Desserts, Sweets, Snacks

Desserts, sweets, and snacks...the most important part of the day aside from breakfast!  Not really, but it's definitely fun.  Below are some of our favorites.

Strawberry Lime Cake (AMAZING)

Ice Cream
I adapted this from a recipe published in the Friend.

1 cup whole coconut milk
3 c. frozen banana pieces
optional combinations: 3 T. unsweetened baking cocoa+ 3 T. honey+1 T. vanilla extract, or 1 c. frozen blueberries or other frozen fruit,  or 1 T. vanilla extract + chocolate pieces,  or 3 T. peanut butter + chocolate pieces, or 10-20 drops peppermint essential oil + chocolate pieces

Mix on high in the blender (excluding any chocolate pieces) until all ingredients are smooth and well incorporated.  Add chocolate pieces if desired.  Eat as is for a soft-serve texture or run through the ice cream maker and freeze for a more traditional texture.

Brown Rice Brownies
1/3 c. unsweetened baking cocoa powder
.2/3 c. honey
1/4 c. applesauce
1 banana
1 c. rice flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
1/3 c. coconut oil

Mix all ingredients. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees in a greased 8"x8" glass baking dish for 25 minutes.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Strawberry Lime Sorbet

Reeses Peanut Butter Cups

Fudge
This recipe isn't mine but I'm not sure where I got it from.

1 c. coconut oil, solid but not cold (important to use very high quality oil for this recipe...I prefer the Tropical Traditions gold label)
1/2 c. whole coconut milk
1/4 c.-1/2 c. unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1/4 c. raw honey
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. pure almond extract

Combine the coconut oil and coconut milk in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.  Turn the mixer on medium-high speed and beat the milk and oil together for 5-6 minutes, until it's glossy and thick.  (Alternately, use a hand-held mixer and a mixing bowl). Meanwhile, lay a sheet of parchment or wax paper along the inside of a loaf pan.  Add the remaining ingredients to the mixer. Mix on low until the cocoa is incorporated, then mix on high until everything is smooth and thoroughly combined.  Pour the chocolate mixture into the prepared pan, and smooth it out with the back of a spoon.  Place in the freezer for 20 minutes, until just set.  Pull the fudge out of the pan by pulling up the wax paper and lay it top down onto a cutting board.  Peel off the paper and flip the fudge over so it's easier to cut.  Use a sharp knife to cut the fudge into small squares.  Store in an airtight container in the freezer.

Caramel

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. raw local honey

Melt and incorporate together in a small saucepan.  Bring to a rolling hard boil and allow to foam and bubble for several minutes until mixture darken. Pour onto greased wax paper in teaspoon increments for bite size caramels.  Also delicious left warm and used for dipping Granny Smith apple wedges in or pouring over warm air popped popcorn, poured over Reese's Peanut Butter cups, or poured into fudge and "marbled" throughout before the fudge has set.

Chocolate Fudge Cookies
2 T. coconut oil
2 C. sunflower seeds
2 eggs
2/3 c. honey
2/3 c. unsweetened baking cocoa
2 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt
1/4 c. unsweetened coconut shreds (optional)

In a blender, PULSE the sunflower seeds until they resemble a course flour.  Blend sunflower seeds, coconut oil, eggs, honey, and vanilla in blender until well mixed.  Remove from blender and mix in remaining ingredients with a hand mixer.  Place by rounded tablespoon onto a lightly greased baking sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.  Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet then remove to a cookie rack until completely cooled.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Chocolate Cookies
From Health, Home, Happiness.  These aren't very sweet and are a little dry so I made up the frosting that follows. Together they're pretty good!

Cookie:
1 c. peanut butter
1/4 c. coconut oil
2 T. coconut flour
1/4 c. honey
4 eggs
1/4 c. unsweetened baking cocoa powder

Combine all ingredients until smooth.  Drop by rounded spoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Press criss cross pattern on top with a fork.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  Do not over bake.

Frosting:
1/4 c. peanut butter
1 T. coconut oil, solid but slightly soft
2 T. honey
1 T. unsweetened cocoa powder

Mix until smooth and creamy.  Don't refrigerate before putting on your cookies or it won't spread. Spread on cookies only after cookies have completely cooled or it will melt the frosting.

Ginger Cookies

Easy Peesy Crackers from Healthy Living

PUMPKIN GOODNESS
2/3 c. coconut oil (at room temperature or warmer)
1 c. pumpkin puree
1 T. vanilla extract
1 1/3 c. honey
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 2/3 c. rice flour
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. cloves
1/4 t. ginger
dash of allspice

Cream together the coconut oil, pumpkin puree, vanilla, and honey until smooth. Add in remaining ingredients and mix on high for 3 minutes. Bake in a greased (with coconut oil) 2.2 quart glass baking dish at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out ALMOST clean. Cool about 15 minutes before cutting. The texture is between a heavy cake and a batter bread (like banana bread). Would be delicious with a butter vanilla frosting (sorry, I don't have a healthy one to share...we just ate it without a frosting and it was yummy!).

