Pumpkin Hazelnut Teff Muffins (vegan, gluten-free)

After my last post I received many requests to share a pumpkin hazelnut muffin recipe that was also egg-free. As many of you know, replacing eggs in grain-free baked treats can be quite a challenge. I've only had a few successes with it myself. So rather than spend hours in the kitchen trying to create an egg-free, grain-free recipe, I made it simple and worked with teff flour to create a moist, wholesome vegan treat that most everyone can enjoy.

If you have my new cookbook, Nourishing Meals, you'll notice how many recipes contain teff flour. This ancient grain is native to Africa but is now grown in the Snake River Valley of Idaho. I buy it in 25-pound bags from Azure Standard. It is definitely a staple in our house. Teff is rich in minerals, low in phytic acid, and of course gluten-free. It seems to be one of the easiest gluten-free flours to digest. I make my sourdough starter primarily from teff flour so we can enjoy Injera a few times a week. If you are looking for more vegan, gluten-free baking recipes that are nutrient dense (that don't rely on a ton of starches, sugar, or xanthan gum) then please check out my new book. All of the recipes are refined sugar-free, use whole grain gluten-free flours, nut flours, and coconut flour......and none contain potato or cornstarch!

Chocolate Banana Bread (gluten-free, dairy-free, xanthan-free)

The marriage of chocolate and bananas is truly divine. This bread is light, yet rich with chunks of sweet banana melting in your mouth with every bite. Have a slice with your breakfast smoothie or as a mid-afternoon snack, but our favorite is always fresh out of the oven! Or, try pairing a slice of this bread with a mug of Dairy-Free Hot Cocoa on a cold snowy day.

I use teff flour in this bread. If you have not figured it out already, you'll know I'm a big fan of teff! You can view all of my teff recipes on this blog if you'd like. I buy large 25-pound paper bags of the flour for around $40 from Azure Standard. Before my friends and I started a buying club through Azure, I bought it directly from The Teff Company (Azure sells the same brand).

Gluten-Free Gingerbread Muffins (vegan, nut-free, xanthan-free)

Happy Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year here in the northern hemisphere. As we were heading out to the beach today with the kids, my 6 year old said to me, "mama, that's weird, I thought today was supposed to be the darkest day of the year, but it's the sunniest!" Yes indeed, today was a beautiful day to spend at the beach playing on the warm, sunny rocks and exploring the trails. Also a good day to come home and bake gingerbread muffins to warm us up along with mugs full of hot spice tea!

These muffins use pureed prunes and chia seeds to bind them together and hold moisture. They are made almost entirely of teff flour. I buy 25 pound paper bags of it from Azure Standard for around $40 with free shipping. That comes out to about $1.60 a pound, which is far less than what you pay for those little packages in the health food store, plus the packaging is biodegradable. I buy organic, unsulphured prunes in bulk from my local food co-op.

Apple-Cinnamon Teff Pancakes

I'm going to take another quick break from posting Elimination Diet recipes and share a favorite gluten-free, dairy-free pancake recipe with you. You all probably know how much I adore teff, right? I have many teff recipes on this blog that you can browse through. This lovely, warming pancake recipe is a spin off my vegan Teff Banana Pancakes. There are a few differences, mainly that I am using eggs in this recipe and replacing mashed banana with applesauce.

I buy my teff flour in 25 pound paper bags from Azure Standard. The company that makes the teff flour is called The Teff Company. 25 pounds costs me $38 ~ which is really a fantastic price if you compare the cost of one small bag of teff flour from the co-op.

For those of you who don't like to add any starch to gluten-free recipes you can make this recipe without tapioca flour, however, the end result is a bit crumbly. You can easily make gluten-free pancakes and waffles without xanthan gum, but leaving out the starch as well makes things a little tricky. My kids normally like this recipe, but when I replaced the tapioca flour with an extra 1/2 cup of teff flour they didn't really eat them stating that they couldn't use a fork and "they're too crumbly mom, what did you do to them!"

