Allergy-Free Wednesdays Week 68: May 22, 2013

Hello and welcome to Allergy-Free Wednesdays (AFW).

  AFW is a weekly blog hop where folks can share their allergy-free cuisine, gain knowledge about allergy-related topics/issues, and connect with others living or caring for someone with food allergies.

This is a weekly blog hop hosted by myself and six other fabulous allergy-free bloggers.  Your weekly submissions will be shared on all 7 blogs!  Check back each week for reader favorites and recipe highlights.  

Before linking up - PLEASE click HERE to review rules, guidelines, and legal information.  Thank you!  
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Featured Recipes & Highlights

Each week AFW features the most most popular recipe from the previous week, and the six AFW hostesses will highlight their favorites.  Please note that your submission must contain a link back to our Allergy-Free Wednesday's Blog Hop in order to be featured.  Click HERE for last week's entries and the appropriate back link.  

So without further ado...

May I present you with the most popular submission (most viewed by readers):

Vanilla Protein Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
From:  Food and Yoga For Life 

And here are my three favorite recipe/posts from last week: 

Personalizing Nutritional Healing for YOUR Specific Needs
From: Phoenix Helix 

Kale Peso Baked Zucchini
From:  Pure Ella

 Grain Free and Ginger Lemon Tart in a glass
(I made this recipe  - it's delicious)!!  
From:  Gluten Free, SCD, Veggie 

   *

Thanks for visiting Allergy-Free Wednesdays!

And thanks for being awesome and reading through our guidelines before linking up!
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Just Right Coconut Blueberry Muffins (gluten free, dairy free, nut free, cane-sugar free)

You might remember last month I shared my kitchen epiphany regarding baking.  Well, I've been having a grand ole' time here in the kitchen BAKING and loving it, yes, Amber the "I am soooo not a baker" loves to bake.  Why the change of heart?  Well, things are working out.  Things are happening.  Things are not tasting like dirt and cardboard.  Things are delicious.  

YEAH! 

I'm starting off here with basic gluten-free baking (using eggs)...vegan gluten-free baking will be my next conquest.  Last month I shared my banana chocolate chip muffins (that I've also made into a banana walnut bread...sharing soon).  I have to tell you, a couple of my friends have made my banana chocolate chips muffins and like them very much.  My friend Jen tells me she makes a double batch every week. How great is that!  I love it when my recipes are enjoyed by others.  So nice.  

Okay, so these muffins (that really taste like cupcakes) were my latest baking adventure.  I played around with the recipe about four times before I found the PERFECT moist factor.  Last night's batch was the winning batch.  Yeah.  When I took that first bite, I thought, "ahhh, just right."  These muffins are so moist, I just can't get enough.  They are moist, yet light and fluffy.  The sweetness is right-on for me.  BUT, you know I'm not a huge sweet tooth, so make them once yourself and adjust the sweetness as needed the next time.  I think they're fantastic.  I'm super proud of this recipe.  I hope you try it soon, and perhaps enjoy with a glass of non-dairy milk, such as: almond, hemp, walnut, or macadamia.  

Cheers.  

Just Right Coconut Blueberry Muffins 

(gluten free, dairy free, nut free, cane-sugar free)

Ingredients:

Wet

-2 eggs room temperature (weighing 4.5 ounces in the shell)

-1/2 cup coconut sugar

-1 cup canned full-fat coconut milk (room temperature)

-1/2 cup melted coconut oil

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-1/2 teaspoon vanilla or plain stevia

-3/4 cup fresh blueberries 

Dry

-100 grams sorghum flour (3/4 cup + 2 level tablespoons)

-100 grams brown rice flour (3/4 cup)

-60 grams tapioca starch/flour (1/2 cup)

-1 teaspoon baking powder 

-1/2 teaspoon baking soda

-1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum 

-1/4 teaspoon salt 

How To:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees 

1. In a medium bowl, mix together all your dry ingredients.  

2. Next, in a large bowl, add in the eggs, coconut sugar, coconut milk, vanilla, and stevia (please make sure everything is room temperature).  Beat on medium with a hand mixer for 30 seconds.  Drizzle in your coconut oil with the beaters running on low.  Beat on medium for 15 seconds.  

