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Cassava Flour Paleo Brownies {nut-free, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free}
These Cassava Flour Paleo Brownies are allergen-friendly being nut-free, gluten and grain free, refined sugar-free along with dairy-free. These fudgy, rich brownies feature both cacao powder and melted dark chocolate you are gonna love these rich, ooey gooey, chewy grain-free paleo brownies!!
Are you a brownie lover? I wasn’t growing up, but I sure am now! I LOVE a dark chocolate, fudgy, double chocolate chip brownie. Growing up my mom never made desserts from scratch. It was always a boxed brownie mix with water, eggs, and vegetable oil. There is nothing wrong with that if it’s your jam but learning more about nutrition and the value that ingredients can provide in terms of nutrients, I wanted to make a healthier version. This is a simple recipe that is allergen-friendly and more importantly delicious! Once I realized that I don’t enjoy the overly sweet brownie recipes, I started testing with different sugars, different types of chocolate, and flour alternatives.
Who would have thought that all purpose flour, almond flour, and cassava flour would yield such different results! The major concern for me was it needed to be gluten-free. The second concern was the amount of sugar. I really don’t do well with a lot of sugar, buttttt if you want a brownie, you need sugar to get that crinkly top. So, you will see 1 full cup of coconut sugar in this recipe but overall, it is what completes this brownie. You can always remove some of the sugar, just remember that altering the recipe will yield different results.
Good news for you we have our very own Tasty Yummies Raw Organic Coconut Sugar! One of the other positives for using coconut sugar is that it has been shown to have a lower glycemic index. What does that mean? It means that coconut sugar has been shown in some studies to have less of an impact on your blood sugar. It may help with not getting or feeling that sugar rush and then a crash twenty minutes later. Everyone has a different reaction to sugar, but with using a sugar that is less processed can be more beneficial than using refined sugars.
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Billionaire’s Bacon – Thick Cut Paleo Candied Bacon
I am super excited to share this recipe with you for Billionaire’s Bacon – Thick Cut Paleo Candied Bacon. This was recreated and inspired by Villard restaurant at Lotte New York Palace Hotel in New York City, after a recent trip to the city, along with the Hamptons for an amazing Blogger Retreat I attended. Read on for this amazing candied bacon situation, that features a little sugar and a little spice recreated to be paleo-friendly, along with scenes and highlights from our amazing East Coast trip.
This bacon will 100% make you feel like you’ve struck riches, you’ll totally feel big time. Aptly named this Billionaire’s Bacon tastes as if it were fit for royalty. It’s sinful really. With the original recipe calling for a full cup of light brown sugar, and having tasted it and devoured it, it’s super tasty, decadent and sweet, but maybe too much so for this low sugar gal. So, I recreated this paleo-friendly version, adapted from the original, to lower the sugar but still offer that sweet stickiness, with the multi-layered spices.
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Caramelized Onion Jam
Inspired by our travels to England, this Caramelized Onion Jam is the ultimate condiment. Great on burgers or with a cheese board, on your trendy avocado toast or just with veggies.
Part of what I enjoy so much about traveling, is experiencing new and different foods. I love sampling local fare and being inspired by new and unique ways to bring flavors together. On our trip to England this fall, as you can imagine there was a lot of room to be inspired. I was particularly impressed by our time in England, the level of culinary experimentation and creativity, as compared to my trip there 15 years ago.
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Crock-Pot® Hot Chocolate {Dairy-free, Paleo and Vegan}
Disclosure: Post sponsored by Crock-Pot® brand slow cooker & Mirum Shopper, but all opinions are my own. Please see below for additional disclosure.
With the first day of winter upon us and Christmas just mere days away, the comforts and coziness of the season are in full force. All the holiday cookies, seasonally-inspired meals, traditional cocktails and so much more. But for me, nothing brings the taste of the season like some rich, creamy, homemade Hot Chocolate.
