Yummy Buttermilk Pancakes

A few years ago, when we cut out gluten, dairy and eggs, we really missed buttermilk pancakes. Curdling coconut milk by adding vinegar is the solution.  Some people curdle it with lemon juice as well.

Here is the recipe:
Make your egg substitute ahead of time by putting 2 TBSP of ground flax in 3 TBSP of water.  Mix with a fork and leave in the refrigeration for 15 minutes to gel.

Prepare the milk by adding 1 and 1/2 tsp of apple cider vinegar to 1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut milk.  This recipe makes a very thick pancake.  Samuel prefers them thick and we prefer them thin.  I probably use almost a full cup of milk.  I would recommend that the first time you make it that you mix it an add in milk until you like the consistency.  The next time you make it you can prepare more buttermilk if you wish.

Wisk together the dry ingredients:
1 and 1/3 cups of Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Baking Mix (not the 1 to 1)
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt

Wisk the wet ingredients together:
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 eggs (or egg substitute)
2 TBSP Olive oil
2 tsp vanilla (gluten free)

Heat up the skillet on medium and use about 1/4 to 1/3 cup per pancake.  You can make them without added fat but, we love to cook them in melted soy free earth balance.

Serve with real maple syrup!

Yummy, Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

When I had a friend try these cookies, she thought they were better than "regular" chocolate chip cookies.  They are super yum, easy to make and if you don't use eggs, you can eat all of the dough you would like to.

I have started to measure some of my baking ingredients by weight but, you can use standard baking measurements as well.  

Before you begin, prepare your egg substitute.  Place 2 TBSP of ground flax in a bowl with 6 TBSP or water.  Stir with a fork and place in the refrigeration for 15 minutes.

Cream:

• 1 cup (224 grams) of fat -  I use 150 grams of Soy Free Earth Balance and 74 grams of Spectrum Soy Free Shortening.  I have found the cookies a little greasy so I am going to try messing with these ratios next time I make the cookies and I will update the recipe if it improves.
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) of granulated sugar
• 1 cup (220 grams) of brown sugar

Add and mix in:

• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 large eggs or egg substitute

Wisk together dry ingredients and then add a bit at a time to above mixture:

• 2 1/4 cups (360 grams) Bobs Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Mix (not the 1 to 1)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp  xanthum gum

Mix in 2 cups (360 grams) of chocolate chips (we use Enjoy Life brand)

Chill the mixture for 4 hours in the refrigerator

Roll into balls and place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the edges start to brown.  

I was tired of making a huge amount of cookies that were gone in a few days and also the mess that I make of the kitchen when I bake.  Last time, I tripled the recipe, baked only 16 cookies and rolled up the rest of the dough to put in the freezer.  Next time we want chocolate chip cookies, I can just take out a dozen and let them thaw a bit, then throw them in the oven.  

We Love Ice Cream

Our family loves ice cream.  When I was a kid, I would have gladly eaten if for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  When my husband and I were first married and very poor college students, our date night included tv at home and splitting a carton of Ben and Jerry's New York Super Fudge Chunk.

I have known for years that dairy and I do not mix.  My husband, whose love of dairy products is greater than most anyone I know, has also realized that he is allergic to dairy products.  Dairy is part of Samuel's elimination protocol and we are hoping that he will be able to tolerate it in the future.

We have tried various substitutes.   My go to was a coconut ice cream that can be found in the health food section of most grocery stores.  Samuel's favorite has always been to take frozen bananas and blend them up with other ingredients to make it into whatever flavor he chooses.  Fortunately, my husband will try anything even if it does not live up to his expectations.

I am happy to say that we have finally found a substitute that is so good that we keep way to much of it stocked in our freezer.  It is cashew ice cream.  Our favorite is the snicker doodle but, they have a really great chocolate as well.  We haven't tried the other flavors yet.  It is a little pricey at about $5.00 a carton but, not much more than a carton of Ben and Jerry's.

And We Are Back!

Well, we are back, sort of.  I don't even know if anyone is still getting notifications about this page as it has been almost 4 years since the last post.  We put this up some years back to help people who were trying to figure out how to cook through food sensitivities and allergies.  We had to make some changes to our food plan for Samuel and this fell by the wayside.  I am so glad that we kept some of the recipes on here because we are on an elimination diet and I can find a few of his favorites.

Changing what you eat or following an elimination diet can seem daunting.  It isn't quite as difficult as one might think once you get into a pattern.  The difficult part is starting a new pattern and that pattern may eliminate a lot of social eating.  While that is hard, it can be a blessing!  It eliminates some of the junk we feel compelled to eat at social gatherings.  Take if from a pastor's wife, there are a lot of situations where there is food we cannot eat.

Back when we started this page, we were not on a whole family elimination diet.  Samuel was cutting out gluten, dairy, eggs and soy.  We also placed restrictions on MSG and preservatives.  Chris and I followed this diet as well....at home that is.  This time we are doing everything as a family for the most part.

Here is the plan:  We started an elimination diet almost 2 months ago.  We took out a long list of foods and once we feel confident that it has made a difference, we will add one back in at a time to see if we can find an offending food.  It will take months but, we are doing it carefully so we don't need to repeat it.  The add back in part will look a little bit different for each one of us based on food allergies that Chris and I have.  I'll update as we work through it.

What we took out:  Dairy from cows, Gluten, Eggs, Soy and Corn.  We also eliminated MSG, preservatives, and of course food dyes.  In addition, as I was reading labels, I just decided that we would switch to real food.  What does that mean for us, you ask?  When I read a label, for example on crackers, I must be able to find the ingredients in a store somewhere to make it myself.  So our crackers include garbanzo bean flour, which I can find in local grocery stores.  I thought that switch would be a pain but, it really hasn't been.  I do spend a bit more time in the kitchen though as I am making a lot from scratch.

What are we doing on here now that we are back?  I am going to post some favorite recipies....easy to complicated, sweets and savory and link you up with some great recipe websites.  I don't need to reinvent what is already out there.  The updates won't be super frequent because our life is very busy but, I'll try to post at least every week or so.

So, here we are.  Let me know if you have any special questions about how to eat with your particular food allergy or sensitivity.  I'm pretty good at substitutions!