How to be Gluten Free Naturally

With so many people being gluten free these days, companies are beginning to catch on and create g.f. packaged foods, full of junk that does not belong in the human body.

Now I'm not vegan, paleo, or anything like that, I'm just gluten free and mostly dairy free, but I still believe it is important to feed our bodies whole, real foods. It might be easier to pick up a package of granola bars off the shelf of the grocery store, but in the long run? Your body will thank you for choosing an apple and peanut butter, or something like that instead.

So below, I'm going to list some gluten free foods that are just naturally g.f. please note that I am not a doctor or certified nutritionist, and I'm not recommending that anyone go gluten free. This is for the many people who are gluten free, but would like to remove packaged foods from their diet.

Milk.                    
Yoghurt

Cheese

Butter

Fruit

Vegetables

Rice

Potatoes

Corn

Quinoa

Certified G.F. Oats

Eggs

Chicken

Beef

Pork

Lamb

Salmon

Tilapia

Codfish

Shellfish

Catfish

Vinegar

Coconut oil

Olive oil

Honey

Agave

Maple syrup

Cocoa powder

Nut butters

Nuts

Coffee

Tea

Please note also that you should always double check each item listed here to see if it really is g.f. because sometimes there can be a glutenful product in a place you least expect it.

Hope this has helped you! This is not EVERYTHING that's g.f., So be sure to explore your options around you!

<3 Danielle

Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal

Why, oh why is cherry season so short?

Why, oh why do cherries cost so much?

Oh the problems I have. When I do have cherries, I try make the most of them. However, usually my attempts are in vain, as I end up snarfing them down by the handful... oops!

But this year, I managed to save some for this oatmeal! And guess what? It was definitely worth it!

The juice from the cherries spread throughout the oats while cooking, letting off a subtle flavor that pairs well with the chocolate.

So if you have self control enough to save your cherries, try this out. It'll be worth it!

Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal
1/2 cup rolled oats
1.5 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 banana, mashed
12 cherries, pitted and chopped
1 cup water
1/2 cup almond milk, or milk of choice

1. In a small saucepan, heat all ingredients except for the almond milk until thickened.
2. Add almond milk, then bring back to a boil and let thicken again.
3. let cool slightly before enjoying!

Serves one

~Danielle

Dark Chocolate Baked Oatmeal

I've been having a baked oatmeal craze lately. It never used to appeal to me until out of the blue, I decided to give it a try.... and the rest is history!

Oatmeal is a crazy thing. It's so healthy, but so delicious. That is, if you make it the right way; and this, my friends, is the right way. Brownie-like on the outside, fudgey in the middle, it doesn't get better than this. 

Remember my chocolate pudding oatmeal? If you tried it, then you know it's delicious. Well this is the baked version, which is also delish.

So go ahead, give it a whirl. You won't be disappointed.

Dark Chocolate Baked Oatmeal

1/2 cup old fashioned oats

1/4 tsp. Baking powder

1 1/2 tbsp. Cocoa powder

1 small ripe banana, mashed

1/3 cup almond milk, or milk of choice

1) Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. And grease a single- serving ramkin.

2) Combine first three ingredients.

3) Stir in first the banana, then the milk.

4) Bake until no longer liquidy in the center, or about 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy!

-Danielle

Creamy Chocolate Peanut Butter

Remember my last recipe for peanut butter? Well here's another!

Peanut butter is seriously my favorite food. Now over the course of this blog, I am sure I'll frequently state otherwise, saying, "mango is my favorite food", or "chocolate is my favorite food", but the truth is, I have many favorite foods, but it just so happens that peanut butter is at the top of the totem pole. In fact, this blog might have been titled "Chits and Chats and Peanut Butter", if Chocolate didn't sound better.

But, chocolate is another of my favorite foods, and it's just so wonderful that two of my favorite foods happen to be such a brilliant pair.

And now, you too can have your fill of peanutty-chocolatey goodness without the chemicals and sugar in Reese's peanut butter cups, or store-bought chocolate peanut butter!

