Mama's Chocolate Hemp No-Bake Macaroons

Hey Folks, super excited to share this recipe with you.

My kids love them and I took them on my girls weekend to get a second opinion. They got unanimous approval from 11 other mama's. So you know they must be good.  Plus it is so easy. Hello - no bake. Its summertime - who wants to turn on the oven. 

Being full of super foods doesn't hurt their standing either. Hemp. Check. Coconut oil. Check.

I was on a fully grain free diet for a LONG time. But, I have recently re-introduced some grains and am coping okay with them. I generally avoid them early in the day (or my blood sugar gets right out of whack) and their role in my diet is pretty limited. But I'm always trying new (or old) things. I'm not a slave to one particular diet - I just try to figure out what my body is, or is not, responding to at any given time. And trust me, it changes with the seasons, stress, weight, etc. A constant guessing game. 

In the past, when my adrenals where in bad shape, and my blood sugar was crazy low, I couldn't have handled this little snack. But these days, I can indulge in a few oats now and again. As long as I've had a good dose of protein for breakfast and my blood sugar is stable. 

And, oh lordy, am I enjoying these!  Hope you do too! These girls sure did.........

Mama's Chocolate Hemp No-Bake Macaroons

by MamaChanty

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Keywords: raw dessert dairy free gluten-free vegan hemp seeds oats

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Ingredients (3 dozen)

Dry Ingredients

• 2 cups quick rolled oats (GF if necessary)
• 1 cup hulled hemp hearts
• 1 cup shredded coconut (I used fine)
• dash of salt

Wet Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup butter or vegan buttery spread (if dairy free)

Other

• 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 6 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup organic cane sugar
• 3 Tbsp Stevia (or adjust sweetener)

Instructions

In a bowl, combine dry ingredients. In a separate saucepan, add almond milk, coconut oil, butter, cocoa powder and sugar. Stir over medium heat until it comes to a low rolling boil. Let boil, stirring regularly, for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla (it will bubble up). Pour cooked mixture over dry mixture and mix thoroughly. Scoop packed 1 Tbsp spoonfuls onto a piece of wax or parchment paper. It may stick a bit so you have to work slowly/patiently.

Let stand until cooled completely. Enjoy!

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Wow - A Grain Free Vegan Pizza Crust the Whole Family Can Enjoy!

This pizza crust has made me very happy..............a pizza crust the WHOLE family can 1) eat - yay - no eggs, dairy or grains and 2) enjoy. Even my hubby loves it. My gluten-dairy pizza loving hubby!

I know I haven't been blogging much lately. I promise to be back with an honest to goodness update REALLY soon. Things are good...............I'm feeling good. Life is good. But I'm continuing on my journey and part of that has been working on slowing down. S.L.O.W.I.N.G.D.O.W.N. Which means a lot less blogging..................

But I have still been cooking and sticking to my diet (no grains, no diary and low sugar) since it works for me. I don't experiment as much as I used to but I did play with this pizza crust recipe that I got from Primally Inspired to make it vegan and to work for my families tastes. It is incredible given all the restrictions.

I've tried several pizza crusts since changing my diet. I loved pizza crust #1 from the Wheat Belly cookbook but, unfortunately, that one contains dairy and eggs. Since I no longer eat dairy and my daughter doesn't eat eggs it didn't last long.

I've also experimented with cauliflower crust pizza on several occasions and it never worked for me.

Well, I've made this one now at least 5 times and it seems to be fail-proof. Consistent. Delicious.

I'm pretty excited about this recipe. So I thought I better get blogging and get this recipe in the archives.......because I think we will be eating this for years to come.

PIZZA NIGHT IS BACK BABY!!!!!

If you don't eat dairy and you are wondering about toppings, I usually use a combination of Daiya (non-dairy cheese) and nutritional yeast for my kids. For myself I usually use a combination of goat cheese and nutritional yeast. I find the goat cheese goes better with non-traditional toppings so I like to use a sun-dried tomato pesto for the "sauce" and toppings like chicken, leafy greens, cilantro, red onion or whatever happens to be in the fridge. Its pizza. You can't go wrong.

I hope you enjoy this recipe! Looking forward to catching up soon!

Grain Free Vegan Pizza Crust

by MamaChanty

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Keywords: bake entree dairy free vegan gluten-free wheat belly chia seeds chickpeas coconut flour arrowroot powder

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Ingredients (12 inch pizza crust)

• 3/4 cup arrowroot powder
• 1/4 cup garbanzo bean (chick pea flour) - I get it at Bulk Barn
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 tablespoons Nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• ⅓ cup grapeseed oil (or other oil)
• ⅓ cup vegetable broth or water
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1/4 cu warm water mixed with 1/2 tbsp ground Chia seeds and 1/2 tbsp ground golden flox
• ⅓ cup coconut flour

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, combine your flours, spices and nutritional yeast.

