It’s that time. (PUMPKIN) MUFFIN TIME!

Ingredients

• 1 cup Pumpkin Puree (Canned is fine. But make sure it’s just pumpkin and nothing else)
• 3 large Eggs
• 1/4 cup Grapeseed Oil
• 1/2 cup Maple Syrup
• 2 cups Blanched Almond Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Celtic Sea Salt
• 1 Tbsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 Tbsp Ginger
• 1/2 Tbsp Nutmeg
• (optional) Maple Cream

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Raspberry Thumbprint Mini-Cakes

This recipe was thoroughly inspired by AndreAnna Mclean’s recipe for Flourless Grain-free Fig Newton Mini-Cakes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of unsweetened almond butter (12 oz)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 c. applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 jar fruit-juice sweetened raspberry jam (you wont need the whole jar)
• parchment paper
• 2 Tbs oil (grapeseed or olive oil will both work fine)

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
• Throw the almond butter, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, and apple sauce into a food processor and blend.
• Line a sheet with parchment paper
• Put some oil in a small bowl
• Oil up your fingers (You’ll do this repeatedly. It’ll keep the cookie dough from sticking to your fingers) 
• Put scoops of dough on the parchment paper (12 to 14 of them)
• Oil your fingers again
• Use your thumb to create a “thumbprint” size crater in each cookie
• Fill each crater with jam
• Now pinch the sides of cookies so that you create a little nest for the jam. Or don’t. It’s fine either way.
• Bake for on the top rack for 15-17 minutes until it’s slightly brown on the edges
• Let it cool completely
• EAT!!!

Leftovers

These cookies are super delicious and super nutritious. They would be great for healthy after school snacks or just snacks in general.

If you want them to be a little sweeter, I’ve been sweetening them with 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup of coconut sugar. 1/3 cup is really sweet. 1/4 cup is medium sweet.

I love these cookies and have been baking them kinda nonstop. They take almost no time to make, and I’m loving have them around so I can just grab one on my way out the door.

Thank you so much to AndreAnna from www.LifeAsAPlate.com for this fantastic recipe. You should all check her out. She’s awesome in about a billion ways.

EDIT:

Some background on those hamantaschen cookies I was talking about. Christi wrote in and shared some knowledge:

Hamish (the guy the cookie is named after) is the one who got the king to sign a decree that all the Israelites living in Persia could be killed on a certain day (since at that time the vast majority were exiled to Persia, the race could have nearly been wiped out). But Esther was the queen (and secretly Jewish) and after fasting and praying she went to the king and got a new law passed allowing the Jews to kill their enemies. Its in the book of Esther which is a very short book and reads like a story (unlike some of the prophets who are short but not story-like).

Knowledge is power. Thanks for filling us all in, Christi!

Lovelillian

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Life Lessons: How To (Properly) Taste Date Juice

I’m sweetening the ice cream that I’m making (in the next episode!) with dates, which means that I had to soak them in water overnight. Which means that there is leftover date water. Do we throw it out? Of course not! We’re going to taste it! Thoroughly.

And we’re not messing around. We’re taking this verrry seriously.

Lovelillian

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Local Butternut Squash Apple Sooooouuuuuuuup.

Ingredients

• 1 roasted Butternut Squash (2 to 3 lbs)
• 4 to 5 peeled Apples
• 2 cups of Chicken Broth (vegetable broth works too)
• 1 caramelized Onion
• 1 tsp Nutmeg
• Pinch Celtic Sea Salt
• 10 turns of Freshly ground Pepper
• Pinch of shredded Sage
• 1 Tbs Honey (optional)

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Slice in half and roast your squash in a pan with 1-2 inches of water for 1 hour at 400 degrees F.
• Peel, core and cut the apples. Put them in a small baking dish with 1 inch of water and bake at 400 degrees F for 40 minutes.
• Chop 1 whole onion and saute on low until they are soft and caramelized (it’ll take about 30-40 minutes). You have to watch them and stir them regularly or they’ll burn.
• Scoop out the seeds in the squash.
• Scoop out the squash and put directly into a big pot on the stove.
• Pour 2 cups of chicken broth into the pot.
• Use an immersion blender and blend. When the squash and broth mixture is smooth, add the apples in and blend.
• Throw in the onions.
• Blend.
• Add Salt, Pepper, Nutmeg, Honey and Sage and other Herbs (if you want).
• Blend until smooth.
• EAT!!!

Leftovers

If you don’t have an immersion blender you can still make this soup with a regular blender.

