Category Archives: nut free

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Chocolate Pumpkin Hemp Smoothie

I know, pumpkin and chocolate? Sounds sort of strange. But the key here is to get all those wonderful health benefits from that beautiful orange squash right? And we all know chocolate makes everything taste decadent. I enjoyed this rich and creamy smoothie…and yes, it’s still warm, warm here in Northern California (80s). So a smoothie with fall flair really fit the bill today.

This is post #1 in my chocolate + pumpkin series. Stay tuned for the following recipes:

~Pumpkin brownies

~Pumpkin spiced chocolate covered pears

~Pumpkin chocolate ice cream

Chocolate Pumpkin Hemp Smoothie

Ingredients:
-1/4 cup homemade plain pumpkin puree (I used the Cinderella variety)
-4 cubes frozen hemp milk from this hemp milk recipe
-1 cup hemp milk
-3 tablespoons honey (vegans use maple syrup)
-2 tablespoon raw cacao powder (or to taste)
-1/2 teaspoon vanilla
-1/4 teaspoon cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

How To:
1. Combine ingredients in blender until smooth

Notes:
*You can obviously use any dairy free milk
*Frozen banana would taste great

Shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays

Posted by Amber at 11:55 pm

Labels: beverages, chocolate + pumpkin, fall cuisine, nut free, smoothie.

6 Comments

Curly J November 3, 2011 at 6:58 am
Hi! I just came across your blog through Slightly Indulgent Tuesday. Once I saw your eczema tag, you drew me in like a flash! I’m in the middle of doing an elimination diet right now and trying to figure out what other triggers there could possibly be. It’s super frustrating but reading your story about your son is highly motivating!! And your homemade lotion.. WOW! I know the struggle of trying to find a healthy moisturizing cream and its amazingly difficult. Not to mention all the steroid creams from the doctor. Ugh. Anyways, I just wanted to thankyou for your post and for sharing!
Reply
Amber November 3, 2011 at 8:16 pm
Hello Curly J~

Thank you for your comment. It’s very nice to meet you. Please let me know how your elimination diet goes and if you make any good connections to food and the inflammation. It’s a big undertaking and how wonderful that you are doing this for your child. Good for you! I’ll be posting another eczema lotion here in the next couple of weeks. This the next one will contain the same ingredients as the last, but I’m adding coconut oil and colloidial oatmeal, so stayed tuned for that. And again, good luck on your journey.

Be Well,
–Amber
Reply
Tessa Domestic Diva March 6, 2012 at 4:21 am
One of my favorites, I will be featuring this smoothie recipe in my post, “10 Super Smoothies”, fyi! thank you!
Reply
Amber March 6, 2012 at 4:44 am
Thanks Tessa! Can’t wait to see your post. I know they’ll all be super healthy..and delicious!
Reply
Tessa Domestic Diva October 17, 2012 at 4:16 pm
Breakfast this morn, an oldie but a goodie! We added sunflower seed butter this morning and some frozen banana too!
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Candida Diet, sugar-free, grain-free, gluten-free, vegan raw Nutty-Roons Recipe | Ricki Heller April 8, 2014 at 3:30 am
[…] and gardening tips. I always find something interesting there! Some of my favorite recipes are the Chocolate Pumpkin Hemp Smoothie, Raw Strawberry Chocolate Cereal, Kalamata Olive White Bean Dip and the Radicchio Salad with Warm […]
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Tuesday, November 1, 2011

How to Make Homemade Hemp Milk

What are hemp seeds anyway?

Good question.

Start here for healthful information about hemp seeds

Why hemp milk?

Another excellent question.

One 8-Ounce glass contains the following healthy nutrients:

900mg Omega-3 Fatty Acid
2800mg Omega-6 Fatty Acid
All 10 Essential Amino Acids
4 grams of Digestible Protein
46% of RDA of Calcium
0% Cholesterol
Potassium
Phosphorous
Riboflavin

Vitamin A
Vitamin E
Vitamin B12
Folic Acid
Vitamin D
Magnesium
Iron
Zinc
And more…

So how do I make hemp milk?

I like where you’re going with this…

Hemp milk is so very easy to make.

Check it out…

Ingredients:

-1/4 cup organic shelled hemp seeds, soaked for 5-8 hours or overnight

-3 cups filtered water

-3 dates, soaked in 1 cup of water for 2-4 hours

-1 teaspoon vanilla

How To:

In blender (I use Vitamix)

1. Drain hemp seeds from water and add seeds to blender

2. Add 3 cups filtered water

3. Add dates with date-soaked water and vanilla and blend until well incorporated, 90 seconds should do it.

4. Let sit for a bit and skim off foam

5. Store in glass container with lid in fridge up to 4 days

Notes:

*You can most certainly strain this milk if you prefer a smooth texture. I prefer the thick milk with the seed and date pulp…plus I am benefiting from the raw seeds and all their healthful nutrients.