In a small pot bring the oil, broth or water, apple cider vinegar and minced garlic clove to a low rolling boil. Just let it boil for 1 minute or so before removing it from the heat. Let it cool for a few minutes.

Add boiled mixture to flour mixture and mix thoroughly until fully combined - it will be really thick and pasty. Don't worry if its not completely smooth.

Add in the water/Chia/flax mixture. Stir well.

Add in your coconut flour. Stir to fully combine. It will start making a dough as the coconut flour absorbs the moisture. I find it best to take it out of the bowl and gently kneed it on a piece of parchment paper. It should form a ball.

I use a rolling pin to roll the dough out on the parchment paper. I usually make it about 12 inches in diameter. I then transfer the dough (on the paper) to a pizza pan.

I bake the crust for about 10 minutes.

Then I remove it from oven to add toppings. Depending on the type of toppings I usually bake it for an additional 8 - 10 minutes and then use the broiler to crisp it up for 2 minutes.

Then we eat...........yummy!

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Red Velvet Brownies - Vegan and Gluten Free with Beets and Black Beans

Hello everyone.

I'm finally back with a recipe.

I have been busy enjoying my summer and dealing with the roller coaster that is my life with adrenal fatigue and Candida. I've had to go back to a strict "grain-free and very low sugar" diet so I can't actually eat these brownies anymore. Tear. But I'm feeling much better so it is worth it.

But if you can handle some non-glutenous grains then I say go for it..........I enjoyed them while I could and now its time for someone else to enjoy them.

I'll be back with an update on how my battle with adrenal fatigue and Candida is going soon. In the meantime hope you are all enjoying your summers...............

Vegan and Gluten Free Red Velvet Brownies with Beets and Beans

by MamaChanty

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Keywords: bake blender dessert vegan sugar-free low-carb almond flour black beans coconut flour beets cake

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Ingredients (16 small squares)

• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup GF quick oats
• 1/2 cup organic coconut flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa or cacao powder
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used almond)
• 2 Tbsp oil (melted coconut oil or grape seed oil)
• 2 Tbsp pure pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup cooked & shredded beets (I used ones that had previously been cooked and frozen)
• 1/4 cup black beans drained and rinsed
• handful non-dairy chocolate chips (more if desired)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a food processor or blender (I used my Ninja), blend the almond and coconut flours, oats, cacao powder, salt, and baking powder. It should basically turn into a flour.

Add in the milk, vanilla extract, oil, pumpkin puree and maple syrup, and blend until fully combined.

Add in the cooked beetroot and the beans and blend until the mixture has formed a thick batter.

Remove the blade and stir in the chocolate chips or just toss them on top after pouring in pan.

Pour the batter into an 8 x 8 baking dish lined with parchment paper. I just cut a square to fit the bottom and didn't worry about the sides as I greased the pan first. Smooth the top with a spatula.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until the top is fully cooked. Let cool. I dare ya to wait. Although we really liked these a bit warm with some toppings (coconut cream, cool whip, berries).

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Vegan and Gluten Free Banana Muffins - Chocolate Chips optional

My kids are LOVING these muffins. I've made this batch about 6 or 7 times in the past two weeks so its definitely a new family favorite. They disappear pretty darn quick.

Its that time of year when we need portable snacks - picnics, playing at the park, bike rides, soccer, etc, etc, etc. We are often away from the house and the kids are always hungry.

It's so easy to get into the habit of "grabbing" a pre-packaged, pre-wrapped, processed, sugar-filled, nutrient deficient snack on the way out the door. Convenient - yes. Healthy - no.

That's okay once in a while. But I find muffins are a great alternative if you want to throw something a little more healthy into the rotation. They freeze well so do a double batch and freeze them..........if there are any left to freeze.

These are refined sugar free and even have some almond flour for a bit of a protein boost. They will fill them up and keep em happy. And they are vegan and gluten free for all those egg, dairy and gluten sensitive ones out there.

Have a great weekend everyone!

This was us out for a picnic supper before soccer the other night............we ended up at Target. Three minutes after we arrived at the park someone needed to use the toilet. They always either need a snack or the potty.............muffins and Target to the rescue!

Vegan and Gluten Free Banana Muffins - Oh YEAH

by MamaChanty

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes ish

Keywords: bake breakfast dessert snack vegan sugar-free banana chia seeds almond flour oats

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Ingredients (10 - 12 muffins)

Wet Ingredients

• 3 ripe banana's, mashed
• 1/3 cup organic palm coconut sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup grape seed oil or melted coconut oil
• 1 chia or flax egg (1 tbsp ground chia or ground golden flax gelled in 3 Tbsp warm water)
• 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Dry Ingredients

• 1/2 cup almond flour (I grind blanched slivered almonds in my coffee grinder)
• 1/2 cup gluten free all purpose flour blend
• 1/2 cup GF quick oats
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• vegan chocolate chips - optional

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combined wet ingredients.

