Tag Archives: Dairy Free

Sour Cherry and Honey Shortbread Cookies

Warning! It is hard not to eat the whole batch of these! The good news is they are delicious, and it is a small batch.

These cookies are an absolutely delicious shortbread cookie treat recipe with the chewy tart bite of cherries!

They are delicate little bites with simple, whole food ingredients that come together in ten minutes.

The recipe makes a small batch of eleven cookies. Just short of a dozen. I have made the recipe several times to perfect it, and eleven is the perfect number.

I have this Moon Cake Mold Press that I used to imprint the tops of the cookies with a rose, but it isn’t necessary to make these cookies. I use it to make gluten free mooncakes during the Autumn Moon Celebration and have had great success with it for cookies. It just makes them fancier, and I am a gadget junkie.

Sour Cherry and Honey Tea Cookies

The benefits touted in regards to cherries are they are anti-inflammatory, enhance sleep, help with post-workout soreness, reduce stroke risk and more. See this article on cherries if you want to learn more. I love all these benefits, but I especially love the taste of them, and all the benefits are a bonus!

Honey has trace minerals in it and is one of my favorite natural sweeteners. My father was a beekeeper, and I used to help him in the bee hives when I was a child. Honey is truly miraculous. It is still a form of sugar to our bodies, but a little goes a long way! To make sure I know I am getting a high quality, pure honey, I buy it from a local beekeeper or farm market where a beekeeper is selling their honey. Local food co-ops are another great place to find a reputable honey source.

This cookie recipe only has seven ingredients, and each one adds flavor.

Sour Cherry and Honey Tea Cookies

Preheat your oven to 325º degrees F.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 Cups Superfine Almond Flour

1/4 Cup Coconut Oil

1/4 Cup Sour (Tart) Dried Cherries (I used an organic cherry with no added ingredients, just cherries)

2 Tablespoons of Local Honey

1 Teaspoon of Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice

1/2 Teaspoon of Pure Vanilla Extract

1/4 Teaspoon of Himalayan Pink or Sea Salt

Directions: Place all the ingredients into a food processor. Pulse until all the ingredients are incorporated and holding together with the cherries in small bits, but not completely pureed into the dough. You should still see bits of nice sized, but not whole, cherries.

Scoop the dough with a tablespoon cookie scoop onto a parchment lined baking sheet, spacing the cookies two inches apart. Press the cookie with a round of the moon cake press or use fork tines to flatten the cookie to an inch thickness.

Bake in the preheated oven for just 9 minutes until the cookies are starting to brown on the edges. Cool completely.

Sour Cherry and Honey Tea Cookies

Enjoy!

Eat Your Nutrients!

Simple Peach Ice Cream (Dairy Free)

Peaches are in season now, and juicy ripe peaches are so good in ice cream! My children have been gobbling up all the peaches as I buy them at the organic market, but I was able to snatch a couple to make this ice cream recipe before they were gone. Peaches are very similar to tomatoes in that when they are ripe, and in season, they taste like a different food entirely. Do you know what I mean?

So, today I have a very simple and delicious seasonal ice cream recipe to share that is Dairy Free!

SIMPLE PEACH ICE CREAM

You will need an ice cream freezer. I used a Cuisinart.

Ingredients:

Two Ripe and Juicy Organic Peaches, Peeled and Pit Removed

1 Can of Full Fat Coconut Milk

6 Tablespoons of Good Honey

2 Tablespoons of Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

2 Teaspoons of Pure Vanilla Extract

1/4 Teaspoon of Ground Cinnamon

Directions: Here is where an immersion blender comes in handy, but you can also use a regular blender and get the same results, just more clean up! Place all the ingredients into a 4 cup glass measuring cup, and blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Alternately, place in a blender and blend until smooth.

Refrigerate for four hours to chill thoroughly. Freeze in your ice cream maker.

Enjoy!

Sandra Shields, Health Coach

Eat Your Nutrients!

Peachy Jar Salad with Ginger Vinaigrette

This jar salad is so full of freshness, it makes me want to sing!

Food is supposed to make us feel good! So often today, the food that makes us feel “good” is not good for us. We have been inundated with ads and media from food manufacturers that tell us a food will make us happy.

Food that truly makes a person happy is the food that supports every cell of the body. Food that your body recognizes and knows what to do with. Pure, real, unprocessed food. It makes us feel good and look good. It gives us energy, and makes our skin glow and hair shine. It promotes longevity and prevents disease. Our bodies are like a very intricate computer that communicates with all the different components. We don’t want to confuse it by putting in artificial food that we weren’t made to process.

