Gluten/Dairy-Free Cream of Mushroom Soup

Green bean casserole is one of my favorite vegetable casseroles! How about you? It's really easy to make…just a jar of green beans, cream of mushroom soup, milk, and French-fried onions.

Since I've cut out dairy and soy for my daughter, I've gotten very picky about what's in our food. We're eating healthier now than we ever have. No processed food--almost everything is made from scratch. A lot like clean eating, but I can't claim that we eat 100% clean. Here's the list of ingredients from a Campbell's cream of mushroom soup:

WATER, MUSHROOMS, VEGETABLE OIL (CORN, COTTONSEED, CANOLA, AND/OR SOYBEAN), MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, WHEAT FLOUR, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF: SALT, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, DEHYDRATED CREAM (CREAM [MILK], SOY LECITHIN), YEAST EXTRACT, FLAVORING, DEHYDRATED GARLIC.

Yuck. Really, all you need for a soup would be milk, broth, flour, and seasonings, right? That's so simple!  It probably only took ten minutes to throw together. You'd never have to buy condensed soup again! Here you go…

Cream of Mushroom Soup

1/4 cup chopped mushrooms

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp dried minced onion

2 tbsp arrowroot powder, tapioca starch, or corn starch

1/2 cup beef broth

1/2 cup almond milk

Pour oil into small saucepan, add mushrooms and seasonings. Sauté until mushrooms are tender. Add arrowroot or starch, milk, and broth. Stir until thick. 

For a cream of chicken variation, replace the mushrooms with finely diced chicken and the beef broth with chicken broth.

See how simple it is?! Now you can make your favorite casseroles without any unnecessary additives and gluten and dairy free!

Dairy/Sugar-Free Cranberry Mousse

Everyone has their favorite Thanksgiving tradition, right? One of my absolute favorites has always been cranberry mousse. It kind of wraps the tartness (is that a word?) of cranberrys, sweetness of raspberries, and creaminess of Cool Whip all into one lovely dish. Sound delicious? Read on...

Since having gone dairy free and cutting out refined sugar, I was feeling pretty sad that I wasn't going to get to enjoy this tasty goodness this year. So, I set my mind to it that I was going to find a way to make this so I could eat it! I'll warn you ahead of time that it does take some work, but it is worth it!

All you need for this cranberry mousse is jellied cranberry sauce, whipped coconut cream, and raspberry jello. Simple, right? Keep in mind, you're going to have to start this a day ahead so that your cranberry sauce will have time to gel in the refrigerator.

Cranberry Sauce

2 cups water

2- 12oz bags fresh cranberries

6-8 tbsp Pyure, to taste

Juice of half an orange

Place water and cranberries in pan and bring to boil. The cranberries will pop when they get hot enough, and when you hear no more popping, you'll know they're done. This takes 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then move berries to food processor and process smooth. Dump them back in the pan, and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes. Add the orange juice and sweetener during this time. Pour into pint size jars. Makes 2 pints, plus a little. :) Refrigerate for 24 hours. 

The following day, you're going to make your other two ingredients and combine all three.

Coconut Whipped Cream

2 cans full fat coconut milk

6-8 tbsp powdered Swerve

4 tsp pure vanilla extract

Refrigerate coconut milk overnight. Scrape out the thick cream into a medium-sized bowl, but leave the liquid. Add your sweetener and vanilla. Beat on high speed with an electric mixer for 1 minute.

Raspberry Jello

Water 

6oz carton fresh raspberries

2 tsp gelatin

Cover the bottom of a small sauce pan with water and add raspberries. Use a spoon to smash them down and stir until you have all the juice out. Using a jelly bag or a fine strainer, strain the juice into a measuring cup. Finish filling the cup to the one cup line with water. Put this mixture back into the sauce pan and whisk in gelatin. 

Now use an electric mixer to combine your cranberry sauce with the raspberry liquid. Fold in coconut whipped cream, saving a little for a dollop on top. Refrigerate 4-6 hours. Enjoy!

What is your favorite traditional Thanksgiving food?