Grain Free Double Chocolate Pecan Cookies (Dairy Free, Gluten Free)

Days by myself don't happen often, and I try to take full advantage of them. "Me" time today included kitchen time interspersed with laundry and housecleaning...not sure where the "me" part came in there, but the clutter and dust bunnies were getting to me...it had to be done!! In between loads of laundry, these cookies were born, and I am very happy with the results. I used a combo of coconut and hempseed flours, which is a bit different than my regular grain free flour mix. Generally I use coconut, arrowroot and chickpea flours as my go-to mix. But, being as many folks don't tolerate arrowroot or bean flours, I wanted to find a substitute that offered some nutritional value, and still tasted good. Hemp brings many things to the table, the biggest two being protein and fibre, which are great additions to a cookie! These would be great to pack in your lunch bag or to throw in your backpack for a mid-hike snack. I would recommend freezing any leftovers after the first day, as with most grain free cookies, their shelf life is shorter than most cookies. The recipe made about 28 cookies, if you want bigger cookies, adjust the cooking time accordingly, as they will take longer to bake. 

Grain Free Double Chocolate Pecan Cookies (Dairy Free, Gluten Free)

1 ripe banana

2 eggs

1/3 cup coconut oil, softened but not melted

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup coconut flour

¼ cup hempseed flour

½ cup coconut sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ cup chocolate chips

½ cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 cookie pans with parchment paper and set aside.

With an immersion blender mix together the banana, eggs, apple cider vinegar and coconut oil until well blended. Add the dry ingredients and with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, mix well until all is well incorporated. Let stand 5 minutes to let the coconut flour absorb the liquid.

Using a tbsp measure, scoop onto prepared pans, leaving a bit of room between cookies for expansion.

Using the flat bottom of a glass or jar, flatten cookies a wee bit. You will probably need to grease the bottom of whatever you use to flatten, as the batter is sticky.

Bake in preheated oven for 13-15 minutes. Carefully remove cookies to a wire rack and cool. Enjoy!

Grain Free Nut Free Chocolate Zucchini Snack Cake

If you garden, and you grow zucchini, you know as well as I do that one plant can supply you with more zucchini than you can possibly use in one season. In my garden this year I planted 3 zucchini seeds. I am still not sure why I did that...at the time it seemed like a great idea. Mother nature vetoed my crazy plan though, and only one plant actually grew. In hind-site, mother nature was smarter than I, one plant was the perfect amount of zucchini for us, three would have been overwhelming. The illustrious "zucchini fairy" would have been gracing everyone on my street with a plethora of zucchini had all three actually grown!

I am always trying new recipes for zucchini, to use up the bounty from our garden. We have made lots of zucchini noodles with our spiral slicer this summer, multiple simple salads from the zucchinis thinly sliced on my mandolin, lightly marinated in Herbamare,  and grilled zucchini from the gargantuan ones that grow seemingly overnight have become a favourite this year as well. 

This cake is a favourite too. It is a  nice moist chocolaty treat, perfect for an after school snack, lunch box treat, or even a dessert if you dressed it up with a little cream cheese icing. 

Grain Free Nut Free Chocolate Zucchini Snack Cake

2 cups grated zucchini

1 tsp salt 

3 eggs

1 banana, very ripe

1/3 cup kefir or yogurt

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup coconut flour

1/3 cup hemp flour

1/3 cup chickpea flour

¼ cup coconut sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup cocoa powder

¼ cup coconut oil, melted

Preheat oven to 350F

Sprinkle the grated zucchini with 1 tsp salt, stir and set aside to drain in a colander. (this helps to release the moisture from the zucchini, helping to keep the snack cake from being too moist)

Mix the rest of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl with an immersion blender until well mixed, scraping down the sides as needed.

Squeeze and drain the excess moisture from the zucchini. Mix into the batter well.

Scrape into a greased or parchment lined 8x8 glass baking pan

Bake for 50-55 min or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool in pan completely before cutting. 

Grain-Free Nut-Free Gluten-Free Blueberry Pancakes

I found myself alone for breakfast on a Sunday morning, and had a craving for blueberry pancakes. I was out of almond flour (again!) so I got creative with some other grain free flours and came up with this tasty version.  Tasty and quick, a perfect breakfast for one on a sunny Sunday morning!

This amount made 1 large pancake in my 8 inch cast iron pan. It could easily be doubled for more servings.

Grain Free Nut Free Blueberry Pancakes

1 egg

2 tbsp kefir (or yogurt)

1 tsp maple syrup

1 tbsp chick pea flour

1 tbsp hemp flour

1 tbsp sunflower flour

1 tbsp coconut flour

¼ tsp baking soda

Pinch of salt
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1 tbsp butter

¼ cup of organic blueberries, rinsed and dried

Whisk all ingredients together well,(excluding the butter and blueberries) making sure there are no clumps of flour.

Melt butter over medium high heat in a cast iron or other pan of choice.

Scrape the batter into the pan and cook for approx 4-5 minutes, or until the edges start to look cooked (they should look set, and loose the shine of the raw batter. Don't flip too soon or you may have a mess on your hands!) Sprinkle the batter with the blueberries, and flip carefully to cook the other side, approx 2-3 minutes.

Serve hot with toppings of choice.

Grain Free Coconut Hemp Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

In my house right now, I am feeding two bottomless pit teenagers, who are both becoming increasingly aware of why we eat the way we do, which is both amazing and gratifying to watch. That being said, finding healthy food to fill and sustain them can sometimes be a big challenge. Their taste buds, as well as their acceptance of “healthy” treats, have been evolving over the last year, and they are now easier to feed the way we eat, but not easy to keep full.  (don’t lose heart if you are trying to transition reluctant eaters to a healthier lifestyle, perseverance is key, it will pay off, trust me!) I have been doing a lot of baking with almond flour since switching to a grain free lifestyle, but with the amount the boys eat, it can be very expensive!  I bought a bag of hempseed flour at Goodness Me, and made these muffins with it.

They combine coconut flour with hempseed flour and make a nice moist muffin at a fraction of the cost of almond flour. Hemp (not that hemp!!) is a nutritional powerhouse that provides fiber  omegas, and protein, and a host of other benefits. It is also is very environmentally friendly and green. The more research I do, the more I want to incorporate hemp products (not that hemp!!) into our daily lives.

Grain Free Coconut-Hemp Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 very ripe bananas (mine were fairly large)

4 pastured eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup kefir or plain yogurt (full fat!)

1 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar

½ cup coconut flour

¼ cup hemp flour

2 Tbsp coconut sugar

1 tsp baking soda

¼ cup coconut oil, melted

Pinch of salt

½ cup chocolate chips (Enjoy Life are awesome)

Preheat oven to 350F

In a large mixing bowl, (or a blender) combine the bananas, eggs, vanilla, apple cider vinegar and kefir together well with an immersion blender. Blend till very well combined and a bit frothy. Add all of the dry ingredients except for the chocolate chips, and blend again until well combined. Let stand for a few minutes to thicken up a bit. Fold in the chocolate chips, and divide evenly between 12 muffin tins (well greased or lined with papers (I like this brand!!)

Bake for 25-30 minutes in preheated oven, or until toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean.  Remove from oven and let stand in pan for 5 minutes. Remove to cooling rack and cool (at least slightly!!) before eating.