Continue reading]]> I recently had the chance to review Zipzicle popsicle bags.  There is a giveaway on our Facebook page going on right now.  I am smitten! They are great for a quick healthy snack and are so much healthier than Otter Pops.  I think they are such a great idea!

I just made 45 Zipzicle popsicles for a family reunion and would love to share my Zipzicle recipes with you.

You want your puree to be a little runny so it will run easily through a funnel, so keep that in mind.  You may want to adjust the water based on your funnel size.  I used this funnel and this blender.  The zipzicle holds 2.5 oz.  If there is any puree left over, just drink it or give it to your kids!  Yum….

Strawberry Banana Zipzicle Recipe

2 cups Strawberries

1 large banana

1 cup water

1 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 T. agave (optional)

Blend to desired consistency.  Use a funnel to pour juice into the Zipzicle bag.

Peach, Strawberry, Banana Zipzicle Recipe

2 peaches (skin on)

1 cup strawberries

1 banana

1 cup water

1 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice

2-4 T. agave (optional)

Blend to desired consistency.  Use a funnel to pour juice into the Zipzicle bag.

Blueberry Lemonade Zipzicle Recipe

1 cup blueberries

1 cup lemonade (We used Archer Farms organic)

1 tsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice

Blend to desired consistency.  Use a funnel to pour juice into the Zipzicle bag.

Pear Raspberry Zipzicle Recipe

1 ripe pear (cored and seeded)

1/4 cup frozen raspberries

1/2 cup (or to taste) coconut water.

Blend to desired consistency.  Use a funnel to pour juice into the Zipzicle bag.

Pina Colada Zipzicle Recipe

1 cup 100% pineapple juice

1/4 cup cream of coconut (Skim the solids of the top and reserve the clear liquid for something else. Sweetened coconut milk would also work instead of the cream of coconut)

2 T. crushed pineapple

1/2 tsp. mexican vanilla (optional)

Blend to desired consistency.  Use a funnel to pour juice into Zipzicle bag.

Virgin Mojito Zipzicle Recipe

1 cup lemonade (We used Archer Farms organic)

1/2 of a small small lime (peeled)

2 large-ish mint leaves

3 T. agave (optional)

Blend to desired consistency.  Use a funnel to pour juice into the Zipzicle bag.

To buy directly from the company, go to their website here

Continue reading]]> We made these gluten free lemon cookies for a neighborhood party this summer and they were a big hit!  They are soft and chewy and just plain delicious!  We used this gluten free flour.

I hope you enjoy this recipe.  If you have any questions, please post a comment and I will answer it to the best of my ability!

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Making kale chips in the oven is so incredibly easy and I think it’s pretty tasty and an easy snack to make.  Kale is very healthy for you and I don’t really like the flavor raw or in smoothies unfortunately, so this is a palatable way for me to eat it.

Here’s how to make kale chips in the oven

1. Wash and dry 1 bunch of kale
2. Put a piece of parchment on a cookie sheet and break up kale into bite sized pieces and spread out on the cookie sheet.
3. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the kale and really rub it in so each piece is covered.
4. Add some Himalayan Sea Salt and crushed black pepper.  You could also add some dairy free (or regular) paremsan cheese but that’s optional.
5. Bake at 250 degrees for about 40 minutes (or until crispy) stirring half way through.

Here’s what it looks like after it’s been cooked and cooled and is ready to eat!  Please post a comment if you have any questions on how to make Kale chips.

Continue reading]]> My 12 year old daughter made this gluten free dairy free white chocolate chip cookie recipe yesterday for family night and they were so delicious!  They tasted just like their non-gluten-free counterparts.  Thank you to the cookie goddess who brought us a little bit of heaven last night as it doesn’t happen every day around here!

Continue reading]]> My kids love smoothies and this healthy strawberry banana smoothie recipe is my go to when we have company over or if we are just looking for a refreshing and healthy treat.  You don’t have to have a Blendtec blender, that’s ok. Just use what you have. But, if you plan to have smoothies often, I would highly recommend investing in one. I make a green smoothie every day for breakfast, and other blenders I’ve tried just didn’t hold a candle to the Blendtec. I’ve had mine for several years and it’s the most used kitchen appliance in my house. I can’t say enough good things about it!

