Blueberry Orange Dinosaur Gummies: Flashback to a few years ago

a fun treat to take out for a Sunday morning hike

 * a post I had drafted and never published

 "Yay, Hooray" for gummies!  Don't you want to make fun gummies? They are quick, easy, fun to eat and made with quality ingredients. I'm going to leave it at that and post this recipe without much of an introduction or explanation. Just say: "yay, hooray" like Baby Brother does when he is excited.  

What you need:
100 grams frozen wild blueberries
150 grams fresh squeezed orange juice
20 grams of honey
2-3 tablespoons (60 grams) of gelatin

What to do:

Add Berries and orange juice into TM bowl and cook for 3 mins, 80 degrees, speed 1 with MC off.

Let cool to 60 degrees

Add honey and stir for 10 sec on speed 2.

With blades rotating on speed 3, slowly add the gelatin through the hole in the lid until all mixed in.

Pour into mold and let set in fridge until solid

Yay, horray!  Gummy time!

silicone mold

"we are the dinosaurs, marching, marching"

For Other Recipes, click here and here. 

http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/basics-recipes/healthy-fruit-snack/88596
http://mynourishedfamily.wordpress.com/2014/09/19/healthy-gummy-lollies/
http://studio-snacks.com/2015/02/22/sweet-n-sour-raspberry-lemon-gummies/
http://www.mommypotamus.com/strawberry-gummies/

Carrot Molasses Cookies

Who doesn't love breakfast cookies? I sometimes make these on Sunday afternoon for tea time when I have a little bit of homemade coconut milk that needs to be used up. Then I have a batch of cookies for breakfast the following day. If you prefer to use sprouted oats, you can order them here. These cookies use all of our family favorite pantry items and exclude all top allergens. 

What you need:
2 cups oat flour
2 cups rolled oats
1-2  cups shredded carrots  (1 giant carrot or 2 medium carrots)
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon salt 
1/2 cup homemade coconut milk
1/2 cup unsulphured blackstrap molasses 
Handful of raisins or chopped unsulphered dried apricots
Handful of shredded unsulphured coconut 

What to do:
Set oven to 350 degrees

Prepare baking sheet with baking paper

Grind oats to oat flour in TM, 30 seconds, speed 9.  Set aside.

Chop carrots in TM bowl

Add back in the oat flour to TM bowl as well as the rest of the ingredients

Mix on reverse blade, speed 3 for about 15 seconds

Form into balls, flatten slightly, and bake for 15 min at 350 degrees

No-Bake Coconut Crackles

top crackle flipped over to show "secret" treat for Big Brother

Are you looking for a no-bake version of Passover coconut macaroons?  Are you avoiding all top allergens and wanting to make something like this delicious treat? We will be enjoying these this year for Passover, and for everyday tea time as well. For the original recipe, click here: 

What you need:

2 cups of organic, unsweetened desiccated coconut, about 125 g 
2 heaping tablespoons raw local honey
pinch real salt
splash of vanilla
Enjoylife chocolates chips, optional

What to do: 
Add all ingredients to TM bowl

Mix, Reverse, speed 6 until mixture is well combined.  (I think that if you combine without reverse spoon, then you'd get a more compact mixture, but with less coconut flake texture)

Press down into lined or silicone cupcake tray

Freeze until set

Pop out and store crackles in fridge

Muesli Bars

These muesli bars are a staple right now in our house.  Both boys love them and they keep asking for me to make them for after-school snack.  Baby Brother calls it "cake" and says: "outside, cake, eat".  The seeds in this recipe balance out the sweetness from the honey and dried fruit. Feel free to change up any of the ingredients. What I include in this recipe is based on safe ingredients for us. Hooray for hemp, pumpkin and sunflower seeds! What do you think about eating uncooked oats?  I am going to be getting these sprouted rolled oats from a gluten free facility. 

Make sure to check out the allergen-friendly boxed cereals from Freedom, an Australian company. You can find them for $3.99 at Central Market here in Houston or on Vitacost and Amazon.  

