Tigernut Flour Apple Crisp (grain-free, nut-free, paleo, vegan)

I'm excited to be sharing this amazing apple crisp recipe with you today. It's made with prebiotic-rich tigernut flour, which is a grain-free, nut-free, healthy gluten-free flour. Going on an elimination diet can be challenging sometimes, especially during the holidays and family gatherings where food plays such an integral role in the celebration. Having alternatives that are just as tasty as your old favorites can make it much easier to stick to your new diet.

Have you tried an Elimination Diet yet? Usually within 2 to 4 weeks of removing foods like gluten, dairy, and sugar from your diet, skin conditions clear up, back and joint pain goes away, chronic fatigue disappears, and intestinal issues calm down. On top of that, most people lose around 7 to 10 pounds of unwanted weight.

Why? Because food can be the most common source of irritation to your immune system. How will you know if foods are causing your brain fog, fatigue, pain, or skin issues? Do an Elimination Diet and find out. It's really an enlightening process. I wrote about the process last year in my Green Kale Detox Soup post.

This Elimination Diet apple crisp recipe can be enjoyed by your whole family. My children really love it! In fact, one of my 10-year old twin boys made a double batch of this recipe the other night, using part blueberries and part apples in the filling. It was so good! I posted some photos on my Instagram account of the process, as well as of the finished product that you can view here.

Tigernut flour can sometimes be tricky to find in your local health food store. I suggest ordering it online here. You can also learn more about Tiger Nuts here if you are interested!

Cherry Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream (dairy-free, paleo)

It's summer! Time to break out the ice cream maker and whip up some dairy-free ice cream. Plus it's cherry season right now. This coconut milk-based ice cream is a perfect way to indulge in both antioxidant-rich cherries and dark chocolate. Serve it as a sweet treat after dinner, or a healthy mid-afternoon snack for your kids. This cherry chocolate chunk ice cream comes from my Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook.

Be sure to use full fat coconut milk in this recipe. The hemp seeds give it some extra creaminess, healthy fats, and amino acids. You can easily omit the chocolate if you are on Phase 2 of the Elimination Diet. You can also replace the cherries with blueberries, strawberries, or diced mango. All variations are delicious!

Carrot Cake Muffins (gluten-free, egg-free, nut-free, vegan)

Yay for gluten-free carrot cake muffins! I call these healthy little treats muffins, but once frosted they sure seem like cupcakes to me. They are packed full of carrot-goodness, as well as being very moist and light, even without the eggs. What a perfect treat for Mother's day or a Springtime gathering!

I've frosted them here using a Honey-Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below) but if you are dairy-free or vegan then use my Sweet Potato Buttercream Frosting recipe. Just be sure to use white-fleshed sweet potatoes (they have a light-tan skin), and stir in some finely grated orange zest at the end. This recipe is a perfect dairy-free, whole foods replacement for cream cheese frosting (and it looks like it too as long as you use the white sweet potatoes).

The trick to making these egg-free muffins light and fluffy is to add the carrots on top of the whisked dry ingredients, immediately then pour in the blended wet ingredients, and then mix them all together at once. If you stir in the carrots at the end, after your batter has been mixed up, then you will lose some of the trapped air that is formed from the reactions of the baking powder, baking soda, and acid ingredients (applesauce and orange juice). Then you must bake them right away in your preheated oven. Starting the baking process immediately after mixing the batter together helps to trap air and create lift! Both of these steps will help give the muffins the rise and lightness you normally get with eggs.

If you want to add other ingredients such as chopped walnuts and raisins, go ahead. A half cup of each should work well. Also....did I mention that these muffins are Elimination Diet friendly for Phase 2 and beyond (without the cream cheese frosting and citrus of course)! Enjoy!

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake (grain-free, dairy-free, nut-free, paleo)

Spring is finally here! I just want to soak up each and every moment of sunshine we have, as it's been a particularly dark and rainy last couple of months. This healthy gluten-free lemon poppy seed cake will surely brighten any day! Serve it for Easter brunch or as part of a Mother's day breakfast. It's not particularly sweet, but definitely bursting with lemon flavor. It's quite easy to make and free of many of the common allergens, except eggs. The lemon-honey glaze on top seals in moisture and adds even more lemony flavor. I think you and your family will enjoy it. My children just love this cake!

