No Nuts Chocolate Granola

I love it when things come together.

You take a chance... a blind shot in the dark if you will. And when the outcome is better than you expected, well, that's a pretty good feeling ;-)

That is exactly what happened with this granola. I had a few criteria I wanted to meet...

Chocolate. 

(I've had a serious hankering for chocolate lately... especially in the morning - weird, I know.)

Protein!

(To add [healthy] pounds, protein is a must at any meal or snack.)

Simple.

(Since my stomach has been uber sensitive lately, I've found that less ingredients are better.)

YUMMY.

(This is a requirement for any homemade good, am I right?)

With these things in mind, I based this granola recipe off of my homemade chocolate rice protein bars (recipe coming soon, I promise!). I was a little nervous because the taste of this mixture pre-baking wasn't all that special. But, what was I to do - everything was already mixed together - so I went with it hoping for the best, and the outcome? 

Chocolate-Protein-Simple-Yummy-GOODNESS. 

 Before I give you the recipe, there is one caution you should prepare yourself for... when putting your chocolatey, protein-filled, simple, yummy granola away... you may loose at least one serving from tast-testing. This stuff is addicting... no kidding.

Ingredients

1 1/2 c EnviroKidz Koala Crisp Cereal

1 c gluten free rolled oats (I use Bob's Red Mill)

*2 scoops protein powder (I use Jarrow Formulas Optimal Plant Proteins)

2 tbsp cocoa powder

2 tbsp canola oil

2 tbsp brown rice syrup (honey or agave would also work)

1/4 c unsweetened applesauce

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a large baking sheet with canola oil. Combine cereal, oats, protein powder and cocoa in a large bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 10 - 15 seconds (this helps the ingredients to mix together). Add the wet ingredients to the dry, ensuring to coat all dry ingredients (look for the protein powder and cocoa that has set on the bottom of the bowl - be sure to incorporate this!) Pour mixture onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 6 minutes. Take out, spray with more canola oil and stir (you want to move the granola around, especially near the edges to avoid burning). Return to oven and cook another 4-5 minutes. Now you'll want to test for texture - I like my granola on the crunchy side so I cooked for another 2-3 minutes. Once it is to your crunchy liking, let the granola fully cool. Store in an airtight container on the counter (preferably a clear container so you can show off your baking skills!)

*The protein powder I use is vanilla flavored but this didn't seem to disturb the chocolate-flavor at all. If you have chocolate protein powder, I would suggest reducing the cocoa to 1 tbsp. Unsweetened protein powder would work great as well.

I'm pretty sure this granola won't be around too long - it is just chocolatey enough to suppress that craving, and is healthy enough that you don't feel an ounce of guilt for enjoying it. Don't believe me? Take a look...

Nutrition Facts

[per one 1/2 cup serving]

160 calories

23g carbohydrates 

3g fiber

5g protein

10g sugar

Told ya!

Enjoy this with a banana and non-dairy milk for breakfast, atop your favorite yogurt, for a mid-morning or afternoon snack, or enjoy as a healthy dessert. Anyway you eat this, I guarantee it will put a smile on your face. Hooray for chocolate and hooray for recipes that come together :) Happy eating!

Cracker Crust Pizza Flatbread

The name for this one? Yup... it's right on. This... bread-like deliciousness you are feasting your eyes on was made with crackers and a little quinoa flour.

Care to know more?

The idea came to me when I was halfway through my "adult" lunchable [don't worry, you'll hear about this soon ;-)] - you see, sometimes when I'm packing my lunch in the morning I'm even more indecisive than usual, which sometimes prompts me to bring more than one option in my lunch. Then when lunchtime rolls around I take a bite of my options and see which one is most satisfying for the time being. Not a horrible idea right?

Anyway, I had brought Crunchmaster 7 Ancient Grain Cracked Pepper & Herb crackers along with a few rice cakes. I don't eat dairy very often so knowing these crackers contain whey and milk I wasn't sure how many I should eat. So, after eating half of the amount I brought (oops..) the light bulb went off! What if I used the rest of these in my homemade pizza crust tonight?! Yup. That thought was enough to switch me over to the rice cakes and finish my lunch[able].

I got home from work and got started right away - its Friday Night Pizza Night after all! Into the mini food processor it all went... and a miracle pizza crust flatbread was born...

