Double Chocolate Pancakes

Chocolate for breakfast? I say "yes!" They smell like brownies while they're cookies. Can you get a better start to your day than that? Chocolate pancakes are the most requested breakfast of my three year old. That is, next to his cream of rice cereal.

These are so simple! You could use sugar, honey, or a sugar-free replacement to sweeten them. I've used Pyure and coconut sugar, and both were delicious!

Double Chocolate Pancakes

1 3/4 cups gluten free all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa or cacao powder
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar, 2 tbsp honey, or 5 tsp Pyure
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups milk (or water)
2/3 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips
Oil, for skillet

In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients and chocolate chips. Add the wet ingredients and mix again until well combined.

Heat a skillet on medium-low heat and oil it for easier flipping. Scoop 1/4 cup fulls of batter onto hot skillet, and cook until the bottom edge starts to look dry. Flip, and cook until golden brown.

Makes about twelve pancakes. Serve with real maple syrup. Enjoy!

Let Me Hear from You!

Alrighty, blog readers. I need to hear from you! I'd like to get more traffic across this blog, so I need you to help me. What kind of recipes are you looking for? What foods are you trying to avoid? Are you just looking for healthier versions of store bought items?

If you're on Facebook, please feel free to share my blog link!

Gluten, Dairy, Egg-Free Blueberry Muffins

Sometimes, while I'm just minding my own business, a bright idea will just pop into my head. An idea like, "That flour combination made really good cookies. Why couldn't it make good muffins? Blueberry muffins! Yes, that sounds good!" Then, while one of my children is playing with Play-Doh and the other one is coloring on a newspaper...and my hardwood floor...and the sliding door windows, I put together these most delicious blueberry muffins. (I'm so thankful for washable crayons!)

I've tried a few different gluten-free blueberry muffin recipes. They all turn out rather crumbly, like you'd expect with almost any gluten-free baked good. These particular muffins turned out moist and cake-like. They were soft, but not so soft that you couldn't spread some dairy-free butter spread on them. I'm going to make them again soon, omitting the cinnamon and switching out the blueberries for Enjoy Life chocolate chips. My three year old will be beside himself with chocolate in his muffins at breakfast!

One thing I did different with these muffins from all my other baking was to measure the flours by weight. I've been doing a little bit of reading on how that can totally change your end product in gluten-free baking. Different flours have different weights, so I looked up each one before measuring. I really do think it helped, but if you don't have a kitchen scale, don't worry too much about it. Just try to get precise measurements with your measuring cups.

Blueberry Muffins
Makes 12-15 regular muffins

1 cup (113g) tapioca flour
1 cup (135g) millet flour
3/4 cup (84g) coconut flour
2 tsp gelatin (or 1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum)
1 tbsp baking powder (Try homemade for a corn-free version!)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups coconut or almond milk
1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease muffin cups, or line with paper liners.

Whisk together dry ingredients. Add applesauce, oil, honey, and vanilla, then stir. Pour in milk and stir again until well combined. Fold in blueberries. Divide batter between muffin tins. Bake for 18-20 minutes until muffins are slightly golden on top and feel firm to touch.

Yes, my muffins are square. I still don't have my muffin tins out of storage, so all I had to use was the Pampered Chef brownie pans. That larger one on the top right is actually out of a tiny loaf pan since I didn't have two brownie pans clean. It baked a few minutes longer, but turned out fine. We just sliced it up and slathered on the butter!

Sweet Potato and Sausage Hash

One pan skillet dinner, meet real food. What mom doesn't love a one pan dinner that can be made in less than forty-five minutes? This can be done in thirty minutes easily, if you have the potatoes chopped ahead of time.

My family has recently discovered its love of sweet potatoes. I'm frying them, baking them, making fries with them. Yum! A little off topic, but did you know there are also white sweet potatoes? They're delicious too! Everyone should get to try them.

This recipe can be for breakfast, lunch, or supper. You choose. It's good at any time of the day!

