I have always had a passion for cooking. One of my challenges to myself this year is to make things from scratch, using healthy, clean, FRESH ingredients for my family. This includes making everything gluten free, and striving for a wheat free household this year. I will seek out the freshest, Local Ingredients when possible. In the spirit of this challenge I have decided to blog along the way, posting my culinary adventures as they happen. I will strive to post all my favorite successes, and perhaps even some of my colossal failures!!!

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Showing posts with label Gluten Free. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gluten Free. Show all posts

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins

Still in search of additions to my kids breakfast, lunch, snack repertoire as I embark on the journey to ever better nutritional health for our family....
What can they have for snacks other than veggies, nuts, organic jerky occasionally, meat roll ups... VARIETY is the SPICE OF LIFE after all, right?
Speaking of spice, Pumpkin is one of my all time favs to work with, always has been. So it makes sense that as I embark on the wheat free, gluten free journey I would turn to pumpkin. I found a recipe at Tropical Traditions for Pumpkin muffins, I really didn't tweak much at all.
Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
6 eggs 
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
3/8 cup pure maple syrup ( abt 3 1/2 oz)
pinch salt

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease muffin pan with coconut oil or line with paper liners.
Sift dry ingredients together.
Whisk wet ingredients. Gradually Whisk in flour to pumpkin mixture until no lumps remain.
Divide between 12 large muffin cups, or 36 mini.
Bake 12 min or until toothpick in center comes out clean for large.

Optional Cream Cheese Frosting:
8oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 c butter, softened
1/4 c maple syrup or honey
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all and Beat in electric mixer till light and fluffy.

Paleo Pancakes

In our Paleo adventures as a family, one of the hardest things I have found its finding breakfasts that break out of the eggs realm. The easiest, and probably healthiest choice for our children for breakfast is eggs. Scrambled eggs, poached eggs, egg muffins, eggs with sausage, eggs with bacon, eggs with sweet potato hash... Well my son Jackson, he could have eggs and bacon every single day and he would never complain.
Caroline on the other hand. Well lets just say she gets tired of eggs, eggs, and well more eggs.
I am not strictly straight Paleo, more the PANU variety so we do eat dairy. Whole milk yogurt and berries gets thrown in to our breakfast mix sometimes. However, I still was in search of more variety....

So I decided I need to give gluten free baking a try. I have to say I was very wary... I previously LOVED baking bread. HUGE FAN. Will these other flours stand up at all, or will it just all FLOP???

My first ever recipe I tried was for Paleo pancakes, a recipe I adapted slightly from one I found browsing sites on the internet. Before I give the recipe I have to say, I am a little leary of almond flour, as almonds are higher is omega-6 and I am really a little worried about this. I want to work on the 6:3 ratio and don't want to introduce things high in omega 6 to my family's diet very often. That being said... WE NEED SOME BREAKFAST VARIETY SOMETIMES PEOPLE!!!!!!---- so.....
without further ado..
Paleo Pancakes
 2 eggs
1/8 cup water
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup almond flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
Blend wet ingredients in blender. Add dry ingredients to blender and pulse until well blended. Let rest in fridg 20 min up to overnight. Make on Griddle using coconut oil or butter, over med-high heat.     ( this is a rather thick batter,- it works!- but if too thick thin out with a little more water)

To DIE FOR Pumpkin Paleo Pankcakes

This was my first go at my own gluten free, no wheat baking recipe. I wanted some really good breakfast food, something other than eggs and bacon for the kiddos once and awhile....
I  had made regular Almond Flour pancakes, mainly from a recipe I had seen, see my version- Regular Paleo Pancakes. They were good, but I wanted something more, shall we say DECADENT? These hit the spot!!!---
I PROMISE- make these suckers!!-whether you are gluten free, paleo or not at all. THEY ARE tO dIE fOR!!!! YUMM!


Pumpkin Paleo Pancakes
2 eggs
1/2 cup pumpkin puree ( not pumpkin pie mix)
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp maple syrup ( the real stuff)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
Blend all wet ingredients in Blender (or a food processor) first. Next add all dry ingredients and pulse until well blended and no lumps. Place in fridg to rest for at least 20 min to overnight. Now you are ready to make pancakes!!! I made mine silver dollar sized. ( This is a thicker batter, thats ok, it works!- if its too thick, as coconut flour does soak up the liquid, add a little more milk as needed)
ENJOY!!!
Here is mine on the griddle... the smaller you make them the easier they are to handle! - (just a hint)