What you need:
95g GF rolled oats
110g coconut oil
110g honey
65g sprouted sunflower seeds
65g sprouted pumpkin seeds
80g desiccated, unsweetened coconut
160g dried fruit of choice.  I like these dried apricots mixed with raisins
50g rice crispies
20g sprouted flax powder
20g hemp seeds



What to do:
Line a square glass pyrex with baking paper

Toast rolled oats for about 5 minutes,  Varoma temperature, speed 1, reverse blade

Put toasted oats aside

Add honey and coconut oil to TM bowl.  Heat for 4-5 minutes, 37 degrees, speed 4. The idea here is to make liquid but not heat up the raw honey very much

Add back to TM bowl the toasted oats along with the rest of the ingredients

Mix20 seconds, speed 3

Place mixture in pyrex and let solidify in fridge

For original recipe click here

Big Brother coloring and snacking 

Baby Brother brought along to allergist 
appointment. Happy to have after a long morning

Trail Mix

Baby Brother likes to be outside in the backyard mid-morning digging in the dirt. He often asks to sit and have a snack at the picnic table, and I then bring him a mug of this trail mix. Lately, it's a mixture of coconut flakes, dried mulberries, raisins and hemp seeds. Sometimes we toss in some roasted, salted chickpeas too.  

Leftover Soaked Morning Oats

Frying up in some coconut oil.  Baby Brother has his
own cast iron pan and silicone spatula to avoid cross-contamination

A bowl of hot oatmeal is a favorite breakfast in my house.  While we prefer it on colder mornings, it is still enjoyed on warmer days.  Are there even "colder" mornings in Houston?  It's all relative coming from Toronto and being from New England! Do you ever have any leftover porridge?  Would you like to turn that leftover porridge into oatmeal cakes without much effort?  I know that you don't ever want to throw out any of your leftover overnight soaked oats!  Here is a trick: stir in a tablespoon or so of coconut oil into your leftovers and leave in fridge.  When the oats cool down in the fridge you can cook up some oatmeal "cakes" since the coconut oil will solidify when cold.  Then it's easy to roll into balls and flatten in a cast iron pan.  Baby Brother is a big fan, at least for now; he ate 3 whole cakes with a big smile the first time I made them.  No other flavors were needed to be devoured, the coconut gives the perfect sweetness.  If there are leftovers for me, I sprinkle some cinnamon on top.  I love such simple, warming breakfasts and snacks.  Try it, tell me what you think!  You can also blend up the leftover oats with some coconut milk and spices and make a yummy cold, non-dairy oat pudding.  Do you soak your oats overnight?  Check out how and why to soak oats and make oatcakes here.  This blog post came to the rescue as I was scratching my head about how to continue to serve oats as a new and interesting food for my Baby Brother.  

While they don't necesarily brown up for me at this point,
I did get a crisp "chip" which Baby Brother adored.

Carrot Cake Overnight Soaked Oatcakes.  Baby Brother ate 3 today
for morning snack.  That's homemade coconut milk with "boo berries"
Baby Brother likes to play with his coconut milk rather than
actually drink it.

Homemade Coconut Yogurt

I love having an individual glass jar for each day of the week.
Perfect served with fresh fruit and a drizzle of local raw honey

Homemade coconut yogurt has been something I have wanted to be part of my weekly kitchen routine since Baby Brother's discovered dairy allergy: probiotics, good fats from coconut, grass fed gelatin, no additives and zero sweeteners.  I knew that once I got the process down, that it would become second nature. There has been a learning process involved, about which I could go on at lengths about.  I knew that I wanted to make a creamy, full-mouth feeling coconut yogurt.  I was interested in using gelatin as the thickner and a non-dairy starter such as this one.  How was I going to make this happen? With guidance from a few blogs and from Cultures For Health, these posted instructions have been working for me.  It took a few attempts to get the hang of it; sometimes, with patience and extra curiosity, the mysteries unravel and make sense.  With email help from Cultures For Health, I figured out that I needed to warm the coconut milk with the gelatin to 50 degrees since heating to 37 degrees didn't seem to be working for me. I also learned that I could not halve their yogurt starter packet while cutting the quantity to only 2 cans of milk, as I had done.  What I had to do was use the whole packet and the 4 cans of coconut milk. Please note, that I ended up buying this second tier for my yogurt maker along with extra glass jars to accommodate the 4 can quantity.  As usual, I give my Thermomix a happy little hug for helping me make fresh, homemade food; it's my special allergy friend in the kitchen.  I am planning on purchasing this non-dairy starter from Custom Probiotics, as it is also gluten free in addition to dairy free. Compare the allergen warnings on these two dairy free starters to see which one works best for your family.  

