Goddess of Yummy

Almond Thumbprint Cookies

Its a rainy spring day in Brooklyn, what a great way to brighten it up! These brought smiles to lots of faces at the office, everyone said they were better than gluten-filled cookies!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw almonds, processed into almond meal or 1 1/4 c. almond flour
• 1/2 c. pecans, processed into pecan meal
• 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 1/4 c. ground flax seed
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
• 2/3 cup almond butter
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 5-6 tbsp jam of your choice (strawberry, raspberry, apricot..)
• approx 1/3 cup shredded coconut, for rolling

1. Preheat oven to 350F and spray a large baking sheet with oil, or line with parchment paper.

2. Whisk together dry ingredients, breaking up any large clumps. In another bowl, mix together wet ingredients. Mix dry into wet and stir until combined.

3. Use a tablespoon to shape a heap full on dough into a ball. Roll in coconut if desired. Continue until all dough is used. Cool dough in refrigerator if it is too sticky to work with.

4. Place cookies on a greased cookie sheet and back at 350 for 10-12 minutes, until coconut starts to brown. Let cool on sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to cooling rack.

5. Enjoy with you favorite tea or milk!

Strawberry-Banana Pancakes

These pancakes are delectable! So good I forgot to take pictures!

Ingredients:

• 2 large ripe bananas
• 2-4 tbsp. sugar
• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup quinoa flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cup coconut milk, plus more if needed
• 2 large eggs (or two chia or flax egg substitute)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil or earth balance melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup strawberries cut into 1/4” pieces
• Your Choice of Toppings:maple syrup, jam, butter, sliced bananas, fresh blueberries/strawberries/raspberries, chopped nuts…

Directions:

1. Place all wet ingredients (except strawberries) and sugar into a bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher. (Banana, sugar, vanilla, egg, milk, oil)
2. Whisk together dry ingredients in a bowl. (Flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt)
3. Add dry to wet ingredients and whisk until batter forms, add a little milk if batter is too thick. (tbsp at a time) Gently stir in the strawberries.
4. Use a 1/4 c. measuring cup to scoop batter and drop in an oiled cast iron skillet, preheated to med-high heat. (Drop of water will sizzle when it hits the pan, but not smoke)
5. After most of the bubbles in the pancakes have popped, gently flip the hotcake and cook another minute
6. Serve with toppings and garnish of your choice!

Simple Lentil Soup

This is a fast and easy dinner option, kids love it! You can throw the ingredients in a pan and let them cook while you make a salad and rice if you want a nice balanced meal.

Ingredients:

2 cups Red Lentils rinsed

1 cup Shredded Carrot

1 quart Low Sodium Vegetable Broth

3-4 cups Water

1 Yellow Onion diced or chopped-your preference

6 cloves Garlic diced

8 black peppercorns

Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Rinse Lentils, set aside.

2. In a 4 qt. stock pan, sauté onions until translucent then add garlic, cook another minute until aromatic. 

3. Slowly add vegetable stock, water, carrots, and lentils and stir to combine.

4. Add salt and peppercorns and cook about 35-45 minutes until lentils dissolve. Adjust salt if necessary, add more water to reach desired consistency.

5. Serve over basmati rice with steamed vegetables or just eat plain!

Powerful Protein Packed Parfait

My ND, Rhondalynn Smith Brustoski, gave me this recipe for breakfast cereal.I told her about my chia breakfast recipe, and this is totally an upgrade! It is jam packed with omega 3’s and protein, a great way to start your day.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. Chia Seeds

2 tbsp. Hemp Seeds

2 tbsp. Buckwheat/Kasha

2 tbsp. Chopped Nuts or Seed of your choice (Almonds, Macadamia, Walnuts, Pecans, Sunflower/Pumpkin Seeds)

2 tbsp. Fresh or Dried Fruit (Raisins, Dried Cranberries, Currants, Blueberries, Strawberries, Apple)

10+ tbsp Coconut Milk or Milk/Yogurt/Kefir of your choice

Optional: Splash Vanilla Extract, Ground Cinnamon to taste

Directions:

Put all ingredients into a bowl and add milk to cover.

Stir then let sit 5 minutes, Enjoy.

Oh My! Omega Alfredo

Sometimes eating low on the food chain, it can get boring using the same kinds of protein. Beans, lentils, and tempeh can get old after awhile. I like to get creative and create high-protein sauces, using yummy high omega content seeds and nuts. This recipe uses cashews and hemp seeds to create a rich and smooth cheese-less sauce.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup Raw Cashews

1/2 cup  Raw Hemp Seeds

12 cloves garlic minced

1/2 onion diced

1 1/2 cup So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk

1-2 tbsp. Soy-Free Earth Balance or Safflower Oil

1 tsp white pepper

2 tsp salt or to taste

1/2 tsp Herbamare

Optional: 10 oz. baby spinach

Gluten Free Pasta of your choice, I love Andean Dream Fusilli 

Directions:

1. Add cashews to Vita-mix/Food Processor/Blender and cover with boiling water, let sit until all other ingredients are prepared. Strain and rinse.

2. In a cast-iron skillet, add oil and sauté onion until translucent. Add garlic and cook one more minute, remove from heat.

