Some time this week my son stopped eating bananas.  It has happened before.  Luckily the past boycotts haven’t lasted more than a week or two.  However, in the short term, I have been collecting the peeled and barely eaten pieces of fruit and turning them into simple smoothies.  Today’s recipe:

• H2O :  6 oz
• Hemp seeds :  2 Tbs
• Banana :  1
• Kale :  1 leaf
• Raw Honey :  1 Tbs
• Vanilla :  Splash

Blend in high-powered blender and serve.  If using regular blender, strain before serving.  Even though my son is 19 months old, I use a bottle for smoothies(just cut the nipple hole bigger).  It’s easier and less of mess than him trying to drink from a regular cup and I don’t have to ruin his sippy cups by making the holes big.

This is my favorite weather:  crisp, cold, and sunny.  The autumn light is dancing off the brightly colored leaves and much to my son’s delight, there are large orange gourds on nearly every doorstep.  Sebastian turns 19 months today and to honor the occasion and his new absolute adoration of pumpkins, I decided to finally break out some autumnal recipes.

Pumpkin pie pudding is one of my favorite post long-run meals when the weather is chilly.  Its combination of silky smooth and sweet and spicy makes it incredibly satisfying any time, but especially when you’ve worked up a good appetite!  I probably eat it more for breakfast than I do for dessert.

The last two years I have made versions of pumpkin pie pudding countless times.  In fact, I usually double it because I love it too much to eat just a little.  I also think it gets better after a couple days in the fridge so the flavors intensify.  I have a great affection for warm spices and love to grind my own.  I didn’t add exact measurements because I rarely measure.  I just like to shake and taste.  Mix your own favorites and enjoy.

This recipe is incredibly versatile and can be made to accommodate any number of dietary restrictions.  The following version is gluten free, soy free, dairy free and technically grain free.  It calls for buckwheat, which is a pseudograin and contrary to its name, does not contain gluten.  You could substitute any gluten free flour or pancake mix for the starch/buckwheat.  I’ve added a vegan substitution for the eggs as well.  And it makes a delicious sugar free dessert!

Pumpkin Pie Pudding

• 1 15 oz. can organic pumpkin
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 eggs (or 2 Tbs chia seeds soaked 1/2 cup water- use the gelled water with or without the chia seeds)
• 2 Tbs virgin coconut oil
• 1/4 cup organic evaporated cane juice
• 1/4 cup potato or tapioca starch
• 1/4 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/8 tsp pure stevia powder**
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tbs cinnamon
• a few good shakes of allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves*

Blend all ingredients in a blender, or whisk together by hand.  Pour mixture into slow cooker and cook on low for approximately 5 hours.  (depending on your crockpot, it might take a little longer or shorter).  Let cool before servings.

*You can also sub pumpkin pie spice or any of your favorite warm spice combinations.  Sometimes I add in a little sprinkle of cardamom too, especially if I’m low on allspice.

**To make this recipe sugar free, just increase the stevia to taste and omit the sugar

I don’t do well with grains.  In fact, because of their effect on my digestion, I don’t eat them very often… (except for my long-standing vice:  tortilla chips).  The reason for my disharmony with grains could be due to my IBS, celiac disease, or my ancestral ‘O’ blood type.  Whatever the cause, over the years I have learned that I feel better if I limit or omit them entirely.  For some more information on nutrition-typing, you can take a free test on Dr. Mercola’s website.

These cookies are a recipe that my carb-loving toddler and husband love!  I’ve realized that it’s easy for kids to end up with diets heavy in grains, sugar, and carbohydrates if you don’t make conscious choices to add in high quality fats and proteins.  To make these cookies specific carbohydrate diet compliant, you can substitute raw honey for the evaporated cane juice and leave out one (or both) of the bananas.  I will work on adding more grain-free, SCD, GAPS-friendly and anti-candida (Natalia Rose’s Detox for Women) recipes to this site.  I love any excuse to add more coconut oil to my diet.  Not only is it delicious and bakes superbly, but the medium chain fatty acids support thyroid function and aid in metabolism. Yummy.

