chocolate chip almond butter bars

This is basically my brownie recipe minus the cocoa powder. I have been using this for "special occasion" treats and my family loves them. They are grain and dairy free and they could be a GAPS friendly snack if honey is used instead of maple syrup and if you leave out the chocolate.

1 jar of creamy, roasted, and salted almond butter(peanut butter could be used instead)
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup of maple syrup(honey or any liquid sweetener could be substituted)
2 tsp vanilla
1 bag dark chocolate chips
Put all ingredients in a large bowl except for the chips.
Mix w/ a hand mixer until smooth.
Fold chips into batter.
Scrape batter into a 13x9 baking dish.
Bake at 325 degrees for 30-40 minutes(I like my softer so I let them go for 30 minutes)

grain free granola bars

This is a great snack for kids(and anyone). Its high in fat and will keep them satisfied for a while.

2 1/4 cups of nuts(I like macademia and walnuts)
2 1/4 cups of sunflower and pumpkin seeds(You could use just 1 type or both in any ratio that
adds up to 2 1/4 cups)
1 cup of shredded coconut
1/4 cup melted coconut oil or butter(I use coconut oil esp. in winter because its a great immune
supporter)
1/3-1/2 cup of honey or maple syrup
1 cup dried fruit(optional)
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
-in a food processor, grind 1 1/4 cups of nuts, 1 cup of the seeds, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla-
do not over process or you will have nut butter-
-in a large mixing bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients w/ your ground nut and seed
mixture
-add the melted oil and the sweetener-mix well
-in a greased large baking dish, pour mixture and spread evenly
-bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until browned
-remove from oven and cool for about 20 minutes
-cut into bars in baking pan and let them completely cool before removing
ENJOY!!!
-

choocolate chocolate chip cookies

These are well, chocolatey!(is that even a word??)
-preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet w/ parchment paper
2.5 cups of almond flour(trader joes almond meal is what I use)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup melted fat(butter or coconut oil or mixture of both)
1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon(optional- cinnamon brings out the chocolate flavor)
1/2 cup chocolate chips(I use grain sweetened ones-rice syrup)
-combine dry ingredients in medium bowl
-pour the melted fat into dry bowl along w/ sweetener and vanilla
-mix until combined
-chill for at least 10 minutes
-stir in choc. chips
-make tsp. sized balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheet(about 16)
-space them evenly and flatten into a cookie shape
-bake in a 350 degree oven for 7-9 minutes(the longer you cook them the
more crisp they will be)
-cool on a cooling rack

stuffed dates

Simple, simple, simple!! This is a great snack.
dried dated
nuts(any kind you have) coarsely chopped
shredded coconut
seeds(pumpkin or sunflower or both)
-for 4 dates you will need about 1 tsp coconut, 1 tsp nuts, and 1 tsp seeds
-make a lengthwise slit in the dates and remove the pit
-place a little less then a tsp of mixture(coconut, nuts and seed) into the date
-close date around the filling and form into a log or a ball
This is not a complex recipe. In fact I use really whatever I have and I am in the mood for. If I have lots of seeds I my use only seeds and coconut. Maybe I do not feel like coconut- so I leave it out. I have put almond butter in the dates and rolled them in shredded coconut.
-This really is a reminder to be creative and do not forget about the simple recipes!!

chocolate biscotti

I got this idea from elenaspantry.com. She has a great gluten free recipe cite. Of course I changed the recipe just a bit and I know you will like them.
2 1/4 cups almond flour
2 tbsp arrowroot powder
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon(enhances the chocolate flavor)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup liquid sweetener(agave, maple syrup, or honey)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips

-pulse all of the ingredients in a food processor except for the chips and the sweetener
-pulse in sweetener until dough forms a ball
-remove dough and work the chips in by hand
-divide the dough into 2 equal balls
-form 2 logs on a parchment lined baking sheet(logs are roughly 2"x 10" and 1" high)
-bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes
-remove from oven and cool for 1 hour
-cut logs into 1/2" pieces, on the diagonal and place bake on baking sheet
-bake for 15 more minutes at 300 degrees
-cool and enjoy w/ coffee or milk.

raw chocolate brownies

These are really great!! You can spread on a dish or a pyrex glass container or you can roll them into truffles.
1.5 cups raw walnuts
2/3 cup raw cocoa or unsweetened cocoa powder
12 dates soaked in warm water until soft
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp raw honey or more to taste
water if needed to thin batter a little
In a food processor, blend walnuts until very finely chopped. Add dates, vanilla, coconut, cocoa, and honey. Pulse until a fairly smooth mixture forms. If batter is too thick, then add water by the teaspoon until all is mixed well. Enjoy as truffles or as brownies.
-truffles: using a tsp., make balls and refrigerate to harden. You can roll in finely chopped nuts, coconut or cocoa. You also can eat as is!!!
-brownies: spread mixture on a parchment lined plate or pyrex container. Refrigerate until cold and hardened a bit. Remove the parchment paper and cut brownies into any shape you like.

