Archive for the ‘Recipes: Gluten Free & Soy Free’ Category
For the Love of Chocolate
Dark chocolate is my favorite dessert. Often I have a double whammy of my homemade cocoa with a few squares of premium chocolate. The irony is that I never liked chocolate until after I discovered that I was allergic to gluten. I’m not sure why, I just hated the waxy consistency and felt like it was over-dominant and overly sweet. Even as a child I always gravitated to the more subtle flavors like cinnamon or vanilla.
Actually what made the difference was all the chocolate research and tasting that I did for my cookie recipes. I became obsessed with chocolate production, with cocoa mass content, with the purity of the ingredients and with the absence of soy lecithin…. something that I very much contribute (along with low quality milk solids) to the waxiness of my childhood Halloween candies.
It’s no secret that cacao is a superfood. The bean is high in antioxidants and a delicious source of minerals… including IRON. Next time you are shopping for dark chocolate, look at the nutrition label and check the iron count. The brands vary, but all the bars that have a high cocoa content should supply a really decent amount of iron! It by far my favorite iron-rich foods… pumpkin seeds are second!
So, I thought I would share some of my favorite eating and baking chocolates…. (a note of disclaimer: the darker the better for me!) And although there are some lovely raw chocolates, they don’t have the complexity of flavor that I find from some of these amazing chocolate gurus. Here are my faves in order for least intense to most hard-hitting.
1) Sweet Earth Baking Chocolate- 65% Big Baking Chips
Small chocolate producer in the Bay area. These are the big chips I used in the Sift Bakery Double Chocolate cookies. They are organic and Fair Trade Certified, vegan and soy free! They have a number of other quality items too. These were my snack during long days at the bakery!
Just the right amount of bitter bite and smooooth. When this goes on sale at New Seasons, I buy a case full. This bar is truly astounding. Organic with just three ingredients: cocoa mass, cocoa butter, raw cane sugar. They have an Allergy note on the website, saying that the machines are cleaned to a very high standard. I have never had a problem with these and I am very sensitive. There are many other chocolate bars that I’ve tried and won’t eat again because of reactions, but these feel very clean to my system. Chock it up to German fastidiousness.
3) Theo Chocolate’s Venezuela 91% Bar
This company is from Seattle and it rocks. The Origin Bars all have distinct flavors, like fine wines or coffees where you feel you are tasting the nuances in the soils from different regions of the world. hmmm. And 91% is just hardcore, but not bitter. I love it. The higher the cocoa content, the less I feel like I need to satisfy the jones. No soy, no dairy, it’s beautiful!
4) Michel Cluizel’s Noir Infini 99% Bar
OK, I admit that 99% cocoa content sounds extreme, and maybe it is… but this bar is sweeter than expected. The first time I bought a tiny square of it at Portland’s chocolate boutique (HEAVEN) Cacao, I was expecting it to taste like chomping on a square of baker’s chocolate. Was I wrong! The Noir Infini is an intense experience and not for the mainstream snicker’s addict… but it is a cocao-lover’s dream. In addition to a tiny amount of sugar, it contains bourbon vanilla, a hint of orange and undisclosed spices. Lucky for me I can’t taste the orange, I just taste intensity.
Here’s my cocoa recipe again:
1-2 TBS Raw Cocoa (I love Nativas Naturals)
pinch celtic sea salt
2 packets stevia (I love NuNaturals)
6-8 oz Hot H2O
2 oz Coconut Milk (like SoDelicious- I use the unsweetened)
optional: sprinkle of cayenne or cinnamon or both!
Related Posts:
Green Berry-Chia Smoothie
1 Cup blueberries (I use the frozen wild blueberries from Trader Joes)
Related Posts:
Soooo Delicious Coconut Milk!!
