Gluten Free Chewy Sweet Potato Ginger Cookies

Posted on December 25, 2012 by Vandy Roadifer

I love gingerbread and ginger cookies and this year I wanted to increase the nutritional value of them. Sweet potatoes seemed like the perfect vehicle for chewy ginger cookies with molasses. If I hadn’t mentioned they contained sweet potatoes none of my parents’ guests would have known and that’s the true test.

I mixed these cookies in the food processor and while the dough is a little soft, they baked up beautifully. The food processor made the batter silky smooth. I cooked the sweet potatoes in the microwave, peeled and mashed them then measured out the two cups I needed.

2 cups brown rice flour
2 cups cooked, mashed sweet potato
1/2 cup dark molasses
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup tapioca starch
2 Tbs ground ginger
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup sanding sugar or raw sugar (optional, for garnish)

Preheat oven to 350*F. Prepare several cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients and mix well. In the large cup of a food processor add molasses, agave and coconut oil. Pulse until combined. Add about a quarter of the mashed sweet potatoes and a quarter of the dry ingredients. Pulse until well combined. Continue to add sweet potato and dry ingredients until everything is combined and mixed thoroughly. Drop cookie dough onto the cookie sheet with a spoon about one inch apart, trying to keep a uniform size. Smooth out the tops of the cookies with a damp spoon. Sprinkle cookies lightly with sanding sugar and bake for 13-15 minutes until bottoms are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool on cookie rack. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator.

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Almond Lemon Goat Cheese Cake

Posted on December 25, 2012 by Vandy Roadifer

I love cheesecake, and cheese in general, but am finding I can only eat very small amounts of cow’s milk cheese. Thankfully my tolerance for goat cheese is higher. This year for Christmas I combined room temperature chèvre and my mom’s homemade lemon-orange marmalade with eggs, a little almond extract and tapioca starch to create a tasty, tangy cheesecake. I tossed toasted almonds on top to add a little crunch since it’s crustless. I baked it in 6 4oz ramekins so each person could have their own little gift-like cheesecake. It was enjoyed by those who like goat cheese, which sadly isn’t everyone. Orange or bergamot marmalade would be just as good and you can use vanilla extract instead of almond. I suspect strawberry jam would work well, too.

16 oz chèvre goat cheese, room temperature
3 eggs
2 cups lemon-orange marmalade
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted (for garnish)
1/2 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 350* F. In a large mixing bowl cream together goat cheese, marmalade and almond extract with an electric mixer. Add the eggs one at time, blending well before adding the next one. Add the tapioca starch and mix thoroughly. Pour into ramekins or a 8″ springform pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the edges are lightly brown and the center is firm. Remove from the oven, sprinkle the toasted almonds on top, and allow to cool. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

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Gluten Free Ginger Pear Pie

Posted on December 8, 2012 by Vandy Roadifer

Someone posted a photo of a pear ginger pie on twitter several weeks ago. I loved the idea but thought it could be improved upon with my dad’s favorite almond coconut crust. I made this the other day for my parents. It was a big success and since I used very ripe pears the only added sugar is from the crystallized ginger. My mom thinks I should make cookies out of my crust recipe so I may try that in the future. Coconut flour, corn starch or arrow root can be substituted for rice flour in the filling.

Crust:

2 cups almond meal
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
3 Tbs crystallized ginger, finely minced
2 Tbs cold water
1/4 tsp salt

Filling:

6 ripe pears, peeled, cored and sliced
1 Tbs rice flour
1 tsp ground ginger

In a large bowl, combine almond meal, coconut flour, crystallized ginger and salt. Mix ingredients well. Add coconut oil and stir until a crumbly dough forms. Add water, a little at a time until dough holds together. You may not need all of it. Split the dough in two and roll into balls. Sandwich each of the dough balls between sheets of parchment paper and flatten out with the palm of your hand until a half inch think. Chill the crusts along with parchment paper in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350*F. In another bowl, combine slices of pears, rice flour and ginger. Toss together to coat the pears with the dry ingredients. Using a rolling pin, roll crusts to about an 1/8″ thick. Place bottom crust in pie plate and pour the pear filling into it. Cover with top crust and crimp the edges with your fingers. Cut a few air vents in the top crust and bake for 30-40 minutes until top is golden brown. Allow to cool before serving.

