Fool Everyone Chocolate Chip Cookies

Vegan | Gluten-Free | Refined Sugar-Free | Soy-Free Optional

Yield: 12 cookies Cook Time: 12 minutes

image source: makingthymeforhealth.com

I’m tempted to get into my YEARS long absence from this little food blog of mine, but this is just that, a blog about food, that just so happens to be vegan and gluten-free. It’s not about me, so all I’m going to say is I’m so grateful to be back!!

Who doesn’t love chocolate chip cookies?! Can you think of even one person on this planet who doesn’t at least like them? I’ll give you a minute…nope? That’s what I thought. Chocolate chip cookies are too comforting and delicious not to enjoy. As far as treats are concerned they’re the perfect balance of sweet and salty. They’re best when they’re soft, chewy, ooey gooey in the center and have slightly crispy edges! Mmmm, just thinking about these chocolate chip cookies makes me feel warm and fuzzy 🙂 Also makes me wish I was eating one right now!

These chocolate chip cookies are the dreamy, ooey gooey, soft and chewy cookies that they should be. So much so that no one would ever guess they were vegan, let alone gluten free as well! Hence the name, fool everyone! I challenge you to not tell anyone they’re vegan or gluten-free when you serve these to them. Then wait for their reaction when you drop the bomb on them. I made these for a friends birthday party and people loved them and said they wouldn’t have guessed they were free of the traditional chocolate chip cookie ingredients. I had the intention of only trying one as a tester to make sure they turned out well…yeah, that one cookie turned into 4 cookies. No not all at once, but I kept finding myself going back. I couldn’t stop myself from eating “just one more” no matter how hard I tried, they’re just that good. So you have been warned on how addictive they are 😉 I thought I’d make more that week, but I ended up not having enough almond flour, or energy. That being said, these cookies are surprisingly easy to make.

These chocolate chip cookies are not only easy to make, relatively speaking, they’re pretty quick to make too. I whipped these cookies up faster than any other chocolate chip cookies I’ve made in my life. And all in one bowl! That’s a lot of wins!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup vegan butter (or coconut oil*)
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp almond milk
• 1 cup almond flour/meal
• 1 cup gluten-free oat flour**
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4-1/2 cup enjoy life chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl combine butter or coconut oil and coconut sugar. Mix on high for 1 minute then add vanilla extract and almond milk. Continue to mix on high for another 30 seconds.

Next add the almond flour and keep mixing on high. Add the oat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Continue to mix for about 30 seconds, until a dough forms. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl in between mixing to assure all of the ingredients are combined. If the dough appears dry and crumbly, try allowing it to mix for longer. If it’s still crumbly, try adding another tablespoon of milk.

Stir in the chocolate chips, you can put less or more depending on how chocolatey you like your chocolate chip cookies 🙂

Scoop out about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough at a time. Arrange them on the baking sheet with at least 1″ between each. Bake for 12-13 minutes. They will continue to firm up as they cool. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes. Enjoy!

These cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the balls before baking and bake from frozen when ready to eat.

Notes-

**I grind my oat flour from old fashioned, rolled oats. 1 cup of whole oats is equal to 1 cup of ground oats/oat flour.

*If your coconut oil is rock solid, microwave it (without the lid) for 10 seconds, or until just soft enough to scoop. If it starts to get liquid-like then you will have to refrigerate until solid again. It’s very important that coconut oil is solid for the recipe to work properly. Vegan butter will work in place of coconut oil but the texture is softer with coconut oil. You can also use a combo of both, if you prefer. Refined coconut oil is ideal for its neutral flavor.

Be sure to use certified gluten-free oat flour, chocolate chips and baking powder for anyone with gluten allergies.

Tempeh Jambalaya

Ok y’all, this recipe is another one that I’ve had up my sleeve for quite some time and I’m so excited to finally share it with you!

I love cajun food, it’s one of my absolute favorite types of cuisines. Except, with the heat level turned down a notch lol. I just can’t tolerate flaming hot dishes! Anyone who’s familiar with cajun food knows it’s almost always very spicy, and if it’s not it’s at least a little spicy? So I adjust the spicyness to my liking, easy peasy.

