breakfasts

Glazed Banana Bundt Cake

January 16, 2019 — Leave a comment

I’m elated to be back in the swing of sharing recipe development and food photography for all of my loyal readers here in 2019. My return to basics begins with this luscious Glazed Banana Bundt Cake which I tastespotted on the interwebs a few days after the new year. Naturally, I had every ingredient in my pantry right along with frozen overripe bananas. This cake got rave reviews at a recent potlock and makes the perfect early morning or late afternoon treat with tea or coffee

Glazed Banana Bundt Cake

Ingredients

dry

3 cups all purpose gluten free flour blend
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons salt

wet

1 + 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1+ 3/4 cup mashed banana (use overripe bananas)
2 eggs separated

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In a small bowl whisk together dry ingredients, set aside
  3. In a Kitchenaid stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
  4. Add in separated egg yolks and vanilla
  5. Slowly beat in flour blend and applesauce until completely blended
  6. Beat in mashed banana, use a silicon spatula of white sides of bowl ‘
  7. In a separate bowl, beat separated egg whites until stiff peaks form
  8. Fold egg whites into mixture as the last step (batter will be thick)
  9. Spray bundt pan generously with non-stick spray
  10. Slowly pour mixture into bundt pan
  11. Bake 45-55 minutes

Source: Life Made Simple Bakes

Vegan Chocolate Muffins | Living Vegan

October 20, 2017 — Leave a comment

As promised in last night’s Facebook live, I’m sharing one of my very secret gluten free recipes from my long delayed cookbook project. These Vegan Chocolate Muffins are super simple to make and since they are created especially for the food processor you can have them whipped up in a jiff with minimal mess. They make the perfect breakfast and the addition of applesauce make them super moist. I promise you won’t be able to eat just one.

You won’t be able to eat just one

Vegan Chocolate Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose gluten free flour blend or regular flour
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup cacao powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

wet
1 + 2/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1+ 1/2 cups non-dairy milk
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 avocado (peeled & pitted)
1/2 cup EnjoyLife chocolate chips (optional)

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Add all ingredients to food processor (saving the milk as the last ingredient)
  3. Blend until smooth
  4. Scoop into muffin tins
  5. Bake 40 min * For jumbo muffins |Makes 6
  6. Bake 25 min  | For regular muffins | Makes 2 dozen

Gluten Free Menu Plan | September 17-23, 2017

September 17, 2017 — Leave a comment

It’s back! I apologize for my inconsistency with weekly meal plans. Between building 540WMain Learning Academy and managing every day life with fibromyalgia my life is constant roller coaster. Sometimes I feel like a hamster spinning my wheels and getting no where. But even though I am often bed bound, I’m always working in front of and behind the scenes and I try to remember that inch by inch it’s a cinch.

But I digress

Fall is  fast approaching and even though the weather has been gorgeous these last few weeks I am waiting for cool days and even cooler nights. This weeks’ menu ideas reflect the anticipation of fall and a reflection on the tepid summer months that are distant memory.

Breakfasts
Broccoli & Cheese Omelette recipe & photo courtesy Skinnytaste
Banana Chai Spice Smoothie

 

 
Vegan Sorghum Pancakes
Cranberry Maple Pecan Overnight Oats
PB & J Berry Smoothie

For more gluten free menu planning ideas visit Lynn’s Kitchen AdventuresFor paleo, gluten free, & dairy free recipes visit Minimalist Baker. For recipes that combine whole foods with Weight Watcher’s savvy visit Everyday MavenFor lunch ideas visit Oh My Veggies. For lunch box and super kid friendly recipe ideas visit I’m A Celiac

YOUR THOUGHTS?

Dinners
Spicy Pineapple Fried Rice
Spicy Curry Rice Noodles w/Eggplant
Pan Fried Eggplant & Baby Potatoes

White Bean, Lentil & Kale Soup
Slow Cooker Curry Chicken w/ Steamed Brown Rice & Broccoli
Dessert of the Week: Sorghum Chocolate Pound Cake

Gluten Free Product Review | Enjoy Life Baked Chewy Bars

September 15, 2017 — Leave a comment

If you’ve followed the blog for any length of time then you know that I love Enjoy Life Foods and their products. From baking mixes, to crackers, cookies, and granola bars since 2001 Enjoy Life has been committed to creating allergen free convenience products for those of us living without.

With an ever increasing product line, Enjoy Life Foods  continues to push the envelope with tasty snacks and products that are free from the most common food allergens. A Brand Ambassador since 2013, it has been my job to taste test products and provide honest feedback so the company can create products that are better and healthier than the competitors. Their newest flavors of their Baked Chewy Bars came to my doorstep earlier this summer and I’m finally able to share my thoughts with you.

About Enjoy Life Baked Chewy Bars

The Baked Chewy Bars launched a few years ago with three flavors (cocoa loco, caramel apple, sunseed crunch) and just recently Enjoy Life released three new flavors:

  • Caramel Blondie
  • Carrot Cake
  • Lemon Blueberry Poppyseed

The new flavors follow their predecessors pattern of packing a lot of natural flavor in a small bar using pure and simple ingredients, featuring real inclusions and a proprietary Pure Life Balanced Dry Blend™ of (hulled sunflower kernels, cassava flour, white pearled-grain sorghum flour, quinoa flakes). As with all Enjoy Life products, the new bars are made in a dedicated nut-free and gluten-free bakery, are Certified Gluten Free, Non-GMO Project Verified, Kosher and Halal Certified, and are free-from the top eight common food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soy.