popsicles

I am sure by now you all now that I do not give my kids packaged foods. Maybe on occasion, I will give them a store bough coconut milk ice cream sweetened w/ agave syrup, but 99% of the time their treats come right from my kitchen made by mama!! I strive to give them and my husband and myself, as much raw food as possible. So treats are usually raw cookies, raw dairy smoothie, fruit, grain free baked goods(I use almond flour or coconut flour) and stevia or raw honey are the only sweeteners I use.
When the nice weather comes around, I start making popsicles. I found some molds that are BPA free(safer plastic) You can buy them on amazon.com. Tovolo popsicle molds.
You can put just about anything in them. My basic recipe goes like this:
-kefir or yogurt
-blueberries
fill mold 1/2 way w/ blueberries
add in yogurt or kefir
pop top on and freeze
You can do this w/ any type of fruit you like.
I also will blend up a smoothie and fill the molds w/ the mixture.
-raw cream
-raw egg yolk
-kefir, yogurt, or coconut milk
-fruit
-sometimes stevia
-vanilla extract
I always have this on hand during the nice weather months. When the neighborhood friends are getting the ice cream mans ice cream(if you can even call it that) my kids get their ice pops.

coconut flour bread

This is the basic recipe for the coconut flour bread. You can turn this recipe into so many other creations. Leave out the honey if you are sugar free
6 eggs
1/2 cup butter, coconut oil, or ghee-melted
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS honey
3/4 cup coconut flour
Beat the eggs and add the dry ingredients. Add the melted butter and honey(if using raw honey
you will need to melt it w/ the fat-its very thick and sometimes hard) and mix well-pour in a loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
This is a basic recipe. You can go sweet w/ the toppings or savory.
** delicious toasted, w/ butter and raw honey or all fruit spread
** cream cheese and tomatoes
**dry in a 150-200 degree oven- and use as a cracker
**use as a base for pizza

nut butter brownies

These are truly delish!! I got the idea from elanaspantry.com and changed it a little to make it my own.
1 jar smooth and roasted nut butter(I used almond butter but you could use peanut butter)
3 eggs(room temperature)
1 1/4 cups of honey
1 tbsp vanilla
1/2 cup of unsweetened coco powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
opptional-1 bar of dark chocolate chopped or broken into chunks
In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs until pale yellow.Now add jar of nut butter and blend until smooth. Add the honey and vanilla, blend. Last blend in the coco, BS, and salt.(fold in the chocolate if using)
Bake in a 9 x 13 pyrex dish at 325 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

almond flour bluberry muffins

2 cups almond flour
1/4 cup coconut oil, ghee, or butter
3 eggs
1/4 cup of milk, cream, kefir, yogurt, buttermilk or coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup blueberries(frozen is fine)
6 tbsp honey
Melt fat and put aside. Mix salt w/ almond flour. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add the vanilla. Mix the egg mixture into the flour and blend together. Now add the fat and mix well. Then fold in the berries.
I use a silicone muffin mold- I fill each mold 3/4 full w/ batter. I bake at 350 for 25 minutes. I do check after 20 min. w/ a toothpick. Insert the toothpick and gently pull out. If there is bater on the pick cook another 5 minutes.
This recipe makes about 10 muffins.
Serve as is or w/ butter!!!

almond flour bread

This is a GAPS(gut and psychology syndrome-by Dr. Natasha McBride-Campell)recipe. I have made many different things using the basic recipe.
2 cups almond flour(also called almond meal)
2 eggs
1/4 cup fat(butter, ghee, or coconut oil)
1/2 tsp sea salt
Combine all ingredients and put into a pyrex dish(greased) or a silicone cake mold(this is what I use-an 8 inch one--no need to grease)Bake at 300 degrees F for 50-60 minutes. We like butter and blueberry jam on it.

strawberry soft serve ice cream

This is a delicious fast ice cream that doesn't require an ice cream maker.
1 bag frozen strawberries
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt
1 tbsp honey or maple syrup(if you like it real sweet, add more)
heavy cream, coconut milk, yogurt or kefir
2 raw egg yolks(optional)
In the bowl of the food processor(FP): add the berries, vanilla, salt, and sweetener: pulse to chop strawberries into small pieces. Now add egg yolks and while FP is going, slowly stream in the cream or whatever liquid you choose. Stop when the mixture is thick, like soft serve ice cream. You can serve now or put it in th freezer for 15-20 minutes(until ready to serve)
*I have made it w/ coconut milk and frozen bananas-AWSOME!!!(add 2 tbsp
unsweetened cocoa-WOW!!)
*yogurt and kefir go nice w/ blueberries
*cream goes nice w/ , raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, mango, bananas, blackberries

blender pancakes

These are great! They taste like regular pancakes(not whole grain) I learned the technique from Sue Greggs recipe.
1 cup of whole grains(I use 1/2 cup of brown rice and 1/2 cup of rolled oats or steel cut oats)I have also used 1/2 brown rice and 1/2 buckwheat. you can use any grain you have or like.
1 cup of plain yogurt or kefir
*put the yogurt or kefir in a blender, then put the grains and blend for about 2 minutes. You want the mixture to be almost smooth. Let this mixture sit overnight.
*in the morning, before breakfast, add the rest of the ingredients.
1 egg
1 tbsp melted coconut oil or butter
1 tsp baking soda(I leave this out for a very thin, crepe type of pancake)
1/2 tsp vanilla(optional)
1/2 tsp cinnamon(optional)
*blend again for a minute or so. Now make the pancakes!!
*****very easy- whole grain- nutrient dense- yummy*****
Add ins:
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1/2 cup frozen or fresh blueberries
1 banana and1/2 cup walnuts-folded in w/ a spoon
and anything else that you can think of

grain free "cereal"

