Another gluten free way to start your day.....

     When going gluten free, to me the hardest part is breakfast. I have lots of gluten free recipes but this was my very first one I tried 7 years ago. It is my "in a pinch" recipe as I always have the ingredients on hand. I am sure many of you have this recipe but for those who don't, enjoy!  There is not a easier recipe than this and it is so mild on the tummy! I pile it high with fresh berries and leave it at that. Even if you aren't gluten free, it is always great to use moderation and not have grains all the time. That is how we keep ourselves healthy! Moderation in ALL things. 

Grain free Banana Pancakes

1 banana

1 egg

pinch of salt

Mush banana or puree. Add egg and salt and mix until combined. Cook on griddle. Increase the recipe as much as you like! I would eat this batch alone. 

Blueberry compote: frozen or fresh blueberries and a touch of real maple syrup. Heat in pan until berries burst and get saucy. It is just fine without the syrup as well! It just helps to make it a little thicker. 

Before you complain about your health.....

     Did you ever even hear of gluten/dairy free diets when you were a kid? Did you have classmates that were bringing dry,gluten free breads to class and had to sit out on the pizza parties? There was maybe one kid in the whole lunch room that had to sit at an allergy table, if at all. Times are different and you want to know why? Because we have messed up EVERYTHING. Food is not the same as it was. A Ding Dong is not even the same. It used to be sugar and other real foods. Now it is plastic and preservatives. Since our food has now been genetically altered and laced with pesticides and synthetic ingredients, our bodies don't even recognize food as food. If you buy processed foods, you are eating genetically modified corn and soy that destroys your gut. Pure and simple. These "foods" or really "poisons", actually punch holes in the gut lining creating destruction in numerous ways. When you have these holes, the proteins from the hard to digest gluten and dairy don't break down and "digest", they absorb. They absorb into the blood stream and wreak havoc on your system. Inflamation will begin. Mucous will form. Allergies will abound. These proteins can actually become opiates to the brain actually acting like a drug. I have sure seen the affects of that on many kids on the spectrum! Our gut is the pathway to our health. If you mess that up, stand back and get ready for a breakdown. 

     More and more studies are linking auto-immune diseases to gut disorders . MS, Thyroid issues, Autism, ADD, ADHD and the list goes on. When you mistreat your gut, your body will yell back with things like yeast production, bacterial infections, the inability to produce the proper chemicals and poor immune responses. It won't just sit back and take it. Now my pet peeve is when people will torture their bodies repeatedly and then complain to everyone about their health problems. If you abuse, you will suffer the consequences. Take back your health. Tell your body you will treat it with respect and that in turn, you want it to treat you with respect. It is hard work but so very worth the reward. You have to live in this body. Hopefully that will be a very long time with a very pleasurable experience. Being sick just isn't fun.

     Now I won't go into a lengthy discussion on why you need to change your diet and remove processed foods, that should be obvious. I could go on and on about sugar, artificial food dyes, overuse of antibiotics, and so forth but that is for another day. What I will tell you is if you have health problems or your children are often sick or have stomach and earaches, before you go off to the Dr. to complain, do some work first. Remove all dairy, gluten, soy and sugar if you can. Try it for a month, even a week if that's all you have at first. Don't cheat. See how you feel. Eat real food. Now if you have been in a health crisis for a while, you won't be healed in a month but it is a start. This is the first step, not the last. You will loose weight. Your bowels will be much happier. Allergies usually calm down a bit along with a clearer complexion. Eczema can go away. Energy can return. It isn't the cure all but it is definitely a piece to the puzzle. Try it out. I try to do a gluten/dairy/sugar cleanse every few months to help my body be where it needs to. If I am ever feeling not quite right, it is the first thing I do before I go to a Dr. So far, I haven't needed the Dr. 

     Treat your body well and listen to the little complaints before they become big ones. Take note of  your children's minor complaints as well. A regular stomach ache is a sign of a problem. They are not happy with what they are eating. Please, please, feed them a good breakfast and lunch. Stay away from boxes and get back in the kitchen. Enough of my soap box. Here is a little breakfast item I made this morning. Easy as pie.

GF/DF Banana Waffles

In a blender, add:

1/2 cup organic millet
1/2 cup organic brown rice
1 cup almond/coconut milk

Blend until smooth.

Add to the blender mixture:

1/2 ripe banana 
2 eggs
1/4 cup coconut or avocado oil
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 T. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla

Blend until smooth. Add more milk if needed. Cook and freeze the leftovers! I eat these with applesauce or a little real maple. 