I thought this would be much more difficult, finding locally grown food in Massachusetts in the winter. But it really wasn’t that hard. And the soup is delicious. I like it warm but I imagine that in the summer it’ll be a nice treat cold. Jenna, from www.eatliverun.com is an honest to goodness graduate of a culinary institute (Le Cordon Bleu. You may have heard of it :) ) and her blog is great. A huge thank you to her at www.eatliverun.com and www.wholefoodsmarket.com for the recipes and thank you to www.LocalinSeason.com for inspiring this challenge!

Good Luck!!

Lovelillian

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ROASTED BRUSSEL SPROUTS!!!!!!

Ingredients

• 4 cups Brussel Sprouts (I used 2 lbs)
• 3 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 pinches of Celtic Sea Salt
• Freshly cracked Pepper
• 6-8 minced cloves of garlic

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Rinse the Sprouts.
• Chop them in half.
• Put them in the baking pan.
• Drizzle with Olive Oil.
• Add the Celtic Sea Salt & the Fresh Pepper.
• Mix everything up with your hands in the pan. Make sure all the Brussel Sprouts get coated in oil.
• Throw it in the oven for 25 minutes.
• Take out of the oven.
• Add the garlic and stir it up with a spatula.
• Throw back in the oven for 10-15 minutes
• Take out, Mix around with the spatula.
• EAT!!!

Leftovers

• Thank you to Bitchin’ Kitchen for the recipe and the cookbook! I wasn’t sure if I would be able to eat anything in this cookbook (cause you know, Nadia G is Italian and loves cheese) But I went through and put tabs on all the recipes that I can make with little or no substitutions. I will be trying a few more of them on the show in the future. Why? Because they look delicious. You’ve been warned.
• And for those who don’t know. Bitchin’ Kitchen is a super fun show on the Cooking Channel. Check out some of what Nadia G and her crew do HERE.
• Initially I had little to no faith in this recipe because before this, I’d never eaten a tasty brussel sprout (and now I know what a sad life that was). But I’ll say this now: This is crazy good and everyone should try it.  I ate them for the rest of the week as a side to all my meals. And this recipe has made it into my weekly rotation.

Make this. Make this now.

Good luck!

Lovelillian

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Pumpkin Brunch Brownie!!!!!

Click HERE for Elana’s How to roast a pumpkin in 10 steps. You can use canned or fresh pumpkin. I don’t know how it’ll turn out with canned since I’ve only tried this with my home roasted pumpkin (And I got 3 Brunch Brownies out of that sucker. Which is awesome.)

Ingredients

• 1 Tbs Grapeseed Oil
• 3/4 roasted mashed pumpkin
• 1 cup roasted no salt Almond Butter
• 1/3 cup Honey
• 1 medium Egg
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 2 Tbs Cinnamon
• 1/2 to 1 tsp Ginger (depending on how spicy you want it)
• 1/2 cup Raw Pecans
• 1 to 2 Tbs Honey (for drizzling)

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
• Grease the pie pan or 8 by 8 glass pan with Grapeseed Oil
• Mix Pumpkin, Almond Butter, Honey, Egg, and Baking Soda in a medium bowl
• Add Cinnamon (to taste. I like 2 Tbs)
• Add Ginger (if you want it a little spicy, add a whole tsp of ginger)
• Nessle in raw Pecans. You can cover the whole thing or make fun shapes.
• Drizzle Honey.  Make sure that you cover the whole Brunch Brownie.
• Bake! for 30-40 minutes
• Let it cool for 20-30 minutes
• Eat!!!!

FYI, What & Why

• I made this again and I increased the honey to  1/2 cup and also increased the ginger to 1 whole tsp, and it was sweet and spicy.  Probably a bit too sweet for breakfast, but maybe perfect for brunch.
• I thought roasting my own pumpkin would be difficult, but it’s crazy easy.  So, don’t be like me and waste time being intimidated.  There’s no need.

Thank you www.ThisPrimalLife.com for the original recipe and to www.LifeAsAPlate.com for finding it for me, and to www.elanaspantry.com for the completely easy to follow pumpkin roasting breakdown. It clearly does take a village. You are all AMAZING. Thank you.

Good luck!

Lovelillian

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Cinnamon Apple Cake!!!!