Tempeh is one of my favorite proteins. It’s got a good consistency to it which give it a great bite. I also love the flavor, although sometimes it does tend to be a little on the bitter side, but I don’t mind that. If you tend to not like the bitter taste (which I thiiink gets stronger the longer your tempers been sitting around…anyone?), you could always steam the tempeh for a few minutes before marinating to neutralize the bitterness. Still, I think tempeh is delicious, as well as nutritious, which is why it’s my go to protein other than good ole beans 🙂 The fermentation process makes tempeh healthier, and it becomes like a probiotic food which is good for our guts. I could stand to eat more of it honestly!

So since I have a special place in my heart for Tempeh, I naturally thought to substitute the meat from the classic Jambalaya with the fermented soy cakes. I’ve made vegan jambalaya with homemade sausage, which was great but took a lot of energy and time to make. I have yet to find a store bought sausage that’s both vegan AND gluten free, since they all seem to use wheat gluten as a main ingredient 💁🏻 so for those like myself who have a gluten allergy, I created this Tempeh version of Jambalaya, with all the same bells and whistles as the classic, such as the holy trinity and sweet bell peppers, but sans the animal flesh. The result…deliciousness! This is definitively a dish I’ll be keeping in rotation during the summer/early fall when peppers are in season!

Tempeh Jambalya

Vegan | Gluten-free | Nut-free |Sugar-free

serves- 6-8

Ingredients:

•8 oz gluten-free tempeh
•Splash of vegetable broth or 1 tbsp EVOO
•3 tsp cajun seasoning
•1 tbsp paprika (smoked or sweet)
•1/2-1 tsp old bay/seafood seasoning
•1/4-1 tsp cayenne powder*
•1 large onion, diced
•1-2 garlic cloves, minced
•3 celery ribs, chopped
•1 green bell pepper, diced
•1 red bell pepper, diced
•1 cup brown rice (uncooked)
•2 cups vegetable broth
•28 oz diced tomatoes
•Salt, to taste

*Notes- adjust cayenne acorrding to your spicy tooth (1/4 tsp is relatively mild in this dish)

Instructions:
In a large pot on medium-high heat, add broth/oil and cook tempeh until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes (cook longer if you like your tempeh a little browned).
Add the onion and garlic to the pot, continue cooking on medium heat about 3 minutes. Add the celery, bell peppers, spices, rice, veggie broth, and diced tomatoes in liquid, stir well to incorporate and allow to come to a boil. After coming to a boil put on lid and low heat, allow to simmer about 30 minutes or until the rice is tender (check your rice package for cook time).
Once the rice is tender, taste for seasoning – add salt to your liking. Enjoy!

Gobi Manchurian “dry” (Indo-Chinese Crispy Cauliflower)

This spicy Indo-Chinese cauliflower is addictingly good and can be eaten as an appetizer or served with rice and vegetables as a main course. It can be baked or pan fried.

I recently went to an Indian restaurant and tried gobi manchurian for the first time. My only regret is that I didn’t try this dish sooner! I’d seen it on Pinterest and thought it looked good…I generally like every Indian recipe I’ve ever had. On the other hand, I am not a big cauliflower fan. This may be surprising since cauliflower is so trendy these days, especially amongst vegan, gluten-free, and allergy friendly foodies, many of whom substitute it for meat, mashed potatoes, rice, and well pretty much anything! I’ll admit, it is a super versatile veggie and is pretty neutral in flavor, which can mean you can be as creative as you want when flavoring it up to make it taste like whatever you want. Also it cooks in no time which is a good thing.

This was an instant “omg I want more” as soon as I’m done recipe. Really, it should be called crack cauliflower lol. Needless to say, my mind has officially been changed in regards to cauliflower. I realized I should be more open minded about it, as well as any other vegetables I’m not too fond of. It’s all a matter in how you choose to spice/flavor your veggies, and this recipe is PACKED with flavor, my friends.

I’ve only made this once, and I’ll admit I accidentally made it way too spicy…I will definitely be putting in less chili sauce next time. Keep in mind a little chili sauce goes a long way haha!

