Heart of Cooking

This week I’ve been reflecting on the past two years of my life and how amazing it has been to watch Elijah grow into the boy he is today.  He turned two last week and my husband’s birthday was just a few days before so we did a birthday party for them on Sunday last week.

Over three years ago when I first felt like a baby was soon going to be coming into my life, I was excited and scared.  And when I felt my heart and what this child would bring, I remember feeling that this child would be a great blessing to my life.

What child isn’t a blessing?  They bring all the joy, excitement, and love that we are usually craving by the time we’re adults and have lost touch with the childhood magic.

But I never would have imagined the trials and hardships we ended up facing when he was a young baby nor how much my life would change for the better through raising him.  All of this has made me who I am today and I am grateful for all of it, even the hard stuff.  I know I’m not giving much detail here but I hope to elaborate on this subject sometime in the near future.

But for now, I want to share the birthday cake recipe that I made for my husband and son for their birthdays.  The original recipe is here, but I added the lemon zest and juice and adjusted some of the other ingredients.  It turned out to be a hit.

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Sugar-free Almond Roca Candy

This stuff is yummy!  It tastes like the inside of a heath bar!  The above picture shows two different batches – the darker one got heated a bit longer than the golden one.  They are both yummy though!  My mom made these to test an Almond Roca recipe for the Just Desserts for Limited Diets e-book.  It does contain butter and from my experience, it is better to use butter verses coconut oil.  But if you can’t eat butter, coconut oil will work – it just may not be as crunchy.

I do feel I have to say a word or two about heating honey.  I believe that eating raw honey is absolutely the best option for everyone.  Raw and untreated honey is not only healthy but it also has been used for centuries as a healing remedy for many illnesses.  Unfortunately though, when honey is heated to high temperatures (not clear how high), certain chemicals start to form that are not good for you.

However, the reason why I used honey here is because it is one of the only GAPS friendly sweeteners.  Also, I believe that candy like this shouldn’t be eaten in handfuls, only a little bit at a time (it is very rich.)  I also think that if you make this only once  a year for the holidays, it is not going to do that much harm.  I also think that eating heated honey is better than eating sugar and corn syrup.

These are my thoughts – what do you think about using honey to make candy?

Here’s the recipe:

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Congratulations!

Hooray and thank you for all who participated in the Free Give-away for the Holiday Menu Planner and Just Desserts for Limited Diets recipe e-book.  The winners of the give-away are: Tina, Emily, Michele S, Rebecca and Robin.  Congratulations and I hope the book and planner bring a wealth of goodness to you holiday season!

GAPS update:

As for me, I feel like I’ve ran a dessert marathon these past few weeks.  I have never baked or created so many sweets in such a short amount of time. I have to say that my enthusiasm, energy and ability to get this done in time is largely due to following the GAPS diet.  I have never had so much energy, been so even-minded, centered, happy, and enthusiastic for such long periods of time.  Yes, and it is all because I am no longer eating grains, starches, and refined sugars (only honey).  I plan to write a lengthy post about all the changes I have been experiencing on GAPS soon!

Thanks Mom!

I also really have to give my mom some credit here because she helped me test/create several of the candy recipes and a cookie recipe.  I was a little over-zealous with how many recipes to put in the e-book so it was so great to have her help with this project.  She used to make lollipops for us when my sister and I were kids and I still have a vision of her making them over the stove with the star and heart molds.

My flops:

I have to share a few of my flops while testing recipes for the Just Desserts for Limited Diets recipe book.  I unfortunately didn’t take pictures of them.  I cleaned out the refrigerator tonight and tossed them in the compost.

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If you’re looking for healthy, sugar-free and gluten free dessert recipes and a delicious allergen-friendly Holiday Menu Planner this season, you won’t want to miss the 20% OFF pre-order offer that will be expiring tonight at midnight PST.

All of the recipes on both the Just Desserts for the Limited Diet recipe e-book and the Holiday Menu Planner are free of the following ingredients:

no gluten

no wheat

no grains

no starches or nightshade veggies

no refined sugar – only honey is used

no dairy – butter is used but coconut oil can be substituted

no soy

no corn

no peanuts

egg-free options and dessert recipes are on both the menu planner and dessert e-book

Some of the recipes that you won’t want to miss out on include:

Dairy-free Egg Nog

Egg-free Egg Nog

Gingered Cranberry Raspberry Relish

Dairy and Gluten-free Coconut Cream Pie

Gluten free Pecan Pie

Gluten free Pumpkin Pie

Gluten free Cookie Cutter Cookies

Gluten free Cookie Press Cookies

Spice Cake with “Butter” Cream Frosting

Walnut Torte with Lemon Whipped Cream Frosting

Almond Brittle

Almond Rocha

and many more!