What you need:
4 cans of coconut milk.  I use this one.  
(I haven't tried with homemade coconut milk yet)
1 tablespoon of  this gelatin
1 packet of Cultures For Health non-dairy yogurt starter

What to do:
Put the butterfly into the Thermomix bowl and make sure it’s locked in place. 
Heat the coconut milk for 6-7 minutes, 50 degrees, speed 3 
Remove one cup of milk and whisk in the gelatin*
Add mixture back to TM bowl, mix 2 minutes at 50 degrees speed 3
Let cool down to 37 degrees and then add in probiotic starter – making sure it is not caught on the butterfly
Mix, speed 3 for 20 seconds
Pour into Yogurt Machine's glass jars and follow machine's instructions
Incubate for 14 hours (added 2 hours for top tier)

*I'm working on having the gelatin fully mix in, as I do get some clumps
**I have only been making coconut yogurt for one month, so I could revisit this post with some tweaking: please contact me if you have any suggestions or questions--teamwork :)

Farmer's market peaches topped with coconut yogurt and coconut flakes

For More Guidance: http://www.pinterest.com/DeniseZfinds/yogurt-making/

I am going to look into the starter listed in this post

Coconut Black {R}ice Pudding

We love rice pudding, it's a true comfort food for all of us.  We made a deliciously simple eggless version in our Thermomix regularly; it had become a family favorite. Recently, Big Brother asked me why we hadn't been making it at all anymore and then made a special request to bring it back for afternoon snack.  True, I hadn't made it since we discovered Baby Brother's milk allergy, and have since preferred to limit the amount of dairy drool shared between them.  It can be hard to say goodbye to favorite foods due to allergies.  What favorites have you had trouble leaving behind? What are your new ones?  Today, we are on our toes, as we adapt and reinvent our favorite comfort food.  Switching up cow milk for coconut milk to make rice pudding is a simple change rather than a challenge.  We use coconut milk and coconut products regularly so there was very little adjustment in that sense, and we don't have the big jug of milk in the fridge any longer that needs to be used up in a rice pudding or similar treat. And there is something wonderfully lovely about coconut milk rice pudding, perhaps reminiscent of mango sticky rice? I'll hold off on the crushed peanuts for now, as I'd rather err on the side of caution around Baby Brother.

While looking around for coconut milk Thermomix recipes, I spotted this one.  At the same time, a favorite blog, My New Roots, posted a version.  Perfect timing, as we made this one very cold Houston morning when preschool was actually canceled to do black {r}ice.  Oh, how we laughed along to the humor behind this play on words. Or did we laugh more at the fact that school was canceled here because of icy conditions?  We often compare Houston's winter to Toronto's and talk about how we know longer leave the house in winter gear.  So it was meant to be, a coconut milk black rice pudding for me.  The black rice and coconut milk elevate humble rice pudding to the next level. Keep in mind that rice pudding is gluten-free, making this a good treat to share with everyone.  Combining both recipes, I came up with this:

What you need:
1 cup of black rice, soaked overnight
1 can of coconut milk, I use this one
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon maple syrup

What to do:
Soak black rice in cold water overnight
Insert butterfuly, then place rice and coconut milk in TM.  Cook for 100 degrees, 45 minutes, speed 1, reverse.
Drizzle in maple syrup. 
Serve with a drizzle of coconut milk, coconut flakes, mango chunks, or anything else you fancy.  And more maple syrup too :)

 .

