I wanted to make some cookies to help me enjoy life despite being so restricted on the elimination diet I am currently on. I decided to adapt my Gluten Free Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies to see if they would work and thankfully they did!

I made them one time without gums and they were tasty but very crumbly. Then after some research, I learned that you can use psyllium husk as a substitute for gums and this batch stuck together much better. I forgot to get true psyllium husk from the store, so I just opened my husband’s fiber capsules, which are pure psyllium powder. (Apparently, I’m a fan of use what you got on hand!)

Top 12 Free Quinoa Coconut Cookies

1/2 c. millet flour
1/2 c. sorghum flour
1/4 c. light buckwheat flour
1/4 c. potato starch
1/4 c. tapioca starch
1/2 tsp. psyllium husk
1 1/2 c. quinoa flakes
1 1/2 c. coarsely shredded coconut (or mixture of medium and flakes)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. raisins
1/3 c. + 2 tbsp. canola or light olive oil
1/2 c. sunflower butter (125 g)
3/4 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. hemp milk (literally just hemp hearts blended with water)
2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Mix together flours, psyllium husk, quinoa, coconut baking powder, salt and raisins.
3. Cream together oil, sunflower butter and sugars.
4. Add milk and vanilla and beat until smooth.
5. Add wet ingredients into the dry and mix until smooth. The batter should be somewhat sticky.
6. Spoon batter onto cookie sheets or if you want to roll batter into balls, place on cookie sheet and squish into disks. Balls should be around golf ball sized.
7. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until cookies are slightly browned.
8. Remove from oven and let sit on sheet for about 5 minutes, then remove to cooling rack.
9. Enjoy!

Makes 24 – 30 cookies depending on size and how much batter you eat. Cookies do decently in a sealed container on the counter for 2-3 days, but are best stored in the freezer.

My son helped me make and photograph these cookies and he was more than happy to enjoy the fruits of his labour!

• Gluten
• Dairy
• Eggs
• Soy
• Oats
• Rice
• Corn
• Peanuts
• Tree nuts
• Legumes
• Chicken
• Beef

I wanted to create a list of foods I’ve made/ found that work for this diet for future reference and maybe help other poor souls going through a similar experience. Typically I make lots and then eat leftovers for a while to minimize food prep time.

(You’ll have to pardon my phone photos of food – I haven’t brought out my camera for food photography in years )

Breakfast Ideas

• Buckwheat porridge
  • Mix in a ripe banana at the end so you don’t need to add sugar
• Allergy Awesomeness’ Pumpkin Muffins
  • Remove xanthan gum, use 2/3 amount of sugar, use whole 398mL can of pumpkin, use mixture of tapioca/ potato starch/ millet/ light buckwheat/ sorghum, no glaze
  • Doubles well
    • I made 12 muffins and poured the rest of the batter into an 8×8 baking pan for pumpkin cake. Tastes great with sunflower seed butter!

• Oh She Glows Buckwheat Banana Blueberry Pancakes
  • For Substitutions:
    • 1/2 c. Buckwheat groats is ~90-100 g, so use that much light buckwheat flour
    • Use sorghum flour instead of rice and tapioca starch instead of cornstarch
    • Use homemade hemp milk or light gum free coconut milk, adjust amount as required to reach desired consistency
    • I add 2 tbsp of olive oil if using hemp milk for heartier pancakes
  • Recipe doubles and triples well. Pancakes freeze nicely and can be reheated in your toaster.

Snack Ideas

• Crunchy Coconut Granola Clusters from the Oh She Glows App
  • Just like the ones from Costco! My husband has requested that I keep making these
  • Sub honey for the rice syrup
• Lexie’s Kitchen Nut Free Energy Bites
  • A yummy bite that doesn’t use something sweet as binding!
  • I have used hemp hearts instead of chia, didn’t toast the coconut and added water to compensate for my thick sunflower butter to activate the flax so they would actually stick together.

