This page lists all of my grain-free, gluten-free and allergy-free recipes, that are nutritious and delicious.
You can narrow down your search by selecting a category from the RECIPES drop-down menu, and by using the ‘Recipe Topics’ selector tool on the right menu.
It’s finally warming up around here and my ice cream maker is running non stop!!! I absolutely love making homemade ice cream, it’s my go to sweet treat! I actually use my Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker throughout the winter and love how easy it is to use.
I have been on a serious cinnamon kick!! I have really good cinnamon that I use often in treats I don’t mention on here…like sprinkling it on shredded coconut to enjoy. Cinnamon is a spice you definitely want to include in your diet, it is full of benefits. It is a great blood sugar stabilizer and source of anti-oxidants. There are many different types of cinnamon out there and you probably thought taste was the only difference…well think again and check out what kind of cinnamon you are buying. Both Ceylon and Cassia have health benefits, but if you are consuming quite a bit of it, you might want to consider buying Ceylon cinnamon!
Ceylon and cassia cinnamon are the most common commercially produced cinnamon varieties. Ceylon cinnamon is often called “true” cinnamon and comes primarily from Sri Lanka. Cassia is also called Saigon or Chinese cinnamon after the country that commonly produces this spice. Both varieties of cinnamon have similar health benefits and nutritional content. However, since cassia contains a higher level of coumarin, which may cause liver damage in high quantities, some health officials recommend Ceylon cinnamon as a healthier alternative.
Time for the recipe already!! I made this ice cream dairy free, but added melted grass-fed butter. You can omit the butter to make it dairy free, but the butter does add some extra yumminess! I actually clarify my butter to remove the milk solids so I can still get all of the benefits of butter! This just might be my favorite ice cream recipe yet. My mom said it would be good over a sopapilla…guess I better work on a grain free sopapilla recipe!
Recipe: Cinnamon Ice Cream
Ingredients
2 cans full fat coconut milk
2 egg yolks*
1/4-1/2 cup sweetener (I used Swerve for no sugar option)
2 tbsp grass-fed butter, melted (optional, but highly recommended, it makes this recipe!)
2-3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp sea salt
Instructions
Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth
Pour mixture into Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker and follow the directions for the machine. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, this can be poured into a bread pan, cover and freeze (it just wont have that churned texture). The bread pan makes it easy to use an ice cream scoop to serve.
Once ice cream is frozen, remove from the maker or the freezer and serve. If you used Swerve, it will harden the ice cream so you may need to let it sit out for a few minutes.
Quick notes
*I use farm fresh pastured eggs from Tropical Traditions so eating them raw is safe. If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, read the directions for my pumpkin ice cream for an alternative option of “cooking’ the yolks. Make sure to refrigerate the mixture before pouring it into the ice cream maker since it will be warm.
I have quite a few dairy free ice cream recipes on my site that you are sure to love!!!
If you are a coconut person, these bite size treats are the perfect remedy for your sweet tooth. Most macaroon recipes are made with egg whites and can have a bit of a spongy or eggy texture that I can do without. I decided to try a different binding agent and make these egg-less.
The secret ingredient, gelatin! Gelatin can act like a binder (since it gels) in gluten free products and I plan to experiment with this more. I use Great Lakes Gelatin that is sourced from grass-fed cows (Now Foods is also a great brand of gelatin). An added bonus is all of the health benefits gelatin provides, this is a big component of bone broth. Not only is it great for skin, hair and nails, but it is great for your gut and joints. I actually add a spoonful of this to my cup of broth everyday! It is flavorless and you will never know it’s in these cookies!
Recipe: Vanilla Macaroons
Ingredients
2 cups unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, melted
2 tbsp full fat coconut milk cream (cream at top of refrigerated can)
1/4 – 1/2 cup granulated sweetener*
3/4 tsp gelatin
1/4 tsp vanilla beans (1-2 beans)
1/8 tsp sea salt
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until a dough forms
With a small cookie scoop, form macaroons and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. You could also roll into balls and slightly press them down on cookie sheet
Bake at 350 for about 8 minutes or until very slightly brown
Let cookies cool to set up, they will fall apart when warm
These can be stored at room temperature or for a harder cookie, store in the refrigerator
Quick notes
*I used Swerve (erythritol) for a low sugar option along with 2 tsp coconut palm sugar. I have not tried this with a liquid sweetener. You would need to reduce the amount to 1/4 cup or less and it may make the dough too runny. If that happens, just add more coconut until the dough is thick enough to form.
These could also be done in a food dehydrator and would turn out just as yummy!!
Happy Earth Day!!! Asparagus is in season and on sale!!! I love asparagus simply roasted or sauteed with sea salt. The one downfall…why does it have to make your pee smell immediately?? Did you know you either have the gene or not that allows you the pleasure of smelling it? I thought the gene determined if the pee actually smelled, but apparently everyone’s smells. Who knew?
