Red White & Blue Rice Krispy Treats

Here is a fun, healthy, patriotic treat that only takes about 5 minutes to make. Enjoy!

Allergy Friendly Red White and Blue Rice Krispy treats

Gluten free and vegan. No corn, soy, or dairy.

Ingredients

1/3 cup brown rice syrup
1/3 cup nut butter of choice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla powder OR 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups puffed rice cereal
1/3 cup dried blueberries
1/3 cup dried cranberries

Method
In a large pot, heat brown rice syrup, nut butter, and vanilla over med-low heat until melted.
Stir in puffed rice, cranberries, and blueberries
Spread evenly in a 9x9 or similar pan, and let cool.
Cut into squares and enjoy!

Great for snacks or breakfast.

You can use any puffed rice cereal that works for you, just double check to make sure it meets your allergy needs. I use Arrowhead Mills brand, it looks like this:

Note that this kind of puffed rice is not as crisp as a Rice Krispy type cereal. For that texture, I have used Erewhon brand, it looks like this: 

Brown rice syrup comes in a jar in the sweetener/baking aisle and looks like this:

Also note that you can find a variety of puffed grains, such as millet, quinoa, and corn in the cereal aisle. Play around, and mix and match various grains for your taste or allergy preferences. For example, here is a link to puffed millet treats I made for Halloween.

Have fun! Happy 4th of July.

Health benefits of: Blueberries, Cranberries

Black Forest (Mini) Pie

Guess what? Today we have another mini-pie : )

I needed to: 1) use up some fresh cherries which are in season and abundant and nearly falling out of my refrigerator and I was out of ideas for using them 2) find a good use for the leftover vanilla creme from the Key Lime Pie. Those are good reasons for more pie, right???

Since last week was so much fun, I'm also going to submit this recipe to Vegan Culinary Crusade's Raw Vegan Mini-Pie Challenge, Cybele Pascal's Allergy-Friendly Friday, and Diet, Dessert, and Dogs' Wellness Weekends (Hi Ricki!) Be sure to check out each of those pages for even more allergy-friendly and healthy recipes. I had a lot of fun browsing recipes on those sites last week.

Note: This is a very rich pie! In my opinion, 1/4 of the 4" pie is enough for a serving.

Raw Vegan Black Forest (Mini) Pies
Makes three, 4" pies

Ingredients

For the crust:
1 1/4 cups walnuts
Dash himalayan salt
1/3 cup raw cacao powder
Approximately 10 pitted dates (unsoaked)

For the filling:
1 cup soaked cashews
3 tablespoons light agave nectar
1 vanilla bean- scraped or ground whole in coffee grinder (see this post)
Approximately 1/4 cup filtered water- enough to blend to a creamy texture

For the topping: 
Pitted fresh cherries

Method

Crust:
Place walnuts and salt in food processor fitted with the S blade. Process until finely ground.
Add the raw cacao and pulse a few times to mix.
Add the dates and process until well combined and you have a consistency that sticks together when you press it between your fingers. Try not to overprocess, or your mixture will become oily. Mine is a little oily, you can tell in the pics- this happens when the nuts release their natural oils while processing. It still tastes great, but the texture is better if you can manage to stop processing before they start to release their oils.
Using your fingers, gently press pie crust into mini pie pans or tart pans. A tart pan with a removable bottom makes removal much easier, if you want to display your crust. But mini pie pans are cute, too, and you can serve right out of the dish. Your choice!

Filling:
Place cashews, agave nectar, vanilla bean, and water in VitaMix or blender and blend until creamy. Adjust ingredients to taste, if necessary.

Pour filling into pie shells:

Top with fresh pitted cherries, cut in half:

Enjoy a teeny tiny slice of a teeny tiny pie: 

More on the health benefits of: walnuts, cashews, cherries, dates, raw cacao

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Pancakes with Peanut Butter Syrup

Gluten Free Vegan Peanut Butter Pancakes with Peanut Butter Syrup
Makes about 20 small pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 2 Tablespoons organic cane sugar
• 1 Tablespoon corn free baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cup rice milk 
• 1/4 cup organic peanut butter
• Optional: sliced banana
• Optional: allergy-friendly chocolate chips

Method

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt.
• In small bowl or measuring cup, stir together the rice milk and peanut butter til smooth.  Add to the dry ingredients and stir just until a batter is formed.
• Heat a nonstick pan or griddle over medium heat.  Ladle the batter by 1/4 cupfuls into the pan.
• When bubbles appear, flip to cook other side. Cook until golden brown on both sides. Keep the pancakes warm in 200 degree oven while you cook the rest of the batch.
• Optional: Top with sliced banana and/or allergy-friendly chocolate chips.
• Serve immediately.