Creamy Chocolate Peanut Butter

Makes about 1 to 1 1/2 cups

2 cups peanut butter

1 tbsp. Coconut oil

3-4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 oz. dark chocolate 

1-2 tbsp. agave syrup (more or less depending on desired sweetness)

Grind peanuts and coconut oil in food processor until it forms a coarse paste. Add remaining ingredients and continue to process until completely smooth. The peanuts will go through phases--

1) coarse crumbs, like sand

2) a thick, coarse paste, like play doh mixed with sand (yum, right?)

3) a giant ball, mostly smooth

4) the ball will melt down into a smooth, luscious dream come true

Refridgerate in an air-tight container ~2 weeks. Use your best judgement.

~~{~@ Danielle

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White Chocolate Cherry Shortbread

Life should not revolve around eating healthy all the time. I constantly have to remind myself of this. Yes, eating whole foods is wise, but once in a while just relax. Indulge. Don't feel guilty. 

And boy, oh boy, I have a perfect indulgence for you all today! Flakey, rich, and buttery, these shortbread cookies are TO DIE FOR. my family is frequently begging my to make them, no joke!

Several years back, I became convince shortbread was disgusting. Dry and bland. But. But. My opinion was based off of those gross girl scout cardboard disks that they call shortbread. Don't get me wrong, girl scouts know how to make a dang good cookie (hello, Thin Mints), but they could use a lesson or two on shortbread. Just sayin'.

These cookie would be marvelous with macadamia nuts, but alas, we have tree nut allergies in our house, not to mention they're sooo expensive!

Anyway, last summer, for some reason, I went on a shortbread-making marathon, developing variation upon variation:

Triple chocolate

Chocolate peanut butter

Lemon poppy seed

Oatmeal raisin

Cinnamon spice

Orange cranberry

And so on.

And of all these, our favorite was this one. (With cinnamon spice in second place). 

I just love foods that are blank pages; onces that can be experimented with in countless flavors, such as oatmeal, rice noodles, and shortbread.

And so (at last) here is the magical combination:

(Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens)

White Chocolate Cherry Shortbread

1 cup flour

3 Tbsp. Sugar

1/2 cup butter (one stick)

1/2 cup white chocolate chunks or chips, or chop up a bar into chunks

1/2 cup dried cherries

1) Two hours ahead: stick butter in the fridge.

2) Two hours later: preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit

3) In a small bowl, soak cherries in warm water for abot ten minutes until slightly bloated and soft. Drain water and lightly pat cherries dry with paper towel.

4) In a medium bowl, combine flour and sugar.

5) Using a cheese grater, shred frozen butter over flour mixture quickly, before it melts. While shredding, you may want to toss the freshly grated butter with the flour-sugar every few seconds to keep the butter from sticking to itself.

6) Using clean hands, knead the crumbly mixtur together until it forms a ball. Then knead in chocolate and cherries.

7) Spread about 1/2 inch thick onto a lightly greased pan (I used a stoneware shortbread pan) and prick the dough with a fork or toothpick multiple times.  Bake about 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

8) Let sit after removing from oven for about 20 minutes before removing from pan and cutting into wedges or squares. I always get 9 fairly large squares.

Danielle

Salted Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Soft Serve

Wow that title sure is a mouthful! Think of it as a warning about how you'll want to get as many mouthfuls of this bliss as possible.

The flavors and textures of this are mind-blowing. It's like a giant mouth party. And good news: eat your heart out; this concoction is guilt-free! On the contrary to "normal ice cream", this is loaded with fiber, vitamins, and protein.

The caramel extract is not really health food, so omit if you'd prefer, bit there's such a small amount in this and it add such fantastic flavor without all the sugars that I figure it is worth it.

Salted Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Soft Serve
Makes 1 giant serving, 2 standard servings

2 Bananas, cut into chunks and frozen solid
2-3 Tbsp almond milk
1-2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1-2 Tbsp peanut butter
1/2 tsp caramel extract
1 handful pretzels, lightly crushed

1) Remove bananas from freezer and place in bed of frood processor. Process until very small crumbs.
2) Add almond milk, cocoa powder, peanut bitter, and caramel extract. Process again until a smooth soft serve has formed.
3) Add pretzel bits and whirl them into the mixture until evenly distributed
4) optional: return soft serve to freezer for 30 minutes to an hour to solidify a bit more, for more of an ice cream experience, and less of a soft serve one.