Enough about that!!! Here is a little twist on roasting asparagus if you’re looking for a new way to fix it! I made this about 6 months ago and am just getting around to posting it…I like creating and posting baked goods so much more!
Recipe: Basalmic Roasted Asparagus
Ingredients
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
1 tablespoon oil (melted coconut oil, olive oil or toasted sesame oil for a bit of spice)
2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp coconut aminos
sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
Spread oil onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and roll the asparagus in the oil
Place the asparagus in a single layer and sprinkle the sesame seeds over them
Roast in the oven at 425 for about 10 minutes, check frequently to make sure it’s not getting over cooked and too tender
While that is roasting, combine the vinegar, coconut aminos and red pepper flakes in a small bowl
Remove asparagus and drizzle it with mixture and serve
Here is another awesome e-book bundle! 30 e-books for $39!! I bought it for numerous books, but this one from The Nourished Kitchen has been on my list to buy! Offer ends tonight at midnight!! For more details or to purchase the bundle click here before midnight tonight!!!
I have to admit, I don’t think I have ever had Nutella! It is full of ingredients that I wouldn’t want in my body. I have definitely had Justin’s Nut Butter Hazelnut Spread, but it’s certainly not cheap…especially when you can finish off a jar in a couple days!!! So, I created my own version of it and used Swerve to keep the amount of sugar down.
Recipe: Chocolate Hazelnut Butter
Ingredients
2 cups hazelnuts
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks
1/2 cup granulated sweetener, powdered* (I used confectioner’s Swerve for low sugar option)
Place the hazelnuts on a cookie sheet in a single layer
Roast the nuts at 350 for 15 minutes
While nuts are roasting, using a double broiler, melt the chocolate chips, squares and oil
When nuts are done, place them between paper towels or dish towels and rub to remove skins. This takes a little bit of work, but they do not need to be perfectly clean!
Place the nuts, melted chocolate, sweetener, vanilla and sea salt in a food processor or blender and process until smooth
Place the nut butter in an airtight container. Store in the frig for a harder spread or at room temperature for a runnier spread
Quick notes
*Run sweetener of choice thru a blender or coffee grinder to powder it. If you skip this step it will make the butter gritty. I think a liquid sweetener would work fine here, but add a different flavor profile and I would start with less than 1/2 a cup.
Variations
You can use any nut or combination of nuts, but I would roast the nuts to give it more flavor.
I stored this in the frig and ate it with a spoon…and it didn’t last very long!!!
Spring is here and it’s time for refreshing and fruity desserts…don’t worry, I will still include some chocolate! Lemon Bars have been on my never ending list of goodies to try to recreate. We had a family dinner this past weekend and lemon bars were the birthday girl’s favorite dessert, so the time had come!! Let me add that she is not grain free and absolutely loved these and said they taste like the real thing. The best part is that I used Swerve, (my favorite natural sugar alternative) so they were very low sugar as well!!!
Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until combined. A mixer should work as well.
Press the dough into a greased 8×8 baking dish
Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until slightly golden
Remove from heat and let cool quite a bit to set up.
Filling:
Heat the oven back to 350 and make sure it’s ready before you start mixing the ingredients. The baking powder will be affected if you wait to bake these.
Place all ingredients EXCEPT the baking powder in a food processor and combine. A mixer will work, but lemon zest will not be ground down and unnoticeable in bars.
Add in the baking powder and pulse one last time
Pour the filling over the crust and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes until crust is set. It shouldn’t get brown, it will feel stiff to touch.
Sift powdered sweetener over the top. This is optional and I don’t feel these need it. I used confectioner Swerve on a few bars only for photo purposes.
Store in the refrigerator until serving. I prefer these chilled!
Variations:
*Coconut oil that is softened should work fine as a substitution to the butter. I would use expellor pressed so there is no coconut tones! I love Tropical Traditions Oil!
Not a lemon person? Substitute the lemon juice and zest for lime.
Have you been wanting to try Swerve? It is making its way to Whole Foods Stores, but you can order online and use coupon code KATE10 for a 10% discount!!
Have you seen how many varieties of Cheez-Its there are now? I’m rarely at any store other than Whole Foods and Natural Grocers, so when I am, I am always in awe at all the new junk food…it really isn’t worthy of being called food! Is anyone else guilty of looking at other people’s carts and wondering what they are thinking and how did they miss that soda, boxed fake meals and corn syrup laden goodies are so horrible for you!!! I realize not everyone is so fortunate to shop at Whole Foods, but come on, make better choices with what is available to you!!!
