Archive for dairy free

Banana cakes

March 15, 2011 · Filed under dairy free, gluten free, quinoa, Recipe · Tagged , ,



Oh how I love over ripe bananas. There are so many great things you can do with them. Freeze them for smoothies or banana ice cream, banana bread, banana muffins, banana cookies, the list goes on…   The following is my latest and favorite recipe.

The kids devoured these and asked for more! They are gluten free, dairy free, and nut free if you choose.

Banana Cakes or we call it Banana Toppings Cakes

1 c quinoa flour  (you can make your own just grind in a coffee grinder/blender that can grind dry ingredients)
2/3 c brown rice flour (can make this too)
1/3 c tapioca starch (flour)
1 c organic unrefined sugar
1 t xanthan gum
1/2 T baking soda
2 t baking powder
3/4 t salt
2 eggs + 1 egg white
1 c mashed banana (approx 2 1/2 small bananas)
1/2 c oil (I used coconut, but can use olive, almond, safflower, sunflower, etc)
1/2 c rice, coconut, almond, soy or other milk (I used coconut)
Toppings: dried fruit (cherries, cranberries, blueberries, etc), cacao nibs or chocolate chips, walnuts, coconut chips

Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix on low speed of an electric mixer until blended. Mix on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. Fill cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Fill until 3/4 full. Sprinkle toppings over each. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 18 to 20 minutes.

Baking is always fun with the kids (if old enough). Mine are 4 and 6 and love to help. I have them mash the bananas and help measure the ingredients. I think they enjoy and appreciate it more when they do it.  Here were our toppings.

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I can’t believe it’s not cheese!

August 26, 2010 · Filed under cheese, dairy free · Tagged , ,

It’s Daiya…. And delish.

I am following up from my post ‘Addiction to Cheese’ and I did a taste test of the newest cheese alternative today and I was pleasantly surprised. I was so excited when I found it at my Whole Foods that I had to try it. I made a vegetable pesto pizza that I usually top with goat gouda and used the Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds. I taste tested it before I cooked it and was thinking it would be awful like all the other rice, almond, soy cheeses I’ve tried yet it tasted and felt like real cheese so much so I checked the ingredients and nope…. no dairy or casein. Baked it was very melty and almost stretchy like real cheese. Daniel knew this was not the regular goat gouda that I use on pizza because of the look and taste but gouda is pretty distinctive. He did say “the melted cheese is soooooooo good” and also described it as cheese with a little salt.

I think this is an excellent alternative for vegans or families that are sensitive to dairy or cheese like ours. It is also free of all common allergens. I felt fantastic after I ate it. No stuffy nose, indigestion, itchy throat, and no heavy digestion feeling.

I have not met my goal of eliminating cheese from our house yet but baby steps. Daiya will definitely my pick for when I get a cheese craving.

Pesto Pizza
1/2 bag of Daiya Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 red, yellow or orange bell pepper
1/2 can quartered artichokes
handful of thin asparagus (if desired)
big handful of organic spinach sliced into thin ribbons
Whole Foods Organic Whole Wheat pizza crust
1/2 recipe basil cilantro pesto (recipe below) or store bought pesto

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread pesto over pizza. Top with vegetables of choice and cheese. Bake for 8-10 minutes until cheese is melty and pizza crusty is brown.

Basil Cilantro Pesto
This is my favorite pesto that I use for everything – on pasta, wraps, pizza, fish, chicken, etc. I try to make a double batch and keep half in fridge and freeze the other half.

2 cups loosely packed basil leaves
1 cup loosely packed cilantro
1/3 cup of sliced almonds
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of olive oil

Put everything except the olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Process until pasty, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil and process until smooth.

Enjoy!

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