Gobi Manchurian “Dry”(Crispy Cauliflower)

Vegan, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free, Grain-Free optional Recipe

Ingredients:
•1 medium cauliflower

{batter}
•3 tbsp starch of choice
•1 tbsp rice flour or gf all purpose flour
•1 tsp garam masala
•1/2 tsp kashmiri chili powder
•1/2 tsp curry powder
•1/4 tsp turmeric powder
•1/2 tsp black pepper
•1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
•1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste (I made my own)
•1 tbsp liquid aminos or tamari
•1/4 cup purified/distilled water

{sauce}
•2 tbsp liquid aminos or tamari
•1/2 tsp- 1 tbsp chili sauce* (see note below)
•3 tbsp ketchup or tomato sauce
•2 cups onion, chopped
•1 tbsp garlic, minced
•1/2-1 green bell pepper, chopped
•1/4 cup scallions, chopped (optional)

*I would start with a small amount of chili sauce and work my way up until desired spiciness is achieved. Unless you’re a fire breather, then by all means go all out! You can even add some minced chilies!

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 F.
Separate the florets into bite size and rinse. Boil a pot of water with a pinch of salt and add cauliflower florets into the boiling water and cook for 3 – 4 minutes. Drain the florets.

In a large bowl mix all the ingredients from the batter, making sure that the batter is thin. A thicker batter will end up in uncooked flour coating and ruin the dish. Add cauliflower to batter and stir to coat. If any excess batter remains, you can save it for later (be sure to refrigerate and don’t let it sit around for too long!)

Transfer the coated florets onto a bleach-free parchment lined baking sheet(s). Lightly spray cooking oil evenly over cauliflower. Make sure that the florets don’t touch each other and bake for 25-30 minutes by rotating the baking sheets and flipping the sides of the florets in between or till the florets are crispy.
Take a cast iron wok or sautée pan, add the green pepper and sautee for 3 minutes on medium heat. Add the chopped onions and minced garlic and cook for a couple minutes. Now add the sauce. Add the baked cauliflower florets. Mix well in the sauce and cook for 3 – 4 minutes. Garnish with scallions if you’d like. Enjoy!

Ginger Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Happy Thursday! I can’t believe it’s almost the end of the week…and REALLY can’t believe it’s the 8th for June already!!! I’ve been busy with a number of things, which I know makes the time seem to go by even faster but STILL.

Anyhoo, today I’m sharing a quick recipe for a smoothie that’s I recently realized I started to post a year ago…somehow it didn’t get posted so that’s finally being corrected. I’ve been in super organize mode and feel that before I post any new recipes, I should go back and revisit some old ones I’d been meaning to share with y’all.

This is a simple, yummy smoothie that will be sure to nourish you, as well as satisfy your tastebuds. These days Ive been trying to stick with adding veggies to my smoothies, but every now and then a gal just wants a milkshakey type of smoothie, ya know?! The kind that makes you feel a bit like you’re having dessert for breakfast! This is one of the those smoothtoes. Comforting, sweet, with a little bit of spice, it’s also good for you. Ginger has proven to help relive pain, even severe pain like arthritis and other types of chronic pain by curbing inflammation. Of course, strawberries are loaded with vitamin c, antioxadants, anthocyanins, and fiber – Just to name a few of those life giving nutrients 🍓🍌🌱🌞

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Ginger Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Vegan, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Nut-Free Recipe

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

•1/2-1 cup strawberries (fresh or frozen)
•2 small/1 large banana(s) (fresh or frozen)
•1/4-1/2 tsp ginger powder
•2 tbsp ground flaxseed, optional
•1-2 tbsp unrefined cold-pressed flaxseed oil, optional
•1 1/2 cups purified water/coconut water/vegan milk

Instructions:

Purée all the ingredients together in a blender until smooth. Best when enjoyed immediately 🙂

Tempeh Reuben

Hii y’all, I’m back!!!! It’s been centuries, or so it feels. You know how life can get crazy and before you know it it’s been over half a year since you posted a recipe? Gosh. As you may have noticed, Strawberries and Sage is now officially A Heartful Harvest! Strawberries and Sage needed a name change. It served its purpose for years when I was going through my strawberry craze phase (it’s OK, I still LOVE dem strawberries 😋). So nothing against the S&S name itself, I just had outgrown it, in a sense. More importantly, though, I feel “A Heartful Harvest” more accurately reflects my food ideals, which is driven by my compassion for the suffering and wellbeing of my fellow animals, and feeling strongly opposed to causing any harm to any living being. Oxford dictionaries definition of Heartful best echos how I feel about eating and using animals –

Characterized by deep emotion or sincerity of expression; genuine, sincere, heartfelt. Of an emotion: deeply or acutely felt; intense.

