Category Archives: Treats

Gluten free, dairy free, paleo, sugar free, grain free treats and desserts

Apple Cinnamon Granola

| 5 Comments | Apps, Snacks & Sides, Beatty Protocols, Breakfasts, Recipes, Treats

apple cinnamon granola - grain free paleo vegan - Amanda NaturallyOne of the most frequent questions I get from clients is for more breakfast options. To be honest, I find it fascinating that people can have a bagel and cream cheese every single day for breakfast and not get bored, but bacon and eggs? Nope, bored. Everyone wants cereal! 

I’m not going to beat around the bush here – cereal is crap. Whoever decided it was a healthy breakfast option should be criminalized. Honestly. It’s sugar on refined grains on GMOs on more sugar. Cereal is not a source of fibre – vegetables are. Cereal is a heart attack waiting to happen. It causes crazy blood sugar spikes and subsequent crashes, leading to insulin insensitivity, hyperactivity and poor cognitive function. Is that how you want to start your work day? Or set your kids up for school? I don’t think so. Oh and it doesn’t matter if it’s Fruit Loops, Special K or gluten-free granola – it’s all garbage!!

end rant…

I’m a big fan of epic, nutrient dense breakfasts! Hop on over to my Instagram feed to check out what I eat for breakfast and you will see eggs, bacon, sausage, soup, leftovers (pulled pork, burgers), sauerkraut, avocados, fried plantains, salads….gimme all the nutrients! I make sure I focus on fat, protein and veggies for breakfast, and if it’s after a workout, I usually add in some starch in the form of coconut oil-fried plantains!

Some clients are totally on board with this right away, but others need what I like to think of as transition meals. My banana muffins are a perfect example of this – fairly nutrient dense, but still feel like the sweet, carb-dense breakfasts you’re used to. Or my coconut milk parfait in lieu of yogurt. But I kept getting asked for cereal!! And since there isn’t a single cereal (gluten-free or otherwise) that I’ve found worthy of purchasing, I had to find an alternative that you can make at home.

Enter: grain-free granola!

Who knew granola could be grain free? Wanna know something crazy? No one notices it’s missing the oats! Packed with nuts, seeds, raisins and shredded coconut, grain-free granola is every bit as delicious as its grain-filled counterpart. The first recipe I made was amazing – and I shouldn’t be surprised considering it’s from the always-inspired Danielle Walker at Against All Grain. Her spiced pumpkin granola is a hit with my clients and garnered rave reviews at our family thanksgiving this year! 

apple cinnamon granola - grain free paleo vegan - Amanda Naturally

Recently, I was looking for DIY gift options for Christmas and used her recipe as a jumping off point to create this recipe – Apple Cinnamon Granola. Super easy to make, delicious and it stands up to milk (or coconut milk) if you’re craving cereal! Fill a mason jar with this granola and wrap a bow around it for the perfect last minute Christmas gift. While this recipe works best in a dehydrator, you can absolutely bake it in the oven on 200F for a few hours, or at 350F if you watch it and stir it regularly! Enjoy!

apple cinnamon granola - grain free paleo vegan - Amanda Naturally

Apple Cinnamon Granola
Grain-free, vegan and paleo granola! A perfect alternative to cereal or an easy snack to grab and go!
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Dry
  1. 3 cups nuts and seeds
  2. ½ cup shredded coconut
  3. ½ cup raisins
Wet
  1. 2 tbsp coconut oil
  2. ½ cup maple syrup
  3. ¼ cup apple sauce
  4. 1 tsp sea salt
  5. 1 tbsp cinnamon
  6. 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Place nuts and seeds in a food processor or high powered blender (I used my Blendtec) and pulse until roughly chopped, approximately the size of oats. You may need to do this in steps.
  2. Pour into a large bowl and stir in shredded coconut and raisins.
  3. Meanwhile, melt the coconut oil in a small pot over medium heat.
  4. Add in maple syrup, apple sauce, vanilla and spices. Stir to combine.
  5. Pour wet ingredients over dry and stir really well. It will not be super sticky at this point - that's okay!
  6. Spread evenly onto 2 or 3 parchment paper-lined dehydrator trays, about a ½ inch thick, and dehydrate for 18-24 hours.
Notes
  1. Any combination of nuts and seeds work. I usually use half sunflower seeds (to keep the cost low), and the remainder pumpkin seeds, almonds and pecans.
  2. Make nut-free by using sunflower and pumpkin seeds only.
  3. Reduce sugar by using more apple sauce and less maple syrup.
Adapted from Against All Grain
Adapted from Against All Grain
Amanda Naturally http://www.amandanaturally.com/

apple cinnamon granola - grain free paleo vegan - Amanda Naturally

So tell me, do you miss cereal or any other North American breakfast staple? Share and I will try to recreate or substitute in a healthy way!

