Mixed Berry Almond Cake

This week at home, we're celebrating not only the bountiful harvest of the summer, but the one year Anniversary of this blog. I feel honored to have interacted with such a great community of writers, dreamers, and believers over the past year. Sharing my life and food allergic adventures here with all of you has been nothing short of amazing, and for that I thank all of you. I hope I can bring as much joy to everyone through this blog as I receive from writing it.

I've been wishing and craving for delicate indulgences lately and an almond flour celebratory cake seemed the perfect match. Summer berries are in full swing in the markets and I couldn't settle on just one kind to add to the cake. Inspired by the lovely Caitlin at Roost, I embarked on my own version of her beautiful strawberry cake. This is a gluten-free, grain-free, soy free cake and icing recipe.

I settled on the addition of sweet organic blueberries and strawberries, which are best bought organic to minimize pesticide exposure. These little beauties are sadly both on the "Dirty Dozen" list. Chopped walnuts seemed appropriate for some extra crunch and with the Dark Chocolate Icing, quite a pairing was made.

I have to be honest though, in the fact that the bottom of the cake harbored a slight burned taste, since I didn't cover the bottom of my pans with parchment paper. Almond flour can have the habit of getting a little charred without this precaution. The cake turned out pretty good despite that.

Mixed Berry Almond Cake

(adapted from Roost Strawberry Cake)

This makes two 8 or 9 inch cakes.

• 3.5 cups almond flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 6 soy free eggs
• 3 Tbsp raw local honey
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 7 Tbsp softened Olivo Coconut Spread
• 1 cup sliced strawberries
• 1/2 cup bluberries
• 1/2 chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine wet ingredients and add them to the sifted dry ingredients, minus the berries and walnuts. After well combined, gently stir in the berries and nuts. Cover the bottom of baking pans with parchment paper and pour in the batter. Bake for about 25 minutes, making sure to check that the center is done.

Dark Chocolate Icing

• 1/2 cup Coconut oil, melted over low heat
• 2 - 3 Tbsp raw local honey (depending on how sweet you want it)
• 1/2 cup raw Cacao powder
• 1 - 2 Tbsp So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk, Sugar-Free.
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

Whisk together the melted coconut oil and honey. Slowly add the cacao powder until a thicker glaze-like consistency is made. Add the vanilla extract and the Vanilla Coconut milk to taste and consistency. If the mixture is too thin, add more cacao powder or honey. If it's too thick, add more coconut milk. Make sure the cakes are completely cooled before frosting them.

Happy Birthday blog!

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A Voyage Home: Baked Apple Cinnamon Chips, Banana Chips, & Grain-freeTrail Mix

This past weekend, I was ecstatic to finally be traveling home to visit my lovely family. The weather was balmy and hot, which made cruising with the windows down on the highway an invigorating adventure.

My dad has been down with a pneumonia so I wanted to bring him a handcrafted pick-me-up gift basket. I nestled some of my homemade Apple Cinnamon Chips, Banana Chips, and homemade Grain-free Trail Mix amongst some of my favorite feel good items in a rustic woven basket and stuffed it with simple beige-gold tissue paper. While my dad doesn't need to be gluten free or soy free, these items are so home-y and delicious he didn't even notice they were free of both of these common allergens.

~ Rustic Gift Basket: Free of Soy, Gluten, Peanuts, Legumes, Eggs ~

{{ Homemade Banana Chips, Apple Cinnamon Chips, Grain-free Trail Mix, Raw Michigan Honey, Theo's Orange Dark Chocolate Bar (soy & gluten free), SO Delicious Chocolate Coconut Milk }}

The time at home definitely went by much too quickly as usual and I'm back in the midst of a busy week. But I always feel that rejuvinated renewal of spirit after I've reconneted with those that mean the most to me and bring me so much joy. Nothing quite beats being surrounded by family, having a good laugh, and muching on homemade goodies while a soft fluffy puppy falls asleep on your lap.

 

Sophie looks angelic while at rest...how deceiving. But we love her anyway.

Baked Apple Cinnamon Chips

• 3 to 4 large Golden Delicious Apples
• Organic Ground Cinnamon
• Optional: Drizzle of sweetener of choice if you want a bit more sweetness. I did not use any sweeteners.

Preheat oven to 200F. Thinly slice the apples using a mandolin or a sharp knife. Be careful to get the slices as uniform as possible to ensure even cooking in the oven. Dust with ground cinnamon and (optional) sweetener of choice (agave may play well here). Place apples on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 2 -3 hours or until crisp. A dehydrator could be used in place of the oven.

Baked Banana Chips

• 2 - 3 Bananas, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 200F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place banana slices evenly spaced. Bake for 2 - 3 hours or until crips (or use a dehydrator instead).

Grain-Free Trail Mix

• 1/2 cup raw Almonds, soaked in water for 8 hours then dried.
• 1/2 cup raw Walnuts, soaked and dried.
• 1/4 cup Enjoy Life Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1/4 cup Sunflower Seeds
• 1/4 cup Surf Sweets Jelly Beans

Combine all ingredients in an airtight jar. For a sweet treat, pour some of the mix in a small bowl and drizzle with raw local honey. This totally beats boring cereal in the morning!

“A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.”

