Black Bean Brownies.

These are sweet, chocotaley treat -- with a fudge-like consistency... yet don't taste at ALL like beans... and are gluten/grain-free & fairly healthy!

Ingredients

• 1 (15oz) can organic black beans - rinsed & drained
• 3 eggs
• 3 Tbs oil (I use coconut)
• ¼ cup of cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla
• a pinch of salt
• ¾ cup of sugar (or I've used approx ¼ cup of granulated Stevia for my non-sugar eating kiddo)
• 1 tsp of instant coffee granules (optional)
• ½ cup chocolate chips

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°

• Put beans. eggs, & oil into blender.... blend until smooth
• Add the rest of the ingredients (excpet for chocolate chips)
• Blend until well combined
• Pour into a greased 8x8 pan
• Fold in the chocolate chips or just sprinkle across the top
• Bake  for 20-30 mins. 
• Let cool before cutting...  Enjoy! 

Grain free chocolate cookies

Due to my mom & sisters being on the GAPS diet, and my immediate family trying to be more conscientious about eating whole/real foods (i.e. - using nourishing, whole, traditional ingredients - that even your great-great-grandmother would recognize as food).  - and watching/limiting our intake of grains (unless soaked or sprouted).... we're always on the look out for yummy, healthy, grain-free, GAPS approved recipes.

 This delicious recipe is based off of Chocolate-Covered Katie's "Chocolate Lace Cookie" recipe, with just  a few minor adjustments.  Though the recipe was already GlutenFree/GrainFree, and mostly SugarFree... it did have chocolate chips & raw nuts,  which are not GAPS approved.  So some changes were necessary!

One of the biggest changes we made, was adding an egg. This is both substitutes for the lack of liquid, caused from omitting the melted chocolate chips... as well as makes it completely SugarFree. It also gives it a little more protein, which is never a bad thing! ;) The other main difference between the two recipes, is that we used crispy almonds rather than raw. It worked beautifully. We contemplated adding some stevia, to make up for the sweetness of no choc chips... but after tasting the dough, we agreed that it was not necessary, as the dates made it *plenty* sweet!

The result was a yummy, very chocolatey, chewy cookie treat!- which KB fondly refers to as "good-for-me-brownies!"

Grain free chocolate cookies

• 1 cup raw almonds
• 2 T cocoa powder
• Scant 1/4 tsp salt level
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 (packed) cup pitted dates (we did 6 large dates)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 T unrefined coconut oil
• 1 egg

1. Blend first five ingredients until almonds and dates are finely pulverized.
2. Add vanilla, coconut oil and egg. Blend until ingredients are combined thoroughly. 
3. Bake at 355 F for 7-8 minutes. (Take out when still a bit undercooked, as these continue to cook, as they cool.

Saturday SCORE! :: GF Pasta

SCORE!!!! ---- Yesterday, I bought 23 packages of Tinkyáda brand (brown rice, gluten-free) pasta for a TOTAL of only $23.31!!!!

If you are anyone who has ever bought any wheat/gluten-free items... you KNOW what an amazingly exciting deal this is!  Coming out to only $0.94-$1.07 a package... this is a major STEAL!!! 

---YAY!!---

Recipe: Kamut Bread

This is currently the bread recipe I use when baking for our family.  However, the more I read about soaked grains --- basically, starting the recipe the night before, and letting is sit in an acidic medium & liquid...  this then neutralizes the phytic acid (something contained in the bran of the grain, which locks itself to important minerals, and make it difficult for the body to absorb & digest) and  releases them for your body to use properly. --- the more I am motivated to begin finding and/or adapting our recipes to ones that use soaked-grain.  So far I have tried granola, a cake recipe & a few other items... next on the list, is bread!  When I do, I will either adapt this recipe, or find one where wheat can successfully be substituted with Kamut.  But until then... this is a fairly easy, and super yummy option! :)

Delicious Chicken & Dumplings

This is one of our favorite meals! Adapted from the No-Guesswork Cookbook - to be made wheat-free!!

Delicious Chicken & Dumplings (from scratch)...
Yield: 8 servings
Cook Time: 30 mins + 20 mins

Kamut!!

I got my Kamut order in yesterday!!!  

What is Kamut, you ask? Kamut is an ancient grain is a cousin to wheat and was enjoyed by the Pharaohs of Egypt. It is a large chewy grain with a delicate, nutty flavor.... and is higher in protein and some minerals (incl. zinc, magnesium and the antioxidant selenium) than modern wheat.  

According to kamut.com... 

Many consumers with wheat sensitivities have reported that they are able to eat KAMUT khorasan wheat versus modern wheat by the International Food Allergy Association located in Illinois. Their research concluded that “For most people who are sensitive to wheat, products made with KAMUT khorasan wheat can be an excellent substitute for common wheat.” Since KAMUT khorasan wheat contains gluten, it’s not recommended for people suffering from celiac disease.

