Best Banana Nut Pancakes (Gluten Free, Grain Free, GAPS, Paleo)

Here are some yummy pancakes that we have been loving lately. Hope you try them!

Best Banana Nut Pancakes (Gluten Free, Grain Free, GAPS, Paleo)

6 T Coconut flour

6 Eggs

3/4 C Milk (you can use coconut milk)

A Couple Pinches Baking Soda

1 Banana, chopped

1/2 C Finely Chopped Crispy Almonds

1 t GF Vanilla

Use butter, coconut oil or lard to fry them up in a pan. Make them small as they will be easier to flip. 

Enjoy!

happy belated valentines day post!

A time for love, a time for sharing, and a time for sharing the love with those you love. I can't think of a better way to do all that then to get cooking together. We made these delicious grain free, almond cranberry upside down cakes for our valentines breakfast this year. Yummy!

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 John surprised me with these beauties. 

 He never forgets the golden rule for a cook.....taste, taste, taste.

Teaching his little brother why cooking is so much fun!

a halloween trick to treat the soul

 Trick: Treats don't have to be sinful if you use nourishing ingredients in place of the questionable ones.

With all the treats on Halloween that are bound to make you feel more dead then alive, here is one that will excite any age child or adult and make Halloween all treat with none of the guilt. This recipe is as fun and easy to make as it is to eat. And you can feel good about eating them ALL!

 I made a double batch so we could share with friends and family. They were a hit!

CHOCOLATE  CANDY

(Recipe adapted from Oat Meal With A Fork)

2 T. organic cocoa butter

2 T. organic coconut oil*

2 T. raw organic honey

1/2 c. organic cocoa powder

5-10 drops of liquid stevia

pinch of salt

1 t. vanilla extract

1/4 t cinnamon

chopped crispy almonds

Directions:
Melt all ingredients in a double boiler until combined. Pour into candy molds. Freeze for about 30 minutes. 

Thanks Aunt Pam for taking this family picture! 

Thanks Aunt Pam for capturing him getting his first treat.

Happy Halloween Everyone! 

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Favorite things Thursday

Flaky Gluten and Grain-Free Biscuits

Flaky Gluten and Grain-Free Biscuits

3 C cipsy almonds
1/2 C organic amaranth, teff, potato, tapioca or corn flour
1/2 C coconut flour
1/2 t Salt
3/4 t baking Soda
1/2 C bacon fat or butter
2 eggs
1 t apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor grind Almonds, Flours, Salt and Baking Soda. Add the bacon fat or butter and pulse until the fat is about the size of a pea. In a separate small bowl whisk together the eggs and Vinegar. Pour mixture in with the flour and mix just until the dough comes together. It may feel a little wet. Form gently into biscuit sized pieces and put on a parchment paper line cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes. Top with more butter and enjoy!

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Real Rood Wednesdays with Kelly the Kitchen Kop

healthy gluten-free oatmeal raisin cookies (no sugar)

I just love cooking with my children. Maybe I am re-living some of my childhood vicariously through them. I never got to cook in my house growing up. Well, does making rice-crispy treats once count? Even though I didn't have a Mom that liked cooking or making messes in the kitchen, funny enough I turned out to love both. I always feel like anything is possible in the kitchen. There is so much learning and creativity that goes on and the end result is always right around the corner to enjoy. There are so many opportunities to make mistakes and try again. I enjoy the fact that even mistakes can taste so good. I love that the only judge is yourself.  And all the time and effort you put in to create your masterpiece is fully experienced and gone in one bite, not taking up any space in the home and leaving the studio (or kitchen) ready for  the next creation (or meal). It is a daily practice that fills my heart with joy to share with my children. I think through this practice of creating and consuming the piece of art there is a letting go that takes place. For the moment is all we have and a beautiful and delicious meal created together with our own hands is all we can ask for.

Healthy Gluten-free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

(great for dessert or a snack)

1 1/2 C raisins 

1/2 C crispy cashews 

1/4 C coconut flour 

1/3 C finely shredded coconut flakes

1/2 C butter 

3/4 t stevia 

2 T maple syrup

2 t gf vanilla extract

2  egg

2 C soaked rolled oats

2 C gf flour (I used sorghum) 

1 t baking soda

3 t cinnamon

pinch salt

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Preheat oven to 350. Put parchment paper down on a cookie sheet. Coarsely grind cashews in a food processor. Cream the cashew with the flour and butter. Add the stevia, maple syrup, vanilla, and eggs. Move mixture to mixing bowl and add the milk, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Combine thoroughly. Spoon onto cookie sheet, Bake until just golden. You might want to make a double batch because they will go quickly.