Combined dry ingredients in a seperate bowl.

Gently mix dry and wet ingredients together. Fold in chocolate chips.

Place batter evenly in a lined muffin baking pan.

Bake for 25 minutes (or until center is fully cooked).

Let cool completely before removing from liners or they tend to stick.

Enjoy.

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Dairy & Gluten Free Potato Perogy Filling - Cheesy with a few Polka's on the side!

Hey Folks.

I took a bit of a "break" from blogging but I'm back.

We were busy on a mini-vacation and then had a "Ukrainian weekend". My daughter wanted the theme of her 5th Birthday party to be "Ukrainian". Who am I to complain? And then we had my daughters' first ever Ukrainian Dance Recital.

So I have been busy. And so HAPPY! For those of you that don't know me well - the idea of spending the weekend immersed in Ukrainian music, food and dance is kinda my thing.

I'll share a couple of pictures from the party just for kicks. We love theme parties.

But the key to any good party is the food. And unfortunately the staple of the Ukrainian feast is the good ol' perogy. The cheesy, wheaty, inflammation-inducing perogy.

A while back I developed a gluten-free, vegan perogy dough. That's the dough I used again and it worked out just fine. Warning: gluten-free dough is not that forgiving. I'm an experienced roller and pincher so I managed to make it work. If you are a newbee to perogies I apologize in advance if you struggle with it. You can always just use this filling with gluten-free lasagna noodles to make a perogy casserole if you aren't a fully-qualified Baba like me. Or look for an alternative gluten-free perogy dough. The one I made was purposefully simple (i.e. few ingredients) so I used an all purpose gluten-free flour blend. If you want to get fancy (and use more flours/ingredients) you might be able to make something a bit more pliable (and forgivable).

Just a couple other tips:

• Obviously, omit the bacon if you want to keep these vegan; 
• Fully cooled and refrigerated filling is MUCH easier to work with than when it is still warm. Don't rush it; 
• After trying it both ways, I found that freezing the perogies raw (if you aren't going to eat them immediately) works better than boiling and freezing them, which I would normally do with wheat perogies; 
• When you are ready to eat them, take them directly out of the freezer and boil them immediately. Make sure you boil them on a LOW GENTLE ROLLING BOIL so they don't fall apart. Be patient and let them cook slowly. When they float to the top let them boil for a couple extra minutes and then drain and serve doused in melted Earth Balance;

These were a big hit with my daughters'. And I think my guests were pleasantly surprised that gluten and cheese free perogies could be so PLEASANT.

There is life after gluten and cheese people. I promise. And parties...............

Really Cheesy - Gluten & Dairy Free Potato Perogy Filling

by MamaChanty

Prep Time: 1/2 hour plus chill time

Cook Time: NA

Keywords: boil entree gluten-free dairy free bacon potato nutritional yeast Ukrainian

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Ingredients (Enough for 4 - 5 dozen perogie)

• 3 Tbsp Earth Balance - or other dairy free butter
• 1/4 cup finely diced white onion
• 3 sliced bacon finely chopped
• 4 cups hot cooked white potatoes (about 6 medium sized potatoes boiled in salted water until tender and then drained)
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 cup Daiya dairy-free shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 Tbsp pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp Herbamare or fine sea salt
• dash of black pepper

Instructions

Peel and boil your potatoes.

While the potatoes are cooking, fry the bacon and diced onion with 1 Tbsp Earth balance until tender. About 4-5 minutes on medium heat.

After the potatoes are boiled and drained, put them back in the pot. Add all remaining ingredients.

Mash together until fully combined and smooth.

Let cook on counter until warm and then put in fridge to cool entirely. This will take a few hours so you may want to do it the night before you are assembling the perogies.

Use the filling with your favorite gluten free perogy dough recipe. Or layer the mixture in between cooked gluten free lasagna noodles and baked for a delicious perogy lasagna.

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Our Ukrainian Weekend - well some of it...........Mommy with her little Uki at her first concert, Avery blowing out the candles on her Matryoska doll cupcake-cake (not my best decorating job but vegan and the kids actually gobbled them up), the little guests with their VINOK's (yep- that was a major glue gun project) - don't they look pretty, the vinok's, and a my creepy decorations - my daughter's face superseded on an old dancing poster of mine. LOL. I love it. She hated it.

We also did a Matryoska doll craft, had a Polka inspired Freeze dance party and ate cabbage rolls and Kulbasa. Mommy did a bad job of getting pictures.

