I went to a sweet 1 year old’s birthday party this year on my birthday.  His mommy is a dear friend of mine, and his older brother has a lot of food allergies.  I don’t know how she constantly comes up w/ delicious foods to feed their family, but she does and she amazes me (as does the taste of her food).  My group of friends had a blast sampling all the healthy treats at Jude’s party.  And, Jim Bob, may have eaten ten done more than just sample these muffins.  Because they were such a hit, I had to get the recipe from her.  Thanks for sharing, Vanessa!  You have to try these muffins for yourself and let me know what you think…  I swear, you’ll be amazed that they have no sugar and no grains.  When mom sampled them, she kept asking me, “But, what kind of flour is in them?!”.  They’re full of healthy fats and protein too.  Next time I bake them, I may try adding some pumpkin; you know, in celebration of this gorgeous cooler Fall weather we’ve been having.  The recipe comes from here originally.

Grain-Free Muffins

1 cup of Nut Butter (I used Almond Butter from Whole Foods)

1/4 cup Honey

2 Eggs

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1 tbsp of vinegar or lemon juice (I used lemon juice)

Chocolate or Carob Chip (optional.  I used a little of both )

Combine all ingredients (except for the vinegar/lemon juice), and mix well. Then, add the vinegar/lemon juice and mix well.  Pour into either muffin cups or a greased muffin tin. I chose the larger muffin pan, and it made 9.  Bake for 25 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. They are done when an inserted toothpick some out clean.

1. In a medium-sized saucepan or skillet, combine the two sweeteners and the oil, and gently warm over low heat while stirring until the sugar crystals have dissolved. This should just take a couple of minutes.
2. Stir in the nut or seed butter, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Remove from the heat. Allow the mixture to cool for a couple of minutes.
3. Stir in the flaxseed, followed by the oats and cereal.
4. Now you have two choices here. If you want the chocolate chips to stay intact, let the mixture cool for few more minutes, and then stir in the chocolate chips. Or, if you are antsy like me, stir in the chocolate chips right away. They may melt a little against the warm pan, but I like them that way.
5. The mixture will be crumbly, but that is okay. Press it firmly into an 8 x 8 pan (use saran wrap or wax paper over your hand if it threatens to stick while pressing) or into 10 to 12 muffin tins. Make sure it is packed in there nicely, and then place the bars into the freezer to chill for 30 minutes to an hour.
6. Cut into bars or pop them out and eat. Store them in the refrigerator to keep fresh and from getting too soft.  Enjoy!!

Last week, we enjoyed a family breakfast of scrambled eggs and these biscuits.  It was so nice to have a biscuit option that didn’t have a ton of preservatives, wasn’t hard to cook and didn’t have wheat.  Thanks, Mommypotamus!  I thought they tasted even better as a snack than they did fresh out of the oven.  Again, these are wonderful for pregnant/nursing moms as they have lots of protein and healthy fats too.  Try them and let me know what you think.  I’d love to hear what you enjoy for breakfast…  It’s the one meal a day that I really need but have a hard time being creative with.

Squash Apple Soup

2 apples peeled and quartered (I left the peels on because ours were organic)

1 butternut squash peeled and cubed (about 2 inch cubes)

4 cups of chicken stock (or veggie)

1 chopped onion

2 tbsp of coconut oil

1 can of coconut milk

1/2tsp of nutmeg

1/2tsp of cinnamon

sea salt (to taste)

Cook onions in coconut oil until translucent, add apples and squash with chicken stock and coconut milk.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, add nutmeg and cinnamon and sea salt.  Cover and turn down to simmer about 20 minutes- until squash and apples are soft.  Blend soup in a blender or with immersion blender to desired consistency.  Enjoy!

I realize I should have put the yellow soup in a different colored bowl to make the pic look better, oh well, it tastes great!

It makes a big pan- leftovers!  Good thing, since I am eating my third bowl as I type this (did I mention Harper is in the middle of a growth spurt?!).

This next recipe makes you feel like you are cheating, but the great thing about it is- you aren’t…  It was born out of the need to make my mom cupcakes for her birthday while we are cleansing, but not having the willpower to cook her cupcakes and not indulge myself.  I am very thankful for this website!  I adapted these cupcakes from there.  She suggests sweetening them with honey; however, while on the cleanse, I replaced the honey w/ over-ripe bananas.  Mom tried both, and the banana version was voted a better tasting cake.  Also, I did the icing for mom’s bath, but left if off of our cleanse-friendly cupcakes, and we think they taste just fine w/ out the chocolate!  I like them as a nice lil’ snack or for breakfast.  See what you think.

Mini Cleanse Cupcakes 

1 over-ripe organic banana (or 1/4 cup of honey if not on cleanse)

1/2 cup of organic raspberries (frozen is fine, just thaw on stovetop)

1/2 cup and 2tbsp of coconut flour (I bought this at WholeFoods)

1/3 cup of coconut oil

1/2tsp of baking soda

1/4tsp sea salt

3 lightly beaten organic eggs

Smash raspberries (and banana) with a fork, you want to break them up so you don’t end up with a whole berry in the cupcake.  Combine flour, baking soda and salt and whisk to remove lumps.  Whisk in raspberries, banana (or honey) and oil, then add eggs.  If the mixture is extremely dry, slowly add in water until a thick cake-like batter consistency is reached.  Fill muffin tins 3/4 full with batter (I chose mini muffin tins).  Cook 15minutes in a 375 degree oven, or until toothpick comes out clean.  Enjoy warm with butter….  Or, you can add chocolate frosting, like I did for the birthday girl. 

Not as pretty without frosting, but they sure do taste good when you haven’t had bread in a long time.

Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup of cocoa powder (unsweet)

1/3 cup of coconut oil

1/4 cup honey

1tsp of vanilla

dash of sea salt

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and mix well.   Refrigerate until desired icing consistency is reached.  This frosting hardens quickly and melts fast too.      

P.S.  I can’t make any guarantees that you will turn out as cute as Harper if you do the cleanse…  See the cuteness I am talking about:

We don’t know where he gets it from!

And, sometimes, mommies accidentally dress their lil’ boys to match their friends…  What can we say, we both like the bargains on onesies at Target

Enjoy your weekend, and try out a new recipe !