I can’t contain my excitement for this new coconut milk! It totally took me by surprise. We were in Ashland for the Easter holiday weekend (UP is a Catholic school, so they get a four-day weekend) and I started jumping up and down when I saw this in the Co-op. By the way, the Ashland food co-op is like my home away from home. I practically live there when we’re visiting. Luckily Ian is a sport and let’s me make a daily (sometimes twice daily) trip. Why is it so exciting? They have mate on tap, three kinds of raw-granola in their bulk section, a juice bar!!!, a huge assortment of kombuchas, amazing fresh fruit and gorgeous young coconuts & dates… my mouth is watering… I’m going to stop now.
When we got back to Portland I was elated to find that my very own Whole Foods in the Pearl is carrying both the orginial and the unsweetened varieties. I picked up a carton of the unsweetened version last night and made some hot rice porridge for desert. It was so creamy I wanted to cry.
Heat in a pan on the stove:
2 Cups water (use less water for thicker consistency)
1/2 Eden Organic’s Brown Rice Flakes
(you could use hot rice cereal, but I like these flakes the best)
Pinch of celtic sea salt to taste
Local Raw Honey to sweeten – great for spring allergies!
(could sub agave, stevia, maple syrup)
Splash on the Coconut Milk!
Related Posts:
Coconut Candies
I’ve started to think that I am addicted to sugar lately because I simply cannot stop eating dates…. especially the huge medjools in the refridgerated produce… mmmm. Then at lunch today I got a date bar from Oskri (I eat their sesame flax bars all the time). The bar was 100% dates and so sweet it was almost cloying- like eating a big tablespoon of honey straight from the pot. It definitely needed some meaty walnuts to balance it out…. I did end up eating all 160 calories of it, just in small pieces.
I’m waiting for Natalia Rose’s newest book to come in the mail: Detox 4 Women. It was just released on April 7th and I ordered it that day from Amazon.com, but it just hasn’t arrived yet. Hopefully it won’t be back ordered too long since I think I need to start the yeast phase soon!
Until then…
This recipe comes from the VegNews Recipe club. They have great recipes (vegan, but not always gluten free or raw) and they just shoot them straight to your email address. They are often a source for inspiration in the kitchen.
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup raw walnuts
3/4 cup dates, pitted
3/4 cup dried apricots
3/4 cup shredded coconut
2 tablespoons orange juice
Zest of 1 orange
Shredded coconut, for coating
What You Do: 1. In a food processor, pulverize the raisins, walnuts, dates, and apricots for 1 to 2 minutes or until finely chopped. Add coconut, orange juice and zest. Process for an additional 1 to 2 minutes or until mixture comes together to form a ball.
2. Place some shredded coconut on a plate. Dampen hands with water, form mixture into one-inch balls, and roll in shredded coconut
Related Posts:
My Daily Hummus
Sometimes there is nothing more satisfying than hummus. It’s quick, easy, and super versatile. My hummus recipe isn’t really exact…. but I end up making it a couple times per week. I’ve been known to eat most of it with a spoon and consume an entire container of salsa with it. For some healthy dipping options, romaine hearts are my favorite, but any veggie will do the trick! If you’re looking for something with more substance… there’s rice crackers and Mary’s Gone Crackers are wonderful too.
In your food processor or blender:
Chop 2 cloves of garlic, then add:
1 can Organic Garbanzos
1 can Cannellini beans (which are Italian White Kidney Beans)*
2TBS or Big spoonfuls of Tahini (sesame seed paste)
Splash of lemon juice (add more to taste)
Splash of Olive oil- add to get the consistency that you want. (sometimes I leave it out or just add a splash)
2 tsp of paprika
Salt & Ground pepper to taste
Sometimes I add Cayenne & Cumin for a Mexican variation… and my favorite is when I add roasted red peppers (jarred or roasted in oven and peel skin). I’ve also added palm hearts, kalamata olives, sun dried tomatoes and roasted eggplant. Ian likes it when I add fresh basil and walnuts or pesto to the mix.
The possibilities are endless!
*Instead of Cannellini you can use 2 cans of Garbanzos or substitute Great Northern Beans. I like the Cannellini beans because they give the hummus a really smooooth texture. And if you don’t want to use canned beans you can always buy them dry and cook them, but that takes longer… and usually when I’m making hummus, I’m ultra hungry.