So, while My sisters/KB are not celiec disease - nor are they sensitive to all gluten - as a general rule, they cannot tolerate [modern] wheat or spelt.  They can eat  oat, just fine.... and we very recently discovered, that at least my sisters (haven't been brave enough to test the theory with KB)... can eat something made with freshly ground [modern] wheat - within the first 24 hours of it being milled - with little to know effects to their allergy.  

But all that is besides the point right now...  because we've found a grain that they can they handle all the time... Kamut!  --  And the best part.... because it's still in the wheat family, it acts the same as wheat, when cooking/baking.

Apple Crumble

Well tonight I had one of my first attempts at making a wheat-free dessert.... an warm, Apple Crumble!! Though it's not the healthiest dessert... it was amazingly delicious! And surprisingly, I actually had everything the recipe called for (or was able to adapt).... and was SO pleased with it's results. I will definitely make this one again!! Oh.my.word! Talk about tasty!

APPLE CRUMBLE:

6 large apple - peeled, cored and cubed (I left mine unpeeled)
1. 1 tablespoon white sugar (I substituted rapadura... and used more like 2 Tbs, so it coated the apples well!)
2. 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I wanted a bolder flavor, so I used more like ½ tsp)
   CRUMBLE TOPPING
   
   
   
   
   1. 1/4 cup rice flour (I used oat flour - rolled oats in the coffee grinder. about 1/8 cup whole oats = about ¼ cup flour.)
   2. 3 tablespoons almond meal
   3. 2 tablespoons white sugar (again, I used rapadura)
   4. 2 tablespoons flaked coconut (Omitted this - worked fine!!)
   5. 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, softened or coconut oil
   
   
   
   
   
   DIRECTIONS
   
   
   
   
   1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Arrange apple pieces in baking dish, sprinkle with sugar, and cinnamon; toss well.
   2. In a bowl, combine the rice flour, almond meal, sugar, and coconut. Cut in butter until mixture is fine and crumbly. Sprinkle topping over apples.
   3. Cover, and bake for 40 mins to 1 hour in the preheated oven, until the apples have lost their shape. Uncover, and continue to bake until crumble is crisp and golden in color.

Update...

We have officially made it through the first 48-hours, since beginning Mission:Goodbye wheat, hello happy baby (over 72-hrs since she has actually eaten any wheat)... and, so far so good! As much as I was, deep down, hoping this little experiment would prove her ill-temperament to all be the results of a "stage" she's going through... I will admit, I have already noticed a happy difference in her attitude, over the last two days! (Which is both relieving & horrifying at the same time!) ~ At this point, only time will tell... !

^^Our 17 month old baby girl, as of today!! ^^

As for the rest of us... B has been putting in LONG, faithful hours with Trimmers, taking down all the holiday decor. This week alone, he clocked 92.25 hours! Which yes, has unfortunately meant him starting his days before KB & I are up... and not ending until after KB was already asleep (often times, around midnight!) Thankfully, he does get overtime... and while it has not been easy living the life of a single mom over the last two weeks... I know this is all temporary (they're supposed to finish up this next week) and am just grateful he has had the work! - not to mention the extra money... which we are hoping will be be enough to see us through, until he can find another job! As always, I know I can trust that God does & will provide! I am just anxious to see how he's going to do it, this time!

Goodbye wheat... hello happy baby!

After today's 15 min, uncontrollable, hysterical, screaming, melt-down of a fit - all over a glass cup, she isn't allowed to have - I am thinking we need to take KB off of wheat for the next month or so, and see what happens! I had already been seriously considering it for the last few days.... but was afraid I was overreacting to what was actually going to end up being just a stage she's going through... or teeth [contemplating] coming in... or something of that sort. But after talking to Marmee for a long time last night (who's been dealing with my sisters' wheat allergies for nearly 20 years), and knowing the symptoms my sisters have,** and how strongly wheat allergies run in my family... I just can't rule it out as a possibility, any longer. Though it's going to take a little more planning & discipline -- which unfortunately means even closer monitoring of what other people give her... and probably more strange looks than we already get (hey, the way things are going lately - I suppose they can't get much worse! Lol!) -- it's only for a month... and for my daughter's health, it's SO worth it! Thankfully I have my Marmee for support... as well as some great "conscious" friends who - for their own allergy needs or just as a precautionary measure - I'm sure will be able to offer me myriads of support & encouragement during this little endeavor. I am so blessed to be surrounded by so many knowledgeable people! At this point I don't think we're going to worry about all gluten... and just focus on taking out wheat. Once we see how she does with that, then we'll decide where to go from there. If this is an issue, we should notice a difference in a couple days' time.... at least, I hope we do!! ~ Wish us luck!!

** My sisters, have a very pronounced 'Jekyll & Hyde'/emotional reaction when they consume wheat. They have mood swings so drastic, that they will be perfectly happy one minute & then melting down in tears, the next. It's not fun!

Side note to self - she did have various wheat items yesterday (Thursday), - including, but not limited to: pasta, goldfish, & whole wheat pumpkin muffins.... however, she has not had anything since Thursday night, at dinner.