Things I'm Loving

 

- Chocolate Paleo Cupcakes from Elana's Pantry, Grain-free -

Every so often, I like to share little sprinkles of joy and things that make me happy right now. When things are busy or a little more stressful than usual, I find it beneficial to focus on the small things that I love. It reminds me that positive affirmations, little victories, and appreciating what I have make all the difference.

- Al Fresco Chicken Sausage with Polish Sauerkraut -

- Easy veggie soup made with Imagine Vegetable Broth -

- Yogi Vanilla Spice Perfect Energy tea in the morning -

- Cracovia Polish Sauerkraut (kapusta) -

- Simple lessons from daily tea -

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Soft Baked Pretzels, Gluten-free & Grain-free

I cannot recall the last time I had a pretzel. A soft, baked pretzel at that. I can also honestly say that I've never tasted a homemade pretzel. When I was quite young, I regularly crunched on salty twisted, skinny crispy, fluffy soft, and thick straight pretzels. But they all had one thing in common; they came prepackaged and processed, bought easily from the grocery aisles. Since I haven't been able to indulge in that simple pleasure for years, I am brimming with excitement over these gluten and grain-free soft pretzels. This dough is the easiest to roll and bend into shape due to the pliable coconut flour. When I was rolling out a pretzel between my hands, it almost seemed like there was gluten in it--so mold-able! I'd love to say that this recipe was my own, but I have to give genius credit where it's due. I used this pretzel recipe from A Love Affair with Honey, and honestly made no changes. Next time I may try adding a little baking soda to make them rise a bit more, but it's a great recipe either way. It makes beautiful, delicious and healthy grain-free, soy-free pretzels.

**It has since come to my attention that this recipe has been removed from the original site, but please check the comments below as one of my wonderful readers has outlined the original recipe from that site and shared it below. All credit still goes to those at A Love Affair with Honey. 

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Rustic Grain-free Apple Blackberry Tart

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all! I've just returned from a much needed vacation in Philadelphia. I'm feeling recharged and even more inspired to make things happen. Here's a quick easy recipe I baked last week before departing for the holiday. I had some leftover apples and sweet blackberries that I wanted to use up since I wasn't bringing them to Philly. I love throwing bits and pieces of leftover ingredients together to make new delicious creations and this one just happens to be completely grain-free and SCD legal (specific carbohydrate diet safe).

Rustic Grain-Free Apple and Blackberry Tart

This recipe makes about 6-8 servings and is free of: Gluten, Grain, Dairy, Soy, Eggs, Peanuts, Yeast, Sugar, and Legumes.

This recipe uses my almond flour pie crust recipe.

Tart topping:

• 2 ripe apples, sliced very thin with a knife or mandolin slicer.
• 3/4 cup fresh blackberries
• 1/2 cup xylitol (birch sugar) or sweetener of choice. I choose xylitol from birch because it's candida safe, and has no actual sugar. Stevia can be substituted here instead, just decrease the proportion used.
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/2 tablespoon cinnnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup raw chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
  

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Use this almond flour crust recipe and press with fingers into a flat oval (about 1/2 inch thick) on a greased baking sheet.
2. Place sliced apples, blackberries, xylitol, vanilla, cinnamon, and coconut oil in a sauce pan and heat over low-medium heat for 5 minutes until well combined. The blackberries may start to break apart a bit and release juices. This is normal.
3. Remove from heat and cool. Arrange filling in rows on the crust and top with raw chopped walnuts, chia seeds, and sprinkle with coconut flour to absorb some of the juices.
4. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until crust is golden brown and fruit is cooked through. Serve warm or cool with dairy-free vanilla ice cream.

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