Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free

Slightly Indulgent Tuesday; 05/21/13

Janel — Tue, 21 May 2013 01:00:18 +0000

Thanks again for taking the time to stop by Slightly Indulgent Tuesday this week! Last week there were over 60 recipes shared at SIT. If you’re looking for something new to try at your Memorial Day gathering this weekend, check out the Raw Lemon Cheesecake Bars I made. Also, the SIT archives are a tremendous resource.

If you didn’t get a chance to last week, be sure to check out Dreena’s recipe for her Panfried Falafel Patties AND enter the giveaway to win a copy of her book Let Them Eat Vegan. The giveaway is open until Thursday, May 23rd at 11:59pm CST.

Finally, Kate from Eat, Recycle, Repeat just hosted a Virtual Whole Foods Potluck. So many tasty dishes to browse. I noticed that many of the regular SIT contributors participated. Hop over and take a look.

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Raw Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Amy — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:00:49 +0000

Removing dairy from my diet has completely impacted how I bake. I still miss it – not how sick it made me – but I miss the creaminess, the simplicity, the ease with which I could pull cream cheese, Greek yogurt, or sour cream out of the refrigerator and whip up a lovely dessert.

But, there are have been some unexpected, and quite tasty, surprises along the way. These Raw Lemon Cheesecake Bars are certainly one of them. They’re melt-in-your-mouth uber-creamy and just sweet enough with a nice, tart tang.

If you’ve been around SS&GF for a while, you know I was a a chunky kid. I continually struggled with my weight through my late twenties when I finally figured out that I couldn’t eat wheat or sugar and switched to a gluten-free, refined sugar-free, whole foods diet.

I was raised in the era of ‘fat-free foods’ and ‘spray butter.’ If you wanted to lose weight, you switched to fat-free Twinkies. And, of course, butter was the enemy so instead we sprayed our bread with some bizarre, and probably toxic, yellow liquid that tasted like butter. It seemed normal back then. Now, I have to laugh at the audacity of it all.

There were other ‘fat-causing ideas’ I’ve had to battle along the way. One quite insidious idea that’s come up in recent years is that nuts will make you fat. I’m not at all advocating for a nut-heavy diet. Yes, they’ve got incredible health benefits, including unsaturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, L-argentine, and plant sterols. They’re also calorie and fat dense. With all things, my experience has shown me that moderation is key.

I eat nuts daily. They’re a nutritious, portable gluten-free snack. But I eat them in moderation and with other foods, like fruits and veggies.

I’ve been wanting to make a cheesecake-type dish since going dairy-free. A couple of weeks ago Lauren shared her Thick Raw Lemon Bars on Slightly Indulgent Tuesday. They struck something inside of me, and I began conjuring up recipes in my head. This is the incredible result.
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Weekend Cooking & Pinterest Finds {May 18, 2013}

Amy — Sun, 19 May 2013 02:54:04 +0000

I’ve decided to add a weekly post about interesting recipes, ideas, and tips for living well I’ve come across during the week. Lately I’ve been more active on Pinterest, and thought it would be fun to share some of my favorites with you.

This week has been super hectic. We’re moving in just two weeks. We’ll still be in Dallas, just a little farther north than we currently are. Nate seems to unpack boxes faster than I can pack them, or he’s into something else that makes an even bigger mess. I don’t mind it at all. I love this age! I get so much joy from watching him explore the world around him.

With the move right around the corner and baby number two due in just over two months, there will be a lot of change in our lives. I’m hoping all will go smoothly but am prepared to work with whatever comes up. Being flexible is not my strong suit, but I practice it daily.

I’m also determined to be armed with completely safe, homemade cleaners once we’re in the new house. It’s been a process I’ve been working on since Nate was born and even more so since he started moving around. He loves to be right by my side while I’m cleaning so it’s imperative that anything I use won’t harm him.

These are just some of the things I’ve been pinning, cooking, reading, and using. I’d love to connect with you during the week on Pinterest and Facebook, too!

Recipes

Green Juice Your Kids WILL Eventually Drink {Cook IT Allergy Free}
Buckwheat and Hemp Banana Pancakes {Kristina Sloggett for Attune Foods}
Carob Fudge {Diet, Dessert, and Dogs}

Green Cleaners

Spring Cleaning with Coconut Oil {Kelapo Coconut Oil}
Porcelain and Tile Cleaner {The Daily Green}
House Cleaning Basics {Simply Happenstance}

eBooks

Pinteresting {by Tabitha Philen}
My Buttered Life Baby Edition: Recipes Using Primary Oils and Butters to Feed the Skin {by Renee Harris} Scroll down once you arrive at the page.
My Bedtime Learning Book {by Richele McFarlin} Scroll down once you arrive at the page to view details. I can’t wait to make this book for Nate!

