Apple Crisp {Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Soy-free, and NO refined sugars}

Apple picking at Huber's leads to lots of apple recipes.  Apple crisp is one of my favorites. This version uses no butter, no margarine, no flour, and no refined sugars.  Still tastes amazing!  

Ingredients

1 tsp coconut oil
6 apples (peel, core, and thinly slice)
1 TBS lemon juice
1/4 cup honey
1/3 tsp salt
1/2 TBS coconut flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon

For the crisp-
1 cup oats (gluten-free)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 TBS coconut flour
1 TBS coconut oil

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a large pie plate with the 1 tsp of coconut oil.

In a large bowl, mix together the apple slices, lemon juice, honey, salt, coconut flour, and cinnamon.  Place apples in greased pie plate.

In a small bowl, mix together the oats, maple syrup, coconut flour, and coconut oil.  Spoon mixture onto apples, spreading evenly.

Bake 30-35 minutes.  Apples will be soft and crisp will be lightly browned.

Whole Wheat Pancakes {Dairy and Soy free}

Who said pancakes are only for breakfast?  Not my family!  

Pancakes are a mainstay quick meal at our house.  Often we make them for Sunday morning breakfast and serve with bacon and fresh fruit.  For my husband, they are a super quick weeknight meal when he is in charge of dinner.  My girls LOVE pancakes for dinner!

I like that this recipe uses whole wheat flour.  I make my own non-dairy "buttermilk" by combining apple cider vinegar with either plain almond milk or full-fat coconut milk.  Both taste great!  (Just avoid using the vanilla flavored almond milk.)

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 TBS brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
1 cup buttermilk (see below)
2 TBS sunflower oil


***Non-dairy Buttermilk-  Put 1 TBS of apple cider vinegar into a glass measuring cup.  Add in plain almond milk or full fat coconut milk until reaching the 1 cup measurement mark.  Let sit for 5 minutes.

Mix together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl or Kitchen Aid stand mixer.  Combine egg, buttermilk, and oil in a separate bowl.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.  Add wet mixture to dry mixture all at once.  Stir until just moistened, batter may be lumpy.  Thin with additional non-dairy milk if needed.

Heat griddle to medium heat.  Pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto hot griddle.  Cook for about 2 minutes.  Flip pancakes when bubbles begin to surface and the edges are dry.  Cook on second side for an additional 2 minutes or until done.

Serve warm with real maple syrup, crock-pot apple butter, of homemade strawberry jam (recipes to come!)

Recipe makes about 8-10 pancakes.  I ALWAYS double to the recipe!!!!!




Freezer tip-  Freeze extra pancakes between layers of wax paper in a ziploc freezer bag.  Pop in toaster for a quick breakfast during the work week.

Fruit Smoothie {Dairy and Soy Free}

Wiggles LOVES to make smoothies!  Together, we make then several times a week.  As she has gotten older I have let her do more and more of the steps on her own.  I start by getting out all the ingredients and the blender.  I add the juice and coconut milk.  Wiggles does the rest by herself.  She know to blend in the spinach before adding the fruit.  Together we pick the fruits we plan to use.  I will ask her to add 4 strawberries, 5 mangoes, and 6 pineapples.  We are working on math skills and she doesn't even know it!  Wiggles favorite part is pushing the button to start the blender.

1 cup organic, 100% apple juice (no added sugar)

1 handful organic spinach

1/4 cup coconut milk (optional, adds in a healthy fat)

1 ripe banana

1 to 1-1/2 cups of organic frozen fruit (strawberries, mango, pineapple, raspberries)

Blend together apple juice, spinach, and coconut milk until spinach pieces are very small.

Then add in banana and frozen fruit.  Blend well.  Check consistency.  May add additional frozen fruit and/or apple juice as needed.

Serve cold with a straw.

Tip #1-  Freeze over-ripe bananas (peel first) for smoothies.

Tip #2- Frozen organic fruit is often cheaper than fresh depending on the season.  Check the freezer department of your favorite grocery store often and buy when on sale to stock up.

Simple Granola {Dairy free, Soy free, Nut free, Gluten free}

My girls like their granola to be simple.  No nuts, no fruit, and no seeds.  This recipe is super easy and very tasty.  Best part is that your kitchen will smell amazing when it is baking.

Princess loves the smell of the granola as it is baking.  She will eat it plain as soon as it is cool enough to touch.  I often make her a yogurt parfait for her school lunch box  I layer frozen organic blueberries, coconut milk yogurt, and granola.  Wiggles prefers her granola plain.

Ingredients

4 cup of rolled organic oats (not instant), gluten free oats as needed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tsp real vanilla


Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Mix together oats, cinnamon, and salt together in a large glass bowl.

Put coconut oil and maple syrup in a small glass bowl.  Microwave for 30 seconds at a time until melted. Mix well.

Pour hot mixture over dry oats.  Add in vanilla.  Mix well until all of the oats are well coated.

Place the mixture on a cookie sheet or 9x13 cake pan.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and mix well.  Place back in the oven and bake for an additional 15-20 until mixture is dry and begins to get crispy.  Note oats will be come more crisp as they cool.

Let cool completely before eating.