I think everyone would agree with me if they allow themselves to just be heartful. If people would put themselves in the places of the innocent animals that are tortured and slaughtered every second because of the demand for animals foods. If they truly opened themselves up to feeling what those animals feel, the pain, the despair, the terror…everyone in the planet would be vegan. If people were heartful of the fact that in today’s world, most of us have access to plant based foods, making murdering animals for food completely obsolete…everyone would be vegan. Humans are not meant to get sustenance from animals anyhow, but that’s a topic for a whole other post!

Today I’m sharing a recipe for a mostly grain-free tempeh reueben which can be eaten as a starter or feautured as the main entree. It may not look like much, but tempeh is very substantial on it’s own, providing 15 grams of protein for 1/2 a cup! The fermented soy (tempeh), and the fermented cabbage (sauerkraut) are a gut-loving duo, so eating this will benefit your tummy- and therefore your overall health.

You can, of course serve this within two slices of vegan, gluten-free bread and eat it more like a traditional reuben…and feel free to add tomato, leafy greens, sprouts, whatever you fancy. For serving as an appetizer, I’d cut the tempeh into cubes and put a toothpick in the center of the stacked cube and voila!

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Tempeh Reuben

Vegan, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Nut-Free Recipe

Serves: 2-6

Ingredients:

•8oz tempeh, original or flaxseed
•Vegetable broth or grapeseed/avocado/canola oil
•Sauerkraut
•Fresh thyme leaves, optional

{Maple Mustard Sauce}
•Maple syrup
•Dijon mustard

Instructions:

Splash a couple tablespoons of vegetable broth or oil in a medium sautée pan over medium heat. Cook tempeh for 2-4 minutes on each side.
Stack tempeh and sauerkraut and garnish with thyme.

For the maple mustard sauce mix equal part maple syrup and mustard. Drizzle over tempeh. Serve warm or cold. Enjoy!

Caribbean Creole Tempeh

 

This dish is healthy, vibrant and simple. It doesn’t have a bunch of complicated ingredients and takes just a few minutes to make. The ease of this recipe will make it a top contender for my recipe rotation from now on. I hope you like as much as we do! ❤️💛💚

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Caribbean Creole Tempeh

Vegan, Gluten-Free Recipe

Serves: 2-6

Ingredients:
•1 8oz package gluten-free tempeh
•2 garlic cloves, minced
•1 small onion, diced, optional
•1/2 can (7oz) coconut milk
•1 tbsp tomato paste
•2 tsp homemade creole spice blend
•1 small green bell pepper or 1/2 medium/large, diced
•2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or sub vegetable broth for low-fat option)

{creole spice}
•5 tbsp paprika
•3 tbsp salt
•2 tbsp onion powder
•2 tbsp garlic powder
•2 tbsp dried oregano
•2 tbsp dried basil
•1 tbsp dried thyme
•1 tbsp black pepper
•1 tbsp white pepper
•1 tbsp cayenne pepper, or to taste (depends on your spicey tooth 😉

Instructions:
Blend spices together in a medium bowl until well combined to make creole spice. Transfer to mason jar/spice jar.
Tip- label your spice jar so you know exactly what it is in the future.

Cut tempeh into desired sizes/shapes. Mince garlic and dice onion and set aside along with tempeh. In medium bowl whisk together coconut milk, tomato paste and creole spice until well combined. Mix tempeh, garlic and onion into creole coconut sauce. Marinate for an hour, or at least 20 minutes.

Wash bell pepper and dice small. Sauté peppers in oil over medium heat for 7 minutes. Add in tempeh marinade to the mix, making sure to coat peppers in the sauce. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve with rice or whole grain of choice. Enjoy!