Happy Valentine's Day - Celebrating with Heart Shaped Chocolate Vegan Gluten Free Cookies...........that are school safe!

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone! Or Valentine's Week................I'm a bit early.

I had to get some cookies baked for my daughter's Valentine's party as school. Because she unfortunately can not share in all the treats her friends will be bringing. She can't have gluten, dairy, refined sugar, eggs or soy. And of course she can't take nuts to school.

We basically have to pack her separate lunch, snacks, treats, cake, cupcakes - whatever-  every time she goes for a play date, birthday party, school party, etc, etc, etc. She is actually okay with it for now. It doesn't seem to bother her.

Probably because I'm always trying new recipes and making her tasty treats. But man is it time consuming. This is why I can't work full time. Seriously. I spend a LOT of time in my kitchen. Which I love but even I have my limits.

But............she got her first ear infection in well over 2 years this week. In the first 3 1/2 years of her life she had NUMEROUS ear infections. Until we changed her diet. And she stopped having them.

It was a great reminder of how far we have come. And how it is all worth it if it means she is healthy. And happy. Even if its time consuming.

So I will keep baking her special treats. And she won't need to feel different. Just special!

Remember - my recipes are super low sugar. Add more sweetener if you want. Or dip them in melted chocolate to sweeten them up................that can't be bad!

Vegan & Gluten Free Chocolate Cookies with Hemp and Chia

by MamaChanty

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert gluten-free vegan coconut flour chocolate hemp seeds chia seeds cookie

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Ingredients (18 - 20 medium heart shapes co)

• 1 Tbsp ground chia seeds (I grind it in my coffee grinder)
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup organic coconut flour
• 1 Tbsp Arrowroot powder
• 1/2 cup All purpose Gluten Free Flour (I used Cloud 9 brand from Costco)
• ¼ cup cocoa
• 1/2 Tbsp cacao nibs (optional)
• 1 Tbsp hemp hearts (optional)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• pinch fine sea salt
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• ½ Tbsp vanilla extract
• 4 -6 Tbsp pure maple syrup (or more if you prefer more sweetness) - you be the judge

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine Chia seeds with water and let stand for 5 minutes to gel.

Combine all dry ingredients.

In a separate mixing bowl combine all wet ingredients including Chia gel.

Mix wet and dry ingredients together until just combined. It should form a ball (like dough).

Let stand for 5 minutes. If it seems sticky add some additional coconut flour.

Roll out dough until about 1/8 inch thickness on a piece of parchment paper. Cut shapes out of dough and transfer to lined baking sheet. I just kept reusing the scraps (forming into a new ball and re-rolling out) until there was no dough left.

Bake for about 12 minutes.

Let cool and decorate, dip in chocolate or just eat as is.

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KidsEatClean - Vegan Gluten Free Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

When I first started eating clean, banana bread was one of the first recipes I re-invented to make it follow my food guidelines. It was a huge success - my kids LOVED it. I LOVED it. We enjoyed many loaves of my Paleo Dark Chocolate Banana Bread.

Fast forward a year. We can no longer eat my Paleo Dark Chocolate Banana Bread. Sniff Sniff.

I've been on and off (mostly on) the Candida diet for most of the past 9 months which precluded me from eating most fruits and sugar. I also found out in the Spring that I have a very strong food sensitivity to banana's. That was hard news to hear. Cruel really.

Around that same time we also found out that my daughter has a strong food sensitivity to eggs. Shoot.

So I had to come up with a new banana bread recipe. Well, once I got over mourning the fact that I would never be eating banana bread again. Ever.

I have made this recipe numerous times now. I just whipped up a double batch to get us through breakfast and snacks for the rest of the week. It looks and smells delicious.

It is egg, gluten and dairy free. And also low in sugar.  And my kids love it.

So even though I resent the fact that I can't eat this I am passing along the recipe. Because I believe kids should EAT CLEAN. And what kids doesn't love a chocolate chip banana bread. Enjoy!

Vegan Gluten Free Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

by MamaChanty

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50 - 60 minutes

Keywords: bake bread gluten-free paleo sugar-free vegan almond flour chia seeds chocolate buckwheat flour

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Ingredients (1 loaf)

Wet ingredients

• 2 ripe banana's, mashed
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 2 Tbsp honey (or sweetener of choice) 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Chia gel

• 1/2 cup unsweetened milk - I used almond milk
• 1 Tbsp ground Chia

Dry ingredients

• 1/4 cup blanched almond flour
• 1/4 cup organic coconut flour
• 1/4 cup light buckwheat flour
• 1/4 cup ground golden flax (I grind in the coffee grinder)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a loaf pan and then line with parchment paper (optional).

Combine ground chia with warmed almond milk. Let stand for 5 minutes to let Chia gel.

