Tag Archives: Gluten Free

Holiday Recipes: Gluten free Gingerbread & Cranberry Sauce

Are you a holiday foodie? When was the last time you enjoyed some yummy gingerbread? Or perhaps cranberry sauce with a twist? Each of these recipes is a stand out in its own right as well as the perfect duo for dazzling your family and friends this holiday season. I’ve worked and reworked these recipes so they will be healthier and tastier versions of some holiday favorites. I hope you like them too!

As a kid growing up cranberry sauce was the holiday delicacy that came straight out of a can. Yes, I said that. That was until I came across the real deal. Fresh cranberries! I was completely smitten with the color and texture but the tartness was a bit over the the top even for my tongue. Then I started playing around with citrus and ginger and now it’s resulted into a jewel-like sauce to fancy up any turkey dinner.

Orange Ginger Cranberry Sauce

List of Ingredients

1 large orange

1 1/2 tablespoons of fresh grated ginger

1 bag of fresh cranberries (12 ounces)

3/4 cup of coconut sugar & later 2 teaspoons of coconut sugar

Directions

  1. Zezt approximately 2 teaspoons of orange peel into a medium saucepan. Add 1 cup water, cranberries, ginger and coconut sugar.
  2. Bring cranberry mix to a boil and stir until coconut sugar is dissolved and cranberries pop. Lower to medium heat and stir occasionally over five to eight minutes. Cool, then refrigerate until you are ready to serve.Saucey

You can make this cranberry crowd-pleaser 2-3 days ahead of time. Eat it alone as a side dish or use it the next day as a jelly on top of the warm gingerbread.

And speaking of gingerbread, here’s a healthier choice for you to enjoy with tea or coffee, plain or dolled up! I’m a gingerbread fan, but often it’s so riddled with sugar, shortening and well, gluten (not that gluten is a bad thing for you).

Gluten Free Gingerbread

Preheat oven to 350F/ 177C and bake for approximately 35-40 minutes.

List of Ingredients

2 cups gluten free flour (I like Pamela’s brand)

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

1/2 cup coconut oil (melted)

1/2 cup coconut sugar

3 Tablespoons freshly grated ginger (finely grated)

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 cup molasses

2 Ginger tea bags steeped in 1/2 cup of water

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the goodies together. Bake in a greased and floured 9×5 pan. Cool the pan for 15 minutes, then remove and enjoy. Happy dance optional and greatly encouraged.

Insider Notes to the Reader:

1) No one will know will ever guess that you’re serving gluten-free goodness.

2) This gingerbread is made with fresh grated ginger placing you right up there with the Iron Chef.

3) Your entire home will fill with this wildly intoxicating smell that may have you calling up the Yankee Candle company begging for a new candle scent that smells exactly like it.

4) Don’t let it’s outer looks deceive you. Within the first bite you’ll find yourself in ecstasy. This recipe has endured multiple trials and tweaks with the desire to produce  a healthier choice without sacrificing taste. While it’s not intended to be your only source of nutrition, I think we get the importance of relishing the holidays with some decadence.Tea Time

I love the gingerbread with cinnamon apple tea. It’s simple yet extraordinarily yummy. And should you be ever so decadent and adventurous, here’s another possibility pictured below. It’s quite the combination.Jelly

Chime In!

In the comments below, let’s us know– have you tried either of these recipes? So, what’d ya think? Or are you planning on giving it a whirl?

Gloriously Good Gluten-Free Banana Nut Bread Recipe!

Are you hankering for something deliciously delightful? Perhaps you aren’t gluten-free but you have a friend or family member who is. Here’s just the recipe for you! It’s gloriously good if not better than the regular run of the mill banana nut bread recipes.

Of course, it’s my recipe so it’s made to my specs, but I urge you to give it a shot. All takers have been pleasantly surprised by it’s show up and deliver-ability. I feel confident this will tickle your taste buds and make baking– or eating a real adventure!

Whip up your very own gluten-free banana nut bread. I promise it’s a crowd pleaser.

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Roll up your sleeves. Turn on some groovy tunes, don your fancy bake wear (below is my sassy apron example) and preheat that oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x5x3 loaf pan with coconut oil.