Coconut, Apricot and Cacao Bliss Balls

Left: chocolate energy bark
Right: Bliss Balls

I can't stop myself from making and eating these bliss balls.  Perfect for popping in your mouth for mid-morning snack, and perfect for getting the energy for nap-time nursing.  The best part is that there is no cooking involved.  I start with a simple base of equal parts soaked organic and sulfur-free dried apricots and desiccated coconut and then add in a few pantry favorites like raw cacao powder, cacao nibs and chia seeds.  Have you ever tried Crio Bru?  It is simple wonderful and the granules are good in these bliss balls.  These will be a huge hit with dairy-free, gluten-free and nut-free friends too. They are so simple, yet special at the same time.  

What you need for base: 

200 grams unsulfered, organic dried apricots-- I have the bulk guys at Whole Foods fill up a bag for me when the order comes in.  
200 grams desiccated coconut--I use this, and like to get several bags at a time with BoGo promo.
1 tsp of local, raw honey--I get mine from Urban Harvest Farmer's Market

What I like for add-ins, I'd say I use roughly one tablespoon each:

Some cacao nibs or  Crio Bru granules or leftover grounds
Some raw cacao powder
Some chia seeds

What to do:

Soak dried apricots in water for 2 hours, so that they soften
Drain off water and add to TM bowl
Add Coconut and honey
Blitz, speed 7 for 25-30 seconds
Add in extras, blend on speed 4 reverse speed for about 10 seconds
Roll into balls and roll into coconut to coat
Store in fridge

See here for original recipe
And for more lunchbox and bliss ball ideas, see here

The ultimate pick-me-up, with
a cup of Crio Bru brewed cocoa 

make a great gift

Pumpkin

I love pumpkin and butternut squash and find a way to put them in everything.  I have been enjoying the process of roasting them, scooping out the flesh and blending in my Thermomix  Here are some of the treats I use it in.  I also buy this canned pumpkin on vitacost when they go on sale: $1.90 this week!


pumpkin chai bars
crustless pumpkin pie
pumpkin muffin donuts
persimon pumpkin smoothie
pumpkin gingerbread bars
quinoa pumpkin cookies
chocolate pumpkin bars
morning pumpkin pie oat and buckwheat porridge
pumpkin pie amaranth porridge
pumpkin pie millet porridge

Coconut Water Hot Chocolate

It's a rainy day. Big Brother is home sick.  Baby Brother's first tooth is popping through.  Both are napping at the same time.  Chicken stock is simmering and will be ready in a few hours.  What should I make right now?  I have a jar of coconut water in the fridge, or really what was left from separating out the cream on top to make the coconut frosting last weekend.  I could make a smoothie, but I prefer to eat the fresh strawberries from the farmer's market as they are.  And the frozen wild blueberries are best left to top our morning pumpkin pie steel cut oat porridge.  How about a new twist on hot chocolate?  I looked up coconut water hot chocolate and pulled up this recipe.  Below is how I'll try it out in my Thermomix.  With my Thermomix, nothing goes to waste, and playing in the kitchen is easy and fun since there is less to clean up :)

Add leftover coconut water to TM bowl, in this case what was left over from making frosting with two cans of coconut milk, along with 1/4 cup of  raw cacao powder (know of a allergy safe brand?), a dash of vanilla, a pinch of good salt, a heaping tablespoon of sucanat or maple syrup  some cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice to jazz things up.  That was how I made it today.  I'm sure I'll be playing around with the amounts. Now, 70 degrees, speed 1, 5 minutes.  Then blend on speed 6 for 30 seconds.  Enjoy!

*Fast-forward to following day, I took a sip of leftover hot chocolate.  Totally deliciously and creamy cold out of the fridge.  Perhaps I'll make double the amount and store in the fridge for hot Houston days?