Combine wet ingredients including Chia gel.

Combine dry ingredients separately.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Put in greased loaf pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes until center is fully cooked.

Let cool COMPLETELY before removing from parchment paper and slicing or it will stick.

Let your kids enjoy a low-sugar snack full of clean and healthy ingredients.

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KidsEatClean - Vegan Gluten Free Chickpea Blender Blondies

Well, I guess these are actually blondies.

Well, here I go with the chickpea recipes again. But these were so good that I just had to share the recipe. And document it. Because I have already made three batches so obviously this is going to be a family favorite.

My food processor is broken so I am having to improvise and use my blender for everything. I have a high powered Ninja. And it works just fine. Some starting/stopping/scraping down the sides had to take place but still a quick and easy recipe.

Everyone in the family can eat these. Well, I try to stay away from them myself but not the worse thing I could eat. So I snuck a few.

And remember, our family is on a super low sugar diet. If you want more sweetness, add more sweetness. Adding more sweetener or chocolate chips isn't going to hurt the recipe. Its just a matter of whether its going to hurt YOU?

Enjoy!

Vegan & Grain Free Chocolate Chip Chickpea Blender Blondies

by MamaChanty

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Keywords: bake blender dessert gluten-free low-carb vegan chickpeas chocolate coconut flour cake

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Ingredients (12 pieces)

•  1 1/2 cups chickpeas (1 can, drained and rinsed)
•  3/4 tsp baking powder
•  1/8 tsp baking soda
•  level 1/4 tsp salt
•  2 Tbsp Xylitol and 2 Tbsp Agave (or ¼ cup sweetener of choice)
•  ½ Tbsp vanilla extract
•  1/4 cup ground golden flax
•  1/4 cup sunflower butter (or nut butter if not worried about nut-safe)
•  ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
•  1 Tbsp coconut Flour
•  optional: 1/4 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips plus some extra for on top

Instructions

Grease an 8 x 8 baking pan with coconut oil. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend all ingredients (except chips and coconut flour) until very smooth in a blender or food processor. If you use a blender you will have to stop several times to scrape down the sides. Mix in chips and coconut flour. Transfer batter into the baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. They should still be slightly moist. Enjoy!

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KIDSEATCLEAN - Baba Chanty's Clean Gluten, Dairy and Egg Free Perogy Casserole

I've always said that I was a "BABA Before my Time".

I was very young when I started making perogies with my grandma, cheese rolls with my mom.............the list goes on. But the days of us eating dairy infused potatoes wrapped in a wheat dough shell are over. Frankly, we can't eat much of our traditional Ukrainian dishes. Sigh.

But this Baba was planning to feed 20 people for Ukrainian Christmas dinner.

So I needed a Ukrainian inspired dish that was gluten, dairy and egg free. That could be made in advance so I could actually try and visit with my guests. And that could feed a crowd.

A casserole. When all else fails make a casserole.

Perogy casserole is not a new concept. But making it dairy free was a bit of a challenge. We actually still eat butter so our version wasn't technically dairy free but it easily could  be.

This was a complete experiment and I was pretty happy how it turned out. Beginners' luck. It didn't taste exactly like a perogy but it did its job. I will make it again. And my kids liked it.

By the way, I've started a new page "KidsEatClean". A spot to save all the recipes I make for my kids. I don't actually eat most of this stuff. I do it for the kids. And my guests.

Remember, I'm a Baba at heart. We like to feed people........................and we like tradition.

This recipe takes some time to prep. So its great to make all the "layers" the day before and then just assemble and cook when you need it. Its a HUGE casserole so great for a large dinner party or pot luck. 

Baba Chanty's Clean Gluten, Dairy and Egg Free Perogy Casserole

by MamaChanty

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 1 hour

Keywords: bake side gluten-free

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Ingredients (9 x 13 pan (large))

• 10 gluten free lasagna noodles (I used brown rice noodles)
• 3 lbs potatoes
• 1/3 cup full fat coconut milk
• 2 Tbsp butter, coconut oil or dairy-free butter replacement
• 2 tsp Herbamare
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• dash white pepper
• 1/2 pound bacon
• 2-3 green onions, chopped

Dairy-Free Cheese sauce

• 2 Tbsp butter or coconut oil
• 2 Tbsp EVOO
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp organic coconut flour
• 1 Tbsp arrowroot
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp Herbamare of fine sea salt
• 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)
• 4 Tbsp pure pumpkin puree
• 3 cups cauliflower florets, small (fully cooked until soft)
• 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 cup Nutritional yeast flakes

Instructions

I made the mashed potatoes, cheese sauce, bacon and lasagna noodles the day before.  I refrigerated them seperately overnight and then cooked the next day. You could do it all in one day and then just reduce the cooking time if everything is still hot when you assemble.