For a hilarious commentary on hummus (and gluten-free white people).
Check out this post from Stuff White People Like.
Related Posts:
A Tale of Two Cookies
We were gone all weekend at the Stanford Invitational track meet in Palo Alto. The weather was simply phenomenal and left me wondering, “why don’t I live in the bay area?” This point was driven home when we disembarked in Seattle to a sleeting 38 degree afternoon. And although Portland was a few degrees warmer when we finally landed, it was raining even harder.
So, after a beyond-muddy long run on Sunday, I decided that I would usher in nicer weather with some Spring Cleaning. Sometimes there is no greater satisfaction than bringing organization to chaos and disarray! OK… so maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration. But I have been obsessed with cleaning and detox more than ever lately. I just want to shed any unnecessary baggage and live lightly, freely. I have recently donated significant portion of my clothes, weeded out unused kitchen items, and shredded loads of old receipts and papers.
In the spirit of domesticity and my new creative energy, I embarked on two new cookies- both vegan and gluten free of course…. Pumpkin Seed Hippie Cookies & Sunbutter Delights… one for me and the other for Ian.
1/3 C raw agave (amber)
1/3 C erythritol
1/2 C almond butter
1 C quinoa flakes
1 C almond meal
1/2 C rice flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp celtic sea salt- ground (or kosher salt)
3/4 C pumpkin seeds
Splash of almond milk for added moisture.
Cream coconut oil, sweeteners and almond butter together. Then add dry ingredients mixing well. I mixed these with my hands! If you want it to be sweeter, just add a few sprinkles of stevia. Drop dough in small mounds or spoonfulls onto cookie sheet. (I use the silicone liners so they are non-stick, if you don’t have these you will need to greese the cookie sheet).
Bake for 12-16 minutes at 300 degrees until edges get golden.
3/4 C Raw sugar or evaporated cane juice
1/4 C Fruit sweet or apple juice concentrate
1 C Sunflower seed butter
1/2 C Garfava Flour
1 C Potato starch
1/4 C Tapioca Starch
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp Ener-G egg replacer wisked with 2 Tbs warm water
Bake for 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees until golden brown.
Related Posts:
Kenyan Chai Tea
This is a perfect warm cuppa when it’s cold out!
pinch of Cardamom
1/4 tsp fresh cut ginger, grated
2 Sticks of cinnamon
1/2 tsp tea leaves (or 2 black tea bags)
Sweetener to taste (Agave, Sugar, etc.)*
2 Cups milk (Almond, Soy, Rice will all work)
6 drops pure vanilla
In saucepan, add spices to water and bring to a boil.
Add leaves (or tea bags) and immediately add milk
Cook on high heat until tea boils
Add vanilla
Strain tea into pot or glasses.
Related Posts:
Fast Recovery… Berry Smoothie
In my brief stint at Oregon, before quitting law school, the athletic department’s nutritionist required us to either down a “Balance Shake” in a can or a bar immediately following a hard workout. She wasn’t entirely fond of me since I refused to ingest these products. Not only did they contain dairy products, but they were loaded with the dreaded HFC (high fructose corn syrup) and coated with hydrogenated oils (trans-fats). GROSS. This wasn’t the stone age either- it was the fall of 2002. And, she was supposed to be a nutritionist! (Never mind that she was overweight herself, probably from snacking on too many of these free bars and shakes that were given to the school as some kind of promotional deal….)
Instead, my compromise was that I would bring along a Clif bar or almond butter and jam sandwich. These wholesome snacks, however, were very hard for me to consume after really exerting myself… especially if it was hot. I have a terribly sensitive stomach! And hard efforts make me nauseous. To be honest, for most of my running life, I have avoided eating anything for quite some time after a strenuous workout. I have also always been known by my coaches for slow recoveries.
And that is something I would like to change.
There is frankly too much evidence available now about muscle breakdown and recovery for me to neglect this aspect of training any longer. I have forced myself to get over my food aversion mostly through liquid forms of energy replacement. Bellow is a recipe for the smoothie that I consumed today after a moderately-paced 16 miler. It was sunny and hot toward the end, and I felt really zapped of fluid.
