Tag: gluten free

Super Seed Breakfast Porridge

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This year is all about filling, delicious and nutrient packed breakfasts, which means it has to have a healthy amount of protein, fat and fiber in it! This breakfast is just exactly that and the perfect way to kick-off a Monday and is what I like to call chia pudding but all grown up!

The main ingredients you will need are a protein powder of your choice ( I like using Nutiva plant based, vegan protein powder which also has some veggies in it, I get mine from Thrive Market), hemp seeds, chia seeds, ground flax seeds, and for an extra bonus, pumpkin seeds to use as your topping!

I like to have my porridge warm and topped with blueberries, peanut butter, pumpkin seeds and cacao nibs for that extra crunch and flavor that wont put you in a sugar come (hellooo blood sugar balance)! This is definitely a versatile dish and I think coconut chips would be great with the blueberries or even warmed apples sautéed in cinnamon and coconut oil! I’d love to hear what topping combinations you come up with! This can also be prepped in advance to have later in the week. Simply let it cool completely and store in the refrigerator and enjoy cold or warm it back up! 

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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups almond milk/milk of your choice
  • 1 scoop of high quality protein powder
  • 1.5 tbsp flax meal
  • 1.5 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1.5 tbsp hemp seeds
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Toppings

  • 1/2 tbsp peanut butter
  • 1 tsp cocoa nibs
  • 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
  • Fresh fruit of choice

Directions

  1. In a small sauce pan whisk together your almond milk, protein powder, vanilla and cinnamon. 
  2. Whisk until the protein powder has dissolved.
  3. Add in your chia, flax, and hemp seeds.
  4. Whisk together for 5-6 minutes over low-medium heat. The mixture will begin to bubble and thicken up. Continue whisking.
  5. After 6 minutes, turn off the heat and let it cool for a couple of minutes. The porridge will thicken up a bit more.
  6. Pour into your bowl and add your toppings! Enjoy!

Coconut Flour Banana Bread

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(gluten free, no added sugar, dairy free)

Coming at ya with a super simple banana bread that is naturally sweetened with ripe bananas as in it has no added sugar and it’s made gluten free with coconut flour. This is made with simple ingredients and can be made in one bowl. It comes together so quickly and makes the perfect snacking bread for any time of the day. Also goes great with a nice layer of peanut butter spread on top!

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I added an optional oat topping on top which does have coconut sugar in it but like I said totally optional. You could leave it without the topping and swap it in for some chocolate chips, walnuts, or even   ⅓ cup of blueberries!

 

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Recipe

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

  • 3 bananas (about 1 c. mashed banana) img_2981
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup melted coconut oil 

Dry Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup packed coconut flour 
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • ¾ tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt

Optional Oat Topping

  • 1/4 cup rolled oats
  • 1 tbsp coconut sugar
  • 1 tbsp melted coconut oil
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon 

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350F and line your loaf pan with parchment paper, set aside. 
  2. In a large bowl, mash your spotty ripe banana and then add in wet ingredients until well combined: eggs, peanut butter, vanilla, and coconut oil. I used a stand mixer but feel free to use a hand mixer. 
  3. Add in dry ingredients: coconut flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and baking soda. You can mix these first in a separate bowl to ensure they are well combined or add directly to the wet ingredients. Just make sure to mix really well!
    1. If incorporating any mix-ins like chocolate chips, nuts, berries, etc- fold those in to the batter at this step. 
  4. If you want to add the oat topping,  mix the oats, cinnamon, coconut oil, cinnamon and coconut sugar together in a small bowl. 
  5. Pour your batter into your prepared loaf tin.
    1. If adding the oat topping, sprinkle on top of your batter at this point. Gently press the oat topping into the batter to ensure it sticks to the top!
  6. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes, until it passes the clean toothpick test. 
  7. Let your bread cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing! Can be stored in the fridge for 4-5 days!

Notes:

  1. Coconut flour is not a direct 1:1 sub with other flours therefore do not substitute in other flours. 
  2. Feel free to use any nut butter of your choice, however, if you use sunflower seed butter it may change the color of your bread. It’ll be fine to eat, just don’t be alarmed if it’s not the usual banana bread color!
  3. Use both baking soda and baking powder!!

Carrot Zucchini Muffins

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Confession, sometimes I have a hard time falling asleep because I have so many recipe ideas running through my head or I’m super excited to bake something the next day (pretty strange I know!). Well that was definitely the case with this recipe. I knew I had some zucchinis in the fridge that I needed to use up and I originally thought to make a zucchini walnut loaf which I was pretty excited about but then I decided to switch it up to muffins.