Also, the desserts e-book and the holiday menu planner make great gifts for the holidays for someone who is limited in their diet.

To read more about the allergen-friendly Holiday Menu Planner and the Just Desserts for Limited Diets recipe e-book and to pre-order, click here.

I hope you’re having a relaxed and blessed holiday season!

Gluten, grain and sugar free cut-out holiday cookies

I had so much fun making these holiday cookie cutter cookies AND they taste great!  They are a little crisp but chewy, spiced and sweetened just right. If you can’t eat gluten or grains or dairy or sugar, these cookies will satisfy your holiday craving for cookies without making you feel yucky.  Even if you can eat these foods, don’t let the “free of everything” scare you off.  These are very yummy and very healthy for you if you’re trying to keep off the extra pounds this season.

I first tried making them with my toddler because I thought it would be a fun project.  He ended up just wanting to eat the dough and when I was cutting the cookies, he kept destroying the cut-outs!  My first batch didn’t turn out that great in appearance – they had finger print indentations all over them.  But they still tasted yummy, so I made some more when he was sleeping and made sure not to pat the dough at all after it was rolled out.

I had never made cookie cutter cookies, much less gluten, grain, dairy and sugar free ones!  A few things I learned may help you out on your cookie cutter adventure:

• When you cut the dough with the cookie cutters, move them back and forth just a tad before lifting them away from the dough.  This creates some space around the cookie and makes it easier to remove the excess dough.

• Don’t use cookie cutters that are too small – medium to large ones work well for this recipe.

• Don’t make the cookies too close together – this makes it hard to remove the excess dough.
• Don’t pat the dough once it is rolled.  This will create finger prints and then cracks when baking.

• If you don’t finish all of them in one day, freeze the dough for later – I still have a lump of dough left in the freezer for later.

So here’s the recipe for you to enjoy!  Also, my Just Desserts for Limited Diets recipe e-book is almost complete and will be available this Wednesday, December 9.  There is a 20% off pre-order offer happening right now if you preorder the e-book and the Holiday Menu Planner by Tuesday night.  These also make great gifts!

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If you lead a busy life and have a family to feed, you probably know all too well that it takes some effort and time to plan your meals for the week.  However, you have some backup options like frozen dinners or take-out when you’re in a pinch.  Life is hectic but you have some options.

Now, imagine a family whose members have food allergies and/or food restrictions.  Maybe this family can’t eat dairy, wheat, gluten, soy, corn and sugar.  Maybe the youngest member is also allergic to eggs.

Unfortunately, there are many families who face this reality every day.  If you don’t have these food restrictions yourself, you may not realize how much this limits one’s diet.

Eating out is “out”

A family on such a diet has a hard time eating out, if at all.  One main problem is that most restaurants use “vegetable” oil or soy oil to cook their food in.  This basically eliminates eating-out.

Fortunately, there are a lot of restaurants popping up that offer gluten-free options.  However, sometimes it is hard to get the wheat/gluten and dairy-free combo at a restaurant.  For instance, they may put dry milk powder in the gluten-free pizza crust.

Grocery shopping is a chore

Even buying food at the store becomes a chore.  You basically have to read all the ingredients lists and even then, finding foods that are free of dairy, wheat, gluten, soy, corn, sugar and eggs is tough!

This is why I create my menu planners.  I personally am on a very limited diet that forces me to cook basically everything we eat.  If I don’t do some planning for the week’s meals, I usually end up spending a lot of time driving back and forth between home and the grocery store.  I also end up spending more money because every time I go, I end up buying things I didn’t plan on.

