Chocolate Waffles {Dairy-free, Egg-free, Peanut-free}

By now I’m sure you know we like to eat waffles in this house. {I posted about them here and here.} But last night, when I realized I once again forgot to take the meat out of the freezer for dinner, I had to use a backup plan. Waffles! Homemade waffles are so yummy and the perfect texture, but I wanted to try a different variety, so I made chocolate waffles. Now, before you go getting all excited on me, I have to say these are pretty healthy waffles {minus the syrup!}. They were even better served with turkey bacon, fruit and an omelet {for those not allergic to eggs}.

Chocolate Waffles {dairy-free, egg-free, peanut-free}

Follow the directions on the Bisquick box for waffles. Instead of egg, add 2 T of ground flax seed {brain food}, 1 T baking soda, 2 T cocoa powder, 1 T cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla, and then add almond milk {or soy milk/rice milk} instead of cow’s milk. Spray the waffle iron with Pam and load it up.

My oldest said these taste like the whoopie pies {minus the cream and sugar} I posted about here. And she was right. These would be good as dessert with ice cream, too!

Don’t forget to sign up for the giveaway I posted yesterday! It ends Sunday!

Banana Split Bites {dairy-free, peanut-free}

When I found these little desserts, it was love at first sight. What’s not to love about these cute little banana splits!?! I knew I had to make them pronto. And you should, too!

Banana Split Bites {dairy-free, peanut-free}

Bananas, cut into 4 pieces approx 2 inches long

Vegan chocolate chips, melted

Sprinkles

1 can Coconut milk

1 cup powdered sugar

Maraschino cherries

Dip each banana piece into the melted chocolate chips, approx. halfway up the banana. Then, dip into the sprinkles so that they cover the chocolate. Place banana in a muffin tin. Chill in fridge until chocolate is set.

Meanwhile, put coconut milk and powdered sugar into a chilled mixing bowl. {Chill bowl and beaters for about an hour before this step.} Beat on high until mixture becomes thick. Add more powdered sugar if necessary. Place a dollop of cream on top of each banana. Top with a cherry. Serve!

Blueberries – Summer’s Candy

So, with summer staring us in the face, I’m continuing the ‘eat more fruit’ series I started with the strawberry post last week. This time, I decided to give you some snacks/meal ideas with blueberries.

Besides the obvious of just eating blueberries right off the bush, or out of the plastic container from the store, why not try some of these things?

Blueberry Quesadillas (courtesy of my sister’s kitchen) – Just substitute butter for Smart Balance Light buttery spread – it’s dairy-free and substitute the cream cheese for Tofutti brand cream cheese, also dairy-free. Delicious idea! Can’t wait to try it!

Vegan Blueberry Cobbler {dairy-, egg- and gluten-free} courtesy of glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

Vegan Blueberry Muffins {dairy-, egg-free} courtesy of egglesscooking.com

Blueberry Vanilla Yogurt Parfait {dairy-free}

Fresh blueberries, rinsed

coconut milk yogurt, vanilla flavor {or soy yogurt}

granola

Layer in a parfait glass (or cute tall glass or glass bowl) the blueberries and yogurt. Top with granola. Serve. YUM!

*photo courtesy of whfoods.org – recipe by yours truly.

 

Feels like Summer…

…and that means the children’s stomachs are a bottomless pit. At least that’s how they act. So, I’ve begun stocking up and brainstorming again for healthy snacks for the hungry little people in this house. My goal for this summer {in the food category} is to only have healthy foods on hand for daily snacking. Of course, this dessert-loving mama will always have an emergency sweet treat on hand, but for snacking purposes we’re going healthy. This should accomplish 1 of 2 things. Either they will 1) learn to eat and love healthy snacks or 2) they will not ask for a snack every 15 minutes. Either way, it works out good for me. So, this week I’m going to try to post some healthy snack ideas for summer!

Let’s start the week with Strawberries!

Just get some fresh, juicy strawberries – wash them and serve them up with a little packet of Truvia {natural sweetener}. My girls love to put their own “sugar” on their berries and one packet of a natural sweetener works great. There’s no guilt or ‘accidental dumping of sugar’ with the individual packets.

Make a yummy dairy-free Strawberry Shortcake.

Make some Strawberry Scones.

Do some fruit kabobs and serve with dairy-free whipped cream!

