Paleo Tortillas

Before starting this diet we tried this recipe for 3 ingredient Paleo naan. It was amazing but pretty greasy. Since our first trial we've made this recipe at least a half dozen more times, each time trying to tweak the recipe to make it less greasy. Well, I finally did it! Soft tortillas that still fold, don't break, but don't leave a ton of grease on your hands! Another positive note, these tortillas freeze decently well in a Ziploc bag when I separate the tortillas with freezer paper. The freezer paper makes it easy to pull out one tortilla, microwave it for about 20-30 seconds and use it for whatever we are making. Really the uses for this tortilla are endless! These have been a total lifesaver while on this diet. This is a recipe I will be keeping and using after this diet though. I've tried multiple gluten free tortilla recipes and have never made anything this amazing. Tacos have become my new favorite snack thanks to this tortilla.

Paleo Tortillas
Makes about 2.5 dozen small tortillas

1 can (14 oz) full fat coconut milk
1.5 cups of water
1 1/4 cups tapioca starch
1/2 cup arrowroot starch
1.5 cups almond flour
1 tsp salt

Directions:
Combine tapioca starch, arrowroot starch, almond flour and salt in a bowl. If coconut milk has separated, mix well until clumps no longer exist in a separate bowl. Add water and coconut milk to dry ingredients and mix well until clumps disappear. Continue to stir periodically during the cooking process. Batter will be thin. Heat electric griddle to 400 degrees. It is important to stir batter well before pouring each batch as some of the heavier flours tend to sink to the bottom and separate. Pour batter onto griddle to make tortillas approximately 5-6 inches round. Heat first side for 2 minutes, flip over, and then cook for another 5 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Vegan Mayo - Paleo Friendly

I've been trying to make vegan mayo for about a week. I've also failed about a dozen times. Trust me, I've tried multiple methods, recipes, and every blender I have in the house plus one from my mother-in-law (Ninja prep, Cusinart food processor, mini food chopper and immersion blender). I even ruined a shirt this week spraying oil all over my shirt thanks to one immersion blender attempt. I've taken lots of advice from a good friend who makes homemade Paleo mayo and it was her tip that I think finally did the trick! I found a decent basic vegan mayo recipe but it had a strong lemon and sour flavor so I adjusted the recipe, added a few ingredients and ended up with this! With this recipe, the method is as important as the ingredients so pay attention to both!

Vegan Mayo
Makes about 1.5 cups

1 tbls ground flax seed
3 tbls water
1/2 tbls lemon juice
1/2 tbls raw apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp dry ground mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 cup light tasting olive oil or another good tasting oil

Method:
In a small bowl, mix together ground flax seed and water, set aside. Using a food processor (trust me I tried everything else), place the lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, dry ground mustard, salt, garlic powder and 1/4 cup of the olive oil into the food processor bowl. Do NOT blend yet. Use a liquid measuring cup to measure out the remaining 3/4 cup of olive oil and set near the food processor but do NOT pour in yet. Once ground flax seed and water have created a gel type consistency, place flax seed mixture into the food processor bowl with the other ingredients. Use a food processor lid that contains a shaft. (Note: My food processor has a regular lid with a hole in the middle and a lid with a shaft. Pouring oil down the hole in the middle did not work for me.) Turn food processor on and slowly pour the 3/4 cup of oil through the shaft hole. Mixture should gradually become a mayo consistency. After oil has been poured and mixture reaches mayo consistency, stop processor immediately. Over mixing will break the consistency and cause you to have a liquid mess again. Place mayo in a glass container and keep in the refrigerator. This mayo seems to hold it's consistency best after being in the refrigerator for at least a few hours before serving.

Allergy Friendly Carrot Cake

This carrot cake is the best allergy friendly cake I have ever had. The credit for this recipe goes to my mom though. She used to work at a Christian camp that made a similar cake but with our allergies, mom needed to make some changes so we could enjoy this cake. She did a great job figuring out what works with this cake. I've even heard multiple compliments from people who don't have allergies. While this cake was already pretty perfect I did reduce the sugar and oil...sorry mom...it was just too much for us! I made this coconut cream frosting to top it off. Last night we took this cake to a friend's house for dinner and it appeared to be a hit. Today there are only a couple pieces left!