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Moroccan Spiced Beef and Carrots with Couscous

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Vandy Roadifer

I made preserved lemons and limes a few weeks ago and today finally came up with a dish I wanted to use them in. I combined several tagine recipes and created the following. It’s one of the best one pot meals I’ve made in quite awhile and I’ll definitely be making it again.

1 lb beef sirloin, diced
1 lb carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups water or beef stock
2/3 cups couscous
1/2 cup Kalamata or green olives, chopped
1/2 preserved lemon, finely diced
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
1 Tbs olive oil
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

In a large pot or Dutch oven heat olive oil on medium. Add beef and spices. Stir often until beef is brown. Add onions and garlic. Cook until onion is translucent. Add water or beef stock and bring to a boil. Add carrots, olives, preserved lemons and parsley and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 30-45 minutes, until beef and carrots are soft. Add couscous and cook for another 10 minutes or until couscous is cooked through.

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Dairy Free Sugar Free Pumpkin Custard

Posted on November 23, 2012 by Vandy Roadifer

As much as I love pie in all its forms, I’m still trying to reach my weight loss goal. Pie crust, with all its oily goodness, is not diet friendly. This year for Thanksgiving I made pumpkin custard instead. It’s basically pumpkin pie filling without the crust. I used Silk brand coconut milk because it has fewer calories than canned coconut milk. I’ve been experimenting with stevia extract (NOW brand) and I love that so little extract can sweeten an entire dessert. I think this is the first recipe I’ve posted using it. To make clean-up easier, I cooked my chunks of fresh pumpkin in the microwave and once cool mixed all the ingredients in my blender and poured it into 4oz ramekins so everyone can have their own.

My parents and I loved the custard but friends who aren’t used to desserts sweetened with stevia weren’t as happy with it. I’m so used to not eating cane sugar or high fructose corn syrup that desserts made with it are almost too sweet for me. 🙂

2 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup coconut milk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp stevia extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350*F. Lightly oil 6 4oz ramekins and place them on a cookie sheet. Add pumpkin, coconut milk, stevia, salt and spices in a blender or large food processor cup. Pulse until well combined. Add one egg at a time, pulsing to blend after each additions. Pour equal amounts of the custard into the ramekins. Place the cookie sheet holding the ramekins in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the custard comes out clean. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate them until you’re ready to eat them.

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Black Bean Breakfast “Sausage”

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Vandy Roadifer

Day 1 of my rotation diet is the most difficult for me to eat enough protein, especially at breakfast. Seafood doesn’t scream breakfast to me unless it’s lox on a bagel. Since there are commercially made black bean burgers I figured I could make black bean breakfast sausage. I used the same spice blend from when I make pork breakfast sausage and it turned out just as well. The recipe made 16 small patties and I froze them so I can pop them out of the freezer as needed and fry them up to give them that crispy outside. I added a teaspoon of olive oil to the bottom of my frying pan, heated it on medium and then added two patties. They fried up beautifully and quickly – less than three minutes on each side. The patties had a nice crunch on the outside with a creamy inside and they held up well to cooking.

3 cups black beans, cooked (if using canned then drain & rinse as well)
2 cups brown rice, cooked
2 Tbs agave nectar (or honey)
3 tsp rubbed sage
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp black pepper

In the large cup of a food processor combine all ingredients. Pulse until beans are blended but rice still retains some of its shape (this gives it a better texture). Form into patties and lay out on a cookie sheet covered in waxed paper or parchment paper. I used an ice cream scoop to keep the size uniform. Patties can be fried until crispy for immediate use or frozen and fried at a later date.

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Curried Rice & Lentils

Posted on November 4, 2012 by Vandy Roadifer

My rotation diet is going fairly well. I’ve rearranged a few items but for the most part I’m finding the available foods for each day more than adequate. I made this rice and lentil dish last week but didn’t measure anything. I was more diligent today. I added fish to mine in the last ten minutes of cooking to increase the protein content but didn’t include it in the recipe. Carrots would be a good addition but weren’t on my list of approved foods for today. A little red chili flake would also be good if you like your curry spicy.

3 cups vegetable broth
2 cups broccoli flowerets
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup brown rice
1/2 cup lentils
2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp Chinese five spice
lime wedges

In a medium pot, add stock, rice, lentils, onion and garlic. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Add turmeric, cumin, ginger and Chinese five spice. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes until rice and lentils are cooked through, stirring often. Add broccoli flowerets and cook for another 10 minutes, until broccoli is cooked but still bright green and a little crunchy. Serve with a squeeze of lime.