Dinner Ideas

• Ground Lamb and Turkey mix really well together
  • We’ve made meatballs and burgers from this:
    • Mix ~1/2c. Buckwheat flakes with water to make it thick oatmeal consistency in the bottom of a stand mixer
    • Add 1lb ground lamb, 1lb ground turkey, 1 tsp allspice, 1 tsp nutmeg and 1-2 tsp salt and beat together until well combined.
    • Shape as desired and bake until cooked through
• Lamb Stew and Dumplings
  • Brown ground lamb. Add cut up onion and mushrooms. Cook until browned. Add celery and carrots. Add parsley, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, little bit of turmeric and nutmeg (or use free from bouillon). Cover with water.
  • Meanwhile, mix together Biscuit dough (scroll down to the end of the post for recipe – use 1/3c. Each tapioca, potato starch, sorghum, buckwheat, 2/3c. Millet and no gum, use 1c. homemade hemp milk or light coconut milk and ~100g palm shortening. Sprinkling in some dried parsley is nice, too)
  • Scoop dumpling dough onto meat mixture. Cover and cook until dumplings are cooked through. Thicken sauce as required.

• Millet Flatbread, when cooked to crispy makes an excellent replacement for buns or toast
  • This Recipe turns out quite well using olive oil, but there are simpler recipes I haven’t tried yet
  • They are usually good with avocado
• Pork tenderloin coconut curry served over quinoa
• Turkey Spaghetti Sauce over GoGo Quinoa’s Super Grain pasta
• Leftover Kalua shredded pork shoulder mixed with sauteed onions, apples, parsnips, carrots and greens
• Stanpot – so free from smoked sausages boiled with potatoes and kale
• BBQ herbed turkey breast (salt, pepper, herbs de Provence/ poultry seasoning) with olive oil mashed potatoes
• Taco Salad (ground turkey/ pork with onions, mushrooms and peppers with homemade texmex seasoning, salad, salsa, green onions, homemade guacamole, cilantro, greens, free from pasta if desired)
• Allergy Awesomeness’ Korean Chicken Broccoli
  • Use turkey or pork instead of chicken, free from hot sauce and serve with quinoa

I hope these are helpful for some different ideas for Top 12 free food ideas! If you need more, check out Free to Feed and their cookbook!

Stay healthy and Enjoy!

For this month’s SRC, I was paired with Tara of Tara’s Multicultural Table! Tara’s blog is amazing – like it implies, there is tons of food from all over the world. After looking through her delicious Recipe Index, I realized that my exposure to cuisine worldwide has been severely limited! She has recipes from most countries around the world and everything looks scrumptious!

  
It was a hard choice, but I chose to make her “Shopska Salata” or Bulgarian Salad. It’s kind of like a Greek Salad, but better as there aren’t any olives or harsh huge chunks of onions and the roasted peppers add sweetness and additional depth of flavour. The red wine vinegar adds a fruity undertone, which really complements the salty goat feta. 

Roasting the peppers does add additional time and effort to the recipe, but it’s totally worth it.

  
Shopska Salata

2 Peppers

1 Cucumber (peel and remove seeds if desired)

3 Large Tomatoes

3 large or 6 small green onions

1/4 – 1/2 c. Fresh Parsley, stems discarded

3.5 oz. Goat feta, grated (to be traditional, use Sirene cheese)

Olive oil to taste

Red wine vinegar, to taste

Salt, to taste

Pepper,to taste (optional)

1. Heat oven to 400F. Wash peppers, remove stems and seeds and cut in half. Rub with a small amount of olive oil and place face down on a lined cookie sheet. 
2. Bake for 25 minutes, then flip over. Cook for another 5-10 minutes or until peppers are soft, browning and skin looks like it’s separating. Let cool. Once cool, remove skin and chop into bit sized pieces.
3. While peppers are cooking, dice tomatoes and place in a strainer. Sprinkle with salt and let them drain until peppers are ready, tossing occasionally to help liquid drain off. 
4. Chop up the cucumber and finely dice the green onion and parsley and place in a large bowl. Add the peppers and tomatoes. Toss to combine. 
5. Top with cheese and drizzle with oil and vinegar. Salt as desired.
6. Enjoy!

  
What’s your favourite type of salad?

Please check out the rest of Group D’s recipes by clicking below!

My mom loves Christmas cake. So after I discovered ghee, I have been making a version of my Grannie’s Christmas Cake for her the past few years. I’ve modified it to take out the parts I don’t like and to make it a bit (emphasis on the bit part) healthier than the traditional version. First, I have removed the candied citron peel as ain’t nobody got time for that (aka. it’s gross). Then, I replaced some of the usual candied fruit for unsweetened dried fruit. Third, I douse it in way more brandy than the original recipe called for as it needs to stay moist of course!

