In cooking up come fresh pumpkin for my son, my step daughter and I decided to creative in the kitchen! Who doesn’t love a beautifully spiced pumpkin recipe?

So this is what we came up with! And man oh man did they turn out awesome! Gluten, dairy, and nut-free 🙂

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1  1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups coconut sugar
• 3 cups fresh or canned pumpkin puree
• 1  3/4 cup oat flour
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp coconut flour
• 1/4 cup arrow root flour
• 3 tbsp ground flax
• 5 tbsp hemp hearts
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp sea salt
• dairy-free chocolate chips (*Optional)
• chopped Pecans (*Optional)

Breakfast seems to be one of those meals that’s not as easy as a bowl of cereal, or a slice of toast once choosing a healthier lifestyle. This easy, filling recipe will have you loving a quick breakfast again. Quick, easy, and perfect for on-the-go!

Ingredients:

• 8-10 eggs
• 1 (10 oz) package of fresh spinach
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/4 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 small zucchini, peeled and finely chopped
• 5  mushrooms
• 1/2 cup Daiya mozzarella cheese (or cheese of your choice)
• 1 tbsp of non-dairy milk
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Heat the oil in the skillet over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic until translucent. Add mushrooms and fry until mushrooms are cooked. Add spinach and cook until spinach is wilted (may have to add a bit of water to “steam” the spinach). Set aside and cool slightly.

In a bowl, whisk eggs. Add the chopped red peppers, cheese, salt, pepper, zucchini and spinach mixture. Mix well.

Fill each greased muffin cup with egg mixture 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until it’s well set and a tester/toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Leave in the muffin tins for a few minutes or just until it’s cool enough to handle. Cool completely before refrigerating. Muffins will keep about a week in the refrigerator.

Tips & Ideas:

These freeze EXCELLENT! I make a huge batch and freeze the rest. Perfect for breakfasts on the go, or when you just don’t have time to be in the kitchen! Can be served with a side of kimchi, or add to a fresh simple salad. Re-heat in oven, or take out the night before and place in fridge to thaw for the next day.

As a variation, skip the muffin cups and bake this recipe in a baking dish and serve for Sunday brunch!

This is probably one of the main reasons I invested in an Excalibur 9-Tray Dehydrator. The kids (and all their friends) love these so much, I can’t keep them stocked up. It’s a wonderful treat for lunches, snacks, camping, road-trips or for when fruit isn’t in season. I haven’t found a kid yet would didn’t love these. And on the plus side, they are crazy simple to make and you can pretty much make them out of anything!

Ingredients:

• About 12 cups of frozen or fresh fruit (**See notes below for tips)

Line dehydrator trays with Excalibur re-usable sheets (or parchment paper). Put about 1 1/2 cups of the mix onto the tray and spread into a square shape as evenly as possible about 1/8″ thick***.

Enjoy!!

These breakfast cookies have been a lifesaver for me! My dear friend sent me home with a bag of these cookies and we LOVED them!! Truth be told, they were all I could eat during labour and just after having my first baby. When I asked for the recipe, she said she just threw stuff together! So when I was home from the hospital and feeling good enough, I took her list of ingredients and re-created them to make a recipe to share with all of you!

They are jam packed full of great ingredients, are sugar-free, gluten-free, egg-free & can easily be nut-free!

Ingredients:

• 6 very ripe medium bananas (mashed)
• 1 can of full fat coconut milk
• 4 cups gluten-free rolled oats
• 1 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds (omit for nut-free & replace with sunflower seeds)
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup hemp hearts
• 1/2 dried fruit of choice (I love dried cranberries, or cherries)
• 1/2 cup cacao nibs (or chocolate chips)

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, mix the canned coconut milk and mashed bananas (if your coconut milk is too chunky, I heated it on the stove until it was liquified, then mixed it in with the bananas).

Once bananas and coconut milk are well mixed, add in the remaining ingredients. Mixture will appear milky or soupy. Spoon onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Press cookies into a round, flat shape, so they stick together when baking. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges are just during golden brown.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheets before removing to cooling rack. Cool completely before refrigerating or freezing.