Apple-Cinnamon Teff Pancakes

This recipe makes about ten 6 to 7-inch pancakes, enough to feed my four hungry children in the morning with a few extras for leftovers. You can easily cut this recipe in half for smaller families. If you want to make these egg-free then follow the recipe for Teff Banana Pancakes and replace the banana with applesauce, remembering to add the cinnamon. I made a simple apple-cinnamon topping for these by simmering one sliced apple in a little water with a few dashes of maple syrup and ground cinnamon for about 10 minutes. You can follow an exact recipe for this topping here. Enjoy! :)

Dry Ingredients:

2 cups dark brown teff flour

1/2 cup tapioca flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Wet Ingredients:

2 cups non-dairy milk

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 large organic eggs

3 tablespoons melted virgin coconut oil

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup (Grade B)

Begin to heat a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. (You may need to adjust the temp for cooking). I melt the coconut oil in here while I mix the dry ingredients. Measure it after it as melted.

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add the wet ingredients. Whisk together well.

Make sure your pan still has a little coconut oil on the bottom (just a little). Use a 1/2 cup measure to pour the batter into the pan. Cook for 60 to 90 seconds on one side, then flip and cook for 30 to 60 seconds on the second side. Add about 1/2 teaspoon of oil in between pancakes. Adjust the cooking temp as needed. I cook mine just under medium. Source: www.NourishingMeals.com.

More Pancake & Waffle Recipes:

Pumpkin Pancakes

Whole Grain Waffles

Blueberry Syrup

You may also like:

Baking Powder Recipe from The Spunky Coconut

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Gluten-Free, Vegan Hemp Bread Recipe

This fantastic gluten-free yeast bread recipe utilizes high protein hemp flour along with other gluten-free flours such as teff flour and brown rice flour. It is dark and hearty, perfect for sandwiches. For a slight variation you can create a flavorful "Rye" bread by adding onion powder and caraway seeds.

Here is the feedback from my taste testers: rustic, hearty, "dessert bread," mmm, I'd like to make this!

I buy my hemp flour from our local Community Food Co-op, though here are a few other places that sell it online: Nature's Perfect Food, Essense-of-Life, and Healthy Hemp Food.

Hemp's nutrition profile is no laughing matter. This seed boasts over 33 grams of digestible protein per 100 grams. It contains all essential amino acids; is high in minerals such as iron, calcium, and magnesium; and is high in essential fats.

I won't go into much more detail about the nutritional benefits of hemp, but you can read more about it here.

Pictured below is the hemp bread with my homemade honey-sweetened blueberry jam.

Whole Grain Flatbread (gluten-free, yeast-free, vegan)

I have had a number of emails over the summer for a gluten-free flatbread recipe. I also get emails and requests for yeast-free breads. So here is is, the best of all worlds....yeast-free, gluten-free, rice-free, whole grain goodness, and quick & easy! What more could you ask for. Oh yes, it tastes great too.

I made this again for dinner last night. While it was baking, one of my 20 month old twins was standing next to the oven as I opened it to take a peek. Immediately he started to let me know that he wanted some by his grunting and fussing (they don't talk much yet)! He patiently paced back and forth next to the oven until I pulled it out. As I set it on the counter he pushed a stool over and leaned over the hot pan to take a sniff. "Mmm" he said. "Hot" I said!

I cut into the bread after a few minutes and immediately he grabbed a bit out of my hands and gobbled it up, piping hot. I continued to cut it into squares to serve with dinner. I noticed that he kept grabbing the squares, hopping down off the stool, running away, then coming back for more. Well what I found was that he was hoarding all of the bread and placing it on his plate set at the dining room table! I just had to laugh!

All of my children love the bread as do the other children I had taste test it. My plan is to make this bread often and put it in my daughter's lunchbox along with something to spread on it. Small containers of almond butter and homemade blueberry jam or hummus will be perfect.

You can refer to the post I did on Packing a Healthy School Lunch and download a handy chart while there for more tips and ideas.

Last night after dinner was done and the kids were in bed, I mixed up two more batches of the dry ingredients and put them into sealed, glass containers. It is so much easier to mix everything up while all the ingredients are already out on the counter!

Gluten-Free Whole Grain Waffle Recipe

Today I wanted to share with you a tasty little waffle recipe that I created a few days ago. I know many gluten-free recipes and packaged products usually contain large amount of not-so-nutritious starches and refined flours such as white rice flour. Well this one doesn't. I rely on flours from super nutritious grains such as teff, quinoa, and millet. These flours not only significantly boost the nutrition, they add loads of flavor.

