Gluten Free Mickey Mouse Waffles at Walt Disney World

I am woefully behind on posts... and particularly Disney posts! I have a whole series of awesome Disney food posts that I cannot wait to share- hopefully I will get to those soon.

This is my most recent gluten-free Disney adventure, and the one that I am most excited about. Mickey Mouse waffles!

Gluten free Mickey waffles at Disney's Kona Cafe

I have been dreaming of Mickey Mouse waffles ever since I learned how well Disney accommodates special diets. With each trip to Disney, I learn a little more about special dining requests, and become more confident in asking for what I would like to eat. For most Disney dining thus far, I have made reservations and noted food sensitivities ahead of time. I did not know for certain whether Disney made gluten free Mickey waffles, but thought they probably did. I figured those would need to be pre-arranged with one of the breakfast events. I have been looking forward to a time when I could try that, but just had not yet been at Disney for breakfast.

This meal was on a whim. I had been thinking about getting my hair cut (it's HOT here in Florida), and donating the hair to charity. Somewhere, in all of my recent reading about Disneyworld, I learned that the Magic Kingdom has an actual barber shop on Main Street. It is not just a store front, it is a working barber shop with licensed and trained cosmetologists. Not to mention a barbershop quartet. So of course, I thought "how fun would it be to get a hair cut on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom?"So, I made an appointment (appointments are recommended, as it tends to get busy).

We arrived early, and had some time before my appointment. So, Tim and I made a little monorail stop on the way into the Magic Kingdom & decided to eat breakfast in the Polynesian. I had not planned for breakfast, so had not called ahead for dining accommodations, but given the recent success I've had finding allergy-friendly meals at Disney over the past few months, I had no doubt there would be something I could eat for breakfast. At least I know all the chefs are trained and knowledgeable about food allergies and sensitivities.

The Kona Cafe at Disney's Polynesian Resort

The Polynesian breakfasts are amazing. Everything on the menu looked delicious. The Chef came out to speak with me about the menu items that could be made without gluten or soy. The last thing he mentioned, almost as an aside, was "Oh, and we can do a gluten free waffle too, if you wanted to get those."

My eyes lit up. Heck, I bet my whole face lit up. I was very, very excited about gluten free waffles (that I don't have to make myself?! Yes, please!)

I did not ask if they were Mickey waffles. I'm not sure why. Maybe I assumed they couldn't be, on such short notice. There were a number of waffles on the menu, and none of them appeared to be Mickey Mouse shaped. After all, this was a grown up breakfast. Ha. Well, intended for grown ups. When Tim and I get anywhere near Disney, we are like two big kids. Really. At lunch, we even order the kids' sodas with the lids and whistle straws and blinky lights.

We placed our orders. Mine for gluten free waffles, Tim for two regular breakfast entrees (which looked amazing). Our food arrived, and... guess what??? Well, of course, you already know, since I've already said the phrase "Mickey Mouse waffles" about 100 times in this post. But yes, to my surprise... MICKEY MOUSE WAFFLES! I think I was as or more excited than any kid would have been. Gluten free Mickey Mouse waffles???? (They were also soy free, and I'm pretty sure dairy free too). Oh yeah!!!!!

*By the way, I think they may have actually been a kid's menu item, which is why the Chef mentioned that option so casually, "...if you wanted to get those." Ha! But, I was delighted... and the price was a few dollars less than anything else on the menu. Bonus!

They come on a plate of four:

They were amazing. I savored every last bite. To tell you the truth, I am still craving those waffles. I am ready to travel to Disney, in time for breakfast, just for the waffles.

During breakfast, I almost completely forgot that the whole reason we were there was for a haircut in the Magic Kingdom. Seriously. Mickey Mouse waffles made my day! I could have gone home after breakfast and been a happy girl. Stop by Disney for breakfast? Sure! Why not?

I cannot say enough good things about Disney's allergy-friendly dining options. I will post more Disney food adventures in the months to come.

Oh, and my haircut is another story altogether. I will say I feel much cooler now!

Valentine Rice Krispy Treats (gluten free, corn free, vegan)

Good morning and happy Valentine's day!

Today I share with you cocoa and vanilla rice krispy treats. These treats use brown rice syrup instead of marshmallows, so they contain NO gluten, corn, soy, or animal products. Yum!

