Peanut Butter Banana Snack

When kids get home from school they are always hungry. For that matter, let's face it. Kids are simply always hungry and the most popular go to snack is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. But have you read the ingredients on a loaf of processed bread? Or on a jar of jelly? Over the last couple of decades we have become more and more informed about the unhealthy effects of processed food and we really want to feed our kids as healthy as we can.

But there is a problem with that. Getting kids to eat anything that is considered healthy. This snack is a really good way to introduce them to just how fun and delicious eating healthy can be. The health benefits of bananas are well known, honey is filled with anti-oxidants and flax seed is loaded with Omega 3 fatty acids. Recent studies have shown that the average American diet is seriously lacking in Omega 3s and any chance you can get to boost this you should. But I recommend not telling your kids that they are eating flax seed because the very word seems to make kids think it's going to taste really bad. If they ask, tell them it's ground nuts :-)

2 Tbs natural peanut butter
1 medium banana
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp ground flax seed.
dried berries

Spread peanut butter on a saucer. Cover with sliced banana. Sprinkle with ground flax seed. Add a few dried berries of your choice. Drizzle with honey. Sit back and watch your children love eating a healthy snack.

Gluten Free Dairy Free Stroganoff

Stroganoff is normally associated with beef and contains both dairy and wheat. This recipe avoids all of that but still maintains amazing flavor. You can use this over pasta or rice, but we found that shredded hash browns is an amazing compliment. We actually used this recipe as a pilot for a possible cooking show. If you would like to watch the video, there is a link to it below the recipe.

Serves 4

12 ounces Baby Bella mushrooms
4 tablespoons olive oil -- use divided Sea salt black pepper
1 small onion -- chopped
2 cloves garlic -- minced
3 tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce
3 tablespoons Rice wine
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
3/4 cup Dairy Free Sour Cream
1 tablespoons Gluten Free Bisquick

Cut the mushrooms into small chunks. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until almost smoking hot. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes or until they are browned and have released some liquid. Add a large pinch of salt and pepper and remove the mushrooms from the skillet and set aside.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the same pan, add the onions and cook until they soften and start to brown, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Season with a little pinch of salt and pepper and stir to combine. Add the mushrooms, along with any juices that have accumulated, back into the pan, then add the soy sauce and rice wine. Cook, stirring until the liquid has evaporated. Add the vegetable broth and cook for 3 or 4 minutes to reduce the liquid to about half. Lower the heat to low, add the vegan sour cream and gluten free Bisquick. Heat through, stirring occasionally, until thickened to desired thickness. Serve over gluten-free pasta, rice sticks, steamed rice, or hash browns. Nutritional Information

Per Serving: 216 Calories; 15g Fat (65.2% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 15g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 1mg Cholesterol; 632mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Vegetable; 3 Fat.

Gluten Free Dairy Free Apple Bake

You ever have those times when a half baked idea turns out to be a fully baked masterpiece? That is the way I felt when we dug into these. Having been wheat free for a while, I was really starting to miss apple pie and really wanted a way to have it once again. The smell of these cooking was enough to send me into fits of drooling anticipation. Waiting for them to cool in order to drizzle with frosting was almost painful, but oh so worth the wait. 

We have made these with blueberries and blackberries as well and they are just as amazing.

3 cups thin sliced apples
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground clove

1 cup gluten free Bisquick
1 cup original almond milk
3 tbs apple sauce
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat over to 350. Apply cooking spray to 3 personal size oven safe casserole dishes.

Stir together apples, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove until apples are well covered. Set aside while making batter.

Stir together Bisquick, almond milk, apple sauce, egg and vanilla in large mixing bowl.

Pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the bottom of each of the three casserole dishes. Divide the apple mixture between the three dishes on top of the layer of batter. Divide the remaining batter up between the three dishes on top of the layer of apples.

Cook on center rack of 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. When finished, remove from oven and allow to cool completely or serve warm.

If desired, drizzle a mixture of powdered sugar, almond milk and vanilla over the completely cooled dish.

Black Bean Quinoa Burgers

One of the really frustrating things about being both vegetarian and wheat free is trying to find products that are both. Burgers are very good examples. Almost all vegetarian burgers on the market use wheat as a replacement for meat along with soy and a few other things. Once again, we had pretty much assumed that we were going to have to give up one of the meal options that we dearly loved. But after tweaking and testing other recipes, we finally arrived with this. Does it taste like beef? Of course not. But it is a nice replacement for the unhealthy original.

1 can black beans
1 cup cooked quinoa
2 tbsp finely chopped carrot
2 tbsp finely chopped celery
2 tbsp diced red bell pepper
2 tbsp diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp gluten free soy sauce
chili powder
sweet paprika
fresh ground black pepper
sea salt
Olive Oil
2 tbsp water
1 egg
1/4 cup brown rice flour

Saute onion, bell pepper and garlic in olive oil for 1 to 2 minutes. Add water to pan, then add carrot and celery. Cover lightly and steam for 1 to 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, lightly mash black beans with a fork. Stir in quinoa, cooked veggies/aromatics, ketchup, soy sauce and spices (to taste). Add in egg and brown rice flour, stir until well mixed.

Form into 6 patties, brown in olive oil over medium-high heat, turning once. Optional: cover with shredded cheddar flavor Daiya shortly before done and cover pan to melt Daiya.

Vegan Au Gratin Potatoes - Gluten Free

When we decided to start eating healthier we cut a lot of things out of our diet. Wheat and dairy were two of those things. But our cheese addiction made this extremely difficult. Then we discovered something amazing. Daiya dairy free cheeses. The taste is amazing and for the first time we have found a dairy free cheese that actually melts. It's perfect for pizzas, pastas or just about anything else you would normally use cheese for. We had thought that we would have to give up Au Gratin Potatoes entirely unless we wanted to cheat. But now we can have them any time we want. 

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 tbsp margarine
4 oz cheddar Daiya wedge
4 oz jack Daiya wedge
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
dash chili powder
salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
3 large-ish potatoes
shredded cheddar Daiya
shredded mozzarella Daiya

Slice potatoes, cook for about 10 minutes in boiling water. Meanwhile, melt all but the shredded Daiya in a saucepan. Drain potatoes, spread evenly in a baking dish, pour Daiya sauce evenly over potatoes. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, then top with shredded Daiya and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Cool for a bit before biting into the lava-like cheesiness.