Cranberry-Pear Sauce (refined sugar-free)

This year's cranberry sauce recipe uses ripe pears to sweeten up the tart and tangy cranberries. I've added a smidgen of coconut sugar to help balance the flavors but I imagine that stevia could be used instead. Coconut sugar is a low glycemic sweetener but stevia is a "no-glycemic" sweetener meaning it doesn't raise blood sugar at all. This recipe can be made days ahead of the big day and served cold or warm.

If you are gluten intolerant be sure that the coconut sugar you are using is gluten-free. Anything that is dry or granulated like sugar, flours, cornmeal, polenta, etc. can be processed in a facility where wheat or gluten products are processed. I use coconut sugar from Big Tree Farms, which is sold under the brands, Sweet Tree and Essential Living Foods. Our wonderful local food co-op also stocks coconut sugar in the bulk section but it is NOT gluten-free. It comes from Glory Bee Foods. I called them and none of their products are anywhere near gluten-free, so beware. Our other health food store in town, Terra Organica, sells coconut sugar in bulk and it comes from Essential Living Foods so it is okay. My friend Melissa from Gluten-Free For Good made a comment in the post we recently did on gluten cross-contamination pointing out that some coconut sugar brands are contaminated with gluten. Other than the one I mentioned above, I have not seen any sold around here. If you know of one, please leave a comment to help each other out.

Black Quinoa and Roasted Pumpkin Salad

Ever tried black quinoa? It is delicious, and very nutty-flavored. A bit fibrous. Great for salads. Cooks up quickly like its white counterpart. This quinoa salad embodies the flavors of autumn. Roasted sugar pie pumpkin with a hint of cinnamon combined with dried cranberries, roasted pecans, shallots, and a zesty dressing. Perfect for a simple, nutritious lunch or as part of your Thanksgiving feast.

Black quinoa is colored by a class of compounds called anthocyanins which protect the plant against oxidation and UV damage. Anthocyanins act as powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents that when ingested, protect our bodies against chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Our modern lifestyle has caused many people to become chronically inflamed. Stress, nutritional deficiencies, elevated toxins in our environment, and lack of sufficient antioxidants causes our bodies to produce higher levels of cytokines which cause inflammation and tissue damage. Cancer cells grow and reproduce under inflammatory conditions. Anthocyanins decrease inflammation and cause cancer cells to die (apoptosis).

Not only is black quinoa a rich source of anthocyanins but also are blueberries, black rice, black beans, blackberries, black raspberries, purple broccoli, purple cauliflower, red cabbage, cherries, and many more. Just think black, purple, dark blue, and dark red.

Lentil and Kale Dal + a Video!

Lentils are what we make for dinner if I have not planned ahead of time to soak beans or buy ingredients for a meal. Lentils are inexpensive and cook quickly without the need for soaking. However, if you are gluten-sensitive or celiac, there is one thing you need to know about lentils. They are often cross-contaminated with gluten grains. We made a short video in our kitchen to show you. Hope you enjoy!

Homemade Halloween Candy

This is a super simple recipe for making your own refined sugar-free, nut-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free candy. It has only two ingredients plus a little sea salt. It kind of reminds me of a Tootsie Roll but without all of the cell-damaging hydrogenated oils, genetically engineered corn syrup, artificial flavors, and sugar!

I am not sure how we have gotten so offtrack when it comes to celebrating holidays. Holidays have become completely commercialized. Halloween is now celebrated by giving pounds of chemical and sugar laden "food" to children wrapped up in plastic packages that end up in a landfill. Our children don't need one more thing damaging their growing bodies. But what do you do? Keep your children from a tradition that has been taking place in our country since the 1930's or let them be part of the fun?

Our tradition on Halloween began when our first daughter was three years old, which was her first year trick-or-treating. We take our children out early, all dressed up in costumes (this year purchased at our local consignment store). They trick-or-treat for about an hour. Then come home and get to choose one piece of candy to eat, usually a lollipop. Then the rest gets put under their bed for the Candy Gnome. The Candy Gnome lives off of candy alone and is very happy to find it there waiting for him. So in return he gives the children each a special treat (a healthy treat)! This is usually a pomegranate, fruit leather, and an herbal tea bag for each child. Our children are thrilled when they wake up on November 1st. Seriously. Though last year the Candy Gnome didn't get much to eat because they happily gave most of it away to other trick-or-treaters later in the evening!

Sweet and Spicy Kale Chips

Warning: Kale Chips are highly addictive! There are so many different ways to make kale chips. Usually I just toss kale pieces in olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Blended cashews, red peppers, lemon, and nutritional yeast is another popular combination. Here I combine a little almond butter, lime, olive oil, maple syrup, and chili flakes to create a very addictive, yet healthy snack. This kale chip recipe is the perfect thing to bring to any spooky Halloween parties you may be attending this weekend!

Kale chips can be baked at a low temperature in the oven or dehydrated in a food dehydrator at 115 degrees overnight, or about 10 to 12 hours. I always have great intentions of making large batches of kale chips and then storing them in glass jars on the counter for the kids to munch on but they never make it that far. I prefer making kale chips with curly kale because all the good stuff that you drizzle over the kale tends to stick a bit more. But since we have a lacinato kale forest in our back yard that is what I have been using. Lacinato kale is also called black kale, Tuscan kale, or dinosaur kale by the way.

Grain-Free Pumpkin Cupcakes

After multiple failed attempts to create a grain-free, nut-free, refined sugar-free cupcake recipe I finally got it! We couldn't decide whether or not to call these muffins or cupcakes.....so when frosted they are cupcakes and when plain they are muffins. I sweeten these little treats using pureed medjool dates. Combined with the coconut flour, they taste fairly sweet!

I have found that different brands of coconut flour yield very different results. Most of my coconut flour creations needed to be composted (ok, I have much more experience using grain flours) until I began using a different brand of coconut flour. Has anyone else experienced this? If you bake with coconut flour, what is your favorite brand? Please leave a comment if you have a moment. I have had best results using the Let's Do Organic! brand of coconut flour.



For detailed instructions on making your own pumpkin puree go to the post I did last year on How to Make Homemade Pumpkin Puree. It is important to make it correctly otherwise your puree could end up too moist which would affect how the cupcakes turn out. I use a Dairy-Free Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe I posted over a year ago. I didn't have any opened jars of applesauce so I used 1/4 cup of Tom's freshly made dairy-free coconut yogurt (I normally use 2 tablespoons applesauce). I also increased the coconut oil to 6 tablespoons.