Carob Cherry Granola, Gluten Free

Carob Cherry Granola, GF


Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups gluten free oats
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
3 tablespoons ground flax seeds
1/4 cup carob powder
3 packets stevia (NuNaturals brand)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup olive oil
pinch of salt
1/2 cup dried cherries

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
In a large bowl, add oats, sesame seeds, flax seeds, carob powder, and pinch of salt. Mix well to incorporate ingredients evenly.
In a medium bowl, add honey, olive oil, and stevia packets and mix well.
Add the wet ingredients into the dry and toss to coat evenly.
Spread out on greased baking sheet or silpat mat placed on top of baking sheet.
 Bake for 30 minutes, stirring about every 10 minutes.
Once removed from the oven, add 1/2 cup dried cherries.
Let cool completely before storing.

Cashew Spinach Pesto

Cashew Spinach Pesto

Ingredients

1 cup roasted, salted cashews
3 large handfuls of spinach
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons water
Juice from 1 lemon
salt to taste
generous sprinkle of red chili flakes (optional)

Instructions

In a food processor, add cashews, garlic, lemon juice. Blend until cashews turn into small chunks. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides.
While the cashews are blending, add spinach through the feeding tube of the food processor.
Stop to scrape down sides and add water, salt and red chili flakes.
Continue to blend until desired consistency. I tend to like mine with some texture. 

This pesto pairs well with toast, crackers and veggies.

Gluten Free Strawberry Pancakes

Gluten and Refined Sugar Free Strawberry Pancakes Topped with Marinated Strawberries in a Ginger Honey Syrup.



In my last post, I created a recipe for ginger honey syrup to be used in a drink recipe. I still had half a jar left so I thought of what else I could use it in. As a lover of pancakes, it could make a nice alternative to maple syrup. Although the consistency was much thinner I decided to use it as a marinade for chopped strawberries and use that as the topping.
Prep the strawberries before you start on the pancakes so they have time to soak up the flavor of the syrup. 

Marinade:

1 heaping cup of strawberries, chopped.
Place in a shallow dish and pour syrup (see previous post) over to coat the chopped berries.
Set aside until ready to top pancakes.

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients

1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 tapioca flour
1/4 ground flax seeds
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 packets stevia (I use NuNaturals brand)
Pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1 egg
1 cup almond milk (unsweetened)
1/2 cup Seascape strawberry jam from Sweet Lady Cook (sweetened with honey)

Instructions:

Preheat a large pan on the stove top.
In a medium bowl, add all of your dry ingredients and mix well to combine.
In a larger bowl, beat the egg and whisk in the rest of the wet ingredients.
Add the dry to the wet while continually whisking. Beat until there are no more lumps.
Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop batter into heated greased pan on medium heat.
Cook for about 2 minutes on each side.

Makes 10 pancakes.
Plate pancakes and top with marinated strawberries. I also topped my pancakes with a scoop of plain Greek yogurt.

Strawberry Ginger Honey Fizz

It's been so exciting to partner up with Sweet Lady Cook and create recipes using her homemade jams. Her latest batch of Seascape strawberry jam is made with honey, making this recipe free of refined sugars.

Strawberry Ginger Honey Fizz

Ingredients

1 cup water
Scant 1 cup honey
2 tablespoons of grated fresh ginger
Sweet Lady Cook’s Seascape Strawberry Jam (sweetened with honey)
Sparkling water
Strawberries for garnish (Optional)


Instructions

First thing you will need to do is make your ginger honey syrup. I made mine a day in advance so it would be chilled. You could even make it up to a few days in advance if need be.

In a small/medium size pot, add honey and grated ginger. Mix well to distribute ginger evenly and turn on the heat to medium.
Continue to stir until the honey starts to liquify.
Add water and mix well to incorporate.
Once a boil begins, turn down heat to medium/low and simmer for 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes.
Using a strainer, pour syrup into a glass jar. It will fit nicely into a 16oz size.
Let cool before storing in the refrigerator.

In a glass or jar add 2 tablespoons of Seascape Strawberry Jam.
Using a muddler, mash down any chunks of fruit.
Add ice cubes, 1/4 cup ginger honey syrup, and finish off with sparkling water.
Give the drink a quick stir and enjoy!
Garnish with a strawberry or lemon wedge. 

Gluten Free Stawberry Mascarpone Tart

Thanks to Instagram I discovered Sweet Lady Cook. Located in Santa Barbara, she specializes in small batch jams using local fruit, no preservatives and minimal sugar. I was so thrilled to see that she was located just 30 miles south of me! At the time she was only selling her product online. I placed an order and couldn't wait till my jams arrived. Along with strawberry habanero and blackberry lavender jam, I purchased her clementine marmalade for my mom. (I'm not a marmalade person.) Funny how that turned out to be my favorite. See previous post for my Gluten Free Clementine Marmalade Granola. It's been so much fun using her jams in my food experiments. 

Using seasonal fruits, her newest flavor is a seascape strawberry! The smell was absolutely amazing upon opening the jar. I decided on making gluten free strawberry mascarpone tarts using an almond and date crust. For the full recipe "click on the link below."

sweetladycook.com/blog

Clementine Marmalade Granola, GF

Gluten Free Clementine Marmalade Granola

Ingredients

3 cups gluten free oats

1/4 cup sesame seeds

3 Tbs ground flax seed

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup honey

Generous sprinkling of cinnamon

1/4 clementine marmalade from Sweet Lady Cook 

(I'm sure any orange marmalade would work just fine)

2 packets stevia

1/2 cup golden raisins

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large bowl, combine oats, sesame seeds, ground flax seeds, and cinnamon (to taste.)

Gently stir to incorporate ingredients evenly.

In a medium bowl, mix together honey, olive oil, marmalade and stevia. 

Pour your wet ingredients into the dry and mix well to evenly coat the oat mixture.

Transfer mixture to a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Spread out evenly.

Bake for 30-35 minutes stirring about every 10 minutes or so. 

Remove from oven and add raisins.

Let cool completely before transferring to container... or bowl if you want to snack immediately.

Good For You Carrot and Raisin Muffins

It took me quite awhile to perfect my gluten free pancake recipe. Moving on to muffins was a little easier since I had a better knowledge of how these alternative flours work together. Three times is a charm because the last batch I made turned out great. These muffins are free of gluten and refined sugars. I used brown rice syrup and stevia. The raisins add a nice sweet bite but overall these muffins do not have an overly sweet taste. The flax, buckwheat, and oat bran provide a good source of fiber so these muffins will help keep you satisfied throughout the morning. They also contain a good source of protein from the eggs and Greek yogurt.

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 cup ground flax seed

1/4 cup oat bran

1/4 sorghum flour

2 Tbs tapioca starch

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 pure vanilla powder

4 packets stevia (I use NuNaturals)

Pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients

3/4 cup almond milk

1/2 plain Greek yogurt (used 2%)

2 Tbs grapeseed oil

1 egg

1/4 egg whites

Add-Ins

3/4 cup grated carrot

1/2 cup golden raisins

Directions

Preheat oven to 350℉

In a large bowl, sift together all dry ingredients and gently mix until flour has a uniform color.

In another medium bowl, whisk together all of your wet ingredients.

Pour the wet into the dry and mix well until there are no lumps. 

Add in the carrots and raisins and mix well to distribute evenly.

Scoop into a greased or lined muffin pan and bake for about 20-23 minutes or until done.

Enjoy these muffins on their own or add a little butter (Earth Balance) or jam. I eat one with my eggs in the morning for a little treat.

Happy and healthy eating :)