Gluten-free Chicken Tenders

Chicken tenders were a big part of my diet growing up in the Bronx. But thy were unfortunately from McDonald's and I'm not sure if they were really chicken after all. But I thought I'd never be able to enjoy my love for the small but mighty chicken tender again, until....

There's a stand in town called the cultured Caveman and I had the best checken tenders there. They are a very unique cart and fry their tenders in beef tallow. Needless to say, I wasn't about to go out and render some beef tallow and I figured coconut oil is about the healthiest way to fry if you're gonna fry to begin with. Success! The kids and my honey ate them all up. These can be reheated the next day if needed. You can use either coconut or brown rice flour, I think coconut works best. 

Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese!

I have to admit something embarrassing, I've never had home made mac and cheese....until tonight!

And it was as good as it looks. The ultimate in comfort food but with no wheat to speak of. Here's how. 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Gluten-free elbow pasta (I like Ancient grains quinoa pasta, tastes lovely and not gummy)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 tbs. butter (1/2 stick)
• 3 cups grated mozzarella cheese 
• 4 cups milk ( I used goat for better digestibility)
• 2 tbs. arrowroot
• 2 tbs. brown rice flour
• 2 tbs. tapioca flour (also called tapioca starch)

Note: If you'd like to make it super easy, just use some Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Baking Flour in place of ingredients after milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Cook noodles until almost done.

In a saucepan, bring milk slowly to a boil and then shut off heat. Make sure not to burn!

While milk is heating, melt butter in a small pot and stir in flour, cook for 5 minutes.

Pour in milk and whisk until sauce thickens up, about 4 minutes.

Next, put noodles in a baking dish.

Pour sauce over noodles, put half of cheese over top and mix lightly. Put the rest of the cheese on top.

Bake in oven for 20 minutes. Increase heat to broil and bake for 6 minutes more. 

Best served hot! I'm going for seconds now, see ya' later. dddddd

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Banana Cake

                                     

It's high time that I tried another banana-chocolate chip combo. This is much like my old stand by banana chocolate chip bread, but bunt style and a bit moister. And my absolute favorite part about this ake, is it's great texture!

This recipe is adapted from the great Bette Hagman's The Gluten-Free Gormet Cooks Comfort Foods. She has a great guide to gluten-free flour mixes that is simple and has always turns out great. I made this a mini-bunt cake simply because I thought it'd look really cute. And I was right. I also made a cupcake and a mini loaf version to and they turned out perfect! 

Ingredients: 

• 2/3 cup and 1 tbs brown rice flour
• 2/3 cup and 1 tbs tapioca flour
• 2/3 cup and 1 tbs arrowroot
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 large very ripe mashed bananas
• 2/3 cup buttermilk, or milk alternative (add lemon juice to milk if not using buttermilk, but recipe works best with diary milk.)
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup coconut sugar (use 1 and 1/2 cups sugar if not using stevia)
• 10 drops liquid stevia
• 2 tbs ground chia-flax seed mix
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup chopped sunflower seeds
• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 340 degrees. Use a greased or non-stick bunt pan. 

In a medium bowl, shift all dry ingredients. 

In a large bowl. cream sugar, stevia, and butter. Then add in ground seed mix, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well.

Add in mashed bananas and mix with an immersion blender or hand mixer if you have one (cuts down on mashing time). 

Add in flour mix a bit at a time until it's all a nice consistency. Mix for about 1 minute.
Stir in nuts, seeds, and chips.
Pour into pan and bake for 40 minutes. Bake for 55 minutes if making mini loaves.
Let cool a bit before turning over onto a plate. Powdered sugar or your favorite glaze would work well, but we just do it plain and love it. Marvel at your creation!
Now go eat!

Berry Berry Granita Smoothie

My boys are crazy about this newest special treat creation. Treats are a big thing at our house and it's hard to keep it healthy. But I think I've done it. Tons of berries and a few scoops of superfood powders make this very high in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. And it's the easiest recipe I've ever posted. Try it, this batch had to be guarded while in the blender so watch those little hands! 