I'll add more when I have time!

What Breakfast Looks Like at Our House...

I've made a rotating menu of breakfasts and shakes that everyone likes to avoid complaining.  It didn't work because then they complain that they want a favorite from another day, but everyone still manages to eat until they're full and we start the day off right!  I posted the menu and recipes inside the cabinet door where breakfast is prepared for fast and easy reference.

MENU:
Monday: 4 organic scrambled egg yolks (for the twins), scrambled eggs (for the family), berry shakes
Tuesday: 4 organic scrambled egg yolks (for the twins), sweet corn muffins, peanut butter shakes
Wednesday: 4 organic scrambled egg yolks (for the twins), pancakes, peanut butter & honey, chocolate shakes
Thursday: 4 organic scrambled egg yolks (for the twins), peanut butter muffins, berry shakes
Friday: 4 organic scrambled egg yolks (for the twins), waffles, berry syrup, peanut butter shakes
Saturday: 4 organic scrambled egg yolks (for the twins), crepes, applesauce, blueberries, berry shakes
Sunday: 4 organic scrambled egg yolks (for the twins), seed porridge or GAPS granola with almond milk

RECIPES

Scrambled Egg Yolks
4 egg yolks (separated from the whites)
2 Tablespoons bone stock
salt to taste
butter, ghee, or other cooking fat

Heat cooking fat in skillet.  Whisk all egg yolks and bone stock. Test heat of pan with a drop of egg yolk mixture. Scramble for approximately 10-20 seconds or until eggs are soft scrambled.  If they cook too long they are extremely tough and not very tasty.

The shakes below each contain similar ingredients, and the similar ingredients all have nutritional benefits.  The raw apple cider vinegar provides the stomach with acid for proper digestion.  The flax seed and chia seeds create a psyllium husk that is fiberous and gel-like when ground and combined with fluid (water).  It aids in the elimination of digestive waste (aka 'helps with constipation').  This part has been a great help for Parker and Gavin both.  Organic carrots have naturally occurring digestive enzymes (as does celery, if you can handle the taste in your shake), and are sweeter than standard commercial grown carrots with pesticides.  The banana is just for texture and sweetener.  Organic beets are great for everything...gall bladder, blood issues, digestion, adrenal fatigue, etc.  Spinach is loaded with vitamins and LIFE. 

Since there are so many digestive aids in these shakes, you may want to go easy on them at first and slowly increase you intake or risk diarrhea.  Also, these shakes can't be blended ahead more than 24 hours.  They go rancid quickly and taste best with the most benefits when consumed within 30 minutes of blending.  If you want to assemble the ingredients ahead of time, I would recommend putting the measured whole ingredients together in a bag, exluding the seeds (the seeds just stick to the bag and moisture from the vegetables make them 'gel').

Shakes are a great place to hide supplements for the littles, too.  We take apart the enzyme capsules and probiotic capsules and put the powder with the fish oil in individual shakes (after the shakes are blended) in a smaller portion to make sure they get what they need.  After the kids drink their entire portion with their supplements they can have more.

Berry Shakes
1 1/2 cups water
1 Tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar (I buy at the Honey Store)
2 Tablespoons flax seed (I buy at Winco)
1 Tablespoon chia seeds (I buy at Winco)
1 carrot (I buy organic at Costco)
1 cup berries (I buy organic at Costco)
1 Tablespoon honey (optional) (I buy raw local at the Honey Store)
1 very ripe banana, frozen and peeled
1 beet, cooked and cooled (I buy these organic and already cooked at Costco in the refrigerated vegetable section)
spinach (I buy fresh organic at Costco)

Put all the ingredients except the spinach in a 4 or 5 cup blender.  Fill the remaining head space in the blender with the spinach and blend until smooth.

Peanut Butter Shakes
1 1/2 cups water
1 Tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar (I buy at the Honey Store)
2 Tablespoons flax seed (I buy at Winco)
1 Tablespoon chia seeds (I buy at Winco)
1 carrot (I buy organic at Costco)
1 Tablespoon honey (optional) (I buy raw local at the Honey Store)
3 very ripe bananas, frozen and peeled or 1 banana, 1 cup berries for a PB & J flavor
1 beet, cooked and cooled (I buy these organic and already cooked at Costco in the refrigerated vegetable section)
1/4 cup peanut butter (I use Adams brand)(Camber said that nut oils help your stomach create bile necessary for digestion, so there's an added benefit to this shake)
spinach (I buy fresh organic at Costco)

Put all the ingredients except the spinach in a 4 or 5 cup blender.  Fill the remaining head space in the blender with the spinach and blend until smooth.

