The Unbaked Cookie

 These cookies are so easy, and the kids love making them (largely because they can start popping them into their mouths the second they are done rolling them).  I like them because the mess is minimal, they are packed with good fats and protein, use no refined sugars, and are flourless.  Oh yah, and of course they are GF/DF friendly.  Once you get this recipe done, you can begin to explore the millions of different variations to try in the future.  It's pretty hard to screw these up.

The ingredients:

(Please soak all nuts 8-12 hours to remove enzyme inhibitors, then dehydrate or slow roast at low temp to achieve crispness again - your gut thanks you)

1 cup Raw Organic Walnuts
1 cup Raw Organic Almonds

1/2 cup Raw Organic Pumpkin Seeds (you could toss in some Ground Flax Seeds also)

6-8 Organic Pitted Whole Medjool Dates (Deglet would work also)

2 tbsp Organic Coconut Oil (just softened)

1 tsp Gluten Free Almond or Vanilla flavor (you could scrape a vanilla bean to achieve this also!)

1/3 cup Gluten Free Organic Crunchy Rice Cereal (unsweetened or fruit juice sweetened)

1/2 cup Organic Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

Put the first 6 ingredients in a food processor and blend just until it starts to ball together.  If it seems a bit too dry still, add a tiny bit more oil and give it another whirl.  The oil from the walnuts makes it so you don't need much.  When it is balling together nicely, put it all in a separate bowl and squish in the Crunchy Rice Cereal until blended.  Then start rolling small handfuls into balls, and then cover/roll in the coconut.  Put them all on a pretty plate and enjoy now, or store them in your fridge for later.  They are delicious cold!

Other ideas for added interest, adding cinnamon and currants, or organic dried blueberries, or fruit juice sweetened organic cranberries, or even dried cherries or pineapple or mangos.   Always be sure your dried fruits are sweetened with only fruit juice, not sulphured,  and organic if possible, for your health's sake.  :-)

Greek-ish Spinach Salad (No cheese needed)

Organic Baby Spinach - I used about 6 large handfuls

Organic Red Onion - sliced and diced or in strips (you could probably saute it quickly in a pan real quick if you want a warmer salad)

Organic Hass Avocado - I used a whole large one, diced and scooped from the rind

Organic Pitted (or pit them yourself) Kalamata Olives

Organic Cherry Tomatoes, or Roma (quartered)

Lots of Organic Fresh Basil (roll up the leaves, then slice the roll in 1/4 wide pieces, sprinkle on salad)

Artichoke Hearts - marinated and quartered (I used Native Forest brand in small glass jar) - I chopped them up so they would distribute throughout the salad better

Something I did not add, that would be lovely in this salad, is some diced Organic Baked/Grilled Chicken Breast. If you have any leftover cooked chicken in your fridge, now's the time to use it up!

For the dressing:

I poured about a cup of Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil into a cup, added a large clove of Garlic that I had pressed in a garlic mincer, about 1/4 cup of Organic Balsamic Vinegar, and Fresh ground pepper to taste.  Stir it all up, taste, then drizzle over salad to your liking.  I see no need for salt in this recipe.  The artichokes are already marinated in some sea salt, and the garlic gives the salad a lot of zing too.  Adding more salt is less healthy, and redundant in my opinion.  You do what you like though!  Enjoy!

Waffle Heaven!

Ok, so I've been a little (a lot bit) food depressed lately.  Haven't posted anything in quite a while, that should be the first sign.  Then there's the stacks of unwashed dishes that grace my counters as of late, and I know I'm in deep.  So Saturday morning, since the sun was shining and the sky was blue, I decided to pull my chin up, and I began my emergence from the GF/DF pit of breakfast despair with just a tiny bit of naughtiness.  The kids and husband agree, these waffles are heavenly....you would never notice that they are GF/DF.  Try them, you'll thank yourself.  Fresh from the iron, they just can't be beat.

1 cup Organic Brown Rice Flour (I used Fairhaven Flour Mill - from Bellingham, WA)
1/2 cup Potato Starch (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1/4 cup Organic Coconut Flour
2 tsp Aluminum Free Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Sea Salt
2 tbsp Organic Honey
1/4 cup Organic Coconut Oil (VERY gently melted)
2 Organic Free Range size Large eggs
1.5 cups Unsweetened Original Hemp Milk
(I used Tempt brand, but you can use any other non-dairy milk w/out any Xanthan or Guar Gums, and of course cow milk works fine for the non-allergic)
1 tsp Braggs Raw Apple Cider Vinegar

These are best mixed by hand with a whisk, in a nice big bowl.  Old school style.
Put in all dry ingredients, and kind of push them all to one side of the bowl. 
In the other side of the bowl, add in all of the wet ingredients, and quickly whisk to mix them.
Then simply whisk the wet and dry together until a nice batter is achieved, and pour into your waffle iron as necessary.
Enjoy!

Sometimes I'll throw a bunch of frozen berries in my cast iron skillet on the stovetop while the waffles cook.  I toss in about 2 cups of frozen Organic berries, 1 freshly squeezed Lemon or Orange, and about 2 tbsp of Honey.  Heat it over medium, stirring as needed to create a lovely warm berry compote (do not overcook, you want them warm, but not sad and droopy).  The kids will love it, and so will you!