Banana Muffins

| 6 Comments | Apps, Snacks & Sides, Beatty Protocols, Breakfasts, Recipes, Treats

Banana muffins are my favourite. When I was little I used to always ask my mom to make “na-na muff-uffs”, which unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) means that’s still what we call banana muffins in my parents house! They may or may not have a home movie of 2.5 year old me baking “na-na muff-uffs” at my fisher price kitchen one Christmas morning…

Banana Muffins - Grain Free Dairy Free - Amanda Naturally

Typical nutriton educators call muffins “cupcakes without the icing”, which is mostly true. Take a carrot muffin for example. Many people choose carrot muffins over chocolate chip, because they’re healthier! Would you choose carrot cake over chocolate cake for health reasons? No! Because you know it’s still cake! What ingredients are typically found in a cake? White flour, white sugar, eggs, butter and baking soda. And a muffin? Flour, sugar, eggs, butter, baking soda, oil… Same recipe, slightly different ratios.

Banana Muffins - Grain Free Dairy Free - Amanda Naturally

There are a lot of “healthy” muffin recipes out there, but usually the focus is all about reducing the fat and cholesterol by eliminating the eggs and any oil that may be involved. Since we know that eggs have been wrongly demonized and that fat is crucial for health, suddenly those “healthy muffin” recipes are even worse than the original! White flour + white sugar + no nutrients. Well that screams diabetes in the making. Yowza!

Banana Muffins - Grain Free Dairy Free - Amanda Naturally

Even I cannot deny how convenient muffins are. They are easy to grab for a quick pick-me-up, or a breakfast if you don’t have time to make a real one, or to throw in your kids lunch bags. So instead of saying all muffins are off limits, why not change the ingredients to make them work for you, instead of against? I was on the hunt for a recipe that did just this and was thrilled when I stumbled across this one over at The Spunky Coconut. Real, nutrient-dense ingredients that are full of health-promoting vitamins, minerals, fat and protein. This was a muffin I could get behind. 

Banana Muffins - Grain Free Dairy Free - Amanda Naturally

Of course I had to tweak it a bit – since that’s what I do! I didn’t have applesauce, so I subbed an extra egg and it worked great. I also started adding lemon juice and zest, because lemon blueberry is an awesome flavour combo. Then recently, I had a client request a banana muffin for her kids. Most grain-free, dairy-free banana muffins rely heavily on almond flour and/or nut-butter. Since all schools are nut-free in Ontario, that wasn’t going to work. So I used the shredded coconut/egg base from the blueberry muffin recipe as my inspiration. I hope you enjoy these muffins as much as I do!

UPDATE (July 2016): I now throw all of the wet ingredients into my blender instead of mashing by hand. It eliminates the need for super ripe bananas (which are great, but I don’t always have them on hand, so yellow banana work too now) and your eggs don’t have to be room temperature either.

UPDATE: (May 2017): I no longer add maple syrup! I forgot to add it a few times and didn’t even notice the difference. This makes me especially happy because my 9 month old loves these muffins now and I feel great about giving her these!

Banana Muffins - Grain Free Dairy Free - Amanda Naturally

 

Banana Muffins (grain free, dairy free)
Serves 12
An old-fashioned banana muffin made without gluten, grains, dairy or sugar! Paleo and vegetarian!
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Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
45 min
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
45 min
Ingredients
  1. 6 eggs, brought to room temperature
  2. ½ cup coconut oil, melted
  3. ¼ cup honey or maple syrup (optional, I don't add it anymore)
  4. ½ tsp vanilla extract
  5. 2 cups mashed bananas
  6. 1 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
  7. ½ cup coconut flour, sifted
  8. ½ tsp sea salt
  9. ½ tsp baking soda
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin tin with silicon liners.
  2. Combine wet ingredients in a bowl. (or add to a large blender, this eliminates the need for super ripe bananas or room temp eggs)
  3. Combine dry ingredients in another bowl.
  4. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix really well. It will thicken up after a few minutes.
  5. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop a generous serving into each muffin liner. They don't rise a lot, so fill them up to the top!
  6. Bake for 30 minutes, or until set and slightly golden.
  7. Let cool and enjoy!
Notes
  1. It is important to have the eggs at room temperature so they don't cause the coconut oil to solidify. If you don't have time to leave them out, simply place them in a bowl and cover with hot tap water for about 10 minutes, while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
  2. These muffins freeze really well so I always make a double batch and freeze half.
  3. You could totally turn these into cupcakes by adding dairy-free chocolate chips and icing!
Amanda Naturally http://www.amandanaturally.com/
Banana Muffins - Grain Free Dairy Free - Amanda Naturally

Do you have a favourite snack from your childhood that you’ve ‘healthified’? Share in the comments below!