Cake Ingredients

• 1 peeled and cut up Apple
• 1 cup Roasted Almond Butter- no salt
• 2 Tbs Orange Juice, freshly squeezed or not
• 1/4 cup grade B Maple Syrup
• 2 medium Eggs
• 1 Tbs GF Vanilla Extract
• 2 Tbs Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Celtic Sea Salt

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
• In a food processor blend the Almond Butter, Apple, and Orange Juice until smooth.
• Put the Maple Syrup, Eggs, Vanilla Extract, Cinnamon, and Salt in and pulse.
• Pour in a pyrex pie pan
• Bake for 30-36 minutes on the middle rack. (for more of a cheesecake texture, opt for 30-32 minutes)
• Let cool
• FROST!

Frosting Ingredients

• Pure Maple Cream
• 3/4 cup of toasted Pecan Pieces
• 1 Tbs Cinnamon

Directions

• Smear Maple Cream
• Sprinkle Toasted Pecans
• Sprinkle Cinnamon
• Eat your heart out.

FYI, Where & Why

• Pure Maple Cream- This stuff is amazing.  If you like maple syrup, then this is the stuff for you.  It’s creamy and sweet without being too sweet.  It’s the texture that just about kills me though.  It’s so creamy! I love it.  You can order it from Severance’s Maple Products 413-498-2032 (they don’t have a website, you have to call).

• Thank you AndreAnna From www.LifeAsAPlate.com and Elana Amsterdam from www.elanaspantry.com!!!!!!!  You ladies rock my world.

• I’m making this cake for Thanksgiving.  I’m already pretty excited about eating it, and it’s only Tuesday.

Good luck!

Lovelillian

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Just in time for the holidays!  A pep talk about a necessary part of changing your diet and changing your life. I’m calling it: “The Mourning Period”.

I went through it. You’ll get through it.  Trust me, your health and happiness is totally worth it.

Good luck!

Lovelillian

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Peach Blueberry Crisp!!!!

Ingredients

• 6 Large Peaches ( I used 19. Oops.)
• 3/4 cup Blueberries (I used a pint.)
• 1 Tbs Lemon Juice
• 1 Tbs Gluten Free Vanilla Extract
• 3 Tbs Arrowroot Powder
• 1 1/2 cups Blanched Almond Flour
• 1/2 tsp Celtic Sea Salt
• 1/4 cup Grapeseed Oil
• 1/4 cup Maple Syrup
• 1 Tbs Cinnamon

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Blanch and Peel the Peaches: Put the peaches in boiling water for 60 seconds. Drain the hot water. Put the peaches in cold water. Now the skin should just slide off.
• Slice and pit the peaches.
• In a big bowl, mix the blueberries, lemon juice, vanilla extract and arrowroot powder in with the peaches.
• Pour into a 3 quart baking dish (I used a basic bread pan)
• Set aside.
• The crust: mix the blanched almond flour, celtic sea salt, grapeseed oil, maple syrup, and cinnamon together.
• Crumble the topping over the fruit.
• Bake for 45-55 minutes.
• Cool for 40 minutes.
• Eat!

Leftovers

I love all the things I added to this recipe.  The maple syrup is rockin’, the blueberries are delicious, and the cinnamon is a great touch.  These were all good decisions.  My only mistake is that I used 3x the amount of peaches called for, and then didn’t adjust the recipe accordingly.  But despite my blatant disregard for proportions, this is still a crazy tasty desert/fruity breakfast (if you’re into that sort of thing).  So, thank you to Elana Amsterdam who came up with this practically idiot proof recipe that is really really hard to make anything other than delicious. 

You can find this recipe at: www.elanaspantry.com

Good luck!

Lovelillian

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Black Bean Brownies!!!!

Ingredients

• 1 can no salt Black Beans
• 3 lightly beaten Eggs
• 1/3 cup Grapeseed Oil
• 1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
• pinch Celtic Sea Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Gluten-Free Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 cup Agave Nectar
• 1/2 cup Chopped up Chocolate Chips

Chocolate Chip Ingredients

• 1/2 cup 99% Chocolate
• 3 Tablespoons Agave Nectar

Directions

(Sweeten the chocolate first)

• Make the double boiler, put the flame on high
• Put the chocolate in the small pan
• Add the Agave Nectar
• Stir until the chocolate is completely melted.
• Pour and smooth out over a cutting board
• Place in the freezer

Brownie Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
• Pour the beans (but drain them first) into the food processor
• lightly beat the eggs
• Pour the rest of the ingredients in
• Blend until smooth
• Grease the brownie pan with Grapeseed Oil
• Pour the batter into the greased pan
• Take the chocolate out of the freezer (it should be firm)
• Chop into chunks
• Sprinkle on
• Bake for 30 minutes
• Let it cool
• EAT!!!!