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The next day I wanted to add a carrot cake vibe to these muffins and decided to add in shredded carrots, raisins and lots of spices! After tasting the first one I was hooked – a little butter and honey took them to the next level. These muffins are not too sweet that they could make the perfect breakfast complement to some fruit or a quick snack. 

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However I knew they could also be a great sweet treat or dessert with a little frosting. Going with the carrot cake inspo, I decided I’d go with a cream cheese frosting. If you would like a sweeter muffin, this cream cheese frosting perfectly complements these muffins. This frosting recipe below is just enough for 4-5 muffins, so if you would like them all frosted just double the recipe! 

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Recipe

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

  • 1 cup shredded zucchiniIMG_2388
  • ½ cup shredded carrot
  • 3 medium eggs (can use 2 large eggs)
  • 3 tbsp applesauce 
  • 2 tbsp olive oil or melted coconut oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • ½ cup coconut sugar

Dry Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cup gluten free flour (I like Bob’s Red Mill)
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp nutmeg
  • ½ tsp ground ginger
  • ¾ tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½ cup walnuts
  • ¼ cup raisins

Maple Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

  • ¼ cup cream cheese – softened
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Walnuts for topping

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350F and line a muffin tin. You should have 12 standard muffins from this recipe. 
  2. First you will want to remove excess liquid from your shredded zucchini. I like to leave the skin on the zucchini for some extra color! Once you measure out a cup of shredded zucchini you will wring it out to remove extra liquid. You can do this by using a cheesecloth or lining up a couple of paper towels and placing the zucchini in the middle of them, bundle it up and squeeze. Once you have the zucchini wrung out, place it in a large bowl with your shredded carrots. 
  3. Add in wet ingredients to shredded carrots and zucchini: eggs, applesauce, oil, and vanilla until well combined. 
  4. Add coconut sugar to the wet ingredient mixture and mix until well combined.
  5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. Combine until you can tell the spices are evenly mixed into the flour. 
  6. Add in dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Do not overmix. The batter will be a bit thick. 
  7. Fold in your walnuts and raisins. 
  8. Use a ¼ c measuring cup to fill your muffin tin. This recipe makes 12 muffins, but you can definitely make 9-10 larger ones. 
  9. Bake for  25 – 28 minutes, around 25 minutes, check to see if they are done with a toothpick, if it comes out clean, they are done. If there is still batter on the toothpick, leave in the oven for a few more minutes. 
  10. Let cool for a few minutes. Store in an airtight container for 4-5 days.

Optional frosting:

First make sure your cream cheese is softened/room temperature. Using a hand blender or stand mixer, mix together all frosting ingredients until it is smooth and creamy: cream cheese, maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon. Make sure your muffins have completely cooled before frosting them. I like to top my muffins with extra muffins. 

Superseed Pecan Banana Bread

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This banana bread features an amazing banana bread mix made by Simple Mills. Simple Mills is a Chicago based brand that makes such a great and ever expanding line of cake and bread mixes, cookies, crackers, and frostings with REAL ingredients that you can actually pronounce.

When I first looked at the ingredient lists of a few different products I couldn’t believe how short and not confusing the ingredient list was. When I got my hands on the Banana Bread and Muffin Mix I was excited to spruce it up and enhance its already goodness! 

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I added some of the typical seeds I would throw into my other baked goods and topped it with an additional banana and pecans for that extra flavor! I followed the baking instructions from the box. I usually don’t cover my loafs with foil halfway through the cooking process, in fact I try not to open the oven at all while something is baking, but I figured they knew what they were talking about and they sure did! The loaf came out great when baked as instructed!

Superseed banana bread batter

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This loaf did take a little longer to cook but that can be expected since it was in the oven at 325F. I typically cook my baked goods at 350F, but again, I followed what the Simple Mills’ experts directed me to do! It was well worth the wait!

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Recipe

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

  • 1 Simple Mills Banana Bread and Muffins box
  • ½ c ground flax meal  IMG_2110
  • 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp hemp seeds 
  • 2 tbsp chopped pecans 

Wet Ingredients

  • 1 ripe banana
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ c + 2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk 
  • 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract 
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds

Toppings (optional)