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Homemade Almond Nut Cheese

I sometimes buy rice based "cheese" from my local Whole Foods, but lately I've been wanting to experiment in the art of making my own dairy free cheeses from scratch. I'll admit, I was hesitant to endeavor at first. It looked complicated and I could just see myself ending up with a big lumpy un-tasty mess. Wrong! I'm glad I took the plunge--and it was actually one of the easiest things to make.

I followed this basic recipe from RAWmazing.com for my first try (with some of my own deviations) and have to say I'm pretty impressed. Next time I'll probably try to play with the flavors a little differently as the garlic taste was a bit heavy for my taste. The texture was nothing short of amazing and creamy though, and I ended up eating half the batch in one sitting--a perfect summer treat with brown rice tortillas and juicy organic blueberries.

Homemade Almond Nut Cheese (adapted from RAWmazing)

(This recipe is free of dairy, gluten, soy, peanuts, legumes, wheat, and eggs. Vegan/Vegetarian).

• 1 cup almonds (soaked in water overnight, then peeled of the skins)
• 3/4 cup filtered water
• 2 tablespoons lemon
• 1/2 clove of garlic
• Ground/dried basil, parsley, or herbs of your choice to make an herbed cheese.

After the almonds have been soaked, drained, and de-skinned, combine with the rest of the ingrediants in a high speed blender. (I do not recommend using a food processor unless it is very strong and doesn't leak). Blend until smooth and creamy, which may take a few minutes. Use a cheese cloth or nut milk bag to pour the mixture into and squeeze out the excess moisture. Take the remaining cheese like part and place it in the fridge overnight. You can use a mold to hold the shape or just put it in a pretty dish to set. If you want to form a rind, RAWmazing suggests you put it in the deyhydrator for a few hours.

 

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Maintaining a Healthy Weight with Protein Shakes: Gluten-free,Allergen-free

Whether you're looking to put on a few pounds (like me) or you're getting rid of a few, protein shakes can be beneficial in both circumstances. Being allergic to gluten and a few of the top 8 allergens definitely makes finding a good protein powder challenging though. Usually they're made from soy, whey (dairy) or have a combination of other allergens present in the ingredients. I'm so glad to have found a safe alternative: Jarrow Formulas Brown Rice Protein Powder.

Most rice is usually considered non-allergenic, and when you combine this with the allergen statement from the Jarrow Formulas webpage, you get a wicked awesome product that suits a lot of food allergic folk. Here's the statement:

No wheat, no gluten, no soybeans, no dairy, no egg, no fish/shellfish, no peanuts/tree nuts.

In addition, the website states that this product is fine for vegetarians and vegans alike. I plan to look into other Jarrow Formulas products in the near future since I now know they have an extensive food allergen labeling system going on.

TIPS:

• Gaining Weight with Protein shakes: Sometimes being allergic to many foods can make it hard to increase your BMI to a normal level. Try mixing the chocolate, vanilla, or mixed berry flavors of the powder with some good quality coconut milk (I use SO Delicious Sugar Free Vanilla) and add these shakes into your regular diet. Don't use them as meal replacements, but rather to supplement and add extra calories and healthy protein. This is the route I'm taking right now.


• Losing Weight: Instead of adding sugary or fatty snacks to your mid-afternoon, try whipping up a protein shake instead. It will fill you up and make you feel full longer. When you binge on sugar laden foods, you get an instantaneous boost, but it doesn't last. You'll end up crashing, then eating more to keep your energy levels up. Adding a protein shake instead will help break the cycle.

(Disclaimer: As I always like to note, I am not a medical professional and this should not be regarded as medical advice. Talk with your health professional to determine the best diet/health regimine for you).

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Dow Goes Gluten-Free!

Pop the bubbly, and get ready to celebrate! (Most likely!)

I'm excited to share some great news for the gluten-free world! Dow has gone gluten-free and has come out with a new vegetable cellulose based food product that closely mimics the texture of gluten in baked goods. It's plant based and could really bring some new fresh tastes to our plates! Who needs gluten anyway?

I say way to go Dow, and way to go Dad for giving me the heads up awhile back. Since he works for Dow, he navigated me towards the website about the beta product a few months ago. I'm so glad it's finally hitting the gluten-free community soon! Check out the gluten-free goodness! (I did notice they got some of the gluten intolerance vs. celiac disease facts a little wrong as far as numbers and explanations between the two different reactions go. Celiac is about 1 in 110 these days and gluten intolerance is about 1 in 10 last I read).

What do you think? Will you be trying products containing the new "gluten" replacement? Let me know!

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Drew Brees for So Delicious

Drew Brees has been a great advocate for living fully and healthily with food allergies. It's crazy inspiring to see a Pro NFL Quarterback who won the Superbowl rock it out while living with a gluten-free diet and multiple food allergies to boot. (I've written about Drew in the past here). Drew recently worked with So Delicious Dairy-free in a video detailing the importance of getting yourself tested for food allergies, and enjoying a fuller life as a result. I can personally vouch that So Delicious Coconut milk products are all phenomenal. There are a some So Delicious Coconut yogurt products that contain small amounts of legumes (locust bean gum, carob gum) so if you are legume-free like me, you'll want to avoid those ones. The Coconut milk products are always a staple in my pantry and are a favorite of everyone in the family. Check out Drew Brees and his wife discuss living healthy lives food allergy free with So Delicious below:

Those of us with food allergies, celiac disease, or other food disorders are just as capable of greatness as anyone else, despite dietary restrictions or health issues. Thanks for the inspiration Drew!

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