Spiced Streusel Coffee Cake

First off, I’m soooo sorry I haven’t written a blog post in forever! I myself can’t believe it’s been so long…where does the time go? I’ve been consumed with medical appointments and dealing with one flare-up after the other. I haven’t been getting all the regular treatment I need due to lack of fund$ and unfortunately I’m paying for it in other ways (my health). It’s ok though, I won’t bore you with the gruesome details, well because I’ll get through it somehow, I always do! Instead I’ll just get into talking about this lovely recipe I’ve had up my sleeve for some time now.

For the longest time I use to think coffee cake had coffee in it. I mean after all it is called coffee cake 🙃. It wasn’t till just a couple years ago I realized coffee cakes weren’t actually made with coffee in it, but are meant to be eaten alongside a cup of coffee! Hah! If you’re thinking “duh where has this girl been all her life?”, yes I know I’m so, so very deprived, but it’s just that I’ve never been a coffee drinker. In my early 20’s I had maybe 5-10 cups of cold coffee one year because I thought it was “cool” to drink coffee, but I didn’t even really consider it coffee since it was cold 😂

As tempted as I was to put coffee in my coffee cake I refrained so I wouldn’t look like a coffee nut (or just a nut). I did however put nuts in the streusel to give a nice crunch which balances the soft, creamy, melt in your mouth cake. The brown rice flour makes this coffee cake light and pleasantly delicate, although you can use gluten free all purpose flour which won’t be as light and airy, buts it’s equally as enjoyable.

Make this healthy, delicious coffee cake with any fruit or vegetable your heart desires – pumpkin, sweet potato, apple, pear, let your imagination run wild! My coffee cake goes great with tea, cold coffee, and of course a regular ol’ cup of joe 😉

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Spiced Streusel Coffee Cake

Vegan, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Refined Sugar-Free, Soy-free, Yeast-Free Recipe

Yield: 9 servings

Ingredients:
•1½ cups brown rice flour (or gf all-purpose flour for non gain-free option)
•1 tsp baking soda
•1½ tsp ground cinnamon
•1/2 tsp ground ginger or nutmeg
•1/8 tsp ground cloves, optional
•1/2 tsp salt
•1 cup of puréed fruit/vegetable – such as pumpkin, apples, pear, sweet potato, etc.*
*3/4 cup brown rice syrup, coconut nectar or maple syrup
•1/2 cup vegan milk or purified/distilled water
•1/3 cup coconut oil or grapeseed oil
•1 tsp pure vanilla extract
•1 tsp apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice

{streusel}
•1/3 cup coconut sugar, brown sugar or maple sugar
•1/4 cup gf flour of choice 
•1 heaping tsp ground cinnamon
•1/3 cup pecans or walnuts
•1/4 cup vegan butter, melted 

*Note- the pics are pumpkin coffee cake. i’ve also made this with apple and pear, and they’re all delicious. You can use canned purée or purée fruit/vegetable in the blender.

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 8×8 pan with parchment paper, or grease if desired. This isn’t required, but if you wanted to pull the whole cake out of the pan to place on a serving tray, it would make things a ot easier.
Mix together the dry ingredients. Add the fruit purée, sweetener, milk, oil, vanilla and vinegar/lemon juice. Mix together by hand, don’t overmix. Pour into pan. In a small-medium bowl add streusel ingredients and mix well. Sprinkle topping evenly over batter. Bake for 40 mins, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Enjoy!

THE best Seasoned Roasted Chickpeas

Two words perfectly describe this healthy snack- addictive + delicious!

These roasted lil chickpeas are full of yummy savory flavor! Basically they’re little bombs of flavor!!! Think nacho cheese Doritos in the form of garbanzo beans except BETTER! !!

Really, it’s a shame I’ve had this recipe up my sleeve for almost a year now before I thought/remembered to post it (guilty). My apologies, y’all. Once you try these super easy to make chickpeas you will be thankful I finally posted it. This is just one of those addictingly good, and good for you snacks you will want over and over again. I’ve had many, many roasted/crunchy chickpeas in my day and my recipe is by far the best one of them all, honest to goodness 😇, and I’ve had testers! They’re so good I almost always eat the entire batch in one sitting (not guilty). The tomato powder is the secret ingredient thats takes these Chickpeas over the top, although they’re delish without it.

