This time I decided to write down one of my favorite variations… it makes a very satisfying, fragrant and chunky snack.  Dainty starchy sweets just don’t do it for me… which is why giving up oats was such a hardship.  After having a bad reaction to GF oats a few years ago, I hadn’t tried them again until recently when standing in the Gluten-Free aisle at New Seasons, I picked up the GF Oats and read and saw that they were ELISA Tested.  This convinced me to give them another shot.  I’ve been really craving something something chewy and hearty lately… the perfect fiber-rich topping for coconut milk yogurt!

Recipe:

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl with a big spoon:

• 6 Cups GF Oats (like Bob’s Red Mill or Gifts of Nature)
• 1 1/2 Cups Raw Buckwheat Groats
• 1 C Raw Walnut Halves, broken by hand into large pieces
• 1 C Coconut Flakes (I like the large flat flakes best)
• 1/2 C Raw Sunflower Seeds
• 1/2 C Raw, Unhulled Sesame Seeds
• 6 Tbs Chia Seeds
• 3 Tbs Cinamon
• 2 tps Ground Celtic Sea Salt

Whisk wet ingredients into a small sauce pan on low heat until well combined:

• 3/4 C Raw Local Honey (if you don’t eat honey you can sub Agave Nectar)
• 3/4 C Real Maple Syrup Grade B
• 1/2 C Virgin Coconut Oil*
• 1/4 C Expeller Pressed Oil (Canola, Sunflower, Grapeseed, Safflower)
• 1/4 C Almond milk (coconut or rice work too)

Pour the warmed wet-ingredient mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well with a big spoon.  Spread batch evenly between two ungreased 9×13 cookie sheets.  I use the silicone mats on my cookie sheets, but it isn’t necessary at all. Bake sheets at 325 F for 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and stir granola to provide even browning.  Place trays back in oven with bottom tray now on the top.  Bake again at 225 for 12 minutes.  If you want to add any dried fruit, add now.  Bake another 10-12 minutes at 225 F.  Turn off oven, open door and let sit for 30 minutes to an hour.  This will make the granola harden enough to be chunky.  When ready, break into chunks and put in storage containers. YUM!!

*If you are like my husband Ian and don’t like coconut, leave out the coconut flakes and substitute in Soy-Free Earthbalance for the Coconut Oil.  If you do this, you probably won’t need to add the salt.

Well, after going downstairs for a hit of Americano (bad!) and snack, I realized that I really take the Lärabar for granted.

Lärabars are always there when you need them.  They are my food in a pinch.  These bars are vegan and have no gluten, no soy, no gmo’s,  and are only sweetened with fruit. Except for the newer Peanut Butter Cookie flavor, they are completely raw. (I don’t eat peanuts for other reasons though).  All the flavors even have fewer than 6 ingredients.  How many other foods can say that?

They also make a great bar to take on the road for a recovery food.  Every ingredient is a food in a recognizable state to your body!  That means less waist to build up and process and the more nutrients the body can absorb from the food.  Reading the ingredients for most “energy bars” is a frightening and (hopefully) sobering moment.  I wish people would stop to realize that if they can’t pronounce something, they probably shouldn’t be eating it.

My Favorites: Cherry Pie (cherries have been proven to have anti-inflammatory properties, so great after exercise!), Pistachio, Cinnamon Roll and Jocolat Chocolate Hazelnut.

One upside about the company being bought out by General Mills is that you can find them everywhere from cafeterias to gas stations.  And as anyone with food allergies or restrictions can relate to:  they mean not having to go hungry.  So, thank you Lärabars.  I owe you more than one.

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.

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.

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.

We’ve also added beautiful letterpress cards (from Egg Press!) to our inventory that you can purchase to go along with your order. Email us your personal message and we’ll include it in the card.

This stuff is pretty sweet, so it more of a dessert thing than a lunch thing for me…. but I love the blueberry kind! And I have really missed yogurt since I stopped eating the soy-stuff. One of my favorite foods was the Vanilla soy-yogurt from Wildwood! Ricera isn’t the same, but it is close and lets me pretend.

Now if someone will please come up with a gluten-free, vegan cheese without soy! (I know this would probably take a miracle)

Sometimes it seems like I spend an inordinate amount of time and energy food shopping and reading ingredient lists and nutrition facts. Not that this is anything particularly new- I was raised to be a label reader, but since discovering the gluten intolerance, I’ve developed an even stricter criteria for what qualifies as cleanliness. When I stop to think about the hours I spend searching for clean ingredients, it does make me wonder how my time could be better put to use. Do you ever jump for joy when you find the words “gluten free” ACTUALLY printed on the container? I do! Not that this is a sure fire fix, but it does make it much easier.

The fact is that wheat products, soy, or dairy derivatives are added to everything now.
Basically these are the criteria that I use:

1. Gluten Free
2. Egg Free
3. Dairy Free
4. Soy Free
5. No Transfat (hydrogenated oils)
6. No HFC (high-fructose corn syrup)

It definitely helps to have stores like Trader Joes and Whole Foods who, at least, don’t carry products with HFC or transfat. I’ll stop venting now. I’m sure that it will only get better in the future as demand fuels the market.

Peace.