Zucchini Cranberry Bread- gluten-free, low sugar

If you haven't noticed, zucchinis are everywhere. If you live in a city, you just wouldn't understand. Take a big pot, plant yourself a zucchini plant, and put it out on your fire scape. Now watch it grow, and never stop. I had no idea of how much zucchini could come from one plant until I moved out of New Your City. 

But what to do with all that lovely squash? Bread. And you'd be surprised how amazing it tastes. For a good recipe, I turned to The Gluten Free Goddess. I am never disappointed by her recipes. Below is my version. I added I some butter (for taste and just because I love the stuff), cut down on the xanthan gum (texture is a bit odd sometimes and isn't always digested well), swapped out the brown sugar for coconut sugar , dates, and prunes (lower combined glycemic index, adds fiber, and good as a combo), added cranberries, and lastly increased the vanilla just because I could. It's passed my picky children's test, now you give it a try. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup grated zucchini 
• 1 cup sorghum flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch/flour (Bob's Red Mill is wonderful and ensures gluten-freeness)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 6 dates (pitted of course)
• 6 prunes1/3 cup melted butter (olive oil/ coconut oil if vegan)
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 cup coconut milk (I use Native Forest, they have very sustainable practices)
• 1 teaspoon lemon or orange juice
• 2 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts 
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries

optional:

• 1/3 cup chocolate chips

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and butter a 8x8 baking dish or lining it with parchment paper. Start by sifting all the dry ingredients together (not sugar). Grate the zucchini and place it all in an absorbent kitchen towel and wring all the moisture you can out of it. Put in a bowl and fluff with a fork. 

Next, place butter in oven or saucepan to melt. Combine dates, prunes, sugar, coconut milk, juice, and vanilla in a blender and mix until the dried fruits are well processed. Now add the eggs and melted butter and blend for a few seconds or until just mixed. 

Combine wet and dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add nuts and chocolate chips if using. Either cranberries or chocolate chips, don't go crazy here or you might wind up with a granola bar. Check after 60 minutes, but mine took almost an hour and a half. After adding the dried fruit, it made it a bit moister and took more time. But bake until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean. And let me know what you think!

Berry Coconut Sparkle

It's hot, and I can't do hot. But I can do hot if I have an iced beverage with berries in it. And lots of ice.

Here's how:

• 2 cups coconut water
• 1/4 cup seltzer or other kind of sparkle
• 1-2 tsp lemon juice
• a handful of berries (I used raspberries) 
• 1 sprig mint ( I used basil, but mint would be better) 
• 3 drops liquid stevia

This is my version of a version healthy mojito. After wither being pregnant or nursing for the last 6 years, I had to get creative. I don't believe in doing the "pump and dump" method. This tastes better too. 

First, fill glass with 1/3 crushed ice cubes. Add about 3-5 mint leaves, raspberries, and stevia. Crush with a muddle or you can even use a rock if you don't have one. when leaves are bruised, add the rest of the ingredients. Garnish with a sprig of mint and enjoy.

Gluten-Free Birthday Cupcakes with Goat Cheese Frosting

I can't take credit for these beauties. Totally inspired by The Gluten Free Goddess's vanilla cupcakes recipe. The frosting is all mine, but the cupcakes are a slight variation on hers. Finally, after much searching for a cupcake recipe that doesn't feel and taste like a brick, hers are the best! Nice, light and delicious, I think the key was the tapioca and rice flour mixture. I added a handful of quinoa flour in for nutritional value. Next time I'll make a double batch to just have some around at home. 

Here's the icing recipe:

• 1 package Trader Joe's goat cream cheese (regular cheve would work as well)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (butter works well too)
• 2 tbs maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• zest of 1/4-1/2 of a lemon
• optional for those who love pink: a few pinches of beet powder or some beet water (left over from cooking beets)

Mix all ingredients in blender. Then put frosting in freezer for at least an hour to solidify. Make sure cupcakes are completely cooled before putting frosting on them. I've been inpatient too many times, it melts and runs right off. Using a knife run under hot water will allow you to smooth out all the tops if you want a neater look. And don't forget the plastic animals and sprinkles on top. I suggest getting all the same animals for all the cupcakes to avoid fighting over who gets which. And you'll be surprised how good these taste. 