Cracker Crust Pizza Flatbread
6-8 crackers (any gluten free crackers will work but these already have great flavor for the crust!)
~ 1/4 cup quinoa flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt

1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
~ 3 tbsp water (as more as needed)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine dry ingredients in mini food processor. Transfer to small bowl. Add wet ingredients and mix until combined (adding water until you have a dough consistency that doesn't stick to the bowl or your hands.

Lightly flour a small piece of parchment paper. Roll out dough into a thin layer (about 1/8 inch thick, or less - mine was an oval shape about 6 inches across). Move parchment paper (with rolled out dough) to baking sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes (until edges start to brown). Remove from oven and add toppings of choice. Slide back into the oven on just the parchment paper (be careful!) and continue to bake for 4 minutes. Your toppings should be melted and heated through and the crust will, get this, feel like a cracker! [Yup - I had to throw that in there ;-)] Enjoy with a small side salad and a glass of red wine. Perfection.

*I topped mine with sauteed orange bell pepper and onion (cooked up by my lovely boyfriend), along with sharp cheddar cheese (FYI - hard cheeses are easier on digestion!) and chopped green onion.

Before you run off to make this beautiful little accidental crust let me give you some insight on why I'm calling it pizza crust and flatbread. It is so thin that it makes you feel like you're eating flatbread, but with how it is cooked and the type of toppings added you feel like you're eating pizza. Thus, pizza flatbread.

*Another note: feel free to use any flour with the same weight as quinoa flour - amaranth, garbanzo, soy are all good options. I'm sure an all-purpose flour mix would also work or try your favorite combo of flours and make it your own experiment!

However you make it, this is the perfect individual portion for a Friday night, especially when the rest of your night is filled with even more baking :)

Blackberry Oat Flour Bake

So.... I think I've discovered a new breakfast to add to my repertoire.

Oat bakes.

If you don't remember last Saturday's post, here's a quick refresher... I had seriously been craving a big, fluffy, bad-for-you kind of cinnamon roll. But of course, dietary restrictions stopped that dream and I instead came across this recipe for a, shall we say, stand in cinnamon roll? I made it, it was delicious, pure Cinnamon Raisin Oat Bake Goodness.

Okay. Now that you're refreshed... back to the amazing addition to my weekly breakfast rotation ;-)

After the successful outcome of last Saturday - perfect breakfast, fueled with energy and a happy 6 mile run... I began to think.. Saturdays might just be the new oat bake day. Doesn't sound so bad, right?

Hence... my newest creation... a Blackberry Oat Flour Bake.

So simple, so healthy, so... yummmmmm.

I love showing you the final product before giving the ingredients and cooking instructions... just a little teaser to get you sucked in ;-)

Here is what you'll need...

1/3 c oat flour (or grind your own from gluten free oats - just not the instant kind)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 banana very mashed
3 tbsp vanilla hemp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla

4-6 fresh blackberries cut in half + some for topping (~1/2 c total)

 

Preheat your oven to 350. Combine the dry ingredients and mix well. Combine the wet ingredients, really mash your banana - you want it almost liquid like. Combine the wet and dry ingredients until fully mixed. Fold in your blackberries. Grease a mini bread loaf pan or a small oven-safe dish (4-5 inches wide), scoop the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 16-18 minutes. (I checked mine at 16 and the toothpick was almost clean but I still ended up cooking the full 18 minutes.) If eating immediately let cool slightly before adding your toppings (you don't want to burn your taste buds and ruin the enjoyment of this amazing breakfast!) If eating the next morning, let fully cool and wrap in plastic wrap, store in the refrigerator over night. Heat for 45 seconds in the microwave, add the toppings you wish and enjoy.

Now, let's talk toppings..

I was planning on using the other half of my banana as a topping but when I realized how dense this bake was, I didn't think my stomach could handle it. I chose instead to top my bake with a drizzle of honey, a few more blackberries (halved), a few broken-up banana chips and a sprinkling of dairy free chocolate chips. Oh yes. If you're drooling right now it's okay... I am too and I already enjoyed this masterpiece.

I know you are ready to make this... perhaps you will have an Oat Bake Sunday. But just in case you need a little more of a push.. here is a rough estimate of the nutrition facts (I know you love them.)

Per One Blackberry Oat Flour Bake 

400 calories  

65g carbohydrates  

13g fiber

12g protein

 

Don't forget your morning paper and your smooth breakfast blend coffee... 

and please... 

enjoy responsibly.

Wannabe Wheat Thins, Gluten Free!

