Cranberry Orange Bread {gluten, dairy and egg-free}

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I'm really excited about this one!  And its just in time for the holidays.  It all started when I grabbed a bag of fresh cranberries at our local produce market and started thinking of all the yummy things I could make with them.  Then I started wondering about the nutritional value of cranberries, so I did some research.  It turns out cranberries are really good for us!  Besides having a nice amount of vitamin C, and fiber, the phytonutrients they contain are well know for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer benefits.  There are studies showing cranberries help support immune function and potentially lower the frequency of cold symptoms as well as benefiting the digestive tract.  And guess what?  Studies show that in order to get the most benefit from cranberries, they should be eaten in their natural food state (surprise!).

Setting aside all the good news about cranberries and their nutritional qualities, it turns out they are super yummy as part of this delicious, allergy-friendly snacking loaf.  This cranberry orange bread would make a tasty breakfast, a nice pick-me-up afternoon snack or a wonderful gluten-free bread to serve with Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.  The orange flavor subtly adds a bit of tangy sweet which compliments the cranberries beautifully.  For the recipe, I started with the one on the Ocean Spray cranberries package and adapted it to be free of gluten, dairy and eggs (and a little less sugar).  And it worked!

So run right now to the store, grab a bag of fresh cranberries and make this bread!  Its come together quickly - no fuss - and gets eaten really fast!

Cranberry Orange Bread {gluten, dairy and egg-free}

1 1/2 cups sorghum flour
1/2 cup potato starch or tapioca starch
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 TBSP ground flaxseed
3/4 cup sugar (I used white)
1 cup orange juice
2 TBSP oil
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped (I used my good old Pampered Chef Food Chopper)

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (sorghum, starch, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground flaxseed and sugar).  To this, add orange juice and oil.  Using a hand or stand mixer, mix for a few minutes until well combined.  Stir in chopped cranberries.  Transfer to a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.  Remove from pan, slice and enjoy!  Makes one loaf.

This recipe is being shared at Full Plate Thursday, Frugal Food Thursday, Delightfully Inspired Thursday, Pennywise Platter, Gluten Free Friday, Foodie Friday, Fresh Bites Friday, Foodtastic Friday,   Food on Fridays, Potluck Party, Gluten Free Monday, Better Mom Monday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Monday Mania, Make Your Own Monday, Musings of a Housewife, Inspire Me Monday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Traditional Tuesday, Allergy Free Wednesday, Gluten Free Wednesday, Cast Party Wednesday, Healthy 2day Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Wednesday Extravaganza, Tasty Traditions


 

Double Chocolate Cookie Bars {gluten, dairy, and egg-free}

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Chocolate!  Its the best food ever invented!  That's why I'm so excited to share with you my Double Chocolate Cookie Bars.  These are based on my Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, with the added benefit of more chocolate (yum!).  Good cookies are meant to be shared with friends, which is why its so important (in my opinion) for a food allergic kid to have a good cookie available to eat when everyone else is having cookies.  Its even better if said cookie is good enough for food allergic kid to share with her friends and let everyone enjoy them (yeah!).  Brings a little bit of normal back to the game.  These cookies have no gluten, dairy or eggs in them, but I can't say they are health food.  But really, are cookies suppose to be healthy?  And just so ya know, these can either be made as bars or as drop cookies - you choose - recipe and cooking times are the same either way.

Double Chocolate Cookie Bars {gluten, dairy, and egg-free}

1 1/2 cups sorghum flour
1/4 cup potato or tapioca starch
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBSP ground flaxseed
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup shortening  (Spectrum Organic Shortening)
1 TBSP vanilla extract
1/3 cup applesauce
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (Enjoy Life or Ghiardelli semi-sweet chips)

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (sorghum, starch, xanthan gum, baking soda, salt, flaxseed, and cocoa).  In a second mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, shortening, vanilla and applesauce.  Cream these wet ingredients together using a hand or stand mixer.  Add dry ingredient mixture to wet and beat until well combined.  By hand, stir in chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 325.  If making cookie bars, spread batter evenly in a large non-stick cookie sheet (mine is 12 inches x 16 inches).  The batter will be thick so you'll have to use some finesse to spread it.  Bake at 325 for 14 minutes.  It may seem a bit underdone, but its not.  Just let it cool in the pan before cutting.

For cookies, drop rounded tablespoons onto a non-stick cookie sheet.  Bake at 325 for 14 minutes.  Let cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

What doesn't get eaten right away, store in an airtight container.  Makes about 4 dozen drop cookies.