3. Add remaining ingredients to the food processor: milk, garlic and onion mixture, spices, hemp seeds, and process until smooth. Adjust seasoning with salt or more milk if necessary. (Or add Hemp seeds to thicken)

4. If adding optional spinach, add to skillet used for garlic and onions and lighting sauté until wilted, then pour in the Alfredo sauce and turn off heat.

5. Strain Pasta of your choice and combine sauce and spinach mixture. Sprinkle with hemp seeds as a garnish if desired.

DelightFULLy DelicATE Quinoa Pancakes

I love using ingredients that I have lying around, for this wonderful pancake recipe, that ingredient is cooked quinoa! Quinoa is nice and fluffy when cooked and packed with protein, not to mention it is naturally gluten free AND delicious. 

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked quinoa

1 cup Brown Rice Flour

1/2 cup Coconut Flour

4 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. sea salt

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

4 large eggs (Can make it vegan by using flax or chia egg substitute)

1/3 c. applesauce

2 TBSP. Safflower Oil or Melted Coconut Oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup Coconut Milk or Milk of your choice

Optional: 2-4 TBSP Maple Syrup

Optional: 1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine and mix all dry ingredients: quinoa, flours, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

2. In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients: eggs, oil, milk, applesauce, vanilla, and optional syrup. Whisk ingredients until smooth.

3. Combine egg and flour mixtures and stir with a wooden spoon. Add more milk if necessary to create a thick cake like batter. Stir in optional blueberries if desired.

4. Use oil of your choice in a large cast-iron skillet and heat to medium high. Use a non-stick spoon to drop about 1/3 c. of batter into skillet, pancakes should be the size of your palm or smaller. Cook until bubble appear or about 2 minutes. Flip cakes and cook until golden brown, about 2 more minutes. Reduce heat if pancakes start to over brown. 

5. Serve with your choice of Maple Syrup, Fruit Preserves, or Fresh Fruit and ENJOY!

Butternut Squash Soup with Apple

Ingredients:

2 quarts Vegetable Stock

1 large Butternut Squash

1 lb carrots, sliced into coin size pieces

1 lb celery sliced into 1/4 pieces

1-2 Apples cut into 1/4 pieces

1 large onion diced

2-3 tbsp. olive oil or coconut oil

2 tsp salt or to taste

1/4 tsp white pepper or to taste

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp paprika

dash cinnamon (optional)

1 bay leaf (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat Oven to 400. Cut Squash lengthwise, remove seeds and place on baking sheet cut sides down. Add water to depth of about 1/4 inch to pan and bake about 40 minutes. Squash should be soft when cooked through, skin peeling away from flesh. Let cool, then remove the skin.

2. While the squash is cooking: chop up  the onion, celery, carrot, and apple. Heat oil in a large soup pot and add chopped vegetables. Sauté until they start to sweat and carmelize. Add stock, salt, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, paprika, and bay leaf. Let mixture gently simmer.

3. Add squash to soup mixture and cook about 30 minutes.

4. Turn off heat. Remove bay leaf and let cool about 20-30 minutes. Then puree in food processor or Vitamix. Add back to soup pot and reheat, serve. 

5. Garnish with fresh parsley and a drizzle of coconut milk.

Reboot: Chia Breakfast Delight 2.0

This morning I was inspired to switch up my breakfast chia with fresh strawberries, crunchy raw cacao nibs, almonds, and raisins instead of the usual dates. What would I do without Chia???

Chia Breakfast Delight

This is my number 1 favorite breakfast. It’s healthy, fast, and super delicious!! I was having a hard time coming up with a good name for this dish, but luckily a co-worker emailed me asking for the “chia breakfast delight” recipe.

Chia Mixture:

1 Carton or 4 cups of your favorite non-dairy milk

1/2 c. plus 1-2 tablespoons Chia/Salba

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tbsp or to taste Maple Syrup or Sweetener of choice

Add all of the above to a medium sized bowl and whisk until chia is mixed and not stuck together. Cover and put in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Topping:

Apple (Grate desired amount)

Dates and Nuts of your choice chopped (I like almond and macadamia the best but you can use pecans, walnuts, or brazil nuts)

Use a nut chopper to chop nuts of your choice and then pour onto pitted dates so that when you cut up the dates the nuts stick to them and form ‘flavor morsels.’ ;)

Add desired amount of chia mixture to a bowl then top with date/nut mixture and grated apple. Mix together if desired and enjoy!!!

I can’t believe its not “Cheese” Sauce

1 c. Raw Cashews (Toss in Vitamix and submerge with boiling water)

2-4 tbsp. Nutritional Yeast (To Taste)

2 tsp. Chick Pea Miso

2-3 Tbsp. Tamari

Juice of 1 Lemon or Lime

1 Can of Coconut Milk

1 tsp Ground Yellow Mustard

1 tsp White Pepper

2 tsp Onion Flakes

1 tsp. Salt or to taste

1 Yellow Onion

1 tbsp Minced garlic

1 tbsp Olive Oil

optional: 1 tbsp Soy Free Earth Balance if you’re feeling naughty…

Soak cashews in boiling water while you prepare all other ingredients. Sauté onion until translucent in olive oil then add garlic, sauté another minute and remove from heat. Drain Cashews and add all ingredients to Vitamix or Food Processor. Blend until smooth consistency. Toss sauce with hot gluten free pasta of your choice or spaghetti squash and steamed vegetables. I use the leftovers as a dip.

Photo Credit: Eliza Williams <3