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Chipotle Swai Fish Tacos

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Vandy Roadifer

A few weeks ago a friend introduced me to Swai. I’d never heard of the white-fleshed fish before but it cooked easily, stayed moist and had a nice sweet flavor that took seasoning well. Swai is an Asian river catfish. It doesn’t have the muddy flavor of US catfish and is milder than similar saltwater fish. I made tacos with the fish and was so impressed I’ve made them several times since then. This recipe is a little simpler than my other fish taco recipes but the bold seasoning on the fish stands up on its own without needing too many extra ingredients.

I seasoned the fish with a spice mixture I picked up at a local vegetable market but if you can’t find a chipotle blend then you can make your own. One part chipotle chili powder, one part Mexican oregano, half part sweet paprika, half part granulated garlic, half part granulated onion, quarter part salt. I like to keep it on hand because it’s great on pork and chicken as well.

1lb Swai (approx 2 fillets)
1 onion, diced
Juice of 3 limes (about 1/4 cup)
1 Tbs chipotle spice blend (see above)
1 avocado, diced
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
lime wedges
8 corn taco shells

Season fish with chipotle spice mix, cut into bite sized pieces and place in a large saute pan on medium heat. Add onions and lime juice. Cook on medium heat, stirring often until the fish is cooked through, onions are translucent and lime juice has cooked down. Serve on taco shells with avocado, cilantro and a squeeze of lime.

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Trout with Mediterranean Rice

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Vandy Roadifer

It’s the third day of my rotation diet, though diet-wise it’s Day 1 since I started on Day 2. I’ve already moved a few food groups around so I can make specific dishes (most notably fish tacos) but so far it’s going well. After all the other food challenges I’ve faced over the past few years this one seems easy now that I have the food groups assigned to different days and a few core dishes firmly set in my mind.

Dinner tonight was trout and rice with Mediterranean flavors. It’s one of my favorite ways to cook trout but the rice was a new and tasty addition. Due to my rotation diet I didn’t add the parsley to the rice but it would add another layer of flavor. Salmon would be a good alternative to trout if you don’t have it available. I made this for one person and cooked the fish in my toaster oven. This recipe serves 4.

4 4oz steelhead trout fillets
1 medium onion, diced
1/4 cup Kalamata olives, sliced
3 Tbs capers
3 cups water
1 cup brown rice, uncooked
1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped (optional)
1 tsp salt
Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium pot, bring water to a boil. Add teaspoon of salt and brown rice, stirring often. Cover a baking sheet with tin foil and spray lightly with cooking spray (I use olive oil spray). Place the trout fillets on the baking sheet, skin side down. Lightly salt and pepper the fish and spoon the onion, olives and capers over the top of the fillets. Place under the broiler on low or medium. Cook for 15-20 minutes until the thickest part of the fillets are cooked through. By this time the rice should be done. Remove from heat and add the onions, olives and capers that cooked with the fish and the parsley into the pot with the rice. Stir until well combined. Serve.

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New Dietary Plan

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Vandy Roadifer

Now that my body isn’t overreacting to major food groups I’d like to keep it that way. Today I met with a nutritionist who is well-versed in food sensitivities and together we worked out a 3 day rotation diet with a sample menu for 6 days. I’ll be fine tuning it over the next few weeks and creating new recipes to fit into it. The idea behind it is to keep my diet varied and not give my body the chance to once again build up tolerances to food groups like dairy, gluten and red meat.

Day One
Fish/Seafood
Gluten free grains: corn, oats, rice
Legumes: beans, lentils, peanuts
Citrus fruit: grapefruit, lemon, limes, oranges
Latex fruits: avocado, banana, mango
Accessory fruits/veggies: cucumber, summer squash
Sulfur veggies: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, onion

Day Two
Poultry
Eggs
Dairy
Mushrooms
Gluten containing grains: barley, rye, wheat
Pome fruits: apples, pears
Stone fruits: cherries, peaches, plums, almonds
Nightshade veggies: eggplant, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes

Day Three
Red meat
Pork
Berries
Melons
Tree nuts
Seeds: flax, millet, quinoa, sunflower
Leafy greens: lettuce, kale, spinach
Root/starchy veggies: beets, carrots, sweet potato, winter squash

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