Roasted chickpeas have been trending for some time now, and for good reason. They’re super good for you. I’m talking like, one of the healthiest foods in the world good for you! I recently read somewhere about a long term study conducted over 10 years or more that documented the worlds healthiest people, their lifestyles, including and especially what they ate. Chickpeas were a mainstay in many of the cultures studied (it was b/w 5-10 overall, I believe).

Chickpeas aka garbanzo beans are known for being a high satiety, energy giving food that’s full of fiber and protein. Two cups of chickpeas equals your entire daily requirement for fiber, which promotes heart health by lowering cholesterol (the bad kind). “65-75% of the fiber found in garbanzo beans is insoluble fiber, and this type of fiber remains undigested all the way down to the final segment of your large intestine” – The Worlds Healthiest Foods. In addition, they have other properties which may help digestive troubles. This makes chickpeas a good option for people like myself with gastroperesis and other digestive issues. (If you have GP, I’d advise you not to eat too much, since chickpeas are a bit higher in carbs than other beans, and personally I’ve found too many carbs flare up my GP & POTS)

If you haven’t had nutritional yeast yet, well, better late than never 🙂
Nutritional yeast, despite it’s name is not actually yeast. Therefore it is ACD diet/anti candida friendly. It has a slightly nutty, slightly tangy cheesy flavor that goes with oh so many things. Pretty much anywhere you’d find cheese in a recipe, you could sub it with nutritional yeast. It should be a staple in every vegans pantry, and for most it is.

Here are some more facts about the health benefits of nutritional yeast.
Nutritional yeast happens to be a complete protein and contains 18 essential amino acids. It’s high in B vitamins, including thiamine, folate, B-6 and niacin. Just 1/2 a tbsp of some brands will provide you with a day’s worth of B vitamins, while other brands offer between 30 and 100 percent of the B vitamins. – Live Strong. Who says you can’t get B’s from plant Based foods?!?! B’s increase energy and help your body in producing RBC’s, or should I say red blood cells for all my non spoonie readers. It packs a pretty decent dose of iron, selenium and zinc too.

So are those enough reasons to fall head over heels in love with my roasted chickpea recipe, or what 💁

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THE Best Seasoned Cheezy Roasted Chickpeas

Vegan, Gluten-free, Grain-free, Sugar-free, Nut-free, Soy-free

Yield: ~2 cups

Ingredients:

•15-16oz (~2 cups) chickpeas, cooked or canned (bpa-free)
•1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
•2 heaping tbsp nutritional yeast
•1-1 1/2 tsp paprika
•1-1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
•1 tsp tomato powder, optional
•1/2-1 tsp onion powder
•1/4-1/2 tsp chili powder
•1 tsp salt, or to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Lay out your drained chickpeas to dry on a kitchen towel for at least an hour (I usually let mine sit for 2-3 hours). Once chickpeas have dried a bit, but not totally dry, they’re ready.
In a small-medium bowl mix together all your ingredients (except for salt) starting with the oil, and finishing with the chickpeas. Stir and toss to coat.
Lay out chickpeas in an even later on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 26 minutes.

Salt your chickpeas, toss, and allow to cool fa bit (this is the hard part!). Enjoy!

Note- store these in an air tight cobtainer in the fridge. To enjoy again reheat for 5 minutes  at 350 degrees. If you prefer extra crunch you Chickpeas bake them @ 375 F for a slightly less time.

Grain-Free Gingerbread Cookies

 

primalplalate.com

❄️ Happy winter solstice!!! ❄️

I can’t believe it’s officially winter AGAIN! Time flies!!! I know everyone says it, but even I feel like it despite living in a box (sure feels like living in a box being housebound haha)! To honor the solstice, I’m a.)posting for the first time in 6 months. SIX MONTHS!?!? This just saddens me. and, b.)sharing a slightly adapted grain-free gingerbread cookie recipe from Primal Palate !!!

