It's a Wheat-Free, Dairy-Free, Low Sugar Thanksgiving

Ahh...food.
We love it, we hate it. We constantly try to make it work for us.
Thanksgiving (and the holidays in general!) are the perfect time to put all our great food knowledge into action. I thought I would share some of what I'm cooking this Thanksgiving in case any of you were looking for some ideas.

Appetizer
Crock Pot Artichoke & Spinach Dip
-1 container of Tofutti cream cheese, softened
-1/4 cup Smart Balance Light Mayo (or use soy mayo)
-1/2 cup soy mozzarella cheese
-1/2 cup almond pepper jack cheese
-1 clove garlic
-1/2 t Basil (dried)
-1/2 t garlic salt
-2 c artichoke hearts (Trader Joe's has them frozen, so defrost and chop)
-1 c frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

Place all items into the crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3.
Dip blue corn chips in for maximum yumminess. Or with a wheat-free bread of your choice.

Side Dish
Sweet Potato Casserole
3 lbs of sweet potatoes
1/4 c of honey
2 T non-dairy butter
2 T OJ concentrate
2 T ground cinnamon
1/2 t salt
2 organic/vegetarian fed eggs
1/4 c chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Pierce potatoes with a fork on all side and microwave on high until tender (approx. 15 min)
Cut potatoes up and mash with mixer in large bowl
Add honey, butter, OJ, cinnamon and salt
Mix until combined
Add eggs, mix
Place in 1.5 qt. baking dish
Sprinkle pecans on top
Bake for 45 minutes

Dessert
Wheat-Free, Dairy-Free, Low Sugar Pumpkin Pie

Puree:
1 15 oz. can organic pumpkin
1 container of silken tofu
1 c maple syrup
1 free range egg
1 T cinnamon
1 t numeg
1/2 t salt

Crust:
Who has time to make a pie crust? Not me! So, I typically visit New Seasons and grab a spelt pie crust, but for those of you that want to make one on your own (and without spelt), try this recipe from Pamela's Products:

1.5 c Pamela's baking & pancake mix (the BEST mix - I use it in everything from cookies to muffins and pancakes)
2 t sugar substitute (dry would work best)
4 T non-dairy butter
1/3 c ice water

Combine baking mix and sugar into a bowl, cut butter through flour mix. Add ice water and mix dough until it balls together. Roll out on wax paper and should be thin, about 1/8 of an inch. Place in pie dish and bake with pie.

(For pumpkin pie, you'll have leftover dough.)

Bake on 350 until center of pumpkin pie is set - roughly 35 minutes.

Pictures of this marvelous food will be featured in next week's blog.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Heather :)

Yummy Wheat-Free, Dairy-Free Sunflower Seed Butter

This is my new favorite wheat-free, dairy-free food--sunflower seed nut butter. Trader Joe's has a delicious version that I highly recommend. Try it as a snack or substitute for peanut butter on a sandwich. Other options to add sunflower seed nut butter to include:

-On a brown rice cake.
-On a banana or apple.
-On a spoon with some grain-sweetened carob chips. :)
-Dip whole-grain crackers in (like Mary's Gone Crackers).

Are you already a fan of sunflower seed nut butter? If so, tell us how you prefer to use it.

Happy Eating!
Heather

Protein Packed, Wheat-Free, Dairy-Free Banana Muffins

I just came up with a delicious way to add more protein to my wheat-and-dairy-free banana muffins, and I had to share!

These muffins are fluffy, flavorful and DELICIOUS.
Quinoa flour has a distinct taste, but soy protein powder seems to balance it out to a hearty, yet tasty treat.

Protein-Packed Quinoa Banana Muffins
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Yields approximately 5 dozen muffins

Cream:
1/2 c non-dairy butter
1 c Splenda

Mix:
3 organic eggs, one at a time

Stir:
1 1/3 cups no sugar added applesauce
4 ripe (black in color is best!) medium-sized bananas, mashed
1/2 t vanilla extract

Add:
2 1/2 cups of quinoa flour - Ancient Harvest brand is fantastic!
3 T soy protein powder
2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 T cinnamon

Scoop tablespoon-fuls (or more!) into greased muffin pan.
Bake 350 for 15 minutes per twelve muffins.

Happy Eating!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds: Perfect Wheat-Free Snack

The holiday's are upon us! With Halloween out of the way, Thanksgiving and Christmas madness is ramping up...which means lots of pumpkins, pies, turkey and other delicious goodies. Homemade roasted pumpkin seeds are one of my favorite snacks during the holiday season.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
-Buy a pumpkin (preferably from a local farm!)
-Scoop out all of the seeds.
-Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
-Put in colander and run under warm water.
-Pat dry with a paper towel.
-Spread seeds out and lay flat on a cookie sheet.
-Sprinkle a seasoning blend of your choosing over seeds (feel free to well saturate). Trader Joe's has a great, all natural seasoning blend for this.
-Bake seeds for 15 minutes.
-Flip seeds over to other side. Sprinkle with more seasoning (if desired).
-Bake another 15 minutes or until crisp.

Let cool and then enjoy!
Place in individual snack bags for easy snacking at work, or scoop into a decorative bowl to have out for snacking purposes.

Happy Eating!
Heather :)