Carrot Cake
Yields: 24 medium sized pieces of cake

1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup potato starch
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup canola oil
1 cup crushed pineapple with some juices
2 teaspoons gluten free vanilla
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 cup coconut
2 cups finely chopped or shredded raw carrots
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
6 heaping teaspoons of Ener-G egg replacer (or 3 eggs instead of egg replacer and flax seed mixture)
3 heaping tablespoons of ground flax seed
Water

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil, using canola oil, a 9 x 13 cake pan. Using a food chopper or processor, finely chop the walnuts and set aside. Place carrots in the food chopper and finely chop. If you do not have a food chopper, shred the carrots using a cheese grater. Note the 2 cup measurement of carrots should be after they have been chopped or shredded. Set carrots aside. In a glass liquid measuring cup, mix Ener-G egg replacer and ground flax seed. Then add water to the egg replacer and ground flax seed mixture until the measuring cup measures 3/4 cup. Place brown rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, sugar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, coconut, and xanthan gum in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Then add the oil, pineapple, vanilla, walnuts, carrots, and egg replacer mixture to the dry ingredients mix. Mix until fully blended. Scrape mixture into the lightly oiled 9 x 13 cake pan and spread evenly. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Disclaimer: It is always important to read labels because brands frequently change their ingredients. These ingredients and brands work for my family but some may be processed in the same facility as wheat, soy, dairy and/or eggs and therefore depending on your severity may or may not work for your family.

Coconut Cream Frosting

Almost all frosting on the shelf at the store has dairy in it. My family has been using Pillsbury's frosting since our allergies were diagnosed because most of their flavors are dairy free. Now that Lola can't have soy though, even that option is out. So this coconut cream frosting was an attempt to make an alternative I can have. It tastes pretty good but does have a heavy coconut flavor. It works well with this carrot cake but I have not tried it with other flavors of cake. It has a pudding like texture and flavor to it. This recipe does require that it sit in the fridge overnight so be sure to plan ahead! This picture was taken after only sitting in the fridge for 4 hours. It did not drip at all after sitting overnight! It's very important that this frosting stay in the fridge so I recommend you frost your cake as you need it.

Coconut Cream Frosting
Yield: 1 3/4 cup

1 can (14 oz) coconut cream (not milk)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon gluten free vanilla
1/2 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon almond milk

Directions: In a small saucepan, combine coconut cream, powdered sugar and vanilla over medium heat. Continuously whisk for 5 minutes. In a separate small bowl, combine the corn starch and almond milk. Add corn starch mixture to the coconut cream mixture. Continuously whisk for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a shallow container. Place the container uncovered in the fridge overnight. Mixture will thicken as it cools. Use frosting as needed and keep refrigerated.

Disclaimer: It is always important to read labels because brands frequently change their ingredients. These ingredients and brands work for my family but some may be processed in the same facility as wheat, soy, dairy and/or eggs and therefore depending on your severity may or may not work for your family.

Vegan Cheese Sauce

Yum! If you avoid dairy this is a recipe for you! Dairy free cheese is SO expensive. There are some sauces and cheeses I would love to try but I just can't pay $10 for a small container. Now that I have to avoid soy for Lola, my cheese options are even less....as if it couldn't get any worse! Therefore I've been really trying to learn about flavors in vegan cheese and how to make my own. I have a cookbook for some I like but they are a lot of work, most take days to make and use cashews which can be just as expensive sometimes. This sauce is cheap though and pretty easy. I also tried to limit the number of weird ingredients I used so hopefully you don't need to buy much, if anything. We used it as a dip for chips today and on top of some awesome French fries! Oliver kept saying "umm umm" but it may have been largely because of the chip part.

Vegan Cheese Sauce

Yield 2/3 cup

1 tablespoon brown rice flour
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 cup almond milk
1 1/2 teaspoons nutritional yeast flakes
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon Miso Master's Chickpea Miso or if you can have soy, another miso that meets your allergy needs
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Directions: In a small saucepan, melt coconut oil over low heat. Once melted add brown rice flour and whisk until blended and it creates a paste. Add the almond milk first and then all other ingredients over medium heat. Whisk until blended well. Continue to whisk the sauce frequently and cook for approximately 13 minutes or until thickened to desired thickness. Serve immediately. If reheating, additional milk or water may need to be added to thin the sauce.

Disclaimer: It is always important to read labels because brands frequently change their ingredients. These ingredients and brands work for my family but some may be processed in the same facility as wheat, soy, dairy and/or eggs and therefore depending on your severity may or may not work for your family.