Cinnamon Bread Mini Loaves (gluten free, sugar free)

These mini loaves are so good and baking them makes your house smell amazing. I love anything with cinnamon in it (and in fact use it on a daily basis, multiple times). There is something so grounding, so warming about this spice. It makes for the ultimate comfort food (I even put it in my chili). And it provides the main attraction for these wonderful bread loaves.

My son wanted to bake something special for his Awana teachers, Miss Jill and Miss Bonnie, so I suggested these. He thought it sounded like a great idea. So we'll be wrapping up one of these for each of his teachers and we'll enjoy one for snack time. I've made this recipe several times, the original inspiration coming from the blogsphere somewhere, I really wish I could remember where so I could give proper credit to its source, but alas it was quite some time ago and my recipe revisions are all that remain. I did, in fact, change many things from the original version, but nonetheless it always good to site back. So please forgive me this one time. :)

I bake my mini loaves in the Pampered Chef stoneware with the four mini loaf dividers. I've had this stoneware for years, getting it as a gift from my father in law back when my husband and I were newlyweds (almost 10 years ago now!), and I only started using it in the last few months since we moved. I had always been intimidated about baking in stone (don't ask me why), but now that I've baked in stone several times, I love it. It makes the best baked goods. I highly recommend stoneware for baking. In fact, I aim to add more stoneware pieces to my collection in the years ahead.

Either way you bake this, be it in stoneware or glass, you will be super impressed with this delicious, gluten and sugar free cinnamon bread.


Cinnamon Bread Mini Loaves (gluten free, sugar free)

Dry ingredients:
1 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup almond flour
3/4 cup xylitol
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon powdered stevia
pinch salt

Wet ingredients:
1 egg
1 1/4 cups almond milk or raw cow's milk
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease three mini bread loaf pans with coconut oil (I use the stoneware from Pampered Chef).

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk egg with milk, coconut oil, and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir again to fully incorporate.

Pour batter into prepared bread loaf pans, spreading out the tops evenly.

Bake in preheated oven for approximately 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let set about 10 minutes before slicing.

Chicken and Parmesan Spaghetti (gluten free)

This is the real deal. You would never know this delicious dinner recipe is gluten free, which is one reason I love working with brown rice pasta. I made this for my family tonight and after the first bite, my five year old asked if I could make it again. Of course, he loves noodles and was extra excited for the "cheese snow" (AKA grated parmesan) that I let him add to the top of his noodles.

Not only is it a super kid-friendly meal, it's also super easy, which is just what a mom of three young boys needs. I especially love the extra kick the red pepper gives this dish, however you should note that a little bit of crushed red pepper goes a long way, so if your kids are sensitive to spicy foods, keep the red pepper to a minimum (the adults can always add extra red pepper to the top of their individual dishes).


Chicken and Parmesan Spaghetti (gluten free)

1/2 pound gluten free spaghetti noodles (I used brown rice spaghetti noodles from Trader Joe's)
1 tablespoon coconut oil or grass-fed butter
1 medium yellow onion
5 cloves garlic
1 pound ground chicken
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt, pepper
pinch red pepper flakes
1 14 oz. can fire roasted tomatoes (I used Muir Glen)
1/4 cup grated parmesean

Cook noodles according to package instructions.

Meanwhile, heat oil or butter over medium-low heat in a large saucepan. Chop onion and add to pan, cooking for about 3-5 minutes, until translucent. Mince garlic and add to onion. Cook about 1 minute. Add chicken and spices (through red pepper). Using a wooden spoon, cook the chicken until cooked through and no longer pink, breaking it up into small crumbles as you cook. Add tomatoes and stir.

When the noodles are done cooking, drain the water and add the noodles to the chicken sauce and stir to coat the noodles. Add the parmesan and stir again.

Serve topped with additional parmesan (or cheese snow, as my five year old calls it!), if desired.

Blueberry Biscuits

Sometimes it's all about marketing, even to a five year old. This morning I was asking my kids what they wanted for breakfast and listed off several options: pancakes, eggs, smoothie, fruit... "No, no, no," they said.

"Hmmm," I replied, "How about scones?"

"No!" my five year old exclaimed back.

Well, ok, I really wanted scones. So what to do? One more option, "How about biscuits?" (that are really scones in disguise, just marketed differently.)

"YEAH!!!" they cheered.

Biscuit-like scones it is! I wasn't really in the mood for something savory, so I decided to make my biscuits just a tad sweet by making them into blueberry biscuits. At any rate, these biscuits were a hit, gobbled by the mouthful by my kids. Breakfast success! And they are so easy to make, you can whip them up in mere minutes.

If you are avoiding grains (as I often am), just replace the sorghum flour with almond flour.


Blueberry Biscuits

Dry ingredients:
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt

Wet ingredients:
2 eggs
1/3 cup coconut oil, liquified
1/4 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 drops liquid stevia

1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, mix dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, then add remaining wet ingredients (through stevia) and whisk again to combine.

Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until thoroughly combined. Add in frozen blueberries and carefully stir again as to not break the blueberries up too much that they cause the mixture to turn blue.

Spoon drop biscuits onto prepared baking dish and slightly flatten the tops with your palms.

Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes.

Makes about a dozen.