This recipe does contain eggs, though I do use coconut oil and rice milk which makes the recipe dairy-free. For those of you who do milk and butter you could easily use these ingredients instead. You can also make this recipe corn-free by using the corn-free baking powder recipe in our cookbook.

Over the last few days I have made this recipe a couple of times. Each time sharing it with my extended family who we are visiting right now. My 5 year old nephew asks me every morning, "Auntie Ali, are you going to make those waffles again today?" I take that as a success!

I bought all of the flours needed, except the millet flour, here in my parents' Midwest town. I used Bob's Red Mill brand. I think I gave my mom a bag of millet flour a few months ago while she was out visiting so I didn't need to purchase that one. I buy Arrowhead Mills millet flour which can be purchased online here.


Gluten-Free Whole Grain Waffles

This gluten-free waffle recipe is full of flavor and nutrition, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside - just like a waffle should be. It is also sugar-free, relying only on a small amount of maple syrup to add a touch of sweetness. If you need this recipe to be rice-free as well, simply substitute the rice flour for sorghum flour or millet flour. Waffles can be frozen and then reheated in a toaster or toaster oven for convenience. To make breakfasts even easier, plan a day to make a few batches of the dry ingredients up and store them in separate sealed containers. Place the directions and list of wet ingredients on the container. Enjoy! :)

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup dark teff flour

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup sorghum four

1/2 cup millet flour

1/2 cup quinoa flour

3/4 cup tapioca flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 to 4 teaspoons cinnamon

Wet Ingredients:

3 large organic eggs

6 tablespoons melted coconut oil (or melted butter)

4 tablespoons maple syrup

2 1/2 to 3 cups of non-dairy milk (or dairy milk)

Heat your waffle maker.

In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl whisk together the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk together well. (Start with the lesser amount of milk. Make one waffle and see if it seems too dry. If it is then add more milk. It will depend on how you measure, some of us over-measure slightly and some of us under-measure.)

Pour the batter into your waffle maker per your maker's instructions.

Source: www.NourishingMeals.com

Other breakfast recipes you might enjoy:

Vegan Maple Raspberry Scones

Bean and Rice Breakfast Bowls

Green Smoothie

Teff Banana Pancakes

Other News:

Tom was recently on the Voice America Internet Talk Radio speaking about Celiac disease. If you are interested in listening to the show you can follow this link.

I just opened up a Twitter account, though I really have no idea how to use it. I think if you have a Twitter account you can follow us. Eventually I will learn how to use it, though right now I am really enjoying the summer with my children. We are playing hard! :)

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Spiced Teff Cookie Bars (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Soy-Free)

This recipe was inspired by an email I received from a fellow gluten-free blogger and mother of a toddler. Her son is allergic to wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, oats, and nuts. She had great success in baking my Rhubarb Muffins and other recipes, and was wondering if I had any cookie recipes that fit her son's allergy criteria and that also excluded seeds. Hmm, seeds too? No flax, no sunflower, no nothing? Now, I do have a handful of these types of cookie recipes which will be appearing in my next book, but what about something new? An idea for a richly spiced teff cookie bar was inspired!

I experimented with my idea two different ways while my twin toddlers were sleeping this afternoon. My four-year old daughter helped to measure all of the ingredients. It especially excites her to measure the spices and level them off with her finger!

These cookie bars are rich, moist, with a full-bodied spice flavor. My toddlers thoroughly enjoyed them!

Though I have not tested this, I believe these bars could be made with sprouted brown rice or sorghum flour in place of the teff. The teff does lend a discernible crunch which may turn some folks off, though die-hard teff lovers will surely be satiated with this recipe.

I have a number of gluten-free, vegan teff recipes available on this blog for those newcomers just stopping by for the first time. Enjoy!

Dark Teff Sandwich Bread

Here I present to you a gluten-free yeast bread, sweetened with honey, reminiscent of whole wheat bread. Dark and hearty, full of whole grain goodness that is usually deplete in gluten-free breads. Because of teff's amazing nutrition profile this bread is higher in protein and iron than most of its gluten-free counterparts.

I tested this recipe a number of times, each time changing one aspect of the ingredient list. I finally settled on this version, knowing it was a winner because of how fast it disappeared in our house.

