Gluten free Peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies

I made some peanut butter honey carob chip energy balls earlier in the week because I LOVE chocolate and peanut butter together....after putting the carob chips in i realized they have "malt" in the ingredient list. Malt is something to look out for as someone who is allergic to gluten. So i decided to try anyways. I haven't been diagnosed yet so i don't know if i am celiac or just gluten intolerant. Well bad decision to try them...i had a stomach ache for a few days, gas and a little stomach pain. So my good friend Mel and Matt got half the batch and my mom is getting the other half. So sad since i used 3 chips of my expensive gluten free oats in them:( Sighhh...it's a learning process.

So today i decided i needed to make or make something i can enjoy as a snack for the week. I make a different kind of snack every week. Sometimes i'll make raw nut butter bars of some sort, home made lara bats or this week it's a healthy cookie! Who doesn't want to enjoy a healthy cookie? Now there is still sugar in these...but it's organic sugar and spread across 16 cookies it isn't much.

2 cups GF oats (GF means gluten free, it's an acronym i will start using)
1 cup natural PB
1/3 cup organic sugar
1 egg
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 a dark chocolate bar broken into chunks
and i added a little water to make them more moist and more like a cookie batter...not sure how much though maybe 1/4 cup

1. Beat the peanut butter and sugar together. Then beat in the egg and vanilla.
2. In a separate bowl mix your GF oats, baking powder, baking soda and dark chocolate chunks
2. Mix in the PB mixture
3. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet and spoon out dough.
4. Bake at 350 for about 12-15 min.
5. Let cool and enjoy

Update on Gluten free me

Hi all...today is day 4 of being gluten free and wow do i feel AMAZING! I have more energy, and my stomach hasn't hurt at all, i haven't been bloated AND i am not gassy. I had stomach issues for so long that i forgot what it felt like to feel normal and this good! I am going to the doctor next week to get tested for celiac's and then see if they can test for gluten sensitivity as well. My friend Ashley is also gluten free and she says that with a diagnosis from a doctor you can write off your gluten free bread, pasta etc as a medical expense! Which will save a lot of money if i can get diagnosed. I really don't think i am celiac i feel that it's just a sensitivity but we will see!

I am really enjoying brown rice bread and my brown rice tortillas. Can't wait to test out recipes and other products out there for us gluten free peeps! My friend Naomi has been a tremedous help through all of this in helping me discover what i am allergic too. I think i mentioned her in my last post. But i feel that she deserves credit again.

Here is a a recipe she just sent me so i can try making my own bread. I think i will wait until after we get back from St. John's, NL to try this unless i get ambitious this weekend. I will re post the recipe again when i make it with pictures. But for now here it is:

Honey whole grain bread

Makes 1 Loaf

1 ½ cups warm water (100-110 degrees F)

1 teaspoon whole can sugar

1 package active dry yeast (2 ¼ tsp)

¼ cup honey

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

½ cup arrowroot powder

½ cup tapioca flour

½ cup brown rice flour

½ cup sorghum flour

½ cup teff flour

¼ cup buckwheat flour

¼ cup amaranth flour

1 ½ tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp sea salt

½ tsp baking soda

1.       Preheat oven to 200 degrees F and oil a 9x5-inch loaf pan. Place the warm water and teaspoon of sugar into a small bowl. Make sure the water is the right temperature. If the water is too cold the yeast will not become active and if the water is too hot it will kill the yeast. Add the yeast and stir. Proof the yeast by allowing it to stand for 5-10 minutes. It should become bubbly, if not start over again with fresh yeast and water. Then add the honey, oil, and apple cider vinegar. Stir well with a fork or wire whisk.

2.       In a large bowl, add the arrowroot powder, tapioca flour, brown rice flour, sorghum, flour, teff flour, buckwheat flour, amaranth flour, xanthan gum, sea salt, and baking soda. Combine the flours with a wire whisk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk them together as you are pouring to avoid lumps. Continue to whisk for another 30-60 seconds or so, or until the batter thickens and becomes smooth.

3.       Transfer batter to pan and gently spread out with the back of a spoon. Place pan, uncovered, into the 200 degree oven. Let rise for 30-35 minutes with the oven door cracked open. After it has risen, close the oven door and turn the temperature up to 375 F. Bake for 30 minutes. Loosen sides with a knife and place onto a wire rack to cool

Going gluten free

Hi all! I am slowly getting better at keeping this blog updated weekly. That's my goal! The last month i went dairy free as sort of a mini elimination diet. I am sick of constantly having an upset stomach, being bloated and embarrassingly gassy. I am done with feeling like crap. So with the help of my awesome friend Naomi i am doing a series of mini elimination diets to figure out the culprit. She is taking (and almost finished) the Registered Holistic Nutritionist course here in Moncton. I am her first case study and a GREAT one to learn from i think with all my stomach problems:)


So what i did for the dairy elimination was cut dairy out for 21 days and then slowly reintroduce it. Day 21 i had a serving of plain yoghurt, which i seem to be ok with THANK GOODNESS because i love it. I then had to wait 3 days (did you know it can take up to 3 days for a reaction to occur?!?!?!) i then tried parmesan and my stomach hurt pretty soon after BUT in looking at my food journals Naomi thinks gluten earlier in the day was the culprit. I tried old cheddar last night and so far so good! Yah. I'm not bothering with milk because it has bothered me since i was little and i haven't had much of it over the years. Prior to dairy elimination i had it in my cereals. But i have since switched to unsweetened vanilla and chocolate almond milk YUM!


I wasn't going to do the gluten elimination until i got back from our mini vacation in St. John's, NL. But decided with my stomach hurting a fair amount lately i don't want to wait. I have 2 weeks to do gluten free and then i can slowly re-introduce while in St. John's which will make things easier! The biggest thing i will miss is beer:( I know they have gluten free beer. Which i am sure i will try! I just had brown rice bread this am for breakfast and it was pretty good. Not the same wheat i am used to but it'll do:) Today's mission is get some non-gluten contaminated oats. I have Robin Hood oats now and they are definitely contaminated as i know they cause me issues already and since they are cheap and Robin Hood makes LOT'S of flour i don't they have a separate oat making facility. This means more expensive oats:( Gluten free will be pricey. But for my health it's worth it! Here's to feeling better and being stomach ache and gas free..ha ha. 


Here is a great dairy and wheat free recipe i made for the first time last night! And Shannon loved it too! Yah! He doesn't always love my healthy cooking. He grew up with a dad who was a awesome cook so he's used to sauces and lot's of butter!

Holy guacomole cream pasta

INGREDIENTS

* 1 16oz pack of brown rice spaghetti – I used Rizopia
* 1 avocado
* 2 garlic clove
* 4-6 tbsp almond milk [I used 5 tbsp but could have been good with 6 as well. It depends on how thick you want the sauce]
* 2 tbsp cashews, soaked overnight (I didn't have any on hand or have a chance to soak them overnight. Didn't miss them)
* 4 tsp lime juice
* 2 tbsp fresh cilantro
* 1 tbsp jalapenos
* 1 tbsp hemp oil – I used Manitoba Harvest (I had olive oil so i sub'd that)
* 1/2 tsp herbamare
* 1 plum tomato, chopped
* 4 green onions + more for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine avocado, garlic, milk, cashews, lime juice, cilantro, hemp oil, and herbamare. Pulse until smooth.
3. Add tomato and 2 green onions and pulse for 2-5 seconds until just combined.
4. Mix guacamole sauce in with pasta and serve with green onions sprinkled over top and herb and garlic socca crackers to the side.