Raw Milk Hot Cocoa (sugar free)

I've been making this hot cocoa all winter long; it's such a delicious and satisfying, sugar free treat to warm those bones when the temps dip low. And today was hopefully the last day I will be making hot cocoa for many, many months. We've been having such amazing spring weather lately that I didn't think I'd be making hot cocoa again until next winter. But for some reason, my son has been asking me to make him hot cocoa for three days now. I wasn't able to make it for him until today, when our raw milk supply was replenished. I thought I'd better document this recipe now so I won't have to fidget with the ingredient ratios again next winter.

A few notes about this hot cocoa: 1) Since we're using raw milk here, be sure to heat it on the very lowest possible setting on your stovetop to preserve as many of those healthful properties in the milk as you can. It really doesn't take long to get this yummy treat warm enough to enjoy, maybe five minutes, so be patient (i.e. no microwaving!) and the payoff will be worth it. 2) I like to thin my hot cocoa out with some water to save a little money (since raw milk can be a bit pricey), but if you like yours really creamy and thick, omit the water and use 1 3/4 cup raw milk, or use some raw cream in place of the water.


Raw Milk Hot Cocoa (sugar free)

1 cup raw milk
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
12 drops liquid stevia

Put all ingredients in a small saucepan. Turn heat on low and whisk thoroughly to combine. Cook over low heat for about five minutes, until desired temperature is reached, whisking occasionally.

Ladle into mugs and enjoy.

Serves two.

Warm Sweet Potato and Kale Salad

I've been rather uninspired in the cooking department lately. I literally sat outside for 25 minutes today thinking of what to make for dinner, and nothing came to mind.

Nothing.

This is not like me. Maybe it's the season, or the weather, or the fact that I haven't had any inspiring fresh produce the last few days... I'm really not sure. But nonetheless, we had to eat dinner, so I had to think of something...

So I went into my pantry and started foraging for dinner ingredients. My eyes landed on the sweet potatoes, which I love. But I didn't want to just fix them in the same old boring way (even as delicious as this boring way is): roasted wedges. I wanted to turn them into a delicious salad, a warm salad, the perfect kind of salad for spring weather.

Finally, inspiration! This recipe just sort of came to life, and I decided it needed to be documented on this blog, especially considering I may find myself in a un-inspirational mood in the not-so-distant-future.

With it's delicious blend of spicy (thanks, ginger) and sweet (thanks, sweet potatoes and cinnamon), this salad will knock you off your feet. I'm especially fond of how the cooked sweet potatoes lightly "cook" the baby kales to take off their raw edge and make them all yummy and soft.

Hopefully it will please your palate as much as it did mine.

Warm Sweet Potato and Kale Salad

Salad:
2 medium sweet potatoes
4 cups baby kales (or spinach, or torn swiss chard)
1 Granny Smith apple

Dressing:
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 minced clove garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (ACV)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
10 drops liquid stevia
salt, pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Chop sweet potatoes into bite sized pieces and place in medium pot. Cover sweet potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Turn heat to medium-low and gently boil for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, place baby kales in a large bowl. Chop Granny Smith apple and add to baby kales.

Mix all dressing ingredients (ginger through salt and pepper) in a small bowl. Slowly stream in the EVOO until emulsified.

When the sweet potatoes are done, drain and immediately place on top of the baby kales and apple. Let rest for a few minutes, until the warm sweet potatoes turn the baby kales bright green and semi-wilted.

Add the dressing and toss to coat.

Coconut Brownie Power Bites

The quest for yet more great snacks has led me to create a new power bite recipe (see my other power bite recipe here). You can't help but just love these. They're raw, refined sugar free, full of protein and fiber and omega-3's... and they will get you pumped up with energy too. These make a great pre- and post- workout treat.

Did I mention they're also super kid-friendly? My kids would eat and eat and eat these babies, all in one sitting, if I let them. Instead, I allow them the indulgence of one or two of these healthy treats for a bedtime snack, and feel no pangs of guilt whatsoever. It truly brings a smile to my face when I know my kids are eating healthy and loving it.


Coconut Brownie Power Bites

3 cups walnuts
3 cups Medjool dates
1/4 cup shredded coconut
2 tablespoons coconut oil, liquified
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
pinch cinnamon and salt

Grind walnuts to a coarse grind in a food processor. Add dates and pulse for 30 seconds to a minute, until a dough-like consistency is achieved. Add shredded coconut, coconut oil, cocoa powder, cinnamon and salt and pulse again until all ingredients are incorporated evenly.

With a small spoon, scoop out the dough and, with your hands, form into balls of desired size. Store in the refrigerator.

Did I mention my kids love these?!

Chile Spiced Seeds

It's time to post another high protein snack recipe. I'm finding myself in a snack rut these days. Now that I'm home with my kids full-time, I am on snack duty three times a day (at least). I let my kids choose their snack of choice (with some wise counsel, of course), and they are really good about incorporating some kind of vegetable or fruit and protein with each snack. I often find myself making a different snack for me as they prefer fruit to veggies (shocker, I know) and I try to limit my fruit intake much more so than is necessary for a child. And these days I am in major need of protein; my body just craves it.

So what do you do when you get sick and tired of celery with almond butter or grain free granola? Toast some spiced seeds!

Chile Spiced Seeds

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 teaspoon chile powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
pinch salt

Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add seeds and spices; stir to coat. Cook for approximately 5 minutes, shaking the skillet frequently to move the seeds around and prevent burning. Pull skillet off the heat once the seeds start making a popping sound. Let cool and enjoy by the mouthful.