Homemade Vegan Gluten Free Graham Cracker Recipe

Gluten Free Vegan Graham Cracker Recipe

If you would like to continue to follow my work......

My recipes and I can now be found @

http://www.plantbasednutritionista.com

I hope to see you there!   

A few weeks ago I was on the phone with my mom working out the menu for her birthday dinner and of course without fail, every single person in my family requests my Burnt Almond Fudge Ice Cream Pie as their birthday dessert!!

Vegan or not they LOVE the Burnt Almond Fudge Ice Cream recipe.  The trick this year is that it requires a graham cracker crust and I needed a gluten free graham cracker crust.  There are gluten free graham crackers in the store of course, but they are not vegan and they are certainly not healthy.  Soooo I had to create my own and these gluten free graham crackers were delicious!!

My kids gobbled these up and I used the rest for my pie crust.  If you are not gluten free don't fret, you can use regular whole wheat pastry flour as well.  Enjoy the gluten free, vegan graham cracker recipe.



Where have I been......and Where am I going.....

The Peaceful Kitchen is Closing Shop.....

If you would like to continue to follow my work......

My recipes and I can now be found @

http://www.plantbasednutritionista.com

I hope to see you there!   

 

Those of you that have followed The Peaceful Kitchen over the years know that I have struggled back and forth...wondering whether I should continue with The Peaceful Kitchen or move on......

I have finally decided that it is time to close up shop and move on in my life.  I LOVE creating recipes but at the same time there are some aspects of running a recipe blog that I am NOT good at!

I must admit.....I have no skill in photography whatsoever!

It is okay....we can't all be good at everything.....but the problem is if you are going to be successful in blogging about food let's face it, you've got to be able to make that food look mouthwatering in pictures.  I have tried recipes from a variety of different food blogs and maybe I am biased but I think my recipes are outstanding in comparison.....but other bloggers have beautiful pictures and mine leave something to be desired.

I am not saying this out of self-pity, far from it, in reality what I finally realized is I wasn't as successful as I would have liked to be because I was NOT following my true passion!  Sure I love creating recipes, but is that what I really wanted to do with my life, NO!

In order to obtain success you need to follow your passion!

I know that my TRUE calling in life is as A Healer.  It is a HUGE part of me and I intuitively know how to help those I consult with and this is where my true passion lies.  I LOVE teaching classes on nutrition, herbs, healing I could teach 12 hours a day and be happy as a person could be!!!!  Creating recipes just does not induce the same enthusiasm.

As I have contemplated everything honestly the thought came to my mind.....what am I doing?  Why in the world did I try to start a business doing something I never really, truly desired to do?  I started creating recipes because as I taught nutrition classes and did consultations people would always say, what do I do next?  I want to change my diet but don't know how....

They didn't know where to turn for DELICIOUS healthy food.  So in desperation to try and help these wonderful clients I feverishly worked at creating recipes that would satisfy this need.  These recipes have helped dozens of my clients......but in that effort I lost sight of my real passion.....

I have created PLENTY of recipes to serve the purpose of helping people learn how to eat healthy.  I won't completely stop creating recipes....but that will not be my focus any longer!

****Warning to All Peaceful Kitchen Fans....

Recipes on The Peaceful Kitchen blog will only be available for a short time and then they will be removed!

I am creating a smartphone app containing all of my recipes as well as a membership site and recipe e-books that will contain all of my recipes.  The recipes will remain up on the blog for a short time and then they will no longer be available for FREE on the blog.  The photos and information will still remain but the recipes will be removed and you will be directed to the membership site or app to obtain the recipes.

If you love the recipes you may want to copy them now before they are gone!

Moving forward......My New Website!

http://www.integrativehealingclinic.com

This website will be up an running very soon!

www.facebook.com/integrativehealingclinic

The facebook page is up and running now.....please "Like" my new page to stay up to date with all that is going on...............

Joy of Cooking Vegan Style....Take 1

First Few Days Diving into Joy of Cooking

Spiced Tea

If you would like to continue to follow my work......

My recipes and I can now be found @

http://www.plantbasednutritionista.com

I hope to see you there! 

  

I enjoy drinking a nice cup of hot herbal tea on a cold rainy or snowy morning, or evening, or really just about anytime it is cold actually!  I don't drink any tea's that contain tannins, caffeine etc... and so as I opened up the Joy of Cooking book to the tea section I decided to use one of my all purpose teas instead of regular tea leaves and it turned out beautifully!