Coconut Zucchini Bread.

I am overloaded with zucchini right now. It is just the season. If you are picking up supplements, chances are you have a squash of some sort in your bag. Many of my favorite zucchini recipes include cheese. That is hard for us cheese less kids. You can adapt many recipes to be dairy free but not these. Darn. I will miss you, zucchini Italienne! 

You can only make zucchini bread so often. Yesterday I decided to change it up a bit and add some coconut. It made it a little more hearty. It went well with the peaches and berries I picked in the backyard. We even had some of our fresh chicken eggs to go with it. I had to smile at my plate as I realized my dreams of being self sufficient are coming to fruition. We are getting there. 

If the neighbor is leaving zucchini on your doorstep or you too are overloaded with the green squash, here is the recipe to try:

Coconut Zucchini Bread

3 cups whole grain flour (sprouted is best)

2 cups coconut sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp sea salt

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup coconut oil

3 eggs

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

2 cups raw grated zucchini

1/2 cup kefir or buttermilk ( I used coconut kefir)

Preheat oven to 325.  Combine all dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients. Batter is really thick. Pour into two loaf pans. Bake for about 1 hr 15 mn or until done. Do not over bake!

Cinnamon Cream sauce and garden talk.

Living dairy free at home is mostly easy but we do miss a little cream now and then. I found this Cashew based cinnamon cream sauce in the Green Smoothie girls cook book. It is quite tasty as a fruit dip or a topping. It is amazing how soaked cashews can actually turn into a cream. It is so easy to make and light for summer fruits. 

Cinnamon Cream Sauce

1 C. cashews, soaked overnight

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

3 T. maple syrup

1 T. vanilla

appx. 1/2 cup water to desired consistency

Drain and rinse cashews. Blend all ingredients and chill. For a sinful dip, use brown sugar. Yum.

I love this time of year. There is so much great produce available. My children aren't as excited since it means lots of zucchini, tomatoes and peppers. I can dress them in so many ways. Today, my husband and I shared a lovely Bruschetta for lunch with some fresh squeezed lemonade. It was divine. 

(Fresh tomatoes, basil, olive oil, salt, pepper and Balsamic vinegar)

I have made a goal to pick something every single day from the garden. I have been doing this at least since October. I am going to see if I can keep this going year round. Right now I am coming in with a basket full daily. Thanks to the Backyard Farmers fertilizer and some fish emulsion, my garden is exploding. Here is today's picking:

Super yummy. I wish I could share.

I hope you are having gardening success. Stay tuned in the next couple days and I will give you a few more tips. Sorry for those of you who don't like the garden talk. It's what I do this time of year. 

Breakfast.....Rosemary Potato and Kale Frittata.

I love frittata's. They are a perfect way to clean out the fridge. It can be a breakfast or a dinner, vegetarian or carnivorous. They are simple and colorful. 


I happened to have lots of potatoes that needed to be used along with a garden full of Kale and a huge bush of rosemary. Perfect. Rosemary is intoxicating. 


If you haven't really done the frittata thing before, here is the easy low-down:


Saute your veggies in butter or oil of choice until just tender. Onions are a must. I finely chopped some white onions, finely sliced some Yukon gold potatoes and sauteed those until tender. Then, I added a couple of sprigs of chopped rosemary and some chopped up kale. I admit I did add a sprinkle of crumbled bacon for a little more flavor but that is totally optional. I then sauteed that just another minute to release the flavors and to wilt the kale. 


When veggies are done, salt and pepper to taste and arrange in an even layer in the fry pan. Make sure there is still enough butter or oil so they will not stick. I used about 8 eggs to cover my veggies. Whisk eggs first and pour evenly over veggies. Turn heat down to low and salt and pepper the top. I also shredded some Parmesan on the top. Cook on low until the eggs are no longer runny. You can also put it in the oven if you have an oven-proof pan towards the end but I usually just cook it stove top. Don't overcook! If the pan is too hot, you will burn the bottom. Slow and steady.


Remove to a plate and serve in pie wedges. If I had my wish come true, this would be served with some fruit and a cinnamon roll. Perfect.

Baked Oatmeal....

I love baked oatmeal and have wanted to share this one for quite a while. I just kept forgetting to get a photo for you all. It is so easy and fills the belly for hours. It is a great cold weather dish. It is better for you if you soak it overnight but in all honesty, I have never done that with this dish. It will change the texture but it is much easier on the stomach if it is soaked.  I just have never planned ahead with this dish to do that. If you do, let me know how it goes. I will try to do better the next time!