This is a great "cereal" that I make and keep in my fridge for a quick breakfast or snack.
Its made w/ shredded, dried coconut, soaked and dehydrated nuts and seeds, dried fruits and cinnamon.
1/2 cup each: pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds
1/2 cup each:macademia nuts,brazil nuts and almonds(you can use any combo of nuts that you like)
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup dried fruit(I use prunes, apricots, figs and raisins)
1-2 tsp cinnamon
Either coarsely chop the nuts, seeds, and fruit w/ a knife or in batches, chop the seeds, then the nuts, then the fruit in the food processor. Use the pulse on the processor so you can control the size of the ingredients.
Put all the chopped ingredients into a glass storage container and mix in the cinnamon. Store in the frigde and serve w/ yogurt, kefir, milk or just eat it plain. You could add sweetener if you wanted, too.

raw nut cookies

This is a FAVORITE in my house!
1.5 cups of raw, soaked and dehydrated nuts(I like a combo a macademia, brazil and cashews
1.5 cups of shredded coconut
1.5 cups of dried fruits(I like apricots and prunes--raisins are good too)
1 tsp of vanilla extract
a pinch of sea salt
Place nuts in food processor and chop until fine. Add the rest of the ingredients an process until a ball forms. Transfer mixture to a plate and start making balls. I use a measuring spoon so all the cookies are the same size. With your hand or the bottom of a glass, flatten cookies and dehydrate at 95 degrees for 8 hours.
* if you do not have a dehydrator just place cookies in fridge on a plate in a single layer and cover
leaving the cookies in the ball shape is great too. You can call them truffles!
A note about the kind of cook that I am: I have lots of recipe books and I look for recipes on the net but I do not think I ever followed a recipe exactly as is. I am an emotional cook and an artist at heart so things never are the same in my house. Any of my recipes can, for the most part, be translated into whatever works for you and yours!

frozen organic berries

I always have bags of these on hand. They are great in my coconut flour muffins, smoothies, pancakes, and in a bowl w/ some yogurt or kefir and a little cream too. But what they are really best for is a teething baby(over 1 and w/ a few teeth) They were loved by my boys and really soothing on their swollen gums.
* I do want to say that I gave them to my boys at maybe 7 months in one of those mesh food bags sold at the baby stores. They look like a rattle sort of and you can put all different foods in them. I used then mostly for my teething babies w/ frozen fruits put in.

the kids favorite smoothie

1 cup kefir
1 raw egg yolk
1/4 cup of raw cream(if I do not have any I use more kefir)
handful of frozen berries
1 tsp of powdered greens
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 drops of stevia or 1 tsp raw honey
Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth!!!

1-2-3 ice cream

This is when I want a quick creamy treat and when I want to get some more raw cream and egg yolks into the family!
1/2 cup raw cream(or pasteurized organic cream-never ultra pasteurized
2 raw egg yolks from pasture raised chickens(or organic free roaming eggs)
1/2-1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp or more raw honey, maple syrup, or if you like stevia
Whip the cream until almost stiff. Add the egg yolks, vanilla, and sweetener and whip until smooth(about 1 minute) Put the ice cream in a shallow bowl and put in the freezer for about 1/2 hour. Now enjoy!!!
You could eat it w/out putting in the freezer. Its more like a custard this way and still very delish!!
This is 1 serving size. Just multiply for extra servings.

coconut cake

1.5 cups of whole wheat flour or sprouted wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup of raw sugar(or Lakanto)
3 x large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
preheat oven to350F
sift dry ingredients together.In another bowl, cream sugar, eggs, and vanilla then add coconut milk. Pour liquid into dry ingredients and mix together. Stir in the melted coconut oil and pour into a loaf
pan(silicone or greased tin)bake for 50 minutes.

blueberry coconut flour muffins

6 eggs
4 tbsp melted fat(butter or coconut oil)
4 tbsp milk(coconut milk, yogurt, kefir or any other milk)
6 tbsp honey, maple syrup, or agave syrup
1tsp vanilla
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 to 3/4 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries
Sift together dry ingredients into bowl. In another bowl combine honey, eggs, milk and vanilla. Stir the wet into the dry and stir in fat. Fold in the berries.
Preheat oven to 400F
Use a 12 cup silicone muffin tray or line a 12 cup muffin tin w/ paper liners.
Fill trays 3/4 full w/ batter and bake for 17-20 minutes
serve w/ butter or just eat plain!