This grain-free, paleo cake recipe is actually an adaption of the Lemon Poppy Seed Muffin recipe from my new Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook. A few years ago (in 2014) I was asked by the Institute for Functional Medicine to create a Lemon Poppy Seed Cake recipe for a special banquet dinner event held during the their annual conference that year. This is the recipe that I created and that was served to hundreds of IFM members that evening (in individual miniature bundt cake form with fresh berries on top)! My friends and family have been making this recipe since....and now I'm finally sharing it with you. Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Shortbread Cookies (egg-free, refined sugar-free)

Happy fall! I have a delicious gluten-free shortbread cookie recipe for you today! I recently became friends with a new family that came to our school. I began to talk this beautiful mama a few weeks ago at a birthday party and we could not stop talking about food! As it turns out she cooks just like I do, and creates many of her own recipes....all gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free! She gave me a loose recipe for these shortbread cookies. I then tested it to create a recipe someone else could follow. I'm so grateful for this recipe as it can be used in so many ways! Pictured here I have them made into sandwich cookies filled with my dairy-free Sweet Potato Buttercream Frosting and then drizzled with melted dark chocolate. You could also dip them in melted chocolate and then decorate with whatever you have on hand. Try shredded coconut, crushed walnuts, goji berries, powdered freeze-dried strawberries, or natural sprinkles.

You will notice that this recipe uses a number of different gluten-free flours. I usually like to keep things simple and stick to one or two for my recipes, however, I found that this particular combination works wonders for shortbread cookies. My boys find that the quinoa flour is slightly bitter for their tastes, which is interesting because they normally eat a lot of bitter greens. Quinoa flour is very light and fine, and lends a very good texture to these cookies, which is why I use it. You can replace it with brown rice flour if you are concerned about the aftertaste, though I don't notice it at all.

This shortbread cookie recipe would also be great to bake during Christmastime using holiday-themed cookie cutters. Or Valentine's day....or Easter! Have fun with this recipe! I hope you like it at as much as we do. :)

Dairy-Free Sweet Potato Buttercream Frosting (refined sugar-free, vegan)

It's not easy coming up with a whole food-based frosting that is as nutritious as it is tasty, but way back in 2010 I came up a sweet potato icing recipe based off of the ingredients I was using in the liquids for this Buckwheat Cinnamon Roll Recipe. I've made a number of different variations on this theme and included some in my cookbooks. I have even made this into a chocolate sweet potato frosting! Below you will find a delicious dairy-free sweet potato buttercream that you can use to frost your cakes or cookies.

Use this frosting to make sandwich cookies using my Gluten-Free Shortbread Cookie Recipe, or use it to frost your favorite cupcakes. Using orange-fleshed sweet potatoes will create a beautiful orange frosting (perfect for fall holidays), while using white-fleshed sweet potatoes will create a gorgeous white frosting (to replace those sugary vanilla frostings).

Spiced Tigernut Cookies (gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free)

Today I have a special recipe to share with you. This grain-free tigernut cookie recipe comes from a new book called The Autoimmune Fix, which I actually developed all of the recipes for! Dr. Tom O’Bryan wrote an incredible book on the current epidemic of autoimmune diseases. As a skilled functional medicine practitioner, he discusses the root causes of autoimmune disease, and in essence, all diseases. Dr. O’Bryan has spent the last few decades lecturing around the globe on how gluten contributes to disease, but now expands on that topic in his new book with the culprits and causes of autoimmunity: Genetics, exposure, and intestinal permeability.

You may be thinking, I'm fine and healthy. I don't have an autoimmune disease, though you may know someone with lupus, eczema, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, psoriasis, or celiac disease. But, did you know that you can have autoantibodies, or "messengers from the future" as Dr. Tom likes to call them, slowly degenerating part of your body without you even knowing it? And that this can go on for years and years with no symptoms or with only mild signs of autoimmunity, such as joint pain, weight gain, brain fog, gut imbalances, depression, mood disorders, and fatigue? Tom's book is essential for everyone to read because he explains, in his eloquent story-telling style, how this process happens and what you can do now to test for autoimmunity before the full-blown cascade of decline manifests in your body.  