Strawberry Banana Smoothie Recipe

(put in blender in the order listed)

1 ripe banana

1 small can pineapple canned with natural juice and no sugar (optional).  Dump in the whole thing.  If you don’t use pineapple, add in a tablespoon of agave nectar or honey to sweeten the smoothie.

1-2 cups coconut milk (or milk of your choice).  Use less for a thicker smoothie.

1 T. chia seed, a super-food and full of omega 3’s (they are tasteless)

2 T. gogi berry, a super-food, kind of tastes like a raisin.

2 cups frozen strawberries

3 ice cubes

Blend twice on the frozen fruits function of the blender.

Additional things you could add: (unsweetened sparkling water instead of coconut milk, 2 c. spinach, grapes, honey, or mango)

Serve with an ice cub and a bendy straw and you’re done!  In case you are wondering, the cups were purchased on ebay.

Continue reading]]> My sister in law recommended a restaurant / bakery to us when we were visiting Seattle.  She knows our family is gluten and dairy free and Seattle really caters to our dietary lifestyle a lot more than Utah does!  The restaurant she suggested was called Flying Apron. Boy was she right, we loved it!

Everything in the Flying Apron Cafe is gluten free, dairy free, and vegan.  I can’t even tell you what it means to me to go into a restaurant and be able to eat ANYTHING I want off of the menu.  Usually, there is only one thing on a menu that I can have when I go to a “regular” restaurant, so this was like heaven, dessert heaven!  I thought the prices were reasonable and the food was really tasty.

The people that worked there were incredibly nice and helpful as well.  They even let me video their secret recipe for dairy free Italian sodas.  See that video and the recipe (which I have since used at home several times) at the bottom of the post.  Also notice that the Italian Soda is also sugar free (as long as you use a sugar free flavor syrup).  I have also used 100% fruit juices in the Italian sodas I have made at home and they are really delicious.

Also check out the Flying Apron’s events.  They have a family game night and a live music night.  We were not there for an event, but they look really fun!

We tried out a lot of different things while we were there so I could give an honest review.  We had the kale salad, sweet potato curry pie, tomato basil soup, and shepherds pie.  Everything was really tasty, but the sweet potato curry was the absolute favorite and the one that everyone at our table liked the best.

For desserts we had the sugar cookies, lemon poppyseed muffin, pumpkin muffin, chocolate muffin, apricot jam thumb print cookie, cinnamon roll, etc.  All the desserts were really good.  If you don’t like anything they sell, they have a 100% satisfaction guaranteed and they will give you something else.  I didn’t prefer the pumpkin muffin and they gave me a chocolate one instead that I liked much better. They also have a 50% off on day old desserts.  I am not a big fan of day old gluten free desserts, so those weren’t my favorite.  I would suggest the fresh desserts.  I wish I would have tried the cake, what was I thinking?!  I will have to go back again next time we visit the Seattle area.

 Here is a video of the restaurant itself and what food they offer

Here is another video from the Flying Apron on how to make a gluten free dairy free Italian Soda

Italian Soda Recipe

2 T. flavoring of your choice (caramel was used in the video)

1 cup sparkling water

1/4 cup of coconut milk

1/4 cup ice

Stir well, or blend in a blender.  My Blendtec makes a mean Italian Soda!

If you have any questions please post a comment and I would be happy to answer as soon as I can!

Continue reading]]> I have planted pickling cucumbers in my garden this year.  They are so cute and little!  I started them from local heirloom seeds in the spring and they are flourishing now in the summer.  We love to snack on pickles all year round.  When I have a lot of pickles, I will steam can a batch for food storage.  You can see my How to Pickle post here for long term storage. Today I am going to show you an easy recipe for pickles that is not steam canned, but simply fresh pickles stored in the refrigerator. You don’t necessarily have to use pickling cucumbers for this recipe.  I used a mixture of regular ones from my garden and the pickling cucumbers from my garden.  Just make sure if you use regular ones that they are small in size, mini is best because they are more crunchy.  Here’s how to make refrigerator bread and butter pickles.

These pickles will last up to a month in a glass jar when prepared this way.

Step #1: Pick and Wash Cucumbers

Step #2: Slice

I like to slice mine a little thick because as they sit in the salt and the pickling juice, they will lose quite a bit of their moisture.  You will need 4-5 cups total.  They will reduce in size later.  A crinkle cutter might be a good addition here.  I was too lazy to bother

Step #3: Soak and Rinse

Soak the cucumbers in 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Pickling Salt for 90 minutes in a bowl on the counter.  Wait.  Wait. Wait.  Then rinse. Rinse. Rinse.  I used a colander and rinsed thoroughly 4 or 5 times under the sink sprayer.

