Tag: Nut-free

Dream Salad

The SimplyLeave a comment

There’s a cafe here in Vancouver, Eternal Abundance, that is amazing! They have this Super Salad that I love and will buy on occasion; however, I can’t buy it every day so I’ve made a few attempts at recreating it on my own. I think I did a pretty good job with this one.

Super Salad

Salad:
Short grain brown rice (cooked as you see fit – I kept it simple with just water)
Kale-slaw mix from Whole Foods (Kale, carrots, red and green cabbage)
Red and Green Peppers
Avocado
Sprouts
*I would have also added cucumber and celery, but I kept them separate for an afternoon snack.
**Obviously add any other veggies you want!

Dressing:
Olive Oil
Apple Cider Vinegar
Orange Juice (I cut about 1/3 of an orange off and squeezed it)
Miso (about a table spoon??)
Garlic (1 clove, crushed)
Ginger (1 inch, crushed/chopped)
*Sorry, I have no idea how much of everything I put in, just work it around until it tastes right to you 🙂

A weekend making dishes…I mean, delicious delights

The Simply1 Comment

So first up, an update, the day after I posted about the fitness photo shoot, it was canceled. I had to decide if I wanted to set one up myself or keep the deadline just ’cause or scrap it. I was toying with at least keeping the deadline, then my twitter feed was inundated with Kate Upton on the cover of Sports Illustrated and I decided I quite like my fit, yet curvy body! The silver lining is I remembered I love lifting weights and will try to do so at least twice a week 🙂 If the opportunity presents itself again, I might say yes, but for now, I’m happy with where I am.

Where I am allowed me to have some fun in the kitchen this weekend!

Homemade Clif bars
I used this recipe and they are AMAZING!

I used honey and Nature’s Path Crispy Rice cereal (it’s gluten free) and I forgot to use my trusty protein powder. With that being said, they came out a little dry and crumbly. I threw them in the oven for a moment to soften up the peanut butter and honey…still a little crumbly. Will add a small amount of water next time, or less rice cereal and oats.

Flourless Banana Muffins
Adapted from this recipe. The original called for 2 bananas and 3 eggs and no “flour” of any kind, but I wanted a different texture so this is what I came up with:

1/2 C Peanut butter
3 Mashed Bananas
1 tsp Baking soda
1 tsp Vanilla
2 Eggs
1/2 tsp Salt (a few sprinkles)
1/4 C Honey (could probably cut this back due to the bananas)
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 C Non-Fat Greek Yogurt
1/2 C Ground Oats/Almonds/Flax — I just put them all in the food processor attachment of my hand mixer and ground them up together
1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder

Optional add-ins: chocolate chips, berries, raisins, craisins, chopped nuts…I added chocolate chips to mine and I could eat the whole batch in one sitting!

Banana Muffins

Preheat oven to 350
Combine all ingredients (it will be quite runny)
Scoop batter into muffin liners (I use silicone ones and love them)
Bake for 15-20 minutes — until a toothpick comes out clean and muffins are golden
Flip onto cooling rack

Rediscovering my love of baking with gluten-free blueberry muffins!!

The SimplyLeave a comment

Last night I had a shocking craving for my godmother’s blueberry muffins my mum used to whip up for me, but since going gluten-free I haven’t been very pleased with the muffin selection out there…and then this recipe happened…and now everything has changed!

These muffins are moist and fluffy, and oh so yummy!!

I made a few tweaks to the original muffins:

Gluten-Free, Yogurt, Flax, Blueberry Muffins

2 Eggs (yes, I use organic free-range)
1/2 C Extra Light Olive Oil (I had Coconut Oil and Extra Virgin Olive Oil on hand so I used 1/3 C combination of those instead – I don’t think the full 1/2 C is really needed)
1 1/4 C Packed Light Brown Sugar (I had regular Brown Sugar and Organic Cane Sugar so I used 1 C combination of those, not packed – these definitely don’t need the extra)
2 tsp Vanilla
1 C Sour Cream or Plain Yogurt (I used Fat-Free Greek)
2 C Pamela’s Ultimate Baking and Pancake Mix (I don’t usually like gluten-free flours, but Pamela’s is AMAZING!)
1 C Fresh or Frozen Blueberries
(I added approx 1/3 C Ground Flax)

Preheat oven to 375 and line a muffin tin
Mix Eggs to Yogurt until smooth, add Baking Mix and beat until batter forms, fold in Blueberries
Scoop into tins and bake for 20-25 mins, until golden and a toothpick comes out clean
Cool on a wire cooling rack

I’m nervous about how they’ll be tomorrow, but I can’t eat anymore right now because it’s already past my bedtime…well, maybe just one more… 🙂 Enjoy!!