Chocolate Shakes
1 1/2 cups water
1 Tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar (I buy at the Honey Store)
2 Tablespoons flax seed (I buy at Winco)
1 Tablespoon chia seeds (I buy at Winco)
1 carrot (I buy organic at Costco)
2 Tablespoons honey (not optional in this recipe) (I buy raw local at the Honey Store)
2 Tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa
3 very ripe bananas, frozen and peeled
1 beet, cooked and cooled (I buy these organic and already cooked at Costco in the refrigerated vegetable section)
spinach (I buy fresh organic at Costco)

Put all the ingredients except the spinach in a 4 or 5 cup blender.  Fill the remaining head space in the blender with the spinach and blend until smooth.

Sweet "Corn" Muffins
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 c. coconut oil
4 eggs
2 T. unsweetened applesauce
2 T. honey
1/2 t. baking soda
2 t. raw apple cider vinegar
2 t. pure vanilla extract
1/2 t. cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
1/3 c. raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease muffin cups.  Mix coconut flour and coconut oil until smooth. Beat in remaining ingredients.  Divide evenly between cups.  Bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and top springs back when lightly pressed.

Pancakes
8 eggs
1/2 c. coconut flour
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cinnamon
2 T. honey
1/2 c. applesauce
Serve with peanut butter and honey

Heat griddle.  Mix ingredients.  Set batter for 5 minutes (allows the coconut flour to absorb the liquid and makes the cakes fluffier).  Pour 1/4 c. batter per pancake. Sspread thin.  Cook until golden before flipping, approximately 3 minutes each side. We like to heat the honey to make it more syrup-like.

Peanut Butter Muffins
1 c. peanut butter
2 bananas* or 2/3 c. applesauce *
2 large eggs
1 t. vanilla
2 T. honey
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. raisins or 1/2 c. blueberries**

*Preheat oven to 400 degrees if using bananas, 375 degrees if using applesauce.  Mix all ingredients in a bowl (except blueberries...if using blueberries, fold into batter after batter is poured into greased muffin cups to avoid grey looking muffins).  Pour batter into greased muffin cups and add blueberries if desired.  Bake 15 - 25 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly pressed.

Peanut Butter Muffin Variations:
Banana Nut: Use 2 bananas, omit applesauce, add 1/4 c. chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans are our favorites), pinch nutmeg, pinch allspice, 1/4 t. cinnamon.

Orange Spice: Omit bananas, use 2/3 c. applesauce, pinch ginger, pinch nutmeg, pinch allspice, 1/4 t. cinnamon, 1/2-1 t. zested orange peel, 1-5 drops essential oil Wild Orange, substitute 1/2 c. dried cranberries for raisins (optional...the raisins are also delicious in this variation).

Waffles
Syrup:
1/4 c. water
2 c. berries
2 T. honey
pinch cinnamon
1 t. vanilla

Heat all ingredients in a small saucepan on medium-low heat.

Waffles:
1/2 c. softened coconut oil
1/2 c. coconut flour
12 eggs
2 T. vanilla extract
1/4 c. honey
1/2 t. salt

Preheat waffle iron greased generously with coconut oil or butter.  Mix all ingredients.  Allow to rest 5 minutes.  Evenly distribute batter over iron and cook 3-4 minutes or until golden.  These are VERY tough if over cooked.

Crepes
3 c. applesauce
1 c. blueberries
12 eggs
1/4 c. coconut flour
1/8 t. salt
2 T. coconut oil
1 t. vanilla
coconut oil or butter for greasing cooking pan

Warm applesauce in saucepan.  Set blueberries out to thaw in a bowl if frozen.

Blend remaining ingredients in the blender until well incorporated.  Let sit 5 minutes.

Heat oil in pan (a 10" skillet works best).  Pour 1/4 c. batter into pan on HOT oil.  Tilt the pan to thinly spread batter.  Cook until lightly brown and removes easily from skillet.  flip gently and cook other side until golden.  These should be flexible and easily rolled when finished cooking.  If they are crispy they are spread too thin or cooked too long.  Spread warmed applesauce and blueberries down the center of the finished crepe, roll and enjoy!