It is estimated that there are 70 to 80 million people with autoimmunity right now in the United States. That's about 22% to 25% of our population. But only about 24 million of these people have been diagnosed. That's a whole lot of people walking around not feeling well and not knowing why! I encourage you to pick up a copy of The Autoimmune Fix to better understand, prevent, and treat both hidden autoimmunity and full-fledged autoimmune disease. 

Here is my recipe for spiced tigernut cookies, which can also be found in The Autoimmune Fix on page 276. Tigernuts are actually small tubers that are ground into a delicious flour, which is perfect for baking. Tigernut flour is high in prebiotic fibers that feed beneficial microbes in the gut. It's one thing to take a probiotic or eat fermented foods, and another to actually feed them everyday with fibers that we can't digest....but they can! Good bacteria in the gut will grow into healthy colonies with the right foods. These gut bacteria enjoy the fibers and resistant starches from tubers, root vegetables, legumes, plantains, and other plant foods, and then release, through their own digestion, short chain fatty acids (which then nourish the cells lining the gut), B vitamins, the amino acid tryptophan, and digestive enzymes to break down other parts of your meal! Beneficial gut microbes regulate immune cell function to help your immune system stay calm and not overreact (such as in autoimmunity). So each and everyday, remember you are not only nourishing your body with good foods, but also your microbial colonies that live in your gut. What have you eaten today to nourish your microbes? :)

Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes (grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free)

If you are in need of a chocolate fix or are looking for a dessert to impress your guests, then try this easy recipe for flourless, grain-free molten chocolate lava cakes! They are so simple and so tasty. You can even store the batter in the refrigerator and then cook one or two at a time, as needed. I like to serve them with crushed, freeze-dried raspberries or strawberries for an appealing presentation. Crushed, freeze-dried fruit also makes a great replacement for colorful sprinkles on children's treats (like cupcakes or birthday cakes)!

I tested this recipe many times last winter using different types of chocolate chips with varying levels of cacao content. I found that organic 55% chocolate chips (semi-sweet) worked best. The darker chocolate produced a very strong chocolate flavor.....too much for me (and too much of a buzz). You can of course test this recipe with darker chocolate and then report back here in the comments on how it turned out if you'd like!

The batter for these cakes can be made ahead of time and then baked just before they are ready to serve, in fact, that is the only way to make them as they need to be served warm for the "molten effect." I bake them in small glass Pyrex custard cups set on a cookie sheet or baking pan. You should be able to find them at your local grocery store or kitchen store, if not you can order them here. You will need six custard cups for this recipe.

My Favorite Pumpkin Pie Recipe (grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo)

Since it is the season for all things pumpkin, I decided to share with you my favorite pumpkin pie recipe. After all, Thanksgiving would not be complete without having a fabulous pumpkin pie! The paleo pumpkin pie filling and flakey grain-free pie crust both come from my Nourishing Meals cookbook.

Use any variety of baked winter squash in this recipe, such as sugar pie pumpkins, butternut squash, sweet meat squash, hubbard, or kabocha. Use this recipe for making Homemade Pumpkin Puree if you have a lot of squash that you would like to cook and freeze. Otherwise, just cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, and place the halves flesh-side down in a large glass baking dish with a little water in the bottom of the pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes, or until squash is very tender. Since you are going to blend the pie filling you can just measure out the cooked squash without first making a puree. So easy!

Flakey Grain-Free Pie Crust Recipe

I've got a delicious grain-free and gluten-free pie crust recipe to share with you today....just in time for holiday baking! Use it to make your favorite pumpkin pie, apple pie, berry pie, or chicken pot pie (pictured above). I've tested it with many different filling recipes and it works beautifully every time.

This recipe uses a mixture of blanched almond flour and arrowroot powder or tapioca flour. I've tested it using organic, pastured butter as well as a dairy-free version using Nutiva's Vegan Superfood Shortening. You can order blanched almond flour from Lucy's Kitchen Shop or from Nuts.com (though the latter is not as finely ground and does not work as well for pie crusts). I've also noticed that Costco sells Honeyville blanched almond flour which also works beautifully in this recipe. 