This recipe is being shared at Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Better Mom Monday, Inspire Me Monday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, What's Cooking Wednesday, Cast Party Wednesday, Allergy Free Wednesday, Gluten Free Wednesday, Healthy 2day Wednesday, Thriving on Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, Pennywise Platter, Foodtastic Friday, Gluten Free Friday, Friday Favorites, Foodie Friday, Potluck Party

Green Smoothie Pops {gluten, dairy and egg-free}

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Okay, so green smoothies are nothing new.  But they are still good and good for you.  Plus, they're great for those with food allergies because they can be made without dairy and tweaked to accommodate allergies and preferences.  Frankly, its the only way I'm going to eat kale.  Even my children enjoy a good green smoothie, although my 8 year old son refused to try it for the longest time just because it was green.  Now he admits he likes them too.  

So we were going along, enjoying our green smoothie at breakfast when my daughter suggested we turn it into green smoothie pops and enjoy them in the hot afternoon.  Great idea!  So now we have a cool and refreshing, sweet and satisfying afternoon snack to look forward to.   You gotta try it!

My littlest one is a big fan!

As for the smoothie pop recipe, you gotta start with a good green smoothie recipe.  Most folks don't really follow a recipe when making a smoothie.  Its more of a "little of this and a little of that" sort of thing.  But I like to have a basic recipe to start with, so I'll share mine with you.  Feel free to add or subtract as your led. As a side note, the majority of smoothie recipes rely on banana to give them some body and sweetness, but one of my children HATES bananas.  She literally gags when someone eats one near her.  So to make a smoothie she enjoys we just replace the banana with peach.  The peach still adds body and sweetness and doesn't offend banana-haters.



Green Smoothie {gluten, dairy and egg-free}

• Peaches (15 oz can in pear juice) or 2 fresh peaches
• Orange juice (1 cup)
• Kale (1 large handful which is about 1 cup torn leaves smooshed into a measuring cup)
• Ground Chia or Flaxseed (2 TBSP)  This is an optional ingredient, but once you read about the amazing nutritional value of chia, you'll want to include it.
• Coconut Oil (2 TBSP)  Again, optional but adds nutritional value (read up on the benefits of coconut oil)
• Ice cubes (If you're blender doesn't do ice cubes, just toss a few in your glass)

Toss all the ingredients into your blender, and blend till smooth (about 2 minutes).  This makes about 3 cups.  Just so ya know, if you are like me and long for but don't have a Vitamix blender, you'll do just fine with a smaller and cheaper one like the smoothie/blender set that I have and love.  It comes with 4 individual tumblers plus a 4-cup blender.  And its soooooo easy to clean!  Ours gets used every day.  

Anyway, now that you've got your smoothie made, simply pour some of it into a popsicle maker and freeze. There you have it.

This recipe is being shared at Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Monday Mania, Better Mom Monday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Cast Party Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Healthy 2day Wednesday, Wednesday Fresh Foods, Allergy Free Wednesday, What's Cooking Wednesday, Thriving on Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, Pennywise Platter, Foodie Friday, Fresh Bites Friday, Friday Favorites, Foodtastic Friday, Gluten Free Fridays

Spiced Zucchini Bread {gluten, dairy and egg-free}

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If you are growing zucchinis in your garden this year, you probably have them coming out your ears about now.  Sounds like the perfect time to make zucchini bread.  This recipe makes two delicious gluten-free loaves that smell wonderful in the oven and taste just as good on your plate.  The key is in the spices - cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice - yum!  This recipe makes two loaves because, just like banana bread, this zucchini bread freezes well.  When freezing it, slice a loaf after it cools, then freeze slices in a zip-closed freezer bag.  You can take the slices straight from the freezer to the toaster for a wonderful breakfast.  And please don't let the long ingredient list discourage you - its mostly the spices that make the list look long.


Spiced Zucchini Bread {gluten, dairy and egg-free}

2 cup sorghum flour
1 cup potato starch or tapioca starch
2 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 cup ground flaxseed or chia seed
1 TBSP tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup applesauce
2/3 cup oil
1/3 cup water
4 tsp vanilla extract
2 cup shredded zucchini (about 2 large zucchinis)
1 cup walnuts (optional)

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (sorghum, potato starch, xanthan gum, flaxseed, spices, baking powder, baking soda, salt and brown sugar).  In a separate bowl combine wet ingredients (applesauce, oil, water, vanilla and shredded zucchini).  Transfer dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir to combine.  Stir in walnuts. This recipe works with hand mixing or with a stand mixer, but it's a bit too thick for an electric hand mixer (the batter will tend to crawl up the beaters).  Pour batter into two standard size loaf pans (I prefer glass) and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.  Cool on a wire rack to prevent soggy bottoms (hee, hee . . that phrase "soggy bottoms" makes me laugh).