This cake is super rich – it’s great when you eat it just because, but it is amazing when you eat it while skiing or while outside in cold weather. I think it’s because the ghee and brandy to help keep you warm!

Gluten, Casein and Soy Free Christmas Cake

4 oz. currants
2 oz. apple juice sweetened dried cranberries
6 oz. sultana raisins
4 oz. dried figs, diced (I cut them in half lengthwise and then slice them into three sections)
4 oz. glace cherries, cut in half
2-3 rings of dried, unsweetened pineapple cut/teared into pieces
2 oz. blanched slivered almonds
1/4 c. starch

4 oz. Ghee (it’s casein free!) (Or 6 oz. butter)
2/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 egg replacer (I made mine with Almond milk, but feel free to use any dairy free milk)
2 tbsp. brandy
1/2 c. each brown rice flour, sorghum flour and tapioca starch
1/4 c. millet flour
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Extra brandy

1. Preheat oven to 250F and place a bowl or pan full of water in the oven.
2. Take an 8″ springform pan and line with parchment paper and wax paper sticking 2″ above the edge of the pan (parchment paper on the outside – to do this, I cut out a circle of each for the bottom and then a long strip of each that is 2″ wider than the height of the pan. The length is pi*d, and for my pan, it was around 24″. You do want a bit of overlap, so if it’s too long, that’s okay!)
3. In a large bowl, combine all the dried fruits. Add the starch and toss until the fruit is covered, breaking up any clumps.
4. In a stand mixer, cream the ghee and sugar.
5. Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined.
6. Add the brandy and mix until combined.
7. Sift in the flours and beat until a smooth batter forms.
8. Remove from mixer and stir in the dried fruits until fruit is evenly distrubuted in the batter.
9. Scrape in lined pan and smooth out.
10. Bake for 3 hrs or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
11. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack. Don’t remove from the pan.
12. Once cool, take a toothpick or other thin pointy object (I used one of those turkey skewers) and poke holes all over the cake. Take a 2 -3 tbsp. of brandy and pour over cake. Place cake in a ziploc bag.
13. Repeat a couple times over the next few days. The cake can be stored on the counter for a few days on the counter and longer in the fridge. It freezes very well, just make sure you brandy it at least twice and wrap in two ziploc bags.
14. Enjoy the rich goodness!

Note: When you thaw it, douse it in brandy. Trust me, it’s worth it.

Are you a Christmas Cake lover or hater?

Rebekah has tons of delicious recipes, many of which Mr. Bean asked me to make: BBQ Chicken Salad with Cornbread Croutons, Crockpot Shredded Beef, Party Beans, Gourmet Mushroom Risotto and Perfect Summer Sandwich.

She has a large selection of baked goods, but I was visiting Mr. Bean in Red Deer for the weekend, so I had no access to my usual baking and gluten free flour supplies. I chose her Mushroom Sausage Ragu and it did not disappoint! It was fairly simple and very delicious, making it a perfect dinner. We ended up making about double her original recipe, which made excellent left overs.

Mushroom Sausage Ragu

1 lb gluten free mild Italian sausages
2 tbsp. Olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
4 c. Chopped fresh mushrooms
2 – 3 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 – 798 mL can of diced tomatoes, partially drained with juice reserved
3 tsp. Italian seasonings
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh parsley, finely chopped
16 oz. pasta (I used gluten free penne)

1. Remove sausages from skins, break into pieces and fry up until browned in a large skillet.
2. Remove from skillet into a paper towel lined bowl. Wipe out skillet.
3. Add oil to skillet and sauté onions and mushrooms until onions are soft and mushrooms are cooked through. Add garlic and sauté for a minute.
4. Add diced tomatoes, Italian seasonings and salt and pepper. Simmer until most liquid starts thickening up. Add more liquid if desired.
5. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to instructions.
6. Serve Ragu over pasta and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
7. Enjoy!

Please check out the rest of Group D’s recipes by clicking the link below!

Amy has TONS of delicious recipes like Bacon-Wrapped Manchego + Mango Chutney-Stuffed Dates, Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta and Garlic, Bete Noire (Flourless Chocolate Cake), Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars and Chocolate Avocado Pudding.

I also made her One Pot Tomato Basil Chicken Pasta but didn’t have the opportunity to take photos, so I also made her Chocolate Almond Pear Tart.