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups strawberries
• 2 cups blueberries (any mix of berries will do, frozen or fresh)
• 1 banana (very ripe is best)
• 1/4 pear
• 3 tbs. coconut milk
• 2-3 cups apple or berry juice
• 8 ice cubes (add more if using fresh berries)
• optional:
• 1 scoop Amazing Grass Green Superfood powder- berry flavor
• 1 scoop Innate Response Formulas Kid's multivitamin powder
• 6 drops stevia liquid (if you prefer a sweeter treat)

Now, throw it all in a blender, I love my Ninja, absolutely great for blended treats like this one. 

Blend in high for 1-2  minutes or until it's smooth and to your liking. 

It should resemble the consistency of very soft ice cream. 

Have spoon waiting and ready, serve and enjoy watching everyone go crazy! 

Berry Coconut Bar- gluten-free

I love coconut. And this bar has tons. Coconut is not only tasty, but it is one of the best fats you can eat. And good fats are not only help your skin and hair shine, help you get the bad fats out of your system, but also help you and your kids developing brains. The brain is made of fat, and it's nerves are coated with even more fat to help transmissions. So the lesson here is eat more good fats. But also add some tasty berries.

Recipe:

• 3 & 1/2 cups gluten free flour mix (I used the featherlight mix by 
• 3/4 cup shredded coconut
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar (or regular sugar)
• 12 drops liquid stevia
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 stick of butter (8 tbs) or 8 tbs coconut oil
• 4 egg whites
• 4 cups of mixed berries (I used blueberries and strawberries)
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Making Raw Almond Milk From Scratch

I love making my own almond milk. It's so incredibly easy. The best part is when my  two year old runs over when he sees the strainer to set things up and do his part. It lasts only 4-5 days, but it's usually all gone by then. Not only does it taste better than boxed almond milk, it doesn't have any odd additives that make you stop and think....what is that doing in my milk? Here's a great article by The Primal Parent on store bought almond milk additives. Try it, you may get addicted. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almonds (soaked overnight or at least 6 hours)
• 6-8 cups filtered water
• 1/2 tsp lecithin
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 drops liquid stevia (or substitute with 2 dates, pitted and soaked with almonds overnight)

Note: all ingredients after water are optional. If you don't want to have to shake your milk all the time, lecithin helps it not separate and gives it a more creamy taste. The rest are just to your taste.
Soaking is also optional, but it helps get rid of some of the phytates, helps soften them, and begins the sprouting process with can increase the digestibility and nutrient content of your milk)

Get your blender ready. I love my Ninja, it's amazing!
Dump all your ingredients in and blend on high for up to 3 minutes. I just go by the look and then strain.
Use a metal strainer placed over a funnel to strain your milk either into a bowl or directly into a jar. You can also use a mesh bag but it gets pretty messy.
After straining all your milk, dump your almond pulp onto a cookie sheet to dry or keep in a cup in the fridge. I use mine in cookies, oatmeal, etc. 

Cap your almond milk and put in fridge for up to 5 days. Having a very clean jar to begin with helps the milk last longer. Mine usually lasts anywhere from 3-5 days. Enjoy! 

Candied Mixed Nuts

I've got a big, big sweet tooth. And as hard as I try, there is no avoiding it, I just love sweets. Wold God have made things sweet if we were not supposed to enjoy and live life to it's fullest. And when you pair sweetness with nuts, I can almost convince myself that it's healthy too. 

Ingredients: 

• 3 cups nuts ( any kind, I used walnuts, peanuts, almonds, and cashews)
• 1 egg white
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 8 drops liquid stevia
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven at 250 degrees (not 350, like I did the first time I tried to make these). 

In a medium sized bowl, beat egg white.

Then, add in stevia first and beat well. Make sure stevia is well incorporated. 

Next, add sugar and cinnamon. 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread nuts out evenly. 

Bake for 30-50 minutes or until they reach desired consistency.