~~{~@  Danielle

Triple Thick Mocha Milkshake

Remember my healthy chocolate softserve? Well this magical mixture is an extension of that goodness. Milkshakes should aways be two things: extra large and extra thick. Yep, this one sure sets the bar high, as it also is chocolatey and healthy, two sets of mega bonus  points to the the Triple Thick Mocha Milkshake!

The ingredients are quite tweakable, although I cannot vouch for the results of variations using substitutions. You can't get much better than only 4 ingredients, now can you?

Frozen bananas

almond milk (more bonus points for homemade!)

Cocoa powder

Coffee extract, or substitute 1 tsp. Instant coffee granules

As the queen of crazy extracts, it would be rude to expect all my readers to keep up with my collection, so I will try to offer substitures as much as possible! Any way, whether you're using extract or granules, you are in for a treat!

Triple Thick Mocha Milkshake      makes: 2 small; 1 large

2 bananas cut into chunks and frozen until hard

3/4 cup milk of choice (I used almond)

2 Tbsp. cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. coffee extract (or sub. 1 tsp. Instant coffee granules)

Place frozen bananas and milk and extract.into a blender. Pulse until almost completely smooth. Add cocoa powder, and blend until the bananas have no remaining chunks and the cocoa powder is completey mixed in. Enjoy immediately or stick in freezer for up to a half hour.

~~{~@ Danielle

Chocolate Pudding Oatmeal

Chocolate pudding oatmeal. Mmmmm. This deliciousness is so creamy, chocolatey and rich, no one could guess that it's secretly a gathering of super foods. I mean really;

Oats

Almond milk

Cocoa powder

Banana

Who'd think that these simple ingredients could make such a mouth-watering quartet? The oats add texture, almond milk provides creaminess, cocoa powder brings flavor to the table, and the banana not only supplies the richness, but it also adds bulk.

As for nutrition, the oats and bananas both bear good-for-you fiber. The almond milk contains the protein. Studies show that cocoa can help promote a healthy heart. Bananas once again play two roles, as they also provide lots of vitamins and minerals.

Yay! Let's dig in!

Chocolate Pudding Oatmeal

1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats

1 ripe banana

1-2 Tbsp. cocoa powder (depending on how strong one  likes it)

1 cup water

1/2 cup almond milk

1) Cut the banana into circles before mashing it very well with a fork, until no large chunks are left.

2) Place the mashed banana, oats, and cocoa powder in a small saucepan and stir well.

3) Add the water and place pan over low-medium heat and stir constantly until the mixture begins to boil 

4) Add milk and continue to stir until the 'sauce' thickens, although the mixture still looks pretty wet.

5) Cover the saucepan and turn off the heat, leaving the pan on the stove*. Let sit for 10-20 minutes, or until its thickened a bit more.

6) Enjoy!

*Do not leave on burner if using electric stove.

I seriously have this at least 4 times a week. Its so good!

Hope you like it as much as I do!

~~{~@ Danielle

Healthy Chocolate Soft Serve

Hey All,
If you're on Pinterest, follow health blogs, or read health magazines, you've surely heard about coconut cream vegan ice cream, cashew cream ice cream, and banana soft serve. Well personally, I'm not a huge fan of cashew cream. (I can never get ot smooth enough!) Coconut cream isn't something in my pantry. Factory-canned food scares me a bit too much.

But bananas? Fresh, healthy, and loaded with vitamins and fiber, these super foods make the best three ingredient chocolate ice cream ever. Smooth and creamy and chocolatey and addictive, this recipe only takes about 5 minutes (plus freezing time) to make. Now, theres no excuse to buy store bought ice cream because:
1) This is made faster than going to the store.
2) Banana soft serve is a million times healthier than store-bought
3) No, this does NOT taste healthy

Chocolate Banana Soft Serve
Makes 1 huge serving

2 ripe medium bananas, cut up, then frozen
2-3 Tbsp. Unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup milk

Remove bananas from freezer and break up any chunks frozen together. Blend with the milk and cocoa powder until smooth. Eat immediately, or freeze until harder for a less soft-serve-y experience.~~{~@  Danielle