3.  Add in the dry ingredients.  Mix gently until incorporated   Then beat with mixers on medium for 15 seconds.  

4.  Fold in the blueberries.  

5.  Fill batter to the top of the muffin cups.  

6.  Bake for 18 minutes.  

7.  Remove muffin from tin and cool on rack.  

Makes 12 muffins

Notes:
*Due to the high coconut content in these muffins, they will stay moist at room temperature, but if they get cold, they will become stiff.  It's warm here in my neck of the woods (high 80s to mid-90s).
*When baking, I suggest following the weight of the ingredients exactly. This might mean investing in a small kitchen scale.  I cannot guarantee results if the recipe is not followed as specified and measurements are not accurate...just sayin'.
*For wet ingredients use only a 1 cup glass Pyrex for measuring.  *For dry, use mental measuring cups.  And when measuring flours, spoon the flours into the measuring cup, then level off with a knife.  Never pack in the flour. 
*The muffins will stay moist for 3 or 4 full days at room temp in a container.  
*Oh, and I only use these large baking muffin cups.

Shared on: Melt in your Mouth Mondays, Motivate Me Mondays, My Meatless Monday, On The Menu Monday, Mealtime Monday, Fat Tuesdays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, 

Allergy-Free Wednesdays Week 67: May 15, 2013

Hello and welcome to Allergy-Free Wednesdays (AFW).

  AFW is a weekly blog hop where folks can share their allergy-free cuisine, gain knowledge about allergy-related topics/issues, and connect with others living or caring for someone with food allergies.

This is a weekly blog hop hosted by myself and six other fabulous allergy-free bloggers.  Your weekly submissions will be shared on all 7 blogs!  Check back each week for reader favorites and recipe highlights.  

Before linking up - PLEASE click HERE to review rules, guidelines, and legal information.  Thank you!  
_________________________________

Featured Recipes & Highlights

Each week AFW features the most most popular recipe from the previous week, and the six AFW hostesses will highlight their favorites.  Please note that your submission must contain a link back to our Allergy-Free Wednesday's Blog Hop in order to be featured.  Click HERE for last week's entries and the appropriate back link.  

So without further ado...

May I present you with the most popular submission (most viewed by readers):

Protein Carrot Cake
From:  Food and Yoga For Life 

And here are my three favorite recipe/posts from last week: 

5-Ingredient Healthy Cocoa Crispies
From: Oatmeal With a Fork

Ramp Pesto Pasta & Balsamic-Roasted Tomatoes
From:  Spiced Curiosity 

 Chocolate Peppermint Candy 
From: Laura's Gluten Free Pantry 

   *

Thanks for visiting Allergy-Free Wednesdays!

And thanks for being awesome and reading through our guidelines before linking up!
_________________________________

Happy Mother's Day (2013)

Happy Mother's Day to all the loving women who care for, not only children, but for so many other people and creatures in their lives.  To the nurturers, the providers, the bearers.  To everyone who loves a mother and to everyone who has felt the love of a mother.  
____________________________
*
Thoughtful Homemade Gifts For Mom:

Homemade Coconut Milk 
Shampoo and Body Wash 
From:  Delicious Obsessions  

Rose Water
From: Roost 

Natural Chapstick 
From: Rambly Blog 

Homemade Body Spray with
Essential Oils
From: The Tasty Alternative 

Cocoa and Shea Body Butter

From: The Tasty Alternative 

Nourishing Homemade Sugar Scrub 

From: Whole New Mom

Mint Julep Masque

From: My Plastic Free Life 

Tea Gift Ideas

From: The Tasty Alternative 

Cocoa Shea Body Butter
From: The Tasty Alternative 

Soothing Gel Mask
From: Empowered Sustenance 

Comfrey, Calendula, Chamomile, & Nettle Salve 
From: A Handmade Life


Two-Ingredient Organic Eye Make-Up Remover
From: New Nostalgia 

Mini Strawberry "Cheesecakes" ~ Inspired by Chef Amber Shea

Last week on Facebook I shared a recipe by Chef Amber Shea: Cinnamon Swirl Caramel Cheesecake Bars.  These totally blew my mind.  I kid you not, these babies taste like REAL cheesecake...and the texture is spot on.  Needless to say, I have been obsessed with the recipe. So for a family gathering over the weekend, I turned the bars into little mini strawberry "cheesecakes." I kept most all ingredients the same with the addition of strawberries to the topping (instead of maple syrup and cinnamon).  Amber's recipe is so very versatile.  You can have fun with it and add in your favorite flavors.  The possibilities are endless.  I urge you to try Amber's version first, as it's just delicious!  Thank you Amber for such an amazing, healthy recipe.  

