Dairy Free - Soy Free Fruit Smoothie

First of all, I apologize for the lack of posts.

Part of it has been because of the lack of mental energy to do anything extra.

Part of it has been because of my obsessive habit of "All-Or-Nothing": 

If I don't have have time to do something REALLY WELL, I don't want to do it at all! 

:(

An Indian summer is upon us, I am taking advantage of the warm days to enjoy smoothies.

My ingredient measurements are a little vague...I rarely measure anything but go by "lumps" or "spoons".

I'll do my best to put that into tablespoons and cups for you.

This recipe makes a frozen treat for two.

Dairy/Soy Free Fruit Smoothie

3-4 Tbsp.     coconut milk (more if you want it richer and creamier)

1                  farm-fresh raw egg, preferably organic (if you only have access to store bought 

                    eggs do not use raw egg because of increased risk of salmonella)  

1                  ripe banana

1 tsp            psyllium husks (optional)

1 tsp            flax seed (use more if you like to)

2 tsp            flax seed oil (optional)

dose for 2 people of vitamin D3 drops (optional)

2 cups         frozen fruit - any variety or mix

1                 thin slice of lemon, including peel if organic (this gives a little sparkle of flavor)

1 cup -/+    water as needed to help smoothie turn over in blender 

Directions:

-Put all ingredients into blender. 

-Blend until smooth and creamy, adding water as needed and tamping down to help it move.

-Divide into two large glasses and enjoy along with good conversation.

Breadless Breakfast

Not only am I avoiding gluten, dairy, soy and nuts...but right now I am also having to avoid yeast, most sugar and simple carbohydrates. That makes breakfast a bit of a challenge!
Pictured is my current most favorite, satisfying breakfast: One fried egg (or poached), 1 piece bacon or ham or a little shredded chicken, stir fried vegetables (mix of whatever I have on hand and reheated from the night before to save time) with salsa on the side. So, even when the rest of the family is eating muffins, pancakes or toast, I am very satisfied with my delicious, filling breakfast.

For lunch I usually have a bowl of vegetable soup (homemade from leftovers with sliced vegetables and homemade broth added). Sometimes I have a flax wrap filled with raw or stirfied veggies and Dijon mustard.
My afternoon snack is usually fruit: an apple or an orange, grapefruit, or small smoothie.
Supper is whatever the family is eating...with some modifications. I eat little or none of the starch (potato, rice, whatever), a large helping of vegetables (steamed or stir fried) with a piece of meat the size of the palm of my hand. Since I have a very demanding sweet tooth :) I do usually have some dessert at supper: a cookie or a small piece of pie for example.

Eating this way has almost healed me of my long standing UT infection and the gas/bloating from too much yeast in my system. Plus I have more energy - a very welcomed bonus!

Eggless Cooking

Here is a link for eggless baking....
Their blueberry muffins looked very delicious!

Of course, the recipes are not gluten free, but that can be changed quite easily. I am not always exact, but the basic formula I use is: 2/3 rice flour to 1/3 starch, adding 1 tsp guar gum for every 2 cups of flour. Here is an example:
If a recipe calls for 4 cups of flour, I would substitute 2.5 cups of rice flour, 1.5 cups of starch (tapioca or potato) and 2 tsp guar gum.

I substitute water for milk in most baking recipes. If I feel I need to use milk, I use coconut milk which I usually dilute with water.

Grecian Pizza

I have been lacking in both time and inspiration with posting recipes lately. Of course I have been cooking as the folks at my house have this nasty habit of getting hungry every 4 or 5 hours (some every 1/2 hour). But, cooking with the intention of posting about it later is very different from must cooking. For one, I have to actually measure ingredients so I can write the recipe down! The there is remembering to take some pictures (if the recipe actually turned out!). Well, I got it together today and I am going to share one of the recipes on our summer menu: Grecian Pizza. It is gluten free, of course - but also dairy free. I think the crust could be made without eggs if you use the flax egg replacer.

This recipe makes one large baking sheet of pizza (mine is 12x17 with sides) which should serve 4-6 people, depending how hungry they are. ;)


Crust:

1 cup rice flour
2/3 cup tapioca starch
3 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp guar gum
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1 cup water
1 egg
3 Tbsp olive or vegetable oil



Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Sift dry ingredients together.
Add milk, eggs and oil - mix well to combine.
Grease baking sheet and spread batter evenly over the sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and set aside to cool while you slice topping ingredients.



Pizza Topping:

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 8oz package fresh mushrooms, sliced thin
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4 cups fresh spinach, washed and torn
1 cup sliced black olives (my favorite are the smokey tasting sun dried olives)
2 tsp dried oregano
1 small tin pizza sauce (or make your own)
1 red pepper, sliced thin
1/4 large pineapple, sliced thin (can used canned, but fresh is SO good)
1 lb sliced ham or other gluten/dairy free meat
any other topping of choice - onions, green pepper, etc

In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and mushrooms and saute until tender. Stir in the oregano to the mushrooms and scrape warm mushrooms over the torn spinach. Toss to mix.