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Caramelized Fig Ice Cream
You will constantly hear me speak of the incredible community that food blogging has introduced me to. It’s one of the most rewarding byproducts of this strange life path I have chosen. A little family of foodie friends, all connected by the common thread of our love of creating delicious, nourishing food and sharing it with the world.
Oftentimes, our fellow friends will need support, for varying reasons that might pull them away from creating content for their platforms. I myself have at times brought other bloggers in to share content her on Tasty Yummies, you might remember a whole month of posts from these talented folks while I was away with my yoga teacher training.
While my friend Sylvie, of Gourmande in the Kitchen, was off cooking up her greatest masterpiece yet, a beautiful baby girl, she asked if I would create a recipe for her site in the time just after she returned home, so she could enjoy all the new moments with her wee one. Of course, I gladly agreed, what an honor to be able to be of support in such a magical time. If you aren’t already familiar with Gourmande in the Kitchen, you should be. Sylvie, like me, subscribes to the belief that real food heals. All of the recipes on her website are free from gluten, refined sugar, and processed ingredients with many paleo, vegan, raw and allergy-friendly options as well. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Sylvie is an incredible photographer, every perfectly shot image drawing you deeper into her site.
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Roasted Blueberry and Lemony Yogurt Popsicles
In my opinion, it isn’t summer until you make the first frozen treat of the season! I’d love to say I have the energy and time to bust out the ice cream maker every week throughout the summer. I don’t. Homemade ice cream is good, but just so much work and there are so many steps. Honestly, popsicles are my favorite! Always an easy way to celebrate the season and all of it’s beautiful, fresh offerings. I also love that if you are smart with your ingredients you can make popsicles that will work for just about everyone at your party, no matter their eating style or preferences. No need for an ice cream maker or anything besides popsicle molds and you can even skip on those, just pour these into paper cups, add a popsicle stick and call it a day. Easy!
If you haven’t been able to tell by the 5 years of posts up until now, I am slightly obsessed with roasting. OK a lot obsessed. It’s my easy answer to bringing out the best in foods. Fruit or veggies, there is just something about roasting, even in the dead of summer, I refuse to deny myself. Especially when it concerns fruit, roasting brings out the inherent sweetness, it provides pretty bursts of color and flavor and it’s a simple way to maximize all that juicy, saucy, sweet goodness. So yes, I am complicating something meant to be simple, by adding the extra step with the oven here, but you have to just trust me on this one.
These popsicles have the perfect mix of sweet and tart, one of my favorite combos. I tend to go light on the sweetness myself, so if you want them more sweet than tart, you may want to add a bit more coconut sugar when roasting and/or more maple or honey. I like to barely fold in the roasted berries, to keep the gorgeous swirls of purple, violety blue.
I opt for my homemade coconut yogurt to keep these popsicles dairy-free/vegan, but you can also go with Greek yogurt, regular yogurt or goat’s milk yogurt. I just suggest whatever you choose, to go with full fat if you can, this give you the rich creaminess and the extra fat which cuts down on the icy factor.
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Maple Glazed Pumpkin Spice Coconut Flour Donuts
OK guys, so I didn’t want to make this the world’s longest post title, but check it out: these donuts are not only gluten-free, but they are also totally grain-free and even nut-free! Bonus round – they are also dairy-free and refined sugar-free. Best part is, even in being the most “free-friendly” donut recipe I have made yet, I finally impressed my donut-obsessed hubby with a homemade gluten-free donut!! This has been a many year long odyssey, so I feel like I should get a medal or an award or something.
To be fair, this is the first time I have ever actually fried donuts at home, so I am certain that has a lot to do with Mark’s adoration. None the less, these puppies are healthier than the white flour containing crap he has an affinity for, so a win is a win!
Whenever I make my usual baked donuts at home, Mark and I argue over the fact that they just aren’t real donuts. He always claims they are basically just a circular muffin when they are baked and not fried in any way. I now kinda have to agree with him there!
