Millet Banana Nut French Toast

Today I began to cook in advance. My son has really been struggling with a "foggy" brain and acting hyperactive. He cannot sit in his chair at dinner and the same happens in school. I had planned on migrating my family to GF over the next year but my husband and I decided it is time now. Our doctor will be running a Celaic panel to check for antibodies on him. I wanted this before we went gluten free as you cannot go back and do it after you take it away. We realize that this test isn't always definitive but it is one piece of the puzzle. I found a great website by a pediatric gastroenterologist in NZ http://www.doctorgluten.com/ that helped me to know what to look for and what symptoms are common in kids. I recommend it.

When I return from my trip in 2 weeks the entire family will be going gluten free. I have been for the most part for 2 years so now I just need to adapt it to the family.

BANANA NUT FRENCH TOAST with SAMI'S BAKERY BREAD





So today I made gluten free french toast. I used Sami's Bakery Banana Nut bread.
My recipe is simple:

1 Loaf Sami's Millet & Flax Banana Nut Bread
7 Free Range Eggs
3/4 Cup Raw Milk
1/2 - 1 Tsp Cinnamon

Scramble together. Put the bread in the egg mixture and fry in coconut oil until browned. I then put the french toast in a ziploc freezer bag and just heat up for breakfast.

http://www.samisbakery.com/ - They offer many items that are free of gluten but are not "gluten free" as there can be cross contamination.

Below is the nutrient fact panel so that you can see the ingredients.

If you do not want banana nut then you can get the plain millet & flax bread like the one below. They do ship to your home so you can order online.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies - Toll House Style

If there is one thing I absolutely loved about making chocolate chip cookies is the batter. I loved to eat the raw dough before cooking them. This is truly one of the simple pleasures in life. But when I started to make the gluten free chocolate chip mixes I found that the batter didn't taste so good. In fact I found that I was tolerating the cookies as well. What's the point I thought so I stopped making them and watched my children eating the Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies that I was forbidden to eat.

But now help is on the way for those or you who want your cookies back! I have a recipe for you that is gluten free. In fact it is the Toll House recipe with gluten free flour. ENJOY!







Gluten Free Toll House Cookies


2 1/4 C GF Flour mixture
1 tsp Aluminum free Baking Soda
1 tsp Xantham Gum
1 tsp Celtic Sea Salt
1 cup Organic Butter
3/4 cup Organic Sugar
3/4 cup Organic Brown Sugar
1 tsp Gluten Free Vanilla (I use Kirkland from CostCo)
2 Free Range Eggs
3/4 Cup Gluten Free Chocolate Chips



Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In the mixer bowl add sea salt, butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs and mix well until blended. Add baking soda and xantham gum and blend. Add gluten free flour mixture and blend until smooth. Finally add the chocolate chips.



Spoon onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Balls should be about 1 tsp sized. I press them down a bit and even the edges to get round cookies. Bake for 14 mins or until cookies are lightly brown around the edges.

In case you don't know what you are looking for in parchment paper. I picked this up in the regular plastic bag / wrap / foil section of my supermarket.

Tips: Parchment paper does not need to be changed with each baking pan. I use two pans and the same paper for all bakings. Also I have found that leaving the eggs and butter out to get room temperature has really helped my cookies to come out better.

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Almond Meal Banana Cake

This is a great recipe taken from Elana's Pantry. I love her recipes because it uses no grains. The almond meal (yes I know it says flour but I use meal) offers more nutrients than your typical breads. Plus it is gluten free! I modified the oil used to Virgin Coconut Oil.



Banana Cake



3 cups blanched almond flour
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup agave nectar
¼ cup grapeseed oil ( I use Virgin Coconut Oil from Omega Nutrition)
3 eggs, whisked
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 bananas (about one cup) mashed

In a large bowl, mix together almond flour, salt and baking soda
In a smaller bowl, combine agave, grapeseed oil, eggs and vanilla, then stir in bananas
Mix wet ingredients into dry
Place batter in either a cake pan or two small (7×4 inch) loaf pans
Bake at 350° for 40 minutes
Remove from oven and allow to cool
Serves 12

Cream Cheese Frosting

¾ heavy cream
1 cup cream cheese
¼ cup agave nectar (I used Xylitol)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Whip heavy cream until stiff

In a separate larger bowl, whip cream cheese until smooth, then blend in agave and vanilla
With a rubber spatula, gently blend whip cream into cream cheese mixture

Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes

Today is my 43rd birthday and I was craving chocolate cake. But I knew the store box brands would leave me feeling bad. I have been mostly gluten free for a few years but lately have slipped and am finding that I feel horrible. This needs to be a better year for me. I need to get rid of it once and for all. Moving my family to gluten free will help. I am really learning to cook / bake with gluten free flours and that makes it easier. My family all struggles with thyroid conditions - hubby, son (almost 9 yrs) and daughter (6). Gluten is not good for many thyroid patients and since I have issues I am concerned about my children and the effect it will have on their health.

My goal with this blog is to keep a journal of what I am making and feeding my children on our way to total gluten free. It is a journey not a destination at this point. My ingredients will be organic and clean of toxins to allow for the highest nutritional content and lowest toxic load to the body.



Gluten Free Chocolate Cake / Cupcakes


1 1/2 cups gluten free flour mix
1/2 cup organic cocoa powder
1 cup organic sugar
2 tsp aluminum free baking soda (Bob's Red Mill)
3/4 tsp xantham gum
5 Tbs Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
1 Tbs Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract (I use Kirkland from CostCo)
1 free range egg
1 cup purified water (not tap or spring)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Add liquid ingredients and mix well. Bake in a greased and floured 9" square pan or cupcake pan with liners. Bake cupcakes for 18 mins and cake for 30-35 mins or until the toothpick comes out clean.

Gluten Free Flour Mix

Gluten Free Flour Mix

9 Cups White Rice Flour
2 Cups Potato Starch
1 Cup Tapioca Starch / Flour
Blend well and store in an airtight container.

This mix can be substituted 1 for 1 where flour is indicated. Use one tsp of xantham gum per cup used of mixture.

Budget Tip:
I have been able to go to my local Asian markets and purchase white rice, potato starch and tapioca starch all for .89 - .99 cents per lb. They are ground very fine and make your baked goods nice and light and not gritty as some gluten free flours tend to be.