No Bake Pumpkin Pie

| 6 Comments | Beatty Protocols, Recipes, Treats

No Bake Pumpkin Pie - paleo, vegan, nut free - Amanda Naturally

I love pumpkin pie. Like love love love it. It’s one of my favourite parts of Thanksgiving – that and the amazing quality time with family of course! Unfortunately inherent to a traditional pumpkin pie recipe is wheat and dairy, so it’s non-negotiable for me. It’s been years since I’ve had a bite of that sweet and spicy goodness and oh how I missed it! This year it all changed. But first, let me preface this post with an important fact:

I am NOT a baker.

I can do muffins and cookies, but if they are too complicated I’ll even mess those up!

In complete defiance of my lack of baking and general desert-making skills, I decided to take on the challenge. I took a look at a pumpkin pie and realized that the filling is pretty darn simple. All I needed was pureed pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, something to sweeten it with (maple syrup, obv) and something to help it thicken and keep its consistency. I wanted it to be egg-free (that gets complicated and involves baking or making peaks somehow) and vegan (no gelatin)…coconut oil would melt too quickly after you pulled it out of the fridge…hmmm…and then it hit me, coconut butter! My favourite snack ever! What would happen if I mixed pumpkin and coconut butter together…well it was a match made in heaven!

As for the crust, well I’ve never been one for pastry, so I considered omitting it altogether, but realized it would be a little challenging to serve up. So I figured a typical nut/date no-bake crust would go well. Except I decided to try a nut-free version using pumpkin seeds so it would be safe for schools, and it worked amazingly! Not to mention, toasted pumpkin seeds totally go with the vibe of the season! 

No Bake Pumpkin Pie - paleo, vegan, nut free - Amanda Naturally

The resulting no bake pumpkin pie was a HUGE hit. I tried it out on my husband immediately, and my colleagues at work the next day, and I think it’s safe to say that I will absolutely be bringing this to my family Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday. (FYI I’m in Canada!) Not only is this delicious and pretty darn healthy, it is also:

No bake.

Sugar-free.

Nut-free.

Dairy-free.

Gluten-free.

Grain-free.

Paleo.

Vegan.

Yeah, you read that right! It pretty much fits every single dietary requirement I ever get asked for! Heck, I feel like you could even make it autoimmune compliant by substituting shredded coconut for the seeds in the crust and cutting back on some maple syrup. I haven’t tried that though, so if you do, please let me know in the comments below!

No Bake Pumpkin Pie - vegan, paleo nut-free - Amanda Naturally

Bonus: you can make it ahead and it keeps really well in the fridge!

No Bake Pumpkin Pie
An simple yet yummy take on the traditional pumpkin pie. Nut-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free and sugar-free. Vegan and paleo!
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Prep Time
25 min
Total Time
25 min
Prep Time
25 min
Total Time
25 min
Crust
  1. 3 cups dates
  2. 1½ cups pumpkin seeds, toasted
  3. 2 tbsp coconut oil
  4. pinch of sea salt
Filling
  1. 1¾ cups coconut butter (homemade or store bought)
  2. 3 cups pumpkin puree (homemade or canned)
  3. ½ cup pure maple syrup
  4. ½ tsp sea salt
  5. 2½ tbsp pumpkin pie spice
  6. ¼ cup coconut oil
  7. 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. In a food processor, combine all the crust ingredients. Blend until it starts to stick together and to the sides. You may need to scrape the sides down once or twice with a spatula. This step takes about 2 minutes of processing.
  2. Line a springform pan with parchment paper.
  3. Pour the crust into the pan. Pack it down tightly using your fingers.
  4. Rinse the food processor.
  5. Gently warm your coconut butter either in the microwave, the oven or in a water bath.
  6. Combine all filling ingredients in the food processor. Blend until smooth.
  7. Pour onto the crust and smooth down with a spatula.
  8. Chill in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour.
  9. Run a knife along the sides and remove from the pan.
  10. Enjoy with some coconut milk ice cream, or homemade whipped cream!
Notes
  1. This pie is really dense and large. I made it to feed 16 people!
  2. You can absolutely make a smaller size.
  3. It also works well as bars / squares.
Amanda Naturally http://www.amandanaturally.com/
 No Bake Pumpkin Pie - paleo, vegan, nut free - Amanda Naturally

Wishing all my Canadians a Happy Thanksgiving weekend with lots of love, light and laughter. Here’s to having so much to be thankful for! xo

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