Peachy Salad in a Jar with Ginger Vinaigrette

Peachy Jar Salad with Ginger Vinaigrette

You can make this jar salad to pack for lunch, or make a larger version of it for another meal to share. It keeps well also! After a day in the refrigerator, the flavors meld even more!

PEACHY JAR SALAD WITH GINGER VINAIGRETTE

Ingredients for the Salad:

1 Cup of Ripe Tomato (Your favorite, any color. I used Heirloom)

1 Ripe and Juicy Peach (sliced and tossed with a tsp. fresh Lime Juice to prevent browning)

1/2 Cup of Watermelon (cubed)

1/2 Cup of Cucumber (cubed)

2 Green Onions (thinly sliced)

1/4 Cup Raw Pecans

1/4 Cup Green Pepper (diced)

GINGER VINAIGRETTE

This makes a 1/2 Cup of dressing, so you will have extra!

1/3 Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Tablespoons of Fresh Lime Juice

2 Teaspoons of Fresh, Minced Ginger

1/2 Teaspoon of Minced Jalapeno Pepper

1/4 Teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt or Sea Salt

1/8 Teaspoon of Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Directions: Puree the Vinaigrette ingredients thoroughly in a blender.

To assemble your salad: Use a generous glass jar that holds 4 cups. You can also make two smaller jar salads with pint jars, which hold two cups each.

Place two tablespoons of Ginger Vinaigrette in the bottom of the jar.

Add the other prepared ingredients in the following order from bottom to top:

Green onion
Tomato
Green Pepper
Watermelon
Cucumbers
Peaches
Pecans

Seal your jar, and refrigerate until ready to eat! You have made sunshine in a bottle.

Before eating, toss your salad gently by inverting the jar several times to coat the salad with the dressing. Remove lid and enjoy.

*I used organic ingredients

Peachy Salad in a Jar with Ginger Vinaigrette

Eat Your Nutrients! Don’t settle for less. It makes All The Difference!

Eat Your Nutrients!

Spicy Fire Crackers

I have a new love affair! I have know about it for years, but you could say I have been reawakened to its allure and hotness.

Spicy Fire Crackers

What is it? It is Sriracha! While spending some time this Summer in Michigan, I have been enjoying the artisan movement up here for local, small batch, quality food, and I have found a Detroit made fermented artisan sriracha that is addicting. It is made with sugar in the ingredients, but has no preservatives and is clean. I am on vacation and giving myself a slight bit of leeway with a little bit of local Sriracha. Nom Nom Paleo has a DIY recipe for Sriracha sweetened with honey here that I make when I am home.

I miss the spicy chips and crackers of my junkier, processed food days a decade ago………..gosh a decade doesn’t age you too much does it? Well, definitely not when you are eating nutritious food to fuel your body. So, I decided to get into the kitchen on my vacation and make a spicy sriracha cracker that is grain free, real food and Paleo friendly! They are crunchy and spicy reminding me of a firecracker going off in my mouth, but in a very good way!

With almond flour, honey, flax, thyme, olive oil, good sea salt and of course sriracha, the ingredients are pure and snackable and satisfy my crunchy, spicy snack cravings.

Spicy Fire Crackers

Spicy Fire Crackers

Preheat your oven to 275º degrees.

Set out a parchment lined baking sheet.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups Superfine Almond Flour

1/4 Cup Local Honey

3 Tablespoons Sriracha (Nom Nom’s Paleo friendly recipe is here!)

1 Tablespoons of Olive Oil, Coconut Oil or Duck Fat (melt the coconut oil or duck fat if using this fat)

1 Tablespoon Ground Flax

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Thyme

1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt

Directions: Put all the ingredients into a bowl, whish with a fork until thoroughly combined. Roll between two pieces of parchment paper to 1/4 inch thickness. Score the crackers into small bite sized squares with a pizza wheel.

Bake for 45 minutes in your oven. Cool completely, then break apart on the scores.

That’s it! A delicious, spicy cracker. Enjoy!

Eat Your Nutrients!