Sweet Potato and Sausage Hash 

Coconut oil
1 lb pork or turkey sausage
3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
Salt and cinnamon, to taste

Optional add-ins:
Greens
Carrots
Broccoli

In a 12" skillet, brown the sausage. When there is no pink left in it, move it to a bowl, but leave the grease. Add chopped sweet potatoes (and carrots or broccoli, if using) to pan, adding coconut oil if needed. Season with salt and cinnamon. Once potatoes are soft (15-20 minutes), add sausage (and greens) back in and continue to cook for a few minutes to let flavors combine. Remove from heat and enjoy!

(I ran my spinach through the food processor first. It makes it easier for the kids to eat, and they can't pick it out!) :)

Chocolate Plantain Donuts

My 3 year old kept asking me for donuts, but being on the Autoimmune Paleo diet makes that a little tough. No grain or nut flours, and no eggs...how can one make a donut with those restrictions? Well, believe it or not, I tweaked a waffle recipe and came up with something really tasty! I'm excited to share it with you!

For this recipe, you'll need three or four plantains. Have you ever seen them in the grocery store? They look like an over-sized banana. In fact, they're in the banana family. Ripe plantains are delicious when they're sliced and fried and sprinkled with some salt and cinnamon. You should try it sometime!

The texture of these donuts are close to regular donuts. I don't know how they keep, since we had them all gone by bedtime. :)

Chocolate Plantain Donuts

4 cups plantain puree (3-4 large ripe--or close to ripe--plantains)

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1 tbsp vanilla

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp baking soda

3 tbsp carob powder (or cacao, or cocoa)

2 tbsp maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Peel and chop your plantains and run them through the food processor or blender until smooth. Next, add the oil, vanilla, and vinegar and blend again. Add salt, soda, carob powder, and maple syrup and blend until well mixed. 

Spoon this dough mixture into two donut pans to make twelve donuts. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Let them cool for a few minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack. 

Enjoy!

Homemade Coconut Milk

A lot of store bought coconut milk has ingredients other than water and coconut. Gums and carrageenan are just two of the list. If you're doing AIP, gums are not allowed, and my family avoids carrageenan already.

Did you know it's super easy to make your own additive-free coconut milk with only two ingredients? It's also more cost effective! The first ingredient is unsweetened coconut. I got a bag of Wild Oats organic coconut from Walmart for $1.98. Your only other ingredient is...drumroll...water! I promise, it is SO easy. Here you go...

Homemade Coconut Milk

1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
4 cups hot water

In a large blender, combine ingredients and process for 3-5 minutes. Strain through a fine strainer. Press the pulp down with a spoon to get all the milk out.

If you're like me, and don't want to waste that coconut pulp, you can dehydrate it in the oven. Just spread it on a cookie sheet, turn the oven to 200°F, and leave it for 45 minutes to an hour. It's done when there is no moisture left. Run that through your food processor, and you have something to bake with.

Coconut Raisin Crunch

Are you ready for something totally addicting? It's the kind of addicting where you may hide the bowl from your kids so you can eat it during naptime. :) It's like a trailmix, but it's good with milk over it like cereal too. Super easy and fast, here's one of my favorite recipes!

Coconut Raisin Crunch

2 cups thick coconut flakes
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp maple syrup
2/3 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Combine coconut flakes, cinnamon, and maple syrup in a medium bowl and mix gently until all the flakes are covered. Spread evenly onto a cookie sheet (with sides).

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until coconut flakes are lightly browned, stirring often. Allow to cool, and then add your raisins.

If you're like my 3 year old, you may think it needs more raisins. (Like an entire box full in one small bowl.) Go for it!

*This recipe can be doubled, just add a little more baking time.

AIP Birthday Cake with Strawberry Topping

My daughter's second birthday is coming up. I wasn't sure what I was going to do for a birthday cake, since we're still in the elimination phase of Autoimmune Paleo. I pulled up my friend Google and did some searching. I had this vision of a rich-flavored cake with some creamy layer of goodness and strawberries on top. By combining a few different recipes, it came out beautifully! I'm excited to share it with you.

The original cake recipe comes from Amanda at The Curious Coconut.

AIP Birthday Cake

1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup palm shortening
1 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup apple sauce
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp raw apple cider vinegar
1 cup coconut flour, sifted
2 tbsp tapioca starch
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 tbsp gelatin (I use this one)
2/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease and flour (with tapioca or arrowroot) a 7.5"x11" glass pan, or something similar.