Tips & Ideas:

These freeze EXCELLENT! I made a double batch and froze them all! Perfect for breakfasts on the go, or when you just don’t have time to be in the kitchen (which is actually often for me these days)!!

You also can easily make this recipe your own by adjusting the dry ingredients to whatever you enjoy!

I know what you’re thinking … bananas and eggs?? We were thinking the exact same thing when my 7 year old niece said she wanted to cook this for breakfast. Turns out we were all shocked when we tasted her creation. It taste like sweet french toast… without the bread or the the sugar! I dare you to give this a try and not absolutely love it!

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 ripe bananas (chopped into small chunks)
• 3 eggs (whisked together)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

This is a staple in our house. I add this to curry dishes, top off my salads for a nice crunch, or even just eat by the spoonfuls. I love to have this made in the fridge for those days I don’t have time to be in the kitchen! Delicious and filling!

Ingredients:

• 1 can of chickpeas
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp peper

You can also fry these with thinly sliced onions, fresh grated ginger, pinch of crushed chilli peppers or top with fresh cilantro, parsley or freshly squeezed lime.

Once you get into fermenting, you will be surprised at how much good can be turned into cultured goodness. This is one of our favourites. And the best part… no one can tell it’s fermented!!

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion (diced)
• 4 large tomatoes (diced)
• 1 medium red pepper (diced)
• 1-2 jalapenos (diced)
• Clove of garlic (minced)
• Handful of fresh cilantro
• Lemon and lime juice to taste
• Starter culture such as Body Ecology Veggie Culture Starter

Who doesn’t love having a good muffin to grab on the go? These muffins are gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free and taste AMAZING!!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1   1/4 cup canned coconut milk
• 4 tbsp chia seeds
• 6 large eggs (beaten)
• 1/2 cup raw honey (very soft or melted)
• 4 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
• 1 lemon zest
• 1/8 cup fresh lemon juice
• 4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1   1/2 cup frozen or fresh blueberries

This recipe is ridiculously simple and so tasty. I didn’t think egg salad could be good without mayo… enter avocados!

Ingredients:

• 4 boiled eggs
• 2 small ripe avocados
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp of Epicures guacamole dip mix (or a combination of dried onion flakes, pinch of dried red chilis, sea salt, dried garlic, dried parsley)

Directions:

• Mash all ingredients in small bowl and serve!

I get a lot of questions about how I get my kids to take vitamins, tinctures and juices. My 3 kids see these things as a normal part of the day because its the only thing they know…but it got me thinking about mums who are in transition with their families…

Soooo, for all you mamas trying to put your kids on a healthier path – here is a recipe for some DIY Gummy Vitamins that I promise your kids will LOVE – and you can feel good about them taking.

INGREDIENTS

• 5 Tablespoons Gelatin Powder (I use this one, grass fed beef)
• 1-1 1/2 cups fruit/vegetable juice (fresh cold pressed or no sugar added)
• Sweetener – 2 tablespoons of honey, 2 or 3 drops Stevia (This is our fav – NO bitterness!)
• Vitamin C (Be careful with this one as most sources are from GMO corn. I like to use Camu Camu Powder. (1-2 tsp)
• Probiotic (2-50 billion capsules opened)
• Greens Powder (I like Boku Superfood Powder)

In a small sauce pan over low heat, mix the juice, gelatin and sweetener and stir until smooth. It should be thick and syrup-like. Remove from heat and mix in Camu Camu, Boku and Probiotic.
Very quickly pour into molds or a small dish greased with coconut oil and put in the freezer for 10 minutes to harden. Remove and pop out of molds. For small dish cut into squares.

My FAVOURITE juice combinations
Red/Pink: Red beets, strawberries, carrots and a bit of lemon juice
Orange: Carrots, oranges, ginger and some mango juice
Yellow: Yellow bell pepper, yellow beets, yellow pear, yellow apple and a bit of lemon juice (DO NOT use pineapple juice, your gelatin will not set up due to the enzyme bromelain that’s found in pineapples.)
Green: Kale, kiwi, cucumber, green apple and lime (green grapes would work well, too)
Purple: Purple cabbage, blackberries, blueberries, a bit of red beet and an apple (concord grapes would work well, too)