Life, Gluten Free

Chocolate & Banana Truffles

 

Earlier this week, my husband came home from work to find me in my apron making yet another chocolate treat! I had purchased some organic cream cheese on sale, thinking I might make something chocolatey with it.

And then the inspiration came.

I got out all the ingredients and went to work.

 

What came out was chocolately goodness so divine, that I had to ration his daily amounts because he just.couldnt.stop (he would eat SIX at a time, is that normal?? I think not).

And today, just a few short days later... there is just one left and he has asked me to make more soon.

Should I?

Probably yes, but in exchange for a foot massage.

Read on for the recipe!

Chocolate & Banana Truffles

contains no: eggs, tree nuts, soy, gluten

Ingredients:

1 ten ounce package of enjoylife mega chunks

1 eight ounce container of organic cream cheese

4-5 bananas cut into chunky rounds

shredded coconut

perky's crunchy rice cereal  (optional)

Directions:

Using a double broiler, slowly melt the chocolate

Add in the cream cheese and stir

Once completley melted, remove from burner

Slice the banana into chunks while the chocolate begins to cool

Start dipping the bananas when the chocolate is warm but not hot (as in, you won't burn your finger but it's warm and not cool)

Use a spoon or tongs to help coat the banana with a thick layer of chocolate

Add to unbleached waxed parchment paper

Sprinkle on  perky's rice cereal (if desired) and shredded coconut

Place in the refrigerator to cool

Come back after a while (say 20 minutes) and add the sticks (if you want, this is an optional step too!)

Press the chocolate around the sticks with your hand so they stay in well

After they refrigerate, they become very firm

Serve!

Makes about 24 truffles.

** You can sub the cream cheese for non-dairy cream cheese, too.

You may have to hold yourself (or your husband) back so you don't eat them all in one sitting.

We had a halloween party for Sophie and her friends over the weekend, and I made caramel apple slices. (with homemade maple caramel of course!)

She was stoked. It was a fun time!

Happy Halloween!

How to Boo Your Neighbor

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon "How to start the BOO in your neighborhood" from Skip To My Lou. It was such a cute idea, Sophie and I knew we had to try it out. We picked a couple of neighbors and made up a BOO bag and a BOO bucket. I didn't get pictures of the BOO bag but it was very cute. It had casper on it and inside we put different goodies (pencils with eraser, necklace, stickers, a halloween craft, etc).

For the BOO bucket pictured above, we used some halloween-themed paper and re-used a halloween greeting card from last year to glue the poem to.

Front:

Back:

There are different poems to choose from but I decided to write one of my own. You are welcome to use it.

You've Been Boo'ed!

This bucket I filled with treats galore,

and I left it at your front door.

I ran with glee,

knowing what a surprise it would be!

You will find treats but no tricks,

it is only a friendly "BOO' from me to you.

If you enjoy it and want to employ it,

simply leave a "BOO" at a neighbors house

to surprise them with joy and be oh so coy.

Leave it at their front door, no one will suspect

it's a friendly "BOO" to say "I like you!"

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

It was so much fun and Sophie had a blast putting together the treats.

For the BOO bucket, we put in several things, including:

a bracelet

a halloween story book

stickers

a wooden wand that Sophie decorated

a balloon

inka chips

a collage by Sophie (using magazine cut-outs and washi tape)

a mini DIY pumpkin game

Have you ever BOO'ed a neighbor?

Do you want to? It's not too late, go gather some treats and get your BOO on!!

DIY Pumpkin Game

We really love pumpkins.

Do I even need to remind you how many grew in our garden? I think not.

So when I saw this project for felt pumpkin faces, I knew there was a reason that I placed approximately 20 pieces of different colored eco-felt in my shopping cart some days prior. They were on sale for .25 cents a piece too. Now who's the frugal one? I kind of felt bad for the check out guy who had to peel them a part to scan each one.

Kinda.

But glory be, good thing I purchased all of them because I had plenty for my well-planned projects and enough to spare for this cute pumpkin face game.

I just free-handed the shapes and it was a very simple and very quick process.

I am going to put it out for my daughter's halloween party this weekend.

We also made a mini version for a friend of Sophie's (not pictured, but it's the same thing just smaller).

I know you can make one too! It's very simple and the end results are a bunch of sillyness and laughter. Who could ask for more? All for a very small price!

Spooky Chocolate Cheesecake Bites

Chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate.