This is the first year in a long time I’m well enough to really get in the Christmas spirit, and I couldn’t be more grateful!!!!! What better way to celebrate Christmas/the holidays/winter than making and eating gingerbread! Even better when it’s healthy and allergy-friendly 🙂

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Grain-free Gingerbread Cookies

Vegan, Gluten-free, Grain-free, Refined Sugar-free optional, Soy-free optional

Yield: 12 gingerbread cookies

{recipe adapted from: Primal Palate}

ingredients:

•2 cups almond meal/flour
•2/3 cup arrowroot flour, plus more for dusting
•1/2 tsp salt
•1/2 tsp baking soda
•3/4 tsp ground ginger
•1/2 tsp ground cloves
•1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
•1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, or allspice
•4 tbsp coconut sugar or maple sugar
•1/2 cup unsulphured molasses (NOT blackstrap)
•3 tbsp unrefined coconut oil, or vegan butter

instructions:

preheat oven to 350 degrees.
in a large mixing bowl, combine blanched almond flour, arrowroot flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar. Stir ingredients to combine.
in a small sauce pan, bring molasses to a boil over medium heat.
add coconut oil/butter to sauce pan, and stir until combined with the molasses.
remove sauce pan from heat and pour into the dry ingredients.
mix batter with a spoon until you have formed a dark golden cookie dough, and all the dry ingredients are combined withe the molasses and coconut oil/butter.
place a sheet of parchment paper (or set an wrap) onto a flat cooking surface, and dust parchment with arrowroot flour. form dough into a ball, and place on the parchment paper. lightly press dough down to flatten, and sprinkle with a small amount of arrowroot flour. place another sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough, and roll into a thin sheet with a rolling pin (about 1/4 inch thick).
sprinkle arrowroot on a small plate, and place cookie cutters into the arrowroot to coat the bottom for cutting. this will keep the cookie dough from sticking to the batter for an easy release after cutting.
once you have made cuts throughout the entire sheet of cookie dough, carefully peel away the excess dough, and lightly transfer the cut out cookies to a parchment lined baking sheet. form dough into another ball, and roll out again to repeat until all the dough is used. Enjoy!

Banana Bread

 

 

This healthier guilt-free version of banana bread is a big hit among anyone and everyone who’s tried it.
IMO this banana bread is the best banana bread I’ve ever eaten. I just love it to bits, despite the fact I’m not a fan of bananas, but I do tend to enjoy banana bread now and then.

This banana bread is just in a league of it’s own. Put a nice slab of butter (nut butter, fruit butter, or vegan butter) on a big warm slice, or eat as is. I warn you, it may be hard to not eat the whole loaf! If you do get carried away in the delicious, comforting flavors and end up eating more than a slice or two, it’s OK because this banana bread is clean, low in sugar, and high in protein from the chickpea flour. You’d never guess by the taste, though 😉

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Banana Bread

Vegan, Gluten-Free, Refined Sugar-Free, Yeast-Free, Soy-Free, Nut-Free optional

Yield: 1 bread loaf

ingredients:

•2 chia eggs (2 tbsp chia seeds + 6 tbsp purified/distilled water)
•1 cup gluten free all-purpose flour
•1 cup garbanzo bean flour, or 1 more cup gf all-purpose flour
•3/4 cup coconut sugar
•1 tbsp ground cinnamon
•1 tsp baking soda
•1/2 tsp salt
•3 ripe-overripe bananas
•1/2 cup unrefined coconut oil, melted or softened
•1 tsp pure vanilla extract
•1/4-1/2 cup walnuts, optional

instructions:

preheat oven to 350.
prepare chia egg by adding 2 tablespoons chia to 6 tbsp distilled water into a small bowl and set aside to gel for 5 minutes. in a large bowl mix together dry ingredients except for the nuts. mash bananas and add to dry mixture (i make a crater in the middle of the dry mixture and pour in the wet ingredients then fold over the dry to incorporate). add in the rest of your wet ingredients including chia egg and mix until just combined. fold in nuts last and stir to mix in, or if you like sprinkle nuts on top of bread batter once it’s in the pan. grease or line loaf pan with parchement paper and pour in your batter. bake for 45-50 minutes. check with toothpick for doneness, if comes out clean it’s ready. enjoy!