Enjoy and be well.
_____________________________________
Shared on Traditional Tuesdays

Posted by Amber at 9:37 pm

Labels: allergy-friendly, beverages, nut free, seed milk.

2 Comments

kimaya November 3, 2011 at 10:31 am
Wow its an interesting recipe to have home made hemp milk, hemp milk nutrition will raise it quality as being homemade.
Reply
Amber November 3, 2011 at 8:19 pm
Hi There Kimaya~

Thanks for sharing more great hemp seed benefits!

Be Well,
–Amber
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Thursday, October 13, 2011

Homemade Sunflower Seed Butter (Sunbutter)

I am deathly allergic to peanuts. It’s no fun to have an allergy but I’m so impressed with how far we’ve come with peanut allergy awareness. What a difference I’ve seen. I remember as a young child riding on an airplane and feeling so sick to my stomach at the very smell of the peanuts…and hungry because I was out of luck in the snack department. A few years later they started serving pretzels as an alternative to peanuts on flights. I don’t even think they give out peanuts anymore, do they? Skylar, my daughter, is not allergic to peanuts and I don’t know if my son Ethan has inherited this allergy? At any rate, we’ve been using sunbutter for quite some time as an alternative to peanut butter. It’s a nice change from the usual almond butter. I like this brand but don’t love the price and don’t love the plastic container. So I decided to make it myself. And you know what……SUPER EASY!!! Sky couldn’t even tell the difference between my homemade version and the store bought variety. And that’s all I needed to move into permanently making sunflower seed butter. Hooray!

gorgeous sunflower from my garden!

Homemade Sunflower Seed Butter

Ingredients:

-3 cups of organic raw sunflower seeds
-Pinch of salt (optional)

How To

1. Toast sunflower seeds for a bit until fragrant and slightly brown. Cool seeds.

2. Add the cooled seeds to a food processor and start blending; scrape down sides every minute or so for about 5 minutes.
3. After about 6 minutes the seeds will form a ball then become thinner as the oils in the seeds are released.
4. After about 8 minutes of processing you can add in a pinch of salt, but this is totally optional. It should be properly blended by this time. Store in class container in the refrigerator.
Yields 1 1/4 cups of sunbutter

I have a small, OLD food processor and it works great.

Just be sure to scrape down the sides a few times so the

mixture has contact with the blades.

Speaking of Sun…

It has been so gorgeous here in Northern California. Finally, finally, cool fall weather…although it’s supposed to be up near 90 degrees today, there is still a soft, clean feel to the air. I adore this time of year. Below are some pictures from around our yard. Wish I could just bottle up this weather.

Our neighbor’s lemon tree is showing some action!
They let me go over there whenever I have the need and pick to
my heart’s content.

Our other neighbor has a nice fig tree with a sizable
bunch hanging on our side of the fence!

So excited for these!

We still have watermelons to harvest!
We had quite the bounty this year.

Our tomato plant is out of control, but still providing

us with sweet, gorgeous cherry tomatoes.

Shared on: Allergy-Free Wednesdays, Freaky Friday, Fresh Bites Fridays, Lunch Box Love Fridays, Fight Back Friday, Friday Food, Potluck Party Back to School Recipes, Raw Foods Thursdays,, Wellness Weekend

Posted by Amber at 7:52 pm

Labels: allergy-friendly, dips and spreads, GAPS, lunch, nut free, Paleo, SCD, snacks, vegan.

12 Comments

KellyBelly November 5, 2011 at 6:18 pm
Hi
Would this recipe be easier in a Vita-mix? Or is there something about the food processor you like in getting it creamy or adding in the oil?
Also, where did you get your cute smiley spoons?
thanks
Reply
Amber November 6, 2011 at 12:19 am
Hi KellyBelly~

I think this would definitely work in a Vitamix. But I used my food processor first for two reasons:

1. The last time I tried to make a nut butter (with almonds) it didn’t work so well, so I had a bit of an aversion going into the sunflower butter process.

2. I only make one cup at a time so I thought it would be better incorporated in the food processor.

I would love it if you shared your experience in a Vitamix or other high speed blender. I’m sure it would work great. The food processor just worked so well for me that first time I didn’t bother trying anything else. I’m sure other readers would like to hear about your experience.

Aren’t those spoons adorable?! My mother-in-law actually gave those to the kids. She finds some really fun things on-line. I did a search and found a link for you:

http://www.wayfair.com/BergHOFF-International-Smiley-4-Piece-Flatware-Set-1204024-BGI1014.html?refid=FR49-BGI1014

*A product note: the paint popped out of the larger spoon’s eye (the yellow smiley face) after about a week of use. Bummer!