"Pie Time" ....gluten-free apple pie

Yes it is that season again. I call it "Pie Time". This is the time where we make and eat pies almost for every meal. My 2 favorites are apple and pumpkin . Hey, if you use healthy ingredients, pies can be a healthy breakfast, lunch, snack, and of course they are always the perfect dessert. There aren't many things better then making apple pies with friends.  We spent the morning picking apples as a local farm and then the afternoon baking four delicious pies with friends from the neighborhood. We even had family drop by and get to take part in the process. I get so much joy out of having everyone in the kitchen cooking and tasting and having fun creating wonderful and healthy food to share. After the pies went in the oven, everyone pitched in to clean up. As squeals of  laughter and the smells of apple pie flew out of the kitchen,  my heart was full of happiness. 

I used my crust recipie but used sorghum flour instead of millet.  Here are some of my other apple pie recipies and blog posts. All are gluten free and some are sugar and grain free. I hope you enjoy!

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gluten-free black chokeberry teff muffins

• One of my new favorite wild edible plants is black chokeberrys. We have been walking by these dark berries for years. After tasting them a couple times, we decided they were a bit to astringent for our liking. But this year we decide to learn more about them and have found that not only they are a antioxidant rich super food, but when you cook them they are absolutely delicious. They are perfectly in season and really ripe right now, so we are going out each day and picking all we can.  They are also wonderful as a tea or added to smoothies.  I am freezing them, drying them and making muffins to freeze for later. These muffins were a hit with everyone in my house. 

Black Chokeberry Teff Muffins 

• 2 cups Teff Flour ( I soaked the whole teff, dehydrated it and then ground it myself)
• 2 t  Baking Soda
• 1 t Sea Salt
• 1 t Xanthan Gum
• 1 t Cinnamon
• 2/3  C Yogurt
• 2 T Ground Chia
• 2 Eggs
• 1 T Alcohol-free Vanilla extract
• 1 t Alcohol-free Almond Extract
• 20 drops Stevia
• 1/2 C coconut sugar 
• 1 C Fresh Black Chokeberrys 

Combine all ingredients in mixer then fold in chokeberries. Bake in mini muffin tins until golden brown. 

from my garden into my kitchen

Cucumbers and ground cherries galore! 

Ground cherries growing in the garden. The kids love to look for them each day. 

 Peppers

 The view from the coop

a friend picking berries

I've been roasting veggies from the garden with olive oil and salt lately. So simple and delicious. 

 Had a craving for pizza a couple weeks ago while the kids were at a sleep over. I looked in the fridge to see what was in my mystery ice box and here is what I came up with. I made the crust with 1 avocado, 4 eggs, a little coconut and quinoa flour (about 1/4 cup total), xanthamn gum, baking soda and salt, blended in the food prosseor and put in a buttered pie dish to bake for about 10 minutes on 395, then added cheese, onions and peppers from the garden on top and it baked up golden brown. Sounds strange, I know, but I thought I was in Italy eating a plate of gluten. John and I scarfed it down. I will have to make this again for the kids, as they would love it. Hope some of you will try it and let me know what you think.

Cashew Blueberry Muffins Recipe (Gluten-free, Grain-free)

We discovered a blueberry patch less then a minute walk from our back yard.  John and I had just been talking about how it seemed that the more grateful we feel about our house, our property and our neighborhood, the more it's beauty and magic seems to come out of hiding and make itself known to us. Just as we were talking a woman came by with her dog and asked the kids, who were out running around trying to catch butterflies with their new nets, if they liked blueberries. Well, of course they answered with an exuberant "yes!", so she told us to follow her. She knew of a blueberry patch that had ripe and ready to be picked berries and not enough people to pick them all. This was like winning the lottery in our family. So of course we have been out there almost every day and eating and picking to our hearts content. I guess miracles happen every day, small and large, when you are feeling grateful a open to receive.

Cashew Blueberry Muffins (Gluten-free, Grain-free)

Makes 12 muffins

6 eggs
1 1/2 C Crispy Cashews
2 C Diced Butternut Squash
1/2 C Coconut flour
3 T Honey
15 drops Stevia (my favorite stevia)
1 T alcohol-free Vanilla
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 pinch salt
1/4 C melted butter

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix all ingredients except blueberries in a food processor until smooth. Poor batter into buttered muffin pan. Add a handful of blueberries to each muffin, pressing the berries down a little into the batter while still leaving some on the top. Bake in oven till golden brown and blueberries are bubbling. Best if eaten warm, but delicious cold as well.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays