GFCFEF Rice Pudding

5 cups cooked white rice

4 cups rice milk

1 cup Wholesome Sweetners evaporated cane sugar

2 Tbsp Vanilla Extract

3 Tbsp Earth Balance Spread (we used soy-free)

1/2 cup raisins

1 Tbsp cinnamon

Add all ingredients to heavy saucepan, place over medium heat and mix well.

Continue mixing every minute or so as mixture begins to heat and ingredients meld together.

Continue to cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes or until the mixture takes on a thick, pudding like consistency. I think this is best when warm, you will need to allow it to cool for about 20 minutes after cooking before serving. It can also be stored in a sealed container in the fridge and enjoyed cold or reheated.

Adapted from Looks Good in Polka Dots

Chocolate Brownie in a Mug

I get a lot of good recipes on Pinterest, most of which are very healthy.  Tonight, I printed one for a chickpea and kale dish.  Nick was going to make it, but he got a little bit distracted.  He was preheating the oven, when Jay yelled that the oven was on fire!  The element was actually arcing, sending this crazy bright light throughout the oven.  Nick immediately turned it off, but the arcing continued, so he ran downstairs and turned off the breaker.

Now ovenless, we opted for Plan B, which was chips, salsa, guacamole, and other Mexican fixings.

Later, I got a pretty serious chocolate craving.  I was thinking about these decadent chocolate coconut bars I'd spotted on Pinterest, but remembered that the oven was history.  I then recalled the following recipe, which I'd pinned for a chocolate emergency such as this.  I know that we have some so-called different foods in our house, but we actually had all of the ingredients on hand.  I'm not crazy about microwaved foods, but this served its purpose.  It was quick, quite tasty, fit my allergy/dietary restrictions, was relatively healthy as junk food goes, and it cured my chocolate craving!


Chocolate Brownie in a Mug

Serves 1

5 Tbsp unsweetened coconut milk
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
15 drops liquid chocolate stevia
2 Tbsp coconut sugar
2 Tbsp sweet rice flour
1 1/2 Tbsp raw cacao powder
1 Tbsp coconut flour
1/8 tsp gluten-free, aluminum-free baking powder
Pinch sea salt
Enjoy Life Chocolate Chunks




In a microwave-safe bowl, warm coconut milk and coconut oil, just until the oil melts.

Add vanilla, stevia, coconut sugar, sweet rice flour, cacao powder, coconut flour, baking powder, and sea salt.

Whisk until smooth.

Pour batter into a mug; top with chocolate chunks.

Microwave on high for 2 minutes and 15 seconds.

Cool for a few minutes.




Allergy/Special Diet Info:
Casein-Free ~ Citrus-Free ~ Corn-Free ~ Dairy-Free ~ Egg-Free ~ Fish-Free ~ Gluten-Free ~ Nightshade-Free ~ Peanut-Free ~ Potato-Free ~ Shellfish-Free ~ Soy-Free ~ Tree Nut-Free ~ Wheat-Free ~ Sesame-Free ~ Yeast-free ~ GFCF ~ Vegetarian ~ Vegan

Adapted from Lexie's Kitchen

Homemade Hardening Chocolate Sauce for Ice Cream

This was quick, easy, and delicious.  Doesn't get better than that!

Hardening Chocolate Sauce

8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (we used Enjoy Life)
2 Tbsp organic expeller-pressed coconut oil

Heat chocolate chips and coconut oil in the top of a double boiler over medium heat, stirring until completely melted and smooth.  Remove from heat and let stand for five minutes.

Spoon or drizzle over your favorite nondairy (we love Coconut Bliss and So Delicious) or dairy ice cream and wait for a couple of minutes until it hardens. 

If you have any leftovers, keep in the fridge and then gently reheat before using.  There were no leftovers in this house, so I will probably double the recipe next time!

Individual Baked Oatmeal (Muffins)

I got this amazing recipe from Sugar-Free Mom. I made a few small changes, and it was a hit with everyone. These are a cross between baked oatmeal (without the texture that some people don't like) and very moist, delicious muffins. I love that I could add different fruits or toppings to different muffins, so I didn't have to listen to complaints from the kids who can't stand raisins or don't like coconut! Everyone got what they liked!

I made some plain, and some with frozen blueberries, frozen raspberries, raisins, chocolate chips, and coconut/chocolate chips. I just placed the toppings on top of the batter before the muffins went in the oven, or, in the case of the frozen blueberries, I pushed a few down into the batter and then placed several on top.