Apps

I **love** the Send to Kindle App. It’s free, simple to use, and lets me send my favorite ebooks to my iPad and iPhone from my desktop. You need to make sure you’ve installed the Kindle App on your devices, or if you have a Kindle you can send them there, too.

Send to Kindle App

Have an incredible weekend! Stop by Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free’s Facebook page and let me know what you think about the ideas here. And, don’t forget to join me on Pinterest!

This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small percentage of any purchase. Thank you for supporting my site and making free content at SS&GF possible!

From my sponsor: Plan To Eat was born from our desire to eat real food – great food – prepared at home, together as a family. Plan To Eat is an online menu planner that uses your recipes, scheduled for the days you want them, automatically generating your grocery list, organized the way you like to shop. Eat well. Eat together. PlanToEat.com.

Dreena’s Falafels (and a FABULOUS cookbook give-away!)

Amy — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:00:46 +0000

I met Dreena through Maggie and Ricki. I must say I am so very grateful!

Shortly after Nate was born and I started eating a very heavy plant-based diet. Not completely plant based, mind you. But I could just sense that my body needed lots of fresh, whole foods after giving birth to get itself back in shape.

There is a huge transition in diet and cravings after giving birth, and Let Them Eat Vegan! helped me make that transition beautifully.

The first thing you notice when you read Dreena’s book is that she’s the kind of lady you’d love to have coffee with. She’s witty, fun, and she’s easy to relate to. You get the strong sense that you’d be fast friends with her. You want to bring her into your kitchen. It just adds to the deliciousness of her food.

Let’s talk about her Panfried Falafel Patties for a minute. Who needs cookies when you can eat these? Really! When I told Dreena on Twitter that I’d been making batch after batch, she asked if I was dipping them in her Smoky Spiced Tahini Sauce and I replied that, yea, the sauce is delicious but I’d just been pulling them out of the refrigerator and eating them. No sauce necessary.

In true Dreena style, she replied, “Now that’s some falafel lovin’!” And, yep, I do love her falafels. In fact, I’ve made them more times than I can count and I’ve never gotten a photo of the finished product. (Guilty as charged.)

When you make her falafel, you must – and I mean must – make her Quinoa Tabbouleh. I used to live in Columbus, Ohio and frequented The North Market. There was a little middle eastern restaurant that served the best tabbouleh I’ve ever had. Since going gluten-free, I’ve tried to replicate it several times but just couldn’t get it quite right. Well, Dreena did. It’s got the perfect balance of acid, veggies, parsley and quinoa.
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Six Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Whole Food Snacks for Toddlers: Beyond Cherrios and Raisins

Amy — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:00:35 +0000

Even though I’ve been on a gluten-free, refined sugar-free diet for almost 10 years, when Nate and I both had to go dairy-free it threw me for a HUGE loop. Not only was I trying to feed myself, but I had to feed Nate nutritious food he would happily eat. Couple that with the fact that he’s a nosher, and it was enough to make my eyes cross.

I had to rethink how I did things. I had to look for other solutions. I had to really slow down and plan how we ate differently.

It’s gotten much easier, and the learning curve for this dietary change was so much smaller than the first time.

I’ve found some go-to snacks that always work from him. Some are more portable than others, but they’re all nutritious, whole foods. Here are the six I always keep on hand:

1. Avocado

Did you know that toddlers should get 40 – 50% of their calories from fat? Avocados are the perfect food for them. They’re filled with healthy fats, and fiber, too. Firmer avocados are better as finger foods, but softer avocados are delicious mashed and dipped in steamed veggies or in green smoothies.

2. Beans

Yes, beans! They’re filled with fiber and help with digestion. Nate loves beans. Plus, they’re the perfect size for picking up and eating. At first, I smashed each bean with my fingers before letting him eat it just in case he tried to swallow it whole. Now, he can chew whole beans by himself. We pack them in a little cooler and he snacks on them while we’re out and about. Sometimes people look at me like I have three heads but their kids are eating Goldfish and Rainbow Sprinkle Chocolate Chip Cookies.
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