Vegan grain free cream of broccoli soup

Sauté chopped 1/2 onion in 2 tbsp coconut oil until translucent.
Add: 2 stalks of celery chopped.
1 not chickn broth cube
2 cups of unsweetened coconut milk drink
1 can of full fat coconut milk
2 cups chopped broccoli
2 tbsp soy sauce or coconut
1 tbsp cashew butter

Boil until broccoli is soft. Yay! It's ready. Now eat it. Yum.

{recipe} Gluten Free Pumpkin Pancakes

A yummy and healthy breakfast

2 TB chia seed meal mixed with 2 TB water {or 2 eggs if you eat them}
2 TB coconut oil or butter, melted
4 TB coconut milk or whole milk
2 TB agave or honey
4 TB pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
3 TB sifted coconut flour
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/4 C pecans (optional)

Blend together chia mixture {or eggs}, oil, milk, agave, pumpkin and salt. Combine coconut flour, spices and baking powder and thoroughly mix into batter. Heat some oil or butter onto a hot skillet making pancakes about 2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter. Batter will be thick, but use the back of a spoon to spread it out thin. If you are adding pecans, sprinkle them on each pancake at this point. Makes 8 pancakes.

****The key to cooking coconut flour pancakes is to cook them at a low temperature, spread them thin and make them small.****

{recipe} Cider Mill Grain Free Vegan Apple Bread

It's Cider Mill time again! I used to LOVE to go to the cider mill and get cinnamon donuts and cider. Since this is my first fall season after being diagnosed with grain allergy, I decided to try to create a recipe for a replacement to the donuts. I tried a few different things, and finally came up with one that tastes yummy.

So here goes: 

1 c quinoa flour
1 c garbanzo bean flour
1/2 c coconut flour
1/2 c vegetable shortening {I use Spectrum brand butter flavor, it is grain free}
1 c date sugar
1/2 c walnuts {optional. I left them out this time since Jaden wanted to eat some too}
1 baking apple, grated
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cardamom
1 c raisins {optional. I also left these out this time}
1 tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 3 tbsp warm water {mix together first and let set for 5 minutes, then add enough grapeseed oil to make 1/3 c}

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream shortening and date sugar together. Beat in flax and oil mixture. Stir in applesauce, grated apple, raisins and vanilla. In a separate bowl stir together remaining dry ingredients. Add to wet mixture, stir by hand until well combined. Turn into a well oiled 5x7 loaf pan {or into 8 mini loaf pans like I did}.

Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes {or 18-25 in mini loaf pans or muffin tins} or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

{recipe} Gluten Free, Grain Free, Vegan Pancakes {Coconut-Almond-Banana}

Delicious Coconut-Almond-Banana Pancakes with no grains, dairy, eggs, or refined sugar!

{truly a miracle, I know}

(Makes about ten 3-inch pancakes)

Yummy and nutritious coconut and almond flours are balanced by the sweetness in the banana, which also helps to bind the gluten-free flour.

1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon date sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 medium banana, mashed (about 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts (optional)

Combine or sift together dry ingredients, mixing well. In a blender or with a hand blender mix coconut milk, vanilla, and banana. Mix wet and dry ingredients together. Spoon onto a preheated griddle. Sprinkle with walnuts, if desired. When bubbles appear and break, turn pancakes and cook until lightly browned.

Top with coconut oil and maple or agave syrup. yum.

{sorry for the lack of pics! I was starving and ate them without taking pics. I pinky promise to take pics next time I make them}

{recipe} Egg Replacers in Grain Free Vegan Baking

Adapting non-vegan recipes: Egg alternatives for baking

Eggs are used to bind in recipes, and when whipped, may also incorporate air, making a cake or bread very light. However, many recipes can be adapted using one of the suggestions below.

replace 1 egg with...

1 tbsp garbanzo bean {chick pea} flour + 1 tbsp water
1 tbsp arrowroot, 1 tbsp garbanzo bean flour + 2 tbsp water
1/2 large banana, mashed
NRG egg replacer {unless... if, like me, you are allergic to nightshade veggies... as it contains potato starch}
1 tbsp flax meal + 2-3 tbsp water {let sit for 2 minutes to gel. be careful with this, it makes things taste very bran-ny}

advice on raising agents...

You can add extra oil and raising agent {e.g. baking powder} use about 2 heaped tsp baking powder per cake -instead of baking powder, use 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda and 1 tbsp cider vinegar {good for chocolate cakes}. You can also try sieving the flour and dry ingredients, then gently folding in the liquid to trap air

alternative binding agents...

arrowroot
agar agar
guar gum {careful with this one, it can make things a bit stringy as I found out the hard way}

It is always a challenge using grain free flours when baking, but with practice, I seem to be getting the hang of it! Just don't get discouraged and keep trying new things until something works for you.

{recipe} Vegan Grain Free Zucchini Muffins

I have been searching for recipes to replace some of the things I loved to eat before I was diagnosed with my grain/sugar/dairy/egg allergy. I have found a few recipes, but they usually have at least one thing I am allergic to in them. So I have to substitute things... then adjust the moisture level. Today I am trying to redo a zucchini muffin recipe I have with a little help from Elana's pantry {check out her recipe here} I am using her recipe as a guide.

so here goes:

Zucchini Muffins
¼ cup coconut flour
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 5 Tbsp water {mix and set aside for 2 minutes before adding in}
¼ cup coconut oil {i use a little bit less than 1/4 c.}
¼ cup agave nectar
1 ½ cups grated zucchini (do not pack down when measuring)

1. In a medium bowl, combine coconut flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon
2. In a large bowl, combine flax mixture, coconut oil, agave and zucchini
3. Mix dry ingredients into wet thoroughly
4. Grease a muffin tin with grapeseed oil and lightly dust with coconut flour or use paper liners
5. Spoon approximately 1/4 c. of batter into each muffin tin
6. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes check with a toothpick {if it comes out dry, they are done!}
7. Cool and enjoy {essential for the texture to be correct... when they're hot, they are mushy}

They are very moist! I have sliced peaches to put on top, but you could also do stewed apples, peaches, berries, etc... YUM!

{life} Today Was Rough!

Ugh! I ate something I am sensitive to. Rough night last night. Thankfully it only affected my belly and neck. Brain seems to be working ok. It was so hard to walk around Arts Beats & Eats yesterday and smell all that yummy food. To see people eating frozen cheesecake on a stick, gooey chili fries, and my fave: bbq chicken pizza. I gave in and got some sweet potato fries that I thought would be harmless. Not so much. Bet they were coated in flour before they were deep fried. Wahhh...

This is a hard way to live, but at least I feel better. Gonna try to make some vegan/refined sugar free/grain free chocolate chip cookies today. I am excited. I found a cool blog called Elana's Pantry. It is full of recipes using grain free flours like coconut, almond and quinoa. LOVE it.

It is literally saving my life to find all these GF blogs. Knowing that other people out there are having the same issues and are sharing their recipes and knowledge is amazing. <3

Check out my Pinterest Board full of yummy Grain Free/Paleo recipes! I will be adding more when I find them. If you have any links to other GF/Paleo blogs, please include them in a comment below.

xo, Anne