Frozen Chocolate Banana Bites and Healthier No Bake Cookies

I'm always looking for a frozen treat that's not full of artificial color, artificial flavor, and zero nutrition~
This morning I noticed 2 bunches of bananas that were getting spotty. Sooo....

Frozen Chocolate Banana Bites - Super Easy and quick!

Start by laying out parchment, cutting up your bananas in chunks and partially freezing them. I was extra anxious, and had other things to do than wait for them to start freezing, so as I was melting the chocolate they at least got very cold in the freezer.

Melt slow and low 1/2 bag of chocolate chips, and 3 tbs of coconut oil (does that "magic shell" thing)

 (Move your pan close to your bananas because it's gonna drip) Begin coating the pieces one by one and letting them set up on the parchment sheet.

Place in the freezer for a couple of hours to let them harden up.

And then... the frozen chocolatey goodness.

Lily loves them. "Mmm cupcakes." She says. :)

Better than cupcakes little one. You need all the nutrition you can get.

Then with the leftover chocolate sauce... some 

No Bake Cookies

No Bake Cookies (a little healthier than traditional)

Place in saucepan:
1/2 c. organic sugar
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. cocoa (or your leftover chocolate sauce + 3 Tbs cocoa)

Bring to a boil and let boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Turn off heat and stir in 1 c. Natural peanut butter and 6 c. rolled oats.

Scoop onto parchment sheets and refrigerate.

The 15 year old approves.

Pineapple Coconut Snack Cake and Binge Watching

Saturday night binge watching... Psych on Netflix... mm hmm.... yep, seems that when we get started we just can't stop.

9pm: snack cake craving .. here's what I came up with tonight. The spelt flour and organic sugar make it ok to eat this late right? Who am I kidding? Binge watching... and now binge eating...we can't seem to stop.
Hope you like it, too.








Coconut Pineapple Cake

1 c. organic sugar
1/2 c. coconut oil
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 c. organic sprouted spelt flour
3/4 c. unsweetened organic coconut
1/2 c. coconut cream concentrate (optional)
1 can crushed pineapple, drained
3/4 c. chopped walnuts
1 tsp. baking soda
pinch salt




Bake in greased 9x13 for 45 minutes at 375 degrees.
Top with glaze of mixture of 3/4 c. coconut oil, 1/4 c. honey, lemon juice from 2 lemons and 1 tbs. lemon zest. - yum!

Interesting fact: Every Psych episode has a pineapple in it somewhere.  Fun to try and find it each time. Funny show - pretty clean entertainment, other than some language. We watch it with our 11+ age kids. Don't judge me :)
Enjoy!

"Stay-Cation" Solace

So here we are -- we are at home. Holiday weekend at home. I'm a little disappointed, not gonna lie. We were planning on going to good friends' wedding about 8.5 hours away by car... with the whole family... for 3 days... 1 day getting there... 1 day for the wedding...1 day home. Yeah. Not worth the stress, anxiety, new gray hairs and expense. We love you Josh and Amanda! Wish we were there to celebrate with you.

OK, so yet another "stay-cation"... what to do?     BBQ.

Keeping it gluten free and healthy we spruced up some ground turkey, carmelized some onions and put together a fresh veggie salad. I think you'll like the sweet smoky flavor of these burgers. That tell-tale "turkey flavor" is not there, just a hint of heat and smoky sweetness. The onions are the perfect sweet complement, like BBQ sauce but better for us!
The broccoli salad is fresh with broccoli, onions and tomato with salty, creamy bits of feta and a tart lemony pop.

Maple Smoked Turkey Burgers

Maple Smoked Turkey Burgers with Caramelized Onions

Mix: 
2.5 lbs ground turkey
2 Tbs. onion powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried thyme
2 Tbs. salt
1 tsp. blk pepper
2 Tbs sweet paprika

Mix thoroughly- form patties (about 9 big ones). (Soak maple wood chips in water ahead of time to put on the grill for smoky flavor. If you don't have wood chips the burgers are still great without the smoke! We fried some in a pan inside to test it and it's a little like homemade sausage) Place wood chips in hot coals. Grill burger for about 5-6 min per side or until done.

Slice and saute up onions in frying pan slowly on med/low until soft, browned and sweet.
Serve on the side with burgers.

Broccoli, Tomato Feta Salad in Lemon Vinaigrette

Cut up fresh broccoli (2 heads with stems) into bite size pieces. Steam until tender, but still slightly crisp. Stop the cooking by placing under cool water briefly in colander.

In large bowl add broccoli
1 sweet onion, sliced
2 large tomatoes, diced
1/2 c crumbled feta cheese
drizzle olive oil over top, lemon juice (2 lemons), 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
Mix through and serve.


Gluten Free Rhubarb Pie for Dessert! :)
Enjoy! 

And happy Memorial Day - We HONOR everyone 
who has served our country to protect us. Thank you!

Rhubarb Musings

Well since I last posted it's been a whole year plus! Did we stick with the GAPS diet? Yes, but only for 5 months religiously. Since then we have just been mostly careful about what type of sweetener we use (usually honey) but throughout the summer, we relaxed a bit using honey and raw sugar and some whole grains.