Spread cooled crust with sauce and layer ham evenly over the sauce.


Next, evenly spread red pepper, olives and pineapple.


Top with spinach mixture - this will help hold the other ingredients together.


Place baking sheet in 375 degree oven and bake pizza for 30-45 minutes.

Cut into squares and serve. Enjoy!

Flax Egg Replacer

If you have ever mixed flax with water, you know that if forms a thick, slippery goo. That mixture can be used as a substitute for eggs. I find that it works especially well in muffins. Flax is a source of good fatty acids and fiber: not a bad addition to any baking. Even though we can have eggs, I still add this flax mixture to gluten free bread to give it a lighter texture.

1/2 cup flax seed
2 cups water

-Grind the flax seed in the blender on high for about 1 minute.
-Add the water and continue to blend on high for anther 2 minutes. The mixture will be very thick and a stringy consistency similar to egg white.
-To substitute for eggs: mix 1/4 cup of flax mixture for 1 egg (1 cup of flax mixture for 4 eggs).

Gluten Free Flax Seed Bread - Xanthan/Guar Gum Free

This is one of the results of my xanthan-free experiments. While the loaf did not rise large and fluffy, it was not heavy, and was moist and tasty. The flax seed forms a gum that replaces the need for any other binder.
I have been avoiding all yeast, sugar and simple carbs the past month in an effort to overcome a persistent UT infection - but I did have a couple of slices of this bread: toasted and spread with homemade sesame tahini. Wonderful!
So, health-wise, other than containing yeast, this bread is low in carbs (compared with other gluten-free breads that have a lot of starches added) and high in fiber. It does contain 3 eggs per loaf... so my egg-free friends aren't helped here. :(


1/2 cup warm milk or water
1/2 Tbsp. instant yeast
1 Tbsp. honey

Stir the honey into the warm milk or water. Add yeast and set aside to start foaming.

3 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup flax seed, ground in blender
1/2 cup millet, ground in blender
1/4 cup buck wheat grouts, ground in blender

Beat eggs in a bowl until light colored. Add the flax and millet and mix well. Let sit a few minutes to absorb the moisture.
Stir the yeast mixture into the egg/grain mixture.

1 cup tapioca flour or starch
2 Tbsp sweet rice flour
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 to 1 tsp sea salt
1/4 -1/3 cup warm water

Sift these dry ingredients together. Beat into the egg/yeast mixture alternatively with the warm water. If the batter seems runny, add a little more rice flour. If it seems too stiff, add a little more warm water. It should be slightly thicker than muffin batter.
(Too runny of a batter will fall when baking and have a very course texture. Too thick of a batter will not rise and produce a "brick of bread" rather then a loaf).

Scrape batter into greased 9x3 bread pan.

Let rise in a warm place until the batter is level with the top of the pan (takes 25-40 minutes). When the loaf is almost done rising, preheat your over to 400F.

Bake loaf for 30 minutes. Remove from pan and lay loaf on it's side to cool on a wire rack. Slice when cool and enjoy.

Xanthan Gum Revealed

For years I have done all my gluten free baking with xanthan gum. It was expensive but I didn't need much for each recipe and the results were good.

However, my husband and two of the children were always having intestinal problems. It was not the same as if they had eaten gluten or milk, but it was still troublesome and annoying.

By *chance* one day when I was posting a recipe, I googled "xanthan" to make sure I was spelling it right and I came up with all sorts of information on xanthan gum that I never knew before. Lights started going on as I read and I began to wonder if xanthan was actually causing a reaction in some of my family.

I had been thinking that xanthan was a natural product - NOT SO! In fact, I learned that reactions are common and that the bacteria that produces the gum is grown on high fructose corn syrup (YUK!).

After sharing the information with my husband, he said he wanted me to eliminate xanthan gum from our use. I agreed, but inwardly I panicked! I have already eliminated all dairy, gluten, nuts and soy from my kitchen and xanthan is what holds all my baking together!

Well, the first step was to buy some guar gum. This stuff is a natural product - ground from the seed of a plant native to northern India and Pakistan. It can cause intestinal problems in large amounts (like when it was used in diet pills in large amounts to create a feeling of fullness in the stomach - it was banned as a diet pill after it was proven to cause intestinal blockages or damage when used in large amounts). In baking, I substitute it for xanthan gum in the recipe, using slightly more that the xanthan called for. The texture of the dough or batter is slightly different and I have trouble making a nice loaf of bread. :( But I am working on it and experimenting with different recipes. So far, I have gotten bread that holds together and is moist, but does not rise as nice or large as with xanthan gum.
I have included links to a few articles that you may find interesting on xanthan gum. Then you can choose if it is something you want to include in your baking or want or if you want to use guar gum.
Jenny

www.celiac.com/articles/21710/1/Could-Xanthan-Gum-Sensitivity-be-Complicating-your-Celiac-Disease-Recovery/Page1.html

www.wisegeek.com/what-is-guar-gum.htm

www.wisegeek.com/what-is-xanthan-gum.htm