Ultimate Grain Free Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

Ultimate Grain Free Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

I don’t know about you, but I need a treat now and then. When I have something decadent, I wan’t it to be something that I have been craving made in a healthier way than I used to eat it. Lately, I have really missed chocolate chip cookies. I added pecans to this recipe, since I am a nut and cookie fan, but you do’t need to add nuts if you are in the nut free cookie camp. I think our household is 50/50 in our preference to add or not to add nuts.

Ultimate Grain Free Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

Although this is not a low sugar recipe, I have used honey to sweeten them, which makes them chewy. The chocolate chips are Lily’s Dark Chocolate No Sugar Added Chocolate Chips sweetened with Stevia. I buy them at my local coop, or they can be found here.

Ultimate Grain Free Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

Preheat your oven to 325º degrees.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups Superfine Almond Flour

1/2 Cup Almond Butter

1/2 Cup Honey (Clear if Low FodMap)

1 Flax Egg (To make Egg Mix 1 Tablespoon Ground Flax Seed and 3 Tablespoons of Water in a small bowl and let sit 15 minutes)

2 Tablespoons of Coconut Oil, Melted

1/4 Teaspoon of Himalayan Pink Salt or Sea Salt

1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

1 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips (I used Lily’s No Sugar Added)

1/2 Cup Raw Pecans (optional)

Directions: Mix together in a medium bowl with a fork the almond butter, honey, vanilla extract, melted coconut oil and flax egg until incorporated. Add the almond flour, salt and baking soda and stir again until fully incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips and pecans. Scoop onto parchment lined baking sheets with a tablespoon cookie scoop.

Bake for 11 – 12 minutes in the preheated oven until golden brown. Cool completely on the cookie sheets.

Makes 24 Cookies

*Low FodMap Serving Size 1 Cookie, Moderate FodMap Serving Size 2 Cookies

See this article on Is Chocolate Low FodMap?

Ultimate Grain Free Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

These cookies are absolutely delicious, ultimate and classic!

Eat Your Nutrients!

Summertime Paleo Strawberry Shortcake

Do you love eating with the seasons? One of the things I enjoy about strolling through the local farm market is all the ideas I get from seeing what is being sold that day. It is like candy for the eyes, all the colors from the fresh produce and homemade items the vendors are selling, not to mention the interesting conversations you can have while there. It is a casual, happy, chatty place, and people are talking about one of the subjects I love most….good food! The farmers are so excited to talk about their food and let you taste their early spinach that is just like “butter” or describe to you how they used these gorgeous garlic scapes to make their dinner last night. (see the photo below, and you will see what I mean about a work of art! The garlic scapes look like an impressive sculpture!)

I had gone so long eating frozen strawberries and organic strawberries in the plastic cartons this winter. When I tasted these small, picked ripe from the vine that morning strawberries, and popped the first one in my mouth, I knew I had to make a recipe for Summertime Paleo Strawberry Shortcake.

This recipe contains all the elements that I find appealing. It is full of everything a strawberry shortcake should have, ripe juicy berries, sweetness, softness from the shortcake, cool whipped topping, and eye appeal.

Give it a try! You won’t be disappointed!

Paleo Strawberry Shortcake

At least four hours before serving the shortcake, place a can or two of full fat coconut milk in the refrigerator so the coconut cream rises to the top.

Preheat Oven 350º degrees. Grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper. Set aside.

Ingredients:

For the Strawberries:

3 Cups Red Ripe Strawberries, Cleaned and Sliced

2 Tablespoons of Clear or Raw Honey (clear if eating low fodmap)

2 Teaspoons Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

With a potato masher, mash the strawberries, honey and lemon juice leaving some pieces of berries. Set aside to release the juices.

For the Shortcakes:

1 1/2 Cups Superfine Almond Flour

1/3 Cup of Clear or Raw Honey (clear if eating low fodmap)

2 Pastured Eggs, yolks and whites separated

1/4 Cup of Coconut Oil, melted

Zest from 1/2 an Organic Lemon

1/2 Teaspoon Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

1/2 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

1/4 Teaspoon Sea Salt or Himalayan Pink Salt

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

Whipped Topping:

2 Cans of Refrigerated Full Fat Coconut Milk

Directions:

In a medium stainless steel mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

In a large bowl with a hand held mixer, place the eggs, honey, vanilla, lemon zest, coconut oil, salt and lemon juice. Mix for three minutes until it is a thick, creamy ribbon of yellow.

Add in the Superfine Almond Flour and baking soda. Mix until incorporated with a hand held mixer.