I read that some people had problems with these sticking, so I did a few different things. I melted a little bit of coconut oil, and, using a pastry brush, lightly coated the insides of our silicone muffin liners. In another pan, I brushed the muffin tins with coconut oil, and didn't use any liners. There was a little bit of leftover batter, so I took a mini-muffin tin and coated a few of them with organic shortening.

The result was that the oatmeal slid effortlessly out of the silicone liners. With the other two pans, the muffins stuck while they were still warm. So, I cooled them almost completely, gently ran a knife around the edges of each muffin, and then they came right out.

I made 24 regular-sized muffins, and six mini-muffins. The regular muffins baked for 30 minutes, and the mini-muffins for about 15 minutes. I will freeze some of these on a baking sheet and then pop them into zip-lock bags once they're frozen. Sugar-Free Mom suggests taking them out the night before so that they'll be thawed by breakfast time.

This recipe is definitely a keeper!


2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/2 cup raw honey
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp stevia powder
5 cups GF rolled oats
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1 Tbsp GF baking powder
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp sea salt
2 3/4 cups unsweetened coconut milk
Toppings: raisins, chopped apples, blueberries, shredded coconut, chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, whisk together applesauce, banana, raw honey, eggs, vanilla, and stevia.

In a larger bowl, mix rolled oats, flaxseed meal, baking powder, cinnamon, and sea salt.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir well.

Add coconut milk, stirring until mixed evenly. Batter will be runny.

Prepare muffin pans. (See above.)

Add ¼ cup batter to each tin.

Sprinkle muffins with desired toppings: shredded coconut, chocolate chips, blueberries, apples, raisins, or other frozen fruit.

Bake 30 minutes until a toothpick in center comes out clean. Enjoy!

Strawberry Applesauce Muffins

1 c GF Rice Flour Blend
¾ c sorghum flour
¾ tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp sea salt
½ c sucanat
1 ½ tsp Darifree powder
1/2c warm water
1/3 c expeller-pressed coconut oil
½ c strawberry applesauce
2 Tbsp warm water
1 Tbsp expeller-pressed coconut oil
1 tsp baking soda
Powdered sugar, opt.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, mix 2 Tbsp warm water, and 1 Tbsp coconut oil. Stir until coconut oil melts, then stir in baking soda. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, mix flour blend, sorghum flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, cinnamon, sea salt, and sucanat together.

Mix Darifree powder with warm water. Set aside.

Gently melt coconut oil over low heat. Remove from head and add mixed Darifree, applesauce, and baking soda mixture. Mix well.

Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients.

Using a cookie scoop, fill mini-muffin cups. Bake in preheated oven for 12-14 minutes, until done. Roll in powdered sugar, if desired, for a taste similar to donut holes.

Vanilla!

I love using vanilla beans and am always on the lookout for recipes with vanilla that suit our allergies.

I got this one for vanilla pudding from Kari's blog, and adapted it.


GFCF Vanilla Pudding

2 2/3 cups coconut milk, divided
1/2 cup vanilla sugar*
1/4 cup organic cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 vanilla beans, seeds removed
1 large organic free-range egg

Slice down the sides of the vanilla beans and scrape out the seeds. Save the beans.

Combine vanilla sugar, cornstarch, sea salt, and vanilla seeds in the bottom of a medium-sized, heatproof bowl. Gradually whisk in 2/3 cup of the coconut milk, a little at a time; then whisk in the egg. Set aside.

Bring the remaining 2 cups coconut milk and the vanilla beans to a boil in a medium saucepan. Once it is boiling, remove vanilla pods, and very gradually add the coconut milk to the mixture in the bowl, whisking constantly.

Return the mixture to the saucepan, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Once it comes to a simmer, cook one minute longer.

Pour into a bowl. Place a piece of waxed paper on top of pudding to prevent a film from forming. Cover and chill in refrigerator until set, about 2 hours.

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Another vanilla treat we had recently is Hot Vanilla. So good on a cold day...

GFCF Hot Vanilla

1 c coconut milk
2 tsp vanilla sugar*
½ tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix vanilla sugar and cinnamon in a small saucepan.
Add vanilla extract, stirring until dissolved.
Add coconut milk; stir. Heat gently until warm, stirring occasionally.
Pour into a large mug and enjoy!

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*Vanilla Sugar

2 vanilla beans
2 cups organic sugar

Place sugar in a large mason jar.