Inspired by and based on: 

Cinnamon Swirl Caramel Cheesecake Bars 

--By Chef Amber Shea 

Ingredients:

For the crust

-1 1/2 cups almond flour or sunflower seed flour* 

-1/4 teaspoon sea salt

-3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey

-2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

For the filling:

-1 cup raw cashews soaked for 2 - 3 hours, drained & rinsed

-1 6-oz container plain coconut milk yogurt or plain Greek almond milk yogurt  

-1/4 cup honey (vegans, use coconut nectar or maple syrup)

-2 tablespoons lemon juice

-1/4 teaspoon of sea salt

-1/2 cup melted coconut oil

-4 large ripe strawberries 

-1 tablespoon honey (vegans, use maple syrup, coconut sugar, or coconut nectar) 

Instructions:

1.  Fill a regular sized muffin tin with muffin cups.  

2.  To make the crust, combine the almond flour, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.  Add in the maple syrup and coconut oil. Using a pastry cutter or large fork, cut/stir the mixture together until it is crumble but just starting to clump together. 

3.  Press down the mixture in the muffin cups, make the crust as thick as you want.  Just make sure there is an equal amount in each cup.  

4.  To make the filling, in a high speed blender (I used a Vitamix, or you can use a food processor as Amber suggests), combine the soaked and drained cashews, yogurt, honey, lemon juice, and salt.  Blend to combine.  With the blender running on low speed, pour in the coconut oil in a thin stream, then blend on high until the mixture is completely smooth.  

5. Pour the mixture into the muffin cups all in equal amounts, leaving about 1/2 cup of the mixture in the blender.

6.  To the blender add in 4 large ripe strawberries and blend together with the mixture until smooth.  Top off the muffin cups with this strawberry mixture.  

7.  Place the muffin tin in the dehydrator or 4 hours at 105 degrees.  OR as Amber suggests (and what I do) is leave out on the countertop for 5 to 8 hours.  Then transfer to fridge for at least 4 hours before serving.  I like to leave out at room temp for about 10 minutes before serving. 

Notes:
*To make sunflower seed flour, simply add about 2 cups raw sunflower seeds to a food processor and blend until well ground and BEFORE it turns into sunflower seed butter.  I used sunflower seed flour as the base, as almond flour is difficult for me to digest.  But I've made this recipe with almond flour too, and I actually prefer the taste of the almond flour.  So I would go with the almond flour if you can digest it.  

 

This is how I served the little cheesecakes!  I blended up about 8 strawberries with 1 tablespoon of honey and drizzled over the top.  I finished with fresh blueberries.  EVERYONE was raving about these puppies.  I hope you try them soon.  

Shared on: Shared on: Melt in your Mouth Mondays, Motivate Me Mondays, My Meatless Monday, On The Menu Monday, Mealtime Monday, Fat Tuesdays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Pure Ella Potluck Party Friday

Kalamata Olive and Sweet Pepper Macaroni Salad (gluten free & vegan)

Confession: I LOOOOOVE macaroni salad.  I love it goopy or dry, with hard boiled eggs, chicken, hot peppers, bacon, or veggies...and whatever else you want to throw in there, I'll eat it.  I find macaroni salad just delightful.  And it's a must for me to eat macaroni salad along side baked beans (and chicken of course).  The beans must be hot, the macaroni salad nice and cool, chop that chicken up and mix everything together so you get a flavor blast of every bite.  Mmmmmm.  So awesome together. It's the whole summer food vibe that brings back wonderful memories of camping and backyard barbecues.  But there is just something magical about that macaroni/baked bean/and chicken combo that screams summer.  Rock your macaroni salad however you like - it's a versatile dish.  The macaroni recipe I am sharing today is a crowd pleaser (and bonus...it's vegan and gluten free).  I made it last weekend for a family gathering and it was a hit. Summer arrives early for us here in Northern California and I am already deep in a macaroni salad state of mind.  I hope you get a chance to enjoy this recipe...or perhaps it will inspire you to make your own version of this classic summer dish.  Salud. 