I. Am. In. Love.

I. Am. Motivated.

I. Am. Capable.

I. Am. Creative.

I. Am. ECSTATIC!

I thought I'd start out this post by giving you a little taste of how I'm feeling right now. As I was doing my nightly recipe search (yes, this is what I do in my free time) I found this wonderful thing on the Peas and Thank You website - Wannabe Recipe: Goldfish Crackers.

I was so excited about making these and knew I had to make them ASAP. So after a fun morning of working from home and playing tennis with the boyfriend in our sunny Colorado weather... I got home and decided... today is the day!

Looking over the original recipe I saw I only needed to make a few changes. And guess what... the dough came out perfectly! I've tried several recipes in which you are required to make a dough and roll it out... but what usually ends up happening is the dough is too sticky to be rolled out... leaving me upset and frustrated, forced to turn out an end product that is well... not so perfect.

Needless to say I felt pretty good about how these crackers would turn out.

Here is the original recipe, and here is the recipe with my modifications:

1/2 c all purpose flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 c amaranth flour
just over 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c Diaya Mozzarella Shreds (or use real shredded cheese if you tolerate dairy)
1/4 c melted margarine (or vegan margarine, or butter)
1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
4 tbsp warm water

I used my blender for this but decided it would be a better idea to use your food processor... (my ingredients jammed at the bottom of the blender, allowing for mediocre blending).

Blend/process the flours, xanthan gum and salt. Add the "cheese" and blend/process to combine. (Here is where you can continue using the blender/processor, or transfer to a bowl.) Add margarine and mustard to create a dry and somewhat lumpy batter. (If you haven't yet, transfer mix to a bowl now.) Add one tablespoon of water at a time until the mixture comes together to form a dough that will not stick to the sides of your bowl.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a large piece of parchment paper on your work surface and dust with flour (I used the all purpose flour here), also patting some flour on your hands and your rolling pin. Form the dough into a ball shape, place on the parchment paper and roll around in the flour to coat. Begin carefully rolling out the dough until you've reach about a 1/4 inch thickness. Use a pizza cutter to make a clean line around the edges, picking up the uneven dough (you'll roll this out in a minute). Score the rectangle shape of dough to make cracker size squares. Repeat this process with the leftover dough, doing the best you can to make little squares, or roll it out flat, cut it however you want and eat those as your test crackers when they come out ;-) Use your pinkie finger to mark each cracker or score with a fork once or twice (I found the fork method kept the crackers flatter and didn't let them puff up as some of the others did using the pinkie method).

Bake the crackers for 14 minutes. Remove the crackers around the edges (they'll cook faster than the others). Continue cooking the rest of the crackers until lightly browned on the edges and the bottom, about 5 -7 minutes. (You can skip this step if you want a less crunchy cracker). When all crackers are done, let cool on the baking sheet or start enjoying them right away (you bet this is what I did!)

My halved recipe made about 62 crackers (about 4 servings), and here is how the nutrition facts came out...

15 crackers (one serving)

165 calories

3 g fiber

3 g protein

8 g fat

I hope you are as thrilled with these crackers as I am, and be sure to look for more upcoming cracker recipes... I've already written down a Graham Cracker version of this recipe... stay tuned!

Fluffy Light Cake Doughnuts

Let me first explain to you how wonderful a gloomy and cloudy day can become when you give a girl a doughnut pan, all the gluten and dairy free products she needs and an imagination.

Today is Saturday... I'm in the middle of my winter break so I have absolutely no school work to fuss over (so wonderful!), I have no plans of errands or cleaning since I did all of that yesterday, my only real plan for the day is to get in a good workout (at some point). With all of these factors in place... what better thing to do than get creative and come up with my own doughnut recipe?!

Side note...

For Christmas this year almost all of the presents I received are items meant for the kitchen. And ya know what? I wouldn't have it any other way. My boyfriend's mom gave me a doughnut pan (yes, it was on my list). I opened it and was ecstatic! I know what you're thinking ... "Who gets ecstatic over a doughnut pan?" Well...

I DO.

So what else was there for me to do but to find a gluten free, dairy free, egg free and yeast free recipe to put my new pan to use. I set out on my search and without much trouble at all I came across these babies... Vegan Baked Pumpkin Spiced Cake Doughnuts from the Cinnamon Quill blog. I followed the recipe to the tee (using vanilla hemp milk) and they came out fabulous.