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Lavender Berry Parfaits with Whipped Coconut Cream {Gluten-free + Vegan}
I have been obsessed with berries lately. They are in season here in Southern California so much earlier than I was used to on the East Coast, so I feel like I have been given this extra special gift this year. The berries out here are seriously better than I have ever tasted before. The pint of strawberries I picked up a from my favorite organic farmer this week, are seriously THE best I have ever had. I can’t get over it.
When Sherrie from With Food + Love invited me to share a seasonally inspired dish for The Spring Dish {PLANT POWER}Blog Series, I knew instantly I wanted to share a sweet berry recipe. I wanted simple and light, but with a little something special to make it unique. A fragrant lavender simple syrup compliments the berries with all that lovely soft aroma and flavor and the coconut sugar gives it a nice robust almost rustic finish. And of course, the whipped coconut cream is the best way to finish these parfaits off. Read the rest of this entry »
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Vegan Candy Cane Hot Cocoa Mix (Gluten-free)
There a some flavor combinations that for me are the classic quintessential tastes of the holiday season. The combination of chocolate and peppermint this is definitely one of those. For my final giftable recipe this month in my series with Free People, I thought a handmade gift that was not only pretty, but tasted amazing would be the best way to end things. Hot cocoa is not just for kids, but also for the kids at heart.
Layer the delicious ingredients for this homemade candy cane hot chocolate in a jar and add some fun decorative touches like a fresh clipping of evergreen, wrap fabric over the lid, tie twine or ribbon and add a pretty tag. It not only looks beautiful, but it is so tasty, too! The bonus is this hot cocoa mix is vegan and gluten-free and depending on the ingredients you use, low in refined sugars, as well.
On it’s own or with a nice mug to compliment it, this simple DIY gift is sure to put a smile on anyone’s face! It’s a great hostess gift, it’d perfect for the secret santa giveaway, or just a thoughtful handmade gift for the chocolate loving vegan in your life. This simple ratio of ingredients can also be used to make a small batch for yourself, anytime you’d like!
[print_this]Vegan Candy Cane Hot Cocoa Mix
Fills a 1 quart jar, makes 12 servings- 1 cup powdered non-dairy milk, such as soy or rice (or powdered dairy milk, if you aren’t vegan)
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (be sure it is vegan)
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar (or raw cane sugar)*
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup miniature semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup crushed vegan peppermint candy (these particular candy canes are great – no GMOs, no HFCS, no artificial dyes, etc )
Optional:
- 1/2 cup vegan mini marshmallows
- A few additional mini or full-sized candy canes
Layer the powdered non-dairy milk, cocoa powder, coconut sugar, salt, chocolate chips, and peppermint candy. If you’d like, you can add mini marshmallows to the top of the jar, if there is room or attach a plastic bag full to the jar. On the back of the gift tag, write:
“Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl. For each serving, place 1/4 to 1/3 cup cocoa mix in a mug and stir in 1 cup boiling water or non-dairy milk. Mix keeps in airtight container at room temperature for up to six months.”
OR
If you wish to leave the powdered milk out, shake all of the remaining ingredients together (you may want to increase the ingredients by 25-50% to fill up the jar without the powdered non-dairy milk). Once fully mixed, add it to the jar and layer marshmallows on top, if there is room. Change the directions on the gift tag to read:
“For each serving, heat 8 ounces of your favorite non-dairy milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until hot (alternatively, microwave 2-1/2 minutes at full power). Whisk in 1/4 to 1/3 cup hot chocolate mix. Mix keeps in airtight container at room temperature for up to six months.”
*Consider making a homemade vanilla sugar first, using my recipe for vanilla sea salt, replacing the salt with sugar. Use an equal amount of the vanilla sugar instead of plain sugar in in this recipe and it takes it to a whole new level!!
**Note: if your container is a different size, just keep the ratio of ingredients constant.**[/print_this]
This recipe originally appeared on the Free People blog BLDG 25.