8 oz. water {bring to a boil}

Pour the water into a cup with:

1 1/2 tsp. Rooibos   {You could certainly use white tea, oolong or other tea if you prefer}

Steep for 10 to 15 minutes.

Add:

1 Tb. orange juice

2 Tb. lemon juice

1/8 tsp. powdered clove

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

5 drops vanilla stevia

5 drops lemon stevia

1 pkt. stevia

You can add more stevia to sweeten until you enjoy the taste.

I kept trying to figure out how to go through a 700+ page book of recipes and not lose track of which ones I had done and which ones I still needed to make.........Hmmmm.  Okay, I know this really exposes my severe lack of organization skills, but I finally figured out a system so I don't have to just start with beverages and make my way through that way.  I wanted to make drinks, breads, & meals together not just cook straight through.....problem solved.  

Next up on the list was a Dinner recipe....it was a very cold and very rainy day yesterday so I was in the mood for a nice warm bowl of soup!  I browsed through the soups and found several that looked yummy but I wasn't in the mood for something that would take a lot of prep time.....enter....Minestrone!  Perfect!

Minestrone Soup

This is a very THICK minestrone full of tons of veggies!  That is really how I like my soups...

The macaroni in this soup was actually Brown Rice pasta so this recipe is actually gluten free for those who must avoid gluten, or I guess for those who think gluten is the spawn of satan...either way it will work for you.

My family absolutely LOVED this soup...it was even a hit with my 14 year old daughter, which is saying a lot because she is a picky one.  It is a very simple soup to make, it may seem like a lot of steps but really it cooks up in 30 minutes and prep time is minimal...just chopping a few veggies and opening a few cans.  It is also a one pot meal, you can't go wrong with that.

Fluffy Rolled Biscuits

These are really the holy grail of low fat biscuits!  They are so light and fluffy and as you can tell by the picture....they rise HUGE!  The flavor of these biscuits is delicious even without any earth balance or jam on them!  You will love these simple yet, fluffy biscuits!

Cinnamon & Sugar Biscuit Option

Joy of Cooking mentioned several options that you could use to give these biscuits a little pizzaz.....I decided the cinnamon and sugar option looked delicious!  So for this round of biscuits...there will be more biscuit recipes so don't you worry :-)

I decided to do half of our biscuits with this option and oh boy were these delicious!!!  Just like a dessert.

Sprinkle on top of the sprayed biscuits generously.  

I hope you enjoy this first round of the Joy of Cooking recipes.  I chose some fairly simply ones to start out with but don't be fooled by their simplicity, these recipes are delicious!

Fun New Vegan Challenge

Joy of Cooking Vegan Style Challenge

If you would like to continue to follow my work......

My recipes and I can now be found @

http://www.plantbasednutritionista.com

I hope to see you there!    

 

I have had this desire to purchase a good old fashioned cookbook and cook through the entire book 'healthifying' {Is that even a word?} and veganizing the recipes as I went.  I chose the book "Joy of Cooking."   This particular book was published in 1964, absolutely perfect for recreating all those recipes from the Good Ole Days....just making them healthy and cruelty free :-)

I am really excited to embark on this adventure but I want to let you know there will be a few recipes that I will not even attempt to recreate and those will include:

Coffees - I have never tasted coffee and never intend to do so, if you like coffee I'm sure you can find plenty of resources for making coffee.

Alcoholic Drinks - Never drank and don't intend to start so again I will not be making the cocktails although I might make a few "Mocktails"  :-D

Animal organs or Body Parts- Recipes that include liver, pancreas {sweet breads}, Ox tails, or any other animal organ or body part.  I have absolutely NO interest in recreating any of this.  If a recipe is a soup and includes Ox tail I will likely add some beans and call the soup something else but I will not try to replicate any animal organ or body part in this case.

I am really excited to do this and as I go through the book I will also share the lessons about cooking that she teaches throughout the book.  I think it will be really fun and I hope you will enjoy this journey.

**Please Understand: As I go through this book I will be changing, substituting and adding vegetables and other ingredients to increase nutritional value, I will also be omitting ingredients I personally believe to be unhealthy such as olive oil etc.... 

I am excited to take you on this amazing journey of learning and discovery of new recipes!

On to the next order of business.....