We've been through several up and down seasons and now here we are spring of 2013 and we are attempting to at least avoid all gluten. We pick up raw milk and it's used sparingly. We do give yogurt to our youngest. Mark and I use coconut milk or almond milk.

From this point, I'm planning to post recipes here that I'm happy with and the directions on how I made them.

May 2012

This recipe I made today makes me especially happy because it's Rhubarb Custard Pie! Rhubarb yeah!! It's one of those memories for me that's happy. My mother's mother, we called her Nanzi, would make yummy Rhubarb Custard Pie and so would my mom (I'm sure with a whole wheat crust and honey!) and it's just one of those sweet and tart combos that's creamy and crunchy, wholesome, old-fashioned goodness you just can't beat!

Gluten Free Rhubarb Custard Pie - Pecan Sandies Crust (almost!)

I've come up with a gluten-free version. Now I know Pillsbury has their gluten free pie crusts complete with all the preservatives and chemicals... sorry, but only if I'm desperate! I can see those convenience foods used in a pinch for someone to serve guests to cover the gluten-free loved ones... but aren't those individuals' guts usually compromised? I don't think added chemicals and sugar are going to help.

Yes, I've used sugar, albeit organic sugar... I know! I usually use honey. But sometimes you just get tired of that honey taste and this is a decent compromise - once in a while.

I HAVE used almond flour for the crust, so that's redeeming!

I've got two versions:
1. Gluten Free Rhubarb Cream Pie with Meringue    (left pic)
2. Gluten Free Rhubarb Custard Pie with Pecan Sandies crust (almost)     (right pic)

Gluten Free Rhubarb Cream Pie with Meringue

Place in food processor:
2 c. almond flour
6 dates
3 Tbs. organic sugar
6 Tbs. butter

Process and pat into glass pie dish. 

Mix:
3 egg yolks (reserve whites to whip for meringue)
1 c. organic sugar
vanilla
pinch salt
1 c. organic half n half (I used raw)

Place 2 c. chopped fresh rhubarb into bottom of raw crust.

Rhubarb from my mama's garden! Thank you Mama!

Pour the custard mixture over the rhubarb. Bake 400 degrees for 10 min, then 350 for 50 min. or until set in center.

Whip egg whites, pinch of cream of tartar til stiff peaks - add 4 Tbs. organic sugar - mix til glossy and stiff.

Let pie cool completely. Put Meringue on top to edges of crust and place in 325 degree oven for 15 minutes or till peaks are golden.

Gluten Free Rhubarb Cream Pie

Gluten Free Rhubarb Custard Pie with Pecan Sandies Crust

Place in food processor:
2 c. almond flour
1 tsp. salt
6 Tbs. organic sugar (or 1/2 c)
1/2 c. pecans
4 Tbs. butter

Process till fine crumbs and pat into glass pie dish.

There may be too much for 1 pie. I used the extra for a big cookie.

Now Mix:
3 eggs
3/4 c. organic sugar
vanilla
1 c. half n half ( I used raw)
pinch of salt

Place 2 c. chopped fresh rhubarb in bottom of raw crust.

Pour custard mixture over and bake in 350 degree oven 1 hr. or until set in middle. Cool completely before serving.

More Custard-y

Mission: Recovery

My awesome husband and I are on a mission. The mission is full Autism and ADHD recovery for our 4 adopted children. I was intrigued last July by a physician out of the UK who cured her son's autism 20 years ago. She has a 98% cure rate at her Cambridge UK clinic with autism, ADD, Schizophrenia, Dyslexia, epilepsy and various neurological disorders. I heard an interview with her through Dr. Joseph Mercola who I highly respect and admire for his candid nutritional approach to wellness. Here's the 1+ hr interview.  Well! with that hopeful information (strict diet of homemade foods, therapeutic probiotics, the best Cod Liver Oil) I thought "We can't know this information and not try it!". So with a 2 year commitment we cleared our cupboards of any and all offending foods and were on our way.
It was a conscious effort to stay ahead of the game, and to ride the learning curve as quickly as possible. BUT with 5 months under our belt now, I feel much more "automatic" in how we do our life! It does get more effortless.

And the biggest hurrah is the change we have seen in the children (Severely delayed to ADD) Their behaviours have become more self-controlled, less irritable, more focused, happier-- who doesnt want that?    (Not that it's always hunky dorey here!)

And tada- added bonus- since we've done it together as a family, mommy and daddy are feeling great, have much more stamina to handle these special children. I can say it's REALLY helped maintain good energy and a positive outlook for me and definitely Mark has experienced an increase in energy as well.  (He's always happy)
The diet is called GAPS (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) which follows primarily the Specific Carbohydrate Diet famous among celiacs and krohns patients. SCD can be found online, but my favorite source for recipes is in the beautiful cookbook by Raman Prasad.

I've had fun making these foods for our family (gotta keep it fun or I know I will quit!) and have also branched out with my own creations. This will be a log of my recipes with pictures and I'll share the best sources I've found for ingredients and tips.

Thanks for journeying with me!
Becky