I can't eat chocolate, which is why this very recipe is a mix of sweat, courage and undying devotion.

My husband loves chocolate and since I love him to pieces, I buy stockpile enjoylife chocolate chips and chocolate chunks whenever they are on sale. And so, when the inspiration hits for something chocolatey.. I can make it for my one and only and then watch him eat it up.

Bite by chocolatey bite.....

(The smile is worth it.)

Spooky Chocolate Cheesecake bites

Ingredients:

10 oz of enjoylife chocolate chunks

1 tablespoon coconut oil (not melted, just room temperature)

2 tablespoon so delicious coconut creamer

12.3 ounce package of organic mori-nu silken tofu (this is the kind you buy in the baking section.. not the refrigerated kind)

shredded coconut (for topping, if desired)

chocolate chunks (I saved a few.. probably about 7, to chop into small pieces for garnish)

Directions:

Melt chocolate chips using a double-broiler method (I use a stainless steel pot and a stainless steel mixing bowl).

While melting, stir often and mix in coconut oil and coconut creamer.

Once melted and creamy, remove from stove.

Get your food processor ready and add the silken tofu first, then pour in the chocolate mixture.

Scrape the sides well!

Blend until thoroughly mixed, scraping the sides with a spatula as needed.

Add to a rectangular glass or stoneware dish.

If desired, top with shredded coconut and finely chop chocolate chunks for garnish!

Wait as long as you can to eat them or refrigerate overnight (for best results, if you want them to firm nicely).

No I cannot eat them but that's okay.

Yep, that's love, folks. That is true love. Topped with chocolate chunks. ;)

Pumpkin Pudding

My husband loves pumpkin and chocolate so I made him something lovely.

Pumpkin Pudding (no dairy, no gluten, no eggs, no nuts)

2-3 cups of pumpkin puree (3 if you are serious about pumpkin like we are)

1 package of mori-nu silken tofu

1/4 - 1/2 cup maple syrup (or sweetener of choice)

2 tablespoons melted coconut oil (2 tablespoons measured prior to melting)

dash of cinnamon

chocolate chips to garnish

Bake a pumpkin, allow to cool and remove seeds. Scoop out flesh in the food processor and blend.

Add pureed pumpkin to a bowl, remove 2-3 cups and place back into food processor. If you have leftover, you can freeze it for later use.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and puree until well blended. Serve immediately or allow to cool in fridge prior to serving (this will make it a bit thicker).

I made this again just the other day, but after I pureed all the ingredients - I tossed in some chocolate chips and turned on the food processor just briefly to get the chocolate chips mixed in. I cannot attest to the taste myself since I did not have any, but my husband was pleased and he doesn't fool around when it comes to things like this. Trust me.

Simple yet effective and a lovely orange color!

Since my daugher can't have soy, I made her pudding without soy:

Pumpkin Pudding 2 (no dairy, no gluten, no eggs, no soy, no nuts)

3/4 cup pureed pumpkin (I stole this from the pumpkin I baked for the above recipe)

1/2 cup coconut yogurt

2 tablespoons maple syrup (adjust to your sweetness level)

Blend in food processor or blender!

Sprinkle maple sugar or cinnamon ontop if you want.

I also made grain-free and nut-free pumpkin bars for Sophie's Halloween party.. they were a big hit. We've definitely used our share of pumpkin this year. It even appeared in our thanksgiving dessert. I made whipped sweet potato, pumpkin and banana with a coconut dried fruit crust.

Here's a picture:

Served with homemade banana coconut ice cream, Sophie's request.

Pumpkin Cookies: Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten Free!

This is my post for the Go Ahead Honey event. I am also hosting this month, so check back soon for my post rounding up all the participants who made a dish out of pumpkin. In my house, we're huge fans of pumpkins and many different varieties of squash like kabocha, acorn, butternut, red kuri and spaghetti. For the Go Ahead Honey theme this month, I chose pumpkin because October is my favorite month and pumpkins are a must for this time of year. I decorate with pumpkins and I cook with pumpkin as well.

For my recipe this month, I made some pumpkin cookies to serve at my daughter's Halloween party. I took the recipe for my cinnamon crunch cookies and edited it to make the pumpkin cookies. I had to make a couple batches before the party to be sure I created a good recipe. I used canned organic pumpkin because I was afraid fresh pumpkin would be too watery. I also made some pumpkin icing as well and topped the cookies with gluten-free, naturally colored sprinkles.

