Gluten free Dairy Free Twinkies!

You heard it right! GF DF Twinkies!

I just started working at a fabulous little GF bakery in town and have been having SO much fun trying out new recipes at the store. My boss Rebecca is amazing and comes up with the best recipes. I am the only one our our little team of 6 who is dairy free so I'm always begging Becca to make something I can eat! These twinkies came out awesome DF, we just used Earth Balace butter in the frosting! Delicious and they sold fast! I sure do love getting paid to bake :)

Vegan Blueberry Muffins

My boyfriend Joseph was in Tucson for a bit this summer and doesn't like to admit it but he loves to bake with me. Scratch that, he loves to watch me bake and then eat what I make ;) His favorite dessert is anything with blueberries so we scavenged the web for a good DF blueberry muffin recipe. Its a funny story, he is actually lactose intolerant too! Everyone thinks it was meant to be ;)

I had ran out of eggs and applesauce so we used 2Tbsp cornstarch and 2Tbsp water to sub for each egg so these muffins are unintentionally vegan but very yummy :) Here's the recipe! I used Earth Balance butter but you can use margarine or EB depending on how sensitive you are.

DF Peanut Butter Cups

Happy Thursday! This summer I've been pinteresting like crazy and found this awesome recipe for DF peanut butter cups! It was originally a paleo recipe here but of course my sweet tooth got the best of me and I used sweet peanut butter and regular honey.  I've been making them every week to have in the freezer when I want something sweet! They only take 10 minutes which is good for me because I am so impatient :) The recipe is too easy! Five ingredients, dump, stir, pour and freeze! 

Before...

After!!

They actually taste like a peanut butter cup!! I topped them with Bischoff cookie butter but they are delicious by themselves! Coconut oil is amazing. Enjoy!

DF Peanut Butter Cups
Adapted from here

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted (thanks AZ)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup peanut butter (or almond butter!)
1/4 cup honey or maple syrup (both are good!- agave too)
splash of vanilla

Stir ingredients together in a bowl, pour in lined mini or regular muffin tins and freeze for 10 minutes. Store in freezer. Makes 24 mini cups.

Vegan Monkey Bread

A few weeks ago I decided to treat my dad to a sweet breakfast when I was in town for the weekend (forgot to post this!!)... MONKEY BREAD.

If you haven't heard of monkey bread, it is basically the inside of a cinnamon roll in pull apart loaf form. Ooey, gooey, sugary, warm, soft and... buttery-- something I first had at cross country camp in high school but haven't eaten since I went DF. I had a craving and searched for vegan monkey bread recipes online. I wasn't expecting to find anything but came across an awesome recipe from Katie at yesIwantcake.com. Problem was, it was completely from scratch and I had never used yeast before (..rookie). I wanted to use Pillsbury biscuits or something premade (cheater, I know) but I decided to rise to the challenge and make the monkey bread completely from scratch- yeast and all!

It turned out great and was so worth it!! It took about 4 hours with all the kneading and rising and cutting and mixing but it was the most amazing thing I've ever made!!! Here are some photos from the process. I definitely recommend making it! Couldn't have done it without my absolute favorite butter substitute, Earth Balance! You can find the recipe here. Thanks Katie!!!!

Cutting the dough on my messy counter watching HGTV... So many pieces!!!

Making the "goo" with my favorite "butter" <3

All done! Tah-dah!!

Of course I had to post an instagram pic with the finished product :)

Vegan Chocolate Mousse

Today my mom came into town and brought heavy cream to make whipped cream for a treat. I was so jealous so I pulled out a handy dandy can of coconut milk I keep in the fridge for mousse! It's TOO easy!!!

All you do is throw a can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight, scoop off the top creamy layer, add cocoa and sweetener and whip until creamy. I used my Kitchenaid! So delicious and tastes just as good as the dairy stuff- my mom approved ;)

Coconut Chocolate Mousse

1 can of coconut milk, separated 

4 Tbsp cocoa powder (unsweetened)

2 Tbsp powdered sugar (or 2 packets of stevia)

splash of vanilla

Add ingredients to bowl or stand mixer, whip on high for 30 seconds or until creamy and stiff peaks form. If thicker mousse desired- refrigerate for 20 minutes/freeze for 5 minutes. Top with sprinkles and enjoy!

Happy Saturday!

Native Foods Cafe

A few weeks ago I drove out to California to visit my best friend from high school, Kathryn!

I have not traveled much since I went dairy free so I have to admit I was nervous! I hate speaking up and always feeling like a nuisance asking to go to restaurants that can accommodate dairy free. (luckily I've learned what to order!) When I went to Kat's house and told her about my new diet, she and her fiancee Josh thought of a vegan cafe called Native Foods Cafe right away! I was so excited to try a restaurant where I could order ANYTHING. We split Nuevo Native Nachos (yeah you heard that right- NACHOS!) and I got a salad called the OC Raw Chopper. It was amazing!!

Even though I'm not vegan, I loved the vegan taco meat and the "cheese" was delicious. They had a lot of GF options too. I wish I lived in Encinitas so I could come here all the time! Now I'm craving more nachos....

Italian Shrimp

Today I was pinteresting at the salon and found this recipe for Italian Shrimp from The Gracious Pantry! I had a bunch of frozen shrimp that I got super cheap at costco so this recipe was perfect!

I love this recipe because it has so few ingredients so you can adjust the measurements however you want or you can add things you like!! I added some minced garlic and lowry's seasoning salt (my favorite!) but here is the basic recipe that tastes great just as it is! Enjoy!

The shrimp thaw in the pan and make the tomato paste and spices a little watery, but it thickens up in about 10 minutes and makes a great sauce!

Clean Eating Italian Style Shrimp 

GF, DF

(Makes 2 servings)
Ingredients:

• 1 pound frozen, pre-cooked shrimp 
• 1 tablespoon dried basil 
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic 
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste, no sugar added
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

I added 1tsp Lowry's seasoning salt and 1tsp minced garlic.

Directions:
1. Place all ingredients in a skillet and cook until the shrimp are warmed through and sauce is thickened, stirring regularly.

Thanks Tiffany!