Book Review:  Discovering The Word of Wisdom

I know my readers come from all walks of life and a wide variety of religious backgrounds but I would like to introduce those who may be interested to a book recently published on the LDS Word of Wisdom.  It is an excellent compilation of information, insights, success stories and a background on religious ideas about Dietary habits and their relation to spiritual as well as physical health.  If you feel this may interest you, you can click the link below to purchase your own copy.

Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough Dip Recipe & Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough Dip

If you would like to continue to follow my work......

My recipes and I can now be found @

http://www.plantbasednutritionista.com

I hope to see you there!   

Delicious cookie dough dip that tastes like a yummy Snickerdoodle cookie!  My mom was making my favorite snickerdoodle cookies for the Superbowl party and since I am sugar free I decided to make something yummy I could have for dessert.  

This Snickerdoodle cookie dough dip is sugar free & gluten free for those who have an intolerance or Celiac.  This was a HIT at the party, everyone enjoyed it.  

I have been sugar free for 9 days now, I am surprised I made it this far.  I must admit last night I did make a little indulgent treat out of maltitol sweetened chocolate, almond butter, vegetable glycerin and oats that was delicious but I only had a couple spoonfuls and it was sugar free :-)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

I am a HUGE fan of chocolate....so I decided to make a chocolate chip cookie dough dip as well to get in that chocolate fix at the Superbowl party too.  This was yummy too!  However,  I have decided to save the recipe for this one for an upcoming ebook instead of putting it on the blog :-)  You can just look at the deliciousness and drool until the ebook comes out :-P

I honestly thought I would lose a lot more weight than I have in the last 9 days.  I have been eating oatmeal in the mornings, TONS of veggies and beans for lunches and dinners and snacking on green apples and berries.  I must say I have only lost a measly 1 pound in the last 9 days :-(  

I cannot tell you how demotivating that is!  I have also been working out 6 days a week for 45 minutes a day.  Today I did 100 Burpees as only PART of a workout!!

Yeah, I have been working my butt off trying to lose weight...I haven't been sitting on my can at all.....but the weight still isn't coming off!  I am hopeful that it will soon......I hope!

Unfortunately with my metabolic issues losing weight is nearly impossible!  I know people don't believe me but it is SO true!

Here is the must awaited Snickerdoodle dip recipe:


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Vegan SuperBowl.....Vegan Mozzarella Sticks and more!!!

7 Days Sugar Free and Counting......

If you would like to continue to follow my work......

My recipes and I can now be found @

http://www.plantbasednutritionista.com

I hope to see you there!    

 

A week and a half ago if you had told me that I would go a full week with absolutely NO sugar.....I would never have believed you!  I declared a week ago that I was going sugar free and amazingly it hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be....don't get me wrong I've had cravings for chocolate bread, cookies and other desserts but I have not caved in!

Yesterday was the real test....Superbowl Sunday at my parents house and there were some delicious snickerdoodle cookies sitting there calling to me.  I haven't had snickerdoodles in ages....not because I had some super human amount of will power against unhealthy food but because my hubby does NOT think it is dessert unless chocolate is involved and so snickerdoodles just never made the cut :-(  I used to love them as a kid, my mom made them all the time.  I am happy to report that no snickerdoodles were eaten yesterday, but that doesn't mean I didn't get a little snickerdoodle fix sugar free style!

Benefits of 1 week sugar free

1. 1.2 pounds lost since Monday of last week.

I wish I could report more but I still have cravings, I still have a tendency to want to overeat but for now I'll take the weight loss :-)

Now on to the Superbowl Recipes...................

Vegan Buffalo Wings

My family loved these little gems, they are DELICIOUS!!  My kiddos were fighting over who got to have the leftovers for lunch today.  I won't lie, they are labor intensive to make...not hard they just take a lot of time but wow were they worth it.

I must admit....my family HATES, hates, hates anything spicy!!!!  Seriously my daughter will throw a full on fit if I put garlic powder in something because she says it is TOO SPICY!  I have a family of baby mouths....so, I cannot use the traditional buffalo wing sauce or my family would literally die from the spice.  So I use a really yummy smoky BBQ sauce instead.  I'm not posting the recipe for these today...I won't be posting recipes for everything just a few things here and there that seem to be quite popular on my facebook page.

Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

Sorry about the phone picture but you can still see how YUMMY these were!!

Final Note about Kappa Carrageenan:

I know there has been a slew of information coming out about Carrageenan and it cause intestinal inflammation etc.... and people are now terrified of anything with the word carraggenan!!