The tart turned out really well and in my not-so humble opinion, is a perfect fall dessert! Mr. Bean kept commenting how good it smelled while I was making it and while it was baking and the end product definitely didn’t disappoint! It was super tasty and had a perfect light texture!

Since it’s naturally gluten free, I only made a few modifications. I used almond flour instead of grinding whole blanched almonds and reduced the amount of sugar to 2/3 c. from 3/4c.

Gluten Free Chocolate Almond Pear Tart

Scant 1 c. ofAlmond Meal/Flour
2/3 c. sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 c. dairy free margarine (or butter) + extra for pan
1 /3 c. cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
2 pears
Lemon Juice
2 tbsp. Apple Jelly

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9in removable bottom tart pan with margarine.
2. In the bowl of a mixer, mix together the almond flour and sugar.
3. Add eggs, margarine, cocoa powder and vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
4. Scrape into tart into pan and smooth out.
5. Peel pears and cut into 12 pieces. Rub with lemon juice to prevent discolouration.
6. Arrange pear slices on chocolate mixture, so they slightly overlap. Don’t press in.
7. Place on baking sheet and cook for 45-50 minutes until tart is puffy and a toothpick inserted into the centre of the chocolate mixture comes out with only a few moist crumbs. Let cool completely.
8. Heat jelly in microwave or stove until liquified. Gently brush pears with jelly. Let set for at least 20 minutes.
9. Remove tart from pan and serve.
10. Enjoy!

What is your favourite non-pumpkin fall dessert?

For August’s Secret Recipe Club, I was paired with Sue of Palatable Pastime! Sue has tons of amazing recipes like her Autumn Apple Nog, Lebanese Red Cabbage Salad, Asparagus with Crispy Garlic Proscuitto and Bubble and Squeak.

I chose to make her Avocado Bacon Pancakes with Maple Syrup! She has a few different recipes with the avocado/maple/bacon flavour combination, like her maple bacon guacamole, all inspired by some avocado toast with bacon and maple syrup!

I was a bit skeptical at first, but the flavour combination worked out pretty well! I made a few modifications – I made the pancakes gluten and dairy free to make them more “me friendly”. My avocado wasn’t as ripe as I would have liked, but it still worked.

This recipe makes 6 pretty thick pancakes. They had good texture and weren’t dry at all!

Gluten and Dairy Free Avocado Bacon Pancakes with Maple Syrup

Makes 6 pancakes

3/4 c. almond milk
1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 large egg
1 1/2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. cooked, crumbled bacon bits
1 c. GF Flour (I used 1/4 c. each of tapioca, white rice, sorghum, 2 tbsp. of sweet white rice and 1 tbsp each of millet and cornmeal)
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 ripe avocado, diced

1. Preheat griddle to 350F and lightly oil (A bit of oil on paper towel).
2. Measure out almond milk and add vinegar to create buttermilk. Stir and let sit for a few minutes.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour and xanthan gum.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together “buttermilk”, oil and egg.
5. Add sugar, baking powder and salt and whisk until combined.
6. Add flour and bacon bits and stir until batter is smooth.
7. Fold in avocado pieces, being careful not to mash them.
8. Scoop out 1/2 c. batter onto griddle for each pancake. (Sue recommends to lower griddle temperature at this point, but I didn’t and they still worked out fine.) If pancakes need to be sculpted on the griddle, add more milk so the batter is thin enough to flatten out slightly itself.
9. When pancake forms bubbles on top and you can get a spatula beneath without trouble, flip the pancake and brown the other side until the pancake is springy but firm to the touch.
10. Enjoy warm with dairy free margarine (butter) and lots of maple syrup!

Please check out the rest of Group D’s recipes by clicking the link below!

This is one of the recipes that I can’t believe that I haven’t shared as it’s been a summer staple and favourite in my family growing up. My mom would peel the peaches and assemble the pastry as we all waited in eager anticipation of what was coming. Needless to say that peach pastry never lasted long in our house.

It was only until Mr Bean made a comment that I realized not everyone peeled the skin off the peaches before eating them ever. Now I rarely do so – many for convenience, but it’s definitely worth the extra time for this recipe!

It’s a fairly simple and forgiving recipe: create a shortbread crust, put halved peaches on it, bake it, pour the sour cream custard around peaches and bake some more.

