Gluten Free Dump Cake

If you live in the South, you've probably had Dump Cake at some point in your life. The premise behind Dump Cake is that you dump in some variety of canned fruit pie fillings, box cake mix, cover with pats of butter and bake. Simple as that. Having eaten and baked my fair share of Dump Cakes growing up, I set out to make a gluten free, organic version that has slightly less sugar by using real fruit instead of pie fillings. 

The measurements are not exact AT ALL. It's really just a method. You could use any combination of fruit you'd like. In mine I used Granny Smith apples and peaches. It turned out delish!

Ingredients:
4 organic Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled and sliced
1 bag of frozen organic peaches, slightly defrosted (I used 365 brand from Whole Foods) 
2 TBS of organic extra virgin coconut oil (Nutiva Certified Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil)
1 TBS of lemon juice
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 stick of butter (salted or unsalted)
1/2 a box of gluten free yellow cake mix (any brand works)

Spread the 2 TBS of coconut oil in the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish. Toss the apple slices in lemon juice and add to the dish. Sprinkle cinnamon over the apples. Add the peaches. Spread the dry cake mix over the top. Place pats of butter all over the top of the mix, keeping the pats of butter very close (as this melts, this is what will cook the cake mix). I used almost the whole stick. Bake at 350 for 1 hour until the top is brown and bubbly.

Enjoy!!

Cranberry Sauce with Rapadura | Recipes

This is the easiest cranberry sauce you'll ever make, and SO much better than the can stuff that's filled with high fructose corn syrup! The sweetener for this cranberry sauce is rapadura.  Rapadura is a raw, wholegrain cane sugar that is unrefined and unbleached.  It is not separated from the molasses and is not subject to heat at high temperatures and therefore retains many of the natural vitamins and minerals. A friend recently introduced me to rapadura, and it worked as a perfect sweetener in this dish.  

Ingredients:
1 12-ounce bag of cranberries
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
2/3 cup of Rapadura Organic Whole Sugar
 
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt

Bring all ingredients to a boil in a saucepan, and then simmer on low heat for 15-20 minutes.  You will notice the cranberries starting to pop open and the sauce will thicken slightly as it cooks.  As it cools, the cranberry sauce will thicken more.  Cool completely in the fridge before serving.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Almond Flour Pancakes | Gluten Free | Refined Sugar Free

I find that gluten free pancake mixes can taste a little gritty. This prompted my search for a simple, better tasting, better ingredient, homemade pancake recipe. We love these pancakes in our house. The syrup is already baked in! I make a batch of these, and then reheat them in the toaster oven throughout the week :)

Yields 8-9 pancakes

Ingredients:
1 cup blanched almond flour (I use Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour)
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 tsp flaxseed meal (I use Bob's Red Mill Organic Flaxseed Meal)
1/4 cup plain unsweetened almond milk
1/8 cup Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

1/8 cup pure maple syrup
3 eggs
1/2 - 1/3 cup Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips


Mix the dry ingredients then add in the wet ingredients. Add the chocolate chips last. In a medium high heat non-stick pan, pour in the mix as you would regular pancakes. These take a little longer to cook, and do not bubble up on the top. I like to shake the pan a little to see if the tops are set. When they are set, then flip carefully!

Kid Approved Pumpkin Pie | Gluten Free | Sugar Free

My friend challenged me to find a gluten free pumpkin pie recipe. I think I did pretty well with it! My kids love it, and practically licked their plates clean! 

I used this recipe for the filling:

http://www.againstallgrain.com/2011/11/22/grain-free-and-dairy-free-pumpkin-pie/

And this one for the crust:
http://www.againstallgrain.com/2012/02/10/honey-graham-cracker-pie-crust/

I used an 11 inch pie pan, and pricked the dough so that it would not puff up when it baked.  I baked it for 5 minutes, let it cool, then put it in the freezer for 30 minutes.

For the filling, I used a 15 oz can of Trader Joes Organic Pumpkin. I used 1 TBS of pumpkin pie spice instead of the combo of spices (but still added a little fresh lemon zest), and used Grade A maple syrup instead of Grade B. I used these awesome Wilton Bake Even Stripswhen baking the pie so that it baked evenly, and it only need 30 minutes in the oven.

I can't wait to make this again for Thanksgiving!

So Simple Sweet Potato Soup | Gluten Free

This soup is perfect for Fall weather afternoons, that will hopefully make it to FL soon ;). It is so simple to make, and so delicious. The ingredient amounts don't have to be exact. I find that I sometimes add in a little more vegetable broth at the end if it's too thick. And you can add more/less salt and pepper to taste.

Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes
2 TBS extra virgin olive oil (I use Bariani Extra Virgin Olive Oil - it's the only olive oil that is truly cold-processed from start to finish, therefore retaining the most nutrients)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, diced
1 TBS salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock (Make sure your stock is gluten free, there are several out there that are not! I use Pacific Organic Vegetable Broth or Trader Joes)
1/2 cup heavy cream

Peel and cube the sweet potatoes, and boil them until they are tender and mashable. While the sweet potatoes are boiling, saute the onion and garlic in olive oil. Add the salt and pepper. Drain the sweet potatoes and put them back into the hot pot. Add the vegetable stock, and sauteed onions and garlic. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth. Add the cream, and heat through, about another 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Berry Cobbler | Gluten Free | Sugar Free

This mixed berry cobbler is super simple and quick to make. You can use any combination of fresh or frozen berries. I've made fresh strawberry and raspberry cobbler, and pictured here is a frozen berry mix of strawberry, raspberry, blackberry and blueberry (Trader Joes, of course ;) ). Adapted and slightly modified from this recipe.