Step #4: Make Brine Recipe in a Saucepan

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup dried onion, reconstituted (or 1 fresh onion chopped small)

1 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar, unpacked

1 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, with the mother

1 1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp celery seeds

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp minced garlic

Directions for brine: Add brine ingredients into a medium sauce pan and cook over medium heat until boiling and all of the sugar is dissolved.  Cool slightly and then pour into a clean, large jar (I used an old gallon pickle jar from the grocery store that had been sanitized).   Add in rinsed cucumbers, put the lid on, and let sit in the fridge for 24 hours.  Then they are ready to eat!

Easy, huh?  My kids love these.  I leave them out on the counter for them to snack on all day.

If you have any questions, feel free to post a comment and I will answer it to the best of my ability.  Thanks for stopping by!

Continue reading]]> Have you ever wondered what to do with the frozen triple berry blend from Costco (blueberries, strawberries, and marionberries)?We make healthy smoothies out of them all the time and they are wonderful!  You can put whatever you want in them and the possibilit8ies are endless, but this is a recipe that we really like.

Triple Berry Smoothie Recipe (in order listed)

1 banana

1 apple, cut in quarters (optional)

1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (or 1 can unsweetened pineapple with juice)

1 cup spinach (optional) – you can’t taste it

2 cups frozen triple berry blend

1 cup milk (we use rice milk)

Blend on the frozen fruit setting 2 times. Serve with an ice cube and a straw.

Enjoy!

Continue reading]]> Hey there!  I try to cook with one of my kids once a week and they get to choose the meal.  Today, my oldest chose chicken pot pie, the ultimate comfort food.  I had to do some testing and trying to make it gluten free and dairy free… and… the result… it was a humongous hit with the whole family!

Gluten Free Chicken Pot Pie

Step #1 Cook Chicken

Cook 2 chicken breasts, then remove from pan and chop in bite sized squares.  If it doesn’t get cooked all the way through, that’s ok, it’s going to get cooked more later.

Step #2 Make Sauce

In the rendered chicken fat or dairy free butter, cook 1/4 cup onions until soft and translucent. Stir in 1/3 cup gluten free featherlite flour, salt, pepper, and a tsp. of celery seed. Slowly stir in 1 3/4 cup good quality chicken stock until well combined and then stir in 2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until you achieve a thin gravy thickness. Add 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables and chicken and cook until just a simmer.

Step #3 Make Topping

I used Bisquick Gluten Free biscuit mix. Just follow the instructions on the back of the box for one batch of biscuits.

Step #5 Fill Ramekins

Put filling mixture into ramekins and spoon biscuit mix on top using a medium scoop or a table spoon (note:  the biscuits will expand to about twice their size and soak up excess moisture from the meat mix, so make sure not to put too much dough on the top).  I put too much dough on top, so don’t follow my bad example!  Top biscuits with a dash of paprika.

Step #6 Bake, Cool, and Serve

Bake for 20-30 minutes at 425 degrees or until biscuits are golden brown.  Cool 10 minutes before serving.

If you have any questions, please post a comment and I will try my best to answer it quickly!

Continue reading]]> I had a GIANT sweet potato from bountiful baskets and I had no idea what to do with it besides mash it up.  I decided to grill it on the stove with my indoor grill pan and it was fantastic! It could also be done on an outside BBQ easily following the same instructions.

How to Make Grilled Sweet Potatoes

1. Pierce the sweet potato with a fork a few times, then microwave  it for about 10 minutes (use less time for a small one).  You want it to be a little firm so you can slice it and it will stay in tact.
2. Peel skin off of the sweet potato with your hands.  It should come right off.  If it doesn’t, then it needs to be cooked longer.  Next, slice in 1/2 inch slices.
3. Spray grill pan (or BBQ grill) with cooking spray and preheat to medium high.
4. Brush sweet potatoes with canola oil and shake some medium grain sea salt and ground pepper and place in preheated grill pan.  Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side or until grill marks appear.  Serve with a blended cillantro sauce (1/4 cup oilive oil, 1/4 cup fresh cillantro, 1 tsp white vinegar, salt and pepper).  I used a stick blender to make the sauce.  A small food processor would work too.

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