This recipe is being shared at Allergy Free Wednesdays, Melt In Your Mouth Monday,  Monday Mania, The Better Mom Monday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Healthy2Day Wednesday, Thriving on Thursdays, Full Plate Thursday, Pennywise Platter Thursday, Fresh Bites Friday, Foodie Friday, Eat at Home

Holiday Snacks and Sweets {gluten, dairy and egg-free}

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How can you not enjoy your food
when it's sitting on this adorable plate!

Around here, the holidays have a lot to do with food.  For those with food allergies, being able to eat the same wonderful holiday treats as those around you can make a huge difference in how you feel about yourself, your friends and family, and the holidays in general.  To help get you started, or spark your own creativity, here are some no-compromise recipes our family enjoys around the holidays.

Cookies:
Cut-Out Sugar Cookies - Nothing says Christmas quite as well as cookies in the shape of candy canes and Christmas trees.  And don't forget the icing - that's the most fun part!

Ginger Snaps - Last year we had fun with Karina's ginger snap cookies from The Gluten Free Goddess!  We plan to make these with the kids, along with our sugar cookies next week.

Chocolate Chip Cookies - A must-have treat for any time of the year (am I right?)

Snacks:
Chex Party Mix - Now that General Mills is making their Corn Chex and Rice Chex gluten-free, it's easy to make a few substitutions and recreate a satisfying allergy-friendly version of this old standby party mix.  Follow the recipe on the box, making the following changes: 
1. replace the Wheat Chex in favor of corn or rice
2. use gluten-free pretzels such as Glutino Pretzel Twists , Ener-G Wylde pretzels, or Snyder's of Hanover gluten-free pretzels
3. replace bagel chips with broken corn chips or skip altogether
4. of course, use a dairy free butter such as Earth Balance

Chex Muddy Buddies - Again, follow the recipe on the box, but use only Corn or Rice Chex, use dairy-free chocolate chips such as Enjoy Life or Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips, and of course, dairy-free butter.

Dips, Chips and Veggie Trays - A nice presentation of corn chips and salsa is always a winner.  I also recommend trying potato chips and this great Ranch Dressing Mix found at 5 Dollar Dinners.  For the ranch dressing, mix up the seasonings listed; then make the dressing using an egg-free mayo such as Follow Your Heart's Vegenaise and your choice of dairy-free milk.  The ranch dressing also makes a welcome addition to your veggie tray.

Beverages:
We have found some dairy-free holiday beverages at our local grocery store that my daughter really enjoys.  These can be ordered from amazon, but see if your local store carries Westsoy Chocolate Peppermint Stick soy beverage - served warm or Rice Dream Rice Nog.  Of course, good old fashioned apple cider is a great option as is any combo of gingerale and fruit juice mixed to make a yummy punch.

Breakfast:
Cinnamon Rolls - I made these last Christmas and they were great!  The recipe works well if you want to make them the night before, store in the fridge and bake in the morning.  Just substitute in dairy-free milk and use an egg replacer for the 1 egg it calls for (I used Ener-G egg replacer but I'm thinking I'll try it with 1/4 cup applesauce next time).

Muffins - This might be a great time to try out some of the muffin recipes offered on this blog such as Absolute Best Anything Muffins, Apple Cider Muffins, or Pumpkin Muffins.

One Dish Breakfast - Check out Oatmeal Breakfast Cake or Breakfast Fruit Crisp

Buckwheat Pancakes - Top with maple syrup, powdered sugar or fruit

Well, that should get you started thinking of some great snacks and treats to serve around the holidays, or anytime!  If you've got more ideas or recipes, please share them with us!

Peanut Butter Balls {gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free snack}

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My girls (ages 3 and 9) did the mixing and
rolling for this yummy snack.

As a homeschooling mom, I see the process of teaching my children life skills, such as working in the kitchen, as a top priority.  However, cooking with kids never ends up being the enjoyable experience I envision. The process is slower, the mess bigger and the outcome less sure. That being said, its still worth the effort!

This is one of the reasons I love this fast and nutritious snack recipe. It requires only a few ingredients, very little time, and no cooking. Its a perfect recipe for kids to help with (and eventually prepare on their own). It can be eaten right away, or made in the morning and served later in the day or even the next day. We make these with peanut butter, but Im sure if peanuts are an allergy concern, other nut butters should work just fine (though I haven't tested them).  This recipe is adapted from a recipe found in the book, . "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron. Its not an allergy-friendly book, but has some great ideas for making your own babyfood.

Peanut Butter Balls

1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)
1/4 cup honey
1 cup gluten-free oats
3 TBSP ground flaxseed meal
2 TBSP sorghum flour (or other gluten-free flour)

Mix all your ingredients together.  Pinch small handfuls, squeeze to press together and roll into small balls. (The kids and I usually end up with all different sizes of balls, but I prefer them a little smaller than golfball size, just to give you a frame of reference.)

This recipe is being shared at Allergy Free Wednesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Life as Mom.