Blueberry Muffins

I love to buy blueberries in bulk during the Summer so I can benefit from this wonderful fruit which is full of antioxidants.

I needed to make sure I used them up before they got old and soft. Blueberry muffins anyone?

Ingredients:

2 cups of GlutenFree All Purpose Baking Flour by Bob’s Red Mill

1/2 tsp Sea Salt

2 tsps Baking Powder

1/2 cup Raw Honey

1/3 cup melted Coconut Oil

1 egg

1/3 cup Rice Milk

2 cups fresh Blueberries

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

Instructions:

Step 1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin cups with coconut oil spray (or melted coconut oil).

Step 2) In a medium sized bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking powder, honey, coconut oil, egg and rice milk. Once batter is mixed well, stir in fresh blueberries.

Step 3) Scoop batter evenly into each of the muffin cups.

Step 4) Combine the cinnamon and nutmeg together. Sprinkle over each of the muffin cups.

Step 5) Bake muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, or until done. You can see if the muffins are done by inserting a toothpick into the muffin; if it’s clean (no batter on it), the muffins are done. You might have blueberry get on the toothpick – If so, use another toothpick and insert it somewhere else on the muffin to check if it’s cooked through.

Notes:

I was thinking of naming these muffins “Blueberry Muffins for the Blueberry Lover”! haha

They are very sweet (for me, anyways) since they are loaded with fresh blueberries and I used raw honey in the batter, instead of a processed sugar. If you would like added sweetness, I suggest that you drizzle some melted creamed honey on top of the muffin. My husband tried this and loved it!

These blueberry muffins are delicious, moist, easy to make, gluten and lactose free!

This batch makes 6 large muffins. Not enough if you ask me…! ;)

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Tags: blueberries, blueberry muffins, Recipe

Gluten-Free Flour Blends

Did you know that you can follow any recipe and make it gluten-free, if you choose to go that route? When following your recipe of choice, sometimes a simple one-for-one substitute doesn’t always work. Sometimes, it does. Here’s some flour blends that you can make yourself to use as a simple flour replacement.

Blend #1 – Use in recipes that don’t require yeast

1 cup Brown Rice Flour

1 cup Tapioca Flour

1 cup Corn Starch

1 cup Almond Flour

1 cup Sorghum Flour

Blend #2 - Use in recipes that don’t require yeast

1 cup Brown Rice Flour

1 cup Coconut Flour

Blend #3 – Use in Recipes that require yeast

1 cup Brown Rice Flour

1 cup Tapioca Flour

1 cup Corn Starch

1 cup Sorghum Flour

1/2 cup Millet Flour or Chickpea Flour

Instructions

With each gluten-free flour blend, just mix the different flours together very well and store in an airtight container. I suggest keeping it in the refrigerator so that it will last longer.

Now you know how to make any recipe “gluten-free”!

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Tags: Flour, gluten free, Recipe

Coconut Macaroons with Raw Honey

I love Coconut Macaroons, and I love them even more when they are healthy! These little cookies are easy to make and taste delicious – without any processed sugar! You can eat these macaroons without the guilt!

Ingredients:

7 Egg Whites

3/4 cup Raw Honey

1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt

4 1/2 cups Unsweetened Coconut Flakes (measure after you blend the coconut flakes together – see Step 1 for instruction.)

Instructions:

Step 1) Blend the large coconut flakes together to make them into small pieces. Don’t over blend them to become powder, you just want to blend them well enough so the coconut flakes won’t be too big in the cookies. Set aside.

Step 2) Beat egg whites until stiff peaks start to form.

Step 3) Slowly add in raw honey as you continue to beat the egg whites. Keep moving the bowl to make sure that the honey gets mixed in very well.

Step 4) Take the blended coconut flakes and fold gently into the egg whites mixture.

Step 5) Put batter in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes. This will allow for the batter to thicken up, making it easier

Step 6) Preheat the oven to 250 degrees and grease cookie sheet with a little bit of coconut oil to prevent sticking.

Step 7) Spoon the batter in small spoonfuls onto the cookie sheet and back in the over for about 45 minutes, or until the macaroons are slightly browned. Let macaroons cool for about 5 minutes before you remove them from the cookie sheet.

Notes:

Make sure you remember to put the batter in the fridge, otherwise you will have difficult batter to work with and they will turn out to be flat macaroons. They will still taste good, but they just don’t look the same.

These are healthy macaroons, but they are still high in calories since coconut is naturally a high calorie food. My point? Eat in moderation, just like anything else.

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Tags: coconut macaroons, Dessert, gluten free, healthy recipe, Recipe, sugar free

What is Gluten Free?

Whether you have an intolerance to gluten or just choose not to eat it, you have come to the right place!

Gluten Free Labeling

Gluten is a protein that is found in wheat, spelt, barley, rye, and kamut. In order for a product in the United States to be labeled as “Gluten Free”, it must have less than 20 ppm of gluten. This means that a “Gluten Free” product still might have some gluten in it.

Benefits of a Gluten Free Diet

Some have a choice to eat gluten products or not, while others have Celiac Disease and just simply can’t tolerate gluten.

If you experience symptoms such as headaches, aching joints, bloating, gas, fatigue, poor concentration, and emotional irritability, after you eat gluten, you may have a gluten intolerance.

If you suspect that you have a gluten intolerance, you might want to omit gluten from your diet for a week or two, and see if there is any relief to your symptoms. You can also get a blood test done to see if you have Celiac Disease.

Gluten Free Alternatives

There are plenty of healthy alternatives for gluten. If you haven’t already figured it out, just because something is labeled as “Gluten-Free”, it doesn’t mean that it is healthy for you. It just means that the product doesn’t have gluten in it. You will find plenty of gluten free products out there, from gluten free cookies to gluten free cakes. If you are switching to a gluten free diet (aka “life style”), then make sure you eat the healthy gluten free products.

Here is a list of gluten free products that are either eaten as a whole grain or as a flour.

• Amaranth, grain and flour

• Arrowroot, grain and flour

• Brown Rice, grain and flour

• Buckwheat, grain and flour

• Chestnut, flour

• Coconut, flour

• Corn, grain and flour

• Garbanzo, flour

• Maize, flour

• Millet, grain and flour

• Potato, flour

• Quinoa, grain and flour

• Sorghum, flour

• Tapioca, flour

• Teff, flour

Baking with Gluten Free Flours

When I follow a recipe, I just use my gluten free flour of choice as a replacement. If the recipe calls for 3 cups of all-purpose flour, I might use 2 cups of brown rice flour and 1 cup of coconut flour. In most cases, a simple swap of ingredients will work.

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Tags: gluten free

Easy Rice Pudding

Ingredients:

•1 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice

•1 1/2 cups rice milk

•1/2 cup to 1 cup of creamed honey

•1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions:

Step 1) Cook the rice as normal.

Step 2) In a pot on the stove at medium heat, combine the cooked rice, rice milk, creamed honey, and 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon. Stir until creamed honey is melted completely.

Step 3) Pour Rice Pudding into 4 bowls, and add the rest of the cinnamon on the top of each bowl as a garnish.

Notes:

Do you need an easy recipe that tastes delicious? This Rice Pudding recipe is very easy to make (even my husband can make this on his own!), and it’s healthy for you too. Oh yeah, you would never know that it’s gluten free and lactose free…because it tastes that good! ; )

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Tags: easy recipe, healthy recipe, Recipe, Rice Pudding