Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Irish Soda Bread

 

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups gluten-free flour

1 tsp xantham gum (if not in gluten-free flour)

1/4 cup sugar 

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup coconut oil, chilled and solid

1 1/2 cups almond milk

2 tbsp lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 and arrange oven rack to middle position. Line a cast iron skillet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients; flour, xantham gum, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt. Whisk well.

3. Add the solid coconut oil to the flour mixture and press it into the flour with the back of a fork until all the oil is incorporated (it will look like the texture of sand).

4. Add the almond milk and lemon juice, mixing until you get a shaggy dough. Shape into a ball.

5. Place the ball of dough on skillet and cut a cross on the top of the bed.

6. Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour until golden brown and crusty on top and the loaf sounds hollow when you knock on it. 

7. Cool completely before slicing.

Vegan/Allergy-Friendly Banana Bread!

 (from ambitiouskitchen.com)

INGREDIENTS:

Wet

3 big bananas mashed, 4 or 5 if you have shrimpy ones (1 1/3 cup mashed)

1/3c melted and cooled oil (called for coconut but canola was fine)

1/2c packed brown sugar

1/2 tbsp vanilla extract

2tbsp dairy-free milk of choice

Dry

1 3/4c flour of choice (Bob's 1-1 is a great gf option)

1tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2tsp salt

1/2 cup dairy/soy-free chocolate chips (Enjoy Life is the best brand!)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350. Line a tin (8 1/2 x 4 1/2 is recommended) with parchment paper and grease inside of pan. *Wasn't sure if they meant grease the pan under the liner or the liner...so I did both!

Mix WET ingredients together in a big bowl.

Mix DRY ingredients together and whisk. 

Add DRY ingredients to WET ingredients and mix together until just combined. Lumps are ok!

Add in chocolate chips and mix.

Put batter into pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Allow bread to cool in pan for 5-10 minutes then remove from pan and place on a wire rack to finish cooling. Slice and eat when cool!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

 Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gluten-free, vegan, and allergy-friendly! Also DELICIOUS.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups pureed pumpkin (1 15 oz. can is fine)

1/2 c sugar

1/4 c molasses

2 c rolled oats

1 c flour *substitute gf flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

***for the spices, a pumpkin spice mix would be amazing

1/2 c raisins *OPTIONAL--I say GROSS.

1 c chocolate chips/chunks of your choice

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375.

Mix pumpkin, sugar, and molasses together.

In small bowl, combine oats, flour, spices, and baking soda.

Mix together with pumpkin and sugar. Mix in chocolate and/or raisins.

Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet. (I sprinkled a little kosher salt on top–highly recommend) 

Bake 11/13 minutes.

NOTES:

I was really impressed with these as they stuck together super well despite the lack of egg and they came out nice and chewy. 

I think the bake time was a little longer than written? Just watch for your desired level of chewy. 

And the batter was so good we ended up cooking a tray-full of the batter then eating the rest straight out of the mixing bowl over the course of a couple days.

Sweet Potatoes With Noooooch Sauce

Vegans like myself are obsessed with Nooch (Nutritional Yeast) because it is SO TASTY but also is so healthy because it is packed full of B12 vitamins which give you energy. Most animals are injected with B12 so if you eat meat, you're getting it second hand. But why not just skip the middle man and join the nooch fan club :)

This recipe is from one of my favorite wellness authors Darin Olien (he has a show on Netflix with Zac Effron that is actually really awesome)

Nooch Sauce (You can use this with ANYTHING and it is so so so good)

*I can't quite remember the exact numbers but these are a place to start and i always add more of whatever to taste

2 cups of cashews
1/2 cup of Nutritional Yeast (Nooch)
3-4 cloves of garlic minced
4-5 Tbsp lemon juice
Some water or plant-based milk (I forget how much! Just eye it. Prob about a quarter cup. It should come out like a sauce)

(You could really add whatever you want to this sauce to spice it up. I've added Poblano Chipotle peppers, cilantro, whatever!)

1. Soak cashews for 30 mins

2. Put all ingredients in blender and blend! 

3. Salt, pepper, water and modify for taste

Whole-Roasted Sweet Potato Dinner

Sweet Potatoes
Coconut Oil
Can of Black Beans
Cherry tomatoes (sliced in half)
Garlic
Cilantro

1. Preheat oven to 425

2. Drizzle baking sheet with a little bit of Coconut Oil. Cut sweet potatoes in half and lay flat on pan. Roast for 40/45 mins until done

3. In a pan, drizzle some coconut oil, add the cherry tomatoes, and cook until it smells deliciousssss. Add the garlic and the beans and simmer low for 5/10 mins.