Filling:
about 2 cups of berries (I use 1 bag of frozen mixed berries)
1/2 TBS Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil 
1 tsp lemon juice

Cobbler:
1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Organic Coconut Flour 
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/8 cup Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
1/8 cup raw honey
1/4 almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix together the filling ingredients. If you use frozen berries, heat them slightly so you can cut up the larger berries. Pour the mixture evenly between 2 small circle baking dishes. Mix the cobbler dry ingredients in 1 bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Spoon half the cobbler mixture over the berries in each baking dish, and smooth evenly over the top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

The cobbler is delicious topped with whipped cream or frozen yogurt ;)

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Flaxseed Wrap | Gluten Free

I've been reading a lot about how gluten free products aren't always a great alternative for those wanting to remove gluten from their diets AND consume foods with a low glycemic index. Gluten free products typically contain rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, etc, which have high GI values. So, I was cautiously excited when I found a recipe for flax wraps. Flaxseed has a super low GI value. I was hoping it would be a good alternative to gluten free sandwich bread. I was beyond excited with the results! The wrap is soft and delicious and I would almost call it a cross between a wrap and flatbread. I love making my almond butter and jelly sandwiches with it.  I've made several wraps at a time and they keep very well in the fridge. I've also made a wrap with hummus, hard-boiled egg, avocado, roasted red peppers and kalamata olives, which was to die for.

The original recipe is from the book Wheat Belly. I've modified it slightly to make it a little less savory. 

This makes 1 wrap:

3 TBS Bob's Red Mill Organic Flaxseed Meal
1/4 tsp baking powder (I use Rumford Baking Powderbecause the cornstarch is non-GMO)
pinch of salt
1 TBS Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, melted
1 TBS water
1 egg 

Mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, then combine. On medium high heat, spray a non-stick pan with cooking spray (I use TJs coconut oil spray). Spread the batter around the pan all the way to the edges. Let it cook about 5 minutes, then carefully flip and finish cooking the other side.

One note, when making more than one it's best to combine the wet and dry ingredients right before you're ready to pour them into the pan. When flaxseed is mixed with wet ingredients and sits for a few minutes, it becomes very sticky and glue-like and it's harder to spread around the pan.

Enjoy!

Quinoa Burgers | Gluten Free

My good friend, Jenny, first introduced me to the amazing quinoa burger. I was on my way to pick up my daughter from school, and I stopped by her house where she ran out a plate of deliciousness to me. She is so awesome and gave me THREE burgers (I thought I was just getting a taste!). Sitting in car line, I had to stop myself from eating all 3 while waiting for school to let out. I knew I had to save some for my husband to try. I could live off of these things, they are so yummy. I've changed the original recipe a bit to make them gluten free. There are several variations of the recipe out there, but this is the one I always come back to.

I like to serve them on toasted flat bread or UDI's gluten free whole grain bread with a little Trader Joe's organic ketchup.

Here's the recipe :)

Yields about 6 patties/burgers.

1 cup cooked quinoa (see below for cooking instructions)
1/2 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese
1/4 cup cottage cheese
1 carrot, finely grated
1 egg
1 TBS gluten free flour (I use Trader Joe's gluten free flour mix)
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 packet of Stevia
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp ground cumin
pinch of salt

To cook quinoa: Rinse 1/2 cup quinoa VERY well. If not rinsed well, it will have a bitter taste. Add the rinsed quinoa and 1 cup of water to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. When almost all of the water is absorbed, remove the lid and continue to cook on low until all water is absorbed.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. I find these cook best in a non-stick pan sprayed with Trader Joe's Coconut Oil spray over medium high heat. I use a 1/4 cup measuring cup, and drop the mixture into the pan, and flatten slightly to about 1/2 inch. I then cover the pan loosely with tin foil and let them cook 3-5 minutes before carefully flipping them. 

Enjoy!

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Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins | Gluten Free | Refined Sugar Free

These red velvet mini muffins are decadent, moist and delicious. They totally satisfy sweet, chocolatey cravings. And the best part is that they are gluten and refined sugar free! They have 2 unexpected ingredients, prunes and beets :) My kids gobble them up.

Adapted from this recipe.

Yields about 24 mini muffins

1 cup beet puree
1/2 cup prunes
2 eggs
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 TBS vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour

1 1/2 TBS cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 - 3/4 cup Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips


Peel and cube the beets, then boil them for about 10 minutes to slightly soften them.

Add the beets, along with the rest of the other wet ingredients to a food processor (I like using a Vitamix because of how well it blends the ingredients).

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine wet and dry ingredients, then add chocolate chips. Spray a mini muffin pan with baking spray. I prefer to use Trader Joe's coconut oil spray. Fill the muffin pan about 3/4 of the way.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Let them cool for several minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. I like to store them in the fridge.

Enjoy! 

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Chocolate Chip Cookies | Gluten Free | Refined Sugar Free

I am on a mission to find the most delicious gluten free and refined sugar free recipes for baked goods.  I have read and tried many such cookie recipes. I look for recipes with few ingredients and I prefer to bake with almond flour. I also prefer to use low glycemic index sweeteners like honey or maple syrup.

I've combined ingredients from several recipes and added a few of my own to make my version of the perfect chocolate chip cookie. These are soft and delicious and have almost a cake-like consistency inside :)

Yields 1 dozen (I like to bake in small batches, but you could easily double this recipe to make more)

1 cup Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour

1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
2 tbs melted Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil 
1/8 cup pure maple syrup
1 egg
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp lemon extract
1/4 cup Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips


Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix wet ingredients in another bowl. Combine wet and dry ingredients, then add chocolate chips. Drop tablespoons of batter onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 350 for 8 minutes, or until edges turn slightly brown. Let them cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before moving them to a cooling rack.

Enjoy!

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