Flour-less Brownies ~ whole foods

I serve these quite often for guests. Today I had two friends come over who were hesitant but were pleasantly surprised that they were so good. All our kids devoured them. I do not have a picture because my internet is so slow to upload one today. Click on this link to the whole foods website for this recipe. 

Ingredients

1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, drained and rinsed 

3 large eggs 1/3 cup melted butter, more for the baking dish (I have used both earth balance and coconut oil and I love how moist the brownies turn out with the coconut oil. Be sure to use room temperature eggs if using coconut oil so the oil doesn't harden)1/4 cup cocoa powder 1/8 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cane sugar (I have used honey)1/2 cup gluten-free semi-sweet chocolate chips 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F. 
Butter an 8-inch baking pan. Place the black beans, eggs, melted butter, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. Remove the blade and gently stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Transfer mixture to the prepared pan. Bake the brownies for 30 to 35 minutes, or until just set in the center. Cool before cutting into squares. 

Blue Iguana

Last night we ate at the Blue Iguana, a Mexican restaurant in downtown Salt Lake City.  Although they do not have a specific "gluten free menu, " there are only 3 things that contain gluten in their restaurant: enchilada sauce, tamales, and flour tortillas. You are safe with everything else. I had the fish tacos and they were so yummy! They also serve unlimited chips and salsa. 


Prices are reasonable. We had a Living-Socials deal where I bought a $20 gift card for $10. 


165 South West Temple
Salt Lake City


http://www.blueiguanarestaurant.net/

Crunchy Maple Sunrise

I bought this as Costco and it is amazing!  It has a good maple crunch and is full of flavor!

Gluten Free and Dairy Free Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Frosting ~ inspired by the Spunky Coconut

Vanilla Cake (revised from the Spunky Coconut)

5 eggs, whisked

2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted before adding

2/3 cup honey

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup coconut flour, sifted

2/3 cup tapioca flour

2/3 cup almond flour 

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

• Mix wet ingredients in the kitchen aid mixer then add the dry ingredients
• Pour equal parts into two round greased 9 x 1.5 inch cake pans. I did not have these 2 cake pans, so I used a 8x10 pan. I grease my pans with coconut oil.
• Bake at 325 degrees for about 18-20 minutes.
• Cool for a few minutes, then flip onto wire racks and let cool completely. 
• Use a serrated knife, carefully...I mean carefully, remove the bottom crust and sides of the cake.
• Lay one cake on a piece of parchment paper
• Spread a very thin coat of chocolate frosting on top. See recipe below
• Lay the second cake on top.
• Cover with chocolate frosting.
• Decorate!! I made the number "2" with strawberries and chocolate chips for my daughters birthday. 
• Store in the refrigerator 

http://www.thespunkycoconut.com/2011/06/strawberry-birthday-cake-gluten-free.html

Frosting from the spunky coconut:

• Melt over double boiler (I used the microwave)
• 1.5 bars of 3.2 oz dark chocolate (about 3/4 cup of chocolate chips...I used Guittard dark chocolate chips)
• 3/4 cup coconut milk (I used reduced fat)
• When the chocolate has just barely melted, remove from heat.
• Add:
• 2 tbsp honey
• 10 drops liquid stevia (omitted and used 3 tablespoons frosting) 
• 2 to 4 tbsp coconut flour, sifted ( I used 2 tablespoons) 

Refrigerate until the frosting has cooled, about 15 minutes. 

When the cake has cooled fully, top the cake with the frosting.

http://www.thespunkycoconut.com/2009/06/gluten-free-dairy-free-sugar-free.html

Kale Pesto

INGREDIENTS

Kale, 6-8 leaves torn into chunks
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons water
Juice from 1/4 lemon
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
1 garlic clove, sliced
6 parsley leaves

DIRECTIONS

Add kale, lemon juice, garlic, and sunflower seeds into food processor and process until a pastey texture forms. Add olive oil and one tablespoon water. Process and scrape down sides as needed — 3-4 minutes. Add parsley leaves and one tablespoon water and process again, stopping to scrape, until a smooth texture forms. Use as a dip, pasta sauce, or put on a slice of gluten free bread or crackers and enjoy!

www.fitsugar.com

Gluten Free Multi-Grain Crackers ~ Crunchmaster

I picked these crackers up at Costco yesterday and they are so yummy. There are 7 grains: brown rice, sorghum, Quinoa, Sesame, Millet, Flax & Amaranth. Other ingredients include potato starch, safflower oil, and sea salt.

Cream of Broccoli Soup ~ Forks over Knives

This soup is amazing! Kaitlyn liked it so much she wanted it for breakfast the next day. As Matt was looking at the ingredients in the livingroom, I heard him shout: "you are putting cashews in the soup?!?!" Relax honey, you will like it, I promise. He did like it! The blended cashews make the soup creamy, something I miss from not having any dairy. I copied this recipe exactly.


The recipe says it serves 6…nice size servings.


6 cups Vegetable Stock or Boullion
1 rounded cup Raw Cashews
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 large red bell pepper, chopped
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1 large head broccoli, including stem, chopped (about 4 cups)
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Puree 1 cup of vegetable stock with the cashews in a blender until smooth. Set aside.
In large pot, cook onion, celery, and carrot over medium heat in 1 cup of vegetable stock for 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, bell pepper, and potatoes and cook for 2 more minutes.  Add the remaining 4 cups of vegetable stock and the broccoli, thyme, salt, and black pepper, and bring to a boil over high heat.  Cover and simmer until the broccoli and potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes.
Add the cashew mixture to the soup and stir until mixed.  Remove the pot from heat and puree about half the soup, in small batches, until smooth.  Return pureed soup to the pot and reheat, stirring well. 

 Serve!!