Easy Gluten Free, Vegan Rice Krispy Treats

Ingredients
1/3 cup nut butter of choice (I used cashew, but I think peanut or hazelnut would be fantastic with the cocoa treats)
1/3 cup brown rice syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups gluten free crispy rice cereal (I use this one) It also comes in cocoa.

Method
In a large pan, heat nut butter and brown rice syrup over low heat until melted and well combined.
Stir in vanilla extract
Turn off heat
Stir in rice cereal until well coated with syrup mixture

Spread rice mixture in brownie pan to cool.

Alternatively, you can use a rice mold to make all kinds of shapes. I find this easier than cutting out rice krispy treats with a cookie cutter. This is what my rice mold looks like:

You can find rice molds (sushi molds) in Asian grocery stores. If you are lucky to live in a city that has a Chinatown, you can find them in ALL shapes and sizes- and super cheap. I found my heart mold, which also came with a flower mold, for 99 cents in San Francisco's Chinatown. If you can not find them in a local shop, you can also find them on Amazon.

Allergy-friendly Candy Apples

This recipe is linked to Wellness Weekends and Allergy-Friendly Fridays. 

Be sure to visit those pages for more yummy Halloween treats!

Hi everyone! I meant to post this recipe last week. I was traveling, and I thought I'd done well in planning ahead to write this post on the road. I made the apples early, took photos, loaded all of the photos onto my laptop, and edited photos while on the plane. Perfect! Now I just had to add the recipes and upload to the blog...

Guess what I forgot at home???

Yup. The recipes.

Oops!

But now I'm back, and here you go...

Here are recipes for THREE versions of candy apples. No gluten, corn, soy, dairy, or refined sugar. Bonus: they are RAW vegan! Yes, raw vegan treats for Fall : ) Who needs Halloween candy? These taste MUCH better- and they are better for you.

As I was thinking about writing this post, I came across some pre-made candy apples in Publix (our local grocery store).

Here are the ingredients: 

Obviously these are not an option for anyone with a corn allergy, or kids who may be sensitive to artificial flavors or dyes.

There were also caramel apples: 

Ingredients: 

Corn syrup, refined sugar, dairy PLUS sugar, soy, more dairy (can you really call dipotassium phosphate "milk"?), more soy, even MORE soy, something unpronounceable, imitation vanilla- really, there is not any FOOD in here, except for the apples. And it contains three of the eight major allergens.

How about the chocolate turtle apples?

Ingredients:

Yeah. More of the same. 

So, now that you are convinced you probably do not want to feed this commercial, pre-packaged "food-like substance" to your family... here is an easy & healthy alternative.

I started with the biggest, prettiest Fuji apples I could find. You can use any variety of apple you like.

Note: next time I would choose the smallest apples I can find, not the largest. I was dazzled by the beautiful large apples in the store. But as I was making the apples, they were really too big and heavy, and they were much too big to eat. Each of these apples was enough for 2-4 people. Too big. But they were pretty : ) 

A smaller apple would be easier to handle (especially for kids) and it would also give you a better candy-coating-to-apple ratio.

OK, on to the recipes. I experimented with caramel, chocolate, and white chocolate apples. 

I used the "I Am the Best" Caramel Sauce recipe from Cafe Gratitude's I am Grateful (un)cookbook

Raw Vegan Caramel Apples

Ingredients

Apples

Lollipop or popsicle sticks

Caramel

1 cup macadamia nuts

1/2 teaspoon himalayan salt

1/4 cup raw almond milk

1/2 cup raw agave nectar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla powder

1/2-1 teaspoon yacon syrup

Method

Place all ingredients apart from the yacon syrup in high speed blender. Pulse or start on low and gradually increase the speed until you have achieved a smooth texture (you may need to add a little more almond milk).

Now blend in 1/2 teaspoon yacon syrup, slowly. Taste and add a little more yacon syrup if you like. Note: if you add too much yacon syrup, the color will change from golden to green!

Note: I added about 2 Tbsp melted raw cacao butter to this recipe in the hope that it would harden on the apple once it cooled. It did not harden as I'd hoped, and I also thought it changed the taste (it was still good, but it was much better without). I did not try it, but I think adding 1 Tbsp coconut butter to the recipe might have the "hardening" effect I was going for. So you might try that if you are feeling adventuresome. If you try it, I'd love to hear how it works out.