Peanut Butter syrup

• 1/2 cup dark agave nectar 
• 1/4 cup peanut butter, or slightly more, to taste

The original recipe said stir gently over low heat on the stove. I was too hungry and impatient to wait for that (and I didn't want to wash the pan) so I stirred the PB and agave together in a glass measure cup and put it in the microwave for 30 seconds. It was perfect. Be careful and watch it closely- it can easily burn in the microwave. I have a very small, low-power microwave; a larger microwave would probably only take 10-15 seconds.

This syrup would also make a delicious dip for apple slices. Or ice cream. Or bananas. Or ice cream with bananas. Mmmm.

Gluten Free Pluot Coffee Cake

This recipe is heavily adapted from the Plum Coffee Cake Muffin recipe in The Allergen Free Baker's Handbook:


Among other changes, I adapted the recipe by using a different gluten free flour mix that does not use potato starch. I always substitute guar gum for xanthan gum since xanthan is derived from corn. I used fresh pluots in place of plums.

In my new effort to reduce sugar, I omitted the delicious crumb topping that Cybele Pascal's original recipe calls for in the book. By all means, use that topping if desired- I have made it before and it is delicious. But I was quite pleased that this simpler version also worked out very well. It is a very moist coffee cake, not too sweet, and just a hint of spice.

Gluten Free Pluot Coffee Cake (vegan)
Contains no gluten, corn, potato, coconut, dairy, eggs, soy, or refined sugar

Ingredients

• 3 cups of your preferred gluten free flour mix
• 3/4 teaspoon guar gum
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup grapeseed oil
• 1/4 cup light agave nectar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla powder
• 1 teaspoon organic cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1 1/2 cups organic unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup diced pluots (you could also use plums)

Method

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• Grease a 9" pie pan, or line with parchment paper (I use parchment paper). 
• Whisk dry ingredients: GF flour mix, guar gum, baking soda and sea salt in small bowl, or use the food processor to combine.
• In a large bowl, mix grapeseed oil and agave nectar using hand mixer. Add vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, and applesauce, and mix until combined.
• Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined.
• Fold in the diced pluots.
• Pour batter into greased or parchment lined dish. You might have some extra batter- you could fill a mini-muffin tin, or a baby loaf pan. I made two baby loaves. I ate them before I thought about taking a photo to show here on the blog. You'll just have to take my word for it :)
• Bake in center of oven for 25-30 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes in the pan before serving.

Enjoy!

This coffee cake is good warm from the oven, room temperature, and cold from the refrigerator. Yes, I tried it each of those ways. It's a tough job, testing foods in my kitchen <smile>. It also freezes well and defrosts easily, so this is a good recipe to make ahead and keep individual slices in the freezer for a quick and easy breakfast or snack.

More info on the nutritional benefit of: plums, cinnamon, apples, allspice
What is a pluot?
Another article about pluots

Gluten-free Black Currant Muffins

OK, I must admit, I am struggling with the "no sugar" effort... suddenly I'm craving something sweet all of the time. Which only reinforces that I need to lay off the sugar for a while.

I decided to experiment with a sugar-free muffin this morning- using whatever I have in my refrigerator, which isn't much these days. Summer time is slim picking at the Farmers' Market. But I have carrots... a lot of carrots. Perfect.

Since I was craving something sweet, I loaded this muffin with sweet things like carrots, apples and currants. In retrospect, I believe I was subconsciously thinking "carrot cake". I'm not sure if using agave exactly counts as sugar-free, but at least it's lower-glycemic than cane sugar. I think this no-sugar effort is going to be a work in progress.

These muffins are deliciously dark due to the black currant juice.

Gluten-free Black Currant Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups your favorite gluten free flour mix (I used this one)
• 1 teaspoon guar gum
• 2 teaspoons corn-free baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup black currant juice
• 1/4 cup white grape juice
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup agave nectar (I think you could get away with less; perhaps 1/4 or 1/3cup)
• 1/3 cup grapeseed oil
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup dried currants (Note: while black currant juice appears to be actual black currants, be aware that what is sold as dried "currants" in the US is just a small variety of grape; usually called "zante currants") You could substitute raisins if you do not have dried currants.
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 apple, diced small (I used a gala, because that's what I had on hand, but I think a granny smith would be better)

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Line a muffin tin with unbleached parchment cups. I ran out of muffin liners, so I improvised my own from regular parchment paper:

The spice jars were just holding the parchment down in the cup until I could spoon batter in each cup.

In a large bowl, whisk together the GF flour mix, guar gum, corn-free baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together black currant juice, white grape juice, unsweetened applesauce, agave nectar, and grapeseed oil.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir to combine.

The batter is purple from the black currant juice! It doesn't actually show up so well in the photo here, but it was quite a pretty shade of purple.

Fold in carrots, apple, currants, and pecans.

Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool approximately 10 minutes, and enjoy!