Although a bit crumbly, they were dense and filling enough to accompany an egg and banana as a breakfast. They were delicious as a snack heated in the microwave or taken right out of the fridge. The texture was a bit grainy, which can be expected with many gluten free flours. The flavor resembled pumpkin pie mixed with your favorite breakfast muffin. I ate one right away... then another half the next day as I was so graciously sharing them with my family, and another the next morning with my breakfast. As you can see they quickly disappeared, which is exactly what led me to today's creation.

My mind wandered as I searched for many other similar recipes... comparing flours and amounts of ingredients. I decided to be bold and create my own recipe based off of the many others I'd found. Here is what you'll need for these lovely little delights...

Ingredients

1/4 c + 2 tbsp vanilla hemp milk

1/2 tsp lemon juice (I use Santa Cruz organic lemon juice from the jar)

1/4 c oat flour

1/4 c sorghum flour

1/2 c tapioca starch

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 c pumpkin puree (canned is fine)

2 tbsp shortening (room temperature)

EnerG Egg Replacer for 1 egg (whisk until frothy)

For the Topping

2 tbsp butter

Mixture of cinnamon & sugar

To Make Your Doughnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray doughnut pan with canola oil and set aside. Combine hemp milk and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside. Grind 1/4 cup gluten free oats in your food processor (or use store bought oat flour if you have it). Add the rest of the dry ingredients (through cinnamon) and process until combined. Pour dry ingredients into a medium sized bowl. Add the hemp milk, pumpkin puree, shortening and egg replacer to the processor and blend until well mixed. Add the dry ingredients back to the wet ingredients and process until smooth. Using a small spoon add the batter to the doughnut pan, filling each about 3/4 full (or until you've used all the batter). Smooth the tops with the back of your spoon and bake in the center of your oven for 15 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness, if it comes out clean they are done. Let the doughnuts cool in the pan for about 5 minutes and then gently place on a cooling rack. 

Melt the butter in a small bowl and lightly brush over the top of each doughnut. One by one, set each doughnut in the mixture of cinnamon and sugar so that the tops are lightly coated. Continue to let the doughnuts rest on the cooling rack until fully cooled. Store in an airtight container for a delightful snack, breakfast, dessert or however you so choose to enjoy them.

I must admit, when I took these out of the pan and felt how delicate they were, I was a bit nervous. I continued on with the topping, took my pictures and then took the first bite. Oh. My. Goodness. I couldn't believe how perfect these turned out! I took another bite carefully breaking down the fluffy, light, melt-in-your-mouth texture, the pumpkin undertone and the slight sweetness from the cinnamon sugar topping. These are stunning in every sense. Who knew doughnuts could bring so much joy?

I'll leave you with this last thought...

I always say that you should learn something new every day. It doesn't have to be monumental, it doesn't have to be something that would "wow" anyone, just take a chance and learn something every single day. Today, I learned two things ~ 

The first ... I learned how to make homemade, delightfully fluffy and delicious baked doughnuts using my own recipe. The second ...

baking makes me extremely happy.

Gluten Free Yeast Free Bread Loaf

I have to start this out by saying one thing... if you are on a starch-free or reduced carb diet... QUIT IT and go make this bread now!!! Bread is a luxury for those of us who are gluten, dairy and yeast free and when you find a recipe that resembles real bread in taste and texture... all bets are off ;-)

I have been waiting for the opportunity to make this bread for a few weeks now but today was the day! Saturday morning... not a ton of homework but a ton of snow outside... what better situation than to bake?!

I found this recipe on the Celiac Chicks website, and was overjoyed to see their beautiful picture of a sturdy-looking, tall-risen loaf of yeast free bread. Although this bread did take a bit more prep time than your typical flatbread or muffin recipe... As I smell it cooking in the oven I know it is worth it. You can find the original recipe here, but here it is with my modifications:

Dry Ingredients

1 1/2 c potato starch
1 c sorghum flour
1/2 c ground flaxseed
1/2 c hazelnut meal/flour
1/2 c potato flour (this is actual potato flour, different from potato starch mentioned above)
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp xanthan gum



Wet Ingredients

2 c water
3 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp blackstrap molasses
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Extra water as needed