Or serve fresh strawberries with this Dairy-Free Chocolate Dipping Sauce {below}:

1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips

1 T Tofutti brand sour cream OR 1 T almond milk

Melt together in a small saucepan or in the microwave at 30 sec intervals. Serve!

Stay tuned for more healthy, but yummy treats for summer!

Holy Stromboli! {dairy-, egg-, peanut-free}

I have been craving some dessert stromboli lately. My mom made this once or twice when I was growing up and I just remember it being so delicious. So, thanks to that craving I made this dairy-, egg-, and peanut-free one.

YUM! The end.

Dessert Stromboli {dairy-, egg-, peanut-free}

1 Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough {I used the thin crust}

Smart Balance LIGHT buttery spread

Cinnamon

1/4 cup brown sugar {double this if you want a thicker filling!}

1 cup powdered sugar

3 T lemon juice {or more depending on how your drizzle sets up}

Pecans, chopped – {you can either find one that hasn’t been around peanuts or leave this out}

Roll out your pizza dough. Spread butter all over the dough – not too thick – and sprinkle cinnamon and brown sugar onto one half of the rolled-out dough. Fold the opposite side {with no sugar/cinnamon} over on top of the sugar side. Crimp or pinch the edges together so none of the good stuff leaks out! Bake at 400 degrees until top is golden brown. Meanwhile, mix powdered sugar and lemon juice together to make a nice drizzle {not too runny} and drizzle it over the top of the baked stromboli. Sprinkle pecans on top, if you desire. Cut into thin slices. Serve warm.

Mini Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting {dairy-, egg-, peanut-free}

I can hardly wait for my girl to get home from school today so she can try these homemade cupcakes! They are delicious and the frosting – oh.wow. – you just have to try it!! I adapted this recipe from The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook by Cybele Pascal (p.92). If you are going to make full-size cupcakes, I suggest using her exact recipe. My recipe only works well for the mini-cupcakes because of the ingredients I used. These mini’s would be great for a brunch, tea party, after-school snack, dessert, etc.

On second thought, when is a mini cupcake not a good idea?

Mini-Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting {dairy-free, egg-, peanut-free}

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 heaping T cornstarch

1 tsp double-acting baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup almond milk

1 tsp cider vinegar

1/2 cup shortening (I used Crisco Butter-flavored – it’s dairy-free)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp corn syrup

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 recipe Vanilla Frosting (as follows)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin pan. (I didn’t have liners on hand, so I just greased the pan. I recommend liners, though!)

2. Whisk together the flour mix, corn starch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3. Combine almond milk and vinegar. Set aside.

4. In mixer bowl, combine shortening, sugar, corn syrup and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Sift in the flour mixture, alternating with almond milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary, about 30 seconds.

5. Fill liners 3/4 full with batter. Smooth tops with a butter knife or spatula.

6. Bake in center of oven for about 15 minutes. (This is for the mini’s.) Transfer cupcakes to cooling rack and cool completely before frosting.

FROSTING:

1 cup shortening (dairy-, soy-free)

pinch of salt

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/4 cup almond milk

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. In the bowl of stand mixer, cream shortening and salt on medium speed for about 1 minute.

2. Add the sugar, milk and vanilla. Beat until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes. You can either pipe or spread frosting onto the cupcakes.

Update: My daughters LOVED these cupcakes. The consistency (in the mini’s) was perfect compared to that of a boxed cake mix where I normally substitute the egg. The boxed mixes do not work nearly as well as this. These were easy and lots of fun to make!

Snickerdoodles {Dairy-, Nut-, Egg-Free}

Today was the first time I tried to make Snickerdoodles in my life and I decided to make them allergy-free {like most of the baked goods I make} so that my daughter could enjoy them with the family. They turned out GREAT! Perfect consistency, great taste and appearance! My girls loved them. And that’s why I do all of this in the first place. So, here’s how I made them:

Snickerdoodles {Dairy-, Peanut-, Egg-Free}

2 1/2 cups plus 2 T all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup dairy-free shortening

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup plus 2 T packed brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 T cornstarch

1/4 cup + 1 tsp Almond milk

2 T sugar mixed with 2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease two sheet pans. Whisk together flour, soda, cream of tartar and salt. In the mixer bowl, combine shortening, sugar and brown sugar, mixing on medium speed until fluffy. Add vanilla and cornstarch. Mix. Add flour mixture and almond milk, scraping down sides as necessary. Roll the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and roll balls into cinnamon/sugar mixture to coat the outside. Place on baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool. Store in airtight container.