4. Take out Sweet Potatoes. Scoop out a small dent in each sweet potato (you can save the inside scoops for a yummy sweet potato mash later!). In each Sweet Potato hole, add a nice glob of the beans mixture. Top with the cilantro and NOOCH SAUCE and OMG ENJOY. 

In the pic I had done it with some roasted brussel sprouts but you could add any green side if you want more food.

Vegan Mixed Veggie Flatbreads

This pizza is from the Forks Over Knives Cookbook and it came out BOMB. I used an Almond Flour pizza dough from Whole Foods but I also just noticed they have it on Amazon. It was sooooo yummy.

Ingredients:

Simple Mills Almond Flour Pizza Dough Mix (I got it at Whole Foods but Amazon has it too)
Olive Oil
6 baby potatoes (or 3 regular)
8 brussel sprouts
1 medium carrot (or a few baby carrots)
1 medium shallot (or onion)
red wine vinegar
balsamic vinegar
1 can white beans/cannelini

himalayan crystal salt (or whatever salt- but the crystal salt is the least likely to be polluted and has the best minerals)
ground black pepper
fresh sage (i didn't have this and it was fine without- i just used some random other herbs like oregano)
microgreens (not necessary but nice)

Directions:

1. Preheat Oven to 425. Line a baking pan with foil/oil

2. Chop up all veggies and put on pan. Sprinkle with some red wine vinegar and salt and pepper (I went heavy on the red wine vinegar and it was gooooood)

3. Roast the veggies for like 15 mins.

4. While veggies cooking, make the dough according to package instructions. Take veggies out of oven, change temp to whatever it says on the pizza dough box. Put just the dough in for 10 mins/15 mins till lightly brown.

5. In a bowl, mash the cannelini beans and stir in sage or some other herbs and 2 tsp of water.

6. Take the pizza dough out. Spread the Cannelini bean mash on the pizza dough as if it was sauce. Then top with the veggies :) Put in oven for 20/25 minutes until the veggies are nice and roasted and the dough is done.

7. While flatbread is cooking, put 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar in a pan and heat to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 6 mins until it becomes syruppy. 

8. When pizzas are done, drizzle the balsamic glaze over them and top with the micro greens or something green!

"Sausage" (aka mushroom) "Breakfast" (aka anytime of day) Patties

Just did a Virtual Cooking Class with a chef who is on Instagram as @PlantBasedG.life and these are DELICIOUS. They SMELL just like sausage and get a delicious SEAR like a burger but its all mushrooms and plants :)

Ingredients

-3 cups white mushrooms

-1 large white onion, diced

-3 cloves garlic, diced

-1 cup brown rice

-4 oz black olives

-1/2 Jalapeno

-1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used Trader Joe's Gluten Free Rice Crumbs- use whatever! In the class he also told us you could also just make toast and use that)

-Avocado oil (2ish tablespoons but I honestly use less than every recipe says for oil)

-English Muffins (I used Ezekiel Gluten Free English Muffins. Highly recommend!!)

Spices

-Cayenne Pepper

-Oregano

-Cumin

-Dried Sage (I honestly just used regular sage and it totally was fine hahaha)

-Thyme

-Salt & Pepper

-Add any other spices you like :)

**NOTE: BLENDER NEEDED

To Serve

Tomato slices, lettuce, and raw onion slices

Steps:

1. Cook the rice, leave to cool

2. Blend the mushrooms till they kinda look like ground beef

3. Saute the onions in the avocado oil for a few mins (till translucent & starting to brown)

4. Add mushrooms to the onions and saute another few mins till the mushrooms are cooked. Add the garlic and ALL the spices (but NOT the jalapeno) and cook for another few mins.

5. Let everything cool (very important because you don't want to put warm stuff in the blender- it will get super hot in there)

6. Put the mushroom concoction, olives, and rice in the blender and blend. Add the bread crumbs & Jalapeno and blend a little more. It should start to look like ground beef.

7. Scoop everything into a bowl (this just makes it easier to form the patties and put on the pan

8. Add a tablespoon of avocado oil to a pan and set it to medium heat. When pan is hot, scoop out a patty sized chunk and put it on! It'll sear just like a burger its crazy. Flip over after 3-5 mins. Play around with timing obviously but cook for about 3-5 mins per side. 

While the patties are cooking, toast your English Muffins!

Serve with the raw tomato slices, raw onion slices, and lettuce. Eric liked his with Hot Sauce. 