Ingredients:

-3 1/2 cups dried gluten free Tinkyada elbow pasta* 

-1 cup small chop sweet orange or yellow pepper

-1/2 cup small chop dill pickles 

-1/3 cup chopped green onion

-1/3 cup chopped celery

-1/3 cup chopped kalamata & green olive mix, or just kalamatas 

-1/2 cup soy free vegenaise mayo OR make your own

-1/4 teaspoon garlic granules (or more, just be careful with the spice factor if serving to chidlren)

-1/2 teaspoon onion granules 

-1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste - remember the olives are salty)

-3 tablespoons oil 

-1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar OR coocnut vinegar 

-1 to 2 teaspoons dried parsley

-optional: juice from pickle jar to taste

How To:

1.  Boil and rinse the pasta.  

2.  Add in all the ingredients listed above to prepared pasta.  Mix well.  

3.  It is my STRONG recommendation that you make this at least 12 hours ahead of time.  Store in a covered glass container in the fridge.  Macaroni just gets better as it sits with all the flavors.  It's also my suggestion to remove the macaroni salad at least 30 minutes before serving and add in some additional liquid if necessary (such as, more mayo, pickle juice, vinegar, oil, etc).  I like to add in some additional oil and mayo

Serves 6 - 8 (if used a a side dish). 

Notes:

*Tinkyada is my favorite pasta brand.  To make, bring nearly a gallon of water to a rapid boil.  Add in some oil and a touch of salt.  Then add in the dried pasta and stir, continuously until the water starts to again rapidly boil.  Now you can leave it alone until the pasta is soft. I find that stirring continuously in the very beginning helps the pasta from sticking together.  Test pasta 15 minutes later for doneness. Now this is an important step...brown rice pasta must be rinsed. So I rinse with cool water until the pasta is cool and clean of excess starch.    

Here are the kiddos enjoying their macaroni salad with a turkey and avocado sandwich with a side of crisp lettuce and fresh blueberries. 

Yum! 

I made Megan's Paleo breaded chicken recipe last week and it was amazing!  The perfect accompaniment for baked beans and my macaroni salad (and yes, after I took this picture I dumped that bowl of baked beans all over the plate).  I'm a dedicated food mixer.  

Shared on: Shared on: Melt in your Mouth Mondays, Motivate Me Mondays, My Meatless Monday, On The Menu Monday, Mealtime Monday, Fat Tuesdays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Wellness Weekend, Healthy Vegan Friday, Pure Ella Potluck Party Friday

Allergy-Free Wednesday Week 66: May 7, 2013

Hello and welcome to Allergy-Free Wednesdays (AFW).

  AFW is a weekly blog hop where folks can share their allergy-free cuisine, gain knowledge about allergy-related topics/issues, and connect with others living or caring for someone with food allergies.

This is a weekly blog hop hosted by myself and six other fabulous allergy-free bloggers.  Your weekly submissions will be shared on all 7 blogs!  Check back each week for reader favorites and recipe highlights.  

Before linking up - PLEASE click HERE to review rules, guidelines, and legal information.  Thank you!  
_________________________________

Featured Recipes & Highlights

Each week AFW features the most most popular recipe from the previous week, and the six AFW hostesses will highlight their favorites.  Please note that your submission must contain a link back to our Allergy-Free Wednesday's Blog Hop in order to be featured.  Click HERE for last week's entries and the appropriate back link.  

So without further ado...

May I present you with the most popular submission (most viewed by readers):

Melt in Your Mouth Mini Lemon Cups
From:  The Savory Lotus 

And here are my two favorite recipe/posts from last week: 

Green Chile Chicken Casserole
From: Gluten Free Easily 

Homemade Ketchup
From:  Modern Alternative Kitchen

   *

Thanks for visiting Allergy-Free Wednesdays!

And thanks for being awesome and reading through our guidelines before linking up!
_________________________________