Baked Apple Oatmeal

From Molly's Cookbook

1 C. whole rolled oats

1 tsp. cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

1/4 tsp. sea salt

3 T. maple syrup 

1-2 peeled and diced apples. (I grate mine sometimes)

1 1/4 C. milk (I use coconut or almond milk)

Nuts if desired.

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a glass pie plate. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour into pie plate. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Don't over bake. Remove from oven and allow to cool a bit. Serve with a little milk, whipped cream or yogurt if desired. 

Back to School Breakfast

    The kids are back in school. This summer was a blink. I had planned a lazy summer with lots of "kid time" but it didn't really go as outlined. My sweet grandmother broke her hip and I was blessed to be able to spend the days with her. I felt bad that the kids were minus a mom for most the summer days but thanks to good friends and fun vacations, they had a good summer. I am also thankful that they were able to learn the importance of service and that we take care of our family. Life isn't all about playtime and life certainly doesn't always go as planned. In the end, the summer was still a good one and today it all ended. Happy school days ahead!

We celebrated the end of the summer with a little back to school Peach Breakfast Cake. In my effort to create new breakfast recipes, I put this little summer fresh piece of yum together with some heavenly peaches sitting on my counter. We are dairy free around here so cooking is a little more challenging. You don't realize how much you use dairy until you stop. It just takes a little variation now and then but the end product is still great. The cheese part is the hard thing but so far, so good.

The peaches were so sweet that this tasted like dessert. Normally I would have had a little dollop of whipping cream on the side but honestly, I never missed it. It was perfect as it was. 

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If you aren't on the bandwagon yet, please oh please make that your goal for the year. Keep it wholesome, hearty and homemade. Send them out the door with a full belly and a head start. Get the cold cereal out of the house and banish the pop tarts.

Try this out on the little ones:

Peach Breakfast Cake

1 egg

1/2 cup coconut sugar + 1/3 cup for topping

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 cup milk or milk substitution (I used almond milk)

5 drops of lemon oil (you can also use zest or omit)

2 cups fresh peeled and sliced peaches

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp vanilla

1 C. whole grain flour ( I used sprouted kamut/barley)

1/2 tsp. salt

3 T. coconut oil

Preheat oven to 375. 

Beat the egg and add 1/2 cup of coconut sugar. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt. Gently fold in oil, lemon oil, milk and vanilla. Spread mixture on the batter on the bottom of a greased 9 X13 pan and top with fresh, sliced peaches. They should cover the batter. Sprinkle

mixture of 1/3 cup coconut sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon over top of peaches. Bake for about 30 minutes or until done.

P.S. I have a third group wanting coconut oil. If you are interested, email me asap. Thanks!

Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

We need a few new breakfast ideas around here. I make breakfast pretty much every morning, mostly for selfish reasons. I am a big breakfast type gal. It just makes me feel good to feed myself well in the morning and with good whole grains and produce, I don't need to really eat a meal again until dinner. I usually eat some light fruit for lunch with a little nuts for protein but my hearty breakfast ties me over other than that. That is just how my body likes to work. But, I am tired of the usuals so I've been reaching out to some of my favorite blogs for help. I love the "Grain Crazy" blog , which you can access on my favorites list and she had these great little oatmeal breakfast bars listed. I made them up and gobbled them down with a side of fresh, organic blueberries from Costco. They are even better the next day. Thanks, Grain Crazy lady!

Ingredients:

1 C Oatmeal
1 1/2 C boiling water
1/3 C coconut oil 
2/3 C honey
2 eggs
1 1/2 C whole grain flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 C shredded coconut
1 small apple grated
Directions: Serves 12 or more

1. In a sauce pan boil water. Take off the heat pour in the oatmeal and let it sit for 15 min.

2. Cream oil, honey, and egg. Then add the oatmeal,flour, soda, cinnamon, salt, coconut and apple. Don't over mix.

3. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 325 for 20 to 25 min., or till done. (I used a square muffin pan and cooked them for about 16 minutes)

***To make these even healthier, soak the oatmeal and water overnight with a T. of lemon juice or kefir then add it right to the recipe in the morning skipping the boiling water part. I used my sprouted spelt and barley flour as well. I was out of coconut so I made it without and it was delicious as well. 

A special thanks to these ladies for their contribution to these great little breakfast bars. Couldn't have done it without you!

Breakfast time.