Insert a popsicle or lollipop stick and dip apples in caramel:

Sit on plate or bowl. This is where I'd hoped it would harden, but it never did (it was still yummy though)

Some of the caramel slid off, and I wound up with a thin coating of caramel, something like this:

Roll apple in topping of your choice, if desired. I used a coconut and pecan mixture left over from another recipe:

Next up: Chocolate apples. The chocolate part of this recipe is from Sarma's Living Raw Food (un)cookbook.

Raw Vegan Chocolate Apples

Ingredients
Apples
Lollipop or popsicle sticks

Chocolate coating
1 1/4 cups coconut oil, warmed to liquify
3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons raw cacao powder
3 1/2 Tablespoons maple syrup
Pinch of sea salt

Blend all chocolate ingredients until smooth and fully emulsified.

Dip apples in chocolate. Roll in topping, if desired. I used chopped almonds. This topping will harden even faster if you put it in the fridge.

Last one: White chocolate apples!

White Chocolate Candy Apples

Ingredients

Apples

Lollipop or popsicle sticks

White Chocolate (recipe from Lisa at Vegan Culinary Crusade)

1/2 cup melted raw cacao butter (place it in a bowl of hot water until it becomes liquid)
1 tsp vanilla bean (extract or powder)
1/4 cup raw agave syrup (if you keep it in the fridge give it some time on the counter to warm up so it won't cause the cacao butter to solidify too quickly).

Method
Stir everything together in a bowl.
Dip apples in white chocolate coating. Let cool to harden. It is OK to put in fridge, but do not put in freezer. The white chocolate coating is ok in the freezer, but frozen apples thaw out to be mush.
Note: I did not try it, but I think adding 1Tbsp coconut oil to this recipe would make a nice smooth coating that hardens. Let me know if you try that and how it turns out!

Enjoy your healthy, allergy-friendly candy apples! 

I'd love to hear which one you choose, and how it turns out.

Gluten Free Vegan Halloween Krispy Treats

The inspiration for this recipe was a bag of puffed millet that I wasn't quite sure what to do with. If you are not familiar with millet, you will be happy to know that it is a low-calorie, gluten free grain with nearly 10% protein. Millet is high in magnesium; magnesium is beneficial to cardiovascular health, and can help prevent muscle cramps and migraines. Millet is also high in B-vitamins, folate, iron and zinc. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I found this puffed millet is similar in texture to puffed rice. It is puffed and airy, but soft, not crispy. The only ingredient in the (Arrowhead Mills brand) cereal below is millet; nothing else.

The recipe below uses brown rice syrup instead of the marshmallows that are traditionally used in krispy treats. Why? Take a look:

The ingredients in Kraft marshmallows, large or small, are: corn syrup, sugar, modified food starch, dextrose, water, gelatin, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, artificial flavor, natural flavor, and blue #1.

Besides the corn, corn, and more corn, fake laboratory ingredients with names I can't pronounce, and artificial colors and flavors- I won't even go into how gelatin is rendered. You can Google it... it's pretty disgusting. Blech! I'm not even vegetarian, but gelatin is an ingredient I'd like to avoid.

Dried apricots and raisins sneak in a little extra nutrition in this recipe, in addition to adding Halloween color.

Allergy-Friendly Halloween Krispy Treats

Ingredients
2 cups puffed millet
1/2 cup cashew butter (click here for how to make your own)
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
Dash himalayan salt (optional)
Dried apricots, diced
Dried zante currants (or raisins)

Method
Add cashew butter and brown rice syrup to a large saucepan over low heat.

Stir until melted.

Add dash of salt, if using. Stir to mix.
Add puffed millet.

Stir until millet is well coated with syrup mixture.

Add diced dried apricots and currants. Stir to combine.

Drop large spoonfuls of millet-fruit mixture onto parchment paper and let cool.

The mixture is pretty hot at this point, so just drop it onto the parchment paper, don't worry about the shape.

When it is cool enough to handle, shape into balls (just roll between your palms).

Enjoy!

Bailey is such a good dog. Since he is so darn cute laying there watching me take photos of food, I thought I'd let him pose with the treats too : ) He just likes the attention, he doesn't even try to swipe a treat : )

This recipe is linked to Cybele Pascal's Allergy Friendly Friday. Click to check out the other great allergy friendly recipes and the rest of Cybele's blog for awesome gluten, dairy, and egg free recipes.