OK, enough of my rant! Here is a recipe that uses nutritional yeast for a dairy free cheesy cracker recipe that you can feel good about eating! I almost didn’t get a chance to take a picture of these before they were gone. Someone was sneaking them off the pile of my setup for the picture…they are that good!!! These are the perfect cracker to dip or break up into my Bacon Chili Recipe!!!
In a small mixing bowl, whisk the egg with the melted butter/oil and lemon juice
Combine the two bowls and stir until dough forms
Place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll out to about 1/8 inch thickness
With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut dough into desired cracker size (I use a ruler with a pizza slicer to get them straight and even) and sprinkle the top with more sea salt
Slide the bottom piece of parchment and crackers onto a cookie sheet
Bake at 350 fro 12-15 minutes until golden
The outer crackers will brown the fastest, remove those and continue to cook the remaining crackers
Quick notes
*Honeyville or Bob’s Redmill will work just fine for these crackers.
Variations
I used melted butter to make these a bit “creamier” tasting, but expellor pressed coconut oil will work for dairy free option.
I recently purchased The Joy of Cooking and am slowly making my way thru this enormous cookbook. It is an incredible cookbook and should be in every cooks kitchen! It is full of recipes, tips, tricks and explanations. I have quite a few ideas that were inspired by this book and can’t wait to get cooking!
I came across this German Pancake recipe and knew I had to recreate it grain free! This turned out so darn good and was a huge hit at Sunday brunch. This would make for a perfect addition to your Easter menu and can be enjoyed with numerous toppings….and it’s easy to make!
Combine 4 yolks, sweetener and salt in a bowl and whisk until thick and lemon color (about 1-2 minutes)
Whisk in the milk, water and vanilla. Add in the arrowroot and whisk until smooth
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, but not dry
Add the whites to the yolk mixture, gently whisk until the whites are incorporated, but not deflated. Light foam is what you want
Melt 3 tbsp of butter in a 10 inch oven safe skillet (I prefer cast iron) over medium heat
Once the bubbles have subsided, pour the batter into the skillet and cook until the bottom is golden (about 2 minutes)
Place the skillet in the oven and bake until it puffs up and the top is golden and feels dry and set (about 5 minutes)
Slide onto a plate and serve hot with grass-fed butter and syrup (we use Xylitol Maple Syrup to make these sugar free), fresh fruit sauce or warm preserves
Quick Notes:
I wanted to take the photo of the pancake in the skillet so I poured syrup on it immediately and it made the bottom carmelize a bit since it ran down the sides to the bottom of the hot pan. We loved it and will always do that instead of placing it on a plate first
On the same page as this pancake recipe were a Dutch Pancake recipe and Austrian Pancakes recipe. Austrian pancakes will be my next breakfast recipe this weekend and I will let you all decide which one you prefer. They both use eggs as their base and use the skillet to oven technique, but do have different ingredients. Can’t wait to try these to see how they compare!!
Last weekend I had the opportunity to meet Ann from The Paleo Network. She and her husband are triathletes that have gone grain and dairy free and are reaping the benefits! They were featured on our local news a few weeks back to tell their story. We had a great time chatting about food, of course we did, we both love to be in the kitchen!
Today I am sharing a recipe with you for her Cashew Alfredo Sauce that she happened to mention to me. I decided I had to make this since it sounded so good!!! It is such a versatile sauce and could be used in so many ways! I was craving mushrooms today so I sauteed mushrooms and grass-fed ground beef together and drizzled…ok drenched it with the sauce! Yum!!! Ann uses it in a number of ways that she shares with you today!
The only thing I did differently was that I sauteed the garlic in coconut oil (or you could use butter) and then added it to the oil to add to the cashew sauce. I don’t like to use olive oil with high heat is the reason for this.
Hello to all of you! A big thank you to Kate for giving me the opportunity to write this post. A little background on the recipe I’m sharing with you today. I grew up in the Midwest eating creamy casseroles and decadent comfort foods. My favorite Italian dish (and maybe my favorite dish all together) while growing up was Fettuccine Alfredo. Since going Paleo, I no longer eat dairy or grains. What does this Midwest girl do? I learned you could make creamy sauces out of cashews. I knew nutritional yeast added a “cheesy” flavor. Traditional alfredo sauce typically has garlic in it. So I threw ingredients together into my Vitamix blender and tested it out on some spaghetti squash and zucchini “noodles”. Perfection! Since then, I’ve used it as part of my Paleo Lasagna and on Paleo Pizza (drizzled on top of the meat and veggies). I’ve also mixed it into cauliflower rice, roasted Brussels sprouts and shredded chicken. It also tastes great in omelettes (serves as a glue to hold it together) or atop egg muffins.