Amazing Kale Salad

If you look in our fridge, you are likely to see a kale salad almost all the time. This one is very versatile and a surprisingly delicious. I've found that it's been a great way to get more veggies into our diets. And speaking as someone that doesn't particularly like salads in the first place, this one is a winner. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 bunch of kale
• 3 carrots
• 1/3 head medium cabbage (any type)
• 1 small beet
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1-2 apples
• 1 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• anything else you'd like to throw in

Start by tearing the kale off of the stem and laying it on a cutting board. Now gather it together and cut into small strips, turn and cut a few times again. Place in large bowl. Cut cabbage into thin stips, avoiding the core. Throw into bowl. peel carrots and beet and grate. Place in bowl. Next, chop apples and red pepper and add to salad. Add raisins. Mix vinegar and oil and toss into salad. Enjoy. Salad marinates and changes as it gets older wonderfully! 

Breakfast Porrige- gluten-free and delicious!

I have to admit, it doesn't look like much to write about, but just try it. One thing I realized after seeing this picture was that I'm in desperate need of a good camera. Most of my cooking goes on after 9pm and hence I'm trying to take pictures by oven light. 

But let's get on to the god stuff. I'm not sure what I ate for breakfast before learning how to make a good porridge. It's delicious and fills you up....not like a brick, but like a good healthy meal should. I use steal cut oats because I never particularly liked the slimy texture of rolled oats. Steel cut still have some of that sticky quality but not nearly as much. The fiber is fantastic, like a broom for your insides and has been said to decrease your chances of cancer and other diseases. It also can help those trying to maintain a healthy weight. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup oats
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 apple, cut into small chunks
• 1/4-1/2 banana, cut into small chunks
• small amounts of cinnamon, powdered ginger, vanilla to taste
• Add any of the following to satisfy your tastes:
• chopped walnuts
• sunflower seeds
• chopped dried cherries  (while cooking)
• dried cranberries (while cooking)
• chopped pears
• shredded coconut (while cooking)
• honey, agave, maple syrup, stevia....your choice

Bring water to a boil, add oats and raisins. Boil for about 5 minutes then add the rest of your ingredients. Turn down heat to medium and make sure to stir often or you'll have burnt porridge. Add seeds and nuts at end to preserve the good fats in them. Add sweetener if desired, but with all the fruit, you may not need it. And enjoy breakfast!

Beet and Apple Salad

It's beet season, so we're eating really healthy lately. Beets are not only good for your liver, but look at their color, anything that color has tho be healthy. This is one of our family staples. If you're needing a snack, why not pull out the beet and apple salad? Sweet enough to satisfy your sugar cravings too. 

One of the simplest recipes ever! 

Ingredients:

• 4 beets
• 2-3 apples, cored and cut into 1" pieces
• 1/4-1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to bake beets at 450 degrees. Cut beets up into quarters, place in middle of foil, and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap beets up nicely and bake until tender. Take beets out and plunge in cold water bath. Remove and slip off peels with your fingers. If peels won't come off easily, use a peeler. 

Cut beets up into 1-2 inch chunks. 

As for your apples, any kind will do. Cut and core apples leaving skin on. Then chop into 1-2 inch pieces and add to bowl with beets. Add oil and vinegar and toss. Eat then or let sit to marinate a bit. Salad lasts up to a week in fridge. Enjoy!

Strawberries and Beets Popsicles and Smooties

They're the same color, so why not combine them? It's been a real challenge to get my kids to eat anything that grows out of the ground. So hiding it seems to be my next strategy. Chef Fox was onto me though. But when saw the strawberries, he was convinced to give it a try. 

Frozen is what we had and perfect for smoothies. Our original intention was simply popsicles, but Chef Fox had an even more brilliant idea, why not popsicles and smoothies?! Fabulous!

With a few chops of his kid-friendly knife, all was ready. One beet and 6 frozen strawberries were ready. 

When he went to get the popsicle molds I quickly added 1/4 cup coconut milk, a banana, a cup of blueberry juice, and 8 drops of liquid stevia to the blender. Any juice would do though.

                                                

These are our popsicle molds. And we quickly put them into the freezer. But wait, there was more left over... and before i could turn around, Chef Fox had poured him and his brother two glasses of smoothies and were gulping it down like they hadn't drank in days. 

The next morning, breakfast popsicles were a big hit. Yes!