Slice down the sides of the vanilla beans and scrape out the seeds. Add to the sugar. Add the beans to the sugar. Cover the jar and shake well. Let sit for a couple of weeks, shaking the jar occasionally to mix.

If you don't want to wait for weeks, Kari also shared in this post how to make instant vanilla sugar. I made it and it's wonderful, but I didn't use it in the pudding because I already had vanilla sugar made up. I don't see why it wouldn't work in the pudding recipe, though.

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Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free Chocolate Cake!

We have a little more flexibility when it comes to baking now that E has passed his egg challenge and can eat eggs in dishes baked for at least 30 minutes. I would never, ever tell my kids what's in this recipe! Without that knowledge, it was a hit!

I was reading about the Spunky Coconut's Vanilla Bean Cake (also grain, gluten, sugar, and dairy-free), which Kelly said she created after trying Healthy Indulgences' Healthy Flourless Chocolate Cake, which Lauren said she adapted from a recipe on LowCarbFriends. Phew! Follow all that??

At any rate, I made a few small changes to suit our tastes and allergy needs. I made it in the evening and let it sit overnight. I wish I'd gotten a picture but they dove into it before I could grab the camera! There's a picture on Healthy Indulgences. There's honestly no way, by looking at it, that anyone could tell what's in it!

Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free Chocolate Cake

1 1/2 cups cooked black beans, well drained, at room temperature
5 organic free-range eggs
1 teaspoon chocolate stevia extract
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon Real Salt
6 tablespoons coconut oil

1/2 cup raw honey

1/2 cup cacao powder (cocoa powder could also be used; this is just what I had on hand)
1 teaspoon Grain-free Baking Powder* (Recipe below)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda


Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9" cake pan with Spectrum Organic Shortening. Line the bottom of the pan with unbleached parchment paper, then grease the parchment lightly with the organic shortening.

Place beans, 3 of the eggs, vanilla, stevia, and Real Salt into Vitamix. Blend on high until mixture is completely smooth and creamy.

In mixer, beat coconut oil with honey until light and fluffy. Add remaining two eggs, one at a time, beating for one minute after adding each egg. Pour bean batter into egg mixture and beat until well mixed.

In a small bowl, whisk together cacao powder, baking powder, and baking soda. Add to mixer and beat on high for one minute. Scrape batter into cake pan and smooth the top. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to eliminate any air bubbles.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until cake tests done. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out cake from pan, and flip over again on to a cooling rack. Cool cake until it reaches room temperature, then cover with cake dome. For best flavor, let cake sit for eight hours! Frost with the Spunky Coconut's Chocolate Frosting.


*Grain-free Baking Powder

2 Tbsp cream of tartar
1 Tbsp baking soda
1 Tbsp tapioca or potato starch, optional

Mix all ingredients together and pass through a fine sieve. Store in a tightly-sealed glass jar. Use within four weeks.

Allergy-Friendly Easter Candy

In addition to our natural Easter Eggs, we made allergy-friendly candy: Peanut-free Peanut Butter Cups, Chocolate and Caramel Cups, and Chocolate Crunch Balls.

For the Peanut-free Peanut Butter Cups, we melted a bag of dairy-free chocolate chips in a double boiler with a tablespoon or so of coconut oil. We stirred until it was smooth and glossy. In a small bowl, we mixed Organic Sunbutter, nutritional yeast, rice flour, raw honey, vanilla extract, and sea salt. We didn't measure; we just put maybe a cup of Sunbutter, and started with about a teaspoon of nutritional yeast, a spoonful of rice flour, a squirt of honey, and a tiny bit of vanilla and salt. We just happily tasted it until it tasted right! We used mini muffin pans lined with paper liners. We poured a little bit of melted chocolate to coat the bottom of each liner. We put it in the freezer for a few minutes and then put a bit of Sunbutter mixture in the middle. We covered it with more melted chocolate, and back into the freezer it went. When it was frozen, I peeled off the paper liners, and then stored them in the refrigerator. All of the kids, even the ones who don't love Sunbutter, said that they were amazing!

I'd made these before but had just used plain Sunbutter for the filling. They were so much better this way! I got the idea from Samantha at Color Wheel Meals. She also had a recipe for Chocolate and Caramel Cups, with the caramel made from dates! We tried that, too, but we soaked them in coconut milk, instead of almond milk. Nick added a shot of maple syrup, and I added a little extra vanilla extract and sea salt to them after mixing them up in the Vitamix. I felt like the extra vanilla toned down the date taste a bit. So good!