I don't have time in this post to explain it all but kappa carrageenan is NOT what was used in this research...not only that, in these studies rats were fed TONS of carrageenan, in order for you to consume the equivalent of what caused intestinal inflammation in rats you'd have to eat 5 lbs. a day!!!!!

The carrageenan used in the studies is also not structurally the same as what is used in common food products...these studies have caused mass hysteria over pretty much nothing.  If you want more evidence and information please comment below and I will do a special post on Carrageenan complete with the studies but for now all I am going to say is it's fine.

Kappa Carrageenan can be purchased Here:  

Willpowder Kappa Carrageenan, 1-Pound

Please be aware that this will last you a LONG, LONG time as you only use about 1 Tb. at a time and this is a full pound!!!

The Peaceful Kitchen Returns......

The Peaceful Kitchen Returns....

after 6 months

Sweet Poison!

If you would like to continue to follow my work......

My recipes and I can now be found @

http://www.plantbasednutritionista.com

I hope to see you there!    

 

I am not going to go into all the reasons why I took a 6 month sabatical from blogging, it was due to some hurtful things that happened but I won't name any names, however, I have decided to move in a new direction with my blog.  I posted awhile ago about my 26 year battle with PCOS and I have finally come to the realization that as much as I LOVE, LOVE sugar.....Sugar does NOT love me back!

I have battled the idea of going completely sugar free for years.....but I have only made it 30 days without sugar and then it was followed but a gluttonous binge of everything sweet I could think of...with a subsequent 5 lb. weight gain to go along with it.

I've known for a long time what I needed to do to finally beat PCOS but I have hesitated, whined, complained, thrown poor me pity parties, you name it....I pretty much threw a grown up version of a two-year old tantrum about having to give up my precious desserts and sweets!  Well, the other day as I was sitting there contemplating about my struggles with PCOS it dawned on me.  I have sought to help so many people in my life and have 'judged' them when they would rather suffer with their {insert ailment here}, anything from diabetes to daily debilitating migraines etc...  than change their diet.

Whoa!

Wait a minute....isn't that what I am doing?  Refusing to let go of my food addictions in order to heal my body....YIKES!  I am doing exactly what I hate when other people do.  If I had a dime for every person who asked me for help and subsequently had absolutely no intention of changing I would be a rich woman....I really would.

I finally decided that I had to stop posting all the delectable desserts and trying to cater to our sugar obsessed society and finally give up sugar and move toward a whole food plant based diet.....sans sugar!

I am Publicly Making the Commitment......NO SUGAR!

This means absolutely NO:

• Agave nectar
• Honey
• Maple syrup
• Turbinado
• Succanut
• Coconut sugar
• Palm sugar
• Barley malt
• white sugar
• Brown rice syrup

Any sugar that has been concentrated in any way or isolated from its original food!

Confession time:

I really did follow a healthy plant based diet.....however, that diet contained WAY Too much sugar.  Do you really want to know how much?

Dessert everyday!  Does that sound like a lot?  Well, unfortunately that is not all, I was eating dessert everyday for Lunch AND Dinner!

Yep you read that right!  I know, I know that is not healthy and no amount of vegetables or whole grains was going to override the amount of sugar I was eating.  I finally came to the realization that sugar made up way too much of my diet and then when I realized I needed to stop eating the dessert after lunch I would proceed to chew pieces of gum for more of a sugar rush to my sugar addicted taste buds.  

Today Marks Day 1 of Sugar Free!!!

I will post pictures and descriptions of my meals, along with a few recipes scattered in there to document my progress.  I am going in for blood tests today or tomorrow so I will post my beginning blood tests and then I will post blood tests again in 90 days.  No, I will not be stopping my diet in 90 days but I want to show my progress.

Breakfast:

I had a banana protein porridge made with my favorite Lifetime Life's Basics Plant Protein, Vanilla, 18.52-Ounces Tub
 I topped it with raspberries and blueberries


Lunch:

I made a homemade Sweet & Sour Orange Sesame Dressing
This lovely dressing topped a spring mix salad with mushrooms, garbanzo beans, celery, apples, onion.......

Dessert after Lunch:  5 raspberries and 1 slice of a golden delicious apple


Snack:  1 quinoa thin wafer with 1 tsp. almond butter 4 raspberries and 4 banana slices

Dinner:  French Lentil Curry


A successful Day 1:  I am feeling great, sugar cravings aren't too bad and I am feeling very satiated from my lunch.  I am determined to cure my PCOS and finally I am ready to COMMIT!