Chai Coconut Milk Ice Cream

This is our favorite go-to ice cream.  Simple ingredients, great flavor and super easy to make. We served this ice cream along side chocolate layer cake for Baby Brother's 1st Birthday and it was a big hit.  We also enjoy serving drowned in hot coffee or Crio Bru in the form of Affogato.  We can't wait to try with this chocolate ganache or this hard chocolate topping.  See below how great it is scooped on top of our favorite brownies.  But really, it's great on it's own!

What you need:
2, 14 ounce cans of full fat coconut milk
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon each of ground nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom
a pinch or two of unrefined salt
1/2 cup pure maple syrup or combination of 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1/4 cup raw honey.  
*for vegans, make with maple syrup or check first if honey is permitted

What to do:
Blend or whisk ingredients until smooth.  
Follow instructions of your ice cream maker to freeze until smooth.  We churned for about 25 minutes and packed two pints. 

Click here for original recipe, and for a way to make without ice cream maker.  You could also make with Thermomix.

Happy New Year

Our New Year menu highlights how easy it can be to enjoy a dairy-free, nut-free, seed-free, soy-free, egg-free, gluten-free holiday.  Some early afternoon appetizers, followed by a braised meat dish.  This year it was Osso Buco (note: make your own pine nut-free gremolata on top as it may contain pine nuts in a restaurant). We enjoy braised meat and chicken dinners regularly with roasted potatoes, rice or polenta.  These also happen to be great dishes for sharing with others and celebrating special occasions.  They also provide leftovers!  I love to change up the veggies to go with the leftovers according to what we get in our CSA basket or Saturday Farmer's Market run. This week: sautéed garlicky spinach, roasted cauliflower/mash, steamed sweet potato moons, honey rosemary roasted turnips and carrots.  We always pick up purple grapes for the New Year's Eve Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes as the New Year rings in.  This year, just like the past few with children, the grapes are now a morning snack tradition.  Serve grapes for dessert with some champagne; now that's easy and allergy-friendly! Just remember to check for a sulfite allergy with your guests.

challenging to chop herbs, plate without sauce
spreading everywhere and take photos while feeding Baby

Watermelon Ice

I cut up a giant watermelon at least once a week during the summer.  Sometimes, on day three, I freeze what is left and then pull for watermelon ice on a hot day. Well, every day is hot here! Simple directions: Put frozen watermelon with mint and basil in Thermomix bowl. Turn dial up until you get desired texture.

Afternoon Date Shake

An absolute favorite afternoon pick-me-up. And so easy to make! I always have dates in the refrigerator to serve to guests instead of nuts.  Perhaps a small bowl of dates, small bowl of unsulphered dried apricots with some roasted chickpeas.

What you need:
3/4 cup of whole milk (I like Mill-King Creamery)
1/2 cup ice
1/3 cup of pitted dates (bagged Whole Foods, I avoid bulk due to fear of cross-contamination with scoop or "that" hand that reaches in bins to "try")

What to do:
Place ingredients in Thermomix bowl and blend on speed nine until frothy. 

Chocolate Chip Bread

favorite bakeware: www.benningtonpotters.com

Bread with chocolate!  Made in just minutes with my Thermomix and whenever we want it since the machine does the weighing, mixing and kneading. This chocolate bread quickly became a favorite breakfast and after school treat during my second pregnancy. I  craved baked goods both pregnancies, but was twice as scared to have an allergic reaction and need to take Benadryl, or even worse, have to grab for my epi-pen. Combine my son's sesame allergy-can now tolerate egg in bake goods but with caution-with my nut allergy, and you'll see the comfort in doing our own, safe baking.


What you need:

325 g luke warm water 
40 g butter
1.5 tbsp cocoa (we used Trader Joe's: email customer service for quick allergen risk response)
1 tsp salt 
2 tsp yeast 
40 g sugar
520 g bakers flour  (I used all-purpose.  I would like to try mixing with whole grain flour)
150 g choc chips  (Enjoylife brand free of top allergens, but we are comfortable with WholeFoods 36570% dark chic chunks)

What to do:

Place all ingredients into bowl and mix speed 6 for 7 seconds.  Knead on interval speed for 2 minutes.