GracieGirl helped me set up this picture
with the bunnies checking out the chocolate!

I didn't get a picture of the Chocolate Crunch Balls, but all I did was toast some puffed millet in a dry skillet. The truth is that I had to do it twice because I completely burned it the first time! After it was toasted to a nice light brown color, I poured in some of the melted chocolate chips/coconut oil mixture. I stirred it up and dropped it by balls onto a cookie sheet covered with waxed paper. It went into the refrigerator until they were firm, and then I stored them in the fridge.

The kids were happy, and best of all, there weren't any allergic reactions from Easter candy!

Baking Half Birthday Cakes

Tomorrow is GracieGirl's birthday.

Not that there's constant competition going on here or anything, but E has been insisting that it's his birthday.

I realized that he's right; today is E's Half Birthday. He's 3 1/2, although if you ask him, he'll tell you, quite convincingly, that he's 5!

So, he needed to make a cake. He wanted a vanilla cake (in contrast to his sister, who wants all things chocolate!). I found Lisa Lundy's White Cake recipe, and E and I went to work.

He was such a big help!

Okay, that's a lie, but J lectured me a bit this morning about how I'm too hard on E and he doesn't really get in trouble, he's just curious! So, apparently he was just curious yesterday as to how much of my hair he could rip out of my head and how far his teeth could sink into my flesh. Yeah, that's it...

I digress.

E was busy mixing the flours, and he asked me if he could take a bite.

I said no, explaining that it wouldn't taste good.

I turned around and asked him if he'd taken a bite.

He said that he had not.

I'm just not sure I believe him...


We spooned the batter into some little cake molds and the
kids were thrilled at how the little cakes came out.

Not a great picture, but they really are cute! E was happy with them,
and that's all that matters. Happy Half Birthday, E!

P.S. I've mentioned Lisa Lundy's recipes and cookbook before, and I'm going to mention them again because they've been such a lifesaver for us, especially on birthdays and special occasions. I'll be making Lisa's chocolate cake for GracieGirl's birthday tomorrow. Lisa's cookbook, The Super Allergy Girl Cookbook is definitely worth checking out if you need recipes without gluten and the top allergens!

GFCFEFSF Chocolate Cake

That's Gluten-free, Casein-free, Egg-free, Soy-free...in case anyone was wondering!

This is the cake I made for Nate's birthday. I used the recipe from my favorite allergy cookbook, The Super Allergy Girl Cookbook by Lisa Lundy. She has the recipe for Delicious Chocolate Cake posted on her site.

Delicious Chocolate Cake

This makes one great chocolate cake, and it is easy to mix up. This recipe does not work well with some flours like amaranth, sorghum and quinoa. For this recipe I would suggest the rice, tapioca, or potato flours and maybe even the garfava flour.

Preheat oven to 350°.

3 cups gluten-free flours (for example 1½ cups rice flour and 1½ cups tapioca flour)
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2½ teaspoons xanthan gum
¾ cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1¾ cups cold water

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add liquid ingredients and mix well. Pour into a 9” x 13” ungreased baking pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until cake tests done with a toothpick or cake tester or if top bounces back if touched lightly with your finger. This cake freezes well. Promptly freeze any leftovers.


I made a few changes to suit our family:

Delicious Chocolate Cake

Preheat oven to 350°.

3 cups gluten-free flours (I used 1½ c rice flour, 1 c tapioca flour, and 1/2 c potato starch)
2 c sucanat
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp baking soda
½ c unsweetened dark cocoa powder
(Since I had only dark cocoa powder on hand, I also added
1 1/2 tsp baking powder)
2½ tsp xanthan gum
¾ c expeller-pressed coconut oil (I know that Lisa is allergic to coconut, so she would never use this, but it works well for our family.)
2 Tbsp distilled white vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 c cold water

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add liquid ingredients and mix well. Pour into a 9” x 13” ungreased baking pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until cake tests done with a toothpick or cake tester or if top bounces back if touched lightly with your finger. This cake freezes well. Promptly freeze any leftovers.

I frosted half of the cake with Chocolate Frosting and the other half with Cream Cheese Frosting. Both recipes are in Lisa's cookbook. I wanted to note that both of them have soy in them. We're not allergic to soy; we just like to limit it for health reasons.

Honestly, the cake is so moist that it would probably be good without frosting, or maybe just a sprinkling of powdered sugar.

We hadn't had any sugar at all for awhile, and Nick also got some of our favorite Stewart's Root Beer, so we all had quite a sugar rush afterwards!