Real Flavor | Less Sugar

What I like most about the Baked Chewy Bars is that they actually taste like the flavors they are named after. The carrot cake evokes the flavor of real carrot so much so that it is hard not to feel like you shredded the carrots yourself. The Lemon Blueberry is easily my favorite and has the bright essence of lemon zest and poppyseed. The lemon poppsyeed only has 5 grams of sugar so those looking to watch their sugar intake need not worry. On the flip side, if you are looking for a super sweet snack to replace dessert; these bars are not that. More like a quick pre-workout snack or afternoon pick me up with the addition of a low fat cheese stick. Add a low-sugar greek yogurt and you could have yourself a light breakfast.

Always Free All The Time

What makes Enjoy Life Food the #1 free from brand is that the baked bars like all of  their products are free from not only gluten but:

  • Wheat
  • Dairy
  • Peanut
  • Tree Nut
  • Egg
  • Soy
  • Shellfish
  • Casein
  • Sesame
  • Sulfites
  • Potato

and prepared in a facility that is free from contamination as well which means you eat exactly what the ingredient list says and nothing more.

Final Words

Overall these new baked chewy bars are a great addition to an already dynamic product list and give me just what I expect from Enjoy Life | good taste free from what I can’t have yet full of the natural goodness that I need.

Rating: 3.5/5

Disclaimer: I was not financially compensated for this post. I received products for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my personal experience with the products.

 

Gluten Free Meal Plan | June 11-16, 2017

June 11, 2017 — Leave a comment

We’ve just about reached the half way mark of June and the weather here in Rochester, NY finally matches the season. I know. I know. Technically summer doesn’t officially start until June 21st but as far as I’m concerned summer begins after Memorial Day. It’s a rare year when our weather cooperates with my theory and this year was no different.

Fortunately, summer in the Roc! is absolutely beautiful. With an abundance of fresh local produce, blue skies, and amazing scenery. Check out this week’s menu plan to help you plan the perfect meals for early summer weather no matter where you live.

Breakfasts
Strawberry Coconut Hot Cereal
Strawberry Banana Chai Smoothie
Broccoli and Cheese Mini Omelets (Recipe & Photo from Skinnytaste)
Vegan Sorghum Pancakes
Banana Split Bars (recipe courtesy of Skinnytaste)
Dinners
Kale + Quinoa Bowl
Pan Fried Eggplant & Baby Potatoes
Wild Caught Salmon
Beet Green, Snap Pea, & Tofu Stir Fry
Easy Does It Grilled Chicken
Dessert of the Week: Lemon Pudding Cake

For more gluten free menu planning ideas visit Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures

For recipes that combine whole foods with Weight Watcher’s savvy visit Everyday Maven

For lunch ideas visit Oh My Veggies

For lunch box and super kid friendly recipe ideas visit I’m A Celiac

YOUR THOUGHTS?

Buttermilk Yogurt French Toast

January 31, 2017 — Leave a comment

As a celiac, living without takes on a whole new meaning. In the beginning re-learning how to live, eat, and exist in  a world filled with wheat, rye, and more wheat is the most difficult and frustrating part of the journey. Foods and traditions that are near and dear to you are snatched away in an instant and it can take yeaars to find suitable and safe alternatives

The most common food that we learn to live without is bread. It’s the single most common food and the base of many American dishes. Toast, sandwiches, subs, bread crumbs, and French toast require bread that not only tastes great but isn’t dry, crumbly, and tasteless.

I’m thrilled to share this A+mazing French toast recipe that I created this past weekend using fresh gluten free and vegan bread courtesy of The Baker’s Daughter Bakery. Their flax based bread is hearty and I cut it thick to make French toast; an item I haven’t eaten in many years. It turned out so good that I couldnt’ not share. What makes this recipe even better is that any gluten free bread will do. My favorite gluten free bread (outside of TBD) at the moment is Canyon Bakehouse Seven Grain.

What’s your favorite gluten free bread?

Buttermilk Yogurt French Toast

Ingredients

  • 2 large slices gluten free bread
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • ¼ cup coconut flakes (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla yogurt
  • 2 teaspoons granulated
  • 2 teaspoons brown sugar

Preparation

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla, buttermilk, yogurt, salt, sugars, and cinnamon. Fold is coconut flakes
  2. Dip bread in egg mixture, turning to coat both sides evenly. Sprinkle each side with extra cinnamon and extra sugar
  3. Cook bread slices on lightly greased cast iron skillet on medium heat until browned on both sides.
  4. Using a spatula, transfer serving plates. Serve warm with maple syrup and butter.

 

Twelve Days of Gluten Free Cookies | Hazelnut Almond Graham Crackers (Day 11)

December 24, 2016 — 1 Comment

What better way to spend the day before Christmas than to make your own from scratch graham crackers. These Hazelnut Almond Graham Crackers are the bees knees and perfect by themselves, as a crust (for cheesecake), or stuffed with chocolate and marshmallows for smores.

Hazelnut Almond Graham Crackers

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup almond milk

1 1/2 cup hazelnut meal
1 cup almond meal
1 cup potato flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation

  1. Sift together dry ingredients. Set aside
  2. In a food processor cream together butter, brown sugar, and honey. Sift in dry ingredients alternating with almond milk and pure vanilla until fully combined.Dough will be wet.
  3. Transfer to plastic wrap, cover and refrigerate overnight.
  4. Divide dough, roll out on a rice floured surface and cut into rectangles using a knife.
  5. Bake 12-13 minutes until brown on edges. Allow to cool completely before pulsing to use for crust.

Photo credit: Cheap Recipe Blog