Tag Archives: gluten-free

Nutty Pizza Crust (grain-free)

Pesach, recipes,

In our family everyone enjoys pizza; for the last few months we’ve been serving two versions on pizza night to accomodate those who prefer grain-free/GAPS.   This crust has a nice flavor – and though it doesn’t taste like your typical pizza dough, it’s very tasty.

I made some very slight adaptations to the recipes of Sierra and SOG , and this is what we use now when we want a gluten-free pizza crust.

Nutty Pizza Crust

  • 2 c. nut flour (I prefer hazelnut, but have used almond meal successfully)
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 t. coconut oil (I use expeller pressed)
  • 1 t. salt

Melt the coconut oil, let cool slightly.  Beat the eggs, add in the coconut oil and salt. (You don’t want it to be boiling hot or it will curdle the eggs; if you don’t melt it, it’s hard to mix in evenly.)  Then stir in the nut flour; mix thoroughly.

Form it into a ball, and then pat it out on a greased pan or cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for about twenty minutes until browned.  Then add the toppings – sauce, vegetables, and cheese.  Bake another 10 – 15 minutes until it looks ready.

Enjoy!

(This post is part of Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.)

Avivah

Too Good to be Healthy Peanut Butter Cups

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The inspiration for these incredibly yummy and good for you treats came from the plastic tray that the all natural falafel patties I bought came in.  I rarely buy processed foods, even natural processed foods, so these trays were an unusual bonus!  The tray had eight round molded spaces where each patty was and looked so nice that I started thinking about what I could use them for.  A couple of days later I had this burst of inspiration!  The final result tasted decadent and looked beautiful, since the molding on the bottom gave it the look of fancy chocolates (I served mine upside down so that the molding was on top).  They looked so good I was tempted to take a picture to show you, but of course I didn’t because that would have meant figuring out how to post them. 🙄

If you don’t have any creative molds that you rescued from recycling :), don’t despair!  You can use a pan or other flat container and cut them into bars, or you can pour them into metallic mini muffin cups.  They’ll taste good either way.

Too Good to Be Healthy Peanut Butter Cups

Chocolate layer: (some of you will recognize this as my healthy chocolate recipe)

  • 1/2 c. cocoa powder
  • 1/4 c. coconut oil
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • 1/8 – 1/4 c. honey

Melt the coconut oil and stir the other ingredients in; mix until smooth.  Pour the chocolate into the bottom of the pan or fill the molds with a thin layer, leaving half of the chocolate for the topping.  Let cool while you prepare the peanut butter filling.  (The chocolate will have the taste of semi sweet dark chocolate, not milk chocolate. I experimented using coconut milk to see if I could make it more similar to milk chocolate, but wasn’t satisfied with the consistency.)

filling:

  • 3/4 c. creamy peanut butter (I use organic, with only sea salt added)
  • 2 T. honey
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • 1/4 c. coconut oil
  • 1/3 c. ground nuts (I used pecan meal)

Melt the coconut oil, stir in honey, vanilla, and then the peanut butter.  When smooth, stir in the ground nuts.  Spread the peanut butter filling on top of the chocolate, whether it’s in a mold or a pan.  Finally, take the remaining chocolate mixture (if it’s started to solidify, heat it gently for a couple of minutes until it’s liquidy and easy to pour) and pour it on top of the peanut butter layer, smoothing it so that the top is even. Refrigerate or freeze.

Healthy chocolates are super expensive, and these are a fraction of the price!  Not only that, they’re packed with healthy fats and are very satisfying; two make a nice dessert that you don’t have to feel guilty about.  And they are so good you can serve them to your junk food loving friends, too!

(This post is part of Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays,  Pennywise Platter Thursdays and Fight Back Fridays.)

Avivah

Mock Larabars (grain free)

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This is delicious enough for a snack and nutritious enough for a quick breakfast!  This is our adaptation of this recipe, which was an adaptation of yet another recipe!   There are endless ways to play around with this basic recipe.

Mock Larabars

  • 2 c. sliced almonds (ideally soaked and dehydrated- can use different nuts according to your tastes), processed finely
  • 1/2 c. shredded coconut
  • 3/4 c. coconut oil
  • 2 t. vanilla
  • 2 T. cocoa
  • 1/2 c. pecan meal (you can use any nut flour)
  • 1/2 c. raisins
  • 1/2 c. dates

Melt the coconut oil, add in vanilla.  Mix all dry ingredients, then whiz in a food processor with the coconut oil.  Add the dried fruit, and whiz again.  (You might find it blends up better if you process the dried fruit alone, then add it in again and the end and process it again.)

Press the mixture firmly into a greased pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 – 15 minutes.

When ds16 first mixed these up, he didn’t process the sliced almonds, which was why he initially thought they were a failure – they didn’t look like they’d hold together.  He added eggs and more nut flour to compensate, but if you do what you’re supposed to in the beginning, you won’t have to.  🙂

Thanks to the dates and cocoa combination, these have a sweet, almost chocolatey flavor.  At least that’s what someone like me who has hardly had any sweeteners in my food for two years thinks!  Seriously, though, my kids all loved these.  The biggest challenge is to wait after eating one to realize you’re satiated before gulping more down – they’re packed with healthy fats and are extremely satisfying.  If you want it to be sweeter, use a cup of dates instead of half a cup of raisins and half a cup of dates, or you can double the amount of dates/dried fruit. Or you could add some honey.  🙂

(This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays.)

Avivah

Pear Crisp – Grain free

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>>Would you be able to share your recipe for grain-free pear crisp, and the pecan pie crust? I’m trying to cut down on flour and grain products as well, and it’s challenging to adapt my favorite recipes to this new way of eating.<<

I can relate to the challenge of adapting to a new way of eating!

The pear crisp was more of a concept that I tried out than a recipe, so I don’t have exact measurements.  It’s the kind of thing that will turn out however you make it, though!  Here’s what I did:

Slice up a bunch of pears, and put them into a greased baking pan.  Pour thick coconut cream (or dairy cream) over the sliced fruit and mix so the pear slices are thoroughly coated.  In a separate bowl, mix coconut oil, ground nuts, shredded unsweetened coconut, and some spices – ground cloves are good with pears.  This will be the topping; sprinkle it on top of the sliced pears.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees until the pears are soft and the topping is crispy.

You can use other fruits for this, also.  The main difference would be in the spices you use.  If I were using apples, for example, then I’d use cinnamon and nutmeg. Summer fruits like peaches, apricots, and plums would also go well with cinnamon.

I made the coconut cream from scratch that I used for this; I’ll share the process sometime in the next couple of weeks.  If you can’t find kosher coconut cream, you can boil down coconut milk until it gets thick and rich.  How long you boil it down will depend on how high fat the milk that you’re using is in the first place.  You can also make this dairy by using heavy cream instead of coconut cream, and using butter instead of coconut oil for the crumb topping.

My family is used to less sweeteners than most, so I didn’t add anything to this.  But if your family is used to more sweetness, then you’ll probably want to add something to enhance the natural sweetness of the pears.

Avivah