In a blender:
24 oz filtered water
1/4 C unsweetened cranberry juice
1.5 C of organic frozen mixed berries
2 tsp stevia powder
1 Tbs agave nectar
3 Tbs rice protein powder*
1/4 tsp sea salt
If you like a thicker smoothie, you can add ice.
- Fruit- bananas, melons, pineapple, mango, peaches, nectarines, plums.
- Dried fruit that has been soaked the night before in a little water to plump it up like: apricots, raisins, currants, dates, figs, prunes, etc. Provides fiber, flavor, nutrients.
- Juices (especially high antioxidant juices like unsweetened pomegranate, blueberry, acai, gojiberry- trader joes has some excellent varieties) Make sure they are free of HFC and other added sweeteners.
- Greens: powdered greens, spirulina, chlorophyll, blue-green algae, kelp. If you have a vitamix or K-tec, then add some whole greens like kale or sea-vegetables to the smoothie!
- Bee pollen
- Almond butter, handful of nuts (like walnuts or almonds)
- Flax oil, or flax seeds (preground if you do not have a very powerful blender) for Omega-3′s and fiber from the flax seeds.
- Dash of cinnamon- tastes great and helps regulate blood sugar.
- Powdered vitamin C, Emergen-C packet, liquid trace minerals.
You can be creative and add whatever you like. Sometimes I make “desert” smoothies too… with rice milk, agave, brewed chai tea, cinnamon, and ice. Great ending to a hot summer’s night.
I’d love to hear more ideas for creative smoothie making!
Happy sipping.
Related Posts:
Snacking Simply… Raw, Grain-Free, Paleo-Friendly
That being said, I don’t know why I haven’t been eating more dates. I’ve read this recipe in a few raw food “cookbooks,” and I think it is ingenious:
Ingredients: 1 date, 1 pecan
To make: pit date, if needed. place pecan inside date.
enjoy.
Pure genius.
Related Posts:
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Saturday we finally had a house warming party….. I think it has been 2 and 1/2 months…. but better late than never. It wasn’t the greatest idea as far as timing, not only because of Hood to Coast, but because it was the first weekend we had practice with the team. That meant that both mornings we were up at 6:30 or earlier… Yesterday I was dragging so much!
Ahhh…. the cookies….. everyone was expecting something from me, but I haven’t hosted anything since going GF in March. So I REALLY wanted to make something that would be entirely undetectable from the real thing. SUCCESS!!!
I also accomplished the dairy free part, but couldn’t quite get soy free. Being short on time, I only managed to stop by Whole Foods…. and all their chocolate chips had soy lecithin. So annoying (just like the annoying soy additives to almond milks!)
I was hoping to recreate the recipe in a half batch on Sunday, but I ended up napping instead. It was much needed because, as it was, I was dragging yesterday at the Cafe.
1 C palm oil
1 1/2 C light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tbs vanilla (gf)
2 C gf flour mix*
1/4 C fine white rice flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 C shredded unsweetened coconut**
10- 14 oz chocolate chips
1 C toasted walnuts (optional- also could use pecans, etc)
Preheat to 375. Line pans with parchment or silcone sheet or grease.
Beat oil and sugar well, add egg and vanilla and continue on medium speed until fluffy.
Add dry ingredients except coconut. Mix until well blended. Mix in coconut, chocolate, and nuts. Drop onto sheets in balls, they will spread a little.
Bake 8-10 minutes
Cool on wire rack
*Use a GF flour mix that does not already contain leavening agents or gums. I used a combination of garbanzo flour that was freshly ground along with brown and white rice flours and potato starch. The standard rice flour mix of 2 C rice flour, 2/3 C potato flour, and 1/3 C tapioca starch would work fine too.
**For a more traditional cookie, feel free to leave out the coconut. The unsweetened kind gives more texture, moistness, and fiber to the cookie- almost giving it an “oatmeal-like” mouth feel for me.