The original recipe was made with sour cream and butter, but I used goat yoghurt and goat butter to make it more friendly towards me. I know in the past I have used dairy free margarine for the crust and I imagine that unsweetened dairy free greek style yoghurt would work to make it dairy free. I don’t think that the egg can be replaced and have a similar texture.

You could use canned peaches if desired, but bake the crust by itself first. Adjust sugar levels depending on whether peaches are sweetened or not.

Gluten and Cow Dairy Free Peach Pastry

1 c. Gluten Free Flour Blend (I used Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose GF Flour)
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1/4 c. goats butter (or regular butter or butter substitute)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. sugar

3/4 c. goat yoghurt (original recipe calls for sour cream)
1 tsp. lemon juice (don’t add if using sour cream)
1 egg, beaten
<1/4 c. sugar

5 peaches, skinned and halved (You’ll only need 4 1/2 peaches)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. sugar (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Mix flour, xathan gum, salt, baking powder and sugar in a bowl. Cut in butter using a pastry blender or your hands.
3. Press into a 8″ x 8″ or 9″ x 9″ pan. Arrange 9 peach halves on top of pastry. Sprinkle on cinnamon and sugar.
4. Bake pastry and peaches in oven for 15 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, mix together the yoghurt, lemon juice, egg and sugar.
6. Remove pan from oven and pour yoghurt mixture around the peach halves.
7. Return to oven and bake for 30 min or until the yoghurt mixture is starting to brown and crack slightly.
8. Cool before serving.
9. Enjoy!

Do you peel peaches before eating them?

Becky also loves putting avocados in smoothies, Salted chocolate hazelnut cookies, Mexican almond pulp brownies, Vietnamese caramelized pork meatballs vermicelli bowls and Pico de gallo de frutas.

I had a few avocadoes on my counter and some fresh basil that needed using up, so I ended up making her  avocado cilantro pesto pasta salad.

I did modify the recipe as I had basil to use up, so I replaced the cilantro in my version. I added garlic because what pesto is complete without garlic? I used my single serve blender instead of a food processor as it’s much easier to clean. I think pestos are supposed to be chunkier, but I blended mine smooth. I used hemp hearts instead of the feta as I had it on hand and I try not to eat a lot of cheese.

I tried it both warm and cold and I prefer the cold version of it. It goes very well with barbecued meat, making this the perfect healthy summer side dish! Mr. Bean and I liked it so much we are definitely adding it into our repertoire!

Avocado Pesto Pasta Salad

2 avocados
1 clove of garlic
1 c. Fresh basil
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 c. Hemp hearts, divided
Juice of 1 lime
Salt
Pepper
Green onions, sliced
Peas (optional)
1 lb. pasta (I used go go quinoa circle pasta, but feel free to use whatever kind of pasta you want.)

1. Cook pasta to Al Dente. Drain and set aside.
2. In a food processor or blender, blend together avocados, lime juice, olive oil, garlic and basil. Once smooth/to the desired degree of blendedness, add 1/4 c. of hemp hearts and blend.
3. Pour pesto over pasta, adding green onions, peas and remainder of the hemp hearts.
4. Salt and pepper to taste.
5. Enjoy!

What’s your favourite summer pasta? 

For the rest of Group D’s recipes, please click below!

For once, it wasn’t difficult for me to choose what I wanted to make. It’s been pretty hectic in my world lately, so I knew I wanted something simple. When I saw Kim’s grilled caramelized pineapple, I knew I had a winner!

Mine didn’t actually caramelize given that I didn’t use butter or brown sugar, but they were still delicious nonetheless! If you can have butter and brown sugar, I definitely recommend doing it that way!

Grilled Caramelized Pinapple

1 pineapple, sliced into rings
2 tbsp. butter (I used coconut oil)
4 tbsp. brown sugar (I used a mixture of coconut sugar and maple syrup)

1. Preheat grill to 400F. Brush oil onto grill to ensure it’s non-stick.
2. While grill is preheating, mix together fat & sugar.
3. Place pineapple on the grill & brush both sides with butter mixture.
4. Cook for approximately 5 minutes (or 10 on the upper grill) until pineapple starts to brown and sugar caramelizes.
5. Flip pineapple and brush other side with glaze. Cook for 5 (or 10) minutes until fruit browns and caramelizes.
6. Enjoy!

Please check out the rest of group D’s recipes below!