home from grocery shopping we passed a strawberry stand and bought a couple pints. We got home and I washed them and ate a couple and put the kids back in the car and drove back for a half flat! They are soooo good! Oregon strawberries must love the rain because these are some of the best I have tasted!
Anyway, on to the pie. I will give you the recipe as I found it and then note my changes:

Strawberry Pie

Crust:
3/4 cup pecans or walnuts, crushed
1/4 cup dried, unsweetened shredded coconut

Filling:
2 cups fresh strawberries
1 cup raw cashews
2 Tbsp vanilla extract (no, that is not a typo)
1/2 cup raw honey
1 pinch salt
1 cup coconut oil, melted

Grind crust ingredients in food processor and press into the bottom of a 9 inch pie pan building up the sides slightly.
Place all filling ingredients in blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Carefully pour on top of crust and refrigerate 3 hours.

Serve and enjoy!

This pie really was very good. I used walnuts in the crust because that is what I had and I am not a big walnut fan. Next time I make it I will use pecans. The crust tasted bitter to me.

I did not have honey so I used agave nectar (I am trying to get away from agave but have a couple of bottles left so used it in this) I used the expeller pressed coconut oil as it does not have the coconut taste. I am not sure what the creator of this pie intended but I used the one that did not taste like coconut. I buy my coconut oil from here. This is also where this recipe came from.
I need to do some more investigating on this site as it looks like a lot of good recipes!

So, my take on this pie is it is really good and worth the little time and effort to make it! It is also one that everyone at our house can eat! Yeah!