To Prepare
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease and lightly flour an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 bread pan, set aside. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a small bowl whisk together the wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix, adding the extra water as needed, until the dough forms a ball that doesn't stick to the sides of the mixing bowl. Place the dough in the bread pan and smooth out to fill entire pan. Lightly wet your hands to evenly flatten the dough. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and lightly spray with canola oil. Cover the bread pan with foil and cook for 60 minutes. Remove foil and cook another 10 - 15 minutes until the top is golden brown and the dough is fully cooked (insert a thin knife into loaf, if it comes out completely clean the bread is done). Let loaf cool in pan for a few minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes
*My original thought in using a smaller loaf pan was to half the recipe... It seemed like the perfect amount of dough when I first put it in the pan but as there is no yeast, it really didn't rise at all - this may also have been because of my substitutions. The loaf ended up working perfectly in the end once I discovered a different way of slicing it! - However, for your first attempt I do recommend using the full recipe (as listed above).
**This bread is absolutely delish fresh from the oven or slightly toasted. As with most gluten free baked goods it will dry out after more than a few days. I would recommend cutting the whole loaf into pieces once cooled, and freezing half for later use.


Be sure to leave comments if you try this recipe or the original or if you make any further modifications!

Absolutely Amazing Flatbread

I am SO excited to share this recipe with you!!! I found it on the Gluten Free Cooking School website. I read the ingredients and had everything on the list, the description sounded awesome and I love that they have the nutrition facts for not one but two pieces of this delicious, soft and oh-so-amazing flatbread!

You can find the original recipe here. The only change I made was substituting millet flour for the garfava flour - I'm still avoiding beans as much as possible. The cooking time, 15 minutes, was perfect in my oven,  letting it sit for a few minutes in the pan before cutting into it was the difficult part!!

Also, make sure to lightly grease the pan and dust with flour (I used the rice flour) - this makes it the bread pop out of the pan without a problem at all :)

This bread is so good, I barely got in a second picture!

I ate 2 pieces with my soup the same night of making this and put the other pieces in a plastic bag stored on the counter. The next day the bread was still moist as ever, didn't crumble and toasts perfectly! I'm planning on making this bread in the future with some modifications to see the different types I can make... a sweet version, an herb infused bread, I may even try to roll it out to make a pizza crust! I'll let you know how those go.. in the meantime, enjoy this incredible, REAL bread!

Yeast Free Mini Bread

Whenever I find a bread recipe that doesn't have yeast I am ecstatic! I found this recipe for Paleo Bread on Elana's Pantry, and only made two modifications - substituting hazelnut meal/flour for the almond flour and substituting canola oil for the coconut oil.

Here is the recipe I followed:

3/4 c. hazelnut meal/flour
1 tbsp coconut flour
1/8 c. golden flaxseed meal
1/8 tsp sea salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1/8 c. canola oil
1/2 tbsp honey
1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

To prepare:
Pulse first 5 ingredients in a food processor (through baking soda). Add in eggs, oil, honey and vinegar and pulse until smooth.
Bake at 350 for 22 minutes. Let cool in pans 5-10 minutes then remove and let cool completely on wire racks.

I made half the recipe this first time (I usually do this with new recipes so as not to waste ingredients!), and used two mini bread pans. I thought the batter would fill about 4 mini pans but.. I was wrong... I filled 2 pans to the top... take a look at how they turned out.

I know they don't look that small here... take a look at this one...

The left is a standard size bread loaf from the grocery store, the right are my cute little mini loafs!

Now you can really see how small and cute they are :)

The taste of this bread resembles the Hazelnut English Muffin/Bun/Bread I have made several times, although the texture is a bit more delicate. Once the loafs cooled I placed them in a plastic bag and have stored them in the refrigerator. I'm hoping that by being cooled they will be strong enough to hold up for a mini-sandwich!

Regardless of their size they are delicious, not sweet, very bread-like and most importantly yeast free!

Play around with this recipe and let me know how it turns out. Enjoy!

Hazelnut, Yeast free English Muffin/Bun/Bread

Go ahead... check the title again... that's right! Its a recipe for bread that can be used for breakfast, lunch and dinner! It's incredible I know! And I must immediately say THANK YOU to Iris from The Daily Dietribe. I adapted this recipe from her Gluten-Free English Muffins (Vegan, Yeast-Free, Sugar-Free). Sadly, I can't have almonds so I tried out another nut meal - Hazelnut. Bob's Red Mill Hazelnut Meal is the only one I have been able to find in stores, and yes one day I will have enough motivation to grind my own but that day has not yet arrived because this recipe works and tastes so well! **I've also used hazelnut meal in place of almond flour for a few other recipes and they always seem to work. Make sure you like the taste of hazelnuts first, but it is a mild nutty flavor that goes with several different tastes.** One other substitution I made is using Bob's Red Mill Creamy Buckwheat Cereal in place of the Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal.