Step 1:

Make the mashed potatoes. Boil the peeled and cubed potatoes in salted (fine sea salt) water until soft. Drain water. Add coconut milk, butter or oil, Herbamare, garlic powder and white pepper. Mash until potatoes are creamy and whipped.

Step 2:

Slice bacon into small pieces. Fry over medium heat until fully cooked but still tender. Remove from heat. Drain on a paper towel.

Cook the GF lasagna noodles according to package directions. Coat with olive oil and place on parchment paper so they don't stick together if you are preparing in advance of assembling.

Step 3:

Make the cheese sauce. Melt the butter/oil over medium heat. Add garlic and fry until softened. Add coconut flour and arrowroot powder. Stirring constantly. Add spices and yeast flakes. Let simmer for a couple of minutes before adding milk. Add milk slowly as you continue to stir. Let cook for about 2 minutes until the mixture thickens. Add pumpkin puree and cooked cauliflower. Continue cooking for a few minutes until heated through. Remove from heat and let cool. Using a hand mixer, blender or food processor puree the sauce until smooth.

Step 4:

Assemble the casserole in a well greased 9 x 13 glass baking dish.

1st layer - 5 lasagna noodles

2nd layer - mashed potatoes

3rd layer - half the cooked bacon and fresh chopped green onion

4th layer - 3/4 of the cheese sauce mixture

5th layer - 5 lasagna noodles

6th layer - 1/4 of the remaining cheese sauce mixture - spread it evenly so the noodles are fully covered otherwise they will dry out.

7th layer - top with remaining bacon and onion

Step 5:

Bake the casserole at 350 for 50 - 60 minutes. Slice, serve and enjoy.

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Chocolate Macaroon Chick Pea Cookies

Another recipe for chickpea cookies. Sorry. I can't help it. I get on a kick, eat them like crazy and then never want to look at them again.

These little bad boys are good. And good for you as far as cookies go.

And full of the clean and good stuff. No gluten. No dairy. No refined sugar.

Try them and see for yourself.

I'm currently trying to fight my fierce sugar cravings and these are helping me put up at bit of a fight against that darn sugar devil.

Have a great day, a great week and good luck in your own battles. Whatever they may be!

Chocolate Macaroon Chickpea Cookies - Vegan and Grain Free

by MamaChanty

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert candida-diet friendly gluten-free low-carb sugar-free vegan chia seeds chickpeas chocolate coconut cookie

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Ingredients (16 - 18 cookies)

• 1 can chickpeas (~500 ml) – rinsed and drained, organic when possible
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3 Tbsp raw almond butter
• 2 Tbsp organic coconut oil
• Pinch fine sea salt
• 3 tbsp 100% cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened medium coconut
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp coconut flour
• 3 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
• 1 Tbsp ground black chia with 1/4 cup warm water
• 2 tbsp Truvia (more if you don't need to watch sugar as closely as me)
• 6 drops flavored Stevia (I used liquid hazelnut cream flavored)
• 12 mega chunk enjoy life dairy free cc (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Add chia seeds to warm water and let stand for 5 minutes for Chia to gel.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine all ingredients (except chocolate chunks) in food processor. If you don't have one you can use a blender but it will require lots of manual stopping and scraping down the sides.

Pulse until fully blended and chickpeas are fully pureed. It should have a smooth texture.

Drop onto parchment paper in about 2 Tbsp portions. I formed mine into balls and then slightly flattened the top with the back of a fork. I also stuck one chocolate chunk on top of each one. A bit of a cheat and not completely Candida diet friendly. But if it keeps me out of the "real" cookies its a cheat I can live with.

Bake for 18 - 22 minutes.

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Vegan Gluten Free Ginger Bread Cookies for People with Gluten, Egg and Dairy Sensitivities

I spent Sunday making these cookies with my two daughters. Three hours. Three blissful hours in the kitchen with my girls. They really enjoyed this activity. And if the kids are happy, then Mom is happy.

I let them help me mix the dough, cut out the shapes and then decorate the cookies. Completed cookies not shown - sorry - we most definitely didn't use "clean" toppings so I was too embarrassed to show the final project.  We only decorated a few so most of them will be eating in a clean and low sugar way. Excuses, excuses - I know.

I love when my first time experiments with gluten, egg and dairy free ingredients turn out. And this one was a success. Not only were these fun to make but the kids liked eating them.

Should you be eating these if you are on the Candida diet. No. These are for the kids. But its a fun activity to start getting you into the Christmas spirit. So pull out that rolling pin, borrow some cookie cutters from your Play-dough set and get baking!