Although bread really isn't a staple in our house like it used to be, I think we will be making this recipe again and again. It is just very handy to have something ready-made for busy days. My 14 month old twins love eating this bread toasted and spread with pumpkin seed butter. My 4-year old and I eat it toasted and spread with almond butter and sour cherry jam. (I buy organic, fruit-sweetened jam from the company Bionaturae).

I know I have mentioned arrowroot powder in previous posts but I wanted to say it again here because it is a main ingredient in this recipe. Arrowroot can be cross-contaminated with gluten if processed in a facility that also mills wheat.

I used to purchase our arrowroot in bulk at our local co-op but then one day I decided I wanted to save money and special order a larger amount. When my order came in I wondered if they had given me someone else's order. The 5 pound paper package was covered with pictures of wheat and it sure had the look and feel of a bag of wheat flour. Of course I found the little sticker that read "Arrowroot" but it got me wondering. So I contacted the company to talk to them. They never responded but it didn't matter I already knew the answer.

Cross-contamination!

Just a little bit of gluten that could be hiding in that bag of arrowroot could have sent Tom and our now 4-year old daughter into a week of agonizing you-know-what. So we returned the arrowroot. And this is when I fell in love with the company Authentic Foods. All of their products are gluten-free so no need to fret. One of our local Health Food Stores, Terra Organica, sells many of the Authentic Foods products, including arrowroot. You can also buy it online here.

For those of you who are curious, our local co-op sells arrowroot in bulk from another company, Glory Bee Foods, different from the company I had special ordered it from. I have not had time to contact this company to check and see if it is gluten-free. If someone does, please let me know.

Interested in more whole grain teff recipes?

Please check out our Teff Pancakes, Teff Breakfast Muffins, or Chocolate Chip Teff Banana Bread.

Now on to my super yummy bread recipe...

Teff Banana Pancakes

I am about to divulge another secret recipe. A sweet, nutritious little breakfast treat. Naturally gluten-free of course! Even those of you not following a gluten-free diet will enjoy these cakes. They are also egg-free making them perfect for older babies and toddlers. Our 14 month old twins began eating these a few months ago and love them. In fact, if we have leftovers, I will pack them in a to-go container and take them for them to snack on during our outings.

I like to eat them topped with a dollop of raw almond butter and a tall glass of fresh green smoothie on the side. In fact, this is my perfect pre-workout meal. Clean burning fuel that doesn't weigh you down. Energizing and refreshing.

Here are some important Pancake Making Tips:

1. Follow the recipe. We tested this a number of ways and found this recipe works perfectly. If you add just a tad bit more liquid you will find your pancakes will stick mercilessly to your pan.
2. Be sure to whisk together the dry ingredients well before adding your liquid ingredients.
3. It works best if your milk or water is not cold but rather slightly warm (not hot).
4. Heat your skillet to the correct temperature for about 3 to 5 minutes before adding anyting to it, not too hot but warm enough to cook them without sticking (I cook mine a notch or two below medium).
5. Add a teaspoon or so of oil in between pancakes.
6. Most egg-free batters are thicker than pancakes made with eggs so you will need to help your batter spread immediately after pouring it into the hot skillet. Use the back of a spoon or the measuring cup you used to pour your batter into the pan.

For those of you who can not tolerate bananas (I know it is may sound strange but yes, a banana allergy can be rather common) you can substitute equal amounts of applesauce for the mashed banana.

Ok, so now the recipe. Tom is doing the dishes now and talking and talking to me while I am trying to write. He just got back from an Autism conference in Vancouver yesterday and has lots of new information to talk about. Really fascinating new research on this subject. Tom also attended the DAN (Defeat Autism Now) conference in San Diego a few months ago and learned a great deal there as well. He will write about the benefits of the GF/CF diet in children with Autism in the coming weeks. But first look forward to yet another teff recipe this week. A scrumptious Yeasted Teff Sandwich Bread -- coming soon! If you are interested in more wholesome, gluten-free teff recipes you can check out our Teff Breakfast Muffins or Chocolate Chip Banana Teff Bread.

Teff Banana Pancakes

Teff, a very small Ethiopian grain, is now cultivated in Idaho. It is rich in minerals, particularly iron. When ground into flour, these minerals become more available. These pancakes will give you staying power until lunchtime, especially if combined with a green smoothie. For more banana punch, try chopping up a small banana and fold it into the batter. Also, now that my twins are eating these (and they can eat a lot) I need to make a double batch.