A Labour Day in the Kitchen

The SimplyLeave a comment

After an exciting three nights in Whistler competing in the Meet Your Maker 50 relay, I got home EARLY this morning and emerged from my kitchen many hours later!

What came out of my experimentation…

  • Steel-Cut Oat Muffins — adapted from Busy But Healthy (adapted from sugarfreemom.com)
  • Raw Cinnamon Buns — from Health Damy
  • Potato Salad

Steel-Cut Oat Muffins

My typical breakfast has been home-made granola and plain greek yogurt for the past…MANY years. So in a quest to switch it up a little, I found this beauty, which I altered slightly in an attempt to make a half batch and not use applesauce (mine had been sitting in  my cupboards for longer than I care to remember).

1 1/4 C Steel Cut Oats
1 tsp Cinnamon
2 Tbsp Ground Flax
1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
Pinch Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1 Mashed Banana
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 C Milk (I used Rice Milk)
1/2 C Water
1 Egg White

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 Minutes
Combine dry ingredients, combine wet ingredients; mix together
Fill muffin cups — I put Strawberry Jam in the middles; to do this, fill 1/3 muffin cup, add dollop of jam, add more batter

Raw Cinnamon Buns

My wheat-weakness is Cinnamon Buns so this recipe has been on my “to-try” list for a while now and I finally got around to it…and…although good, they won’t be replacing the real deal any time soon! But they ARE good. 

I followed this recipe pretty closely so I’m not going to write it out; however, the change I’d suggest is to cut down on the sugar!! I don’t think I’ll use any Agave next time as the dates are sweat enough.

 

 

 

Potato Salad

I always forget how much I LOVE red potatoes! Potatoes aren’t a staple in my diet, but I definitely have a soft spot for them and summer, although it’s nearing an end, just screams red potatoes!

3 Hard Boiled Eggs
6 Cooked Red Potatoes
1 Small Red Onion
3 Green Onions
1/2 Bunch Kale

Place chopped Eggs and Red Onion into a bowl
Mix in HOT cubed Potatoes — adding them hot soften the Red Onion just enough and really helps the flavours
Add Green Onion and chopped Kale

The Great Peach Experiment!

The SimplyLeave a comment

After a somewhat successful Pumpkin Experiment, I decided I wanted to try peaches! And this is what came out of it…

Aren’t those cups cute!?

They collapsed a little bit because I tried to add some streusel topping – I need to work on my gluten-free streusel!

The (approximate, as always) basic recipe is:

1/2 C Ground Flax
2 Peaches – blended
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Honey (*my peaches weren’t fully ripe so I felt a little extra sweet was required, but I’m sure this can be omitted without hesitation)
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 Egg
1 tsp Coconut Oil
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder

Whisk all ingredients and scoop into muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes – until tops are golden.
You can try with the streusel – I combined sugar, Earth Balance, almond flour and cinnamon.
As with the Pumpkin Loaf, you can sub the egg to make these dairy-free as well as grain- and nut-free!
These came out eggier than the Pumpkin Loaf so I’m thinking less peach and/or more flax and/or some oat/almond flour next time.

Random Ginger Pumpkin “Loaf”…

The Simply1 Comment

I’m not really sure what to call this because, during all of my many moves, I have ended up without my mini loaf tins AND my muffin tins 😦 Both are on my “to buy” list!

I think this batter will definitely lend itself well to being a loaf and/or muffins and turns out extremely moist.

I finally did it! I made something gluten-, grain- AND nut-free! It could also be dairy-free by using egg replacer and vegan protein powder.

The following is a rather bland recipe and I will need to tweak it a bit, but it currently ticks off all the boxes that I needed it to! *Note: measurements are approximate.

1/3 – 1/2 C Ground Flax
1 1/2 Tbsp Grated Candied Ginger
1/2 C Canned Pumpkin
1 Tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 Egg
Pinch Salt
1/8 C Coconut Oil
1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda

(*I should have added 1 tsp Vanilla, but didn’t; I think I will also add Raisins next time)

Mix all ingredients (I used the whisk attachment of my hand blender). Pour into tin of choice and bake for approximately 20 mins at 350 degrees, until a knife/toothpick comes out clean and top is golden.