Gloriously-good-gluten-free-bread-recipe

List of ingredients

1 ¾ cup of Gluten Free Flour (I like Pamela’s brand)

2 eggs

1 tsp Baking Powder

½ tsp Baking Soda

1 cup mashed overripe bananas (approximately two)

½ cup chopped walnuts

Mix ½ cup of coconut oil

½ cup of coconut sugar

¼ cup chopped dates (optional)

1 tsp of vanilla (optional)

A pinch of salt

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, coconut sugar, pinch of salt. Add the dates, coconut oil, eggs, bananas, walnuts and vanilla.

Bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool the pan for 15 minutes, then remove from pan to cool completely.

Insider Notes to the Reader:

1) No one can tell you are serving gluten-free goodness.

2) This banana nut bread is so moist that at the request of my favorite person, I was asked if I could turn it into his birthday cake with cream cheese icing. Yes, it’s really that good. Besides, I did it for love.

3) Hide this gloriously good loaf from yourself and your family. Trust no nose, the smell is tantalizing! Tighten security around your neighbors and guests.

4) Wisely postpone cutting this loaf of cherub-like goodness until the last possible second.

5) Pictured below in not just a plain ordinary banana nut bread. Don’t let the looks fool you. Inside there’s immaculate goodness. This recipe was crafted with those in mind who want to take a healthier route without sacrificing taste. It’s not meant to become your only source of nutrition. Continue to eat your fresh fruits and veggies. 🙂 Here’s a scrumptious salad recipe I suggest pairing with your yummy loaf.

 

NomNomNut Bread

In the comments below, let’s us know– did you try it? What did you think? Or are you going to give it a whirl?

 

Make Quinoa your Gluten Free BFF

Ever wish the Iron Chef would waltz right into your kitchen and whip something up especially for you? Or have you found yourself simply trying to invent something tasty to serve? Or something healthy? Or better yet, a dinner that offers up both options?

 

Perhaps a tall order combo of “fast, tasty, healthy and easy” would be just what you’re hankering for?

Then Quinoa swaggers into your kitchen arena like a boxing champ!

 

Quick prep?                    Check!

Easy to prepare?          Check!

Tastiness?                      Check!

Healthy for you?          Check!

 

Oh, by the way, KEY-no-ah is the wrong way to pronounce it! I learned the wrong way in my twenties. Sorry. So you can remember it correctly, say it like this, \KEEN-wah\. (To never forget how to say it, motion with a karate blocking move and repeat, \KEEN-wah\. Wink.)

 

When health seekers ask me to provide them with some Quinoa recipes, I usually tell them try it with anything or everything you think would be delicious. I love suggesting Quinoa because it’s filling, and well, it’s really become “en vogue.” Somehow it picked up more steam with the Gluten Free movement and I’m getting excited to find it in restaurants from time to time.

 

Besides delicious, quinoa is nutritious and can be prepared with flair. My favorite kind to suggest is a tri-color prewashed medley. It removes an extra food prep step for those living a fast-paced life and boasts more color.

 

In case you wonder about its origins, it hails from South America. It grows on a tall colorful Amaranth plant and produces millions of seeds as its fruit.

Gluten Free Quinoa tips from Dr. Paige Hunter

 

Often Quinoa is mistaken for the Middle East’s Couscous produced from semolina wheat. The look similar and both taste yummy, but couscous does contain gluten. For many eaters choosing to follow a gluten free lifestyle, quinoa is the winner.

 

What does it taste like?

Quinoa has a nice rich and nutty flavor. These little seeds are nutrient dense also giving it the revered “superfood” status. It’s super to me because it’s easy to fix in so many different ways. I personally like it with wild-caught salmon and spinach or mixed in with some steamed veggies or in a salad. It’s just a healthy yet yummy carbohydrate.

If you want the skinny on Quinoa, this is for you:

  • It’s high in fiber and protein.
  • Has anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant elements.
  • It’s serves as a great substitute for rice and pasta.

Quinoa is gluten free

You don’t need fancy recipes to follow, simply try it out in all sorts of dishes until you find your favorites. Make it an adventure and please, do yourself (and me) a favor, call it what you like. For now, I’m feeling like the Queen of my kitchen so it’s current nickname is “Queen-wah”.

In the comments below, share your thoughts with me.

If you haven’t yet tried quinoa, give it a chance. I think you will be super-pleased with this superfood! And if you have, do you have a favorite way you like to prepare it? Let me know! Even better, post a picture of it if you have one.

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