I have recipes for healthy, refined-sugar free pumpkin pie fillings in my Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook and my Nourishing Meals Cookbook. Get the recipe for my favorite Pumpkin Pie here!

Blackberry-Apricot Cobbler (gluten-free, nut-free, vegan)

I love a good cobbler, especially in the summer when our kitchen is brimming with fresh fruit! I created this gluten-free cobbler recipe after our first blackberry harvest. For those of you not living in the pacific northwest, you should know that blackberries grow everywhere here....a great food to wild harvest and freeze! We recently picked 12 more quarts of berries, made two more cobblers, and froze the rest (and of course enjoyed as many as we could straight from the vines).

This vegan, gluten-free cobbler recipe uses sprouted brown rice flour, which I've used in other recipes, such as my Sprouted Brown Rice Bread and my Brown Rice Flour Tortillas. You can purchase sprouted flour here or here. This satisfying dessert recipe can also be used during our Elimination Diet in phases 2 and 3. Be sure to use my Homemade Corn-Free Baking Powder here to make it Elimination Diet friendly! That recipe can be found in both of my cookbooks and here on Instagram.

Cinnamon-Date Almond Butter Cookies (grain-free, dairy-free, gluten-free)

In need of a healthy treat for road trips this summer? These date-sweetened, flourless almond butter cookies pack well and are adored by children...a treat you can feel good about giving!

I have not tried this recipe using other nut or seed butters yet. It's possible the recipe might work using roasted cashew butter or roasted sunflower seed butter. I've also only made these with eggs but since the recipe uses just one egg you might be able to replace it with a "chia egg" (1 tablespoon finely ground chia seeds whisked with 3 tablespoons of warm water).

Watermelon-Lime Slushies (sugar-free)

We've had a few hot days here lately in the pacific Northwest! My children and I created this super simple slushie recipe using fresh watermelon the other day. They wanted me to share the recipe with you so you could make it too! Once you make this version I hope you try it with other types of fresh fruit as well....it makes the perfect, refreshing summer afternoon treat.

This recipe would be suitable to enjoy during our Elimination Diet. If you haven't seen our new online program and book.....then hop on over to our website and check it out today. I created plenty of super satisfying, tasty recipes that are gluten, dairy, egg, corn, soy, nut, nightshade, yeast, and citrus-free! Many of the recipes are grain-free, legume-free, and low-FODMAP as well. 

How to Make Raw Vanilla White Chocolates (dairy-free, vegan)

Today I have a special Valentine's treat for you—a healthy recipe for raw white chocolate! This recipe uses just a few ingredients and is dairy-free. Traditional white chocolate usually contains sugar and milk solids, along with cacao butter. My recipe uses raw honey and raw cashew butter, as well as raw cacao butter. If you can't handle the buzz dark chocolate gives you then try this recipe. It's caffeine-free but still has some of the feel-good compounds found in chocolate.

You should be able to find all of the ingredients at your local health food store or online. One lucky person can win all of the ingredients, plus two silicone candy molds, for this raw white chocolate recipe on Facebook! That's right, I am doing my very first Facebook giveaway for you! Just go to our Facebook page and look for the giveaway photo at the bottom of this post. Leave a comment under the photo there. Drawing will end Monday, February 10th 2014, at 9pm PST.

Vanilla Coconut Cream "Cheesecake" (dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan)

Hello dear readers! I have a special treat for you today....literally! A dairy-free, grain-free "cheesecake" made from my Soured Coconut Cream recipe. This no-bake recipe is so simple to make and will delight your friends and family. I've tested it many different ways to get the perfect ratio of ingredients, in fact maybe too much, because now I want nothing to do with coconut milk!

The secret little ingredient in this recipe that helps hold it together and lighten it up is....agar powder! Agar is a gelatinous substance derived from red algae. When it is mixed with a liquid and heated it forms a gel. You can actually make vegan "jell-o" with it using fruit juice. I use this brand of agar powder. Make sure you don't use agar flakes, as the amount needed is different as well as the fact that they need to be soaked in a liquid before using them. You may be able to substitute grass-fed gelatin but I'm not sure on the amount. You would need more than a teaspoon for sure, maybe 1 tablespoon?