I strongly encourage you to check out The Daily Dietribe for yourself, but here is the recipe (with my modifications). 

English Muffin/Bun/Bread:

1 1/2 c hazelnut meal/flour 
3/4 c potato starch
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon Creamy Buckwheat Cereal
2 1/2 teaspoons xantham gum or guar gum
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup oil (I've used olive, canola, walnut and all work great)

How to Prepare:

Preheat oven to 400.

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. 

Stir water and oil in a small bowl. Pour into dry ingredients, stirring until completely mixed. *(The batter may seem too moist at first but it will thicken. The moisture is also nice because the muffins won't crumble or fall apart later on!)

Grease a cookie sheet and scoop the batter up into heaping 1/3 cups. Makes 6 scoops. Bake for 40 minutes. You want the edges to begin to turn golden brown to make sure the insides are cooked thoroughly. *(In my oven, 38 minutes cooks them perfectly, they will feel hard to the touch but will ease once cooled and the bottoms will be slightly browned.) Let them cool and when you are ready to enjoy cut in half. I like to keep them whole until I plan to use them, I think this allows them to stay moist longer. 

Now the fun part! How I've enjoyed them...

I've used these for breakfast... toasted with Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter... a delicious way to start out any day! I keep enough batter in the bowl for one or two muffins and then add baking spice or plain cinnamon, raisins or other dried fruit, and fold in. Place on the cookie sheet along with the others and cook to perfection. (Just remember which ones have the additions!)

I've used them for lunch and made a sandwich! I get excited because there isn't a lot of sturdy bread in my life anymore... so any type of sandwich such as this is a real treat ;-)

I've also used them for dinner as a bun for a burger (pictured) or you can shape them as a hot dog bun and use for a brat or hot dog. (I did this for a camping trip with brats cooked on a stick over the fire... it was to die for!)

However you use them, I hope they bring as much happiness to your meals as they have to mine. Thanks again Iris! 

Gluten free, Dairy free, Yeast free Pizza

Mmm mmm good :) I haven't had real pizza in several months, and although past attempts have been good,  the missing cheese really does take something away. This pizza however, turned out wonderfully and to be honest, I didn't miss the cheese one bit!

I was ecstatic when I found this pizza dough recipe a few weeks ago and have been waiting for the perfect chance to make it. I found it at Funky Food Trisha, and let me just say... THANK YOU! Here's the recipe...

Yeast Free Allergy Friendly Pizza Dough

3/4 cup flour(quinoa, oat, amaranth, sorghum, buckwheat, millet)

1/4 cup tapioca starch

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

4 T extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease baking sheet.  Mix dry ingredients together and add in everything but water.  Stir in the water.  You are looking for a moist dough that easily forms a ball when kneaded.  Add a little extra water if needed.  Press onto baking sheet into whatever thickness desired.  Before topping, bake for about 5 minutes.  Then pull out and put your favorite toppings on, slide it back into the oven and enjoy when crust is slightly brown and toppings are bubbling.

*I added some italian seasoning to give it more kick

Once I made the ball of dough I took off a golf ball sized chunk, making about a 6-inch (very flat) pizza and a mini flatbread. I plan to cut the flatbread in half and make a delicious little sandwich in the days to come :) I also plan to make this dough again, perhaps with more spices or even a sweetener hmmmm... and make larger flatbread so I can finally enjoy sandwiches again on a daily basis. Check back to see how that goes!

I did as Trisha suggests and precooked the dough (both of them) for 5 minutes at 400 degrees, then topped the pizza with the:

Toppings

Prego Garlic Herb pasta sauce

1 slice turkey lunch meat torn into pieces (I used Applegate Farms Organic Roasted Turkey Breast)

Sauteed zucchini 

Corn (canned is fine)

Sauteed bell peppers

Cilantro

Salt & Pepper to taste

We were making not allergy friendly pizza at the same time and had the oven cranked up to 475 degrees but I still had to keep my pizza (and flatbread) in for about 10 minutes to get the necessary crunch. If you're not a fan of crunchy crust keep the temp at 400 degrees and check every few minutes until you feel it is to your liking. 

Enjoy this! I certainly did :)