Recipe: Cashew “Alfredo” Sauce
Ingredients
2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water for at least 6 hours
Add the cashews to your blender (I use my Vitamix ) and enough cold water to cover the cashews. Blend until creamy and smooth.
Saute minced garlic in the olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or until slightly golden.
Add oil and garlic to the cashew sauce along with the sea salt and nutritional yeast. Blend again until incorporated and smooth.
Add additional water, if necessary.
Variations
You could probably add a little fresh basil (either to the blender or as a garnish). Roasted red peppers (pureed into the sauce) could also be a nice touch.
Let us know what you drizzle or pour this Alfredo sauce over!!!
Tropical Traditions is America’s source for coconut oil. Their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is hand crafted in small batches by family producers, and it is the highest quality coconut oil they offer. You can read more about how virgin coconut oil is different from other coconut oils on their website: What is Virgin Coconut Oil?
You can also watch the video they produced about Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil:
Tropical Traditions also carries other varieties of affordable high quality coconut oil. Visit their website to check on current sales, to learn about the many uses of coconut oil, and to read about all the advantages of buying coconut oil online. Since the FDA does not want us to discuss the health benefits of coconut oil on a page where it is being sold or given away, here is the best website to read about the health benefits of coconut oil.
To enter to win, you must subscribe to Tropical Traditions newsletter and comment on this blog post with what you would make or do with the coconut oil if you win. They do not sell any info and this will allow you to receive email updates of all of their sales…they have a lot! I order so many things from them including their farm fresh soy free eggs, grass-fed ground beef, coconut oil, flour and cream. The winner will be randomly chosen on March 6th.
Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.
Place the cashews and coconut in a food processor and pulse until a coarse sand texture is created
Add the sweetener, vanilla beans, salt and soda and pulse until combined
Add in the oil and coconut milk and pulse again to form a dough
Using a cookie scoop or spoon, place balls of dough on a parchment cookie sheet and press down slightly on each dough ball. They will spread more in the oven
Place an additional cookie sheet under the other sheet to prevent the bottoms of the cookies from browning too much
Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes, until slightly brown
Remove from the oven and let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes to set then place them on a cooling rack to get crisp
Store in an airtight container
Quick notes
*I used about 1/2 cup of Swerve and a tablespoon of coconut palm sugar to make these low in sugar.
I love Whole Foods, wandering around seeing what new products have been granted self space and what local products are new to market as well. I spend a lot of time in Scottsdale, Arizona and a lot of time at the Whole foods there. Every time I go, I have to take some extra time that first trip to the store to see what’s new. Arizona is part of the western region for Whole Foods that includes California, where Colorado is part of the mountain west region, so we get different products. Arizona gets a lot of products that originate from California and if they sell well, we will be lucky to hopefully see them on the shelves in Colorado and vice versa.
There are a couple things I can’t find at my local Whole Foods that I love to get down there. One item in particular, Quite Cheezy Kale Chips made by Alive & Radiant Foods (my Whole Foods only sells two of the flavors as of late and the Quite Cheesy is not one of them). The entire line of their products are delicious. I think I seriously bought a bag every trip I made to the store (that is often) and ate the entire bag! Serving size is 2.2, that’s a joke…I eat the whole bag wishing I had more! After looking at the ingredient list, I knew I could make these at home when I got back to my dehydrator. This recipe is pretty darn close…close enough for me!
I know not everyone has a dehydrator, but you should (in my opinion), since there are so many great things you can do with them and they are reasonably priced (I have this dehydrator
and it works great). I have not tried this in the oven on the dehydrate setting, but if you do, please leave a comment on how they turned out. This spread would be awesome as a “cheese” spread for crackers (I have numerous grain-free cracker recipes) or as a dip for vegetables. So if you don’t have a dehydrator, you can still enjoy this recipe!
1 bunch kale (I used Dino, but any Kale will work)
Instructions
Wash the kale, pat dry and tear into pieces, about 1 1/2 inches and place in a bowl
Drain the water off of the cashews and place all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth
Pour the spread into the bowl and massage it into the kale to cover each piece
Place kale on dehydrator trays and dehydrate at 125 for 8-10 hours or until desired crispiness
Store in an airtight container, I prefer glass
Quick notes
*I used roasted peppers for additional flavor. The Alive & Radiant Foods is considered raw, so a red bell pepper is what they used. Either one will work.
**Nutritional Yeast is something a lot of vegetarians use to make things taste cheesy. It is full of B vitamins, some protein and lots of flavor. It can be found in the baking section of a health food store or may be sold in bulk. It looks like yellow flaky fish food to me:)
Variations
To make these a bit spicy, add some cayenne pepper or other seasonings you like.
If you are looking for ways to get more greens in your kids, this recipe will work!
Win 1 quart of 