ENJOY!! <3 Natalie

Sweet Potato Coconut Soup

Sweet Potato Coconut Soup

This soup is a super creamy Thai-ish bowl of wonder. I combined two recipes and riffed on a few things, so below is my best idea of what exactly goes into it.

Necessary Tool: Immersion Blender! Bless this thing. Makes soup so easy.

INGREDIENTS:

-2 tbsp coconut oil (def used more as things cooked down)
-1/2 sweet onion
-garlic (I did 6 cloves)
-ginger (2ish tbsp)
-red curry paste (about 2 tsp? to taste, it is strong!)
-2 big sweet potatoes peeled and cut into medium chunks
-2 cups chicken broth
-2ish carrots (optional...I got the wrong kind of potato! Were white inside and weren't very sweet, so I added some carrots for orange color and sugar. Worked really well! Would recommend.)
-1 can coconut milk
-1 lime
-scallions


DIRECTIONS:

Heat up coconut oil in a big pot. Cook onions til nice and brown, preferably caramelized, but that takes forever. Add garlic, ginger, and curry paste. Cook down for a few minutes until super fragrant. Add the sweet potatoes and carrots, mix well. Cook, adding more oil if needed, until potatoes start to get soft, about 20 minutes. Add broth, bring to a boil then simmer until potatoes are super soft. Remove from heat and immersion blender the ever living sh*t out of it til nice and blended. Add coconut milk, stir in some lime juice, mix it up, and heat it all back up.

Serve with a drizzle of coconut milk if you want, but DEFINITELY with slices of lime and scallions.

Pad Thai

Super simple but AMAZING-tasting pad thai! A much lighter, brighter option than take-out. I made them without egg and I did not miss that factor at all. Also swapped peanuts for cashews.

INGREDIENTS:

-4 tbsp. canola oil

-2 garlic cloves

-4 shallots, thinly sliced

-8-10 medium sized fresh prawns, cleaned and deveined OR 8 oz. chicken OR BOTH!

-2 eggs, lightly beaten

-1 pkg. Annie Chun's Pad Thai Rice Noodles (cooked, drained, and rinsed as directed)

-1 cup bean sprouts

SAUCE:

-4 tbsp lime or lemon juice

-3 tbsp fish sauce

-3 tbsp sugar

-1-2 pinches crushed chilies or pepper flakes

GARNISH:

-2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

-3 tbsp roasted peanuts, crushed

-3 tbsp scallions, thinly sliced

-1 lime, cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS:

Mix sauce ingredients together. 

Prepare pasta. 

Heat wok or pan over high heat. Add 2 tbsp oil, garlic, shallots, and prawns. Cook until prawns are opaque. Set aside. 

Add remaining 2 tbsp oil and 2 eggs, then scramble. 

Reduce heat to low; add sauce and noodles. Toss until well mixed. Add prawns and bean sprouts. Toss well. Garnish with cilantro, peanuts, scallions, and lime wedges.

Chili Mac

Allergies and intolerances SUCK! But they don't have to stop you from eating ridiculously creamy, cheesy, comforting fare.

Case in point, CHILI MAC! From the amazing Allergy-Free and Easy Cooking by Cybele Pascal.

INGREDIENTS:

-1 tbsp plus 1 1/2 tsp olive oil
-1 cup diced yellow onion
-2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
-1 tbsp chili powder
-1/4 tsp smoked Spanish paprika
-1 tsp ground cumin
-1 lb. ground beef, bison, or dark meat turkey
-1 tbsp brown sugar
-salt
-2 cups water
-1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
-8 ounces gluten-free elbow macaroni
-2/3 cup shredded Daiya vegan pepperjack
-2/3 cup shredded Daiya vegan cheddar
-2/3 cup shredded Daiya vegan mozzerella
-freshly ground pepper


DIRECTIONS:

-Preheat the broiler on high.

-Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy, oven-safe pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes, until slightly softened.

-Add the spices and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more, until aromatic.

-Add the meat and cook, stirring often, for 4 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking it up into a small crumble. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and 1/4 tsp of salt, stir, and cook for 1 minute more.

-Add the water and tomato sauce, increase the heat to medium-high, add the pasta, and stir well. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium again. Simmer, stirring often, for 10 minutes or until the pasta is al dente. Meanwhile, toss together the three cheeses. Add 1 cup of the cheese mixture to the pasta. Stir, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir well. Top with the remaining cup of cheese. Broil 6 inches from the heat source for about 5 minutes, until the cheese has melted and is just starting to brown. Watch carefully so they don't burn. Let rest for a few minutes.

-DEVOUR MERCILESSLY.