Vegan Gluten Free Ginger Bread People or Cookies

by MamaChanty

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert gluten-free vegan almond flour coconut flour gluten-free flour

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Ingredients (18 - 24 cookies)

• 1 Tbsp ground chia seeds
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup organic coconut flour
• 2 Tbsp Almond flour or Almond meal (I just grind blanch slivered almonds in my coffee grinder)
• 1/2 cup All purpose Gluten Free Flour (I used Cloud 9 brand from Costco)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• pinch fine sea salt
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp molasses (I used Blackstrap)
• 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine Chia seeds with water and let stand for 5 minutes to gel.

Combine all dry ingredients.

In a seperate mixing bowl combine all wet ingredients including Chia gel.

Mix wet and dry ingredients together until just combined. It should form a ball (like dough).

Let stand for 5 minutes. If it seems sticky add some additional coconut flour.

Roll out dough until about 1/8 inch thickness on a piece of parchment paper. Cut shapes out of dough and transfer to lined baking sheet. I just kept reusing the scraps (forming into a new ball and re-rolling out) until there was no dough left. I let my kids choose and cut the shapes. They loved this job.

Bake for about 12 minutes.

Let cool and decorate.

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Chocolate Hazelnut Chickpea Cookies - Vegan and Grain Free - And Good for Both of us!

I love when I make recipes that my whole family can eat. The combination of my Candida diet and food sensitivities and my daughter's long list of food sensitivities makes the overlap of our diets sometimes rare. Oh yeah, plus shes a kid. She doesn't necessarily love all my "adult" cooking.

But this is one of those things that we can both eat. For breakfast if we want. Gotta love a cookies that are so packed full of super-foods you can eat them for breakfast.

Chickpea cookies.

Yep. 

This is one of those times the "old" me would have scoffed and said why bother? Well, for many reasons. One of which they actually taste good. And I feel good. That's why.

So. There. Old (tired, exhausted, depleted) me. 

I was actually eating a blow your mind black bean brownie yesterday topped with home-made chickpea ice cream. It is kind of ridiculous. Even to the new me. But my hubby actually said the words "this is delicious". So why not. 

Revise your expectations and then prepare to be impressed.

Oh yeah. And some big news. I'm changing my blogging days again. I'm going down to one recipe a week (Wednesday) and one Sunday reflection.

Christmas. Three kids. Severely teething baby  toddler (how did that happen?). Seventeen month old that has only slept through the night 5 times since birth. New job. History of severe adrenal fatigue. Working on mind/body connection.

Enough said. Time to pull back. Sorry if you are disappointed in me. But go here and find out why that can't change my mind. This is just something I need to do. 

Vegan Chocolate Chickpea Hazelnut Cookies - Candida Diet Friendly

by MamaChanty

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert candida-diet friendly gluten-free low-carb vegan chickpeas chocolate hazelnut

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Ingredients (12 - 16 cookies)

• 1 can chickpeas (~500 ml) – rinsed and drained
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3 Tbsp raw almond butter
• 2 Tbsp organic coconut oil
• Pinch fine sea salt
• 3 tbsp 100% cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup hazelnuts, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp maple extract (or more vanilla)
• 1 tbsp coconut flour
• 3 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tbsp Truvia
• 6 drops flavoured Stevia (I used liquid hazelnut cream flavoured)
• 12 mega chunk enjoy life dairy free cc (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine all ingredients (except nuts and chocolate chunks) in food processor. If you don't have one you can use a blender but it will require lots of manual stopping and scraping down the sides.

Pulse until fully blended and chickpeas are fully pureed. It should have a smooth texture.

Add nuts.

Drop onto parchment paper in about 2 Tbsp portions. I formed mine into balls and then slightly flattened the top with the back of a fork. I also stuck one chocolate chunk on top of each one. A bit of a cheat and not completely Candida diet friendly. I did it for the kids. Really.

Bake for 18 - 22 minutes.

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Gluten Free Vegan Perogy Dough - Success on my second try..........Grandma would be so proud or horrified?

I made perogies this weekend.

No. Not for myself.

Well, the first batch I did try and make grain free so I could eat them. They didn't work out so well.

So I tried another batch. This time gluten and dairy free. For my daughter.

Growing up, perogies were a staple in my house. Standard fare. Refined white flour dough filled with white potatoes, cheese whiz and loaded with salt and butter. And dripping with more butter on top. And then a generous helping of sour cream.

Oh the memories.

Oh the stomach aches.

Well, that chapter of my (our) life is closed. But I am not ready to completely close the door on perogies. Mainly because my kids LOVE them. And they are a really great food that you can make in large quantities, freeze and pull them out for a quick dinner or side dish. And they aren't actually hard to make. If you have a rolling pin and some time.

So with my rolling pin and some time, I set out to make a second batch of gluten-free, vegan perogy dough. No wheat, no eggs and no butter or dairy.