Those DIY parchment cups didn't turn out so badly:

The muffins are very sweet and very moist. The moistness doesn't quite come across in the photo, but think: carrot cake. Hmmm... maybe I should call this recipe "carrot cake muffins"?

I'm sure these will freeze well, so there will be a stash on hand!

More info on the nutrients in: black currants, carrots, cinnamon, zante currants, apples, and brown rice.

Gluten free, Dairy free Chocolate chip cookies

These chocolate chip cookies are gluten, soy, dairy and corn free. "Corn free?" you say, "But I don't put corn in my chocolate chip cookies!" Guess what? Do you know where corn might be hiding in your chocolate chip cookies? Baking powder, vanilla extract, and the chocolate chips. Yup! It's true! Also, xanthan gum, a common ingredient in gluten-free baking, is derived from corn. It can sneak up on you in ingredients you'd never expect!

Just a reminder to always double check your ingredients, and don't hesitate to contact the manufacturer if you aren't sure.

Gluten free, Dairy free Chocolate chip cookies
Makes approximately 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups gluten free flour mix (I used this one)
• 3/4 teaspoon guar gum
• 1 1/4 teaspoon corn-free baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 3/4 cup grapeseed oil
• 1/2 cup organic sugar
• 1/2 cup organic brown sugar
• 3/4 vanilla bean, finely ground in a coffee grinder
• 2 egg whites (egg free/vegan option: use egg replacer, such as Ener-G Egg Replacer check ingredients to make sure it is safe for your needs)
• 1/2 cup gluten free, dairy free chocolate chips, such as Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1/2 cup pecan pieces (optional)

Method

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpat
• In a small bowl, or food processor, whisk GF flour mix, guar gum, baking powder, and sea salt
• In a large bowl, beat egg whites, oil, sugar, and vanilla bean
• Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in batches, and beat with mixer just until mixed.
• Stir in chocolate chips and pecan pieces, if using
• Drop rounded tablespoons of batter on cookie sheets. I'm not sure why, but these cookies didn't spread. Maybe because there's no shortening? So you'll want to flatten them out a little once you put them on the cookie sheet.
• Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 12 minutes, or until edges are starting to brown.
• Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheets for about 10 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.

Enjoy with a cool glass of non-dairy milk!

Raw Vegan Peach Pie

Raw Vegan Peach Pie

Ingredients

Filling

1 cup raw cashews

3-4 fresh peaches, pits removed (about 3 cups of roughly chopped peaches)

1/4 cup agave nectar

1 tsp vanilla powder, or about 1/3 of a vanilla bean

Dash cinnamon

Dash himalayan salt

1/4-1/2 cup filtered water, as needed

Crust

1 1/4 cups raw pecans

1/4-1/3 cup raw pine nuts

Approximately 10 dates, pitted

Pinch himalayan or sea salt

Optional: pinch cinnamon

Topping

1 fresh peach, sliced

*note: amounts are approximate, as I didn't really measure as I went along (oops). One of the best things about raw food is that you don't need to measure- just add ingredients and keep tasting along the way. When it tastes great, you're ready!

Method

Prep

Soak raw cashews in filtered water for approximately 4 hours

For the crust

Place pecans, pine nuts, and salt in food processor and pulse a couple of times to roughly mix nuts and salt. Add dates and pulse a few more times until mixture resembles a coarse meal, something like this:

You are looking for a mixture that is somewhat dry and crumbly, but will stick together if you press it between your fingers. You want just enough stickiness that it will hold together when you press it in a pie plate. If it won't hold together when you squeeze it between your fingers, just add 1-2 dates at a time until it is the right consistency. Try not to overly process, rough and crumbly is what you want.

Put pecan mixture in a glass pie plate and use your fingertips to press evenly into the plate. That's it! Set aside.

For the filling 

Roughly chop 3-4 fresh peaches. Be sure to remove all pits. You can peel them if you want. I left the skins on and they were great. p.s. I advocate organic peaches, especially if you are leaving skins on.

Note: this is a whole lotta peaches- for multiple recipes. You won't need this many for just the pie :)

Put peaches, agave, soaked cashews, vanilla, salt and cinnamon in VitaMix or high speed blender and process until smooth. The mixture will be thick, like a pudding. If it is difficult to blend, add a little filtered water to get it going. Not too much water, though, or you'll wind up with a smoothie instead of a pie filling :)

Pour pie filling into prepared crust: 

This is quite a challenge while simultaneously trying to take a photo, heh heh. You would have been quite amused to see me juggling the camera and blender ;) 

Top with fresh sliced peaches:

Cover, and freeze for a few hours for the pie to firm up. It slices beautifully when frozen. Frozen slices taste much like an ice cream pie, but if you let the frozen slice sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes, it has a delicious, creamy texture that I like even better. Mmmmm!

Enjoy!