The Nourishing Foods Menu Planners

My plan is to create menu planners for just about any limited diet.  My next series of menu planners are going to be for the extremely limited diet such as the following (these are subject to change as I get more feedback from people)

• The GAPS diet: this is a wheat/gluten, grain, starch and sugar-free diet that helps people’s digestive systems to heal.   This diet also works great for people on “low-carb” diets or the Paleo diet because it is free of grains and uses high protein nuts and seeds for flours.
• Egg-free, Dairy-free and Gluten-Free
• Nut-free, Legume-free, Wheat/Gluten-free and Dairy-free
• Common-allergen Free:  free of wheat, gluten, dairy, soy, corn, eggs, nuts, fish, peanuts
• Kid-Friendly menus

As of now, I have the following weekly menu planners available:

Meat and Seafood Diets:

• Wheat-free and Gluten-free Menu Planner
• Gluten-free and Casein-free Menu Planner
• Dairy-free Menu Planner
• Wheat/Gluten-free, Dairy-free and Soy-free Menu Planner
• Nightshade, Wheat/Gluten-free, Dairy-free and Soy-Free Menu Planner
• Holiday Menu Planner for Limited Diets – this is a grain, dairy, soy, corn, and sugar free menu
• Thanksgiving Menu Planner

Seafood/Vegetarian Diets

• Nightshade-free, Wheat/Gluten-free, Dairy-free and Soy-free

Dessert

• Just Desserts for the Limited Diet

Gift a Gift of Nourishing Foods to someone on a limited diet this Holiday Season!

I recently updated my Gift a Gift page where you can gift your friend or family member with one of my many menu planners.  I also offer hourly consulting over the phone as well as personal chef services for the Washington DC, Baltimore and Frederick, Maryland areas.

If you’re looking for a gift that keeps on giving, that can really help someone improve the quality of their life and can bring renewed inspiration to their dinner table, buy a menu planner for your loved one or friend.  They will love it and continue to thank you!

Give a Gift today!

Dairy and Gluten Free Walnut Torte with Whipped Cream Icing

I don’t think I’ve ever made so many sweets and baked goods in such a short amount of time.  But the great thing is we have both my husband’s birthday and my son’s birthday to celebrate this month, so we can use some of the goodies for celebrating.

Over the weekend I made a Walnut Torte with dairy-free whipped cream icing.  We added a home-made berry sauce to it and it is so yummy.  I seriously don’t miss baked goods made with regular flour, dairy, sugar, gluten or grains.  A few years ago I probably never would have imagined eating a dessert free of all of these foods.  But this torte is definately a winner!

So, if you’re looking for healthy dessert recipes, low carb dessert recipes or simply sugar free baked goods, I assure you it is very possible to make them with healthy and wholesome ingredients!  And if you don’t have a clue where to start, here is the recipe for the Walnut Torte with Dairy-free Whipped Cream Icing and Homemade Berry Sauce:  (These healthy dessert recipes will be a part of the Just Desserts recipe e-book and the Holiday Limited Diet Menu Planner)

By the way, if you pre-order the Holiday Menu Planner and the Just Dessert recipe e-book, you’ll get 20% off between now and December 15th.

Now for the recipe…

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Dairy Free Egg Nog

I feel like a little elf in a workshop, making treats and goodies for the holidays.  I have to say that even though I love to cook and bake, I have never made goody plates for friends for the holidays.  But since I’m working somewhat feverishly on the Holiday Menu Planner and the Just Desserts recipe e-book, I don’t know what else to do with all of the baked goods and candies I’m going to be testing and creating over the next week or so.  I’m really looking forward to making gifts out of the treats!

Dairy-Free Egg Nog (also rice and soy free)

Something I have always wanted to make is egg nog.  When I was a kid, we had milk delivered to our house from a milk company. It wasn’t raw but it tasted better than any milk at the grocery store.  During the holidays, we ordered the egg nog and it was the richest and yummiest egg nog ever.  I loved it.

I never tried making it, even after I gave up milk because it just seemed too complicated.  Plus, I have had to give up my fear of raw eggs.  I now know that it is safe and healthy to eat raw egg yolks, if you get the eggs from someone you trust who raises the chickens on pasture.

So, I decided to finally give it a go and made my first batch last night.  I used Baden’s idea to use coconut milk and adapted Wardeh’s recipe to create a dairy-free version.  The result was fabulous and I couldn’t believe how much it tasted like the real thing!  I also couldn’t believe that I used 2 tsp nutmeg to only 13 oz of coconut milk!  The basic ingredients are coconut milk, raw egg yolks, vanilla, and nutmeg and the complete recipe will be part of the Holiday Menu Planner and the Just Desserts recipe e-book.

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