And guess what. It worked. And the kids loved them.

When the first batch survived being boiled without splitting apart I exclaimed "My grandma would be so proud". Proud of the fact that I spent my Saturday afternoon pinching perogies just like she taught me.

But hubby had to add in "or horified". Because I will be the first to admit these do not taste exactly like the original. But they are CLEAN. Healthy. I can feel good feeding them to my family. And they like them. So as I like to say "revise your expectations and then prepare to be impressed".

I stuffed mine with a mixture of pureed sweet potato, mashed cauliflower and spices. Let your imagination be your guide. Next Saturday I'm going to make a meat stuffing and then top them with marinara sauce for some "gluten-free ravioli".

So just remember...........there is life after wheat. Life without belly aches.

Vegan, Gluten Free Perogy Dough

by MamaChanty

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: About 10 minutes per dozen

Keywords: boil entree gluten-free vegan gluten-free flour

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Ingredients (2 dozen)

• 1 3/4 cup Gluten free all purpose flour (I used Cloud 9 brand sold at Costco Canada)
• 1/2 tsp Herbamare or fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground golden flax with 1/4 cup warm water)
• 2 tbsp grape seed oil

Instructions

First make your flax eggs. Add 1/4 cup warm water to the ground flax. I buy whole golden flax, grind it in my coffee grinder and keep in fresh and ready to go in the fridge. Combine well and let stand about 5 to 10 minutes before using.

Combine the flour in salt in a mixing bowl. Add water, flax egg and oil. I used my hands to mix together (really well) until it formed a ball. I kneaded it until it was fully combined. Don't over do it. Once all the flour is absorbed/mixed in stop.

I cut the ball in half and wrapped half with saran wrap and put aside.

I place the other half on a large piece of parchment paper. I rolled it out using a large rolling pin until it was about 1/8 inch thickness (or a bit more). Then I cut out circles using a glass (about 3 inch in diameter) turned upside down.

Next put about 1/2 tbsp of filling in each circle, fold in half and pinch the ends together.

Fill a large pot with water and a dash of salt. Bring to a low boil. Add 1 dozen perogies at a time. Make sure its not boiling too hard or they could break open. Once the perogies float to the top let them boil for an additional 2 minutes and then remove from water and place in a roaster with olive oil. Shake the roaster to coat with oil to prevent perogies from sticking together. Serve as is or freeze individually (with parchment paper in between) and reheat by frying or boiling again.

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Cranberry Pumpkin Mini Muffns - Vegan, Gluten and Nut-Free

Here's another recipe for my egg, dairy, gluten, peanut and soy free daughter.

I'm not going to lie. It can be challenging cooking through that many sensitivities. But it can be done. And its worth it.

For instance. Today was "hot lunch" at school. She used to LOVE hot lunch day - PIZZA. But she can't have it anymore. So instead I made her a fresh pizza bun with gluten free bread, organic sugar-free marinara, nitrate free turkey pepperoni and Daiya (dairy-free) cheese. She was so happy. And very happy to have her mother at the school for lunch hour since I had the day off and ran it over to her and then hung out with the kids for a while. They wanted to call me Mrs. SuperMom. Oh yeah. I'm down with that.

So yes. Its a lot of work. But my daughter is thriving. Everyone else in the house is being taken down by a cold and she is healthy as can be. The kid that was sick on and off (mostly on) for the first 4 years of her life rarely gets sick.

But she eats clean. Low sugar. No dairy. No gluten.

How do you think you would feel if you did that? Pretty good I think..................

And its not that much of a sacrifice with lots of great recipes like this!

Cranberry and Pumpkin Mini Muffins - Vegan, Gluten and Nut Free

by MamaChanty

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 28 minutes

Keywords: bake snack gluten-free nut-free sugar-free vegan chia seeds coconut flour pumpkin cranberry

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Ingredients (24 mini muffins)

Chia gel

• 1 Tbsp ground Chia seeds
• 1/4 cup water

Dry ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used Cloud 9 from Costco)
• 1/3 cup organic coconut flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp guar gum (if no xanthum gum in flour blend)
• pinch fine sea salt
• dash cinnamon

Wet ingredients

• 1/2 cup pure pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 6 Tbsp organic palm coconut sugar (or sweetener of choice)
• 1/4 cup organic coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup full fat canned coconut milk
• 1/2 cup unsweetened milk (I used flax)
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine Chia gel and water. Let stand 5 minutes.

Combine wet and dry ingredients separately.

Add Chia gel to wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Add wet ingredients and cranberries to dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.

Separate batter into 24 greased mini muffin tins. I used coconut oil.

Bake for 28 minutes or until a knife in the center comes out clean.

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