Seed Porridge
Warning: this is NOT very tasty but is a good GAPS option.  We make it for Parker and the twins.  No one else likes it.
1 c. water or coconut milk (more may need to be added to blend or for desired texture)
1/4 c. pumpkin seeds (these are the raw green meat in the center of the seed, not the toasted kind)
1/4 c. sunflower seeds (same here...these are the raw gray meat in the center of the seed, not the toasted kind)
1 T. flax seeds
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. vanilla
1 T. honey
2 T. peanut butter
raisins to taste

Blend all ingredients except raisins until a thick porridge-like texture and no chunks of seeds are visible.  Warm with raisins at a very low temperature until temperature desired is achieved.  This mixture scalds fairly easily.

The porridge is also a great place to hide supplements.

GAPS Granola
Internal Bliss official GAPS cookbook 

Make this the night before.

1 c. pumpkin seeds (again, the green meat)
1 c. sunflower seeds (inner meat)
1 c. unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 c. honey, warmed
pinch of salt
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 T. vanilla extract
1 c. dried fruit, any variety (cut up if large)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a large jellyroll pan.  Mix all ingredients, excluding dried fruit.  Toss well. Spread on the greased jellyroll pan.  Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.  Remove from oven and stir in dried fruit.  Continue to stir every few minutes during the cooling process (if you don't it sticks like none other, speaking from experience).  For granola seed BALLS, pack tightly together in balls during cooling stage.  After it has cooled my kids prefer it after it has been dry pulsed in the blender for a finer texture and served with almond milk.  For storage, keep in an airtight container at room temperature.

Hope these help!

Favorite Sites for Finding Grain Free Options and Other Useful Things

Some of my favorite resources have been online blogs and I've listed them below:

I purchased two of Cara's cookbooks from her site and use them regularly.  She uses tons of coconut flour which I prefer to use as opposed to gluten free flours that often have beans in them and are hard to digest or almond flour which is high in phytic acid and can also be hard to digest. I also follow her on pinterest and she's always finding natural things I love.  http://www.healthhomehappy.com/ 

www.primallyinspired.com  She has a completely dorky picture of herself posted but I love the things she posts, both recipes and information.

www.realfoodrn.com This site I've used more for homemade products, but I've found several recipes I'd like to try.

www.rubiesandradishes.com I found tons of slow cooker meals on her site.

www.thankyourbody.com Recipes, homemade products, make up, cleaners, information, you name it she has it.

www.practical-stewardship.com Mostly recipes that I've used

www.savorylotus.com Recipes for food and products.

www.100daysofrealfood.com If you're doing full GAPS she's not the best source for recipes and information but she is AWESOME for real food recipes and suggestions.  Tons of packed lunch suggestions here...in fact she's had several contests for readers to enter for best packed lunch ideas so you get a huge variety of ideas.

www.holisticsquid.com Recipes and information, plus products.

www.wholenewmom.com Mostly recipes and how to's.

www.thepaleomama.com Mostly recipes.

www.chocolatecoveredkatie.com Katie only posts recipes, but they're not all GAPS friendly, or grain-free, so substitutes might be necessary.  She does have lots of delicious options that ARE grain-free and GAPS legal, and her desserts are healthier than the average sites.  She also posts lots of substitute possibilities.  She's vegan so her desserts never contain dairy, eggs, or meat (not necessarily a good thing), but she uses honey or stevia for sweeteners (she does use agave nectar which isn't the best, but it's easily substituted 1:1 with honey) and other whole ingredients.

If I remember more I'll add them!

Substitutions That Work

In our GAPS and whole foods journey some great substitutions we've found have been:

Substitute for:
Eggs (until well tolerated): flax seed egg , bananas (1 banana = 1 egg), applesauce (1/3 cup applesauce = 1 egg) Thankfully we now use regular eggs and don't have to worry about this one, but this was the hardest substitution to find.  These only work well in baking, not for scrambling =) .
Mashed Potatoes: Cauliflower (cook in bone stock until slightly over cooked, blend in blender with butter and salt and pepper to taste)
Potatoes in soups: peeled and cubed winter squash (butternut is more neutral tasting, acorn is more sweet)
Noodles: Zucchini like in this recipe: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/02/zucchini-lasagna.html, spaghetti squash (cook like any other winter squash and naturally shreds into spaghetti-like texture when scooped out);also rice noodles are pretty easy to find (although they're not GAPS legal)
Rice:  Cauliflower How to make it...
Milk: Almond Milk or Coconut Milk
Pinto Beans: red lentils (I've made chili with the red lentils, refried lentils, taco soup, etc. and lentils are a perfect substitution for pinto beans and take 1/4 of the time to cook).
Flours: coconut flour or rice flour (rice flour is not GAPS legal but is more gentle on your stomach than wheat), almond flour and gluten-free flours are often too hard on the tummy and still result in indigestion or stomach aches in our family.

I'll post more as I remember them.