     Who doesn't want cake for breakfast? Most coffee cakes are very loaded down with sugar, and the recipe I love is no exception. However, I tried to at least healthify it a bit so we could call it "breakfast" and not "dessert". Even so, this is made pretty sparingly but oh so welcomed when it is. It is a great Saturday breakfast served with a healthy smoothie. This recipe is eggless so I didn't leave them out of the recipe. Try it out and let me know what you think. I put down my healthier version in parentheses for those of you who are ready for that.

Cinnamon Breakfast Cake

2 C. Whole Grain Flour (Sprouted flour)

2 t. Baking Powder

1/4 t. salt (Celtic salt)

1 C. Real Maple Syrup

1 C. Sour Cream ( thick kefir)

1 T. Melted Butter

Mix until moistened and Spread in greased 9X13 pan.

Top with the following mixture:

3/4 C. Brown Sugar (Coconut Sugar)

1 T. Cinnamon

After you sprinkle mixture over batter, slice one cube of butter and press into mixture evenly. 

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until done in center.

Going Nuts

     Outside my very front door, I am blessed to see two rows of pecan trees that are blessing me with their offspring. I have collected a winter supply and am enjoying how good a fresh, organic nut can be. Such wonderful protein and nutrition in such a cute little package. 

     Here was breakfast with my little fresh picked bounty:

     It is definitely one of those breakfasts that will stick to your ribs and give you sustenance late into the day. It is also a great granola to use on yogurt or munch on plain. Super healthy and super yummy.

                         PECAN GRANOLA

1/2 cup raisins

1 1/4 cup pecans (best if soaked overnight and dehydrated)

1 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut

1 tsp vanilla

1 Tb. coconut oil (do not melt)

2 T. honey

1/4 cup quinoa or millet (sprouted and dried are best)

Put all in a blender or food processor and blend until just fine chunks. You can eat this raw at this point or you can put it on a cookie sheet spread into a bar about 1/2 inch thick. Bake at 300 degrees for about 10-15 minutes or until slightly golden. Allow to cool and then crumble. Serve warm over fruit or serve raw with fruit. You can store in the fridge or freezer for later use. Great with yogurt and plain as well. You can add all sorts of grains and dried fruits as desired.

Coconut Sugar

I talk about coconut sugar often in my recipes but I am getting emails like......What is coconut sugar and why do you want to use it?


First off, it is a very low glycemic sugar which is very important. It won't cause those sugar highs and lows like regular sugar. 


Second, it isn't bleached and refined like white sugar. It is the sap of the coconut tree or flower that is then boiled and dehydrated. They don't ruin it with bleach and other chemicals. The body will know what to do with this sugar.


Third, it tastes great and can be used like sugar. 


Stevia is probably the best out there but to be honest, I don't like the taste. I use the coconut sugar when possible although it is a bit costly. I don't trust agave one bit so I stay away from that. Honey is my second choice.


I have been testing out my recipes with coconut sugar and they have been wonderful. It has a more Caramel flavor to it as natural sugars usually do. It has a low melt and burn temperature so you don't need to wait for it to boil down for long. 


This week, I healthified the ever popular Buttermilk Syrup recipe. It made it taste like I was putting caramel on my waffles, just a whole lot less guilt. 

Kefir-milk Syrup

1 stick butter

3/4 cup coconut sugar crystals

1/2 cup kefir

Melt together over medium high heat , stirring often. Careful not to burn.

As soon as it start to barely boil, remove from heat.

Add in:

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

Stir and serve hot.


I also put some coconut sugar with cinnamon on good Sprouted, homemade bread . I put some butter on, sprinkled the coconut mixture and broiled it until it was bubbly. It was super yummy cinnamon toast. Still a treat but much better than the other options. 

I order my coconut sugar from Azure Standard but you can find it on the web as well. If you have found it in a store, let me know. If it is light in color, it is usually not pure or is refined. You want the real stuff. It is used in many eastern countries so I am going to try an Asian market to see if I can find it locally. It may be more expensive than white sugar but you can solve that by not using as much sugar. I find that I can use almost half as much sugar in many recipes and be just fine. We are all better for that!

Dessert for Breakfast

I know most of you have a goal this year to get healthier and I am right there with you. It seems the healthier I get, the healthier I want to be and that equals more healthy-oriented goals. One this year for me is sprouting. I sprout my grains for flour but I am not very good at sprouting them for greens. I will be working on that and I will report all I learn!