In a large mixing bowl, add coconut oil, palm shortening, and sugar. Use an electric mixer to cream the oils and sugar for about one minute. Next, add applesauce, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar and mix for another minute.

In another smaller bowl, add all the dry ingredients and combine well. Pour about one fourth of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Add (about) a fourth of the water, and mix well. Alternate between the dry ingredients and water until it's mixed thoroughly. The batter will be thicker than normal cake batter. Spread it into prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

While your cake is cooling, you can mix up your toppings!

For the creamy layer...Maple Icing!

1/2 cup palm shortening
1/3 cup maple syrup (you could use honey too)
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp arrowroot powder
2 tsp coconut flour
1 tbsp coconut cream (the thick part from canned coconut milk)

Combine all these ingredients and mix with an electric mixer until smooth. It may or may not separate. Mine didn't at first, so I think I may have over-mixed it. I didn't mind too much, since it was covered with strawberries and it still tasted so good! Spread this over your cooled cake.

And now...the Strawberry Sauce

10oz frozen strawberries
1 tsp tapioca starch
1-2 tbsp honey, to taste

Let your strawberries thaw in a saucepan over low heat, and then scoop out a little of the juice and mix it with the tapioca starch. Pour this mixture back into your strawberries and add the honey. Once the strawberries are soft, use a potato masher to mash them. Cook until your sauce becomes bubbly and thick, stirring constantly. Allow to cool for a few minutes, and then spread over the top of your iced cake.

Keep this cake in the refrigerator until time to serve. The icing will harden, but it's not hard to cut or eat. I hope you enjoy it!

The Perfect DF Hot Cocoa (AIP)

Since starting the Autoimmune Paleo journey, I've struggled with giving up coffee. I'd go a couple days without and then cave another day, grabbing that brightly colored Dunkin Donuts bag out of the cupboard. I think I've finally found the perfect hot drink substitute, minus your herbal tea options. This one gives you a hot drink AND chocolate fix at the same time!

Sorry, no pictures.

Perfect Hot Cocoa (AIP option)

10 oz coconut milk (or almond)
1 1/2 tbsp carob powder (or cocoa)
1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
1 tsp Great Lakes gelatin (optional)
2 pinches of pink salt

Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan and whisk to incorporate. Heat to desired temperature. Whisk again, vigorously, so you get some bubbles on top. :) Enjoy!

Creamy Broccoli Soup (Dairy-Free, AIP)

You may have noticed I took an unexpected break from the blog. Silly me thought I could keep up with blogging while raising two toddlers and moving to a new house! Obviously, that was not the case.

Last night, I whipped up some creamy broccoli soup for my husband's lunch for work. Just smelling it made my mouth water. Onions, garlic, broccoli, butter. Mmm! I decided it was time to make some I could eat too. Lucky me, it turned out pretty tasty! Lucky you, I'm going to share my recipe. :)

**I currently have my daughter on the Autoimmune Paleo diet to heal her gut and food allergies. This recipe is compliant with this diet.

Creamy Broccoli Soup

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup yellow onion, diced 

2 carrots, diced or sliced

1 stalk celery, diced 

4-6 cloves garlic (According to taste. I used 6.)

4 cups broccoli, chopped

2 tbsp arrowroot (or corn starch, if not AIP)

3 cups chicken broth or stock 

1 can full fat coconut milk

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp parsley

1/2 tsp thyme

Handful of greens, optional

2 tbsp grass-fed gelatin, optional for protein and health benefits

Heat olive oil in a medium-size pot on low/medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots, cook until tender. Add garlic and sauté for about one minute more. Add the arrowroot or cornstarch and continue stirring until bubbly. Pour in broccoli, stock, and coconut milk. Add the rest of the ingredients and let the soup simmer for 20-30 minutes. 

*For the record, I haven't tried this yet...BUT I think 2-4 tbsp of nutritional yeast would be absolutely delicious in this soup. Nutritional yeast has a cheesy flavor, so you'd have cheesy-tasting, creamy broccoli soup!*