More info on health benefits of: peaches, cashews, dates, dates, pecans, pine nuts.

Gluten Free Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

The first time I made butter bean cookies, I thought they had a texture similar to a scone. So I experimented, and came up with this recipe.

Gluten Free Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

Ingredients

• 2 cups gluten free flour mix
• 1 1/2 tsp corn-free baking powder
• 1/4 tsp organic cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla powder
• Dash himalayan salt
• 1/2 cup canned white beans, liquid reserved (I used cannellini beans)
• 1/2 cup sucanat, or substitute brown sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/3 cup fresh or frozen rasberries (I always recommend using organic berries)
• 1/4 cup white chocolate chunks ( I cheated and used Ghiardelli baking white chocolate- not ideal, since it contains dairy, but you could use this recipe for vegan white chocolate)

Method

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat
• In the food processor, mix dry ingredients: GF flour mix, baking powder, cinnamon, vanilla powder, and salt. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
• In the food processor, mix white beans, sugar, applesauce, and approximately 1 Tbsp of bean liquid. Process until smooth.
• Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir to combine. If it is too dry, add a little more bean liquid.
• Add raspberries and white chocolate chunks and stir to combine.

• Scoop out a scone-size amount of dough, shape a little with your hands if desired, and put on parchment or silpat-lined cookie sheet.

• Bake at 350F for approximately 20 minutes. Edges will get slightly brown, and the middles will be firm. They will firm up a little more after they cool, so don't overcook.
• Let cool, and enjoy!

These freeze well and defrost nicely in the microwave.
p.s. can you believe I forgot to take a photo of the final product? I will try to remember next time.

Blueberry Macadamia Crispy Rice Treats

Blueberry Macadamia Crispy Rice Treats
(gluten free, corn free, vegan)

Ingredients

• 3 cups gluten free puffed rice cereal
• 3/4 cup gluten free brown rice syrup
• 1/4 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
• 1/3 cup dried blueberries
• Dash himalayan salt

Method

• Warm the brown rice syrup over low heat until thin and liquidy.
• Add puffed rice cereal and himalayan salt. Stir until well coated.
• Add macadamia nuts and blueberries and stir to mix.
• Press mixture into brownie pan and allow to cool. 

Cut into squares and enjoy!

Here are a few links to more info, including the health benefits of blueberries, macadamia nuts, and himalayan salt, and an internet article discussing alternative sweeteners, including brown rice syrup (low glycemic and contains B-vitamins).

Sprouted Spicy Lentil Burgers

These burgers are amazing. They are a tad spicy, so adjust to taste.

Sprouted lentil burgers (raw, vegan)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup sprouted lentils
• 1 cup raw pecans
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons sea salt (or himalayan salt)
• Juice of one lime (approximately 2 Tbsp)
• Lime zest

there is a pepper shown in this pic, but I didn't use it and used cayenne instead

Method

Add sprouted lentils to bowl of food processor:

Add pecans:

Pulse to combine:

Add olive oil and water and pulse a little more:

 Add cilantro, garlic, cayenne, sea salt, and lime:

Pulse to combine. Once processed, form mixture into balls:

Smoosh the balls into patties. This is actually much easier to do on the dehydrator tray so you don't have to transfer the patties. So, put your balls on the tray and then smoosh. Your patties will look like this:

Dehydrate at 145 degrees F for one hour. Set a timer! Do not dehydrate longer than one hour at 145 degrees or they will not be raw. After one hour, reduce heat to 115 degrees F. After one hour, flip patties and continue to dehydrate at 115 degrees F for approximately 2 more hours, or until desired texture. (approximately 4 hours total dehydration time) Here is what the burgers look like about halfway through dehydrating:

For a completely raw meal, serve with lettuce wraps. You could also use a gluten free or other type of bun, if you prefer. I like to try to keep my raw meals completely raw, but nothing says you can't mix things up if you want to. But, I would encourage you to experiment with raw meals. You won't believe how great they taste, and how great you'll feel!

Burgers:

p.s. how cool is this little dish???

By the way, that's homemade spicy mustard, made in the VitaMix. I'll post that recipe soon.

Raw vegan coleslaw:

The coleslaw helped cool the spiciness of the spicy burgers and spicy mustard. I wrapped everything in the lettuce wraps (including the coleslaw). It was delicious.

This recipe makes a lot of burgers. They are small, about the size of "sliders" you might get in a restaurant. You want to keep them small, or they will take forever to dehydrate. The raw lentil burgers freeze well- just remember not to "defrost" in the microwave! Then they would no longer be raw. Simply pull the burgers out of the freezer the morning you want them for dinner. I thawed mine in the fridge all day and then let them sit on the counter while I made up the plate with the lettuce and coleslaw. By the time I ate, they were room temperature and perfect. You could also pop them back in the dehydrator if you wanted to warm them up.

Enjoy!