If you are just starting this journey, I always tell everyone to start with breakfast. It is, after all, the most important meal of the day. If you only do one thing, let me suggest: GET RID OF CEREAL. Especially SUGAR CEREAL! Yes, it will take a little more time in the morning but ever so worth it. Send the kids to school without a sugar hangover. 


I admit I like my breakfast a little sweet. But, that doesn't mean I load on the sugar. Fruit is sweet and there are natural sweeteners. Try out these delicious baked apple wedges to feel like you have had a little dessert for breakfast. They are also great as a side dish or even a dessert. I serve them with a little whipped cream and with some eggs or yogurt. 

Baked Apple Wedges

3 T. sucanat

1/2 C. rolled oats

1/4 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. ground ginger

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of cloves

1/4 C. sliced almonds (soaked, dried and toasted is best)

4 large, crisp apples

1 large egg beaten with 1 T. milk or kefir

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put everything except apples in blender or food processor and blend until there are just small crumbs, not powdered. 

Peel the apples and cut them into large wedges so they are about 1 inch thick. Dip them into the egg mixture and then roll them in the crumb mixture. Place them on a pan. Bake about 15-20 minutes or until fork tender, not mushy. Super yum. 

Pumpkin crumb muffins

Being in the season thereof, there is much pumpkin cooking going on at my house. 
The thought of anything "pumpkin" gives me warm fuzzies. It is the holiday smell. It reminds me of  the good ole days when I ate ice cream; when the pumpkin flavor at Nielsen's Frozen Custard would be available. Krispy Kreme has pumpkin doughnuts and Dairy Queen has pumpkin blizzards. (Don't get all worked up....I haven't bought any of that.) 
Friends randomly drop by pumpkin cookies and muffins which of course I have to try. It is all part of the holiday regime.

Molly gave me this recipe from her arsenal of holiday recipes. I have many pumpkin recipes but these were a little different with the added oatmeal. I tweaked them a bit to add a little more nutrition and I ate them up. Breakfast style. You can make them as nutritious as you want. I will give you the recipe straight and then tell you what went down in my kitchen in parentheses.

Pumpkin Crumb Muffins

1 1/4 C oats

1 C Flour  (Whole grain Sprouted flour)

1/3 C chopped nuts (omitted) 

1 t. baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cloves

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt (celtic salt)

1 cup canned pumpkin or mashed sweet potato

3/4 C. brown sugar (3/4 C coconut sugar)

1/2 oil (melted coconut oil)

1/4 c. milk (raw goats milk, thanks Denise!)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

Topping:

1/4 C. oats

1/4 C. flour (sprouted flour)

1/4 C. brown sugar

3 T. chopped pecans (omitted)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 C. butter

(crumb all these together with fingers)

For muffins: Combine dry ingredients and add moist ingredients. Stir just until moistened. Fill greased muffin tins 3/4 full and top with crumb mixture. Bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes. 

** For even better nutrition, soak the oats in an acid base and flour also if not sprouted overnight or 24 hours ahead. I didn't plan that far ahead. Since the flour was sprouted, I was half the way there! We all need some phytic acid to help detox so don't stress all the time. If you soak, you may need to add extra liquid.

Blueberry Corn Breakfast Cake

Breakfast is probably my favorite meal of the day and I eat it like a queen. I fill up in the wee hours of the day to kick my metabolism into gear. Skipping breakfast is one way to sabotage any weight program. Don't skimp but keep it whole grain and healthy. This is actually a low calorie breakfast and one of my favorite breakfast cakes served around my house. You can make it as healthy as you want. Here is the basic recipe then you can step it up for better health per instructions:

Blueberry Corn Breakfast Cake

1/2 C. Yellow Corn Meal
1/2 C. minus 2 T. Whole Grain Flour
1/4 C. sugar
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. sea salt
1/2 C. buttermilk or kefir
1 egg
4 t. oil
1 t. vanilla
1 1/2 C. fresh or frozen blueberries

Stir ingredients together except for blueberries. Pour into greased , round cake pan. Use a 9X13 if doubling. Top with berries and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Bake at 425 for 25-30 minus or until lightly golden.

Serve with whipped cream.

****For better nutrition, you can soak overnight the flours and buttermilk or kefir or use sprouted flour. The corn can also be soaked in a pickling lime found in canning sections. You can use sucanat for the sugar or other preferred sweetener. I used sprouted Kamut flour, a personal favorite.

You can also make this gluten free by using a gluten free flour blend and adding 1 tsp. xanthan gum. It tastes great!