Here is the recipe:

• 1/2 Cup Virgin Coconut Oil (plus more for greasing sheet)
• 1 Cup Coconut Flour
• 1 1/2 Cups Almond Meal or Almond Flour
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Very Ripe Bananas
• 1/2 Cup Evaporated Cane Juice
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 tsp Vanilla

Combine ingredients in food processor.  You may need to warm the coconut oil first if it’s too solid.  Process until well combined- you don’t need to worry about over-mixing. Grease baking sheet with extra coconut oil.  Drop by the spoonful.  Cookies won’t spread while baking, so avoid making them too high or the centers won’t cook all the way.  Bake in a 350 oven (325 convection) for 10-12 minutes.

Kale is such a nutritional superstar that it has an ANDI score of 1000, meaning that it contains the highest nutrient content per calorie of any food (along with other leafy greens like collards, mustard greens, and watercress).  In addition, it is an excellent source of the often overlooked Vitamin K, which is poised to become the next nutrient media darling, (move over Vitamin D).

Kale is truly a superfood, but it’s a cruciferous vegetable and should be cooked.  Like soy, raw cruciferous vegetables contain goitrogens that disrupt thyroid function.  While consumption of goitrogens by those with robust thyroids might not pose any harm, a large number of individuals have compromised, undiagnosed, or subclinical thyroid issues.  The simple act of cooking lessens the presence of goitrogens, increases the bioavailability of some nutrients, and helps break down the insoluble fiber for easier digestion.  This last point is especially helpful if you (like me) have difficulty breaking down roughage.  It is also important to remember to consume good quality fats along with vegetables to ensure the absorption of fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K).

Creamy Kale

My husband and toddler likes this mixed in with quinoa.  I like it thinned out as a base for soup.  The possibilities are endless!

*I often use fancy dehydrated mushroom mixes and add them in with fresh mushrooms.  Just rehydrate the mushrooms first to use in this recipe.  To rehydrate, place mushrooms in a boil and cover with hot water.  Let mushrooms sit for a couple hours before use.  Alternatively you can cover with room temperature water and let sit overnight in the fridge.  I’ve found that they often need a long soak time or they will be a bit rubbery.

Samantha at Color Wheel Meals is putting together an ebook full of fun and healthy recipe ideas for kids.  I finally was able to send my recipe submissions to her recently.  I realized it was a great excuse to actually write down some of my favorite dishes instead of always just mixing, baking, and cooking on intuition.  I am very guilty of eye-balling and not following formalized directions!  This creative outlet is undoubtedly what I love most about food.  Making something delicious that is at the same time nourishing is such a great feeling of accomplishment!

And what better place to exercise unrestrained creativity than smoothie-making?

So here is one of my toddler son’s favorites.  Blend all ingredients together and enjoy:

I got the idea for “baby shakes” from Natalia Rose’s website.  She has a wonderful community forum that I joined a few years ago.  Now that my baby is a toddler (he turned one at the end of March!) and drinking from a sippy cup, I thought I’d create my own little nutrient-packed smoothies.

• 1/4 Cup sunflower seeds
• 1 Cup water (filtered if you need to)
• 4-5 Frozen strawberries (organic is best, conventional strawberries have tons of pesticides)
• 1/4 Frozen wild blueberries
• 1 tps raw local honey (omit if baby is less than 1 year)

Blend the sunflower seeds with the water at high speed first to make sunflower milk.  (I find this really tastey by itself). Then add berries and honey.  A high-powered blender (like a vitamix or blend-tec) makes this a much smoother, less seed-filled drink.  If you don’t have  a high-speed blender, you will probably need to strain out the seeds.  I’m excited about starting smoothies and can’t wait to add some greens and avocados too!

*This probably goes without saying, but this recipe makes a yummy, nutrient-dense adult beverage as well!

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.