If you don't want to use the raspberry topping, try drizzling each slice with warm chocolate sauce and topping with fresh berries. You can use the Chocolate Ganache recipe here if you like.

Chocolate Walnut Brownies (Grain-Free, Gluten-Free)

I thought you might like a simple gluten-free brownie recipe to share with friends and family this holiday weekend. This recipe is unique in that it contains NO flour at all. Walnuts and cocoa powder make up the bulk of the recipe! You can find these brownies in my Nourishing Meals cookbook along with many other healthy gluten-free and grain-free recipes.

If you need more visuals other than the photos here, you can check out a recent cooking video we did making these brownies! Just scroll down....it's the last video on the page. There are plenty more recipes and ideas on our new and improved website for living GMO-free and gluten-free. Check it out and let us know what you think. There is also much more to come!

Coconut Banana Ice Cream Bars (dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free)

The other morning I slept in and came downstairs to see my oldest daughter, Lily, put a pan of something into the freezer. I asked her what she made and she responded: "frozen coconut banana cream bars." We all enjoyed them as a treat throughout the day. Then later I saw her on the computer (which rarely ever happens) and asked her what she was doing. "Oh, I'm just typing up a recipe for a blog post" she responded. So what you see written below, including all of the photos, is by my 11-year daughter. She's posted to my blog a few times before with her Seaweed Snack Recipe and Sugar-Free Flavored Lemonade. 

My notes: You can see a photo of what my version of this recipe looks like here on Instagram. It was originally a pie recipe, but Lily has made it into a crust-less bar recipe. If you want a crust you could try the chocolate cookie crust recipe that goes along with this recipe on page 433 of my book or use a 1/2 batch of this grain-free Banana Coconut Cookie recipe....pressed into the bottom of the pan, baked, and then cooled before adding the filling. 

Chocolate-Hazelnut-Goji Berry Cookies (grain-free, gluten-free)

This healthy little cookie recipe came to me in a flash the other day....all written out in my mind. I knew I had to get busy in the kitchen and make them. They turned out great the first time! Living in the Pacific Northwest we have an ample supply of hazelnuts so I like to use every opportunity I get to incorporate them into my recipes. If you don't have hazelnuts on hand try using raw organic almonds instead.

I use pastured eggs in all of my cooking. These types of eggs are one step up from organic and usually have a much darker, orangish-colored yolk. Pastured means that the hens had ample space outdoors to roam and peck around for bugs, ate organic vegetable scraps and a minimal amount organic grains. You can find pastured eggs at your local health food store, farmer's market, or even your neighbor! Just make sure that any grain that is fed to the hens is organic and GMO-free!

Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls (egg-free, vegan, refined sugar-free)

Happy Holidays! I created this yummy gluten-free, vegan cinnamon roll recipe about a month ago and have been looking forward to posting it here for you all! It makes a fun treat to share with family and friends around the holidays. This recipe uses a mix of a few gluten-free whole grain flours along with ground golden flax seeds to add structure and tenderness. It's actually a version of the gluten-free breadstick recipe in my new cookbook.

If you follow me on Instagram I am sure you've seen a few cinnamon roll photos already. So as promised, here it is...finally!

Cranberry Orange Upside Down Cake (grain-free)

I adore cranberries as you probably already know if you've been reading my blog. This healthy cranberry orange upside down cake recipe isn't very rich or sweet. In fact I sweeten it with just a few tablespoons of maple syrup. It's plenty sweet for my family though. Once you cut sugar out of your diet your taste buds become very sensitive to the sweet flavor and you just don't crave or desire sugar. In fact, you might even become repulsed by it!

This cake uses high-fiber coconut flour with the addition of arrowroot powder. The combination of the two flours creates a fantastic texture. This recipe is very simple to make, in fact, you can put it together in minutes! I posted a recipe very similar to this last summer, remember? You can go back and check out my Apricot-Cherry Upside Down Cake post for more photos on assembling the cake.