With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the egg whites using a lift and fold motion from the outside of the bowl to the center. See demonstration here.

With a half cup measuring cup, scoop the batter onto the prepared cookie sheets, evenly distributing into four shortcakes. Bake in your preheated oven for 12 minutes or until starting to brown and a finger pressed into the top doesn’t leave an indention.

Remove from oven and cool.

Open the can of chilled coconut milk, and scoop off the cream on the top. Whisk briefly in a bowl.

Summertime Paleo Strawberry Shortcakes Ready to Assemble

To assemble the dessert: Cut one shortcake in half. Put one half on a plate. Top with some strawberry mixture. Add the other half of the shortcake, more strawberries and top it with whipped coconut cream.

A perfect Summertime dessert!

Summertime Paleo Strawberry Shortcake

Farm Market Organic Garlic Scapes

Eat Your Nutrients!

Red, White and Blue Smoothie!

Fourth of July is coming up fast! So in honor of the Red, White & Blue, I have a brand new smoothie for you.

It is thick, delicious, and you have a protein powder option. There are three layers, but it is not difficult, although it does take about five minutes longer than a regular straight up blended smoothie. It is worth it to do something extra special for yourself. The white layer is simply some creamy full fat coconut milk. This smoothie is packed with clean nutrition.

Red, White & Blue Smoothie

Blue Layer Ingredients:

1 Cup Frozen Blueberries

1/2 Fresh Banana

1/4 Cup Coconut Milk

1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice

1 Teaspoon Coconut Oil

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

White Layer Ingredients:

1/4 Cup Full Fat Coconut Milk

Red Layer Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Fresh Strawberries

1/2 Cup Frozen Sweet Cherries

1 Medjool Date, Pit Removed

2 Tablespoons Coconut Milk

1 Tablespoon of a Clean Protein Powder (I used Philosophie Berry Bliss Vegan Protein and Superfood Powder)

Directions: Blend the Blue Layer. Pour into a clear glass. Gently add the 1/4 cup of coconut milk for the next layer.

Blend the Red Layer, Pour on top. Add a few berries and a straw!

Enjoy!

Note: All the fruit I used was organic. Omit the protein powder for the Specific Carb Diet. Replace Black Cherries for all Strawberries if very Low FodMap.

Eat Your Nutrients!

Almond Tahini Grain Free Cookies

Almond Tahini Grain Free Cookies

Monday mornings are notorious for being difficult! Do you ever struggle with Mondays? Maybe you had a crazy weekend like me, or it was a super fun weekend, and you don’t like the thought of getting back to the grind. Or, maybe the whole week stretching ahead of you feels overwhelming! Usually Mondays are okay for me, but last week was a crazy, busy week. I was just getting back from traveling and running like crazy to catch up on a short week, and then Sunday morning, just when I was getting in the shower, the lights went out for a couple hours, and I had the perfect to do list in my head for the perfect day, starting with church.

So, what can you do on days when you just want to get through it? Should we just get through it? I recommend finding just ten minutes to savor a moment. You can find just ten minutes. Giving yourself ten minutes to just be and breathe works really well to change your frame of mind and calm your spirit.

So my next thought is, if we are dreading a day like the infamous Monday, can we change our day by changing how we think about it? I believe the answer is “Yes. Yes we can! Not that it is easy, but we can do it!”.

Enough of my musings. Since baking is therapy for me, and cookies are definitely on my list of mood boosters, today I have a delicious, grain free, brand new cookie recipe for you (and me). They are full of clean ingredients, and one or two of these will not set you back in your health goals. They also don’t take long to mix up. You will need a bowl and a fork. Here’s the recipe:

Almond Tahini Grain Free Cookies

Preheat your oven to 325º degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups Superfine Almond Flour

1/2 Cup Tahini (I like to eat this one straight out of the jar it is so good!)

1/2 Cup Honey (Clear if Low FodMap)

1 Flax Egg (To make Egg Mix 1 Tablespoon Ground Flax Seed and 3 Tablespoons of Water in a small bowl and let sit 15 minutes)

2 Tablespoons of Coconut Oil, Melted

1/4 Cup Slivered Almonds (reserved for top of cookies)

1/4 Teaspoon of Himalayan Pink Salt or Sea Salt

1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/8 Teaspoon of Almond Extract

Directions: Mix together in a medium bowl with a fork the tahini, honey, almond extract, melted coconut oil and flax egg until incorporated. Add the almond flour, salt and baking soda and stir again until fully incorporated. Scoop onto parchment lined baking sheets with a tablespoon cookie scoop. Sprinkle the slivered almonds evenly over the cookie dough and gently press them into the dough just a bit.

Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven until golden brown. Cool completely on the cookie sheets.

Makes 20 Cookies

*Low Fod Map Serving Size 1 Cookie, Moderate Fod Map Serving Size 2 Cookies

Almond Tahini Grain Free Cookies

Eat Your Nutrients!

Dill and Chive Grain Free Crackers

The crunch of walnut pieces and the flavor of dill and chives makes this a perfect cracker for snacking. I especially like dill in summer, and it is so good in these crackers! It reminds me of working in the garden as a child and smelling the fresh dill on the breeze and feeling the warm sun on my body. These crackers are a fantastic addition to an appetizer spread, and I also like to mound a bunch of dinner leftovers on them for a quick snack. Who doesn’t love a quick, healthy snack? Prepared in advance, these will keep in the freezer for a month.

Dill and Chive Grain Free Crackers

Dill and Chive Grain Free Crackers

Ingredients:

1 Cup Superfine Almond Flour**

1/2 Cup Raw Walnuts, Chopped into Medium Pieces

2 Flax Eggs (see instructions below)

2 Tablespoons Fresh Dill, Minced (can substitute 2 Teaspoons of Dried Dill)

2 Tablespoons Fresh Chives, Minced (can substitute 2 Teaspoons of Dried Chives)

1 Teaspoon Honey

1/4 Teaspoon Pink Himalayan Salt or Sea Salt**

* Making an egg substitute with ground Flax Seed is easy! Take one Tablespoon of ground Flax Seed and whisk it with 3 Tablespoons of water in a small bowl and let sit for 15 minutes until it becomes a gel like consistency. In this recipe I have used two Flax Eggs, so you would take 2 Tablespoons of Ground Flax Seed and 6 Tablespoons of water, whisk it all together and let sit for 15 minutes while you prepare the rest of the cracker ingredients.

**See In My Pantry for Product Resources

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325º degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, add your almond flour, dill, chives and salt. After your flax eggs are ready, whisk in the honey. Then, add the liquid to the flour mixture and whisk with a fork until well combined. Add in the chopped walnuts last, and incorporate into the dough.

Place the dough between two sheets of parchment and roll out with a rolling pin to 1/4″ inch thickness. Remove the top parchment sheet used for rolling, and put the rolled cracker dough with the bottom parchment on the cookie sheet. Place in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown and crunchy. Keep a close eye on them the last five minutes to prevent over browning. Cool on a wire rack, and then break them into whatever sized pieces you like!

These are delicious served with my Roasted Eggplant and Red Pepper Tapenade Recipe or Dairy Free Fresh Basil Pesto. If you would like more appetizer ideas, go to Kelly Bejelly’s post on her blog, A Girl Worth Saving, and check out her 35 Paleo Appetizers post here!

Dill and Chive Grain Free Crackers

Eat Your Nutrients!

Quick Sauteed Beet Greens and Pecans

There is an abundance of fresh greens available during the growing season. Have you ever tried beet greens? They have a mild, appealing taste, and I like to mix it up to get in as many nutrients as I can.

Beet greens add variety to your diet, and are quite tasty, not to mention they have more minerals, vitamins and antioxidants than the root. The greens are best when they are young and tender. I found a bunch of golden beets recently at the local farm market, and the greens were glorious! Check out the second photo below! It was such a great find to be able to eat the whole vegetable, tops and all!

Here is an easy way to cook them up quickly and deliciously!

Quick Sauteed Beet Greens and Pecans

Fresh Golden Beets with Green Tops

Quick Sauteed Beet Greens with Pecans

Ingredients:

6 Cups Fresh Beet Greens, washed and coarsely chopped

2 Tablespoons of Garlic Olive Oil (or 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil and 1 Tsp. Fresh minced garlic)

2 Tablespoons of Coarsely Chopped Raw Pecans

1 Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes

Salt (your favorite to taste)

Black Pepper (to taste)

Directions:

In a large sautee pan on the stove top. Pour in the oil and heat over medium high heat. Add the garlic if using and red pepper flakes, cook briefly, about 30 seconds. Add the beet greens and toss until wilted and tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with the pecans.

This is an easy and delicious side!

Eat Your Nutrients!