Leftovers

This is surprisingly awesome.  I was skeptical, but I was completely proven wrong.  This is a crazy healthy and delicious desert.  Make it!.  (I think it’s best cold so I suggest putting it in the fridge.)

I adapted this recipe from www.naturallyknockedup.com

Good luck!!!!

Lovelillian

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Banana Muffin’s With Chocolate Mousse Frosting!!!

Chocolate Mousse Ingredients

• 4 ripe Avocados
• 1 Tbs Gluten-Free Vanilla Extract
• 1 cup Agave Nectar
• 1 cup Cocoa Powder

Chocolate Mousse Directions

• Peel and pit the avocados.
• Blend them until they’re smooth and creamy in a food processor or a blender.
• Dump the cup of Cocoa Powder, cup of Agave Nectar, and Tbs of Vanilla Extract in.
• Blend until everything is combined. And is a rich delicious chocolate creamy texture.
• Put in the fridge to get cold and firm.

Banana Muffin Ingredients

• 3 cups Blanched Almond Flour
• 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 Tbs ground Cinnamon 
• 1/4 cup Grapeseed Oil
• 1/4 cup Agave Nectar
• 3 large Eggs
• 1 Tbs gluten-free Vanilla Extract
• 4 ripe Bananas (broken into chunks)  

Banana Muffin Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Combine the Blanched Almond Flour, Salt, Baking Soda, and Cinnamon in a big bowl.
• Mix.
• In the same bowl mix in the Grapeseed Oil, Agave Nectar, Vanilla Extract, and Eggs.
• Mix.
• Peel 4 ripe Bananas and break off chunks with your hands. Place them in the batter.
• Mix.
• Put the paper baking cups into the muffin tins.
• Pour or scoop the batter into the baking cups.
• Bake for 18 to 23 minutes on the top racks.
• Cool for 15-20 minutes.
• Smear some Chocolate Mousse on top of the muffins.
• Take off the paper (I’m looking at you Michelle).
• And EAT!!!

FYI, Where, & Why

-Blanched Almond Flour- I order mine online at Honeyville Grain.  The direct link is here: http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/blanchedalmondflour5lb.aspx

-Agave Nectar- Agave Nectar is a low glycemic sweetener.  That means that it wont boost your blood sugar and give you a sugar high/sugar low and is less likely to leave you with a sugar dependency.  It has a mild flavor (use the Light Agave for baking. It’s milder than the Dark Agave) and is sweeter than sugar, so you can use less. It is high in fructose though, so if you are sensitive to fructose, don’t use it.  But it works for me and so far it’s my favorite go-to sweetener.  You can buy it at a health food store but I use it so much that I buy it in bulk at Amazon.

-Grapeseed Oil- Seems to work best as a replacement for butter in baked goods.  It has a neutral flavor.  And I highly recommend it for baking.  The few times I’ve tried to use Canola Oil or Olive Oil in baked goods the result was sort of gross. You can buy it at a health food store.  I get my huge jug from a market in Watertown, MA called Arax.

-Chocolate Mousse- I got this recipe from The Messy Chef (www.themessychef.net) I love this recipe and am constantly looking for new ways to use this mousse. I think it’s just that good.

-Banana Muffins- I based my muffin recipe on a recipe for a Banana Cake that Elana Amsterdam does in her cookbook “The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook”.  It’s a great cookbook and I recommend that people check it out.  You can also check out her blog: elanaspantry.com It’s bangin’.

-Michelle Collins- Michelle is a good friend of mine who was gracious enough to help me shoot this episode.  She has her own food blog called The Economical Eater (www.TheEconomicalEater.com) Which, while not about food allergies or celiac, it is a great resource and conversation about money and food.

Leftovers

I don’t think I can recommend these recipes or this combination enough. Not only is it delicious and healthy, but it literally transformed my mood.  Make it!

Good luck!

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Banana Muffins with Chocolate Mousse frosting!

Coming soon!!!

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Coming Sooooooon!!!!

Banana Muffins with Chocolate Mousse frosting!!!!

They’re wonderful. I’m in love.

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Coming Soooooon!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie!!!

Wish me luck!  I’m making this one up as I go. If at first you don’t succeed… :)

And on a side note.  Narini had her baby! It’s a beautiful baby girl. Her name is Sarine.

Lovelillian

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