  • 1 whole banana 
  • Pinch of coconut sugar 
  • 1 tbsp chopped pecans

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 325F and line your loaf pan with parchment paper, set aside. 
  2. In a large bowl, mash your spotty ripe banana and then add in wet ingredients until well combined: eggs, almond milk, vanilla, and melted coconut oil. Mix in chia seeds and let sit for a couple minutes to let the chia seeds expand a bit. 
  3. In a medium size bowl, mix your dry ingredients together: Simple Mills mix, cinnamon, flax meal, cinnamon, and hemp seeds. Mix until well combined. 
  4. Add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients. Mix until just well combined and there are no clumps of dry ingredients. Gently fold in chopped pecans. The batter will be a bit thick but that’s okay!
  5. Pour your batter into your prepared baking pan. I like to top mine with a sliced banana and a few more pecans. You can slice your banana lengthwise in half or into medallions – have fun with it! I also sprinkle a little bit of coconut sugar on the banana to help caramelize and deepen the flavor a bit more – completely optional! Feel free to add more chopped pecans on top. 
  6. Bake for 30 minutes and then take it out of the oven and cover it with aluminum foil (you can cover your foil with nonstick spray).
  7. Bake your loaf for an additional 25 minutes and then test it with a toothpick, if it comes out clean you are good to go, if it does not, bake for an additional 5 minutes. 
  8. After removing from the oven, uncover your loaf and let it cool for 15-20 minutes before slicing. Enjoy on its own or slather some peanut butter on it 🙂 

Notes

  1. If your almond milk is cold you may notice that your coconut oil solidifies a bit. For this recipe that should not be an issue but it can be avoided if you leave your almond milk and eggs out to reach room temperature!
  2. Room temperature eggs work best when baking but don’t worry if you don’t have time to let them sit out!
  3. Store in an airtight container and can keep in the fridge for 5 days (although unlikely there will be any leftovers past day two)!

Lemon Blueberry Poppy Seed Bread

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Looking for a spring time inspired recipe? Then this Lemon Blueberry Poppy Seed loaf is perfect for you! Loaded with fresh lemon juice, lemon zest and bursting blueberries, this is perfect for anyone looking for something bright and sweet but with a nice tart bite of lemon!

This recipe is also made gluten free by using a mix of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour and almond flour. I have not tested other flours but I suspect you could use all-purpose flour as a direct substitute, however, do not sub in coconut flour. I also snuck in some chia seeds which mix perfectly with the poppy seeds while adding some extra nutrients into the mix.

If you want a lighter bread that’s less sweet, you could easily leave off the lemon glaze but in my opinion it adds the perfect amount of sweetness and ups the lemon flavor with another punch of fresh lemon juice and zest. Let me know what you think!

Recipe

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
  • 1 tsp vanilla  IMG_2010 (1)
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract
  • 1/2 tsp lemon extract (not lemon oil!)
  • Juice of 1 lemon (use fresh, not the bottled stuff)
  • Zest of 2 lemons
  • 1/3 cup honey 
  • 1 tsp chia seeds

Dry Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp poppy seeds 
  • 1 cup gluten free flour
  • 1 cup almond flour 
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen) – dusted in cornstarch or arrowroot powder 
  • slivered almonds – optional

Glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Zest of 1/2 lemon

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350F and prepare your pan. I use this pan (9” x 5”)and line it with parchment paper (love this one from Thrive Market!). Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl mix together your wet ingredients until well combined: eggs, Greek yogurt, vanilla extract, lemon extract, almond extract, lemon juice, and honey. Once everything is combined, mix in chia seeds and let sit for 2 minutes. 
  3. In a separate bowl mix together your dry ingredients: gluten free flour, almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds. 
  4. Carefully fold in your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients. You just want to mix until well combined – do not over mix!
  5. Cover your blueberries with a thin layer of cornstarch and then gently fold them into your batter. 
  6. Pour into your prepared loaf tin and bake for 35 minutes. Check the loaf with a toothpick and if it comes out clean take out to cool. If the toothpick comes out wet, bake for an additional five minutes. 
  7. While your loaf cools, prepare your glaze. Mix together your ingredients until you have a smooth glaze. If you want your glaze thinner, you can add more lemon juice or a teaspoon of water. For a thicker glaze, add less lemon juice or more powdered sugar. 
  8. Once your loaf cools, add the glaze and add optional almond slivers if you’d like.

Notes:

  1. This is also totally delicious without the glaze!
  2. If you’re adding the slivered almonds do it while the glaze is still wet so they stick to your loaf. 
  3. If you are using frozen blueberries I recommend giving them a rinse for a minute or so and then drying them with a paper towel. This helps prevent them from bleeding through the loaf and preserves the nice yellow color of the lemon loaf.
  4. I think this would also be delicious if you swap out blueberries for raspberries! 
  • Glaze it up real good! Love the zest that pops through!
  • Add almonds before the glaze dries and then slice!
  • Enjoy a slice, or two.. or three!