Pumpkin Cookies (dairy-free, nut-free, gluten-free, egg-free and soy-free)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 sorghum flour
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup organic cane sugar (or use just organic cane sugar and no honey.. or coconut sugar!)
1/2 honey
1 cup and 1/4 cup coconut oil (not melted)
1  1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup pumpkin
3/4 to 1 cup coconut milk (unsweetened by So delicious, in a carton)

Add dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix together well. Cream wet ingredients together in a smaller bowl. Add to dry ingredients and fold in until completely mixed. Be sure there's enough liquid - if not add a bit more. The batter needs to stick together and not be too dry.

Sprinkle some gluten-free flour on a cutting board and roll out the dough. Sprinkle the roller and the dough with flour as well, so that it rolls without sticking. Use cookie cutters of your choice!

Bake at 350. It takes approximately 30 minutes for these cookies to bake.

Be sure to check them and take them out as the become lightly golden brown.

I find the best results when I set the timer for 5 minute increments and turn the cookie sheet around in the oven when the timer goes off. The cookies bake more evenly (my oven isn't very good, so this may not be a problem for some).

The bake time also depends on how thick the cookies are. I made a few cookies a bit too thick in one of my batches and it required a longer bake time, so keep that in mind!

This batch actually made 42 cookies. It all depends on the thickness and size, so you might not get that exact amount. I made another batch for Sophie's Halloween Party. I used a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter, but unfortunately I did not get pictures of those. For that batch, I think it made almost 42 cookies as well (but I didn't count).

I wanted to use coconut sugar to sweeten, but I have not been able to find a source for the sugar. I have some organic cane sugar left but I'm not going to use it anymore once it's gone.

 

 

 

For the pumpkin icing, I made a recipe but I tried to repeat the recipe on the morning of the Halloween party and had a huge flop. I realized later why.. the batch of canned pumpkin. It was slightly overcooked and had a bitter taste. But, here's a loose recipe if you want to try the icing with a good batch of pumpkin.

Pumpkin Icing

1/4 cup pumpkin

1 to 2 tablespoons organic coconut butter (note: not the oil, the coconut butter)

1 tablespoon organic fresh squeezed orange juice

1 to 2 tablespoons raw honey

dash of cinnamon

Mix in a food processor or blender. The mixture should be rather thick. Spread on the cookies and enjoy! I also refrigerated some left over icing and it firmed up even more.

Have a wonderful Halloween! Be sure to check back to see the full round-up. I've had so many participants that I am going to have my hands full putting together the final post! Stay tuned!

-heather

Happy Halloween

I made Sophie a tutu and flower wand for her costume. She wore it for the first time to a Halloween Party last Saturday for kids with allergies (no candy, just fun and games!).

Since my husband had to work on Halloween (boo!), we decided to join Grandma and help pass out candy. My mom works at a little health food store on occasion, and she was asked to help watch the store on Halloween.

This thoroughly intrigued and exhausted Sophie. The only draw back were the guys in the scary masks. She really, really did not like that.

 

She refused to cross the road at first because there was a young boy with a scary mask on.

 

But we made it.

 

And we stayed away from the guys in the scary masks.

 

Eventually, she was brave enough to pass out candy. And although she was still a little squeamish, she did pass out candy to the scary ones and she eventually realized that while they are scary, they won't be bothering her. Especially when she's sitting on mom's lap.

 

It was fun and we were definitely tired out and ready to go home when it was over. But we did manage to stop by our neighbors house. He is retired and Halloween is his birthday. I wanted to make sure he got to see Sophie in her costume. He really likes her.

 

He offered her his candy bag to pick candy, and since I just couldn't squash the smile on his face, I let her take some. We went home and gave them to trick-or-treaters at our house. But since we weren't really prepared for trick-or-treaters, after a few rounds we turned out the light and went to bed.

 

Halloween, to me, is really just about having fun. Although I do wish that kids would at least eat healthy candy, I can't control that. Except for what I give out. I did open up some Yummy Earth Organic Lollipops to give to the few trick-or-treaters that came to our door.

 I hope that everyone had a safe and healthy Halloween!

Stop by Go Natural Baby for a chance to win Earthwise Kids book and tote set. The bag is made of jute and the books teach kids how to take care of our environment.

 

-heather