Proove 30 minutes and bake on 180 degrees for 40 minutes.  Let cool before serving.

*add pinch of cinnamon or some orange zest,  Maybe rosemary?
**play around with when to add chocolate chips,
***spread with some coconut butter, or cream cheese and preserves. Maybe ricotta with a drizzle of honey? Maybe whipped butter with add-in like fresh berries?

original recipe: http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/recipes/chocolate-bread/45875

Chocolate Quinoa Crackers

We have been quite busy moving, yet again.  This time just down the street though and not internationally. Between pregnancy and moving to-do lists, I am just starting to get back into looking for new recipes to try.  I bookmarked these chocolate quinoa crackers a while ago because I liked the short list of ingredients.  I also liked that they are vegan and gluten free.  Since I would like to share these with a friend who does not tolerate gluten, I wiped down my counter top 3 times, made sure to inspect all cooking utensils out of the dishwasher, and used parchment paper on bottom and top of dough when rolling out as well as a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  I just didn't trust that my rolling pin was totally free of traces of gluten.  I still need to calibrate the oven since I'm sure the temperature is off some; let's hope that the 390 I set the oven to worked out ok.  Off to try one now!

Original recipe found at: http://chockohlawtay.blogspot.com/2012/07/chocolate-quinoa-crackers.html

                                                                  

What you need:
1 cup of quinoa flour (Ancient Harvest Organic Quinoa Flour)
1/2 cup cocoa powder (Trader Joe's Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: "Our Vendors Follow Good Manufacturing Practices To Segregate Ingredients to Avoid Cross Contact With Allergens Made on Shared Equipment With Milk.")
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup sugar (please note that recipe calls for other sweeteners)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon canola oil
1/2 cup water

What to do:
Tape down a large square of parchment paper onto your counter

Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Take out third parchment paper and set aside for putting on top of dough for when rolling out

Measure the oil and water in different bowls and set aside.

In bowl, whisk together the quinoa flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.  

Drizzle the oil over the mixture and rub in with your fingers until it looks a little like sand 


Slowly add in the water, still mixing using your fingers.  Add enough water to form a ball (should not be too moist and should not be too dry where pieces crumble off).  Pat the dough into a ball and place on the taped down parchment paper.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Roll the dough out , making sure that it doesn't tear.  If it does, add a little bit more water, re-pat into a ball and roll out again.  Roll out to about 1/8" thickness.  Slice using a pizza cutter.  Transfer squares individually onto the prepared pan--about 1-2" apart--and poke holes into them using a toothpick or fork.  Bake for 10-11 minutes (they will be soft out of the oven but will become crunchy once cooled), and cool on a wire drying rack.

poking holes

Today, Cats!
Tomorrow, Trains!

                                                       

Rice pudding (arroz con leche): No Egg In Mine

Arroz con leche/rice pudding could be my all time favorite treat, maybe even more so than ice cream. This rice pudding recipe contains no egg.   It is creamy and comforting and easy to make in the Thermomix.   The Thermomix requires so little effort that you will hug your machine with each delicious bite.  This is a great go-to treat for any time of day.  I even like it for breakfast, especially during pregnancy; filling and not too sweet.  Top with ground cinnamon or add cinnamon sticks, lemon/orange rind to milk as it cooks.  

I froze two rocket pops with the rice pudding, let's see how they come out:

Recipe on Thermomix App under "Desserts and Sweets".  Great step by step instructions and pop-up ingredient list

What you need:
1000 g milk
50 g sugar
1 pinch salt
220 g white short-grain rice (I use Whole Foods Arborio)

What to do:
Place, mik, sugar and salt into mixing bowl, heat 8 min/100 degrees C/speed 1 without inserted measuring cup.

Add rice, cook 30 min/90 degrees C/reverse/speed 1 without inserted measuring cup.

Sprinkle with cinnamon and enjoy!