Gluten Free Restaurant Cards

Gluten Free Restaurant Cards for Celiacs in many languages. Great idea! Here’s the link: http://www.celiactravel.com/cards/

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Fudgy Black Bean Brownies

I’m always looking for healthier desserts since we are a dessert-loving family.  My daughter made a version of these, and we loved them.  I found this recipe at the following site: http://mealmakeovermoms.com/kitchen/2009/07/10/black-bean-brownies/

Makes 16 Servings

Ingredients

19-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed very well
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons canola or olive oil
3/4 cup cane sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract, optional
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9″ square baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Place the black beans in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, oil, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, peppermint extract if desired, baking powder, and salt and process until smooth. Add 1/4 cup of the chips and pulse a few times until the chips are mixed in.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips.

4. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan before slicing into 2-inch squares.

Grain Free Flatbread

The original recipe that I’m using comes from http://thecoconutmama.com/2012/01/grain-free-flat-bread/.  I am experimenting with various flours, and mine may not always be grain free, but for now, this recipe is grain free.

I was intrigued with the idea of making one bun at a time.  Anyone who has eaten gluten-free knows that baked products are best fresh.  But I can’t make just one… I usually quadruple the recipe to make a whopping four buns!

I LOVE the short list of ingredients.  If you’re like me, and spend most of your grocery-shopping time reading ingredients, you know that you ought to be given a degree at the end of many lists just for successfully pronouncing all the ingredients.  What is all that stuff!! If I can’t pronounce it, I don’t think I want to eat it!!

I love how quick this is.  No kneading, no rising.  I can decide we need buns and have them in less than ½ hour.

We like coconut in this house.  There is a coconut taste to these buns.  I haven’t tried them with NO coconut flour, but I have tried them with half coconut flour and half quinoa flour.  I have also added a few herbs to make it more savory.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Coconut Flour
• 1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil, melted
• 1 Egg
• 1/4 Teaspoon Sea Salt
• 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix coconut flour, sea salt, and baking powder together until combined. Add egg and melted coconut oil and mix well. Let better sit for a few minutes to allow the flour to absorb the liquid. Put half the batter on parchment-lined baking pan and use a spatula to spread batter into a circle the size of a bun. Repeat using the rest of the batter. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Note: The Coconut Mama suggests that you can replace 1/2 Tbsp of coconut flour with 1 Tbsp of almond flour.  I haven’t tried that, but did replace 1/2 Tbsp of coconut flour with quinoa flour this morning, with good results.

Breakfast on the Run

Banana Smoothie

I froze a bunch of fresh bananas recently to try out an ‘ice cream’ recipe from a cookbook I received at a Christmas gift exchange. The cookbook is one produced here in Manitoba and is called Naturally Homemade, written by Judy Zemliak. Although not a ‘gluten free’ cookbook, she has many gf recipes in the book, and I’ve bookmarked many pages to try in the future.

So now I have a lot of frozen bananas, and haven’t had a chance to try the non-ice-cream ice cream on my ice-cream-loving hubby. So instead, I tried it for my morning smoothie. Yum! I have seen many variations of this, and chose ingredients that I had on hand. Make your own variation. I didn’t find I needed any sugar at all – the level of sweetness was perfect for a breakfast smoothie.

I added a couple of tablespoons of unsweetened apple sauce, a few shakes of cinnamon, 1/2 to 3/4 cup of milk (I’ve used almond milk, soya milk and regular milk – choose your favorite) and a frozen banana cut into chunks. My blender is old, so it prefers the bananas cut in smaller chunks, but I didn’t find it hard to do this even though they were frozen. Blend. Enjoy.

Gingerbread Granola

Gingerbread Granola

 

 

 

 

This recipe is based on one I found here:  http://www.sheletthemeatcake.com/2011/12/gingerbread-granola-for-a-gluten-free-holiday/

I mixed one batch just before Christmas and thought the original recipe had way too much oil, so I doubled everything else and mixed.  Of course, making granola is a bit like making soup – you follow directions as much as possible, but personalize it according to what is in the cupboard.  I do admit to buying a few items just for this recipe, but I also made my own changes.  This is absolutely delicious.  It is not as crunchy as most granola I’ve tried, so if you’re looking for a ‘softer’ granola, try this one.

Ingredients
2½ cups quinoa flakes
2½ cups certified gluten-free oats
½ cup raw pecans
1 cup sesame seeds
1½ cup roughly chopped raw almonds
3/8 cup coconut oil, liquefied
¾ cup unsweetened apple sauce
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup molasses
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp vanilla

TO ADD AFTER IT’S BAKED:
¾ cup raw pumpkin seeds
½ cup flax seeds
1 cup chopped and pitted dates
½ cup currants
2/3 cup hemp seeds

Line a large baking tray with parchment. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine the oats, seeds, and nuts in a large bowl. Combine the oil, apple sauce, syrup, and vanilla in a small bowl. Add to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Spread on prepared baking sheet and bake at 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Stir it every 10 minutes to keep it from burning.  Store in airtight container.  If you’ve made more than you can eat in a week, store the extra in the freezer until you need it.