1 cup teff flour
¼ cup tapioca flour
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 cup water or non-dairy milk
¼ cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 small banana)
2 tablespoons melted virgin coconut oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup, honey, or agave nectar

In a small bowl mix together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk together.

Heat a stainless steel skillet over medium-low heat until hot. Add a little coconut oil. Drop batter by the ½ cupful onto hot skillet. Flip pancake after tiny bubbles form. Cook for another minute then transfer to a plate. Add about ½ teaspoon coconut oil in between cooking each pancake. © Alissa Segersten 2008 www.nourishingmeals.com

Enjoy!

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Chocolate Chip Banana Teff Bread

Well that's a mouthful, we could just say Banana Bread and call it good. Who needs gluten or dairy when you can have this? Here is a real life testimonial from the mouth of my almost 4-year old daughter (with bread in hand): "This bread is so good you ever made, I love chocolate chips!"

This recipe is an example of how you can modify any of the muffin or quick bread recipes in my cookbook to use different flours. If you look on page 133 of my cookbook you will see our recipe for Banana Walnut Muffins. This bread recipe is identical but the brown rice flour has been replaced with a combination of brown teff flour and sorghum flour. I didn't add the walnuts either. My girls have decided that they don't like walnuts in their bread anymore. And of course the recipe just wouldn't be complete unless I added chocolate!

Have you tried the mini-chocolate chips from Enjoy Life? They are delicious. Unfortunately they are not organic but thankfully are gluten, soy, dairy, egg, and nut free! Truly a chocolate blessing for those affected with multiple food allergies. I bought a large bag from the glutenfreemall.com a while ago. I transferred them to glass jars and stored them in my freezer.

In this recipe I used Hemp Dream hemp milk. Hemp Dream, by the manufacturers of Rice Dream and Soy Dream non-dairy milks, has a fantastic flavor and consistency. 

I used maple sugar in this recipe instead of cane sugar. I know many people like to avoid cane sugar, so I wanted to share with you what a wonderful replacement maple sugar is! Be careful though about buying just any brand. Many of them are not gluten-free because of cross-contamination during processing. The maple sugar from Authentic Foods is GF, which is what I used here. You could also use coconut sugar. See the post I did on Links to Products We Use for where to purchase.

Teff flour is so nutrient dense and works so wonderfully well in baking that I am working on finding new ways to use it. Stay tuned for more teff recipes!

In the mean time, enjoy this little jewel of a recipe.

Gluten-Free Teff Muffins

I have this recipe that I created a few months ago and I thought I would share it with you. It is one of those recipes that is so delicious and so perfect that you don't want to give it away, or share your secret. But here it is, a gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, sugar-free divinely delicious and nutritious little muffin, the Teff Breakfast Muffin.

Do you know what teff is? It is a super tiny, gluten-free Ethiopian grain that is extremely high minerals, namely iron. (Teff is probably most well-known for its appearance as a flour in the flat, pancake-like bread, injera - a staple food in Ethiopian cuisine.) Teff is also high in protein, complex carbohydrates, and fiber, making it a perfect breakfast food. Being very easy and quick to prepare, you can make your lunch or get ready for your day while the teff is simmering on the stove, it only takes about 15 minutes. 

Although teff originated in Ethiopia, it is now grown in the Snake River Valley of Idaho. The story goes, that the company's founder, Wayne Carlson, was in Ethiopia in the 1970's and spent some time as a guest at a local farm. The farmers were eager to show him their crop of teff among other grains. Then once back in the US, Wayne became fascinated at the geographic and climactic similarities of the Snake River region and Eastern Africa. He then decided to grow teff, asking Ethiopians living in the US to work on the farm, thereby reestablishing the relationship of these people to their native grain.

Whole grain teff and its flour comes in different varieties - brown or ivory, both delicious! If you cannot find organic teff flour in your local co-op or health food store you can buy it online from http://www.teffco.com/ in 5 or 25 pound bags. Bob's Red Mill also sells it but theirs is not ground as finely making it slightly gritty.

Instead of using the typical non-stick pan for baking, I use a stone muffin pan that can be found here. It is so wonderful to bake with, the muffins never stick, everything cooks evenly, and it cleans up easily.