Be Well,
–Amber
Reply
Gigi @ Gluten Free Gigi January 18, 2012 at 4:25 am
Hi, Amber!
I had not found you until you made a comment on my site today… and now I can see your comment in the admin side, approved it, and not visible on the post. We’ll see if it clears up and appears by tomorrow.

I love your site, and am happy to find you!

I had to check out your how-tos… I love homemade sunbutter and just recently made a video for my you tube channel… I used a food processor for mine. I have a Blendtec and I prefer results with the regular food processor, to be quite honest.

Beautiful site. I’ll be back often!

xoxo,
Gigi
Reply
Amber January 19, 2012 at 3:01 am
Hi Gigi,

Thanks for stopping by. Love your site too. I am definitely going to check out your video! And I agree about the food processor, love it.

Be Well,
–Amber
Reply
Leslie @ Real Food Freaks March 16, 2012 at 10:44 pm
Sun butter is great… just be aware that if you bake with it, it can turn your baked goods green! I made pancakes with it once and the next day when I took the leftovers out of the fridge, they were green… there’s some type of chemical reaction that occurs. Oh well, I think my oldest son preferred the green pancakes!
Reply
Amber March 16, 2012 at 10:52 pm
Hi Leslie,

Just in time for St. Pattie’s Day!

I have heard of this phenomenon! So interesting. My kids would love the green too.

Here’s a link that talks a little more about this interesting transformation: http://www.ochef.com/1267.htm

Be Well,
–Amber
Reply
Anne @ Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy March 17, 2012 at 12:57 am
I think it’s baking soda that turns the sunflower seed butter green. I just made this tonight for the first time in my Vitamix! I made 2 cups worth. I didn’t measure the oil, but I used several TBSPs and probably should have use d alittle more. It wasn’t as creamy as I would’ve liked. I also added a touch of salt and some raw honey.
Reply
- Steph (The Cheapskate Cook) March 21, 2012 at 9:40 pm
  Hi Anne! Good to see you over here I was wondering if you had ever made this, since it sounds fairly easy and probably worth the cost.
  I’m thinking of trying it out because I think I mayb be able to buy sunflower seeds cheaper than natural peanut butter here. But I’ve never tasted sunbutter before. Is it similar to peanut butter?
  Reply
- Amber March 22, 2012 at 12:00 am
  Hi Steph,
  
  Just chiming in here. Sunflower seed butter smells and tastes A LOT like peanut butter! Especially store bought. Homemade is less intense to me, as I’m allergic to peanut butter, therefore I very much enjoy the homemade version for this reason. And my kids can’t tell the difference.
  
  –Amber (from The Tasty Alternative)
  Reply
Amber March 17, 2012 at 1:10 am
Hi Anne,

Thanks for the tip. My food processor works great, but I might have to use my Vitamix one day too. And you’re right, from what I’ve read about the green, it is the baking soda. Suggestions include using less baking soda or add lemon juice to offset this chemical reaction.

Be Well,
–Amber
Reply
Tessa Domestic Diva March 21, 2012 at 2:32 am
I’ve been thinking to try my hand at this…afterall, i make my own coconut butter…it’s a logical next step! I kind of enjoy the green…I made a bar that turned BRIGHT green, like I had added food coloring, I loved it!
Reply
Amber March 22, 2012 at 12:11 am
Hi Tessa,

I think you’ll really enjoy homemade! And I agree, I LOVE the green.
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Monday, September 5, 2011

Vegan Banana Teff Pancakes (gluten, dairy free, nut free)

When it comes to pancakes we are all about the teff in this house. I happen to adore the flavor of teff and these pancakes are truly cake-like. We tried for years to find a suitable dairy free, gluten free pancake and when we came across a teff recipe for pancakes we quickly made it our own through experimentation. Believe it or not this batter contains zero egg! We also found the flavor was best by just using water. It’s such a simple recipe, so perfect for those lazy weekend mornings, with so much wonderful flavor. We generally make them plain, but once in a while add a banana for real knock-out flavor.

Ingredients

-1 1/2 cups teff flour (do not pack down flour…unless you want a really thick pancake)

-1 teaspoon baking soda

-1 teaspoon cream of tarter

-1 1/2 cups filtered water

-3 tablespoons olive oil or melted coconut oil

-3 tablespoons honey (we tried every alternative sweetener and honey was the best for texture and taste)

-1 ripe banana – mashed up with a fork

How To

1. Mix together dry ingredients

2. Mix together wet ingredients

3. Add wet to dry, incorporate

4. Add to griddle, flip, eat, enjoy!

Toppings

Teff flour is very flavorful, so we usually don’t add much, just jelly or syrup, but once in a while we get fancy. A fruit compote is a favorite and easy to create by simmering frozen or fresh fruit (such as blueberries or strawberries). We prefer to add a touch of honey and that’s it for a fresh fruit sauce.

Posted by Amber at 5:09 pm

Labels: breakfast, nut free, vegan.