Ricemellow Crispy Bars

I made these for the kids for Thanksgiving because they can be made gluten and casein-free. They do, however, have soy in them.

I got the recipe from the Ricemellow Creme website. I doubled the recipe and I also melted some extra chocolate chips with a little bit of Spectrum Organic Shortening and then iced the bars with that.

It was a big hit with the kids. :)

Ricemellow Crispy Bars

2 generous cups Suzanne's Ricemellow Creme
1 Tbsp butter substitute
2 cups dairy-free chocolate chips
6 cups gluten-free crispy brown rice cereal

Heat butter or substitute in small saucepan.

Add Ricemellow Creme and stir until smooth.

In a separate bowl, combine cereal and chocolate chips.

Gently mix warm Ricemellow into cereal mixture.

Moisten hands and press into 13 x 9" pan.

Chill until firm.

Cut into squares; store in refrigerator.

GFCF Pineapple Banana Muffins

GFCF Pineapple Banana Muffins

1 1/2 cups GF Rice Flour Blend*
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp RealSalt
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup Sucanat
1/4 cup rice milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
2/3 cup crushed pineapple, drained
2 c well-mashed ripe banana

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together Rice Flour Blend, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, cinnamon, and RealSalt.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together eggs, Sucanat, rice milk, vanilla extract, and coconut oil.

Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated. Gently stir in pineapple and banana.

Grease muffin tins or line with foil (not paper) liners. Fill 2/3 full.

Bake 15-20 minutes for regular-sized muffins or 10-12 minutes for mini-muffins, until toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean.

Remove muffins from tins and cool on wire racks.

*Rice Flour Blend

3 cups brown rice flour (I use Lundberg Farms)
3 cups white rice flour (I buy from our local Asian or Indian grocery store)
2 cups potato starch (not flour)
1 cup tapioca starch

Mix all ingredients together with a large whisk. Store in refrigerator or freezer. Whisk or shake before using.

They Think They're Donuts!

I make pumpkin muffins, bake them in my smallest mini-muffin pans, and then dust them in powdered sugar. My kids actually think that they're donut holes! Of course, it's been awhile since they've had "real" donuts, but I'm just happy that they like these. There's no wheat, gluten, dairy, eggs, or nuts in these, which also makes me happy!

Donut Holes

3 cups Sucanat (I use Wholesome Sweeteners brand)
1 cup oil (I use Wilderness Family Naturals expeller pressed coconut oil, melted)
1 29-oz can pumpkin puree
2/3 cup water
3 1/4 cups Rice Flour Blend (recipe below)
2 tsp sea salt
3 tsp baking soda
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Confectioners' Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare mini muffin pans with oil.

In a large bowl, combine Sucanat, oil, pumpkin puree, and water. Whisk until well mixed.

In a separate medium bowl, combine the flour blend, sea salt, baking soda, baking powder, xanthan gum, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.

Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing well with a wooden spoon.

Fill muffin tins with prepared batter. I use a cookie scoop.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until they test done.

Roll in confectioners' sugar.

Store in an airtight container.

Rice Flour Blend

3 cups brown rice flour
3 cups white rice flour
2 cups potato starch (not flour)
1 cup tapioca starch

Mix together with a large whisk. Store in refrigerator or freezer and use as needed. Whisk or shake before using. Use in baked goods recipes calling for a GF flour blend.

I prefer to buy my rice flours in an Asian or Indian grocery store because the texture is much finer and less gritty than the rice flours I've tried from the health food store.  I just have to be careful to read labels for possible nut cross-contamination.

Monkey Munch, Our Style

Monkey Munch is GracieGirl's favorite special treat! We can't eat the regular stuff, so here's our allergy-safe version:

1 bag Enjoy Life brand chocolate chips
1/4 cup Sunbutter
1/4 cup Earth Balance, soy free
1 tsp vanilla extract (homemade)
1 12.8-oz box Rice Crunch-Ems
Glutino Pretzels, opt (can no longer use because of E's sesame allergy)
2 cups Wholesome Sweeteners organic confectioners' sugar

Melt chocolate chips, Sunbutter, Earth Balance, and vanilla extract in a large pot over low heat. Stir until chips melt. Remove from heat; stir in cereal and pretzels, if using. Let cool.

Place confectioners' sugar in a large bowl. Add cereal mixture and mix gently.

We store it in the freezer because otherwise, certain little people tend to take it without asking. Check out the guilty look below. I don't know how I figured out that she'd been eating it! :)