Recipe adapted from Ambitious Kitchen

Australia Night

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Australia has been on my travel list since the third grade when I picked it to do an extensive presentation on it. It was absolutely devastating seeing as the wildfires tore across the country just a few months ago.

When the random country generator pulled up Australia I was so excited, however I 10981__32785.1524094492quickly realized I did not know very much about Australian cuisine besides knowing that Vegemite is an Australian staple. After doing some research, I realized that Australia is somewhat like America, it is strongly influenced by lots of the different cultures that make up the country! It was exciting to see but it made it difficult to pick a meal that represented Australia. 

Ultimately we settled on a menu, in which I was so excited to make an Australian dessert staple – Pavlova!

Pavlova is something I had seen so many times being made on the Great British Baking Show but I never thought I would be making one and it intimidated me so much. A pavlova is delicate dessert made with whipped egg whites that is crispy on the outside and soft and pillowy in the inside , somewhat like a marshmallow but better, and it’s a perfect dessert for anyone looking for something that’s gluten free!

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Overall it was a great meal! The tofu and pineapple skewers were delicious and made for great leftovers as the bbq sauce intensified in flavor. As a vegetarian I did not have the rolls or pie, but they were also a success, no complaints at this dinner table! We used puff pastry on both and the egg wash gave them such a great golden color!

Kale Haloumi Salad Ingredients: 
  • Bunch of lacinato kale massaged with lemon juiceIMG_1662
  • 1 roasted sweet potato -cubed
  • 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
  • 2 tbsp cranberries
  • Haloumi cheese – as much as you’d like! 
  • Dill Garlicky Greek Yogurt Dressing/dressing of your choice 

The kale salad’s star is definitely the haloumi cheese! It was a little pricey but SO WORTH IT! The way to prepare it is simply heat up a pan and once it’s hot place the haloumi slices and you’ll see it sizzle. After a minute or so turn it over and you’ll see it is nice and crisp. Let it crisp up on the other side and enjoy while it is nice and hot! It’s so good!

Pavlova:

I followed the recipes linked above for the pavlovas, however I opted for making six mini pavlovas rather than one large one. This did cut down on the baking time and made it easier to share!

I topped them with the lemon curd recipe and fresh strawberries and blueberries. A light dusting of powdered sugar finished off the pavlovas! FYI I had some lemon curd leftover and it was great on french toast and mixed in with greek yogurt. I also opted for freezing some to see how it would hold and it was still tasty!

  • Piped them onto parchment paper, and they do not spread!
  • After they completely cooled, I topped them with lemon curd, berries and powdered sugar!

Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread

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This Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread has become a favorite! After making it twice in one week, I know it’s here to stay! I have a theory this would make great French Toast but I can’t manage to keep in the house long enough to try! I’ll keep ya’ll posted if that ever happens! 

Recipe

Ingredients 

  • 2 ripe bananas (the spottier/riper the better)
  • 2 eggs                                                                                  IMG_1777
  • 2 tbsp of olive or melted coconut oil
  • 1/4 c. almond milk
  • 1/4 c. maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp coconut palm sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 c. oat flour
  • 1 c. gluten free flour (I like Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 GF mix!)
  • 1/4 c. almond flour
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon 
  • 2 tsp baking powder 

Cinnamon Swirl

  • 1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/4 c. coconut palm sugar
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350F and prepare your pan. I use this pan (9” x 5”)and line it with parchment paper (love this one from Thrive Market!). Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl mash your bananas – you can use a fork here or let them go for a few minutes in your stand mixer. Then add the rest of your wet ingredients: eggs, oil, almond milk, maple syrup, and vanilla. Mix until all ingredients are well combined. Then add in coconut sugar and mix well. 
  3. In a separate bowl add in all your dry ingredients: oat flour, gf flour, almond flour, baking powder, and cinnamon. Slowly add in your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients and mix until just combined! You do not want to over mix the batter. 
  4. In your now empty bowl you can mix together the ingredients for the cinnamon swirl: applesauce, cinnamon, and coconut sugar. 
  5. Pour half your batter into your prepared pan and then top it with half your cinnamon sugar mixture. Swirl it with a knife gently. Pour the remainder of your batter and smooth it out. Then add the rest of your cinnamon topping. I like to add it in dollops and then run my knife through it gently to make a nice swirl on top.
  6. Place your pan in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean!

Notes:

  1. If your almond milk is cold you may notice that your coconut oil solidifies a bit. For this recipe that should not be an issue but it can be avoided if you leave your almond milk and eggs out to reach room temperature!
  2. Room temperature eggs work best when baking but don’t worry if you don’t have time to let them sit out!